Fangs And Fur

21 - Another Crazy Dead Lady

Virgil smiled a little at Roman, glad that Brutus wanted to drive, and that Cordelia had placed those charms on his car. Dio was curled up on the seat next to him, which her head in his lap, currently being petted, while Hermes was using Roman as a pillow. Chie had decided to place herself on Virgil's shoulder again. 

Virgil had had to take a moment to admire how Roman looked in his son's old suit, and was glad that Alexander's old clothes fitted someone new, and could be used again.

He was very glad that he and Roman had made up, in a way. Well, at least Roman wasn't mad at him now, and was willing to talk. Virgil was pleasantly surprised when he found out that Roman had a weak noble voice now, and commented that it would probably grow a bit stronger, as Roman's body underwent the final stages of his claiming, which meant he would get paler, and his canines would grow sharper. 

Roman seemed interested at that, but didn't ask much about it, which Virgil appreciated, as he really wasn't good at explaining stuff like that. About fifteen minutes into the car ride, Virgil put on a pair of sunglasses, so that Roman could look at his face without having to avoid his eyes.

It seemed that Roman appreciated that, which made Virgil glad. They continued speaking, as they drove away from the highway, and into a forest, that looked more dark and gloomy than the one Virgil's manor was in. Virgil didn't pay much attention to what was outside of the car, but it seemed that Roman did.

At one point, Hera came into the backseat, and wrapped herself around Roman, who was frozen for a moment, before he began to pet her a bit. It was hard to describe just what he did, but Hera liked it, so it was fine. 

When they parked, it was in front of something that looked like a Scottish castle, which it was, just transported over to the US with magic, that Marlene had paid Cordelia a lot to perform. It looked dark, and like something straight out of a horror movie, but Virgil had seen worse, so he didn't mind, and just stepped out of the car. Both dragons came out from behind him, and then Roman. 

Brutus came out of the car last, and locked it. They waited for something to happen in about five seconds, before a small vampire came running out of the castle, and stopped right in front of them. He was short, with curly light brown hair, and glasses.

He was wearing a light blue dress jacket, over a white button up, and with a pink tie that fit surprisingly well. He adjusted his glasses, as another vampire came speeding out from the castle as well. 

This one had dark, almost black hair, that was hanging a bit over one of his eyes, and was very long. He was wearing a leather jacket, over a white t-shirt. And they were wearing dark sunglasses, that completely blocked out his eyes.

The small one bowed, and happily said, "My King! It is an honour to meet you. I'm Emile, and that's Remy, we'll be showing you the way around here," to which Virgil probably rolled his eyes. It was hard to see through the sunglasses.

Roman clenched his fists at the names, and their appearances. He easily recognised the voices of the people that took Patton and Logan that night, that felt weirdly long ago, even if it was just almost two days ago.

Virgil noticed that, and decided to reach over, and grab one of Roman's hands. He rubbed small shapes into the back of his hand with his thumb, hoping to calm Roman down.

It did seem to be successful, even if he did turn flustered at it. Virgil nodded, and gestured for Emile to stand up properly. "Alright, that's good. Let's go then, I don't need any big tour, just lead to way to where Marlene is." He ordered, and Emile nodded. He stood up, and gestured for them to follow him.

Roman had a hard time covering up the fact that he was curious when they entered the castle. He looked around, wondering when and where things were from, along with how much they were worth. Virg didn't mind, thinking it was endearing, actually.

Emile lead the through the castle, and Remy walked away from the group soon enough. It only seemed to be Emile that paid any mind to it, and Virgil noted that he became more and more nervous the closer they got to where Marlene should be.

Virgil raised an eyebrow at that, hoping that she wasn't making them do things they didn't want to do, like some Nobles did with vampires in their Following.

Emile soon knocked three times on an old wooden door, with carvings in it. A cheery female voice, that sounded an octave too high in Virgil's opinion, was heard. "Bring them in!" It said, and Virgil sighed, getting ready to meet Marlene again.

Emile pushed the door open, and Virgil stepped inside, letting go of Roman's hand. It was just a regular room, by Noble standard, and much less interesting than Virgil's, but Roman did seem interested in it too.

Chie was still on Virgil's shoulder, and Dio and Hermes had placed themselves on either side of Virgil, ready to attack if anyone dared to come too near Virgil, who didn't mind having them there.

The only person already inside the room, was a woman. She seemed to be at her best age, with no wrinkles, and lively eyes, and a good smile, but that was where Virgil thought the perfection stopped. She was wearing a light pink dress, with way too much lace, and that also looked victorian, along with one of those weird little hats. She was pale, in a way that made her look like someone made a porcelain doll in human size, and her hair was obnoxiously rose blonde. 

She stood up when she heard Virgil enter, and turned around to greet him, with a smile that faltered slightly when she saw how he looked, and Roman and Brutus. 

She smiled widely again after less than a second, and greeted Virgil happily, and with a curtsey, that was extremely extravagant. "Welcome, my King! I hope it was a good travel here." She said, overdoing her politeness and excitement to see him, in a way that made Virgil inwardly cringe.

"It was adequate." He said curtly, in a way that threw Marlene off for less than a moment. She stood up properly. "Oh well, who are your companion? Did you bring a small snack?" She asked, looking at Roman with hungry eyes. Dio growled at her, which made her take a step back, out of fear of the dragon.

Virgil was sure it was proper to sigh. "No, Lady Marlene. That is Roman, my friend. It was his friends that you took." He mentioned, in a slightly accusing manner.

Marlene quickly stood up straighter. "Oh! I apologize. I was just hoping to be able to bring some fresh blood to the Noble ball, and maybe add a few new vampires to my following." She explained, casually, as if it was a completely normal thing to do.

Virgil grabbed Roman's hand again to keep him from attacking Marlene, who was oblivious, seemingly thinking that it was a reasonable excuse. 

Marlene sent a glare against their hands, definitely not liking them holding hands in her castle. 

She shook her head a bit, and looked up at Virgil with yet another painfully fake smile. "Anyways, I have brought a bit of dinner, and I suppose I could get someone to bring some food for the human too." She hissed out the word human, like it was poisonous, and bad. 

She gestured for them to follow her, as she walked over to the recliner, and sat down, leaving Virgil and Roman to sit next to each other, on the small couch. Brutus kept on standing up, looking a bit like the cliche bodyguard in movies. 

(Alright, Marlene was outright painful to write.)