Who: Esme (Narrative)
What: Au Revoir, Bellum Letale
Where: #1203
When: Today
Warnings: None



Esme still wasn't wholly well, but her mind was clearer now, clear enough that she knew staying in this building would only enhance and deepen her grief, make it worse, drag her black to that nothing place she'd lived in after Christmas. The idea scared her, and not much scared Esme.

She had a sister now, though, and the only regret she had in leaving was in leaving her behind.

She didn't know how to say goodbye properly to this girl, raised by her father, a sister she barely knew but already felt closer to than nearly anyone else she'd met in the building by strength of the bond of blood. Still, she would be no good to her if she stayed here, thinking of the monster just a few floors up, and let madness take her again.

So she wrote her a letter in Roma, and left it on her bed.

Ileana,

When you came here, I was lost. The state I was in then, I could never have been a sister to you, not really. I've found my way back, in a sense, but nothing is ever permanent. I cannot stay here.

I only know one way to shake off the past--travel. That's where I'm going now, anywhere, any way I can. I've left you most of my savings in the account number at the bottom of this letter. It should be enough to pay for this apartment as long as father needs you to stay in New York. I'll send money whenever I can.

I won't be gone forever, Ileana, and when I come back, I would like to get to know you the way I ought to. But I need to get to know myself first, sort what is real from what is not, and find the strength to shake a ghost I loved very much.

Until then, promise me a few simple things? Be happy. Don't stay with that man from the eighth floor (yes, I do read those anonymous posts, and see the look in your eye) unless he is going to treat you the way you ought to be treated. If he ever treats you otherwise, all you need to do is contact me and I will make him wish he'd never crossed you.

Vlad. P3. Above all things, stay away from him. No matter what he says to you, no matter what he claims, he is a monster and a killer both. Promise me you won't associate with him, for my sake.

I'm leaving an email here as well--write me, I'll check it when I can.

From where I'm standing your future looks bright, but not without its dark points. Never be afraid. You are a Grigore, sister, and a fine one. You should fear nothing at all.

-Esme

Esme left the building with a small bag of just the essentials. She got onto a bus that would take her to the train station, and sat down at the back, pulling her deck of tarot from her pocket.

She pulled a map of the country from her bag and spread it out on the seat. Then she laid out the cards on it, one by one, at each of the cardinal directions. She leaned over the map, studying it, studying the cards, and her locket dangled out from her shirt. It hung over the cards like a pendulum, swinging with the motion of the bus as it jolted to a start, telling her where to go.

Out the back window, Bellum disappeared from sight.