Private The Blood of the Court

[Raphael Boucher]

RAPHAEL​

Tags: Fleur Valencia​

Fleur had been through much in so little time. Her life had already not been an easy one, but with this news it would certainly take a turn. When the woman buried her face in his chest he was a bit shocked, so much so that he paused for a moment before resting his hands supportingly on her shoulders. He did not know how to feel or what to feel. Thousands of years trained you for much, but not for this. If this woman before him was his daughter, wasn't it his duty to be there for her? That would make her the only family he had as well as the heir to the Von Black bloodline. It was his duty to protect her.

He nodded in understanding as she spoke. She was now placed in a pivotal crossing where her actions would shape the future of her life. He could not know where exactly that would take her, but he knew it was important that she make the decision to walk down a path. "You are all of these things and more. That is your gift, not your curse. It is the experiences we live through that empower us and your heart yet beats." He told her.

When she spoke of her Vampirika blood, the Viscount could not help but breathe out softly. "I can help you. It is not all easy or cut and dry, but in time you can learn everything there is to our kind." He told her. Now the next thing she said was a bit harder for the man to process. When she asked what to call him, he bowed his head for a moment as he contemplated it. "For now, why don't you just call me my name, Raphael."

As Fleur continued to speak, Raphael placed a hand on her cheek, soft and brief. "Look. I will contact the Baron in charge of your lands. I will tell him we left to see to the preparations of the new base, but for now I think you should come with me."

Raphael stood up and held a hand out to the young woman. "Return to my lands with me and we can talk there. I can explain to you all that I know."​

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[Fleur Valencia]

A NEW PATH​

Tags: Raphael Boucher ​

Fleur listened to the man speak and a frown descended upon her brow as she tried to work out as to what she should do next. There was just so much that had shifted in such a small amount of time that she was just unsure as to handle it. How did one handle such a twist in a path that no one could have potentially prepared her for? What was she to do when faced with such a three hundred and sixty degree angle on her hands? If all of it was true, then she truly wasn’t a Valencia heir and she had been living a lie for twenty-two years. So much of why she had been kept away from the public eye, made so much more sense and she couldn’t believe that she had not seen it sooner. The hatred and the distant parents was another thing that made sense. Now she also knew why Elias Valencia wanted her to fail.

She wasn’t his daughter. She wasn’t his heir. If anything, she was the heir to Raphael and if Elias Valencia had known about it, he had kept it to himself. Or maybe… He would have tried to have Raphael killed in order to keep their secret. If they knew that she and Raphael knew, she could only wonder about what he might do or try to do. They had already wiped Odette Belrose from the history books. It was all the more reason to secure her own position within the High Court.

As Raphael bowed his head and responded to her question by saying that she should could him Raphael, she nodded her head. It made sense. Even the thought of potentially calling a stranger that she had just met, was strange. In fact, she was slightly embarrassed that she had the outburst to begin with. So when he rose and held out a hand, she smiled softly and took it with a pale alabaster one of her own. Quietly she rose from her position upon the floor and gave a nod of her head. ”Of course, that sounds like a far better place to have this conversation than here of course. My apologies. I’m a little out of… Sorts it seems.” The woman said as she lifted a hand to run through her blonde locks and straighten them out to look presentable. ”I don’t know what came over me.”

It was soon becoming as if she hadn’t lost it. With the adrenaline soon leaving her body and the anger being banished, it was as if it was almost like a normal day. Except this time, it wasn’t. Her mind was processing the information at a fast rate and although she had shattered at the knowledge, she was starting to recover swiftly. However, the world around her wasn’t on it’s usual path and it didn’t spin on a normal axis. It was as if someone had taken that planet and forcibly tilted it so then nothing seemed normal anymore. It never would be normal again and it was going to have to be something that she was going to have to get used to.

The fact that her curse wasn’t a by-product of the force, but rather the fact that she was half Sanguinius Vampirika was news that was shocking on its own. However, the fact that she also wasn’t Elias and Isla’s daughter truly shocked her. Everything made sense now and she was having a hard time wrapping her head around it. Fleur paused for a moment and looked to the empty room, before she turned to Raphael with a dead panned look. ”I want to see the end of the true Valencia bloodline. I want to see my fa-.” She paused only to give the man an apologetic smile and continued. ”I mean. Elias’s face when I tear him down and let him watch with the knowledge that the child that is not his, takes everything from him.” Blue eyes reflected a dead calm with a murderous tinge. ”I want revenge.”
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[Raphael Boucher]

THE BLOOD IN OUR VEINS​

Tags: Fleur Valencia​

Although Fleur had been through much, it made Raphael happy to see her quickly correct herself. When she agreed this was a conversation better to have outside their current place he nodded, pulling his hat back onto his head before exhaling. He pulled a comm device from his pocket, tapping into it. "I'll have a speeder pick us up." He told her. Though Raphael was prepared to take a step towards the door, he was cut off when he saw Fleur's deadpanned expansion.

Hearing the words come from the woman's mouth caused Raphael to take a moment in pause. No, it was certainly there. The Von Black blood that boiled so hot when it felt the sting of betrayal.

For a moment Raphael did not know what to say. He felt his heart slam in his chest as he realized that the young woman was experiencing something similar to his own life. Perhaps not the same, however she was burdened with a vengeance that could very well consume her as it once had consumed him. He nodded at her words before speaking simply. "It's not enough to destroy a person." Raphael said, leading Fleur out of the shop where a black speeder had just rested down on the street to receive them. "You destroy their legacy." He began, ushering the woman into the speeder.

Sitting down across from Fleur, Raphael looked to her with a puzzling gaze. "You have a rare opportunity to make those around you pay for what they have done to you, however you need to do it in a way that benefits you, but does not destroy you. In a way, this is no similar to the things you can encounter when at Court." He explained.

Over the next hour the travel to Raphael's castle was a relatively quiet one. The viscount seemed content to keep his thoughts to himself for a while before, when finally they had crossed over the mountainous thresholds into his lands, he felt a need to speak. "I suppose things will never return as they were for us. I don't...I don't expect you to want me in your life or call me your father, but I would like to know more about you. Odette was a wonderful woman and I have no doubt that you are just the same. Perhaps a bit more forward than she was as you proved in Court, but you are truly a flower, just like she was."​

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[Fleur Valencia]

FLEUR VALENCIA​

Tags: Raphael Boucher ​

Fleur felt every inch of her being burning for the need for revenge; craving it even. For her entire life had been built on lies and deceit. The woman didn’t even have a normal childhood or even a happy one. She had long since abandoned the hope for happiness a long time ago and knew that her future was based around political standing. Which meant that image was everything. Valencia’s image was that they were pureblood Diathims, which was why when she had come along, she had become the anomaly in a long proud heritage of the Valencia's. The stain upon the bloodline. Yet, even as she had come to accept that fact, there was always something that nagged at her. Which was why she had done her extensive research upon her own family history.

History. Which was mostly not her own. She knew nothing about Von Blacks, nor the true extent of her Sanguinius Vampirika heritage.

So as she was ushered into the speeder and they sped away, her gaze was drawn to the outside while she listened to the one who was her biological father. Indeed. Fleur could not do anything that would implicate herself or tarnish a name that she bore. She was extremely reluctant in reality, to even think of Raphael being caught up in the implications if she did pursue revenge in the light. Which meant, that it went without saying, that if she did anything, it had to be in the shadows of the High Court. The playground of which they found themselves in.

When the man spoke of Odette, she sighed softly. It was hard to think of anyone other than Isla being her mother, for Odette was a woman that she had never interacted with. Unless someone counted being inside their womb for the duration of a pregnancy. ”I know Odette must have at least looked similar to Isla and I guess if things had been different, I might have had a different upbringing. It’s just that…” Fleur paused as she frowned for a moment before her blue eyes shifted to Raphael, ”It’s hard to think of Isla’s twin being anything but a faceless woman. Isla to me was always a lone sibling. Distant and withdrawn. To think of her as wonderful or even a flower feels like a stretch. In any case, I doubt that I’m similar to her.”

A soft smile was offered before she rested her hands in her lap. ”My specialties lie in business and accounting. I can find any discrepancies in any financial books. If someone is skimming or doctoring the books, I can find it. However, I always wanted to expand my horizons. When I was told that I was cursed, I dabbled in the field of medicine and research. It’s the direction that I want House Valencia to travel. The plan is to rebrand. To give House Valencia a new image, one that is focused on medicine and medical research.” Her gaze shifted away from the man for a moment, before her focus returned back to him upon their arrival of Raphael's home.

”I would love to say that we would become more philanthropic, but funding for medical research and breakthroughs have to come from somewhere. So the casinos and hotels will still remain a solid source to balance the books. Plus, what better way to test potential breakthroughs, than on test subjects that have sustained injuries during battle. I’ll even have a military base right in my backyard with all kinds of people, including desperate people who will sign anything if you can give them an ounce of hope. Something that I learned from Elias while growing up in a household with no love; it has its benefits. You learn to be more ruthless,” The Viscount said as she paused. ”I guess that means that I’m definitely not like the Odette that you once loved.” Fleur said with a shrug before she exited the speeder. ​

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[Raphael Boucher]

REVENGE​

Tags: Fleur Valencia​

Raphael listened to Fleur speak and he could not help but tilt his head as she did. His lips curled into a knowing smile while the woman spoke of not believing herself to be like her mother, yet with every words she spoke, she revealed things to be more to the contrary. He said nothing, instead he offered her a slight closed-lip smile as he often did when words were not enough or not needed.

As the speeder came to a stop, the Viscount watched as the door was opened and he glanced out of the door before gesturing to Fleur. "After you." He said, holding a hand out towards the entrance.

The castle that Raphael kept was an ancient one, however it was far from downtrodden. The courtyard they had landed in was crafted with ornate marble and stone. Iron spikes rose above the duracrete walls, each one seemingly flecked with a kind of crimson gem in the center of the spike. An elderly man had pulled the door open, standing as still as a statue as he bowed his head to Lady Valencia. His head was bald and properly shaved while he had a well-grown white beard. His suit was all black with a slate undershirt and crimson tie. "My Lady." He said respectfully.

Raphael stepped out of the speeder behind Fleur and the older man kept his head bowed in deep respect. "My Lordship." He greeted the elder Viscount. Raphael pulled the hat from his head, passing it to the older man while speaking calmly to him. "Good afternoon, Carson."

"Grand afternoon, my lord. We were not expecting you for several more hours." The man nodded with a knowing smile. "Well, I must keep you on your toes from time to time, yes?" He said in a lighthearted tone, clapping the old man on the shoulder as he passed him.

"Quite right, my lord." The man nodded, before closing the door behind the Viscount.

"Tea, my lord?" He offered.

Raphael turned to Carson before shaking his head. "No, I believe we'll be ok. Please have dinner prepared for two." The man nodded silently before turning out of the court yard dutifully. The Viscount turned back to Fleur and exhaled. "Come, let us go to my study."

As they moved through the halls the woman explained her wishes to transform her House from the industry that they had been thriving in and instead turn their sights towards medicine and recovery. The thought of a House turning its attention to the medical field? It had been done before and will be done again, however it is not often a market many think to take advantage of. Still, her opportunity was there and ripe for the taking. "If you focus your resources then it will be easy for you to step into that industry. It's the sustainment I'd worry about. Hospitals can drain money just as much as they can make them, especially in times of war. Where a hospital rivals something like a hotel is that the hospital is expected to give care to all under coverage. That care is costly to administer and the pay you would receive would not always match the cost." He explained to her.

"Still, that is all hearsay that I've gathered. I've never cared to venture into the market myself. While I may not be of much help to you there..." They moved through the dark halls before finally coming to a solid oaken door. He pressed it open and they were presented a marvelous study. The walls were covered with books and in one part of the room was a massive screen. The screen held a listing of names, most of which would be noticeable to Fleur.

They were names of Noble Houses.

"If you want revenge for what has happened to you, then I can help you, he promised her." He turned back to the woman looking to her with a certain gaze. ​

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[Fleur Valencia]

REVENGE​

Tags: Raphael Boucher ​

Quietly, she exited the speeder and she took a moment to appreciate the views that his land displayed before her as it stretched onwards. The woman could definitely see why he didn’t want a military base stationed upon it. Even she herself would be inclined to not situate such a monstrosity upon these lands. Although Leau Do Roi, King’s Water already had casinos and hotels upon it. Eye sores as it was. A military base wasn’t going to be an issue. So she didn’t have to consider the natural beauty that one could grab from the land brought to the table.​

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With that thought in mind, Fleur watched a bald man seemingly open the door for them, which wasn’t unusual in the slightest for those who were in such positions of power like themselves. Softly she chuckled as she took in a deep breath and couldn’t help but be amazed. ”I can’t definitely see why you are reserved when it comes to military bases. Even I would be hesitant to place such a monstrosity upon natural land such as this. It has a certain… Charm to it. The air tastes far cleaner than Leau Do Roi. I guess it doesn’t have casinos and hotels on nearly every corner, a fact which would help greatly.” Slowly shook her head and she turned to view the elderly man once again as he bowed and addressed her.​

She watched with an odd fascination as Raphael continued to address the old man with a sense of kinship and a brow lifted if only for a moment as she followed the Sanguinius Vampirika inside his castle. The two men spoke between themselves, while her gaze drew in the details of the foyer, before she was soon being led down a hallway towards a study. ”Sustainment was always going to be the issue, hence why I wanted compensation for land that I will be giving up for the military base. The funding will go straight into the hospital and medical research funds. I also endeavor to build a casino closer to where the military base would be situated, so then when the soldiers have free time and are looking to relax, they can sink their funds into my own pocket. Gambling. Drinking. Overnight stays for the one-nighters. It’s all revenue and might I add; profitable at times. Some call it despicable. I call it simply doing business. If there is a vice one can exploit, why not exploit it? If I don’t, someone else will. Such is the fact of life.” Fleur said in an off-hand statement.​

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Was it bold? Perhaps, but the Valencias were always in the market for being bold and quite distant from emotional attachments. One had to become numb when it came to business that exploited human vices. With that, she stepped into a study and she automatically felt at ease within. Her footsteps carried her over towards the screen as she listened to the man, but her mind was on the fact that she knew everyone of these Noble Houses by heart. The woman’s focus then shifted to the walls covered with books and she crossed the floor to reach them. An alabaster hand lifted to lightly caress the spines of the books as if they were her old friends and she took note of the titles presented before her.​

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Many memories were spent with her nose buried deep within a book. It was her calm within a household that was toxic to her own mentality and her hand hovered for a moment upon the books. Finally she turned to view Raphael and nodded. ”I do want revenge, but not just for what has happened. I need to take Elias Valencia out of the picture altogether. Albeit, slowly and effectively, as if we are cutting out cancer itself. I'd imagine it’ll be slow going, but I’m willing to take the time. Although…” Fleur turned back to the book as she continued to gently trail her fingers along the spines. ”We will have five years at least before he makes any unusual moves towards me.”​

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[Raphael Boucher]

VICTORY​

Tags: Fleur Valencia​

The Head of House Boucher seemed rather interested in the words that his daughter spoke. She was obviously well groomed for her position and that was something that was impressive in its own right. He could foresee that one day she would indeed be a powerful member of Court, however that was far from now.

"The High Court wages war in the most civilized of manners. Through business and enterprise, and no blood that is shed may ever come to light." He explained, before crossing his arms and gesturing to the board once again. "Your House has many profitable enterprises. However, they are not all under your direct control are they? No, your father has placed esteemed friends in the proper places so that if you openly targeted him? Your operations would fall to ruin almost immediately." Raphael explained.

"Revenge means nothing if it costs you everything in the meantime. So your first order of business will be to solidify yourself." Raphael made his way to the holoboard and began to scroll through it, a number of names and faces showed themselves, twelve in all that belonged to prominent members to one of House Valencia's more prominent casinos. "The board of directors. That must be your first target." Raphael explained to the woman who he'd invited into his home. His hand danced from one face to another before looking back to his daughter with a curious, yet amused expression. "So, how do you weed out the disloyal from the loyal?" He questioned.

"You could remove the lot of them, but that would be a move that attracted attention. Not just to your father, but to your competition, it may also create a bit of discord amongst the businesses they oversee."

"Remember, we move in silence and work in mystery. Your actions cannot be traceable, but their result must be total." He told her.
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[Fleur Valencia]

REVENGE​

Tags: Raphael Boucher ​

”There is civilized and then there is civilized when it comes to my father.” Fleur said softly as she continued to eye the books off for a moment. There was a time in her life where she enjoyed hiding inside the library at the Valencia family mansion. She could vividly imagine the book that she had managed to bury her nose in and the adventures that the main little girl in the book would go on. Heidi was the girl’s name and she would often be accompanied by a little boy. The plot made her chuckle inwards, with a soft smile that would curve her lips at the thought. Heidi lived in a small cottage in the mountains and was such a curious little child that would often try things that she shouldn’t without proper guidance. It was the hybrid’s favourite book to escape in when she wanted nothing more than to escape her current situation.

Did she wish to escape now? Did she wish that she could escape to that mountain and be that little girl in the book? It was hard to say, for anyone could wish a great deal of things, but the little girl lacked a father and Fleur’s biological father was standing in the study. Biological being the key phrase, when she at first thought that someone else was her biological father. Her true biological father was now talking about the logistics of the first order of business. More specifically The Board of Directors. Indeed. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t listening, she was just having to process a lot of information at a rapid rate. Not that she couldn’t, but she was struggling to bend her beliefs after all this time. Especially the fact that she had killed her own mother. The one that had borne her for nine months, only to give birth to… Her.

It was no wonder that Isla had barely spoken to her or had anything to do with her. Fleur was essentially the murderer of her sister and every day, the woman had to watch over that murderer as it grew from a baby to a full grown adult without so much as being able to have justice for her sister. Not to mention that the woman also had to claim the child as her own, even though the reasoning was still unclear to Fleur. The stories… A frown descended upon her brow as she found her thoughts idly travelling on their own accord and she took her hand away from the books as if she had been stung.

”I would say the rumour mill would be a good one. Being able to feed lies to them discreetly through their eyes and ears, only to watch their next movements carefully afterwards. I’m sure that father would have his own little pets keeping an eye on me. It’s precisely why I moved out of the family home.” The woman remarked as she turned to face the man once more and laced her fingers together behind her back. ”I could feed false document perhaps, inadvertently send them to the wrong person.” Her footsteps carried her back over to the screen as she sighed. Vibrant blue eyes glanced over all of those that were once under the thumb of her father and Raphael was right, they probably still were. Although she was now officially the Head of the House, her father still seemed to operate things from the shadows. Under-minding her authority.

Well… He wasn’t her father. Elias was nothing but a snake hidden amongst the tall grass of The High Court. Raphael was her true father and he was now standing beside her. A frown creased her forehead for a moment. ”Truthfully, there are many different avenues that one could take in order weed out the disloyal, it just depends on the targets. Not all of them are the same and not all of them will fall for the same tricks. They need to be tailor made, based on their personalities.” Fleur said softly as she turned to face Raphael once more. "Tell me, do you ride?"​

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