The Curse of Darshra
SUMMARY
D's always been a brilliant vampire hunter with amazing control over his bloodlust. What happens when he finally loses it and goes mad? There is only one who can help him. Can D's sister reach him before he is past the point of no return?
STORY
D had once been a great Vampire Hunter.
He'd been a legend.
Now his legacy was in ashes behind him.
Ever since that day.
The day D's loneliness had finally reached its peak and driven him mad.
The parasite in his left hand was still there. But he'd stopped coming out long ago. He remained deep within D's system, attempting to find some way to hinder the vampire prince's blood rampage, that was sweeping the city of Darshra.
Darshra…
It had once been a peaceful town until D came. The dunpeal had only meant to be passing through, but then he went rogue on the people of Darshra. Ever since then, the doors of houses are locked and bolted shut, religious symbols placed over the doors, but everyone knew that that wouldn't stop D. It never did. He always got in, and he always left behind a bloodless corpse, drained of life and without a head, or sometimes an arm.
It had begun with the wrongdoers in the town.
D had raided one of the main gangs lairs on the edge of the city and completely massacred the occupants of the small complex of warehouses. He had then taken the building for his own and decorated it with the corpses of the gang members he'd vanquished.
But then, after a while the town grew short of wrong doers and D had moved onto the innocents. Every night, at least one family would be murdered in their beds, the heads of each family member kept as a trophy and the babies stolen from their cots to allow D to have a snack after the journey back to his lair.
All were in fear of the great dunpeal now. No one doubted the abilities of the dunpeal anymore. They all knew that he was dangerous.
Only one soul was brave enough to walk outside of her home at night. D had tried to catch that person many a time, but the cloak clad figure had always disappeared into the shadows by the time he'd gotten there.
D didn't know who it was that was playing such games with him, but he wanted to know so that he could finish them off slowly and painfully.
Not that many people knew a lot about Alexandra.
Very few knew what she looked like, but almost everyone knew that she existed.
Alexandra, the vampire princess. A dunpeal. Identical twin sister to Vampire Hunter D.
Of coarse, those were the days when D was a vampire hunter. Before the madness that overtook him.
Alexandra sighed as she looked into her tankard. Business had been bad for everyone. No one dared leave their homes at night and were still reluctant to do so in daylight.
Alexandra looked like a female version of D. Same eyes, same face, same hair. She equalled his height too. Though some of her style certainly differed from her brother.
A black tank top and black jeans. The jeans had several black ropes with beads and charms on them that glinted in the light, whenever they were near it. She wore a black trench coat over this. She had a sword similar to D's on her back. She also wore a wide brimmed hat, except, where D had a pearl with golden backing, Alexandra had an emerald with silver backing. Around her throat was a silver chain, where a dragon made if the finest onyx resided. D had given it to her when they were children. He'd had it specially designed.
She toyed with it underneath her trench coat as she thought.
It had been a different D that had given her this pendant. The D she knew was gone. As long as D's loneliness consumed him and drove him to continuously kill innocents then it wasn't the D she knew. She had accepted that long ago. And now she'd have to try and stop her brother in his mindless blood rage. She didn't want to hurt him. How much she wished that she could just walk up to him like she had as a child and give him a hug to tell him that everything would be fine. But she couldn't do that now. Now, she had to fight him.
Alexandra set down her empty tankard in the otherwise unoccupied pub, except for the barman and herself and tossed a couple of gold coins at him.
"Keep the change." said Alexandra. "I understand that you're struggling for business right now." Her voice was similar to D's, only not quite as deep and was definitely more feminine.
People had been afraid of her since D had come. She looked so much like him, but now it was easy to distinguish between her and D, so people weren't as afraid.
It was dusk, D would be out as soon as the sun is down. Everyone's doors were locked and bolted. Alexandra sighed and walked down the street at a leisurely pace. D would find it hard to take her down. It wasn't like the vampire princess hadn't learnt how to fight over the years. When you're a dunpeal its necessary. Especially for females, who are even rarer then the males and often end up being the target of some lusting vampire who's love life has been near enough dry for the fast few years.
Alexandra heard someone bolt their door shut. She smirked. That would never keep a vampire prince out. And crucifix's and all of the rest of the other things didn't do much against a dunpeal. Might make them a little irritated, but it wouldn't do much. The only true weapon against a dunpeal was another dunpeal with equal or exceeding battle experience to the other.
Alexandra had lived in this town since her departure from her fathers castle, years ago. She had lived a solitary life, learning all that she could. She had learned to communicate with animals. This was what had stopped her from going insane. And now she had to help her brother out of his own insanity.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone walk up behind her as the night shrouded the city.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the night time wonderer." purred a deep voice.
"D." said Alexandra, not turning around.
"Glad to see that you know who I am." D hissed delightedly.
"I'm not in the mood for games D!" snapped Alexandra, her voice becoming deeper, and more like the way D used to speak, before his insanity, with every passing second.
"With my victims, they don't really get a choice of mood, before they die."
Just as the words left D's lips Alexandra spun around and smacked her brother across the cheek with the palm of her hand.
"SHUT UP D!" she yelled at him. "HOW DARE YOU! YOU DISGUISTING PIECE OF FILTH! HOW DARE YOU TRY THAT ON WITH ME! IF FATHER WAS HERE NOW HE'D SPANK YOU RED RAW!" D was a mess. His hair was clotted with blood and his skin and clothes were stained with it. His clothes ripped and torn. His eyes had turned ruby red with bloodlust and his fangs were ready to emerge at a moments notice.
"How dare you indicate such a thing!" D seemed to not have noticed how pale Alexandra's hand was, neither did he notice the permanently elongated fangs in her mouth that the princess had never been able to retract like most vampires and dunpeals.
"I CAN INDICATE ANY SUCH THING D!" Alexandra snapped back. "I can't believe you! All of those years I looked up to you! All of that time I wondered if I'd ever be as great as you! But I was wrong, wasn't I? you're not all that great. I'm ashamed, D. I'm ashamed of the fact that I once called you 'brother'."
D looked like he'd been slapped in the face. Alexandra removed her hat and looked right at D. He could see the bloodstained tears leaking from her eyes as she regarded him closely.
"If this is the true you, then rot in hell, Hunter D." Alexandra told him, her anger at her brother's foolishness evident in her voice. "Because, if this is how you'll be from here on in, then I don't want to be your sister anymore. I cared for you once. I really did. You had protected me so often, and now. All you are is an empty shell of what my brother used to be. Goodbye D. we'll see each other again soon, I'm sure. I'm not going out of this town until the last human is gone."
Alexandra turned away from her brother, replacing her hat upon her head, before disappearing into the darkness, leaving D alone in the middle of the street.
Alexandra locked and bolted the door to her home. She leaned up against the wooden door and placed her hands over her face, before slowly sliding to the ground as sobs wracked her lithe frame.
She wasn't as muscular as D, although she was easily as strong, if not stronger then the male dunpeal.
A little black cat settled itself in her lap and began to nuzzle its distraught mistress. Then a black wolf walked over from the fire and also began to nuzzle its mistress.
Alexandra finally calmed down and smiled at her pets.
"What would I do without you two?" she asked her furry companions.
"Shrivel up and die, most likely." came a motherly, female voice from the cat.
"What's wrong Lexa?" asked the wolf, sounding like a concerned older sister.
"D." replied Alexandra. "He's changed."
"Of coarse he's changed." a brotherly voice said from above them, a black snake with emerald markings slithered down to Alexandra and coiled up next to the cat in her lap. "He's been alone to long. It drove him barmy, along with that incident a while ago. The whole town knows that."
It was true. The whole town knew about it, though only a handful had seen it happen. From what Lexa had heard, he'd been hit hard over the back of the head by an out of order drunk who decided that it was clever to take a fully grown dunpeal on, and the knock had triggered something within D, which had caused him to react on instinct. According to everyone else the taste of the blood and the smell of it was what ultimately sent him over the edge.
Alexandra sighed. These three were her only friends in the world now. Her mother was dead, she wouldn't go near her father for love nor money and D was an insane bloodsucker.
A tear trickled down her cheek, and a scaly snake tail wiped it away.
"It will be fine." said the wolf. "You aren't a witch for nothing after all."
"You're right Laura." replied Alexandra.
"Now come on." said the cat. "I bet you're famished."
"That I am, Alexia." said Alexandra.
"Hey don't forget me!" the snake spoke out, feeling left out.
"Never ever, Alex." replied Alexandra, picking up the three foot long snake, letting him wind himself loosely around her neck.
D watched through the crack in the curtains. He couldn't hear a word that they were saying, but he could certainly see the emotions running across his sisters face as it went from one of sorrow to one of joy. Was she communicating with those animals? She'd always had an affinity for animals, so it wouldn't surprise D if she could speak to them.
The next morning Alexandra woke up to find Laura by the bed, Alexia at her feet and Alex within what remained of a maroon comforter that had been hooked over one of the bed posts, but had fallen down during the night.
Lexa giggled, wondering how much grumbling the snake had got through before he shut up and went to sleep.
She sat up and slid from her bed, stepping over her wolf and into her black slippers, grabbing her emerald dressing gown from one of the bedposts.
Her home was a strange one. Every floor was of cherry wood, whilst the furniture was of mahogany. The tops of her kitchen counters were made of black marble and her doors and skirting boards were also of mahogany. Any carpets were small. Her walls were either of emerald or blood red, except for her bathroom. It was the only room in the house that was mainly white and cream. It was like a little oasis of brightness in a desert of darkness.
She quickly changed into a burgundy tank top and black leather biker trousers. Alexandra liked to wear something that was form fitting and easy to move around in, though she would occasionally wear a t-shirt if she felt like having something loose to wear.
She wondered into the kitchen and prepared her morning meal, along with some food for her pets for when they came downstairs.
Alexia was the first down. She walked over to her bowl as Alexandra was sipping her morning coffee. Alexandra watched the feline from the corner of her eye. She always wondered why Alex and Alexia were so dainty, when Laura, though she wasn't messy, wasn't as clean as the other two.
Alex had decided to hitch a ride today, for when Laura came downstairs, Alex was coiled up like a spring on top of Laura. He slid off of her the second he saw his dinner.
"Yippie! Field mice!" Alexandra couldn't help but giggle as she laid out milk for the cat, along with water for throughout the day for all of them.
Alexandra immediately went to her study to research after brushing her teeth and having a bath. Her pets would follow her after they'd eaten and drank their fill. She picked up the closest book on magic and began to read through it, her powerful brain Taking in every word and filtering out any necessary information.
For hours she read and the animalistic trio joined her at some point. By the end of the day, Alexandra was ready for her nightly walk. Secretly, she wanted to see D again.
"Guys, you're coming with me tonight." said Alexandra as she donned her cloak and hat. "Stay close, do not wonder off. Alex, you are to stay up my sleeve at all times."
"Of coarse." replied Alex, slithering obligingly over to his mistress.
Alexia jumped onto her mistresses shoulders.
"Once we are outside, do not try to communicate with me. We never know who may be watching." Alexandra warned them.
"We know." aid all three animals at once.
"Stop being such a worry wart." said Alex. "That's what helped to push D over the edge, and you'll be no help to D if you end up the same way as him."
Alexandra exited her home and walked town the street after locking her door.
She noticed a homeless man leering at her a few yards away and hissed threateningly at him, showing her permanently visible teeth. She was not in the mood for dealing with drunks, no matter how few and far between they were now.
D had targeted a lot of homeless people. There were hardly any left now. The ones that had escaped were quickly being picked off, but that didn't make it any less irritating when she came across one that seemed to be undressing her with his eyes.
Laura growled and Alexia hissed from her place on her mistresses shoulders. Alex poked his head out and barred his fangs at the man. He shrank away immediately. Alexandra smirked as she passed him. Her black boots clicked elegantly upon the ground. She knew that Alex wasn't poisonous, Alex knew that he wasn't poisonous, but the guy certainly didn't know that. To him, fangs meant poison.
Alexandra continued walking. She was walking outside of the bar she'd entered yesterday and she heard someone touch down behind her. She smelt fresh blood and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Her brother had killed again tonight. She could just smell him underneath all of the grime. He had once smelt of wild herbs and waterfalls, but now he smelt of death and pain.
"We meet again, little wonderer." D said.
"What do you want?" growled Alexandra.
"Why, little princess, I want my sister to join me for an evening hunt, a little sibling bonding time." D spoke lightly, as if they were disguising the weather.
"You're even crazier then I thought." hissed Lexa, starting to walk away
"Now, Lexa, don't be like that." D said, grasping his sisters wrist and pulling her back. "You want to. I know that you do. You lust for blood, but you're scared of what might happen. Have no doubts my sister, I will guide your way."
"I do not want to become what you are!" Lexa snapped. "Let go of me you filthy beast!" True enough, D was absolutely covered in blood, dirt and grime.
Alex had slid his head from his mistress's sleeve and Alexia and Laura were growling at the vampire as the snake opened its mouth to show its sharp fangs and hiss at D. He smirked at the little snake.
"Do you really think that a non poisonous or non constricting snake will do anything to me?" he asked in an almost deadly quiet voice. "I am not the leering thug that your pet hissed at earlier Alexandra."
"You saw that!" Alexandra's voice was thick with outrage as her eyes threatened to glow a blazing emerald.
"Yes, I took the liberty of disposing him for you. D used his free arm to push his cloak aside and reveal the head of the man that had leered at Alexandra from the alleyway, an expression of fear evident on his face as D held the head by the overgrown and filth ridden, russet hair.
Alexandra had to close her eyes to stop herself from vomiting.
"You disgust me D." hissed Alexandra. "You cruel, heartless bastard!"
"You will be like me someday." replied D. "We can't escape it. It is the law of nature!" his voice rising in volume with every word.
"No D!" Lexa yelled at him, matching his volume in equal measure and exceeding it by harnessing her growing anger and embroidering it into her voice and words. "It was your own fault that you ended up this way! You never let anyone in! I told you that you should let someone take some of the weight off of your shoulders and this is the price we have to pay because you refused to listen! I LOST THE ONLY BROTHER I'VE EVER KNOWN!" Lexa's anger fuelled her words and at the shocked expression on D's face, she knew that she'd hit the spot.
"But Lexa, don't you want to be what you really are?" D sounded confused.
"I am what I really am!" snapped Lexa as she wrenched her wrist from her brothers grasp. "It's you who isn't what you truly are! I hate you D! I hate you! You should burn in the fires of hell for all of the agony that you have caused me!" Lexa then turned on her heel and marched away.
D was surprised. Ever since the bloodlust had consumed him, no one had dared to stand in his way. Now his own sister was standing against him. Fighting him all the way. And did she really hate him for it? The wolf stayed behind to regard D for a minuet as he mistress walked away. And then she spoke to D.
"We didn't chose what you became." said Laura. "You did. Lexa may not say it, but she misses the real you, D. If I were you, I'd think about what you've done. You've torn many families and lives apart, D. She's lost all faith in you. Just remember when you regret your decision to let this overrule you, you have no one to blame but yourself. However, if you do come to your senses, our doorway is always open to you."
Then Laura followed after the others, once again, leaving D standing alone in the street.
"Why do you let him get to you, Lexa?" asked Alex.
"Because I want him to realise just how much this hurts me." replied Lexa. "If the D I know is still in there, then he'll try to reach out to me for help. He knows that I can't stand to see him like this and he knows when he needs help. When I was arguing with him there was something in his eyes."
"Something in his eyes?" Alexia asked.
"Yes." replied Lexa. "It was almost like the D I know was telling me that he was still there and that he wanted me to help him. It's almost like a split personality and one side has successfully subdued the other."
"Do you think that he had this before he came to Darshra?" asked Laura.
"I think that he may have been harbouring a split personality for a long time." replied Lexa. "I think that my D just got tired of fighting and had to surrender. And this new guy, whoever he is, though he probably has the same background as my D, is someone else, he probably even has is own name. He's completely different to my D. It's like having two souls in one body."
"More like three." commented Alex, snidely. "Don't forget that parasite."
"He wasn't on D's left hand." said Lexa. "I think that he's trying to help D communicate with me through his eyes whilst trying to find something in the false D's system which can weaken him enough to allow D to come forwards."
"You have been thinking about this a lot." commented Alexia.
"If I want my brother back then I'm going to have to do a lot of thinking." replied Lexa.
"Well, Dracula's castle wasn't built in a day." said Laura. "Let's get cracking."
Lexa, smiled at her faithful friend, before running like a joyful child back to her home with Laura hot on her heels.
"Lexa?" came Alexia's voice, slightly muffled.
"Yes Alexia?" asked Alexandra.
"There's a letter to you from the town mayor." said Alexia, her voice slightly muffled from speaking around the envelope in her teeth.
"Thank you Alexia." said Lexa, gently taking the envelope from the cat. "You didn't have to bring it through you know."
"You have too much to do as it is." replied Alexia. "It was the least I could do."
"You are so considerate." Alexandra stroked Alexia behind the ears. "I sometimes think that you and the others are more then I deserve."
"Oh, quit it with the mushiness and open the letter already." said Alexia, batting her fingers away with a soft paw.
"Alright." Lexa opened the envelope and read the short letter out loud.
"Dear Alexandra
I wish you to come down to the town hall at three P.M sharp tomorrow. There's something that we need to discus.
Yours Sincerely
Edward Brown
Darshra Mayor"
"Something tells me that this is a serious matter." said Lexa. "Normally he calls me Lexa. He only calls me Alexandra when there's something serious that he needs to talk to me abut."
"It could be about D." said Alexia.
"Then he would be asking me to hunt D down." replied Lexa. "But I'm already so far. I couldn't kill him."
"You may not have a choice." replied Alexia.
"I will." replied Lexa. "I will convince him of my certainty."
"That's the spirit girl!" came a voice from the door. Laura grinned as well as she could with her wolf snout.
Lexa entered the town hall. The sun was shining brightly outside. She walked into the hall and there was the mayor waiting for her.
They mayor was a tall man. He had short, russet brown hair and a careworn face. He also had quite a bit of muscle on him.
"Edward." said Alexandra.
"Alexandra." replied the mayor.
"What's all this about?' asked Lexa.
"Follow me." replied Edward. He showed her through the building and into his private office.
"What do you require me for?" Lexa questioned.
"It's about the dunpeal; D." replied the mayor.
"What about him?" asked Lexa.
"He's killing all of our citizens, Lexa." replied Edward. "He must be stopped."
"What do you want me to do?" Lexa probed.
"Kill him." Edwards emotionless voice cut into Lexa like a blade as she thought of her brother being spoken about like that. "You're the only one who will stand up to him. You're our last hope. We all heard you yelling at him. What was that about anyway? No one could make out the words."
Lexa smirked. She and D had been speaking in vampyric without even realising it."I won't kill him." replied Lexa.
"Why not!" Edward sounded outraged.
"I can't kill him." Lexa continued. "If I killed him, I'd as good as kill myself if I knew that there was a way to save him, and that is a torment I could never bear."
"Why not!" growled the mayor.
"Surely you noticed the similarities?" asked Lexa. "He's my brother."
"Brother?'
"My twin." replied Lexa, as tears spilled from her eyes. "If I were to kill him, I'd be killing a part of me. My D is still in there. I can see him in his eyes. The one who's killing all of the people of the town isn't my D. You have to understand that I could never hurt him if I knew that there was a way to help him, and there is a way. That's what I've been working on. I want to try and bring D back and eliminate the other him that was never meant to be there."
"Other him?" Edward was confused.
"You say that he went insane when he had the first taste of blood?" It wasn't really a question, but Lexa said it anyway. "Well I think that it actually happened when D was hit in the back of his head. D was always alone. When mother died and father left us I was the only one he could turn to. After a while he left me in a little village to look after himself whilst he went to fight vampires. Eventually I followed and then I came here and settled down. Whilst I was not there D would've had no one to confide in. I suspect that this other D, the one that we know now, was what was created from D's darker nature. I found something to confide in, but D didn't and as his emotions and thoughts got darker, this other D probably got stronger. All it took was a tiny loss of control for the person we now know as D to take over. He may even be a foreign soul in D's body, but I think that D has a split personality, and I intend to destroy his unwelcome guest."
"You are certain of this?" asked Edward.
"Yes." said Lexa. "The D we know as the hunter is still there. You can see it in his eyes, and he needs help."
"When will you be ready?" asked Edward.
"Soon." replied Lexa. "Very, very soon."
Lexa was noting things down on a piece of paper as she read a book. She had been working hard on this for two days solid now. She was close. So close that she could almost taste it. Alexia, Alex and Laura could sense Lexa's excitement and they could only hope that this would all end well.
"Yes! I have it!" Lexa sounded overjoyed as she came out of her study, grinning like a fool. She sauntered over to the kettle and began to brew herself a decaffeinated coffee.
"I take it that you've had a breakthrough?" asked Alex.
"Yes." replied Alexandra. "After this I'm going in the bath and then to bed. And tomorrow night we shall enter the dunpeal's lair and await his return, before springing our trap. All I need is for you guys to distract him."
"How?" asked Alex. "I mean I can see that not being a problem for Lexi and Laura, but what about me? I am a snake! I have no feet!"
"Never stopped you from stealing a ride." replied Lexa, grinning happily.
"Yeah." replied Laura. "You can ride on me."
"So you guys are in?" asked Lexa.
"To the bitter, bloody end!" proclaimed Alexia.
"Though let us prey that it doesn't get that far, eh?" asked Laura jokingly.
Alexandra stood in front of the network of warehouses that was D's lair.
She was wearing what she'd been wearing when she'd first met him in Darshra.
It was dusk and D wouldn't be out for a good few minuets, which would be plenty of time for him to catch the animals sent.
"Remember, get in there grab is attention, hold his attention until I'm well and truly in place, and try not to get hit." said Alexandra.
"We have every intention of not getting hit." replied Laura.
"Good luck." said Lexa.
"You too, Lexa." replied Alexia. The animals dashed into the building and Lexa then used a little witchcraft. She dived into the ground.
It was like swimming beneath ice. She followed her pets into the warehouse and then resurfaced in the halls of the warehouse.
It was a gruesome sight. Corpses everywhere, some hanging on the walls. The place smelt strongly of faecal matter and old and fresh blood, and the wooden bookshelves of the building housed the severed heads of D's victims. Every one of them had an expression of the utmost fear on their bloodless faces as their eyes started out into the world unseeingly.
Lexa's gaze hardened as she looked at the damage that that monster had made her brother cause. She felt her fangs lengthen even more.
They were strange. Her fangs. She couldn't fully retract them. She could retract them, sure, but not all of the way. She smirked as she realised that the small amount of magic that kept her fangs down was now going towards her magic reserves, her fangs overlapping her bottom lip.
She followed behind her pets. She could smell them easily. She knew their scents, so she would know what to follow, unlike the thing that was effectively possessing D. He wouldn't know what was coming until they were upon him.
She walked on and on. It was pretty much the same gruesome sight in every hallway.
Lexa's face was set. She was angry and on a hunt of her own in the maze of halls.
She heard a commotion up ahead after several hours of walking and a cruel smile twisted across her lips.
She came to the door and peeked out to see what was going on.
She could see them. D had his sword out and was attempting to decapitate Alexia, Laura and Alex. Alexandra looked upon her pets fondly. They were brilliant little creatures. So brave. So loyal. She then turned away and dived into the ground. She swam underneath the floor once again and into the room. She could see D weaving around above her, desperately attempting to get in a good hit as the mischievous trio darted around him.
Alexandra resurfaced behind D as he stood still for a few seconds to get his bearings.
"Hello." said Alexandra. "I hope that my pets were suitably difficult to kill. Oh they certainly were, for all three are standing tall against the 'great hunter' whom stalks the city of Darshra at night." Lexa's tone was mocking as she stood there. You could tell that she was truly D's sister. Her eyes had that same coldness. However, there was one thing in her eyes that was rarely present in the eyes of the true D at the beginning of a battle.
Rage.
Unaltered rage.
Such rage that it made the magic in her veins pulsate with threat.
"You have been controlling my brother long enough." her voice was now threatening. "I don't know who you are and I don't care. But one thing I know is that you're going down and you're not taking D with you."
"Oh no, pretty little vampire hunter." purred D. "I have every intention of taking you down. As much as your pathetic brother and his little parasite try to subdue me inside of his mind, there is nothing they can do. I am more powerful then you or them. I am more powerful then you could ever hope to be. It's a pity that I shall have to kill you. You're such a pretty girl. You'd have made a fine bride."
"Well then lets call it a date." replied Lexa. "A date of death." She didn't take her sword from its sheath, though.
'What are you doing!' The thought emerged at the back of her mind.
It was D's voice! D was in there! She knew it!
'I've got a plan.' Lexa replied telepathically. 'I'll get you out D! I promise!'
'I'm in your hands now.' D told her.
'I know.' Lexa assured him. Then she stopped listening as D advanced on her, drawing out his sword with deliberate slowness.
"You won't even draw your sword girl." said the dunpeal. "How do you expect to take me on?"
"I've been working hard since we last met." replied Lexa. "And I've got a trick up my sleeve." her eyes suddenly glowed a deep emerald. She raised her hands and a kind of black fire formed in her palms as great burning embers. She felt all of her teeth turn wickedly pointed and her face suddenly had even sharper features then before as her lips drew back into a feral snarl.
She launched the fire at her brothers figure, the dunpeal stumbled backwards until he was forced against a wooden pillar. The fire absorbed into D's body and Lexa smirked. He was trying to absorb the magic, but that would allow the magic to attack him right in the corners of his mind and rip him from D's body even more quickly.
Then Lexa wrenched her hands back and a ghostly figure was yanked out of D's body and the vampire hunter went limp.
"How dare you!" screamed the ghostly figure. His voice was powerful and harsh, dripping with threat. He was rather muscular and his eyes were a blood red. It was the only colour on him, other then white. He was dressed in the armour of a noble and he had hair that reached his mid back and was in a ponytail with a black tie. "You little wench!"
Lexa just bared her teeth and launched herself forwards, sword drawn, glowing crimson with power and she forced the spirit away from the body of her motionless brother.
"You shall never touch my brother again!" Lexa screamed at him. "I swear to god! I shall smite you where you stand for ever hurting him!"
"You are just a little girl!" he snapped at her.
"And I just overpowered you once! I can do it again!" Lexa growled at him. She surged forwards, her blade flashing violently as she swung it at the vampires spirit.
"I, Count Leo shall not be defeated by a vampire princess!" yelled the vampire.
"We have next to no choice over our deaths, count." replied Lexa, her voice echoing with power. "It is a sad twist that fate hands us to make the best of it as we can. And your fate rests with me now. I cannot tell you just how glad I will be that you can no longer haunt the footsteps of my brother. I hope that you regret what you've done whilst you reside in the inner circles of hell. Now, I end your life." Lexa leapt forwards and plunged her sword deep into the spirits chest.
With a fell shriek the vampire's ghostly, transparent form crumpled to the floor like a broken old umbrella and he became ash on the ground.
Lexa walked over to the fallen form of her brother and saw that he was breathing fine.
"Is D alright?" asked Laura, as she came up next to Lexa, Alex on her back and Alexia by her side.
"Yes." replied Lexa. "D is just asleep. Come. It is time for us to return home and we must take care of my dear brother."
She lifted D into her arms. It wasn't hard. They were at about the same height. She could feel the blood and grime that was all over D and told herself that both she and D would definitely need a bath when she got home.
It took a few hours, but they finally exited the warehouse. Dawn was coming. The sky was paling. Lexa knew that everyone would be up and waiting at the city entrance.
She walked towards the city, carrying her brother's resting body gently as her long legs took graceful strides which made her sweep across the land, lighter then a shadow and more silent then the mist, her pets walking beside her faithfully.
As Lexa came into the view of the citizens of the town the sun began to break loose of the horizon's grasp and spread sunrays across the land and stain the lingering mist blood red.
Cheers went up amongst the people of Darshra.
"The vicious count that possessed my brothers mind is no more!" Lexa proclaimed for all to hear. "He is free of Count Leo's hold! I ask you not to blame him for what happened! But blame the drunken man that now lies dead because he thought that it would be a good idea to try and hurt a dunpeal for no reason other then prejudice and spite and the cruel Count that tried to subdue my brother and destroy our city! And for all of those who shall attempt to harm my brother, remember, we dunpeals stick together! If you are an enemy of my brother then you are an enemy of me! Just because I have saved you does not mean that I will favour you over my family! That is all I have t say as of yet! Now I shall return home to take care of my kin and nurse him back to health once more! I hope you appreciate this freedom that you have been granted! Freedom is a priceless thing, never waist it!"
With her piece said, Lexa began to move towards the crowd. She could see so many joyful faces in the crowd. Children, farmers, housewives, lawyers, bankers, gardeners, even beggars.
She was surprised when delighted cheers leapt up through the crowd once more. "Long live Lexa! Long live Lexa!"
It was surprising to say the least. People usually hated dunpeals, regardless of whether or not they had saved their home.
As she walked through the crowd people reached out and D cringed away from the peoples touch, as if he were fearing punishment. No one seemed to notice as Lexa pulled D closer to herself and the dunpeal allowed himself to calm in the sweet embrace of his sister.
All the way home, Lexa had eyes, only for her sleeping brother as she cradled him in her arms, the wolf, the snake and the cat hot on her heels.
She entered her home and walked into the bathroom. She filled the bath with warm water and turned to her brother, who she'd leaned up against the wall.
She removed D's clothing and placed him in the tub, before reaching for some soap and washing D's face and then for some men's shampoo that she kept handy in case D ever dropped by. She worked quietly with D, she'd quickly washed herself using the basin whilst the bath had been running. Her hair was sticking to her neck and to the towel she had draped over her shoulders.
As Lexa got some conditioner into D's hair the man in question woke up.
"What are you doing Lexa?!" he blushed at the fact his sister was bathing him.
"You needed a bath desperately D." replied Lexa. "I bet your muscles are really voicing their complaints and a bath will help with that, along with getting you clean. Any way, let me pamper you a little. I don't see you very often and I like to have someone to dote upon. Fair enough, I dote upon my pets all of the time, but it's not the same. Besides, I kind of miss having bath time with you like we did as kids. You remember, when mum used to put us both in the same tub and we'd play games whilst mum would wash us? I miss that. Just like I miss the way we used to gather together on either your bed or mine with father and father would read us a bedtime story. I'm sure that you remember that."
"Of coarse I do." replied D.
"We had such squeaky voices back then." Lexa remembered. "I don't know why I'm so bothered about it. I just know that I miss all of the quality time we used to share before you became a hunter. I'd never tear you away from you job for anything though. It's your life. I respect that, but surely that doesn't stop you from visiting in future, now that you know where I live."
Lexa moved onto washing D's body.
"That parasite in your Left Hand will probably give you hell for this." said Lexa.
"Doesn't he always." replied D in a tone that clearly stated he didn't care.
"Hey! I'm back!" cried said parasite. "D, you alright?"
"He's fine." replied Lexa, taking D's left hand in her own and facing his palm towards her, so that the face in his hand could look at him. "Long time no see."
"Lexa!" cried Left Hand. "It's been so long!"
"Too long." Lexa agreed. "We're all done, D."
"Woah! Hey what's going on?" Left Hand was confused.
"D needed to be bathed and continuously fighting against Count Leo has left him weakened." replied Lexa. "I gave him a bath and now I'm taking you to bed, D. If you want to be up and about anytime soon then I suggest you don't argue."
Lexa lifted D from the water and D automatically linked his arms around the back of Lexa's neck as the woman wrapped him up in a warm, fluffy towel. D rested his head at his sisters chest and found himself being lulled to sleep by her gentle heartbeat. As D slipped into slumber, Lexa started talking to Left Hand.
"He looks so peaceful when he's asleep." said Lexa.
"I know." replied Left Hand. "So how long are you going to keep him here then?"
"Until he's healed." replied Lexa. "Physically he's fine, but psychologically, he needs some serious T.L.C."
Lexa walked into one of the spare rooms and laid D on the bed before turning to the wardrobe and retrieving clothing for her brother.
Lexa dressed her brother and laid him down underneath the silken covers of the bed.
"Sleep well, D." whispered Lexa, standing up, she was surprised when a pale hand shot out and grasped hers. She looked back at the owner of the hand and found D's silver eyes looking up at her pleadingly.
"Please… stay." he whispered to her, exhaustion clearly evident in his voice. Alexandra felt herself melt at D's oddly child like eyes.
"Oh, can those eyes get any bigger." she teased lightly. She was dressed in her black silk pyjamas anyway. But the thing about D's eyes was very true. Lexa had no idea how he did it, but he managed to make his eyes look bigger then they were. He'd used it a lot as a child. Lexa had called it D's puppy-dog look. "Move over a bit." D did so and Lexa opened the sheets to allow herself to get into the bed next to D. It was amazing just how much this incident had changed their roles. Once it had been D who'd had to get into bed with Lexa to when they were kids, wash away the night time monsters that terrorised his sisters dreams, and now Lexa was doing the same to him.
D had to admit that he was scared. Who wouldn't be in his position? He'd spent the past few weeks being controlled by something he'd been keeping subdued for a while. D hated to admit it, but he the feeling that it would be a long time before he was able to be in a dark space on his own, and even longer before the same could be said for a small space.
In the back of his mind, it had been so dark and so confined. It was like being in a cage. It had left him fearful and wary.
Lexa gathered D into her arms and D leaned into the touch. After living so long without contact with anyone he was revelling in the love and warmth that his sister gave him. He relaxed into the warmth and was soon sound asleep. Lexa didn't have the heart to leave him on his own when he was so vulnerable and closed her own eyes, falling asleep not long after her brother.
Lexa woke up first. After all, she didn't need the rest as much as D, so she would obviously wake up first. But she didn't feel like getting up
She noticed that both Alexia and Laura were at the foot of the bed, keeping the two dunpeals feet warm and Alex had somehow managed to fall asleep whilst wound around the foot board of the bed and not fall off during the night, even though Lexa was sure that there was a knot in his tail somewhere which was keeping impertinently attached, just in case his three foot long form should suddenly slip.
Lexa noticed that D hadn't moved from her arms and she brought him closer to herself and gave him a kiss on his forehead.
She laid back again and sighed. She couldn't bring herself to move and risk accidentally waking D up. He needed his rest and Lexa knew, based on D's reaction last night, that D wouldn't go back to sleep unless he had someone with him.
Besides, Lexa kind of liked having D sleeping in her arms. It reminded her of what a cute child he'd been. He'd always been a very beautiful individual. He'd been an adorable baby, Lexa had seen the photographs. Even as a newborn, D had been a wonderful baby. He'd grown to be a gorgeous toddler, who despite his half blood heritage, was loved by the castle servants and willingly doted upon by them. He'd then become a sweet child that had brought smiles to every face. And then he became a beautiful teenager. Girls had swooned over him, whilst boys did the same to Lexa. They'd gone through everything together, and then they'd separated and ever since they'd always felt slightly incomplete, but now that the twins were back to each other they were complete once more.
Lexa just laid there for several hours, contemplating what had happened last night.
D awoke to the feeling of being in someone's arms and looked up to find that his sister was wide awake, staring into space.
She looked down at D and smiled.
"Morning, D." said Lexa.
"Morning, Lexa." replied D.
"C'mon." said Lexa. "Time to get up. There are clothes in the closet. Come out when you're ready."
Lexa left the room and closed the door behind herself after picking up Alex and giving a sharp whistle to Alexia and Laura.
D changed into a white shirt and black slacks.
He walked into the kitchen and found Lexa working on breakfast. She passed him a mug of coffee.
"Thanks." he said. "Where is my armour?"
"I have yet to wash it." replied Lexa. "It's filthy and needs a good scrub. The cloak is so caked in mud and gore that if I put it in the washing machine I'm sure it will clog up the drains. So I'm going to clean it the hard way. By hand."
"Do you want help?" asked D.
"Thanks, but no thanks, bro." replied Lexa. "You need to be resting. I know that that was hard for you and I think that you need to have a good, long think about it. Talk to me when you're ready, but rest assured that you shall not be going anywhere until you have talked to me about what happened. People don't just experience these things and walk away from them without breathing a word of it to anyone, D. you need to talk to someone, and if not me then talk to the parasite, for gods sake he needs a to be given a name, Alex, Alexia or Laura. They're all brilliant listeners. Just talk to someone! It's for your own good D, I don't want to see you like that again. Please just talk to someone this time. You'll be amazed at what good it will do. Trust me."
Lexa left D to wonder around the house. He didn't feel like going outside yet, he wouldn't be able to face the cruel stares that he knew he'd be getting when he came out of the house. He'd hurt so may people, how could they not hate him. D thought that he'd grown immune to all of the cruelty that he faced from the human and vampire races, but he found that he just couldn't face them. Not this time.
He felt so ashamed. Because he wasn't strong enough he had killed hundreds.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself, D." commented Left Hand.
"But I hurt so many." whispered D. "So many families were torn apart because I wasn't strong enough."
"D, we can't always help what happens." Left Hand told him. "And I will tell you now that it wasn't your fault, it was Count Leo's fault."
"But if…"
"But nothing, D!" replied Left Hand. "You were exhausted and ready for sleep, you did not need any extra trouble. If that's not enough to send someone over the edge, I don't know what is!"
"But…"
"No D!" Left Hand made it very clear that he was not to be interrupted. "It was not your fault! You had next to no control over what happened. I am simply glad that you're back and Lexa's glad too. She would not want you to feel like this, especially since that was what started the whole thing anyway. You have to try and see the positive side of things a little more and stop wallowing in self pity."
D sighed.
"You're right." replied D. "It… It's just so hard to get over it."
"I know D." replied Left Hand. "Sometimes I feel like I'm responsible for not taking more notice of how you felt, but what's done is done and we can't do anything about that. We have to look to the future."
"What is there to look forward to in the future?" D asked.
"I don't know." replied Left Hand. "But from what I can tell, Lexa's not letting you go anywhere for now. I think she wants to make sure that you're emotionally stable before you go anywhere."
"She always did like to be certain." said D.
"I think that Lexa wants to see you go on to have a wife and kids, D." said Left Hand. "She loves you so much. Don't you think that you should at least tell her when something's bothering you?"
D sighed in defeat. How many times did that parasite have to hit the mark with a perfect bulls eye?
Lexa pulled the finally clean cape from the dirty water.
Five hours and twenty three large bucket full's of water it had taken to clean the grimy, dirt ridden clothes. Lexa had idly wondered if Count Leo was allergic to clean water and soap or something like that, the state of D's clothing certainly made it look that way.
She set aside the clothing and waved her hand over the bucket. The water disappeared and the bucket was perfectly clean.
It infuriated her to no end. She could clean everything but an animals body and an item of clothing with a wave of her hand, it got rather irritating after a while. It would save her a lot of trouble if she could just wave her hand and the clothes she and others wore would be clean. It would save a lot of time. Still, Dracula's castle wasn't built in a day. She'd just have to practice.
Lexa hummed as she picked up the clothing again and walked over to the indoor washing line she'd set up long ago. She did not relish the idea of having her undergarments displayed outside, so Lexa had set up the indoor washing line as a way to remedy that.
She walked out of the wash-room, her job done. The wash room was pretty much the same as the bathroom in décor, nothing to really be that fussed about.
She walked into her study and found D in there, reading one of her murder mystery books.
"I noticed that you do not use this room solely for business." commented D.
"You are correct, but doesn't everyone have their little quirks?" Lexa replied.
"Yes." said D. "I must say that you have very good taste in books." he told her.
"Thank you." replied Lexa. "Although you probably won't like something like Little White Horse*. It's an old childhood one of mine."
"I distinctly remember reading that to you when you lost your voice for a week." replied D. "Although it was a little feminine for my taste, there are a lot of fond memories in that book."
"You didn't just come in here to read, did you?" asked Lexa. D sighed. Sometimes his sister knew him a little too well.
"No, I didn't." D admitted.
"You came to talk about what happened, didn't you?" Lexa probed.
"Yes." replied D, going tense as he placed the book back on the self. Lexa walked forwards and began to gently massage D's shoulders, to relax her brother.
"Come on." said Lexa, pulling D over to the couch and idly flicking her hand in the direction of the coffee table, where two steaming mugs of tea appeared.
Lexa passed D on of the mugs, his hands shook slightly as he held the mug in his long fingers and took a sip of the liquid. He felt his muscles relieve some tension as he swallowed the hot tea.
"D, you can talk to me about anything and I won't think any less of you afterwards." Lexa told him. "You're my brother, your secret's safe with me. I love you unconditionally. Tell me how you're feeling, D. You'll feel better afterwards."
D took a deep breath and began to talk.
"I feel so ashamed." D said. "All of my life I've been so in control and it took just a moment to loose all of that control. When he took over I was so scared. He locked me away inside of my own head. There was no light to guide me out and no doors or windows to escape through. It was so dark. So very, very dark and enclosed. Every breath was like trying to break through a vampire's cloak. When the dawn came and he retired he would taunt me. 'are you scared D?', 'How is the little price?', 'Did you enjoy watching me kill that woman today, D?'. Always. Every day it would be the same thing. Always the taunting and the torture. He said that he'd seduce you and make you his bride. I tried so hard to break out, even with Left Hand's help I couldn't. and then I watched through his eyes as you fought him. And then he was taken from my body and I had only a split second to panic, before I knew no more.
All of those people. All of those poor people. I killed so many. I feel so angry at myself. If I'd been in control it would never have happened. It's all my fault. All… my… fault." D shook with unshed tears. He felt the mug of tea being gently removed from his grasp as the tears spilled over, he paid the missing mug no mind. Then he felt a warm body embracing his. He instinctively knew that it was Lexa and buried his face in Lexa's shoulder and cried, trying to quell the hot tears that leaked from his eyes and keep his sobs silent.
"It's okay D." whispered Lexa. "It's okay to cry."
That was all it took for D to break down completely as he sagged against Lexa's lithe frame, the female dunpeal just keeping her arms wrapped around her distraught brother as he cried out his sorrows into his sisters shoulder. Lexa rubbed comforting circles into D's back, muttering gentle nonsense into her brother's ear.
'Everything would be fine.' Lexa thought. 'Not now. Not tomorrow, probably not next week, maybe not next month, or even next year, but one thing is certain. Everything would be fine, given time.'
D would heal and so would Lexa. They would all heal. It would take a while, but they would be fine. Everything would work out. Given time, everything would work out. With that in mind, Lexa comforted her brother caringly, both of them soon falling asleep on the sofa, D with bloodstained tear tracks down his cheeks and Lexa with her arms still around the sleeping male.
Yes. Everything would work out. They had each other and they would be able to guide one another through everything they had to face.
It would be fine in the end.
The End
*The Little White Horse: A book written by Elizabeth Goudge. I read this book and I fell in love with it immediately. However, if you like things with a lot of fighting then this isn't the kind of book for you, it's a rather sweet book about a little red haired girl called Maria who has to move to live with her cousin after she was forced to move away from London. It then leads to a very heart warming adventure where love and friendship is thick in the air. However, it is not for the kind of person who dislikes 'sappiness'.
Now to anyone who's going to complain about D crying, I think that he had every right to cry! I don't know about you, but I would be in terrified tears if I'd been in his position, and I can count on one hand, how many times I've cried since I was seven. I don't cry easily.
I do not own Vampire Hunter D. I make no profit from this piece.