"What you've done is despicable!" A man who appeared to be middle-aged said forcefully as he stood up abruptly and spat on the white table in front of him, his fangs biting into the soft flesh of his lower lip. The other five men surrounding him were divided by their reactions. Two other men appeared to agree with his harsh words as they nodded, looking up into his face with pride and thankfulness with eyes brighter than usual. Three other men looked into his face with outrage and disgust, their eyes a mixture of their natural shade and, most predominantly, darkness. This was not a peaceful assembly.
"My dear Alessio," began the man sitting calmly across the table, his ice blue eyes maintaining the contact held by his accuser, his fangs nowhere in sight. "I have reasons for my actions, and I believe wholeheartedly that I have done well, all things considered."
"Wholeheartedly?" One of the men who had nodded with Alessio's words pipped up. "Ambrogio, you have no heart to add meaning and compassion into your actions. What you do you do out of spite and contempt towards the unfortunate souls that surround whatever is left of yours." All the men around the table laughed, their eyes brightening considerably, and created a fearful sight for anyone mortal
Their open mouths revealed sharp, brilliantly white fangs, the last thing their victims would feel as they would pierce their fragile necks, enabling the life to be drained from them. A few minutes later their hostile laughter died down, and the seriousness of their meeting returned just as everyone's natural eye tones did.
"Very perceptive of you, Uberto. But you ignore the fact that through my actions of ridding the girl of her parents, in order to be with my heir she will have to leave the little that she has left, which has grown to mean everything to her. Her brother." The council remained silent, waiting for more before being completely satisfied with his defense.
"Each and every one of us agreed that my heir could have any mate he wished, so long as we knew she was ready to leave everything for him. He's the first of a very special breed of vampire, and before he was was born I'd made sure he'd have venom to equal the purity of ours." The small crowd gasped, surprised.
"But, Ambrogio, how can that be? We are the first of our race, and it's been proven time and time again that the nosferatu granted life by us and our mates have a lower quality of venom running through their system than us. Granted that if bitten, the resultant vampire will have a slightly lower quality of venom than that of a legitimate heir, the fact remains that for one reason or another, they are weaker, slower, and ultimately more inept than us. The toxins in our venom isn't helping our fight for survival, Ambrogio, and the only pure vampires left on this earth today are in this room."
Ambrogio let the man finish his speech before commenting.
"Vincent, though your words were once upon a time true, that is no longer the case. My heir is the exception. Though I have unfortunately lost the mate that gave me my heir, she was different than your mates. Singularly different. Just as all of you in this room, I believed that the first females of our race had died out long ago, which left us to find another who was created, meaning their venom did not come close to ours. But I searched, relentlessly, and my efforts were no longer for nought."
The men about the room began casting glances at one another, and knew what the other was thinking. Eventually one man named Severo looked upon Ambrogio with eyes of charcoal, and spoke. "You kept her from us?" His words were soft, withholding the anger that threatened to escape.
"While she was pregnant with my heir, yes, I admit I did keep her existence a secret. I was going to let you all know what I'd found, but she died giving birth to my heir a hundred and seven years ago." "Lies!" the men around the table began to yell, their fangs protruding as anger took control of their bodies, the ebony light in one man's eyes spreading to the others.
"Friends, my companions, calm down. My words are the truth and nothing but. I sincerely meant every word I've said tonight." When the men had finally grown quiet, he smiled. "Now let us please return to the main point of focus during this night of friendly communication, shall we? My heir-" He was cut off by another man, and his ice blue eyes flashed dangerously as his fangs slipped into view.
"Why must you insist on calling him your heir rather than by his name, or his status as your son?" The youngest man in the circle asked. "Because, Sandrino, perhaps Uberto was right, and my heart can no longer hold affection for those who surround me. He is my heir, and nothing more."
Ambrogio glared at the man who had interrupted him, his fangs slipping out of view as the darkness in his eyes dispersed itself, and then continued calmly, "As I was saying, I believe my heir is strong for being so young. Although I agree with some here, yes, what I did far from helped my son to win the mate he has picked. But think of the possibilities. This girl has lost her parents tragically, and now she clings to the only thing she has left. Imagine how much she'll care for my son if she's willing to throw that away for him. She has more to lose now because it's all she has left. Am I the only one who believes she will care more for my heir now, than if her parents had been left alive and breathing?"
The room was silent, all the men speechless as they pondered.
"I am glad to see that you all agree." Ambrogio simply stated. He was head of the clan, the King voted amongst them, having seen more sunsets than the rest. He watched as the men stood up, and walked out of the black room without another glance or word behind them, their eyes a few shades darker than when they had entered. The council was adjourned for the night.
