~O~

Alucard hurried through the halls of the enclave, navigating them like an expert, and finally came to the room that was his destination. He opened the door and stepped inside, taken aback by the site more than he thought he would have. Laying in a bed, motionless and completely still, was Loran. Sinclair stood at the gray-haired Vampire's bedside and looked up at Alucard.

"I hurried here as soon as I could. What happened to Loran?" the second-in-command asked as he strode up to Sinclair. The Vampire Lord crossed his arms and said, "An Underling was going into the blood storage room and found Loran just as he passed out. They then hurried to find me, to which I instructed them to usher Loran to the nearest infirmary room. When I finally got here, it didn't take me two seconds to figure out what was wrong with him." On the bed, Loran groaned and his face twisted up into an expression of discomfort.

"What's wrong with him? Is he sick?" Alucard inquired. Sinclair shook his head and said, "No, I wouldn't say sick. Well, perhaps emotionally sick, if you want to get technical, but he's apparently been starving himself." Surprised to hear this, Alucard glanced back down at the unconscious Vampire. Now that Sinclair had said it, he could see the tell-tale signs.

The little color that had been on Loran's face had all but drained away, not to mention the smoky-gray circles around his eyes. There were also a few stray strands of hair on the pillow beneath his head, a sign that some had started to fall out. An IV line hooked to a bag of blood hung over his bed and went into his arm. "Does anyone else know?" Alucard asked without taking his gaze from Loran.

The second-in-command didn't feel that it would do good for the Clan's morale for everyone to know that their healer was ill. Sinclair sighed and replied with, "Not at the moment, but you know how quickly news travels through this Clan. However, I have sent someone to retrieve Shun, so he'll more than likely be here soon." Alucard raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why do you need Shun here?"

The second-in-command didn't mean to sound hostile; it really was just a simple question. However, Sinclair's tone remained neural as usual. "Loran's going to need be checked on several times throughout the days and nights, so I'm trying to gather those that I can rely on to do this job, and he's one of them. I'm just making sure he's going to accept my request."

Alucard nodded, not pressing the matter any further. A moment later, Shun entered the room, Alice following right behind him. Alucard quickly noticed the red tint to her eyes, a clear signal that the girl had been crying. He wondered what had happened this time, but for some reason he had a good idea that her recent sorrow stemmed from their run-in with Gillfrey back in the Training Room.

Alucard kept his mouth shut. Alice glanced over at him and gave him a knowing smile, one that told him that she knew he saw the puffiness around her eyes, that he knew what had caused it. And perhaps it was also a smile of gratitude towards him for teaching her to defend herself, too. The list went on and on within his mind, but all he did was nod his head once to respond.

Alice's eyes then found Loran, and her smile vanished. She hurried to his bedside and asked, "What happened?" The worry in her voice was overflowing and clear as day. Sinclair told them just as he had told Alucard, "He hasn't been keeping up with the amount of blood that his body needs to function. In other words, he's been starving himself."

Shun looked at the Vampire Lord and said, "Why would he do that to himself?" Sinclair shook his head and told the raven-haired teen, "I have no idea. He's been unconscious since I ordered for him to be brought to the infirmary, so I've had no way of asking him." Alice sat down on the edge of the bed and began to pick off the fallen hairs from Loran's pillow. When she had gathered them all, she threw them away in the trashcan beside the bed.

"You think he's been doing this to himself because of all that's been going on with his brother?" she asked under her breath. Sinclair seemed to ponder this possibility for a moment, but it was Alucard who spoke up. He said, "There's a good chance of that being the reason. I've noticed that he just hasn't been acting right since he learned about Zoran's betrayal."

It was the truth; Alucard had even confronted Loran about it several days prior. He had told Loran to take things easy, that running himself ragged was not the way to deal with his problems. Unsurprisingly, Loran had retorted back and said that Zoran wasn't a problem and that he was only on edge because of Gillfrey's impatience. Alucard knew better than that.

Between the several days Loran had spent treating the injured after the fight with Alexander, then treating Carson, and ultimately finding out the horrible things his brother had done, the gray-haired Vampire was spent, physically and emotionally. Alice frowned and said, "Poor thing. He's been through as much as any of us, hasn't he?" Shun placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Sinclair turned to face the raven-haired teen and said, "I'm going to need people to keep an eye on Loran while he recovers. Would you mind checking in on him every now and again to make sure he has an IV in his arm at all times?" Shun didn't hesitate to nod.

"I don't mind at all. As much as Loran's done for me, I think it's only right that I help him out somehow." Sinclair seemed to approve this answer from the raven-haired teen. From the edge of the bed, Alice spoke up and said, "I don't mind helping either! Loran's my friend and has saved my life several times, so I want to repay him somehow as well."

Sinclair's expression clearly showed that he hadn't been expecting for Alice to volunteer, but his surprise eventually transformed into a small smile. "Very well, then," he said, "you're more than welcome to offer your assistance. Alucard, I assume you're going to help watch over Loran, too?" The second-in-command didn't say anything, but simply nodded. That was all the Vampire Lord needed to hear.

He then bowed his head, a silent thanks for their help in the matter, and walked from the room. The three of them watched as Sinclair strode through the door, turned the corner, and vanished from their sight. They sat in silence for a brief moment before Alucard broke it.

He turned to the two teens and said, "With everything that's going on in the enclave right now and me having to help Sinclair carry some of the weight, I might not be able to check in on Loran very often, maybe one or two times a night. Do you two think you could check on him a bit more often?" Alice didn't hesitate to respond. "Of course. It's not really like either one of us have anything to do," she said with a smile.

Alucard nodded and thanked them for their understanding before leaving out of the room. As he shut the door behind him, a chilling voice said, "Hey, half-breed, where's the little gray-haired Vampire? I have to ask him something." Every muscle in his body tensed, Alucard slowly turned around and faced Gillfrey. The second-in-command narrowed his eyes and said, "His name is Loran, and I hate to tell you this, but he isn't well right now. Might I ask what is it that you meant to ask him, though?"

Alucard was surprised he was able to keep his voice so calm. Gillfrey flipped a snow-white lock of hair that had fallen out of place from his eyes. "I was going to ask him about Carson's current condition. You see, I spoke to Carson a few moments ago, and he said that the gray-haired Vampire said that he'd be able to get up after another day or so of rest. I just wanted to double check."

Alucard stuffed his hands into his pockets and said calmly, "Well, if Loran said it, then odds are he meant what he said. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to the health and well-being of Vampires." Gillfrey narrowed his light purple eyes at Alucard and said harshly, "Well, now you're talking about him not being well, so it's making me kind of wonder if his judgment has been clouded by his ill health."

Alucard wasn't about to back down. He glared at Gillfrey and said, "I assure you that Loran knows what he's talking about, even when sick." Gillfrey looked Alucard dead in the eyes, and the second-in-command felt a deathly chill crawling up his spine. Alucard tried not to show the fear that he was starting to feel. "You're getting bold again, half-breed," the Count said flatly, his voice as void of emotions as the air was of heat.

Squaring his shoulders back, Alucard held his head up and said, "I hope you know that you can't intimidate people forever." The temperature dropped some more, making it cold enough that Alucard could see his breath.

Gillfrey turned his back to Alucard and said, "You may believe that, and perhaps it's true, but regardless, I'm going to do what I have to in order to keep hold of my power and live up to my title. So, in other words, I can't have half-breeds thinking they are capable of standing up to me."

Alucard could feel his fingers itching to grab hold of the flintlock pistol at his side, to pull the hammer back and fire at Gillfrey as an act of defiance. He knew that wasn't a good idea, though, so he kept his hand away from the gun. To attack Gillfrey would certainly bring about regret afterwards, maybe even death. Alucard could practically feel the Count smiling, even though he couldn't see it to prove it, he knew.

Gillfrey then walked off, not even glancing back at Alucard to say another smart remark. When the Count was almost out of sight, the air returned to normal without warning, which caused Alucard's body to react by shivering. It was then that he noticed the thin coating of ice on the sleeves of his trench-coat.

He brushed it off with a gloved hand and watched as the little ice crystals fell on the floor, where they proceeded to melt. Alucard stared at the small, almost unnoticeable wet spots on the stone floor. Those spots were proof of Gillfrey's power, of the ability to actually freeze the air and the moisture within it.

It was a rather intimidating power, one that was only rivaled by Sinclair's, in Alucard's opinion. The Count could freeze things all he wanted, but Sinclair's telekinetic powers had force, force that could smash through ice. This must be another reason why Sinclair was chosen to be the Count in the end, he thought to himself, he had an advantage over Gillfrey's abilities.

Alucard placed his foot on the tiny drops of water, slid his foot back, smearing the water on the stone floor, and stared down at the dark streaks left behind. He then said under his breath, "Ice doesn't last forever, and neither does power."

Tomorrow is Turkey Day, and I'm having no turkey...only chili. -.- I don't like chili. Oh well. Guess I'll have a sandwich or something. Sorry for not uploading much the past couple of days. Monday and Tuesday I was out and about from about the time I woke up those days till after dark (sometimes having a social life sucks). :p Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~