The Order compound. Rome.
When we arrived at The Order, everyone was really glad to see me. Surprisingly enough, all we had to do was sit in the transit room, Angiola in my lap and here we were. I guess some of the bizarre stuff from our first meeting was still going on. I was just shocked I was able to bring Mouse with me when I fled to Russia, but I guess I needed him to watch out for me when I got there. It was nice and unexpected to get such a warm welcome after I bailed on them, but thankfully there were no hard feelings. Reginald even came up and embraced Angiola and I in a massive bear hug, I was shocked. Informally, I filled everyone in on my last few months and went into detail about my meeting with the Baba Yaga. Philip was thrilled because no one from The Order had dealt with the form of The Maiden before. I may have glossed over the fact that I ran into an Enchantress while I was living with the Gypsies, not going into **all** of the details, but she seemed harmless. Angiola cut a sideways glance at me when I mentioned her, but thankfully remained silent. They were more concerned about the fact that we DID lose a captive and that he was now coming after us. The claim that he knew how to kill us was also unsettling. I mentioned the facial recognition programs and they wanted Angiola to get started right away.
When Angiola and everyone who wasn't present for the interrogation had gone to start running the search program and watch the interrogation video, Simon pulled me aside. I could tell something was bothering him and I felt terrible about how I had left The Order. We went back into Simon's office and I had a seat in the chair across the desk from him. He closed his door and sat down in his chair, steepled his fingers and looked across the old oak desk at me. “The Enchantress... They don't really lay low. They are either temporarily solitary or in public to be worshiped. I dealt with one in the 90’s in Paris, she had taken to the life of a high fashion model. All they really want is attention, but I don't see her living as a Gypsy...” I chuckled a bit, it was good to be back. “It's good to be back, Simon. I truly have missed you. I am deeply sorry for how I left things... I fell apart when I watched her die.” I then went into much greater detail about everything. I told him how I teleported at random to several spots her and I shared time, how I didn't get out of bed for weeks. I told him about my breakdown and trying to remove my cross. Then I went on to explain how I had gone back to smoking opium again so I could see her in my dreams. I finally went into detail about my brief relationship with Lillith. I could see the pain in his face when I told him how badly I had lost it. I was 13 when he found me and raised me, and he has been a close friend or father figure to me for many many years. It’s hard to define a relationship like this. I saw him as a father for years, then as a brother in arms after years of fighting at his side. “I didn't go into all the details with the others, Angiola knows everything. I would never lie to her, no matter the cost. I wouldn't lie to you either but... I was, ashamed to go into everything Publically… Reginald already isn't my biggest fan, and the relationship with Angiola is just too important for me to mess up.” I told Simon, trailing off again. “You lost someone you deeply loved for the first time since we met. It's more than understandable. Loneliness has always been a burden for you, the fact that you saw an ending to that after hundreds of years... Only to lose it in a matter of days. I can't imagine. Reginald was there and was a broken man as well, even with her return to us he still is not completely in his right mind. That battle cost us dearly, and the aftermath still hasn't settled. Thank you for taking me into your confidence.” I thought there would be more to this, I figured he would still be upset, and rightfully so but.. It was just a sincere concern for a close friend. “Honestly, I'm okay now, I don't know what tomorrow will hold but I know I'll be alright.” Simon reached into his desk and pulled a small envelope out of it, he paused slightly before sliding it across the desk to me. I picked it up and pensively poured its contents into my hand. It was a silver ring made up of woven silver bands. It looked familiar to me but I couldn't quite place it. “It was called a Gimmel ring, It was your mothers wedding ring. I couldn't save much from that night but I wanted you to have something from your old life. Something told me to save it for you, and it has been sitting in my desk drawer ever since.” Simon said, beaming with pride. I was absolutely stunned! I could vaguely remember seeing it on her finger when I was a child. Before I could say anything in response Thomas knocked on the door then walked in almost breathless, “You two really need to see this! We are all in Angiolas office.” We both got up and immediately followed Thomas. I pocketed the ring as we ran down the hallway following him.
When we got there, a large TV screen next to Angiola's computer was slowly panning through a 8 second loop from a traffic camera. Driving a silver Lincoln town car from the mid 90s was the Vampire we were searching for. A green rectangle was around his face and the lighting wasn't that great being that it was a night shot, obviously. Thankfully we could get the license plate and figure out where it had come from and try to sort out where it was heading. To my utter amazement, Lilith was in the passenger seat. “That's her, That's the Enchantress!” I said walking to the screen and pointing to the passenger. Angiola looked at me and mouthed the word WOW! When no one was looking. Even in the grainy video her beauty was very noticeable, perhaps she wasn't mad anymore? I still felt terrible about the whole thing. Looking closely at the image I noticed there was someone in the back seat as well. “Can you clean this up a bit? It looks like someone is in the back seat.” Angiola waited for the clip to loop to show the clearest view of the backseat before freezing the image and playing with the contrast. Slowly a man showed up, we couldn't get a very good picture of him, almost like he had an obfuscation spell or something going on. Even the still shot seemed to show him moving somehow, it was a very odd effect but one I imagine was similar to any photos or video of a member of The Order due to our sidual tattoos. “Reginald, can you track this vehicle and get me a report as to where it started and a few ideas as to where it may be headed. Try to find it in daylight and we may get lucky and have a better shot of the man in the back seat. Philip, I need you to do a deep dive on anything we may have on an Enchantress. Thomas, see what we may have that could counter any charms this mystery man may have. Angiola, Tobias I need the two of you to come with me please.” Simon gave out orders rapid fire, I could tell he really didn't like the thought of The Order being under attack.
We got to Simon's office and I again took a seat across the desk from him. He was slightly flustered, but he still seemed to be in a good mood and that was really odd. “I have been giving this a lot of thought. In preparation of your return I looked over where the two of you would best serve. Tobias, your station in Florida is a must. Not only to watch over the Owl, but all of the evil that brews there. The recent sheriff in your county seems to have cleaned things up a lot over the years, but the corruption is still there as well as the cause. Lakeland is a vortex and it will always try to corrupt the hearts of men. I'm still convinced that it's the primary cause of the possession that causes a majority of the *Florida Man* reports. However, the south east is a large area for just you to cover, and I feel like we could cover the area better if there was a broad electronic surveillance system in place. If the two of you would like, I see no reason why Angiola couldn't move to Florida as a permanent posting.” I looked over at Angiola and she was mirroring my broad smile. “Wanna move in with me and Mouse? We can look for a larger home to accommodate your studio and computers too after this mission.” She was giddy with excitement. “Yes absolutely!” It made sense, either the majority of my time would be spent here, or the two of us would keep randomly waking up wherever the other was. I was really expecting more push back from Simon and The Order. I couldn't remember a time when I had been so content. Despite the dangers posed to us, I felt like things were starting to go right for me. I was ready to end things with the Vamp and whatever crew he had so I could get on with the rest of my life with her. “Simon, was there anything else you need us for?” I asked, I had an idea and wanted to get out of here. “Not at the moment. Please stay at the compound, if possible, once we have more information I would like to move on this rather quickly.” He said, dismissing the two of us. When we got into the hallway I asked Angiola to get us some coffee and to meet me on the rooftop. She smiled and gave me a kiss before walking off. She had a bounce in her step and was practically glowing.
I went into Reginald's office, knocking on the door frame before entering. “Nothing solid yet, I've found a lot of places they have been but I haven't gotten to where they started yet.” Reginald said, looking up from his computer as I walked in. “That's not why I'm here actually.” I told him as I reached into my pocket pulling the envelope out. I opened the flap and shook the ring into my hand. “This was my mother's ring. Simon gave it to me, just a few moments ago. He saved it for me the night he rescued me. He told me he had a feeling he was supposed to hold onto it and wait to give it to me so it's been in his desk drawer ever since.” Reginald smiled at me warmly. “I know, I've seen it before. He told me if you came back he would give it to you and I approved.” Approved? Why would Simon show Reginald the ring before giving it to me? “Angiola is like a daughter to you. You took her in and raised her since she was a toddler. You are the closest thing she has to family, I want to marry her. Do I have your blessing?” I asked him. “Tobias, I've already told you that I approved. As soon as Simon showed me the ring I knew what you would use it for. You're not the only one with gifts here, and that was a rather obvious conclusion.” He chuckled as he stood up and gave me a hug. It was really odd, I didn't think he liked me much at all, perhaps a grudging respect for my work but not me as a person. I guess things really had changed in the last few months. After the slightly awkward and slightly baffling moment together, I thanked him earnestly and sincerely before leaving his office and heading to the roof.
When I got up to the roof, I met Angiola as she looked over the river Timber. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and embraced her tightly. I spun her around so my back was to the river and let her go. After she turned around to face me, I took a knee and reached into my pocket. “Tobias, What are you”... She stopped mid sentence when she saw the ring. “I knew from the moment I saw you alive that I would stop at nothing to spend the rest of my life with you. Simon gave me this ring, it was my mothers. He kept it since the day he found me and held onto it until today. Will you be mine, Forever?” I asked her, My heart was absolutely pounding out of my chest. I couldn't believe she was alive and how it seemed that all the opposition to us being together had vanished so quickly. She nodded frantically and as she stuck out her hand, I slipped the ring onto her finger and oddly enough, it was a perfect fit. She then took my hand and pulled me up, I was airborne for a brief moment, then into her arms. I think she dislocated my wrist, but I didn't care. I was just too happy to have her in my arms. I felt a rib crack as she hugged me tight and laughed. “What's so funny?” She asked me. “You just cracked one of my ribs, and dislocated my wrist when you pulled me up. You're still getting used to the strength. I forgot what the first few years are like, that's all” I told her. She blushed then smiled coyly then kissed me. After she whispered in my ear. “It's a good thing you're used to this, I know I got a bit frantic earlier.” She was right, healing so quickly definitely had its advantages...