Marius had given us both clear instructions. We are to wait for the rest of the family before attempting to start our recon mission. Yeah, right? Like Va’lis was going to wait. Him and I had formulated a great plan to confirm that Carrie was being held in that old familiar place. The Tower of London is a historic place having held many Queens prisoner before their beheadings took place in the famous courtyard. More notably the death of Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry VIII. The tourism to the place was a great cloak to what really was held behind closed walls. The Draconians had effectively purchased the rights to the tower through various entities and ghost corporations, as they did with much of the territory they held. It is heavily guarded of course, but it does have nooks and crannies that modern day prisons do not. Luckily, we had a full map of the place.
Armand de Romanus
Getting Back What Belongs to Us, Pt. 1
Marius sits in his lab under the Lair, the Catacombs. Armand walks up and Marius stops what he’s doing. “Word?” Marius asks. “Yes, and you are not going to like this. Not one bit,” Armand responded. Marius turned to face his eldest childe, crossing his arms. “Well?” He asked inpatiently. “They are holding her in the Tower, right in the middle of London proper,” Armand said. Marius rubbed his chin a few times. “So they do have control of the Tower as we suspected before. It is there they help Pandora captive,” Marius said. Armand nodded. There was a moment of silence between the two men. They knew they couldn’t let Pandora near the place. “I’ll keep Pandora here, leave Bianca with her,” Marius said, “and we need to summon all our elders for an emergency meeting.” Armand nodded and was off to gather the elders of the family.
Though the Eyes of the Innocent
We were here finally, settling in to the Franchesi Villa in my dear Venice. Bianca met us and we were a full house. Louis, Mary, Astoria, Merida, Saphira, Antonio, Rose, and me. Left Sosaria in a moment’s notice. To be honest, I’ve never feared death… I am actually quite skilled in avoiding it, but things were different now. My life, my heart revolved around my beautiful little angels and one very frazzled gorgeous little lady who I love more than anything in this world. The dangers of Sosaria were no place to raise our children, here we would be safe. Here we were nobles, treated with the utmost of respect. Here we were also completely hidden from whispers, from speculations, from the finger-pointing of some.
As Baron of Venice, I was entitled to all the grand luxuries one can imagine. Certainly befitting our family name. Merida had become quite accustomed to the lifestyle and bowed her head back when commoners would curtsey or bow to her. She even proudly wore the Romanus Crest on her royal sash for official functions. The limelight suited my beautiful queen, she thrived in it.
We would remain here for a while, until we knew exactly what the Draconians wanted. Merida being of Razele blood worried me, they took an interest in it, in its power. Us, not so much… they already know all they need to know since we originate from the same line. They’d want to examine it, test it, turn whoever has it in them into a lab rat. Its just what they do. They have no feelings, no care, and a general disdain for anything that isn’t a vampire in some way. If it were up to them, they’d turn every human. Every single one. And now that they know of a world that no only openly knows we exist, but we exist in positions of power… Gov. Va’lis Razele, for example…. they will seek to conquer this land first and use the portal to outnumber Earth’s humanity with their own.
The potential for disaster is so great that when I look at my children I cannot help to think… will they see adulthood? *sighs*
Honeymoon: Mother Russia
Ahhh the mother land… and the splendor that became St. Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great. Leaving Boryspil International Airport in Kiev we arrived Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg in roughly 2 hours. As a private planed marked with the Royal standards of Italia, for our nationality is of Venice, our plane was deposited into the private area of the airport reserved for dignitaries and visiting heads of state. The red carpets were placed under our feet as we deplaned which still had a somewhat alarming effect on my new bride. It would take some getting used to. A limousine awaited us as handlers and valets packed our belongings into its trunk and then graciously introduced the driver to us, who opened the door to usher us into the vehicle. Evgeny, our driver, then drove us through the 20 or so miles it takes to get from the airport to our hotel passing through the many canals and rivers that surround St. Petersburg. “It’s so similar to Venice in a way, except for the machines everywhere.” Merida commented to me. “Ah but my love, St. Petersburg is perhaps 4 or 5 times the size of Venice thus it allows for the roads that sustain the transit of automobiles and the like.” I retorted.
Honeymoon: Kiev of Memories Past
Finally!
We are husband and wife, Merida and I. And legally so on two planets and 6 nations. I had whisked my bride away the night after our wedding in Sosaria through the portal to Earth which of course drops us off in the deep underground heart of our Paris compound, the Palisades. With its underground tunnels, we made our way through to the private airplane that had been commandeered by Marius to fly us anywhere we wished to go. My beautiful bride wanted so much to see my long lost homeland of Kiev Rus, which is now modern day Kiev, Ukraine. Ahhhh to be back there, struggling now to remember a young boy named Andrei. That mortal life had long ago been extinguished and much of it remains a distant, not easily recalled, memory. But there was nothing I wouldn’t do for my Meri.
Venice, My First Love
When I was just a child of 8 years, my siblings and I were sold into slavery after the death of my father in war. That is how I ventured from Kievan Rus all the way to the “City of Water” and why I do not readily associate myself with any other city… Venice was my first love from the moment I laid eyes on it as a young boy. I must say that I owe my rank, my status, and my life to my sire, Marius. Who rescued me from my captors and showed me the grand life that this magnificent city has to offer.
Upon arrival through the portal in Paris, France we immediately boarded a private plane at the hangar of course, Merida’s only second or third time in such a contraption which I could only describe to her as a flying horse. Of course she was nervous at first, the take off with all its sounds and lights would surely give anyone that’s hardly ever been around it some anxiety. But as soon as we were in the air, she relaxed and couldn’t get enough of the view overhead. Luckily, we owned the planes and had them equipped with UV-protected glass. I had instructed the pilot to fly low just so she could take in the opulence of the views below as we made our way through France and over the Italian Alps, which included the mountainous city of Torino. She was overcome with emotion as we circled the city of Venice before preparing to land; something stirred in her as she realized she would now be part of this city and its people. We landed in Venezia Tessera Airport, familiar to her from her trips with Bianca to Earth.
The Invitations Are Sent…
Just got our copy of the invitations that were sent out. Elegant, beautifully scripted, in the colors my bride had wished for. Everything seems perfect. I am very excited to take Merida as my wife, she’s my heart’s desire and my love for her burns eternal. I hope she doesn’t get too nervous… its only 500+ names on our guest list. Everything is in motion, and the date approaches quickly. I hope that Va’lis makes it and that they squash whatever has been vexing them and he understands that whatever Merida tells me in confidence as my wife, I keep to myself. We keep no secrets from each other… we’re truly in love.
Finally… a love that inspires, that stimulates, that lasts.
Something happened to me. Something I did not expect, but I knew the moment I saw her. She walked into the bar and took a seat at table behind us. Her hair, red as fire, her beauty as deep as the ocean, eyes as black as my own. Her name… Merida.