Baldwin’s Nightingale (Part 19)

Characters: Baldwin Montclair/OC

Timeframe: Can safely say AU at this point, about a month after Matthew and Diana go back in time.

Summary: Alisha and Rebecca covertly meet with an ally who knew Catarina but trouble arrives in the form of an old enemy armed with stolen information.

Spoiler Warning: TV Show canon S1-S2, some Book of Life (wrote this chapter before seeing S3 so shouldn’t be too spoilery)

Tag requests: @christi14@poemfreak306@pookie-cleary@hofficoffi@stormyheart326@wonderlander594@madamquacklemore@thereadersmuse@kynthiamoon@ordinarymom1@fuzzyflowervoid@maybelightning@lady-lazarus-declermont@whoa-studymuch@shugensha@sylverdeclermont

The Story So Far

“We’re now sitting at two weeks without word or update from Baldwin, or any indication he has located Alisha.” Marcus complained over the table.

“If he has found her,” Nathaniel commented, “we’ll never learn of it.”

“Nate,” Marcus frowned, “he wouldn’t!“

“Poor Gallowglass was banished, for a supposed failure!” The daemon argued.

“He wasn’t banished, Nathaniel,” Ysabeau interjected, “he was given an assignment, one which for all we know is related to finding the girl.”

“Agreed,” Emily put her hand over Sarah’s.

“Then why the secrecy?” Nathaniel challenged, “why will he not let us help him find her?”

“I agree with you,” Marcus assured him, “but he gave me an order and I cannot disobey. Right now, the only power I have to protect all of you is underwritten with Baldwin’s support.”

“Which he could withdraw at any moment.” Ysabeau agreed solemnly.

“In any case, Baldwin does not want us looking for her in case it draws attention.”

“As far as everyone else knows, she is a daemon,“ Nathaniel scowled, “the congregation won’t care what he does with her.”

“Are you seriously suggesting that he would kill her?” Ysabeau asked.

“If he hasn’t already.” Nathaniel offered.

“You are wrong, we have had many disagreements in our long acquaintance, but for all his pride Baldwin would never turn against his family. Whoever and whatever she is, she is a de Clermont now.”

“I didn’t know you cared, Ysabeau,” Baldwin joined the debate, “what’s this, a family meeting without it’s head.”

“Baldwin-“ Marcus stood.

“Wait, of course it isn’t, these creatures are not family.”

“You disappear for two weeks and return only to insult our guests?” Ysabeau stayed seated and fixed him with an icy glare.

“They’re not my guests.” Baldwin hit back.

Alisha listened to the soft lapping of canal water against the boat as she tried to calm her nerves.

Two weeks waiting for Baldwin to leave Venice, Rebecca’s contact finally came through. Miyako was fortunately able to stay close by with missions that were primarily located in Paris.

Coming up for a large building, she fiddled nervously with her rings beneath her hooded cloak, the plain wedding band and the engagement ring whose pearl had been bound for a far grander figure than her.

That was, until her husband used its purchase to sour relations between Mark Anthony and allies who would have given him the decisive victory over Octavius in Actium, thereby preventing him from becoming Augustus and changing the fate of the entire Roman Empire.

Such was the power of a de Clermont patriarch.

“Alisha?” Rebecca prompted, not receiving a response she gently touched her arm.

“Hmm, sorry I was miles away.”

“It’s fine, we’re almost there.”

Venice was beautiful at night, the lights reflecting off the canals almost took the edge from her apprehension.

Almost, until they pulled into an underground dock and Rebecca helped her out of the boat.

“This contact, are you sure we can trust him, that he won’t betray us?”

“He has no loyalty to any of his kind beyond what benefits him, allying with us benefits him. He won’t sell us out to Uncle Baldwin’s enemies.”

“I’m just as concerned that he will sell us out to your uncle,” Alisha admitted, surprise evident in Rebecca’s eyes, “Becca, what if he finds us, he doesn’t know you yet, he might-“

“What? Kill me?”

“Both of us!”

“He wouldn’t harm you and since Grandad’s blood vow covers me as well as Mum, he can’t hurt me either.”

Alisha frowned, unsure.

“Look,” Rebecca started patiently, “it’s not even really about the contact, it’s this place. Before other you was captured, you stashed something here, something that can help us stop what happens in my time.”

“That you can’t tell me about?”

“Exactly. We don’t have a lot of time before my parents return from the past, I need to be gone by then.”

Alisha let her niece lead her through the labyrinth of the lower level to a grand staircase leading to an upper floor.

It was a stunning building, unfurnished, but the paintwork was pristine and the marble floors gleamed.

“Who’s home is this?” She looked around in wonder.

“It is yours,” a handsome vampire with curled dark hair and mischievous air answered descending the central staircase, “Principessa da Venezia,” he bowed low in a medieval style, hands outstretched, “and Contessa,” he greeted Rebecca with an almost worshipful tone.

“Domenico,” she responded cooly, with the air of a courtly queen regarding a swooning suitor.

“No offence, but, why are you helping us when you could turn us in to Baldwin and win his favour?” Alisha asked.

“Your husband is an arrogant twat,” he shrugged, “and Venice is your home, where it’s safe, not locked up in Sept Tours.“

“I’ll just be locked up by you, I assume?”

“Not at all, you are free to come and go as you please. This place belongs to you, I merely held it in trust until your return. Just know that Baldwin has many spies so if you do decide to leave, he will locate you instantly.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Alisha sighed defeated, “so, you knew me, before?”

”I knew the man I believed was your father, Pasquale Cicogna, the Doge of Venice. I hadn’t realised until later that he adopted you to replace his young daughter when she died from illness. He kept you with him, treated you like his own, trained and tutored you.”

“Sounds nice.”

“You don’t remember everything of your previous life yet?”

“No, why? Were we a-“

“God no,” he looked offended, “you were a child and in need of protection.”

“So you’re a ‘good guy’?” She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Not particularly but I do have an unfailing loyalty to my own kind.”

“Creatures?”

He shook his head.

“Venetians.” He explained simply, leading the way to a room off the main area and flicked on the light.

A large painting took up almost the entire wall, it was her face but the clothes were unrecognisable, definitely Renaissance era.

“One of few paintings of you that exist,” he explained, “on the rare occasion you were seen in public, you concealed yourself behind a porcelain mask, long gloves, showing no skin at all, many opined it was as a result of smallpox scarring.”

“Why was it, really?”

“Freedom,” he explained, “as his silent and masked daughter you were privy to many conversations had around you and were able to uncover many plots and schemes.”

“Sounds boring as hell.”

“I’m sure it was. Luckily you spent most of your time as your alter ego, the minstrel, Oscine.”

“Like Clark Kent?”

“In a sense,” he grinned, “for some reason nobody ever wondered why Cicogna’s daughter and his musician were never seen in the same room.”

“That seems kind of obvious!” Rebecca pointed out.

“It was Venice in the late 1500’s, everyone was preoccupied with politics, murder, wine and other pleasures.”

“If I was always masked, who painted this portrait?”

“That I don’t know but the daemon, Michael, he was investigating strange, recently unearthed frescoes of you, Diana Bishop and,” he glanced up at Rebecca, “Contessa.”

“I suppose I have you to thank for defacing mine.” Rebecca gave him an appreciative smile.

“As much as it pained me to destroy your image, I did so only to protect you. But, I made a copy of the work.”

He handed her a photo.

“A copy,” Rebecca teased, “you say that like you were sat in front of it with paints and an easel, not an iPhone!”

He chuckled warmly.

“The daemon believed there was a code hidden in the photo, without knowing what it was, I couldn’t risk accidentally omitting a detail.”

“We both know you can forge any artwork.”

“Not one with you in it, all other detail would remain unnoticed by me as I toiled to properly capture that inscrutable expression.”

Rebecca seemed to blush slightly at the compliment and Alisha made a mental note to pry later.

“So, Rebecca, her mother and myself were all painted by someone 500 years ago?”

“That’s where time walking makes things more complicated,” Rebecca grimaced, “they may have painted it then but who knows where or when they came from.”

“Time-walking is a rare skill, only Contessa and your mother seem to have acquired it.” Domenico pondered.

“Some powerful witches are well hidden, even right now in this time!” Rebecca admitted.

“Tell me their names and I’ll deal with them.” Domenico smirked but the expression quickly shifted to concern when the doors swung open to reveal Miyako.

“We have to leave, now, he knows where you are!”

Alisha turned to look at Domenico accusingly.

“Baldwin did not hear it from me,” he promised.

“Not my father, it’s Benjamin and he’s not looking for Alisha,” Miyako’s tone betrayed the fear that was in Rebecca’s eyes, “Gerbert is with him.”

“I have no idea who Benjamin is but I can handle Gerbert, go!”

Rebecca simply nodded, and took both Miyako and Alisha’s hands.

Alisha hadn’t noticed until then that she was shaking.

“Becca,” Miyako prompted, getting her attention, “he won’t get you, I promise!”

“Just remember your other promise.”

Miyako gave a solemn confirmatory nod.

Receiving the assurance, Rebecca resumed her spell.

The door splintered outward, revealing Benjamin, bloodied from a fight.

“Domenico,” Rebecca inhaled sharply.

“Not your boyfriend I hope, Daddy wouldn’t be pleased.”

Rebecca closed her eyes and continued weaving as Benjamin tested the shield she had put around them.

“Fascinating witch, Alice, she followed you from the future, gave me all sorts of information. Knew I had to find you.”

Alisha couldn’t shake the horrible feeling of familiarity with him. She knew him and almost shrieked when he set his shark-eyed gaze on her.

“And Catarina.”

“Don’t talk to her.” Miyako snarled.

“You cannot save her from the memories I gave her current contemporary. Stay too long in a shared time and the ghosts of the displaced will haunt you. I learned that from my studies of time spinning, waiting for Diana. Now, I don’t have to wait fourteen years for you, Rebecca, you can give me what I want now.”

“Becca?” Miyako prompted.

“It’s not working, we need a shared focus.”

“We each share one person in common, one person who means so much to us. Think of him now and drop the shield when you are ready.” Miyako instructed.

——

“And you wonder why she left you!” Marcus seethed.

“Speak to me like that again boy-“ Baldwin challenged.

“That’s Grand-Master, head an order to which you belong!” Phoebe defended.

“And you are?”

“Phoebe Taylor.”

“Miss Taylor, you really should learn the etiquette required of a subordinate de Clermont’s mate. You address me as Sieur.”

“If I wanted lessons in etiquette comparable to your own I would visit the nearest pigsty.”

Everyone fell silent.

“Apologies, the nearest pigsty, Sieur.”

——

“We’re here!” Rebecca exclaimed with excitement upon seeing the terracotta squares of the dining room wall. Noting the shocked expression of Miyako and Alisha, she turned to see Baldwin and Marcus, both mid fight, both staring at them with everyone else in the room.

“Fuck!” Rebecca swore emphatically.

beautifulsoulsublime:

@baldwin-montclairfanfic.

Finally is ready.

Coloring by Lauren Michelle YT

OMG, pls people, please watch this, if you like Baldwin’s Nightingale, please look at this amazing- ness!!!

@beautifulsoulsublime gorgeous, just, well chosen clips, music, effects, *chefs kiss* perfection!!

@beautifulsoulsublime did it again folks, look how pretty this is!!!

@beautifulsoulsublime has done it again!!! Look at this perfectly emotive and artful depiction of the last scene of Baldwin’s Nightingale,PART 18

** Also thanks for giving me an excuse to plug this fic because I hate over-promoting but if there’s something new I can share with a clean conscience

The best gift EVER!!!!

@beautifulsoulsublime made this for my Baldwin’s Nightingale Series, complete with my Alisha FC Sophie Cookson.

I love this so much, it’s so pretty!!! @beautifulsoulsublime is incredibly talented and I’m touched she took time and skill to make this!! Xx