Death in the Countryside

[Poison]

Far out in the Coronian countryside, far form any of the large cities, a small town called Baron nestled amongst the low hills. The town of Baron was barely larger than a village; it only held around 100 people. The streets were very straight and clean. The buildings were also neat and tidy. A glance at the town would tell anyone passing though that the people there cared very much about how their home looked.

The people that walked through the streets appeared to be content with their lot. Their taxes were not unbearable, their town was clean, and it was well-protected by Baron Barton’s small militia. Women and men chatted amiably as they shopped while children ran happily about the town.

At the north end of town a medium sized manor overlooked Barton. This was the home of Baron Alexander Barton, the ruler of Barton. He lived there with his wife, Lady Alexa Marie and his two young children. Presently, the Baron was in the garden with his three year old daughter, Samantha. They both sat on a blanket on the grass. Seated around the edge of the blanket were several dolls and a few teddy bears. In his hands, Baron Alexander held a tiny teacup filled with imaginary tea. The Baron was a simple man at heart and treasured the times he was able to spend with his children.

Despite how well things appeared to be going for Barton, not everyone was happy. One such man was Boris Snarkolav, the head butler. The tall, gaunt man watched the Baron from a second story window with a sneer on his face. In his opinion, a Baron should not be playing teaparty on the ground. He should be making sure his people were paying their taxes and making sure that the treasury was kept full. Boris had tried many times to convince the Baron to change his policies, but Alexander rarely heard him out.

“It is time for a new lord of Barton.”

Turning on his heel, he strode on down the hallway to prepare for a quick journey. He was unaware that his simple sentence had been overheard by one of the maids.

In another part of the manor, Lady Alexa Marie was sitting quietly while her son, Alexander, practiced playing the piano. She had been surprised two years ago when he’d expressed an interest in learning. Now, she was pleased to hear beautiful melodies coming from the piano.

“You are doing wonderfully, Alex. It has been an hour, you may stop practicing whenever you wish.”

“Thank you, Mother,” the boy responded, but did not stop playing. He truly enjoyed playing and would play for several hours if he could.

As Lady Alexa Marie stood to her feet, the young maid hurried in and gestured to her mistress.

“I’m not sure if it’s important, my Lady, but I thought I would bring it to your attention anyway. I have just over hear Boris say that it was time for a new lord of Barton. I’m afraid he means to kill the Baron!”

“Shhh! Not so loud my dear,” the Lady admonished tilting her head toward her son. She walked quickly to the far side of the room and the maid obediently followed her. “Now, what is this all about?”

“I’m not sure, my Lady. I was dusting the figurines on the pedestal near one of the windows that overlook the garden. I could see the Baron down there playing with Samantha. Boris was looking down at them and he had the most dreadful look on his face. He didn’t seem to notice that I was there and just before he left, he said “It is time for a new lord of Barton.”

Lady Alexa Marie was silent for several moments as she thought about this new information. Then she sent the maid to continue her work. Alexander did not need to know about this. It would only upset him if he believed it at all. The man was oftentimes too trusting for his own good. She would handle this herself.


((SOLO))

[Poison]

Two weeks later...

Poison walked quickly through the darkening streets of Barton. She’d arrived just as the sun was setting. Her employer had given her very specific details on what he wanted to happen, but after traveling for the last four days, she was in no mood to work tonight. Tonight, all she wanted was a warm bed and someone to share it with her. Something to drink would be good too, but she could wait another day or two if she couldn’t find sustenance.

There was only one tavern/inn in Barton. It was called The Flying Goose. The name struck Poison as a bit a foolish since it was normal for geese to fly, but she shrugged it off. Once inside, she opened her cloak, letting the hood fall off her head to reveal her long, silver hair. She took a seat at the bar and ordered a glass of red wine. While waiting for the wine, she removed the gloves that protected her hands from the glaring sun. In just a few, short minutes, the barkeep returned with her wine. She sipped from it absently as she turned in her seat to gaze at the gathered patrons.



While Poison sat watching the local people, another person made their way to the tavern. He was very tall, easily topping six feet. A handsome man with broad shoulders, he nodded cordially to the few people he met on the street. He currently had two goals in mind, the first was to get drunk. After tonight he would be working nearly 24 hours a day. He could not afford to have his skills dulled by drink until after the job was complete. The second goal was to simply find a girl to take back to his room in the Baron’s manor.

He entered the bar and glanced around. He had told his employer that he needed to go to the bar in order to try to hear about any supposedly secret plans. He claimed that most people were stupid enough to talk about their plans in a tavern, figuring that no one would pay attention to them in a tavern. His employer had agreed that it was a good idea and dismissed him. What his employer did not know was that it had all been a ruse. If this traitor was as clever as he was described, then he would not be foolish enough to discuss his plans with anyone other than those that were directly involved.

Spying an empty seat next to a silver-haired girl, he took a seat, flashing her a brief smile before getting the barkeep’s attention.

“Lavinian Ale, please.”

“Sorry sir, we don’t carry that particular Ale here.”

“Nuts, well then just give me the hardest ale you’ve got.”

While he waited, he glanced at the woman sitting beside him. His eye roved up and down appreciatively. Almost immediately, he began to think of ways to start a conversation with her.

[Poison]

Poison had watched the crowd with an extremely bored expression on her face. In such a small town, feeding on a local was not a good idea. More or less because she wouldn’t kill the poor soul in the feeding. The last thing she needed was to have some young man spouting off about a vampire lady and then describe her. Just as she was about to give up hope, the door opened to admit a tall, dark-haired man. To her delight, though she hid it well, he took a seat beside her.

Well, this is a nice change. He’s obviously a stranger and thus, he if he tells any wild tales, the townsfolk won’t be likely to believe him. Absolutely perfect!

She kept her gaze mostly on the crowd with the bored expression on her face. She heard his drink order and almost nodded in appreciation for his taste in liquor. She smiled inwardly as a glance out of the corner of her eye caught his moving down her body. When he had turned his attention the mug of ale that was now sitting in front of him, she turned to face him with a bright smile.

“Good evening! It’s nice to see I’m not the only stranger here. My name’s Alicia.”



The man returned her smile, “I’m Vincent. I’m here on a job protecting the Baron. Someone thinks that someone else is going to kill him. What about you? A beauty such as yourself surely doesn’t need to travel to make a living.”

Poison pretended to blush at his flattery, “Looking for work, but I haven’t found anything yet. No one seems to want to hire me. I don’t even have enough money to get a room.”

Vincent brightened at that. He wouldn’t have to convince a girl to not go home tonight. As part of his pay, he had a room to himself within the manor. It was small and in the servants’ quarters, but it had a comfortable bed and that was the important part. Smiling, he moved a little closer to her, a twinkle in his eye as they began to converse and drink.

Sometime later, Vincent was quite drunk. He was not yet to the point of passing out or falling down, but he did have a pleasant buzz going. He gazed at Poison and wondered how well he’d do with being a bit more bold. Thus far they had not even touched. Hearing a slow song playing, he stood up and offered her his hand.

“Would you care to dance?”

Poison, being a vampire, was not effected by the many glasses of wine she’d consumed. Smiling shyly, she accepted his hand. They moved slowly to the music, his large hands wrapped around her waist. As the song ended, Vincent stopped their dancing and gazed longingly into Poison’s grey eyes. Gently, he lifted her chin with one hand and pressed his lips against hers.

Finally!

The thought was one of relief as Poison eagerly returned his kiss, catching him off-guard. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his suggestively. She was very pleased when he took the hint and let his hands slide from her waist down over her hips and buttocks. A tiny moan escaped her at the feel of his hands moving over her body.

Reluctantly, Vincent pulled away from Poison and whispered in her ear.

“I have a room in the boss’ manor. Why don’t we continue there?”

“Mmm, sounds like a plan to me,” she murmured against his lips.

Quickly, they gathered Poison’s few belongings and walked hurriedly back up the street, pausing often for more kisses. At last though, they made it to the servants’ entrance. Vincent was let in and led the way quickly to his room. Impatience nearly making him pick Poison up and carry her down the hall.

Once in the room, Vincent closed and bolted the door. When he turned around from the door, he was very pleased to find that Poison was already working at the buttons of her shirt. Walking up to her, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered softly into her ear.

“Let me help you with those.”

Poison didn’t answer him. Instead she lifted up onto her toes and kissed him again. This time, she held the kiss, her tongue probing at his lips begging for entry. It was granted and she moaned a little as his hand slid inside her shirt. Absently, she let one hand slide down his chest to his waist. She untucked his shirt then reached for the button holding his pants closed.

“Not so fast,” he murmured at her neck as he slapped her hands away. “There’s no need to rush.”

He smiled wickedly at her pout and guided her to the bed. As he did, he finished with the many buttons on Poison’s top and pushed it off her shoulders and arms. Gently, he pushed her onto the bed and then joined her. He gazed down at her, lust shining in his eyes, then bent over her.

“No rush at all...”

[Poison]

The next morning, Poison woke to find that she was alone. Vincent had gotten up early to report to his employer. His side of the bed was cool to the touch, indicating that he’d been gone for awhile. Poison pouted a bit at that realization.

He could have woken me, instead of letting me sleep so late. I suppose it’s better this way.

Rising from the bed, Poison quickly clothed herself. After finger-brushing her hair and putting it up into a ponytail, she let herself out of the small room. She had much to do today. First on her list was getting a feel for the manor her mark lived in. Second would be deciding what was going to be the quickest and easiest way to accomplish the task. Her employer had said he didn’t care how Baron died, so long as he died quickly. It seemed to Poison that this was going to be a quick and easy assassination.



Vincent had awoken early, feeling very refreshed. Despite the amount of alcohol he had consumed the previous night, he felt fine. He was always very proud of the fact that it took a lot of alcohol to give him a hangover. He wandered freely throughout the manor. He was to get a good look around and familiarize himself with the place before trailing after the Baron.

This should be fairly easy. I wonder how long it’ll be before this job is done. This manor is pretty well built. It shouldn’t be too much trouble to keep the Baron safe.

As he walked, Vincent’s thoughts trailed back to the beautiful woman he had spent the night with. Idly he wondered if she was awake yet and if she was, where she had gone to. He almost headed back for his room to see if she was still there, but reminded himself that he was working and that it would have to wait until he was off-duty. Sighing to himself, he wrenched his mind from the thoughts of what he could be doing with Alicia, firmly placing them on the task at hand.


In another part of the manor, Lady Alexa Marie stood with her husband, Lord Alexander. She was getting very frustrated with the Baron’s stubborness.

“My love, why are you fighting me so about having a guard?”

“I don’t need a guard to follow me around in my own home! That’s why!”

“Really Alex, it’s not that big of a deal. You’ll hardly know the man is there. He’s not going to interrupt your daily activities or anything else of the sort. He’s just there to keep you from sprouting a knife between your shoulders.”

“I tell you, Alexa, there is no danger here in the manor. Our servants are all trustworthy.”

“Says who? You know Boris despises most, if not all of your decisions. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants to rule Barton himself.”

The Baron looked at his wife in astonishment.

“How could you say such a thing of Boris? He has served our family for years!”

“Which is exactly my point, dear!” the Lady exclaimed, “you are more likely to be harmed by someone you trust than by a stranger in the street. Please, I only want what’s best for everyone.”

Her voice softened and almost took on a pleading tone as she stepped close to him and caressed his face with one hand.

“For you, for me, for our children. How long do you think we would last if we lost you?”

The Baron was silent a moment, then slid his arms around his wife’s waist with a smile.

“All right, you win, but be sure he realizes that I don’t want my day interrupted with foolishness.”

Lady Alexa Marie smiled, very much relieved, “Of course, dear one.”