(A/N): When I originally started writing this chapter, I got about three pages in, before I started over. I simply didn't like the way it was flowing, and decided to go back to the idea I'd first had for this chapter, which was that we (the audience) would arrive at St Mungo's in time to hear the end of the what Cipicia was saying, that got cut off when she apparated away from Amelia. In the other version of this chapter, we didn't arrive at that point, but instead, I had another Healer (Healer Molina, who is mentioned in this chapter) fetch Prue and Soren from the staff room. Because of this, we got more about Healer Molina and the relationships between Prue, Soren, and Healer Molina, and a more in depth explanation of what exactly Soren knows about what happened the day before with Leonides, but unfortunately, it just wasn't working out. So, I started over, and we got this. At the end of the chapter, there will be an excerpt from the lost chapter, for your pleasure/torture.

Trigger Warnings: Cipicia is in this chapter. You know what that entails- abuse of power, abuse of her children, just overall, all around nastiness. There's nothing too extreme in this chapter, but she does reference what she just put Amelia through, so if that bothered you, please be aware. She doesn't really hurt Mia, but she does put her hand on her shoulder twice, and Soren notes that she grips Mia's shoulder quite tightly, while mentioning 'further injuries', which could probably be considered pretty threatening, to someone in the know. I'll explain some things in the end author's note- not about the trigger warning, but what Cipicia said.

October 19th, 1967

Soren

It was early. Really early. Too early, even. We always got started early, but normally, we didn't have to deal with the mother of all headaches- Mrs Cipicia Joannis. It had been a regular morning, to begin with- I'd met Prue in the staff room just after sunrise, and we'd begun preparations for the day; it was only a little later, while I was finishing setting up one of the patient rooms closest to the Arrival Hall, that I heard the crack of apparition, and a sharp female voice.

"-final." There was a short break, during which I took the opportunity to rise from my position kneeling in front of the cupboard I'd been restocking, and close its doors. "Stay on your feet- it's apparition, not an earthquake." I knew who the voice belonged to before I rounded the corner into the hallway that separated me from the Arrival Hall, but when I did- when I was able to see her, standing straight-backed and... insufferably blonde- I was surprised not to see Leonides beside her. She was clearly talking to someone, but if not her son, then... who?

Mrs Joannis's head raised, and her eyes landed on me- then scanned me up and down, an only thinly veiled sneer on her face as she did so. "Ah, you." I couldn't help it, the corner of my lips curved upward. It was just so blatantly disapproving, but there was nothing she could call me that could properly convey her distaste for me. "Fetch me your handler, Baby Healer." I blinked. First 'Boy Healer', and now this? And she hadn't even called me the first one to my face, I'd had to wheedle it out of Prue after the fact!

"And a good morning to you, too, Mrs Joannis." She glared at me. "May I inquire as to the purpose of your visit, today?" I was incredibly pleased to get to witness her seething over my polite, but entirely dismissive line.

"No," She snapped. "You may not. Fetch Healer Dinitia." I arched an eyebrow at her, but even so, I took the opportunity presented to me a second later, when another Healer bustled into the room. I'll admit that I was more than a little spurred on by seeing Mrs Joannis open her mouth to address her, but I also really just wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible- especially now that I knew Leonides wasn't with her.

"Healer Molina?" Brynn paused, and I knew it was equal parts the fact that I'd addressed her as such, and that I'd addressed her at all. Not that I didn't typically address her, it was just that: A, I normally addressed her by her first name, and B, we were at work, and I was clearly with a patient. Or, well... a visitor, most likely, if our previous encounter was anything to go by. "Could you possibly do me a favor, and let Healer Dinitia know that her presence has been requested?"

Brynn's eyes flicked back and forth between Mrs Joannis and I, before she nodded firmly. I knew her well enough to know that she was going to ask about this later- and that I was likely going to owe her for it, whether that ended up being a favor of her own to cash in at a later date, or a Butterbeer added to my tab at the Leaky. She spun on her heel and retreated back down the hallway, and I returned my attention to Mrs Joannis- and found myself distracted by the sight of a small face peeking out from behind her skirt. It wasn't Leonides, very obviously. Not only because this was clearly an even younger girl, but also because she, unlike Leonides, was a brunette.

Immediately, I dropped into a squat in order to get closer to her level, and gently tilted my head to the side to be able to see slightly more of her. "Hello, there!" I said as quietly- but clearly- as possible, giving her a small, casual wave as I did so. Surprisingly, she didn't withdraw further behind her mother's skirt, but she did glance up at her rather nervously. "I'm Healer Townsend-" I started this way only in an attempt to appease Mrs Joannis's 'delicate sensibilities'. "-but you can call me Soren." And this was very much to spite said sensibilities.

She stared at me with big, wide eyes- not the same bright blue as Leonides, but a deeper blue-green, closer to the sea than the sky- but she looked curious, not scared- At least, not scared of me. "Do not speak to her!" Her mother protested, and with a flick of her hand, fanned her skirt in front of her daughter's face. At least, I assumed they were mother and daughter. They looked similar, despite the difference of coloring, but it was a little hard to tell at this age. I was forced to look up at Mrs Joannis from my crouched position, which was something I regretted, but I did my best not to show it as I slowly rose to my feet again, so I could face her on more equal footing.

"Unfortunately, Mrs Joannis, given the subject of your previous visit," Meaning Leonides's broken leg, and the revelation of his... 'condition'. "And your unwillingness to explain your motive for returning this morning- not to mention that it's typically encouraged for people to be kind to children-" The 'unlike you' was silent, but only just. "-means that I must follow guidelines- guidelines that require me to try to form a rapport with any visitor, even those you may not approve of." Her glare intensified, however, the little girl's face appeared again, and the look on her face was less like curiosity now, but surprisingly, something more akin to awe.

"She's not here to see you." But she was here to see Prue? She was here to see Prue, not her mother? It was what I'd expected- I highly doubted that Mrs Joannis would bring her daughter here if it was for her own appointment, so there was only really one reason for her to be present. I also had my suspicions as to why she'd brought her here, today of all days- the day after her son had been... 'diagnosed', so to speak. Whether that was the case or not...

"Unfortunately for you, Mrs Joannis," I started, as cheerfully as I could- which was pretty cheerful, seeing as irritating her was rapidly becoming a main source of petty joy for me. "It is currently my main duty to shadow Healer Dinitia and work alongside her." Her eyes narrowed at me, and I briefly pondered whether it would be worth it to warn her that doing so could result in premature wrinkles, just for the pettiness of it. "There's also the small issue of you having to chat privately with Healer Dinitia, yesterday. If I hadn't been present, as you want me to not be part of today's proceedings, Leonides would have been left alone while you did so." That little face poked out further, presumably at the mention of her brother; I don't know if it was just the smaller age gap, but I did feel that she resembled her brother more strongly than her mother. "And given the cause of the broken leg that necessitated his visit, I expect you wouldn't want-"

She cut me off, outright scowling- something I suspected she didn't let herself do very often. "I have already punished one would-be nanny today," She drawled darkly, which... okay, first of all, what sort of punishment had she been meting out, and second of all... 'would-be nanny'?! "Do I need to send you to your knees as well?" ...uh? What... what exactly was she... suggesting, here? It didn't matter- I pushed this aside, and shrugged.

"I'm afraid I'm on the clock right now, so again, any issues you may have with me or my conduct can be submitted at the front desk in the form of a written complaint-" She huffed haughtily, effectively putting a end to my statement.

"Yes, yes, written complaint, I heard you well enough yesterday." She took a step toward me, cutting quite an imposing figure- for a blonde aristocrat a couple of inches shorter than me. She thrust a long, thin finger in my face. "It is in no way necessary for you to speak to her. Even if your presence is 'necessary', your input is not." She glared at my quirked brow. "So keep your recalcitrant mouth shut." I heard footsteps in the distance, coming from behind me and growing closer, but either way, I couldn't prevent the grin from spreading across my face.

"Big word," I said. "Did you swallow a dictionary, or is that a symptom of the silver spoon you have to talk around?" For whatever reason, she didn't seem to appreciate my cheeky query.

"Soren," Prue's familiar, wise voice sounded from behind me. "I trust you're handling Mrs Joannis's concerns with the appropriate level of care." I didn't snort, but as I struggled not to, I happened to notice that the little girl- now no longer almost entirely hidden behind her mother, given that she'd taken a step toward me- was looking at me with the same awe as before, although this time, it was a little more apprehensive. Oh no, had I made her scared of me again by verbally sparring with her mother?

"Of course, Healer Dinitia. All the delicacy she deserves, as always." Because we both knew that Cipicia Joannis neither deserved, nor would likely appreciate, any measure of delicacy someone such as I could provide her.

Behind Prue, I caught sight of Brynn again, and she shot me a darkly amused look as she entered the room I'd been in the middle of preparing; it was a look that clearly offered the opportunity to vent my frustration to her later- probably because she'd already identified a 'difficult customer' as it were, and was eagerly anticipating the juiciest kind of gossip. Not that any of us gossiped about patients, but, well... she wasn't a patient, was she? Still, I'd have to remind myself to remain tight-lipped, no matter how much she irked me- not only was it wrong to do otherwise, but I also wasn't willing to risk my job over something like that.

"Mrs Joannis," Prue greeted her, as stiffly as was politely possible. "What is the purpose of your visit, today?" It was far from 'to what do I owe the pleasure?', and she clasped her hands in front of her midsection, the picture of gentle professional care. Even as the blonde appeared slightly less irritated, she waved the older Healer off, dismissively.

"Not here," She said snappishly, before gesturing to the hallway Prue had just come from. "Take us to a room, where we can speak more privately."

Prue eyed her sharply- not quite suspiciously, but I expected that was only because she had much better self control than I did- and then, her gaze dropped to the little girl. I wasn't sure if she had seen her before now, or had only just caught sight of her, but at this point, her expression softened slightly. "In a second." It was equally as dismissive as Mrs Joannis's own words, and I tried not to enjoy the sight of her startled- and then incensed- blink. "Is this your daughter?" The other woman's jaw clenched.

"Yes," She ground out, and when she dropped a hand on the little girl's shoulder, she jumped. "This is Miasenna, my youngest." For whatever reason, she looked like she regretted telling us that information- fairly insignificant information, to be honest, so I wasn't sure why she seemed bother by it.

Prue didn't crouch like I had, most likely because her back and knees- and the rest of her old bones- wouldn't have let her even if she felt the desire to do so, but she did incline her head to the girl. "Good morning, Miasenna. How are you feeling, today?" The young girl's eyes slid sideways, up to her mother's- and then they flashed back to Prue, as she lifted her chin defiantly.

"Better than my brother, I'm sure." Because of his broken leg, or-?

"Miasenna!" Mrs Joannis snapped, her hand tightening on the girl's coat- no, on her shoulder itself. The girl jolted again, but I suspected it was more because of the physicality of it, rather than her own surprise. Mrs Joannis smiled- if you could call it that, considering it was more of a baring of teeth than anything else. "I apologise for my daughter's... impertinence-" But not her own? "She's merely upset I haven't let her see her brother beyond when he and I returned home last night." She shrugged silkily, as if daring us to challenge her next, 'casual' statement. "We would not want any further injuries to occur, now would we?"

Well... no, but... if the girl- Miasenna- was apparently this 'upset' about not being able to see him, then she could likely be convinced to be gentle with him- and if they were properly supervised, then actually, it would almost certainly be quite beneficial to Leonides to get to see his sister- especially since according to his story, she, and her hat, had been the reason he'd climbed the tree he'd fallen from, in the first place.

Prue hummed disapprovingly, but Mrs Joannis waved her hand again, this time more urgently. "A room, please. This will require privacy," She eyed me disdainfully. "Or as much privacy as we're allowed, at least."

(A/N): Soren: 'Oh no, had I made her (Mia) scared of me again, by verbally sparring with her mother?'

Mia: '...these Healer's are AWESOME!'

also

Cipicia: 'Do I need to send you to your knees as well?'

Soren: '...surely she doesn't mean what I think she means.'

Soren: '...right?'

Soren: '...'

Soren: 'RIGHT?!'

also

Soren: *verbally sparring with Cipicia*

Brynn: 'I smell gossip.'

Soren: 'It's pronounced 'hyssop'.'

also

Cipicia: 'Can we have some privacy, please?'

Soren: 'No.'

Prue: 'No.'

Brynn: 'No.'

Mia: 'No.'

Cipicia: 'No- wait, stop that!'

Soren: 'Well, if you'd actually said please, and ASKED for privacy, we would've given it to you. It's only the fact that you demand everything- like you have a right to monopolise our time- that makes us not want to accommodate your 'request'.'

Cipicia: 'Says the civil SERVANT.'

Soren: 'I think we've already established that I'm not that keen on the 'civil' part- what makes you think I care about the 'servant' part, either?'

also

Soren: '(...) any issues you may have with me or my conduct can be submitted at the front desk in the form of a written complaint-'

Cipicia: 'Blah blah blah, written complaint, blah blah blah.'

Info:

So, what Cipicia said. When she said, 'we wouldn't want any further injuries, would we?' she wasn't talking about Miasenna hurting Leonides, she meant the fact that she was convinced that Leonides, being half-vampire, will, inevitably, hurt/kill everyone around him, even Miasenna, who he loves above all else. Cipicia looked like she regretted telling them that Miasenna was her youngest, because at this point, Leonides is basically dead to her. She changes her mind on the subject soon, but at this point, she doesn't want anyone talking about him, even herself, because in her mind, he isn't her son anymore. She's annoyed at herself because Miasenna isn't her youngest- she's her ONLY child. Obviously she gets over that pretty quickly, since most of pureblood society is under the impression that Leonides was still alive, and had just been absent for the last few years, when Cipicia forces Leo to attend galas with them, some years in the future.

An excerpt from the previous version of this chapter- I say an excerpt, but it's two and a third of three pages, so... pretty much the entire thing. Here it is:

~Start~

"You know we're not supposed to speak ill of patients, or... other visitors," Which was universal code for, 'I'm about to talk so much shit about someone'. "But, well... the posh twat certainly earned it." I felt dread swell within me, and when I glanced sideways at Prue, I could tell that she was just as apprehensive as I was. I had a feeling I knew who she was talking about- who would be waiting for us in the Arrival Hall. "She's rude, all while hiding it under the guise of 'well-bred, well-mannered- false superiority." Nothing she was saying was dissuading me from thinking that she was referring to Joannis- in fact, it was only proving it to me.

"Let me guess," I said, and Healer Molina- Brynn, though I wasn't supposed to call her that- looked back at me over her shoulder. "Tall, blonde, face looks like a princess took a whiff of a troll fart?" Molina snorted, and Prue shot me a look that was equal parts disappointed, and amused.

"I don't know if those are the particular words I would use... but yes." I nodded, then fell silent as we turned, into the hallway that connected to the Arrival Hall.

"What reason did she give for requesting me?" Prue asked, and Molina shrugged.

"Said you attended her son's broken leg yesterday, wanted you to take a gander at her daughter, for whatever reason." We knew why. Prue and I shared another look- Prue knew firsthand, but I... I hadn't missed the title on the pamphlet in his hand before he'd stuffed it in his pocket. Well, I hadn't missed the terms 'half-breed' and 'vampiric', anyway. After they had left, I'd cornered Prue for a chat- and from what little she'd been willing to give up, I knew that Leonides wasn't entirely human... and that neither he, nor his mother, was exactly accepting of that. But Leonides wasn't the reason she was here now, at least not directly. No, she was worried that her daughter was 'suffering' from the same 'condition' as her son.

Prue hummed unhappily, and Healer Molina shot a look in her direction, clearly concerned with Prue's uncharacteristic silence, but then we emerged into the Arrival Hall- and into Cipicia Joannis's scrutiny. "Ah, Healer Dinitia. Finally." Her eyes flicked to me- then she pointedly eyed me up and down, before they returned to Prue. "I see you brought your boy Healer with you." Prue inclined her head toward the blonde woman, showing her much more respect than I felt she deserved.

"Good morning, Mrs Joannis. What brings you here so early?" Mrs Joannis pursed her lips, then turned her gaze to Healer Molina.

"You are dismissed." I could almost see Brynn's hackles rising, and definitely saw her visibly stiffen, before she nodded sharply, shot me a look that told me she'd need to vent her frustrations later, then spun on her heel and stalked away. "That applies to you, too, baby Healer." I cocked an eyebrow at Mrs Joannis, too shocked at being called 'baby' Healer by this woman who only appeared to be, at most, three or four years older than me, to come up with a response that I could be proud of. You know, one better than, 'no, you.'

~End~

You'll notice quite a few similarities between this first version and the one we ended up with, and I think it's important that you have the opportunity to see this- not just because it explains a bit more about how and what Soren knows about Leonides and what his opinion on the matter is, but also, so you can see how things change. For example, Soren says he 'isn't supposed to call Healer Molina by her first name', whereas in the final version, he does so easily. Originally she was meant to be a bit more of a stern character, likely a superior of his, but now I see her as one of his peers, and likely a friend. Much like Aldin, her personality changed. There's also the 'gossip' thing, and the fact that Brynn gives Soren a look that tells him that she's going to need to 'vent her frustrations to him later', whereas in the final version of the chapter, it's the other way around. Also, I would like to say that my reasons for posting this here is entirely altruistic, but in reality... I just wanted to be able to use the 'princess that looks like she sniffed troll farts' line.