The Child Without A Name

In a room, one girl sat alone. The room was empty for the most part, outside of a few necessities. A bed, a desk and a cupboard. The girl was young, 12, maybe 13. Her hair, colored a rich blue was tied up in a ponytail. She seemed normal, if melancholic to a casual observer... until one noticed the patch covering her left eye.

She sat straight up on the bed, quietly sewing.

Her task was interrupted when a loud knock came at the door. The girl sighed, putting down her thread.

"What do you require, officer?"

A man entered, though she noticed he was not her usual keeper. This one looked older, mid 30's she'd guess. Short blonde hair, strong frame... the typical soldier look. Charming.

"Apologies ma'am, but M.O.M. requires your presence in the conference room immediately."

The girl sighed. She hated being interrupted, even when she was doing something as trivial as sewing. But duty is duty...

"I take it that you are here to escort me as well." She stated simply, looking up. The man was nearly twice her size, but his stance clearly indicated he felt outranked. He seemed new to the Center.

"Again, I apologize, but you know the rules."

The girl stood with mild reluctance and walked up to her "escort". "Lead the way.", she said simply. The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded, taking off down the hallway, Sapphire following in silence.

Though the pace was brisk, the girl kept up with her escort. To a casual observer, they would almost look like a father and his child.

"Is there a problem?" She finally spoke, breaking the long standing silence between them. The man looked down awkwardly. ?N-no ma'am. Just... "

"You are surprised to see me. Do I not match your expectations?"

"W-well..." The officer stammered, thinking his next words over carefully. "To tell the truth ma'am... you do not. What I was told suggested a more, if you'll pardon me for a moment, intimidating, older woman."

The girl seemed to smile very briefly. "So I intimidate you because I am not intimidating?"

The man lost his pace for a moment, taken off guard. "I suppose so. I apologize. I spoke too bluntly."

The girl looked at him, but said no more. The walk continued in silence, until arriving at their destination. The conference room... she sighed inwardly. It had to be a big deal, whatever it was all about. She already felt a headache coming on. The door was guarded by two soldiers, both far more heavily armed then her escort.

"We'll take her from here, Nathan. I'm afraid you don't have clearance yet for what goes on in here." one of the men said, his tone indicating a sense of smugness.

"Yes sir!" Nathan said, saluting. He turned to leave, even made a few steps before a chill voice stopped him. "He stays." Nathan looked back, not sure if he should be confused or worried.

The soldier who ordered him to leave stammered. "That's not your call, Agent, you know that!"
"And yet my order remains." she said, her voice being just as icy as before.

"You can't make orders like that!"

The officer to the left sighed. "Miss Sapphire," he said wearily. "I apologize, I do, but it isn't that simple. Even if you do go in with him, we are the ones blamed for it. With all due respect, we would rather keep our jobs."

Sapphire continued to glare at the other soldier, before relenting. "Very well. But I want him given clearance. I trust that can be arranged." It wasn't a request, and the guard knew it. "I'll see what I can do." he said firmly. Sapphire nodded and turned to a bewildered Nathan.

"We will speak again soon." She said and walked into the room with the soldiers, leaving Nathan alone with his questions.

Sapphire recognized the people present. Looking around, she noticed Mrs. M, or M.O.M., sitting in the middle. Sapphire wondered how long she had been arguing with the representative on her left hand seat, Squire Anton Valentiner, to get that seat. Valentiner had been chosen as the Center's representative because he wasn't nobility, which made him more acceptable for non-vampires. For good reasons, they didn't trust the vampire aristocracies. Except for Headmaster von Horrificus, of course, but he was too busy with his school. Mr. Valentiner got his Squire title when he married into a family of good standing in Scotland. His bride was a mortal woman, but his son was still alive and, according to some rumors, had relocated to Gloomsville recently. All the more reason for him to get involved in this affair, of course.

Then there was Lady Morose, looking as stern and..well, morose as ever, and Chieftain Tataris from Haven, a man that Sapphire had run into on one previous occasion. Back then he was wearing a suit. Now he was wearing what appeared to be a more traditional outfit of fur pants, bare (and muscular) chest and an elk skin over his back. The elk skin covered the top of his head, and for added effect, the antlers were still on. This was troubling, Sapphire knew. Nowadays, ogres never wore traditional outfits at the Center unless they wanted to express discontent. The fifth being present was clearly a spook, and she recognized him from pictures. M.O.M. had told her to call him Mr. Harvey, even though most people knew him better by a different name. He looked essentially good-natured, just like he had usually been described, but like the rest of the attendees, he seemed somewhat upset.

"Ah there you are, Sapphire." Mrs. M stated, looking down at the girl. The conference table was on a platform slightly above the main floor where Sapphire was seated; a cheap psychological effect, but it was part of the game. "Very well, the meeting is now in session." As she said this, it was as if the lid had suddenly come off a boiling pot.

"I want to know what happened to my son!" Mr. Harvey began "Also, I was assured that only the house cat has psychic powers, but now he's been telling me that this Misery could see him when he was trying to stay invisible! I'll have Mr. White and Mr. Whyte's ectoplasm skins when this is over and done with!"

"You told me my daughter would be safe!" Tataris bellowed, at Mrs. M, as if he was demanding an explanation, "Don't you have any control over these kids, ma'am?"

"My niece is beginning to trust strangers!" Morose snapped, "See where this has gotten her? I blame myself for suggesting this to my sister, but make no mistake, Mrs. M, if this gets worse, there'll be Hell to pay, and you're getting the bill!"

"Everyone, please control yourself!" Mrs. M said firmly. "Gloomsville is not a prison and not a summer camp! I never claimed that the Center was going to keep your loved ones under surveillance twenty four-seven. Granted, this was not supposed to happen either, and I will take my share of the blame. For the moment, however, I think we are confusing Miss Sapphire. Please, can we start with the beginning?"

The three council members who had tried speaking up at the same time looked at each other and nodded reluctantly. "Very good." Mrs. M said, leaning back. "Squire Valentiner, if you would like to begin?"

The vampire nodded. "The tenants of the Gloom family mansion - henceforth only referred to as the tenants, period", he added with bureaucratic smoothness, "Have compromised their own discretion, and as a result, might unknowingly but ultimately compromise ours. Madame Morose, if you would care to elaborate?"

Morose hawked. "Currently at large are: My aforementioned niece, currently the keeper of the family's vitally important position as family historian…a young Calaca which my family have been keeping under observation, even when we allowed him to travel out of town…Chieftain Tataris' only child…" Tataris nodded. "Also, the heir to the Gloom estate, who is not yet aware of her true nature." Valentiner nodded. "Although that might change any day now, if it hasn't already.", she continued.

"You think Miss Ruby might have discovered her true nature already?" Mrs. M asked

"There's this little thing called the sun, which conveniently hardly ever shines in Gloomsville." Morose commented dryly. "We all know what happens to, ahem, virgin vampires the first time they are exposed to the sun for longer periods."

"Have you made any inquiries?", Morose asked

"We had an agent discreetly questioning the sheriff of Gloomsville.." Mrs. M began.

"The sheriff is hardly a neutral party in this matter." The well-informed Valentiner pointed out. "He is the father of two of the tenants, albeit two of the less… significant ones."

"We know, but he and his wife were the only ones to be specifically informed about the tenants travel plans. We are forced to rely on his discretion in the matter. He helpfully informed us that the tenants, including his own two sons were headed to Medioca on the morning train from Gloomsville. But here's the problem. The train was reported to having railed off."

There was a general muttering.

"Not a major accidents, no known casualties." She continued. But here 's where the problem really begins: The tenants were the only passengers unaccounted for. We are working from the assumption that they walked onwards to their intended destination."

"And what was the weather like in the area?", Valentiner asked.

"I get your meaning. Alas, it was sunny all day."

More muttering.

"We probably have to fear what I fear all the time anyway: The worst." Morose looked directly at Sapphire for the first time during the meeting. "Damage control might be the order of the day for you, Miss."

"This might be a foolish question", Sapphire began, "But why do we not try and call them? On a journey like this, they probably brought cell phones…"

"You're right, that is a foolish question. Cell phones are banned in Gloomsville, as is all digital technology. They'd have nowhere to get them and likely less idea how to use them." Valentiner explained, then turned to Mrs. M. "I thought everyone knew that! Are we going to require the service of such an ignoramus?"

"If you require proof of my skill, I'd be happy to oblige!" Sapphire hissed.

"What she doesn't know, she can learn in time" Mrs. M replied sternly, "But can we all agree that we need to intervene in one way or another?"

There was chorus of 'ayes'

"Good. Ms. Sapphire, your mission, should you choose to accept it" she said in a tone which implied that choosing not to accept it, while theoretically possible, was a bad idea, "Is to seek out the tenants and join them in their journey further. If possible, try and convince them to return to Gloomsville."

She paused. ."But subtly so", she added "If you're too eager, they might suspect something. Remember you're supposed to behave as if you're an innocent, vagrant stranger who ran into the tenants purely by chance."

Sapphire nodded. It was little different from her other missions. "I assume you want regular reports. How can I send them?"

"Regular reports are unlikely, given the uncertain destination of the tenants. However, we have agents in most major cities, both human and non-human. Deliver reports to them." Ms. M said.

Sapphire nodded. "If you have no further requirements, I shall leave immediately."

As Sapphire turned to leave, she heard Ms. M hiss into her ear. "You know all about Gloomsville's rules. I assume you had a reason for feigning ignorance?"

Sapphire simply nodded, not missing a beat in her walk. Ms. M sighed, and looked around. Both Chieftain Tataris and Mr. Harvey looked pleased with her decision, or at least they tried to look as if they were pleased. Much to relief, they both left without any more objections when she asked them to, as respectfully as she could.

Morose walked up to her. For a moment it looked as if she wanted to say something, but as she hesitated, Ms. M decided to take the word first.

"Mr. Harvey isn't still here, is he?"

Morose activated her seventh sense, her eyes squinting and staring into empty air for a moment. Then she shook her head.

"Just between us, then" she addressed the banshee and the vampire, "A scout harpy has been spotted across the skyline between Gloomsville and Medicoa. Could be a coincidence, of course, could be a stray, and anyway, if we asked Chieftain Tataris, he'd probably deny that it was sent by him…"

"If there's any complications, I'm sure the two of you can work it out." Valentiner commented indifferently. "I'm more concerned about this ongoing rumor, Morose…"

Morose frowned, then sighed. "You mean the one about my father being back, of course. Well, I haven't seen anything, but I find it entirely possible."

Ms. M moved in closer. "You do?"

"Yes, it's like I can sense his presence. It's a feeling I haven't had since the fifteenth century. I didn't mention it during Sapphire presence, because I wasn't sure if it's something you want to tell her just yet."

Both Ms. M and Valentiner looked worried. The former because she wasn't sure if this was something she should tell Sapphire; the latter because he realized that his own position would be threatened if the Baron did indeed make his triumphant return.

Feeling that she had the upper hand, Morose prepared to leave.

"If it's true, and if he gets his act together, he could be out to get young Ruby. You should consider warning Miss Sapphire."

"But you still trust her ability to handle this?"

Morose stopped on her way towards the door. "She asked suspiciously few questions, which is something a…being in her position would only do if they had all the facts and then some." she commented, and Ms. M felt a sting of nervousness, fearing that Squire Valentiner would suddenly realize that something didn't add up. But his face told her nothing.

"She is loyal only to the mission, and doesn't let feelings get in the way." Morose continued. "Those are qualities I value. She knows that it's not the organization that's important. No doubt, she's seen countless organizations rise and fall, and so have the Squire and I. We won't be here forever.

While others…" Valentiner began, looking smugly at Ms. M. "Certain others won't be here forever."