multiversallogs | } i came here by day but i left here in darkness

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} i came here by day but i left here in darkness

Who: Princess Nuala & Jack Benjamin
What: With revelations abounding about the Candlelighters and House Ecumenal, a conversation must be had.
Where: Third floor at St Vökr.
When: Veerdi evening.
Notes: Check out Sol and HB's reports for what led to this. Also, strict formal dress code.
Warnings: None as yet.

Despite Nuala's relatively brief time in Baedal thus far, this is not the first private dinner she's attended (or hosted) at St Vökr and she's as comfortable as she's going to get with the guarantee of privacy that the restaurant offers. Having arrived just barely early with Integra's creative denunciation of the House Ecumenal still ringing in her ears, she waits for Jack upstairs with a virgin cocktail and their menus, the files she'd brought with her still neatly in the slim case that had sat discreetly beneath her cloak. It's frustrating not to know how much the Militia already knows - more than they did a few weeks ago, certainly - but she doubts they're much interested in transparency with the Hellsing investigation.

Neither Nuala nor Integra suspect Jack of involvement - he can't possibly be that stupid - but it's imperative that they compare notes and that a decision is come to about what must be done next. He's a useful ally, and at times she thinks perhaps he might be a genuine friend; this is a problem for all of them.

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Jack has his suspicions about where this meeting may be headed – he hadn't been asking about the ant-infested houses for nothing, after all, and Hellsing would be as natural an organization as any to be looking into the matter. (That he neglected to inquire of them directly says something of his own aversion to transparency.) But while that seems the most timely topic of conversation, he hadn't expected it to be an urgent one. Either this is about something else entirely, or there is more going on than he knows.

It's with some trepidation, then, but as much curiosity, that he finds his way to St. Vökr at the appropriate time, dressed in a suit and tie as befits the setting. When he's shown to the room Nuala has reserved, though, his expression is neutral, even warm. "Princess," inclining his head in greeting. She may or may not have his loyalty, but she certainly maintains his respect.

"Thank you for joining me, Major." It is always pleasant to see him, however unfortunate the circumstances may be and Nuala's serious demeanour is less reserved than it might be. Drinks and appetizers and sufficient privacy now already attained, she considers him for a long moment before she begins, her knees crossed beneath the table. "I must ask- how deeply run your ties to the House Ecumenal?"

It is her business to know that such ties exist, of course, but it hasn't been a subject worth discussing - until now.

He hesitates, which is something of an answer in itself. It's no surprise that she knows of his connection, but all the same, it isn't something he's accustomed to discussing aloud. (He is glad for their privacy, now.)

"Not so deeply as they might," he answers, choosing his words carefully. "I'm not a member of their inner circle, if that's what you mean. We have some common goals."

"May I ask, why the interest?"

Nuala inclines her head, then opens the case she'd brought with her and slides Koenig and Hellboy's reports across the table. In a level tone, she says, "We do not suspect you of involvement."

Anything further depends a great deal on how he reacts to the information she's presenting him with now, and she gives the impression of a woman who can wait as long as she has to; neither of them are leaving until she's satisfied.

Ah. He winces a touch at that, but pulls the reports in and begins to read. While he does, his expression remains steady, perhaps steadier than one would like considering what he's reading, but that may be a fault of his self-control more than a sign of complicity. Behind his eyes, there is change enough – though it's a slow sinking discomfort more than surprise.

"Every one..." shaking his head. "I'd known some of the properties to be House owned, but not to this extent. –And of course, they aren't House owned any more. These people, the 'Candlelighters' if that's who they are, they broke ties with the House for a reason. Their ideas were radical – though I hadn't thought so dangerous."

Clearly, that much has changed.

"I find the House's silence on the subject truly fascinating, Major Benjamin." The implication ought to be clear; until such time as they know exactly what has been done, by who and why, with it dragged out into the daylight and resolved, neither Nuala nor Integra are personally considering the House Ecumenal absolved of any wrongdoing here. Unless and until there is proof of their ignorance, it would not be the first (nor, likely, the last) radical group to act with the tacit permission or approval of their former associates.

"But do tell me what you, personally, did think."

At no point does she lose her pleasant neutrality.

"That they were fanatics – and that they'd gone the way so many fanatics do, ignored into obscurity by those with sense." He sounds frustrated, not so much with her questions as that he doesn't have satisfactory answers for her. He is loathe to condemn the House altogether, but equally so to defend actions that are not his own.

"Even now, I am not privy to the House's secrets, Your Highness. When that group left I'd barely even subscribed to the newsletter. It seemed a clean break." Seemed, and perhaps wasn't. This would hardly be the first time he'd been misled by those who would back his rise to power. That's not a thought he's pleased to consider, but he is considering it, sorting out his thoughts as he talks.

"Their silence certainly speaks otherwise. I won't deny it's possible, then, that certain House members retain a connection. I would reserve some skepticism, however. Practically speaking – I don't know what these Candlelighters' intend to do, but so far the House has hardly benefited."

Anti-monotheistic sentiment being what it is in Baedal to start, and with rumor already blaming monotheists for the infestation, the Candlelighter connection would only make matters worse. If that blame is well placed, fine, but this certainly isn't how Jack would engineer a rise to power.

"To do wrong, all that must be done is nothing at all," Nuala says, quietly. If they knew...

This is not a subject on which she is entirely objective, and it's evident in the subtle restlessness of her now that she knows as much; anti-xenian sentiment from monotheists, how new, how revolutionary, how- how reminiscent of home. She imagines (not entirely irrationally) for a moment that the sheer force of her agitation may very well summon her brother back to her side, and wouldn't that be perfect, to have Nuada to aim at the authors of this chaos.

After a pause, sipping from her glass to both wet her throat and give herself a moment in which to not permit the loss of her composure, she says, "While I attend to Hellsing's necessary ties to Baedal's pantheon, Sir Hellsing has discreetly and personally supported the House. She is, you may presume, unimpressed with what our reports seem to indicate." He can probably guess what she actually said. "We will be pursuing this matter as far as we are required to in order to know the full truth of it, whatever that may be."

Jack is aware that his understanding of the situation is far less intimate. Not simply as a human himself, but as a person from a world where there are no xenians to be against. This conflict did not exist for him before Baedal, and now that it does, it is at best a step removed from personal. On the other hand, polytheists making his people afraid to speak the name of their God, that he knows. That is the war his ancestors fought. But even that, though relevant here, is not so immediate and potent a fear as hers. No cults are planning an uprising against the one-god worshipers today.

A beat, then a decision: "I'll help if I can. However I can." He looks her in the eye there. It's an offer, one he's tentative in putting forth and not even sure she'll accept. "Understand that my loyalties are to my God and my people, not the organizations that would lead them. Certainly not if they're being led in the direction you say."

He wants to know the truth about the House, and while he doesn't trust Hellsing explicitly, he would rather be with them than against them if they're right. He has the access, they have the resources. A little transparency might serve both their interests.

If the House has no involvement - so much the better, and Nuala will be glad of it. The stain of attempted genocides lingers still, blood on the hands of her people (and Nuada's war not yet as thwarted as she'd like); it tempers her anger, makes her think several steps ahead to what response will she be able to live with afterwards. If they are right, she will not martyr these people and solidify their cause. There are, there must be, other ways.

Her history has marked her well that she must think of that.

"I'm glad of that," she says, finally, both accepting his offer and genuinely pleased that it's made; that he allies himself to good sense is what she wants most. Their respective loyalties need not be one and the same to move in a direction that benefits both, and that - in essence - has been the driving force of their tentative alliance before. So they started as they meant to go on, and here, now, she is satisfied. "It is all that I would ask."

...in the broad sense.

He nods. It's done, then.

"In the future, this may be a safe place to meet." It may be the only safe place for them to meet, if he's to convince anyone he's broken off his xenian ties. He closes the reports and slides them back across the table. "I keep enough secrets that one more discreet meeting shouldn't stand out from the rest."

"I only hope you'll forgive me when this is done. If I'm going to learn anything of value, I'll need to get closer – I'll need to become someone they want to let close. It won't be someone you'll like."

In politics - in the work with Hellsing - sometimes distasteful things must be done, and become, to achieve better ends. It isn't a pretty truth, but it's something Nuala is much more familiar with than she sometimes seems.

(She is condemned to death; she does not forget it, for a moment.)

"My disappointment will be useful, in that way," she says, simply, as she slips the slim file back into her case.

It's something Jack finds near-intolerable at times, that he cannot be the person he is, that must so often act against what he knows to be right. It's worse now, with her, to think not only must he do so again, but he may lose her good opinion in the process. (He can't remember, precisely, how her good opinion became so important to him, but the fact that it has is as clear as the tiny flinch he gives at her words and the momentary hollowness behind his eyes.)

"So it will." His smile is small, polite, and false, but it's better than showing what he feels. Whatever is left of the food and drink, he hasn't the stomach for it now. He gives a nod and rises. "Goodnight, Princess."

"I will see you here," she reminds him, almost delicately, as he gathers himself to leave. "I won't forget who you are."

This is a necessary evil, and in some ways meeting here will be important to her simply to keep that in mind- she has no desire to condemn him for a course of action that she has in no small part encouraged him towards. She may be capable of ruthlessness (she is, more than most who know her here can imagine), but she is the bleeding heart of Hellsing now and she sees him flinch, wishes to soothe it.

"I will not forget who you are to me," she repeats, more certainly, and leaves it at that.

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} i came here by day but i left here in darkness

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