Author's Notes: Well, I probably should explain this a bit. This idea came to me as a conversation with a friend… a conversation generated by random questioning. It'll be an Alternate Universe setting, yet with some things that will stay the same. Hard to explain without spoiling, you'll have to read. Just take this as a warning for the weirdness you might find.
A Dream's End
by: Andariel
Chapter I
It was cold that night, unnaturally so but Aya did not seem to mind it, much less notice it. He couldn't sleep; the dreams haunted his mind causing him to wake up shuddering, gasping for the breath that had evaded him during his subconscious' game. It was always the same in one-way or another: the panicked sensation that tore through his veins, the same jade-green eyes that watched and seduced him from the dark depths of oblivion. But despite the scenery, it always ended in the same tones of dark, flowing crimson. Blood. So much of it. So rich.
Aya shuddered; pulling the deep blue shirt that had been folded neatly over the back of a chair earlier that night closer around him. Laziness kept him from buttoning it up to keep away the cold from his otherwise bare chest. He stepped out onto the balcony of his second floor apartment. The cobblestone streets below were deserted as was to be expected at this hour. The oil lamps burned low at every corner, sending flickering shadows dancing on the ground and walls of the buildings that it touched. Pale hands touched the wooden railing, supporting his weight as he leaned forward with a soft exhale. It was just a dream, nothing more. Foolish dreams that were not supposed to leave him this vulnerable and jittery.
It was when he decided to return inside and give sleep another chance that Aya heard the light fall of booted footsteps. There was no time to react however; as within mere seconds he froze under the chilling touch of a gentle hand that touched his cheek. He was allowed to turn and did so, slowly. First glancing over his shoulder, then turning his body completely to meet that of the intruder. A sharp gasp touched his lips as Aya came face to face with the shimmering jade-green eyes that haunted his dreams. No words escaped his lips, no words even formed in his mind. It was as if all existence seemingly stopped that very instant. The rush was so great. The object that teased him, that deprived him of sleep, that seduced him every night stood right there, before his own eyes. Was he still dreaming? Was this just another extension to the many settings he had already experienced? It felt real.
That jade gaze became more a more complete, entrancing existence as Aya focused on the figure before him. Fiery red hair fell around sharp, marble-like features, contrasting lovingly, greatly and utterly beautifully. Glorious. Light crimson lips were parted in a soft smirk that screamed and pleaded for trust and reassurance, while seducing at the very same time. Ah, but he couldn't get away from those eyes; those beautiful sharp hawk-like eyes that watched him intently. There was a purpose here. A real one but what it was Aya did not know. One thing was certain; he could not distinguish this figure to be either a deity or a man.
Little did he know that the through hung on a very thin line between the two.
Aya watched as those pale crimson lips neared, exhaled deeply in utter submission as his head was tilted back. His throat was ravished with tender, passionate kisses that made his mind spin beyond any coherent thought. This was love. This was bliss. This was---!
Pain! Sharp, so sharp that it cut through the haze that had just become his thoughts. Aya wrapped his arms around the intruding figure, but this however was not an act of encouragement. It was, in fact a desperate move to get away, to set himself free from the strong body that held him so tightly yet so tenderly. The raging emotions within him were beginning to blind him, to make his body believe that he was purely drunk on the dark ecstasy of the moment, what was created for him with such a simple scrape of sharpened teeth against smooth, silken flesh.
The pain gradually faded, as well as the familiar surroundings that were his home.
Amethyst eyes became unfocused and slowly, heavy lids descended down over them to leave him in blissful darkness. He felt the faintness of his heartbeat pound strongly in his head.
What a paradox.
Darkness surrounded him like a living creature, embracing him deeply and caressing his cheek and levitating him beyond the floor to which he had collapsed upon. As he drifted off into quiet, comfortable darkness, a whisper so soft and husky remained with him.
"So beautiful… you will shine, liebeling. As my companion, as my lover and as my pet…"
* * *
A gasp. Amethyst orbs snapped open from beneath pale lids as consciousness charged in full force. That dark, shimmering gaze scanned the surroundings: the ebony and crimson canopy of satin above, falling in ripples around him as to shelter him from the daylight. The poisonous daylight that insisted in disrupting his rest while the rest of the world sung and danced beneath it. The room was familiar. He could see through the open crack in the shield of fabric that the surroundings were his own.
Aya pushed himself up with such a fluid motion that would have one staring after him. The grace, both natural and given to him with this gift of immortality was stunning. No other had inherited such glorious grace in their transformation. None other than him and this was why he was special – or so many conceived him to be. Pallid fingers parted the cool satin and he stood to find a candle already lit. One of his precious pets had come in and made sure that all would be to his liking. How thoughtful of them, really.
Bare feet touched the wooden floor, a whisper of sound shattering the silence as he moved away from the bed. The waist-long strands of bright red, so much like blood, rippled behind him, contrasting lovingly against the marble-like unmarred surface of his bare back. Perfection. There was no other word for it. Five centuries to further perfect the art that had become of his entire being. Five centuries.
Five centuries of passion – in every sense of the word and then some.
How times had changed between then and now. He was free now, enjoying this life given to him by another without having to worry about the latter. No chains binding him to his long gone sire now; to his jade-green eyed sire that had once been his entire world and existence and now… now haunted his dreams more and more every day. There was nothing comforting in seeing that entrancing gaze while it lured him into the trap that was now his life. An unwilling victim broken by words and promises of love. By ravishing kisses, so tender, so sweet and others so sharp and deadly. Like the one that took him that night.
Schuldich, he thought silently, glancing toward the windows that portrayed a perfect picture of the night. The city bright and alive right outside, asking to be embraced. You'll never leave me at peace, will you?
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Short and sweet, yes. I wasn't sure whether to make this a short chapter of a prologue, but why get technical? Here it is. Ideas have been planned so I know what I'll be writing meaning that updates might be somewhat speedy. Reviews are welcomed as always, of course, in fact they encourage me to write faster. ^_~ Stay tuned.