A/N: It wasn't my intention to finish this chapter were it ended, in my head the chapter ended after the meeting mentioned at the end, but it was getting too long and I kinda liked the cliff hanger.
I do not own any GG or other show and stories characters; if I did the TV show would have ended better than it did.
It took the Countess and Fritz three more days to finish all the preparations that needed to be completed before traveling. On the first day, Fritz complied with the errand that the Countess assigned him. That night, Mr. Bass wouldn't have had to worry about the driver, because when he went to check the driver after the Countess spoke with him and asked what could be done to distract the driver during the first hours of the night, he found out that the driver was so tired due to that's day travel and the change in schedule that he just wanted to eat and sleep. Therefore, Mr. Bass recommended the Countess and Mr. Rhodes that they went out for their meal after the driver went to sleep, and so they did. Fritz did his homework, studied his lessons that later reviewed with the Countess (History and Geography had to wait for the next day) and delivered to his mistress the reply she had requested, without anyone else noticing. Of course, Mr. Bass and Mr. Rhodes did found out that their driver had to take Fritz to an errand, but the Countess told them it was to put all the valuables that she wasn't going to take with her under a banker's care.
For the second and third day, Mr. Bass's idea to distract the driver was to make him take them in the carriage to one of the nearby towns, with the excuse of going to dinner at an inn, telling the driver to go back for them in two or three hours. But unknown to their driver, they only went to the inn to go out through its back entrance and get their meals, to later return to the place and from there to the waiting carriage. They were also able to go through the inn unnoticed by the people in it.
During those days, the Countess also made Fritz sleep earlier than usual, as she had done on the first night her visitors arrived. She did this, because she wasn't entirely sure how their trip would go, and she might need Fritz to be awake during a few hours in the daytime. Usually when she traveled alone she could have more control over these things, but in this case their journey was being organize by others, namely Mr. Bass, and she wasn't exactly enthusiastic of asking him more details about the arrangements, though she did know he would keep all of them safe.
Late on the third night she informed Mr. Bass and Mr. Rhodes that she was finally ready to travel the next night.
"I will lock the house upon our departure. Do you want to go eat first or do you want to go later?" The Countess asked them.
"We should go eat first" Mr. Bass replied. "We can task the driver to put our luggage in the carriage with Fritz's help and in the meantime we can sneak out for our meal. What are you going to do with the horses?" he asked, because he hadn't seen her take any measure about the animals.
"We could sell them in the first town in which we make a stop," she answered "but to be honest, I think we should consider taking them with us, at least through part of our journey. I'm not sure all our luggage can fit in the carriage with us."
"We could put part of it on the horses" Mr. Bass mused, "and Richard and I could ride two of them. But that leaves the problem of the third horse. Could Fritz ride one of them?"
"He can" the Countess answered.
"But still, I would prefer if you two be inside the carriage. We could also yoke two of the horses to it and one of us could ride the third horse" Mr. Bass said, referring to himself and Mr. Rhodes.
"But are the carriage's reins capable of yoking two more horses?" Mr. Rhodes asked.
"We also have a carriage here" the Countess said, "we could take it with us, but then we have the issue of what to do with it after we reach Calais."
"Yes, it would be too much complication" Mr. Bass reflected.
"So what are we going to do?" Mr. Rhodes asked.
"We could take the three horses with us," the Countess said. "Fritz can ride one of them. If that makes you feel uncomfortable" she added, addressing Mr. Bass "then we can either tie the horse to the carriage somehow or we can release it in the nearby woods before our departure."
"I don't know if the carriage is capable of having added to it one or two more horses, I would have to check" Mr. Bass said, "Fritz is only a child. Are you sure he can ride as fast as we can?" he asked the Countess.
"He can," the Countess replied with a hint of pride "but if you are not satisfied, you can always say so and we will make other arrangements."
Mr. Bass thought for a moment and then said: "No, it's too risky. I don't want to risk someone seeing us that start asking too many questions. We should do it only until we reach the first town and then sell the horse."
"If you insist" the Countess said dismissively, "I still think it could be done since there will be two grown men riding with him, but you were the one who arranged our travel in the first place so it's your call."
"So, it's settled then" Mr. Bass said. "We will leave tomorrow."
They did as they agreed and went to the town for their meals after instructing the driver to start uploading the luggage to the carriage with Fritz's help. After they snuck back to the house, Mr. Bass instructed the driver to have everything ready for their departure the next day, after sunset.
In the meantime the routine established by the house's occupants continued like in the previous nights, although this time the Countess and her visitors root around the house saloons until the driver went to sleep, to not raise suspicions. In the same line, Fritz made sure to carry out food towards the dining hall and to bring the empty dishes to the kitchen, all to keep the façade that the masters had dinned while they had actually snuck out of the house (he had ways of disposing of the untouched food without having to bring it back to the kitchens). After the driver went to sleep, the Countess and her servant continued with their routine of lessons, his midnight meal, and packing, which they finished that night as expected. She also tucked Fritz in his bed like the first night the visitors arrived, at the same time he had gone to sleep for the last days.
"Tomorrow we will begin our journey to England" she said, while passing her right hand through his hairs. "Are you excited?"
"Yes, Milady" the boy replied.
"You don't have to say that for my benefit, it's alright if you are afraid."
"I'm not, Milady" he said, and after a small pause, he continued. "Will it be too long?"
"No" she said with a small smile. "We will travel fast. Once we are there, we will take the opportunity to reinforce your English. It might seem at first that you don't understand much but you will learn fast, I promise."
"Yes, Milady" the boy said.
"Good night. Have a good night sleep" she said, giving the boy a hug, which he also returned.
The Countess got back to her visitors and they all finished the last preparations they needed to do before their travel the next day. During all those days, Mr. Bass had continued his search through the house's rooms, without finding what he was looking for. He and the Countess didn't have another exchange like the one of the first night though, although they were both perfectly aware of what the other one was doing.
Their journey started the next day and as agreed, Mr. Bass and Mr. Rhodes rode two of the horses. The Countess locked the house and all of its chambers (known ones and hidden ones) and Fritz rode the third horse during the first part of their journey, with the necessary ability to prove the words of the Countess. Nevertheless they did sell the horse upon reaching the first town, and Fritz continued traveling with the Countess in the carriage. After leaving the Landgraviate, going through German lands and entering France with a steadfastness that impressed the Countess (not that she was going to tell it to Mr. Bass), they finally reached Calais. There, Mr. Bass paid the driver what was left to pay for his services, and as a bonus, he included the two horses in the payment (naturally the Countess had agreed with this first). The driver was surprise enough to not want to accept the horses at first, but he ended up accepting, just like Mr. Bass knew he would. Afterwards, Mr. Bass, Mr. Rhodes, the Countess and Fritz boarded the ship.
Although the waters in the Channel are tricky, they managed to reach Dover without setbacks. There, another carriage was waiting for them, this one with the capacity to carry the four of them and their luggage. As in the European mainland, this carriage drive had also been schedule to travel at night, and in fact Mr. Bass, Mr. Rhodes, the Countess and Fritz left the ship and got in the carriage at the start of the next night after the ship reached the docks.
Their destination was not in London, but in Surrey. After a couple of days traveling, they reached it a few hours after sunset. During those nights traveling not many words were exchange among the group, but the Countess was informed of their destination and the time it would take to reach it.
They arrived to a country house of respectable size and appearance. Upon arriving, Mr. Bass and Mr. Rhodes descended from the carriage first, to see for the luggage. Fritz and the Countess descended afterwards. After descending, they stood beside the carriage for a few moments admiring the front of the house. The Countess stood behind Fritz with her hands on his shoulders, in a fashion similar to the one she used the first night of Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Bass arrival to her state, when she and Fritz went to look for them to show them their chambers, only this time the Countess and Fritz were looking the front of the house up and down.
"It is grand, isn't it?" The Countess told Fritz in German. "It doesn't look that much different from home." She was wearing a cloak in a pale blue tone, and a bonnet in the same color, an ensemble more in tone with the Neoclassical trend. Her dress was in a darker shade of blue. Fritz was wearing dark clothes as always.
"You and Fritz can go inside, if you wish" Mr. Bass said in German, passing by them and climbing the few steps at the entrance to open the doors with his key. "The others should be waiting for us inside. Richard and I will finish outside and will join you shortly" he added, while he turned around and got back to them, after opening the doors.
"Are you sure? They won't mind that we enter like that?" The Countess asked him, while turning her head slightly in his direction, because he passed by them to go to the carriage.
"Of course not," Mr. Bass answered. "I'm sure Celia will be anxious to see you."
Unknown to them, their arrival had already been noticed by the occupants of the house. The Countess and Fritz climbed the steps and after going through the entrance, arrived to the main hall. They admired the luxury and decoration of it, the grand staircase, the ceiling's height and decor, with beautiful Rococo paintings. They had barely finish crossing to the other side of the main hall and there were starting to notice the other rooms and hallways that communicated with it when they heard the following noise:
"Corneliaaaaaaaaa!," a woman's voice screamed, and before the Countess knew it, a tall and blond female had run towards her and had enveloped her in a hug.
"Celia!" reprimanded the Countess, after they disentangled from the hug. "What were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous it would be if the driver heard you?"
"I'm sorry, "Countess"" the blond woman said, gathering the sides of her dress in her hands and doing a small (and must be said, cute) curtsey with a smile in her face. She dressed herself in a white Neoclassical style dress, and her hair was also styled in the new trend, a high up-do that tried to mimic the way the ancient Greek women used to style their hairdo's.
Just a few moments before this scene, the following happened:
When the carriage was at the end of the road leading to the house, the noise of the horses and carriage alerted to its occupants that someone was coming down the road. The blond woman was in the drawing-room sowing when she first heard the noise and immediately a man arrived to the room.
"They are here" the man said to her. He was a tall man, with sandy blond hair, blue eyes, a rather athletic complexion, and noble features. Like Mr. Bass and Mr. Rhodes, he dressed under the new Neoclassical style. "You should tell the others while I go open the doors."
"They are here?" the blond woman said excitedly, while she stood up from where she was sitting and started to practically jump as she walked towards the man, "I cannot wait to say hi to Cornelia…"
"Celia, come on," the man practically groaned, but could not keep a smile away from his face upon seeing the woman's behavior, "you should go to the kitchens first to tell the others so they can also greet them, while I go open the doors or look for Decimus so he can help…"
"No, I want to be the first one to greet them" the woman whined, while taking the forearms of the man with her hands.
This continued for a few minutes, until they realized that the noise from the horses had stopped and that the front doors were being open. Before the man could say more, the woman had left the room and started running down the hallway towards the main hall. All the man could do was rolling his eyes good-naturedly and go to the kitchens to give the news to the others.
Going back to the present scene, the Countess appraised her friend and with a smile, asked the following:
"And how should I call you?"
"Miss Catherine Rhodes, at your service, Countess" the blond woman answered with a smile and another curtsey.
"Countess Constanze Waldorf" the Countess said with a curtsey of her own, understanding it was now her turn for introductions. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rhodes."
Just in that moment the man who had the previous interaction with Ms. Rhodes arrived to the scene.
"Cornelia, it's so good to see you," he said smiling, while giving her another hug. He did make sure to keep his voice down.
"It's so nice to see you too, Mr.…." the Countess said after their hug, with another smile on her face.
"Fitzwilliam Archibald" the man replied.
"Fitzwilliam, quite impressive" the Countess said, appraising the name.
Just in that moment Mr. Bass arrived to the main hall, carrying part of the luggage.
"Ehem" he said, to make himself notice.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Mr. Archibald said, noticing that his friend needed help, "excuse me." And he left the women to go towards Mr. Bass.
"You have so much to tell me," Ms. Rhodes gushed, while taking her friend's hands between her own ones, "you must tell me about Germany and…" and she continued gushing about several things.
In the meantime, Mr. Archibald reached Mr. Bass, who had already put the luggage aside, and both men greeted each other with bows.
"Mr. Bass, welcome home. I trust your journey was pleasant" Mr. Archibald said with a smile.
"Very funny. Are the others here?" Mr. Bass said, while eyeing the Countess, who continued speaking with Ms. Rhodes. Not that any of this surprised both men.
"Pretty much, yes" Mr. Archibald said with a sigh.
"Richard is taking care of paying the driver, but we need help to unload the luggage. As you can imagine, she needed to bring several things before leaving her house."
"Let's go, my friend" Mr. Archibald said jovially, while putting a hand in his friend shoulder. They went out the front doors. "So, how was your journey?" Mr. Archibald asked, teasing his friend.
In the meantime the Countess and Ms. Rhodes had remained in the main hall, still talking.
"I do have things to tell you, especially about the last years. You can imagine the general commotion with the events in France," the Countess said, rolling her eyes, "but we need to get installed in our chambers first" she said, while motioning to Fritz, who had stay in the sideways of his mistress's previous interactions, to come near them.
"Oh Cornelia, he's so cute!" Ms. Rhodes gushed, forgetting the first reprimand of the Countess, which earned her another eye roll.
"Say hello, Fritz" the Countess said to the boy in German, while placing her right arm around his shoulders in a soothing gesture. Despite the calm face that Fritz showed to everything, she knew that in that particular moment he was a bit nervous. Her friend could be such a force of nature, and being in a new environment certainly was enough to make a child apprehensive. After a brief hesitation, the child finally spoke.
"Good evening, Miss." He said, in perfect English and with a bow.
"Oh Cornelia, you have been teaching him English!" Ms. Rhodes gushed again, joining her hands and placing them near her face with a small jump, earning herself a glare from the Countess for the use of that name. But Ms. Rhodes would remain undeterred.
"Come on, you must greet the others at once!" Ms. Rhodes said, while taking the Countess left hand and start dragging her towards the hallway, Fritz in tow too. In that moment Mr. Bass and Mr. Archibald returned to the main hall with another part of the luggage and cached the end part of the conversation.
"Catherine, while you are at it," Mr. Bass called, "could you gather the others in one of the rooms?"
Upon hearing her name, Ms. Rhodes stopped, and she, the Countess and Fritz turned around and heard the request from Mr. Bass. A smile crossed Ms. Rhodes's face and she started running towards Mr. Bass and before anyone could stop her, she had enveloped him a hug while saying:
"I haven't greeted you today, my brother."
"Celia, come on" Mr. Bass groaned, which earned him another eye roll from the Countess. Didn't anyone here know how to keep a good façade? In the meantime Mr. Bass managed to quickly disentangle himself from Ms. Rhodes's hug, although he did have to give her something of a hug, because otherwise she wasn't going to leave him alone. "If it is about greetings, then you should go greet your other brother too" he said, while motioning towards the front doors. Ms. Rhodes smiled and immediately ran off towards the front entrance.
"Don't worry, the driver already left" Mr. Bass said addressing the Countess. He hadn't missed how she wasn't happy about what she perceived was carelessness with the names.
"Well, I'm going outside" Mr. Archibald said. He, like Mr. Rhodes back in Germany, didn't want to be in the middle of conversations between the Countess and Mr. Bass.
"Is this place safe?" the Countess asked, Fritz still next to her.
"You are not the only one who has taken measures to build a safe place to live" Mr. Bass said, while slowly walking a few steps towards the Countess. But only a few steps.
The Countess might have asked more, but in that moment Ms. Rhodes returned from the front entrance.
"Richard and Fitz say they need you to finish bring in the luggage," Ms. Rhodes said addressing Mr. Bass, "and to bring it to the chambers. Fitz knows the rooms prepared for our visitors."
Without waiting for Mr. Bass's reply, she continued walking towards the Countess and Fritz, while saying:
"Come, we must go meet the others" and interlacing arms with the Countess, they ventured inside the hallway.
Ms. Rhodes guided the Countess to the kitchens. There, under the fireplace light, there was a girl sowing some things. Her complexion was pale too, and she was also blond, with hair perhaps in a slightly paler tone than Ms. Rhodes's hair. In the same way, she had blue eyes like Ms. Rhodes, though her eyes seemed slightly blue-ish, more similar to Mr. Archibald's eyes than to Ms. Rhodes. It couldn't be appreciated in that moment because she was sitting, but she was almost as tall as Ms. Rhodes, with long legs like her, although the rest of her complexion was different (Ms. Rhodes was more statuesque). Overall you could tell this girl was similar to Mr. Rhodes in the sense she had just left puberty behind. She was wearing a Neoclassical dress in a sort of peach tone. Her hair was in a high up-do too, with the current trend, although less luxurious and complicated than the one Ms. Rhodes was currently sporting.
Upon reaching the kitchens, Ms. Rhodes said the following:
"Countess, may I present you, Ms. Jane Hudson."
Upon hearing her name, the girl looked up from her sewing and after seeing them she stood up and made a bow.
"Countess" she greeted.
The Countess smiled a little and advanced a few steps, to make her own bow while saying: "Ms. Hudson."
There was a small moment of silence, and the Countess added:
"So, this is the name you go for now?"
"It is" the girl replied. "It wasn't until recently, but we figured that if we were going to stay here for a while, we needed to start using English names."
The Countess gave a rather tight smile. She still hadn't decided whether to change names or not.
"Well, I'm Constanze Waldorf" the Countess said, "and this is Fritz" she added, motioning towards the boy.
"It is very nice to meet you" the girl said in German, surprising everybody.
"What?" she asked, upon seeing the faces of Ms. Rhodes and the Countess. "Like I said, until recently I was going for another name, and I've been in several countries all this time."
The Countess was going to add something more to the conversation, but in that moment, another woman entered the kitchens.
This woman was different from the other three women in the kitchens. Her skin tone was something rather unique. It was a tone darker than an olive skin tone, maybe slightly similar to the color of the coffee with milk. Her hair was black, apparently of the curly type although it was a bit difficult to tell because she had another high up-do, though as Ms. Hudson, it wasn't too complicated or luxurious. Her eyes were not dark though, but a kind of ice blue tone. She wasn't as tall as Ms. Rhodes or Ms. Hudson, but she was certainly taller than the Countess. She was wearing a yellow dress, in the new Neoclassical style, but plainer than the one Ms. Hudson had.
"What is she doing here?" the Countess immediately snapped upon seeing her.
"Cornelia..." Ms. Rhodes started.
"I have as much right to be here as you" the woman replied to the Countess.
"Last time I checked the only right you had left was to disappear from our lives" the Countess bitchly replied.
"Vibiana has as much right to be here as you" Ms. Hudson said in a decisive tone, "and as much interest as any of us in this matter".
The Countess remained silent for a moment, looking at Ms. Hudson. Evaluating. Calculating.
"I see you still feel the need to protect her, just like old times…" the Countess started.
"I see nothing has changed" a male voice interrupted.
All the others turned their heads towards the place where the voice had come from, which was none other than the kitchen's entrance. Here, there was another man, around the same age of Mr. Bass and Mr. Archibald. His skin was pale, but perhaps a bit less so than Mr. Bass and Mr. Rhodes (to be fair, Mr. Archibald was also a bit less pale that Mr. Bass and Mr. Rhodes, but it was barely noticeable, and with this man it was also difficult to tell at first sight, but it was easier to tell at second sight). He had jet black hair, with a haircut quite a tune with some of the haircuts popular among men's fashion in those days. His eyes were brown, like Mr. Bass or the Countess, but he lacked the shape and mischief of Mr. Bass's eyes, and although his eyes were more similar to the doe-eye quality and shape of the Countess's eyes, he also lacked the power and nobility she could convey with one look. It's not that there was something wrong with his eyes, because they were pretty in their own merit, but their appeal was precisely the fact that they were essentially normal, though as every red-blooded male, he could turn on the charm if he wanted to. But you could tell that wasn't his regular modus operandi. He was slightly less tall than Mr. Archibald but also a bit taller than Mr. Bass, therefore his height was between theirs. His complexion was closer to Mr. Archibald than to Mr. Bass but he was a bit skinnier than Mr. Archibald, but not so much so it could be worrisome. Although he could not convey power like Mr. Bass or the Countess, you could see honesty in his features, and he was decently dressed, not as luxuriously as Mr. Archibald or Mr. Bass but his clothes were decent and in line with the current fashion.
The surprise that his interruption caused only lasted a few seconds because he carried on with what he was saying:
"You are still as unforgiving as you always have been" the man said addressing the Countess, while shaking his head.
"And you are as preachy as ever" the Countess snapped back to him.
"I'm just saying we should try to keep things civil between us all, Countess", he said, while making a bow that had something of a mockery.
"Now you are the authority in manners, Mr.….?" the Countess snapped back again, clearly not pleased with being contradicted by several persons at once.
"Mr. Randolph Hudson, Countess" he said, but he was tense. It was obvious he was trying not to lose his patience with her.
"Mr. Hudson," the Countess said giving a tight and clearly fake smile "surely you remember that this woman" she said pointing towards Vibiana, "shouldn't be between us."
"If Vibiana is here, it's because the others decided that she needed to be here as well" Mr. Hudson said, still trying to keep calm. "Neither I or my sister invited her. The decision to ask her to come was taken by the others, and if they decided to do so is because the issue is serious enough to need as much help as possible."
"That may be so, but…" the Countess started.
"If you have a problem with that, take it to the others." Mr. Hudson interrupted her, finally getting tired of their argument.
"You forget I was invited here too, and I can leave whenever I want…" the Countess started, rising out her voice.
"Cornelia…" Ms. Rhodes started in a low and rather sad voice while trying to touch the Countess's right arm in a soothing gesture, but was interrupted by another voice.
"Nobody is going anywhere" a commanding voice, belonging to no other than Mr. Bass, said while making his entrance in the kitchens, passing by Mr. Hudson. He walked a few steps inside the kitchens, looked around to everyone present in the scene, and then continued. "Are you still taking the trouble of arguing with them?" he said in a bored tone, while gesturing towards Mr. Hudson, Ms. Hudson and Vibiana.
"You certainly made it my problem when you didn't take the trouble of disclosing your guest list to me," the Countess snapped "and now I'm forced to share space with undesirable beings" she said, glaring Vibiana up and down. "So I need to consider leaving this place, since I was not properly informed of these arrangements, and…"
"Nobody can leave anywhere" Mr. Bass said again, in a calm tone. Behind Mr. Hudson, in the kitchens threshold, you could see Mr. Archibald and Mr. Rhodes lurking the scene. "The matter that brought us here is far more important, and dangerous, than any of our petty, or not petty" he said while giving a significant glance towards the Countess, who was going to snap at him again, but held back upon hearing his concession "rivalries and confrontations. Now, if you like" he said, looking around to everybody present in the kitchens, "we can move to the drawing-room to start the conversation that you have all been waiting for."
Everyone looked around them and to each other before silently proceeding to leave the kitchens, with Mr. Archibald and Mr. Rhodes leading the way. However, when the Countess was leaving the kitchen with Fritz in tow, Mr. Bass stopped her to have a side word with her.
"You should send Fritz away while we talk. Send him to unpack your luggage; he can go to your chambers to take care of that…"
Had the Countess not being so upset by the previous confrontation, she would have noticed that Mr. Bass's voice even reflected a hint of caring and concern while saying these words.
"You cannot order me around, tell me what to say to my butler…!" she started, but he interrupted her.
"Could you not antagonize me for five minutes?" he snapped back at her, which immediately silenced her. "This is a serious matter, Cornelia" he said, making her swallow, because during all this time he hadn't used that name. "Are you really going to let a child hear such conversation?" he said, in a less forceful tone than the one used before, it was clear he was trying to reason and plead with her.
She looked at him straight to the eyes for a minute. Could have been a minute. Could have been a hundred. None of them could tell. She finally gave him a short nod, and proceeded to leave the kitchens. He sighed, and was the last to leave the kitchens.
A/N: I need to point at a few things, which I debated to clarify at the beginning or at the end of the chapter but I decided to do it at the end to not spoil it.
Serena's looks didn't changed much during the show but if you need to pick a moment in particular imagine season 1 and 2 Serena, mainly because her hair looked better back then, although in 6x10 her hair looked gorgeous too.
Blair's looks are based on season 1 (part of the curls, mostly her beauty, allure, skin tone) and bits of seasons 3 and 4 (around 3x12 until the middle of season 4 the hair color was the same of season 1 and the hair volume was ideal). Season 2 wasn't bad but her hair wasn't as dark and during the first part of the season she was tanned, same when season 3 started. Season 5 hair was mainly a no-no and season 6 underperformed in several episodes.
Chuck's looks are based on seasons 3, 4 and partly 5 (although the looks of the first episodes of season 3 are to die for, this would be based on his looks from 3x10 or 3x12 onwards. 4x2 it's pretty ideal too, depending of the time period I might point out to which looks I'm inclining for). I know season 1 looks would be ideal for the current time period but I never liked those that much, sorry if that bothers somebody. His looks of the first half of season 2 are good too btw, don't know if I can use them).
Dan's looks are based on seasons 1 and 2 only, mainly because of the hair. Sorry, I cannot stand his season 5 and 6 hair in general, only certain moments. Season 3 was kinda odd from certain angles in terms of hair. Second half of season 4 was pretty good for him in hair and in general, but I don't think vampires can grow hair and in season 4 the hair was a bit longer than in seasons 1 and 2 hair, and I really need that he has seasons 1 (from around 1x5 onwards) and 2 haircuts for this story purposes.
Nate's looks are based on certain episodes of season 3 and 4 (such as, 3x4, beginning of 3x7, 3x11, 4x2, 4x6, beginning of 4x7, 4x8, 4x9, 4x10, 4x21 to name a few, even 5x1 and 5x2 work too). I love the season 1 and 2 man-bangs as much as anyone but I think the season 3 and 4 bangs are easier to keep up through several time periods and he looked as good with those as with the ones in seasons 1 and 2.
Jenny's looks are difficult because of Taylor Momsem changes in style. Try to imagine her with her current height but with the hair she would have if she had kept her natural hair color instead of going for platinum-blonde imitation. Also, the hair is not so long as she has it now, it's long but not that much.
Vanessa's looks are based in seasons 2 and 3. I haven't decided how long she should have her hair, it was longer in season 3 than in season 2, but I know many felt it was badly styled in season 3 and I think I kinda agree, sometimes it didn't look good. For the same reason I kept the curly appearance of her season 2 hair, I just try to imagine it a bit longer or if it's going to be straight, I'm going to imagine more her real-life looks because GG kinda sucked in styling her hair when it was straight.
Eric's looks are based on season 2 and 4 mostly. Season 1 hair has the problem of the blonde extensions. For some reason I kinda don't register well season 3. I think it could be season 2 for the hair, season 4 for the rest.
In case there's still any confusion:
Serena is Celia (fake name Catherine Rhodes)
Blair is Cornelia (fake name Constanze Waldorf)
Chuck has fake name Charles Bass
Dan is Decimus (fake name Randolph Hudson)
Nate has fake name Fitzwilliam Archibald
Jenny has fake name Jane Hudson
Eric is Lucius (fake name Richard Rhodes)
Vanessa is Vibiana
On the next chapter I will explain more about the real and fake names. I still need to go through several chapters before they start using the same names as our characters in the show.