Silent Intrigue

The Breaking Point

Silence shoved the couch a little farther to connect the semi-circle a little better. He straightened and looked around before turning and stepping across the room to pick through the potted plants he had brought in.

He grinned as he hefted one of the larger ones out and turned with it. Then almost dropped it when he realized someone was standing right in front of him. He slowly smiled as Sophia helped steady the pot. She was looking at it in confusion. Then her gaze slid around the rest of the room as she took in his little project.

Since he wasn't wanted around the horse barn anymore, he had found something else to fill his free time with. Exploring the big house hadn't been much of a leap in the way of ideas for entertainment. And during his wanderings he had found a large room made entirely of windows. The large sunroom had been shrouded with curtains and used as a storeroom.

Silence had decided that was a terrible waste of the space.

First thing to go had been the curtains. After that all the dust cloths had been pulled off the furniture and checked over. He had then happily rearranged all the plush carpets and comfortable seats into close little half circles that were intimate and yet still a part of the rest of the room. Once that had been accomplished, and everything he hadn't wanted to use had been moved to other places in the house, he had begun decorating with the various end tables, odds and ends, lighting, and decorative urns that he had filled with plants.

The place had gone from a dark store room to a bright place to socialize. It wasn't exactly a great place for Vampires, but Silence hadn't been thinking about them when he had been creating this place. He had been thinking about the humans, and the way they were being ripped apart.

Figuratively and literally.

They needed solidarity. Connection. The feeling of family. If Silence could give them a place to regain the peace and relaxation that everyone had lost since the first murder...

Silence carefully hefted the potted shrub and hauled it over to where he wanted it, placing it down and wiggling it til he had it exactly where he wanted it. He dusted his hands together as he straightened again and turned back to Sophia.

"I see you've been busy."

Silence nodded. "They don't like me in the barn and I thought I could turn this room into something useful."

Sophia smiled a little sadly, making Silence suspicious. He cocked his head as he studied her, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"What is it?"

Sophia took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I have some bad news. You remember the family we took in during the storm while their wagon wheel was fixed?"

Silence smiled, nodding. The smile abruptly faded at the pained look on Sophia's face. He sucked in a breath and tears sprang up when he began to put it together. He helplessly shook his head in denial as he came to the only conclusion and horror seeped in. Sobs wracked his body as Sophia gathered him into her and hugged him tight.

He could feel her trembling and his arms wrapped around her, trying to give her the same comfort she was giving him. They held each other tight for a long moment, until they had both expelled some of their shared grief.

Silence couldn't be sure if he should attribute the death of the little family to the killer he had been trying to hunt down or not. It had been so removed from the usual killing grounds. And it had been so late at night that most of the house had been asleep when they had come through. The only ones who had been up had been himself, Sophia, the butler, a few stable boys and a couple maids.