Sibiu

[Bloodedge]

"Your suitors displease you? You do not wish to be wed, then?" he asked. Many women in this area seemed accepting of marriages for any given reason. It was very likely that her family would have her married into a family of even higher standing, which would be beneficial in numerous ways. Perhaps she had no desire to be in the upper echelons of society; she was, in fact, in a less-reputable area of town in the middle of the night. The life she chose to lead could not have been a very luxurious one.

It seemed they were not long for their journey to Kasmina's home. Sorin noticed how frequently she was looking at this briefcase of hers as they walked, but in doing so, he realized how frequently he was looking toward her. He couldn't help it. Many things about this woman were appealing to a side of him he wished to ignore, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He was only managing to distract himself with the ongoing conversation, which saved him from many an outburst. "Your words portray distaste, even in jest. It is almost as if this briefcase is your escape plan."

[Apollymi]

Kasmina was asked a question which she never expected to hear from anyone. It took her by surprise that someone was at all interested in what she thought of marrying at all. The man presently in her company, for all his faults, was surprisingly intuitive. To the point that it was astonishing to the lass that he bothered to care, even if it was only in passing conversation. "My suitors do not displease me, I do not know them. The whole idea of this marriage business bothers me. But only because it is a business, one in which I do not gain. And one in which my opinion does not seem to matter at all," she said. She knew it wasn't her place to express any extreme concern, but it also simply didn't seem right to her that she could end up married to some man twice her age, so that her father could gain property to give to her little brother some day.

Beyond this it seemed that the Sorin was perfectly sharp mentally as well. As evidenced by the fact that he seemed to understand what was in the briefcase the girl carried with her, and even noted the distaste of her joking state. She could very well say such a thing had never happened before. She found herself looking down at her hands as they walked, her body carrying her towards her home in a way she walked often enough that she didn't need to look to know she was going the right way. "I do not think I would call it an escape," she said trying in her mind to find the right words to use. "I would call it an investment, in myself." she said calmly. Because of the sensitivity of this moment she went on to explain further lest one end up with the wrong idea about her activities. "For the last year, my father has been gathering the interest of various suitors throughout Transylvania. He plans to marry me to the one who offers the greatest price for my hand. I find that to be detestable. I am a person... not a horse. And of course, I understand the political reasons for marriage, but for the monetary gain of my family alone? So my father will have something to leave just my younger brother, it seems a bit shallow. So, when I found out I began to gather the resources to supplant my father." she said seeming to talk about her scheme under the cover of moonlight without even the slightest bit of remorse. She couldn't imagine wasting away in some castle with an old man. "That case contains notarized copies of various deeds and properties I've come into the ownership of over the last year. There are plenty there, by right I own quite a bit, more than enough to buy my own hand and move far away. Freeing my father of responsibility for me, and not leaving my little brother to inherit squalid nothingness. It is fair..." she paused, she realized that she'd just told this man her entire plan for absolutely no reason, conveniently missing from this explanation was how she'd acquired these things. This was her biggest hand held closest to her chest for an exceedingly long amount of time, she hadn't meant to reveal so much. She'd simply gotten carried away, lost in their discussion and in someone taking a proper interest in what she thought... for once.

[Bloodedge]

"Ah. You do not wish to marry for status. It is a respectable sentiment, albeit not shared by the brunt of society in this age. Perhaps, one day, romantic marriages will be commonplace," Sorin replied, having a similar distaste for the conventional marriages of the era. He, however, had reasons of his own for this. "I am of a mind that it is against our Holy Father's will that we be wed in such a way. It is certainly the folly of man to find material value in holy matrimony."

With nothing but the sound of footsteps against cobble and the voice of the maiden, Sorin chose to open his ear to the latter. Over the few moments that followed his assertion about her briefcase, Kasmina shared more words with him than she'd done since their meeting. Into these words, she seemed to pour out her feelings about the situation she was dealing with. Even from an outside perspective, this sounded like quite the annoying ordeal. Sorin couldn't even begin to imagine being forced into these conditions. Still, something bothered him... so much that he suddenly stopped walking, and looked upon the woman with curious worry in his eyes. "And you believe your father is the type of man who'd accept these offerings without then having your hand promised to another man for additional gain?"

[Apollymi]

The words this man had to offer about marriage in general were ones which she didn't expect to hear from anyone. She did not know what love was, but she was quite certain that the idea of marrying for love specifically while divine was not one which would be accept by any at all. She could however respect the sentiments offered by the young man at her side and found him to be a breath of fresh air among the dozens of people she'd had contact with in her life. Still, she could not help but let her mind wander around the things she had witnessed this very night. 'A man, creature of the night. Spends his evening walking me home, and even hearing out and respecting my marriage wishes. Something about this seems not to line up at all...' she thought finding him to be strange though rather enjoyable.

As they walked and spoke it seemed that something had come into the mind of her escort. Something which gave him enough pause to stop. Kasmina found herself standing still only a half pace in front of him, looking back a small smile creeping up onto her face. It seemed he understood indeed what the problem of this situation was, and it was simply that even if she handed over the entire contents of the case in tact to her father, she wouldn't simply be allowed to go free. "Ah, no. My father is a lot of things and more than a bit miserly is at the top of the list. It was once said that my mother was the best of him, and I believe that. My stepmother, bless her heart, is quite clueless and thus has less influence. No, I could hand over everything I have now, which would cover about three marriages by our current standard, and he'd still marry me off to some random person who offered him something more," she said this as if it was a fact that she'd accepted much longer ago than this point in the conversation. "But that barely begs more attention than anything else. One must deal with their problems one at a time, lest they become overwhelming," she offered with a smile before carrying on.

They were rather quickly approaching the main gate of her estate and as they traveled down the long walk she'd reach for her case. "I do thank you kindly for the escort, Sir Phantomhive, but I am probably about to be chastised, there is no reason for you to suffer through such a thing," as surely as the girl had spoken did a candle light appear and footsteps begin moving around behind the large door at the entrance. Such would open up to the girl's father. A stern looking man with slightly rounded cheeks and sleek black hair opening the door to stare out into the darkness. What was missing from his visage, were Kasmina's emerald green eyes, obviously a feature she got from her mother. "Kasmina! How many times must I tell you, wandering about at night during these times is dangerous!" the man seemed to genuinely care about his daughter's safety and such sentiments would normally have held up if his speech hadn't continued. "For Christ's sake, you'd lose a handful of potential suitors if they knew you wandered about a night in town, doing god knows what!" he said which seemed to bring something strange from the girl. "Good evening father, I am surprised you are still awake. My apologies for my late return. But it is not good for your health, getting so worked up."

[Bloodedge]

She already knew. She understood the most likely of scenario for one such as her father, yet still she went through with this plan. It was preposterous. Surely, there was something else. Some form of reason could be applied in some way to better the situation... right? Sorin was without words for the situation at hand, but it was less due to Kasmina's own endeavors, and more due to the fact that he thought to try and do something about it for just a moment. Whatever the case, he could not allow himself to remain in this woman's company for much longer. Such a thing would lead to many atrocities, and eternal damnation would be guaranteed for him.

Soon after continuing their walk, the pair reached their destination. Kasmina reached out to reclaim her briefcase, stating that she would soon be chastised, and wished for him to avoid it. He gladly returned the briefcase to its rightful owner, but wondered briefly what this chastising could be related to. Could it have something to do with her outing at this hour, on the night of the full moon? Sorin's answer would come sooner than expected, and before he could even decide whether he would be sticking around or not. In their presence stood the Baron himself, Sir Dacian. He was indeed quite furious with his daughter for her late night adventure, but seemingly for reasons unexpected of a father. 'I should go,' Sorin thought.

His thoughts meant nothing at all. This man's fury was something Sorin, for some reason he could not explain, felt compelled to address himself. Stepping forward, he bowed cordially to the elder male. "Allow me to offer my sincerest apologies, Sir Dacian. You see, the lady Kasmina was in my care this night. It pains me to say time was lost to us, but you may rest assured that no harm came to your daughter this day."

[Apollymi]

Kasmina soon found herself staring in wonder. Though she'd been more than ready and capable of handling the verbal berating at the hands of her father, the voice of one Sorin Lothaire Phantomhive spoke up after she did speaking of her father's rest. Thick lashed emerald eyes widened at the speech as she couldn't believe he was one still standing here, and two speaking up on her behalf after knowing the kind of man her father actually was. 'Of course, my luck. Spend the evening chatting up a man so I don't get killed for knowing he's a vampire. Have him continue trying to look after me, even in our parting moments.' Her lips were in a straight line but inwardly she was quite pleased, but she couldn't really fathom why this was the case. 'What am I even thinking, vampire. I should be mortified.'

Meanwhile the male Dacian seemed to find himself facing a younger male who came up with rather amply an easy excuse for the tardiness of his daughter and even stated he'd been looking after her for the duration of her outing. "Oh? And who might you be, that you concern yourself with my daughter?" said the father as she stood up a bit straighter and looked at the lad before him as if confused by his presence. His eyes cast to his daughter as she managed to cover the initial stunned reaction she'd had and nodded. The return of the face she'd perfected in poker would be seen again this night, for very different reasons of course. Her eyes flickered over the man who'd walked her home silently questioning this decision with their gaze.

[Bloodedge]

While still bowed with his face out of the man's sight, Sorin looked through the corner of his eye to view Kasmina, who looked as if she wondered why he'd even interject. As his head rose, moonlight gleamed against violet eyes which portrayed reassurance. Sorin was a man of his word by all means, and he did say he would see after her well-being until they parted. It would be rude to limit this to physical safety alone.

A smile which showed no teeth whatsoever was shown to the Baron. "Ah, how rude of me. Sorin Lothaire Phantomhive," he said, keeping his right arm crossed over his chest for the duration of his introduction and following speech to the man. "I must say, sir, that you have a lovely daughter. My time spent with Lady Kasmina this evening was an absolute treat, and it was my honor to see to her safekeeping this night."

[Apollymi]

When she looked at him, Kasmina found his eyes reassuring, and a strange shade of violet by the candle light. She couldn't help that her look softened about the edges as she waited quite silently to see how this ordeal played out. 'Whatever he is, he is one of the kindest men I've ever met.' she thought, only to realize that she had no reason to think such a thing, but yet, every reason to do so as well. Tonight has been a night shrouded in confusion, a night of turns and twists... a night of thrills.

The Baron Dacian was confronted by strange information. Following this male straightening up, he introduced himself with his arm crossed over his chest. Much to the surprise of the older male he'd at least heard of this young man who'd spent the evening with his daughter in some capacity, but he really could not see the reason for such a meeting between the pair to have occurred. "Ph...pha.... Phantomhive?!" the man seemed stunned by the revelation and looked to his daughter seemingly stunned. "Viscount Phantomhive? In the company of my daughter?!" her father's face was unreadable for just a second and then broke into a grin which could only be described as a strange mix between covetous and proud. Like he saw some potential here which had been previously lost when his daughter had first returned home. 'Of course, he's fine with this... he now has the idea that he's a potential suitor,' the girl thought which would only be affirmed. "Kasmina, you should have said. I didn't know you knew someone of such standing, nor that he kept you company. I was worried, but obviously you were in good hands. Thank you sir, for looking after my daughter." the man said, but something about this speech and its random shift was strange.

It was such an outright change in demeanor that one would have to be an idiot not to know why such a change had come about. "I would have explained father, but it didn't seem prudent in the moment. I did offer my apologies for the ta..." the girl's words were cut off by her father speaking and a look cast in her direction which she'd gotten quite used to since the idea of her marriage had first come up. One which said she should stop speaking, though surprisingly enough it wasn't accompanied by that speech and instead he spoke directly to Sorin. "Oh forgive me, I've been rude, after you've done me... well us such a kindness." this old man's tune had changed so drastically it'd taken every muscle within the girl's body to control the sigh she wanted to let go of.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course, sir Dacian. I believe you had some form of connection with my father," Sorin said, knowing that he'd previously dealt with this man to some extent. He was presently living his second life as a human under the name Sorin. Formerly, he was known simply as Lothaire Phantomhive, an epithet he now claimed to be the name of his father. With the Dacian estate, he'd once exchanged a few business trades some twenty or so years ago, though he'd never met the Baron in person. "Please, no thanks are necessary. It was truly my pleasure."

As Sorin allowed his arm to fall to his side, Kasmina began addressing her father with another clause concerning their current situation. She was interrupted in a rather rude manner. In this very moment, Sorin's brows drew ever so slightly closer to one another. If nothing else, he'd been raised a classy individual. Such an outright disregard for the words of another person, especially a member of one's own family, was not something he was prepared to tolerate. "... Sir Dacian, any rudeness toward me has hardly been noticeable, but I must say, the disregard you've just shown toward your own daughter of all people... is not something I can turn a blind eye to if it were to happen before me again. I would expect more of one who calls himself a Baron."

[Apollymi]

Kasmina's father didn't even need a moment to think about the connection to the Phantomhive, it was one he remembered well. A few of his business transactions. It was an integral part of some of his earlier successes. "Yes, I did a bit of business with Lothaire Phantomhive, never met the man but he was quite important to some of my earlier business transactions. As such I appreciate a visit from his son any day." said the man who seemed to show much regard for the lad. Or rather the man he believed to be a mere lad.

Such a conversation was easily noted by Kasmina but after being so astutely interrupted she'd decided it was in her best interest to remain quiet. Quite unexpectedly though the next words out of Sorin's mouth were a bit of a reprimand for her father for cutting off his daughter's speech. Such a thing was something she never expected to hear, let alone be around to witness. 'Christ in Heaven, what am I actually witnessing? He's speechless!' the young woman thought. And it took all of her remaining mental reserves to stop the gasp which would have come at the surprise. Her mouth opened gently behind her right hand as she suppressed a giggle as her father stumbled through an apology for the lad as he tried to recover from the offense. One could clearly seen on the man's face that he thought he was losing his meal ticket right before him and thought to recover it as best it could, the reddening of his face a hint at his embarrassment. Grasping at the potential up rising that marrying his daughter into such a family could provide, if only he didn't muck it up. "I...uh... " he started as Kasmina put her poker face back into place and watched as her father tried to apologize to Sorin for his transgression. "My sincerest apologies of course, Lord Phantomhive. I didn't mean to disregard her speech. Of course, it won't happen again," he managed. Though the rest of the emotions the girl could have been feeling were well hidden on her face, there was something of an amused light in her eyes as her father stumbled through that apology. 'This man... even knowing what he is, I can't help but think he's a good man.' she thought absently.

[Bloodedge]

"It is not me who is owed an apology... Sir Dacian," he spoke with mild annoyance polluting his words. This statement accompanied a glance in Kasmina's direction, as if to portray his meaning through body language alone. "You see, my good sir, my father was not the greatest parental figure for me. It was my mother who raised me, and her doing so instilled in me something of a... zero tolerance policy. A lady deserves nothing short of absolute respect; wouldn't you agree?"

Sorin did not expect the Baron to agree. What he did expect, though, was for him to struggle through his responses like he was doing. For the crime of disallowing a woman's speech, he would be punished with an inability to properly speak himself. Sorin thought to accomplish this without a single ounce of his powers as a vampire, but soon enough, he thought perhaps he should be leaving while his more sinful side was not bothering him so constantly. If Kasmina's father had done one thing, it had been providing a distraction from his earlier thoughts in the woman's presence. Now, though, Sorin felt this usefulness was reaching its end.

[Apollymi]

There was mild annoyance in the voice of Sorin and Kasmina could hear it as clear as church bells on Sunday morning. And to her, the sound was just as musical. Her father on the other hand managed to look confused but luckily for him, it seemed that Sorin was content to provide a proper explanation. As the words hit the Baron Dacian's ears he could scarcely believe a stranger was so willing to publicly chastise him over his treatment of his own daughter. He knew though in order to sustain not offending the lad he'd have to apologize to his daughter, something he'd never thought himself capable of doing before this moment.

Beyond this the seriousness with which Sorin addressed the subject seemed to cause even more distress in the Baron Dacian much to his daughter's amusement which she tried to stifle quite a bit. She could only look to Sorin with innocent wonder in her large eyes as her father stumbled through the words of an apology this time turned to her. "Daugh... Kasmina... I... please... accept..." he was working towards this apology with all the strength he could muster as he saw his opportunity falling through his fingertips. "Please accept my humblest apologies daughter, I did not mean... to disregard your words. Of... course you deserve the utmost respect," he finally managed though it had taken several moments and the redness in the man's face made the young girl wonder if he even had any blood left anywhere else in his body. Unlike her father the girl seemed to be rather easily capable of graciously accepting this apology. "Father, of course, I accept such a kind and sincerely offered apology," she said offering the man a wide smile though it wasn't honestly for him. Her face turned to Sorin and she gave him the full affect of her completely humored and brightest smile. "Sir Phantomhive, it's been great getting to know you this night, but I regret to say I should be off to bed by now. Forgive this rather abrupt end to our evening, and thank you kindly for seeing to my well-being. You've done me a far kinder service than you know," she said kindly, speaking of course to a great many things, including the present treatment of the Baron Dacian. Her father seemed to wonder when his daughter had become so unassumingly charming. He could have used such information before, but he dared not speak on it for fear of further reprimand and humiliation.

[Bloodedge]

Standing in silence, Sorin observed the struggle this man went through to apologize to his daughter. It was pitiful. The difficulty he showed in voicing these words could not have made it any more obvious that he'd apologized only for fear of Sorin's status. Still, it was at least a step in the right direction for this exact moment, and Sorin felt the sentiment could be appreciated. "A fair start, I suppose. It will do... for now," he mused.

Now that all had been said and done, Kasmina was prepared to part ways with the Viscount. With their impending separation, Sorin took a moment to bypass the Baron and approach the woman. As he had done with their meeting, he bowed and held out his hand to request hers. "My services are always on offer for you, my lady. It was the greatest of pleasures," he said, awaiting the potential offering of her hand. 'What am I saying? I can't be in this woman's presence!' was his following thought.

[Apollymi]

The Baron Dacian managed to look simultaneously abashed and mortified, as Sorin commented on his apology being alright for the time being. Such a look was quite a feat for a man who'd so recently taken to terrorizing the lives of his direct family members, and none more so than his daughter. Even so the maiden known as Kasmina felt a tiny bit happy in this moment and could allow herself to bask in its glory for as long as it lasted. 'Hm, that should be good for a couple of days of quiet perhaps?' she thought as she saw the Viscount Phantomhive approach her once more.

She couldn't help the smile that came to her face as he bowed before her, awaiting a hand that she willingly offered, despite the fact that she knew she should be more cautious. 'You've made it out with your life, the least you could do is act like you want to keep living Mina.' she thought to herself, but even so she allowed herself to be addressed in such a caring way and somewhere deep inside enjoyed the idea that she'd have this man's services if she needed them again. "I will be sure you are at the top of the list, should you be required again. " she mentioned, as she flicked her gaze in her father's direction and offered the man before her a discrete wink, hinting at her meaning. "Though it should go without saying, your company is appreciated regardless of the circumstance," she said before her mind screamed at her once more. 'He's a vampire...' she reminded herself once more. She did this as she waited for something she knew was coming with her offered hand now within the Viscount's own. Her father watched this entire display in minor shock, as if he wasn't a married man himself and had never seen such an interaction, chaste as it may be, before this point. He'd completely missed the reference to himself in his daughter speech and could only think about how he'd use this moment as part of his plan to marry his daughter off to the highest possible taker.

[Bloodedge]

'Surely my services will never be called upon. If they were... I may damn myself.' This train of thought raced through the mind of the vampire across several moments of him screaming within himself. Kasmina had his attention again, and with that, everything he'd been successfully avoiding up to this point was brought resurgence. Greed and lust both aimed to overcome him. He had to hold fast. That was an easy enough task, right? After all, it had been managed for the duration of their time together.

... Wrong.

'Drink,' his mind told him as his lips drew closer to the back of Kasmina's hand. With every millimeter of distance removed, the thought became louder and louder. The blood coursing through her veins was calling to him the way no blood ever had, and as he placed his lips upon her hand, yes...

He could see it. He could smell it! He could taste it! The scent alone had been halted in the back of his throat, giving him some semblance of an idea as to what it would taste like. 'Father, give me strength!' This was maddening! The worst part of it all was not having the slightest idea why he felt this way now, of all times, and toward all people. "I..." Sorin stammered. He had slowly separated his lips from the back of Kasmina's hand, and could feel himself trembling. Snatching himself away, he returned his extremities to the confines of his cape. "Forgive me. I... look forward to our next encounter. Baron. Lady." With each person addressed, Sorin bowed; then, he took a rather hasty leave of this pair. "Our Father's grace, be with you."