Hi Guys, I had this as a draft but never published it, so I cleaned it up and split the AU into 3 parts.
It starts angsty but gets fluffy at the end, I am just complete Alfred/Herbert trash, so if you enjoyed it please leave a review :)
Feel free to check out my other work while you are here!
Happy Reading
Sarah x
Alfred awoke in the darkness, he still had a slight panic whenever he woke up in a coffin, the constant fear that he had been buried alive, but all of his worry melted away when he realised he was in Herbert's arms.
Herbert was already awake. He liked to watch Alfred as he slept, he looked so peaceful. On occasion he sensed Alfred getting restless and was quick to pull him back into his arms and gently stroke his curls and press kisses onto his forehead until he calmed down. Herbert adored how Alfred clung to him, he had never been allowed to protect someone before, they hadn't needed protection, but Alfred was the light of Herbert's life and he was going to make sure that he never got hurt or felt fear again.
"Good morning dear heart" purred Herbert running his finger down Alfred's cheek.
"Good morning" said Alfred snuggling into Herbert's shirt.
"Shall we arise, I'm sure the Professor will be wanting your assistance" commented Herbert giving the coffin lid a firm kick.
"Yes, I can't wait to start work in the higher levels of the library" exclaimed Alfred
Herbert and Alfred waited the few seconds until Koukol came moaning and groaning across the crypt and pushed the lid off the casket.
Alfred gently jumped out the coffin and saw a tray carrying two large goblets filled with delicious smelling blood.
Herbert seeing Alfred's rather confused expression quickly explained. "Darling, I asked Koukol to bring blood down to us, so we don't need to eat with all the riff raff"
"Thank you Herbert, it smells delicious, what animal is it?" asked Alfred picking up one of the goblets
"Um, it's human" said Herbert reluctantly
"Oh…" said Alfred
"Alfred, you have to try it, animal blood will not keep you going forever, you need
human blood to survive" urged Herbert
"Who was it?" asked Alfred staring at the liquid
"What?"
"Who was it?" repeated Alfred
"Some random villager I suppose, Vati brought in the kill last night" said Herbert climbing out of the casket.
"So I could be drinking the blood of someone's Mother or Father or Brother, is that what you're saying" blurted Alfred angrily.
"Alfred, I do not like your tone, when you became a vampire you knew that blood drinking was an essential element to survive, you cannot survive on animal blood alone". said Herbert harshly
"I'm alive now aren't I!" protested Alfred angrily "why can't I just keep drinking the blood of animals!"
"Alfred lower your voice, if Vati isn't already awake, he will be soon, God forbid you wake him up by shouting" hushed Herbert
"I can't drink the blood of humans, I just can't" shouted Alfred
"Alfred, enough!, you must drink human blood to survive, if Vati knew I was still feeding you animal blood every so often, I fear he would cut off the supply, I will not watch you starve yourself because of your conscience" hissed Herbert
"What do you mean, every so often" asked Alfred
"Pardon?" asked Herbert
"You said you have given me animal blood 'every so often', what is hell is that suppose to mean!" spat Alfred.
"Nothing, just a slip of the tongue, now please drink some blood" asked Herbert
"No, not until you tell me what you REALLY meant by 'every so often'"
threatened Alfred
"Very well, you seem determined for me to hurt you so, fine, for the last few days I have been replacing your animal blood with human, you never noticed the difference did you Alfred? There, are you satisfied?" said Herbert with one hand on his hip.
Alfred dropped the goblet and sent blood splashing onto the crypt floor.
"You- did what?" he stammered, his breath sticking in his throat.
"Alfred, I needed to give you the blood, you were losing your complexion, little things I began to notice, your nightmares got worse, you became nervous again, Vati had noticed as well, you don't want to know the lecture I received, Alfred I should have told you…" said Herbert trying to approach Alfred
"No, stay away, I don't want you anywhere near me…" cried Alfred
"Alfred, please" said Herbert looking genuinely hurt by Alfred's words
"Leave me alone!" yelled Alfred as he ran from the crypt
"Alfred come back, the sun has not set!" yelled Herbert desperately
Alfred didn't care, he just wanted to be as far away from Herbert as possible.
As he ran with inhuman speed towards the battlements he saw a line of golden light escaping from a large curtain.
Alfred stopped dead.
His vampiric instinct told him to get back and run to the cover of the crypt, but Alfred was curious, he had been burnt before, but what would it feel like to be burnt by the sun?
Alfred stepped cautiously toward the light and then gently stretched out his hand and then felt a hot agonising pain run through his fingers. Alfred hissed and pulled his hand back admiring the red, almost lightning like burns on his fingers. This pain made him forget everything, Herbert, his new family, his life, the blood he had been drinking. Alfred gagged at the thought, he was drowning in oceans of blood and sorrow, this was his existence, lying in wait in the dark until the next victim gets lost in the forest before killing it like the monster he was. Alfred pulled up his sleeve and taking a deep breath pushed his whole arm into the light. The agonising pain crippled him but he didn't scream, he just watched as his arm slowly reddened and blistered.
Alfred's agony was put to an end as the sun disappeared beneath the mountains, he knew Herbert would try to find him so he had to hide.
