Reggie’s Reasons by Lisa Oliver
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reggie and Dirkin had been living at his parents’ estate for three weeks. After a week of going through large amounts of food and spending a huge amount of time in the pool, Kyle finally decided he was bored, and Balthazar swept him off to parts unknown. All Kyle would say when he came to say goodbye was that there were a lot of places to visit outside of North America, but that they’d be back. Reggie felt sad, seeing Kyle and Balthazar go, but he didn’t have the same desire to travel that Kyle did. Not yet anyway.
His problem, and it wasn’t really a problem but it was driving Reggie nuts, was that he didn’t have anything to do. A chat with Lorenzo revealed his father delegated a lot of what he was responsible for, happy to take meetings and be seen as a figurehead for his people. He’d made decisions definitely – always having the final say on anything important, but in the years between Stephano’s death and Reggie’s arrival, the Italian vampires had learned to govern themselves.
Which was a good thing in one respect. Reggie had no idea how to govern as such – he’d never led anybody or made business decisions. His degree was in fine arts, and he’d worked as a bouncer for most of his adult years. Despite that, Reggie wasn’t a stranger to hard work. But one morning he’d gone out into the garden, after seeing a couple of men busy trimming a hedge. He’d offered to help, but there was only so much bowing and horrified glances he could take.
It was the same when he went into the kitchen on another morning to see if he could make him and Dirkin breakfast – the chef got upset when Reggie asked where the frying pan was, telling Reggie it was like a knife to his heart that Reggie clearly didn’t like his food. Reggie would have sat and waited for the food the chef was cooking, but apparently the chef’s daughter Giselle would also be mortified if she wasn’t able to deliver the food to his and Dirkin’s room personally.
“I’m just not used to all this,” Reggie moaned as he and Dirkin lay enjoying the afterglow of yet another marathon sex session. With nothing else to do in his waking hours, Dirkin was quick to capitalize on his spare time. They’d already walked the grounds a dozen times, been to town often enough to be on first name basis with the coffee shop owner, and even spent time at the beach one afternoon. “I’m not used to this life of leisure.”
“We could travel,” Dirkin suggested, trailing his hand up and down Reggie’s hip. “Go and visit other Coven Masters and vampire royals so you can introduce yourself. We could drive this time, an actual road trip, so we could get to see some of the countryside as we go.”
“It would be just as bad if we went to any other estate. Why do people automatically assume royal personages aren’t capable of doing anything for themselves?” Reggie stuffed a pillow over his face and screamed into it. “UGH! I’m not used to doing nothing all freaking day. I’m used to working for a living.”
“Well, what would you want to do if you could do anything?” Dirkin plucked the pillow away and gently kissed Reggie’s nose.
“I’ve never had the chance to think about it before.” Reggie grimaced and dropped his voice. “It’s just…” he glanced over at the door, although his sharp hearing knew no one was around, “I’m feeling like a guest in my own house. They won’t let me help in the garden or do anything inside the house. I love that they’ve preserved my parents’ memories, but the décor hasn’t been changed in decades. It’s like living in someone else’s time capsule.”
“You know, it seems to me, you’ve got two options.” Dirkin rolled and stretched, and Reggie found himself with his head on Dirkin’s chest. “You either have to be the prince these people actually need, or you need to find yourself a job or business outside of the home and let these vamps run themselves.”
“I thought about getting a job, but Lorenzo mentioned I was needed to meet some big wig coming in next week from Germany, and he’s talking about a party he wants to hold next month I’ll be needed for – I can’t go and work for someone else because I’ll have to keep asking for time off.”
“Then it’s time to start acting like a prince.”
That might have been easy for Dirkin to say, but Reggie didn’t have a clue what his beloved was talking about. “I am a prince already. I get reminded of that every time I step outside this room. People are forever bowing to me, asking if I need anything, and things like that.”
“Uh huh. But when was the last time you ordered someone to do something?”
Reggie frowned at his beloved. “In case you haven’t noticed, this place runs like a well-oiled machine. I don’t need to order anyone to do anything – my clothes are cleaned and back in my drawers within an hour of taking them off dirty. Food is on the table anytime we’re hungry and I’ve never seen a place so spotless.”
“You have very loyal and devoted followers who keep a beautiful house. I agree. But what about your father’s businesses – are there changes you’d like to make to them? Shouldn’t you have your own office set up, or better yet, make Lorenzo move out of your father’s office because it’s yours now?”
“Won’t that upset him?” Lorenzo had been really good about keeping the place running from what Reggie had seen. He was forever seeing his coven members asking Lorenzo to sort out one problem after another.
“Did you know I had to fight two of my legion captains when I was in the Underworld last week because they decided since I’d been away so long, I’d lost my edge?”
“For fuck’s sake.” Reggie’s head shot up. Leaning on Dirkin’s chest he searched his beloved’s face. “Why didn’t you tell me? Is that why you didn’t want me going with you? Did you know that was going to happen?”
“Sy told me there was some unrest, yes, and yes, that is why I went and dealt with the issue myself.” Dirkin always managed to stay so calm. “It happens regularly among all the legions and it’s no big deal. Demons get bored, just like anyone else, and when my men get bored, they want to fight. The only reason I’m telling you this now is because sometimes telling people something they might not want to hear is part of being a good leader.”
“I don’t want to fight Lorenzo. He’d probably wash the floor with me.”
“He wouldn’t wash the floor with you as you so euphemistically call it, firstly because you are his prince and secondly, you’re the strongest vampire here by miles. I knew that the moment we arrived here.”
“Everyone’s been so nice to us.” That was part of the problem and Reggie was well aware of how weird that was.
“Yes, they have been, and I can’t see that changing, but babe,” Reggie felt Dirkin’s hand smoothing his hair, “the reason you feel as though you’re a guest in your own house is because you’re acting like one.”
/~/~/~/~/
Reggie slipped out of bed early the next morning, making sure not to wake his demon. Grabbing the first pair of jeans he found, and a clean t-shirt, my gods, they actually press my t-shirts, he got dressed, and scooping up his boots, he hurried out of the room, stopping in the hallway to put his boots on. He’d had a lousy night’s sleep, thinking about everything Dirkin had said and while Reggie knew he’d feel more confident with his beloved by his side, the only way he was going to truly fit with his new position was to start acting like the prince he was supposed to be.
Which meant facing Lorenzo first off because it was Lorenzo who seemed to be the head of the household, and he was also the one who handled their coven business and the Forsyth-Willis portfolio. Going downstairs, Reggie nodded at a couple of people who were mopping the tiles, but he didn’t stop to talk to them. Down the hallway off the living room was the room Reggie assumed had been his father’s office. As he expected, Lorenzo was already there going over some official looking papers.
Sauntering into the room, Reggie fell into the chair next to the desk with a thump. “So, who do I see about my account?”
“My prince. Good morning. You startled me.” Lorenzo blinked at him slowly. “Your account, you said? Didn’t I give you the cards for the estate accounts last week?”
“I don’t mean my bank accounts. I mean, who do I have to pay for the service my beloved and I have been getting for the past three weeks? Dirkin and I want to check out, so I need the bill.”
“Check out?” Lorenzo dropped his pen on the desk. “You’re leaving? But why? My prince, I don’t understand. You don’t owe anyone anything for staying here. This is your house but I don’t understand why you want to leave it.”
“But is it my house?” Leaning forward, Reggie rested his elbows on the edge of the desk. “Isn’t this the room my father used as an office?”
“Yes, my prince.” Lorenzo nodded eagerly. “I mean, I’ve been using it since your father’s death because all of the files and papers for the businesses and the estate’s expenses are all kept here, but it is yours.”
“And the kitchen, is that mine too?”
“Of course.”
“And what about the gardens? If I want to cut down a hedge for example, can I do that? Is this place mine?”
“My prince, I’m sorry. I don’t know what is going on. Has someone upset you? Tell me who it is, and I’ll take care of it immediately for you.”
“If someone had upset me, I’d be able to take care of that myself.”
“Of course, you could, my prince, but… I am sorry but I still don’t understand what’s going on.”
Reggie decided to try a different tact. “Lorenzo, when you dreamed of having your prince come home, what did you imagine I’d be doing when I got here?”
Lorenzo couldn’t meet his eyes. “I… er… I hadn’t really thought about it. When your parents died, I… I guess… we all just pitched in and did what had to be done to be ready for when you did come home.”
“And you’ve all done a wonderful job.” Reggie nodded. “The house is spotless and always ready for visitors. The grounds are simply beautiful with barely a blade of glass out of place and I’ve noticed any vampire who has a problem is dealt with by you as if it’s no trouble at all.”
“Oh, it isn’t any trouble, my prince. We all live to serve the royal family and are proud to do so.”
“And I appreciate that too. I’m sure if my parents were still alive, they would be proud of you all for what you’ve achieved. There’s just one problem, Lorenzo.” Reggie fixed the older vampire with a strong glare. “What am I supposed to be doing with my days?”
“Do, my prince?” Lorenzo looked shocked. “You don’t have to do anything, sire. It’s enough for us that you’re here with us, in your home. You don’t need to do anything at all.”
“Er… that would be a firm no from me.” Reggie shook his head. “If all I’m meant to do here is act like a figurehead for you all to work around, then Dirkin and I will leave. Immediately. You are all clearly happy here, you’ve all carved out niches for yourself and enjoy the work you do, I understand that. But me sitting around waiting for someone to serve me food or do my laundry is not how I plan to spend the rest of my days.”
There was silence for a moment. Lorenzo kept looking at the door. Maybe he’s hoping Dirkin will whisk me away for more sex. Reggie waited for Lorenzo to gather his thoughts. When the older man didn’t say anything, Reggie pushed.
“You need to know I have spent my whole life never truly knowing what it was like to have a real home. The vampire who raised me made sure I knew I didn’t have any rank within his family and coven. I spent three years after my awakening living in communal barracks while I went through enforcer training. I went to college, which was another set of dorms, and when I became an adult in the eyes of my kind, I was living in a tiny one room apartment that I paid for by working as a bouncer at a nightclub. I cooked for myself, I washed my own dishes, I took care of my own laundry and scrubbed my own bathroom.
“I came here searching for information about my family and where I came from. I have been welcomed with open arms, and that means so much to me, but I feel like a guest in my own home. I moved some of my mother’s figurines yesterday and when I went back an hour later someone had put them back the way they were originally. I can’t live like this. I won’t live in a time warp. If this is truly my home, then I want to make changes so it feels like mine. If I own this office, then I want to work in it and I want to learn about my father’s businesses and my mother’s estate. I am not some puppet you can pull out on state occasions, dust off, dress up and have me stand there with a benign smile on my face. That’s not how things are going to be. Do you understand me now?”
“The jobs our people do for you and the running of this house gives them purpose and immense pleasure,” Lorenzo said slowly. “Some of the people here have devoted their whole lives to working at this estate.”
“I understand that as well and am grateful for it. If I never have to clean a bathroom again, I’ll be happy. However, if I want to put in a media room in one of the spare sitting rooms, I don’t like feeling like I’m desecrating a shrine to do it. If I decide I’m feeling romantic and want to make my beloved breakfast in bed, then I want Carlos to show me where the frying pan is, not bleat on about how I’ve stabbed him in the heart because I clearly don’t like his cooking.”
That made Lorenzo’s lips twitch. “Carlos can be a bit dramatic, but he’s an excellent chef.”
“Yes, he is. But can you see what I mean? If this is to be my home, then it needs to be mine, not my parents. I don’t want to make many changes, but I want to feel as though this place is my home that reflects who I am. And another thing. I noticed all the members of this household and our visitors all come to you with problems. What sort of a prince would I be if I didn’t listen to those problems too?”
“You’re ready to be our king, in other words.” Lorenzo’s lip twitch was getting more pronounced.
Reggie thought about the older man’s words. He thought about the picture of his father, and the stories the people in the house had shared with him. By all accounts the man was firm, fair and loved. More importantly he ruled – Stephano hadn’t been a dictator, but he did rule his people. Reggie nodded. “Yes, that’s what I mean.”
Lorenzo was smiling broadly now. “We’ll have to arrange a coronation for as soon as possible then. Tell me, does that make your beloved demon our Queen?”
Reggie chuckled at the idea of Dirkin wearing a dress and his mother’s tiara. “If that’s the case, my first order as your new king is to decree you are the one who has to tell him about it.”
Both men were still laughing when Carlos came in to tell him breakfast was ready.
