Gwen''s favor (open to V)

[Gwendolan]

Manny's birthday was two short months away, and Gwen had been thinking a lot about what she was going to get him. She remembered that he had told her that his family had been with Venis for more than three hundred years.

She got the idea that it would be nice to make Manny a quilt with something from the first born of every generation. To get Manny's family history and ask for the items she was going to have to go talk to Venis. So that is where she found herself at V's open door knocking on the door frame.

"Venis do you have a moment? I need a favor."

[Guest]

Venis looked up from her papers to see Gwendolan standing there. "Oh, hi Gwendolan. Yes, come on in. I'll trade you a favor for a favor if you can put this stack of receipts in chronological order for me while we talk?" Venis usually had Krystal organize the receipts, but she wasn't there, and Venis was still rather worried because she was still so far away and getting weaker. But she couldn't fix that yet, what ever Gwendolan needed was bound to be easier to take care of.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen moved into the room and sat at the chair across from Venis and began to orginize the reciepts.

"Manny's birthday is two months, I want to do something special for him. I know that his family has been with you for over three hundred years. I wanted to make him a quilt that uses something from the first born of every generation that has been with you."

She started turning bright red.

"I want to leave the very last square blank to add something from his first born child."

[Guest]

Venis was ever so thankful for the help. She smiled as the stack slowly became more organized. "That's very sweet Gwendolan. Wait, Manny doesn't ... Are you ...?" Naw, she couldn't be, could she? Venis stopped in her signing of checks to look at the lovely woman who had a wonderful glow regardless. It was the pristine nature of her soul that gave her such a glow. But could there be more to it than that?

[Gwendolan]

She smiled as she looked up at Venis turning even more red.

"I'm not pregnant, but we are sleeping togeather."

That did it even the tops of her ears were red. Her voice lowered to a whisper and she really started glowing.

"But I want to give him a child."

The smile that came to her face lit up her eyes.

[Guest]

Venis smiled as well. "You don't have to be embarrassed around me Gwendolan. I think it's perfectly healthy for people our age to still be active. And I'm glad you and Manny found each other." She signed a couple more checks as she spoke. "And I think it's great that you want to give him a child. It is the one thing he has always wanted but had not been able to have." She looked up from the check ledger for a moment. "So how are you going to get him to give you the things for the quilt without telling him why you need them?" She smiled as she made out the next check and signed it.

[Gwendolan]

"Venis, I guess I am just not like most people around here, I feel like making love to Manny should be private. The Employees and my daughter already figured it out."

She looked at her a bit confused.

"That is why I came to you I was hoping we could go get them."

She looked at Venis.

"Please? This is something that would mean so much to him."

[Guest]

Venis understood the want for privacy. But it was a difficult task when everyone knew you and you were sharing a room with so many. Which was Manny's situation exactly. But Venis nodded in response to Gwendolan's comment about wanting privacy. When she heard the next comment she nodded again, as she spoke this time. "I have a few things at the house you could use, but not three hundred and forty something years worth. To get that much you would have to go ..." She looked up at Gwendolan with a look of terror on her face. "... To the keep."

Venis had only ever been to the keep twice. She went there the day that the Lawyer came to her door to tell her that she had inherited the place. And the second time was to spend a weekend moving in a whole lot of things that she had stored in several locations. She had seen that the place was big enough for her employees to make it their home, as well as her livestock. There were plenty of rooms within the castle, so she had them set up so that if ever there was need of a member of her family or one of her friends to stay there they could. And yes, there was a room for her and Kahn. But she had not been back there since that weekend.

She swallowed hard and drew in her bottom lip. Her heart had taken on a mind of it's own and was pounding within her chest. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she took a deep breath. She let it out as a definite sigh. For Venis, that castle, that entire keep, held demons that she had no desire to face. It all stemmed from who had given her the keep and what she had gone through after his death. Which was why the half of his soul that was good and pure as a Paladin's should be, was rotting in hell.

And the dark half of his soul, the part of him that fell from grace for the want of a married woman. That touch of evil that caused him to do the things he did, it rested within a ruby amulet, with full consciousness. For the soul it was like being in a prison. And when she wore the amulet, that soul was right there against the one thing it wanted and never could touch. Being eternally tortured by the fact that her body was so close, and yet he still couldn't put his hands on it. Ok, so she had a bit of a sadistic streak in her. She was half warlock and a vampire after all.

Another deep breath was taken as she wiped her hand down her face in frustration. She felt like her heart was ready to explode. There was a hint of a feeling she had felt before, but she dismissed it at the moment. She drew her bottom lip in again. "Gwendolan, what you are asking me to do ..." How did she explain to Gwendolan why she never really wanted to go back there. Back to that keep, his keep. Ok, so legally it was hers now. But his ghost still walked those halls. Only thing was, Venis was the only one who knew it. But this was for Manny. Her oldest friend. Three hundred and forty something years, his family has been in service to hers. How could she refuse this? How could she not help the woman he loved, and do a service unto him after all this time? "I just ... It's ..." But the problem was, no one was allowed in that room other than Manny and herself.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen looked at Venis, if she was confused before she was really confused now. She had not expected what she thought was a simple request to cause so much trouble. Not over a location, she had expected the trouble to come from the fact that to make the quilt some family hierlooms would have to be destroyed.

The terror that Venis was fealing was radiating from her like a beacon, Gwen felt it almost like it was her own. Was that a bit of fear that was there too? Gwen was always good at feeling never very good at blocking the feelings. She looked at Venis as she set down the reciepts she had been sorting for her and reached her had across the desk and touched V's hand.

As she spoke her voice was soft and calming.

"I am asking you to go to where ever you have to go to get the items for the quilt, but if it is going to cause that much trouble. I will find something else to give him."

She didn't have any money she had no idea what she would get him but she would think of something. There was still time for her to get something, wasen't there?

[Guest]

An out, Gwendolan gave her an out. Problem was, Venis was never one to take the easy way out. No, this was for Manny. Venis was going to have to face these demons of hers eventually. She gave Gwendolan's hand a gentle squeeze before she rose from her seat. She walked over to a trunk and knelt down to open it. She reached in and pulled out the ruby amulet wrapped in gold hanging from a thick gold chain. "No, I have to do this for him. I have to face these demons. So if not for Manny, than for who?" She placed the chain around her neck and dropped the amulet down her shirt.

She cosed the trunk and returned to her seat. "So when do you want to go?" She knew she had to face this, there was no way around it. At least she wouldn't be facing this alone. Gwendolan was going with her. Maybe that would be of some help. "We can ride out there, it will give me time to work up my courage." Yes, she would have a lot of working up to do as all the courage had left her the moment she realized she would have to go to the keep. She was telling herself that she had to be insane to agree to this. But what else could she do? It was for Manny.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen squeezed her hand back before she let it go. She watched as V got up and went to a chest to pull something out. It apeared to be a ruby but she only cought a glimps of it before it was tucked into her shirt.

"Thank you Venis; Manny means everything to me. I don't know what deamons you have to face but I will try to help if I can."

She watched as Venis closed the trunk.

"We can leave whever you would like, and no I do not mind rideing, but I don't have a horse here in the stables."

[Guest]

Venis took a deep breath. "You can ride one of mine, it wont be a problem." Venis knew who they were taking, after all, they couldn't exactly ride the Clydesdale's, now could they? She knew that Gwendolan already knew about her special mounts. Manny had borrowed them for something. She hoped that Gwendolan enjoyed it enough to do it again.

She pressed the amulet to herself through her shirt. She got a perverse pleasure from the torture she was inflicting, because there as a certain feeling of revenge to it. After all, he had been torturing her long before she ripped his soul in half. "So were you thinking today, tomorrow, next week?" She was looking for a time frame as she finished writing out and signing the checks. The time frame didn't matter too much, there wasn't a lot she could do to prepare herself for this.

[Gwendolan]

She looked at Venis and smiled. She was hoping that she could ride Rapture again.

"Thank you."

She smiled at her, she also noticed the way that Venis presed that ruby to her.

"I would like to go as soon as you have time, I am not sure how long the quilt will take me to make, because I can not work on it while Manny is around. That leaves me only the time when he is at work, we have been spending all the rest of our time togeather."

[Guest]

Venis nodded. "Well, then, I guess I am ready when you are." Yes, Venis figured that they would just go now and get it over with. It was a nice peaceful ride over there, they would arrive just in time for dinner. She could have the chef prepare something good for them when they got there. Then they could find the items she needed and they could go. It all sounded so simple.

[Gwendolan]

(Manny NPC'd with permision)

Gwen finished sorting the reciepts and stood.

"Let me just go tell Manny I have an errand to run I don't want him to worry about me when I don't come see him for lunch."

She stood and went to the employees door and knocked.

Manny came and opened the door, when he saw Gwen he smiled at her. "This is a plesent suprise." He drew her into his arms and kissed her.

Gwen wrapped her arms around Manny and returned his kiss.

"Please come in." He moved from the door to allow her entrance.
"Manny, I'm not staying, I came to tell you I have an errand to run, I didn't want you to worry about me when I didn't come to see you at lunch."

She kissed him again.

"I love you."

Manny smiled at her and kissed her back. "I love you too. Thank you for telling me you are leaving."He let her go. "I'll see you when you get back." He went back into the room and closed the door.

Gwen smiled and went back to V's room.

"Ok I'm ready to go."

[Guest]

Venis sighed and rose from her seat. If it weren't something for Manny, she would not be doing this. "Ok, let's go." She grabbed her purse and they headed out. She moved the diamond from in front of her door as she closed it behind them. She sent Kahn a mental link that she would be late and to not wait up. Then they headed down to the stables.

Once down there she had the unicorns saddled and prepared. "You don't mind riding Rapture again, do you?" Venis did not allow many people to ride Empyrean. He was temperamental and picky. She walked over to give them some sugar cubes. She showed them both some affection. After all, they were her baby's.

[Gwendolan]

She folowed Venis down the stairs and out towards the stables. Her bare feet made no sound as she walked.

When they got to the stables she heard Venis ask if she minded rideing Rapture her eyes lit up. She looked at her and smiled.

"I have been wanting to ride her again since Manny showed them to me a couple months ago."

She walked up to the unicorns and bowed her head to them.

[Guest]

Venis smiled at the woman. "I'm glad you like my baby's." She was giving them a little more love while they were getting saddled. "It's a long trip, I figured that you may prefer a saddle. Manny told me of your preference to ride bare back. But I would rather you use a saddle on this particular trip. I hope you don't mind." Venis saw that Rapture was already saddled and they were saddling Empyrean. Soon they would be ready to go.

[Gwendolan]

"I don't mind."

She saw the unicorns bow thier head and she went forward to pet them. She was patting Empyrean, but Repture she wrapped her arms around and hugged her as she whispered to her.

"Will you allow me to ride you again?"

[Guest]

Venis mounted Empyrean and settled in the saddle. Another deep breath as she touched the amulet beneath her shirt again. She couldn't believe she was honestly going to do this. She shook her head. But she just kept telling herself that it was for Manny. Over and over in her head. It was for Manny. "Ok, I can do this" She sighed again. "Don't let me back out of this Gwendolan. Even if you have to drag me by my ears." Which might be what she would have to do.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen finished petting Rapture and then pulled herself up into the saddle. She looked at Venis. Maybe someday Venis would tell her what was wrong.

"I promise I won't let you back out, just don't blame me if I tell you no you have to."

She followed Venis out of the stables and down the road. She was taking it all in, listening to the voices of nature .

(This will be continued in Beyond the Inn)

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