New Requests

Bill had heard word from Dexter that Arabella had agreed to meet him upon his request. He realized that she did not know about what happened with Brianna, Bill had her working at Fangtasia being his liaison to the business. But in his mind he had everything clear and set, he needed to do this and there was nothing that could stop him. A part of him wanted to hurt John Quinn just as he had hurt his youngest progeny. He hated that Brianna had wanted him to be at her side when she met the True Death, but he would not be-grudge her one last request.

As he sat behind his desk as he also waited on hearing back from Jessica as Dexter had yet to find a moment to speak with her. He would not do this alone, he wanted Jessica to be part of his final plan for Isabel. Bill knew that she would want to be there, and there she would be, by his side.

She finished printing her latest report update and slipped it into a file folder. From the figured Miss Burrell had sent, the new venue was actually helping them make a small profit already. She moved to her private rooms, changing clothes to something more proper for her meeting with the king.



As she walked down the hall, she was a little nervous. The guard had not said why the king had called for her. Was he upset about something? She went over things in her mind, the Fangtasia file gripped in her hands, as she walked to the office. She politely knocked and waited, making sure to smile as the guard let the king know she ha arrived.

Bill was not in the mood for pleasantries this evening, there was a lot of things on his mind that he needed to discuss and he wanted to get straight to the point. Shuffling though the mount of paperwork on his desk as he stuffed it into his drawer to look through later. He had still not heard from Dexter about speaking with Jessica, it was something that needed to be done urgently. As he heard a knock at the door he straightened himself up and cleared his throat.

"Come in" he called though.

As Arabella entered his office he signalled for Arabella to sit in one of the chairs in font of his desk.

"Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice Arabella" he nodded.

She inclined her head respectfully as she entered.

"Of course, your Majesty."

She moved quickly to one of the chairs in front if the king's desk.

"How can I be of service?"

Bill leaned forward on his arms, resting them on the edge of his desk as he gazed at Arabella.

"Things with Isabel have escalated far more than I realized and there has been some...casualties...I know that you were once acquainted with the Queen of Italy. She and I have been speaking and I wish for Louisiana and Italy to become allies and for that to happen I am going to need someone who understands diplomacy....I would like you to be that person Arabella" he directed to her. 

Bill knew that he was acting rashly, but this needed to be done.

She tried to hide her surprise, but also let a smile slip onto her lips.

"Your Majesty is kind. It would be good to see Queen Constance again. I have already been in touch with some of my old friends in the Court and would be happy to add an official reason for my to bring Constance back into the circle, so to speak. With your permission, I will have the office I have...um...borrowed set up with a video chat system immediately."

Bill could not hide his surprise that Arabella had taken an office without consulting him. Putting that to the back of his mind he focussed on the task at hand.

"Arabella. I believe that you are misinterpreting what I am asking you to do. I am very capable of video conferencing with the Queen of Italy myself. But now with Brianna....You will no longer be needed as a trainer. You wanted a more challenging role within my ranks, now this is your opportunity" he assured her.

She saw his surprise quickly and explained.

"Your Majesty, I needed some desk space for looking over the Fangtasia files and such, and there was so much going on that it seemed like something too trivial to bother you with. The office was unused and out of the way. I hope your Majesty does not mind my initiative in solving that problem."

She thought a few moments and then registered what he said about Brianna. She felt a blood tear make it's way down her cheek but would maintain proper decorum in front of the king. She could give herself to her feelings later. She listened as he continued and her eyes grew wide at the implications. Finally she lowered her eyes and spoke softly.

"Your Majesty honors me with such a task. It will be good to see old friends, and renew old friendships as well. I do understand what you are asking and what it entails. I would ask that you be clear on how much authority you will be investing in me so that I may know my proper place in discussing things with people of interest there."

Bill stood from his chair and walked around his desk as he perched himself on the edge in front of Arabella as he pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

"I know you were close with Brianna...She may not have shown it all the time. But she cared for you as her friend. I know that....I know that she loved you as a sister. She spoke of you in the end" he ended.

Shaking himself mentally as he turned back to the matter at hand.

"You will have as much authority as you see fit. I have spoken with the Queen and she has your accommodations already prepared and there will be a flight ready within a few days should you choose to except this Arabella" he spoke softly.

She smiled as she took the handkerchief. She thought carefully and spoke clearly and slowly, realizing only after she began to speak that she had reverted to her native tongue.

"Vostra Maestà, sono onorato di essere selezionati per questo compito e sarà lieto di accettare la vostra offerta. Sarà mio onore di agire come la vostra voce con la regina Costanza. Mi darà grande piacere di farlo. Devo aggiungere anche che essendo il vostro Voice nelle corti italiane sarà interessante come quella, e la mia amicizia con Costanza, sta per scuotere le cose politicamente nei tribunali un po '. Dovrebbe essere interessante vedere come le cose si muovono in avanti."
Your Majesty, I am honored to be selected for this task and will happily accept your offer. It will be my honor to act as your Voice with Queen Constance. It will give me great pleasure to do this. I must add as well, that being your Voice in the Italian courts will be interesting as that, and my friendship with Constance, is going to shake things up politically in the courts a bit. It should be interesting to see how things move forward.

She stood, inclining her neck respectfully and smiled again.

"I know your Majesty is a busy man so I will not waste any more of his time. I will begin preparing things for the relocation. Would it be permissible for me to bring two of your own staff with me? Cassia has grown fond of her guard and since we will be in a new place, something familiar might be of comfort to her. The second will be someone to maintain records and such. I could acquire one in Rome, but would prefer one loyal to Your Majesty, for obvious reasons."

Bill was not very fluent in Italian but he knew a few words that Arabella spoke of as he inclined his head.

"Speak with Dexter and he shall make all the arrangements. He shall ensure that you make it safely to Italy. Take a few days and have your personal business in order. I am not a cruel man, say your goodbye's to John as it may be some time before you see him again" he encouraged her.

Bill knew that if Arabella went to see Quinn that it would hurt him to know that she was leaving, he would feel the pain that he felt when he lost Brianna.

She knew what Bill was doing but this new job was everything she had hoped to gain from working for him...and decades ahead of schedule. She smiled and nodded as he spoke. If his petty games with Jonathan served her own goals, so be it.

"It shall be as your Majesty commands. I will get Dexter a list of what is needed. My personal affairs I will take care of myself."

"Very well, he shall handle everything that you will need.....And there is one more request as your....I am not asking as your King but as someone who considers you as a friend....I think that it would be nice of you to say goodbye to Brianna....Her remains lay in the Bon Temps Cemetery...I think that she would like that" he ended in a whisper.

Brianna would always be his progeny, no matter if she were alive or...or gone. She would always be a part of his family.

"Your Majesty, though I know you may not understand this, my funeral for her will be in my heart. Out of respect, I will visit the site of her marker, but the funeral in my heart will burn far longer than a visit to a stone garden could ever last."

She wrapped her arms around herself, smiling sadly.

"You may not understand how much I cared for Brianna. You might never know how much, but trust me when I say that I understand the pain you are feeling. I loved Brianna, your Majesty. More perhaps than I should have, and in a way that I knew would never be returned. She and I shared one brief kiss, but from that moment I knew there would never be another."

She opened the locket at her throat and showed him the images inside of Cassia and Brianna.

"I always keep what I love close to my heart, Your Majesty."

Bill looked and listened on in dis-belief, he was not aware of anything that happened between Brianna and Arabella. Well nothing that was ever mentioned, he did not let anything slip to show his feeling on the subject.

"I was not aware of the feelings that you had for her...She never spoke of the moment that you shared...If it helps, it was quick....In the end she found peace" he assured Brianna.

She knew he would be curious so decided to head that issue off.

"She was curious is all, Your Majesty. As I said, it was one brief kiss from another woman. A memory of something she never experienced in her former life...and a moment I will treasure in my new one."

She smiled when he mentioned that her death was quick.

"Majesty, we are adults here. We need not lie to ourselves. Death never comes quickly for the one doing the dying. Things change after you die, though, I guess because dying is the loneliest thing you can do. I was sad to learn that she called for Jonathan and did not ask for me. That cut like a knife, deeper than I ever would have guessed."

She used the handkerchief to dab away another tear and forced a smile.

"I have wasted too much of your Majesty's time though. You are too busy for the simple feelings of a woman who lost a friend. Please forgive me for taking so much of your evening."

"If I allow myself to think of the pain that she suffered...I do no think that I will be able to live with myself...It is easier this way" he spoke softly, trying to block the memory and the fear in her voice that he would live with for eternity.

Bill stood from perching as he stood in front of Arabella and placed his hands on her shoulders and gazed at her softly.

"I do not know what Brianna felt for you, but she cared for you very much. Never forget that. You were there for her when I was not and for that I will always be eternally grateful...No matter where you are, you will always have a home here Arabella" he smirked a little.

"The offer is most appreciated, Your Majesty, and will be remembered, but my true home is with Constance. It always has been and now you are giving me a purpose to take home with me."

She hesitated for a moment before opening her bag, and removing an object wrapped in silk. She looked at it, holding it in her hands, and shifted the fabric to expose the silver blade hidden there.

"I know you are going after the one who destroyed Brianna, My King. I want to ask something of you that I have no right to ask."

She held up the knife, staring at the blade.

"I ask that before you destroy her, bury this in her body for Brianna. I know it is petty vengeance, but I would like to think that Brianna would enjoy it. This is the very knife Brianna was training with so in some small way she can reap her own justice by it, even symbolically."

She re-wrapped the blade and held the silk wrapped knife out to the king.

Bill graciously accepted the knife from Arabella as he felt the sleek blade through the silk wrap in his hand.

"As your King I will do this last request for you Arabella and I promise you this. Isabel will pay for her part in Brianna's death. She will know the true meaning of pain...She will know the what it feels like to live with the pain that she had caused" he promised Arabella. 

Bill promised himself that he would make Isabel pay, she would live to regret ever taking him on.

Arabella stood, looking into the King's eyes softly. Yes, even with his flaws, he was a good man. Better than some she had known. Without thinking, she cradled his cheek with one hand, smiling. She lifted on tip-toe and brushed his lips with hers.

"I am sorry, my king, but I knew I would never have the chance again, and would always have wondered 'what if'."

She stepped back from him, letting her hand fall from his cheek and lowered her eyes.

"I know I was out of place, Your Majesty, and I hope that you can forgive such boldness in one who would serve you."

Bill stood in shock as he felt Arabella's lips lightly brush his own as that was not something that he expected from Arabella.

"...Arabella..You are a beautiful woman, one that has survived many years...But that cannot happen again...Nothing can happen, even in a blind moment. I-" he ended, he didn't, he couldn't finish that sentence, he was or with Kiara...and Judith "You are an exceptional woman, never forget that...I have acted on raw angry and sorrow and in the end regretted it severely. I do not wish to taint you with my regret" he told her.

Her eyes still lowered, she laughed softly, then looked up and directly into the King's eyes.

"William, you misunderstand my intent. I, for all my years, am fairly new to love games, and tend to lean toward my own gender. Yes, I hold affection for you, but only that. Had I not been so bold, I would always have wondered what your kiss might have tasted like. As for more happening, my preferences do not follow that to completion. You may be nice enough, and from the rumors are fairly decent in that department, but I have no interest in bedding my King. That kind of thing would muddy the waters too much when we both have too much to gain from my relocation to Rome. I am honored that you would think of me in that way, but we both, for our own reasons, know it would never work."

She took another step back, smiling impishly at him.

"It does make one consider what it would be like though...and would almost be tempting enough to act on. They say that sorrow can only strengthen bonds with others. This kind of act would only strengthen that bond, but I will not force my king's hand into something he is unwilling to do. If you wish it, then make your intention clear."

She held out her hand to the King, smiling with hooded eyes.

Bill debated her words as he let them fully sink in, he had never thought or considered Arabella in that way. But what she was offering him would make him forget, make him forget everything for just one more night. His hand reached out and accepted Arabella's as he simply nodded and allowed her to lead him from his office as she briefly stopped at his office door before turning to gently place a soft kiss on his lips as she leaned in closer to his ear.

"For tonight, I am yours to do with as you please, William."

Bill knew that he shouldn't, but the weight of his already heavy heart burdened with so much pain could not bare any more....But tonight he would allow himself that brief release of those emotions.

For tomorrow would bring a new day, and fresh guilt.