Chapter 5 – Azrael's Lullaby
"Sire," Raziel stepped out of his chamber and bowed before the master vampire. Kain glared at him, annoyed he had been kept waiting so long. "What brings you here?" his son asked, trying to conceal his anxiety, "We had no word you were coming," he added. Kan nodded,
'"No doubt if you had, I would have received a better welcome," he muttered, but ignoring his own comment, continued, "I came to view your clan," he announced, "You and your brothers have been out here for over fifty years, I think it is time I see just what you have accomplished out here." Raziel looked slightly confused, an inspection was the last thing he expected from his master. Raziel nodded, swiftly, "Of course," he said, walking beside his master, "This way."
In the chamber Azrael was watching the child suspiciously. She still had an evil smile that made feel Azrael feel strangely uncomfortable.
"Where's daddy?" she asked, innocently.
"Raziel," Azrael emphasised, he hated the child call him, 'daddy' when he was simply her lord, "has gone to see Kain." Mioko's face lit up at the mention of the hero of so many of her stories. Her little face shone with excitement,
"Uncie Kain?" she gasped. Azrael chuckled as he tried to imagine what Kain's reaction would be if she called him that to his face, he imagined her getting swept, painfully swept away and the thought brought a small, hopeful smile to his face. That would shut the brat up.
"Are you babysitting me?" she asked. Azrael growled; he hated that term. The human term that summed him up as 'the babysitter' rather than 'the first born of Razielim.' He reluctantly nodded, slowly. Another smile spread across her face as she jumped from the bed, all thoughts of illness forgotten.
"Mioko!" Azrael shouted, running after her. He ran into the hall and breathed a sigh of relief when he found it vacant. The last thing he needed was to lose Mioko in front of Raziel or Kain. 'Lose?!' his thoughts screamed, he looked around frantically as he realized he had in fact lost the child. "Oh no," he groaned as he imagined a reunion with his sire, having to tell him, he had let his beloved daughter loose in Razielim. Azrael looked both ways down the corridor and after some deliberation, went down the hall.
Luckily for the vampire, Raziel and Kain had moved on to the barracks and had long vacated the palace of Razielim, leaving them blissfully unaware of Azrael's peril. After scouring the castle, he saw her. "Mioko!" he shouted, furiously. She giggled and leaped about the hallway, Azrael froze as he realized she was extremely close to the start of a long, stone staircase. She jumped about, teasing him and laughing as he advanced on her, slowly. "Mioko," he muttered, "Come here." She shook her head and backed away, "Mioko!" he shouted as she backed off too far and slipped backwards, vanishing off the staircase.
Time seemed to freeze around first-born as he heard thud after sickening thud as her fragile body crashed off the harsh, stone steps. Then...silence. "By Kain," he gasped, disbelievingly as he edged towards the steps, praying with every fibre of his being that somehow the brat was alright.
At the foot of the steps, Mioko lay. Frozen at first before she moved, she pushed herself up, painfully slow on her little hands and looked up the steps. Azrael was rooted to the spot at the top of the stairs, hardly daring to breathe. For a moment it looked as though she was alright, and everything was going to be fine. Then her delicate features crumpled and a loud, shrill wail escaped from her lips.
Azrael finally exhaled, deeply. At least she was still alive. He couldn't help but feel some pity for her as she lay there, crying loudly in pain. While he was watching her, he suddenly realized that she was in fact, just that; in pain. He hurried down the stairs to her side. He eased her up to look up at him. There was a bump forming at the side of her head and probably numerous bruises would appear over the night, but apart from minor bumps, she appeared to be fine. He breathed a sigh of relief, thanking Kain that she was alright.
"Want daddy!" she wailed. Azrael shook his head,
"Daddy's busy," he stopped, abruptly when he realized what he'd said, "Raziel!" he corrected quickly, "Raziel's busy." Mioko cried louder and buried herself in Azrael's arms. He flinched and cried out as her tears fell against his chest, burning his skin in small droplets. He looked down on the child and decided to ignore the pain; he wrapped his arms tighter around her and provided her with the comfort she sought.
He lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to his sire's chamber to rest. By the time they arrived at the chamber, she had managed to control her sobbing and had reduced it to the occasional sniffle. Azrael lay her down in the bed and gently settled the silk covers over her. She smiled and snuggled against him as he sat beside her. She blinked sleepily and he stroked a few stray hairs from her face, watching her fight sleep as she lay beside him. Without realizing it, soft words escaped his lips, a lingering song that echoed in his head from his long forgotten childhood.
"Home is behind and the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread,
Through shadows, to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight,
Now world behind and home ahead,
We'll wander home and then to bed.
Mist and shadow, cloud and shade,
All shall fade, all shall fade,
Fire and lamp, meat and bread,
And then to bed, and then to bed."
As he sang the last word, his lips curved into a smile as he looked down on the child who had fallen asleep, blissfully and peacefully lost to dreams. Azrael smiled as he stroked the side of her face, "How the mighty have fallen," a mocking voice laughed from behind him. Azrael spun around, furious and perhaps more embarrassed than anything else. Lonni was watching him, arms folded across her chest and a curious but sweet smile across her lips, "I didn't know you cared for her so much," she smiled, she stepped forward and looked down on the sleeping child, "and you are so good with children, I really must ask you to baby-sit Jade sometime," she added as an afterthought. Azrael looked up at her, almost terrified at the thought, he shook his head furiously, "No!" he cried, "I'm not..." she laughed, quietly, wary of waking the sleeping child,
"It's alright, Azrael," Lonni smiled, "I won't tell anyone you've suddenly developed the paternal side." Azrael looked utterly horror stricken as her words sunk in, "Do you see what Raziel sees?" she asked curiously, "Do you understand now why he loves her?" Azrael shook his head,
"She's a little brat," he scorned, "I only sang to her because she'd hurt herself, she'd only hurt herself because she fell down the stairs, she only fell down the stairs because she ran off, she only ran off because she's a..." he looked back at the adorable, sleeping child and his heart melted and where he was going to say, 'little brat,' Lonni finished the sentence for him,
"She's a child." Azrael nodded mutely,
"I can't stand her," he admitted, "I'll never understand why Raziel loves her like he does, I'll never understand why he lets her call him...'daddy,'" he shuddered at the thought. Lonni put a hand of comfort on the vampire's shoulder,
"Because that's what he is," she murmured, "when Mioko grows up, she'll have no memory of her real father, only Raziel. He took her in because she had no one else." Azrael flinched as her words hit home slightly, Lonni saw this, but overlooked it. No one really knew how Azrael's relationship with Raziel had come about; Azrael was never one to discuss it and no one would ever question him or Raziel about it, either. Lonni gave an encouraging smile, "Don't worry Azrael, Raziel still cares for you," Azrael looked up, totally indignant, Lonni shrugged, "but she needs more attention than you." Azrael opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it, there was some truth to her words,
"Good night, Lonni," he muttered. Lonni gave a curtsy,
"Azrael." She left the room, leaving Azrael to contemplate her words and much to his disgust he realized that part of the reason he hated Mioko so much, was through jealousy.
He retired to the sofa and watched the child sleeping from a distance. It wasn't long before Raziel returned, a solemn, graven look on his face. "Raziel?" Azrael asked, Raziel shot a frown at him,
"You haven't called me that in a while," he noted. Azrael thought for a moment before correcting his mistake,
"My lord?" Raziel shook his head,
"I didn't mean...never mind," he sat beside his son and leaned back against the chair. He groaned loudly as he buried his face in his hands. Azrael shifted so he was sitting next to his sire properly, "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. Raziel shook his head,
"He's going to inspect all the clans," he moaned. Azrael thought for a moment before he remembered (with painful reference to his throbbing head) that Kain was here. Azrael waited for his sire to continue, when he said nothing, Azrael prompted, "So?"
"So he wants me to go with him!" Raziel snapped, then softened, "You know, I really, really hate being the first born sometimes." He glanced at his son, "What about you, aren't there times when you've hated being my first born?" Azrael shook his head, honestly. Raziel raised his eyebrow, "Really?"
"Really," Azrael admitted, "I've never hated it...except..." he paused; Raziel smiled triumphantly and clapped his son on the shoulder,
"Except?" he announced, Azrael hesitated,
"Except when I have to...baby-sit." The colour drained from Raziel's already pale face and he seemed to turn an ashen grey colour rather quickly.
"Mioko!" he snapped his head over to look at the sleeping child. Azrael watched his sire leave his side and go to the girl, once he was satisfied, however he returned to Azrael. "She fell," Azrael told him, Raziel shrugged it off,
"She always does, that wasn't my concern," Raziel confided in his friend. "I have to leave with Kain...I'll be gone for over a month," Azrael looked up terrified,
"I can't look after her for a month!" he protested. Raziel nodded, understandably,
"I know, I can't leave her for that long...I'll have to take her with me." This time it was Azrael's face that changed colour,
"But Kain...does he like children?" Azarel asked, curiously. He assumed the master was the type to hate children, especially small, annoying, clingy...he stopped his train of thought before it got out of hand. Raziel merely shrugged, trying to foresee his master's reaction when Raziel introduced him to the child who would accompany them on their journey, the child that knew him as uncie Kain. He shivered at the thought, but he knew there was no way out of the predicament; Mioko would have to accompany them. His thoughts dwelled on Azrael's comment; he just had to hope Kain liked children.
TBC