1. Chapter 1 (1/1)
part of the du fortunesa series - follows on pretty immediately from 'concern'. as usual i own nothing.
when bertrand returned, having collected his possessions from the li
ary, he found ingrid waiting for him at the entrance. "i was beginning to wonder if you'd left again. we need to have a little chat."
when the young vampiress had settled herself on one of the sofas by the fire, she looked up and made an impatient gesture for bertrand to take a seat on the other. "sit down, bertrand, you're not in trouble. i wanted to talk to you about my dear
other." he perched on the edge of a seat, a little wary. the truce between the draculas had still been in place when he had left, but there was no sure way of telling what had happened since then. "i've hardly been here since saturday. i've been visiting all the clans who favoured me as a child, buttering them up for vlad. he told me you'd gone, but i didn't think you'd actually stay away for a whole week. have you seen him?"
bertrand thought back to the frantic zombie he'd found hunched over dusty old books in the training room, and nodded with a grimace. "i was hoping you could tell me what got him into that state." ingrid pulled a face. "i don't know, exactly, but i can guess. he's been stressing out about the treaty anyway, and then when you and erin left, and with me away... there was only dad." she paused to give him a significant look. "and you know what he's like; he pushes vlad too hard, and vlad lets him."
bertrand frowned. "what happened to the slayer?" ingrid smirked. "ah, yes, erin. she lasted almost nine hours after you left; packed and went in the morning. i'm not really sure what happened – i had to get to school, and then i left that evening. vlad wasn't particularly talkative, so... all i know is that she's gone, and it sounded like it was for good this time."
the older vampire nodded thoughtfully. "not that i don't appreciate the information, but why are you telling me all this?" ingrid shrugged. "you've spent more time with my
other than i have, lately, and i know he listens to you. i'm going to have to visit more clans soon - if the truce is going to work i can't always be here. vlad needs someone to rein him in when he gets like this." she fixed him with a shrewd gaze. "he might need to talk about erin." bertrand's face betrayed nothing, and she continued, apparently satisfied. "he'll get nothing from dad, just useless stories about the son he wants him to be, and he won't come to me unless there's nobody else. you're going to have to make sure he stays sane, and gets enough sleep, or he'll be ash before he can put any more of his crazy,
eather-loving plans into action. do we understand each other, bertrand?" he nodded. "good. you're not completely useless, then. don't let him down." she left with no further ado, leaving bertrand staring into the fire and reflecting on the bizarre conversation he'd just had.
several hours and a fresh set of clothes later, bertrand was striding through the corridors of the school, hunting. the first students were beginning to appear, making their way towards their lockers, some still rubbing sleep from their eyes, but all bertrand could see was how much healthier they all looked than vlad. his quarry was nearby, he could tell... he rounded the corner and almost knocked the head teacher over. "miss mccauley. do you have a moment?"
inside her office, he folded himself into the proffered seat and got straight to the point. "vlad won't be coming in today." miss mccauley frowned; if this was another of the boy's father's attempts to pull him out of certain timetabled activities, she was having none of it. "i see. why is that?" bertrand's face darkened and she wondered, not for the first time, if he wasn't a little too invested in his student's life. "surely you've noticed his condition over the last week."
"vlad is only one of my many students, mr du fortunesa; i don't monitor his every move. you're going to have to be a little more specific, or i won't know what you're talking about." he stood, towering over her as she sat behind her desk. "you haven't noticed? oh, but apparently it's been the talk of the staff room – even i've heard, and i've been away for the last week. he's been falling asleep in lessons, he looks like he's about to drop into his coffin at any moment, and i found him last night when i returned buried in his studies with his eyes half shut, mumbling to himself." he paused, closing his eyes, and his tone when he spoke again was dark and accusatory. "how could you let this happen?"
she stood too, meeting his gaze with a stern expression of her own. "i spoke to mr count on tuesday about vlad's exhaustion, and he assured me it would be dealt with. since i was at a training conference yesterday, i was unaware that the problem persisted. if vlad needs the day off to sleep, that is quite alright, and i hope he feels better soon, but i will not be spoken to like this in my own office." the tutor looked as if he was about to argue, perhaps to justify his words as an emotional reaction to his student's wellbeing. she rather thought that was better left unspoken. "i think you had better leave, and we'll say no more about it." he hesitated for a moment, then nodded and left in silence.
alex mccauley waited for exactly one minute, then pulled out the thick file dedicated to the youngest of the counts and began updating her notes.