"Daedalus!"
Stacy nearly tripped over her own feet as she ran through the catacombs beneath Julian's compound. Though the immediate danger was obviously to the prince, she knew that he was alright at least until those Gangrel were dead and dropped at his doorstep. Daedalus, on the other hand... He was Nosferatu, more dangerous in the eyes of many, so they could have gone after him first.
"Daedalus!"
She kicked her shoes off and kept running. She didn't even know if Julian would believe her. Hunter was her sire. Would it be easy for him to believe that she would turn on him? She was of his clan and worked at his paper, but with the suspicions rapidly growing over the loyalty of the clans, she didn't think that he would take her word at face value. But Daedalus... He knew her. He knew her heart, and he knew where her loyalty lied. He knew that she was a good person in her soul, and he would believe her.
"Dammit, Daedalus, where are you!"
She rounded a corner and nearly collided with him. His eyes were wide with confusion and concern. He held her arms tightly and she tried to let it all spill out, but the words caught in her throat. She was loyal to the prince, she was loyal to Daedalus, but as she tried to betray her sire, she found it harder to do than she thought it would be.
"Stacy..." Daedalus spoke calmly to her as her body shook. Her cheeks were streaked with blood tears. "What's wrong? I'm here. You have found me, now tell me what the problem is."
"It's... This war... They're not going to start a war."
"What are you talking about? Who isn't going to start a war?"
"Hunter!" She jerked her arms from his grasp only to grab his arms tightly. Her nails dug into his sleeves. "He's going to make them kill each other! He's going to... He..." Her bottom lip trembled. Stacy lowered her head and whimpered. "He's... He's my sire, Daedalus, but... he's wrong. He's so wrong. He's my sire, but Julian is my prince."
Stacy knew that she was trying to convince herself that she was right. Julian was her prince, he was her clansman, but Hunter was her sire. It was his blood that had refilled her and made her Kindred. He had taught her how to survive in the Masquerade, and for a while, he had loved her... or at least pretended to. Now, he was doing something that was so disgusting, so revolting...
And yet, she wondered if part of her was upset that he hadn't included her in his plans. Had he not trusted her enough to tell her? She wanted to believe that he had just wanted to keep her safe. He didn't want to involve her in the dirtier parts, but when he took over, he would remember that he was the one that Embraced her, and that was supposed to be a special kind of bond. However, she couldn't escape the feeling that he would have just as easily killed her to make his transition easier as he had killed Edge. And she knew that when he found out that he had betrayed her, he would come for her head.
"I don't know what to do... what to say..." She stepped back and turned away from Daedalus. Her head hung low and her tears fell in red droplets to the floor. She ran her hands through her hair, gripping her scalp tightly before letting her arms fall. "They're going to kill everyone. They said... they said they would let Julian and Cash kill each other and then Trish would kill Morgana and then..."
She turned to Daedalus and raised her eyes to him. In her heart, she knew that it was the threat against him that had sent her running from the door. He was her best friend. He was the one Kindred that didn't look down on her for the exuberance that the Ventrue blood had been unable to completely wash from her. He took her seriously and he paid attention to her. He cared, and she couldn't let him die without doing something.
"They said they're coming back for you. They can't take the city with you still here and I... I love Hunter. He Embraced me and took me away from the crappy life that I was stuck in, but... I couldn't let him kill you, Daedalus. I couldn't let him do it!"
He walked to her slowly, taking care not to upset her anymore. As her eyes leaked crimson rivers, Daedalus pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Of all the women over the years that had made his heart ache, Stacy was the only one he could actually comfort. So many others feared him or were disgusted by him, but Stacy came to him with her tears. He came to him to be held and comforted... and to be reaffirmed of life.
Lightly, he rubbed the top of her head, uncaring that his shirt was being stained with blood. It didn't matter that the two were only friends. He didn't care that she would eventually go off and make an eternity, or at least a portion of it, with some attractive Ventrue or Toreador. At the moment, he was the one for her. He was the one there for her.
"You have to tell Julian."
"No!" She pushed away from him, shaking her head. "He... he won't believe me. He won't believe that I didn't know until now. He... He's probably worse than he was when Sasha was Embraced and he'll take it out on me. Kill the messenger. Daedalus..."
"Julian trusts me, Stacy. He trusts that I am his friend, and that I won't lie to him. He trusts in my judgment, and I trust you." He lightly touched her chest. "Your heart is good, Stacy. You would not have kept something like this a secret, and that is why your sire did not include you in his plans."
"But..."
"He knew that you wouldn't be able to watch this happen. You want to be faithful to your sire, but you have made an oath to your prince. You love Hunter, but you revere Julian."
"I..." Stacy didn't know what to say. She turned her face away. "Sydney was going to be killed. They didn't expect Cash to Embrace her. Now... they think if they deliver the heads of the guilty, it'll put them in Julian's good graces. That he'll trust them. Hunter wants to be prince, and Trish wants to be primogen. Everyone of the conclave but Dave Batista is in danger."
"Is this because he is part of the plan?"
"No. It's because they know he doesn't care about being prince. He's Brujah. One Ventrue prince is like any other as far as they're concerned."
"And these four... those that drained Sydney. Are they dead yet?"
"They were killing them when I ran."
"Then we must inform Julian before they arrive at his door. I know Hunter. He won't rush this. He will wait until the official word to come before bringing his prize. We have to tell Julian before this plan can be put into action."
Stacy looked up at Daedalus and sighed. He was so calm, so steady about it all. She was a bigger wreck than she had been when first Embraced. Her entire body shook and she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Yet, Daedalus was a rock. "Will you come with me?" Stacy wiped her face. "He'll be mad and he'll scream and... I would have said something if I'd have known, Daedalus. I wouldn't have let it go this far."
"I know, and Julian will, as well. I will go with you and we will tell him together."
Stacy wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face to his chest. "Thank you," she whispered, leaning against him. He hugged her and again she said, "Thank you." She didn't know what else there was to say.
