Of course the Camarilla people didn't get delayed on purpose, even though it looked like that way to many Anarchs: they found a Sabbat warehouse and transfer hub underground, and put up quite a fight too before they hurried here. Luckily, both sides had some good findings: the plague-bearer was caught, and they also had one Sabbat in custody—though cannon folders like this wouldn't know too much about the big plan, he could still offer some insights about their operation.
From another perspective, this was quite a scandal that Prince LaCroix could make use of to take down the New York Baron, too: he covered up the dirt of the four ghouls to make his bad choice of people disappear from the record. It wasn't really a big event itself, of course, extremely immoral but not that harmful in the Kindred standard, but as some hype working up along the whole epidemic thing and some fantastic publicizing being done, the Prince successfully made it look like "a serious violation that almost caused the breaking of Masquerade", and with finally some help added from people who were already not satisfied with the Baron, the work is done with extreme ease.
So whether or not they could find out what the Sabbat were actually planning, this unexpected gain was enough to please the Prince for now, and not to mention what kind of reward Leona would get from him: when she woke up the next night, her account balance was literally quadrupled…and there would be more "investments" he planned for her, as the Prince put it in his email, but "they would need to have an important discussion about her future" first.
Prince LaCroix didn't explain the details, so Leona had to ask around tentatively in relation to what he meant. Most people thought it was absolutely a good thing, but when it came to Mercurio, she finally received some feedback about what she should feel cautious about.
"Holy shit…" it was his first reaction, then he thought for a moment while strolling around in his living room, exclaimed in shock, "He isn't going to make you an Ancilla, is he?"
Leona had heard about the title Ancilla from many people's mouths, and the general impression she got about the word was positive: it is rewarded to Kindred who haven't been senior enough to be Elders, who are supposed to be at least one hundred years old—mostly it's much longer than that—as a vampire, but have outstanding performances. They are considered to be the people who are actually in the game, and enjoy some special treatments from the Elders who promoted them, unlike pitiful freelancers like herself.
So she was confused: "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? Like a job promotion?"
"Oh most of the time it is, but…this is going to be tricky in your case." Mercurio tried to explain the situation for her, "You see, Elders are usually the power players, like Barons with their own domains, and the Ancillas they pick up—though there's never a written rule on it—are thought to be on their side, you know what I mean?"
"…So it's like…if I get promoted by the Prince, I'm considered to be fighting for him? A soldier wearing his banner?" Now Leona started to see what lies behind the tempting, glamorous lure.
"Conventionally it should be Strauss who does it…but he will have to ask one of your Tremere Pontiffs in Vienna first, he needs to follow the procedures of Tremere Pyramid, too, and no offence—it will take forever, and those antiques probably will come up with more tests for you to pass before offering you acknowledgement. On the other hand, however, if the Prince wants to, he still has the right to bring you in his circle…he saved you in the trial and announced you to be his responsibility, remember? And not to mention how your Anarch friends are going to react to it."
Realizing how big the trouble she was about to get in, Leona sat down on the sofa and held her forehead in distress, taking a sip of Bourbon—she had grown a taste for alcohol products now. Based on what Mercurio informed her, she was again at an embarrassing point where both options would be disastrous: if she took the offer from the Prince, it would be easily viewed as a treachery to the Tremere clan, and even if she past all the tests from the upper level of the Tremere Pyramid, Prince LaCroix wouldn't be pleased possibly...Ah, vampire politics, so annoying.
Thinking over the situation for a while with no liable solution coming up, Leona decided to change the topic and get her mind out of this mess: "How about Kanker? Have you got any background info on him?"
"Speaking of that…nothing really useful for interrogation, just…another poor son of a bitch." Mercurio rubbed his face in tiredness and sighed, "Normal office worker with wife and son, got attacked by a hungry Cainite and became a thin-blood…then three weeks later, his son was missing, and his wife said that she saw Kanker out of the house a few nights ago, seeming very weak and hungry. The Camarilla covered it up in the police report, of course, but you can piece out what happened."
"So he was taking care of Skelter…for what?" Leona laughed bitterly, "The guilt of draining his own son?"
"People do strange things to comfort themselves…" Looking at the unusual, sorrowful heaviness in Leona's eyes, Mercurio got a little worried, raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's the matter? It's not like it's your fault."
Leona chuckled and finished the drink: "Nothing, it's just…I thought getting this thing done will feel like a revenge for Alice, but in the end…we are just poor sons of bitches fighting with each other, aren't we? Anyway…I'm going to check on Skelter at Last Round, thanks for the drink."
"Are you going to tell Skelter about that? He hates Kanker very much now." Mercurio asked.
"No." Leona shook her head and got up from the seat, "It's better for him to just hate…It makes things simpler for him. He has bigger concerns than finding forgiveness in his heart now."
Indeed. At the moment Skelter was facing the same dilemma as Leona was: choosing sides. The standard procedure for thin-bloods in Camarilla central cities like Los Angeles is searched-and-destroyed, and certainly the Sabbat won't care for them, even among Anarchs, there are people who harbor disdain against them.
"These people are crazy. They say my types are harbingers of some vampire apocalypse, like…thin-bloods are the sign of Kindred bloodlines are too weak to even reproduce proper offsprings. So why the fuck is it our fault? They screw up themselves…"
So right now, Skelter and Leona were sitting at the corner upstairs, getting some alone time to let all the stresses piling up in his chest fall out without anyone else eavesdropping and judging—Nines and everyone who had a say in the group were talking on the other side of the room, about the possible title of Ancilla that Leona was about to receive, maybe even arguing whether or not they should take the initiative to ask Leona to join them in the first place.
"So what does Nines say about it then? Can you stay in Anarchs?" Leona asked.
"Well he wants to take me in, I guess, so nobody is doing anything more than complaining. Nines' cool. Like…he's really in charge, but I just don't really trust everyone else…"
Skelter tidied himself up, looking like a good and upright lad again, and was braiding his hair in Viking style in front of the mirror, the kind with a small bun behind. Probably because of the anxiety and hesitance on his mind, Skelter simply couldn't get his hair done right on the back of his head after several attempts, so Leona had to offer her hands to finish it.
"...Don't let them see this." Skelter kind of blushed and muttered.
And Leona changed the position of where she stood to keep herself out of sight. Then she raised her question. A seemingly rather strange question at this moment: "Do you still want to die?"
She knew that ever since Skelter made the request of going to battle with him, and it was an immediate, precise strike on his heart, because Leona guessed it right: he intended to die at that time, in fight, with the kind of bravery that boys at his age would admire…But the truth was, he didn't even have the courage to stand out. All he did was to hide beside someone else, watching those bodies burn and hearing the bestial battle cry of these blood-sucking animals.
Even when Muddy, the last murderer of his family jumped in front of him, he was still frozen at where he was like a coward.
"No." So he was honest with Leona, "I'm too scared…"
"Good. Death is a terrible thing, you should be scared." Leona finally finished the braiding and tied up all his hair, "Die for something better…you and your sister deserve that."
And just about time that Jack got sick of the ridiculous argument the Anarchs were having. He spit on the floor and sneered: "You ball-less, pathetic little brats! The fuck are you barking at? This is her unlife, you think that kid can't make her own fate? She's doing freaking better than most of you did…"
Leona didn't join their conversation or defend herself, simply told Skelter to take care and left. Just when she walked out of the bar, Damsel came after her quickly and called out to her:
"Hey!"
Never had talked to Damsel in person like this, Leona turned around, surprised but also baffled, noticing the slight awkwardness on this fiery, never-shy-away-from-anything girl's face, but just when she was about to ask, Damsel merely fired away whatever she wanted to say by herself:
"Supposed I should say thank you, huh…Damn it, Thanks! We are cool for now, ok? But don't go around and brag it to everyone, those boys in Last Round would think I grow soft on Cammys…"
Then she just turned away and dashed right back into the bar upon finishing the sentence. Leona grinned at Damsel's words, then kept on walking back to the Chantry, rested in her haven, and in the next evening, she went to the LaCroix Group Building, met the Prince just as he requested to have that significant talk about her future career. Again she tried to contact with Garrett in her sleep, but he didn't respond. The old man just came and left as he pleased.
But when she came into the room with Veronica, Leona was surprised to see so many people present: there was Regent Strauss, Prince LaCroix, and even Mercurio, too. Considering the nature of this conversation, she expected the Prince would want to avoid others and make it private.
"Good evening, Leona, I'm glad you come on time." However still, LaCroix started the prep-talk, "I've been thinking about your career development for quite some time. You've served the Camarilla perfectly despite your youth, so you ought to receive a better remuneration than just monetary rewards. But just as Mercurio has explained to you, the conventional method is…not so suitable in your situation, thus we've come to a compromise that wouldn't…harm the political uniqueness of your identity, while giving you the resources and opportunities you deserve."
He stood up, walked around with the scepter knocking on the carpet lightly, like a metronome swaying at the pace of a Larghissimo:
"I understand you've worked with Mercurio for a few times, and he is, I could say, the best agent I have right now, even though he isn't Kindred. What do you say about working formally as a partner of his? By doing so, I can assure you, you will be able to enjoy everything an Ancilla has, except for the title itself."
Surprised by this proposal, Leona turned to look at Mercurio, who just spread his hands and smiled:
"I have a habit of collecting lost puppies. Guess you are stuck with me."