Ceremonial

Claire led Vivienne down a long hallway in the mansion to a dark room that she assumed was the library Lionel had spoken of. When they opened the doors, some members had already gathered, all standing around a very large round table. In the center of the table were dozens of lit ivory candles of varying sizes. The entire room was lit by candlelight casting a yellow glow over the room. "Definitely a cult." Vivienne whispered and Claire only smiled.

"Vivenne, come." Lionel smiled and gestured for her to come stand next to him. Claire followed. "I see you met my step daughter, Claire." "Oh, yes." Vivienne smiled at Claire. "I'm sure Claire will be a good support to you and answer any questions you may have." Lionel smiled warmly at Claire of the glow of the candlelight. "But of course, Lionel." Claire said. "You didn't think I'd let her be fed to the wolves, did you?" She asked and Lionel gave Claire a warning glance but all Claire did was smile.

Once everyone had gathered in, the large wooden doors to the library were shut and Vivienne heard the click of multiple locks. Her heart began to race in her chest. "Should I be worried?" She whispered to Claire. Claire whispered back, "Only if you're afraid of ghosts." Vivienne's eyes widened and Claire looked at her very seriously before laughing. "I'm kidding!" Vivienne let out the breath she had been holding. After everything she had seen and heard today, it wouldn't have been a surprise to her.

"Council." Lionel's voice was commanding and in the room it seemed to echo. Due to the darkness and only the candles surrounding the table being lit she couldn't tell how large the library actually was. It was pitch black other than the candles, so much so that she couldn't even see the ceiling. All she could see was the upper halves of all the other members gathered around the table. "Tonight we welcome Vivienne Westing. The niece and adopted daughter of our late vice president, Marcus Westing." Vivienne's eyes looked from person to person, trying to recognize any faces that she could. Most of them were new, but some of them she had seen her Uncle interact with before. She felt awkward now knowing that her uncle had been so important to this group. It almost felt like she was carrying on a legacy that she knew nothing about. The thought of the expectations this group may hold for her did worry her. What exactly did they want her to do?

A man walked up to Lionel with two black silk pouches and Lionel placed them on the table. The first item Lionel pulled out of one of the silks was a golden goblet. It glittered beautifully in the candlelight. It had no jewels encrusted in it, which she had half expected, but it did appear to be ornately engraved. She couldn't tell from the darkness what exactly was on it. The second item that Lionel pulled out was a golden dagger. It too was engraved and looked incredibly beautiful. Her heart began to race even more. Lionel picked up the dagger with both hands and raised it above his head. "We are as one." He echoed into the room. The rest of the members recanted back to him, "We are as one." Lionel then took the dagger and dragged it across the palm of his left hand.

He held his bleeding palm over the goblet and let the drips fall in a steady stream to make a small puddle in the bottom of the goblet. Lionel pulled a handkerchief out of his suit coat pocket and wiped off the dagger gently. He held his right hand out to Vivienne, his bleeding hand holding the dagger firmly. Vivienne stared into his eyes that were flaring and glittering in the candlelight. She reluctantly gave him her left hand, it small and delicate in his large hands.

Lionel took the dagger and dragged it deeply across her palm which made Vivienne wince and close her eyes. She pursed her lips together and opened her eyes when she felt him turn her palm over. In the low light she watched her blood pour into the goblet beneath her palm. When enough had poured in, Lionel carefully bandaged her hand with materials another member had provided while they waited. Vivienne traced her fingertips over the bandage and then looked over the candlelight at the other members watching intently across the table. Lionel took the goblet and raised it with two hands over his head.