14 September 1893 — Magical Port of London

What was supposed to be a peaceful crossing was now riddled with turmoil. The words of the vampire’s last letter had been seared in her mind since the day they left the port. Irene had been looking forward to enjoying the last bit of the continent that she had, but there was now a dark cover over the days. Somehow the painting had found its way to Italy on the last day of August. The parcel had been waiting for her in her room at Celia’s place, placed on the small writing desk with the note attached. Irene didn’t even see what kind of owl had left it. It had clearly dropped the package and flew away. She recognized that it was a painting immediately by its shape and size, but the hand of the letter had left her confused. That is, until the letter mentioned ‘that pesky little bite’, and it all came flooding back; how the air had vibrated with his voice, and how he’d threatened her until she brought him home. Then of course, the feeling of having his fangs pierce her skin…

Before she even finished the letter, Irene had dropped the paper and vomited into the bin in the corner of her room.

This summer had been the perfect thing to keep her occupied, and keep her mind off of any and all nightmares that had plagued her over the past year. Her friends had been a blessing in disguise, keeping her thoughts from ever wandering too far. This letter brought all of them back. Mr. Hunt’s gruesome and violent death, her painting, that horrible night on New Year’s.

She tried to keep her mind preoccupied by wandering about the ship, but all she wanted to do was to get back to London so she could work on settling back in. It would be a new place, somewhat empty until the New Year, but once that came around, she’d have her friends with her. When she began to see the skyline of the city, she breathed a sigh of relief. Home. She was finally back home, and she would start anew. Walking along the deck, Irene watched as they sailed peacefully down the river into the Magical Port of London. It wouldn’t be long now.

Before she could finish her thought, there was a horrible squealing sound that sliced through the air. Then all hell broke loose.

A roar consumed the entirety of the river - Irene swore she could see the water itself vibrate and she clapped her hands over her ears. It did no good; her heart vibrated in her chest as she fell to the deck and instinctively curled in on herself. She had expected the noise to stop, but only went on and on. Irene staggered to her feet, only to find herself amongst a screaming, panicking crowd. She could barely hear the screams though. The sight of almost a dozen red dragons cutting paths through the air had seen her heart beat violently in her chest as their screeches drowned out the noise of the crowd.

And then….it all seemed to stop. Their roars stopped, and the crowds seemed to react with the animals flying above. Hairs on the back of Irene’s neck stood up, and she whipped her gaze to the sky just as a whistling sound pierced the air. A pillar of fire exited one of the dragons’ mouths and she watched in horror as the passenger ship next to them burst into flames. In that moment, two things crossed her mind: the vampire wouldn’t hesitate to eviscerate her from the inside out if she lost his painting, and she was about to do one of the stupidest things she had ever done.

Without a second to waste, Irene tore back through the crowd that was already spilling towards the edges of the boat. She needed to get back to her room. She had to get that painting.

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   Alice Dawson

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She only needed to get through the thickest part of the crowd that was pouring onto the decks. Once she made it through, there was little to delay her from making it to her cabin. She burst through and fell to her knees beside her trunk. She couldn’t take it all; thank Merlin she’d left some of her more valuable possessions with Penny. That still left Bear, the painting and —

She froze, staring at the small elegant wooden box that had stayed unopened for the past few months. For one moment, her entire world seemed to freeze, as she stared at it. Another rattling scream sounded outside. The floor tilted and Irene was thrown backwards into the bed. Pain radiated throughout her skull and she hissed as she scrambled back to her feet. There was no time to waste; launching into motion once more, Irene seized the wicker basket that had been Bear’s home for the past few months. Mercifully, having used it as a sanctuary when the vineyard got overwhelming, Bear had already established it as his safe-spot, and was curled tightly into a ball when she opened the lid. He hissed at her. Closing the basket, Irene thanked merlin that Mateo had charmed it long ago with a spell that would help it float in water.

Snatching her reticule from the side table, she stuffed the painting, letter and Elias’ box into the pouch before grabbing the basket and running back out the door. The deck was pure chaos. The deck...the deck had holes in it; big, gaping ones where the wood was wrenched up at some parts, and the entire main mast of the ship was consumed by flames. Some wizards and witches were attempting to put the fires out, and others were paying them no mind as they darted towards the railings. Some had jumped overboard. Others had clambered into lifeboats, and some were screaming for their loved ones. It only seemed like yesterday that Irene had boarded the boat and watched the bright, teary eyed faces of relatives saying good bye to the passengers. Now, it was completely different.

The only thing on her mind was to make her way to the edge of the ship. She barely took too steps when a high-pitched wail reached her ears. Irene stopped in her tracks as a small child caught her eye. Tears streaming down his sooty face, he was crying for his mother. She had barely taken one step towards the child when someone else scooped him up in their arms and ran towards the railing. Sighing in relief, Irene steeled herself and followed after them. Another roar stopped her in her tracks, and she was immediately met with glowing eyes and sharp, bloody fangs. Her only solace was that she was just out of its reach. Once it started stalking towards her though, she backed away, clutching her basket in one hand, and her reticule in the other.

Merlin’s beard…where had she put her wand?

The dragon in front of her opened its mouth, baring its teeth. At once, Irene’s stomach roiled as its putrid, warm breath blew into her face. “Please, no, not like this…” She heard herself whimper as she backed away even further. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.” It was as if the dragon sensed when she would dart away; it pounced at once. She threw an arm up. There was a massive groaning, and a crack that caused both her and the dragon to look skyward. That’s when she saw the ship’s mast headed straight for the both of them. Before she could even move, she heard a noise like a whip. Saw a flash of a heavily armored, scaly tail whipping towards her; the dragon had whipped around to flee the falling mast. Her shoulder exploded in pain. Something hit her in the stomach and she felt herself hurled backwards. There was a crack, and then her entire world went dark.

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