He sat tapping his ornate pen against the top of his desk.  His new daughter had finally managed to shame them to some extent.  He knew that this future may happen eventually but he had hoped that he would have more time to prepare.  As it stood now, there were not enough in the town that knew of her softer natures.  She was still nothing more than a story to pass around the inn for cheap thrills.  

Currently, he had no doubt that the people of his town would want her to be punished in accordance with the customs.  Loose and raging women would need to be put in their place so that it didn't happen again.  No doubt they would like to catch her, in passing, bruised and saddened.  A beating could be a proper punishment but it wouldn't suit his needs.  Physical punishment would only serve to stoke the fire within her and bring her closer to breaking once again.  No, he would have to find another way to make her understand the weight of her actions.

Setting the pen down, he felt soft womanly hands run over his shoulder and down his chest.

"Work her."  Her voice was honeyed and thick.

A profession?  Truly she had to be joking.  The girl could barely keep her rage in control long enough to figure out where she was or who she was fighting.

"Girls like her do not work."  

Despite his dismissive tone, she did not relent as he felt her press her lips against his pulse point.

"Girls like her do not exist."  It wasn't the smirk in her voice that gave him pause, it was the sudden feeling of her fangs scraping his neck seductively.  "Give her to our Barduk.  She will learn quickly to hold her fangs or face his hand."

Just the image of her living in squalor with Arius tore at his heart.  To have her sleep cold and hard on straw...  The images of her flashed in his mind and he saw his lovely cousin in place of her all filthy and sad.

"No.  No he cannot have her.  He would use, and abuse, her.  I cannot allow that to happen to my blood.  Ever."

The chair he sat upon was pulled back and turned to face her.  He watched as she dropped to her knees and ran her hands up his thighs. 

"You underestimate her.  I have spent two, very long, weeks with the child.  Her ability to adapt and overcome is uncanny."

Her grip on his thighs tightened and he grit his teeth trying to remain in control.

"And the cost?  Can her uncanniness pay for the loss of life?"

Her hands stopped their advance and gave him reprieve.  He watched as his love became deep in thought.

"Make Hal pay for it.  When an animal becomes sick after purchase, is the burden not upon the seller?”  

Her words cut into him as she spoke with such fervor.  It made sense though and he could find no true fault in her logic.  It was a common practice that they often had to weed out of their own marketplace.  As a result, strict rules regarding the sale of animals and stock had become commonplace.

“Very well.”  His words slipped from his lips as he locked eyes with her.  “I will pen the letter and have it sent.  I will not have her living in servitude though.”

The sullen image of her filth covered and bruised flashed before his mind’s eye and he had sat a little straighter in his chair.  

“She will remain here.”  Confidence and command filled him as he would have no discussion on that point.  “She will be sent daily for work and nothing more until Hal pays or she works off the debt.”

Once more her hands continued up his thighs and then began marching up his chest.  A familiar weight filled his lap as she settled onto him.  Gently, she stroked his cheek with the back of her hand.  

“How is it that you manage to say all the things that I want to hear when I want to hear them?”  Her voice was thick with arousal as she leaned in for a passionate kiss.

He welcomed it as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.  Truly his wife was amazing.  Every time he thought he had seen the depth of her, she always seemed to have new caverns for him to explore.  Standing, he felt her legs wrap around his waist and he wasted no time moving their embrace over to the map table.

The night was deep and dark by the time they had finished.  Parchment and maps laid scattered about the room but he didn’t mind.  There would be time later to collect and clean, for now there was dinner to address and punishments to hand down.  He could feel her gaze upon him and he took in her visage there upon the table.  Her pale, night lily skin seemed to glow in the lamp light and he fought not to take her again; time enough for that later.  Recovering his clothes, he went to work sliding them on before gathering her clothes.

“Come my love.  The children will be waiting.”  

He couldn’t help but smirk as he watched her drag herself off the table and towards the clothes he held.  He had made sure to thoroughly do her in for all the teasing she had given him earlier.  Just seeing her in this state did wonders for his ego as it confirmed his own belief in his sexual prowess.  

“Shall I carry you to dinner?”  The look he received was a mixture of flame and dagger.  He knew she would never stand for such decadence in her own home but teasing her was such fun.  “Or bring it on a tray perhaps?”

Her warning glare fizzled into a playful smirk as she leaned into his with a little shove as she dressed.  “Hush or I will not let you sleep today.”

A shiver of pleasure ran through him at the warning.  He knew well enough that there would be repercussions for his words.  Her warning had been little more than a reminder of her stamina.

“As you wish.”  He said softly, leaning in to kiss her neck.

After they were dressed appropriately he led her down towards the dining room.  His mind mulled over which handpot they should sample for this evening.  Perhaps the black bear handpot. It was not the freshest of vintages but the gaminess of it always seemed to turn the blood into something far more complex than human blood.

Of course, when they arrived at the dining room he was confused to say the least.  Both his children had stood when they arrived; as per the custom.  But it wasn’t their actions that took his attention, it was the overpowering smell of blood emanating from Sasha.  The girl had clearly bathed the fabric of her dress in blood.  Her dress aside, the only place settings that were out were that of his and Alana’s.  

“What’s all this then?”  His words were soft but strong.

Belor was the first to speak.  “Forgive me father.  I left her to her own devices after she got blood on her dress.  The result is as you see.  She took it upon herself to dye the whole thing in blood and your handpot supply has suffered as a result.  Because of her actions and my inattentiveness, I thought you would prefer the meal to be like this.”

Smoothly, Vidar helped Alana to her seat before finding his way into his own.  He looked over the plate of sausage and then searched his children’s faces for a long, quiet, moment.  To some degree, he couldn’t believe this turn of events.  How had this little child come to believe that this was the proper choice to make?  Did she have the foresight of a rock?  He motioned for the children to sit.

“You are right to note that I would want a punishment for actions like this.”  His gaze centered on Sasha and burned into her as he worked to bury his anger and frustration.  “Blood, is life.  Every drop in those pots came from something that was living at one time.  By doing what you have done, you have wasted all their lives.  Do you understand?”

He watched as Sasha broke eye contact to look at the table.  He anticipated the feint that slipped from her lips long before she attempted to speak.

“But Belor told me to clean it.  I…. I didn’t know how to clean it so I just figured it could all…. All look the same and then there wouldn’t be a need to clean it…”

He watched as she made no motion to make eye contact.  

“Look at me.”  His words were terse and to the point and earned him immediate obedience from her.  “I will not allow you to sit there and play games.  If you knew enough to know that you did not know how to clean it, then you knew enough to seek us out.  You are a child and are expected to have the knowledge of one.  No one here expects you to know everything.  We do, however, expect you to learn quickly as you have shown you are capable of doing.  Rather than choose the path that led to a clean dress, you chose a path that led to a stained dress, wasted food, and both you and your brother punished.”

He watched and waited to see how much of his words had managed to sink in.  The resulting display of sudden knowledge and honest shame warmed his heart in a fashion that was nostalgically pleasing.  The anger and frustration within him ebbed.

“While I am happy that you had the confidence to try something on your own, you did not look ahead to the possible outcomes for your choice.  That, is the real heart of what has occurred here.  Now,”  he sat back and adjusted his clothes a moment, “if I were to accept Belor’s choice of punishment, how would the rest of this evening play out?”

The poor girl looked confused but he would not waver nor would he give hints.  She had to learn foresight or her life would be cut short quicker than he could clean up her messes.  Belor moved to speak but he raised a hand to stop him.  This was Sasha’s test and not his.  No doubt his son knew the answer and was trying to get to the end of it quicker.

“We would watch you eat?”  Her voice was small and hesitant.

He nodded.  “And then?”

“And then we would go to bed hungry.  Maybe…. Sleep poorly?  And be very hungry by dusk tomorrow?”

“Continue.”  He idly scratched at the place his love had raked her fangs not too long before.

“We eat breakfast.  Then mother takes me for lessons and you and brother do your thing?”

He was silent for some time as he mulled over her words.  She had no grasp of the finer things yet.  How had Hal managed to squander such potential?

“While that is all true, it is….  basic.  You go to bed hungry, and feel the pain and need for blood.  For one such as yourself, that hunger is very painful.  The pain causes you to get no sleep.  You awake, pained, tired, and irritable, to find that breakfast is not enough.  You slip into your lessons with your mother but are unable to focus or learn anything because all you crave is blood and for the pain to stop.”  There was a flash of anger in her eyes but then it was swallowed by a remorseful look.  He made a point of praising his wife later for her lessons.  “Now, what if I were to give you this plate before me?”

Once more confusion appeared to envelop her.

“I… I would eat it and…. Go to bed not hungry and…. Not in pain.  Then I would wake up and have breakfast and it would be enough.  I would be able to go to lessons and learn properly.  But…”

Her dying sentence piqued his interest.

“But?”

“But then you will go to bed in pain.  You will wake up hungry.  You will not get enough at breakfast.  You will be angry when you are with Belor.”  There was a tone to her words that he couldn’t quiet place; somewhere between conviction and disbelief.

“I would if I were a child.  My body is all done growing.  Both you and Belor have not finished though.  I can go a few days without food before the hunger comes and takes my choices from me.  But you….”  He glanced at his son.  “Both of you…. Cannot afford to skip meals.”

Carefully, he picked up the plate before him and handed it to Sasha.  She seemed hesitant at first but then her small hands took it from him.  He heard, more than saw, the transfer of his wife’s plate to the place before Belor.

“You will both eat and listen well because what happened today will have consequences.”  After they had begun eating, he continued on.  "I have no doubt that that human didn't make it back alive.  Or, if he did, did not last long.  This will result in a multitude of things going forward.  First, there is less immediate food for the village.  This puts us in a precarious place with regards to the inn and those that we sponsor.  If residents begin hunting the forest then there will be less game when winter comes.  Secondly, the residents are going to end up hearing the story.  Gossip has a way of poisoning the well so to speak.  We have to get ahead of it with proper punishment so that when they come knocking, we have a plan of action already."

He watched as Alana rose and wandered into the kitchen.  No doubt to assess what handpots remained.  Hopefully there was enough that she would be able to bring him something.  All this talking was leaving him rather parched.

"Your mother and I have already had a discussion about this topic and have come to the decision that Sasha is to be worked."