Vincent's Exile

[Vincent Lémartes]

((This is a story to explain what Vincent has been doing while he has been away from Edgehaven. I have taken on board Leigh's comment that it could be better for Vincent to remain a Vampyre and not become a demon and have composed thus. If anyone thinks anything needs to be changed, upon consideration, it shall be.

Also Meg if you wish to continue the narrative and from there bring Romayne into the story like we originally planned, please feel free.))

When Vincent Lémartes awoke he wasn't entirely sure he had. His vision was blurred and waned and swam as he looked around him. Eventually though he managed to make out certain shapes of objects near to hand. A bedside table, a glass of water and other menial things which confused the Vampyre greatly. Although Vincent was sure he was awake it seemed he was viewing reality in a strange detached sort of way with nothing around him seeming real.
Trying to move was difficult and every attempt just brought the vampyre a stab of white hot pain that almost caused him to pass out. Anger began to fester inside him. Anger to replace the new feeling beginning to overcome the usually cold and calculating person he was.
Fear.
Vincent was not used to this alien concept but as he had no idea where he was the feeling came to him unbidden and so, with great effort, the Vampyre rejected it. Replacing the emotion with one he knew well.
With his anger burning he tried to make sense of all that had happened. As he pondered he began to recall his last memories before awaking but could only draw up vague images.

One thing was clear however, he had fought Austin Darkora!

Remembering the cocksure leader of the Night Watch Vincent closed his eyes and began to focus his powerful mind on the accursed Lycan. Working backwards he hoped to piece what bits he could together until he had the whole tale.

He remembered flying, not in a figurative sense but in a literal one. Many tiny bodies all controlled with the same mind, the same will. He had disbursed into a cloud of small bats and had fled. But fled where?

The question went unanswered as Vincent sensed movement nearby. Quick as a flash his eyes sprang open and regarded the silhouette of a pair of people stood regarding him. He went to speak but suddenly found he was tired beyond belief. Before he was even aware of it he had fallen into a deep weary slumber.

The next few times that he awoke his condition remained the same. He was in terrific amounts pain and he was still in the same place. Or at the very least one that looked identical. During his time asleep Vincent had managed to recall several events that had befallen him. He remembered that he had been stabbed. Though how he wasn't quite sure as he was confident he could best Darkora in swordplay. But he remembered feeling the cold steel enter his body as the Lycan ran him through. Then as he had slumped before his opponent and he had felt the embrace of death reaching for him, almost welcoming, he had exploded into a swarm of bats and fled for his life.

Afterwards his memories were very disjointed. He remembered blinding sunlight and pain beyond imagining. He recalled a small building in the depths of a wood and then an image of the swiftly rising ground, then nothing. With no other information to go on Vincent had to assume he was still in the same small house he had seen.

Opening his eyes Vincent became startled to see someone sat beside his bed reading from a book. From there lack of movement he assumed that they hadn't noticed that he was awake and so he took this time to study his either captor or perhaps, savior.

It was a young woman, with short reddish hair tired into a high ponytail. She had pale skin and he face was dotted with many freckles. She wore what looked like a mans thick tartan shirt and a pair of loosely fitting dungarees. She had a watch on her wrist that showed the time to be nine o'clock in the evening. Without being aware he must of made either a sound or movement as the girl looked over the pages of the book and jumped as she saw his eyes open.

"Dad!" She yelled as Vincent tried to speak. Quickly, and with thundering movements a large heavyset man came crashing in through a heavy wooden door.

"What is it Haze?" asked the man. The man wasn't just heavyset, he was tall and strong almost fierce looking. He wore a similar shirt to the girls though Vincent could see it strained to cover his knotted muscles. He stood regarding Vincent with dark eyes before shooting a protective glance at his young daughter. The man looked to be covered in splatterings of oil and was in fact wiping his large hands on a piece of rag as he crossed the room to stand looking down upon Vincent.

"Quite a fall you had there, friend?" The heavyset man stated with a slight question at the end. All Vincent could manage was a slight nod. "Ain't wise for one of our kind to be roamin' around during the daylight hours. I thought a one as old as you'd know that by now." The man said in a slightly joking almost mocking tone.

For a moment Vincent felt his anger rising that one such as him would mock and poke fun at a Vampyre such as Vincent. Though he had to quell his rage as he knew that these two maybe the only reason he was alive and his only chance to survival.

"Quiet a wound you got yourself there too. If I were still a doctor I'd say up until today you were a gonner but you just upped and pulled through. Proved me wrong and Hazel there right. She said you'd not give up, looked right determined you did, jaw clenched and face set in a mask o' determinism." The large vampire then crossed the room and pulled back the blanket that covered Vincent letting in a slight chill. It was the first that Vincent became aware that he was shirtless. Straining his vision to look down he saw a large bandage wrapped around his chest and a patchy blood stains around his heart area.

"Somebody wanted you dead." The ex-doctor stated matter-of-factly. "And if they'd been an inch t' the left you would be. Don't see many sword wounds nowadays. Not since they went an invented guns. Only know one place people would even consider carrying such. You must 'ave come from Edgehaven?"

With his eyes narrowing Vincent nodded his head.

"That's a mighty long way t' travel." The heavyset vampire stated. "Specially with a wound like that." he pointed at Vincents chest. "You must have some stamina. Anyway lad you should rest."

With that the vampire led his young daughter from the room and Vincent eventually feel back into an uneasy sleep.

It took several weeks before Vincent was well enough to get out of bed. In that time he had found out that the father and daughter that had found him were called Liam and Hazel Upton and he had crashed (as landing would be a bit of a grandiose term) before there cottage just outside the town of Hastings in the aptly named town of Fairlight. Apparently it was early morning just as the sun had come up. When they had come investigate the noise they found the old Vampyre seeing that he was badly burned from the cruel suns rays. Both Liam and his daughter were daywalker vampires. Vincent being one of the few Vampyres that didn't find these part breeds disgusting. He knew all had there uses. For instance, if these two had not been then more than likely Vincent knew he would have died. Hazel had wanted to take Vincent to the hospital or at least call an ambulance. But her father forbade it seeing that Vincent was badly hurt and knowing him for what he was he reasoned that taking him to hospital might have been the same as killing him as whoever had made the wound had meant to kill him and maybe looking for him.

Over the weeks that he was with them Vincent suspected that Liam guessed who he was. Of course it was all over the news that billionaire business tycoon Vincent Lémartes was missing presumed dead. The man would have had to have been a fool not to know. When he was well enough, he read in several news papers that Belle had taken control of his Edgehaven dealings though Kana had seized all of his overseas assets in a move very much unlike his younger brother and had announced publicly that he was now head of the Lémartes house.

It occured to Vincent then that all of his allies must of presumed him to be in fact dead. That meant that no one was out looking for him, either to help or hinder him. That prospect worried him as that meant that Belle also believed he was dead.

After he had been with the pair of Vampires for many months and he had recovered much of his former strength Vincent left one night without a word. He considered killing the two that had aided him but in one of his odder moments (Similar to the odd moments that had spared Belle her life and had caused Vincent to be in favor of creation of The Circle / The Night Watch.) he decided against it instead he made a mental note to himself that he owned these two much and so would repay them when all this mess was sorted out and he was once more on top.

Having to resort to the distasteful way of stalking for his prey Vincent hunted and fed several times during the next few weeks. Feeling somehow dirty and uncivilized as he had always been used to his blood be brought to him by servants freshly decanted from virgin females served with alcohol.

Then using what money he could acquire from several accounts placed in fake names for his not exactly legal dealings. He eventually had enough money to purchase some civilized clothing and an air ticket to Moscow. He surmised that in his present condition returning to Edgehaven or any of his holdings around the world would probably be a bad idea as they were now under his brothers control and at the moment he was a relatively easy target as most of the world already thought him dead. Instead he decided to pay a visit to Romayne. His former lover and perhaps one of the few people in the world with the means to help him get back what was rightfully his and who perhaps, given the golden opportunity at hand, wouldn't kill him on sight.

[Romayne Nikolayev]

As usual, Romayne Nikolayev was seated in the lap of luxury. Today, she was dressed in a relatively simple gown of deep amythyst, with matching drop earrings and a simple pendant.

Aside from having to change a name here and there, her business dealings with the Lémartes family had barely been affected by the apparent death of Vincent. However, Romayne had taken the news quite badly. She and Vincent had had something of a special connection and hearing of his death had hit her hard - so hard, in fact, that she still refused to believe it. "Vincent is powerful," she had said, "and if he is gone, it is not for good. He will be back." Many of her servants believed that she was still in the denial stage of grief, but of course none of them would say anything to her face. So, like good servants, they had kept up the watch as they were instructed - any news about Vincent or the Lémartes family was to be passed straight to Romayne.

She was currently reading a paperback book - some nonsense American fiction about vampires and werewolves falling in love with humans - because reading what humans appeared to think about vampires amused her no end. Some of them she had found to be almost factual, but this... the fact that she was reading it with a smile playing across her face and letting out the occasional musical laugh said it all.

She was in the middle of a particularly amusing part of the story when her maid and bodyguard, Inessa Vasilyev, entered the room with a respectful bow. "Mistress," she said in Russian, "I have news."

Romayne turned her head and kept her page with her thumb. "Is it important, Inessa, dear? I was right at a good part. You know, the silly girl is actually trying to give herself hallucinations? Where do these Americans find their ideas?"

Inessa bowed again. "Yes, mistress. It is... Mr Lémartes, mistress. The senior Mr Lémartes."

Romayne picked up a strip of satin she'd been using as a bookmark and carefully put it between the pages of her book before standing up and walking over to Inessa. "Are you certain?" She asked, the breath catching in her throat.

"Yes, Mistress. Karrov sighted him in an English airport, boarding a plane to Moscow. He says he it certain it is Mr Lémartes. He says that he looks as though he has been injured, and is wearing unusual clothes, but it is him."

Romayne closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a few moments. When she opened them again, they shone.

"Send a car to the airport. Find out what time and where that plane is going to land, because I want somebody there when it does. Send Alexis, he will not draw so much attention and Vincent has met him before..." she paused. "No, wait. That will not do. But I cannot go myself. Inessa, you will go. Have Alexis drive you, but you must be the one to meet him.Vincent knows you and he knows I trust you. And you will be able to tell if it is truly him. If it is, bring him here immediately. You will do this for me?"

Inessa bowed again. "Of course, mistress. I shall do it now."

"No, wait," Romayne studied her bodyguard - she too was wearing purple, but in a different shade to Romayne - one that complimented her outfit. "You cannot go like that. You will draw too much attention in your gown. Do you own anything... human? If not, you must borrow something from one of the maids. I believe Olesya is about your size.Now go, go! And send Madam Balk to me. We must have a room prepared for our guest!"

As Inessa left the room, Romayne collapsed onto a velvet-covered sofa, her eyes still sparkling. She had known Vincent hadn't gone forever, just as she had known he would come to her eventually. As the housekeeper, Madam Balk, entered the room with a respectful bow, she lept up and began giving orders. She had waited months for news of Vincent and now he was on his way to her. Everything must be perfect!

((I didn't know where Vincent was supposed to have landed, but I was reading your NPC's voices in an American accent. Hope that's ok? Also, apologies, but the idea of Romayne reading Twilight was too funny to resist. At least in my head it was xD))

[Vincent Lémartes]

((Actually I was planning on Vincent being as posted: In the town of Fairlight just outside Hastings East Sussex. I was going on the idea that Vincent could fly far, but not too far. Also I figured that in his semi rational mind he'd head in the direction of France. But no worries )


Vincent lounged back in his first class seat and grimaced. This was only the second time that he had traveled via commercial plane. The first time, just after commercial air travel had been invented. The experience had put him off the idea of traveling with others and so he had purchased a private plane of his own, now he owned several. Or rather now his brother owned several. His subconscious mind was quick to remind him making him clench his jaw in rage. It was safe to say that Vincent, or Antonio Helling as his passport claimed his name was, was not in a particularly good mood.

He had learned from spying his brothers smug looking face on the cover of a magazine which he purchased as he waited to be called for his flight. That Kana had opened a rival night club in Edgehaven. The reporter stating 'With the disappearance of Vincent Lémartes, Lá Belle Gabrielle might go with him.' As well as revealing all that patrons of 'The Edge' as it had been called, could get up to during there time frequenting the establishment. Many of the things said to be on offer were was Vincent knew either poor imitations of what his club already offered or were things and standards that were impossible to deliver. Never-the-less Vincent couldn't help but be impressed by his younger sibling. He hadn't know that his seemingly dim-witted brother had learned so much to actually create a viable business. All be it a copy of Vincents own. Still had he know of Kanas ambition he may have allowed his brother more responsibility in the running of Lá Belle Gabrielle. It was almost a pity that Vincent would have to have Kana killed. He knew there mother wouldn't approve. She after all had asked Vincent to look out for Kana and see that he did well with his life. Even when Kana was small all the family had seen something dark and disturbing in Kana.

Clenching his jaw Vincent began to brood over his current situation taking his mind off of his brother. He had rationalized his going to Moscow, an event he had put of for several (hundred) years long than he should have, to see Romayne not because he needed her aid. He wasn't after all running away from Edgehaven. No. He was traveling to see a business partner and, yes, friend who owned him many favors that he had now decided to collect. That was all this was.

Besides the last time he had seen Romayne they had parted on good terms and Vincent was sure that the Russian Vampyre was in fact in love with him which reduced the chances that she would uses this opportunity that he was gifting her to finally kill Vincent for good and begin working her feminine charms on Kana.

The plane landed without incident and strangely on time. Cleverly Vincent had selected a plane that would have him arriving in the evening and so as he exited the airport, having no baggage to collect and having successfully cleared customs. Vincent strolled out into the night and approached Romaynes bodyguard Inessa Vasilyev.

"It is good to see Romayne still has her wits about her." Vincent commented in flawless Russian as the vampire fell into step beside him saying nothing.

Without the need to be told Vincent made his way over to a private custom built Aston Martin five door with blacked out windows which he had know would be waiting for him. In truth the idea that he would arrive and no one would be expecting him had not occurred to the vampyre. As he approached the car Inessa scurried ahead and opened the rear passenger door for him. Climbing inside Vincent took stock of the driver, thankfully another member of Romaynes staff he knew well Alexis Petrov. For the first time in weeks Vincent could feel himself slowing climbing back up the ladder of power.

Soon both Kana and Belle would pay for deserting him so quickly!

"Now, Miss Vasilyev." Vincent said still speaking the native tongue turning to the young woman sat beside him as the car began to pull away. "How did your Mistress know of my arrival?" he asked curiosity getting the better of him.

"My Mistress has many eyes and ears Mr Lémartes." Was all Inessa said in a way which could be taken as either, it was inevitable that he would come to Romayne. Or that he had been careless and had been spotted by one of her Mistress' hundreds of spies.

"Karrov Pelov." Vincent nodded to himself glad that he was correct in his assumption. He had noticed the man but wasn't a hundred percent sure it was him. After all the last he had heard Karrov Pelov was dead. Though truth be told it was hardly surprising to find he was alive. Of course most people though the same of him at the moment.

He could see by the slight twitch of her eyes that he had been right and that it had annoyed her and caught her off guard. Though now he found he was also annoyed. Karrov Pelov had formally worked in Vincents organization, he knew the man had been spying for Romayne and was happily feeding him false information. But during one of his and Romayne's fallings out he had ordered the man killed to spite her.

He would have to find out how she had managed to get her man free and whose body Vincent had seen being deposed of.

The rest of the car journey passed in relative silence until they came upon the Nikolayev mansion. Vincent had been here many times in his lifetime mostly when he had been a young boy as his mother and Romaynes had been very good friends.

Though then Romaynes father had been head of the household and it had been a much more grand and in his opinion better place. He still couldn't comprehend the idea of a woman in charge of such. When he had killed Romaynes brother Vincent had helped the grief stricken young woman into remaining the head of her household and in the process had managed to convince her to sign many of her most profitable assets and properties over to him.

In the many years since then however she had become a formidable business woman in her own right and a passionate lover.

Vincent was half worried about seeing Romayne again and half excited, though of course he'd never admit to either.

[Romayne Nikolayev]

((Oops, sorry! Must have missed that bit. Modified accordingly )

Upon hearing the car pull up outside the house, Romayne ceased flapping at the servants and shouting orders about the choice of wines and the colour of the bedspread and hurried to the front door. She paused in the hallway to adjust her necklace and smooth down her hair and dress, and then gestured to the servant at the door to open it.

She was, naturally, excited to see Vincent again. They had last seen each other during her visit to Edgehaven several months ago, although Romayne had not been too pleased to find that Vincent's sister, Amara, had planned a visit at the same time. That had been shortly before his... accident.

She fumed a little as she recalled being given the news. Vincent Lémartes, brought to an apparent end by Austin Darkora. She had never thought it possible, which had been why she had not given up her hope that Vincent would return.

She did not remember the last time Vincent had visited the Nikolayev household, which was not so much a mansion as a small castle. The stone walls were useful for withstanding the harsh Russian winters, but tended to make the inside feel almost as cold as the outside. As such, Romayne had ensured that each room was kept as warm as possible, something her father had never seemed to bother with. But then again, her father had never employed humans and had no idea how badly they felt the cold.

Tapestries, paintings and other decorations adorned the corridors and walls of the rooms she used most. Rich, deep carpets had been laid in almost every room, and all manner of rugs and animal skins had been placed in the corridors and halls. Naturally, every window in the castle was triple-glazed, which had cost Romayne a fortune, but she considered it worth the effort. And of course, no small castle would be complete without a roaring fire in almost every room.

As the servant opened the door, Romayne stepped forward and stood in the doorway, hands clasped demurely in front of her and waited for Vincent to emerge from the car.

[Vincent Lémartes]

As he expected Inessa exited the car first and made her way around to open Vincent's door. Vincent had always been impressed with Romayne's bodyguard who was he knew was Romayne's imitation of Belle. He had never admitted it before, and probably still wouldn't, but one of the reasons he hated seeing Romayne so much was she always brought Inessa with her. She was a constant reminder to Vincent that this is, at one time, was what Belle had been like before he and his bodyguard had become too close. Vincent then making the young vampire his heir and made the mistake of letting her know it too.

Inessa was loyal beyond a doubt and if her Mistress was reported missing most likely dead he doubted that she would give up her search for Romayne. And if the search proved futile he suspected that whoever had been accused of her death would suffer a fate much worse than that that had befallen her Mistress. If Vincent was going to get anywhere he just might have to see just how far Inessa's loyalties did indeed go.

Stepping out of the car Vincent ran his eyes over Nikolayev Castle and noted all the many things that had changed since the last time he remembered visiting. He couldn't put his finger on it but he found the place somewhat lacking compared to what it had been several hundred years ago. As he looked over the house he spied the slim figure of Romayne waiting at the door for him.

With a smile, that was most unlike him (which appeared almost genuine), Vincent slowly crossed the short distance between them coming to a stop before his Russian business consort.

"It is good to see you Romayne." Vincent said awkwardly. Aware for the first time in his life that Romayne now held all the cards and he had but few.

With a slight narrowing of his eyes he began to contemplate the real wisdom of calling upon Romayne.

[Romayne Nikolayev]

Romayne smiled warmly as Inessa stepped out of the car, followed by Vincent. She extended her arms welcomingly and took a step forward to meet him. "Vincent, my love!" She wrapped her arms around the other Vampyre in a brief embrace and then pulled away and studied him critically. "My darling, you look awful. Come inside, I have wine open and there shall be food, if you want it. Alexis will bring your bag to your suite." She glanced pointedly at the blond youth still in the drivers seat. The boy nodded and drove the car away.

Then she swept inside in a whirl of purple satin, every bit the mistress of the house. She led the way to the parlour she had been sitting in not very long before and gestured to the two armchairs and sofa that filled the room. "Sit down, you must be exhausted! Of course, you must tell me what happened - I knew that the rumours of your death must have been greatly exaggerated, but I would very much like to know the truth." She paused in her chatter for a moment and gestured to Inessa, who had followed them silently at a respectful distance.

"Bring the bottle I had opened, and the best glasses," she said in Russian. "And..." she turned to Vincent and switched to English. "Will you have a bath drawn for you, love? I know it always refreshes me after a long flight. And to think of you flying on those dreadful commercial planes! Ah, desperate times must call for desperate measures I suppose."

Beneath all her banal chatter, Romayne had been studying Vincent very carefully. He looked tired, and very much as though he was still recovering from a long illness or a near-fatal wound. He also seemed to have lost a little of his commanding air - whether it was the injury, the lack of his customary suit or the general travel-weary demeanour, she could not say. Still, she knew enough to be careful. A wounded tiger is often the most vicious, after all.

[Vincent Lémartes]

For a moment Vincent was taken aback by Romayne's joy in seeing him. He had expected her to treat him curtly, lording over him as he would have if there positions had been reversed. But instead she actually seemed genuinely pleased to see him. Bantering at him in the same way she had done for the many hundreds of years that he had known her.

Without a word Vincent followed Romayne into her household and into the parlor sitting as she bade him to.

"A bath would be... a start." He answered as he reevaluated the situation he found himself in. "And I would have a new suit made. I assume your tailor still has my measurements." He stated felling a touch of his old self coming back, it after all was not a question.

As the glass of red wine was brought and placed before him, Vincent lifted the crystal glass and drank from the finest blood wine he could remember drinking in a long while. He closed his eyes as he savored the taste remembering that he still had several hundred bottles of the stuff in his wine cellar in Edgehaven. The flavors were refined and intoxicating reminding the old vampyre of how things were before all this mess had begun.

The fresh blood that laced the wine was better than any he had drunk since leaving Edgehaven and it reinvigorated him. Going so far as to almost banish the foul taste of the common blood he had had to drink to survive on his journey from England. The thought reminded him of how he had to hunt almost like a feral vampire, becoming something akin to Kana with his blood lust. With the memory Vincent felt his anger rise within him like an old friend long since used and almost forgotten. Feeling a slight smile come to his lips he embraced the controlled anger and rage that he had used to wield the power of his family like a finely crafted weapon. Finding that he felt better than he had in months.

It was safe to say that this drink did much to revive Vincent Lémartes.

As the taste began to die away Vincent's eyes sprang open and were they had been weary and hollow, they now appeared keen and with a hard edge to his gaze. Looking almost as they had done before.

Turning to fix his eyes on his host Vincent realized why he had come to see Romayne. She was his. There was nothing else to it. At his command she would do almost anything he asked, though Vincent knew there may be a price.

There was one thing that Vincent suspected Romayne wanted and may ask in return to her aid and support.

Him.

That was the one thing that Vincent had denied her for all the years they had know one another. He guessed that in turn for her cooperation and use of her vast resources with seeking vengeance on all that had betrayed him and reclaiming his stolen position. Romayne may ask a hefty sum in compensation.
Namely for Vincent to accept her as his wife.

Ever since Romayne had been born Vincent had known that his parents had been conspiring with hers to forge an alliance through marriage. Though Romayne had had several other suitors the untimely death of her father had put an end to any others courting as her brother took control of the Nikolayev family and began to insist upon Vincent's marriage to his sister. Through Vincent, Romaynes brother could see a gateway to wealth and power beyond his wildest dreams and with it bringing an alliance that would have cemented his position as one Russia's most powerful figures. Making it almost impossible for the thousands of people that would have liked to have seen him dead for all of the deals that he had backed out on and all the wealthy daughters of powerful people that he a violated. If he managed to convince Vincent to wed his sister he would have been safe as Vincent's brother-in-law. After all if anyone had made and attempt on his life Vincent would have to retaliate as a matter of honor.

Unfortunately for Romaynes brother Vincent did not like him. He had tried to cheat Vincent several times at both games of chance and business dealings. He had also been the one time lover of Vincents sister Amara. Although this did not concern him greatly as his sister was free to make her own mistakes, and many of them there were, it was still a slight against his family.

When Vincent discovered that Romaynes brother was planning to use him to gain stability and power Vincent had reacted in the only sensible way.

He had eliminated the pest.

Thus through his actions allowing Romayne, last of the Nikolayev family, to grown into what she now was.

Though by taking that action, he suspected, he had denied her that which she wanted most.

With a predatory cast to his features Vincent lent forward taking another mouthful of the glorious wine taking a moment to allow the flavors to dance upon his pallet before speaking.

"Romayne my dear. I bring the glad tidings that I am at war." He paused for a moment as a sinister smile parted his lips revealing his canine teeth. "A war with Austin Darkora and his rebellious marauders The Night Watch."