Children of the Night

Brothers in Blood

Somewhere in the suburbs of London.

The room is small and plain. One of the maids has brought Harvey a small vase with some fresh flowers with his last dinner. Harvey has taken out a chamomile flower and rolled the stem up and down in his fingers. As he does so, he watches the little white leaves turn as the yellow core of the flower spreads its fragrance.

He gets along quite well with the people who roam around this place, while he is not allowed to leave this barren room. At first, he was angry and tried to cause havoc until they let him go, but Eve had convincing arguments; a right and a left argument, to be exact. Her words of warning are still ringing in his ears.

He had already experienced the forces that reside in this delicate body and therefore did not want to push his luck any further. Uncle Connor and Miss Lavertu take care of the boys in the city, he gets good food regularly, even though he doesn't understand why he has to squat in here and nobody lets him go to see Ethan.

The only window in the room is well secured and unless Eve has been to see him in person, tightly locked. Her excessive caution and care annoy him, but at least she always stays a while to keep him company. Her two guards are usually not far from the door.

He hates being treated like a criminal. Once, right at the beginning, they took him to another part of London with a bag over his head. Not even looking through the window now helps him to figure out where he is. All he can make out is a courtyard, like the ones there are by the thousands.

"What are you doing there, anyway?" he finally asks Eve. It's just about dawn. For this house, that probably means that everyone is just getting up, while on the streets of London everyone is on their way home to rest at night. He himself has started to confuse day and night and just sleeps when he's tired.

Eve had sat down at the small table, with her back to him and a rattling bundle of cloth spread out in front of her. She has been brooding ever since. "A peck like you wouldn't understand that anyway," she said, half absently.

"You're a lot shorter than me!"

"But also much older, so shut up. I need to concentrate." she rebukes him.

Unsatisfied with her answer, Harvey continues to pace the room, but this time he peers curiously over Eve's shoulder. He can make out a few pieces of a broken revolver.

"Like you're so much older than me," he complains before silence falls again and he drops onto the bed. The minutes tick by as he continues to play with the chamomile flower.

"I'm older than you think.", Eve finally sighs and jumps up in her chair before sitting back left on it and propping her elbows on the backrest in front of her. She looks at him with wary, bright blue eyes and he can feel his ears turning red. She's so pretty.

"You're really the only woman I've ever met who wears pants and doesn't act ladylike at all," Harvey marvels.

"I'm a Blackwood. Of course, you don't know anyone like me," Eve suddenly smiles. It hadn't escaped her notice that Harvey doesn't carry any pejorative meaning in his words. He seems to think for a moment before finally looking her in the eye and putting on a big grin.

"Okay, I'll help you!" he says mischievously.

"Excuse me, what do you want to help me with?" Eve smiles at him half-heartedly.

"That gun there on your table. I know how you can easily remember how to put it back together. But I think yours is broken."

"Who says I need help with that?" she says, finally getting up completely to pack up and leave. "You've had enough fresh air."