A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

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librarian_7
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A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by librarian_7 »

Disclaimer: Gosh, I know the updates have been slow coming. But come they do…
No infringement is intended. Honest.


A Game of Chess

Chapter 16

The lantern flickered, and Josef glared at it in exasperation. He’d do better opening the curtains to the night air, and working by moonlight, he thought until he glanced at the clock on the mantel. After four a.m.; the moon would be down by now, or at least low enough in the sky to be obscured by the buildings of the city. He had nothing against cities, but there was something to be said for limitless expanses of wilderness. He let his mind remember the forests of his youth for a moment, then grimaced. It was frustration with endless paperwork that caused him to wax nostalgic about a simpler time, no doubt.

Well, the world moved on, and so must he. Which meant going over these bills of lading and contracts again, until he spotted the flaw.

Still, he’d been reading for hours. Surely he deserved a few minutes break. He rose and poured himself a drink from the sideboard, and sank into his leather easy chair. After a long sip of his whiskey, he spoke.

“You can come in now.”

By his reckoning, the human lurking in the hallway outside his study had been waiting for his summons for over an hour. He’d been avoiding this particular interview, but he supposed it was time to get it over with.

Tessa had stood, barely daring to breathe, afraid to come in without invitation, yet determined in her course of action. And now that he had called, she hesitated for a long moment with her hand poised near the door handle, before finally grasping it.

Josef watched as the door opened and Tessa slipped quietly inside the room, her soft slippers noiseless on the carpet. She had come to him in her nightdress, a white shawl thrown around her shoulders over the thin linen that covered her from neck to wrist to floor. Her dark hair floated free, tumbling to her waist, and Josef thought it a pity that the styles of the day decreed she must normally bind and braid it up.

She crossed the room, not looking up at the shadowed figure of the vampire, backlit from the lamp on the desk behind him.

“You’re up late, Tessa,” he said, his tone easy. “What brings you to me at this hour?”

She had rehearsed what she planned to say, gone over it in her head more times than she could count. Now, the words trembled on her lips, but refused to spill out. She sank silently to the floor, and leaned her head against Josef’s knee, and began to sob.

He looked down at her, perplexed. They’d never talked about what had happened between them, the night he’d let down his guard, and slipped inside hers, as well. His first instinct in dealing with a distraught female was to pull her close, comfort her with touch, but seeing that was what had gotten them to this pass, he thought such a course of action—unwise. Inadvisable.

He laid a hand on her head, though, feeling the silken texture of her hair against his fingers, remembering too late that it was with his hand in her hair that their last folly had begun.

Unbidden, the image of his other resident swallow popped into his head. He would never be in this situation with Ned, simply because the boy understood that he was food. His service was uncomplicated by emotion, by—by carnal desires.

“Tessa,” Josef said, hoping repetition of her name would substitute in some way for the physical intimacy he had no wish to re-initiate. “I think Madame Thorne made a mistake, sending you to me.”

She responded by throwing her arms around his legs. “Please,” she said in a low voice, roughened by tears, “please forgive me.”

At that, he closed his eyes in frustration, and stroked her head. “You misunderstand.”

“Please don’t—send me away.” Her breath burned through the thin fabric of his trousers, reminding him uncomfortably of the warmth he’d taken such unscrupulous advantage of a few short summer nights ago. He was not going to repeat that indiscretion. Not tonight.

“I have no intention—” he stopped. What were his intentions, here? Using her as a swallow, yes. Her blood was very fine, and he had found he liked having her and the boy, both, around the house. It reminded him pleasantly of households he’d maintained in the past. He pulled in a deep breath and let it out, pondering. “Tessa,” he said abruptly, “I’m not—” he searched his memory for the name she had called, in her release, “—Joshua.”

“I know that,” she whispered, and he could hear the misery in her voice. “Joshua left me. You won’t—leave me, will you?”

“I might,” he replied. “But not in the way he did. I don’t leave my swallows unprotected.”

Tessa began to pleat the linen of her gown nervously with one hand, staring down at it. “Joshua left me with nowhere to go,” she said, half to herself. Then she looked up into Josef’s face. “He said he loved me, you say you don’t. Why are you kind?”

Josef didn’t answer at once. He disliked these sorts of conversations, and sometimes wondered how they’d gotten to be so inevitable. “You know, it may be that—Joshua—didn’t mean to leave you. Maybe he was—unable to return.”

“You mean--?” Her eyes filled with tears again.

“It happens. And Tessa?”

“Yes?”

“I’m not kind, I’m expedient.” Which might, he thought, be a more reliable emotion to depend upon.

She looked down again, the shawl slipping unheeded from her shoulders to pool around her hips. Josef listened as her heartbeat gradually steadied, slowing to a resting state. The turmoil in her veins tired him; this distress was not the sort of excitement that appealed to his vampire senses, and he was relieved that their conversation had been no more painful than necessary.

He leaned forward a little, skimming a finger over her cheek, the fine texture of her skin a delight to his cool touch. “Tessa?” he asked softly. “A drink to—seal our deal?”

She nodded, and rose to come into his embrace. If her blood still bore traces of the bitterness of sorrow and tears, it was acceptable to him.

A few minutes later, she sighed, nestled closer as he pressed a last kiss against the small wounds in her throat, and slipped from his lap. Giving him a gentle, melancholy smile, she left the room as quietly as she’d entered.

Josef watched her go, then twisted his mouth wryly. Dawn was coming. Time to get back to work.
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Re: A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by jen »

Lucky

Lovely chapter.

I definitely have some catching up to do here.

Tessa is so wounded, damaged, and Josef, while being Josef is comforting her without providing a crutch that would leave her forever dependant. Ultimately, a far kinder act.

Thank you.
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Re: A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by allegrita »

What a lovely comment, Jenna! I think so, too. Josef in his refusal to be emotionally intimate with Tessa, is far kinder to her than that Joshua was. And somehow I get the feeling that Joshua could have come back, if he'd wanted to. But then again, vamps are vamps and humans are temporary. Tessa has a very good patron in Josef. I hope that when they do part, it will be on terms that Tessa can be comfortable with.

Josef is a complicated vampire... but he's very much worth getting to know. :hearts: :rose:
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Re: A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by francis »

Josef may be practical (or expedient, which I had to look up) but he's also kind. He doesn't leave the humans in his protection in any doubt as to their place in life or their involvement with him, and he takes care to not make them dependent on him in any way, especially not emotionally. It might be that there are times and people where it's harder to keep that balance but he manages just fine.
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Re: A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by darkstarrising »

This is an intimate look into the mind and heart of Josef....one whose thoughts seem to be drawn to the past.
He let his mind remember the forests of his youth for a moment, then grimaced. It was frustration with endless paperwork that caused him to wax nostalgic about a simpler time, no doubt.
Her dark hair floated free, tumbling to her waist, and Josef thought it a pity that the styles of the day decreed she must normally bind and braid it up.
Her blood was very fine, and he had found he liked having her and the boy, both, around the house. It reminded him pleasantly of households he’d maintained in the past.
His unintended intimacy with Tessa has complicated his relationship with her, and brought her to tears. When Josef tells her he won't send her away, Tessa is grateful, thanking him for being honest and kind. Josef's reply is telling.
“I’m not kind, I’m expedient.” Which might, he thought, be a more reliable emotion to depend upon.
While I feel sympathy for Tessa, I feel even more for Josef....always moving forward, always alone as is the way of the expedient man. Yet today's present will be tomorrow's past, and he'll find himself yearning for the touch of those whom death always takes from him.

Very touching chapter, Lucky :rose:
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Re: A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by librarian_7 »

Thank you, thank you for the comments. I know I'm taking an unconscionable time to produce updates on this...and it's lovely to know folks are still following the story!

francis, it always tickles me when people look up words I use...it's good to be a learning experience.

And yes, I do see Josef as ultimately practical. He has to move forward, usually alone. I think this is something all vampires learn...but Josef, by virtue of his age, has learned it better than most. I do think he's learned, also, that being expedient doesn't necessarily mean he has to be cruel. While he would probably be the first to admit (to himself--I don't suppose he'd think himself accountable to anyone else!) that what happened with Tessa was a misstep, he's also not inclined to dwell on it, beyond doing what he can to restore harmony to his house.

As to the terms on which they part, Alle, I'm going to have to blink and look innocent, for now. This story isn't nearly over yet. :teeth:

Lucky
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Re: A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by cassysj »

It must be hard to keep changing with the world when it is so different from when you were born. I can understnad Josef being nostalgic for the past. I can't even follow Twitter for heavens sake. :snicker:

I do feel for Tessa. The emotions are so close to the surface. Josef was as gentle as he could be.
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Re: A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by NightAir »

A new chapter! :hearts:

You can almost feel Josef's weariness at having to deal with yet another inevitable conversation as he reestablishes the boundaries he and Tessa crossed.
librarian_7 wrote:He looked down at her, perplexed. They’d never talked about what had happened between them, the night he’d let down his guard, and slipped inside hers, as well. His first instinct in dealing with a distraught female was to pull her close, comfort her with touch, but seeing that was what had gotten them to this pass, he thought such a course of action—unwise. Inadvisable.
Emotional entanglements are hard on humans and vampires alike. Years later, Josef's hard-won wisdom can be heard echoing in the advice imparted to a young vampire trying to find his way.
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Re: A Game of Chess, Ch. 16 (PG-13)

Post by librarian_7 »

Thanks, cassy, NightAir!

I think Josef does come to care for those around him...perhaps not to a great extent, but he has an intimate contact (in feeding) with these humans, and to do that repeatedly with the same people, as he tends to do, means that they are familiar to him. And his own welfare depends on them, so he'd want them to be content. Otherwise, they know too much for his continued safety, and he'd be forced to kill...which would lead in other ways to exposure. His care may lie in expediency, but whatever its origin, its expression is a kindness to the humans under his protection.

As Mick would say, it's complicated.

Lucky
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