Home Sweet Home
'Wait, h-hold up. No, no, fuck, we're not doing that.'
Panic quickly started to spread on Vincent's face. Defensively he placed his arms next to his chest, as if to protect them. Rosemary shrugged and turned to Jane.
'It's honestly not that bad. But fine, why don't you go first then?'
Jane held her arm up in the air with a stoic expression on her face. Rosemary gently wrapped her fingers around Jane's wrist and with the knife made a small incision on her arm. Jane drew a sharp breath as she felt a sudden burst of pain, but it quickly subsided and she watched as a tiny amount of blood started to swell up. Rosemary stretched out her other hand to Hilde, who placed a metal cup in her hand. The moment Rosemary placed the cup under Jane's arm, the blood flow intensified, and a stream of blood started dripping into the cup. When it was half full the flow started to slow down, until it stopped completely. Jane couldn't hide her amazement as she examined her arm. Even the wound itself seemed to gradually close. Rosemary hovered her hand over the cup as she started murmuring incantations. She slowly trailed the edge of the cup with her finger, gradually quickening her pace. The blood inside swirled along, almost spilling out. Then Rosemary brought the cup to her lips and drank the contents in one gulp. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her eyes were bloodshot when she opened them again. A smile crept on her face as she looked at Jane.
'It seems Hilde was right. You are a Ventrue.'
Rosemary's smile widened as she noticed Jane's confusion.
'They're basically the leader clan. Keepers of tradition, enforcers of rules, that kind of stuff. They're the powerful politician or the the ambitious CEO. I'll fill you in on the details later, we don't have much time. Are you ready now?'
Rosemary turned expectantly to Vincent, whose face seemed to have completely paled during the ritual. But he nervously offered his arm to Rosemary and she repeated the ritual once more. When the knife slit his arm, Vincent visibly winced, but otherwise he seemed to be doing fine. Rosemary tasted the blood and savored it before she started speaking.
'Ah. That's Brujah blood all right. They're the philosophers and rebels, If you're curious to know. Bit of a contradiction, but it works for them. They tend to have a very explosive personality, so you might be a good fit for them.'
'So the ritual is done then? Good, then please get out of my office. I still have some work to do after all. Rosemary, call Markus and tell him to show you the empty apartment. Say that it will be used as a haven for some new members of the group.'
Hilde was looking at the city through the window, her arms crossed behind her back. The city lights bathed her in a reddish glow. She didn't even glance up when the others left the room, carefully closing the door behind them.
Jane felt a cold breeze caress her cheek the moment she stepped outside the door. She blinked a few times as she noticed there was no wall between her and the city. Quickly scanning her environment, she came to the conclusion that they were next to the Keyserlei, one of the main streets of Antwerp. Her suspicions were confirmed when she looked to her left and saw the central station, the brightly lit building clearly visible from where she was standing. She heard the loud noise of cars and people and for a moment she stared in amazement, slowly realizing that her life had completely changed. Rosemary quickly interrupted Jane's train of thought however as she started scaling the wall connected to Hilde's office, carefully making her way to the stairs.
'I sure do hope that no one is afraid of heights.'
Vincent followed her, muttering something under his breath about not understanding how he couldn't have felt the air when they brought him here. Jane had to begrudgingly admit that the feeling was mutual, though she didn't say it out loud. They made their way to the first floor of the building, using concrete stairs and ladders alike. When they finally stepped out of the building, Jane subtly let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't that keen on heights. Rosemary pulled Jane and Vincent immediately after into the shadows, but it didn't seem as if anyone had noticed them. She carefully inspected them with a disdainful look on her face.
'Yeah, you two look horrible. Did your sires drag you through the mud during the embrace or what? Walking to the apartment will only attract unwanted attention, so I'm going to call Markus and tell him to pick us up.'
Rosemary pulled out a phone and quickly dialed up a number. She motioned for Jane and Vincent to stay where they were and disappeared into the building again. She clearly wanted to keep her conversation private. Jane awkwardly looked at Vincent, but he stared absentmindedly into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. After a few minutes had passed, Rosemary came back into view, a broad smile spreading on her face. Her fangs were visible as she did so. She tucked her phone back into her pocket and at that moment a car passing through suddenly stopped right before the building. Rosemary's smile widened as she walked towards the car.
'That was quicker than expected. But oh, where are my manners? After you of course, though do make haste please.'
She ushered everyone in and when she closed the door, the car immediately took off. Jane and Vincent sat in the back seat. The latter stared at the city through the car window, while Jane tried to catch a glimpse of the driver. He, Jane assumed it was Markus, had pale skin and long brown hair. She didn't manage to see his features though, only that he wore a brown turtleneck. If Markus noticed Jane staring at him, he didn't pay any attention to it. It even looked like he was completely ignoring the two newly made vampires. Instead, he turned his attention to Rosemary.
'Yo, what's so funny? Do you like seeing me run around like an errand boy?'
The voice sounded annoyed. Jane couldn't see Rosemary's expression, but she imagined that the woman's face must've looked amused. Her theory seemed to be confirmed by Rosemary's nonchalant gesture.
'Of course. It's not everyday that I'm able to order around the dear secretary of the Camarilla. I'm enjoying it while I can. You know, maybe you could clean the apartment too while you're at it, make it nice and presentable for our new friends.'
'Fuck off.'
The rest of the ride continued in silence. When the car finally came to a halt, Jane noticed that they were close to the Stadspark. She hopped out and eyed the building before her. The apartment complex looked anything but modern, Jane concluded, but she silently hoped that the apartment itself would look better. Markus led them to the front door and used a chip he pulled out of his pocket to unlock the door. They followed him up the stairs to the third floor and made their way through the hall. At the end, Markus stopped before the last door and silently opened it. He stepped in, threw the chip and key on the table and briskly made his way back out, but not before casting a murderous glance at Rosemary. The latter simply ignored him and instead turned to Jane and Vincent, swinging her arm invitingly to the apartment.
'Welcome home.'
The apartment looked just as old as the complex itself. A small hallway led to a small kitchen and living area. Three doors led to two bedrooms and a bathroom. The rooms were scarcely decorated. A couch and tv made up the living area, a table with two chairs were placed next to the kitchen counter, and the bedrooms only had a single bed and wardrobe. But the place was clean, and , surprisingly, much better than Jane's previous apartment, so she had no room to complain. Rosemary told them that there were probably some clothes left in the drawers that they could use until new clothes were delivered. Then she left with the promise to return tomorrow evening, hopefully with said clothes and answers for any questions they had. She left with a warning too: to cover up all of the windows before they went to sleep.
The moment Rosemary closed the door, Vincent silently made his way into one of the bedrooms, slamming the door behind him. He hadn't spoken a word since the ritual, but Jane couldn't blame him. She too had also started to quietened down, the more it dawned upon her what exactly had happened to her during the evening, the more she felt her gut wrenching and her head pounding. She went into her own bedroom and pulled a few drawers open. After a thorough search, a nightdress and a pair of socks were procured. At first sight both of them were a bit too big for her, but she badly needed a change of clothes. Jane then went into the bathroom to take a shower. Furiously scrubbing her skin to get rid of the dirt, until it was completely red. When she stepped out of the shower, the mirror above the sink had dampened. She gently wiped it off and stared at her own reflection. She looked horrible. Her face looked gaunt and her eyes were lifeless. She tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear and slowly turned her face left and right, further examining it. Then she came closer to the mirror, until she got a close up of her lips. She opened her mouth and bared her fangs. The two teeth were strangely whiter than the rest and glimmered menacingly in the light. She gingerly felt them with her tongue. Sharp. They were incredibly sharp. Then she touched them with her finger. Real. They were real too. Jane abruptly distanced herself from the mirror and made her way back to her bedroom.
She let herself fall on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Slowly she went through all of the events of the last few hours in her head, anxiety gradually spreading through her body. It was so absurd, and yet it wasn't. Maybe surreal was the better word. The thought that she wasn't human anymore, but something else was surreal, but she wasn't sure if she meant that in a good way. Jane had so many questions and at the same time none at all. She was afraid of the answers she would receive. She realized that she was scared. She felt a wetness on her cheek. Gently, she touched it. When she rubbed her fingers together, she noticed blood on them. Through the wall Jane heard the muffled screams of Vincent.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone