In Plain Sight

The trio had split off after Winter had escorted them home before she’d gone back to speak with Cinder at the club, the doorman not even bothering to stop her anymore at this point. 

“What brings you back so early?” Cinder asked as she continued poring over normal looking documents from what Winter could tell although not all of them related to the club if her eyes weren’t deceiving her. 

“I wanted to make sure you were…alright from our little altercation,” Winter said delicately. 

Cinder set down the documents and gave Winter her full attention. “I know we don’t know each other that well since we’ve only recently become…acquainted,” Cinder teased. “But even I know something is bothering you.”

Winter stood there for a moment almost fidgeting under the amber gaze as Cinder waited on her to compose herself. 

After a half-minute Cinder threw her an easy lifeline. “If you’re worried about the burns don’t be. I told you to do your best, and while they hurt I wasn’t in any real danger of dying,” Cinder assured her as she pulled up the sleeve on her current shirt and showed off her now pristine skin once more. 

“It’s not about that. It’s…more personal,” Winter finally managed. 

Cinder raised an eyebrow but went over to the door to shout at someone outside before she locked it and gestured to the more comfortable couch for them to sit on. 

“Drink?”

“No thank you,” Winter said as she sat down. 

Cinder sat down and waited patiently as Winter tried to find a way to start. 

After another minute she finally sighed and leaned back into the couch looking for all the world, a stressed out young woman instead of the put together front she put on most of the time. 

Cinder felt concern, much more concern than was usual as she began to lean over and check on her until Winter held up her hand to stop her. 

Despite her clear desire to assist her she acquiesced and managed to settle back to her side of the couch. 

“What are we? What am I? To you I mean?” Winter asked seriously as she sat up. 

Cinder’s first instinct was to joke with her but seeing how serious she looked even with the faint blush on her cheeks brought her up short. 

“Can I ask what brought this on?” Cinder asked seriously as she considered the woman across from her.

“I don’t really know. Just, we sped over the usual dating or courtship rituals did we not?”

“Yeah usually you don’t try to kill your date until they leave their socks on the bathroom floor or something,” Cinder joked prompting a small smile from the elder Schnee. 

“Just…I’ve never…I’ve had interested suitors, but I never really entertained any of them, and then you come along…”

“To be fair you were trying to kill me. Our first meeting was totally on you,” Cinder said. 

“This, this means something to you though doesn’t it? This isn’t a joke right?” Winter asked plainly, tears coming to her eyes as Cinder’s own eyes went wide in alarm. 

“Winter why would-”

“You aren’t just humoring me until you get tired of the poor stupid human right? You won’t get bored and just throw me away? This isn’t a lark for you is it? This feeling is real?” Winter asked as the floodgates opened. 

“There, there, come her love,” Cinder said gently as she gathered Winter into her arms and began rubbing her back. 

She began humming as she stroked her hair. Sometimes she forgot things. Being old did strange things to one's concept of time. 

Despite how Winter acted she was still a young woman entrusting her heart for the first time and Cinder hoped, last time. 

With what happened to their mother, their self appointed job, training her younger sister, and herself, without anyone to really look after them it wasn’t all that surprising that Winter had missed out on a lot in her short life. 

Was it really right of her to try this relationship when she was like this? Was it forcing it on her? Had she considered her feelings enough?

Cinder herself had, had a few relationships over her long life, but they’d never amounted to much. Just no interest, nothing to keep them together so they’d fizzle out rather soon leaving her as empty as ever. 

Being with Winter was like having a spark back in her life. Something she hadn’t even realized she’d been without. 

“Without you, before you…I hadn’t really realized how dull my life had become. I’d become set in my ways. 

Every day was much the same, but just seeing you I somehow knew you were someone I needed to know, that I couldn’t not know, that if I passed up the chance I’d regret it for the rest of my unlife,” Cinder said softly. 

“No, this isn’t some passing fling, and I don’t care if eventually you turn old and grey and are two feet tall, but you have a choice too. I don’t ever want you to feel as though you didn’t have a say in this,” Cinder said gently lifting up Winter’s chin so she could look her in the eyes. 

“Just say the word and I’ll stop. I’ll still train you and your friends, but I’ll stop the jokes, stop the flirting, and stop just everything.” Cinder said making sure to impress upon Winter how serious she was being. 

“Vampires as a rule are generally pretty faithful to whomever they’re with. We fall hard and fast. I won’t lie and say I’ve never been in a relationship before,” Cinder began as Winter winced, “but they’ve never amounted to anything. There was something missing. I didn’t feel a true connection to them so they never lasted…” Cinder trailed off. 

“To be frank, they weren’t you,” Cinder said gently, trailing a finger softly down Winter’s face as she gently cupped Cinder’s face in return. 

“I don’t know what will happen in the future. What will happen to your blood, if it’ll stop working one day, or if what even is happening will last for the next decade, but I do know that you have quite a hold over me, Winter Schnee, and I can’t imagine a day that will ever change.” 

“Cinder…”

“The heart,” Cinder interrupted, guiding one of Winter’s hands over hers after placing a fountain pen in it. 

Winter merely looked at her strangely. 

“The blood still has to move around and get to our bodies right? So if you get a vampire in the heart with something and keep it there that’ll paralyze them and after long enough kill them. The problem is our healing, and it’s why they used to use stakes. A steel bar will work the same or whatever, but if you do that long enough you’ll kill almost any vampire outside of like my boss.”

“Why are you-”

“Even me,” Cinder said seriously. “If there’s ever a time you think I’ve led you on, betrayed your trust, or turned into the kind of  vampire you hunt then I want you to know where to aim, and don’t miss.

If there’s ever a world in which I have to be without you, and it’s my fault? I don’t want to live in that world. Put me down and make it quick.”

“I could never-”

“Please. If you have to, then do so. There’s been plenty of people and things I’ve killed for, but you’re the only one who I’d place my life in their hands and die for.

I trust you. If need be I will die for and at your hands if that time comes. I never knew I wanted something, no needed something so much until you barged into my room and said you were there to eradicate me like the filth I was,” Cinder joked as Winter groaned at the reminder of how their entire affair had started.

“Would you like to hear more about my life specifically?” Cinder asked as Winter nodded and sank into the embrace. 

“So a little over three hundred years ago there was this plague. It had been spreading and was killing basically everyone, including my step parents, and siblings,” Cinder began. 

“I’m sorry,” Winter said automatically as Cinder snorted.  

“Don’t be, they were bitches of the highest degree. Anyway I was dying I’m pretty sure. I’d stayed in my house as the plague swept through the town. Thankfully my family had been among the first to go so I didn’t have to deal with them, but I was still a child and at some point the food ran out,” Cinder said with a shrug. 

“I was struggling, and had all these horrible blotches and it was just the worst. It had gotten to the point I was so weak I couldn’t even get water from the well. I laid there for a day unable to do anything but smell the death around me. Not able to move, to get a drink. It was hell,” Cinder admitted plainly as Winter held on tighter trying to convey what comfort she could. 

“You don’t have to keep going.”

“Meh, I’m long since over it honestly, but if you don’t want to hear anymore?” Cinder trailed off and looked to Winter who shook her head. 

“Anyway I fell asleep at some point, but I heard something that woke me up. Someone, they were calling out looking for survivors. My throat was too dry to make any sounds but I refused to let the chance to live slip through my fingers so I managed to pull myself up, barely, and flop onto a piece of metal in the yard. Not heroic, but it made a loud enough noise I guess,” Cinder said with a shrug. 

“I came to a bit later inside a house. I can’t recall whose it was, but there was a man standing over me. Said his name was Rhodes. He offered me a choice,” Cinder said as she looked into the middle distance and replayed the memory in her own mind. 

“He said my will to live was commendable, and offered condolences about the rest of the town. Apparently it was just me left at that point,” Cinder said with an uncaring shrug even as Winter hugged her as tightly as she could. 

“I chose to live. He said it would be cruel for me to live forever in a child’s body so he fed me vampire blood without forming a bond. It healed me from the brink of death. Then he trained me, and let me grow up. I was such a brat,” Cinder laughed the sound so unlike her normal cackle. It was light, airy and so alive and full of real joy.

“You still are,” Winter joked with a poke to Cinder’s sides that she swatted away. 

“I constantly fought back and refused to listen, but he was just so patient with me, and over time I realized he was stronger than I. He explained everything he could to me. Trained me, and eventually gave me the choice again. I became like him,” Cinder said with a shrug. 

“He sounds like a wonderful person,” Winter offered. 

Cinder nodded in agreement as she resumed stroking Winter’s hair. 

“He was, or is rather. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he’d basically filled the parental void in my life. After he turned me, we traveled together for a while as he kept training me in my new abilities, trying to teach me right from wrong, control, and all that he knew about our condition. I kinda was a brat again,” Cinder admitted. 

“How so?”

“Power high. Imagine waking up and suddenly you can throw a horse at someone, or outrun a carriage. Blows that would kill you are now nuisances healing in minutes. Rhodes was patient again and put me in my place until I eventually realized and internalized the difference between us. A lot of my clan are kinda big on freedom and what not so being under someone kinda rankles you, especially when you’re newly embraced and can’t control your impulses well,” Cinder admitted as she nodded to the bag holding her sword. 

Winter’s eyes widened. “Your sword?”

“Mhm. My master found it for me. They’ve been helping me look for him. They’re pretty sure he’s alive which means for some reason he hasn’t been able to check on me. The last time we met we fought and I pushed him away. What if that’s the last thing he remembers me by?” Cinder said sadly. 

“I’m sure he knows you didn’t mean whatever happened, or you said,” Winter tried to argue. 

“He tried so hard with me. He has to be alright. I have to apologize. I won’t rest until I do,” Cinder promised. 

“I’m sure he’ll be proud of you and what you’ve done,” Winter said. 

“How did this turn into you giving me a pep talk? Cinder asked with a sad quirk of her lips. 

“If only I’d known you earlier,” Winter lamented. 

“Can’t stand knowing what you missed out on?” Cinder joked. 

“No, I’d have gotten a better score on my report on the plague for sure,” Winter said deadpan. 

Cinder’s laughter was a great balm on Winter’s worries as they settled down to continue talking for a while longer. 

“Another failure,” the figure murmured as they looked over the vampire on the table hooked up to various diodes and electric devices with disinterest. 

Nothing new at this point, and still too soon to enact the latter stages of their plans. 

The alliances such as they were, were in place, or settling into and would be finished soon. 

They’d likely inevitably attempt to renege on their deals but the smarter ones wouldn’t. They’d planned for all of them to do so just in case. Never leave anything to chance after all. 

The experiments were slow progress, but that was expected. They’d anticipated as much. It was unfortunate that most of the lower generation was harder to get too, and the ones he’d consider middling were too public to simply snatch. 

Beckett as a seventh would have been useful but he was far too connected and useful to others for him to vanish for long before they’d be tracking him down. 

They’d be lucky if all they declared was a blood hunt which would cause a massive delay with the plans in motion. 

No, slow and steady was the way to do it. Slowly weed out the childer and from there follow the trail of new vampires to their older masters and then find a way to strike at them. 

It was just such a shame he couldn’t be more active in his approach and most of his current underlings were far from ideal. 

Still at least one of them was competent although mostly insane. 

“Good news doctor, I brought you a fresh helper. They were so eager to help donate their body to science!” Tyrian said grandly as he pranced into his lab to drop an immobilized vampire onto the floor.

“Thank you, Tyrian. I’d offer you the remains of this one, but their blood is far less potent than your own. There’s plenty of kine for you to drink from instead in the basement.”

“I believe I’ll take you up on that. Have to be at my best for when the dark mother returns!” Tyrian said with a cheery smile. “Shall I take this one back to their cell for now?”

“If you would be so kind,” the figure declared, removing the connectors from the paralyzed vampire. 

“Your next assignment will take you to Vale. I believe we have a lead on a vampire that’s been eluding us for a long time,” the figure said, setting down the photo of an amber-eyed woman. 

“I thought she was just a human working for a vampire boss? Or a ghoul at best?” Tyrian asked. 

“She might be, but some of the others believe she could be one herself and if she is then as an Autarkis, she won’t be missed by any likely and she’ll provide us a trail to her master which only furthers our plans, and if she's not we can potentially threaten her into getting her master to reveal themself to us.  

Your job is to see if she is, and if so deal with her. If not then follow and see if you can find this elusive patron she works for. If they’re powerful enough we can begin our plans instantly, and break free of this cursed pyramid. These chains that bind us all to Caine.”

“And usher back the return of the dark mother!” Tyrian added giddily. “She’ll return as prophesied!”

“As it was written she and Caine will have a grand final battle, and if we’re free of his curse…” the doctor said knowing it would invigorate Tyrian.

“Then we’ll be free to help her! Oh what happy days that will be! I bet such a fight would wake all those sleepy heads right up!” Tyrian said fondly before coming back to the present. 

“I’ll depart as soon as I’ve…had a bit of a drink,” Tyrian promised as he hefted the body over his shoulder. 

“There’s a group of fledglings in the area. They’re working under my command. Try not to kill them out of hand, and make use of them, but if completing the mission means sacrificing them, then by all means…”

“Oh Doctor Watts, always the pragmatic one!” Tyrian giggled as he made his way out of the room. 

“If there proves to be a bit too many?” Tyrian asked seriously. 

“Send word back and I’ll make arrangements to have more assistance sent your way. You're far too valuable to risk capture so if you feel it's better to escape and call it off then do so,” Watts informed him as the man giggled and left the room. 

Tyrian might be many things but he was competent and deadly along with easy to control. As long as he could explain how what they were doing would lead to his ‘goddess’ returning then he could get him to do almost anything needed. 

Watts might have been born one of the lowly when embraced but rather than bemoan his lot in life he’d used his most powerful weapon, his mind. 

He’d delved deep into all aspects of vampirism and lore he could find. Being constantly pushed around for eternity because of circumstance? He wouldn’t allow such a travesty to stand. 

If he couldn’t advance because of weak blood he’d get stronger blood. No matter what it took, and when he was strong enough he’d break the entire foundation, destroy the pyramid that trapped him.

He’d started so many projects over the years to aid him in doing so. He denied torpor and would continue to do so. He had contingencies in place for when he needed stronger blood, for when others inevitably attempted to stop him.  

If only he could find a sleeping antediluvian his problems would be solved in record time. With that strength under his belt, plus the rest he’d already taken, and his mind? 

Being of the twelfth had been a blemish he wasn’t going to let stand, and now? He didn’t know how strong he truly was anymore. There were so few left to study and find out. 

Cinder Fall, or her master might just be what he needed to enact the next stage of his plans and if she was of sufficient strength empower himself even further. Who was going to complain about his 'eating' habits when he was a god?

He needed more subjects to study. Most of them he went through far too quickly. Only a handful were still actually useful. 

He pulled up his email to check for any developments and raised an eyebrow. That was…moderately interesting. Perhaps he could do something with this. 

He gave tentative permission on the caveat that they were accompanied before going back over to the results of his latest experiment. 

He had much to do if he were to save them all, and if he ended up being the one at the top of the pile? Well so much the better.