Princess Vodrak keeps her back to Esmeralda and continues to peruse her clothing...
"You know Countess Ardelean, I must admit, I do find you to be somewhat of an enigma."
"Really? And how is that, Princess Analiese?"
The princess emits a subtly noticeable exasperated sigh. "It's apparent that you don't like me. But that's alright, because most everyone else doesn't like me neither; so, you're really no different in that regard. However, unlike everyone else who clearly fears me as much as they despise me; you don't ... do you?"
"And what would make you think that, Princess?"
"Oh ... I don't know ... maybe it's the fact that only you could bring up the Demon Lord in such a flippant manner in front of me with no regard for reprisal."
A subtle grin appears upon Esmeralda's lips. "Hmm, did it seem like I was bringing up his name in a flippant manner? My apologies, I certainly didn't mean to."
The princess momentarily turns her attention away from the clothes in her armoire to look back at Esmeralda with scrutinizingly discerning eyes ... luckily for Esmeralda, that subtle grin had dissipated; or it would have given her away.
Still unconvinced, "Really now; good to know. ... Oh, speaking of the Demon Lord; any new word on the demon situation?"
"Actually, I was recently consulting with Captain Thaddeus Lupu of the Royal Vanguard before receiving your summons. Apparently, some of our scouting patrols have reported that there've been sightings of the Night Crawlers of Death moving about the Danube mountains nearby; entrenching themselves within several caves." Esmeralda adds, "And, to make matters worse, there's even been speculation that they currently may be in contact with the demons trying to form pacts and alliances with them."
"My, that certainly does seem disturbingly troublesome."
Esmeralda emphasizes, "Yes ... and when we not only take this into account but also consider the growing speculation that the demons are planning on attacking the Shadow Hunter Pack sometime in the near future, there's definitely a need for concern; and we should assume that the threat is very real."
Princess Vodrak turns back around and seems to revert her attention back to the cursory inspection of her wardrobe; but in truth is calculating in her mind the most caustic way possible she could goad the countess.
"Well, I'm sure that no matter how dire the situation may be, I'm sure you can handle it, Countess Ardelean. After all, you are our esteemed Matriarch of the Clan of the Old Order." The princess pauses briefly before adding with an implied veiled threat, "That is, at least for the next twenty-seven years or so; providing there are no scandalous rumors suddenly surfacing. I mean, something like that could certainly ruin the reputation of even an Immortal One that descends from royal lineage such as yourself."
Still not sure what Princes Vodrak is alluding to yet, but positive that she's trying to antagonize her; Esmeralda stands fast and maintains her composure to keep the prodding princess from getting the upper hand. Unbeknownst to Esmeralda, she's but mere moments from Princess Vodrak making her big reveal, which is going to blow things up and have them spiral out of control.
Calmly, Esmeralda responds, "Well, Princess Analiese I'm pleased to say that I have nothing to worry about because I can assure you that I won't be incurring any scandalous rumors in the foreseeable future; so, sorry, but I can't relate to what you're implying."
A wickedly sinister smirk appears upon the devious little princess's pallid lips. Princess Vodrak slowly closes the armoire's doors, then walks over to the other corner of her chamber and sits down on an antique, Elizabethan-style chaise lounge. She's ready to pounce.
"Interesting. Speaking of things being able to relate to ... or rather, should I say things being related to ... correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't your nephew recently have a daughter? About four months or so ago I believe?"
In an instant, all the coloring Esmeralda had in her complexion suddenly fades away. She abruptly looks back over her shoulder at Dragmire and Andreas; whom from upon entering the princess's chamber decided that it would best to just stand motionless by the wall, remain totally silent, and blend into the background. They immediately convey sympathetic glances to the countess but remain steadfast to their decision to stay out of things and not confront Princess Vodrak; which the matriarch could understand and not blame them for doing so. At that moment she resigns herself to the stark realization that this has always been, and always will be, her fight alone until the end.
Esmeralda turns back around and looks upon the princess; who's still displaying that wickedly sinister smirk. The matriarch tries her best not to reveal any outwardly emotional signs of distress ... especially not give the princess any indications of worry or fear ... even though on the inside there is a mounting trepidation swelling up; as the countess dreads where the princess is planning on taking this conversation.
It isn't long before she gets her answer, as the worst-case scenario ... and Esmeralda's worst fear ... is brought to light by Princess Vodrak...
"And also correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't she a dampyr? That must be quite the embarrassment; no? Our beloved Countess Ardelean ... the esteemed Matriarch of the Clan of the Old Order ... one of the descendants of the second generation vapire families with pure, royal blood flowing through her veins ... and now, great aunt to a lowly dampyr. My, my, my; how the mighty have fallen."
That trepidation which once plagued Esmeralda rapidly dissipates and is immediately replaced with a seething ire. The matriarch brusquely snaps...
"How did you find out about this?! Who told you?!"
The princess snickers as she taunts, "Uh-oh, looks like someone's got their old auntie knickers all in a twist. .... What difference does it make how I found out; it's the truth, isn't it?"
Esmeralda exasperatedly huffs in frustration as she reluctantly concedes...
"Yes ... it's true." She angrily clenches her jaw and grits her teeth for a brief moment before explaining, "But it isn't her fault she turned out the way she did. If anything, this is all my fault. I wanted a family member with enhanced abilities to help the clan fight against the demons; so, I convinced my nephew to have a baby with a witch, hoping that the child would be born with magical attributes."
Princess Vodrak mockingly cups her hands over her mercilessly ruthless, blackened heart and audaciously feigns affectionate appreciation as she continues her relentless taunting...
"Aw, how sweet ... to think that you went and did this all for the good of the clan. Can you be any more selfless and giving ... good for you." Then that sinister smirk reappears. "Too bad you didn't take into account the fact that sometimes these crossbreeding attempts fail miserably with witches, and no magic is passed on to the child."
Esmeralda abruptly interjects, "There's still hope ... I mean, it isn't a certainty yet. There's a chance that she does possess magic; that it's just latent and will emerge as she grows older."
Again, Princess Vodrak snickers as she taunts, "Right. ... Face it my dear Countess; you were hoping for a Royal Court Magician but instead wound up with a future chambermaid of mine."
The matriarch's blood is boiling. Her dark pupils tightly constrict as the whites of her eyes quickly turn to a fiery red shade. Her fangs immediately jut out, and she furiously hisses and rebukingly shouts at the princess...
"Listen up and listen good, you sadistic little spoiled brat ... princess or no princess; I won't allow you to go on speaking about my grandniece like that! She's my grandniece and I love her dearly. And it makes no difference to me if she's a Royal Court Magician or chambermaid, like you said; I'll go on loving her regardless. ... But there is one thing that I can assure you; I will never let you get those claws of yours on her! She will never be your property or belong to you! Never!"
The princess locks her cold, dead-looking 'shark' eyes with the matriarch's fiery red ones as she ominously inches her way over towards Esmeralda. Once standing toe-to-toe with the matriarch ... who stands a good foot-and-a-half to two feet over the diminutive princess ... Princess Vodrak menacingly threatens Esmeralda...
"Watch it, bitch; you're fucking with the wrong vampire here. You may be the Matriarch of the Clan of the Old Order; but I'm Princess Analiese Vodrak, third daughter of King Orlich Vodrak and Queen Rizzela Vodrak ... hailing from one of the original vampire families .... and a high-ranking member of the Council of the Immortal Ones. Do you honestly think you stand a chance against me? If I decide to go after your precious little grandniece, how would you stop me; what could you do? I'll tell you what ... nothing."
Keeping her fiery red, glaring eyes locked on with the princess's dead-looking 'shark' eyes ... and with her fangs still protruding ... Esmeralda leans over ... stopping when her forehead barely touches Princess Vodrak's forehead ... and speaks in a low, monotonic manner as she malevolently threatens...
"No ... Princess Analiese Vodrak ... third daughter of who gives a fuck ... hailing ... again from who gives a fuck ... one of the pretentiously, pompous old geezers who don't listen to their own words crew ... you're fucking with the wrong vampire. You want to know what I could do ... I'll tell you what I'll do. If you even think about going after my grandniece, I will personally drag you out of these catacombs and into the sun; then watch you disintegrate into a pile of ash."
Princess Vodrak once again displays her wickedly sinister smirk...
"Seriously ... please; that empty threat of yours doesn't scare me. Stupid bitch, if you drag me out into the sun the Council of the Immortal Ones we surely see to it that you are immediately put to death. So, want to try again? Got any more empty threats you want to try scaring me with?"
Again, speaking in that same low, monotonic manner...
"That wasn't an empty threat, Princess; that was a Bonafide promise. I realize that I'll be executed; but I don't care. That's how much love I have for my grandniece and how far I'm willing to go to protect her. I'll die for her ... how about you? Are you ready to die for trying to go after my grandniece? I mean, it's true, we both have already lived out tiresomely long lives ... you so even more than me ... but are you really ready to call it quits and throw away your life?"
Princess Vodrak keeps her eyes locked with Esmeralda's as she slowly backs away. With a few feet between them, the princess continues to stare down the matriarch for a for a brief moment; then turns around and goes back her bed and sits. And after brief moment, the now evidently frazzled princess wildly shouts out...
"Out of my chamber! All of you leave now! Go ... and don't come back!"
The matriarch and her two advisors immediately leave the chamber, then head over to the stairwell and ascend it; remaining silent during the entire climb. And once out of the catacombs, while walking down the corridor, Andreas once again uses a private mind-link to communicate with Dragmire...
"Hey ... what the hell just happened down there?"
Dragmire doesn't respond back to Andreas. Instead, he smiles and laughs out loud; then addresses the matriarch...
"Know what Countess ... you may have just become the most feared vampire of this clan."
Andreas now laughs, "Yeah; I think you may be right about that."
Esmeralda remains silent as they continue walking through the castle corridors. Once they reach outside her chamber, she finally speaks...
"Dragmire; I need you to go and contact my nephew at once. Tell him that he's to come to the castle tomorrow morning; no excuses, he must be here. Tell him his Matriarch commands it; this is an official summons. Got it?"
Dragmire responds, "Yes, Countess; it will be done."
"Good." She turns to Andreas. "As for you, Andreas; once I'm in the meeting with my nephew, I need you to go find and bring Irena up to my chamber ... tell her to wait there for me. And don't let anyone else know of this ... especially Princess Vodrak; understood?"
Andreas responds, "Understood; as you wish, Countess."
"Thank you. Dragmire, Andreas; you're excused for the rest of the day. Just be sure to carry out my instructions exactly as I told you."
They respectfully bow and respond in unison, "Yes, Countess."
The two advisors take their leave; and Esmeralda softly mutters under her breath...
"Well; it looks like the daughter of the Shadow Hunter Packs luna won't be traveling alone."