It was raining the next day. The sky was full in all its menace and grey clouded glory. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance like an approaching monster while occasional lightning bolts tore the heavens apart at split seconds at a time. The house was mainly darkened save for a small oil lamp on the kitchen counter and the dancing flames from the hearth of the fireplace. Arthur sat on the green arm chair in the corner, sipping daintily at a cup of freshly brewed tea. After another dose of medicine and a good night's rest the wizard was fever free the next morning when he awoke. That fact filled Alfred with relief. Alfred himself sat on the couch, enjoying the warmth of the flames on his perpetually cold skin. Reginald lay in front of him, head on his paws as he too enjoyed the comforting warmth.

Alfred turned his head, looking out the window and following the various rain drops as the streaked down the now sullied window pane. Alfred never liked rain. Even if it did block out the harmful sun the rain always had a horrible habit of making him feel depressed and suffocated by the thickening dark clouds. He turned his head back, sneaking a glance at Arthur as the wizard continued to nurse his tea in his high society fashion.

The silence between them was somewhat comfortable yet more so awkward than anything. The duo hadn't really exchanged many words since the night before. Not to mention Alfred felt ashamed and embarrassed after having a mental break down in front of the older man. How foolish Alfred must have seemed to him.

There was a light clink as Arthur placed his cup on the matching saucer and set the two pieces of porcelain on the tea table next to his chair. He cleared his throat briefly before speaking, "Well Alfred it seems I have been holding you in suspense long enough." He started, uncrossing and re-crossing his legs and folding his hands within his lap. Suspense? What was Arthur talking about? "I agreed to teach you magic yesterday and I intend to keep my promise seeing as how you have agreed to my terms of usage."

That was right. At the tail end of Alfred's outburst Arthur had agreed to introduce the young vampire to the world of sorcery and teach him its boundless insight. To be honest in recollection of the whirlwind of everything that had happened in the past few days the very idea seemed to slip Alfred's mind. "Oh yeah, the magic. I kinda forgot about it in all this drama." He laughed a bit to try and help ease the tension of the room.

"This is no laughing matter, Alfred," Arthur chastised. "I ask that you keep your sense of humor locked up for the next few minutes whilst I explain the very serious matter of the contract." Contract? What kind of contract? Was it just some scroll of paper Alfred had to sign? It couldn't just be 'here sign this paper and you can practice magic'. It definitely had to be something much more. "Do you remember the markings you saw on my back yesterday?" The wizard inquired.

Alfred nodded his head, "Yeah, you have all those little black tattoos on your arms and neck too." The vampire replied.

"Around my waist too, but you didn't see those ones." What other tattoos had Alfred not seen? "The markings you see on my back are the words of the magical contract while the bands around my neck, arms, and waist represent the five elements, air, earth, water, fire, and spirit."

"What do the bands do? Are they important to the contract or are you just making a fashion statement?" With someone like Alfred it was difficult to be serious.

Arthur shot the vampire a warning glare. "No, it has nothing to do with fashion it is a vital part of the contract. In everyone, be they human, vampire, werewolf, or the like, there is the potential to preform magic. The potential magic though is very weak and without awakening it with the contract it eventually disappears the older one gets. This is why it is important to start learning magic from a young age." Alfred could be too far behind; he was nineteen, just barely above the adult level. "The contract heightens that potential and makes it applicable for learning. The bands keep the contract and the flow of magical energy in balance. It also locks the powers to the torso where essentially all aspects and organs that give a person life dwell. It is a threat that if magic is used for the wrong purpose and it goes against the contract the power with slowly destroy you from inside out."

Alfred swallowed thickly. How horribly morbid the reasoning was. So basically it was saying that if he violated the contract the magic inside him would cause him to die a slow and painful death. Wonderful. "This is why I stress the importance and seriousness of the matter. One step out of the line and the magic will not hesitate to break you entirely…. I have seen this happen before and I will tell you it is not something any person, supernatural being or not, should ever experience." And there was the mixed feeling of pain and despair swimming in the storm of Arthur's green eyes. Still Arthur remained undeterred and continued his explanation on the bonding to magic. "In order to fully complete the transformation of the magic inside one's self the person must undergo six ceremonies, one for each band and one for the final contract. I shall warn you that these ceremonies are immensely painful, horribly so that half way through you may even wish to stop, but that is the catch. Once you start the ceremonial process you cannot stop or the imbalance in magic will kill you automatically."

What happened to the glorified version of magic Alfred had read about in all those old story books? Everything Arthur was explaining to him just sounded terrible and almost everything seemed to result in a horrible, painful death. Alfred felt remorse in his decision. What if something went wrong? He didn't want to die and especially not in the violent manners Arthur described. He was afraid, terrified, but then again what was life without risks? Hero's didn't just retreat with their tail tucked between their legs. They faced their destinies with a high held head.

"Now that you have heard and understand the flaws and down falls of learning I will ask you one more time," Arthur's green eyes glowed and seem to pierce Alfred's very soul as his parted his thin lips, he leaned forward and addressed his question. "Are you truly devoted to learning the art of magic despite the fact it is a risk to your life and your very existence?"

With his head held high Alfred gave a brisk nod, "Yes I do."

Arthur leaned back in his seat, his green eyes still intense. "Then it's settled. The first ceremony will take place tonight when the moon is at its highest in the sky." Arthur shifted his weight forward to his feet, swinging his body so that he lifted himself from the green arm chair. "I'll have to spend the rest of the day preparing for the ceremony, and I suggest you do the same. Try to relax and clear your mind." Arthur grabbed his tea cup and went out from Alfred's line of sight to return his tea cup to the wash basin to be taken take of later. After that the Wizard disappeared in the library's vortex and left Alfred alone in the living room with only the crackling of the fire, the drops of the rain, and the thoughts swirling in his head.

~~** Scarlet Magic **~~

The air had become strange ominous that night. Though the storm clouds had long since departed the ghost of the rain's chill still clung to everything both inside and outside the house. Alfred had tried desperately all day to try and relax himself, but the thoughts kept buzzing around in his head like a swarm of angry wasps. All the what if's and the maybe's hindered him, but he remained resolute. When Arthur called on him late that night and brought him into the dimly lit library the young vampire swallowed any twinge of fear he had and only did as the wizard instructed him to do.

In front of the slowly burning fireplace Arthur had drawn up a circle of some sort and surrounded the outline of the circle with thick crimson red candles that all mindlessly fluttered and danced in the occasional breeze from a passing body. Alfred removed his shirt and tossed if off to the side so his skin was a blank canvas for the markings of the contract. "The first ceremony is to the binding of fire, this band with go on your left upper arm." Arthur explained as he made Alfred sit down in the middle of the circle.

Arthur grabbed a bowl of the table; gingerly dipping his fingers in what appeared to be ink of the same crimson hue as the candles that surrounded them. Arthur kneeled down next to Alfred, using his index finger to draw little letter-like markings around Alfred's upper arm. Alfred blinked his blue eyes slowly and curiously watched Arthur as he worked. "That's ink, right?"

"Yes, it's ink."

"What does it say?"

"'Here I sign myself to fire; my soul is to its flames.'"

"What language is it?"

"Must you ask so many questions? I am trying to concentrate." Alfred remained quiet after that and settled to just observe Arthur as he continued to work. Within a few more passing minutes Arthur finished with what he was writing and moved to put the bowl of ink back onto the desk so it wouldn't spill in the middle of the ceremony.

Alfred worried his lower lip slightly and watched Arthur with nervous blue eyes, "Can I ask another question?"

"You just did." Arthur replied smartly.

"That one didn't count," Alfred pouted, puffing his cheeks out softly. "Have you ever done this before?" It seemed like asking Arthur that question this far into it wasn't the best thing to do, but Alfred couldn't help, but be curious.

"No, but I have seen it done several times not to mention I've been reading up on it all day."

Alfred's stomach dropped nervously as he swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly dry. "Oh… okay…" He was probably going to die. Not that Arthur wasn't a great wizard or anything- he had definitely proven himself powerful- but Alfred didn't feel all that comfortable serving as Arthur's first guinea pig. But it was too late now and there was no way Alfred was going to turn back when he had already come this far.

"Just relax, I promise everything will be fine once it's over." Arthur reassured, putting a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "But, like I said earlier, this will be painful. It won't last though; the ceremony is relatively quick so you won't feel it for long."

"Yeah… okay. I can handle this; I'm a hero after all." Alfred said, taking in a few deep calming breaths as he willed his heart to slow down its rapid beat.

"Of course you are." Alfred could just hear the eye roll in the wizard's tone of voice. "Now just relax and let your mind go blank…. That shouldn't be too hard for you." A small smile played on Arthur's lips as he teased the younger man.

"Haha, very funny. My brain functions perfectly thank you." Alfred snapped back sarcastically.

The room went silent after that and tension slowly crept into the room like the shadows that flickered against the wavering fire light. Arthur softly placed his hands on Alfred's bare shoulders, warmth radiating from his fingertip that dug ever so slightly into the vampire's skin. Alfred could hear Arthur's breathing go deep and even and imagined his creamy, pale lids masking his emerald green eyes. The silence was deafening to Alfred's ears and for a few moments he believed that Arthur wasn't going to say anything at all when suddenly the Wizard broke out into a long string of words in a language Alfred failed to understand. It was wonder the older man could go on speaking in such a rapid voice without even breaking to take a breath of much need oxygen. Alfred felt his own throat clench tightly just by merely listening to the other speak.

When was the pain coming? Alfred knew that it would strike his body eventually, but not knowing at what point in time made his heart pound wildly against his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and bit onto his lower lip, muscles tensing under his skin as he braced himself for what was imminent. But oddly enough the pain never came. He felt the same way he had felt before the ceremony even started save for the slight pain of Arthur's fingers digging into his shoulder.

Everything went silent again and Arthur stopped his rant of unknown words. What was happening? Had something gone wrong? Maybe the ceremony didn't work. Maybe Arthur had done it wrong; after all he said it was his first time performing it. "Brace yourself…" Arthur breathed out in a voice just barely above a whisper.

"Wha…?" Was all Alfred was able to say before the circle began glowing a furious shade of red so brightly that Alfred had to screw his sensitive eyes shut to protect his retinas from the blinding light. And then it happened. An intense burning sensation blasted up from his arm and through his body as it was setting every single vein in his body ablaze in its path. His mouth fell open in a silent cry of agony before he collapsed forward onto the floor, squirming and writhing against the pain boiling just under the surface of his skin. He could barely breathe it hurt so badly. It felt as if he was on the surface of the sun and he was just slowly melting away in the heat.

He wasn't sure how long he was lying there, but with the horrible sensation ripping across his nerve endings it felt as if he was writhing there on the floor for an eternity and over. By the time the searing pain ebbed away Alfred was dripping in sweat and his chest was heaving in attempts to regain his lost breath. He hacked violently for a few moments, curling in on himself before he rolled onto his back and weakly stared at the ceiling. Arthur appeared into his line of sight, kneeling over him so that the wizard's emerald tear drop earrings brushed against his face. "You… you weren't… kidding… when you… said it… would be… painful…" Alfred barely managed to get out in between his gasping breaths.

"I warned you." Arthur said as he leaned over Alfred, taking his left arm and examining it closely. "The ceremony was a success; take a look." Alfred used what little strength he had left to turn his head and look at the arm Arthur was gingerly holding within his pale, elegant hands. The red ink that had sullied his skin was now jet black and from the looks of it the markings would continue to sully his skin for many years to come.

"…Cool… never had a tattoo before…" Alfred smiled weakly before his head lulled back and the exhaustion of the ceremony took him over and drug him down into the darkened abyss of sleep.