Gwen''s favor. {{Invite only now}}

[Guest]

As they headed down the road a ways there was a deafening silence between the two. It was one of those awkward silences that begged to be interrupted with conversation. So Venis figured she would address the proverbial elephant that was between them. The Keep. "I inherited the place. The Keep. From a Paladin who had found that his loyalties no longer lied with his wife and his God" That was as good a place as any to start.

[Gwendolan]

She looked at Venis, it semed she was to hear some of the story sooner rather than later.

"Where did his loyaties lie?"

Yes she had asked. To her there wasen't silence she could hear the animals and trees as they spoke. She was fine with silence; but she knew she had to get to know Venis, she was important to Manny. That made Venis important to her.

[Guest]

As the walked to equines along, Venis figured that maybe if she got this out in the open, that it would help her face the keep easier. "He thought he could leave his wife, and that would make me leave my husband." She shook her head. "He was a misguided soul, and he turned into a rather dark being when he didn't get his way." That was the best way to describe it.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen frowned.

"Why do some people want what does not belong to them.?"

She thought a moment before speaking again.

"I am not sure why people can't just appreciate what they have in front of them. When you try to turn you back on what you have you lose. I lost a lot of my life hiding because I could not deal with what Eros did to me. I lost out on one hundred years of being with my daughter."

She took a deep breath.

"Had I not come to meet my granddaughter I would have never met Manny. I have him in my life now because I decided to come back to what I already had, I gained so much more because of it."

[Guest]

Venis smiled. "Just goes to show, that everything happens for a reason. After the Paladin had his fall from grace, his wife set out to have him killed. That was her fall. Well, when she succeeded in having him killed, she was even more angry. Because in his will, he left everything to me. He had changed his will shortly after they had separated." Little by little, the story was coming to light.

[Gwendolan]

She listened closely to what Venis was saying. It was starting to become clear. Venis felt resposible for what had happened, and the Keep held thoes memories.

Gwen was begining to understand just what it ment for Venis to go. She must have cared for Manny very much.

"That must have been very hard for her. I guess in some ways I am lucky that I have been so secluded."

[Guest]

Venis half shrugged. "She could have come to me and discussed it like a normal woman. Instead she had her father come to the Society to try and kill me. I spent a long time trying to resolve that situation without anyone getting hurt. But she died as well. Not by my hands of course. But she died none the less." They got to he point where they needed to turn left. They were almost to the half way point.

[Gwendolan]

"She must have been hurting really bad, but that does not excise her actions. Even when Eros left me pregnant and then came and took my daughter away; as upset and hurt as I was I never wanted him dead."

She followed Venis to the left. It had been a very long time since she had ridden like this and she was enjoying it.

[Guest]

It was a lovely ride. Venis was enjoying it as well. It was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't tired of hearing her talk. "Well, she ended up in hell. His soul, well, I tore it in half. I placed half of his soul in hell with his wife, the other half is in this." She removed the amutel from her shirt to let Gwendolan truly see it for the first time. Though she didn't let her touch it. No one ever touched it.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen looked at the amulet and then shyed back from it.

"That is the evil half of his soul. Please put it away."

She did not want to even look at it let alone touch it.

"That means you sent the part of his soul to hell that still loved his wife. They are togeather in hell, but at least they are still togeather."

She chose to look at the bright side of it.

[Guest]

Venis slid the amulet back into her shirt. "Well, that's one way of looking at it, yes. But it's actually the part of his soul that could have gone to Heaven. So both halves of his soul are being tortured. But I would have never done that had he not been torturing me. Before and after death." She looked to where they were going, they were very close to the half way point. There they could take the equines to a fresh spring for some cold water and they could get a snack and feed the baby's as well.

[Gwendolan]

She listened to her and was not really sure how she felt about that. She kept telling herself she knew for a fact that Venis was not compleatly evil. She just had to remember that.

"I am sorry that he tortured you and tourtures you still."

[Guest]

They approached the brook and Venis brought Empyrean to a halt. "We can rest them here. There's a farmers market up the road, we can leave them here and stretch our legs to go get a snack and maybe do a little shopping." She always tried to help out the people of this town because they helped her Keep out as well.

She walked over to a guy who was sitting by a shack along the waters edge. "Hello Jack, long time. Could you feed my baby's for me?" She pulled out her purse and gave him some gold as he nodded with a smile. She smiled as she rejoined Gwendolan. "Jack will wash them down and fed them. They're safe. Would you like to go to the market?" Venis thought they could pick up a couple of apples for the unicorns and maybe a snack for Gwendolan as well.

[Gwendolan]

She slid down off of Rapture and found that she was a bit stiff after rideing for so long, a walk would do her good.

She nodded at Jack and smiled.

"I think I need a good stretch, a walk would be nice."

She kissed both unicorns on the nose then looked at Venis.

"I think a snack would be good too, I am a bit hungry."

She trusted Venis that the unicorns would be safe; they were afterall hers. She followed her down the road and to the small market place. She really hoped the streets would not be to crowded.

[Guest]

Venis smiled. "Good." As they started to walk Venis continued. "I taught a class at the Society on how to fill out a prober report. He would come to class every week just to torture me. He would show up at my office, my club, my home. Always pleading with me to leave my husband for him. Telling me how much he was in love with me. It was pathetic. And after he died. When I stayed a weekend a the castle ..." She could feel her heart racing again as she spoke. She had never told anyone other than Kahn this before. She always thought that if anyone ever knew, they would laugh at her. But not Gwendolan. Somehow Venis knew she wouldn't laugh at her.

She looked up to see where they were in regards to the market, she didn't want to say anything that could be heard by the wrong ears. It might cause mass hysteria. "I could have sworn that I heard him that night Gwendolan. He was speaking to me, walking through the halls. It was haunting. And I was the only one who heard anything. I even think I saw him at one point. But Kahn swore there was no one there. It scared me, it honestly scared me." She saw they were almost there. She had told the haunting part before they had reached the market. That was good.

[Gwendolan]

As they walked Gwen listened carefully to Venis. The man really had tortured her. She had not had a very easy time while he was alive. She saw V look around like she did not want to be over heard so when V finished talking about the haunting Gwen stopped to make her responce.

"I believe that it is possible. If he was being tormented in hell that he would want to torment you. What better way then to haunt the walls of his own dwelling when he was living. It would make sense that he would make it so only you could see or hear him."

Venis was right Gwen would not laugh at her.

[Guest]

Venis breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Gwendolan wasn't laughing at her. "Actually, he was torturing me before I ripped his soul in half. That was why I did it." She sighed as she moved to continue their walk. "But for now, let us find a snack and enjoy the market. We can talk more on this once we are headed to the keep once again." She knew of a vendor at the market who sold dresses and she was in the mood for a new one.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen smiled softly and continued walking.

"I am sorry that you felt that was the only way out. A snack would be good, I am getting hungry. What kind of things do they have at the market?"

She was curious, but also hoping that there were not going to be a lot of people there. She followed a long looking at everything, new places interested her.

[Guest]

Venis nodded, because at the time she had felt like it was the only way out. He had driven her that mad. And now she was about to return to the scene of the crime so to speak. But they were off that subject for now. On to better things. "They have food, mostly fruits and vegetables, they have clothes, jewelry, shoes. Basically it's like one big place for people to get the things they need in life. And want sometimes too." There was usually a bit of a crowd.

But there was this funny thing that happened when Venis went places. Not all places mind you, but a good number of places. The crowds dissipated, or at least parted. It wasn't something she commanded of others, it was just something that happened. People had a tendency to avoid contact with her. She didn't know if it was because she was a vampire or a God. Sometimes it bothered her, but other times, it was rather nice.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen understood feeling that there was no way out all too well. She had been there and her drastic measure had been to stay away from people for a century. She listened to Venis.

"Food and clothing. I think I can deal with that. What about crowds?"

Yes she was worried about crowds, she did not know that most people avoided Venis, she could feel there was a part of her that was evil, but she also knew that she was more good now. She would just stay near Venis and keep quiet.

[Guest]

Venis smiled. Crowds, what a thing to deal with. She felt a little saddened by the fact that Gwendolan avoided crowds, because crowds avoided Venis. "Um, I'm not sure crowds will be an issue. They um, tend to avoid me. Sometimes I can't even get a vendor to deal directly with me." Venis hung her head for a moment. Part of her was not going to let it bother her because of Gwendolan, but part of her was saddened by the fact that she had to admit to people avoiding her. And no, she wasn't pure evil, in fact, evil didn't even dominate her most of the time.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen looked at V and nodded, she was sad to hear that people avaided Venis, it wasen't right. She was a kind and careing person. They were coming up on the market and sure enough the crowds parted. She was very glad that the crowd was staying away but sad that they didn't like Venis.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't know what else to say, she was sure that Venis would know that she was not taking pitty on her but that she was sad because other people would miss knowing this woman.

[Guest]

Venis had a rather sad look upon her face to see others walk away from her whispering. She put a lot of money into this town, it worked closely with her keep. And for people to shun her and whisper about her like she couldn't hear her was kind of heartbreaking. But it was better this way, for Gwendolan at least. So when she apologized, Venis just shrugged and walked over to a vendor who was selling fresh fruit. She plastered on one of her infamous fake smiles as she looked over the fruit.

[Gwendolan]

Gwen could feel Venis' sadness. It made her hurt but she kept it hidden. How could these people not see that Venis was more human than she would ever admit. She had only known her a short while and even she could see it.

She placed a hand on V's arm and smiled at her before dropping her hand to her side as she picked up a delicious looking apple.

[Guest]

Venis' smile had a brief moment of sincerity when Gwendolan touched her arm. And it wasn't that she was more human than she cared to admit, it was that she was still as human as she was because she clung to that humanity like a lifeline. "I think the Empyrean and Rapture would like some apples as well." She was already getting into her purse to get out some gold to pay for them.

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