[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/BjtZNtv.png[/img][/center]
[color=ed1c24]Location[/color]: Blackwater Estate, North-East Kindeance. - 1 week prior
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The dull yellow-orange of candlelight illuminated the study, occupied by a single individual. The woman, clad in velvety crimson and black, sat at one of three large desks, hers the only of those that was presently anything but spotless, stacks of paper spread out before her gaze, depicting a variety of concerns that required her direct attention. Finances, proposals and entreaties from too often people she knew too little about to address confidently and swiftly lower her workload. Some of these matters would be handled by proxies with her seal, but too many others would require her personal attention. And while she didn't need to sleep, most everyone else she knew did, and there were only so many hours under daylight to handle things.

Speaking of...

The familiar, distantly uncomfortable tingling across her skin told the vampire that her hours of nightly solitude were near to an end. Even with many feet of stone between her and the sun, she simply had an instinctive sense for its presence that made her skin itch and crawl, something that never failed to elicit a small kernel of irritation in her, despite having grown used to it over the years.

Still, the minor irritation was largely drowned out by the mixture of relief she felt at no longer being isolated. Humans weren't meant to be alone, and despite no longer being human, she found herself craving companionship at times. It was difficult sometimes to have no-one she could truly hold nothing back with, but she was used to it by now. At least when she was on missions, the isolation didn't twinge as much, her colder self taking the reins and appreciating the efficiency and discretion solo work often allowed.

Right now, however, she was dealing with a somewhat concerning issue.

Her fingers glided over parchment, plucking a single page from her desk, as her crimson eyes intently scoured its surface, as if willing the results to change. Yet, regardless of her irrationally wishful thinking, no such miracle manifested upon the finance report on profits for the Ruby Dream. Or, more specifically, those they were receiving from the Angel's Share. The Ruby Dream vineyard and wine business was doing well locally, growth at a steady and generally profitable uptick. However, the Angel's Share, their first partnership, had been buying less and less over the past few months since they'd made a deal.

[color=ed1c24]"Is it not selling well?"[/color] Veronica murmured, brow scrunching in confusion. She hadn't received any letters informing her of such, which she would have at least expected as a matter of course. If her wine wasn't doing well, then it was at least her concern as the supplier to be informed so she could put more effort into bettering her product. Whatever else might be said about the vampire, she took pride in her work, no matter what it was, and nothing worth doing was worth doing at less than your best. Yet, by this point, there were basically no purchases coming from that direction at all.

Frowning, Veronica reached for fresh parchment and her ink well. She'd been all too busy these past few months managing her (now officially) new estate and surrounding lands, so she hadn't had time to concern herself overmuch with matters outside them. But it seemed it was about high time she penned a letter from a concerned business partner for answers. Perhaps, she might make a trip personally, despite the distance. While they'd not exactly gotten off on the most cordial note when they first met, Jazdia was nice enough outside the mission, and Veronica certainly respected her as a combatant and able commander in her own right. If her past elven comrade was in some sort of actual trouble, then she'd come to her aid. Simple as that.

Dipping a quill in the ink, Veronica dabbed off the extra on the lip of the ink well and-

A knock on the office door interrupted the beginnings of the narrative she had been workshopping mentally before she could commit it to paper.

Pursing her lips, Veronica set the quill back in the ink well and straightened her posture. [color=ed1c24]"Enter."[/color]

The portal admitted a familiar face, one of the maids that tended the estate. Veronica smiled and met her eyes, not taking offense when the young woman's own gaze habitually ducked away a bit. It was something similar to many that remained in these halls, people the vampire's former master had similarly kidnapped and done terrible things to. Except, unlike Veronica, they had the misfortune of being far more "expendable"... and easily broken. Cleaning up after Lord Blackwater's messes was still an ongoing process. In the beginning, Veronica had made clear her intent to free them, to release them from service if they were even slightly dissatisfied with their treatment, but it still amazed her how many had decided to stay.

In hindsight, that was because, like her, many had nowhere left to go. Her Sire had destroyed many families over the decades in the pursuit of his whims and taken the remains -mostly pretty women- into his possession to toy with as he pleased. Yet, even when Veronica offered to grant them a rich severance pay to help them rebuild their lives elsewhere... [i]still[/i], some stayed. In truth, Veronica didn't really understand that. It seemed like the opposite of what she should expect, and yet... maybe it had something to do with the same reason she, herself, chose to resettle in this castle. Despite everything horrible that had happened here, there was something that drew her back to it, a connection she still couldn't sever. Maybe the remnants of her Sire's staff felt the same way...

"You have a visitor, my Lady," the maid -Constance- said. For the umpteenth time, Veronica resisted the urge to smack down the formal tone of address. It was technically actually valid these days.

[color=ed1c24]"Oh? Who?"[/color] Idly reorganizing her desk a bit, Veronica tidied her workspace up enough to feel comfortable leaving it behind for a while.

"They say they carry a letter from the Crown... Your eyes only." Veronica's eyes widened, as she stood and swiftly left the room and left Constance behind, shooting her a nod of thanks.

Candlelit halls, clad in ostentatious -and in Veronica's opinion, unnecessary- finery and displays, came and went without consideration. If it weren't for the candlelight, the castle would have been plunged into darkness, despite the time of day; all this was a result of the conspicuous lack of windows, a design choice that was frankly a bit suffocating and only made great sense if one accounted for the fact that it was a vampire's domicile. Veronica made an effort not to run to her destination, but her pace was certainly brisk enough to ward off any of the sparse staff from approaching her with additional matters. Eventually, she reached the entrance of the reception room and paused outside it briefly to tidy her slightly mussed hair and clothes.

A well-dressed young man in what was presumably royal garb greeted her, his demeanor as courtly as she would have expected. In one hand, he held a letter, which was immediately held her way. "Lady Veronica Blackwater?" He paused, his eyes briefly flickering across her form, before resting on her slitted, crimson gaze. "You really are as young as they say..." His tone didn't imply insult, so Veronica elected to treat it as harmless as it was, allowing a mild smile to cross her pale lips. "I have a letter for you."

Veronica received the letter with a nod, eyeing the wax seal critically and not finding anything out of sorts to her practiced senses, either by sight or smell. [color=ed1c24]"Thank you, Sir."[/color] She gestured towards the door, smiling more kindly. [color=ed1c24]"Please, avail yourself of our hospitality for a while before you leave. I realize we are a bit out of the way, so the kitchens will be glad to prepare you something for the return journey. If you have a steed, let us feed and water them. If you are weary from travel, a guest room can be readied as well."[/color] The messenger looked like he wanted to wave her off, but she smirked. [color=ed1c24]"Please, I insist. No guest of mine shall leave hungry."[/color]

At that, she reopened the door and called for a few of her more enthusiastic maids, who bustled off with the increasingly flustered royal messenger sandwiched between them, as they talked his ear off. Shaking her head, Veronica's growing smile of amusement sobered, as she settled on one of the guest room's plush chairs and broke the seal of the letter, her expression growing increasingly grim the more she read. Briefly, her thoughts trailed back to the matter of Jazdia's Angel's Share and the increasing civil unrest she was hearing tales of.

[i]Coincidence? Suddenly, she had her doubts.[/i]

[color=ed1c24]"Four months..."[/color] The murmured words slipped past her lips tiredly. For all their efforts, four months of rapidly degrading peace was all they'd managed to buy. They'd pushed back the hand of the clock... or maybe paused it, but it was still ticking nonetheless.

A sigh escaped her, shoulders slumping, before she shook her head and stood, folding the letter back up and heading back to her office, a rather different collection of messages now in mind to be penned, alongside the one to the Angel’s Share management. The reward for good work was more work, as they say, so it seemed she'd best be making preparations for her lands to operate smoothly in her potentially extended absence.

It took the better part of the day before she was confident all was in order, but by the time night fell, the vampire was sprinting down the main road alone, cloak billowing behind her and eyes on the horizon, her destination the Capital.
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