Setting
Eastmoor is a small town in the country side of England, situated about an hour and a half from London. It is known for having the families inhabiting the city having rather strained relationships with one another and although the whole vampire thing remains unknown to most humans, the murder statistics are high. Many of them aren't even ever solved. It is also known for being the home of several noble families, like the Ivanovs (the founders of the town), Murlocks, de Kneer, Dimozi and etc. However, even if they do have a lot of vampire living here, the main population still consists of humans. At least, for now... The class differences in Eastmoor are extremely evident and although most live in middle class conditions, there are several large mansions located in the outskirt of the city.
Beside the child, a little black cat was fighting even harder to get forwards. After a while, Eve stopped walking and carefully picked the cat up, holding him in her arms in order to keep both of them warm, and make the stride easier for the daemon. "Y-you poor little thing," she stammered out as she shivered, holding the creature very carefully, "you must be as c-cold as I am..." The cat mewed once loudly to confirm the girls guess, and then rubbed his head against her shoulder, purring softly. The child couldn't help but let out a soft giggle as a result of the daemons actions.
Eve suddenly stopped in her trail when she noticed the forest was no longer surrounding her, and ahead was the town spreading out between the hills. Biting her lip, she considered turning around and running back into the forest. But she was cold and hungry, and knowing that if she didn't find shelter and food soon, things wouldn't look good for her. So taking a deep breath, Eve started making her way down the hill and towards the town, clutching the daemon in a tight grip, though not so tightly that it would hurt. She just hoped no one would find her or recognize her. Most likely no one would. Not even one person had seen her when she entered of exited the room. However, there was still a chance someone knew.
As memories of what had happened a few days ago flashed through Eve's mind, she could feel tears starting to spring to her eye. She was still horrified by what she had done, not just to him but to the queen too. She was horrified by the whole killing process in general... and she was afraid for her friend whom she had not felt in a long time. Actually, with each day that passed Eve became weaker and weaker. She didn't understand why, and wished she had the answer... but knew not what it could be. No one had ever explained the needs of a spirit vampire to her. Everything was just so confusing... all she wanted was to return home and for everything to return to normal. Even if it would have meant going back to the dungeon, it was better than being out there and not understanding the world. It terrified her.
Once she reached the town, she glanced around with her one eye, still shivering with cold. She was wearing nothing but rags and her feet were bare. Wandering around like this for several hours had chilled her to the bone, and it felt like her legs wouldn't carry her anymore. Feeling the great urge to rest, Eve leaned against a house wall and slowly sunk into the snow, still cuddling the daemon. Before she knew it, she passed out.
Her past was a long rough one. One she hoped she would never have to remember. Shivering slightly she got dressed in her silken black and pink PJ's when her pup, Elvis started barking at the door.
On her guard, Dae carefully walked down the stairs, her Honey eyes darker and much more dangerous than before. "What is it Elvis?" She whispered when she reached the base of the stairs. He started pawing at the door almost whining. He turned and looked at her then back at the door. Thinking that he had to go out, she opened the door only to see him bolt out and sniff her neighbors house. "Elvis!" She called out feeling the chill of winter.
She ran trying to see what the mutt was pawing at only to see it was a little silver haired girl passed out in the snow only wearing rags. Without thinking she spoke in her native tounge, Italian, "Oh mio! Una bambina!" (oh my! A little Girl!) She noticed the black feline in her arms and sighed. "Elvis see if you can get the kitten in there, don't eat it!" She warned as she picked the little girl up in her arms and carried her into the house.
She'd set the girl down on the couch and covered her with blankets with a warm bowl of soup placed on the table with a cup of hot tea. For the little kitten she made sure it had a bowl of warm milk. Elvis huffed and seemed to lay on the floor next to Dae who had sat down in front of her fireplace her eyes on the little girl, and the kitten. "Elvis, that kitten will get your bed tonight. You sleep with me." Elvis seemed to whine at that statement but nothing more.
"Come on little one.. wake up." Daedelus would whisper.
"My, my. I haven't see you since high school, Jessica" he said getting a bit too close for comfort to her and started his seducing act. She blushed a little and told him she was lost because she took the wrong bus. "Well, I can show you the way to the right bus stop" he said very charmingly and tipped her chin up ever so slightly so her eyes met his. She blushed and agreed to let him lead her to the "bus stop". He walked her with her to the other side of town and the farther they got, the darker it was becoming. She questioned him a few times about where they were going, "Don't you worry a thing, everything... is... perfectly... fine" he said in an irresistible tone getting closer to her face with every word and their noses almost touched. But he had a devilish smile on his face. They got to the other side of town that was nearly pitch black. He smirked and his crimson eyes glowed in the darkness. "You know, Jessica, something about you is so... appetizing" he said with an evil grin on his face. She tried running but he grabbed her and took her into a pitch black secluded alley way. The only thing you could see were his fiery eyes.
He smashed her onto a wall and held her hand over her head so she couldn't do anything. He leaned in very close to her face and spoke very seductively, almost sounding hypnotic. "You are going to be very delicious" he said and moved his head to your neck. He opened his mouth revealing his sharp fangs and pierced her neck deep and started drinking her blood. She was screaming very loudly so he took his pale hand and covered her mouth. He kept drinking and drinking the smooth sweet blood out of her neck and into his mouth. He hit a veins causing the blood to flow faster and it overflowing down the sides of his mouth. After a while she stopped screaming and passed out. He continued drinking until she was drained and dead. He then took his teeth out of her neck and smiled sadistically with the blood dripping down his mouth. He ran back to the Morlock mansion to get washed up
"W-where...a-a-am I-I?" Little Eve stuttered out, noticing the bowl of food and warm milk. Her stomach growled, but she didn't dare touch anything. At least not without the consent of the woman, or the daemon. Reluctantly, she let go of the black cat slightly so he could take a closer at her soup. He sniffed it once, flicking his tail slightly, before he relaxed and jumped down from her lap. Eve took that as a good sign. Watching the cat happily starting to leap up the milk, made her even hungrier. Pausing, Eve glanced back at the woman, blushing slightly. "M-may... I eat that?" she asked quietly in a small voice, gesturing to the soup. It was standing in front of her, but she wasn't sure. She just hoped she wasn't sounding rude.
"Stay as long as you like, it's been a while since I've had company..." She'd stop and stand, walking around her chair. "Indeed, there is a bathroom if you want to take a warm bubble bath, and clothing in the closet." She'd bring one finger up to her mouth as in a sort of chuckle. She seemed to have forgotten that this was just a little girl. Though she nodded and started up the stairs and clapped for Elvis to follow her.
"The dog's bed is for your kitten tonight, as the couch is yours.. my name.. is Dae."
She'd point upstairs, the smile still on her face. "When you're ready, enter the first room on the right... that's where you'll find me."
The cold hadn't gotten to him, yet. He was dressed warmly, wearing one of his thicker overcoats and having two (or was it three?) thick sweaters underneath. His scarf was wrapped around his neck as usual, blocking the snow from chilling him, and he had donned a pair of soft leather gloves. Probably not the best to wear in the snow, but he wasn't planning on drenching them. He wiggled his fingers, scratching lightly at the snow around them.
Unable to hold his breath much longer, he exhaled slowly through his nose. The force sent the snowflakes spiraling around slightly, but before long they returned to their normal drifting dance.
Feeling his arms growing a little numb, Albert waved them, creating yet another impression of a snow angel. The 'wings' of snow around his arms suggested this wasn't his first time.
He liked lying in the snow. This sort of thing he would do often back in the Netherlands. Back home. Sometimes his mother would come join him. Not anymore, though. In fact, she almost didn't let him out tonight, telling him it was too cold. Al had dressed warmer to try to persuade her, but he saw that she was still reluctant. He had known the cold wasn't her biggest concern. With her fighting for the empty throne, one of her stronger arguments was him. The fact that she had an heir already, and he was healthy ("late bloomer" of course, but still healthy.) Healthy, of course, and alive. He knew one of her cousins (he supposed his cousin as well) was also trying to claim the throne, but the other was much younger, closer to his age. There was no heir from her, yet, but should someone decide to level the field...
With a sigh, Albert took one last glance at the snowflakes, letting the cold tickle him. Did humans feel cold like this as well? Maybe they felt it more? He certainly didn't see many out right now, though perhaps that was because of the time. Sighing once more, he heaved himself upright, shivering when some of the freezing crystals melted down the back of his neck. He shook his scarf before rewrapping it around himself and stood up, shaking the snow off. With a slight shiver, he started back to the small inn they were staying at.
He pulled his hoodie over his head, as usual and closed the gates of the mansion behind him. He was nocturnal like most blood vampires but he didn't sleep much. He didn't like the day though, it was bright and crowded. As he walked along the now almost deserted streets he was wondering if he was even going to find a snack. He just kept walking around scanning the whole place. Is this what I''ve become?Something so scary? I'm sadistic, a little voice told him in the back of his head, he ignored it. He spotted a young teenage girl and brought her quickly to an alleyway and put his fangs in her neck drinking almost all of her blood and she was near death. He thought he'd leave her, she was going to die anyway and her blood wasn't even that good. He walked out of the alleyway blood dripping from his mouth and his eyes glowing crimson red.
He saw a boy maybe a few years younger than him lying in the snow outside of the alleyway. Some of the blood dripped onto the snow turning it red. He sensed immediately that was another blood vampire. "Hey, you in the snow. There's a girl in there if you want her, she's not dead yet." he said and licked his finger. "Her blood wasn't really good, but it made a nice snack" he said a little bored and put his hands in his pockets.
Apparently, the Morlock didn't recognize him, something Albert didn't mind at all. Smiling politely, he answered, "Ah, no thank you. I already....well...you know." Feasted? Was that the term? Hunted? Albert quickened his pace, lest the Morlock grow curious.
He examined him, what a strange vampire. Never having any blood. That's crazy, he thought to himself looking at Albert. "Strange" he finally said putting his hands in the pocket of his hoodie.
Albert took several steps back when the Morlock boy confronted him. Drank...why hadn't he thought of that? His mother said that all the time, as did his cousins and other vampires around him....he must have been so nervous he forgot.
He gulped when the vampire said his name. So he did recognize him....this wasn't good. Al wasn't sure if the whole 'I can sense it' deal was true or not. Maybe it was just his way of saying he looked weak. Which was true. Albert wasn't going to deny that. He stayed quiet as the older guy jeered. Heir of the throne....expected to...with words like that, he took that to mean that his mother was faring well in her bid. Or so he hoped.
When the guy finally stopped talking, finishing with a muttered "Strange" as he slipped his hands into his pockets, Albert decided to take the opportunity while it was still there.
"It was a pleasure running into you again, Mr. Morlock," Albert replied politely, "It's been a while, hasn't it? Perhaps we could catch up at a later time, under less chilling circumstances," he nodded to the snow before side-stepping around the darkly-clad lad, "Vaarwel for now," he finished, hoping this time the vampire would leave him alone.
"It has been a while hasn't it" he said shaking his hand. His formal smile was a little fake. "But please, call me Gray" he said letting go of Alberts hand and putting his hand back in his pocket. "Let's meet again soon" he said, finally leaving him alone and starting to walk away. He turned his head back to Albert, his glowing crimson eyes illuminating the dark, giving Gray a frightening look. "Albert van der Kneer" he said and turned his head back in front of him and started heading back.
What type of noble is he? A true noble would be drinking as much as me, if not more. I always knew something was off about Albert. Even where we were kids. He is most like a spiritual vampire, no not even. More like a human all together. He thought to himself as he headed home. Once he got home the sun was almost rising and for once he actually felt a little tired. He stepped inside his house and got cleaned up, then went to bed with questions in his head that he was too tired to answer.
Come to think of it, as Al returned to the inn, he remembered an incident with the Morlock family not too long ago. One of them...was it Gray's father? No, no the uncle. The two did look very similar, but anyways. It was the uncle, who had been murdered, supposedly by a Spirit Vampire. That had caused quite a riot.
Briefly, he wondered if the Morlock's were going to try and lay claim to the crown as well. His mother wouldn't hear of it, he knew. 'Buying their way to the throne' she would call it. No respect for tradition and all that. Bloodlines. He supposed he'd find out soon enough. Pulling the door open, he nodded politely to the innkeepers before stepping nimbly up the stairs to the upper levels, where he and his mother were roomed.
His mother was less than amused with the arrangements, but didn't complain. Albert didn't mind at all. It was charming. Much more humble than the majestic, refurbished (and abandoned) Gothic cathedral they lived in back home. The expansive catacombs had been redone to not only be more hospitable, but to be more grand, with a dark air to it. Al preferred to romp around on the upper levels of the cathedral, staring at the stained glass windows and bidding the pigeons in the bell-tower good morning. The thing Al missed most, though, had to be the large organ. It had only been a few days since he played, but a few days too many.
He knocked on his mother's door, but upon hearing no answer, figured she was either out or sleeping already (a bit early for her, with the sun barely coming out). Resigned, he returned to his own room, covering the windows with one layer of curtains before pulling off his many layers and returning to the book he had brought with him, a dark sense of foreboding pitting in his stomach as he thought of the Morlocks, his mother and her cousin, and the poor King and Queen. Al knew he wasn't supposed to feel sympathy for the King of the Spirit Vampires, but dead was dead all the same, and deserved his sympathy. He had seen the King but once (not even met, but glanced briefly) when he was very young.
Come to think of it, wasn't there a daughter? He remembered when he was around 8, there was a big commotion when she was born. Three years later he had heard that the mother had been killed, and the daughter severely traumatized. He wasn't sure what had happened to her after that. His mother never brought her up again and Al didn't ask. She was a spirit vampire, after all, and whether she was alive to claim the throne next or dead to let the spirit's fight it out was of less concern than who was up next for the bloods.
Shrugging the thoughts from his mind, Al returned to his book, grateful for a distraction that spoke to him of simpler, gentler times.
He sat on the edge of his bed trying to wake up a little, there was no point in going back to bed because he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Some days he would have to talk with companies during the day, he was older now and he had work with people as well. Most of the time for music advertisements and modelling due to his good looks. But thankfully today he had nothing. Well at least he thought. He heard a knock on the door and it was one of the maids of the mansion. "Come in" he said emotionless, the maid stepped into the dark room nervously and told him that modelling agency was coming in half for an interview and job request. He dismissed the maid and proceeded to get dressed. Instead of his usual hoodie and jeans he dressed a little more formally with a dress shirt and dress pants. As he was instructed to dress nicely when he was doing business. He still kept his trademark of dark clothing though. He got cleaned up and fresh then went downstairs to greet the agency.
He used his fake personality when doing work for agencies, having an overall happy expression and polite action making him sound very professional. They wanted him to do a photo shoot the next day for a world known teen clothing company. Great he thought sarcastically. I have to work all day tomorrow, he knew that his parents never allowed him to not accept job offers because it would ruin the reputation of the Morlocks. He politely accepted and had the interview and meeting then they left. When they left he took the awful smile off his face that he hated so much.
He sat there on the couch letting his thoughts consume him. Last night was quite strange, who knew I'd run into a Der Kneer? But don't they live far from here. Why was the Albert kid here? And I never thought a noble to not drink blood. Truthfully Gray didn't like the Der Kneers all that well, they only thought the Morlocks were noble because of their money. But the Morlocks do have a noble blood line. The Der Kneers are in line for the thrown though. I don't understand sometimes, why them. Why do they get the throne? It sickens me to think that little Albert is the heir to the throne. He's barely even a vampire, not having a single drop of blood. he thought to himself and rage started coursing through him.
Traditionally the spirit throne is taken by merit of magical prowess, and withing the noble circles there were few who could contend with the shear potency of Vontessa flames. Of course the source of her skill was her own, but the potency in the flames could only be attributed to her bond, to James.
The thought that his life force was potentially a source of her greatest chance at the spirit throne, sickened the disenfranchised boy. There had been nights that he had held a knife to his wrists praying for the will to take his own life just to deprive her the power his body involuntarily gave her.
Standing in one of the darkened corners, watching the Duchess carelessly use her magic to play with the candles flame, feeling the life force trickling out of him, James reconsidered the knife.
"James" the Duchess called out in the sing song voice that one would use to call a dog. "I am feeling dry, please fetch some wine from the cellar won't you." there was no question in the request it was an order, James had to stop his hand from running down the burns on his arms in remembrance of the last "request" he failed to fulfill.
Nodding silently he strode to the cellar. As he passed through the main hall he noticed a letter lying opened on a table. The letter bore the crest of the house of Der Kneer, a blood vampire clan, which from his understanding was in direct line to the blood throne. Had Vontessa been reaching out even to the bloods for support? The feud made such a thought seem ludicrous, but maybe...
Swinging his eyes around the room James pick up the letter and read it quickly.
Lady Vontessa,
I regret to inform you that in spite of your generous offerings, I must decline your proposal. I have doubts to your claim
that you could further secure my ascension and the scandal that would arise should such a plot be discovered would
certainly lead to a revolt. However should you manage the spirit throne on your own, I will look forward to negotiating with
you.
With regards,
Lady Ilse van der Kneer.
James couldn't believe his eyes. Vontessa acutally had contacted the bloods and proposed some sort of plot. James quickly returned the letter to its place on the table careful to ensure that it was exactly as he had found it. He wasn't sure how he could use this information, but somehow, someway he would use this to help him get his revenge.
Vontessa's voice called out harshly from the other room, "James! Where is my wine?" James sneered in contempt before hurrying off to the cellar.
The little girl listened in silence as the woman spoke, a look of pure confusion crossing her face. A-a bath? What is that? She thought to herself, yet dared not ask the spirit vampiress. Instead she just nodded her head, avoiding direct eye contact as she spoke. "O-okay... thank y-you, miss..." little Eve stuttered out shyly, her voice soft and quiet, as if it had never been made for ever being raised above the tone she had just used. She glanced up at the vampiress briefly, before tilting her head, "I-I...am...Eve..." she introduced herself timidly, before watching the woman and dog walk away. She had the feeling the daemon would sleep with her this night.... like it had every night ever since they met. The little girl did wonder, though, how the spirit vampire would react... if she found out about the daemon's true identity.
"Hey there, buddy." Arcadia muttered as she held out a gloved hand with a sliced piece of apple held within the grasps of her fingers. The velvety muzzle of the gentle giant grazed her palm through the wool of the glove as it took the apple and crunched it noisily. Arcadia put one hand under the horse's head and stroked his muzzle gently, looking into the horse's eyes and muttering words of soft kindness to the horse. Arcadia was lucky, this was the horse her parents were going to buy her in a few months time for her 18th birthday. The owners had welcomed her to come by whenever she wanted, and Arcadia visited the horse whenever she liked. She gave the horse a few more pats and went over the the corner of the field where there was an old, tall oak tree. She climbed it and sketched what she saw, the horse grazing in a snowy, bare field. Of course Arcadia loved this place, it was beautiful! She sat down in the snow on the branch, not really caring about the cold fingers of it, and leaned back against the bark of the oak. It didn't take long for her to finish, seeing as Arcadia couldn't really draw and it was a very bare field, and didn't require much detail. She hadn't let herself get distracted either, but she did now, and imagined the melody of Transcendence in her head. She drifted inside her imagination for a while, and didn't realize how late it was getting. In fact, by the time night had fallen, Arcadia was fast asleep and dreaming of her fantasy lands.
It had been a while since she had done anything fun, and the younger girl didn't appear to be one of the people around her town. Then again, Dae kept to herself. She didn't seem to care for the people around anyway. Getting on her beautiful gothic style bed, she patted the side, as Elvis jumped up placing himself on her other side.
"She's a young one...think we could keep her around and NOT scare her adorable kitten."
She looked at Elvis wiggling her finger, he just wagged his spotted tail and licked her cheek.
Dae laughed and laied down, placing her fingers together. She closed her eyes, letting her breathing slow.
She hesitated and then carefully knocked on the door she could sense the vampire in, holding her breath and expecting to get yelled at. Her father would always yell at her, and she had never been allowed to go even close to his bedroom. She nervously chewed her bottom lip as she glanced about, making sure she had somewhere to hide in case the woman would be angry. Her heart was pounding quickly in her chest- she didn't find anywhere she could run. What if this vampire found out about her secret? Or what if they found her? What if this kind woman would be hurt because of her? She didn't know what to do at all...
"Albert, love," she said, shutting the door behind her and locking it, "You can't just allow anyone to enter your room. Why didn't you bother checking? And why wasn't your door locked? Suppose it wasn't your mother who was coming in to check on you, but another vampire without loving intentions in his heart?"
"My apologies, Mother," Albert said, putting aside his book, "I'll be more careful next time."
She nodded, "Good. Now, you would not believe what that...that harlot Vontessa asked of me!"
Albert raised an eyebrow, eyes widening as his mother ranted about the letter and the spirit vampiress' request for support. "Can you believe, a blood vampire supporting a spirit vampire?" Ilse nearly shouted, her typically alabaster skin pinking from the insult she undoubtedly felt, "She even went on to suggest that she could help with my own claim! The wench! A scandal, I told her, that would only result in a scandal! You know, darling, I feel that she is only asking for my support because she lacks support from her own side. No honor, no pride, has she! Have you even seen that human of hers? Why, he always looks absolutely miserable! Not that I particularly care for humans, but Albert, don't you feel our methods are more humane? Just one bite, and they absolutely love it. Put them out of their misery with one last pleasurable experience, rather than keep them alive and hating you. I tell you, dear, that human has the evil eye set on Vontessa. If I were her, I'd finish him up now before he gets any ideas."
Although Albert was used to his mother telling him the latest vampire gossip ("It's always important to stay informed with these things!" she would always say) she rarely talked to him about this sort of thing.
"Forgive me, mother," he interrupted during a lapse, "But...I'm not entirely sure why you are telling me all this? It all seems very....adult..."
His mother laughed, "Oh, dearest. Don't you see? If I'm to get the throne, and you inherit it, you'll need to know these things. Allies, enemies, especially now. With nearly everyone here, you'll have to be more cautious than normal. Remember, sweetling," she kissed him on the forehead, "Don't trust anyone."
She left, to her own room he supposed for her usual nap. Vontessa...Lady Vontessa it would be...Albert didn't think he had ever met her. But he had to agree with his mother that it was unusual that a spirit vampire would ask for his mother's help. Or even offer support. Unless she was as tolerant as he (which he doubted, if his mothers claims about how the spirit vampire treated her bonded) she must have been truly desperate for some sort of support.
Albert tried to return to his book, but the throne and his mothers words after he let her in and Gray made things difficult. Instead, he donned his outside clothes, adding a hat now that the sun was out, and skipped down the stairs outside. A good walk would certainly help things, even if the sun did tend to give him a headache.
He opted to go into the woods, where he would find decent shade. It was still fairly early, probably around 8 o' clock, and most everyone was still asleep. Smiling and humming, he soon found himself upon a trail. Although the trees grew sparser, the excitement of a new trail helped dull out the beginnings of his head ache, although the hat did a considerable amount to help. Following the trail, he found himself at a fenced field. There was a lovely horse milling about, and Al wished he had brought some apples for it. There was also a very large oak tree near the edge of the field, yet when Albert took a closer glance, he noticed something peculiar. Walking closer, his eyes widened when he realized a girl was sleeping in it!
Some snow had fallen on her, leading Albert to believe she had been sleeping there a while. Was it for the whole night? How had she not frozen to death? That is, if...
He gulped. He hoped she was okay...he could tell she wasn't a vampire, not a blood one at least. He wondered briefly if she was a spirit vampire, but she could also be human. Al didn't have a very strong yelling voice, and instead climbed over the fence and slowly inched his way up the tree, being careful about where he climbed. When he finally reached her branch, he brushed the snow off of her before shaking her arm gently with his gloved hand. "Psst," he said softly, "Are you all right?"
"H-how l-long have I been a-asleep?" Arcadia cringed inside. What a stupid question to ask! She shook the curls of her blonde hair, and shivered. She was indeed very cold. She reached for her sketchpad and pencil that had fallen to the floor while she slept, only to find there was a deep, dark line where the pencil had pressed into the card of the sketchpad paper and that the actual pencil had snapped clean in two. She frowned at it and slipped the fragments of wood into her pocket, and huddled into a ball, trying to keep warm. "M-my p-parents w-will b-be w-worried!" She told herself. She was still cold...Perhaps she could call over the horse and ride it back? Arcadia had no idea, and had forgotten all about the boy in the tree - until just then. She looked up, a confused expression on her face. "Are you a murderer?" She asked. She realized after she'd said it that it sounded rude. She blushed a soft pink and tried to explain. "Um, it's just that...The murder rate...It's gone up recently...There was another girl found, I read it in the newspaper. Blood drained from her, two little puncture wounds in her neck." She paused a little, thinking. "Thinking about it, it sounds like a vampire did it! If they were real." She shrugged. She bit her lip, thinking she had gone too far with her rambling.
As he saw her laying up in the tree, his suspicions had been confirmed. However, just as he spotted her up in the tree, he also saw another vampire. A blood vampire- he could sense it... but there was something off about him. Viktor tilted his head as he watched them, a small smile of amusement flashing across his lips. So, had this whimpy looking little guy already claimed her as dinner? Viktor wondered, and thought it to be shame. He would have loved devouring this pretty little human- just a little and slowly- day by day. His family did need a new feeder anyways... the last one had died so pitifully in Raphael's care.
Sighing at the thought of his brother and racking his hand through his hair before stuffing it into his pocket, Viktor leaned against a tree trunk, still smiling in amusement. The sun had already started to rise by then. Damn the short nights, he thought, if they could just last forever... "Of course the murder rates have gone up, girl..." he said calmly, gazing at her with his sparkling but deadly eyes, "the number of vampires have increased... it's only natural," his smile widened and he glinted his fangs, a dark chuckle escaping his lips.
Only then did Arcadia realize who and what she was dealing with. "Y-You a-are b-both-" She cut herself off with a short squeak of fear. She couldn't fight them - Arcadia didn't think that ballet moves and piano chords would do much harm. She couldn't run, they would most definitely be caught by them. But, exactly how fast were these vampires? Could they outrun a horse? She thought up a plan. All she needed to do was get on the horse.
She looked around, looking for some way to get out of that impossible, but deadly situation. The horse was about 20 feet away. Most likely too far. But if Arcadia stuck around she wouldn't be very alive to decide to run or not. She had to decide. And she had to decide now. She bolted across the snow towards the horse, hoping her luck would hold. Which it probably wouldn't.
Viktor, from what he remembered, wasn't the worst out of the five brothers. He had always taken on the big brother role, and was nice enough to Al. Raphael was the scary one...he remembered when his mother told him about their stepmother's death...
Yet if there was one thing Al was sure of, it was that Viktor was very practical about humans and what he thought of them. And that he was also vying for the throne.
For a moment, Albert realized that Viktor's apparent restraint might have been because the older vampire thought Al was claiming her. He started to smile, happy he had found a solution, but then the girl sprinted.
Eyes widening, he glanced back at Viktor and then the girl and then Viktor again. Albert didn't want to scare her, but if Viktor thought he was hunting the girl....
There wasn't anymore time to lose. Without thinking everything through entirely, Albert hopped down from the tree and chased after the girl, hoping he looked a little more fearsome than nervous. Catching up to her easily, he scooped her up, holding her tightly and continued running out of the field, leaping over the fence and booking it as fast as he could back towards the town, hoping Viktor wouldn't chase him.
He was breathless by the time he reached his inn. Just as he went for the door, he realized he wasn't sure whether this was the smartest idea or not....maybe he should just drop her off outside....but if Viktor was following...no, he'd let her out at noon, when the sun was highest and even he couldn't stay out for too long. He practically jumped up all the stairs to his room, opened his door (he had forgotten to lock it) and slammed it shut, locking it tightly. Only then did he finally relax and put down the girl. "You're safe now," he panted, sitting down hard on the floor and breathing heavily.
She realized that her hand was still bleeding, thin lines of the red liquid running down her hand and dripped onto the floor. "W-who a-are y-you? A-and w-who is t-the o-other b-b-boy? H-he'll k-kill m-m-me too." Arcadia managed to get it out without biting her tongue clean off with her chattering teeth. She was still freezing, and it was more than likely, she realized, that where there were two vampires there would be more. Besides, he had said the vampire population had risen, didn't he? So there were DEFINITELY more around. But where?
"Y-y-you aren't g-g-going to j-j-just l-let m-m-me go, are you?" Arcadia muttered. "You'll k-k-kill me or d-d-do something to m-m-my m-m-memories." She protested to herself. Nobody would believe her if she told anyone. She frowned to herself and hugged herself tightly, closing her hand into a fist and touching her chin to her chest, and pulled up the collar of her fabric coat around her neck. She may have looked stupid, but she really didn't care.
Albert would have continued, but he was too distracted by the red that he just noticed was dripping onto the floor. Was it...no...but it smelled like it....slowly his gaze switched to the source of the red liquid, and his stomach nearly dropped.
Blood. It was blood.
He barely even heard the girl's chattering, his eyes wide as he kept staring at the blood. He was going to turn 16 very soon. In two weeks, as a matter of fact. Whatever bad cravings he had before were now nothing compared to this. The fact that he had just exerted himself did nothing to help.
Feeling himself tense up, he quickly squeezed his eyes shut and tried to calm himself. You don't need it, you don't need it he told himself, You're not like them. You don't need it.
Opening his eyes, he forced himself to focus on the girl. He noticed her shivering, and, thankful for the distraction, immediately pulled off his own coat and scarf. "Here," he said, draping them around her, "This will keep you warm. If you want to change out of your wet clothes, there's a bathroom right there," he pointed at the small door in the side of the room, "There's also a sink so you can...clean up your...." he couldn't finish, and instead went to his drawers. Pulling up a white shirt he didn't particularly like, he ripped it into strips and handed them to her, "You can wrap these around....you know..."
He took several steps away from her before motioning at her to change in the bathroom. He then quickly turned around and sat on his bed, head in hands as he tried to concentrate on anything but the blood.