Authors Note: …Good lord all freakin' mighty. Has it really been over a years since I posted the first chapter? Damn. Well, what can I say? Life is crazy. But have no fear. As you can see, I haven't given up yet. The great thing about me, I've realized, is when I find a passion for something, it really never goes away. I might get sidetracked, but I'm going to finish this story if it kills me.
I apologize again for the delay. I have decided now that I'm going to put my original work aside for now and concentrate on finishing this. I mean, shit, this is easy compared to trying to write something original. Especially after my addiction to Battlestar Galactica (it's the best show on TV, and that's NOT biased, it's the truth!) I seriously feel inadequate. (hahaha, shut up. I know I'm a dork)
Anyway, I'm making a goal for myself. I intend to have one chapter up AT LEAST once a month. See, once I actually sit down and WRITE it, it doesn't even take me that long. In fact, the majority of this chapter was written over the course of six straight hours in a single night. I didn't get to bed until seven in the morning. Seriously. I think I work best at writing when I'm sleep deprived.
Okay, here I go blabbing on and on again. MY BAD. Now go read. GO READ NOW YEA! :D
Update 3/25/09: Decided to change a bit of the structure of the story. Made a major change to this chapter. Middle segment replaced. Something more relevant. Please re-read.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter II
The Hunter and the Hunted
The vampire's fingers suddenly slammed into the keys, sending and unpleasant slew of incompatible notes into the air, causing D to jump unexpectedly. He just sat there, with his head down, for several moments, before slowly rising to his feet. With elegant grace, he leisurely stepped around his red wood stool with the leather cushioning; his long, black silk cape flowing behind him. His hair was just like D's, but was tied back loosely behind his head, except for the shorter locks that draped over half of his face.
The nobleman stopped, half way turned to D, his face obscured by his hair. "Ah…" He said in his low, monotone voice. It was much like D's, but deeper, older. "So, after all this time… my son finally returns home."
"Silence, vampire." D demanded sternly.
Dracula turned his head to face D. "What's this? Hostility, I sense?"
"If a relationship exists between you and I any longer, it is only that of hunter and prey." The dhampir said and unsheathed his sword, holding it threateningly at his side. "Now… give me the girl and there needn't be any bloodshed."
The vampire's face broke out into a smile. "Bloodshed? There is no need for such violence." He spread his arms and his open palms to his sides, revealing the dark maroon interior of his cloak. "I have no wish to fight you, my child. You see? I am not even armed."
As if it made a difference, D thought. "Tell me where she is."
Dracula just stood there, silent.
"Tell me where she is or I'll force it out of you." The hunter's voice rose slightly in frustration, and an urgent need to get out of this unwelcoming place.
The ancient vampire lowered his arms, then calmly began to walk towards the dhampir, a slight smile still gracing his pale blue face.
Aggravated and tense, D took his attack stance, holding his long sword in front of him. "Last chance."
Despite his warning, Dracula failed to cease his approach. D furrowed his brow and lunged, having enough of his fathers pathetic mind play. He attacked, but the vampire's image vanished before him. The dhampir sneered, expecting the common parlor trick, then swung his sword behind him without looking, expecting him to reappear.
But here was nothing. All he heard was a deep, low chuckle. "You're not even trying." Dracula taunted. "Come now, are you afraid of your old man? I sense some hesitation in you, my son."
D looked around for the disembodied voice. "Coward." He said with a frown. "Come out and fight me."
"And what if I don't?"
The hunter huffed in frustration, then paused and made himself calm. He wasn't about to let some vampire make a fool out of him, especially one he loathed as much as this Dracula. He lowered his sword and his head, then closed his eyes.
Quicker than any human eye could see, he kneeled and jumped, falling to where he sensed his father was hiding in shadow. With just as much speed and precision, Dracula caught the blade in his hand. Suddenly, they were face to face. For the first time in centuries, the hunter found himself looking into the eyes of his own flesh and blood.
…And they were not as menacing as he had imagined after all this time.
"So, you wish to fight me, D?" The vampire glanced briefly at his palm, and the crimson liquid that was now trickling down his arm. "Huh… it's been a long time since someone has shed my blood. How intriguing…"
D frowned and tried to slice through his father's palm, but the vampire grabbed the sword, twisting it out of the hunters grasp.
He jumped back in surprise as the Vampire King stood there, still smiling. "Very well. If it's a fight you want, let's get it out of your system, shall we?" He threw D's sword on the ground in front of him, the blade now sullied with vampire crimson, then turned around and reached up to pull down one of the many swords on display on the walls of the study.
While his father's back was turned, the hunter cautiously kneeled to retrieve his sword, weary of the fact that the vampire had simply pulled it right out of his hands. When he stood, Dracula was facing him.
The Vampire King took his attack stance. "Alright." He said, flashing a fang at his son as he grinned in amusement. "Let's see if you can kill me, dhampir."
Before Dracula even had a chance to finish that sentence, D had charged at him, ready to kill or die. Their swords came together again and again with ear shattering clangs and the sounds of metal blades scraping against each other. After moments that felt like hours, they were caught sword to sword, face to face.
"Good, D." The vampire praised as he barred his fangs, his breaths heavy with the exertion of combat. D's, however, were steady; the high of battle heightening his senses and calming his mind. "Very good… Tell me, son. How many vampires have you killed with this blade?"
D bore down on the metal friction, forcing the vampire to jump back. "Not enough, apparently." He answered calmly, then went after him again.
More clashing noise echoed throughout the room and nearby halls as they continued to battle, their powerful bodies jumping and flying across the space of the study.
But the intensity and precision of their dueling took too much energy and attention for them to notice what was happening at the far side of the room. A red glow gleamed and intensified from a giant stain glass window at the end of the room. Smoke of the same color spilled out from the sill, flooding the marble floor like a translucent lake of blood.
The smoke and light formed itself into the shape of a ghostly red cougar. Its eyes glowed with bright, menacing light and its mouth opened, letting out a hallowed roar that sung of death and decay. The chilling sound finally drew the attention of the ancient vampire.
Dracula's smirk suddenly faded and his eyes grew wide. It distracted him long enough for D to get a shot in, nicking his shoulder with the long blade. The vampire king winced and jumped away, landing on a windowsill above.
"D! Watch out!" He shouted in an attempt to warn the hunter of the danger.
But as those very words escaped his mouth, the ghostly apparition crouched and pounced at the hunter. D barely had time to turn his head before the creature attacked, phasing right through him and knocking him to the ground.
"No! Stop it! Stop it now!" Dracula screamed in horror as the hunter collapsed, choking and convulsing. His sword fell, along with his hat; the sound of the blade hitting the hard marble floor seemed louder at that moment than all the other noise of metal that had come before it.
The Vampire King jumped down, dropped his sword and hurried to the hunter's side. He fell to his knees and rolled D onto his back, attempting to hold him down and steady him through the violent tremors.
The giant red cougar stood over them, with its head down, as if it was ashamed for what it had done.
"It's okay…" Dracula said, trying to be calm. "It's okay… don't fight, D."
"Y-y-y-you… b… bastard…" D managed to hiss through clenched teeth, finding he couldn't open his jaw.
"You just sleep now, D…" The vampire said softly, putting a hand on the side of the hunters head. "Sleep…"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The dining hall was huge as the table was long, suited to fit the highest of counsel and mightiest of rulers, surrounded by a room in which every square inch was expertly fashioned to appease the eye of those wealthy enough to afford such extravagance. The noblemen and women sat in their appropriate seats, feasting on food as artistically crafted as their exquisite environment. Chatter rose and fell amongst them, mostly small talk. They all seemed very interested in all their separate matters. All except one.
"Wake up…" A young dhampiress whispered to the man sitting next to her, kicking him gently in the shin of his boot. They were the only two dhampirs at the table. None of the other nobles seemed interested in sharing their conversation with them.
"I'm awake…" He said dully under his breath, inappropriately sitting with his elbow on the table and slouching with his face resting in his hand.
"So tell me, King of Kings. How is it you hope to accomplish this, um…" A countess, her wardrobe blazing with the same bright red fire that flowed over her shoulders from under her oval-shaped hat, one twice the size of her head, laughed with an air of contempt. "-Ahem-… outrageous shift in government? I mean, it would be one thing to appoint a dhampir to be leader of a country… but to seated in your throne? The most coveted position of all kingdoms? To rule over the vampire kings and queens of the world? I can imagine there will be some who would be quite… uncomfortable with such a notion…"
"Oh?" Count Vladimir Dracul, the Vampire King, said in response as he sat at the very end of the table. "And who might that be, milady?"
The dhampiress leaned in slightly to her companion. "Come on. Sit up straight. You're being rude." She whispered again harshly.
The male dhampir opened his eyes and looked at her with a furrowed brow.
"Well…" The countess said with a pause, narrowing her eyes and putting a hand on her chin. "I can name, his majesty, Tempus Vernum, for one."
Dracula let out a laugh of surprise. "Do you really think I care about what Vernuma thinks of my policies, a thousand miles away? Carmila, my dear. That man is a tyrant and a criminal of war. He is not someone I expect to accept any notion I pass that is for justice and equality."
"…They're talking." She whispered again. "You should be listening…"
Finally, he whispered back. "They're not talking to us…"
Carmila smirked smugly. "What I mean, My Lord, is that he has promised to bring war upon our nation if we intend to go through with this. I'm sure you remember, and would take any measures necessary to prevent such a catastrophe."
"…Vincent!" The dhampiress hissed and kicked him again, harder this time. "They're talking about you."
With that, he looked at her, then lifted his head, attending to the conversation before him.
Dracula was talking now. "Hmm… you bring up a good point. However, the last thing I will do, as the King of Kings, is bow down to the demands of would-be terrorists. I, for one, believe he is bluffing. Velours is the greatest nation in the world. He, with his primitive weapons and enslaved warriors could not possibly hope for victory. I am not afraid of, and honestly have little respect for, such a callous and egotistical man."
The countess narrowed her eyes, appearing to half-way try to cover up a scowl, then turned back to her plate, rolling stray peas around with her fork. "Well, then…" She said, her voice low and disapproving. "Let's hope that you haven't underestimated your enemy, Great King of Kings."
The long table of nobles was silent for a moment as the occupants eyes shifted between Dracula and Carmila, their idle chatter coming to a halt. Dracula stared at her ponderously, as though asking her a question, but without forming the words.
A male noble on the opposite side of the countess cleared his throat to break the silence. "My King…" He said cautiously. "I'd like to bring up another issue of this matter…"
Dracula turned to him, his gaze still with a hint of warning. "Go on…" He said. "I'm listening."
"I must point out… that not even a human, let alone a dhampir, has ever been fit to hold a position of power… Are you sure he will be capable of carrying the weight of such an enormous responsibility? I apologize, Your Majesty… but you must understand my doubts…"
The Vampire King sat up straight, smiling slightly at the man in appreciation for his respect. "No need to apologize, my friend. I understand all of your perfectly reasonable concerns. But one thing you must understand - all of you - is that much of the anxiety you feel is due in most part to the prejudices and misconceptions we have all been subject to for so long. It's been several hundred years since we first began promoting equality between our two races and much has changed since then. We are in a new age, now. Times have changed and humans and dhampirs are far more competent than we could have ever imagined, back in the days when we limited their education and opportunities. In order to cement these ideals into our history, we must put our trust in them. We have done right by them these past hundred years. I know they will do right by us. I am convinced this is the right decision." He said with a confident smile. "As for my son's capability of such a burden, I have great confidence in him and I'm sure he can answer for himself." Dracula opened a palm towards the end of the table, where Vincent sat. The Vampire Prince was, quite clearly to everyone at the table, a dhampir, but the resemblance to his father was uncanny.
The Prince sat up straight, his eyes hard as he awaited their inquiries.
The nobleman who addressed his father earlier cleared his throat again. "My Prince…"
Vincent narrowed his eyes at him. "Yes, Councilman?"
He pursed his lips together and took a breath, clearly he wasn't accustomed to acting with such reverence towards a creature he had always seen to be inferior, even possibly abominable, Vincent thought. "You are to be the King of Kings… a dhampir… the Vampire King… How will you respond to the disapproval you most certainly will be receiving?"
Vincent's eyes traveled across the room, moving from one set of eyes to another. They were all locked onto him, but he did not yield, showing no intimidation among his Vampire superiors. He took a deep breath before he spoke. "I will serve the people in every way that I can… I know I will not only be getting criticism from the vampire side, but the human side as well. Thus is the curse of a dhampir. I have dealt with it my entire life. It will be nothing new to me and I don't anticipate it faltering my performance."
"…And if war breaks out?"
His eyes shifted again. "It is as my father said. We have no reason to be intimidated by Cyrion, or any other opposing nation. I have lived through war before. I have no fear of it."
"But surely, that… human blood in you must muddle your judgment." Carmila blurted out.
"Carmila..." Dracula said with warning.
"Please… prejudice is just a term you liberals like to use to cover up the facts. It's a fact of nature that humans and dhampirs can't cope with the hardships and challenges that vampires face every day. Their brains literally don't function on that level of efficiency. It's a fact that they are genetically inferior to us. That's why we have ruled over them for so long."
"Carmila!"
"She looked directly at the Prince. "I can't see a dhampir thinking with the clarity of a vampire, despite who his father is, hindered by the traits of his mothers human genes. I'm sure she never won any wars, did she?"
The Prince stood up abruptly.
"Vincent, please sit down…" Dracula called from the other end of the long table.
"Vincent…" The dhampiress said softly as she looked up at his face, which was contorted with revulsion for the countess.
He shook his head. "I'm sorry father, but I have no wish to sit here calmly while these people question my integrity and competence, and insult my mother." He said forcefully, then glared down at Carmila, who looked back at him with a satisfied smirk. "Nor do I wish to dine with racists. So please, excuse me." He said, and started to leave, but turned to say one last thing. "You all have a nice evening. And enjoy your extravagant dinner. I'm sure it was expensive."
As he left, the dhampir woman sitting next to him looked around at them with distain in her eyes, then followed with out a word. Her long, sleek hair trailed behind her; almost as brightly crimson as that of the countess.
Dracula sighed, then eyed the countess, unimpressed. "Thank you, Carmila, for such unnecessary hostility."
She smirked and looked down at her food, needlessly pushing around again. "It just goes to show you, Your Highness. If he had been a vampire, he wouldn't have reacted in such a way. You're wife must have been quite a—"
Dracula stood up angrily and violently swiped her plate onto the ground, smashing the porcelain and spilling the uneaten portion onto the silky, velvet rug. "His reaction had nothing to do with his genes. Your serpentine tongue has lashed out too far this time, Carmila! How dare you speak of my family with such disrespect!" He said in fury.
She looked up at him with utter shock enveloping her face.
"Get the hell out of my castle. Now!"
Her shock turned into offended disgust and anger. She stood and took the cloth napkin from her lap, wiping her hands with it feverishly, though she didn't need to, then rose to her feet and looked around at her fellow nobles. "Ladies… Gentlemen…" She said her stern farewell, then turned to Dracula. "My King…"
With that, she threw the napkin onto the empty space of the table where her plate was a moment earlier, then took her time leaving the room. As she passed Dracula, she whispered to him, "I'm warning you, Dracula. This boy will be the end of you. He'll be the end of us all…"
The Vampire King frowned deeply at her. "You should have been gone by now."
Her eyes traveled him up and down, then she smirked again before finally turning away and continuing, taking one smug look back before exiting through the giant doors.
Dracula took a sigh, then sat back down in his chair and looked around at his guests. "I apologize for all this. Please, don't let it mind you. …Now, where were we?"
The other nobles looked around at each other, none seemed inclined to continue the discussion.
"I'm sorry, My Lord…" One of the counts said apprehensively. "But I'm afraid I must be going now…"
Dracula looked up at him as he stood. "But…wait…"
"As should I…" Another countess said at the other end of the table and stood with him.
The Vampire King watched as, one by one, his company slowly began to vanish. Their apologies and farewells were like speech muffled underwater through his thoughts of distress. All he could do was watch them. He couldn't think of anything that would convince them to stay, and even if he had, his bafflement wouldn't have allowed him to say it.
He continued to stare at the main dining hall door as it swung shut for the last time, its gold and red velvet designs swirling with the same chaos that churned in his mind, hoping that the failure of this dinner party discussion was not a foreshadow for events to come.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
His face was warm, but his neck was cool. Something was blinding him, a light blazed through his eyelids, causing his vision to be engulfed in red. He felt his body shiver involuntarily, cold and feverish all at once. He struggled to find control of himself, but found his attempted movement hindered and dizzying. When the red turned to slits of blurred light and shapes, it burned his eyes, but above him was the indistinguishable face of a beautiful woman.
His eyes widened as his mind struggled to make sense of the familiar image. He felt his breath catch in his chest and he fought with his vision to confirm what he was seeing. Disbelief shrouded his thoughts. He couldn't understand what was happening.
His throat hitched and gasped as he franticly tried to fill his lungs with air to speak. His lips parted a couple of times before he was able to make out a word. "A… Azriel…?"
The woman tilted her head to the side as she watched him struggle to see and speak. "It's… Myra, milord." She said. Her voice was small and meek, not what he had expected.
He blinked his eyes several times, frustrated at their incompliance; until finally, her face came into focus.
As he looked at her, his heart sunk. He tried not to show his disappointment. It was not the face he had thought he'd seen.
He averted his eyes, slightly embarrassed. "I apologize…"
"N-no… it's alright." Suddenly, the human servant put the objects in her hands aside, then stood and left the room.
As he listened to the faint voices outside the bedroom door, he attempted to move, but was met with searing pain in his muscles and joints. He couldn't believe how tired and incredibly weak his body felt. Even his mind was in a fog. He felt delirious. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was.
Soon, the door opened and in stepped his father, his hands clasped in front of him and an expression of embarrassment on his face. He looked at D for a moment before lowering his eyes, then moving to close the shades of the window, relieving himself and D of its bright intrusion. After that, he sat in the chair the young woman had been in before. "I apologize for what happened back there. It's been a long time since anyone has attacked me or the castle… I wasn't anticipating that to happen. I'd forgotten about that guardian…" He said and lowered his head shamefully. After a moment, without a word from D, he asked, "How are you feeling?"
The hunter hadn't looked at him and still didn't. He just stared at the canopy of the bed, brow slightly furrowed.
Dracula gazed at him for a moment, then looked down again, looking more concerned by the moment. He reached over and took the object the woman had been holding. It was a bowl of cool water and a cloth. D listened to the gentle trickle of the water as his father wetted the cloth and rung it out, then started to dab D's forehead with it.
The hunter jerked his head away and the pain jolted through his spine like a giant needle down his back.
The vampire watched as his son gritted his teeth and his body tensed, a strained hiss escaping his throat. He put a hand on D's arm in an attempt to still him. "D… don't struggle. There's no need for you to fight here." He tried to search the hunters face for some kind of acknowledgement, but D had managed to face away from him and seemed poised to keep it that way. Dracula reached back over and instead started dabbing his son's neck with the cloth. "You've got a fever…" He said. "You have to stay cool or you'll get worse. And you need to rest."
"Why don't you just kill me?" D managed to say, his voice hoarse and throat painful.
"Kill you? Why would I want to do that?"
"Because I tried to kill you first?"
"Please, D. You're my son. I'd rip my own heart out if I even thought it would make you feel better."
D huffed. "Maybe it would."
Dracula blinked and his eyes drifted down. He seemed hurt by that comment. The vampire drew back his hand and put the cloth back in the bowl. "D…" He started to say, looking at his feet. "I didn't kidnap that girl. I paid her family to hire you and tell you that, so that you'd come home… I didn't mean for you to get hurt."
D's brow furrowed further and his eyes looked around in puzzlement. "…You tricked me into coming here?"
The vampire looked back up at him, wishing he could see his son's eyes. "If that's what it takes to see my son, then that's what it takes, I suppose."
"You're despicable." D said harshly.
"D…"
"If I had a reason to come back, I would have. But there's nothing left for me but ghosts and a badgering old fool."
"Please, don't be like this…"
"Go away."
"What?"
"Leave me alone, I said. I want to be left alone. Now."
Dracula stared at him for a moment before lowering his eyes and swallowing hard. "Alright… I'll leave you alone." He stood up, putting the bowl aside and looking back down at the dhampir, able to see his face a little better at this angle. "Rest well now. You should be better within a few days."
Slowly, he turned and headed towards the door. He paused as he placed a hand on the knob. "And if you need anything… there will be a servant outside the door to--"
"GO!" D shouted as loud as he could in his weak state.
Dracula, cut off and surprised, stared at him for a moment longer, before leaving the room; taking one last look back at his long, lost child before closing the door.
As D heard his fathers footsteps trail off out in the hallway, he took a deep breath. He didn't really want to relax, but he was too tired not to; too exhausted to stay angry. He stayed as he was, his eyes blinked several times as they wandered about the room. The familiarity of it was almost painful.
"Gee… well… this is just great." A gruff voice came from under the covers. "Good goin', D. Now you're bed ridden. Happy yet?"
D rolled his eyes. "Don't start."
The symbiote laughed. "Sometimes I think you're truly insane, you know that? I'm always telling you, 'don't do this, D. It's too dangerous, D. Turn back while you still can, D! You're gonna get yourself killed, D!' But do you ever listen? NO!"
D took another deep breath, this time out of annoyance.
"Then I'm always the one that has to save your ass when you get in over your--!!" D squeezed his hand as hard as he could in his weakened state, cutting the symbiote off.
With the much welcomed silence, he forgot about the creature's annoying words easily. D let his eyes explore the room he was in. This room, like all the rooms in the castle, was extraordinary in beauty. Marble walls with gold, hand carved designs gracing their surface. The ceiling was domed, paintings on the surface and jade trim. The architecture of this building was marvelous. It was like a giant, living work of art. He was thankful they had put him in a guest room.
He was looking around the room for a while, a long while, before he started feeling his eye lids getting heavy. The dhampir blinked several times, struggling to stay awake. The hunter wanted to sleep so badly, but it was so awkward being here. He just didn't feel comfortable lying in one of Dracula's beds. The aching all over his body made him want to sleep even more. Being half vampire, never in his life has he felt pain like this, but never in his life had he been attacked by one of his father's guardians either. The creatures Dracula made were powerful… extremely powerful compared to the common barbaroi.
Despite it all, however, his mind was almost too fogged to care. His mind kept wandering, slipping from one meaningless thought to the next. He felt his consciousness slipping into a dream even as he stared off at nothing at all. Finally, through his exhaustion and delirium, he gave in. His eyes drifted shut, realizing that right now, nothing in the world felt better than falling into a long, deep sleep.
To be continued…
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random note: Yesterday, as I started writing this chapter, I watched Bloodlust for the first time in ages, to get my self back in the VHD tone and I realized why that movie always irritated me in the past. The speech is so quiet. And then the action sequences are RIDICULOUSLY freakin' loud. Why? WHY DID THEY DO THAT?! It's very annoying to have to keep turning the volume up and down so I can hear them talking WITHOUT waking up the whole neighborhood in the process. Sheesh! Don't get me wrong, I love the movie, of course. But the sound people are assholes. Simple as that.
I know. Pointless babble. Feel free to throw rocks at me.
lol XP
