Desperate Gambit [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

“Now Amalia, I know that Marcus is not the ideal husband, but he is a part of our society.”


It was funny what the mind considered in times of crisis. Lady Amalia Caporetti, an English noble with a family history in Italy from generations ago. As she found herself chained up in the middle of a room, her mind drifted to her last conversation with her father.


Now Marcus was dead.


Now her father was dead.


She had been taken from her home in her sleep, all of her servants executed, and her future denied.


Amalia’s body bore cuts that she recognized as ritual markings put on a sacrifice. She had studied these things, and she even understood the Latin that was being spoken around her. ‘They still think I’m unconscious.’ She kept her eyes shut, but she could feel the outline of the markings. ‘That, or they think I’m stupid.’ Possible. Her gender was often underestimated so far as classical training went.


Pity them.


She took in a deep breath as she felt the chains pull, and she was hoisted up by her wrists. It was painful. The blood fell down to pool below her, and she let her eyes open just a little to get a gist of the surroundings.


Circular room. Bowled, like a stadium, but all inside. Torches. Several people in robes. Her feet were still unbound. ‘Good.’ Her toe could scrape the ground.


She let her toe dip into the blood that was pooling, and carefully, subtly, she began to use her own blood to start drawing a different glyph beneath herself. As she did this, she whispered in Latin an incantation she wasn’t meant to know—but of course, she did. Her father had let her learn many things involved in their line of duty, and that meant to know what their enemies in the occult might do.


There was no tool more powerful for magic than one’s own blood.


As such, her spell countered theirs, as she timed it right. Their spell to rip her soul from her body was canceled, as her own magic lit up beneath her, a black aura rising up from the glyph beneath her feet.


The woman opened her green eyes fully then and looked through the strands of red hair that hung in her face. A smile painted her lips as she looked up towards the leader of ceremonies, who had stopped his blade mid-strike, confused. “What—what have you done?” Escaped his lips.


Amalia did not answer him. The answer would show itself soon enough.

 

[Orikanyo]

"Now... what do we have here... A little bird caught in chains?" a voice spoke softly within her ear, the world put on a near standstill from the moment it began, the room felt suddenly much colder as the daemon came forth from the shadows behind her, a dark shadowed hand came forth, drawing a line down her cheek as the voice echoed again, its tone abit teasing as it found enjoyment in this foolish ritual taking place.


"You know what I am, and called to me for help, you place your soul on the line for your ultimate goal, a goal that I shall ensure that you reach. If you are ready, i shall start my ceremony." the demon adibly clear it's throat, or perhaps one of it's many, for it still stood behind her back away from her eyes yet on her back she could feel a radiating coldness, that grew and grew each passing moment. "I see your heart, I see your soul, I see your goal, and I dub thee worthy... giveth me a name and where the mark shall be placed, and our contract shall be created, knoweth thee that stands here that to invoke a contract is to submit your soul unto me at the time of the contact's completion. now, speak."


The hand that stroked her cheek tapped on her lips to symbolize her to hurry her words, it seems the daemon would not wait long for her answer.


(is this amount fine for you? Please go ahead and state any name you wish, i leave it up to you.)

 

[Lucyfer]

The chill almost removed her smile, but it did not. The look in the leader of ceremony’s eyes was priceless. She could not quite see what he saw, though she tried to catch the reflection of the creature behind her through his gaze. She felt it reach forward, felt its touch. Her soul recoiled at it, screamed at her to tear herself away from it.


Oh yes, Amalia knew exactly what she had done, as the daemon understood.


A last act of sorts.


As the finger passed by her lips, she opened them as if following the trail. “Anthony Masterson,” she named him thus, Masterson an English surname she’d heard before, and Anthony simply to harken back to one of her favorite figures in history. “Place the mark wherever it will be most powerful,” she understood, loosely, that the more visible a mark was, the more powerful it was, but she did not quite know where the most visible place would be.


She imagined it would be somewhere on her face, though. She’d deal with the consequences later. Right now, she just had to deal with the situation.


The Master of Ceremonies was already beginning to back away, realizing he had severely underestimated her.


(So long as you tend to give me more than one paragraph, we ought to be good. If you really do dislike the name, let me know and I will change it to something you like!)

 

[Orikanyo]

"And so with my new name and mark our contract is sealed.... i shall now place the mark, do mind, this will be abit painful..." the hand of shadows danced infront of her face for but a moment before it softly laid upon her head, the contrast was fully immediately as the surge of heat came full force upon her head, the dark forces branding her forehead with the mark, a brand that told the world of their covenant.


The hand came away from her as the daemon's smile widened across it's face, or rather it's many faces, each head of the shadowy beast, eye pair of eyes watching the forms around them as the voice came again for all to hear, in truth it sounded quite excited... "Anthony Masterson, I am your willing servant, my claws, teeth, poison, flame, all yours.... for you shall be mine in turn. now... What is your first order Mistress?" the vocie asked, the final part coming as if from 12 other mouths in turn, each a different voice, each a different tone, some happy, some sad, some angry, some calm... all one daemon, all one creature, all one mind, and all her's.

 

[Lucyfer]

The demon warned her of pain, but Amalia underestimated it. The once-cold hand placed itself to her forehead, and it burned. Amalia bit her bottom lip, but in the end, a cry was dragged from her throat. She screamed out as the full meaning of what she’d done struck her soul, as it did her body.


It burned to the core of her being, so much so she barely registered the demon when it continued speaking. It was all around her now, or that’s what it sounded like. It asked for an order as her vision tried to make sense of reality again. The pain had blurred it.


There were only two orders on her mind then. Death and Freedom. One was more important than the other, though.


“Kill them,” but when the words hit her ears she knew that wasn’t fully accurate, “All but the Master of Ceremonies.” She’d never learn anything if they were all dead—never why, never who was behind it.


She needed him.


The Master of Ceremonies, hearing that and understanding too well what it meant for him, bolted for the door. Of course, everyone else who heard the order of execution was also trying to run for the doors to escape.

 

[Orikanyo]

With a smooth motion the hand covered her eyes, plunging her world into darkness as the screams started, some were consumed whole, with parts of desks and the seats they were starting to run from. Some weren't as lucky, since two or more heads decided to go for the same one... ultimately the heads shared the meals they engorged upon, the body and soul alike.


The master of ceremonies was kept alive as requested, but the heads wondered, just how were they to keep him from getting away? Thats when they had a wonderful idea, the longest head curled in front of the doorway, the neck blocking the way for each head was nearly as large as a man. "leg..." was what it said before it's razor sharp teeth piercing his flesh, raising up above the crowd as the last of them below were torn apart like slap of bloody meat dropped into a pool of piranha, long necked serpentine piranha, but I digress.


Once finished he removed his hands, the heads gone from the world, the now white gloved hands moving from her sight as the master of ceremonies was left in front of her, bleeding but alive. "Please excuse the blood mistress, I haven't had time to clean yet." the voice, which sounded much more human stepped forward, bowing to her as the man cried for mercy from the ground.


here stood the man

(save for the cane, not needed... he likes his hats though.)

 

[Lucyfer]

Amalia had not expected the demon to spare her the scene, but before it began, her eyes were covered. She stared at the hands as the screams cut through the air. Her imagination ran rampant, imagining hundreds of thousands of horrible things that could be happening to cause them. It was difficult to decide if she should be happy, or disturbed, by the horror being visited upon them.


When at last she was allowed sight, all but the Master of Ceremonies were dead. Her eyebrows lifted up in admiration at the handiwork, despite the mess. The apology that came from the demon caused her to seek him out, and this time, he made himself truly visible to her, and in a rather human form.


The form was pleasing to the eyes, as any demon's form ought to be in order to achieve deception. Amalia approved wholeheartedly of the lie before her. “The blood is excused. You’ve excused my own indecencies.” Chained up and bleeding wasn’t exactly the most dignified way to greet someone.


The Master of Ceremonies begged, “Please, please, Lady Caporetti, please have mercy, we didn’t—I didn’t—”


For the moment, she ignored him, “Would you get me down please, Anthony?” Once she was down she’d deal with the bleeding mess of a man before her. “Perhaps find me a coat or something, as well?” She was terribly underdressed, since her clothing had been removed to scar her body with their markings. She would have to see if those could be healed. She didn’t really want to have scars. Vanity.


(I'll see about locating a picture for my Lady when we get to the time skip!)

 

[Orikanyo]

(Alright, also.. what are the terms of the contract again? does she need revenge?)


Bowing his head slightly as he set to work on the chains, which of course meant snapping the cuffs around her wrists, in no time she was freed and Anthony draped his very own cloak over her shoulders to help her become decent. This was not the first job he had as a butler, he has had a few jobs before, and the skills were equally transferable. he simply had to predict his mistress' needs before they happy, simple enough for a demon.


Drawing some strips of cloth he procured from a nearby cloak, while abit bloodied the clean parts served well enough, he went to work bandaging her wounds as quickly as possible. "There, i maybe able to procure a balm to prevent any scaring, but that will have to wait until we are clear of danger. Now then, I do not wish to worry you, but he is bleeding quite quickly... much to my chagrin my underlings can be quite ferocious." he gave a sad look as he gazed down at the blood pooling from the man. "Please do try not to bleed so fast, my mistress has many questions for you to answer."

 

[Lucyfer]

The cuffs were snapped, and Amalia dropped to her feet, knees bending at the fall. As she started to straighten up, the cloak of the demon was wrapped around her. She lifted her hands to adjust it to fit around her a bit better, and clasped one button.


“Thank you,” perhaps one wasn’t supposed to thank a demon, but Amalia had always thanked her servants before. She didn’t see a reason to change her habits now. One got more with honey, than vinegar, as the saying went.


Anthony then began to bandage some of her wounds while she stood, and she looked at him with bemusement, finding the setting a bit…off. Well, it was necessary, she supposed, so she made sure not to move from where she stood. “I understand,” she said to both of his statements about the balm, and the bleeding man.


The bandaging done quickly, Amalia walked forward and took a knee before the bleeding man to be at eye level with him. “Tell me who it is that hired you, and I’ll let you die quickly.” It was the only mercy she could offer him.


The Master of Ceremonies glanced around, worried, hopeful, but saw no one moving. He let his eyes move to her and her impassive expression, as if none of this bothered her in the least. She wasn’t bluffing. “We knew—we knew your family was the worst, but we didn’t expect you to be trouble,” he was talking more to himself than her.


“And who is we?”


He focused then, and he shook his head. Most of the ritual had already been done, he realized, and his eyes lit up with sudden clarity. He was going to die either way, he might as well die for the cause! Words in Latin spilled out rapidly, before Amalia could silence him. In fact, when she reached forward to do that, he coughed up blood, and a long claw erupted out of his throat. Amalia recoiled immediately as before her eyes, a mutated creature clawed its way out of the body of the Master of Ceremonies, who made himself the necessary sacrifice.


~*Present Day*~

Amalia hadn’t had a dreamless night since that day, months ago, when her world was turned upside down. She hadn’t realized how large her home was until she had returned to it, with only Anthony, that same night. Funny how she hadn’t expected to live this long. Amalia had thought by now, she would have the information on the group that had destroyed her life, and they would be dead.


Such was not the case. The sun that disturbed her sleep was enough evidence of that, and the young woman rolled over on her bed to avoid it being in her eyes. “Nrr. Too early,” it wasn’t, of course, she was just tired.


Of course, she knew it was futile, and so she only let her body rest a few seconds before she threw the blankets off of herself and rose from the bed. Her nightgown fluttered down around her knees as she brushed a hand back through her hair to remove it from her face. Only in the morning was the mark visible, and so it was then. She would cover it eventually with a bit of make-up, and wash that off at night. “What’s on the agenda for today?” There was always work to do. She had managed to retain her position in the service of the Queen, despite being a woman. There was no need to marry. She kept her father's home, his wealth, and all the prestige. That also meant, all of his responsibilities. She couldn't focus single-mindedly on revenge, though she kept hoping a clue would turn up.

 

[Orikanyo]

Pleased that he didn't have to wake his mistress up this morning, the first while had been abit of a chore to get her up... he wondered if the servants before had such trouble but nonetheless he persevered, he finished pouring the tea and turned to his mistress to answer her question.


"Today a few letters came in, and you have that meeting with Eugene Garland later in the evening, another business venture it seems. While a bright mind I fear he has very little economic sense. but that is my opinions on the matter. Ah yes, your aunt has come calling again, for the 25th time this month it seems." he stated the agenda for the day as he watched as two servants came in to assist Amalia with her dressing, two females, one a somber looking woman with dark hair and bespectacled green eyes, and the other a wonderfully bubbly blonde haired brown eyed woman who was simultaneously chewing upon the final part of a cookie she procured from the kitchen.


"...Maria may i ask what you are eating?' "Eh?" the blonde woman gasped at her name, swiftly swallowing the evidence and tried (terribly) to pass it off as she rubbed behind her head. "Ah don't know what your talkin' about sir." "I just saw you swallow it." "N-n-n-o sir nothin' being eatin' here sir, just little ol' me and specs here just helpin' m'lady." her accent signified her American background, from down south as she calls it... Why he chose her for recruiting you may ask? he wont tell, perhaps he has a thing for blondes. The dark haired woman, a twig of a thing though seemed to be of Japanese descent simply adjusted her glasses and spoke "...You are a terrible liar." her soft words conflicted with the sharp tongue as she went to work laying out the choices of dress for the day.


Sighing slightly Anthony offered the tea cup to Amalia, honey lemon tea, a good pick me up for the mornings... A small bit of respite from the dreams the night before, in truth he had seen that beast ocne before, stayed far away from it in truth... that was no simple beast, but a thing of purest insanity, and things like those can kill man, daemon and angel alike.

 

[Lucyfer]

“Garland,” the surname was spoken with a sigh. The man was intelligent, but difficult to talk sense into for all that intelligence. He was an idealist, to boot, which made him all the more problematic. He spoke as if money were free, or easy to procure, unaware of the years it took to amass fortunes, and the careful management required in keeping oneself wealthy.


Spending on his schemes would not always pay off. As for her aunt, she made no verbal comment. She had been purposefully avoiding the woman—all family, really. She kept to the Guilds and those few remaining members. All of the were, after all, very eager to discover what had taken the lives of so many and then…stopped.


Amalia let the two women tend to her dressing, and she motioned to one of the green and white dresses when they were set out. The only reason she couldn’t dress herself were because of the accursed corsets that were in fashion. It was expected of her to be wearing one.


Amalia took the cup of tea. She shot Maria a glance as she denied any guilt, “You know I do not enjoy lies, Maria,” she reminded her calmly. It was a constant thing. Maria didn’t learn easily that telling the truth netted her better rewards, “I believe the attic needs cleaning today,” Maria disliked the attic. It would serve as appropriate punishment for the lie. “Do see that it is done, Maria.” Her lips quirked in a small smile.


One day, Maria would learn. Even though Amalia liked her accent, it wasn’t enough to earn her freedom to lie. Not even Anthony had that freedom, though he still found loopholes to that. “I’d see the letters, Anthony,” she said before she took a sip of the tea. She smiled, appreciating the tang of citrus. It did help to wake her up, “Were any from the Queen, or anyone of note?” She was hopeful something was from the Queen. The tedium of business was getting old. She wanted to do something besides sit around the house and humor businessmen.

 

[Orikanyo]

Looking like a deflated balloon, a teary eyed one at that, she went off towards her punishment at once.. the placed scared her, it was so dark and dusty and it creaks so much when she stepped up there, if only she has Rio's courage... Speaking of Rio she prepared the dress for wearing and affixed the corset, and thus began the terrible process of tightening it... "..Sorry.." she softly apologized as she got ready to pull. "...Are you ready?'


"Indeed, there is a letter from the queen." he spoke as he walked forward to gift her the letter bearing the royal seal. "the others are from prospective lords. the gifts along side them I can bring to you as you please... Though one in in the stables outside. A High quality mare i must admit, she is truly a beautiful sight." he spoke with fondness for the horse, one of the few animals he liked in this realm.. and one of the few animals that actually stayed calm near him that is.


"is there anything you wish to do today? I am certain i can make room." he smiled and fixed his spectacles, he liked this look, this day and age had such wonderful fashion.

 

[Lucyfer]

Was Amalia ever ready? She supposed so, “Yes,” she said as she straightened her posture and let out a breath. For her, it was usually better not to be holding her breath through this process, though she had heard for others it worked to hold their breath.


She set the tea cup down so she wouldn’t spill it during the tightening process, and winced as she felt the terrible thing close in around her. Anthony was a distraction, at least, telling her of the letters. A smirk came to her lips, before it vanished, at his words about all the letters from men. ‘Of course.’ She was desirable, for her wealth, rank, and youth. Many men imagined what a great fortune they could have from her, and what a great future their children would have.


Pity she wasn’t interested. Her life was to be cut short by Anthony, after all. Thoughts of children and marital life weren’t even humored.


She reached for the letter and began to open it while saying, “Perhaps we should have the Horse Lord over for tea. You two might have much to talk about,” despite their agreement, there was a part of her that didn’t want to see the demon suffer in boredom. He had to be bored. This had to be taking longer than he expected, too. “Which Lord was it?”


Her eyes skimmed the contents of the letter, catching Anthony’s words on plans. The letter told her that all her plans would be preparing to leave. It seemed the Queen had gifted her with a task; a little town was troubling her with its medicinal advancements.


Garland would be seen to that evening, of course. She couldn’t cancel that last minute. It’d be terrible to neglect him.

 

[Orikanyo]

Donning the ever present smile, he gave her a slight bow "You needn't suffer on my behalf, it was the father who sent the gift, so the son would be the one to visit. And from what i hear... You two wouldn't be much of a match." his eyes gleamed slightly as he gave a small chuckle, he thought of what would best suit his lady... in truth he didn't quite know yet, but soon enough he may just find out something. she was an interesting subject, perhaps he could experiment with this line as well? Hopefully she doesn't end up like the other one... Humans, so fragile, and flamable.


When Rio finished she swiftly began to assist in adorning her with the chosen dress, occasionally she gave a glance to Anthony who was still as a statue, he seemed to be already trying to play breeder... "...A spoiled brat..." she spoke softly as Anthony nodded. "Indeed, though if you still wish for him to come, please say the word."


The sounds of Maria screaming from above confirmed her advancement into the attic, Anthony hide a small chuckle as he looked to Rio. "I shall finish off the dress, please go save the poor girl." he stated as Rio took her leave. There wasn't much left to do, but with swift ease he finished and Amalia was ready to be seen by the world, stopping for a moment he fixed his tie. "You needn't worry about me, I am a very patient man, take all the time you need, live, love, hate and I shall follow you. But never forget."

 

[Lucyfer]

Amalia had never asked, but the actions and words of the demon spoke as if he could read her mind. If that sort of violation was going on, she didn’t want to know of it.


“I’m intrigued that you think you already know my type,” Amalia said, but caught Rio’s word. “Ah.” Spoiled. Not her type. Of course, that was the majority of her suitors. They were hopeful they could live an easily life if they wed her. “We need not have him over quite yet, though a gift of a horse will likely require some sort of meeting in the future, out of politeness’s sake. Or to accept an invitation if they send one.”


Whichever seemed to come first.


There was a shout, and Amalia couldn’t help but smile. Poor Maria. If only she learned not to lie. “Thank you, Rio,” she said as the woman exited.


Amalia set the letter from the Queen down as Anthony walked around to finish up with the dress. She lifted her cup and sipped at the tea again, “I wonder at your motives for that advice, Anthony,” she left it open if he wanted to fill it in. Honestly, she imagined hell must be a terrible place, even for a demon. "Even if I wanted to humor it, I would be too concerned that I would be putting another in harm's way. Of course, perhaps that is what I ought to do...." Plotting in that fashion was bad. Her own soul and life was one matter, but innocents? She hadn't crossed that line yet.


Even so, her mind considered if marrying might spark action again, against whoever she married. It would almost make it worth it.


The tea was again set aside, and she walked to her vanity. She had not yet covered up the mark, but her hair had done a good enough job for bespeckled Rio and scatterbrained Maria to seem not to notice it. She brushed the hair out of her way and pinned it back, before drawing out the foundation she used to cover it up from the world.

 

[Orikanyo]

Simply smiling again he gave a slight thought to his answering and gave a bow. "I simply only wish for your supreme happiness, nothing more nothing less. Until the day our contract is complete i am your servant, I serve anything you ask, your whims, your desires, anything. All you need to do is say the word and I shall do all and mor-" his words were cut short as the two maids fell from the ceiling above him, maria, looking fearful for her life, Rio, deadpan as usual.


the crash echoed throughout the house, the two maids fell from the newly created hole in the ceiling and pushing Anthony face down into the carpet. "...You two are the most unpredictable servants I've had the pleasure of meeting yet." he spoke as Rio pulled herself off of the floor, quickly brushing herself off. "..Apologies..." as calmly as ever, giving a bow to Anthony and Amalia as she went to go procure a broom.. Maria however was wrestling with a stubborn spider web in her hair as Anthony finally stood up again.


"Maria please see to the repairs when your finished... doing that. my lady perhaps we should start our day, we are already nearly past breakfast."

 

[Lucyfer]

Amalia forgot, now and then, how sincere Anthony could sound when she was certain, he was lying. Well, not completely—he was playing the role. It was part of his aesthetic. In this role, of course he wanted all of that for her.


It was on the tip of her tongue to ask why, and demand full truth from him, but as she turned to do that, the ceiling fell.


Amalia had just finished applying the foundation, at least. Her red bangs fell back over her forehead as she looked at the mess. ‘How…do you even do that?’ She was baffled by the extreme damage caused to her house.


“You’re forgiven,” though it came out strained. Amalia swallowed back the anger, and kept a poker face on.


Anthony rose and directed them. Amalia sighed at the mention of breakfast. She was never hungry this early, yet she ate. It was the healthy thing to do. “You’re right,” she took her cup with her and exited the room, expecting Anthony to follow.


When she heard his footsteps, she would say, “The Queen has requested our assistance in looking into the strange medicinal advancements in the town of Birch, in Essex.” She was speaking mostly to see if he had heard anything on the matter before they left for the town. “I haven’t decided if it is better to leave after Garland visits, or tomorrow morning.”

 

[Orikanyo]

(go ahead and add any servants you'd like to the house, i already made two, personally selected by Anthony, Rio is a long term "friend" of his and Maria... well she was a woman he found, better with a saw then a duster.)


Leaving that afternoon, Mister Garland was rather quickly let out the door as his device apparently involved abit to much "hoping it works" for the lady's liking Anthony had prepared the stashed away clothing and other amenities into a carriage for their departure.


"All is set and ready my lady, Do you wish for any of the others to come with us? Or shall i be attending to you alone?" he asked as sounds of repair echoed from the master bedroom, Maria was working quite hard to right her wrongs... atleast she had work ethic to balance her clumsiness. "The town is not far off but it will take some time, I have supplied some novels and the like for the journey for you to peruse and if needed a pillow if you need to rest, we will arrive likely just past midnight if all goes well."


The full moon just barely broke over the horizon as the night came upon the continent, in truth Anthony preferred the full moons for their beauty and brightness but sadly they came with their own set of problems.. the creatures of the night also loved such sights, and become very restless during these times... hopefully the trip would be uneventful.

 

[Lucyfer]

At least Garland was in and out of there quickly. Amalia shut the door behind him and then relaxed against it, giving a glance up to Anthony as he reminded her of their other chore now that it was night.


Amalia considered who else they could bring. Maria was suffering her just punishment. Rio was needed to stay and help Maria. Lysandra would need to stay to look after the two of them and see that they ate. That left Christian, the true handyman who was beyond lazy, but was quite good when one could actually get him to work.


None of her servants were really household servants. Amalia knew this. “Christian. We can’t have Maria bribing him to help her,” Amalia decided. Besides he’d be quiet on the trip, too. He might even sleep. Amalia couldn’t remember if he snored or not—well, she’d deal with it if he did.


She saw Anthony’s eyes look out towards the window, and she followed his gaze. “Ah,” she’d forgotten, “Make sure we have silver.” Werewolves were a nuisance on full moon nights. At least it meant many of the other nightly creatures wouldn’t be so annoying. Smart vampires stayed in on full moon nights.

 

[Orikanyo]

Anthony gave a small bow to symbolize himself heeding her words. "Anthony it is, I doubt it would take much bribery though, he has a soft spot for the young lady... if only she'd notice, though the chance of that happening is creditably slim. i shall retrieve him at once. And have no fear I have readied the armaments earlier, a certain favorite weapon of mine, the crossbow, an ingenious weapon i must say. the mechanisms of your mind's elude me, just how could you all create such a simple, strong and yet elegant design..." he smiled as he patted the stashed away weapon. "Of course your personal armaments are within the cabin for your pleasure." he spoke and smiled to the woman, she certainly was a sight in this moonlight... perhaps he should rethink this experiment of his? Alas, hes to invested.


It was then a incredibly sleepy looking Christian appeared from the front door. " Ah, you have finally come, please enter the carriage, I shall be the driver today." he gave a small grin to the man, who seemed to mumble incoherently as he walked past the two to the carriage. "..it seems the night affects him greatly.."

 

[Lucyfer]

Anthony seemed to be catching on to romantic endeavors of late, though Amalia supposed these two cases were obvious—her suitors and Maria’s feelings. “Let’s hope he does not, or else we’ll have an uprising,” though Amalia seemed amused at the thought.


He spoke of his love of the crossbow in a way that almost made Amalia speak aloud of marrying the two. The crossbow was such an outdated weapon in her opinion. It was why she had guns, and silver bullets. When that wasn’t useful, she tended to keep a sword on hand. She’d had fencing lessons throughout her life, much as she’d had shooting and hunting lessons. “Thank you,” she said to his comment about her own armaments.


With that, she walked to the carriage cabin and opened the door. Christian was only a moment behind, and she chuckled at the blond man who looked so tired, “Sorry, Christian,” she apologized to him. He just shook it off, and Amalia stepped aside, awkwardly holding the door into the carriage cabin open for him. At Anthony’s words, she shrugged, “Most of us aren’t nocturnal, myself included.” She reminded. She’d want to sleep soon after getting to the city, no doubt. At least she could begin her investigation in the morning.


Christian had the courtesy to offer her a hand up when she moved to step up and into the cabin. She accepted it and took a seat across from Christian, noting her package of goods—novels and the like.

 

[Orikanyo]

"Now then, let us depart, perhaps the wild hunt shall grace us with their presence. it has been awhile since I hunted wolves. And it certainly would bring excitement to our ride, worry not, no one will come to harm." he gave a slight bow as he shut the door of the carriage softly and went into the seat on the front. he chuckled slightly with abit of bemusement appeared on his face, he loved jobs like these... he felt like a character from a novel... How foolish he was, admiring book characters.. some demon he was.


Whipping the reins he set the carriage off, his smile ever present and unwavering, much like the shining face of the moon above. his face was like a plaster mask the way it stayed ever still and un-moving from that cheeky grin. odd, he felt quite whimsical today, perhaps humming a tune will sate his cheery disposition? Ah, perhaps not.. the lady may wish to sleep... maybe he might sneak in there while they sleep to tap her on the nose? he wondered what would happen if he did such a thing... or perhaps he should save it for.. oh yes that would be quite devious indeed! He chuckled slightly as he spotted something out of the corner of his eye...


A hand on the reigns, another on the crossbow, strangely designed but made to be repeatedly fired, needing reloading and pulling only when the quarrel belt is emptied, he gave a final look around before he spoke. "So soon, i thought they would atleast wait awhile longer.."

 

[Lucyfer]

There was a torchlight at the top-center of the carriage that Amalia lit in order to read. ‘Novels.’ She ought to be reading something non-fiction, but she still enjoyed the fictional stories. Her current bent was the horror genre, and so she had the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to read.


Christian didn’t try for conversation. Instead, he curled up on his side and was fast asleep. Amalia glanced up a few times to make sure of that, and shook her head. She didn’t know how anyone could sleep on these bumpy trips. Even if Anthony tried to make it steady, there was no helping the road and jagged pace the horses kept.


So, she read.


That was, until there was a distinctive howl outside. She dogtagged the page she was on and set the book aside. Given, she didn’t needed to do anything. Anthony would handle it all if requested, but she still felt inclined to be ready.


Another howl answered. ‘Come on,’ she mentally groaned. ‘We had a talk about this before.’ The Alpha of one of the packs had assured her he would keep them in line, and teach them how to avoid hunting humans. From the sounds of it, she didn’t think that was going to happen. She couldn’t understand them, but she could hear that they were closer.


She reached for her gun, checked that it was loaded, and then waited. She wouldn’t instigate anything.


Outside, one of those wolves, driven by the madness the moon inspired, did dare to get close—much closer. It made a full-speed rush at the horses.

 

[Orikanyo]

Near it's final leap towards the horses it's body stopped moving, it's heartbeat deadened as it fell head over paws to the ground, the silver bolt smoldering in it's chest. "That's one for me, don't worry my dears, I shall protect you!" he spoke to the horses who, naturally, didn't respond.


At the death of the first, five more came out from the wilderness, howling and baying as they gave chase at the carriage, he'll bent on acquiring fresh meat. Meat that a demon shall not allow them to sample... He would also protect Amalia to.(hah!)


"Perhaps you would like to practice your shooting my lady. They seem to be crazed, perhaps your wolf friend is having abit of trouble keeping them down? Would he mind abit of a culling or should I shoot to maim?"

 

[Lucyfer]

It was the demon who gave away that the first one had dared attack, calling to his beloved horses. Amalia rolled her eyes, but moved towards the carriage door and opened it as Anthony called to her.


The wolves following were always crazed. Her ‘friend’ (it was the only term adequate) had informed her of how the moon affected them. It rid them of their senses. Even if they were good, decent people by day, when the full moon rose, they were lunatics. A sad fate, but Amalia had no sympathy for them. They should have spent their waking hours preparing for this.


“There’s no point to maiming.” She informed Anthony as she took aim at one wolf gaining on the horses.


It didn’t really matter if she hit the head or not, but she liked to be precise. The bullet went through the head when it was fired, and the wolf fell behind the others, dead, form shifting as if the silver burned it away.


The gun was loud, though. Christian woke with a start. “Wassit? What—Lady!” He reached to pull Amalia back into the carriage, not comprehending the situation fully on waking.