Around midnight, the two young men rode into a clearing. It was a small
meadow with tiny night-blooming flowers sprinkling the serenity. Crickets
chirped, then fell silent as the horses neared. Pulling his mount to a
halt, Kiosun turned to Van.
"The first lesson begins now." Pulling off his shirt, Ki looped the reins over his horse's head until the fell to the ground. The horse immediately stood rock still. Standing up in the saddle, Ki spread his arms. At the same time, his wings unfurled.
Van stared in awe. Ki's wings were entirely black, reflecting white light softly. Reminding himself to breathe, Van followed suit, though remained seated on his horse.
Pushing himself off the back of his horse strongly, Kiosun flapped his wings to gain altitude. For one moment, he hung suspended in the air, wings spread, silhouetted against the moon's cold white light. Van's breath caught in his throat and tears stung the corners of his eyes. He was…gorgeous. Van glanced away, taking flight in a less dramatic fashion.
Van hovered in the air. "So where are we headed?"
"Well, first we're going to stretch our wings a bit. When was the last time you flew?"
Van thought for a second. "When I was about five."
Kiosun stared at him in shock. "You haven't flown since you were five?"
"Well…my mother told me not to show my wings until the right time. I followed her orders at first because my wing was broken. Later, after it had healed, I told myself that she would shun me if I disobeyed. When she…left, I told myself it was to honor her memory. I've done small exercises with them, but only deep in the forest."
Kiosun's eyes lit with understanding. "Of course…of all the time I've watched you, I never did see you fly."
An errant breeze blew Van back a few feet before he recovered. "Ki, just how long have you been watching me?"
Ki stared embarrassed at his feet, unconcerned that they weren't on solid ground. "Actually, ever since you were five. A rumor started about the second in line to the throne of Fanalia. Supposedly, he had wings, as did his mother. I did some research and discovered where your mother came from. I traveled to Fanalia and have been watching you and your brother ever since."
Van absorbed this. "The boy in the stable, Laike, he's not your real brother, is he?"
"No, he's not. Laike was my eyes inside the palace. He took all the odd jobs. Stable boy, cook's helper. I met him when I met Angelique. When she found out that your brother was kyuuketsuki, she offered to take him. When he left for the dragonslaying, she kidnapped him and explained everything. He did not willingly go with her at first. He kept insisting that he had to return to you, that you couldn't run the kingdom by yourself. He was right at the time, but his absence forced you to become stronger. It hurt him so much when he couldn't talk with you or see you anymore. And that is part of where I am going to take us. Angelique has a small cottage in the woods about a night's flight from here."
Van settled to the ground, absently stroking his mare's muzzle. "So we're going to leave the horses?"
"Only for a few hours. If you haven't flown since you were five, you're not going to be strong enough to make a whole night of flying. Instead, we'll go for a short flight now, and work on your skills. Then we can ride to Lokia and stay at an inn there. Then we'll leave our mounts at the stable there and fly to Angelique's for a few days. That is, if you're in no hurry to get to Kuwaro's."
Van's mare sighed blissfully and leaned into his caress, eyes half lidded. "I'm in no hurry."
"Good. So, feel like flying a little?" Van just nodded and leapt again into the air. Flapping his wings powerfully, he flew towards Kiosun. Ki just beckoned and took off towards the south. Feeling the hint of challenge, Van took after him grinning.
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Ki raced ahead of Van, rotating slowly until he flew chest up. Falling back a little, he flew right under Van. The young heir mock-glared at him. The night air rushed by them both, caressing their wings and skin. Ki inched closer and closer until his mouth was right next to Van's ear.
"Are you up for a race?" he breathed, just loud enough to be heard. Van just peeled away and flew faster, a wild grin on his face. Ki laughed and caught up easily. "You'll have to do better than that! Surely a young sprite like you can beat an old man like me!"
Van sneered elegantly. "Oh really? You're only look about two years older than me!"
"Ah, but you forget my fifty as vampire."
"Makes no difference. Besides, I'm just warming up!"
Kiosun laughed and pulled ahead. "Well then, I suggest we get down to business!"
Madly they raced over the countryside, shadows flitting below them, and the bright moon shining above them. Muscles strained and shoulders flexed, wings pounding the air. At one point, a large pack of ravens were startled awake, and actually raced with them until they became too tired.
Not long after that, the two young men became tired themselves. On a mutual consent, they flew slowly towards a forest grove and touched down at the same time. Van collapsed on the ground, laughing breathlessly.
"I...have never…had so much…fun…in my…life!" he panted. Ki crawled over and lay down next to Van.
"Then…you have not…had a very fun life." Kiosun was panting, but not as hard as Van.
Breathing slower now, Van agreed. "I…guess not. But then, you try living as a prince! All sequestered and guarded. The only real friend I had was Merle. Then she grew up and wanted more than friendship. She wanted my love, the one thing I was unwilling to give her."
Ki propped himself up on one elbow. "Is love then, such a hard thing to give?"
"No, I did love her…" Van noticed Kiosun's face fall a little, then recover. "I loved her as one best friend loves another. We went everywhere together. She was an orphan. So was I. We were drawn together, and were such close friends. Then one day, she seemed to change. She became possessive almost…If any other girl was with me, she was right there, watching that girl with steel in her eyes. Of course, she needn't have worried." Kiosun laughed dryly, knowing where the comment came from.
"So we drew apart a little. She began to annoy me…always pestering me. I wish we could go back the way things were before." Van sighed. Ki nodded sympathetically.
"I had a friend like that. He was male though. We were such great hunting companions and riding companions. We practiced our sword skills. He wanted to be a great knight, but I was content to be a duke's bastard son. After the change, I kept contact with him at night. We still met and talked about everything. Then one day I let slip about what I truly was. It may be that he could have dealt with just that…however, I also confessed to him that I was only attracted to men. He became scared that I would attack him, since he was a healthy young man with an ample blood supply. He went to the church and confessed to the priest everything that had happened. The priest rallied men from the village nearby and drove me out with torches.
"I had long since left the vampire who first took care of me. I panicked and fled to the country, looking for a barn to hide in. I finally found a horse farm and crept into the hay. I stayed up all night, listening terrified for the sounds that the search party had found me. Finally, when morning came, I fell asleep, buried in hay.
"The next evening, the owner of the ranch found me. She opened the door wide to check on her horses, only to find me with blood dripping down my fangs next to an old nag of a horse. The horse was perfectly fine, I made sure not to take too much." Seeing Van's dubious expression, he felt he had to add the last.
"To her credit, she didn't scream, just calmly asked me what I was doing in her barn." Kiosun paused, remembering with clarity how he hissed at her and struck out. She had caught his hand neatly, moving faster than any human could. She had just given him a look of utter disgust and asked what kind of vampire would misjudge such a crucial situation.
"That, Van, was the beginning of my friendship with Angelique. Everything I had not learned from my first teacher, I learned from her. She and her brother, Laike, had been vampires for a few years already, so they are older than I am."
Van interrupted. "Laike looks so young though! Does every vampire become one at seventeen?"
Ki nodded. "Never younger, though occasionally older. Nineteen was our oldest fledgling. Laike was just seventeen when the changes came, but he looked a lot younger, even then. His sister helped him through, and they founded their horse farm together. He seemed to age little, though. At least, not a lot that I've noticed."
Van lay back, regarding the stars in silence. "Speaking of the horses, will they be alright?"
"Yes, they're fine. They'll stay right there unless danger threatens. Then they'll flee, but return as soon as it's safe."
On a whim, Van asked a question that had been in the back of his mind. "Ki, what are their names?"
"What?"
"The horses. Do they have names?"
"My chestnut is called Breeze. Your black is called Coral."
"Coral?"
"Yeah…Angelique picks the names. She told me about a time she went diving in the ocean once, and saw great fields of underwater flowers. The diver with her told her they were corals. She took a small piece home with her, a black spiky rock with pores all in it. She said your mare reminded her of the peace and quiet under the ocean surface."
Van nodded agreeably. "Sounds good to me. Perhaps someday I will see these corals."
Kiosun nearly leapt at the chance. "The next town we stay at, Lokia, is a port city. They have an all-night bazaar and all-night activities. That's part of why I decided to make it our destination. Some of the shops and things there are actually run by vampires. We could go diving there! As I recall, you also promised your kitty-friend a present. That would be a perfect chance to get her one."
Van brightened. "Of course! When will we get there?"
"Well, we have to go back to the horses, which should take us about two hours. If we ride hard, we should be able to reach the city tonight."
"Good, let's go!" Van leapt up, then winced and fell back as his shoulder muscles screamed at him. Kiosun laughed at his expression.
"Poor Van…took it a little too hard tonight? Tsk, tsk, tsk. You, a swordsman, should know better than to overstrain yourself with no stretching first."
Van held his aching wings close to his body. Turning his head, he looked at them accusingly, then did a double take. All the edges of every feather had turned black, and the middles were all gray. Small patches of white still held on valiantly, but it seemed they were loosing their battle against the darker spectrum. Looking at them, Van finally accepted what he was becoming. The reality settled on his shoulders like a heavy cloak. Kiosun, sensing that now was not a time to offer comfort, turned away and walked to the edge of the clearing. Some things needed to be dealt with by ones own self.
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Retracting his wings, Van watched Kiosun make his quiet way to the clearing's edge. Van turned away also, climbing up a nearby tree slowly. The harsh bark was firm beneath his fingers, solidifying his existence. His focus sharpened and became real. Crawling out on a branch, he cut his palm on a protruding twig. He looked at the blood welling. For a moment, he admired the beauty of that crimson liquid. He was free from pain, floating safely away from all his troubles.
Then he felt small pain throb through his arm, and brought the cut to his lip. Licking off the blood, he suddenly saw a million images flash in his mind's eye. Fanalia, safe and peaceful under Kuwaro's rule. Merle, sad because he had left her. He saw his brother, older and darker. He saw Kiosun, a beautiful smile on his face as he held Van close. People, places, lives flashed before him. Emotions ran through his veins and twined around his thoughts. Finally, panic surfaced and he tore his hand away from his lips.
Suddenly he was falling, and then impacting with the soft forest floor. He felt a dull pain in his side, and mentally winced at the thought of the size of the bruise he'd soon have. His eyes cleared and he stared confused into Ki's worried eyes.
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"Van, what happened? Are you all right? What's the matter Van, talk to me!" Ki babbled incoherently, afraid that something horrible had happened. Judging from the look on Van's face, something horrible had.
"Ki… I…" Ki just hushed him.
"No, don't speak, lay back for a second. Breathe. Deep breaths." Van mindlessly obeyed, fear evident in his eyes. Kiosun gathered Van in his arms and quickly checked for broken bones. Seeing that there were none, he also checked for any other wounds. There was a small cut on Van's palm and a tender spot on his ribs, but that was all.
"Are you calm now?" he asked. Van nodded. "Now, tell me what happened."
"I was in the tree…then I cut my palm. I licked it off…and all these awful visions came, and I fell." Van shook, those visions still haunting his eyes. Ki began to curse soundly, naming several unlikely ancestors of Lucard Rimidalv and quite a few anatomically impossible positions that Lucard could get himself into. Despite the situation, Van looked mildly impressed. Kiosun turned his attention back to Van and explained.
"First blood…real blood, not animal…does that to every vampire. They see the tentative future if they continue acting as they do. They can change things, like decide not to become a vampire. Then they die, of course. But if you follow the course of action that you are following right now, that will be your fate. It's not certain…other people change, things happen. But if everything happened exactly, what you saw is what will happen. Now is the time for you to decide. Is what you saw in those visions what you want to happen?"
Van slowly shook his head. "I don't know… Some, yes, I would want to happen…but Merle would be sad…"
Kiosun's heart fell for a second, but nothing showed on his face. "It is up to you. After this time, you will be able to eat nothing but blood. If you do not change, you will die. Starve, perhaps, or perhaps the changes themselves will kill you. It is not yet time for the bonding ceremony…things have not quite fallen into place yet. You are not ready. If you do not change, you will die…and if you do, now, you will suffer immensely. You can survive for a few more days…Hopefully that will be enough time. It is your choice."
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Van nodded to Kiosun, feeling safe and warm in his arms. "I will change. I will become Vampire. One vision I saw was Fanalia, safe, prosperous, and happy under Kuwaro's rule. We will make all haste to his castle."
"Yes. You cannot fly…" Van made to protest, but Ki silenced him. "No, you won't. The horses will be fine for a few days. They will make their way to Angelique's when no one returns for them. I will fly for the remainder of the night. If I fly fast enough, we can make it to his castle just before dawn."
Ki spread his wings once more and leapt into the air, Van cradled in his arms. Van wrapped his arms around Ki's neck and relaxed. Though he could not see it, Ki smiled, satisfied.
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The first lights of dawn were filtering over the horizon behind them when Ki touched down outside Lamor, capitol of Kuwaro's dukedom. A well-guarded fortress sat on the top of a hill, the city spread out at its foot like a skirt. Shaking Van awake gently, he whispered, "We're here. I didn't want to land in the city because of my wings. Also, it should only take a few minutes to walk to the palace's gates. Can you stand?"
Van nodded shakily and Ki let him down. Ki's fingers lingered for a second, then withdrew reluctantly. Van drew away uncomfortably. Both turned towards the city and walked in.
There were few people awake so early, but those who were stared at them. Van waved them away with authority, and they made the rest of their journey with few problems. One young girl came up to them just before they reached the gate.
"Excuse me, sirs? Here…" She handed them two shirts. Kiosun started guiltily when he realized why the people had been staring at them. Thinking quickly, he came up with an excuse.
"Madam, you have no idea how grateful we are! We were attacked by bandits, they stole our horses, money, and shirts. We were just coming to inform the duke. I will reimburse you for the shirts as soon as those bandits are apprehended." She blushed girlishly.
"Well, my brother, he's about your age…when I heard there were two young men in town with no shirts, I rushed over to see if I could help. I own a tavern over there," She waved towards the west- "and thought you must be in trouble. Now, the duke is always been' generous to us, so I figured we," She gestured towards the few city dwellers- "could help you out a bit. It's not as if we have need of every penny right now. So, if you could put in a good word with the duke, I'll call it fair." She beamed.
Ki bent and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Anything for so fair a woman." She giggled and dashed off. Van was looking at him oddly. Ki shrugged it off, muttering something about the need for shelter in the future.
Van just rolled his eyes and walked to the front gates. The two guards bowed.
"Identification." One rapped out smartly.
"Van Fanel, of Fanalia." The guards immediately saluted and opened the doors. They waited in the courtyard for a few minutes as a page ran off to wake the duke. Soon he returned with summons from the duke.
"Sirs, the duke would like to see you immediately in his private chambers. If you would follow me?" Ki felt the sun at his back, warning him. He felt the stirrings of panic, the fear that he would not find shelter in time. Nudging Van, he nodded towards the East. Van nodded and halted the page.
"Could you take my friend to his room please? A room with no windows, close to mine." The page nodded, not questioning the odd request. They made a short detour to the guestrooms, where Ki bid Van good luck.
"You must convince him, Van."
"I know. It's taken care of."
"Good."
"I'll be back soon…"
"I know."
Van nodded and followed the page. As soon as they were out of sight, Ki entered his room and dove towards the bed. He tucked the covers under his chin as the sun peeked over the horizon. Ki relaxed as he regarded his safehouse. It would work, for now. Closing his eyes, his last thoughts were of Van, laughing as he flew.
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Van walked into Kuwaro's chamber with uncertainty. Though they had written each other from time to time, they hadn't truly spoken since they were children.
Kuwaro sat in a large chair near the hearth. Two glasses and a bottle of wine sat on a table, with another chair on the other side. Kuwaro stood up with a smile.
"Van! It's been so long since we've talked!" He enfolded Van in a hug. Stepping back again, he held Van at arm length, inspecting the young heir. Van in turn, glanced over Kuwaro. He was twenty-two now, and looked like a king. Dressed in a brocade nightgown, he still held a commanding presence. He was well muscled and had a few scars from fights with dragons. His face was warm though, and his hug held no reluctance.
"Van, you look like awful! What has happened? Sit down and tell me about it."
So Van did. He explained everything except that he was Vampire, and his odd relationship with Kiosun.
For a long time afterwards, Kuwaro sat thinking. Finally he spoke, voice heavy with some unidentifiable emotion.
"So. Because you are Draconian, you wish to abdicate the throne and fake your death. You want me to seize the throne, and meanwhile you go live elsewhere as a peasant. Am I right so far?" Van nodded. "You think I can rule better than you, so you want the best thing for your country." Though this wasn't exactly a question, Van nodded again. Kuwaro sighed heavily. "So I really have no choice either way."
Van made no answer. Kuwaro stared at him, face deceptively blank. Finally, he took a sip of his wine. "Van, you are hiding something from me. We were friends for so long…what is it you cannot tell me?"
"Cousin, the situation is far more grave than you can imagine. I can take no wife, so there would be no heirs after I die. The country would be rift in the power struggle that followed, and many people's lives would be affected. If I die now, then the obvious heir would be you. Very few would challenge your rule, especially seeing the prosperity of your city. You are already betrothed, and Rosalind would make the perfect queen. You are not too ambitious, so the people would feel safe that there would be few wars or moves to conquer other nearby countries. It would be a brilliant tactical stroke if you could pull it off." Van left Kuwaro to draw his own conclusions about the first part of his reasoning. Kuwaro evidently drew the right ones, for he nodded sympathetically. Van said nothing more until Kuwaro gave his answer.
"Very well. For the good of Fanalia, I will agree to this plan. Am I to take it that no one else knows of this plan?"
"Only one. Everyone else is conveniently in the dark. Balgus doesn't suspect and Merle doesn't know. Those are the only two important ones. No one else knows either, so your rule would be unchallenged."
"Who does know?"
"Kiosun. He was the one who traveled with me."
"Good." The duke leaned back. "So when you leave for dragonslaying, you'll just disappear and everyone will take you for dead."
"Yes. I'll send a message to Balgus that I went early to dragonslaying because I felt ready. When I don't return, he'll assume I was just too foolish, and you will take the throne."
"It sounds perfect. What if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing will. I'll guide everything from where I am. Besides, there are no other contenders for the throne, so your rule will be secure. Balgus will not like it at first, since he's been guarding my family for years beyond count, and feels we have right to the throne, but he will not deny you the right."
Kuwaro stood up. "Fine then. Now I know you must be tired…I'll have a page take you to your room. Sleep as long as you will. I'll be sure that neither you nor your companion is disturbed. I'll also see to getting you some new clothes." This was said with a slight smile. Van clasped hands with his cousin gratefully.
"Until tonight, then."
His cousin nodded and escorted him to the door. "Sleep well."
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Van walked down the corridors, sticking to the shadows behind the page. One time his foot stepped into a pool of light, and it felt like his skin was burning. He quickly withdrew and was much more careful where he stepped. The page noted this but said nothing. Van didn't know that later the page went and told Kuwaro exactly what happened, and he also didn't know how long Kuwaro sat up pondering about it.
Reaching his room he collapsed into bed, eyes closed before his head hit the pillow. His last thought was the vision of Kiosun as he held Van, smiling sweetly.
"The first lesson begins now." Pulling off his shirt, Ki looped the reins over his horse's head until the fell to the ground. The horse immediately stood rock still. Standing up in the saddle, Ki spread his arms. At the same time, his wings unfurled.
Van stared in awe. Ki's wings were entirely black, reflecting white light softly. Reminding himself to breathe, Van followed suit, though remained seated on his horse.
Pushing himself off the back of his horse strongly, Kiosun flapped his wings to gain altitude. For one moment, he hung suspended in the air, wings spread, silhouetted against the moon's cold white light. Van's breath caught in his throat and tears stung the corners of his eyes. He was…gorgeous. Van glanced away, taking flight in a less dramatic fashion.
Van hovered in the air. "So where are we headed?"
"Well, first we're going to stretch our wings a bit. When was the last time you flew?"
Van thought for a second. "When I was about five."
Kiosun stared at him in shock. "You haven't flown since you were five?"
"Well…my mother told me not to show my wings until the right time. I followed her orders at first because my wing was broken. Later, after it had healed, I told myself that she would shun me if I disobeyed. When she…left, I told myself it was to honor her memory. I've done small exercises with them, but only deep in the forest."
Kiosun's eyes lit with understanding. "Of course…of all the time I've watched you, I never did see you fly."
An errant breeze blew Van back a few feet before he recovered. "Ki, just how long have you been watching me?"
Ki stared embarrassed at his feet, unconcerned that they weren't on solid ground. "Actually, ever since you were five. A rumor started about the second in line to the throne of Fanalia. Supposedly, he had wings, as did his mother. I did some research and discovered where your mother came from. I traveled to Fanalia and have been watching you and your brother ever since."
Van absorbed this. "The boy in the stable, Laike, he's not your real brother, is he?"
"No, he's not. Laike was my eyes inside the palace. He took all the odd jobs. Stable boy, cook's helper. I met him when I met Angelique. When she found out that your brother was kyuuketsuki, she offered to take him. When he left for the dragonslaying, she kidnapped him and explained everything. He did not willingly go with her at first. He kept insisting that he had to return to you, that you couldn't run the kingdom by yourself. He was right at the time, but his absence forced you to become stronger. It hurt him so much when he couldn't talk with you or see you anymore. And that is part of where I am going to take us. Angelique has a small cottage in the woods about a night's flight from here."
Van settled to the ground, absently stroking his mare's muzzle. "So we're going to leave the horses?"
"Only for a few hours. If you haven't flown since you were five, you're not going to be strong enough to make a whole night of flying. Instead, we'll go for a short flight now, and work on your skills. Then we can ride to Lokia and stay at an inn there. Then we'll leave our mounts at the stable there and fly to Angelique's for a few days. That is, if you're in no hurry to get to Kuwaro's."
Van's mare sighed blissfully and leaned into his caress, eyes half lidded. "I'm in no hurry."
"Good. So, feel like flying a little?" Van just nodded and leapt again into the air. Flapping his wings powerfully, he flew towards Kiosun. Ki just beckoned and took off towards the south. Feeling the hint of challenge, Van took after him grinning.
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Ki raced ahead of Van, rotating slowly until he flew chest up. Falling back a little, he flew right under Van. The young heir mock-glared at him. The night air rushed by them both, caressing their wings and skin. Ki inched closer and closer until his mouth was right next to Van's ear.
"Are you up for a race?" he breathed, just loud enough to be heard. Van just peeled away and flew faster, a wild grin on his face. Ki laughed and caught up easily. "You'll have to do better than that! Surely a young sprite like you can beat an old man like me!"
Van sneered elegantly. "Oh really? You're only look about two years older than me!"
"Ah, but you forget my fifty as vampire."
"Makes no difference. Besides, I'm just warming up!"
Kiosun laughed and pulled ahead. "Well then, I suggest we get down to business!"
Madly they raced over the countryside, shadows flitting below them, and the bright moon shining above them. Muscles strained and shoulders flexed, wings pounding the air. At one point, a large pack of ravens were startled awake, and actually raced with them until they became too tired.
Not long after that, the two young men became tired themselves. On a mutual consent, they flew slowly towards a forest grove and touched down at the same time. Van collapsed on the ground, laughing breathlessly.
"I...have never…had so much…fun…in my…life!" he panted. Ki crawled over and lay down next to Van.
"Then…you have not…had a very fun life." Kiosun was panting, but not as hard as Van.
Breathing slower now, Van agreed. "I…guess not. But then, you try living as a prince! All sequestered and guarded. The only real friend I had was Merle. Then she grew up and wanted more than friendship. She wanted my love, the one thing I was unwilling to give her."
Ki propped himself up on one elbow. "Is love then, such a hard thing to give?"
"No, I did love her…" Van noticed Kiosun's face fall a little, then recover. "I loved her as one best friend loves another. We went everywhere together. She was an orphan. So was I. We were drawn together, and were such close friends. Then one day, she seemed to change. She became possessive almost…If any other girl was with me, she was right there, watching that girl with steel in her eyes. Of course, she needn't have worried." Kiosun laughed dryly, knowing where the comment came from.
"So we drew apart a little. She began to annoy me…always pestering me. I wish we could go back the way things were before." Van sighed. Ki nodded sympathetically.
"I had a friend like that. He was male though. We were such great hunting companions and riding companions. We practiced our sword skills. He wanted to be a great knight, but I was content to be a duke's bastard son. After the change, I kept contact with him at night. We still met and talked about everything. Then one day I let slip about what I truly was. It may be that he could have dealt with just that…however, I also confessed to him that I was only attracted to men. He became scared that I would attack him, since he was a healthy young man with an ample blood supply. He went to the church and confessed to the priest everything that had happened. The priest rallied men from the village nearby and drove me out with torches.
"I had long since left the vampire who first took care of me. I panicked and fled to the country, looking for a barn to hide in. I finally found a horse farm and crept into the hay. I stayed up all night, listening terrified for the sounds that the search party had found me. Finally, when morning came, I fell asleep, buried in hay.
"The next evening, the owner of the ranch found me. She opened the door wide to check on her horses, only to find me with blood dripping down my fangs next to an old nag of a horse. The horse was perfectly fine, I made sure not to take too much." Seeing Van's dubious expression, he felt he had to add the last.
"To her credit, she didn't scream, just calmly asked me what I was doing in her barn." Kiosun paused, remembering with clarity how he hissed at her and struck out. She had caught his hand neatly, moving faster than any human could. She had just given him a look of utter disgust and asked what kind of vampire would misjudge such a crucial situation.
"That, Van, was the beginning of my friendship with Angelique. Everything I had not learned from my first teacher, I learned from her. She and her brother, Laike, had been vampires for a few years already, so they are older than I am."
Van interrupted. "Laike looks so young though! Does every vampire become one at seventeen?"
Ki nodded. "Never younger, though occasionally older. Nineteen was our oldest fledgling. Laike was just seventeen when the changes came, but he looked a lot younger, even then. His sister helped him through, and they founded their horse farm together. He seemed to age little, though. At least, not a lot that I've noticed."
Van lay back, regarding the stars in silence. "Speaking of the horses, will they be alright?"
"Yes, they're fine. They'll stay right there unless danger threatens. Then they'll flee, but return as soon as it's safe."
On a whim, Van asked a question that had been in the back of his mind. "Ki, what are their names?"
"What?"
"The horses. Do they have names?"
"My chestnut is called Breeze. Your black is called Coral."
"Coral?"
"Yeah…Angelique picks the names. She told me about a time she went diving in the ocean once, and saw great fields of underwater flowers. The diver with her told her they were corals. She took a small piece home with her, a black spiky rock with pores all in it. She said your mare reminded her of the peace and quiet under the ocean surface."
Van nodded agreeably. "Sounds good to me. Perhaps someday I will see these corals."
Kiosun nearly leapt at the chance. "The next town we stay at, Lokia, is a port city. They have an all-night bazaar and all-night activities. That's part of why I decided to make it our destination. Some of the shops and things there are actually run by vampires. We could go diving there! As I recall, you also promised your kitty-friend a present. That would be a perfect chance to get her one."
Van brightened. "Of course! When will we get there?"
"Well, we have to go back to the horses, which should take us about two hours. If we ride hard, we should be able to reach the city tonight."
"Good, let's go!" Van leapt up, then winced and fell back as his shoulder muscles screamed at him. Kiosun laughed at his expression.
"Poor Van…took it a little too hard tonight? Tsk, tsk, tsk. You, a swordsman, should know better than to overstrain yourself with no stretching first."
Van held his aching wings close to his body. Turning his head, he looked at them accusingly, then did a double take. All the edges of every feather had turned black, and the middles were all gray. Small patches of white still held on valiantly, but it seemed they were loosing their battle against the darker spectrum. Looking at them, Van finally accepted what he was becoming. The reality settled on his shoulders like a heavy cloak. Kiosun, sensing that now was not a time to offer comfort, turned away and walked to the edge of the clearing. Some things needed to be dealt with by ones own self.
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Retracting his wings, Van watched Kiosun make his quiet way to the clearing's edge. Van turned away also, climbing up a nearby tree slowly. The harsh bark was firm beneath his fingers, solidifying his existence. His focus sharpened and became real. Crawling out on a branch, he cut his palm on a protruding twig. He looked at the blood welling. For a moment, he admired the beauty of that crimson liquid. He was free from pain, floating safely away from all his troubles.
Then he felt small pain throb through his arm, and brought the cut to his lip. Licking off the blood, he suddenly saw a million images flash in his mind's eye. Fanalia, safe and peaceful under Kuwaro's rule. Merle, sad because he had left her. He saw his brother, older and darker. He saw Kiosun, a beautiful smile on his face as he held Van close. People, places, lives flashed before him. Emotions ran through his veins and twined around his thoughts. Finally, panic surfaced and he tore his hand away from his lips.
Suddenly he was falling, and then impacting with the soft forest floor. He felt a dull pain in his side, and mentally winced at the thought of the size of the bruise he'd soon have. His eyes cleared and he stared confused into Ki's worried eyes.
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"Van, what happened? Are you all right? What's the matter Van, talk to me!" Ki babbled incoherently, afraid that something horrible had happened. Judging from the look on Van's face, something horrible had.
"Ki… I…" Ki just hushed him.
"No, don't speak, lay back for a second. Breathe. Deep breaths." Van mindlessly obeyed, fear evident in his eyes. Kiosun gathered Van in his arms and quickly checked for broken bones. Seeing that there were none, he also checked for any other wounds. There was a small cut on Van's palm and a tender spot on his ribs, but that was all.
"Are you calm now?" he asked. Van nodded. "Now, tell me what happened."
"I was in the tree…then I cut my palm. I licked it off…and all these awful visions came, and I fell." Van shook, those visions still haunting his eyes. Ki began to curse soundly, naming several unlikely ancestors of Lucard Rimidalv and quite a few anatomically impossible positions that Lucard could get himself into. Despite the situation, Van looked mildly impressed. Kiosun turned his attention back to Van and explained.
"First blood…real blood, not animal…does that to every vampire. They see the tentative future if they continue acting as they do. They can change things, like decide not to become a vampire. Then they die, of course. But if you follow the course of action that you are following right now, that will be your fate. It's not certain…other people change, things happen. But if everything happened exactly, what you saw is what will happen. Now is the time for you to decide. Is what you saw in those visions what you want to happen?"
Van slowly shook his head. "I don't know… Some, yes, I would want to happen…but Merle would be sad…"
Kiosun's heart fell for a second, but nothing showed on his face. "It is up to you. After this time, you will be able to eat nothing but blood. If you do not change, you will die. Starve, perhaps, or perhaps the changes themselves will kill you. It is not yet time for the bonding ceremony…things have not quite fallen into place yet. You are not ready. If you do not change, you will die…and if you do, now, you will suffer immensely. You can survive for a few more days…Hopefully that will be enough time. It is your choice."
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Van nodded to Kiosun, feeling safe and warm in his arms. "I will change. I will become Vampire. One vision I saw was Fanalia, safe, prosperous, and happy under Kuwaro's rule. We will make all haste to his castle."
"Yes. You cannot fly…" Van made to protest, but Ki silenced him. "No, you won't. The horses will be fine for a few days. They will make their way to Angelique's when no one returns for them. I will fly for the remainder of the night. If I fly fast enough, we can make it to his castle just before dawn."
Ki spread his wings once more and leapt into the air, Van cradled in his arms. Van wrapped his arms around Ki's neck and relaxed. Though he could not see it, Ki smiled, satisfied.
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The first lights of dawn were filtering over the horizon behind them when Ki touched down outside Lamor, capitol of Kuwaro's dukedom. A well-guarded fortress sat on the top of a hill, the city spread out at its foot like a skirt. Shaking Van awake gently, he whispered, "We're here. I didn't want to land in the city because of my wings. Also, it should only take a few minutes to walk to the palace's gates. Can you stand?"
Van nodded shakily and Ki let him down. Ki's fingers lingered for a second, then withdrew reluctantly. Van drew away uncomfortably. Both turned towards the city and walked in.
There were few people awake so early, but those who were stared at them. Van waved them away with authority, and they made the rest of their journey with few problems. One young girl came up to them just before they reached the gate.
"Excuse me, sirs? Here…" She handed them two shirts. Kiosun started guiltily when he realized why the people had been staring at them. Thinking quickly, he came up with an excuse.
"Madam, you have no idea how grateful we are! We were attacked by bandits, they stole our horses, money, and shirts. We were just coming to inform the duke. I will reimburse you for the shirts as soon as those bandits are apprehended." She blushed girlishly.
"Well, my brother, he's about your age…when I heard there were two young men in town with no shirts, I rushed over to see if I could help. I own a tavern over there," She waved towards the west- "and thought you must be in trouble. Now, the duke is always been' generous to us, so I figured we," She gestured towards the few city dwellers- "could help you out a bit. It's not as if we have need of every penny right now. So, if you could put in a good word with the duke, I'll call it fair." She beamed.
Ki bent and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Anything for so fair a woman." She giggled and dashed off. Van was looking at him oddly. Ki shrugged it off, muttering something about the need for shelter in the future.
Van just rolled his eyes and walked to the front gates. The two guards bowed.
"Identification." One rapped out smartly.
"Van Fanel, of Fanalia." The guards immediately saluted and opened the doors. They waited in the courtyard for a few minutes as a page ran off to wake the duke. Soon he returned with summons from the duke.
"Sirs, the duke would like to see you immediately in his private chambers. If you would follow me?" Ki felt the sun at his back, warning him. He felt the stirrings of panic, the fear that he would not find shelter in time. Nudging Van, he nodded towards the East. Van nodded and halted the page.
"Could you take my friend to his room please? A room with no windows, close to mine." The page nodded, not questioning the odd request. They made a short detour to the guestrooms, where Ki bid Van good luck.
"You must convince him, Van."
"I know. It's taken care of."
"Good."
"I'll be back soon…"
"I know."
Van nodded and followed the page. As soon as they were out of sight, Ki entered his room and dove towards the bed. He tucked the covers under his chin as the sun peeked over the horizon. Ki relaxed as he regarded his safehouse. It would work, for now. Closing his eyes, his last thoughts were of Van, laughing as he flew.
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Van walked into Kuwaro's chamber with uncertainty. Though they had written each other from time to time, they hadn't truly spoken since they were children.
Kuwaro sat in a large chair near the hearth. Two glasses and a bottle of wine sat on a table, with another chair on the other side. Kuwaro stood up with a smile.
"Van! It's been so long since we've talked!" He enfolded Van in a hug. Stepping back again, he held Van at arm length, inspecting the young heir. Van in turn, glanced over Kuwaro. He was twenty-two now, and looked like a king. Dressed in a brocade nightgown, he still held a commanding presence. He was well muscled and had a few scars from fights with dragons. His face was warm though, and his hug held no reluctance.
"Van, you look like awful! What has happened? Sit down and tell me about it."
So Van did. He explained everything except that he was Vampire, and his odd relationship with Kiosun.
For a long time afterwards, Kuwaro sat thinking. Finally he spoke, voice heavy with some unidentifiable emotion.
"So. Because you are Draconian, you wish to abdicate the throne and fake your death. You want me to seize the throne, and meanwhile you go live elsewhere as a peasant. Am I right so far?" Van nodded. "You think I can rule better than you, so you want the best thing for your country." Though this wasn't exactly a question, Van nodded again. Kuwaro sighed heavily. "So I really have no choice either way."
Van made no answer. Kuwaro stared at him, face deceptively blank. Finally, he took a sip of his wine. "Van, you are hiding something from me. We were friends for so long…what is it you cannot tell me?"
"Cousin, the situation is far more grave than you can imagine. I can take no wife, so there would be no heirs after I die. The country would be rift in the power struggle that followed, and many people's lives would be affected. If I die now, then the obvious heir would be you. Very few would challenge your rule, especially seeing the prosperity of your city. You are already betrothed, and Rosalind would make the perfect queen. You are not too ambitious, so the people would feel safe that there would be few wars or moves to conquer other nearby countries. It would be a brilliant tactical stroke if you could pull it off." Van left Kuwaro to draw his own conclusions about the first part of his reasoning. Kuwaro evidently drew the right ones, for he nodded sympathetically. Van said nothing more until Kuwaro gave his answer.
"Very well. For the good of Fanalia, I will agree to this plan. Am I to take it that no one else knows of this plan?"
"Only one. Everyone else is conveniently in the dark. Balgus doesn't suspect and Merle doesn't know. Those are the only two important ones. No one else knows either, so your rule would be unchallenged."
"Who does know?"
"Kiosun. He was the one who traveled with me."
"Good." The duke leaned back. "So when you leave for dragonslaying, you'll just disappear and everyone will take you for dead."
"Yes. I'll send a message to Balgus that I went early to dragonslaying because I felt ready. When I don't return, he'll assume I was just too foolish, and you will take the throne."
"It sounds perfect. What if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing will. I'll guide everything from where I am. Besides, there are no other contenders for the throne, so your rule will be secure. Balgus will not like it at first, since he's been guarding my family for years beyond count, and feels we have right to the throne, but he will not deny you the right."
Kuwaro stood up. "Fine then. Now I know you must be tired…I'll have a page take you to your room. Sleep as long as you will. I'll be sure that neither you nor your companion is disturbed. I'll also see to getting you some new clothes." This was said with a slight smile. Van clasped hands with his cousin gratefully.
"Until tonight, then."
His cousin nodded and escorted him to the door. "Sleep well."
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Van walked down the corridors, sticking to the shadows behind the page. One time his foot stepped into a pool of light, and it felt like his skin was burning. He quickly withdrew and was much more careful where he stepped. The page noted this but said nothing. Van didn't know that later the page went and told Kuwaro exactly what happened, and he also didn't know how long Kuwaro sat up pondering about it.
Reaching his room he collapsed into bed, eyes closed before his head hit the pillow. His last thought was the vision of Kiosun as he held Van, smiling sweetly.