Hellfire Club – Great Hall
Damien: “Good morning, Your Majesties. I trust that our Queen has been outlining what our Court has to offer?”
:: Bretta looked up to see both Damien and Cassandra approaching the table. She studied Cassandra’s countenance. There was no outwardly show of any bitterness or hurt. Instead, Cassandra was the picture of calm, and she had a satisfied smile on her face. Bretta was quite pleased. She smiled up at them. Damien pulled up a chair on the opposite side whereas Cassandra came over to sit beside her. ::
“Good morning, darlings. Ava, John, Cameron...I would like to introduce you to my Rook-turned-Prince, Damien McAllister. Damien, you remember Erika.”
:: She gave a pleased smile when he nodded at the White Princess. ::
Damien: *flirtatiously*: “How could I ever forget a beauty such as yourself, Your Highness?”
:: Bretta exchanged a look with Cassandra. He had a reputation for being a playboy back home and, at any given time, he was usually surrounded by a bevy of women. Bretta shook her head in amusement. ::
*apologetically*: “He did arrive unannounced and uninvited, I’m afraid, but he was just so eager to meet our new Princess.”
Damien: *sheepishly*: “Yes, that is very much true, but, to be quite honest, it’s not the whole truth.”
“Oh?”
:: Bretta cocked both her head and eyebrow. She felt Cassandra’s arm going through hers and then felt her hand squeezing hers. She knew then that she probably wasn’t going to like what he had to say. Never taking her eyes off Damien, she leaned over to Cassandra. ::
*quietly*: “Did you know about this?”
Cassandra: *quietly*: “No, Your Majesty.”
:: Cassandra looked over at her and squeezed her hand again. Bretta got the signal that Cassandra knew nothing of what Damien was about to say. Damien looked rather uncomfortable and cleared his throat. ::
Damien: “My Queen, as soon as you left, on our King’s orders, we have been doing some transforming of our Court.”
:: Bretta made sure to keep her facial expression unemotional. Her lips were in a very thin line and her eyes flashed darkly. Her normally emerald green eyes now held just a touch of purple, a sure sign that she was getting very angry. Still, Bretta made sure to keep her voice calm and neutral. ::
“Go on, Damien.”
Damien: *nervously*: “It’s no secret that our Court appears to be the weakest. It’s also not a secret, back home anyway, that Alastair, our King, never trusted Archer Fairchild. Alastair had kept some things from you, Your Majesty.”
:: Bretta gripped Cassandra’s hand tightly. She may have looked calm and cool on the outside, but on the inside...she was seething. She was glad that nobody could read her mind; she was thinking many thoughts that were unbecoming of a lady such as herself. ::
Alastair, that little SHIT. That fucking, shitty, KING!!! He dare betray me?! ME?! After all I have done, and he fucking DARED to use MY Knight and Prince against me?! FUCK HIM.
:: Bretta’s eyes darkened considerably then, the purple becoming more and more apparent. Still, Bretta kept calm and her cool. She, of course, would back Damien with what he had to say, but when they got home, there WOULD be consequences. When she spoke, there was thinly veiled anger in her voice. ::
“I’m listening.”
Damien: *nervously*: “Alastair had to keep some things on the down low so as to not raise Archer’s interest in what we did.” *swallows hard*: “He was of the thought that Daniel was a spy for the former Black King and so he thought of your genuine love and care for him, Daniel, as a liability.” *small voice*: “We, the Knight and I, had to obey our King’s orders. Faith and I were never suspicious of Daniel, Your Grace.”
:: Bretta still stared at him with what appeared to be an unemotional expression, so Damien relaxed a bit under the assumption that she wouldn’t cause a scene. Bretta would never anyway, but there really would be consequences for both him and her Knight, and her Prince looked as if he knew that. Bretta nodded in the affirmative at Damien’s last two sentences. Her Knight and Prince had their issues with Daniel, but they never would’ve accused him of being a spy. No, that smelled of Alastair’s paranoia.::
When we get back, Alastair will face HUGE consequences.
:: Bretta made a mental note to get in touch with Brienne, Zach, Juliette, and Liam to back her up on getting Alastair OUT as the Red King. She would NOT stand for being made a fool in this manner.
Damien: “As you may know, Your Majesties [the American regents], the Red Court controls almost all of the arts and entertainment industry throughout Europe; ninety-five per cent, to be precise. We are currently making head way on the other five per cent. However, that wasn’t good enough for our King. I mean, sure, we’re raking in all kinds of money for Hellfire Europe, but Alastair wanted more. Now, as I’m sure you’re all aware of, I’m a fixer-slash-bounty hunter. Whatever people need, I go and help them; manipulate the situation. I also go and find people who don’t want to be found; who are in hiding from some pretty powerful people.”
“It’s true; Damien is very good at what he does. Although...”
:: Bretta smirked a bit despite what she was feeling. Damien McAllister was a true cad in every sense of the word. ::
“...he does believe that he is above the law.”
Damien: *gamely*: “Your Majesty, you know it’s true. I’ve lived several lifetimes without getting caught once.”
“That’s also true. But, Damien, you haven’t picked up much business for ‘fixing’ or for bounty hunting for a long time. Why are you talking about it now?”
:: Damien turned a bright shade of red. Her eyes darkened even more. Alastair. ::
That poor excuse for a man! He WILL feel my wrath!
:: She spotted Daniel out of the corner of her eye and knew that her emotions would be like a beacon for him. She was too enraged to care, though. ::
Damien: *sheepishly*: “Ah, that’s the thing, Your Grace. Alastair didn’t want Fairchild to become too interested in what we were accomplishing, lest he would conspire to take it out from under us, so Alastair had me stay, uh, close to home.”
:: Bretta couldn’t believe it. Her King, the person who was supposed to have her back, orchestrated her own Court to be dull as dishwater in order to not provoke the former Black King? ::
Oh, HELL no!
:: She reined herself in just enough to let Damien finish what he wanted to do. She would back him up publically, but in a private moment? Oh, she would throttle her Prince. ::
Damien: *hurriedly*: “Now we are coming back to the forefront, Your Graces. My business – both of them – are slowly starting to pick up and we’re also focusing on the different royal families all across Europe. You know, courting them, currying their favour. We really feel that we can persuade them to join Hellfire, if they haven’t already. Also, Red Security has been busy researching different avenues in which to go in, our clandestine informants have been dispatched all throughout the continent to gather information for us with regards to the art and entertainment industry and, thanks to our Russian sources, we just might break out into Asian Russia and hopefully into Asia proper.”
:: Bretta silently appraised Damien. It sounded good; it sounded really good. Only problem was, she didn’t know a damn thing about it. She was very hurt by this – and she was also indignant on Daniel’s behalf. Daniel was a marvelous person. Though he was, indeed, close to both Archer and Brienne – especially Brienne – he would’ve never been a spy. She was proud of herself for not showing any outward emotion, save for her eyes. On the outside, she still projected this cool and calm Queen while on the inside...the inside she was in such turmoil of emotion. She spotted the tell when Damien nodded at Cassandra, and so she silently turned her head towards Cassandra when she spoke. Ah, so her Prince lured the Princess into his plot. Though Bretta was infuriated with her entire Court, Cassandra would face no consequences. ::
Cassandra: “That’s where you come in, Your Graces. We already have a strong alliance with the Black Court, which is wonderful, but we also feel that we can learn from both the White and Red Courts as well. As you well know, I have firsthand knowledge that you each have unique qualities and qualifications that help make Hellfire what it is, and, because of that, we would be most excited to learn from all of you. Simply put, we would love to have a working relationship with all three Courts – not just one.
:: Bretta was impressed with Cassandra’s poise and tone. There was absolutely no hint of any bitterness whatsoever. Her expression was open and engaging. Bretta had an idea forming in her mind on how her new Princess could contribute to the Red Court. Cassandra could really be somebody. She turned her head when Damien spoke up again. ::
Damien: “And, in a gesture of goodwill, we’re willing to split the bounty [chuckling]. I, of course, will offer my services as both a fixer and a bounty hunter to you [Hellfire as a whole] as well.”
:: Bretta had to hand it to Damien. He was very good at what he did, and if he had enough passion for it, he went all out. Still, he was out of line for admitting that he kept secrets from his Queen in public – even if he had been under orders from his soon-to-be former king. Bretta was certain that everybody was waiting for her to publically flay him for a huge transgression such as this. That wasn’t her style. It was Rebecca’s style, for sure, but Bretta had made a promise that she wouldn’t BE like her predecessor. No, Bretta preferred to deal with things privately. ::
“Though Damien lacked in proper etiquette with regards to his own Queen...”
:: Bretta fixed Damien with a disapproving look. He at least had the decency to look like he knew he was in for it, from the way he stared down at the tabletop. ::
“...both he and my Princess are correct. We certainly have expanded by leaps and bounds and, yes, My Court would love to have a working relationship with all three of your Courts; not just one. I feel, as both my Prince and Princess do, that my Court could learn something from each of your Courts. I have been impressed by all of you this weekend and I have enjoyed the many conversations that I had with many of you. I would love for that to continue. In any relationship, however, it’s give-and-take; not just one party either giving or taking. As generous as my Prince’s offer is, and I am in complete agreement with him, I would like to know: what would you like from us?”
He looked over at Brienne, who was less than enthused they were there, and then at Cassie before looking back at Zach.
