Chapter 2: Elder and Childe
'Two kine, recently embraced, very recently actually, and without my permission. That's a masquerade breach, wouldn't you think?'
The woman looked up from Jane as she said that, instead focusing on something, or rather someone,
behind the kine.
'Well, obviously, I think we can all agree a breach has been committed, but I'm more curious as to who could have done something so...bold.'
A deep voice belonging to a male responded. Jane couldn't see who the voice belonged to, but as she was looking out of the corner of her eye she spotted another figure beside her, also kneeling.
'That certainly is an interesting question, but it's one that I will keep for later, when all of this is sorted out. For now I want to know what I'm supposed to do with these childer.'
'Kill them of course. What use do these childer have for us? Besides, without a sire they could prove to be a danger. Release them from their misery and give them final death.'
This time a high pitched female voice spoke behind Jane. The woman before her looked contemplatively as she lightly tapped her feet.
'If I may intrude in this conversation, my prince, I feel like we should give these newly embraced kindred a chance. It was not their choice to be thrown so violently into this world. You should punish their sire, not them.'
The words were uttered by another female voice. Jane, through the haze her hunger was causing, noticed a shift in the atmosphere. A certain kind of tension. The blond woman, the prince as she seemed to be called, had a surprised expression on her face. But before she could react, the high pitched female voice shouted angrily from the back of the room.
'Give them a chance? Nonsense! Have you not heard what I said? They're only going to cause problems, they don't have a sire so no one is going to take care of them!'
'I wouldn't mind taking care of them. If prince Hilde agrees, I would gladly tutor them. And I can also find out their clan, so they don't end up as caitiff.'
'I concur. There's no need for a...final death. Besides, they might still prove to be useful.'
The deep voice spoke calmly.
'Hm. Very well, I agree. Rosemary, I shall appoint you as their mentor. Consider this meeting concluded then. Boudewijn and Cécile, you may leave. The rest of you, untie the childer. As for you Rosemary, please stay. I want you to figure out their clan, now. Better to do it as soon as possible.'
Jane heard the door opening and closing as the ropes around her wrists were unbound. Absently, she started massaging her painful wrists, trying to keep the ever growing hunger in her stomach under control. Hilde walked out of Jane's view and shortly returned with two plastic packagings, a red liquid swirling inside of them. Jane felt her hunger violently tugging at her. Hilde threw the blood pack at Jane.
'Here, drink this. It would be very troublesome if you start frenzying.'
The moment Jane grasped the pack, she felt as if her body was overtaken by some unnatural force. Before she even realized what she was doing, she had sunk her fangs into the plastic. The blood flowed into her mouth and she cherished its sweet taste. She felt a happiness overtake her, the more she drank, the more active she became. She sensed the delicious blood flow through her veins, pumping through her heart, her hunger slowly subsiding with each gulp she took. After the pack was emptied, she flung it to the ground, a satisfied smile spreading on her face. Until her mouth suddenly contorted and she started throwing up. The sweetness had turned into a vile bitterness and Jane felt like her stomach was on fire.
'Ah, I think I have an idea to what clan you might belong.'
Hilde smiled amused as she watched Jane writhe in pain.
'Rosemary, are you almost done?'
'Almost! I have a knife with me and a cup. But I'm still looking for the incense, I'm sure I had it with me...'
Jane slowly recovered, throat still burning, and as she wiped the blood from her mouth, Rosemary walked into view, rumbling furiously through a backpack. She had long black hair and her arms were covered with tattoos, mostly occult related. She was dressed in a loose dark red dress and she, like Hilde, wore glasses. Jane estimated that she was somewhere in her mid twenties. Rosemary turned her gaze upon Jane and examined her carefully.
'My, you did react quite badly to the blood. Was it that gross or is it a clan-related thing? Your companion seemed to have fared much better.'
Jane followed Rosemary's gaze and saw the person beside her, looking back at her. He had short black hair and was dressed in a simple white collared shirt. He looked to be around his early thirties, but Jane couldn't be sure with all the blood and dirt on his face and body, though she had to admit she probably looked just as bad as him, if not worse. The man calmly spoke:
'Before we do any of this, could you please tell me what's going on in the first place? Who are you, where am I, what happened to me, you know, the basics, because I have no fucking clue anymore.'
'Right.' Rosemary looked expectantly at Hilde. 'I do suppose an introduction is in order?'
Hilde cleared her throat.
'I suppose it is only fair, yes. Although I will keep it short, I want to get this over as soon as possible and Rosemary can always give you more details later. My name is Hilde and you're currently in my main office in Antwerp. As you may have noticed this building is still in construction, but it suffices for now. You both have been embraced tonight, exchanging your life as a kine for that of a kindred. Simply put, you're vampires. You were human and now you're not. Someone drank all of your blood and replaced it with theirs, turning you into a supernatural being. As of now you're immortal, you only need to drink blood to sustain yourself, keep away from daylight and abide the rules. My rules, for I am a prince and Antwerp is my domain. I won't bother you for now with politics, just know that you're part of the Camarilla, like me. Let's see, what else do you need to know? Ah, the clans, right. Vampires, or kindred as we call them, are categorized into clans. Clans determine sometimes how you look, but most importantly what abilities you have. There are seven important clans. I belong to the Ventrue, Rosemary here is a Tremere. You'll figure out later what that means. I think that's enough for now. So let's do the ritual when you're ready Rosemary. Though, let me first ask a question too, before I forget. Don't worry it's a simple one, I just want to know your names.'
The man looked up in surprise, having intently listened to what Hilde has said.
'Oh, It's Vincent.'
'...Jane.'
Rosemary clapped her hands together.
'Great! Now we can begin the ritual, but only after I have ignited some incense.'
Hilde visibly raised an eyebrow.
'Incense? As far as I know I thought that wasn't a requirement for any Tremere bloodritual.'
'It isn't, but it makes it easier for me to concentrate, and it smells good.'
Rosemary grinned as she lit a stick of incense and soon enough the room was filled with a heavy flowery smell. She gave the incense awkwardly to Hilde, after realizing that she couldn't place it anywhere. The latter only reluctantly took it. Rosemary grabbed her backpack and pulled a long and thin knife out of it. She turned towards Vincent and with her other hand made a beckoning motion.
'Good, now would you be so kind as to lend me your arm?'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone