"Well, this is it," said Zyphre almost a year later.
"Really, dad? Here? It seems a bit…what's the word I'm looking for? Decrepit."
"Course it's decrepit. No one's lived here in over ten thousand years, since before I met your mother. This is the manor of the vampire lords. The village below doesn't know that, but they probably haven't destroyed it yet because they've always known that it belongs to some royal line."
"Why didn't we live here before? Why were we in Lydel with Aunt Strianna? If you had this house all along…"
"Simply put? I hate palace life. Hate it. Hate it, hate it, hate it. It doesn't even matter that there are no servants or anything here, the size of this place makes me feel suffocated."
"Then why are we here? Why couldn't we have stayed with Uncle Draesen?"
"We've intruded on him long enough."
"But –"
"Look," said Zyphre, turning to his son. "Draesen said that we could stay with him until we got a hold of ourselves. It's been almost a year since she died. It's time for us to move on. It's what your mother…would have wanted."
"By 'move on' –"
"You're not getting a step-mom. Ever."
"I know, dad."
Lucian was strolling through the small town down the path of the manor with his hands in his pockets. It hadn't changed much in the two thousand years he and his father had lived in the manor. The thing that had changed the most was him.
His father had picked the title of lordship back up and ran the vampire community from the manor. Word of Lucian had eventually leaked and most of the vampire community knew that their lord had a grown heir ready in case he died, but no one but Draesen knew who his mother had been, only that she was dead and neither father nor son spoke of her much. Zyphre was still rather depressed and lonely, Lydia frequently visiting him in his dreams, so close to him, yet untouchable.
Lucian was fully grown now. He had stopped aging a few hundred years ago, locking him with the body of a twenty year old. A bit more outgoing than his father, he spent much of his time prowling his favorite haunts, mostly sticking to the shadows. Over the centuries he had become more of an assassin than a fighter like his father.
It was nearly nightfall, and Lucian was on his way home. The streets were near deserted, and he knew the way so well that he didn't even have to look. He stared at the ground, unseeing, thinking. His thoughts were interrupted by him rounding a corner and smacking right into someone, sending both of them to the ground.
"I'm so sorry, that was my fault," said Lucian, scrambling to his feet and holding out his hand to help the other person up. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
The other person was a young human woman of about eighteen years old. She had shiny black hair falling to her mid back and wide, dark blue eyes. She was dressed in a simple peasant dress. She was very pretty. She blushed and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet.
"Thank you," she said in a soft voice. "I'm sorry; it was just as much my fault…"
"No, don't worry about it," said Lucian, bending down to gather up the bag of groceries she had been carrying and handing the bag back to her. "So what's a beautiful lady like you doing out here so late?"
"Oh, I was just on my way home," she said apologetically.
"It's nearly dark," said Lucian. "Would you like me to walk you home?"
"Oh," she said, blushing deeper. "Um, sure, okay. I don't think I've seen you around here before. Do you live nearby?" she asked, walking alongside him.
"I guess," he said. "My name is Lucian. I live in the manor a couple miles down the road with my father."
The woman stopped dead in her tracks, nearly dropping the bag again. "Y-You're the young lord of the manor?" she stammered, eyes wide. She hastily bowed low.
Lucian blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, get up," he said. "You really don't have to do that. Dad and I don't care for formality."
"I-I'm sorry, my lord," she stammered, straightening up.
"Please, call me Lucian," he said, embarrassed. "Just Lucian will be fine."
"O-Okay, Lucian…" She blushed and looked down at her feet.
"Might I know your name, miss?" asked Lucian with a smile.
"M-Mia," she stammered. "My name's Mia…"
"Mia," Lucian repeated. "A beautiful name for a beautiful young woman."
Mia blushed furiously. Lucian smirked slightly. She was rather cute when she was flustered.
"I…I thank you for walking me home," she said nervously. "I'm afraid to stay out at night these days."
"Oh? And why is that?" asked Lucian.
"There has been a plague of vampire attacks lately," she said with a shudder. "Surely you've heard about them, you're the young lord. People disappear once or twice a week and we find their bodies disposed of later, drained of all their blood. Most of the time, though, we never find their body. And other times we find people with bite marks on their necks, but they don't even remember being attacked! It's not safe to be out at night anymore."
"But can't your husband protect you from the vampire menace?" asked Lucian.
Mia looked up at him. "No, I'm not married or betrothed to anyone," she said.
"I can't imagine why," said Lucian. "You're very beautiful and kind."
Mia blushed. "Don't lie, Lucian…"
"I'm not lying," he said. "You're a very attractive young woman."
"Thank you," said Mia, smiling. "You're very handsome as well. This is my house."
"Okay," said Lucian. "Stay safe, now."
"Would you like to come in?" asked Mia. "I could make tea or something…"
Lucian shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but if I don't get back soon, my dad will come looking for me," he said. "Gets a bit annoying at times, haha."
"Oh, that's too bad, I would have liked to talk with you a little longer," said Mia, looking legitimately put out. "Will I see you again?"
"How about we get to know each other sometime tomorrow?" suggested Lucian. "Midday by the lake, maybe?"
Mia blushed and giggled. "Sure, that sounds great," she said. "See you then, Lucian."
"Good night, Mia," said Lucian. "And if I see any vampires on the way home, I'll be sure to tell them to stay away from you." He winked at her.
She giggled again, starting to shut the door. "Good night, Lucian," she said, shutting the door.
Lucian walked off towards the manor, jamming his hands in his pockets again, smiling with a faint blush on his cheeks. When he was out of sight of Mia's house, he transformed and flew off towards the manor.
"You're late," said Zyphre as Lucian closed the front door behind him. "You know I –"
"Don't like me out after nightfall unless I have to feed," finished Lucian, having heard it many times before. "Dad, I'm twenty-three-hundred years old. I don't need a fucking curfew."
"And the fact that you're a target to everyone who either wants to be the next vampire lord or just wants our race wiped out just goes right over your head, does it?" asked Zyphre, standing up. "And speaking of feeding, I've been meaning to talk to you about that."
"Gods fucking damn it all, here it comes," muttered Lucian under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright, what've you got? Let's get this over with."
"I've been disposing of a lot of bodies recently," said Zyphre. "You're killing your victims and leaving them lying around. Your ability to hide your dirty work is pathetic. What's worse is that I'm finding them in the village not a league from here. You're attacking too close to home. Do you want us to be found? Control your bloodlust, for fucks sake!"
"Okay. Great. Are we done?" asked Lucian. "I'm in a really great mood right now and I really don't want it ruined by you lecturing me."
"Why, you impudent little –"
"Who are you to lecture me?" demanded Lucian. "I've seen you feed in the village too!"
"I only feed there when I'm starving; you feed there exclusively," said Zyphre. "At least when I feed there, feed anywhere, I knock them out and never take enough to kill them! They don't even know they've been attacked! What would your mother say if she could see you?"
"My mother is dead," said Lucian flatly. "I don't care what a pile of dust has to say. And even if she were still alive, nothing would have changed, 'cept maybe I would be a bit more discreet about it."
"Just stop killing your prey," Zyphre growled. "I don't care if you're my son, I can have you put away if I want to."
"No, you can't actually," said Lucian. "I'm going to be the lord one day; it's my job to know the laws. Not once is it said anywhere about it being illegal to kill your prey. That's you that's got the humane morals, gods only know why. What I'm doing is completely legal and you have nothing on me. Look it up, dad."
"You're still my child," said Zyphre harshly. "You live in my house, under my rules."
Lucian laughed. "Actually, I live in my private wing, living my life," he said. "We're vampires, dad. We're monsters."
"We don't have to act like it," said Zyphre. "You're better than that. You're your mother's son, too. She wasn't a 'monster.'"
"Don't remind me," said Lucian, annoyed as he always was that Zyphre would point out what he considered inferiority. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. I met a girl today and we're seeing each other tomorrow afternoon."
"A girl? You?" asked Zyphre, caught off guard. "What did you do to trick the poor girl into thinking you're a decent person?"
"Turned on the suave, dad. All of the suave," said Lucian, smirking as he walked off.
Lucian sighed when he awoke in a dark, bitterly cold place. He straightened up, waiting for the soft, warm glow in the distance to get to him.
"Hey, mom," he said when Lydia was close enough. Unlike his father, he had fully accepted that he would never touch her again and had stopped trying. In fact, Lydia visiting his dreams usually meant that he had done something wrong. "How did I fuck up this time?"
"Lucian," said Lydia, stopping just short of him. She looked troubled. "Lucian, you should heed what your father says."
"Oh, gods, not you too," said Lucian in exasperation. "Look, I told dad, there's nothing wrong with –"
Lydia cut him off by holding her hand up and shaking her head sadly. "My son, you're going down a dangerous path. You are not a bad person, but if you keep showing so little regard for mortals you will join me sooner than you think."
"Mom, don't worry about me," said Lucian. "I'll be completely fine. Dad's just trying to interfere and scare me into submission."
Lydia shook her head. "Your father is worried about you. And rightly so. This girl you met today…she will play a large part in you joining me. Mia Appletree will cause you nothing but pain in the end."
"No," said Lucian flatly. "That's insane. I'm finished talking with you, mother. Don't bother me about her again."
Lydia gave him a very sad look, and disappeared.