Work Text:
Guinevere sat at her vanity, pinning her hair back as she peered into her mirror. She dressed in simple black leathers. They had resigned themself to the fact that they would need to wear pants for this meeting, but they didn’t have to enjoy it. Still, Viago needed backup and they wouldn’t leave him to attend this meeting alone.
They sighed, running their hands over their jacket as they stood. They were mid adjusting their cape when Viago walked in.
“Have you ever heard of knocking?” Guinevere asked, watching him in the mirror.
“You were taking too long,” he said, crossing his arms. Guinevere sighed, rolling their eyes. They moved towards the door when Viago held up his hand. “Gloves.”
“Whatever you say, mom,” they sighed, grabbing their gloves off their vanity and pulling them on. Viago frowned at her, but she breezed past him. “Come on, you said I was taking too long.”
A pair of low ranking Crows pulled open the ebony doors to the lounge the other house wanted to meet Viago and Guinevere in. It was a lower ranking house, but they had been giving House De Riva some trouble as of late. Poaching contracts and trying to encroach on De Riva jobs. Viago had demanded to speak to the Guild Master about it. He had insisted Guinevere come along, certain something would go wrong. Under normal circumstances, they might have assumed that he was simply being paranoid. This time felt different.
The room was dimly lit by low burning lanterns that cast the room in a soft golden light. Two chairs sat on one side of a carved table, lower than the three on the opposite side. Viago and Guinevere shared a look, but made no comment as they stepped further inside. Waiting between the door and the table were three other Crows. The head of House Malatesta and, presumably, her right and left hand. The two on either side looked similar to the head of the house and seemed to be about Viago and Guinevere’s age. Perhaps her children.
“Fifth Talon, Master Guinevere,” the older woman said with an inclination of her head. The two behind her followed suit. “These are my children. Lucia and Teodoro.”
Guinevere nodded to the family, but Viago remained still. He frowned behind is moustache, crossing his arms. “Let’s cut to the chase, Rossana.”
“Of course,” the woman said, giving Viago a strained smile. “Please, have a seat.”
Viago brushed past the family, settling in one of the higher chairs. Guinevere took a seat next to him, observing the family as they readjusted the chairs to seat them opposite the De Rivas. Once they were settled, Rossana folded her hands in her lap. “So, you wished to discuss the notion that House Malatesta Crows have been poaching De Riva contracts?”
Guinevere looked around the room as the conversation continued. Each of Viago’s words was a subtle jab at Rossana’s ability to manage her house as she denied allowing such actions from her Crows. Every time he spoke, the woman’s jaw clenched. Lucia and Teodoro next to her were hardly any more relaxed. At a glanced they seemed at ease, but their shoulders were tight and their eyes scanned Guinevere and Viago like they were checking for weapons. She tucked that away as she examined the wider room.
It had been designed to convey the idea of wealth and opulence, but came off as gaudy instead. In no small part, because Guinevere could tell the expensive paintings on the wall were forgeries or replicas. Viago refused to have her wandering around as a member of House De Riva with no eye for the arts, it came in handy. Opposite the door the pair had entered from was a large row of glass windows leading out onto a balcony. Thick silk curtains framed each window, but oddly, none had tie-backs. The room would look far better with them.
The balcony and rest of the room seemed empty. Even the plush carpet didn’t use the fine materials its design intended to replicate. House Malatesta was either extremely stingy with their money or the House had been encountering financial issues. Perhaps motive to steal De Riva jobs. Guinevere did, however, find it suspicious a Crow House would be so stingy or ask the Fifth Talon and his protégé to attend a meeting in such a cheap room.
They were doing a final pass over the room when they saw it. A hook, meant to hold back the curtains, poked out from behind the fabric on the wall. Guinevere’s eyes darted between each curtain until she saw it. Something shifted behind one. She politely cleared her throat and tapped her foot on the ground eight times. Viago’s speech didn’t falter, but he glared at Guinevere from the corner of his eye. Message received.
“I will not play dumb, Rossana. Your Crows wouldn’t be poaching De Riva contracts without orders. Either you’re setting this up, or your children are. I admit, I can’t tell which is stupider. Regardless, you will handle it or House De Riva handle it for you,” Viago said. Silence fell between the two parties as they stared each other down. Lucia’s eyes shifted to the side of the room. Guinevere’s ear twitched at the faint sound of rustling fabric, and she inched her hand toward the dagger sheathed at her back. They tapped their boot against Viago’s as soft foot steps moved towards them. He leaned forward, folding his hands in front of him. “If you have nothing to say—”
The doors to the room pushed open, the warm light of the corridor flooding the dim room. Everyone stilled as Andarateia Cantori strode into the room, flanked by two men. Everyone stood, the tension already in the room thickening at the trio’s arrival.
“I hate to interrupt, but I need to speak with Viago and Guinevere alone. You can continue your meeting at a later date,” she said with her usual easy confidence. There was a beat of hesitation before Rossana nodded.
“Of course. I wish the Cantoris and Dellamortes well in their business with the De Rivas,” she said, inclining her head. Her children followed suit. Viago and Guinevere moved towards the door, both refusing to look back at the members of House Malatesta.
Teia led the pair down the corridor, bickering with Viago about the meeting and her impromptu rescue. Guinevere lagged behind with what seemed to be the two members of House Dellamorte aside from the First Talon. She watched them out of the corner of her eye. Both were clean shaven with similar strong jaws. One was shorter than the other, his skin a lighter brown and hair cut short. The taller one had an undercut with the rest of his hair pulled back into a bun. The pair were handsome, but something about the shorter one made him hard to look away from.
Guinevere watched him for a moment. He glanced at them as well. Dark brown eyes met her green for a moment. She tore her gaze away and felt the tips of her ears heat. Guinevere gave a soft ‘excuse me’ as she hurried forward to catch up with Teia and Viago. Better a lovers’ spat than being stuck next to those two.