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Sequel to "Pale Exposed Neck".

Katarina was using vampire literature to flirt with her. She had to be. There were too many coincidental turns of phrase for it to be anything else.

Maria was flattered and decidedly not against being courted by the beautiful young woman she had inexplicably become friends with, but this was a shocking realization regardless. Was that why she kept emphasizing that Prince Geordo was not her fiancee anymore?

A devious idea occurred to Maria in that moment. While Katarina Claes was not a vampire, Maria was certain that the other girl would be completely flustered the moment that Maria flirted back.

It was time to turn the tables.

Sequel to "Pomegranate Lips".

"I did have something of an ulterior motive in inviting you here," Katarina admitted as Anne handed Maria a nightgown from the other side of the folding screen in Katarina's room.

"What was that, Lady Katarina?" Maria asked.

"Just Katarina, if you like. We're not exactly in a formal setting at the moment," Katarina requested, and Maria began blushing behind the screen at the drop in formalities as she changed her attire into the surprisingly comfortable outfit. "I had actually initially wanted to hate you, you know?"

"What?" Maria asked, confused by that statement, given both the invitation and how Katarina had threatened the girls who were bullying her just the other day.

"My fiancee at the time had taken an interest in you," she replied, smiling genuinely as Maria stepped out from behind the screen in the pink night gown with blue flowers as embellishments, "I had thought I should hate you, but you're such a hard worker, and a genuinely kind girl, that I couldn't find any reason to bear you ill will, especially since you didn't and seem to still not harbor any romantic inclinations regarding my then-fiancee, despite being close with him."

Maria could have sworn she saw Katarina's eyes flit to her neck before the noblewoman's cheeks turned pink as if she'd had some sort of embarrassing thought.

Shaking her head as if to shake off whatever thought struck her, Katarian continued, "So, I wanted to learn more about you as a person. Tell me about yourself."

And that request, alone took Maria by complete surprise...

Sequel to "I Don't Drink Wine… Is Juice Acceptable?"

...This was definitely Sophia's fault. Maria knew she shouldn't have read the story of the vampiric countess that Sophia had recommended to her! Katarina Claes was giving her a tour of the Claes manor, occasionally pausing to greet one of the servants like they were members of the family, and Maria couldn't help but keep getting her eyes drawn to the red from the pomegranate whenever Katarina took a sip from her glass.

She would need to figure out a suitable revenge on Sophia once she was more capable of rational thought again.

Sequel to "No Leaving Until Daybreak".

"A tour really isn't necessary, Lady Katarina," Maria insisted as Katarina's maid brought a tray two glasses with an eerily red liquid inside of each from around a corner that Maria hadn't even noticed.

"Nonsense!" Katarina replied with a cheeriness that had been noticeably absent while at the Academy, making it both an unexpected delight and a source of uncertain confusion, "I am your host, and you are my guest. I need to find a way to entertain you." She paused, taking the tray from Anne and placing it on a small table that Maria also hadn't noticed. "Pomegranate juice? I've never been one to enjoy wine, unfortunately..."

Sequel to "Turn And Face The Strange".

"You are our guest," Katarina insisted, "It is night, and there is a storm blowing outside. You are in our care."

Maria was about to note upon the fact that the storm was currently literally only over their lands when she saw Katarina's maid seem to practically materialize from behind a pillar that Maria would have sworn hadn't existed seconds ago.

"Anne, wonderful timing," Katarina greeted, "Can you take Maria to the guest room next to my own?"

"Of course, my lady," Anne replied politely.

Maria, for her part, was beginning to feel like there was something going on that she was missing...

"I offer you fair warning as your friend, Maria," Keith noted, "Our house is a bit strange to outsiders. My sister, even more so when she's home."

For her part, Maria wasn't sure why Katarina Claes, of all people had invited her over, let alone why she used her brother to do so, though she supposed the latter could be explained by Keith giving up on pursuing her romantically.

But why did the self-proclaimed villainess that terrrorized several noble members of the student body want to have her over.

...Was that a lightning storm localized entirely over their manor?

Sequel to "I Have So Many Questions".

"So," Katarina teased in a whisper, "A pirate king and a lifelong spy walk into a chapel..."

"Keep teasing like that," Maria threatened playfully, "And I might have to kiss you into silence."

Hearing Sophia Ascart squeak in shock told the pair that they were about to become a topic of interest...

Sequel to "Long Have I Wanted To Speak With You Again".

"So do I," Katarina chimed in from the dark corner she had apparently been sitting in. Maria, for her part, was still trying to wrap her head around the idea of her mother being some manner of spy, let alone that she'd apparently been the Queen's wrongly-described-as-imaginary friend.

"And they told me that I imagined you!" Giulia exclaimed cheerfully upon Maria's mother stepping out of the carriage that had been sent to escort her to the palace, "You were the girl living in that one closet when I was growing up on Golden Sands for almost a full year. Everyone thought you were my imaginary friend."

For her part, Alice Campbell, retired Spy of the Kingdom of Magier, was desperately trying to think of a way to talk her way out of her current situation, while Maria realized some new things about her mother.

Sequel to "Now Let Me See My God Daughter In Good Light".

In which the Queen properly gets to know Maria after years of failing to track down Martin's family. Maria was sure that the knight that the Queen spoke to had nothing to do with the carriage that had ridden past the window just moments ago.

Sequel to "Standing Before The King".

Maria absolutely did not expect the hug. She also didn't expect the Queen to note that she was childhood friends with her father, and she definitely didn't expect to hear that he'd been scheming with her to have a house built for the family near to the capital so that he could properly introduce them to the Queen.

Maria, it could be surmised, was not at all having the sort of day she'd expected to have when she started discussing her father to Katarina...

Sequel to "Getting A Letter of Marque".

Maria wasn't quite sure what was happening. One moment, she was talking with Katarina about the logistics of being born the daughter of a pirate, the next, she was being set up as a future pirate that enjoys the protection of the Crown of Sorcier and the patronage of the Claes family.

...Why did the Queen want to have a word with her?

A Fortune Lover Fanfic

"Would that I were a poet," Katarina mused with a tiredness that seemed to come from her soul, rather than her body, "I'd have something better to say about our situation."

"You could always learn," Maria replied, equally exhausted, "Seeing as how we always find ourselves returned to this school. No matter what else changes, there's always you, and me, and this place."

"Who shall it be this time?" Katarina asked, "By preference, I prefer Geordo. He allows me my name in banishment, and for all his talk of sadism, the death is always quick."

"And if I don't want you dead or banished or even imprisoned?" Maria asked.

"Perhaps you'll find it eventually," Katarina shrugged, "Until then, I'm content to stay in this maddening circle with you, even unto my next death."

Sequel to "Staring Into Your Destiny".

"To be honest, it would probably be significantly easier for you than it would have been for your father back in the day," Katarina mused, "He would've needed to try to find a noble that would be recognized by any of the warring factions for his patron. If he'd gone to my father, it would've been the easiest, but I suppose the Terni were fairly reasonable, especially since there was the possibility of them declaring independence if the war went on too long."

"What?" Maria asked.

"A Letter of Marque," Katarina replied, "A legal document that says you're a pirate working for the country, and thus have the country's legal protection, or at least the legal protection of whatever noble family decided to back you."

"And you think your family would be able to do that for me?" she asked incredulously.

"My father is the reason we have our king, because he made everyone too afraid to continue the War. I think I like our odds."

"As many would say," Maria noted tiredly, "I was born to a pirate father, so I am a pirate by nature."

"By that logic, I am destined to be just shy of a war criminal," Katarina scoffed, "If you become a pirate, it will be because you wanted to be a pirate. Why not just become an explorer with a wealthy patron if you want to travel?"

"What?" Maria asked.

"You've befriended the rich and powerful of Sorcier as it is, and there are many others here beside. You could find someone willing to be your patron if you just look for one. I, for one, think you'd look dashing with command of a ship."

"...What?" Maria squeaked.

Bakarina Version:

Fortune Lover Version:

Sequel to "Listen To Your Heart".

Somehow, Maria had managed to run fast enough to avoid the consequences of her actions, locking herself up on an abandoned closet structure where she would never be found.

Or so she thought.

Where did Katarina get that axe, and why was she smiling so sweetly?!