Life goes on

Veronica had found the comfort of her long trench coat pockets. Her eyes were still locked with the ground of disturbed dirt, a dark whole there was where her mother had ended up. What a twisted paradox that a demon was put in the ground a little away from a beautiful church. The guests had long left, her father being a shadow of a man compared to what she had seen when she had arrived a couple of months ago. She found it somewhat comical that her parents had never found each other, but when it came down to it, it had always been clear the love that they harboured for one another. A love that was now lost as they had put her mother to rest. She had questioned if she had turned off her feelings a couple of times already, she hadn’t cried even if she had been the one staring into her uncle's face as he had ripped the heart from her mother's chest and then crushed her body right in front of her.
A laugh left her throat as she stood there, her eyes turned to the sky as the rain started coming down, and then she closed her eyes, letting the drops wash away the rest of her doubt, knowing that this was it, this had been the last straw and she would take the fight to her grandfather, this charade had been going on for far too long.

Bast got out of the car as it seemed the last of the attendees had left the funeral. The most important to leave had been River, as Bast hadn’t cared much for that confrontation, especially not since Kailani had been taken after talking with him, and something told him that River wouldn’t mind blaming that on him. He opened the umbrella and walked to the backseat’s door and opened it. “Eya we am Mister Barnes, the only remainen keffle is Miss Demidov” he explained handing Archie the umbrella so he could walk over and pay his respects, Bast not minding the rain placed himself against the car, letting his eyes follow Archie as he walked over to where Juliya had been buried.

It had been a rather downplayed and sober ceremony for someone with such wealthy legacy. Was it guilt, Archibald Barnes felt, as his gaze danced across the sombre yard? Hardly; yet some personal code of conduct meant that he had needed to venture away to this grey and dull area to at least pay his respect to the woman, he had smuggled into Gaia, all those many years ago. A last salute, if you may, and perhaps a slight disappointment, knowing that she had lost out on growing into her full potential. She had been wonderfully powerful, and had she been ready, she could have made a very influential ally.
They had observed the service in silence, Bast and him, witnessing how the heavy thunderstorm slowly moved closer and cast dramatic shadows across the attendees as they were leaving.
Graveyards were by no means Archie’s favourite places – in fact, he sincerely hated them and could confirm, that since he early the year before had opened up and embraced more of his Banshee abilities, it had not in any way changed his mind on graveyards. Not in the slightest, in fact. And even if this miserably gloomy place was no traditional graveyard in any sense, he could feel it in the back of his mind. The voices felt louder in spite of some of the magical wardens he had had cast onto some of his fine accessories; golden cufflinks and an old pocket-watch that adorned his simple, black three-piece suit. A burgundy tie gave a slight hint of colour and warmth along with the golden details.

Bast moved and Archie followed him with his eyes, having found it sincerely easy to have the man back in his life. Easy and comfortable. He got out of the car, grabbing hold of the umbrella without hesitation. The only reaction that prided his serious face was a lightly raised eyebrow at the word keffle. “She’s a telepath, Bast, I’d consider me thoughts and words a wee more carefully next time ‘round,” he reminded the large succubus with what appeared to be a mild smile and a substantial amount of warmth in the usually harsh eyes.
Archie left the car behind him, carrying the black umbrella with him through the rain in one hand and a white lily in the other. No doubt the vampire had noticed his presence as soon as he stepped out from the wardens of his car, but he proceeded without words, to place the delicate flower on the grave. It was worth the moment of silence, he thought.

Bast couldn’t contain that deep guttural chuckle that formed in the back of his throat. “Trussen me, Mister Barnes, I’ve called ‘er wuss before, the girl doesn’t mind”, he assured him, but he took it to mind and wasn’t going to say anything more than what he had already done, which for the very silent man, was something he excelled at, mostly because he liked it and people rarely messed with the quiet types. Besides, his mother had always told him that sometimes not saying anything spoke far louder than a thousand words could be shouted.

Veronica didn’t acknowledge the banshee's presence at first; him being here told her more than he might have been able to express with words as the silence formed around them, and the rain hummed through the wind down on the ground. The soil that was being plucked up at the freshly dug and covered grave. The tombstone stood there, in its grey colour, with the simple words of a woman who had lived such a long life and yet, she hadn’t amounted to anything that she had wanted. The last couple of weeks, she had seen her mother blossom; funny how such a long life could be boiled down to a few short weeks.
It took some time, but finally, she turned her head, feeling the hair stick against her wet and cold cheeks; she hadn’t bothered to mimic the feel of warmth in her body that she didn’t have natural, given her heart had stopped beating for quite some time ago by now.
“See you ventured away from Oakheart, and then to a graveyard of all places”, she hummed with her delicate voice before she let her eyes wander down his stature before finally settling on looking at his profile. “Why Mister Barnes, one might start thinking you gotten a heart after so long of making sure that everyone thought you hadn’t gotten one anymore” she hummed before letting her eyes return to her mother’s final resting place, she wondered how she was faring in hell, funny that, because it also meant that her mother could one day return, which was an odd thing to wrap your head around.

Archibald Barnes had not been far away from the comfort of his home for the best part of the year. There had been importance in staying close to the mansion and close to Oakheart where his network worked like a well-oiled machine. Perhaps indeed it was that same realisation that finally had pushed him to reconsider his own position and had made him realise that venturing out might do him good. There had been many drastic decisions taken lately and the weather was changing rapidly. Bast being back only confirmed that, and with every drop of rain, the Banshee grew more confident that his decision to come had been a good one.
His eyes were locked on the soil beneath them; still fresh from having been moved around, with the water slowly allowing it to set, and when her voice broke the rumbling silence, he didn’t move, but stood straight and silent for a few seconds, absorbing his surroundings.
The stern face slowly dissembled, a sombre smile tugging in the corner of his mouth and when he finally moved, there was humour shining from the icy blue eyes as they met hers. Veronika Demidov. The perfect fusion of her parents – almost scarily so.

Archie took a step towards her, extending his arm slightly so the umbrella would cover them both; opening up what seemed to be a safe space surrounding the two of them whilst the rain only seemed to become denser by the second. “I never involved meself in the obsession of hearts, miss Demidov.” I care more for souls.
He sought her eyes, wanting to observe the blue and how it turned grey with the surrounding rain much like his own would do. “It’s ‘bout respect; wouldn’t ye agree?”

It was like she was magically pulled to step one foot closer to Archie. Maybe it was the comfort he exceeded with his presence. At least for those that knew what he was all about. Those that understood that freedom was not a given thing, it was earned—and for those that had lived long enough, it was something you took through blood, tears and screams. It was a constant uphill battle, and when you felt that the burden was a little lighter, one should never be fooled because just over the hill, a new one would appear. It was when you decided that you understood what life was about that things became more manageable, even though she could easily fall into the depths of regret and anger. It would be so easy just to let oneself plunge into the unknown sea and allow the body to take control of the mind—but even though her father might have thought that she was a foolish girl that didn’t understand the consequences of her impulsive behaviour, it only spoke louder about his person than hers. Because even though it seemed like she just went where the wind blew, there was a calculation behind every step she took. Just like when she had started doing business with Archibald Barnes, a sworn enemy of River Dalton. She had done so because she knew he had been the best the world could offer, and why should she let the change be squandered underneath the dirty booth of her father’s inability to see farther than just having a good time. Because despite having built his fortune with his casinos and having the two sisters from the Rinus family making sure that everyone that tried to create something that could be a competition would see their work crumble right before their own eyes.
She hadn’t relied on luck or having people around her with abilities that made them superior. No, she had put faith in herself and what she could do on her own.
Her tongue glided over her lips when he spoke about respect. “She deserved more than this; she deserved to see the empire her father made on the souls of others crumble; she deserved to see the first woman of our family to sit on the throne”, an almost manic smile spread over her lips “, but I know she’ll be in hell, knowing that I’ll make her proud” she murmured before turning her gaze toward the banshee once more.
“Wait—was that just an indirect slander against the Queen of Moonlight falls?” a genuine smile formed over her lips. “My, Archibald Barnes, bad-mouthing the royals so cleverly—I always knew I liked you for a reason” just because she had a special kind of relationship with Rebekah Sinclair didn’t mean she couldn’t see the wrong in some of the viewpoints the Queen had. Like how she treated her own flesh and blood, no wonder so many were starting to form a conspiracy to overthrow her. At least that was what you heard in the streets if you listened closely enough, just like those viewed as madmen, foretelling everyone that a war was coming. But even though Veronica had never been the one to see into the future, she could feel it in her bones, something was coming, and it was time to gather the alliances you had secured throughout the years.

In their dry oasis with the falling rain surrounding them like a moving curtain, the anger was every bit as evident in her face as it was in her voice, and for once Archie thought that she resembled her late mother much more than her father. River Dalton’s confidence was there. The playfulness that the casino-owner seeped with was one of the more obvious traits in the young-looking vampire, but something had changed since he had seen her last. Revenge, perhaps, and it suited her beautifully. Even her words sounded like Juliya; the same demands ringing out in the air as the old demon had pointed out a year prior. The need and wish to take over the powerful family and take back what inheritably was theirs. Different motivations but same end goal, and luckily, in the banshee’s mind at least, the Demidov daughter had a lot more of what was needed to overthrow a family empire than her mother had had. Potential.
He had not foreseen this, but as the opportunity presented itself, it was hard for him to forget and the rest of her playful words seemed insignificant. “I don’t slander old friends,” he pointed out a little dryly, but she shimmer of a smile that was to be found in his eyes indicated that she had not been entirely wrong.  

Archie raised his arm upwards, the movement automatically shifting his sleeve upwards to free the view onto his golden watch. His eyes lowered to the time before his gaze raised to scan the grey surroundings whilst he weighed his options.
“Veronica,” he bluntly cut through the silence and found her eyes once more, the northern twang pronouncing her name with a slight roll on the ‘r’. He wanted to see more of that fascinating anger and hear more about her relationship with her mother, and though discreetness might have been a preferred strategy to many, he had an idea that boldness was the way to make her talk. “Let me buy ye a drink. I’d be interested to hear of yer mother’s whereabouts since I saw ‘er last.” He gently lifted the umbrella to open their view up to the car that was waiting some meters away from them. “And then we can discuss how ye’ll make ‘er proud, eh?”