Weakness Unbecoming
"Vanity, arrogance, the natural born right of a man such as myself," Joachim said softly to his reflection. The room was dark but for a small amount of light filtering down long embrasures in the stonework to his deeply hidden prison. Even so, it pearled the mist that rose from waterfalls and pools and streams flowing here and there through the darkling halls.
His laughter at his own statement echoed back through the halls, a tinge of bitterness, yet a true jest. "Indeed it is...and it is all I have left. But one day...Walter, one day...I will change this..."
As his laughter died away, the echoes turning to whispers running along the tunnels and waterways, he turned his head, curious. A footstep - some interloper, no doubt. Some other male with the vanity and arrogance to challenge the master of the castle... He blinked, rising from his half- crouch by the water, his hands before him poised for action.
The flame-haired master of the castle stepped from the shadows, a knowing smile on his face, and an arrogance to match that of his prisoner.
"I trust the night finds you well, my unwilling guest." He leaned with insouciance against the pillar, seeming to carry his own light and shining in the darkness. Beside him, all things in that underground vista seemed to pale into insignificance. Including the prisoner, Joachim thought, with a touch of irritation. He does this on purpose...of course...to make me angry.
"I'm doing very well, thank you," he replied blandly, one graceful hand motioning to the room. "The decor is restful, and the eternal noise of falling water drowns my own thoughts. Sometimes, at least. That can be very good..."
Walter's smile widened. "Ah, then you might not wish to leave it for a night? I have - dinner guests - and I am short one at table. Since you've had a rather long time of contemplation, I thought you might perchance be persuaded to join us."
"You are too kind," the silver-haired vampire said, with just enough edge to show the sarcasm. "I had thought you had forgotten me..."
Walter looked startled, and then covered it with a laugh in his old, in-control way. "Oh no, my pretty would-be thief. I have not forgotten you. Not one night in all this time have I forgotten you... But - will you come? I do not wish to keep the guests waiting..."
Joachim's eyes flicked around his prison, and he nodded. "Just for dinner, mind - I've no desire to get used to the good life again."
Walter's laughter was genuine as he motioned the prisoner toward him. "This way then, and I'll try to see that you do not have too good a time - I don't think you could take it..."
Joachim followed his motion, through a dark open door, unaccountably stung by the remark, and not sure why. But it would be good to taste air on his lips that was not moist and dank... and perhaps something else. Walter, at least, never seemed to lack for food or companions...
The stairs went up several flights, steep and stone-flagged. The door opened into a room that, while perhaps not as grand as Walter's own, was nevertheless a well appointed bedroom, done in blue and white velvets, and silver gilt. The decor, in fact, looked new, but Joachim frowned a little. "I thought we were going to dinner?"
"Pish," Walter said, turning to leave. "When you've changed and freshened up. Your clothes smell like moss and water..." He went out, closing the door, and leaving a very annoyed vampire behind.
"Indeed, and whose fault is that, I wonder?" Slinging his silver hair back out of his way, he began to undress, then realized he did not have another set of clothes with him...unless...
Going to the closet, he opened the door. The clothing he had brought with him was there, all of it. And his other belongings, few though they were, that had traveled with him. And other things...new clothes, apparently cut from the measure of his own. As he looked them over, he saw they were well made, and not cheap. More puzzled than ever, he laid a shirt, trousers, a vest and a jacket on the bed, and went to the washstand to clean up.
He opened the door dressed in his new finery, and feeling slightly less irritated than before. It fit well, it was lovely to look at, and it certainly set off his features. Although he personally preferred monotones, this combination of blue, silver and black was stunning, and his hair set it off perfectly. He had preened before the mirror as long as he dared, but did not wish to anger Walter and the guests by taking too long. And what kind of guests would the lord of the manor be entertaining? Curiosity piqued, he followed the little bat that squeaked at him, down a hall, and down a flight of stairs. He paused in the doorway, in surprise.
The room was open and bright as sunlight, although there was no sun this time of night. About a dozen people milled about at one end of the long room - a ballroom perhaps at one time - while a long table was being set with china and crystal at the other end. Walter's laugh floated over the group, which contained both men and women, and Joachim shrugged mentally, putting on his most politely aristocratic face as he joined them.
Walter's manners were impeccable as he introduced Joachim to the people. Two were vampires, obviously - both women he had seen in the past with the master of the manor. The remaining 4 couples were - interesting - for mortals. Two couples turned out to be retainers of the females - and the other two ...
"Come, Joachim, sit down and get to know our guests..." Walter guided him to a seat between two very handsome mortals - a male with long, dark hair that seemed to have bluish highlights, and skin almost as pale as his own, who had been introduced as Jefar. The woman beside him was Tiva, with hair nearly as red as Walter's, but the milky skin was pale and perfect - astonishing in a mortal. The woman's dress was in the height of court fashion, and showed off pearly and ample breasts to perfection. Joachim suddenly began to look foward to the evening.
Walter seated himself at the head of the long table, the couple split to either side of him, although they obviously did not mind. Kerwan and Estele were as striking as his Joachim's own couple - Kerwan had hair that was white, although he looked no more than 20, and long - very long. Estele's hair was a honey gold that looked richer than the silver-set citrines that bound it, and fell to her waist in the back in long curls. Her breasts were ivory barely blushed with a peach, above the tight curve of her amber bodice, a golden flame to Walter's red, and the icy flare of the other.
Walter, settling in his chair more comfortably, smiled around the table. "Well, we are gathered, in good company, for a pleasant evening. Shall we commence?" Without expecting a reply, he clapped his hands, and the doors opened. Several rather odd servants, properly attired in livery, entered the room, each carrying a covered platter. The platters were placed, with some ceremony, in front of each mortal guest, and the covers removed. Joachim blinked. Each was filled with a very delectable - and certainly delicious smelling - variety of vegetables, meats and bread.
"Your table does you credit, milord," Joachim found the words flowed effortlessly - for indeed he was impressed. "I doubt the king dines as well as your guests."
Walter smiled and waves his hand depreciatingly. "The guests under my roof deserve only the best."
Joachim watched as a very pretty maid brought a large gem-encrusted chalice to him, setting it on the table in front of him. With no seeming effort of will, she slipped a slim knife from her bodice and slit her wrist, letting the warm liquid fall in to his glass. As he glanced up at her placid expression, his eyes picked up yet another female, doing the same for their host and two more for the women vampires. The mortals about them did not seem to take notice of the activity, making him wonder if it were a common "dinner" in the castle - and where did Walter get all these lovely people?
The scent of the warm blood was inviting, but it would not do to take advantage of hospitality. Joachim lifted the lady's hand by the wrist, putting pressure on the cut as he kissed her fingers, stalling for time to see what Walter and the others would do. But apparently, once this service was done, they were permitted to withdraw. Joachim smiled politely at the girl, and released her hand, which was cooler to his touch now. With a slight shrug he turned himself back to the dinner and his companions.
The dinner was long done when the servant came to show Joachim back to his room. He had managed to hold his own well tonight - at least it seemed so, but he was not sorry to return to his privacy. After months - or maybe years - of being alone, it had been a bit of a strain on him. Still...
He glanced back, to catch a wave from Walter who still had Kerwan, naked, draped across his lap, stroking him like a pet. Estele, and for that matter, the rest of the mortals, lay in various stages of undress and disarray about the hall. Tiva, legs spread, lay across the table, with Jefar draped over her partway, his black hair flung like a raven wing across his pale back. Joachim could not resist one last stroke of his fingers through that silky darkness before he turned and followed the servant out.
The candles were lit in his room, making the place shine brightly. He felt in a rare good mood, and loosened his jacket and shirt as he settled into a chair, legs outstretched, to mull over the evening's events. It certainly was unprecedented - even when he and Walter were getting along well, he had never enjoyed such an evening. But of course, in the time - how long *had* it been? - of his imprisonment, perhaps Walter had learned new things... Releasing his belt, he rose, slipping off jacket and shirt, and then boots and trousers, to stretch and loosen stiff muscles. The cool air felt good on his naked flesh, and he realized with a humorless laugh that it might be because it was *dry* air...
Raking fingers through his hair to comb it back out of his way, he turned toward the bed and stopped. Through the space between bed and canopy, he could glimpse himself in a mirror, and it occurred to him that perhaps this was the first time in his adult life he had seen himself so. Intrigued, he detoured around the bed, and came to stand in front of the mirror, a slight frown on his features. Then, as if to imprint what he saw - or perhaps fix any percieved flaws, he ran one hand slowly over his shoulder, down over his chest, across his slim belly and hip, and down the long slope of one thigh. He watched the movement in the mirror, trying to connect the touch on his skin with the vision in the glass. The hand moved, up the inside of his thigh, cupping around the still-attentive organ of his pleasure, and he gasped at the feeling of it. It had been a long, long time...and tonight whetted his appetite, rather than sated it. To live like this - to have the choicest mortals to bed and feed...
"You can, you know," the voice said from the bed, and Joachim whirled that direction, his hair flaring out with the motion.
"Get out of my head, Walter," he snapped, his hands balling into fists. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought that would be obvious," Walter rose from the bed where he had been laying, his naked body flushed and glorious from the evening's activities. His utter self-confidence was both arrogant and somehow - attractive. Joachim paused, undecisively as the master of the manor came toward him. "You were meant to be mine, Joachim...you know that."
"No," the silver hair became a curtain as he turned his head away, but his body quivered with the proximity of something he now realized he did crave. The anger bled out of him, leaving him needy.
"Oh yes," Walter's voice was very soft, coaxing. "I wanted you from the first moment I saw you - what I did for you, that is a gift I rarely give. For, as you proved, too often it comes back to try to destroy me..."
"I..." Joachim glanced up at him, through the curtain of his hair, but it was enough, and he felt his eyes trapped, held by the intensity of the gaze.
"I treated you badly - I admit it. I treated you like I treat everyone else. But I...regret it." Almost hesitantly, he slipped his arms around the slim, pale shoulders and found less resistance there than he expected. He pulled the man's body against him gently, "I wish to show you I can be all that you need and want..."
Joachim's mind formed a protest, but no words would come out of his mouth at first, and then it was too late, as he felt the near-fevered crush of Walter's kiss, his arms of their own accord slipping around the well sculpted shoulders for balance, and finding the touching of their bodies adding fuel to the fire of his earlier dalliance at the dinner table. A soft moan was all that he could manage.
Walter might have been waiting for just such a signal of submission, as he scooped Joachim off his feet and turned to lay him on the bed, his hair like curtains of living flame screening the added intensity of their kiss. His hands caressed the pale flesh of his desire with uncanny knowledge of his needs and weaknesses, and Joachim felt himself surrender with hardly a whimper of protest.
Straddling his partner's legs, Walter looked down at the pale perfection spread like a starlight mirage across the blue velvet of the bed. Without thinking, he grasped his own rampant manhood with one hand, and that of his partner with the other, the caress somehow more intense to feel both hands at play over the steel-cored softness. Joachim moaned, writhing at his touch, his hair tossed across the velvet like moolight, and Walter smiled, letting their bodies press together as he leaned forward, his lips leaving hot, wet traces down his lover's throat and neck. Joachim's hands slid between them, his caress like warm water over the burning brand that lay where their bodies met.
"I want you," Walter's whisper was hot and full of desire. "Freely, as you once did - give yourself to me..."
Despite an internal voice of warning, Joachim found himself twisting and writhing against the body of his tormentor, so desperate for the pleasure, the pain, the belonging... "Yes..."
It was the barest whisper, but Walter's eyes sparkled with malice as he continued his love play.
"So beautiful...and mine...mine forever..." His arms slipped around the lithe body, turning him over as easily as if he weighed nothing. His hands raked lightly down the back so vulnerable before him, the smile curving his lips one of genuine pleasure. Stroking over the slim, well formed hips and ass, Walter prolonged the teasing as much as he could, but his need was as insistent as the moaning protests of his partner.
At last, he gave in, and took what had been offered. As Joachim felt himself claimed, he closed the door in his mind firmly on the voice of warning which was still being insistent, and gave himself up instead to the moment.
Walter's smile widened as he felt the resistance leave his partner's mind and body. This one *was* his, was meant to be his...to satisfy his desires, to take his pleasure upon. He had not lied - from the first moment he had seen the beauty of the mortal Joachim, he had ached to make him his own. Turning him had only made him more beautiful than ever. And now...almost complete...surely now he would accept his place and all that came with it. Even as his thoughts continued, Walter's body was delving deep into that of his lover, the tightness and heat driving him nearly insane with his need to possess and fill this one. The body beneath him writhed and bucked, needing as much as Walter could give, feeling the counterpoint of the soft velvet covers caress the front of him, gasping with the merger of pain and pleasure as they coupled with abandon in the long night.
Walter's cry of release echoed from the stone walls of the room, his body jerking with the force of it, Joachim's voice gasping out an echo of the sound as his body joined in the climax. Walter's embrace after was near- crushing as he held his lover tightly to him, his body pressed against him all down their length as if he could not get enough. Joachim snuggled back against him without thinking, his hand caressing his partner's leg, and letting his head settle from the intensity of their passion.
"You are still incredibly beautiful to me," Walter said finally, brushing his hair back gently. "Stay with me - at my side - and in time, we can rule the world."
"You always were a dreamer," Joachim said softly, his head turning with the touch like a cat turning for pets. "Why do we want to rule the world?"
Walter laughed softly. "Why not? But I need you, Joachim. It is lonely at the top, and I have always wanted you to be with me."
"Your child, your lover, your - mmm - prince?" Joachim's voice still sounded almost sleepy, but his eyes betrayed him. He was wide awake.
"Indeed, if you like. It is why I created you - to be with me forever, to help me rule the night, to bring beauty to it equal with my own, and to share pleasure..." Walter's eyes were bright, the memory alive for him of other nights they had shared. If he heard the steel in the voice beside him, he gave no sign of it.
"Ah, yes. To be always second to you, to be your toy, your servant, your toady..."
Walter laughed a little, although his eyes had gone colder as well. "Well, if there is only one at the top, then yes, you would be second. But you are not a toady, Joachim - I do not want that. I have mortals and lesser of our kind for that. You - you are special. You alone are worthy enough to be with me forever..."
Rolling away from him, Joachim slipped from the bed to turn, staring at his lover. "Is that what this night was all about - to get me to change my mind? I told you back - a long time ago, as it seems - that I would not kowtow to anyone, nor do I wish to settle for being second best."
"You're deliberately missing my meaning, Joachim," Walter told him, sitting up in the bed. "I am older than you - and more powerful just for that reason. Some day you might be able to best me, but now you cannot. Until you can, there is no reason for us to keep fighting - look at what we miss. I can thrill you like no one else, I can love you better, longer - and I know you, what you like, what you desire..."
Joachim's head tilted slightly to one side and one side of his mouth curled in a little smirk. "Indeed... well I'll not deny you that, since you can make my body sing like a fine nightengale. But that is not *me* - it is only part of me. I can be your equal, but I can never be your slave."
Walter's eyes darkened a bit, but he kept his voice mild. "I don't need slaves, Joachim, I need you - a man who is worthy of my love, a man who will stand beside me, fight beside me, learn from me, and some day be a master of your own world, your own castle somewhere, perhaps. Or perhaps not - there is no need for it..." He raised a hand before Joachim could interrupt.
"There may come a day when you are powerful enough to indeed best me - our powers may be different or similar - it is too early to tell yet. Yes, you have the makings of a leader but not yet. I am only asking you to wait, to serve with me instead of fighting me, until you are ready - and then if you like I will help you find and conquer your own realm and we can be allies..."
Joachim listened to this, and part of him wanted to believe it. In fact, part of him did believe it. Walter's body did not lie, and they were so good together. But something - he distrusted something about all of this.
"And if I say no? If I say I want this realm, not another?" he asked finally. Walter frowned.
"You're just doing this to anger me - and why you would want to, I'm sure I don't know. There is a lot of world out there - from the Ottoman empire to the Hibernian sea - somewhere there is a kingdom for you...you have only to learn and come into your strength to win it. I can help you."
"As you did before - by locking me away somewhere?"
Walter sighed, getting up and coming over to drape his arms gently over Joachim's shoulders. "I said I made a mistake, and I did. I should not have done that. I don't ask you to forgive me - not yet. Just let's start out as allies and let it work out over time."
"Why?" Joachim was conscious of the touch of their intimate parts again, and the heat that seemed to spread through him. And what, he asked himself, do I lose if I go along with this? Set against what I would gain, perhaps not much... He looked up, and surprised a look of cunning on Walter's face that chilled him.
"Because I'm starting to be more and more beset by mortals. There is talk of the church getting involved. Sending knights here to harrass me. I'm powerful, but I cannot be everywhere at once. I need people around that I can trust."
"I tried to take your castle once, why do you think I won't do it again?"
"You're wiser now - older, perhaps even more powerful. You've learned your lesson - haven't you?"
Joachim shook his head. "It sounds right, it sounds very - enlightened. But I feel something bad in it. Something I might not recognize until it's too late..." He gasped softly as Walter's hands slid down over his shoulders, pulling his arms against him tightly. He struggled a little, but his strength was not the same as Walter's, nor his leverage.
"Don't torment us both like this - you want it as much as I do - maybe more. Don't you want to spend nights like this - years of nights of pleasure?"
Joachim sighed softly, shaking loose of his hold. "I think we have different drives, Walter. You *are* the master here, and you spend your time in parties and games, and feeding your own vanity..."
"You're a fine one to talk about vanity," Walter pointed out, but the sneer in his voice was more evident than he wanted it to be. It was not lost on his guest.
"So you've always told me - you who supposedly chose me for my beauty. You should make up your mind..."
"And you've made up yours?" Walter tried one last time. "To join me, as my right hand, to stay with me forever?"
"Alas, that I cannot do," Joachim reached for his shirt and slipped it on. "For only one can wear a crown at a time, and as long as you have it, I cannot..."
Walter blinked, astonished. "It means that much to you - to be the king of your own domain?"
"Of course - doesn't it you?" Joachim turned to pull on his trousers, glancing back over his shoulder. "If it didn't, why did you work so hard to hold it against all comers?"
"It's a matter of honor," Walter shot back.
"Yes, it is," Joachim slipped into his boots with practiced ease, and reached for his coat. "I cannot, in honor, agree to remain in second place, when I know - and I think you know - I deserve more than that."
"Of all the arrogant..." Walter balled up his fists, trying to get his control back. "And where do you think you're going now?"
"I was thinking you would let me leave," Joachim said mildly, fastening the belt in place and starting to button his coat. "After all - you're safer if I'm not here."
"I won't let you go," Walter said stubbornly. "One day maybe you'll find a way to get to me on your own - and then you can see if you can beat me... if you live that long."
Joachim stood facing him, his dark blue coat setting off his paleness to make him look almost ghostly. "I will - and one day, I will take what I came here for. You made me what I am - remember that. And you will pay for it one day..."
"A pity I can't unmake you," Walter snapped at him. "You're an ungrateful pup and wasting the gift I gave you - you! And so many come for it - ask for it - beg for it. They will do anything I ask for the gift of eternal life... "
"If you're done using me tonight, I'll be on my way," Joachim said lightly and turned for the door.
"Yes, you will..." Walter's laugh echoed evilly from the walls as it seemed the room rocked and Joachim's vision went dark.
The damp air and the sound of waterfalls was around him as he awakened, and Joachim sat up, frowning. "Now that was one he hasn't used on me before," he muttered, forcing himself to stand and glancing around. Yes, he knew where he was. Right back where he started...
Scrabbling in the hallway behind him told him he'd awakened just in time, and with deceptive ease he called his swords to surround him, just in case. Stalking toward his safe haven in this world of sound and dampness, he nursed a fine thirst for vengence.
"That is the second time, Walter, that you've used me and tried to force me to be your subordinate. There will not be a third time... It was a momentary lapse of weakness - but it will not happen again. The next time we meet, I will kill you."
From high above the scene, Walter watched his hoped for ally walk away, forcing himself to put the incident out of his mind. He was, after all, the master here. And he would give that up for no one. Not even that one. With a thought, he disappeared from the area, leaving his prisoner alone in the dark.
"Vanity, arrogance, the natural born right of a man such as myself," Joachim said softly to his reflection. The room was dark but for a small amount of light filtering down long embrasures in the stonework to his deeply hidden prison. Even so, it pearled the mist that rose from waterfalls and pools and streams flowing here and there through the darkling halls.
His laughter at his own statement echoed back through the halls, a tinge of bitterness, yet a true jest. "Indeed it is...and it is all I have left. But one day...Walter, one day...I will change this..."
As his laughter died away, the echoes turning to whispers running along the tunnels and waterways, he turned his head, curious. A footstep - some interloper, no doubt. Some other male with the vanity and arrogance to challenge the master of the castle... He blinked, rising from his half- crouch by the water, his hands before him poised for action.
The flame-haired master of the castle stepped from the shadows, a knowing smile on his face, and an arrogance to match that of his prisoner.
"I trust the night finds you well, my unwilling guest." He leaned with insouciance against the pillar, seeming to carry his own light and shining in the darkness. Beside him, all things in that underground vista seemed to pale into insignificance. Including the prisoner, Joachim thought, with a touch of irritation. He does this on purpose...of course...to make me angry.
"I'm doing very well, thank you," he replied blandly, one graceful hand motioning to the room. "The decor is restful, and the eternal noise of falling water drowns my own thoughts. Sometimes, at least. That can be very good..."
Walter's smile widened. "Ah, then you might not wish to leave it for a night? I have - dinner guests - and I am short one at table. Since you've had a rather long time of contemplation, I thought you might perchance be persuaded to join us."
"You are too kind," the silver-haired vampire said, with just enough edge to show the sarcasm. "I had thought you had forgotten me..."
Walter looked startled, and then covered it with a laugh in his old, in-control way. "Oh no, my pretty would-be thief. I have not forgotten you. Not one night in all this time have I forgotten you... But - will you come? I do not wish to keep the guests waiting..."
Joachim's eyes flicked around his prison, and he nodded. "Just for dinner, mind - I've no desire to get used to the good life again."
Walter's laughter was genuine as he motioned the prisoner toward him. "This way then, and I'll try to see that you do not have too good a time - I don't think you could take it..."
Joachim followed his motion, through a dark open door, unaccountably stung by the remark, and not sure why. But it would be good to taste air on his lips that was not moist and dank... and perhaps something else. Walter, at least, never seemed to lack for food or companions...
The stairs went up several flights, steep and stone-flagged. The door opened into a room that, while perhaps not as grand as Walter's own, was nevertheless a well appointed bedroom, done in blue and white velvets, and silver gilt. The decor, in fact, looked new, but Joachim frowned a little. "I thought we were going to dinner?"
"Pish," Walter said, turning to leave. "When you've changed and freshened up. Your clothes smell like moss and water..." He went out, closing the door, and leaving a very annoyed vampire behind.
"Indeed, and whose fault is that, I wonder?" Slinging his silver hair back out of his way, he began to undress, then realized he did not have another set of clothes with him...unless...
Going to the closet, he opened the door. The clothing he had brought with him was there, all of it. And his other belongings, few though they were, that had traveled with him. And other things...new clothes, apparently cut from the measure of his own. As he looked them over, he saw they were well made, and not cheap. More puzzled than ever, he laid a shirt, trousers, a vest and a jacket on the bed, and went to the washstand to clean up.
He opened the door dressed in his new finery, and feeling slightly less irritated than before. It fit well, it was lovely to look at, and it certainly set off his features. Although he personally preferred monotones, this combination of blue, silver and black was stunning, and his hair set it off perfectly. He had preened before the mirror as long as he dared, but did not wish to anger Walter and the guests by taking too long. And what kind of guests would the lord of the manor be entertaining? Curiosity piqued, he followed the little bat that squeaked at him, down a hall, and down a flight of stairs. He paused in the doorway, in surprise.
The room was open and bright as sunlight, although there was no sun this time of night. About a dozen people milled about at one end of the long room - a ballroom perhaps at one time - while a long table was being set with china and crystal at the other end. Walter's laugh floated over the group, which contained both men and women, and Joachim shrugged mentally, putting on his most politely aristocratic face as he joined them.
Walter's manners were impeccable as he introduced Joachim to the people. Two were vampires, obviously - both women he had seen in the past with the master of the manor. The remaining 4 couples were - interesting - for mortals. Two couples turned out to be retainers of the females - and the other two ...
"Come, Joachim, sit down and get to know our guests..." Walter guided him to a seat between two very handsome mortals - a male with long, dark hair that seemed to have bluish highlights, and skin almost as pale as his own, who had been introduced as Jefar. The woman beside him was Tiva, with hair nearly as red as Walter's, but the milky skin was pale and perfect - astonishing in a mortal. The woman's dress was in the height of court fashion, and showed off pearly and ample breasts to perfection. Joachim suddenly began to look foward to the evening.
Walter seated himself at the head of the long table, the couple split to either side of him, although they obviously did not mind. Kerwan and Estele were as striking as his Joachim's own couple - Kerwan had hair that was white, although he looked no more than 20, and long - very long. Estele's hair was a honey gold that looked richer than the silver-set citrines that bound it, and fell to her waist in the back in long curls. Her breasts were ivory barely blushed with a peach, above the tight curve of her amber bodice, a golden flame to Walter's red, and the icy flare of the other.
Walter, settling in his chair more comfortably, smiled around the table. "Well, we are gathered, in good company, for a pleasant evening. Shall we commence?" Without expecting a reply, he clapped his hands, and the doors opened. Several rather odd servants, properly attired in livery, entered the room, each carrying a covered platter. The platters were placed, with some ceremony, in front of each mortal guest, and the covers removed. Joachim blinked. Each was filled with a very delectable - and certainly delicious smelling - variety of vegetables, meats and bread.
"Your table does you credit, milord," Joachim found the words flowed effortlessly - for indeed he was impressed. "I doubt the king dines as well as your guests."
Walter smiled and waves his hand depreciatingly. "The guests under my roof deserve only the best."
Joachim watched as a very pretty maid brought a large gem-encrusted chalice to him, setting it on the table in front of him. With no seeming effort of will, she slipped a slim knife from her bodice and slit her wrist, letting the warm liquid fall in to his glass. As he glanced up at her placid expression, his eyes picked up yet another female, doing the same for their host and two more for the women vampires. The mortals about them did not seem to take notice of the activity, making him wonder if it were a common "dinner" in the castle - and where did Walter get all these lovely people?
The scent of the warm blood was inviting, but it would not do to take advantage of hospitality. Joachim lifted the lady's hand by the wrist, putting pressure on the cut as he kissed her fingers, stalling for time to see what Walter and the others would do. But apparently, once this service was done, they were permitted to withdraw. Joachim smiled politely at the girl, and released her hand, which was cooler to his touch now. With a slight shrug he turned himself back to the dinner and his companions.
The dinner was long done when the servant came to show Joachim back to his room. He had managed to hold his own well tonight - at least it seemed so, but he was not sorry to return to his privacy. After months - or maybe years - of being alone, it had been a bit of a strain on him. Still...
He glanced back, to catch a wave from Walter who still had Kerwan, naked, draped across his lap, stroking him like a pet. Estele, and for that matter, the rest of the mortals, lay in various stages of undress and disarray about the hall. Tiva, legs spread, lay across the table, with Jefar draped over her partway, his black hair flung like a raven wing across his pale back. Joachim could not resist one last stroke of his fingers through that silky darkness before he turned and followed the servant out.
The candles were lit in his room, making the place shine brightly. He felt in a rare good mood, and loosened his jacket and shirt as he settled into a chair, legs outstretched, to mull over the evening's events. It certainly was unprecedented - even when he and Walter were getting along well, he had never enjoyed such an evening. But of course, in the time - how long *had* it been? - of his imprisonment, perhaps Walter had learned new things... Releasing his belt, he rose, slipping off jacket and shirt, and then boots and trousers, to stretch and loosen stiff muscles. The cool air felt good on his naked flesh, and he realized with a humorless laugh that it might be because it was *dry* air...
Raking fingers through his hair to comb it back out of his way, he turned toward the bed and stopped. Through the space between bed and canopy, he could glimpse himself in a mirror, and it occurred to him that perhaps this was the first time in his adult life he had seen himself so. Intrigued, he detoured around the bed, and came to stand in front of the mirror, a slight frown on his features. Then, as if to imprint what he saw - or perhaps fix any percieved flaws, he ran one hand slowly over his shoulder, down over his chest, across his slim belly and hip, and down the long slope of one thigh. He watched the movement in the mirror, trying to connect the touch on his skin with the vision in the glass. The hand moved, up the inside of his thigh, cupping around the still-attentive organ of his pleasure, and he gasped at the feeling of it. It had been a long, long time...and tonight whetted his appetite, rather than sated it. To live like this - to have the choicest mortals to bed and feed...
"You can, you know," the voice said from the bed, and Joachim whirled that direction, his hair flaring out with the motion.
"Get out of my head, Walter," he snapped, his hands balling into fists. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought that would be obvious," Walter rose from the bed where he had been laying, his naked body flushed and glorious from the evening's activities. His utter self-confidence was both arrogant and somehow - attractive. Joachim paused, undecisively as the master of the manor came toward him. "You were meant to be mine, Joachim...you know that."
"No," the silver hair became a curtain as he turned his head away, but his body quivered with the proximity of something he now realized he did crave. The anger bled out of him, leaving him needy.
"Oh yes," Walter's voice was very soft, coaxing. "I wanted you from the first moment I saw you - what I did for you, that is a gift I rarely give. For, as you proved, too often it comes back to try to destroy me..."
"I..." Joachim glanced up at him, through the curtain of his hair, but it was enough, and he felt his eyes trapped, held by the intensity of the gaze.
"I treated you badly - I admit it. I treated you like I treat everyone else. But I...regret it." Almost hesitantly, he slipped his arms around the slim, pale shoulders and found less resistance there than he expected. He pulled the man's body against him gently, "I wish to show you I can be all that you need and want..."
Joachim's mind formed a protest, but no words would come out of his mouth at first, and then it was too late, as he felt the near-fevered crush of Walter's kiss, his arms of their own accord slipping around the well sculpted shoulders for balance, and finding the touching of their bodies adding fuel to the fire of his earlier dalliance at the dinner table. A soft moan was all that he could manage.
Walter might have been waiting for just such a signal of submission, as he scooped Joachim off his feet and turned to lay him on the bed, his hair like curtains of living flame screening the added intensity of their kiss. His hands caressed the pale flesh of his desire with uncanny knowledge of his needs and weaknesses, and Joachim felt himself surrender with hardly a whimper of protest.
Straddling his partner's legs, Walter looked down at the pale perfection spread like a starlight mirage across the blue velvet of the bed. Without thinking, he grasped his own rampant manhood with one hand, and that of his partner with the other, the caress somehow more intense to feel both hands at play over the steel-cored softness. Joachim moaned, writhing at his touch, his hair tossed across the velvet like moolight, and Walter smiled, letting their bodies press together as he leaned forward, his lips leaving hot, wet traces down his lover's throat and neck. Joachim's hands slid between them, his caress like warm water over the burning brand that lay where their bodies met.
"I want you," Walter's whisper was hot and full of desire. "Freely, as you once did - give yourself to me..."
Despite an internal voice of warning, Joachim found himself twisting and writhing against the body of his tormentor, so desperate for the pleasure, the pain, the belonging... "Yes..."
It was the barest whisper, but Walter's eyes sparkled with malice as he continued his love play.
"So beautiful...and mine...mine forever..." His arms slipped around the lithe body, turning him over as easily as if he weighed nothing. His hands raked lightly down the back so vulnerable before him, the smile curving his lips one of genuine pleasure. Stroking over the slim, well formed hips and ass, Walter prolonged the teasing as much as he could, but his need was as insistent as the moaning protests of his partner.
At last, he gave in, and took what had been offered. As Joachim felt himself claimed, he closed the door in his mind firmly on the voice of warning which was still being insistent, and gave himself up instead to the moment.
Walter's smile widened as he felt the resistance leave his partner's mind and body. This one *was* his, was meant to be his...to satisfy his desires, to take his pleasure upon. He had not lied - from the first moment he had seen the beauty of the mortal Joachim, he had ached to make him his own. Turning him had only made him more beautiful than ever. And now...almost complete...surely now he would accept his place and all that came with it. Even as his thoughts continued, Walter's body was delving deep into that of his lover, the tightness and heat driving him nearly insane with his need to possess and fill this one. The body beneath him writhed and bucked, needing as much as Walter could give, feeling the counterpoint of the soft velvet covers caress the front of him, gasping with the merger of pain and pleasure as they coupled with abandon in the long night.
Walter's cry of release echoed from the stone walls of the room, his body jerking with the force of it, Joachim's voice gasping out an echo of the sound as his body joined in the climax. Walter's embrace after was near- crushing as he held his lover tightly to him, his body pressed against him all down their length as if he could not get enough. Joachim snuggled back against him without thinking, his hand caressing his partner's leg, and letting his head settle from the intensity of their passion.
"You are still incredibly beautiful to me," Walter said finally, brushing his hair back gently. "Stay with me - at my side - and in time, we can rule the world."
"You always were a dreamer," Joachim said softly, his head turning with the touch like a cat turning for pets. "Why do we want to rule the world?"
Walter laughed softly. "Why not? But I need you, Joachim. It is lonely at the top, and I have always wanted you to be with me."
"Your child, your lover, your - mmm - prince?" Joachim's voice still sounded almost sleepy, but his eyes betrayed him. He was wide awake.
"Indeed, if you like. It is why I created you - to be with me forever, to help me rule the night, to bring beauty to it equal with my own, and to share pleasure..." Walter's eyes were bright, the memory alive for him of other nights they had shared. If he heard the steel in the voice beside him, he gave no sign of it.
"Ah, yes. To be always second to you, to be your toy, your servant, your toady..."
Walter laughed a little, although his eyes had gone colder as well. "Well, if there is only one at the top, then yes, you would be second. But you are not a toady, Joachim - I do not want that. I have mortals and lesser of our kind for that. You - you are special. You alone are worthy enough to be with me forever..."
Rolling away from him, Joachim slipped from the bed to turn, staring at his lover. "Is that what this night was all about - to get me to change my mind? I told you back - a long time ago, as it seems - that I would not kowtow to anyone, nor do I wish to settle for being second best."
"You're deliberately missing my meaning, Joachim," Walter told him, sitting up in the bed. "I am older than you - and more powerful just for that reason. Some day you might be able to best me, but now you cannot. Until you can, there is no reason for us to keep fighting - look at what we miss. I can thrill you like no one else, I can love you better, longer - and I know you, what you like, what you desire..."
Joachim's head tilted slightly to one side and one side of his mouth curled in a little smirk. "Indeed... well I'll not deny you that, since you can make my body sing like a fine nightengale. But that is not *me* - it is only part of me. I can be your equal, but I can never be your slave."
Walter's eyes darkened a bit, but he kept his voice mild. "I don't need slaves, Joachim, I need you - a man who is worthy of my love, a man who will stand beside me, fight beside me, learn from me, and some day be a master of your own world, your own castle somewhere, perhaps. Or perhaps not - there is no need for it..." He raised a hand before Joachim could interrupt.
"There may come a day when you are powerful enough to indeed best me - our powers may be different or similar - it is too early to tell yet. Yes, you have the makings of a leader but not yet. I am only asking you to wait, to serve with me instead of fighting me, until you are ready - and then if you like I will help you find and conquer your own realm and we can be allies..."
Joachim listened to this, and part of him wanted to believe it. In fact, part of him did believe it. Walter's body did not lie, and they were so good together. But something - he distrusted something about all of this.
"And if I say no? If I say I want this realm, not another?" he asked finally. Walter frowned.
"You're just doing this to anger me - and why you would want to, I'm sure I don't know. There is a lot of world out there - from the Ottoman empire to the Hibernian sea - somewhere there is a kingdom for you...you have only to learn and come into your strength to win it. I can help you."
"As you did before - by locking me away somewhere?"
Walter sighed, getting up and coming over to drape his arms gently over Joachim's shoulders. "I said I made a mistake, and I did. I should not have done that. I don't ask you to forgive me - not yet. Just let's start out as allies and let it work out over time."
"Why?" Joachim was conscious of the touch of their intimate parts again, and the heat that seemed to spread through him. And what, he asked himself, do I lose if I go along with this? Set against what I would gain, perhaps not much... He looked up, and surprised a look of cunning on Walter's face that chilled him.
"Because I'm starting to be more and more beset by mortals. There is talk of the church getting involved. Sending knights here to harrass me. I'm powerful, but I cannot be everywhere at once. I need people around that I can trust."
"I tried to take your castle once, why do you think I won't do it again?"
"You're wiser now - older, perhaps even more powerful. You've learned your lesson - haven't you?"
Joachim shook his head. "It sounds right, it sounds very - enlightened. But I feel something bad in it. Something I might not recognize until it's too late..." He gasped softly as Walter's hands slid down over his shoulders, pulling his arms against him tightly. He struggled a little, but his strength was not the same as Walter's, nor his leverage.
"Don't torment us both like this - you want it as much as I do - maybe more. Don't you want to spend nights like this - years of nights of pleasure?"
Joachim sighed softly, shaking loose of his hold. "I think we have different drives, Walter. You *are* the master here, and you spend your time in parties and games, and feeding your own vanity..."
"You're a fine one to talk about vanity," Walter pointed out, but the sneer in his voice was more evident than he wanted it to be. It was not lost on his guest.
"So you've always told me - you who supposedly chose me for my beauty. You should make up your mind..."
"And you've made up yours?" Walter tried one last time. "To join me, as my right hand, to stay with me forever?"
"Alas, that I cannot do," Joachim reached for his shirt and slipped it on. "For only one can wear a crown at a time, and as long as you have it, I cannot..."
Walter blinked, astonished. "It means that much to you - to be the king of your own domain?"
"Of course - doesn't it you?" Joachim turned to pull on his trousers, glancing back over his shoulder. "If it didn't, why did you work so hard to hold it against all comers?"
"It's a matter of honor," Walter shot back.
"Yes, it is," Joachim slipped into his boots with practiced ease, and reached for his coat. "I cannot, in honor, agree to remain in second place, when I know - and I think you know - I deserve more than that."
"Of all the arrogant..." Walter balled up his fists, trying to get his control back. "And where do you think you're going now?"
"I was thinking you would let me leave," Joachim said mildly, fastening the belt in place and starting to button his coat. "After all - you're safer if I'm not here."
"I won't let you go," Walter said stubbornly. "One day maybe you'll find a way to get to me on your own - and then you can see if you can beat me... if you live that long."
Joachim stood facing him, his dark blue coat setting off his paleness to make him look almost ghostly. "I will - and one day, I will take what I came here for. You made me what I am - remember that. And you will pay for it one day..."
"A pity I can't unmake you," Walter snapped at him. "You're an ungrateful pup and wasting the gift I gave you - you! And so many come for it - ask for it - beg for it. They will do anything I ask for the gift of eternal life... "
"If you're done using me tonight, I'll be on my way," Joachim said lightly and turned for the door.
"Yes, you will..." Walter's laugh echoed evilly from the walls as it seemed the room rocked and Joachim's vision went dark.
The damp air and the sound of waterfalls was around him as he awakened, and Joachim sat up, frowning. "Now that was one he hasn't used on me before," he muttered, forcing himself to stand and glancing around. Yes, he knew where he was. Right back where he started...
Scrabbling in the hallway behind him told him he'd awakened just in time, and with deceptive ease he called his swords to surround him, just in case. Stalking toward his safe haven in this world of sound and dampness, he nursed a fine thirst for vengence.
"That is the second time, Walter, that you've used me and tried to force me to be your subordinate. There will not be a third time... It was a momentary lapse of weakness - but it will not happen again. The next time we meet, I will kill you."
From high above the scene, Walter watched his hoped for ally walk away, forcing himself to put the incident out of his mind. He was, after all, the master here. And he would give that up for no one. Not even that one. With a thought, he disappeared from the area, leaving his prisoner alone in the dark.