Nearly Witches (Ren/Dorrance)

Takes place after These Tables Are Numbered


Cairene was a coastal village in east Saoirse that was easily accessible by ferry despite taking five days of land travel. Viola had been given instructions in advance about using Dorrance's father's former study villa as a possible escape and this had definitely proved useful now.

While it was a far cry from the large estate Ren had grown accustomed to, it was still a sizeable villa covered by coastal trees and a fair distance from the market and central town. Viola had been mum about the whole thing and had merely told Ren one thing upon arriving, "Mistress needs time to recover. You're free to do what you want here so long as you can't leave."

She ushered Dorrance into an infirmary room and that was that. Dorrance showed no signs of waking, but she showed no illness either. Save for her skin being oldly cold and pale, she just looked like she was in a deep sleep. Viola would usually be absent, going in and out to get supplies, cooking meals, etc. She hadn't even let Clara engage in the regular chores, either. At least, she tried.

Now it was about the fifth evening since the party and Viola had just come home. She approached Ren.

"I'm ready to to tell you what's going on," she said. "If you want to know, you can meet me in the drawing room."

Ren hadn't exactly been in the best mindset for the past few days. The events of the party played over and over again in her mind. Not to mention everything that led up to it. Was she really so stupid that she had no idea what was going on with her? Had she just ignored it all because she was afraid? She couldn't even tell anymore. It wasn't like it mattered though, Something was horribly wrong with Dorrance and there was nothing she could even do...throughout the five days, Ren barely slept and insistently refused anything to eat. She spent much of her time looking over Dorrance and the rest musing over what was going on.

She really didn't get too far on that front though. Luckily, Viola came to her. Her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. Instead, she got up and moved straight to the drawing room.

--

Clara wasn't feeling too well. Even five days after the party a part of her felt so drained. She wasn't really sure why. Perhaps it was the change in location? She had just been getting used to the manor after all...Well either way! That was no excuse! She wasn't coughing up blood and Viola wasn't CURRENTLY there to toss her back into bed so a little tidying up wouldn't be too bad right?

Ren would find Viola seated on one of loveseats. Tea had been prepared in advanced and now sat there. Viola helped herself to a cup.

"Ah, Miss Ren, you're here," she said. "I take it this is a yes to earlier. Please, sit down. Clara should be here with the biscuits shortly."

Once Ren was seated, Viola looked at her plainly.

"First of all, can you tell me how you've been feeling?" she asked. "Any explicit hunger pangs? Chills? Any of that sort?"

She was asking less for Ren's well-being, though. Dorrance had been the one to handle any of Ren's "urges" after all. She had to assess if she had been doing a well-enough job herself.

Ren was quiet as Viola spoke. She was tired, hungry and irritable. It was annoying that it took this long for her to actually tell her what was going on. Ren knew that Viola but be hurting as well, but that was no need to hide such vital information from her.

That just seemed to be the norm though didn't it?

She sat in a seat across from Viola, not bothering to hide the frown taking her features. "I'm great. Can we move on to you telling me what's happening?" Of course she had hunger pangs, she'd barely eaten despite Viola's best efforts. She felt on the verge of collapse, but how in the hell was she to sleep after everything that happened? She leaned forward in her chair, her eyes staring hard at Viola. She was frustrated, that much could was evident.

"Your undead."

The words came without hesitation or empathy. Viola looked at Ren gravely, as if saying a death sentence. She sipped her tea. "Though I'm sure by now you've realized you aren't quite human anymore, hm?"

The cup placed itself down and Viola continued. "You must not remember, but you visited the Duke Marlon's manor with Mistress Dorrance. A strange creature attacked you there and you contracted its illness. Mistress Dorrance knows more specifics of the magical nature, but you're akin to what folklore calls 'vampires'. You feed on the living. And a few nights ago, Mistress Dorrance was your latest victim."

Viola paused for a moment, seeing if the news would soak through to Ren.

There were several seconds of silence as Ren processed just what Viola had said. She leaned forward, covering her face with her hands and pushing hard as she rubbed her temples. Of course it was something wild. It was hard to just accept it, but after days of thinking of every natural possibility, being some kind of vampire wasn't exactly outside the realm of possibility.

Another couple seconds went by before Ren let out a sigh. "This is insane." Her hands dropped into her lap, her face a mask of frustration. "Why was this kept from me? Is this just going to happen to Dorrance then?"

Just then, Ren stiffened slightly, her head glancing back. After a moment, there would be a knock on the door and it would creak open.

"I um, brought biscuits!" Clara would squeak, peeking her head into the room. Ren's eyes would narrow before she'd just place her head back into her hands. "This is insane." She repeated, causing Clara's eyes to go wide. "Is...this a bad time?"

Viola looked towards Clara as Ren tried to process the news.

"Ah, thank you, Clara," she said. "The biscuits are welcome, so please do set them down. You really should focus on resting, however. Our estate's far smaller so there's less need to worry."

She'd wait for Clara to put the biscuits down before continuing.

"Miss Ren and I still have some things to discuss, so why don't you have the sending deal with lunch while you rest?"

Ren just kept her head in her hands as Viola and Clara spoke. Clara almost always smelled like blood. She'd heard about the sickness she had. Perhaps that was a part of it. Either way it made things harder for her whenever she was around. Ren didn't understand it before, but she did now. Clara straight up made her hungry, and the thought twisted her stomach.

Clara had no real idea that this was the case. In fact, she simply thought Ren didn't like her very much. The corners of her mouth began to turn downwards as Ren up and ignored her. Luckily, Voila spoke up. In a second, the light returned to the blond maid's eyes. "Oh I'm fine for at least this, Viola!" She beamed, placing down the biscuits quite proudly. As she straightened out, she seemed to sway ever so slightly. While she had intended to simply say she was okay, the sudden headrush gave her pause. "Mm...Maybe you're right. I'll leave it to the sending...b-but call me if you need anything okay?" She gave Viola one last smile, and Ren one last worried look, before finally exiting the room and going to lay down.

After a few moments, Ren finally straightened out. "So, my questions..." She simply said, pushing for answers.