Shadows of London: 3-6 Distant Memories

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Who is Roger Evans? How does he know so much about vampires?

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• Roger Evans: Nice to meet you, Mr. Savile.

• Roger Evans: What's with the ominous look? I was just kidding earlier.

• Roger Evans: Furthermore, I'm sure you wouldn't want to engage in any violent behavior in front of the two ladies, would you?

• Vincent Savile: You know who I am?

• Roger Evans: I thought you would be happier being recognized. What with a budding poet like you aspiring to make it big in London?

• You: Roger, what just happened? What kind of trap did you set up?

• Roger Evans: You said that vampires can be hurt by silver, Caroline.

• Roger Evans: But if you were to replace all the doorknobs and window handles in your house with silver ones, the cost would be rather prohibitive.

• Roger Evans: A silver solution is much cheaper and easier to work with compared to pure silver. Just so you know.

• He lowers his voice, seemingly embarrassed by what he's about to say next.
• Roger Evans: Don't be alarmed when you get a bill from the mirror makers down the street. That's for these silver solutions. I'd be grateful if you could settle the bill.

• Roger Evans: After all, this is the benefit of your personal safety, and I'm unfortunately strapped for cash.

• I agree to this arrangement without much thought and he nods earnestly in appreciation and resumes his explanation.
• Roger Evans: I coated every inch of every surface anyone would have to touch in order to enter or leave this place with silver, the way one would silver a mirror.

• Roger Evans: This won't affect us humans or hurt any vampires much.

• Roger Evans: It is, however, surprisingly effective in deterring an ill-prepared vampire intent on invading this house.

• He smiles and glances at Vincent, his eyes glinting with triumphant mischief.
• We are taken aback by this unconventional plan. Priscilla blinks, her face awash with a complex mix of admiration and exasperation.
• Vincent becomes more guarded.
• Vincent Savile: ...This is far beyond the capabilities of a layperson, Roger Evans. You seem to know a lot about us.

• Vincent Savile: Are you a vampire hunter?

• My heart skips a beat.

If you agreed with Priscilla in 2-2

• You: (That Roger knew Vincent by name wasn't surprising... but how did he know Vincent's a vampire?)

• You: (Is Priscilla aware of this too?)

• I turn my gaze to Priscilla. She looks at Roger and Vincent with a shock in her eyes, clearly unaware of what is happening.

If you agreed with Roger in 2-2

• If he has encountered the Blood Clan and managed to survive...
• Doctor Grey's words resonate once more in my head and my palms break out in cold sweat as though he is standing right there, whispering into my ears.
• You: (If Roger wants to harm Vincent, will I be able to stop him?)

• Roger is unlike Doctor Grey, and I have not an ounce of confidence in stopping him.

• Roger Evans: There's no need to speculate, sir. I do indeed possess some knowledge of your kind.

• Roger Evans: And I guessed your nature from your face.

• Roger Evans: It is hard not to notice when a person doesn't appear to age even after a decade or two. —Don't you think, Oliver?

• You: Vincent!

• If Vincent was on tenterhooks earlier, now it looks like he is about to bare his fangs.
• I immediately grab Vincent's hand.
• Even Priscilla, who had no idea what was going on, can feel the tension in the air and clutches tightly onto Roger's clothes.
• You: Vincent, watch yourself! Don't forget that this is my home!

• You: And you, Roger! I will have to ask you to leave if you do not explain yourself!

• You: I won't allow you to slander my friend!

• Roger Evans: Your... "friend"?

• Roger squints his eyes, his face darkening.
• In the time I've known him, I've never seen his expression betray his inner feelings.
• Roger Evans: I suppose it is not unexpected for you, Caroline, to befriend a vampire.

• Roger Evans: But can you be sure he regards YOU as a "friend" as well?

• Roger Evans: Perhaps to Mr. Savile, you are no more than an exquisite and delicious meal, beyond his ability to resist.

• You: Vincent risked his life to save me from the Baroness during the graveyard incident.

• You: So I trust him.

• You: I once told Priscilla something I'm going to repeat to you:

• You: If you still consider me a friend, please show a little respect to the person who saved my life, Mr. Evans.

• Roger Evans: ...

• Priscilla tugs hard on Roger's sleeve, making her intentions clear: she knows I will not back down, no matter what.
• Perhaps Roger realizes from Priscilla's reaction that I am at my last straw. His expression suddenly relaxes, appearing both angry and helpless.
• Roger Evans: Is that so... Mr. Savile rescued you? Astonishing indeed.

• Roger Evans: Truly a saint among vampires!

• The sarcasm, ill-intended as it were, rather placates Vincent instead.
• Vincent Savile: This phrase is Hawke's catchphrase. How do you...

• Vincent pauses, as if recalling something.
• Vincent Savile: So that's how it is. You were the child back then...

• Vincent Savile: You got close to Caroline because of Lavinia?

• You: Wait, what are you two talking about?

• I never expected my mother's name to be mentioned out of nowhere in this conversation.
• Vincent steals a glance at me, and turns back to Roger with another question. It is Vincent's turn, his voice also practically dripping with sarcasm.
• Vincent Savile: Did you not tell her?

• You: What didn't you tell me?

• Vincent Savile: I'll let Mr. Evans do the honors, Caroline.

• Vincent Savile: The story told through his eyes will take up less time by virtue of his age.

• With that, Vincent casually walks away. Priscilla and I stare at Roger, our expressions grave with trepidation.
• He scratches his nose in uncharacteristic embarrassment, and sighs.
• Roger Evans: Mr Savile underplayed the length of my story. It's getting dark out here, let's adjourn to the room and we can continue from there?

• The twilight deepens. Alice lights the gas lamp for us.
• Roger's calm narration begins under the gentle flicker of the light.
• Roger Evans: Let's start from the beginning, Caroline. Priscilla must have told you about my origins?

• You: Yes, she did.

• Roger Evans: Most of what she said was true, but there is one thing she wasn't aware of: thirteen years ago, I had already been living in London for some time.

• You: Thirteen years ago?!

• Roger Evans: My good-for-nothing father had just passed away and my relatives first sent me to a local charity school. Eventually, I made my way to London.

• Roger Evans: Here, I was taken in by an almshouse run by one Pastor William Akerman.

• Priscilla Barnet: William Akerman! That's...

• You: The frontman for that noble family that has been conspiring with the Elder?

• Priscilla Barnet: What frontman? What do you mean by "conspiring"?

• I briefly share with Priscilla what I had learned from Vincent and she glares at me in anger.
• Priscilla Barnet: So, the saint was a sinner in disguise and in cahoots with the vampires? Why didn't you tell me earlier, Caroline!

• You: I was just as surprised as you are. And much has happened since...

• Priscilla isn't prepared to let my explanation go but gets cut off by Roger.
• Roger Evans: Yes, thirteen years ago, the compassionate Pastor William insisted on taking in the elderly and children infected with a strange sickness...

• Roger Evans: He provided them with three square meals a day and a warm bed to sleep on. It was as close to heaven as the destitute could imagine themselves.

• Roger Evans: And one day, they all vanished, forever.

• You: Vanished? Forever? And how would you know? What is your role in this?

• Roger shrugs his shoulders.
• Roger Evans: I was always healthy and quick on my feet. Pastor William liked what he saw in me and made me his assistant.

• Roger Evans: My job was to keep some rather peculiar notes for him every day.

• Roger Evans: It was a wide range of matters, including donations from the nobles, the names of the homeless we took in each day, and what appeared to be prescriptions.

• You: (Prescriptions?)

• Roger Evans: That went on for two months, and he expressed nothing but satisfaction in my work.

• Roger Evans: It was strange to work in close proximity with so many of the infected every day, yet neither the Pastor nor I contracted the terrible disease.

• Roger Evans: Then... one day, he said he had a task of utmost importance for me and took me to a dungeon.

• Roger Evans: It was there that I encountered someone.

• Roger Evans: Where am I? Let me out!

• Roger Evans: Pastor! Pastor William! Where are you? Please, let me out of here!

• ???: Hhh...uhhh......

• Roger Evans: W-who's there?

• ???: ...

• Roger Evans: Stay...Stay where you are...

• ???: !

• Roger Evans: Ah— No— No, please, don't!

• Roger Evans: No— *gasp*... don't... save me, Mama...

• ???: !?

• Roger Evans: Are you here to pick me up... Mama... Save me...

• ???: ... "Mama"...? Caroline?

• Roger Evans: ...

• ???: ?! No...what am I doing?

• ???: Wake up, child! Wake up!

• ???: I, I can't believe it - No! I don't wish to feed on blood anymore... I don't want to!

• The air is stale and frozen. My breathing slows along with the atmosphere, almost to a complete stop.
• You: You met my mother?

• Roger Evans: I did, Caroline. I met your mother, Mrs. Lavinia Rayes.

• Roger Evans: She left me quite the gift on our first meeting. I can still feel the scar from her bite on my neck today.

• You: I—

• Roger recounts how he was fed on by my mother as though it was some trivial prank and I find myself at a loss with how l ought to react.
• Roger Evans: Not that I'm encouraging it but being dinner for a vampire isn't that painful an ordeal at all.

• Roger Evans: On the contrary, it is an odd mixture of a hazy sense of comfort and a numbing, hallucination-inducing excitement.

• Roger Evans: I saw my mother in that haze.

• Roger Evans: Thanks to this vision of a mother I never got to know, I called out for "Mama", and the cries of a child helped Mrs. Rayes remember her humanity.

• You: So, you knew from the moment we met that I was her daughter? And that my mother was a member of the Blood Clan?

• Roger Evans: Calm down. No offense, but "Caroline" is a rather common name.

• Roger Evans: And you aren't exactly a dead ringer for your mother either. My guess is you take after your father more.

• Roger Evans: When Priscilla wrote to me about how she met you, I didn't connect you with Lavinia.

• Roger Evans: Not until you recklessly grabbed me at the train station, and I saw the name "Caroline Rayes" written on your suitcase.

• I immediately recall the encounter at the train station that day.
• Roger glanced at the suitcase, then smiled as he handed it to me.
• Priscilla Barnet: And you didn't mention a peep after that, Roger! You kept it from me until now!

• Priscilla is furious. She might not have the fangs of a vampire, but she looks like she could rip his neck apart.
• You: That's enough, Priscilla. Roger was right to have kept it a secret.

• You: I didn't have the courage to reveal my lineage then.

• You: Had a complete stranger revealed my biggest secret, I would never have found it in myself to trust him.

• You: And Roger knew this. It's why he's waited all this while for me to show my true self.

• Roger Evans: Thank you, Caroline, for thinking so well of me.

• You: Huh?

• Roger Evans: Truth be told, my training prevents me from concluding your humanity... or lack thereof on solely a name.

• Roger Evans: You asked me about the origin of that lullaby... That's what truly got me thinking about who... or rather what you are.

• You: So, that lullaby you were singing was...

• Roger Evans: Yes, Lavinia taught me that lullaby.

• Roger Evans: That plague changed her life. It was something she would never forget.

• The tone with which Roger regarded my mother stirs something indescribable within me.
• You: You saw her thirteen years ago... but where was I at that time?

• You: Why was I not by her side?

• Roger Evans: If I were to guess, I would say Lavinia left you on purpose.

• You: That's impossible!

• Roger shakes his head and looks at me with a hint of pity.
• Roger Evans: Someone went to great lengths to hurt Lavinia with the aim of provoking her bloodthirsty impulse.

• Roger Evans: So, she completely lost her mind and went against her usual principles by biting me.

• Roger Evans: Just imagine, what would have happened had it been you instead of me?

• I feel a rush of emotion, my fists clenching as I struggle to temper my voice with reason.
• You: If my blood could alleviate my mother's pain, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment!

• You: She is my mother. How could I sit back and do nothing while she suffers?

• Vincent Savile: ...Thing is, that's not what she would want.

• With a sharp turn, I confront Vincent.
• Vincent speaks from the other end of the room, with his back to me, as though he's muttering to himself.
• Roger, never one to pull his punches with Vincent, surprises me by agreeing with the latter.
• Roger Evans: He's right. That's not what she'd want.

• Roger Evans: Caroline, I have no doubt that you love your mother profoundly. I believe you when you say you would do anything to spare her pain.

• Roger Evans: But you need to know what the true cause of her pain was.

• Roger grits his teeth, preparing to yet again dive into his painful recollections.

• Lavinia: Red roses in a heap, gentle moonbeams...

• Lavinia: Little girl, go to sleep, meet angels in your dreams...

• Lavinia: Caroline...

• Roger Evans: What song is that?

• Lavinia: It is way past your bedtime, Roger. Close your eyes and no more talking.

• Roger Evans: I can't fall asleep. Mrs. Rayes... Can I talk to you for a bit?

• Lavinia: What do you want to talk about?

• Roger Evans: Who is Caroline? Is she your child?

• Lavinia: Yes, she is my daughter, just a few years younger than you.

• Roger Evans: Is she also a vampire like you?

• Lavinia: No, she is human. Completely, utterly human. She won't become like me.

• Lavinia: And if I had the choice, I would be just like Caroline. Completely human.

• Roger Evans: I don't understand. Won't I become a vampire since you bit me?

• Lavinia: No, Roger. You only become one if a vampire shares its blood with you.

• Roger Evans: ...

• Lavinia: You seem to be pondering something perilous.

• Roger Evans: Why? Is becoming a vampire a dangerous thing?

• Lavinia: ...

• Roger Evans: You won't die, right? You don't need to eat, won't go hungry, and won't freeze in the winter night.

• Roger Evans: It must be amazing, possessing all that extraordinary strength and resilience. Even the police and adults are afraid of you.

• Roger Evans: If I become a vampire, I wouldn't have to be a pushover, I wouldn't have to beg for scraps wherever I go—

• Lavinia: Roger... Listen to me, child.

• Lavinia: Yes, we won't die from illness or other natural causes. But we will go hungry, and we will feel the cold.

• Lavinia: We won't starve to death, but we'll forever remain hungry. We won't freeze to death, but we'll never be able to feel warmth.

• Lavinia: We are not afraid of the police, but we have other enemies. We will not get assaulted, but we are hunted and killed by humans nonetheless.

• Lavinia: From the moment you become a part of the Blood Clan, you lose everything.

• Lavinia: In the end, "nothing will come of nothing."

• Roger Evans: I don't understand. If I asked you, would you not be willing to turn me into a vampire?

• Lavinia: Yes, at least for now, I am unwilling.

• Lavinia: You're still too young, child. You're not mature enough to fully bear the weight of your own choices.

• Lavinia: Becoming a vampire is a one-way path. Eventually, you'll regret your decision, but you won't be able to change it.

• Lavinia: This kind of regret will destroy you and everyone around you, and you—

• Lavinia: !

• Roger Evans: What's wrong?

• ???: Lavinia? Lavinia, are you here?

• Lavinia: Who is it?

• Hawke: ...Lavinia!

• Hawke: Hurry up! We don't have any time to waste!

• Lavinia: Hawke, watch out! These are silver shackles.

• Hawke: Ah!

• Hawke: Ouch... Ugh...

• Lavinia: Hawke... Why are there so many wounds on your body?

• Lavinia: !

• Lavinia: Roger, get out of the way!

• Hawke: Blood... give it to me—

• Roger Evans: Woah!

• Lavinia: Hawke! Wake up!

• Lavinia: Ah!... Roger, while I hold him back, you should run—

• Vincent Savile: Hawke! Stop!

• Lavinia: Oliver!

• And all eyes in the room turn to Vincent, who has yet to utter a word.
• His sight is fixed on the ground, deep in contemplation, as though yet to return from his journey down memory lane.
• You: Vincent? That's you, isn't it? The person in Roger's story?

• He finally lifts his head.
• Vincent Savile: Yes, that was me.

• Vincent Savile: That night, the members of the Blue Rose fought the Elder's group in an attempt to take back their spiritual leader, Lavinia.

• Vincent Savile: They found Lavinia, kept in the dungeon beneath William Akerman's church.

• Vincent Savile: Hawke and I were both tasked with getting Lavinia out. But Hawke was a step ahead of me... and what happened next was an accident.

• Roger Evans: An accident? That's quite an understatement.

• Roger Evans: Lavinia had been locked up for several days without having been fed at all.

• Roger Evans: She refused to drink my blood and was already at her limit. And yet you... you had to hurt her at her weakest!

• Roger Evans: She could have persevered and returned to her daughter with her mind intact!

• Vincent Savile: Hawke didn't know. That night... we ambushed The Elder together with the Blue Rose.

• Vincent Savile: Because of our blood bond, we were unable to attack the Elder ourselves, so that responsibility fell to the Blue Rose.

• Vincent Savile: But Hawke bore the brunt of the Elder's attacks and ended up the most badly hurt among us.

• Vincent Savile: I'm not making excuses for Hawke. But he was facing oblivion and no longer had the strength to control himself...

• Roger Evans: Ah yes, that's right. "He could no longer control himself." I had a feeling you would say that.

• Roger Evans: And so, an injured Mr. Ben Hawke tried to feast on the child Lavinia protected.

• Roger Evans: I'm sure what Lavinia had to endure was nothing compared to Hawke's desperate needs that night eh, Oliver?

• You: I'm sorry, but everyone cut it out!

• You: Who was in the right and who's not...

• Tears wash over my eyes like an angry deluge, and I can barely maintain my composure.
• You: ...Does any of that matter anymore?

• Priscilla silently moves to bury my tear-streaked face in her slender chest.
• All this time, I have been on this quest, searching for the truth and the "villain" responsible for my mother's death.
• I had been unable to square my father's actions with how he could love my mother so.
• But the truth is inevitable. Yet I would rather have remained ignorant.
• I could blame so many people.
• Hawke for inflicting the blow that changed my mother; Vincent for being one step behind; Roger for being the catalyst to the entire chain of events...
• But no amount of blame can turn back the sands of time and change what fate had in store.
• Mother's ordeal left her irreversibly deranged and Father had no choice but to plunge the dagger into her heart.
• Priscilla holds me ever the tighter and I bawl heartbroken on her shoulder.