To Griffith Park
Annabelle follows the group back out into the Hollywood night in silence, still trying to put her thoughts and emotions back in place. September's still warm, and that night feels almost sultry... A feeling that is oddly pleasing against her skin, which was a feeling she was getting used to. Annabelle never quite liked the warmer seasons before... Well, before dying. But now it felt like a soft blanket on a chilly day, every time. And she couldn't get used to it.
No matter how hard she tried, it still felt eerie. Odd. It reminded her of how not normal she now was doomed to be, and as soon as they reached the lobby, there was the second reminder: That scent. All of those thousands of people and all the riot of color and sound, pressing up against them as they make their way out of the elevator and back to the parking garage.
Mr. Temple's driver, Ib, was standing by the SUV's door as they approached, and she opened the doors for them before heading back to the driver' seat. A little before Annabelle reached the car, however, Mr. Temple stopped and set a hand on her shoulder. And, unlike his sardonic, prideful amusement at her misery just a few moments ago... his eyes were somber when she looked up at him. Kind.
"You know, it's not so terrible once you find your place in it." He mutters quietly, looking her in the eye. "You just... have to learn the way it works."
Annabelle examines the odd honesty in his eyes quietly, for a long moment, before risking to indulge any of his jokes again. Before his vain facade comes up again though, she has to ask.
"Don't you miss Mark?"
There is a pause, and a sad smile appears on his face. In this light, not all cocky and loud, offering her comfort without being asked or forced to... He kinda does feel like a dad.
"Always." Mr. Temple nods with a heavy sigh, hands going on his pockets before he looks away and shrugs. "But it's fine. I mean, he is safe and... in my own way, I see him all the time."
"What are you talking about?" Annabelle frowns, confused. "Mark says he hasn't seen you in a year."
"Yeah. He says that."
It took her a moment staring at him with absolute confusion, before the dots aligned. In a flash, Chris' vacant expression and Mr. Temple's oddly powerful words came back to her, and all Mark's oddly incongruent reports of his dad's whereabouts. Always knowing how he was, or where, even though he didn't care enough to look for those details and never actually seen him.
"Oh my god." She breathed, mindblown. Mr. Temple sighed to her realization with another shrug, though he didn't seem proud of it. "You did tha-- oh my god... uh..."
Jasper chuckled as he walked by them amusedly. When Annabelle's face unconsciously switched from simple shock to judgemental disappointment, Mr. Temple guard went back up.
"Do I need to do that to you?" he asked, an eyebrow arched.
"Wha-- can you--" Annabelle's eyes widen in curiosity, but she shakes the inquiry off, realizing she sounds rude. Good or not, his decisions are his to make, and she had given all of them enough problems so far apparently simply by following her own. "No, like, it wasn't a threat I'm curious. Can-- Uh, nevermind. Uh, sorry."
"Yeah." He sighed, and Annabelle wasn't sure if that was for her question or her apology as he motioned her to get in the car before himself. "Now, get in the car."
Annabelle got in the seat she was before beside Jasper while Mr. Temple gave new directions to his driver in the front seat, holding down Ellenore's locket as the car started moving again down the terrible traffic out of Hollywood. Annabelle notices the driver lady peek at her through the rearview mirror for a moment, then shrug and... sigh. That catches Annabelle off guard, maybe more than all that has happened inside that fancy office - though it sounds ironic at this point. She... Was human? Really?
"So," Mr. Temple sighed, breaking Annabelles attention out of the woman. "That all was not... awful. I mean, you're still alive. So, that's great."
'Yeah. I think it went rather well, yeah." Annabelle nodded with a long, weighted exhale she wasn't sure for how long she was holding. "You're welcome."
Mr. Temple scrunched his nose at her latter addendum, uncomfortable.
"Eh, it's- Mm--"
"Just don't use the word 'we' again." Jasper grumbled, staring coldly at her.
"At all." Mr. Temple agreed with a meaningful glare. "EVER."
"Yeah, that was--" Annabelle cringed, biting her lip. "Yeah. He definitely caught that, huh?"
She could still feel the cold shiver that ran down her spine when the Baron's eyes went from indifferently curious to that hollow, ice cold glare... The odd, powerful presence that middle-aged man in his fancy suit and with his graying licked over hair from the 50's had all of a sudden to her slip was something she was not going to forget any time soon. It felt straight out of a high end mafia movie, but far more real than she'd ever want to see.
"Mm-hm." The lady, which the Baron had called Nelli, growled at her accusingly.
"Oh yeah." Jasper grimaced.
"Hundred percent." Mr. Temple nodded with a long, heavy sigh. "This whole witch thing we're going to go do? IS because of that 'we'."
"But-But, what does it have to do with--" Annabelle frowned, getting impatient. "Who is 'The Witch'?"
Mr. Temple huffed and rolled his eyes before she could even finish, shaking his head and annoyedly waving at Jasper an 'I give up' gesture, before he turned around in his seat and looked out the window.
"You tell her."
"Now look--" Jasper sighed. Annabelle gaped, snickering to Mr. fancy pants Temple's impatience with her, before breathing in deep and turning to the pale man beside her. Despite his inhuman look, he at least acted and talked to her on the same level, like she was a regular person and not either some medieval peasant or a toddler. "There is a reason they look like that and I look like this."
Jasper started pointedly nodding at their faces than to himself as a whole. Annabelle stiffened, curiosity bubbling almost as hard as her awkward discomfort to the topic... She didn't want to seem rude, after all. Especially not to the one decent person she had met so far, and even more so now that they had made clear they functioned to the rules of an entirely different reality and society than she knew. Annabelle had no idea how sore of a topic the existence of such... disfigured people was or not. Was it indelicate to pry? or a common thing?
Despite Jasper himself not seeming to be that particularly bothered about it, at least on surface level, Annabelle figured it could very well be just a facade - especially to someone who seemed to be such a goth, silent-and-tough kind of dude, who hung around this 'life or death' kind of people on a daily basis... If Annabelle was in his position, she'd not be willing to let anyone know what ticked her off or not. Which, in a way, she kind of was; but being in front of her boyfriend's father and having slipped Ellenore's identity to them, there was little else that mattered that much that she could hide at this point.
"Well there are several reasons... " Nelli laughed.
"I still think you're beautiful, man." Mr. Temple shrugged, winking at Jasper as he motioned to his corpsy, uneven skull. "The veins, it works."
Jasper threw them a deadpanned glare and a tight, mocked smile.
"Thanks." he hissed at the duo between teeth, before looking back at Annabelle. "Now, in Kindred.... Society. There are what we call 'Clans'."
"Okay..." Annabelle arched an eyebrow, but grunted when she couldn't hold her academically fueled thoughts in. "Actually, no. Sorry. I don't mean to judge, but... Even more than all this supernatural shit, one thing still baffles me. You guys really have an actual monarchy? With Barons, dukes, princes... in the 21st century? Seriously?"
"Eh. It's--" Mr. Temple interjected, sounding like he wanted to disagree but wasn't sure how yet.
"Some of us are." Nelli groaned.
"That's what you're most weird about?" Jasper scoffed, baffled.
"That at LEAST I can understand without a fucking guidebook!" She exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Who-- Look, I'm trying. I don't know how normal this is for all of you or not, but to ME, this is still a lot. So--"
"It's-- ok, shh. I get it. So, basic politics first then." Jasper growled, frustratedly pinching the bridge of his nose then before breathing in and out, before continuing. "You know how Abrams spoke of 'Anarchs' and 'Camarilla'? Those are two of the three big political/social parties in Kindred society."
Annabelle focused in his words nodding without interrupting. Politics, people dynamics-- This kind of shit she could understand. This is what her life had been all about, after all, especially in those last few months... Going over an easy topic first could hopefully give her a small break from taking in all that reality shattering, different species and fantasy novel mumbo-jumbo.
"The Camarilla, which neither of us or Abrams is part of, are kind of a monarchy. They are mostly older vamp-- ugh, now you got me saying it." Jasper rolled his eyes, awkwardly. Annabelle and even Mr. Temple couldn't help but chuckle. "Anyway, Kindred. Like, CENTURIES old Kindred, who think they know more and are better than everyone and that middle ages is the way to keep our society safe - since they have been alive since then. They're the first political sect to ever exist in our society, and the... Eh, arguably the biggest one, but that's a bit unclear recently."
"They're even paranoid humans are watching us through our phones, abolished all tech use beyond like dial phone and parchment messages. Not even joking." Mr. Temple adds, and Annabelle's eyes widen at the same time she frowns dumbfounded. "I know, it's stupid, I don't really believe it but-- Yeah, that's the mighty 'Ivory Tower', formally called the Camarilla. Now, the Anarchs - meaning us, are... mostly younger Kindred. There are some old ones, who also believe in evolving with time and technology despite being dead. We--"
"There are still names derived from Camarilla times, for example the 'Barons' being our local... I guess you can call governors? But from, you know, from cities or city areas." Jasper picked up from Mr. Temple's explanation. "Anarchs still have very different rules and beliefs, though. We're... more, uh, 'democratic' ideas than 1700's politics. You know, value freedom, everyone has the right to their own life and rules so long they don't invade someone else's... That kind of thing."
"The only thing we see eye to eye with the Camarilla, is that hiding from mankind is essential to our survival." Mr. Temple added with a nod. "Remember, the 'Masquerade' I mentioned? It's not an anecdote, it's one of our actual laws."
"And why it's so vital you keep your mouth shut." Nelli enforced. "We're not just asking out of a whim, we all NEED to keep our loved ones out of it. If we don't, regardless if they can be trusted or not, we - and them - pay the price."
Annabelle's eyes froze on the woman's cold stare, her expression and somber tone declaring clearly what, now looking closely, all their expressions also shared. It was true, neither of them had a choice. And it was a danger even to them, with all their attitude and power just a moment ago in the apartment and the car ride there, had any chance of fighting against... A prospect that threw knives and rocks down Annabelle's stomach.
"That's right." Mr. Temple nodded, quietly. "The Camarilla though, has an extremely hardcore view of how to do it compared to us. Like, live in the shadows, use couriers and parchment, be watched by their superiors 24/7 kind of hardcore."
Mr. Temple sighing in annoyance as he explained his point about this... 'Camarilla' folk further, Jasper and Nelli nodding and cringying to the words as they went on. They clearly didn't like them, though Annabelle was getting a feel for why.
"Oh." Annabelle gaped, eyes widening in both amusement and surprise. "Wow."
Annabelle needed a moment to take in and process it. despite still feeling like a surprising otherworldly turn of events, it's sort of made sense. Human history was written in a pattern of old societies growing stale, and being overthrown by younger generations... but what would happen if the people of those older generations never died? As unyielding as evolution can be, there is always an asshole to think themselves as king or nobility. Even in modern times Humanity. Annabelle could only guess how worst that kind of pattern could be amongst Immortal beings... Between people who had legitimately lived or had been born in those medieval societies.
"Still with us?" Nelli asked, peeking back at Annabelle.
"Yeah, sorry." She chuckled, nodding to them all. "Yeah, I think I follow. So it's like an extreme sort of conservative party and a more democratic one?"
Jasper and Mr. Temple exchanged an odd, almost impressed look, before shrugging and nodding to her. Mr. Temple eyes her with an impressed sort of look.
"Kinda, yeah." Jasper agreed, though slightly unsure.
"You're oddly fast to catch up on this bit." Mr. Temple mused suspiciously, an eyebrow arched.
"I am-- uh, was--? well, hopefully still am... A Political Sciences graduate." Annabelle shrugged, smiling for the first time in the evening a little smuggly. "This is a lot easier and real for me than freaking vampires and witches."
The three kindred around her exchanged curious looks, in mixes of interest, surprise and indifference, before shrugging. "Fair enough." Mr. Temple nodded.
"What would be the third party though? You said two out of three." Annabelle frowned at Jasper, curious. "Some sort of neutral side?"
They all laughed dryly.
"The opposite, actually." Jasper snickered to her, with widening eyes.
"So, the 'masquerade' we talked about? The rule about hiding from humans and all that?" Mr. Temple asked her, and Annabelle nodded. "Some Kindred believe that, because we are undead, powerful and immortal, we are superior to humans and should be their rulers rather than hiding away from them. You know, 'rejoice in our moustruous nature' and 'treat them as the lesser, prey species they are'-- That kind of epic, comic-book supervillain type of thinking."
Annabelle's frown deepened to that prospect, and Mr. Temple nodded approvingly to her clear discomfort. She was getting the right idea, even without having even asked them.
"They're called the Sabbat, but it's not important. They're assholes even for Kindred standards, that's all there is to know." Jasper waved his hand dismissively, though the idea only made her even more curious, though in the worst possible way. "Can we get back to the matter at hand, please?"
Annabelle wanted to complain, but sighed and nodded. As much as she wanted to ask more, running away from the point that had even started that entire discussion in the first place was not going to make it any easier. At least now though, knowing their stance on things a little more clearly, she felt a little bit less like their hostage... They seemed more like older cellmates now than captors - it still sucked, and she did not want to be there, but it was at least a bit better than being in a one-against-all situation.
"Okay. So, to your question regarding 'the witch'..."
Jasper sighed, staring at nothing with his mouth slightly agape as he collected his thoughts. Again, he seemed to be carefully picking his words in his mind before actually saying them, Annabelle could almost see the gears in his mind turning.
"Regardless of politics, there is this... aspect of Kindred society called 'Clans'." He started slowly, though still seeming to be trying to pick the right words. "They're... uh..."
Annabelle tried revising what she could remember from her classes in political history in uni to help, when they mentioned old european conflicts. She did remember the base dynamics mentioned about old Scotish clans and the likes; they were more like politicized family lines than something non-political in those though, so she wasn't sure how much the memory helped considering Jasper's comment.
"Think of them as 'bloodlines'." Mr. Temple offers him, And Jasper nods.
"Oh... ok." Annabelle gaped. Well, maybe not so different from what she remembers then after all. "So, like uh, like family lines?"
"Uh. A little bit, yeah. But, not just--" Jasper pondered, grimacing as he struggled with his words. "Your clan is more than just a surname, it's like... Different things for each... It's a 'title', that encompasses a big array of specific habilities, looks... Things like that, of certain Kindred."
Annabelle frowned, a bit confused, but nodded in silence regardless.
"Everyone's clan is-- the logic of it is that when you're Embraced, when you're 'turned', you'll have the same uh... supernatural capabilities, weaknesses and sometimes looks, as your Sire; the person who turned you." Jasper finally decided himself on his words, then waited to check if Annabelle was following. The idea felt odd, but it did make the word make a little more sense. "For example, the reason I look different than all of you is because I am... For better or worse... What is called a Nosferatu."
Annabelle's eyes sparkled to the familiar word. And indeed, she could immediately spot some similarities about Jasper's odd constitution to all those old memes she had found roaming around the internet and the old silent movie she and Elle had laughed so hard about a few days back, when they first started looking up some broader myths about Annabelle's condition.
"I know what that is!" she beamed, finally not feeling like a kid.
Jasper though, cringed immediately to her enthusiasm, raising up a finger and shaking it in her face so she'd halt.
"No, nope. It's not that."
"It's not that. No."
"You do not, nope." Both Mr. Temple and Nelli started chuckling interventions, though they seemed more endeared and understanding than mocking her on it this time.
Annabelle's smile fell, confused once again. "..Oh."
"There's a reason he is called that." Jasper explained with a knowing look, nodding as Annabelle's eyes widened to the idea. Before she can gasp and blurt out the questions and theories exploding in her mind though, Jasper quickly resumed control of the conversation. "Anyway. My point with all of this is... The unfortunate part about your situation is... we don't know what 'Clan' you belong to."
"The person we're going down to see is not a witch witch, in the sense you might think. It's just... They're another Kindred, whose clan... abilities... can help us find that out. To put it simply." Mr. Temple interjects with a sigh, also trying to hold her attention in the topic. "And, knowing your clan is useful both to you, so you know your strong and weak suits, but also to us and the baron, so we can track down who did this to you."
"... Because whatever 'clan' I belong to, is also the clan from who made me." Annabelle nodded slowly as the dots connected in her mind, remembering how the Baron had indeed used that specific wording when pondering about her.
"Yup." Jasper nodded.
"I see... Okay." Annabelle sighed, leaning against the seat. "Wait. But, I thought you said this was because the baron suspected me though."
"There is a lot else they can discover. This clan."
"This Kindred we're going to see is from a clan that has... an air of mystery about them." Nelli said, theatrically. "They're called the 'Tremere'. This clan is capable of dabbling in magic, so to speak."
"Wait, actual magic?" Annabelle's eyes widened, checking through every face in the car for any traces of another mockery. But, unlike the bow thing from earlier, there was no laugh or cheeky remark this time.
Before he could continue though, the SUV makes a wide, steep turn and Ib in the front seat clears her throat exaggeratedly. Jasper stops, and they all turn to her as she peeks at them in the rearview mirror.
"Sir, I think we're being followed." the driver mutters as she gets her eyes back to the road. They tense up and look back behind them, but Annabelle had been so engrossed in their conversation that she has no clue which of the cars behind them the woman means. "Should I lose them?"
Jasper growls. Victor stares behind them for a while longer, before turning back to her.
"Uh, attempt to, yes." Mr. Temple nods. "Casually though. I don't want to have to bribe any cops tonight."
"Casually, sir?"
"Ideally, yes." Victor confirms.
The driver nods without looking up at him, and starts speeding up a bit. It's not fast enough to lurch you out of your seats, but she definitely speeds up and begins making faster turns.
"You bribe cops?" Annabelle frowns at him with disgust. When Mr. Temple simply frowns confusedly at her like he doesn't get her point, she scoffs under her breath and looks away, dropping the topic. "That's so unsurprising..."
"Well..." Nelli shrugs, unbothered by either statements.
"Whatever." Annabelle hurriedly waved her off, eyes wide in curiosity and hopeful disbelief. "So. You said they dabble in 'magic'... Witchcraft is real too, then?"
"Uh... Well, in a way, yes. But..." Jasper pondered, tilting his head to a side. "It's not quite 'magic', it's... Just something these particular Kindred can do. It's kind of--"
"Sorcery." Mr. Temple offers.
"It's not like- Oh, uh, what's that guy?" Jasper frowns as he tries to remember, eyeing the other too for help. "There's that book about that boy with the, the thing--"
"Harry Potter?!"
Annabelle's yelps, eyes sparkling. Her heart jumps out of its undead state to the idea. Beside her though, Jasper stiffens and rolls his eyes, groaning like a parent who just realized he gave his child too much candy. Though she couldn't care less.
"Ah! Geez..."
"Is it like- Is it really!?" Annabelle barely held herself to her seat in excitement, trying to pry the confirmation out of Nelli and Mr. Temple as her current teacher had a cringing meltdown over her enthusiasm. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God."
"Whew. Mm-mm." Nelli gaped at her judgingly, chuckling.
"No, it's not like that."
Jasper mumbled through a frustrated growl from under his hands. And Mr. Temple shook his head together with it, his frown equally unamused and judgemental at her as Nelli.
"No, here's what you need to understand." Mr. Temple tried to start. "All of the movies-"
"Okay. Great, great, great."
"Is that the word you all use? Sorcery? Thau- Thauma- Thau--"
Mr. Temple frowns as she asks Nelli, but when she simply shrugs and frowns back at him, he gives up. Annabelle is still to hyper imagining the Hogwarts hallways and the implications of the saga's story being in any part real to mind them though, which cuts Mr. Temple off any trail of thought he was trying to follow.
"Okay, look at me, look at me," He calls with a demanding stare as Annabelle continues to giggle and fangirl with herself, snapping his fingers patiently at her and trying to raise his voice above hers. "I'm going to tell you something important."
"Just let me have this!" Annabelle whines, nearly kicking Nelli's seat in her protest.
To her surprise though, instead of calling Annabelle out as well, Nelli snaps her fingers at Mr. Temple and makes him a pronounced shushing gesture. He frowns confused at it, eyeing her finger than her eyes as if he is about to ask her why. But she cuts him off.
"Don't dad out." she asks, poker face impeccable as Mr. Temple throws her a surprised and almost outraged stare. Beside Annabelle, Jasper chokes down a chuckle. "Don't dad out."
"Don't-" Mr. Temple hisses, eyes wide in warning. But Nelli simply chuckles. "Don't."
"Hey, you told us you were a dad." Jasper arched an eyebrow.
"I didn't! She did." Mr. Temple yells pointing at Annabelle, triggered.
Nelli and Jasper don't hold back laughs, and to her own surprise, neither does Annabelle. Mr. Temple pouts annoyedly, but simply rolls his eyes and laughs too. The car, oddly enough, feels less and less like a moving cell just then.
"So, we- The movies? We make the movies. We own Hollywood." Mr. Temple smirks proudly, waving a big gesture to all of them and the moving landscape outside the windows. "We tell a half of a half of an eighth of our stories. Just to sprinkle a little bit in the consciousness."
"Oh, my God." Annabelle's eyes widened all over again. She felt at this rate they'd fall out of their sockets by the time this night was over. "So vampire movies are propaganda."
They all froze and stared blankly at each other for a long, confused moment, as if the thought had never really occurred to them. Judging from the few moments it took for their expressions to switch into uncomfortable frowns or unconvinced tilts of head, Annabelle assumed the concept wasn't entirely wrong.
"N-Not--" Nelli sighed, still thinking. "It's a coverup."
"A misdirection." Jasper agreed, saying it pretty much at the same time.
Nelli nodded at him, pointing as an example before turning back to Annabelle.
"The Masquerade that he talked about."
"So that when you tell someone 'I saw a Nosferatu!', they'll say--"
Mr. Temple adds, then trails off pointing slowly at Jasper meaningfully. Annabelle followed his gesture of hand, but stiffened when, to her confusion, there was no one in the seat beside her. She stared, wide-eyed, at the empty spot beside her before peeking around, trying to figure out how someone as massively tall as Jasper had wiggled out of view so quick... But nope. She couldn't find anything.
"Wha-- How--" She gaped, turning back to the couple in the row ahead.
They both smiled with meaningful nods at her surprise.
"Magic!" Nelli proclaimed theatrically,wiggling her fingers around herself.
"... People will think you're crazy." Mr. Temple concludes his point smugly.
"Wow. Okay."
Annabelle laughs, staring at them ant at the empty seat still in absolute awe, the points they made regarding the misdirection vaguely making sense in the back of her immediate shock.
"That's what I--" Jasper's voice suddenly appears again, his hand patting her arm to draw in her attention. Annabelle jumped in her seat, as suddenly, his lanky, tall shape was back there in the seat beside hers as if nothing had ever happened.
"OH MY GOD!" she yelled, unable to hold back a shiver.
In front of them Nelli and Mr. Temple bent down laughing their asses off, and even Jasper himself chuckled through a patiently annoyed stare that waited for Annabelle's wide-eyed, heaving shock to calm down;
"Sir, I think we've lost them." Ib's voice rose up above the noise, unphased by the mess of laughter, screams and conversation going on in the passenger seats.
"Excellent. Excellent work, just keep an eye out, just in case." Mr. Temple nodded to her as he tried to hold back his fit of laughter. "Maybe still take the long way to Griffith."
"Yes, sir."
They all took a long, few minutes pause to compose and recollect themselves, observing the passing landscape that now started reaching the more suburban areas around the park. Annabelle observed the quiet, not as lively night scene in comparison to the busy main centers of the city, gathering her thoughts about what she had just seen.
"Okay. Alright, it- So, this is--" She eventually muttered out, trying to get the conversation back on track.
Before she could though, Mr. Temple snapped his fingers excitedly and pointed to her, remembering something.
"Macbeth!" He smiled at her, hopeful. "Remember the Macbeth? Double, double toil and trouble?"
"Yes!" Annabelle's eyes shined to the name, nodding. She had both read and watched several versions of the play for her studies a few semesters ago.
"Oh, wow."
"That. Think that. That." Mr. Temple nodded, victorious. "Not Harry Potter, think that."
"Okay. Alright." Annabelle smiled, intrigued. "Great, great, great. Okay. Okay."
"I mean--" Jasper frowned, not seeming as sure about the comparison. "They are not that- Anyways--"
"I just parse this in, you know, anyway that I can." Annabelle sighed.
That seemed to be a convincing argument enough for him, as Jasper simply shrugged and nodded, going back to his sight seeing out the window on his side.
"The tremere's sorcery is based around a very special thing to our particular kind of people," Nelli smiled wickedly at Annabelle, arching an eyebrow. "Can you guess what it is?"
Mr. Temple beside her tapped the inside of his wrist meaningfully.
"Uh, he just pointed to his artery, so I'm assuming it's blood." Annabelle deadpanned, which made Nelli pout displeased at her partner. "Well, uh, okay then. How much?"
Nelli shrugged. "Depends on what they're trying to do."
"They can do a lot of things." Mr. Temple sighed. "And digging through our minds for the truth can be one of them, and they're not even the only ones who can do so. So, please. You're smart, you're though-- that's all well and good. Do NOT lie again."
Annabelle scoffed, rolling her eyes. "But you had just said we had to lie about--"
“To mortals, yes.” Jasper corrected, glaring at her pointedly. “To humans.”
“Never to each other.” Nelli agreed, somber. When Annabelle’s shoulders sagged, both frustrated and discouraged, the blue haired lady waved at her comfortingly. “No use sweating now though, we’ll figure it out. But don’t do it again.”
“Exactly. Plus,” Mr. Temple waited for them with vehement nods, before adding up with a disbelieving but oddly patient laugh. “there is a big difference between LYING and simply not mentioning your girlfriend.”
“Ugh… Ok.” Annabelle sighed, unable to hold a defense to that. Indeed, as exagerated as she still felt their secrecy standards went, it had been a pretty stupid goof to make in front of such mafia boss-like stranger like the Baron had seemed. “Yeah, okay. Got it.”
“Good. Thank you.” Mr. Temple sighed heavily through a laugh.
The SUV begins the steep incline into Griffith Park. Normally the park would be closed at this time of night, but somebody must have known you were coming because the gate is open and Ib drives right on through and up into the dark, dark hills above Hollywood.
“What a coincidence.” Mr. Temple mutters as they pass the open gate.
“Yeah, that's not at all suspicious. Right?”
“Well, they knew we were coming.” Mr. Temple shrugs. “It's fine. It's fine.”
“Okay.” Nelli sighs, though she doesn’t seem so convinced.
Annabelle’s eyes go back to Jasper, uneasy. But his expression is serious and not as comforting as she hoped, his eyes fixed ahead and on the window beside him, scanning the background around them like the others. She shifts in her seat, tensing up, and resigns herself to following their lead.
Up in Griffith Park, which is a vast expanse of trees, grass, boulders, steep ravines, hills; it's the closest thing to wilderness that Los Angeles gets. They even say that there are cougars roaming through the park, Annabelle had gone on small incursions with Ellenore to try and find them; it had been one of their first dates. She gets lost in the memories for a short while, before her mind is brought back to reality once the car starts slowing down.
They seem to have reached their destination: Griffith Park Observatory. Beautiful art deco building overlooking Los Angeles. The building is dimly lit and at this time of night it's closed, and theirs is the only vehicle in the parking lot. Up here, away from the light pollution, Annabelle could actually see the stars.
As suspected, soon Ib cuts the engine and says, "We're here, sir.".
“Actually, leave the lights off but the engine on.” Mr. Temple instructs her as they all unbuckle from their seats. “Just in case whoever was on our tail comes back.”
The driver nods, doing as she is told.
“Alright. Let’s go.” he turns then to Annabelle. She intakes a long breath before nodding.
“Okay.”