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| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | After hearing her friend Rae has gone missing, Lena drops by to chat with Vice Admiral Siamus Fallon about it. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
The grey winter morning in Stormwind City is brightened here and there by ribboned boughs of greenery, evergreen trees draped with garlands and twinkling with glass or tin ornaments, and cheerful streetcorner peddlers in red or green hats, most of whom are hawking Smokywood Pastures goods.
At the Fallon townhouse, someone has made modest concession to the season by hanging a wreath on the dark blue door, around the silver kraken knocker. It is a plain pine wreath with a single red bow on it, like a child's drawing of a wreath. Super festive.
Lena Coit approaches the wreathed kraken, her breath frosting in the winter cold. She's abandoned wearing a cloak now for a warmer fitted coat that covers her tidy blue dress, and she's also wearing a knitted matching set of hat and gloves patterned in blue and white. The nervousness she once held at approaching a noble's house is now entirely gone, and she steps up to grab the kraken and knock without hesitation.
Barbour opens the door a precise five seconds later. He surveys her and smiles, offering a courteous half-bow. "Miss Coit. Are you here for his lordship?"
"I am," Lena gives a brief nod. "Is he available? I'd not take much of his time, but a matter rose up I thought I'd best stop by while I'm in the right neighborhood. Or continent."
Barbour smiles again and steps aside to usher her in. "If you'll wait just a moment, I'll check."
He shuts the door behind her, against the harbor wind and wintry chill, and then moves down the hall to the doors of Siamus's study. He knocks deferentially, then opens the door to step inside. A brief, low-voiced conversation ensues.
Barbour emerges to return to Lena. "This way, if you please. Shall I take your coat and hat, miss?"
"Oh, yes, please," Lena smiles brightly, taking off her gloves and hat, and turning slightly to slide off her coat. She hands the whole pile to Barbour. "Chilly winter, isn't it?"
"Aye, miss," he agrees genially as he accepts the pile. "Though not so cold as where ye've come from, I expect." He leads her down the hallway to the open study doors.
Siamus is just getting up from his desk as they arrive, and shrugging back into his suit jacket; he was apparently in Casual Mode for working alone in his office, as his tousled hair and loosened tie suggest.
He offers Lena a smile as he adjusts his tie's knot, and indicates a chair in front of the desk for her. "Miss Coit, a pleasure to see ye. Will ye have a drink?" It is like 11 AM but okay.
"Thank you, but I'm fine," Lena says with a smile, moving towards the chair. "Hope I'm not disturbing you? I suppose I could've writ, but I was right nearby, so…"
"Perfectly fine, ye're always welcome. Everything's all right, I hope?" He arches a brow at her, and waits politely for her to sit before resuming his own seat.
Lena takes her seat, smoothing her skirt. "Oh, yes, no problem on my side. It's just that I seem to've misplaced a friend of mine, and I had a vague inkling you might have more news on the subject than I've got."
Siamus settles as well, and sits back to regard Lena a little quizzically, that slightly amused gleam in his gaze. "I? Might know of your mislaid — ? Ah. Would ye be speaking of Miss Westwind, by chance?"
Lena blinks in surprise, and blurts, "How the… how'd you guess that one, sir? But yes, Miss Westwind. I take it you have seen her, then?" Lena takes a breath, her posture relaxing slightly. "If so, that's a relief. I'd heard she vanished recently after a row with her brother, and that not so long after the fellow was stalking her killed three people, so I was a mite nervous for her."
Siamus sits in silence for a few moments, processing Lena's version of events. Eventually he sits back and steeples his fingers. "Harvey Morningdew," he says carefully, "is no' stalking Miss Westwind. They were living together, here in the city. They're affianced." He pauses, and a flicker of chagrin crosses his expression. "Beg pardon, she might have wanted to tell her friends that much herself."
Lena's mouth literally falls open in surprise. It takes her a little while to recover the power of speech.
"But she…" Lena trails off. Speech is coming, just takes a while. She tries again, "But she said… he was a monster, that she didn't want him following her. That he was… always hiding and watching. I… I haven't really talked to her since April, but… affianced?"
Siamus raises his eyebrows and does another few moments' mental recalibration. "Aye," he says at last. "Would ye… perhaps ye ought to speak wi' the young lady about it directly?"
"Has he done somethin' to her mind?" Lena asks, genuinely concerned. "Can they do that? I know they were… they were controlled, themselves. But if they've got the trick of it…"
Siamus shakes his head. "That's no' my understanding, no. And e'en if it were the case, she's been away from him… near three months now? And still asserts the same. She'll be a witness on his behalf, at the trial."
"On his behalf, but…" Lena is doing her best, this is hard to wrap her mind around. "Wait, so you've… you've got Rae stashed away somewhere, like witness protection? I just hid in Dalaran, when it came to that for me. I knew you wanted to talk to her on account of bein' a Westwind, but how're you mixed up in all this?"
Siamus considers this again. He looks a little tired. How is he mixed up in all this? He tugs the tie he'd just tightened loose again and sighs.
"I met wi' Miss Westwind some months ago, before — our Icecrown expedition. I wanted to learn what I could from her of her uncle, Admiral Barean Westwind, who's bound up wi' the Scarlets.
"When she came to meet wi' me, she brought Morningdew wi' her. I'd been considering already the matter of death knights' place in the Alliance, and so I invited him to come in wi' her to speak wi' me on the subject. That's how I came to know both of them.
"I came down here to meet wi' Lord Demasco about drafting some legislation for me regarding a form of Stormwind citizenship for death knights. Coincidentally" — he grimaces — "that same night, Morningdew killed three people in the street, which as ye can imagine amounts to a public disaster akin to what Wishock's assassination was for warlocks. I stayed in the city to manage the business." He spreads his hands wearily.
"When I visited Morningdew in prison the day after, he was concerned Miss Westwind might no' be safe on her own. There's a Scourge knight hunting for her, I'm given to understand? The one who took her brother? Morningdew asked me to see her safe. So I have. She's been living at Fallon House since October."
Lena nods as he speaks, taking all this information in. She still looks a little dazed. The more things change, the more they… well, it seems like they just change a whole lot.
"I knew you were workin' with death knights in some way," Lena says, sitting back. "Fellow called Re… Roper came to talk to me a while back, tellin' me he didn't want to jump scare me someday if we were both workin' for you. That was on account of I knew him already. Anyway, I reckoned it was something to do with the fleet, something death knights could offer. Not sure what kind of defense can be made for a fellow killed three people in the street." Lena pauses. "Glad Rae is safe, but… ought we tell her brother? I would've thought she'd do that."
"I expect Miss Westwind's managing of her family is her own affair. I can't tell ye why she's no' notified him; I wasn't aware she hadn't. I can ask her about it, if ye'd like, or you're welcome to visit Fallon House yourself and speak wi' her there. She's no' being cloistered, only kept safe for her own sake.
"As to the Morningdew matter, the evidence will out in court, but I am happy to tell ye myself that the three so-called 'priests' in question were agents of the Cult of the Damned, who ambushed Morningdew in hopes of creating, most likely, exactly this sort of public hue and cry against the Ebon knights."
Lena's expression chills at the mention of the Cult of the Damned in a way it didn't when she was speaking of the death knights. "I've got no cry against them in general, just figured the one fellow for a murderer. The Cult, though, they're a rot needs to be burned out." Lena takes a breath. "If you'd not mind, I could visit her. Really probably ought to have caught up with her before now, only so much was happening."
"I don't mind. You're a friend of the girl's, and you're welcome always at Fallon House, Miss Coit; ye have a standing invitation, and ye must consider me serious in that. It's all the more true since Icecrown. Lady Fallon might be glad to see ye herself, in fact, and thank ye for your service." He sits forward. "When would ye like to go down there? Do ye need a horse arranged, or have ye your own?"
"I could go soon, before I'm back up to Dalaran?" Lena says, looking at the Vice Admiral with still a faint touch of skepticism. "I can rent a horse for the trip, easy enough."
"Ye didn't bring your mare wi' ye?" Siamus is familiar with Lena's accustomed Northrend mount by now. "I'll have one of ours saddled for ye here, when ye mean to go. Or if it's of an evening, ye can meet wi' me here and ride down. In the carriage, if Her Grace is with us, horseback if no'. Join us for dinner, spend a night." He shrugs genially. "Miss Westwind's mentioned ye to me often enough, she'd be pleased by the company I expect."
Lena stares at Siamus for a brief moment of dubiousness, but she quickly covers it with a smile. "I'd be delighted. I'd not want to put you to trouble, so maybe I could join you at the end of day." She seems to debate a moment internally before adding, "Penny's not mine, the mare. She's with the Valiance Expedition. I just usually ask for her, when I borrow. Might not be Kul Tirasian, but she's a sweet horse - nimble, easy gait."
He raises his eyebrows, startled. "I hadn't realized, I've seen ye with her so often. She's a lovely creature, aye." He sits contemplating this for a moment, and then shakes the thought away. "Only tell me the day — today or any as suits ye — and we'll go down together."
"I've no immediate plans, so today's as good as the next," Lena says, lacing her fingers together. "And I hope… Her Grace is doing well? With the baby, and all."
Siamus's smile is immediate and involuntary, an unschooled expression for once. He dials it back almost immediately but it doesn't quite vanish as he inclines his head to Lena. "Aye, Her Grace is fair blooming. The physicians say the child's coming along healthy, and apart from a touch of the sickness wi' certain foods, Lady Fallon is very well. I'm sure she'll be pleased to see ye."
He reaches into the pocket of his jacket and takes out a silver pocketwatch, which he checks cursorily. "We can leave here at — my last meeting's half-past three, so we could leave as early as four, if ye like?"
An uncertainty in Lena's eyes suggests she thinks he may be overselling how delighted Her Grace will be, but her smile does not change. She starts to rise. "As good a time as any for me, sir. I'll just come back 'round at the time, and not take any more of yours just now."
Siamus rises as well, as soon as the lady shifts, and moves around the desk to offer her a hand up. It's reflex.
Lena takes his offered hand and gives a slight curtsey after rising, lowering her eyes. It's a different kind of reflex.
A little too quickly for propriety, she shifts back, pulling her hand away and raising her gaze to meet his. "Thank you for your indulgence, sir."
His gaze is slightly bemused, but his crooked, enigmatic smile is back in place. "No indulgence, Miss Coit. Ye're always welcome, as fleet, and I'm always glad to oblige." He ushers her courteously toward the door and opens it. Barbour is waiting in the hallway with her coat, hat and gloves. "I shall see ye at four, then."