Old Money, New Problems

-Bellum, early afternoon-

Showing her passport to the border guards, Diana was waved through by the bored-looking men who wanted nothing more than for their shifts to be over. A dozen steps past the border station and Diana was back in Bellum, a place she had hoped she would never see again. This was where her family lived and did business in the banking industry and in the underworld. The blonde knew all about the underworld because she was forced to be a part of it once her parents discovered that she had death-dealing magic at her disposal. Now she was back where it all started.

Bellum was not a bad place... for a mage. Unlike Pergrande, which placed an unhealthy emphasis on how abominable mages were, Bellum placed an unhealthy emphasis on the superiority of mages and exalted them above all others. Since the Winchesters were both wealthy and mages, Bellum was the best possible place for them to live in.

The Winchester family was a group of mages who used their magic to make money one way or another. While most of the family operated in the legitimate world of banking, Diana made money for the family by being their enforcer and assassin. It was not by her choice that she adopted the lifestyle of a contract killer. It all started when she was ten years old and she got angry with a household servant over what dress she wanted to wear to a party.

Diana reached out with a glowing hand and touched the servant, making them wither as the life was drained out of them. By the time the horrified Diana realized what she had done, it was too late in more ways than one. Her mother Elizabeth and her father George saw what had happened to the unfortunate servant and realized the power that their daughter held. From that point forward she would be their enforcer, the one who served their dark will, the one who delivered death to their numerous enemies.

Diana was here and she was here for a reason other than sight-seeing. She was here for some family business... or so a letter she received a few days ago had told her. The letter was sent from an old family friend named Clarence Necargie. He was an "old money" type who was also in the banking business but dabbled in the stock market for the fun of it. He was also an incorrigible showoff who thought nothing of dropping tens of thousands of Jewels for a lavish dinner party for himself and favored guests.

Some people in Bellum said that he was able to see the future and thus know when to buy and when to sell stocks. Others siad that he did not have clairvoyance but instead had friends in the market who told him when to buy and when to sell. No one was able to conclusively prove either charge, so Clarence Necargie was touted as simply a shrewd investor with an uncanny knack for predicting the market. His business with her was that he wanted her to be a guest at another one of his lavish parties. Diana was not sure about the wisdom of revealing herself at a party when the Winchesters were rumored to have been all but wiped out on that fateful night four years ago, but she was sure that Clarence had heard of her work in Fiore and the Cursed Lands and wanted to see for himself if she was the last of the Winchesters.

According to the letter, she was to go to 1020 Auric Street, which was where Clarence Necargie's home was located. However, it had been four years since she was last in Bellum, so finding her way around would be quite difficult.

[Word Count: 636]
[Total Word Count: 636/2,000]

Standing in the middle of a bustling city while in her normal "office lady" attire, Diana looked around for road signs, maps, anything that could guide her to 1020 Auric Street and to Clarence Necargie's home. She had not been here in four years and she was hopelessly lost. She did not even remember how to find her house... not that she really wanted to at the moment. She was more interested in what Mr. Necargie wanted with her.

Diana walked around the city until she found a golden brochure kiosk standing in front of an old-fashioned post office. She browsed through them until she found one that listed the houses of the city's wealthiest and most prominent citizens, wealth and prominence often going hand-in-hand in Bellum. She plucked it off the stand and began to read it. It informed her of what she already knew; Mr. Necargie's house was located at 1020 Auric Street. It also gave her something she did not have... a map that could show her the way to Mr. Necargie's house.

The blonde glanced at it and saw that she would have quite a bit of walking to do, so she decided to take another option that would save some time. She walked over to a cab station and hailed a yellow taxi cab with the classic black-and-white checkered pattern on the side. One of them pulled over to let her get in. Diana got inside the passenger side and shut the door.

"Where ya going?" The cabbie, a man in his thirties with short black hair and a rumpled brown suit, asked her. The cab smelled like pepperoni pizza. She saw a small white pizza box with a red border from a restaurant called Pizza This sitting on his dashboard along with an empty Cherry Charge soda bottle.

"1020 Auric Street." Diana answered politely.

"Oh, so you're going to Mr. Necargie's house?" He asked her.

"Yes. Mr. Necargie has invited me for a dinner party." Diana answered politely.

"OK. Don't worry, lady. I'll get ya there." He assured her before whipping out into traffic and darting right between other two taxis, causing them to honk their horns and shout a few profane words questioning his parentage. The driver ignored the shouted slurs and made a beeline for the destination.

-1020 Auric Street, 20 minutes later-

"Here ya go. We're here safe and sound." The driver told her, straightening his pizza box and empty soda bottle on the dashboard after slamming to a stop and nearly giving Diana whiplash in the process.

"That'll be 2,250 Jewels." He told her. Diana obligingly fished out the required sum and added a 500-Jewel tip to the fee to make it 2,750 Jewels. Even though his driving was a bit rough, he had delivered what he had promised and gotten her to the house in fairly good time.

"Thanks for the tip, lady. The name's Tony. If ya ever need another ride, look me up." He said to her, presenting a plain white business card with a taxi printed on it. The company was called Bellum Taxi Service and listed a phone number. Diana pocketed it and thanked the man for his time.

"Thank you." Diana thanked the man.

"No problem. Have a good day!" Tony wished her before speeding off in a cloud of smoke to get another fare. She turned to face the white marble mansion that sat behind a wrought-iron fence with a black-suited butler with white gloves standing behind it. This was where she needed to be. Diana waited to get the awful smoke out of her lungs, then walked up to the fence and spoke to the waiting butler.

[Word Count: 636]
[Total Word Count: 1,272/2,000]

Diana walked up to the gate surrounding the residence and got the attention of the butler. He walked over to the wrought-iron gate and opened it for her. She handed him the notice, which he read over and used a peculiar magic magnifying glass to make sure that she did not hand him a forged notice. Once he was satisfied that she had not presented him with a fake, he nodded and let her pass.

"This way, Miss Winchester." He said to her, leading her up the stairs and opening the thick wooden door for her. Diana walked inside the home and the door was shut behind her.

-Inside the Necargie Mansion-

Diana stood inside a white foyer with marble statues of an ancient mage dressed in extravagant robes glaring down at her with unusually shiny eyes. She suspected that the statues housed security cameras but did not bother to confirm or disprove that hypothesis because she was a guest in the Necargie home. People waited years and fought with one another just to get an opportunity to have dinner with one of Bellum's wealthiest individuals and she had been sent an invitation like they were long-lost friends.

Diana wiped her feet off and was greeted by an older man with dark hair and a black outfit with a brown vest. Deep brown eyes looked at her for a moment, then the man smiled widely. He walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"Diana! It's been a long time!" He greeted her warmly with another hug. Diana was not used to being hugged by anyone, so it was all she could do not to pull away when he pinned her arms to her side. She endured the hug and was silently relieved when he finally let go of her.

"Yes, Mr. Necargie. It certainly has." She said back to him. It had been six years since they had last met at a dinner party in a rare time when Diana was not out killing someone for the family. She was kind of glad to see a familiar face, but she did not know if he was really on her side or just trying to lure her into a trap. He ushered her into the dining room, which had been set up with a small rectangular wooden table set with a white tablecloth. The plates were genuine crystal and the drinking cups were made of silver and studded with precious gems.

The dining room itself featured furniture made from rare woods and made by the hands of master craftsmen. The seats at the table were upholstered in brown leather that contrasted with the white walls. The silverware was made of actual silver, which was not a common feature of most dinner services.

"Come, my dear. You and I have much to discuss." He said to her before the two took seats across from one another. He clapped his hands and a small army of impeccably dressed servants brought out the food, which was Kobe beef and rice plus other extras like Beluga caviar. Diana had forgotten the last time she had had such extravagant fare for dinner. When everything was set out before them, the small army of servants shut the room doors and left the pair in privacy.

"What I am about to say is very dangerous, so you must not breathe a word of what I am about to say. Not a word must leave this room!" Mr. Necargie warned Diana. Her attention was captured by that statement. He must have gone to great lengths to obtain the information he was about to tell her.

"I am listening." Diana told him in a serious tone of voice.

Clarence Necargie:

[Word Count: 624]
[Total Word Count: 1,896/2,000]

"After your family died and you went missing, I did some digging into what happened. It took a lot of time and cost a lot of Jewels, but I learned that another notable around here was responsible for the death of your family." Mr. Necargie started the conversation. Diana listened intently to her host's words. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before speaking again.

"I learned that Reginald Gorman, the banker who stepped in to fill the void left by your family's untimely passing, was responsible for what happened." Mr. Necargie solemnly declared. Diana was not entirely surprised by that revelation, but she finally knew who was responsible for what had happened to the Winchester family. Mr. Gorman was always an ambitious man who wanted to control all the banking in Bellum and her parents were an obstacle to achieving that goal.

"Please forgive me for saying so, Mr. Necargie, but somehow I am not surprised by that news. My mother and father always said that he would be the death of them." Diana told him. Mr. Necargie frowned when she said that.

"Diana, you'll have to forgive what I'm about to say. As much as it pains me to say this, your parents were right. Mr. Gorman hired someone to poison the wine that your family drank at the banquet." He said to her. It was Diana's turn to frown.

"My parents had a fondness for vintage wine. Mr. Gorman adroitly used that against them by making a peace offering of a particularly rare vintage called Imperator '88. I recall their faces when the wine arrived by courier and escorted by private security." Diana added to the conversation. Her host's eyes narrowed in recognition.

"Ah, Imperator '88. I've heard of that wine. It was a limited production wine made with grapes harvested just one day before a heavy rainfall ruined vineyards that weren't cleared of grapes. It was no wonder that George and Elizabeth couldn't resist the peace offering." He said to her. Diana was surprised to learn that. She knew that her parents were fond of vintage wines, but other than that she had no clue about what was so special about the wine that killed them... aside from the added poison that actually did them in, of course.

"So he knew that they would not turn down such a valuable wine. That was why he had it poisoned, then sent to my family." Diana said as she finally started to understand more about what had happened that night.

"Yes. Mr. Gorman was always crafty like that. He learns all he can about people and uses that knowledge to take advantage of them... or worse." Mr. Necargie said with grudging admiration. Diana did not share that admiration, but she understood why Mr. Gorman did what he did. Learning about a target made it easier to kill them, after all.

"Do you think he has any special powers like mind-reading?" Diana asked. Mr. Necargie shook his head.

"No. He's definitely a mage, but I don't know what magic he uses. No one does. Whatever he can do, he's keeping it under wraps." He answered. Diana was not too surprised to hear that either. Not a whole lot was known about Mr. Gorman other than he was a banker and he liked money. Considering that his ruthless practices had made a lot of enemies, keeping his magic secret was a prudent idea on his part.

[Word Count: 592]
[Total Word Count: 2,488/2,000]

"Don't say a word of what I told you to anyone, Diana. ANYONE." Mr. Necargie sternly warned her, jabbing a knife at her for emphasis. Diana did not question it because if anyone learned that he was the one who told Diana who had her parents killed, his life would be in danger. If he really was on her side and not just playing her to get rid of a rival, Diana wanted to keep him alive because he was one of the few people in Bellum unequivocally on her side.

"I will say nothing to anyone about what was discussed here." Diana assured him. He nodded and shifted the conversation to something less grim, finally cutting into his Kobe beef with the same knife he had jabbed at her earlier.

"I've heard that you do a lot of protection work in Fiore." He said to her in a pleasant tone.

"Yes. I also rescue people from dangerous locations." Diana told him.

"I recall you rescuing a young woman named Veronica from Haunted Castle. I know her parents. They're the owners of a shipping company in Hargeon Town, yes?" He asked her before stopping just long enough to take a bite out of the Kobe beef.

"Yes. I saved her after some "friends" dared her to spend the night in Haunted Castle." Diana told only a small portion of the story to him. Mr. Necargie hmmmd noncommittally and cut off another piece of steak.

"I also heard that you helped Miss Lebedev, a friend of mine who is an executive in Aegis Corporation." He said to her before taking a sip from a jewel-encrusted silver cup.

"Yes. I helped the security detail there. I cannot say anything more than that." Diana told him. He raised a hand to stop her in case she said anything else that could give away classified details.

"Don't worry, she told me enough. She told me that you were a big help in making sure that she and another executive got to where they needed to go without incident." He assured her. Satisfied with that, Diana stopped that conversation there and let her host speak again.

"I might need your help for something in the future. Don't worry, my dear. It's legitimate work. I need someone willing to help a friend of mine protect their property." He said to her. Diana lowered her fork and knife. She was interested in what he had to say.

"I am interested." Diana said succinctly. Mr. Necargie smiled widely.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow. But for now, just eat and relax. You're my guest for the evening... if you want to be. I won't keep you here against your will." He assured her. Diana looked at the old-fashioned grandfather clock just behind Mr. Necargie and saw that it was now early evening. It would take way too long to leave here, get to the Bellum border station, and get back home. By the time she got back to home, it would be nighttime. She did not fancy a walk through the wilderness with all its bandit activity.

"If you would have me as a guest, I would be honored to stay." Diana voiced her consent. He smiled widely and spoke to her again.

"Splendid. I'll make the arrangements after the meal." He said to her. Diana began to eat the Kobe beef, which was the first time she had had it in four years. It was surprisingly good; it was one of her favorite dishes next to filet mignon. Diana had expensive tastes but few venues in which to indulge them without drawing the wrong sort of attention. Here in Bellum she would be safe since it was beyond the reach of the Rune Knights and eating expensive food was no crime.

"I only wish that your mother and father were here to be with us." Mr. Necargie expressed his wish. Diana was not so keen because they had forced her to become their private assassin, but she kept quiet about that out of respect for her host. He noticed her and asked her a question.

"Say, Diana, did I ever explain how I met your mother and father?" He asked her, putting down the wine cup he had held for the past minute. His tone was a lot more jovial than it had been.

"Not at all." Diana replied. She was mildly curious about her parents because they had never told her a lot about their lives before she came along.

"Well, it all started when we met at a college party at Bellum University. It was kinda wild. People were drunk, wine flowed like water, and I met your father in a drinking contest. He had just drank Mr. Bandervilt under the table and was going to drink me under the table too. People called your father George "Bacchus" Winchester because no amount of wine could make him drunk and he always liked a good party..." Mr. Necargie started. Diana was more than interested in the story now. Seeing that he had caught her interest, her host continued the story long into the night.

[Word Count: 870]
[Total Word Count: 3,358/2,000]