4. Chapter 4 (1/1)

well, here's the last bit. i still don't own anything. hope you enjoy it!

of course, it being the middle of the day, ingrid hadn't gone far. she was in her coffin room, collecting a few trinkets; it should have been the last place they'd have expected her to be. unfortunately, vlad reacted to her disappearance as if she was having a tantrum, as opposed to fleeing for her unlife, and barely a few minutes passed before he was standing in her doorway."ingrid, why did you do it?" she shrugged."i was hungry, he was there.""and framing bertrand?""i was in trouble, he was there. besides, i owed him for the time he framed me for trying to kill erin." vlad glared at her and she shrugged. "won't happen again, we're even now. so, are you going to stake me?"

vlad took a moment to think about it, aware of bertrand and jonno moving along the corridor behind him, coming from different directions."no." jonno seemed unsurprised, but bertrand's voice reached his ears."you're not?" the chosen one heaved a sigh and turned back towards him. he knew this would be hard for his tutor to hear, given that he himself had almost been reduced to dust for the crime."no. she's family." his tutor looked as if he was going to say something, but he just closed his eyes and nodded, accepting the injustice of it all."what happens to me, then? and the truce?" vlad glanced at jonno as he answered, hoping the guild would accept that his hands were tied."you're not to leave the school for a month. bite anyone again, ingrid, and i won't be able to stop them slaying you." jonno sighed."it'll do, i suppose. i'll sign again on the guild's behalf."

when everything was sorted to both sides' satisfaction, jonno set off back towards guild headquarters and ingrid settled into her coffin to sulk. bertrand found vlad slumped in his throne."we had a training session scheduled tonight." the chosen one looked up with a start."oh. yeah. didn't think you'd want to." he grimaced. "although i guess beating me up through sparring is probably exactly what you want to do.""not at all. i understand. family is different." at least, bertrand had often been told so, usually just before he had to reduce a clan to dust."i should have known it would be ingrid.""she's clever.""i should have trusted you." bertrand hesitated for a moment, but then he simply inclined his head in a slight bow and turned towards the door."i'll expect you in the training room in five minutes." he ignored the melodramatic groan from behind him. he had no intention of going easy on the boy tonight.