Mina placed a pale hand in Jonthan's, and her cold fingers clasped his. "This is wrong. The closing of the booths was a calculated incident, and it could be the first nail in Scythia's coffin. Yet, I do not wish it. I'd sooner have her as the Prince than her lackies or even one of the covenant leaders."Jonathan Belmont wrote:With Mina at his side, Jonathan made his way up the stairs and into the Grand Hall of the Lordenshaw City Opera House. Chandeliers laden with gleaming crystals illuminated everything with a warm, soft light that only just banished the shadows to the farthest corners of the room. The stage, richly framed with curtains of blood-red velvet, was watched over by three tiers of large, comfortable-looking chairs arranged in long curved rows, with the fourth and highest tier given over to private booths.
From what Mina had told him concerning previous Courts, these booths were normally occupied by the City's leaders, who could then look down on both the Hierophant and the rest of Lordenshaw's kindred with disdain. Tonight however, they were dark and full of shadows, although Jonathan wondered if repairs were really the reason for their being left empty.
Given the size of the Great Hall, the first tier of seating would have easily accommodated the entire Vampire population of the City, yet none who had entered so far had chosen to sit there. Most sat at least as far back as the middle of the second tier, as if wanting to maintain a safe distance between themselves and both Scythia and those that she had decreed would sit beneath her gaze. Following their example, Jonathan and Mina chose two seats at the end of a row about a third of the way up the second tier, in an area already occupied by a number of their fellow Carthians.
It wasn't until the flow of people entering the Great Hall waned and everyone began to take their seats that Jonathan realised that something was wrong. The first tier was still empty. None of the other Covenant leaders, or those Clan leaders who were not part of the Circle of the Crone, had followed the crowd inside.
"Discontent?" murmured Mina. "You might have been a little over-optimistic there, Scythia."
Many more Kindred were filing into the hall, and as the middle and back of the first tier was being filled, some were sitting further back still. Then, a African man in a black suit strode down the walkway and stood beneath the stage.
"Come now," he said aloud. "Please, this is quite simply inappropriate. Have we become afraid of 'seats'? Have we become too trapped into tradition that the closing of the booths would have us afraid of 'excellent viewing'? These front seats cost a fortune; I payed that to see the Phantom of the Opera."
The African man walked confidently to the middle of the front row and sat down with crossed legs. Suddenly, the hall filled with murmouring and moments later several more vampires began to sit closer to the stage. A Kindred in priest robes appeared apoplectic as he walked to the front. A tall, extremely obese vampire in a red and black silk suit followed him with a mocking smile. He sat down with a pompous air, and was joined by the other covenant and clan leaders.
