Months of taking meetings, new contacts, and disappointment.
But now, now they were so close Valanthriell could taste it, the final weeks were ahead and everything was falling into place.
Valanthriell had made a decent home in the apartment she was renting, nothing to the scale the former Noble craved but it would serve for now. Surveillance on the Shadowfel Estate was 24/7, watching and waiting, Valanthriell was spending a fortune at this point but it was well worth it in her mind.
The sun had long since set, Valanthriell's night was winding down as she sat at her desk by the fire, enjoying a glass of red wine as she went back over the plan in her mind.
A knock at the door brought forth a sigh as she rose from the desk and made her way to the to answer, opening it to see her Freelancer Mitharious on the other side.
"Ah, Mitharios. Come in, care for a drink?" Valanthriell offered with a relaxed smile as Mitharious followed her inside, removing his hat but shaking his head.
"No, I'll pass this time." Mitharios took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly before speaking again. "But you might want something stronger than wine. I have news."
Valanthriell stopped dead in her tracks, turning to look at the man with concern written on her features. "What is it?" She asked, taking the final steps to the bar cart and pouring a few fingers of bourbon. "Speak."
"We received word an hour ago that the situation has changed."
"Changed how Mitharios?" Valanthriell's tone conveyed rising irritation, taking a sip of the drink and feeling it's deep burn.
"Fealia Shadowfel has taken up a new appointment and will be in near-constant motion for the next few months, the house has been reduced to minimal staff and she has taken two-thirds of the Estate Guard with her. At this point, the operation is on hold, unless you mean to do this as two separate moves."
Valanthriell stood motionless at the cart, her hands visibly shaking as she processed the news. Everything had changed, their window had slammed shut for an unknown amount of time, her revenge had to wait even longer, if they did this separately and one moment passed in incorrect time they would fail the other, Valanthriell knew this.
So many emotions swelled within Valanthriell, sorrow and disappointed making way for rage. Within a blink of an eye this emotions burst to the surface and the glass of bourbon went sailing across the room, crashing into the fire and causing a burst of flame.
"That bitch, that infernal fucking cunt continues to rise while I am stuck in limbo AGAIN!!" Valanthriell shouted, her hands griping the bar cart and overturning it with a loud crash as alcohol spilled across the floor.
Mitharios stood motionless, this shady figure, this man who had committed many a violent crime and several heinous murders, who had spent his life in the Underbelly, was terrified of Valanthriell. He had seen first hand the terror of her unbridled rage and so Mitharios expected to be forcing her out of the building engulfed in fel fire; though this expectation was high and concern for his own safety was drumming in his heart beat, Mitharios appeared stoic. "Boss, if you lead one team and I lead the other, I believe we can time it right." Mitharios confident they could pull it off, their combine planning and skill would make it fairly simple on his mind.
"No!" Valanthriell snarled. "If there is a slip up, even for a second then both plans will go tits up!" The hard clicks of Valanthriell's heels against the marble floor matched the throm of Mitharios' heart as she rapidly approached him, coming to stand inches from his face, her eyes burning with firey rage. "Know before you speak Mitharios. The fact is Fealia has measures in place, she knows I will never let her actions stand, and cunning betrayal is the fucking Shadowfel trademark!"
Mitharios didn't look her in the eye, instead keeping his gaze forward and absorbing the information as she relays it.
"I would stake my life that if there is an alert at either location the vaults will be become inaccessible and that bitch will move underground with MY CHILD!" A rage so deep Valanthriell let slip a secret she had told no one, her care for holding this so close to the chest gone.
In that moment Mitharios turned his dark eyes to hers, nodding once in understanding. "I will put my best traker on them, they will not take a step that we do not know about." He spoke on a calm and assuring tone.
The fire in Valanthriell's eyes remained although her breath steadied. "I want to know the second they are returning to the estate. We will strike no matter what crew we have ready." Although her speach was calmer, the tone dripped with venom.
"Consider it done." Mitharios responded, returning the fedora to his head. "Oh, does the name Aleora mean anything to you?" He posed the question, hoping she might fill in the gaps.
"Not that I am aware of, why?" Valanthriell began walking back to the shattered bottles while shaking her head.
"Not exactly sure yet, but it's popped up in our digging about your family. If we find any information we'll get it to you, of course." With that Mitharios tipped his hat and was out the door, leaving Valanthriell to deal with her abiding rage.
