Chapter 4 – Parenting
The weeks that followed flew faster than any Raziel had ever known. The decades in which he'd served Kain had passed swiftly but not as swiftly as the weeks he spent caring for Mioko. Without realizing it, Mioko had been with him for a month. She rarely left his sight, even when he had urgent business to attend she would sit in his chamber, beside him, watching him tend his affairs patiently and silently. This arrangement suited them both, for she felt utterly safe and content in his presence and he knew that while she was with him, she was safe from the many vampires who hunted her; the pretty human child who spent her days clinging to the master of Razielim.
"Daddy," Mioko moaned one morning, shaking the vampire from his sleep. Raziel groaned and rolled over,
"Go back to bed, Mioko," he muttered. Mioko refused to leave and she continued to shake the vampire,
"Daddy!" she cried, desperately, Raziel reluctantly opened his eyes and glanced back at her, "Don't feel well," she sobbed. Raziel bolted upright, in bed, to look at her. Her skin was unusually pale for a human and her nose had become a bright shade of scarlet, "Don't feel well," she muttered again, waiting for him to react. Before he could slip out of bed, Azrael entered, joining them.
"Good morning my lord," he said, brightly, "Mioko," he added, in an undertone. Mioko ignored him as Raziel slipped out of bed. He lifted her up and dropped her on the bed. He pulled the covers up to her chin and pointed a single talon at her, "Wait here," he told her. He glanced at Azrael, "Watch her for a moment." Azrael looked up, quickly,
"Me?" he protested, "Why me?" he demanded, looking down on the child who had inevitably become his rival.
"I am going to get someone to eat and at the same time I'll fetch the physician," Raziel told him, aware of his son's dislike of the human.
"I can do that!" Azrael protested. Raziel glared at him,
"and will you dress me as well?" he asked, curiously, when Azrael fell silent, he continued, "I won't be long, just keep her in bed," he ordered. Azrael nodded as Raziel left. He looked down to see the girl staring up at him, watching his every move as he sat on the chair opposite the bed. "What?!" he snapped after a long silence hung between them, still she stared at him. She didn't answer but kept on staring, "Creepy brat," the first-born muttered, looking away.
"Aah..." she breathed, Azrael looked up at her, "Aah...aah...choo!" she sneezed loudly, making Azrael jump on the chair. When he looked back at her, she had a long trail of a dripping, almost green liquid, trailing from her nose to her mouth. Azrael winced at the sight, even more so when the girl gave a swift smirk and sticking her tongue out, lapped up the substance. "By Kain!" Azrael cursed loudly, looking away from the disgusting child.
"What is it?!" Raziel asked, urgently, hastily re-entering the room, hearing his son's curses. Azrael got up, grateful his sire had returned.
"She's being disgusting," he muttered. Raziel was followed by the physician; an aged human male. The physician sat next to Mioko,
"A cute, little thing like you, disgusting?" he asked, sweetly, "Never?" Mioko nodded, innocently as Azrael turned to leave. Raziel and the doctor both looked up at him, as soon as their attention had been diverted, Mioko poked her tongue out at the vampire as he left. Azrael left, indignant but willing to ignore the brat. He slammed the door behind him and ventured, angrily into the palace. "Brat get another one over you?" the merry voice of his first son Maret, rang out behind him. Azrael glared at him,
"Haven't you got warriors to train or something?" he snapped, sweeping past the chuckling vampire. He hadn't long left his son when he heard a different voice call after him, "Azrael!" Rather than face more mockery at the hands of his subordinates Azrael made a cursive gesture with his claws without looking back. A sudden burst of telekinetic power threw Azrael off his feet and crashing into the hard, stone wall beside him. Azrael bounced off the wall and crumpled to the ground, cradling his now bleeding head. He glared up at his attacker, ready to return the hostility, when he saw just who it was who had attacked him.
"My lord!" he gasped, throwing himself to his knees in front of Kain as the master vampire walked slowly towards him, "My lord, please forgive me, we were unaware of your arrival, I didn't know it was you," he pleaded, bowing his head as the vampire came to a halt before him.
"Obviously," Kain muttered, "Where is Raziel?" he asked. Azrael was unsure whether he should rise to his feet yet, after insulting the master. He decided to remain on the floor, kneeling, as he should, "He is in his main chamber," Azrael told him, he looked up cautiously, "Shall I take you?" he asked, hesitantly. Kain gave a small nod and the first-born rose to lead the vampire on.
"Azrael," Kain called as he allowed his guide to lead, "In the future you may wish to see exactly whom it is you are cursing."
"My lord," Azrael mumbled, totally humiliated and embarrassed, with a bleeding head to prove it.
"Well?" Raziel asked again, impatiently. The physician had been asking a number of questions to the child and had yet to come to his conclusion, "What's wrong with her?" Raziel demanded. The physician turned to his master, a solemn look in his eye,
"My lord," he began, "she has a cold." Raziel stared at him,
"A what?" he asked, ignorant of any knowledge of human illness.
"A cold," the doctor repeated, "it has spread through the slave quarter, I imagine she caught it from one of the other slaves."
"Is it serious?" Raziel asked, desperately concerned for his daughter's health. The doctor chuckled,
"No, my lord," she will be fine, it will pass in a couple of days." Raziel breathed a deep sigh of relief and smiled, dismissing the doctor and wrapping his arm around the child. She nestled her head against his chest and made herself comfortable, "Daddy?" she whispered. She felt Raziel's head move so she knew he was looking down at her, "Tell me a story," she asked. Raziel sighed, she didn't need stories as often as she had. She only needed to be in the vampire's presence to feel comforted, however she did enjoy the occasional story about her favourite person; the infamous 'uncie' Kain as she had come to know him. Raziel shifted so she was lying and he could sit beside her, watching her eyes light up as he begun his tale, "Once there..." before he could even begin his story, a knock at the door interrupted him. Raziel glared at the door, furious at the interruption and excusing himself from Mioko called for the intruder to enter. Azrael slipped in, "Whatever it is, you can take care of it," Raziel snapped, "I'm bu...what happened to your head?" he asked. Even though the cut at Azrael's head had long healed, the blood still remained. Azrael hung his head,
"Uh...you have a visitor," he muttered. Raziel shook his head,
"I am not receiving visitors, Mioko is unwell," Raziel informed him. Azrael looked up, begging him to change his mind with his eyes.
"My lord," Azrael addressed, "He is already waiting outside."
"I am not receiving visitors," Raziel repeated, "My priority lies with Mioko today. No one short of Kain himself will take me from her today."
"Kain's outside," Azrael said, quietly, hoping that the master vampire's acute hearing couldn't hear him. Raziel's face fell as his eyes strayed to the closed door that Kain was behind. Raziel looked urgently at his son who nodded slowly, 'But...he can't be here!' Raziel thought to Azrael, 'We had no warning.'
Azrael nodded in agreement, 'He's here,' he assured his sire. Raziel took a deep breath, 'take care of Mioko,' he whispered, opening the door to greet his master. Azrael looked over at the child, she was sitting up in bed, staring at him as she always did, a strange, evil smirk spread over her face.
TBC