Favor

Noun: a thing such as a badge or knot of ribbons that is given or worn as a mark of liking or support.

Author's Notes: Wow. Late posting here, but it came up on time! Anyway. Most of the story specifics are later on in the Lore Check section. But here, I want to call out one of the reviewers. reality deviant compared my fic to a Saga of Tanya the Evil/Harry Dresden crossover after my last posting, and I immediately went to check the story out. It was awesome. It's so hard to find a good Tanya fic. She's hard to write, and getting her believable is hard. Story is called 'A Young Vampire's Cohabitation Arrangements'. Added it to my favorite stories, and look forward to more.

Alright, besides shameless plugging, let's get on to the story

Read as Lara... gets a new lot in live?

Time: Blood Rites

"Your brother is weird," Harry told her as she sat down. It was unusual for him to beat her to their meetings, and she raised an eyebrow both at his statement and at his punctuality.

"Good morning to you too," she greeted him primly. Then her nose wrinkled. "And what is that smell?"

"Is it still there?" he scowled, giving himself a surreptitious sniff. "Or is it just super faint and you're only smelling it because you're you?"

"The latter," she informed him. She took a seat in front of the coffee that Harry already had ready for her. "You seem to know what it is?"

"Incinerated infernal primate feces," he sighed.

"Ah, of course," she allowed, raising an eyebrow. "I should have known. It's so similar to the last time I came across, what was it again?"

"I literally had to fight off a demonic flying gorilla that was lighting it's crap on fire and tossing it," Harry confirmed. Lara laughed helplessly.

"Shen?" she asked, and Harry blinked.

"Wait, you actually have smelled that before?"

"I did spend a century or so in Asia," she reminded him.

"Well don't I feel so much less special now," he grumbled. "Then again, if it's not that uncommon, maybe there's a support group for survivors?"

She patted his hand gently. "There, there."

"Well, I suppose that's the best I'm going to get."

It was a typical interaction between the two. The last three years had been a developing experiment for both of them. Immediately after the revelation of her species, the first few meetings had been stilted and awkward. They were both trying to continue as they were, but there were new boundaries that were developing, topics that had previously been easily broached were now taboo.

It would have disappointed Lara, if it wasn't for the fact that Harry was so obviously trying.

She appreciated that more than she had thought she would.

"You mentioned Thomas?" she prompted.

"He just keeps showing up," he told her. "Stopping by Mac's, or coming by the office to invite me out to a club. I can't quite get a read on what he's up to."

"He hasn't attempted to feed on you, has he?" Lara's eyes instantly narrowed, but she relaxed when Harry shook his head. "I didn't think so, but it's good to know. You aren't his preferred type, so it was unlikely."

"Plus he has Justine. Besides, is there anyone in your Court willing to risk it after Madeline?" he pointed out, and she gave him a satisfied smile.

The past few years had been rather frantic for her good Ser Knight. The waves he had begun making seven years ago were growing more and more turbulent. His involvement in the faerie hostilities a few years back had drawn a great deal of attention, and the fact that he had survived an encounter with Nicodemus had only cemented that attention. A steady string of lower profile encounters with various powers as well as his continued presence in the war on the Red Court were easy enough to uncover to anyone who was paying attention as well.

The day her father had shown up in Chicago to grill her on her progress had instilled the most anxiety she had felt in decades. She had been called to task for how long and apparently unsuccessful her subversive mission had been.

Court politics being what they were, it was natural that someone had attempted to one up her by trying to accomplish her mission behind her back.

It was simply good luck that it was that idiotic twat, Madeline who had made the attempt.

A more subtle, or skilled member of the Court would have performed surveillance, would have investigated, would have made their approach carefully. Madeline was not subtle or skilled. She was one of the Court that wore her Hunger on her skin, who believed it her right to feed on any she so chose.

Lara doubted Madeline had even made an effort to read his file. But even if she had, Lara had specifically left out the fact that Harry was protected just in case a situation like this occurred.

Lara had little sympathy when Madeline had dragged herself back to the Chateau, half of her face and arm blackened from her attempt at feeding on Harry. The other half had been burned by the more conventional fire Harry preferred.

Madeline had seemed even more offended at Harry's last words to her as she escaped. 'If you were twice the woman you were now, you'd still be half of Lara."

The report had warmed her heart a little, and stirred her Hunger. Then she broke both Madeline's legs and arms, and that had only increased both feelings.

Lara. Did Not Abide. Poachers.

It was only her father forbidding it that kept her from breaking Madeline's neck as well.

The end result was an actual increase in her status within the Court. The fact that Harry knew Lara was a member of the White Court and still interacted with her was one thing, but what she suspected had just been his trash talking to piss off Madeline was interpreted as him being in the process of being properly subverted, and Lara had managed to do it even when he bore protection.

Her father had actually complimented her. She had felt dirty for a week afterwards, worried that he might decide to reinforce his dominance in order to offset her success, but he hadn't called for her and had simply left the Chateau immediately after confirming her success.

Still, it was unlike Thomas to involve himself in Court politics in the first place. Outside of the times her father insisted to try and get him subtly killed. The mere fact that Thomas was still alive indicated just how little effort her father was willing to commit to someone so unthreateningly incompetent.

"Nah, I'm not getting a threatening vibe from him. Maybe he just wants some male bonding?" Harry paused at that before grimacing. "With someone from a different species? Who is technically in a cold war with his species? And from a different social class entirely?"

"Yes," Lara sighed. As the list went on, it became more and more obvious. "I appreciate your leniency in this matter."

"Even if he's just buttering me up because he wants something, no reason to be rude about it," Harry shrugged. "He is your brother."

"Yes, he is," Lara admitted, with a helpless laugh. "I'd suggest taking him on one of your cases to toughen him up, but I know how those can go, and would rather not have my brother placed in danger."

"Technically, I had him driving getaway on the monkey poo incident," Harry grimaced. "Sorry about that."

"Hmmm," Lara was a bit displeased, but honestly, it had just been a Shen. Aggravating and disgusting as they might be, they weren't terribly dangerous overall.

She shrugged, deciding that dealing with flaming monkey feces counted as a building character and let it go.

"So I have to ask, what made you decide on so early a meeting?" she changed the subject instead. "And in such a… distinguished place as well?"

She was aware just how much Harry preferred Burger King, but it was unusual for them to meet in one. They had worked their way through most of the cafes in the city at this point, and had a few preferred ones that they tended to gravitate to.

Grinning, Harry pulled a paper BK crown from the chair next to him and pushed it towards her.

She looked at it. And then looked at him. Both looks were unimpressed.

"Wear it," he said as he pulled his own out and proudly perched it on his head, "and I'll tell you."

It was very early in the day to be drunk. So, there must be some other reason he had gone insane.

"The likelihood of me putting that on my head is so low, that…" she began, and he cut her off.

"Wear it, and I'll tell you why, and call you 'your majesty' for the rest of the conversation."

Her eyes narrowed instantly.

He had become a shrewd negotiator over the years.

Slowly, she took the crown. With grace more suited for dealing with a real one, she put it on her head.

"I certainly hope your reason is sufficient, good Ser Knight," she told him regally.

In response he smiled and raised his cup to her in cheers.

"Happy ten years, your majesty."

She blinked. Then she blinked again.

"Ten years?" she repeated, trying to make a connection.

"It was ten years ago, to the day, that some dumbass wizard kid held a door open to succubus royalty," he elaborated, and she drew back, surprised.

Had it really been ten years? In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that long really. However, if she considered it, just how long was the longest she had ever maintained a positive, friendly relationship without it degenerating into power plays, politics, and sexual servitude?

She tried to recall. The best she could come up with was in the 1920s, when she had been establishing contacts with bootleggers. There had been a bartender who's sexual preference precluded any interest in her that she had spoken to regularly and friendly for about four months. Was that really the best she could come up with?

"To the day?" she asked, trying to cover up her inability to recall the actual date they met. "Are you certain?"

"I was doing some cleaning and found a copy of my original statement after the shooting, your majesty," Harry explained. "I'm actually on a job right now, so I won't be able to do anything for the foreseeable future, but wanted to celebrate with at least a coffee."

"Oh," she murmured, taking a sip of her coffee to conceal just how genuinely confused she was about how to proceed from here. Ten years? Wasn't that 'Tin' or something? "Anything you can talk about?"

He shook his head immediately. "Sorry, this one is ongoing. After it's over, we'll see. I have to be leaving soon to meet with Murphy."

One of the rules they had established over the past three years was no discussing professional operations while they were ongoing. There was too much chance of conflicting interests, considering the differences in their organizations, to risk leaking operational security. Once the event was over, it was easier to determine if it was unrelated to anything conflicting.

And if it was, it was open territory for griping.

Lara had actually never been to Oklahoma. From Harry's description, she never would.

Lara might have used a few of these sessions to further her grievances against her father's hiring policies.

Really? Twins? Why?

Lara decided to focus on the important part of that statement.

"Lieutenant Murphy?" Her smile widened as he froze, and then carefully settled himself into a perfectly neutral stance. "You've been spending a lot of time with her professionally lately…"

"You are the most demented matchmaker in the history of the profession, your majesty," he grumbled. "You realize I'm perfectly aware of the fact that the only reason you encourage me to date is so that you can attempt to swoop in and seduce me after my protection is removed, right?"

"It doesn't change the observation," she pointed out slyly. "Besides, I have no desire to separate you from any hypothetical partner. I could be between you and your partner. Or you could be. Or they could be. I am quite flexible."

Stealing him away would be poaching. Joining in though...

That was sharing.

Harry sighed, adjusting the crown on his head. "Above the pants, pheromone lass. Above the pants."

"Hmmmm," she gave a throaty purr, looking closely at Ser Knight for a moment.

"Harry Dresden," she began slowly, tracing the edge of her cup with a finger slowly. "Did you just call me up early in the morning because you were busy, and yet still wanted to take the time to do something special in order to celebrate our anniversary?"

"Er, I just wanted to do something cool to mark the date," he admitted, blinking at her description. "But I guess that is sort of how this turned out? Your majesty?"

He trailed off, pulling away slowly as he looked at her cautiously.

"How romantic," she murmured, her eyes locked on his. Her tongue traced her lips, almost unconsciously, as she felt her breath come a little faster. "And endearing…"

Lara did so adore her Knight's chivalry. Perhaps a reward…

Her thoughts were interrupted by something adorable and threatening.

"What on earth is that?" she asked as Harry's coat began to shake and make squeaky noises. He yelped, digging into his pocket and producing the source of the interruption: an adorable and yet apparently insane little puppy. She realized the high pitched noise was in fact a growl for the tiny thing, and it struggled against Harry's grip as it apparently sought to leap over the table and fail adorably at mauling her. "When did you get a dog?"

"It's not mine," he grumbled, restraining the beast and petting it absentmindedly. The act appeared to sooth it, and its squeaky grumble trailed off into squeaky little barks of happiness instead. "I'm just holding on to it until I can return it. I actually need to find someone to look after it while I'm working. I don't suppose…"

"No," she told him simply and finally.

Lara did not do pets.

Well, not animals, anyway…

"Maybe Murphy will be able to keep an eye on him," he sighed. He shot a glance at the clock, and shook his head. "Look, I got to go, your majesty. Just wanted to celebrate a bit before I really started the case."

"Of course," she nodded, as he stood and took his cup. She smiled coyly. "Happy anniversary, Ser Knight."

"I don't think it really counts as an anniversary," he grumbled as he left.

"Oh, it is now," she said to herself once he was gone.

Her Hunger let her know that it disapproved of his absence. It also disapproved that she hadn't taken him back to his or her car, pushed him into the backseat, and ridden him until he forgot everything but her.

She frowned at that. Had it really been ten years, and she still hadn't made him hers? That… she wanted to say it was an intolerably long time, but even as the frustration gnawed at her, she understood it's necessity. If she was to have him as anything more than a besotted and entranced slave, she would have to continue this course.

Still. Is this what 'blue balls' felt like? Was that the appropriate term for her gender? Was there another one? Clam jammed? Kitty muzzled? Lock boxed?

She pulled her head out of her panties and focused on her Hunger.

It had been so much more active, these last few years. She was used to it, and knew how to control it, but it had never really been so forceful, so persistent. Just why was she having so much trouble restraining herself these days? Even when she took Harry, she had already decided that her Hunger would have no part of it. She valued him for his mind, his personality, his strength. All of those would be compromised if she allowed her inner demon free reign on him.

She took a deep breath and focused. While this had been a pleasant start of the day, she did have her own work to attend to. She should be meeting with the family's accountants to discuss the upcoming quarterly tax payment…

Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone went off. She glanced at the caller id, and froze.

She shuddered, and then answered the phone.

"Yes father?"

*Scene Break*

Lara looked at her wizards face as Justine closed the door on him. She watched him as the other girl closed herself in with her brother: closed herself in and went to her death.

His teeth were clenched, as were his fists. His entire body shook slightly with tension, with rage.

Softly, she reached out, and laced her arm around his. He started slightly at the contact. She gave him the best winning smile she could manage at the moment, and squeezed his arm to 'shave and a haircut'.

She hoped it was enough to calm him down, to remind him precisely where he was: the seat of the White Court's power, with the White King himself present.

He released a slow breath, pacing one hand over hers where they were connected, and he squeezed back 'two bits'.

Good.

"Well then, wizard mine," she declared winningly, starting to lead him away. "Would you care to join me for some refreshments?"

"Well, I haven't really had anything today but fast food and tofu pizza," he returned, his face stony. "I guess I could do with a bite."

She led him through the chateau, pausing briefly at an intercom to put in an order. Her home reeked of opulence and conspicuous spending, and she spoke airily about some of the more prominent artifacts they passed.

She purposefully did not speak of anything important, something he caught and copied, as she led him with a purpose.

This… this might have been one of the worst days of her life. She had been through some epic disasters in her time, but this one was truly standing out.

It had begun with her father having arrived at the Chateau unexpectedly. His mere presence was always enough to set her on edge. This time besides just his presence he had had a mission for her as well.

Distastefully, he had required her to resume her old career in the name of the Court with a target in mind.

She had acquiesced, of course. Resisting her father was pointless, after all. But to make matters worse, when she had arrived at the shoot and went to greet Arturo again it was to discover Harry there as well.

It shouldn't have been a surprise. Her father WAS using an ancient ritual to target the production in an effort to bring Arturo back under the wings of Silverlight Studios. In the face of such blatant supernatural attacks it was entirely reasonable to seek out Chicago's only registered wizard. Knowing her father, he might have chosen her specifically because the wizard was there.

It was also the first time that Lara had found herself in direct opposition to Harry. It made her tense, both because Harry had developed quite the reputation for what he did to his enemies, and because she didn't WANT for him to be her enemy.

She had her own reputation for what she did to those, after all. It was well earned.

Still, if there was a silver lining in it all, it was she got to put on a bit of a show for Ser Knight during the shoot. Arturo had been beaming about her performance, wildly applauding the authenticity of her acting. The only compliment she needed though was the one she got while keeping an eye on good Ser Knight's response to her performance.

Seeing him bent over to try and conceal his response had almost made it worth it.

It was nice to know that familiarity hadn't bred contempt, and that she was still able to arouse passion in him.

Now if he would only lose that protection and truly let her capitulate on that passion…

However, that was the height of the silver lining, and things quickly took a turn for the worst. At some point she had noticed he had disappeared. She was on assignment, and he had been hired to interfere with that assignment, so she had searched for him.

And found out that now, of all the ill-conceived times, Thomas had decided to enter the games of the Court.

She had attempted to negotiate with Harry. To convince him. She had seen what her father had done to her brothers over the years. She knew that bleeding out in the gravel of an industrial park parking lot was a mercy.

She had lacked the words to convey that. Things had escalated, and nearly escalated again.

She had almost been thankful for the attack by the Black Court. If they hadn't made Inari a primary target.

She HAD been thankful for the truce.

And now, here she was. Her brother was near death. Her sister had a broken arm. And her wizard was nearing the end of his temper

Her father was in the house, and aware of their presence.

The situation was even more dangerous now than it had been when she had been fighting off three Black Court vampires.

Finally, she led him out of the Chateau proper and to the lawns behind it. Per her instructions, a table had been set near the hedge maze, lit by candles and bearing coffee and cakes.

"We should be able to talk out here," she told Harry, releasing both his arm and her purposefully relaxed tone.

"You sure?" he asked, glancing around. She simply nodded.

"The Chateau has been my primary residence for some years now, due to my oversight of the region's business ventures," she explained. "Its security was my responsibility. I know where all the surveillance equipment is."

He frowned, and muttered under his breath. Nearby, one of the lights leading to the maze spontaneously shorted. If there were any other electronics around, she was certain they too would have been rendered inoperable.

"Just in case," he explained his hex, and she simply nodded. Caution was very important right now. "Now. What the hell is going on, Lara?"

"You will have to be more specific than that, Ser Knight," she sighed, moving to take a seat. She blinked as he held it for her, despite the situation. She smiled. It was such a Harry move. "There are a great number of things going on right now."

"For one, what the hell does the Court want with Genosa?" he went straight to the point. Unfortunately, it was a point she could not answer.

"Ask me something else," she asked, her shoulders shrinking slightly. She was sure he was going to press it, but his eyes just narrowed.

"Why did you try to kill Thomas?" he instead focused on. She let out a relieved breath.

"Because he finally started to participate in family politics, and it was more merciful that I killed him than our father." It was uncomfortable, that that explanation was the easy one to give.

"Stars and stones," he swore. "Just how screwed up is your family Lara? Inari, she doesn't seem to know anything, both of you seem to be all over protecting her, but were trying to kill each other. Your father just set up Justine, despite knowing Thomas' feelings for her. This whole thing is more convoluted than a box of snakes playing Twister."

"It is the result of our father's policy," Lara admitted. She sipped her cup, trying to figure out where to begin She finally decided on Inari. "When a new member of the White Court is born, they do not begin as a member of the court. They are cambion instead."

"Cambion?" he repeated, his brow furrowed. It looked like he recognized the word, but couldn't recall what it meant specifically.

"We are completely identical to humans when we are born. We have no hunger, no special strength or power," she explained. "We stay that way, until the Hunger awakens. It does so on our first sexual encounter with another, awakening and feeding immediately on our partner. The first feeding is always fatal."

"So Inari hasn't awakened yet, then? Is that it?" Harry asked. "Is that why she doesn't know anything?"

"It is our father's policy. He has forbidden all of us from telling any of our younger siblings until they have their first feeding." She sighed. How many times over the centuries? How many times had she been the one to look at one of her siblings, see the horror on their faces, the fear, the self-revulsion after they realized that they had killed their lovers? How many times had she been the one to comfort them, to begin showing them the new world they had baptized themselves with blood into?

Too many. Soon, there would be one more. Inari was at the age for it.

"That's messed up," he spat, angrily grabbing a coffee crumble and taking a savage bite of it. He swallowed quick, studying her. "Always lethal? What happens if the one they're with is protected?"

She laughed mirthlessly. "It's rare to find the protected, Harry. It's even rarer to find someone protected willing to betray their love for some awkward, virgin slip of a teenager."

"And there's absolutely no way to prevent it?" he demanded. "They, you all are just doomed to vampirism or a vow of chastity or something?"

"There is one way," Lara admitted, before even thinking of trying to hold it back. She paused, looking around, suddenly fearful of someone listening in and reporting back to her father what she was about to say, before she remembered that they were alone.

"Another weakness of the Court?" Harry caught her tension, and leaned in as well.

"No," she shook her head. "The same. If the first time is with someone they love, and loves them as well, the Hunger is burned out of them. They will never become a member of the White Court, nor will their children."

"Burned out? You said that lover's mark each other, and that mark protects against the Hunger? So if the first time is someone they love, it basically nukes the Hunger right out of them?"

It was a reasonable summation. Lara didn't know much of the specific metaphorical mechanics of the act, just being satisfied that she understood the results, but she nodded at his question.

"Then for God's sake, why hasn't anyone told Inari?" Harry demanded, his frustration leaking out. "You and Thomas both care for her? Why aren't you helping her?"

"We care for her for same reason that we don't tell her," Lara said quietly. "It is our father's policy to raise us to be loyal to the family. He preaches how important family is strongly, teaching us to be willing to do anything for it. But he does not allow us to warn any of our siblings. And he does not allow them to escape."

"Doesn't allow them to…" Harry began, his anger growing when suddenly he stopped his eyes going wide.

"Lara Romany, wasn't it?" he asked quietly. "Your stage name?"

He was one of the few people who would recognize what that name meant to her. The only one she had told herself. She smiled wanly.

"I was in love. Once."

She could see on his face when the pieces began to align. It was the way his eyes narrowed in fury, the way his fingers went white around the cup.

"He brainwashes you while he raises you, training you to be loyal to him, then forces you to become killers, monsters that he uses for his own end." Harry's voice was hot with rage. He gave her a furious look. "Your dad is an asshole."

"Be very careful where you say that, in this house," she warned him. Strangely, his fury calmed some of her anxiousness. Her Hunger stirred in her, something rare when her father was near. She was very careful not to use it when he was around, as he sometimes saw it as a challenge. But now, it felt as though it was responding to her wizard's rage, resonating with it. "It's not so uncommon, in our world."

"No, it isn't," agreed, some of his rage draining out of him. He grimaced, a hand coming to his face, a tired look on it. She blinked. His tone had sounded understanding. "I never told you about Justin DuMorne, did I?"

"Only in brief," she admitted. He had come up once, back when they had both thought the other to be purely mundane. "The one who adopted you?"

"After my father died, I was in an orphanage for a bit. Until my magic began to come in. Justin was a wizard, and adopted me to take me on as an apprentice," Harry's explanation was low and deliberate. "Myself and another girl with talent he had found. He took us in, gave us a home, raised us, taught us. I loved him.

"Until I came home and found that he had enthralled Ela… the other girl," he stumbled briefly but came on. "He was raising us to be his slaves, his own attack dogs. He taught us enough to make sure we had the talent, and then planned to enthrall us through force."

"What happened to him?" Lara asked, leaning in. His story resonated with her, and she wanted to know the ending.

"We fought, and I won. I killed him." He laughed harshly. "And I did it using magic, and had the Doom of Damocles over me for years after."

"How therapeutic," she murmured. At least his story had a happy ending.

And she suspected she finally had a clue about who had first placed their protection on him. The way he had cut himself off when speaking about the other girl's name was telling.

"Not at the time, it wasn't," he grunted. Finally, he put his hand down. He took several deep breaths, and turned a scowl back to her. He looked for a moment, then pressed on. "You're different when your father is around."

"I imagine many are," she offered, and was surprised at the sudden surge of anxiety reappearing in her.

"Not like that," he countered. "You're Lara Raith, who gets into gunfights with the mob like she's taking a walk in a park. You fight off Black Court vampires in stilettos and lingerie without batting an eye. But earlier, when we were just getting in and he showed up, you looked scared."

"Father's power is great," she began, eyes drawn to the cup in front of her. "When our Court feeds, we mingle our spirit with our prey and bring it back in with a portion of our prey. But we can only mingle so much of ourselves, only take back so much when we do. Unless we have time to mingle, or unless we have fed often enough on a particular prey that we are attuned to them, we can't do immediate harm. Father… his Hunger is vast. So vast that even a portion of it is enough to tear the life out of his prey.

"I've seen it, many times. He can kill with a touch. He often does it with nothing more than a simple kiss, and he can devour someone completely. I've felt his Hunger before…"

She trailed off, suppressing a shiver. It was impossible to describe, the feeling of vastness that can crush you completely in no more than a moment.

"What do you mean, 'felt his Hunger'?" Harry's eyes narrowed, and he straightened in his chair. "It definitely sounds like you've stopped buying that family first bull crap, at least with him specifically. Why are you still loyal?"

"Father… when we are young, and first coming in to our power, he pits his Hunger against us," she didn't stop the shiver this time, folding her arms to warm them. "He does so to show the difference in our strength, to ensure we know what disobedience means…"

"He 'pits his Hunger' against you?" Harry repeated slowly, alarm growing in his voice. "But isn't your Hunger… does that mean…?"

"It means what you think it means," she confirmed. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

She was aware that those of the White Court had very different taboos than other races. Power plays in her Court often involved such things, were common. But for those out of the court, they had different interpretations of those plays.

She expected Harry's anger to explode. She anticipated him raging about what had happened. She was ready to calm him down, to prevent him from taking action. Like it or not, her father was in charge now, and she didn't want to see Ser Knight die by charging foolishly at something he had no chance against.

When several moments had gone by and she still didn't hear any response from Harry she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes.

Harry was absolutely still. His face expressionless. In the darkness, he might as well have been carved out of granite.

Lara began to worry. Over the years, she had come to realize Harry burned hot. His anger was passionate, and quick.

Until it wasn't.

When he was truly infuriated, truly moved past outrage and indignation, past fury and rage, Harry still burned.

He just burned cold.

"Harry," she began reaching out to rest a hand against his arm. She spoke slowly, carefully, trying to calm him. "You are a guest in my house."

He would not be, if he broke his guest rights by violence. If he did, then he would die.

His eyes tracked to hers, and he nodded sharply once. She left her hand on his shoulder, but let herself relax a bit. He was still rational. She only hoped he stayed that way.

"Lara," he began. "I have a lot to unpack right now. There are people dying, and it looks a lot like you and yours have a hand in it. For now, I'm going to focus on protecting those people, and put off coming to terms with all the crap that just got thrown at me. But when this is over, and I have time to really unpack and digest all this, we're going to talk."

She nodded, outwardly calm. Inside, the anxiety which had set up residence in her ever since her father had shown up and gave her this horrible assignment grew.

"I can accept that."

"Alright," he nodded once, his expression relaxing back into a scowl. "I believe I was offered a room? I think I need to get some sleep while I can. I'm betting tomorrow is going to be busy."

"This way," she agreed, standing and offering her arm again. He gave it a dry look, before taking her arm once more as they began back to the Chateau. "Though," she began, feeling unusually hesitant about it, "if you'd like a room, mine is available?"

He suppressed a snort. "I said I need sleep. If you had your way, I doubt I'd get any."

"True," she smiled, feeling a little more at ease.

Well, Bruce was waiting for her in her room, and she did need to recover her own energy. Perhaps it was for the best.

*Scene Break*

"How do you like your birthday present?" Harry asked, dunking a cinnamon crumble into his coffee.

It's amazing, how much things can change. And how fast. Two days ago, she held real fear about the life of her brother, her friend, and even herself.

Now, she was enjoying breakfast while plotting how best to reform the entirety of her shiny new White Court.

Well, not shiny new. Kind of a fixer upper, truth be told. But still. She had IDEAs. She had them for decades. Finally, it was her chance to implement them.

"You call delivering me the subversive rule of my Court a birthday present?" she asked wryly.

"Well, I had missed a few, and figured I'd clear the backlog up all at once," he shrugged.

"Hmmm. Well, as a birthday present, it is bit lackluster. As an anniversary gift though…"

"Really, I don't think that counts as an anniversary," he grumbled. She smiled winningly at him for a moment, before the smile slipped a little.

"Harry, how are you?" she asked with real concern. "You look… ragged."

"I just had some news," he admitted, slouching and pushing his hair off his forehead. With his good hand.

"How is your hand?" she asked. His other hand was a mess of bandages. She hadn't had a chance to ask about it, what with the last time they had met being strictly professional.

"Well, they said I would retain some use of it," he began, before slouching further. "As a paper weight. Maybe a doorstop. Not much other than that, though."

"I see," she reached out, placing one of hers on his damaged one. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks," he told her, and she sat back, satisfied that he understood her sincerity.

"Still, that simply means you'll have to be twice as effective with the hand you have," she continued, now much less sincere with her small smile. "Would you like some advice on how to use your hand?"

Harry's glare was dry. "I don't need the type of advice I think you're about to give."

"That's what most men say," she nodded, "and most men are wrong."

"Above the belt, Lara…"

She laughed softly. The sun was bright, the morning quite beautiful. A distance away, Thomas was meeting with Justine. That the girl still lived was a miracle. But the fact that they all were alive after that was nearly astonishing as well.

When Inari had come to her, crying about how Thomas had been abducted, Lara's heart had sunk. It seemed her father had finally lost his patience with his son.

When Harry had called her, insisting that he had a way to stop her father, she had been skeptical. She hadn't believed it was possible. But she let herself hope, if only just a bit.

When her father and Harry had been battling, she had been certain that she was about to lose her friend. Part of her was screaming to join the fray. Her Hunger had been compelling her to secure her prey, even if it was from a superior predator like her father. She had been torn, unable to throw her life away against her father, but unwilling to let her Knight perish as well.

And then her good Ser Knight showed her how powerless her father truly was.

"It wasn't right," Harry interrupted her thoughts.

Internally, she shook her herself, focusing once more on the present.

"Thomas?" she asked, intuiting what he was referring to, and he nodded to confirm her guess.

"Cutting him off like that, leaving him to hang," he shook his head again. "Is that how you treat your family?"

"It isn't ideal," she admitted, leaning back as she did so. She felt the urge to wiggle until she was more comfortable and indulged in it. "But if I'm going to sell the illusion, I would need the rest of the family as well. That was true. If it was just that, I might have tried to find another way. At the very least, I would have ensured that Thomas had some assistance. However, it appeared that there was an outside element which would be ideal to keeping him safe.

"I'm not sending Thomas away. I'm sending him to you."

She smiled as he nodded. It was good to finally know just WHY Thomas had been trying to spend so much time with Harry, his brother. She was relieved it wasn't poaching. She had never seriously believed it was, but the doubt lingered.

The fiction of his banishment was necessary. Her position was still weak. All it would take was an ill-timed discovery, and the veneer of her father's continued rule would have been wiped away. She was strong, but the heads of the Houses were stronger still, peers to her father. Not his equals, always his lesser, but still stronger than she was now.

The cold truth was that she needed support, and the best she could get it from was the rest of her siblings and cousins. Thomas had burned bridges previously, and that was biting him now.

"I think the two of you spending time together would be for the best," she went on, nodding sagely. Harry nodded his agreement, and she continued "Now would be a good time for White Court etiquette crash course. When Thomas brings home a girl, remember, trying to steal her outright is poaching, and the rudest possible course of action. However, sharing is fine. Make sure you ask for permission if you seduce the girl separately, however simply participating with Thomas while you bed her is a perfectly acceptable…"

"Lara, above the pants," he snapped, and she noted that she had managed to get a blush out of him. It was so much harder these days. She couldn't fathom why.

"It is a family game for two to four players," she added helpfully. And while his blush deepened, he hid it by sinking his head into his hands.

"What has gotten into you today?" he muttered.

"Did I mention that I liked Lieutenant Murphy?" she continued blithely. "The size difference does make the potential mechanics interesting, but exploitable. She does seem like a tough nut to crack, but I'm certain you put some effort into it, you could put that effort into her shortly…"

"Okay, if I had a safeword right now I would be using it," he glared at her, and she stopped. Her smile didn't quite go away.

Always respect the safeword, after all.

She noted that next time they were out, she would broach the topic of setting one with him. It would be productive for the future.

"Seriously, though. You're usually so much subtler with the innuendo. You're practically bubbling right now," he pointed out. Her smile grew.

"It's as though I recently went through something immensely therapeutic, and been given a new lease on my life going forward?"

How many times, over the years, had her father held her on the point of breaking? How many times had he forced her to know that the only reason she continued to exist as herself and not a thrall was his leniency? How many times had he detailed to her just how he could break her, in so many different ways, if he so chose?

How many of those ways had she used on him now that the tables were turned?

The number was not insignificant.

To any of those questions.

"That's not the way I found it," he said quietly.

"Your experiences leading to it was many centuries shorter than mine," she pointed out.

He was quiet for a moment, than simply nodded.

She was grateful that he spoke no more of it. She didn't need any platitudes like 'I can't imagine how it felt', or 'forgiveness is divine', or 'nothing comes from revenge' or something similarly trite.

He couldn't imagine how it felt. Not all forgiveness was good. Oftentimes, vengeance was justified.

"I mentioned needing some time to unpack about some of the things that went down here," he finally began. "Well, it hasn't been long, but I had to unpack it before Tuesday, so I made the time."

She calmed her exuberance, face shifting into a neutral expression. Though she did wonder just what Tuesday had to do with anything…?

"I'm not happy about how things went down," he stated bluntly. "People died. Innocent people. And that's not right. The ones who did it should be held responsible."

She kept her expression neutral. He studied her carefully, and then let out and explosive sigh.

"And the people responsible HAVE been held responsible. The Arturo-ex-wife brigade are all dead. The one instigating them has been… well, has been Lara-ed. The survivors are safe, and moving on. In the end, it might not be the best ending, but it wasn't the worst either."

"And my involvement?" she asked carefully. He shrugged.

"Honestly, what involvement? What did you actually do in this case?"

He had a point. While she had been deployed with the intent to seduce Arturo after his new love was killed, events didn't get far enough for her to do so. All she really had done was put on a performance for Ser Knight, fight some Black Court vampires, and take down the White King. All things which were beneficial for both her and him.

Besides, she would have been gentle with that old fool. She did like him, professionally.

And with the movie canned, she wouldn't have to worry about re-exposing herself to her old career. She had finally stopped needing to wear disguises when she left the Chateau.

"If things had gone as planned, I would have seduced him, fed on him," she pointed out. She would rather have not, truth be told, but she needed to see how much of that Harry understood, what his thoughts on that were.

"Would you have hurt him?" he asked bluntly, and she shook her head. "I believe you. Hell's bells, if his new wife-to-be had actually been killed, maybe a fling would have helped him. He would still have his career. It would have hurt, but he might have been able to move on." He paused, contemplatively. "As long as he didn't end up falling in love with you, anyway."

"I am experienced enough to know how to prevent that," she told him primly. She knew he wasn't actually doubting her professionalism, but it sounded close enough for her to nip that in the bud. "Still, I'm surprised at your decision. I am happy for it, but the conclusions are a little less absolute than you usually resort to."

There had been a non-zero chance that this conversation would have ended with Harry trying to set her on fire. She was confident it would have only been professionally, and wouldn't interfere with their next coffee appointment, but it was nice to not have a fight break out in her garden.

"Recently," he began, his expression a little lost, "I learned something about someone I truly respect. Something… less than ideal about them. It's made me question some of the things I learned from them…"

"Why Harry," Lara fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I had no idea my circumstances had made such an impact."

"I said someone I respect, you debutante vampire tart," he shot back dryly. She laughed easily. Still, she considered his statement seriously for a moment despite the flirtation.

"Just because the one you learned something from might not be who you thought they were, it doesn't mean that the lessons they imparted are without worth," she advised him, sipping her coffee and sampling some fruit. "In the end, it is whether you believed their teachings to be worthy of being followed that matters."

Her eyes drifted to Thomas briefly. Her dear, idiot brother. But regardless of his decisions or actions, he was still family.

"Yeah," Harry finally said, giving her an honest smile. "I guess you're right."

"I usually am," she reminded him, and he snorted. Still, the serious note had been set, and she had her own topic to discuss.

"You know this will not end it?" she told him, the smile slipping from her face.

"I thought this whole case had pretty much come to a conclusion," he disagreed, though her serious tone made him sit up a bit and pay attention.

"This case, perhaps, but not your involvement with the White Court," she corrected. "I will be taking a much more noticeable place in its politics now. I will do so in the name of my father, but the others will notice, regardless. And with my rise to prominence, you too will be in the spot lights."

"I figured as much," he nodded, eyes closed in resignation. "No promises if Madeline shows up again."

"No, I'm afraid someone with actual competency will be next." She took a sip of her coffee, watching him. "Still, your surprised me this time. Manipulating my father, and myself. Achieving not only your goals, but even rewarding the ones whom you made your cat's paw. It would have impressed the Court, if they could know. Even if most won't, those who do, will be."

"Like yourself?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Very," she purred. Her Hunger was noticeable, but it often was these days when Ser Knight was around, so she paid it no attention. "I would like to say that I will shield you from their machinations. And I will, to an extent, but if I did too much, it would only paint the target larger on you."

"It's fine," he said, resolutely. "I'll just add them to the watch list. They won't even be the most dangerous ones on it."

"Good," she nodded. She hesitated, but decided to push on. Honesty was the best policy with Harry. "I might even be one of the ones to use you in the future. You make a competent ally, after all."

The statement was half one of warning, and half a request for permission. He was strong, and growing stronger every season. The more enemies that came, the greater wells of strength and cunning he seemed to find in himself.

It would be foolish not to rely on that strength. However, his trust was a resource, and like any resource, if it was over abused, it would vanish.

She had almost lost it once. She was taking pains to ensure that didn't happen again.

He studied her for a moment, and then nodded. She relaxed, ever so slightly.

"I get it. If the Court sees your so called pet wizard not being used, it would look bad. Hell's bells, if something like this is going on, I'd even happy to get involved if it kept people from getting hurt." He met her gaze directly. "But Lara, when that happens, I won't be doing it as an ally that you need to manipulate. I'd be doing it as your friend because I care."

She blinked at his response. Then she blinked again.

To her horror, she felt her cheeks darken.

The indignity of this man! How dare he say such things to her!

When she saw his tiny smirk, she realized that he had done it on purpose!

This wizard! Who did he think he was?!

"Lara?" an incredulous voice came from the side, and to her horror she realized that NOW Thomas had finished his time with Justine and was now staring at her with abject shock.

This insufferable man had even shamed her in front of her family?!

"Get out of my house!" she hissed. "If you ever speak of this I will inflict such torment on you they'll whisper it in legends!"

Lore Check: A lot happening here, but most can be assumed to be as cannon, story behind the story wise. Once again, I... creatively interpreted a lot here.

First, Cambion. If you've read Peerage Girl Quest, you'll get the story there. I did a lot of research for succubus back then, and Cambion are a real myth, just never explicitly stated in the Dresden Universe. Still, the myth is real, and it fits the White Court, so I used the phrase here. This is not Dresden approved, but fits enough for me to be comfortable enough to inject it.

Lara's explanation of the weakness of her species is... basically lore? Thomas gave the speach originally, but I had Lara take it, and under the assumption that she knew her species better was able to give a slightly more fleshed out explanation of how love can stop a Cambion from changing. I took liberties with her interaction with Dresden (based around story developments) but the points should be properly matched up.

Finally, Lara and her father.

So, let's get this straight out there. Lara was terrified of her father. Lord Raith (no first name lore wise) was a monster. This is lore. When Harry first shows up at the Raith Chateau, Lara is absolutely subservient to her father despite how she interracted with everyone else beforee that. Also. Butcher Nerfed Raith hard.

Lord Raith, if you look at it objectively, was a monster. Completely imune to magic, with the physical power to contend with a Black Court (Thomas beats one after going super-vamp easily and he's pretty young) with centuries of experience politically. He was a creature on par influence and power wise as the Red King. The only reason Harry won was that his mother had been particularly effective in her death curse, and had made Raith suffer for decades. Thomas and Lara can't go weeks without feeding, but Lord Raith managed to go three decades? And even then, he still won the fight with Harry. The only reason he didn't get to enjoy it was that Lara was watching and decided to take advantage.

And Lara was under that for centuries?

No, Harry was very lucky with that encounter.

Also, #EmbarassedLaraTsundere. Is there a better word for that? I'm not up to speed on all the Japanese 'Deres'. Someone who the momenth they get embarassed immediately goes Tsun, instead of just beint Tsun from the start? Respond in reviews, so I may better expand my knowledge!