Mature: Desert Moon

[Soran Nightblade]

"Thank you," Sinead said kindly, reaching for the doll. As her fingertips brushed the fabric, she jerked her hand back tight to her chest.

Vlad's eyes narrowed as the woman's color drained rapidly from her face. "Sinead," he said firmly, drawing her attention. "Excuse me." He reached to her forehead and felt her skin. The queen, unused to being touched, faltered back. Vlad's hand behind her shoulder held her still.

"You're ill," Vlad's quizzical expression made it a question. Her skin was hot, but not to the point where he'd expect her to lose her balance. She didn't respond to his question. "Forgive me," he said, taking her wrist in his hand. He extended a single claw and drew a drop of blood from her skin. Sinead glared at him. It was unheard of to draw blood from the queen, but Vlad had a bad feeling. He'd never seen her ill before. He turned so she wouldn't see him taste the blood on his finger. "Who sampled your food today? Queeny?" Vlad demanded, jiggling her shoulder to keep her alert. She was fading quickly.

"Andrew..." she murmured, looking confused by his question.

[Soran Nightblade]

Tenara was growing increasingly concerned. She didn't understand what was going on, but she knew that it wasn't good. She could feel that it was very bad. The pretty little tune she'd hummed earlier slowly transformed into the one that she would hum when she was worried or afraid as a way to keep herself calm.

"Daddy..." she groaned, hugging her doll tighter. "Is Grandma okay..."

[Soran Nightblade]

"No," Vlad said, peering into Sinead's unfocused eyes. "Grandma's hurt, Snack." He took the Queen into his arms like she was a paper doll. "Hold on to me tight, Tenara. Leave your toys," he ordered.

[Soran Nightblade]

Tenara wrapped her arms tightly around her father's leg, and then wrapped her legs around him too. She didn't like the way this felt when her father popped around. It scared her to go into the dark so fast. But, this felt important, and this felt scary. So, Tenara hugged her father tightly without complaint.

[Soran Nightblade]

When Vlad was sure Tenara's grip was secure, he ported to the Palace infirmary. "Okay, let's go," he said to his daughter as they started across the floor. "Which wing is emptiest?" he demanded of the first nurse he passed.

"Three," she murmured, nearly choking as she realized who was in her arms.

"Get everyone else out, and close it off. Send the whole team, now," he ordered.

As soon as doctors were on the scene, it was a challenge for Vlad to relinquish control to them. He hovered as they set her up in a bed and began running tests. Vlad got territorial when he was worried, and the nurses skittered around him like he was an angry dog. The only thing that kept him from being too snarly was busying himself with answering the doctor's questions.

Sinead was shivering and her skin was starting to shine with sweat. She was still put together enough to notice the vampire was in need of a task to control his ferocity. "Vladimir," she murmured. The vampire focused on her immediately. "Andrew."

Vlad didn't need her to elaborate what he had to do. "Tenara, stay with Grandma," he said to Tenara. His voice was fatherly and calm, but his eyes were neon with rage.

Someone had poisoned the Queen. And one of her court had either been complicit in this or too incompetent to stop it. And if he'd gotten control of his feelings sooner, he'd have been on point instead of some traitorous idiot.

[Soran Nightblade]

Tenara nodded to her father, sitting on a wooden chair out of the way so the doctors. She fiddled with her dress, feeling very scared with all the people bustling about so hurriedly and worried. She just tucked her chin down and hummed the song that let her parents know she was scared.

* * *

Tenele rubbed her brow. "I understand what your saying," she muttered to the adviser. "But, you have to understand that we only recently got out of a very long war with Arken a few years ago. Ighten is not ready to begin offering aid to any country at the moment. We are still rebuilding our own. Our alliance with Hajara and the aid we offered them was an exception-"

The man in front of her chuckled darkly. "Yes, I'm sure it was."

Tenele's brow furrowed darkly, wondering how and why he might have known what relationship there was between her and the King. "I will treat you with respect for as long as I am treated with it," she warned the man. "But the moment you fail to treat me with respect is the moment you will see a very different side of me, sir. You want our alliance with you, you will prove to us why we need to make allowances and utilize our strained resources."

"Wine," a man to her left offered. "Food?" He held out a tray.

Tenele paused, reaching out and taking a small piece from the plate. "Aren't you usually-"

"Yes, ma'am, but today we are a little understaffed," he replied.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad ported to the staff's quarters and collared the first servant he could terrify. "Andrew," he demanded, eyes glowing.

The man was obviously startled. "Andrew?..... He's with the ambassador for his lunch meeting."

Vlad's eyes flashed. Tenele was on staff for that meeting. A moment later, the tray the man was holding out to Tenele, blew out of his hand and fired across the room. "Get on the ground. Both of you. Lady Tenele, to me," Vlad snarled.

[Soran Nightblade]

Tenele looked as startled as everyone else in the room. She thought to question Vlad, but the look in his eyes silenced her She dropped the food she was holding and stood up slowly while everyone fearfully fell to the floor. She went to her husband's side. "What is it?" she asked him quietly, reaching out to touch his arm. "Tenara... Where is Tenara? Is she okay?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"The Queen's been poisoned," Vlad snarled quietly to his wife. "Tenara is with her." He frowned at the ambassador and the servant at his side. "Andrew, come here. Drajek, if you value your relationship with Ighten, and your life, do not move."

[Soran Nightblade]

Tenele's face paled. "Poison?" she murmured, her heart racing. How could someone have poisoned the Queen... Her eyes fluttered to Andrew. Tenele charged forward and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and dragged him forward. "Did you test her food?" she growled at him. "What did you do?!"

[Soran Nightblade]

Andrew glared at her. "Of course I tested her food! I tasted everything she ate."

"And her drink?"

Andrew gave him the best impression of a startled deer the vampire had ever seen. "How could I taste every drink someone hands her?" he demanded. "I am only one man."

Vlad's gaze darkened. "It is not a job for a man. It's the job of a patriot."

"I can't simply yank the glass from their hands when they serve the queen. It would be rude," Andrew defended.

[Soran Nightblade]

"I suppose letting your Queen be poisoned is a much better option than having someone have a poor opinion of you," Tenele seethed. "Who was serving drinks? What did they look like? Are they a regular? Do you recognize them? Do you have a name?" Tenele's mind was racing. Her mother, albeit adopted, was sick... dying. "The faster you talk, the less likely I am to break something off of you."

[Soran Nightblade]

Andrew stared at her, and for the first time, he seemed to understand how much trouble he was in. "But the drinks came from-".... he hesitated, glancing at the ambassador.

"Andrew," Vlad said darkly. "Did anyone offer drink to the queen, other than the ambassador?"

"No," Andrew stammered, "But....but a gift from the ambassador couldn't.....it could never..."

"That is exactly the type of thing you're meant to taste, imbecile," Vlad growled, storming toward him.

[Soran Nightblade]

Tenele growled and struck Andrew across the jaw. "Idiot!" she cursed him, going in to kick him. "You stupid...."

And then, it crossed Tenele's mind that the person who had given the Queen the drink was the ambassador. "GUARDS!" The room rushed with armored men. "Arrest him under conspiracy to murder the Queen."

[Soran Nightblade]

Drajek scowled at the guards trying to seize him. "This is absurd. Arrest me, and Hyrule will never ally with Ighten again!"

Vlad reacted by starting toward him. The guards braced themselves, because the vampire looked fully ready to gut the man while he stood in their grip.

"I'll go! For god's sake, I'll go with you. Is he some kind of psychopath?!," he shouted at the guards, jerking backward to try to avoid the approaching vampire.