125. No winners

125. No winners
Teddy and I had arrived in Paris. I had slept a good thirteen hours after completing the protection ward on the workspace that Malachar and I used. I was tired. Rituals where draining. He ended up giving me three days off since he knew I was tired. I was fortunate unlike the last ritual; I was not ravenous.  

I was tired but not starving, I did drink from ten vein bound but I had killed no one. I noticed when I woke up that my nails had been completely covered by the black that had just been in my tips. I wanted to scrub it off and did try but I couldn’t take off the black. I was relived that at the very least the skin on my fingers still felt like skin not the weird texture Malachar had going on. Though I could notice that I had a little more of the small flecks of red in my brown eyes.  
“Where are we going?” The girl said who Teddy and I had with us. “Calm down, we have a great new place for you. You will get to deal with fashion.” She nodded but said no more. She was so young she probably had no other ideas of what to do with her life, she had grown up in a war. It wasn’t like she could figure out what her interests where other than surviving. I led her to the place I had gotten my whole updated look from.  

After Teddy and I gave her over to the woman.  I was surprised she seemed to actually be happy. When I met her she was rather cool with me and Leia. But when she saw the Dhamir she actually hugged the girl. I felt gross dealing with trading in people, but the fashion mongrel looked like she was actually pleased.  

We then went off to search for the dark relic. There was a way to track them, but it had been hard to do and required a sacrifice, though for that I didn’t use a human. I found that a deer was as good, and ended up working, and I used the blood. It worked well and I knew we had to head to Pere Lachaise. Some mausoleums most likely held the relic. “We should get some blood first.” Teddy said and I looked at him.  

I could take him to that strip place I went to with Leia, but I wasn’t a huge fan of having scantily clad women all over him. I knew my temper and I would kill the whole lot of the woman and the owner too. I wouldn’t risk my angry outburst. I had less of them lately, but they still came. The blood magic only made it easier to control myself. “No strip clubs” I said, and Teddy looked confused why I would even suggest it.  

“Come on let’s go find something.” He said taking my hand and I felt a calm come over me maybe he was in my head soothing me, maybe that was what he was doing. I liked the way he held my hand, and we walked through the streets of Paris. We ended up finding a place that held vein bound. “You know I have never been able to walk freely here.” Teddy commented.  

I looked up at him. “Your wings?” I asked and he nodded. I wondered how it would have been living life totally in the shadows. I had no wings and never had to completely hide from the society of humans. “Teddy, are you happy that the war changed that for you.” I asked wanting to know his thoughts on the subject. He was no longer required to live in the shadows of the world.  

He thought for a long time. “War is horrible, the deaths and destruction and this was a global one. But I am grateful that my side won, if that is what you want to know. It is nice not having to watch what I do and where I go. I think it was ridiculous that I was forced into hiding as was my whole family going back generations for a reason I couldn’t help. My Bloodline dictated that I live in shadows, and I don’t think that is right. So yes, I am glad I am liberated to a life of that. I am glad future generations will not suffer that way.” I nodded understanding and tried to think about his words.  

I couldn’t imagine never traveling, never being able to just go out and see monuments or have fun openly because I had wings on my back. Teddy spoke again “I am fortunate Beatrix; I have mind manipulation as a gift.” Did that mean he did go out and just trick people into not seeing his wings. He laughed. “No that is too draining. It is one thing to do it for a little while but constantly blocking their mind from seeing my wings is exhausting and I was too young to have that kind of control until I studied during the first year of the war.”  

I nodded he had been answering my internal questions. Still a lot of people had to die for him to be able to walk around openly. A whole enslavement was now openly in the world government. Teddy stopped walking. “How many people should have died tell me so I and Baron and our families were allowed to be free?” I could tell by his tone he was irritated. “I don’t know.” I spoke.  

“Yeah, you don’t, you don’t have any idea what that is like to get blood without having vein bound. You think we could just go up to people in the street and trick them to drink from them. No, we had vein bound. Not because we like owning humans but because we can’t go hunt openly like you could.” I tried to say, “I didn’t hunt humans” He then threw his head back and laughed.  

“Maybe not always Beatrix, but you did. You would do it in alleyways and you would get away with it. Had I tried to do that, I would be hunted as a monster and when I tried to flee using my wings they would be shot and damaged. War is horrible, period, but until prejudice is gone, which let's face it will never happen, it is inevitable. I am glad we are the bigger monster because otherwise all of our kind would be dead.”  

I thought about him referring to the order being the bigger monster, hearing my thoughts he spoke again. “Yes, we were the bigger monster, we were willing to do the worst to secure victory.  Everyone suffers for the sake of it and the real victory is that those who were the worst kind evil get to write history putting themselves in a favorable light and forming something new. Then generations pass and either new or old ideals surface and our will to be the worst kind monsters gets tested yet again.”