[ Trevor looks up for a moment, then down again. He heard extradition, even if he couldn’t quite make himself react. That’s- fine, probably. Alucard won’t let anyone take him away. ]
She keeps reading. Murmurs a few times, and then another question comes up. It's about a particular set of legal terms, and this time it careens off into a debate that Alucard has no heard nor heart for.
It goes like that for some time yet, until:]
We will have a fresh draft of this in the next hour for all to look over. After that draft, all details will be finalized and signed by both parties. Let us give our copyists their time to work.
[ He sounds exhausted, burned away to nothing. But he turns the word over in his mouth, feeling it. There's something hidden in it, he can tell.
It isn't meant for him. That's what's hidden there. That clause was never about him, just made to look like it was. It was meant for practitioners of witchcraft. Meant for the speakers. Made to put Alucard and Theodora on the defensive. ]
Wallachian law does not recognise witchcraft as a crime. We will not call for the extradition of your missionaries, nor of those who flee to Trantoul to practice the faith. But you will not call for your witches to be returned for trial, should they pass the border.
[ That's it. That's all he can manage right now, but he manages it before the copyists set to work. They leave, and as soon as they're out of sight Trevor's head falls onto Alucard's shoulder softly. ]
[Alucard's side room is in fact not close to the meeting room at all. It's far and away, with a great bay window that overlooks the forest that surrounds the castle to the north end. It has become a room of creature comforts, soft furs draped over the comfiest of sofas and all the other essentials.
The curtains are closed for Theodora's safety at the moment. She watches as Trevor's head falls on Alucard's shoulder.]
I'm going to supervise the copyists and alert the delegation to the new wording. I don't expect debate, but I want to be sure.
[She leaves. Alucard waves a hand and the curtain opens, and then? Then he just pulls Trevor onto his lap in full.]
My own fault. I was the one who wanted to taunt them. Shouldn't have-
[ He doesn't finish that sentence, just settles closer to Alucard. He'll explain more fully later, for now he just wants comfort. Enough to actually seek it out. ]
-they know. That I'm- important. And they're going to try to use me to get to you. I'm an easy target, and a safer one than Dracula or Miss Lisa. I don't want you to let it work.
[ A sigh. He's been inconvenient for a while now, hasn't he? Between Loretta's assassination attempt and this and his upsetting Alucard by avoiding touch. ]
[Alucard doesn't care what that other shouldn't have is. He knows it's stupid, and he rests his chin atop Trevor's head. One hand strokes up and down his arm gently, the other keeping Trevor snug against the dhampir's chest.
He can't call for the furs yet to bundle them up until they sleep, but this is enough for now.]
It won't. That's why people like Theodora are essential. And if they're so keen to throw words like extradition around, then they'll have it boiled down to a fine point so that they can't get to you. It's why including dates is an essential thing.
[ He sighs, settling more. He's tired. So tired. Almost enough to sleep without the vampire killer to hand. Alucard's presence is comforting, one of few constants in his life. ]
Another few hours. Once the papers are written and signed and they're gone - we still have that dinner then, right?
Yes. I'll cook it, or ask the chef for something. Whichever you'd prefer.
[Alucard remembers how important choice was when Trevor was first dumped into the court. Lisa understood that he was in a situation with no power at all, and to let him just pick between one option or the other, all without having to verbalize, was important.
[ Oh. He knows this. Lisa used to do this. Nod once for the first, twice for the second, shake your head for neither. It's a simpler way of communicating. More comfortable.
He buries his face in Alucard's shoulder and nods once. The first one. Normally he's qualify it with something to the effect of 'you don't have to', but this way of talking doesn't allow for that kind of nuance. Whether or not he wants Alucard to make the extra work isn't really material. He asked which option he'd prefer, not for any more information.
A normal dinner with the normal food that they normally eat. That sounds- nice, right now. ]
[Wallachian food is generally on the simple side. There's some leftover roast duck. That over some toast maybe. Some veg. Nothing more, nothing involved.]
[ He nods again. That sounds nice. Just- normal things. They've not had a lot of that lately, with the castle all full of guests and staff. He wants his life back. He wants a lot of lives back, the one from before all of this and the one from before Lisa was taken away. But he can't have those. He can have the one with Alucard.
The hour passes with him leaning against Alucard. It gives him a second wind that carries him through looking over the documents before they're signed. He even managed to shake the priest's hand before he leaves. They don't look at each other.
And then they're alone. Properly so, for the first time in days. Theodora retreats to the guest chambers that are reserved for her. The staff file out slowly. It's just the two of them. ]
[It is a relief when the documents are signed. The world returns to normal after the last of them bows to Alucard and climbs into the carriages that will whisk them all out of Wallachia. He treats the priest no differently than the rest of them. That's on purpose.
Theodora pats Alucard gently on the shoulder and says they'll talk tomorrow. He smiles with a quiet, exhausted gratitude for that mercy, and then?
Then he lets the castle shift around them, so that they're not in the kitchen yet, but the moon's courtyard.
A garden Dracula built for himself and Lisa to walk together in the evenings. Plants of pale white that sparkle in the moonlight. Kept according to their will and no others, no gardener allowed in. A fountain to provide ambiance.
It's still well kept. The castle has dropped them in the little grassy knoll that's there for just these occasions, one of the furs from Alucard's room already there. Without a word, Alucard guides them both down, and he lies flat on his back. All the more room for Trevor to decide how to settle in.]
They don't come here often. The castle is- choosy about letting people here, even Alucard. It's kept Dracula himself out of here before, when he was in a mood to break things and might have done damage to Lisa's gardens.
It's- an honour. It's a big deal that the castle cares enough about him to allow them here, because Alucard's words alone couldn't have convinced it. But more than that, it's peaceful. The same sort of peaceful that her presence brought with it, the kind that allows him to be calm and not think too much.
He follows Alucard, letting himself be guided down onto the fur. He lies on his side against him, one arm slung over his chest. ]
[Alucard usually doesn't seek the place out. It makes the longing and worry worse. But Trevor is much more important in this moment.
With Trevor on his side, Alucard inches over, and it's enough to fold one end of the blanket over them both. They can be snug like this, and warm. It's good. Fluffy. Safe.]
[If all other parts of the castle were to burn, Alucard is sure that this is the one place it would try and preserve.]
Tomorrow night, there's going to be a new spell in place at the border that will prevent his voice from being heard on our side of it. That way no one ever hears him in this country.
[ He nods. What happens next takes him a few minutes, as if the words are barbed and forcing them out is painful. ]
You know what I told him at confession, before they took him away? I told him I was scared of shaving, so I wanted to be like my sisters and never grow a beard.
[ A laugh tumbles out from behind his lips at that, and he's not sure where it came from. ]
He'd been there all my life. All my sister's lives, too. He was the one who baptised us. They put a bag over his head to hide his face when they took him away for witchcraft - found forbidden books in the church. My father was demanding that they free him the whole time.
[ There's a distant sort of look in his eyes, the one he gets when he's vanishing into himself a little. He wasn't expecting this to be so easy to say. ]
I don't know what they did to him, but he named our family to make them stop. Acted as witness at the trials.
[ He wants to say more, but he can't really bring himself to. That's all that he needed to say. All Alucard needed to know. He just pulls himself closer to him, holding him close. ]
I'll be right, give me a couple days. We know what playing dirty looks like, now. We can be ready for it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ Trevor looks up for a moment, then down again. He heard extradition, even if he couldn’t quite make himself react. That’s- fine, probably. Alucard won’t let anyone take him away. ]
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She keeps reading. Murmurs a few times, and then another question comes up. It's about a particular set of legal terms, and this time it careens off into a debate that Alucard has no heard nor heart for.
It goes like that for some time yet, until:]
We will have a fresh draft of this in the next hour for all to look over. After that draft, all details will be finalized and signed by both parties. Let us give our copyists their time to work.
We will see you here in an hour.
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[ He sounds exhausted, burned away to nothing. But he turns the word over in his mouth, feeling it. There's something hidden in it, he can tell.
It isn't meant for him. That's what's hidden there. That clause was never about him, just made to look like it was. It was meant for practitioners of witchcraft. Meant for the speakers. Made to put Alucard and Theodora on the defensive. ]
Wallachian law does not recognise witchcraft as a crime. We will not call for the extradition of your missionaries, nor of those who flee to Trantoul to practice the faith. But you will not call for your witches to be returned for trial, should they pass the border.
[ That's it. That's all he can manage right now, but he manages it before the copyists set to work. They leave, and as soon as they're out of sight Trevor's head falls onto Alucard's shoulder softly. ]
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The curtains are closed for Theodora's safety at the moment. She watches as Trevor's head falls on Alucard's shoulder.]
I'm going to supervise the copyists and alert the delegation to the new wording. I don't expect debate, but I want to be sure.
[She leaves. Alucard waves a hand and the curtain opens, and then? Then he just pulls Trevor onto his lap in full.]
Trevor, I'm sorry.
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[ He doesn't finish that sentence, just settles closer to Alucard. He'll explain more fully later, for now he just wants comfort. Enough to actually seek it out. ]
-they know. That I'm- important. And they're going to try to use me to get to you. I'm an easy target, and a safer one than Dracula or Miss Lisa. I don't want you to let it work.
[ A sigh. He's been inconvenient for a while now, hasn't he? Between Loretta's assassination attempt and this and his upsetting Alucard by avoiding touch. ]
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[Alucard doesn't care what that other shouldn't have is. He knows it's stupid, and he rests his chin atop Trevor's head. One hand strokes up and down his arm gently, the other keeping Trevor snug against the dhampir's chest.
He can't call for the furs yet to bundle them up until they sleep, but this is enough for now.]
It won't. That's why people like Theodora are essential. And if they're so keen to throw words like extradition around, then they'll have it boiled down to a fine point so that they can't get to you. It's why including dates is an essential thing.
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Another few hours. Once the papers are written and signed and they're gone - we still have that dinner then, right?
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[Alucard remembers how important choice was when Trevor was first dumped into the court. Lisa understood that he was in a situation with no power at all, and to let him just pick between one option or the other, all without having to verbalize, was important.
He knows to do it here and now.]
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He buries his face in Alucard's shoulder and nods once. The first one. Normally he's qualify it with something to the effect of 'you don't have to', but this way of talking doesn't allow for that kind of nuance. Whether or not he wants Alucard to make the extra work isn't really material. He asked which option he'd prefer, not for any more information.
A normal dinner with the normal food that they normally eat. That sounds- nice, right now. ]
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[Wallachian food is generally on the simple side. There's some leftover roast duck. That over some toast maybe. Some veg. Nothing more, nothing involved.]
Stay in the kitchen with me when I'm cooking?
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The hour passes with him leaning against Alucard. It gives him a second wind that carries him through looking over the documents before they're signed. He even managed to shake the priest's hand before he leaves. They don't look at each other.
And then they're alone. Properly so, for the first time in days. Theodora retreats to the guest chambers that are reserved for her. The staff file out slowly. It's just the two of them. ]
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Theodora pats Alucard gently on the shoulder and says they'll talk tomorrow. He smiles with a quiet, exhausted gratitude for that mercy, and then?
Then he lets the castle shift around them, so that they're not in the kitchen yet, but the moon's courtyard.
A garden Dracula built for himself and Lisa to walk together in the evenings. Plants of pale white that sparkle in the moonlight. Kept according to their will and no others, no gardener allowed in. A fountain to provide ambiance.
It's still well kept. The castle has dropped them in the little grassy knoll that's there for just these occasions, one of the furs from Alucard's room already there. Without a word, Alucard guides them both down, and he lies flat on his back. All the more room for Trevor to decide how to settle in.]
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[ Oh.
They don't come here often. The castle is- choosy about letting people here, even Alucard. It's kept Dracula himself out of here before, when he was in a mood to break things and might have done damage to Lisa's gardens.
It's- an honour. It's a big deal that the castle cares enough about him to allow them here, because Alucard's words alone couldn't have convinced it. But more than that, it's peaceful. The same sort of peaceful that her presence brought with it, the kind that allows him to be calm and not think too much.
He follows Alucard, letting himself be guided down onto the fur. He lies on his side against him, one arm slung over his chest. ]
Thank you.
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[Alucard usually doesn't seek the place out. It makes the longing and worry worse. But Trevor is much more important in this moment.
With Trevor on his side, Alucard inches over, and it's enough to fold one end of the blanket over them both. They can be snug like this, and warm. It's good. Fluffy. Safe.]
Whatever you need tonight.
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[ It's easier, here. They can't be found here. They can't take Alucard away from him. ]
-he's gone. It's- I'm fine. Just need you. Need to know you're safe.
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[If all other parts of the castle were to burn, Alucard is sure that this is the one place it would try and preserve.]
Tomorrow night, there's going to be a new spell in place at the border that will prevent his voice from being heard on our side of it. That way no one ever hears him in this country.
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You know what I told him at confession, before they took him away? I told him I was scared of shaving, so I wanted to be like my sisters and never grow a beard.
[ A laugh tumbles out from behind his lips at that, and he's not sure where it came from. ]
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[Alucard mostly looks confused at the idea.]
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[ He sighs. ]
He'd been there all my life. All my sister's lives, too. He was the one who baptised us. They put a bag over his head to hide his face when they took him away for witchcraft - found forbidden books in the church. My father was demanding that they free him the whole time.
[ There's a distant sort of look in his eyes, the one he gets when he's vanishing into himself a little. He wasn't expecting this to be so easy to say. ]
I don't know what they did to him, but he named our family to make them stop. Acted as witness at the trials.
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It was probably his head or yours. He was awful enough to value his life over that of his parish.
[He kisses Trevor's forehead.]
You were right not to tell me. I would have done something counterproductive.
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[ He wants to say more, but he can't really bring himself to. That's all that he needed to say. All Alucard needed to know. He just pulls himself closer to him, holding him close. ]
I'll be right, give me a couple days. We know what playing dirty looks like, now. We can be ready for it.
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[A couple more days. Alucard hums softly to show he has heard and understood. They can't get closer to each other now.]
We can. And we will arrange it so you can have easier exits if they're needed.