The sun was setting by the time they finally arrived back at the manor. Which was the only reason that Santana hadn't made a run for her room to get away from Quinn. They hadn't said anything to each other the entire car ride back and it made her uncomfortable, especially now that she needed Quinn to escort her back to her room.
"I'm surprised that the place is still standing," Quinn murmured mostly to herself as she stepped out of the car.
"Is that just what you do? Murder people?" Santana asks, completely exhausted from her emotional and trying day. She's aware that it probably comes out with a bit more bite then she had intended and winces.
"We are vampires Santana, of course we're okay with killing people. How could we not be? Especially in a time of war like this? Or would you rather we simply let the Black Court take over, let them turn you into those thralls? Is that would like?"
Santana sighs, "You know that's not what I want. I just—you have an eternity, is this what you wanted to do? Really? Kill people?"
"Do you truly believe that we are happy playing these silly games? Do you truly believe that I wouldn't rather spend my days in my garden? Or my sister wouldn't enjoy spending her time stuffing her face with sweet things and watching those silly animations that she enjoys so much?"
Santana blinks slightly, the only time that she had seen Quinn actually enjoying herself was when she was with Charlie, or when she was in the garden. It's something to think about, "I know it kind of seems like I'm being a bitch, but that doesn't mean I don't see everything that you do for your citizens, even if I don't agree with all of your decisions, even if I can see why you make them."
There's an awkward pause for a moment as Quinn turns to study Santana, debating what to say to the rare compliment from her. After deciding on something, "You aren't—"
"Quinn! There you are, I've been looking for you!"
"Well, you're on your own," Santana informs her as she attempts to sidestep Rachel to get into the manor. She grimaces when she feels Quinn's hand on her elbow.
"You aren't leaving me with her. I may be a vampire, but it is frowned upon to murder your wife at least last time I checked," Quinn hisses, as she pulls Santana back.
"Not my problem, she's your wife," Santana argues back trying to escape, but Quinn's grip is firm and she is forced to push a smile onto her face. "Hello," she says politely, resisting the urge to roll her eyes when Rachel brushes past her.
"You're upset," Quinn says after a moment as Rachel entered her personal space and poked her in the chest.
"Your sister has spent the entire day tormenting me, humiliating me and ignoring me as I tried to raise my station," Rachel informs her wife narrowing her eyes.
"What?"
"Make your sister, accept me as her squire."
Quinn blinked twice, and then turned to look at Santana before looking back at Rachel, "Excuse me?"
Santana nudges Quinn slightly, "I think she wants you to make your sister do something that she probably wants no part of," Santana explains to Quinn smirking when she shoots her a withering look. "Just trying to help," she says with a shrug.
Quinn exhales slowly before turning to her wife, she didn't even know how to begin to unpack this crazy request from her wife. "You wish to become a knight. You?" The incredulity seems to be the incorrect response to Rachel's crazy request.
"There aren't many ways for me to increase my station or prove myself, and you said that I needed to get noticed. Yet your sister has an opening and a way for me to get noticed and increase my station. It will also mean that I finally get to spend my days near you, we'll finally be able to live together."
"My sister and I have very few rules when it comes to dealing with one another. You may think I can get what I want because my sister chooses not to speak, but we have a mutual respect for what the other does. I would never presume to tell her that I know best, at least not about this. If my sister didn't choose you to be her squire, then perhaps she has a reason. Or she really doesn't like you," Quinn says bluntly, flashing Rachel a small smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to feed my pet and escort her to her bedroom. It has been a long day and I wish for a nice long bath before I discuss my future plans with Sue."
Santana winces when Quinn elbows her before nodding, "We dealt with a thrall today, it was terrifying."
"You know, everyone knows it's because she doesn't like me—"
"She doesn't," Santana interrupts with a shrug wanting the conversation to end quickly. She wanted to get inside and a nice cup of tea sounded nice. "She also knows that if anything were to happen to you, Quinn would possibly blame her. Thralls are dangerous, even I know that."
"Look at that, my pet seems to have more sense than you Rachel," Quinn said flatly. "Now if you'll excuse me—"
"No." Rachel says stomping her foot.
"No?" Quinn questions.
"You always do this Quinn. You treat me terribly, like marrying me was a mistake. Like loving me was a mistake, like I am a nuisance to you. Yet you're sweet whenever others are not around." Rachel insists pushing her finger into Quinn's chest. "You allow your sister to disrespect me—you let others treat me like a pawn and you always remind me of my station."
"You are a pawn, and while Sue may not have given me back my position, it's only a matter of time before she does. I thought you understood that by marrying me, you didn't automatically share my station. There are rules and even if you are my wife, I will not show you favoritism," Quinn snipped at Rachel. "Now, I wish to discuss how my sister's search is going and talk about what I learned today. If my sister hasn't decided as of yet you still have plenty of time to convince her that it is a good idea. You want her to respect you? Don't come whining to me about how she treats you."
With that Santana suddenly feels herself being tugged along and quickly follows after Quinn who pulls her into the manor. "Well," she says after a moment as they begin to walk up the grand staircase to the twin's private suite. "That was awkward," Santana mumbles after a moment.
Quinn frowns, "She was different when she was human. Though Charlie disagrees, she believes that Rachel was always obsessed with it and the turn made the situation worse. Forever is a long time."
"She wanted to be turned?"
"Yes, there are quite a few humans who make pleas to us to turn them even now. We need to keep our numbers low, there can't be too many vampires, which is why it's expressly forbidden to create a new vampire without permission." Quinn's lip twitch upward at the disbelief on Santana's face. "It was a different time, humans still very much ruled. Man, still ruled. The idea of two women together was very much taboo. I didn't have permission to have Rachel turned. That didn't stop me of course and I sought out a young vampire to do it, which led to my fall from grace."
"You didn't turn Rachel yourself?" Santana questions.
"No, I didn't," Quinn responds cryptically before continuing on with her story. "Rachel was a struggling performer, one that wished to be famous, to have her voice heard. I sponsored the arts, I sponsored her. Funding plays that had her as the star. I believe I fell in love with the powerful voice in such a tiny body, I fell in love with her determination."
Santana crinkled her nose at this, singing wasn't that special. "And your sister was just okay with this?"
Quinn laughed at the idea, "At the time I don't think my sister realized how deep the feelings went, she wasn't pleased that my time and quite a bit of our money was being monopolized by Rachel, however she didn't quite care. Eternity is a very long time and at the time it was just a human dalliance. When I broke the rules to have her turned—well she didn't talk to me for a good decade. It took even longer to entice her back to bed. To this day it is a sore spot."
"Your sister doesn't talk now," Santana pointed out.
"She doesn't talk to you, we talk all the time," Quinn corrects. "She simply doesn't talk in front of others." Quinn said as they entered the kitchen where Charlie was happily munching on some chocolate cake. "Speak of the devil."
Charlie turned to look at Quinn and Santana for a moment before going back to her chocolate cake as if it were the most important thing in the world.
Santana smiled and shook her head at Charlie, it had been a long day and something comforting would be nice. "I want a slice of that—small slice—smaller Charlie. I'm not a bottomless pit," Santana says as Charlie cuts the piece in half. "Thank you."
Quinn sniffed, slightly annoyed at the sight of Santana and Charlie eating cake. She shakes her head and goes to pour herself a glass of wine before pouring another cup of blood for herself. "There's a member of the black court in our territories," Quinn says after a moment. "There may be more thralls in our territories, we need to increase the police presence, which means that most of the vampires are going to start needing to go on patrol. I know you'll be able to find it. But you can't kill it, I need it alive. Sue needs it alive."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Santana asks after a moment.
"Yes. It is possible we might lose a few vampires," Quinn nods before frowning. "We'll have to quarantine everyone and everything in a ten-block radius for a week or three, to make sure there are no ghouls and there are no thralls." Quinn pinches the bridge of her nose before taking a sip of blood and turning to Charlie who was staring at her. "How did the search for a new squire go?" Charlie points to Santana and then goes back to eating her cake. "That's not a viable solution, it doesn't matter if you like her better than the other vampires. You need to do something."
Charlie waved away Quinn's concern and turned to Santana and patted her on the head absentmindedly.
Santana gently swatted Charlie's hand away, "I thought I got upgraded to your squire, that basically means I'm not your pet, remember?" Charlie pauses for a moment and then grins at her and nods. She makes a few quick gestures. "You know I can't understand you right?"
Quinn watches as Charlie keeps making wild gestures before sighing, "I still need her until they leave. After that you can have her to do whatever it is you want."
Santana frowned slightly, "So long as you don't try and get me to kill anyone else."
Quinn shoots a look at Charlie who seems mildly interested in this part of the conversation, "You need to learn that not all problems can be solved by taking the easy way out, sometime it calls for harsh choices. Sometimes you do need to think of the greater good. One day you will get your hands dirty and I do hope that you'll be prepared for it." With that Quinn turns to Charlie. "Do hurry up, I wish to take a long soak and I want a massage," she informs her twin who flips her off. "Goodnight Santana, I plan to have sex, so stay out of our room unless you wish to join us."
"Pass," Santana retorts immediately as she finishes her cake.
"Your loss," Quinn says as she pulls her twin out of her seat and drags her off, leaving Santana to be by herself.