missrelena

"Keep your defense up!" Dante shouted at his blade nearly passed Geni's own short sword. "Focus! Distraction can be death!" His barked orders were getting to the point that they were haunting her dreams. "What do you call that pathetic bit of effort?" His jibes duiring training were merciless. It had been four days since she had searched the night through looking for him, but when she had pressed him for details, he had been extremely evasive. She'd decided to let him alone about it -- for now. Unfortunately, Dante noticed her slight mental inattention, and he let her hear about it. "What do you think this is, a game?" He pressed an attack, and it was all she could do to keep him from scoring a hit on her. Suddenly Dante broke off, stepped back and nodded at her. Panting, Geni sketched a bow and placed her blade back in it's sheath. She was exhausted. He had pushed her hard this day, and she was feeling the effects of it. But, truth be told, she was in the best physical shape of her life . . . not that [I]that[/I] particular fact would be a bonus in society. "You did a good job today." Dante said softly as he stepped near her. "I didn't have one killing opening all day." He leaned down and brushed a kiss on her cheek. "I'm sure Faustus had a hot bath perpared for you in your rooms. Soak off the aches, then come down to dinner when you are ready." With that, Dante turned and went in the direction of his own rooms and likely his own bath. As Geni headed up the stairs, she snickered and shook her head. She was still having a hard time getting used to the dichotomy that was Dante-the-Instuctor and Dante-her-beau. One minute he was shouting about her extreme incompentence, and the next he had a smile and a kiss for her. Her father found the whole thing vastly amusing, but he would. He enjoyed seeing Geni kept on her toes. Heaven forbid her life ever get boring was Lord David's thought. As Geni reached her rooms, she was gratified at seeing the promised bath steaming before her. She felt spoiled by the little luxury, but would never have contemplated refusing it. The hot water felt so good against her skin as the little pains that had begun to wear her down melted away. She was on the brink of dozing off when a crisp knock was pounded on her door. "I do beg your pardon." It was the man she had verbally abraided the other night. He had been walking on eggshells around her ever since. "Don't enter, Benjamin. What can I help you with?" She called from her position in the tub. "My lady, Lord Dante has recieved a message from Lady Ariana and requests your presence as soon as possible, please." He relpied, his voice muffled a bit by the door. "Oh!" Geni stood and dripping, she reached for a towel. "Please tell him that I shall be down directly." "Yes, milady." Geni dressed in a rush and only pulled her hair up with a few combs so it rippled down her back to her waist in a fall of slightly damp stawberry curls. She threw on a pair of soft slippers and opened her door. Benjamin was standing across the hallway from her door, seemingly waiting for something. "Lady, may I speak with you as you walk to the drawing room?" he requested politely. A trifle surprised, she answered, "If you wish." They headed down the stairs in silence, and Geni wasn't sure if she should open a conversation with simple pleasantries or not. She felt awkward. "Milady, I want to aplogize for my behavior to you." He finally spoke. "I was undully rude." She graced him with a warm smile. "It was two o'clock in the morning. You weren't expecting me to come crashing out of my door when I did. Neither of us were at our best. If you can forgive my harsh words, I'll declare no harm done." "Thank you, milady." Benjamin gave a short, easy bow. "Now I can understand." "Understand?" "Why the lord likes you so much." With that he left her at the door to the drawing room. Feeling uncertain and amused at the conversation, she went inside. Dante stood statuesque in front of the fireplace, a letter with Ariana's familiar handwritting on it in his hand. He seemed to be reading it for the fifth or sixth time. "Dante?" He looked up at her. "Jack's sent another taunt to Rufus and Ariana. He warns that his next attempt will be soon. Lady Elcair believes from some crazy clue that he means to strike at the House of Parliment." "Dante, we have to go back." She said, sorry thier idle was ended, but not sorry to be going where she could be useful. "Yes. Please inform your father that we will be departing for London as soon as the staff can manage it." He asked. The staff managed to have them on the road in less than three hours. Dusty, pale and tired, Lord Dante, Lord David and Geni pulled up in front of Rufus and Ariana's London home after an indescribably long journey. They had only stopped to change horses and streach their legs. It had been unpleasant, but none of them had been willing to take the chance of stopping overnight and not being where they needed to be in time. Lord David rang the bell and a servant promptly opened the door. Recognizing them, he instantly showed them to the parlor where they could sit and await their hostess.

As Geni blearily opened her eyes she felt a slight twinge in her neck. She had definately not spent the night in her comfortable bed. Fortunately, the desperate need to locate Dante and the feeling of disaster had passed. As she focused on her surroundings, she saw the leatherbound books neatly forming rows on the shelves opposite her. She looked at the brown volumes, and then she remembered . . . * * * * Jeni sat across a small table from Keitaro, viewing an illumiated board that was see-through, but still visible to one who concentrated on it. The black and white squares rose vertically before her eyes and outlines of chess pieces littered the board. She mulled over their placement for a few moments, then typed in her move on a keypad. "What the hell kind of move was that!?" Keitaro demanded. "What do you mean? I know prefectly well that the horse-guys move in an 'L' shape. You told me that yourself." She replied. "Yes, but that move just shot any sane strategy completely to Hell." He complained. "And it's a 'knight', not a horse-guy. K-N-I-G-H-T. And bishops are not referred to as the 'pointy-hat-guys' and pawns are not named 'cannon fodder'. Honestly, I don't know why you play this game. I can never guess what strategy you're playing at." "At least you know who I'm taking about, and I like my names for the pieces better." Jeni defended. "Besides, what do you mean, 'strategy'? How can I possibly plan ahead when I don't know what move you're going to make next. I don't cheat with my abilities - you know that." "You mean to tell me that you plan your game only one move at a time?" Keitaro was increadulous. "No wonder you hardly ever win." "If that stinks so much, how come I [B][I]do[/I][/B] win once and a while?" Jeni smirked at the loophole in his logic. "Pure dumb luck." was his answer. "How on earth did I let you talk me into this game? There I was, sitting in my room, reading one of my favorite books, prefectly happy . . . and now I'm playing chess with an idiot." "I am not an idiot." The taunt hurt a touch, but she wasn't going to let him know that. "How on earth can you read that stuff?" She eyed his tattered and ancient leatherbound volume. "Which one is this?" She gently picked it up and examined the spine. "Dante's Divine Comedy? Isn't that the one about heaven and the nine layers of Hell? How can that be a comedy?" "You have no appreciation for classic dry humor. Wasn't there anyone else you could have pestered tonight?" He groused. "Everyone else was watching the vidscreen. I - uh - I wasn't really interested in what was on screen." She fiddled with the end of her braid and refused to meet Keitaro's eyes. "Lemme guess. The trial was on and everyone was glued to it." He could tell from her flinch that he had guessed correctly. "What a waste of time. Bobby won't let a telepath scan him to determine his innocence. That's pretty damning if you ask me." "I guess you're right." She reluctantly agreed. "I just never thought that Bobby would . . ." Jeni trailed off, rubbing the still pink scars on her left hand. Keitaro looked at her crestfallen countance, then offered, "How about we finish this farce of a game and I take you to that Itallian place you like so much. You can even see if Ariana or Helena want to come with. They're bound to not even have a vidscreen to gawk at. That place is way too pricey for that." Jeni brightened visibly. "I'd like that." She was quiet for a short moment. "Ariana wants to come, but only if I pay. I think she's still crabby from that last time we went there. I told her she was a sore loser, but that I thought my paycheck could cover it. Helena said she appreciated the invitation, but she has already eaten and has a huge stack of paperwork to muddle through." "Big surprise there." Keitaro muttered. "Tell Ariana we'll meet her in front of your room in a few minutes, and we'll travel direct." "Wow. Instant transportation, too? I [I]am[/I] being spoiled tonight." She teased as she sent the message along to her friend. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get used to it." Keitaro shot back. "Well, Mr. I'm-the-king-of-chess, it's your move." Jeni said with a smile. * * * * Geni shook her head to clear the memory. What trial? Had Bobby done something? She wished her fashbacks didn't leave more questions than answers. Well, at least this one had been of a happy moment. She sighed, stood up, and rubbing her stiff neck, set about looking for either Faustus or Dante again. ___________________ OOC: I know there isn't much meat to this, but I REALLY wanted to post something, and I didn't want to step on anyone's plans. :animeknow Hope to hear form everyone soon!

[COLOR=Blue]Civilian Sign-up Name: Elizabeth Rutledge Age/Date of Birth: 27 11/05/1980 (I'm a Scorpio!) Gender: Girl, girl, girl! Country of Origin: United States -- Montana Speciality: History with an emphasis on Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Mythology Education: Batchelors in History from University of Puget Sound, Masters in History from Brigham Young University, newly aquired Ph.D. in specialized history from Cambridge University, England. She can now read and write basic Ancient, too. Career History: 2 seasons on an archeological dig in Scotland on a Pictish village site, 3 seasons on a dig in Wales on a ancient Celt village site. Second Assistant Curator for the British Royal Museum in the Arthurian Section - 3 years. 4 published papers in historical journals on the role of Merlin in Arthurian society. 3 months at the SGC in Cheyanne Mountain. Role: Historical Expert to help find the Excalibur. General geek and party conscience. Appearance: see pic below Personality: Lizzy is bubbly and bright, and usually gets along with all types. She is equally happy in a musty library and camping in a tent - except for her innate fear of insects. If it has more than four legs and isn't a butterfly, she's scared of it. She loves to eat and cook. She's vain enough to wear contacts and long hair, but is comfy in heels and combat boots. She can get sarcastic, but only if she feels a person REALLY deserves it. Biography: Elizabeth (Lizzy) has been interested in Arthurian Legends since the day she saw Disney's "Sword in the Stone." From those silly beginnings, a deep love of all things Merlin has blossomed. She was born in a tiny town in Montana and only left there by way of scholarship to a decent University in Washington. She's done her best to prove herself since. She is an olny child with retiree parents who have been traveling so much she hasn't seen them in years. After graduating from Cambridge, the offer from the SGC came to her, along with a massive research grant from the U.S. federal government. Intrigued and in desperate need of the funding to further her research, she agreed and went to Cheyanne Mountain. There, she learned almost more than she wanted to know about her suddenly-not-so-mythic hero, Merlin. She jumped at the change to join the team to find Excalibur. Lizzy doesn't date much because alot of men seem to been intimidated by how smart she is. At least, that's the only thing she can figure out. [/COLOR] I'll PM you my snippet tomorrow -- I promise! I own seasons 1 - 8 of SG-1, and have seen seasons 1 & 2 of Atlantis

Geni sat up in bed, a cold sweat trickling down her spine. Something was wrong. Her father?s thunderous snores emanating from his room down the hall told her that all was well in that quarter, but Dante was another matter. As she set her mind questing for his presence, all she could get was a general feeling of distance and distress. He was feeling angry and confused, at least he was whenever she could get any discernable type of reading from him. Recalling the flashback she had gone through at Rufus and Ariana?s home and the topic of ?natural affiliations,? Geni decided to attempt to locate Dante by concentrating on ?where? rather than actual thoughts. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind of everything except her desire to find him. She saw a room of black, with unusual carvings etched into it. Dante was in a heap on the floor before a box or cube of some sort. His hands were pressed to his temples. Geni had never seen this room, or anything like it, anywhere in the castle - and she had believed that she had been shown the entire structure during the fortnight she had been in residence. As far as direction, all she could get was ? down. A long way down. Well, she knew where his ?where? was. . . she just did not know how to get there. Ignoring her lack of footwear, Geni crossed her room and threw open her door into the hallway. A member of Dante?s staff was seated on a small chair across from her door and looked up into her face with surprise blatant on his. Obviously he did not expect her to be up and about at this hour of the night. ?Where is Lord Dante?? She asked the startled man. ?I ? uh, he?s quite busy at the moment. Do you want me to take him a message when he?s free?? the man attempted to give a helpful smile, but Geni knew when she was being put off. ?Then where is Faustus?? She persevered. Geni knew that something was amiss, and she would not be condescendingly patted on the head and sent back to bed like a good little girl. ?He?s not here.? The man temporized. ?Don?t be impertinent.? She snapped. ?I can see that he isn?t here, or I would not have asked. Now, find one or the other of them. And while you?re looking for them I will be doing the same.? ?But, milady ? you should . . .? He began, standing in an attempt to use his greater height to intimidate her into obedience. ?I am no one?s lady at the moment. Something is wrong, and I demand answers. I am no fool to blissfully be ordered about ?for my own good? when I know there is trouble. Not by my father, not by Lord Dante, and certainly not by you. Now go!? Geni was nearly shouting at the poor soul by the time she had finished her tirade. He backed away from her slowly as her distinct ire became more and more evident. Not wanting to be the focus of such wrath any longer, he tuned and headed down the nearest staircase, figurative tail between his legs. She hadn?t shown this much temper since she was quite small. Unladylike as it may be, she was not going to ignore the unease and urgency she felt this night, and if a fit of temper was going to get her the help she desired then it was completely justified. She followed the man down the stairs and began a search of her own. She knew there must be a way ?down? that she was not currently privy to, she just needed to find it. It was several hours later, and Geni was frustrated and exhausted. She hadn?t seen a hint of either man she had asked to see or any clue of a way down past the cellars. She sat in the library pouring over a chart of the castle and grounds that she had stumbled upon an hour or so ago. It was nearly one hundred years old, but castles did not change that much in a mere century, did they? She stared at the chart till the lines began to blur no matter how frequently she rubbed her eyes. Finally, her exhaustion won out and she fell asleep with her cheek resting on her arms atop a small side table. Faustus cracked a door hidden in a library wall?s oak paneling. The girl had held out longer that he would have given her credit. The fact that she had even sensed that all was not well with Dante was remarkable, considering how arcanely protected that room was. She had even traced him down to a room in the castle that sat directly above where Dante had tried to perform the rite. She really was connected to him, somehow. The butler sighed and raised an ironic smile. Lord Dante had never before needed to take other?s feelings for him into consideration. This young miss, however, was going to be quite a handful. He located a blanket and gently tucked it around Geni?s shoulders, praying that the kink in her neck from sleeping in a chair would not be too painful when she awoke. Then he returned to the secret door and helped his master and friend to stand, throwing one of Dante?s arms across his shoulders. Together they quietly made their way across the library, Faustus supporting most of Dante?s weight. He softly closed the door to the room containing the sleeping girl and the two of them continued on their way to his master?s bedchamber. He would give orders later that neither of them were to be disturbed till they awoke of their own volition. ________________________ It was a crisp and beautiful morning as summer rolled into fall in the city of London two weeks since the group from the future had temporarily seperated. Lady Ariana was ordering the meals for the day with the windows of the parlor slightly open so she could enjoy the rare fine weather when she heard the front bell ring. A few moments later, Yvonne entered bearing a tray with a letter. ?Message for you, Ma?am.? She bobbed a curtsey. ?The messenger did not wait for a reply.? Ariana glanced at the envelope, then looked at it again, more closely. She covered her shock by taking the letter and politely thanking Yvonne. The maid bobbed again then returned to whatever duty had been interrupted by the messenger. She paused at the door long enough to take a deep breath, then went a quickly as she dared without giving any cause for gossip up to her husband?s room. ?Ariana? You?re pale as a ghost.? Rufus remarked as she entered, eyes wide. ?Whatever is the matter?? Speechless, his wife crossed and held out the letter to him. The letter ?J? was scripted in bright red ink on it?s top. Rufus took the letter from her trembling hands, turned it over and cracked the wax seal. [FONT=Century Gothic][COLOR=Red]Hello Loves, I hope you have enjoyed your vacation. Made many fond memories, have we? This letter is simply a courtesy to let you know that our reunion is not far off. Do be dears and rally your forces against me. It is always so amusing to see what plots your creative minds can compose. Till we meet face to face, Jack P.S. Heaven forbid you miss my next performance. So, another clue for you ? hickory dickory dock, a mouse ran up the Clock. the clock stuck One, and my fun?s begun. hickory dickory dock.[/COLOR][/FONT] Rufus looked up at his wife as she read the note over his shoulder. Her hands were trembling and her eyes looked haunted. He took one of his hands in his own and did his best to look reassuring. ?I?ll send for Eclair and Nathan. Why don?t you compose a letter to Geni and Dante, urging their speedy return.? He suggested. Ariana nodded and went to the desk in the corner of the room, grateful that she wasn?t bearing this disaster alone.

Geni could not believe how bone weary she was. She lay on her bed, staring up into the darkness that should be her ceiling, and would have been if she had been able to gather the energy to light her bedside candle. She was still in the top and hakama from her training, too tired to care that she was getting her bedcovers sweaty. Dante had pushed her hard this day. He almost acted as if he wanted her exhausted tonight. He had smiled serenely when she had declared herself uninterested in eating dinner, and that in and of itself was suspicious. Usually he would have been ordering her a meal, reguardless of her wishes, in order that she "keep up her strength." Did he want her out of the way for some reason this evening? What did he have planned? "Curiouser and curiouser." She quoted Alice in her wonderland. Geni wanted to think about Dante's odd behavior more, but she slipped into the oblivion of sleep instead. ____________________________ OOC: Sorry so short, but Dante seems to be going somewhere and I don't want to get in his way!

Geni rocked and swayed with the motion of the carriage as she leaned her head against the window pane. The trip had constituted several days of long travel with little chance to stretch or enjoy any kind of air that wasn?t filled with dust. She sat across from the two men in her life ? her father and Dante ? and willed the miles to pass more quickly. She had never liked travel, the motion made her slightly ill and irritable, but she imagined that she hadn?t become too intolerable to deal with since her fellow passengers hadn?t abandoned her at the last stopover. Dante roused himself from his thoughts and leaned forward to touch Geni?s knee. She shook the wool from her mind to raise a questioning eyebrow. He pointed out the window opposite the one she had been leaning against. She slid herself over, being careful not to disturb her dosing father. As she gazed through the glass, the carriage rounded yet another corner and a dark crag came into view with a castle built on top that must have dated back to Edward I. She inhaled a breath, in awe of the very dominance of the structure. It was quite easy to feel insignificant while standing in comparison to such a building. ?Do not fear,? Dante said with a smirk, ?Gas, heat and plumbing were installed some years back at great cost to my father.? ?The thought of that hadn?t even crossed my mind.? She rebuffed. [I]Liar.[/I] He directed the thought to her, loud and clear. I may not be able to read minds, but your face was an open book. [I]So what if I was worried about drafty halls and dark nights? You invited me here, and here I am. If it were a hovel made of mud and straw, I still would have come ? but I do enjoy my creature comforts, I admit.[/I] She had to be honest mind to mind. [I]So do I. [/I] He agreed. [I]And once we have arrived and washed the dust away, I have something I would share with you.[/I] [I]Can?t you just tell me about it now? [/I] She queried. [I]Its not something I can tell. It is more like something you have to hold.[/I] He replied cryptically. ?If you two are nearly finished with whatever you are silently discussing, will you let me know if we are near our destination?? Lord David interrupted. ?Father?? Geni asked with an innocent expression. ?Don?t ?Father?? me.? He responded. ?Dante furrows his brows when he is thinking hard. You, my dear daughter, get glassy eyed when you are listening in to things that I cannot hear. Both of you had such expressions, so I logically concluded that you are conversing inside your head. I may be a mere mortal man, but I am not unobservant.? Geni chuckled at her father?s lecture. ?You were right, father, but only about the fact that we were conversing. I never meant to intimate that you were unintelligent. I simply wondered how you could know that we were carrying on a silent conversation.? ?Yes, sir. We are not far from my family?s ancestral home.? Dante answered David?s question. ?We need to make the ascent to the castle, but it should not be more than a few hours more.? * * * * Several hours later, after Geni had been guided by Faustus to a palatial room that she was to consider her own and then treated to a steaming hot bath and a freshly pressed change of clothes, she made her way to the courtyard to meet Dante. He stood nonchalantly leaning against a huge, ancient tree that was one of the few providers of shade in the large square. When he saw her approach, he straightened and walked toward her. A long, slim, ebony case was in one of his hands. ?And how is my lady?? He inquired politely. ?Much refreshed and very curious.? She answered. His face became very serious. ?After the last attack by Jack, I became painfully aware that you do not posses any skills of self defense.? ?No, I do not. It is a lack that most women must claim, I?m afraid.? She wanted to know what he was getting at. ?Well, I have already obtained your father?s permission, and with your consent, I would like to teach you some basics in swordplay.? Dante lifted the case before him and lifted it?s hinged lid to display a short, curved sword in an enameled sheath. Geni looked from the sword to Dante?s face, and back to the sword again. Her heart had flip-flopped a bit as he had began his sentence, but she came to her senses at the sight of the contents of the case. ?I hate to betray my already obvious ignorance of blades, but I don?t even know what kind of weapon that is.? She stated. ?It?s a type of short sword from the east. It was given to me when I began my martial studies there. It is meant purely for close combat and defense.? He drew the blade from the sheath and held it out for her to see. ?Can you see the writing on the blade?? ?Yes, but I cannot read it.? ?Don?t berate yourself on that count. It took me longer than I will admit to to learn their written language. It says my name, among other things. See, these three kanji here spell out ?Dante?, or the closest approximation that could be derived.? ?You learned with this?? She asked meekly. ?Yes, and now I would like you to learn what it has to teach you, too. It has no spirit nor has it been endowed with any mystics of any sort, but it is an old friend. I think you would suit it just fine.? Dante hoped that Geni would understand how serious he was in this offer. ?You have already spoken with my father about this?? She asked him. ?Yes, and he agreed with the idea of you learning some basics since there is a mad man in our general midst. But only if you agreed.? ?Then as long as you don?t feel it is a big waste of your time, I think I could benefit from what you and this sword might teach me.? Geni saw this as an opportunity to become less helpless, and was grateful for it. ?If you feel up to a few exercises today . . .? He paused to receive her affirming nod, ?then I have had Faustus lay out a few clothes in your room that should be easier for you to move in without sacrificing your modesty.? He offered her his arm and escorted her back to her room. It took her nearly an hour before she would admit defeat ? and she hadn?t even left her room, let alone began her training. She cracked her chamber door opened and glanced out into the hallway. Dante leaned against the opposite wall, looking like he was just beginning to become impatient. ?I think I have the top under control.? She whined to him, ?But I simply cannot understand how the divided skirt is supposed to stay on.? Her hands were holding pleats an folds of blue fabric that were somehow supposed to be kept in place by four long ties that resembled a backwards dress sashes as far as she could tell. Dante chuckled at her dilemma, then relented. He checked to see if anyone was observing them, then stepped toward her. In what could have been misconstrued as a warm embrace by anyone just passing by, Dante reached around her and with deft and practiced hands wrapped the ties around her, over and under the fabric several times before he tied them in a secure bow at the front of her waist. ?What you call a divided skirt is called a ?Hakama?. I can think of several men that would be horribly offended if you hinted that they were wearing skirts.? His humor was lost on Geni. ?These are men?s clothes?? She looked like she was about to strongly protest, but Dante interrupted. ?Yes. In fact, they are my clothes. That?s why they are a bit long on you. Now, shall we go?? He wasn?t going to give her any opportunity to be prissy. Amusing as the discussion might have been, he really wanted to get some of the basics started before the sun went down and supper was served. ?Wait just a moment.? Geni dashed back inside her room for something. She returned to the hallway with the short sword and a small envelope in her hands. ?Since the party at Lady Ariana?s, I have wanted to give you something, but I did not want to appear too forward.? Intrigued, Dante waited for her to finish. ?I ? I wanted to give you this.? Geni handed him the envelope with a slight blush. With care, he broke the seal and lifted the paper flap. Inside was the strawberry ringlet that had been cut when the attacker had thrown the knife at her, pinning her to her chair. It was tied toward one end with a deep blue ribbon, nearly the shade of the hakama she wore. Society dictated that a gift of this type was a symbolic declaration of love. But this seemed to hold more meaning for Geni. ?Thank you.? He said sincerely. ?It?s a keepsake.? She mumbled. ?In case anything should happen to me.? ?Nothing will happen to you.? He reassured. ?I won?t let it. That?s why we?re doing all this. That is why I will not ever let you out of my sight.? Then he gave a cocky grin. ?But I?m keeping this curl nonetheless.? He gave her a swift kiss and gently returned the lock of hair to the envelope and placed them in his vest breast pocket - over his heart. Then turned her toward the direction of the courtyard. ?Now it is time for me to be an evil task master. The sooner we begin your torture, the sooner it will be over for the day.? _______________________________ OOC: A little lightness to give everyone a smile. ;)

The air outside was starting to cool from the day's heat, so it was refreshing in it's gentle warmth. Geni had bid a cordial good evening to the group as they broke up the party to follow Lady Eclair's advice, but Dante had remained in glassy state of shock. He had tried to cover his state, but failed miserably. The most perplexing thing to Geni, however, was that he would not hold her hand again till he had put on his gloves -- avoiding skin to skin contact. The carriage ride back to her family manor was quiet. She could see that Dante was agonizing over something, but did not want to pry. So much had happened, the attack, his seizure, the flashback -- it was terrifying for her. She couldn't even guess how he was taking it. She desperately wanted to help him, she just had no idea how. Although he took her hand to help her out of the carriage, he moved as if it were all motor memory, with no attached thought behind it. She had to guide him up to his room as if he were a small child awake far too long past his bedtime. He offered no resistance, but showed no initiative of his own. The servants had gone to bed, so no one remaind to help him undress. Normally this would not have been a problem, but with him in such a state, Geni was at a loss as to what to do. She sat him on the edge of his bed, then placed herself beside him. "Dante, please. Please tell me what is troubling you so." Geni softly pleaded with him, hoping to draw him out of his self-induced shell. She moved to place her hand on his forehead to check for fever, but he reached up with his gloved hand and snatched her hand away. "Geni, how do you feel about me?" he whispered horsely. "I love you." She said without heasitation. "But I don't understand. Why are you asking me that?" "Even if I'm a monster? A dangerous monster? Can you love me even then?" There was a terror in his eyes that almost frightened her. "I will love you no matter what you are. But you are not a monster. How could you even consider calling yourself that? Jack is a monster, not you." She gripped his hand tightly. "If you knew what I know, [I]you[/I] would call me worse than a monster." His eyes had tears in them. "You had a flash, didn't you?" It was more a statement than a question. His shoulders shivered, and that was all she needed as a confirmation. "And you must have seen something that you hated. Something that you did or was done to you that you loath. Am I right?" Her voice was soft and she gently stroked the hand she held captive. "And now you don't want me to touch you because you don't want me to see what you saw." Dante hung his head in dispair. Geni took a deep breath. Then her voice settled into the tone that she used when teaching her younger brother his literature lessons. "Beloved, close your eyes." He responded to the 'teacher voice' by shutting his eyes without question. "Now, picture the memory. Make sure you review it all in your mind." He winced, but she continued. "Now, begin mentally building a brick wall around it, from start to finish. Make it a tight enclosure without any chinks. Picture the color and solidness of each brick as you place it in your wall." She kept speaking of the wall in a firm but soft voice, guiding him without ordering him. Slowly she watched the tension melt from his shoulders and the pain smooth away from his face. "Now," She added, "you need to place a tiny door into the top of the wall. A door with a lock that none can break, and the only one who has a key is you." Geni knew that this was only a temporary solution. Dante would need to work through this memory, but not with her. That was brutally obvious. It didn't hurt her, not really, that she could not be the one help him though this once and for all. She understood that Dante's first responce was to protect her, even if it was from something about himself. Maybe one day he would open up to her father or Lord Rufus. She really had no way of knowing. "Now, my love, I can touch you." She reached up and stroked his cheek before he could stop her. "I have no way of seeing your memory, even by accident or while you sleep, unless you unlock that door and allow me inside. No one can." Dante started to shrink back from her touch, but then leaned into the caress. That she did not pull away from him in revulsion must have strengthened his confidence in the mental barrier he had constructed. "Why? Why would you help me do this? Don't you want to know what a horrible person I am?" He asked, his voice nearly cracking. "That was Keitaro, Dante. Not you." He gave her a puzzled look. "Keitaro is part of what you are, just as the other Jeni is part of who I am -- but only part. You have become your own person, away from such memories, and nothing and no one can change that. If Keitaro did something or had something done to him that you do not agree with, then Dante need not be a part of that." "But he is me." Dante said without hope. "And you are more than him." Was her reply. "I love you, Dante. I'm beginning to believe that Jeni was in love with Keitaro. But for myself, Genieve, I love [I]you[/I], Dante, and none other." She leaned closer and captured his mouth in a kiss. It lasted till she felt a splash of wet on her cheek. She opened her eyes to see another tear streak down her beloved's face. "You offer forgiveness without even knowing what you forgive." He whispered. [I]It does not matter to me.[/I] She spoke into his mind and into his heart. She gathered him close and placed his head on her lap. She murmured sweet comforts to him as she stroked his soft hair till he eventually drifted off to sleep. With the softest of touch, she loosened his cravat and unbuttoned his vest so he could sleep easier. She removed his gloves, shifted him off her lap and onto the bed, then took his hand. She knelt next to the bed and leaned her head aginst the edge of it. Even though it was only two tears, Geni marveled at the enormity of Dante allowing her to see him cry. It was then, more than any other time, that she knew he loved her. So, to return that sign of love, she kept her hold on his hand and kept her vigil, determind that he would not wake to an empty room. She dosed off nestled next to Dante's bed, his hand in hers. She woke with the morning sun shinning into the room. Someone had placed a blanket over her shoulders while she slept. She glanced up and saw Dante sitting on the eage of his bed next to her. He was gently caressing her hair with one hand. She still held the other. "The butler, James, was here a short time ago." He told her. "He told me to let you sleep, but I needed to touch you." "I don't mind." She smiled. Color had returned to his face and the usual strength was back in his voice. "I think I grow weary of London." Dante said. "Would you and your father accompany me to my family castle in Scotland? It would only be for a short while, no more than a month." Geni began to say that they were needed here, that Jack had not been stopped and that the others would have use of thier abilities. But then she saw the pleading in his eyes, and she knew that he needed this break more than they could possibly be needed in London. "I would love to. My mother has plans to visit my home and spend some time with my younger brother, but my father and I are free for a short while. As long as we have returned here by the end of September, I do not think there will be anything to stand in the way of us accompanying you to your home." She stood up and tried to find a genteel way to streach the kinks out of her legs. "I will speak with my father about it." The smile he gave her was worth it all. Later that day, Eclair, Nathan and Lord Rufus (and Ariana, of course) recieved a letter from Geni: [COLOR=Blue]Dear Friends, Lord Dante is still not quite himself. Something last night shook him terribly, as I am sure you could well see. My father is of the opinion that a small break with the sociatal pressures of London would help him recover. In pursuit of that hope, my father and I are accompanying Dante to his family residence in South Scotland. We will return within a month. It is my hope that none will take our leaving amiss. If Jack strikes again, we will return instantly. I wish the best for all of us, but I must do anything that will bring him comfort. Please forgive our absence. I pray we all meet at my townhome in four weeks time happy and in good health. With All My Thanks, Genieve [/COLOR]

Yup! I have killed more threads than I care to admit to in Adventure Square. The stories seem to be going fabulously, then I post and everyone else seems to fall off the map or no longer care. I don't think my writing is [I]that[/I] bad, so I guess they all got bored or felt that the story line had gone as far as it could -- who knows? It is, however, great to know that other people feel the same remorse I do! :catgirl:

Geni looked at Nathan's expression. He seemed quite pleased with himself and the solution he had come up with to aviod any unpleasantries with the loud-mouthed lady. She smiled in return. "I remember doing that when I was a child to keep out of trouble in the complex -- before they caught on to my tricks." She said without thinking. Her eyebrows furrowed as she realized what she had said. [I] Do I remember that?[/I] Before she could answer her own question, a true memory flash hit her. As she fell into it, she opened her mind to anyone who could pick up on it -- hoping that they might see something she could miss. Jeni and Ariana sat in a dark, pleasantly warm room, staring at a holographic image of another huge room, the ambiant light dancing before their eyes. Both were concentrating very hard, small sweat droplets forming on each brow. "Keep up with him, Ari. He's all alone, so he shouldn't be that hard to track." Jeni muttered to the girl beside her. This was her first day back to work since the incident with Bobby, and she didn't want to fall behind. They continued the excersize for a few moments more before Ariana slumped into her seat and pressed the "end" button on her finger keypad. "There is just too many objects in my way to see him properly." Ariana bemoaned. "That's the point. The object of this excersize is to keep track of the target despite visual interfearance." Jeni reminded her. "No wonders we had to try tracking Wellington six times before we got through the entire battle of Waterloo. Do you really expect the people of history to keep still just so you can follow their thoughts easier?" "Don't remind me. I got a pay dock for that debacle." She sighed. "Do you think I could blame how rotten I did on my tech?" "Nope, Helena is at the helm. There are none better when it comes to using telekinesis to do the microscopic adjustments needed for us to "view" our subject's minds." Jeni smiled sympathetically. "You could just say that you are having an 'off-day'." "Nah, I'll say that you weren't giving me enough of a boost so the power levels kept coming up short." Ari teased back. "Hey!" Jeni responded, mock affronted. "I'm a fabulous boost battery. Brute power, that's me. You're the one who's supposed to have all the finesse." A male voice crackled over the comm system. "Another try, ladies? Or are we finished for the day?" Ariana looked slyly at Jeni, then toggled the speak switch. "Once more, if you don't mind. But this time it will be Jeni who is tracking you." "What!?" Jeni blurted, astonished. "This is your excersize. I shouldn't be taking up all your training time." "Put your money where your mouth is." Ariana smirked. "I bet you a really nice dinner somewhere that you won't do any better keeping up with him than I did." Jeni stared at her, mouth opening and closing like a landed fish with no sound emerging. "Just signal me when you're ready." Said the male voice, sounding completely disinterested with the commentary that was coming through his speaker. "Teleporters are the toughest. If you can track him, the next plum assignment is yours." Ari said, upping the stakes. "If you can't, you can never mention Waterloo again." Regaining her composure, Jeni's eyes flashed with excitement. "You're sure?" She asked. "Dinner and the next plum?" Ariana nodded. "You're on!" Jeni settled herself into her chair and arranged her keypads to the most convienent position for her hands before she sent a warning thought to Helena and pressed the "begin" button to signal the start of the excersize. Fingers racing, she recorded the location and thought pattern of the target each time she located him. It took mere milliseconds to locate and record each time he appeared. Ariana acted as the boost, but she was still able to keep track of what was going on. "That's five minutes, ladies. End of excersize." Said the voice. Jeni relaxed and took her slightly shaking hands from the keypads. She whiped the perspiration from her face, then turned, smiling to her friend. "You owe me dinner. Italian will be just fine." "How on this green earth did you do that?" Ari demanded. "You broke his record. No one has kept up with him that well before." "And if you look, the last record was set by me, too." Jeni grinned. "I guess I have to come clean. The target, as you know, was Keitaro." "Yeah, so?" Ari was miffed. The only Italian resturant nearby was very expensive. "Well, he's a natural affinity. Has been since we were kids." Jeni attempted to look sheepish instead of smug, but it wasn't working. "You mean you always know where he is?" Ari asked, increadulous. "Only when I think about it." She relpied. Then she rubbed the healing fingers on her left hand. "That's okay, it works both ways. Can be kinda annoying when you don't want to be found." "Well then, the bet doesn't count! You cheated!" Ari announced triumphantly. "Does too still count! You never asked if I had an affinity with the test subject. I tried to back down, but you wouldn't let me. Don't forget, the bet was your idea, not mine." "Yeah, whatever." Ariana gave in. "By the way, did you notice the glitch?" Jeni asked. "Glitch?" Ari asked for clairfication. "It seemed like each time I registered location, something read that the date was incorrect. It wanted me to enter a day sometime in 1888. But then the prompt would vanish. It took me seeing it six times before I could read all the way through it." "I think you're seeing things." Was all Ari would say about it. "Whatever." Jeni flipped the speak switch on the comm system. "Thanks, Keitaro. We're finished and heading home." "I'll be there in a few seconds." Was his reply, then the other side went dead. The two ladies looked at one another and shrugged. They stood up, streaching the kinks out of their muscles, and made their way out into the brightly lit hallway. "So, did you win the bet?" Keitaro asked as they entered the hall, squinting at the light. Ariana jumped at his sudden appearance, but Jeni just grinned. "I did. Ari is taking me out for Italian tonight." "Shower first, then food." Ariana spoke up. "Then allow me to take you to your rooms." He offered. Ari raised an eyebrow at him. Keitaro hated acting as a taxi, so why was he offering now? "But?" Jeni asked. "Because there are those that you would rather not meet around today." Was his cryptic answer. Jeni sighed heavily, but did not comment. She took his arm, and Ari followed suit after a tiny heasitation. They were in the hallway that led to Ariana's room and Jeni's dorm in seconds. "Do you ladies mind if I join you tonight? I'll pay for myself." Keitaro asked. "Doesn't bother me. Maybe if you're there, the conversation will have more to it then Jeni gloating over me." Ariana said. "I don't gloat - much." Jeni defended. "Then I'll meet you here in an hour." He declaired. In an instant, he was gone. "Well, that was unexpected." Ari whispered, even though he couldn't possibly hear her. "He was in a giving mood, I guess." Jeni answered. "Giving? When was the last time that man went out? Sometime last decade? I'm pretty sure it wasn't for my sterling company and conversation that he asked to come along." "He's just being protective. I could wish . . ." Jeni trailed off. "Wish?" Ari prompted. The whole complex knew what Bobby had done to Jeni, but no one was going to breathe a word to Jeni about it. Ariana had always held the belief that her friend could do better than that jerk. It was just horrible that she was proven right in such a violent way. "It's nothing. I'll see you in an hour." Jeni muttered, then wandered off to collect her shower things and head to the dorm showers. Ariana still had her own room and bath, since no one had ever asked her to move back to the single-ladies dorm. At times where sharing hot water was not something she wanted to deal with, she was glad the higher-ups had never made her move. Despite how much the meal was going to hurt her pocketbook, she was looking forward to this evening out. She hadn't been out in -- well, since things went wrong. The flash ended, and Geni blinked to clear her eyes and her mind. "What just happened?" Lord David asked. "We were in the middle of a conversation when everyone went silent for a moment." "Just taking a moment to ponder how it all fits together." Rufus explained smoothly. He recognized the glassy-eyed look of people who were sharing something mind-to-mind, and did his best not to feel left out. He knew that once the doctor, the vicar and Lord David absented themselves, he would be told all about it. _________________________ OOC: Wow, marathon post! We haven't had a memory flashback in a while, so I guess you won't hold it against me. At least we now know what we did at work. :catgirl:

I [I]love[/I] fantasy RPG's! count me in! [COLOR=Blue]Name: Eslin Isarmina Age: 16 (in human terms - not sure how that translates into elven age in this world) Race: Elf Appearance: Pic below - minus the wings. This is how she looks dressed up (which she loves to do) but she wears woodland leathers - breaches, boots and bodice in browns and greens - and a linen shirt with loose cuffed sleeves when she's out and about. Russet brown hair in long waves and green eyes. History: Born and raised in an enchanted wood as a doted upon only child, this is Eslin's first time out of the forest. She felt increadibly drawn to help those who were fleeing the harsh king's tyrrany, but soon realized that the problem needed action rather than just reaction. She's out of her depth by herself, but is looking for others of strength and integrity that are working toward the same goal of freedom. She's an idealist, but not stupid. Weapons/Magic/Gifts: She's a healer. Her magic only works for the benefit of others. Kinda like a cleric in D&D, but without a specific god or goddess granting her the powers. She's a good enough archer to keep from starving, but nothing out of the ordinary as far as elves are concerned. He bow is good elven make, but not magical. Snippet: [B] "Just one more, little lady."[/B] The dwarf elder said as he coaxed Eslin toward another injured person. This time it was a child, barely beginning her life. The head wound was not deep, but she had bled more than the healer could believe. She slumped to her knees and simply stared at the little dwarf girl for a moment. [B]"Little Lady?"[/B] The elder was starting to sound concerned. [B]"Sorry. I just needed a moment. There has been so much blood. Why would anyone do this?"[/B] She was bone weary, but wouldn't tell that to anyone - especially not someone who had stomped all over his own pride to ask an elf for assistance. Not that she would have hesitated, no matter what race the wounded were. But she knew it had taken a lot for him to ask, so she wasn't going to complain to him. [B]"Anyone who tries to flee the 'new law' must suffer the concequenses. That's what them soldiers said as they attacked. They ain't attacking anyone now, but we suffered for it."[/B] The elder sighed, then motioned for the healer to begin. Eslin sank into herself, concentrating on pulling her magic forth to knit bone and tissue together into it's original whole. It took longer for the magic to flow than she liked, but this needed to be done. She spent herself recklessly, but was rewarded by hearing a tiny voice call for [B]"Mommy?"[/B] before she blacked out.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]Hello Loves- It is truley a pleasure to greet you on this fine evening. I didn't want to give you time to miss me, so I thought I would stop by and say my salutations. Tommorow, you will notice that I have sent a note to the newspapers. After all, I must entertain the masses. But of course, that will be simply be pointing out the usual suspects to the brainless authorities. Nothing about what you, my friends, are actually dealing with. You could say that the letter is merely a Red Herring, but you would have probably guessed that already. Oh, I have forgotten my manners -- please welcome Lord Rufus home for me. As it seems, I do know where to find each of you. So, as I have said before, there is no point in trying to run from what I have started. Forget this piece of advice that I so generously give and you might get burned -- no offense to Lord Dante -- I do hope there aren't any hard feelings about that, by the way. I look forward to our next meeting, your close friend, Jack[/COLOR] Geni read the letter over Dante's arm, and could feel the anger building in him again. "Let's take this to the others. They need to know what it says." "There are those that are not involved inside." He argued. "This attack and others have involved them. Sir Nathan, I am sure, will escort the voiciferous lady and her daughters home. But we [I]need[/I] the others to see this. We need to talk this out and reach a plan -- together!" Geni grabbed his arm and began dragging him as forcibly as she was able back inside the manor house, calling for Lady Ariana as she entered.

As Dante?s scream of rage echoed through the halls, what little color was left in Geni?s face drained out. Lord David yanked the large knife from her chair, freeing her from the makeshift entrapment. Without pause Geni stood, knocking her chair over, and rushed from the room with a hastily muttered, ?Please excuse me.? His rage was palpable, but more than that, Geni was terribly frightened by the seizure that Dante?s anger had caused. She didn?t even notice that her father and the vicar had followed her out. With no regard for her own safety she descended the stairs and dropped to her knees by his side. Alarmed, Lord David began a cautionary shout to his daughter, but with a single caress of her hand across Dante?s cheek, the convulsion ceased. The young lord went limp. Lifting him as best she could Geni settled Dante?s head on her lap. ?Dante, love.? She called to him softly. ?Come back to me, now.? She brushed his hair away from his face. In her mind?s eye she saw what he had ordered of his men as they melted into the shadows. [I]Keitaro, things will be well. Have faith in your men. Let it go and come back to me.[/I] She whispered gently into his mind. With a moan Dante?s eyes fluttered open. ?Geni, what?? ?Sshhh. Just rest. I?m fine.? The watching vicar turned to Lord David. In a hushed voice, he said, ?I would not pretend to understand all that has happened this evening. But, milord, if I do not presume too much, I would be greatly honored if you would let me wed those two when the event arrives.? ?The young man has not yet plucked up the courage to ask for her hand.? Lord David replied in equally quite tones. ?So it makes me curious as to why you would make such a request.? ?Marriage to advance social standing is expected in this cold world today; however, a wedding where real love rules is always a joy for all to behold and participate in. Such was Lord Rufus and Lady Ariana?s ceremony, and so, I believe, would be the union of these two. Nothing uplifts hope and life as love.? The vicar smiled and waited for the Lord?s response. ?You are a romantic.? Lord David said without any derision. ?Absolutely.? The vicar agreed. ?Now, shall we return to the dining room to see to the welfare of the screeching ladies?? Lord David grimaced. ?If we must.? * * * * Faustus rambled his way thought the poorer districts of the great city, always keeping to the shadows. His lord had said that it had been working girls that had been targeted in the past, so it was to the areas that those women were most known for that he traveled. The trouble was, he wasn?t precisely sure what he was looking for. He took to the rooftops by way an old brick building with mortar that had crumbled away enough to create perfect hand and toe holds. He hoped to be able to see more from the high ground than he would from the streets. The darkness enshrouded the area. Gaslights were few and far between because of the expense of maintaining them. The ladies of the evening flocked around these few globes of greenish light to make themselves more visible for possible hire. A flash of pure white light seen in the corner of his eye drew Faustus?s attention. It came from a few alleyways away. It took him mere moments to find the point that it originated, and what he found there was a scene from nightmares. The ?lady? had never even had an opportunity to cry out. Her throat was cut and heart stabbed through before she could even register that she was in danger. Horrified, Faustus watched silently as the man in the shadows eviscerated his target. When he had finished his macabre mortification of the body, the man dropped the knife with a tiny clang. Then he looked up, staring directly at his nearly invisible watcher. ?Someone must die, you see.? The attacker explained in a calm tone and without any obvious accent. ?That?s how the program works. Once activated, a death must occur, whether it be the intended target ? such as Lord Rufus or Lady Constance ? or the first innocent person that the program could encounter in the proper circumstances of availability and secrecy. Tell your lord that the choice of who dies lies with himself and his associates. Oh, and if you would, please give them this.? He dropped an envelope with the letter "J" writen on it, snapped a sharp salute to Faustus, and vanished with a fast flash of light that to eyes adjusted to seeing in the night?s darkness was blinding.

Two weeks had passed since Lord Rufus had been brutally attacked by a cockney accented assailant during the queens ballet. Now, Dr. Lancaster had agreed to let the lord return home -- and it certainly did not seem too soon to the patient. To celebrate, Lady Ariana and conjoled, begged, pleaded and finally convinced the good doctor to allow Rufus to attend a small party in her husband's honor. Dr. Lancaster knew that dinner with friends somewhere other than his bed would do wonders for his patient's moral, but he was also going to attend the gathering to be sure Rufus did not try to do too much. The gathering was small as far as ton gatherings were concerned. Lady Eclair and Sir Nathan were first to arrive so Nathan could help the doctor get Rufus out of the carriage, up the manor stairs, and into the dining hall with as little pain as possible. Lord Rufus hated being so dependant upon others, but even this humbling experience was better than staring at the same four walls all day. Elcair satyed close to Ariana, reassuring her that everything was perfectly fine, and if it ever wasn't, the doctor would take care of it immediately. Not long after Rufus was settled, their neighbor and long time aquaintence of Ariana's family, Lady Constance Alexander entered with her two teenage daughters, Isabelle and Christine, in tow. Ariana did not particularly care for Lady Constance's company, she was a matchmaking mama who attempted to foist her rather awkward daughters onto any elegible batchelor who had the misfortune to come into her sights. But she was a friend of her mother, and to not invite her would be a social snub that she would never be forgiven of by either her mother or the lady in question. She just prayed for the welfare of the unmarried men in her party. On that stroke of misfortune, Lord Dante, Lady Geni and Lord David were the next to arrive.The taciturn young lord had barely crossed the threshold of the dining room before Lady Constantine had whisked him away and trapped him in a corner with her girls. He looked over the heads of the three attackers at Lady Ariana with the expression of a fox hunted to ground. All the hostess could do was smile aplogetically at him. Dante had been staying as a guest of Geni's family while the rebuilding of his own home got under way. Lord David had extended the invitation without any prompting from his daughter. He liked the young man despite the fact that Dante was quite obviously taking his daughter's heart away. Dante had mother-henned Geni's injury more than her own mother had. Maybe it was guilt, or maybe it was something else, but even though Geni could now walk at a normal pace without a limp he wouldn't let her asend the outside stairs. He had carried her, like he still did in her own home. He had set her down just outside the dining room so she could enter in what she considered a dignified manner. When Dante was kidnapped from her side, however, she looked as if she wished she had reconsidered that decision. She took her father's arm and tried without much success not to look as shocked as she felt. Her father led her to the seat at the table that held her placecard and sat his daughter without comment. Lady Ariana made her way over to the young lady. "Geni, I am sorry." She whispered. "She's my mother's friend and incorrigible. If I had any idea she would try anything on Dante, I would have changed the seating arrangements." Geni looked about the table and saw that Dante was placed across the table from her, between Lady Constance and Isabelle. Society dictated that a table was set up lord-lady-lord down the sides, and that married and engaged couples sat across from one another, but Geni was not exactly happy at how it had ended up. Yes, she was flattered that Ariana would place Dante across from her, but to be surrounded by that crowd just did not seem fair to Dante. Geni was seated between her father and Dr. Lancaster. Christine was on the other side of Lord David with Lord Rufus's vicar across from her. Eclair and Nathan sat across from one another next to Lord Rufus at the head of the table. Ariana sat at the foot of the table with the vicar to her right and Christine to her left. Ariana hurridly called everyone to the table so the meal could begin. The salad and fish courses were exquisit, and the fillet minion promised to be equally wonderful. Dante only wished the conversation could compare. Lady Constance dominated the table regaleing the many wonderous and obviously over-estimated talents and virtues of her two amazing daughters. The lady practically glowed red in her vehemnance to be the loudest voice at the table. Despite efforts to coverse with her father and the doctor, Geni kept getting distracted by sights of Isabelle "accidentally" placing her hand over Dante's and Lady Constance shooting venomous looks to Geni any time her name came up in any conversation. Ariana was begining to think the lack of forgiveness from her mother would have been better than the torture she, Rufus and all of her guests were being forced to endure. With barely a sound, Lady Ariana's servants dished the beef course to all at the table. But this time, instead of Rufus being served first and Ariana served last, the service ended with Lady Constance. Just as she took in a deep breath to reproach Ariana for the manners of her help, a long kitchen blade flashed in the light as the servant behind the rather vocal lady raised it over his head as he prepared to plunge it into Constance's chest. Without a second thought, Dr. Lancaster grabbed his wine goblet and threw the vintage into the assailant's eyes. "Corr!" The man shouted as the alcohol stung his eyes, forcing him to squeese them shut. Lady Eclair was just seconds behind with a large candlestick full hot wax drippings. She stood and threw it as hard as she could, landing a scortching blow to the man's nose. The metal of the candlestick made a loud clang as it connected with her target. Blood from his broken face spattered the table and guests as he spun away from the counter-attack. Lady Constance began to scream as the danger she was in finally registered beyond her original surprise. This set her two daughters off in full voice as well. "Oh shut it, ye old cow." The assassin slurred through the blood. "You nag so much your son-in-law changed laws that me boss would rather be left alone. You can't stand silence can you?" He glanced at the others in the room who were marshaling against him. Dante had a sword pulled while Nathan and Dr. Landcaster held pistols aimed. Eclair had stepped behind her high-back chair, using it as a shield. Geni and Ariana had linked their minds, trying to get though the number-babble of the man's supposed thoughts so they could attempt to back-trail to whomever had sent him. "Jack'll not be 'appy. The death is on you again." The attacker pronounced. He glanced around again, then tossed his blade with a flick of the wrist. The knife pegged the back of Geni's chair, shearing off one of her trailing strawberry ringlets. Then with a shimmer of light, he and all of his spattered blood was gone. _______________________________ OOC: I cannot believe how increadibly LLLOOOOOONNNGGGG it took me to post this! I am so sorry! Thank you for being patient!

"I hope no one takes offence to this, but since we're in a relatively safe spot, I think we need a little down time." Trey suggested. " If Vic knew where Hammet is, then Hammet knows we're looking for him. He'll lay as low to the ground as an earthworm, but he won't go far from the fair grounds." "What do you mean, down time?" Olivia murmured. "Well, I don't know about imperious leader here, but the closest thing to sleep that I've had in the last 36 hours is a shower. If I don't rest soon, my body is going to start malfunctioning in all sorts of ways that I can't control. Micro-implants need time to self-repair every so often, I've discovered to my chagrin." Trey sighed. "Besides, Liv's insides need a chance to make a little more blood. Right now she's as empty as a vampire victim." "Great, I'm a victim of something new. Gotta put that on my resume." Liv grumbled back. "We can't take much time." Korbin warned. "I'm not asking for much time, just a hour or two. The last thing we need is my arms and legs giving out just as Murphy's Law kicks in." Trey continued to joke, but her voice was sounding more and more listless. She took off what was left of her jacket and put it over Liv's shoulders. "There should be more between you and the night air." "What about you and your night air?" Liv aksed. "I'm not suffering from holes all over my body. They let the cold in more." Was Trey's smart reply. Liv shrugged, but didn't take the jacket off. "Fine, two hours, or whenever company shows up. That's all you get." Korbin decided. "I'll wake you whenever one of the two reasons shows up." "Thanks." Trey said greatfully. She curled up on the floor next to the big man and tiny lady and immediately dozed off. ____________________________________ OOC: I know it's mostly filler, but I didn't want to skip too far ahead.

"Uh - hello? May we come in?" Geni softly called as she opened the door a crack. "Please do." Rufus answered cheerfully. "The more the merrier." The door opened wide to allow Geni, Dante and the doctor entrance. In her left hand was a boquet of fresh flowers, but her right hand seemed to have been captured by Dante's own hand -- and the young lord didn't look anywhere near ready to release it. "I thought you could use a little color to brighten up your room." Geni smiled warmly. "I appreciate your thoughtfulness." Lord Rufus relpied. "But, if you don't mind me asking, how did you manage to get in here? I thought the masters of this club were rather strict about women on the premisis." "Dante smuggled me in." Geni glanced at the young lord in question with a conspiritorial grin. Marveling at the sneakiness of those around him, Rufus just nodded. Geni crossed the room after letting Dante's hand go with a squeeze, and began a search for a container that she could use as a flower vase. She found what looked to be a medical-type measuring jar, and at the doctor's nod of permission, poured water from the washbasin into it and quickly arranged the blossoms. She set the boquet on Rufus's bedside table, gave the patient another smile, then walked back to Dante's side. "My dear Geni!" Ariana exclaimed. "You're limping. Whatever happened to you?" "Oh, I fell while I was helping Dante sift through some of the ashes and got a splinter in my leg. I'll be fine, so don't worry." Geni attempted to downplay her injury. "Why don't you let [B]me[/B] be the judge of that." Dr. Lancaster spoke up. "But, honestly, I'm fine." Geni protested. "You should let the doctor see to the injury." Ariana incouraged. "That way it won't get worse later." "But . . ." To Geni's dismay, even Dante wasn't backing up her protests. He just pulled her into the next room by the hand he had reclaimed. He hauled her over to a chair and pushed her into it unceremoniously. Ariana had followed them into the room and chuckled at the imperious way Dante had taken charge. [I]You planned this![/I] She growled at the young lord. [I]No, just hoped the doctor would offer his assistance. I had no idea Ariana would point it out to everyone. . . but I'm grateful. [/I]Was his cool reply. "Now, Milady, if you would just pull your skirts aside, I will take a look at your -- limb." It was quite obvious that the doctor was definately more aquainted with handling men than women as patients, but he was trying to be delicate. Blushing a cherry red, Geni hefted her skirts out of the way to bear her leg half-way up her left thigh. The make-shift bandage that Dante had applied was still there, but it was looking decidedly worse for wear. Blood had begun to soak through, and she had accidentally soaked it in her bath at Eclair's home. Deftly the doctor picked the knots apart. Geni hissed in pain and tried not to flinch away as he carefully peeled away the hankerchief to expose the wound. "That must have been quite a splinter, Milady." He muttered. "Geni, why didn't you tell us at Elcair's that you were hurt?" Ariana asked, a touch piqued that she hadn't confided in them. "She tried to keep it from me," Dante growled, "so don't feel left out." He was respectfully averting his eyes away from the procedure, but since Geni had a hold of his hand still, he couldn't return to Rufus's room like he knew society dictated he should. At least Ariana was there. "Well, there is a touch of infection. I will have to clean it out with some iodine, and a stitch or two would probably not be out of order." Dr. Lancaster looked up at Geni's face. "I will not lie to you, it will hurt quite a bit. Are you as nastily inclined toward Ether and Chlorophorm as your father? One whif of either stops his breath cold. Gave me quite a scare on one occasion, he did." "I don't know." Geni answered. "I don't believe I have ever been exposed to either." "Let's not chance it." Dante jumped in with a voice that brooked no arguement. Realizing how he sounded, he looked down into Geni's face a spoke gently, "I know it will hurt, but I would rather not take any chances with your health." She looked at him for a moment, then nodded her agreement. The doctor watched the whole exchange, then looked quizzically at Ariana. She smirked back at the doctor with a gee-aren't-they-cute expression. The doctor wanted to comment that the lady looked exactly the same way with her husband, but refrained. He reached for his bottle of yellow iodine along with silk thread and a tiny needle, then again knelt next to Geni's injury. He worked as quickly as humanly possible, but knew that she was in pain. Tears leaked out her tightly closed eyes, and the hand that gripped Dante's was completely white knuckled. She did not cry out, however, and he admired her for her restraint. "Is everything all right in there?" Rufus called from his room. "We're fine, love." Ariana reassured him. "Dr. Lancaster is just finishing a few stitches to Geni's cut." "I sympathize." Came the good-natured reply. Cutting the last thread free, Dr. Landcaster took a fresh cotton bandage from a cupboard and tied it in place. "I'm sorry about your hankerchief, but I'm afraid it's ruined. Leave this on for a few days, keeping it as dry as possible. I will come by your house in a week or so to remove the stitches if you would tell me where you live." He offered. "I think you might already know where she lives." Dante informed him as he traded hands that held Geni's and attempted to flex some blood into the one she had been holding. "Her father is Lord David." Dr. Lancaster looked a touch startled. "Well, then you must be Lady Genieve. It is a pleasure to formally meet you." Geni attempted to smile at him as she wiped the tears from her face and arrange her skirts back to thier proper order. "Thank you. The pleasure is mine. You know my father?" "Served with him in the army." The doctor said proudly. "You should stay off that -- injury -- as much as possible for the next few days." "I will make sure of that." Dante said with no humor in his voice. A knock at the front office door startled everyone. Lady Eclair peeked in asking, "Is anyone there?" "Come in!" Ariana said brightly. Eclair opened the door, a small cake in her hands. "I came to visit, since Nathan is still tied up." "Huzzah!" Said the male voice from the other room. "More visitors for me!" "I am so sorry!" Geni said plantively. "We came here to see Lord Rufus, and everyone has been in here with me, instead." "Not a worry." Ariana patted her head. "This is killing two birds with one stone. Now, let's all go have a nice long chat with my lonely lord." She ushered Eclair into her husband's room with a whispered "I'll explain later." Geni began to rise, but Dante pushed her back into her seat. She looked up at him, puzzled, but his stern face stopped her from asking what he was doing. He bent, and lifting her as if she weighed no more than air, swept her up and carried her into the next room.

Geni reached up to brush the small pink flowers with her fingertips. The were increadibly soft. "Is it a cherry tree?" She asked. "Yes, of a different variety than the ones found here in England. They call it a Sakura Tree where it comes from." Dante watched as Geni plucked a tiny limb with a few blossoms attached to it and wove it into her arranged curls. "I'm not sure if it's because I took it from it's native soil or because it knows it won't have to share the bees in August, but it always blooms in late summer instead of early spring, like it is supposed to. I think it's trying to prove that it is as contrary as I am." "I do not believe you are contrary." Geni argued as she carefully picked her way around the tree, staring up at the flowers. "Extrodinarily determined at times, but never argumentative just for the sake of arguing. I think your stubborness is an endearing trait - the way that contrariness never could be." "You can make anything positive, can't you." It was a statement, not a question. Geni's gaze met Dante's and she grew serious. "No. I can't think of any way to make the savage attack on Lord Rufus positive. There is no way of making your house being destroyed positive. Nothing can make a brutal murder positive. And there is nothing positive about how frightened and useless I feel." Geni shuddered visibly and wrapped her arms about herself as if the bright summer day had suddenly gone cold. "Don't." Dante said in a strong tone. Geni looked at him, puzzled. "Don't close yourself up. Don't shut everything happy out. Allow yourself to be afraid, you would have to be an idiot not to be, but don't let that fear control you and everyone who wants to be close to you." "But I fail everyone so often." She dropped her gaze to the petal strewn ground. "I never pull my share." "Then share the weight. Don't try to bear your burdens alone." Dante's voice was soft, but his conviction was as strong as tempered steel. "I'll always be by your side, so don't be afraid to lean on me." "But. . ." she tried to interject, but the young lord wouldn't let her. "But nothing. I -- Geni, I love you." Dante said in a rush, as if the words might hurt as they came out. "Please, trust that, even if you can't trust anything else. I'll be here if you need anything, anything at all." "Why would you . . .?" Geni had trouble forming her feelings into words. "I followed Jeni into the past to be with her; I'll follow Geni anywhere, now, to stay with her." Again he tipped her chin up with the tips of his fingers and kissed her, trying to convey all the intensity that he felt. Melting at his touch, Geni pulled down her mental barriers and let him feel how incandecently happy his words had made her. If joy could be overwhelming, hers nearly was to him. He managed to remain on his feet, but he had to place his free hand on the trunk of the tree to steady himself. "Now, I believe I'm going to take you to visit Lord Rufus." Dante said to her a few moments later. "I know that you would really like to see him, and if he's anything like any other active man I have met that has been confined to a bed, he will be glad of the company." Geni agreed to the idea with warmth, and as they returned to the lane, Dante signaled to Faustus that they were ready for the carriage. The truth was, Dante didn't trust himself to be alone with Geni for much longer. His honor was too much to place her in a questionable position, but it was becoming difficult to - well - so he had proposed the visit with the invalid lord. He handed her into the carriage and decorously sat across from her rather than next to her as he would have liked. He smiled incouragement to her when she pouted a touch at the seating arrangement, but did not say anything out loud about it. "But Dante," Geni said with a sudden thought, "I'm not alloud into Whites without special permission that could take weeks to obtain since I'm not actually related to Lord Rufus." "Never fear, locks, blocked doorways and rediculous rules have never been a trouble for me." Dante grinned at her, and helpless to the infectiousness of it, Geni grinned at him in return.

As Geni and Dante continued to walk, her leg began to twinge with pain. She was doing her best not to let her limp show, but it was becoming harder and harder to hide with each step. She debated not telling him about it, his mind seemed completely preoccupied, but his reaction to her deceit earlier decided it for her. "Dante, is where we are going far?" She asked. "It's a bit further, yes." He stopped and raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you ask? Don't you trust me?" "It's not that! It's just, well, my injury is begning to bother me and . . ." "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I thought you would enjoy the fresh air and quiet after all that has happened. That you were hurt completely slipped my mind." Dante looked abashed. "I sent the carriage on ahead to meet us. Since there was no way of knowing how long the meeting would take, I did not give them a time to come looking for us." "Do not worry, My lord." She smiled, trying to smooth over his flustered feathers. "There is a tree just off the lane, here, and a patch of grass underneath. If I could sit down for a while, I'm sure I'll feel better soon and will be able to continue on our way." He nodded his agreement and they were soon sitting in the shade of a large oak tree. Dante even spread the coat he had aquired from the dressmakers on the ground for Geni to sit on so her dress would not get dirty. Her leg throbbed, but she was going to keep quiet about that fact. She had admitted the hurt, and that was as far as she intended to go. "Look, you can still see the upper levels of Eclair's house from here." Geni pointed out. "I didn't last very long, did I?" "Uh-huh." Dante agreed distractedly. He was worlds away, staring off into space. "Milord? Are you well?" She asked. "Uh-huh" Again was his relpy. "Dante, what in heaven's name is on your mind?" She laughed as he looked at her, startled. "Well, you know -- my house. And -- Lord Rufus, of course." He muttered. Geni saw instantly past the cover story. Something was making him decidedly distracted, and it wasn't his house. Her face reflected her disbelief. She wasn't going to pry into his thoughts uninvited, but it was tempting. Dante took a deep breath. "Geni -- Geni . . ." He stammered to a halt. For always being so self-assured, Geni found it nearly comical to see him so distraught, but she would never let that amusement show. He was trying to say something, and it obviously wan't coming out right. "Yes, Milord?" She incouraged. "Uh - what sort of things do you care for?" He wasn't looking at her. Something in the weave of his shirt fabric suddenly seemed to fasinate him. "Well, I love to ride my mare. I enjoy long, quiet walks when my limbs are not bothering me. I like to read and play my pianoforte and watch the fire dance on cold winter nights." Geni could see him grow more and more crestfallen with each of her answers. "And I . . ." she blushed at her audacity, ". . . I care for [I]you[/I] more than the world." Daringly, she leaned over, eyes closed, to kiss him on the cheek. At that exact moment, he turned to looked at her in surprise. Their lips met and Geni's eyes flew open in surprise. Both of them froze for a moment before Dante pulled himself back. Geni touched her mouth, eyes still wide. "Milady, I -- well, I . . . it seems that I . . ." Dante floundered at a complete loss for words. "Dante," Geni whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "would you please kiss me again?" His eyebrows met his hairline as the meaning of her request sunk in. Hesitantly he leaned forward, expecting her to refuse him at any second. She didn't. This kiss was sweet and filled with hope and nervousness, just like any girl's dreamed-of first kiss, even if it was - technically - a second kiss. Dante carefully placed his hand under her chin to bring her even closer and a tear of happiness slowly slid down Geni's cheek. From the upstairs hall window of a large manor, two ladies stood watching. Eclair had been showing Ariana to her library so the lady might choose a book or two for Rufus to read while he healed. Ariana had noticed the couple sitting under the tree by the lane and had pointed it out to the lady of the house. Just as Eclair had glanced out the window to affirm that it was, indeed, Geni and Dante, they witnessed the first kiss. Unable to look away, they saw the second kiss as well. After Geni and Dante had pulled away and the young lady had rested her head on the lord's shoulder, Eclair turned to her guest. "I didn't see anything, did you?" "I have no idea what you are talking about." Ariana replied with a sly smile. "I'm looking for books." "That's what I'm doing, too." Eclair agreed and they continued on their way. ________________________________ OOC: I know, I'm a sap!

"God, Liv, you're a mess." Trey muttered as she began to try and patch up her friend. Most of the wounds were superficial, but the one in the gut was what had Trey worried. She was no M.D., but she had taken enough anatomy classes to know a huge mess when she saw one. Trey had just gotten out of the shower when Vic walked into her shower stall. He got a slap for his troubles. At least Trey had refrained from screaming. "I suppose I deserved that." He had smirked as he handed her the standard white towel she had borrowed from the linen closet. Trey snatched the proffered cloth and hastily wrapped it around her body, ignoring the dripping water that was pooling in a puddle at her feet. If Vic slipped in the water that came off her soaked hair, well then he deserved that, too. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your preasance?" She asked in a snyde tone. "Hell is breaking loose." He came right to the point. "Aros has declaired war on us. Anyone known to be a sympathizer has a bounty on thier heads. Hammet is at the fair grounds. The others will be meeting you there." Vic turned to go. "Thanks for the information." Trey conceded grudgingly. "That's my job." He answered over his shoulder. "Oh, and nice breasts." "You have a death wish!" She roared after him. Dressed all in black, Trey had made her way, catlike, over the rooftops of the tightly packed city. She had had a few close shaves - was even shot at by a crazy old lady who thought she was a burglar - not that Trey blamed the biddy. You could never be too careful these days. She had landed lightly on her feet when she had run out of buildings and sneaked across the street in between the street lamps, trying to find as many shadows to hide in as possible. Just as she had found a nice dark corner to hole up in to wait, she heard Olivia call out, then saw her crumple to the ground. "I hope you appreciate that you're getting me dirty all over again." She muttered as she heafted Liv's body over her shoulder and carried her fireman style back into the shadows. Without many medical supplies available, just the few things Trey kept in her slim pack, she had to make do with what came to hand to patch up Liv. "You [I]will[/I] owe me a new jacket if we survive this, just so you know." she whispered to the unconsious lady as she ripped her denim jacket into strips to use to hold her gause pads in place. She gave her analgesics and antibiotics, and anything else would have to wait till help arrived. Trey preyed for both their sakes that it arrived soon.

"Well, that was a touch awkward." Eclair said as she turned away from the window and pasted a smile on her face for the benefit of the gathered group. She dabbed her eyes with a delicate linen and lace hankerchief. "I do apologize. Now, let's all sit down and talk these troubles out. 'Jack' has been quite busy, and I, for one, would like to know what he has to say for himself." Geni shuddred at the memory of the last note from Jack they had read and where it had been found. Dante saw the shiver, and squeesed her hand in support. She smiled her thanks to him, but he did not release her hand. Nathan pulled the envelope from his pocket. "I really should have entered this into evidence with the Yard, but since I knew the letter was for us, in particular, I reserved it for the six -- I mean five of us to read. Forgive me the lapse, Lady Ariana." Nathan wasn't doing well in the soft-words-to-ladies department this afternoon. "No forgiveness needed." Ariana said. "My lord is alive and recovering. Even if he is not here in person, he is with me in spirit. I shall tell him all that is discussed and discovered here." "The letter -- " Dante prompted. "Yes, the letter." Nathan returned his attention the the envelope. "At least the monogram on the outside is in red ink and not any other writing medium." The officer cracked the wax seal and slid the parchment from it's case. Nathan read it's contents out loud: [COLOR=Red]Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen- It is truely a pleasure to be addressing you again. I do hope that you enjoyed my last letter, pretty affective don't you think? I must say that I am glad that you were all able to make it to my beautiful performance although it is a shame that you had to make aquaintences with my target, I am terribly sorry if I uspet you too terribly much. Now, the time has come where you will need to keep your skills sharp and your thoughts focused, or else you'll fall behind. I warn you that this is about to become a much more complicated. Have a wonderful evening, loves. Your dear friend- Jack- P.S. I have a clue for you . . . old mother hubbard, She went to her cupboard to get her poor dog a bone. -I wish you luck!-[/COLOR] "And that's where it ends." Nathan concluded. "Someone delights in tormenting us." Ariana said in an exasperated voice. "What kind of clue is the opening lines of a Nursery Rhyme?" "Dante!" Geni exclaimed. "There is another mind here with us, listening in to everything we say!" Her eyes were wide as she threw down every shield she had. Thoughts swamped her consciousness, but they were all from people she had touch before. All the chatter was quite painful, so brick by mental brick, she built her basic shileds back up till the noise returned to it's usual murmur in the back of her head. "It's gone now." she sighed. "What do you mean?" Eclair asked her. "Once I have touched a person's mind, I never forget the 'feel' of it. That's how I can be sure I am speaking mind to mind with the right person instead of broadcasting for all the world to hear." Geni explained. "I just 'felt' a mind listening to us that I have never touched before. It was laughing smugly to itself." "Was it 'Jack'?" Nathan demanded. "I don't know. It wasn't the person who attacked Rufus. I am sure of that. The actual attacker didn't have any thoughts at all -- just a stream of numbers. I have never met Jack, as far as I know, so I wouldn't be able to identify his mind." Geni was feeling as if she had failed her friends once again. "Yes, I remember the strange mind of Rufus's assailant. That was why I had no idea he held any ill intent toward us." Ariana agreed. "I was so suprised by what I 'heard' from him that I didn't realize what he was doing till he slashed my lord." "That means that Jack is using a hired man to do his dirty work." Nathan sumised. "We can determine that as a fact if, in fact, what Geni felt was 'Jack' . . . if it was another mind at all. I don't mean to doubt your abilities, milady, but neither Lady Ariana or myself sensed an intruder." Geni hung her head. "I'm sorry. Maybe I want to be of help so badly that I am simply crying wolf." Dante gave an angry glare to the officer. "If Geni says she felt someone listening to us, then there was someone there." "Arguing over whether or not we have an easedropper is not very productive." Ariana soothed. "At least we are warned to the fact that someone could be listening in to conversations we once believed to be private. We might need to do more discussing in the future directly mind to mind with the telepaths filling in the others who have talents in other fields - or no mental talent at all - as we go. But since Geni seems to have frightened off whomever it was, let's continue." "Yes," Eclair chimed in, hoping Dante wouldn't jump up in a fury and drag Geni off with him. The young lord seemed more volitile since his home had a torch taken to it. Additionally, he had been accidentally placed in an awkward position when Eclair had cried over the clothes she had bullied Dante into wearing. She did not want to uspet him further. So, she attempted to divert everyone's attention away from Nathan's challenge of Geni's abilities. "What do you think of that supposed clue? Is it a red herring to drive us mad, or is it real?"

"Milord, before you begin your explaination," Geni said as the carriage began it's way down Dante's drive, "I can't help but point out that neither of us are attired appropriatly for visiting." She was right. In fact, with some of the bigger tears in Geni's dress, she was nearly indecent. Whenever she moved, a scandalous amount of leg flashed into view for an instant or two. Since her mother absolutley objected to bloomers as a garment only floosies wore, Geni showed even more skin than most would. Respectfully, Dante kept his gaze on Geni's face, despite the fact that not an hour before he had seen her left leg nearly up to the hip. "Would you like me to take you home for a change of clothes?" He offered. "No, my mother would have apoplexy if I showed myself in this state. It just might kill her. Then, I would have to spend the rest of the day explaining and re-explaining what had happened. She wouldn't let me out of her sight." Geni gave an exasperated sigh. She seemed to be bouncing back from all the shocks she had recieved in the past twenty-four hours. It was a slow recovery, psychologically, but anything was better than how she was after Milton had been discovered. "Instead, my mother has ordered yet another dress that needs to be retrieved from the milleners. If we could just stop there - it's on the way to Elcair's home - then I could change as soon as we arrvied. I am sure that Eclair would loan me the use of a room and a lady's maid. Would that be too much trouble?" "Not at all. I'll give my driver the direction and we'll be there shortly." Dante was also relieved at not needing to face Geni's daunting and hyperchondriatic mother. This seemed the much simpler course. It was not long before they arrived at the dressmakers. Dante exited the carriage easily, but Geni, with her cut leg, had a difficult time of it. Before she even reached the carriage door, Dante was gently pushing her back into her seat. "You are in no condition to be gadding into shops right now." He insisted. "But . . ." she tried to protest. "But nothing. Just give me one of your cards with a short message on the back telling the shopkeeper that you want me to take your dress." Dante was not excited at the prospect of entering what was usually a stricly female store by himself, but there was no way he would let Geni walk right now. "I didn't mean to cause a fuss." She apologized. "Then don't. I have pen and ink in the side compartment on your left. I will have to unstop the bottle for you since it's closed quite tightly. Just write the note on your card and then let me do the footwork." "Yes, Milord." Geni saluted him like a soldier then did as she was told. Upon entering the shop, Dante honestly believed himself to have been transported to a foreign and mystrious world filled with ribbons, lace and such sundries that defied any man's attempt at definition. The matron of the establishment tried with some success to hide a smile as she saw her uncomfortable new customer. Wordlessly Dante handed her Geni's card. He refrained from any extranious movement to avoid being the proverbial bull in the equally proverbial china shop. The matron read the brief instructions on the back of the card and clucked her tongue. "I will return in just a moment, milord. If you would like to sit down whlie you wait, I should not take long." Dante nodded, but otherwise did not budge. The woman stepped behind a curtain and the young lord was pretty sure he could hear soft whispers and twitters of hushed giggles coming from the direction she had gone. The woman did not dawdle, and she emerged with a light and delicate powder blue muslin day dress over her arm. She also carried something made from a black fabric as well. "Lord Dante, here is the dress for Lady Genieve. I hope it suits. Please thank her for her business for me if you would be so kind." "Thank yo-- how did you know my name?" He asked, suspicious. Geni hadn't put it on the card, he was sure. "A young lord on a errand for the sweet Lady Genieve? Even I hear the talk of the ton. You would have to be Lord Dante." She smiled warmly at Dante as she handed him the garment. He held it as if her were afraid he would rip it with the wrong expression on his face. The shopowner chuckled, then shook out the black garment. It was a gentleman's coat. "A young man ordered this earlier in the year, but then fell sick and lost a great deal of weight so it no longer fit properly. I have had it in the back for some months with no use for it. Please take it with my complements. A gentleman of your standing and charms should not go about in his shirtsleeves, even if his home has just suffered a major fire." Dante wanted to refuse her act of kindness, but could not find a polite reason to. Afterall, the only garments he currently owned were what he was wearing and maybe an article or two that the staff might have set aside for cleaning. Blushing awkwardly at his remarked-upon social miss-step, he took the proffered coat and put it on. It fit perfectly. "I thought you looked the right size. If it needs any adjusting, don't hesitate to return here. Besides, if you like this coat, you might return here for the replacements of what you lost this day. I do not have many customers of the masculine persuasion, and outfitting you would be a great honor." She wore a sly grin. "I see your game. Lure me in with kindness, then catch my business hook, line, and sinker. Shrewed of you." Dante liked it when people were honest about their deviousness. "Yes, milord." She bobbed a curtsey and Dante left the shop feeling a touch less uncomfortable than he did when he entered. He handed Geni her dress, hoping he hadn't dirtied it with his less than emmaculate hands. If he had, she did not remark on it. He instructed the drive to continue on to Eclair's manorhouse and then swang himself inside the carriage. Geni thanked him profusely for all the trouble he had gone to. He waved it away, but said, "Some day you must tell me how you stand it." "Stand what, Dante? I don't understand." She was puzzled by the strange statement. "Stand being around all that." He answered. "I still do not understand." "[I]That[/I]. All that rediculousness I could see filling the entire front of that establishment." Dante looked serious, but Geni could not tell if he was teasing her. "Is that question in earnest?" She asked. "Maybe you would have to be a man to understand." Was all he would say to that. "Now, I believe I promised to tell you about my swords. . ." ____________________ OCC: I know this is just filler, but I liked it. (Is hyperchondriatic a word? It is now!)

Dante paced out the path to the room with the trap door. What few walls that remained standing in this portion of the house were blackened and dripping wet from the extinguishing efforts. Soot and pools of standing water covered the floor, and Geni's white boots were soon a dingy grey. The large chair still stood on the raised level of the room, as if it were entirely unperturbed by the chaos of the early morning. Dante stamped down on the trigger board and the trap slid aside without any hesitation. Thin clouds of trapped smoke puffed out the hole and into the morning light. As before, Dante descended four or five stairs first, then turned and offered his hand to help Geni navigate the steep steps. This time, however, as she made her way down, a wooden step about waist hight from the bottom floor gave out, cracking and splintering aproximately in half under her weight. Fabric ripped with dramatic volume as her skirts caught on the ragged edges of what remained of the faulty stair. Geni crashed to the floor with a startled yelp, then she instantly slammed her mental shields up so Dante would not sense how much pain she was in. She would prove to the voice, whether it was Jack or not, that she was NOT more distress than damsel. It was just a short tumble, after all. "Geni! Are you well? What happened?" Dante's voice was full of concern. The young lady gave a timerous laugh. "I'm fine. The weight of all the trimmings I have on must have been too much for the poor stair to handle. I think I have been conspired against to look even more clumsy than I already am in front of you." She managed a weak smile of emabrassment as Dante helped her to her feet. Her left leg actually hurt quite a bit, but she opted not to mention it. "I think my dress has seen it's last day, though." The fine silk fabric had several rends in it, and a long strip of it still hung from the edge of the staircase. Between tearing strips off of her petticoats to help bandage Rufus and this tumble, her dress was indeed destroyed. Dante looked skeptical over Geni's explaination. He saw through her blantant attempt to change the subjuct. The step had born his weight first, and there was no way, not even with her heavy gown, that Geni weighed more than he did. The stair hadn't even creaked under him, or he would have helped Geni to step over it. He lifted her up off the floor, reaffirming his assasment that she wasn't at all heavy and set he back on her feet. Gingerly they made their way past the shiny objects and into the room with all of Dante's swords. Despite the wreak of smoke, everything appeared to be in order. The lord led Geni to the stone alter that the candleabra once stood on. Fingering a hidden catch, the top of the stone box rotated on a corner axis around to show a hollow beneath it. Inside lay three swords, gently wrapped in while silk and muslin and looking like the priceless and beloved treasures they obviously were. Taking great care, Dante lifted them and turned to show them to Geni. His face held a reverance that she had never seen before. "These mean more to me than my own life." He told her. Geni looked from the sheathed blades to Dante's eyes. Those eyes seemed to beg her to understand. The young lord my not have been very expressive with words, but she knew that the one true way to comprehend Dante was through his eyes. You could see his soul through them if you only knew what to look for. His eyes told her what his words could not. "Then I must know them." She whispered. "Any beloved of yours is dear to me." Geni knew her words sounded sappy, but they seemed to be what the young lord was hoping for. "This is Tsuruko, Shiisui and Masamune." He introduced, naming them as he handed them to her. The enamel on the sheaths was intricately worked with filagree patterns. Each had it's own distinct look and style. They appeared well loved and well cared for. "They're lovely, Dante. Thank you for letting me see them." She gave him a soft smile and stepped forward to return them. When she put her full weight on he left leg, it crumpled beneath her and she collapsed to the floor with a small cry of pain, hugging the blades to her chest so she would not damage them. "Geni?" Dante's voice was laced with worry. "I'm fine. I must have stumbled in my heels." She attempted to rise to her feet, and quickly returned to the floor with a quiet moan of pain. "You are [I]not[/I] fine." Dante rumbled at her in a dark tone. He glanced over to the spot where she had been standing while he had retrieved his blades from their rest and noticed a small stain of blood. "You are [I]not fine [/I] at all." He was becoming enraged. She had been hurt and hadn't told him. "I - I just pulled a muscle in my limb when I fell. That's all. Not even worth mentioning." She covered. "You are[I] still [/I] a rotten liar." He growled. "A pulled muscle does not bleed." Ignoring all social protocols, he yanked her obscuring skirts away from the leg that was now obviously in pain. Geni gave a whimper of indignanty but was silenced by Dante's glare. Halfway up her left thigh a shard of wood about an inch wide and a handspan long had embedded itself into her leg about an inch or so deep. Since the wood was still in place, blood merely oosed around it. Once pulled, the blood flow would definately increase. [I]Dante, I - I'm sorry.[/I] Geni took down her mental wall to touch his mind. Unfortunately for her cause in gaining his forgiveness, along with her apology came the awareness of how much pain she was in. He looked at her face, anger clearly apparent in every aspect, and raised and eyebrow. "Do you have any [I]clean[/I] cloth that I can use as a bandage?" He asked sharply. She nodded, her face full of contrition. She pulled her white hankerchief from inside her corset and handed it to him. It was the cleanest item she had at the moment. Not touching her hand he took it from her and went back to work on the small injury. He carefully withdrew the woodden shard, then used the hankerchief as a pad to soak up the now free-flowing crimpson stream. Still not looking at her, he tore yet another strip from her petticoats and used it to tie the make-shift bandage in place. [I]Dante, I really am sorry.[/I] Geni tried again. [I]If you're sorry, why didn't you tell me about this?[/I] Even his mental voice sounded angry. [I]Because I didn't want to burden you. That's what the voice in the nightmare told me. He said I was weighing you down with all my fagilities -- more distress than damsel.[/I] She felt so horrible about attempting to decieve him and making him angry - he'd never been angry at her before - that she couldn't look him in his expressive eyes. She busied herself by rearranging her skirts into a proper order. He lifted her into his arms for the second time that day, swords and all, and she kept her gaze on the ornate tsubas of each blade. [I]You are never a burden.[/I] His thoughts murmured into hers. She would have accused him of simply being kind, but she knew the impossibility of lying mind to mind. He deftly carried her up the steep staircase, adroitly skipping the missing tread. "I asked Ariana to ask Eclair if we could all meet at her manor later today to talk over all the recent events with Jack and the fire and everything. Elcair agreed to the idea. I know you are still upset by -- everything, but would you come with me?" Geni asked. "Where you go, I follow, even if I don't currently trust the company you keep." He told her. "Again? Oh, Dante. What has happened to ruin what everyone has worked so hard to build with you?" Geni looked into his face, forgetting her reluctance, suprised. Everything had been going so well as far as group trust issues were concerned she had thought. "It was the message you gave me." His tone made it very clear that he was dropping the subject. He carried her out of the wreck that was once his east wing and over to what remained of his groomed flowerbeds. He set her softly onto the sun-warmed grass. Turning away from her, he plucked a rose from a nearby bush and handed it to her. "For my rough manner earlier." He said by way of apology. Freeing a hand from her grip on the three swords, she took the blossom and held it to her nose, drinking in it's sweet perfume. "A peach rose. Did you know that in flower-speak a peach rose can mean hope -- or unspoken lo. . ." Geni cut herself off and blushed. "Thank you." She whispered. "I need to speak with Faustus and a few others, and then we can be away from here. We wouldn't want to keep the ladies waiting." Though his voice held scorn, his face asked her if she would be all right if he left her sitting amongst the flowers for a short time. "Do what you need to." She replied. "I will not be going anywhere." "Not without me, you won't be." He muttered as he stood and went to find his butler. __________________________________ OOC: Dante PMed me about the swords, and I thought this would be a great place for Geni to see them. I promise I'm not taking over like the evil person I REALLY am.

Trey was going to [B]KILL[/B] Korbin the instant she saw him again. Why was she stuck with Nature Man and his side-kick, Looney-cop? If they got her killed, she was going to haunt the whole group till they begged for mercy. Maybe not Liv -- she'd leave Liv alone. That girl had enough heart-attacks in her life. "Are you prepared to become one with nature?" Berky asked her as they ran down the sewer pipes. The little guy eyed her in a licentious manner. The apprentice seemed to echo his enthusiasm. "Touch me, little man, and neither of you will live to regret it!" She hissed nastily. She heard a distinct metallic ring of footing up ahead. Pulling more stars from her pouch she snarled, "What I [I]am[/I] prepared to do is stay alive. If you would like to do the same, stay down and stay out of my way." With that, she sprang onto Vincent's shoulders for a millisecond, then launched herself forward through the air. She gripped a rebar hand-hold on the "ceiling" and kicked out in a split, taking off the heads of two bladedancers. Fortunately, they weren't the newest type of that line, or the trick wouldn't have worked. Trey dropped into a low crouch, avoiding bullets fired by two more bots by the tiniest of margins. Then she just let her training and her bionics take over. Doing her best not to create any marked pattern she alternated between high and low attacks, trying to keep the central processors of her attackers off balance. The roundness of the slimy pipes helped as she bounded catlike from sidewall to ceiling to floor to sidewall. The bullets ricocheted around causing more damage to the bladedancers then they were worth. Trey had been dodging ballistics for too long to be hit by any of these jokers when they had her full attention. She whirled and spun like the proverbial dervish, taking out the last opponent with a decisive roundhouse kick to the neck -- this model's biggest weakpoint. Breathing hard, she turned to make sure the crazy ones were still among the living and not plotting how to get her out of her clothes while she wasn't looking . . . but they were gone. She hadn't even heard them slog away through the muck, and her hearing was pretty acute considering it was a non-heightened sense. "Wow. If that's what you can do when you 'become one with nature' then . . . nope, still not worth it." Trey shook her head and carefully made her way to a manhole that was slightly ajar -- she certainly wasn't strong enough to man-handle one open herself, not like Korbin. She decided to make her way to her gym. If Aros had attacked her clinic for some yet unfathomable reason, they might be trying to contact her at her home for "questioning" over the "incedent." She knew that smelling of sewer would be a dead give-away for her whereabouts this afternoon. Her gym had showers, change of clothing, and they didn't like Aros any more than she did. The owners would cover for her if an alibi was needed. Besides, a charilty soup kitchen was located nearby there. If Hammet wasn't there himself, there was bound to be someone there how could at least get her going in the correct gereral direction. But first -- a shower.

[I]Ariana, I'm sorry. He does not mean to be hurtful, he's just . . .[/I] Geni searched for the appropriate word. Dante was dragging her across the green, but it didn't stop her speaking with the other telepath. [I]Scared?[/I] Ariana suggested into her mind. [I]Well, that too. But it's more than that. Dante's worried about Lord Rufus, and we both appreciate how hard it must have been for you to leave his side and come here. It means a lot -- to me at least. He's also worried about having all of us in one place. He doesn't want to give Jack any easy oppertunities. I'm sorry. He just doesn't know how to express his feelings well, so he comes off cold. Please don't be angry or hurt. If it pleases you, could you ask if we could all meet at Lady Elcair's home this afternoon to compare notes. That is, if you are still willing to continue your aquaintence with the two of us.[/I] Geni desperately wanted her friend to usnderstand, but she would not blame the lady if she were terribly offended by Dante's rough manner. Ariana gave a mental sigh. [I]Dante can't help but be Dante.[/I] She replied. [I] We all know him to be prickly at times. No, I am not too hurt. Taken aback, possibly, but not hurt. I will speak with Elcair about gathering at her home later today. I will let you know what she says.[/I] [I]Thank you for your forgiveness and understanding.[/I] Geni was relieved. She valued Ariana's friendship. Letting the connection with Ariana go, Geni returned her attention to Dante and Faustus. "What do you mean, 'Last time'?" She asked him. "I'll explain later. I promise." Was all he would say.

"Dante . . . that - that man. That poor man." Geni murmured into his chest as he held her while they waited for Nathan to return and Elcair to catch Ariana up with all that she knew about the happenings since Ariana had left to attend Rufus the night before. "Shhhh - I know. The police are taking care of it. We're fine. You heard Lady Ariana, even Lord Rufus is recovering nicely. Shhhhh - don't cry." Dante whispered comfortingly into her ear. "So the fire chief believes someone deliberately set fire to the manor." Ariana repeated what Eclair had just told her, increadulous. "Were they trying to hurt anyone or just spook us?" She wondered. "It would be just like 'Jack' to attack all of us psychologically since frontal assaults have not worked so far." "My chambers and the guest chambers are in the East Wing." Dante entered the conversation to answer her question. "If we had been sleeping there, we surely would have died. No, I definately think murder was on someone's mind." Geni shuddered in his arms but managed to force herself to turn around and face her friends rather than continuing to cower against Dante. Nevertheless, Dante did not let her go. He was impressed at her physical show of facing her fears, but he could still feel her fright pulsing in his mind. He knew she thought of herself as a quiet country girl, and all of this was just a bit much for her to handle all at once. "I am certainly glad the architects placed the servants quarters in the west wing. None of them were harmed, thank heaven." He continued. "Now that the fire is out, do you think the police will question the servants?" Eclair asked. She was interested to know what Nathan might need to do next. She wanted to be here for him, but she certainly did not want to get in the way. "Most likely." Dante answered. "Though I doubt it was anyone on my staff. Faustus keeps a close watch on everyone. If there was any discontent, he would have alerted me to it immediatly so it could be addressed without anyone coming to blows or developing hard feelings. I think the questions will serve more to eliminate them from the suspect list rather than add any to it." Geni didn't want to think about anyone who might want Dante and herself dead, or anyone who would burn down a building as a spiteful warning, or even about the dead man who had been brutally murdered. She didn't want to think on any of those things, so she just allowed her mind to go blank as she listened to the conversation without really hearing it. She simply enjoyed Dante's warmth and nearness and did not register much of anything else. __________________________ OCC: Sorry there isn't much to this. I'm waiting for a bit more imput before I move the story on . . . (don't hate me!)

"Okay boss," Trey threw Korbin a wink, "Speak. I'm sure we're all dying to know what you need a computer expert for." At least the sarcasm had been held off Olivia's customer had gone. They had gathered up whatever items Liv decided she [I]had[/I] to have for this assignment and were back out on the street. The mechanic had even hung a "Sorry we missed you" sign on her door as she locked up. Ever the emphatically polite business woman, Liv was. "Hacking. What else." Was Korbin's terse reply. "Now that is something I can do." The gal with the laptop asserted with great confidence. "You don't even know what we want you to hack." Trey pointed out. "Doesn't matter." She shrugged, hefted the strap of her computer case higher on her shoulder and continued walking. Shaking her head at the amazing-ness of the talented people Trey found herself with, she turned to Liv. "The patient is at my clinic. He payed his whole life savings to Big Brother to replace the arm he lost in a expolsion. He's a guitarist, and a bomb went off in the bar he was doing a gig in. Needless to say, he REALLY needs that arm to work properly to get back to his job. Since Aros didn't see him as a future poster child, they didn't find it in their hearts to do the implanting properly. The fix is beyond my knowledge, but it shouldn't take you more than a few minutes to do." "We'll see." Olivia mumbled. Trey knew that Liv hated shoddy work, and Aros's could be the worst of them all. She couldn't blame her. Aros had made a hell out of nearly everyone Trey knew . . . herself included. She hated the super-corp, that's why she had joined this faction. That's why they all had.