The sight of the mansion was slightly intimidating yet nothing at all like the grotesque and eerie stone artifices she had conjured up in her mind. She pressed her forehead into the cool glass, the heat of her breath condensing before her on the car window and a small, circular cloud temporarily obscuring her view of the royal estate. Very gingerly, she lifted her left hand and began to scribble in the fog and, as she was finishing, a low, male voice penetrated her temporary reprieve.
"We're here." His voice was very professional, almost having a routine quality to it, and she was happy to have it that way. Had she heard the slightest bit of sympathy or concern, she was definitely sure she would have lost her wits and made a break for it. And no one could catch her. She was certain.
She let herself out of the vehicle, deciding if she was to play a role she had better start from the beginning and perform it thoroughly. Efficiently. Her nervousness caused the young female to close the door with a little more force than necessary, a fact that did not go unnoticed neither by her escort nor by the intimidating, burly men positioned at either side of the entryway to the grand house.
*Breathe*. She tipped her head subtly in acknowledgment to her escort at the whisper inside her mind before returning a message of her own.
*I will do what must be done*. Her stomach cringed at what may have possibly been in store that they had thought to send her of all people.
Vesper's voice, no longer distant or procedural, now rang through her mind with a steely gentleness that made her heart feel like bursting. *I know. Be safe*. And with that, he placed a hand on her shoulder and led her toward the steps.
As the guards granted the pair entrance into the home, the one on the left of the door, seemingly the younger of the two gentleman, happened to peer back at the BMW the two had just exited. His deep, onyx eyes, falling on the passenger side window, thought it could make out the words "God help me," before he blinked and the message faded and was gone.
---
At the sound of a harsh thud, Kale's attention darted to the window and down to the circular drive out front. His storm grey eyes narrowed slightly in their focus, settling momentarily on a female, looking to be around 18 or 19, and her short, but stocky escort. Even from this distance, he could tell there was more to their relationship than what appeared on the surface despite the distance between them, the robotic way the bodyguard moved, and the aloof manner in which she carried herself. He also noticed this one was of noble blood. It was in the way she moved, a second skin seemingly unbeknownst to her even, as she failed at an attempt to behave in a common fashion. A small crease formed upon his brow line.
A faint sound of something whirring through the air drew his attention away from the two guests just as the male placed his hand on the female, and he instinctively ducked just before a navy blue couch pillow buzzed past him and hit the wall. The soft poof of the pillow hitting the carpet was followed by muffled snickers. *Oh great*, he thought.
"Brooding again, are we brother?" Antony was grinning as wide as the corners of his mouth would allow, much to Mihkale's dismay. "What, is this one not frilly enough for you?" Kale stooped down to pick up the couch cushion and slung it back toward his younger brother -- younger brother by only three and a half minutes as Tony so often enjoyed pointing out. Antony caught it.
"No need for frills, she is simply here to do my bidding," Kale retorted, "in a business setting," he added as that annoying grin of his twin brothers, which so mirrored his own -- or at least mirrored when Kale used to smile -- began reappearing. *Gutter minded idiot*.
