Castiel stared at himself in the mirror for the first time after being told what had happened. He had given up on his pride and had let the tears come rolling out silently, with dignity as he stared at the side of his face where the twisted and blistered skin left him looking like something out of a Freddy Krueger horror movie. He touched his face and then looked at his hands which had been spared but only just.
Dimitry was the man's name who had 'saved' him, but to be honest, if he was to look like this for the rest of his life, he would rather have stayed...
Shaking his head and taking a deep breath he tore his eyes away from himself and then slowly walked over to the edge of the window sill where he had resorted to sulking and glaring at the sunlight he couldn't go into anymore from behind the black veil-like curtains.
"A vampire huh?" He whispered. He ran his tongue carefully along his new teeth and then out of curiosity touched one with his tender finger tips. a little puncture appeared affter some pressure was applied, and he hummed.
"I guess that's cool." he sighed.
What did this mean? Was he going to live forever now, or would he just age slowly? Was he dead, or alive? It really threw his mind into a never-ending loop of unhealthy thinking.
A cry from the other room grabbed his attention. At least he still had his legs. Poor Lysander had been taken to what used to be the royal infirmary where a rather crude and belligerent witch had been hired to fix his limb situation.
"Stay put, you daft boy! It'll hurt worse the more you stuff around on the bedding!" She screeched.
"Calm down Cassandra," Dimitry's voice scolded, "The boy is only young, you mustn't speak to him with such venom!"
Castiel carefully limped over to where they all were and took a peek at the firey haired woman, who bustled about stitching the last of Lysander's legs on the other side.
"Shut up, you fool! You are such a sympathetic idiot. Saving trouble making teenagers..." She went off to mutter about the youths of today.
Castiel lightened up a bit and snorted. One day, he just realised, he'll be sitting around a century from now bickering about 'kids these days' yet he'd look as though he were one himself.
How odd to imagine.
Cassandra, the witch, glared at him and then sarcastically said, "You can just wait your turn Bacon Face, I've got an ointment for those things, but i can't have you blooming crowding me all day. Go! shoo!" she said.
Dimitry wished lysander well and then exited the room with Castiel. He looked to the young man and touched his singed hair.
"It's a pity... I like long hair. I couldn't imagine having to cut my own." He said trying to change the conversation direction. Best not to bother him about the more depressing issue.
Castiel hummed in agreement, "I feel like it's time for a look change anyway. Say, won't my hair grow back anyway since it's already dead? Or does being immortal stop all that?" He asked.
The man nodded in response.
"Over the week or so you'll be staying with me, I'll be telling you two about the rules and basics. They're fairly easy to follow." He began.
"Heh, I never was one to follow the rules." Castiel mused. He thought back to the other week when school break had just started. How was he going to manage school when he was like this?
"Oh, the rules aren't really 'rules' so to speak. Just common sense, no sunlight, if you must go out in the day wear long clothing and stay in the shade. It's not too complicated." Dimitry pulled out a dusty looking chair and offered Castiel a seat.
He took it and then took note that everything was very old and dusty in this place. The castle was fairly clean though, no nasty cobwebs, or litter or dead animals and so on.
"How did YOU come to be a vampire?" He asked.
Dimitry's smile faltered and he looked away, "I'd rather not talk about it."
They sat in silence for a while and then finally after about fifteen minutes it was Castiel's turn to be fixed up by the witch.
Lysander took Castiel's seat gingerly. he had a slight wobble to his walk due to the stitches being painful, but thanks to the magic, his nerves and everything were all connected as though it had never even happened.
"Ugh.." he groaned. Dimitry patted his shoulder and asked, "Are you feeling well?"
"How do you stand that woman? does she always work for you?" He asked in return.
Dimitry laughed and shrugged, "It's complicated. She reminds me of the nanny who took care of me when i was young. She was a bit of a nasty lady, but meant well... so long as she was paid anyway."
Lysander looked at his legs and ran his fingers over the stitches. He thought of his brother and his family.
"Will I, ever be able to see my family again?" He asked. Knowing that he'd be immortal now, how would that impact on his 'life'?
"Well of course you will! Dear, Lysander you can go to see them as soon as you're ready. And your friend too. This won't change anything between them and you so long as you can keep the secret, and maybe even share it with them."
"I don't have a family anymore, but when I did I could tust them with anything, even the bad things. If you just introduce them to your new lifestyle slowly, then hopefully they'll understand." He reassured him.
Lysander looked to him and smiled sadly. "But what about when I don't grow old and then all the ones i love are dying around me?" He continued.
Dimitry felt his heart clench and then slowly nodded. "Y-yes. I understand what you mean. It is- a difficult fact to come to terms with, i know... But on the brighter side, even when your current family passes away, they will have chilredn who will grow up to know you and you'll be able to have 'family' still. Well.. of course, that's if all goes well and they accept your, um, 'condition' anyway.
The point is, you have no idea how lucky you are to even have ones to be with you. I lost my entire kingdom and my own lover..." he trailed off.
Lysander felt guilty a little bit, thinking about what he said. True, his brother would be understanding hopefully. they were nearly inseparable, and who knew? Rosalya might even get a kick out of having her boyfriend's brother be so 'mysterious'.
He chuckled as he pictured the scenario in his mind.
Castiel was heard screaming and cursing from the other room causing both of them to jump up for a moment before they remembered it was just the witch.
"Who are your family? I'm curious." Dimitry asked.
"My brother is a clothing designer. He makes all his own clothing, and sells things he's created." He said.
He waved a hand over his slightly tarnished attire and said, "He and I are very infatuated with the style of the Victorian era. As you can see, it's not exactly authentic, but it's more of a tribute than an imitation."
Lysander gazed at the clothing of the other man a little enviously. The older vampire noticed this and a smile came to his face, "I-I had been meaning to ask you why you were dressed in such a way. It's not very often I see someone as young as you dressed like my people did. It's kind of nice to see they fashion didn't die away completely with the time." He commented.
Lysander chuckled and fiddled with his cravat and then leant over to fix the slightly singed laces of his tall boots.
Dimitry knelt down and helped him. Lysander stood back up slowly and then sighed.
"I hope you're right about the family thing..." He began.
"Doesn't it get lonely for you, dimitry? Living here all alone?" he asked.
He had only just met this mad last night but he felt as though he had known him for years.
Dimitry laughed and smiled, standing up. "I'm not alone at all! This evening, perhaps I might introduce you to my friend." He said, "He's rather peculiar though. He's a talking bat."
Lysander sputtered and then cocked and eyebrow incredulously, "A talking bat? well... I suppose if vampires exist, then surely i shouldn't find it so strange that such a thing exists..." he muttered.
Dimitry hummed and then they both went to check on Castiel.
"These two boys remind me of my self... and my brother. I- I only hope that what I've done for them can give them the best of a chance at living... the kind of thing I couldn't do for Mary..." Dimitry thought.
He sighed and wiped down castiel's arms with a cold wash cloth to help soothe the burning, his injuries having gone down substantially, but the damage still rather evident.
Maybe he's right. I am lonely here all by myself. But I couldn't possibly fit into modern society. Sure, perhaps they could help me if I tried but... I feel as though I belong here, in my castle." he mused.
Whatever would come of it, he didn't think about it for too long. For now he just made sure the boys were comfortable, and then as the sun began to set, the man named Dimitry would begin his training regime for the two new vampires.