Last Thursday was the 99th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic – which prompted me to have a special party for the domain. Couldn’t have guessed who’d show up though! I’d congratulate myself on that, if only I had anything to do with the matter.

What lead up to the night wasn’t so good though… I had intended to have Dee accompany me as my date for the evening. Only… Well – I had a little sip. A bit too much of that, perhaps. To the point where she couldn’t think and move properly. I made Greg to have her see a doctor, just to be sure. She’ll all fine by now. Pisses me off that I got carried away though.

Anyway. One of the first people to actually appear was Sparkle! Who looked dazzling, to say the least. She also took it upon herself to bring one of her ghuls and have him serve as bar keeper, which was a great relief. Except for her attire she also said she’s contribute some sort of lecture. Only that never came to pass, seeing as she was too busy complaining on how everybody else was too deep in politics for her taste. She asked me repeatedly to tell people to stop that – but then I would have risked J.B. not to get whacked over the head for what he did to Jason. So I reluctantly agreed with her but got marked a coward in her eyes for not forbidding people to bargain. Ah, well. Once day she’ll see the wisdom in that.

The prince was one of the people who appeared last. And yet I pride myself in thinking that she enjoyed herself quite a bit that night. Up to now I haven’t heard from her, so that’s really just me guessing. The sad part was that she had to expell one of her clanmates, branding that woman Caitiff. By the time she did so she was a bit pissed when talking to me. My hope is that she still understands I meant no harm. Then again, I do think her wise enough to realize that.

Aside from her as an elder there were three ancillae present. Two of which I knew at least: Marquese Bruni as well as his wife, Countess von Lehndorff-Bruni as well as one Mr. DeWinter. Bruni, being of the same blood as I am, demanded some information, which I gave to him – knowing perfectly well that J.B. would get in trouble for that. It’s hard to play into his hands while knowing that Alessandro will get pissed at me big time were he to ever find out about that. Still. For the time being Bruni outranks him and has closer ties to the prince. If I want her trust, I have to go through him, not Alessandro. If push comes to shove I must know where my loyalties are.

Alessandro… From what I’ve learned that night I’m not sure if I should continue supporting him the way I do. Seems that J.B. spiked Freddy’s drink not out of his own accord, but rather because Alessandro told him to. That plus J.B.’s recent tendency to severely hurt Jason allows for two conclusions: One, Alessandro could be bound to J.B. by blood. Which would be bad enough in itself. But at least it would free Alessandro from part of decisive guilt. The other one would be that Alessandro is knee-deep indebted and owes J.B. more than just a warm hand-shake. And that would mean that Alessandro got involved with a prick and a show-off, which not only means that he’s flat out stupid to do so, but also means that J.B. has him on a leash. One that Alessandro quite willingly attached his own collar to. Don’t like the road that might take us down.

Worst part is that Brother Jean agrees. Something is very fishy about this. I’ve had a bit of a conversation with him about that subject. We’re both wary. And I have to talk to Jason soon… I need to know who’s side he’d be on as well as seriously kick his ass for not attending the party! His emotional distress will make it a light kick though.

I can’t help but wonder whether the Countess said something to Shiraz to calm him. The guy took being relieved of his office way too well. He also might come in handy for digging up dirt, should things be as bad as I feel they are right now. Simon as well, who is enough of an opportunist and likes me well enough to help out, I think.

What’s also worrying me is something Thomas wrote… He feels Jason is keeping things from us. The two examples he gave are things that I knew of. Still. When a Nosferaty says something like that you might want to be on your toes for a while. Damn that! I like Jason! And Thomas! … Okay, I like Jason more, but that’s beside the point. So I really hope that Thomas is wrong about this. I try and stay trusting towards Jason. Always keep your promises.

Miss von Wartenburg is someone I had never heard from before. She’s the person the prince had to throw out of her clan’s ranks. The woman has a gift for getting on everyone’s nerves, it seems. I threw her out when she decided it was a good idea to toss Simon through a room. Don’t like her attitude. Usually I’m not one to make a Caitiff feel miserable for being one. Her? Big exception. She should feel the sting.

The idea of the whole event was to teach people a lesson. Now that it’s over I’m as sure as ever that there can never be one common lesson to be taught. People have to learn things for themselves. They don’t pick up on the hardships of others easily, let alone learn from them. So all the politics, all the bantering and argueing had it’s place at the party. It needed to be right there. However… Modesty? Self-reflection? Not so sure they’ll start on that any time soon.

Für das Loch in der Hose würde er von seiner Mutter keinen Ärger bekommen. Sein Vater würde ihm sagen, dass er besser auf seine Sachen aufpassen sollte. Allein dieses Bewusstsein machte die derzeitige Situation nicht unbedingt angenehm. Der regennasse Boden, auf dem der gerade mal seit einer Woche eingeschulte Junge lag, tat sein Übriges um diesen Tag miserabel anfangen zu lassen.
“Rules of this place are pretty easy to remember, Elyot.”, erläuterte einer der drei wesentlich älteren Jungs. Sie hatten sich um den Kleineren verteilt, schnitten mögliche Fluchtwege effizient ab. Der älteste der Knaben war wohl zwölf, schwarzhaarig und allgemein ein wenig zu dicklich. Ein unsympathisches, dafür vor Triumph triefendes, Grinsen nahm derzeit breit das mondrunde Gesicht ein. “Being the genius they say you are I’m sure you won’t be havin’ any trouble rememberin’ them.”
Die anderen beiden lachten. Aus Bodennähe schlug allen dreien kalter, dafür derzeit um so unausgesprochener, Zorn entgegen.
“You come here, half an hour before class starts. Then your lunchmoney goes to us and you enjoy the rest of your day unbothered.” Allen Beteiligten war klar, einigen darunter schmerzhaft, dass es hier keineswegs um das Pausenbrotgeld ging. Jeder Junge hier kam aus gutem Hause. Was sich hier abspielte war nichts anderes als die frühen Machtspiele unter den Wölfen, zu denen man diese Kinder erzog.
Nathaniel wischte sich unter der blutigen Nase entlang und sah mit blitzenden Augen zu dem Anführer auf. “Being the genius that I am…” Der dramatische Unterton wurde durch das Nießen leider völlig zerstört. Dennoch fuhr er unbeirrt fort. “I would like to point out to you that taking money from me would force me to come up with strategies that will avoid me having to give you that money.”
“As if you could, chicken.”, höhnte einer der anderen beiden.
“For example.” Der Kleinste richtete sich in eine sitzende Position auf. “There are various substances that, once in contact with human skin, will start off with a slight tickling sensation. Then develop into a minor burn… until eventually the skin is eaten away and you start bleeding for no apparent reason at all, being unfamiliar with such substances yourself.”
Die drei Jungen sahen einander unsicher an. “You can’t do that.”, entgegnete einer von ihnen trotzig.
“Are you willing to find out? Look it up in the library or ask your teacher.”
Wieder verunsicherte Blicke. Dann ein kurzes Nicken des Ältesten an die anderen beiden. Das Trio zog sich zurück.
Nach einigen Augenblicken Stille trat ein vierter Junge an Nate heran, der inzwischen wieder aufgestanden war. Er musste sich versteckt gehalten haben, denn dem Trio war er nicht aufgefallen. “You don’t know any of those substances, right?”
Seinerseits trotzig hob Nate den Kopf. “True. But they won’t realize that until prep-school.”