Bad Blood

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The Gravenreuth Manor was quiet for some days. Maids and stewards went about their business as usual, making sure the house was tidy and in need of nothing.

Damien made sure that all operations continued to run smoothly, all while trying his best to provide any support that Marie needed. She was once again locked away in her office, this time busily making preparations for the spring banquet.

Invitations had already been sent out earlier in the week, and she was receiving an overwhelming amount of correspondence from guests all over the world. Since the French Royal heir agreed to travel and attend, she would need to make the appropriate accommodations here at the manor to house him.

Each Spring Banquet had a theme, and whoever hosted was the decider of that theme. Each host always tries to one-up the previous, often proposing a more elaborate theme than the last. Marie had spent hours combing through past invitations. She was tired of repeated themes and wasn't in the mood for anything too grand and elaborate.

Inspiration hit one night when she was absentmindedly browsing through her father's library. The spine of an elegantly decorated book caught her attention, and as she slid it out from its place, an idea formed.

She decided that this year's theme would be an Arabian Spring Night, inspired by the tales of A Thousand and One Nights. It was new, unique, and would allow for a more relaxed environment. Her theme was received quite well by her invited guests, as everyone wrote back about how excited they were to experience it.

These busy days were welcomed, as it helped Marie push away intrusive thoughts and feelings. She allowed herself to dive deeply into her work as a socialite with a responsibility and duty to entertain, host, and attend all sorts of events. This would have been the sole focus in her life had her engagement not fallen through. Now, she had to juggle business and a social life, something her uncle was supposed to help her with.

The very same uncle who Marie would have to have an unpleasant conversation with upon his arrival today. Until then, she had to put on a pleasant face for the only remaining family in her life.

Following the morose days of silence, the house was finally abuzz with movement and boisterous voices as everyone prepared for Ludolf Von Gravenreuth's return. His room was freshly prepared. His favorite smoking room was dusted off and fully stocked in preparation for many long nights of entertaining.

Marie would step down from her role as overseer to allow her uncle to take over business once more while she dealt with matters that were appropriate for a lady. She was grateful for her uncle, who taught her everything she needed to know about the affairs of Gravenreuth. But it was only after a long and drawn-out conversation that Ludolf had allowed her to run things, and only when he was away.

Marie was seated at the desk with Damien beside her as she awaited Ludolf's arrival.

"How long is Lord Gravenreuth staying this time around?" Damien asked her as he fixed his tie, slight annoyance in his tone.

"Are you not pleased that Ludolf is returning?"

"If I am being honest, I am mostly displeased that he did not return home sooner. Also, I don't like serving him, I am yours."

"Yes, you are mine, Damien. But the servitude unfortunately extends to my family. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you asked to be changed."

"I didn't know incredulous uncles would be a part of the deal." Damien uttered under his breath. Before Marie could half-heartedly chastise him, the sound of gravel crunching underneath tires hit her ears. Damien groaned quietly.

"Go and meet him. If he asks about why I am not at the door, tell him I am here, quite busy with the Spring Banquet preparations. I will deal with the rest of his questions, as I'm sure he will head straight here."

Damien, with a quizzical look, nodded in acknowledgment and made his way quickly to the front door. He could already hear the click-clack of expensive shoes making their way up the stone steps as he exuberantly opened the door with a deep bow.

"Damien, fetch my bags from the car, and bring me a fresh cup."

"Yes, sir. Of course. Welcome back."

"And where is Marie? Has she not received word that her only uncle is back?"

"Lord Ludolf, Lady Marie has been absolutely swamped with preparations for the Spring Banquet as she is hosting it this year. She is in the office."

"Hmph, bring that glass to the office then, I want it there when I get there."

"Of course." With a forced smile, Damien responded before he rushed away, waving his hands left and right as he designated roles to everybody. A man rushed outside to fetch bags, as Damien, with lightening speed, ran to fetch a glass.

Ludolf swaggered his way through the halls towards the office, sending maids scurrying as he chastised them for the smallest speck of dust. When he made his way to the office, he swung open the door with no hesitation, stepping in loudly.

He cast an eye around the area of his desk. It was neat, not a single piece of paper anywhere, nothing out of place. He then looked around the room. It matched the neatness of the desk. He also saw Marie standing with her back to him, idlly staring out of the tall glass window. He frowned as she still didn't acknowledge his presence, daydreaming as always.

Damien entered soon after, offering Ludolf's glass upon a tray. Ludolf picked up the glass and downed it quickly, placing it back and waving him away without a word. Damien gladly slinked away

After a few more seconds of silence. Ludolf cleared his throat quite loudly in annoyance, which caused Marie to startle and turn around with a practiced, wide-eyed look. She knew he was there the entire time.

There stood Uncle Ludolf in his usual stiff, tailored, pinstripe, black and white suit. The buttons and matching cufflinks gleamed gold in the light. His tie was Ox-blood red, with the family crest pinned at the knot. He was tall, taller than her father, but thinner, not carrying the stockier build typical of Gravenreuth males. He had the characteristic raven-black hair that he wore short and slicked back all the way. His eyes were thin, beady, and ever observant as he cast a studious look upon Marie. His thin, rose tinted lips, accented by a thin, black mustache, were pressed tightly together as he processed why she hadn't greeted him properly.

"Oh! Uncle! I didn't even realize you were in the room. I'm so happy you've returned safely to our home." Marie disguised herself by acting like the old Marie, before the heartbreak, when hope and happy pleasantries still had a place in her naive heart.

"I was told by your pet butler that you were busy with the banquet, and yet here you are daydreaming at the window. What am I to make of this? My only neice skirting her manners?"

Marie smiled wider as she approached Ludolf.

"I'm so sorry, Uncle, for not greeting you at the door. I was so engrossed in banquet preparations that I didn't realize your car was approaching. I wanted to make sure your office was all set and ready for you."

"Ah, so you are a good niece after all." He finally smiled. "Well, I must apologize for not returning sooner. I had received word about what had transpired here, but business is business, you understand, dear."

"Of course. I wouldn't want to pull you away from important matters."

Ludolf moved to seat himself in his chair, gesturing for her to take a seat in front of him.

"Yes, well, as much as I hate to say this, I must say I told you so. Had you not been so stubborn and naive about Adam, you would have been happily married long ago to an appropriate match worthy of your status. Now our name is the talk of the town. I was even told about your decision in regard to the human. That was a show of weakness. Our name comes with power, but a name is just a name if you don't act with it."

Marie sat down and listened to her uncle patiently.

"As much as I wanted to punish him, my choice was a selfish one. I was protecting myself from further grief. But you are right, Uncle, there will be times when I will have to choose the difficult choice." She met his eyes with steeled resolve. It caught him off-guard, unsure of where this strange shift came from.

"Hmph, that's right. I taught you well. Enough about this. Grief is an unnecessary thing to linger on. What's done is done. Now, while I was gone, how were things fairing business-wise? Were you able to manage everything?"

"Yes, everything has been stable. The only thing that was a bit strange was that meeting with our accountants."

"A meeting with our accountants? That wasn't supposed to happen until after I returned."

"Well, it was still on the schedule, and they arrived that same day. I went ahead and received them as usual. They were quite nervous about something when they arrived."

"Nervous, you say?" Ludolf folded his hands together in his lap as he leaned back in the plush leather chair. His demeanor was curious and inquisitive as he prompted for more information.

"Yes. I had to convince them to stay since they traveled all this way. One of them looked like he was about to faint as he sat right here in this chair."

"Well, that certainly is odd. Did you figure out why?"

"I believe so. Uncle, if you could, please open the top drawer on your right. There should be a folder within. I'd like for you to open it and take a look."

With a bemused expression, Ludolf followed her instructions, taking out the folder and placing it in front of him as he straightened his posture. Nonchalantly, he opened the folder and took out two papers. One was the small note that had numbers scrawled all over, and the other was the account sheet for the winery that was missing a large amount of revenue. He glanced at both briefly and raised his eyes at her.

"And what am I to make of this?"

Her smile grew wider as she tilted her head to the side.

"Oh please, Uncle. You are a man of detail. You don't know what's going on from just looking at these two things? You don't recognize your own handwriting?"

Ludolf pursed his lips at this, his demeanor cracking under the sudden scrutiny of his niece.

"So, you too realized something was going on," he said, nodding his head in approval. "I wanted to investigate this deeper before I recounted it to you. These new accountants are taking our money. I commend you, Marie, for being shrewd enough to catch this. Perhaps you are ready for a bigger role in the family businesses."

Marie stood up slowly, the smile remaining on her lips as she slowly removed her mask, her eyes hardened against her uncle. The air around her shifted suddenly, a cold electricity darkening the atmosphere.

"I believe I am ready for you to step down."

"What are you insinuating, Marie? Step down? What, you think I stole money from my own company?" He scoffed, yet he began to fidget slightly with the paper.

"Oh, I no longer just think you did, sweet Uncle." She responded, slowly making her way around the large desk. Ludolf stood up to his full height to face against her. The shift in her demeanor was far too great for him not to be on the defense.

"You see, you broke one of the rules you taught me all those years ago. Never play dumb. Always act as if you know everything at all times. You tried to play dumb with me because you think I'm still just a silly little girl."

"Don't be foolish, Marie. I am your gaurdian, I am your Uncle. You are accusing the head of this family. You will end this nonsense immediately, " he snarled, baring his teeth as he flexed his words in a way to make her bend to his will. She simply shook her head, the smile not faltering. She walked closer until she was inches away from him.

"You know the voice doesn't work on us. But you revel in exercising that power over others, don't you? A power you've longed to have while always being in my father's shadow."

In a flash, Ludolf raised his hand and slapped it across her cheek hard enough that the sound reverberated in the room. She turned her head back to face him, simply adjusting her jaw back into place.

"You got what you wanted, and now you want more. So you hired these new accountants and struck a deal to siphon money into your personal pocket. Quite shameful for a Gravenreuth, greed is not a family principle."

"You ungrateful runt, I raised you to be who you are now. The reason you stand before me, finally showing me that you have a backbone, is because of me. So what are you going to do? Shame me to your friends? I can easily make it look like it was all you, poor, rejected, grief-stricken, Marie."

"Remember when you said you would rather burn alive than deal with the council and their poor excuse of maintaining any sort of influence? Well, whatever I decide to do with you will be fully backed by that same council that I have built a repertoire with. And like it or not, they still have plenty of prestige, respect, and power to enact whatever punishment I see fit for you."

At this, Ludolf began to step back, away from his chair and her as he began to realize that he couldn't intimidate her. She was no longer his obedient, little niece.

"What do you want, Marie?" He asked, teeth gritted together as he watched her sink into his chair, getting cozy.

"Please, Uncle, take a seat." She gestured to the chair that she had been sitting in before. Reluctantly, he moved and sat down, his posture rigid as his gaze was stone cold.

"I would like for you to admit that you stole money from my winery."

"You have no evidence."

"Oh, but I do. That paper, in your handwriting, matching the missing amount grom the winery. The fact that you never intended on me seeing these accountants while you were away. Your silly performance of apparently not knowing anything, and your reluctance in even trying to convince me otherwise solidified my suspicions. I was really hoping that you were protecting the interests of the family, but I've learned yet again that hope is a useless thing to rely on." At this point, Marie's facade faded completely, revealing to her uncle her true demeanor; cold, calculated, and distant.

"Well, it seems you sleuthed me out then. That doesn't matter, I am still the head of this family. You are under my guardianship."

"Not unless I publicly expose you. My father was head of family, and I, by birthright, am the sole heir. You were just a temporary fill until I was able to handle things myself. That guardianship ends once I notify the council of your theft. You should have gotten rid of me if you actually wanted it all."

"You are gonna take away from yourself the only family you have left? You don't even have your precious Adam anymore," he sneered, his words filled with poison. She stared him straight in the eyes, unflinching.

"I've already lost so much. What's one more thing?"

He watched as she leaned back in her chair, that same, unnerving smile plastered on her face the entire time. He really couldn't tell if she was simply putting on a brave front or if the breaking of her bond had broken her as well. Her entire shift in demeanor had caused the actual atmosphere to drop several degrees around them, and her aura was dark and dangerous, causing his own senses to bristle in warning.

"I only wish you could have learned of Adam's rejection long ago. Your mentality now was what I was striving for you to establish all these years. I could have made you into the most influential Gravenreuth to ever exist. A shame, really. So, Marie Von Gravenreuth, what will you do to your dear Uncle, your only family? Banish me? Kill me even? I would prefer that be the new thing everyone gossips about, instead of you pathetically being dumped by your ex-fiance."

"Oh, Uncle. It hurts that you think I would do something like that. You are blood, family. The only one I have as you like to say. No, I wish to spare you from the embarrassment. Instead," she paused to open a drawer and place an official document on the table, pushing it towards her uncle along with a fountain pen. "I have created a statement in which you relinquish your duties as guardian and temporary head of the family because I, your ward, have gained the necessary skills to claim my rightful place. All it is missing is your signature."

Ludolf cast a distasteful look upon the statement, glancing at it swiftly before raising his eyes again.

"So you want me to simply walk away and disappear? No commotion to hurt your precious name?"

"It is still your name as well. We can either tarnish it and you can face the consequences of banishment, or you can continue to enjoy the benefits that our name brings. I will allow you to keep whatever you've already taken. It's the least I can do to ensure you are able to afford the luxuries you've become accustomed to. I'm sure you'll find a clever way to make that money work for you. All I need is your signature, and you may depart right after."

He stared at her, trying to find the trick, the possible trap she was setting for him. She was being truthful. She knew he had a weakness for the finer things in life, and this option would ensure he still had them while having no part in any of the businesses and no access to family assets. He was smart, and she was banking on it.

Minutes passed slowly as Ludolf contemplated every option and direction in his head. Although his lips were pursed in displeasure, he picked up the pen and quickly scrawled his signature at the bottom of the statement. Without another word, he stood and walked out of the office, leaving her alone in silence.

She listened to his footsteps fade as he walked away from the family and from her. In the silence, she took the time to reflect upon herself. What was she feeling? Was she proud of herself for standing up against him? Was there a newfound pride for being the winner of the standoff? A sudden weight of responsibility upon her shoulders that came with her new role?

Lonely. She felt alone. The same feeling she felt yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. Nothing really changed, except that now, she truly was left alone. She wanted to feel saddness again, or even that gut-wrenching despair that broke her apart. Because at least she felt something, not the nothingness that came with loneliness.