Rebirth (Trinity Blood Fanfic)

Chapter 6: Unexpected Visit

Hugue drizzled alcohol from a bottle into each of his hands and began to scrub at them vigorously, desperately trying to remove the stains of dry blood on his skin. He was squatting in the grassy plain next to the mutilated bodies of Gregory and his female companion, which were now being loaded into an old wooden cart hidden from view under blood stained canvas sacks.

The bartender from the inn walked over to the Captain after he placed the final severed limb into its vessel, swiping his hands back and forth against each other as though he was dusting himself off. Hugue stood when the bartender began to speak.

"That's the last of them Captain. I'll be sure to burn them in our fire and have my son alert the Empress."

"No!" Hugue exclaimed, shaking his head and returning the emptied bottle of alcohol to its owner, along with 10 gold coins. The bartender looked at him bewildered not only at his reward, but also at the Captain's following request.

"I ask that you do not alert her Royal Majesty of this just yet. Instead, send word of the situation to her counselor, Sir Donald Everidge. Be sure that none other than yourself and Lord Everidge are aware of their deaths," Hugue said with much urgency.

Lord Everidge was a noble in the city of Grantham who was aiding Hugue's cause and was a crucial part of the Secret Army. He was known for his extensive knowledge of everything and everyone but tended to keep his mouth shut. The only time his knowledge would be put to good use would be if it were beneficial to him to disclose information. This was only on two occasions: if there was money involved, or if he would have an opportunity to hunt. The bartender nodded to show his understanding, but confusion still clouded his face. He looked down, frowning at the golden coins in his hands.

Hugue sighed. "I apologise, my friend, if my reward is not enough..."

"No Captain, it's not that sir. This is more than enough," the bartender said quickly, shaking his head as he looked up at him. "I just wonder what I should say to the Empress should she ask for you."

Hugue looked down the path ahead of him where one could see the outline of a faded city in the early morning mist: Bethalza, the City of Wolves. He held his cloak tighter around his body before turning back to look at the bartender.

"Tell her I'm attending a wedding."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Leon de Ausstrias awoke abruptly from his late afternoon nap when he heard heavy knocking on his door. He groaned and made a weak attempt to stand from his large leather chair. Unfortunately, his legs were in the same drowsy state he was in and were not functioning quite the way he wanted, refusing to support his need to stand.

"Huh, can you believe this Kate? I've not reached the age of 40 yet and already I feel like an old man," Leon mumbled as a young woman appeared in the open archway of his reading room. Her mouse brown hair softly tumbled across her shoulders as she shook her head at him.

"You'll always be an old man to me Leon," Kate said with a gentle laugh. She moved towards a small coffee table in front of Leon's chair where there was a teacup sitting in a saucer. She took a quick look and found it wasn't empty, so she left it.

Before Leon could come up with a witty response, there was another knock at the door and Leon rolled his eyes as he forced himself to stand. "Coming! Christ..." Leon grumbled as Kate gracefully walked back into the kitchen. The kettle's whistling was calling to her.

"Relax Leon. Your guest is probably just impatient because you've left them waiting for almost an hour," she said indignantly. Leon stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Kate with a frown.

"An hour? And you didn't think to open the door yourself?" He asked through gritted teeth.

Kate shook her head as she poured hot water into a white porcelain mug. "I may be your house maid Leon, but I won't do everything for you. Poor soul must be wet and cold from the hail," she muttered to herself, casually placing a spoon of tealeaves into her mug.