Chibi B: I'm sorry::cries: It's been so long, I know! I've been super busy, and last week I was in the hospital getting my appendix checked out and crap, so, it's been a really tough month and stuff, which is why I haven't been updating.
Taski: She's also suffering from a terrible writer's block!
Chibi B: It's truuue! I have ideas, I just can't seem to put them in words. x.x It stinks. But yes, on to announcements...
Tales of Crimson Nights is now fully up on I think I still need to fix the link though...It hasn't been working and I've been too lazy to change it. XD So, I'll fix that right after this...
Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything...
I awoke as soon as the sun set, and hissed in pain when I felt the burns from the previous night. Gasping softly in pain, I pushed the coffin lid off me, struggling not to scream when the effort made my wounds stab even more. I stood up, and examined my arms, flinching myself at the sight of the blisters. Next I prodded at my face, almost shouting out in agony at the stinging pain.
"Shit." Bakura really was going to kill me…
"What's that supposed to mean?" Speak of the devil…I clenched my teeth together in frustration and turned around to face my lover, wincing at the wide eyed and panicked look he sent me. He rushed over to me and gently lifted his hands to my face.
"Don't touch it." I hissed. "It hurts."
"What the hell happened?" He demanded.
"I got caught in the sun, obviously." I turned my head away from him and crossed my arms. Might as well get this over with so he can yell at me. "I was busy in the slaves' room, and lost track of time."
"It was your own damn fault then." He scowled, and I rolled my eyes. Ha! I knew it! Trust that sympathetic moment to fly out the window at my supposedly being a 'moron' again. "Those two were in here!" Huh? What was he talking about?
"Who?" I blinked.
"The slaves!" He said exasperatedly. I lifted an eyebrow and turned towards our door.
"Oops.." I said guiltily, noticing it was unlocked. I must have forgotten in my haste to get to my casket!
"Oops? What do you mean 'oops'?" He roared, waving my hands up in the air. Great. Here we go again…"You moron! They could have killed us! Burned us while we slept! What were you possibly thinking?" He continued his rant, obviously ignoring my eye twitching. Because if he had noticed it he would have stopped.
"Would you just shut up!" I screamed, finally snapping. You can't blame me, after all. I was all burnt up from the sun, in pain, and all he could do was yell at me! The nerve… "You've been screaming at me for the past fifteen minutes, and it's gotten us nowhere. Now, in case you haven't noticed, the slaves are missing from their room." I watched his eyes widen, but ignored him. "So, I suggest we begin our search for them, unless you just want to let them be free." I finished with a scowl, knowing that he didn't want that at all. He stared at me a bit, stunned, before regaining his composure and turning around.
"Come on." He snarled, and strolled out of the bedroom. I sighed, frustrated and feeling a bit sorry for yelling before following after him. I stopped at the doorway to the mansion, and sniffed the air.
"They've gotten farther then I imagined." I stated calmly. I wasn't about to admit that I was impressed…Suddenly, a smell caught my attention, and I tensed up, snarling.
"What is it?" Bakura asked quickly, surprised at my sudden fierceness.
"Fledglings."
Both of us sped to the scene as fast as we could. I knew exactly what vampire fledglings were like, and so did Bakura. Cocky, overconfident bastards - to put it bluntly. While we were running, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry…I didn't want anything too bad to happen to the slaves; they were young and healthy after all. It'd be a waste of good gold if they were harmed now. Uh huh. Sure.
When we finally made it to the site, I felt myself filled with an uncontrollable rage at what I saw.
My slave was screaming and begging, as some stupid fledgling vampire ripped off his shirt and began on his pants. Roaring in anger, I swooped in and yanked the red haired immortal off the teen, tearing out a chunk of his arm as well before gathering the quivering body of my slave into my arms.
"What do you think you were doing with MY property?" I growled, glowering at the vampire who dared harm what belonged to me. I noticed in grim satisfaction that he was in pain as he nursed the wound on his arm.
"Yes. Do tell." My partner hissed while he cradled his sobbing slave in his arms. I felt my heart once again twinge in pity at the other's wails. They must have been so frightened…
"Forgive us Lords!" The blond vampire begged, throwing himself to the ground in front of Bakura. "We did not know they belonged to you!" Hn. Fools.
"How could you not have known?" Bakura growled. I smirked, he was making me so proud; taking charge like this! "My blood was practically hanging around his neck!"
"But there were no bite marks, My Lord." He stuttered. "We thought the collar a trick." A trick? I raised my eyebrow in disbelief. What the hell? How would they even get a vampire's blood in the first place?
"You should know better than that!" I snapped, setting down Malik and stalking up to the whimpering blond. I punched him right across the side of his face and grinned at hearing his jaw bone snap. "Stupid fledgling!"
"Forgive us!" He pleaded, his jaw hanging loosely. The red head began echoing his words and bowing at our feet. It was rather sickening. Scowling in disgust, I turned towards Bakura.
"Punishment?" I questioned. The two weak vampires had already made me weary and annoyed. Bakura tilted his head to the side, probably thinking of something good, before he glanced down at the bundle in his arms. His eyes softened and he shook his head, sighing.
"Let's just let them off with a warning." He shrugged. "I'm not in the mood for anything else."
I blinked in disbelief, shooting a childish glare at the white haired human for making my Bakura soft before turning back to the two fledglings.
"Fine. You may go. But next time, do think things through when you try to steal from a higher rank vampire." I said sarcastically, before they left down the road.
It was quiet. Both teens were too afraid to speak, and I was too pissed off to even open my mouth.
"What were you two thinking?" My lover finally asked, breaking the silence. Nobody replied, and I twitched.
"I'd answer if I were you." I grumbled threateningly. "We're angry enough as it is."
"…"
I shook my head in frustration, and stomped over to where I left Malik on the ground. Bending down to pick him up, I was startled when the teenager screamed once I touched him, backing away as if burnt. Puzzled, I was about to go after him when Bakura gasped.
"Gods!" He breathed, his face a mixture of horror and disbelief. When Malik turned and saw him he began wailing.
"Don't look at me!" He sobbed. "Don't! Don't look!" He curled up in a tight ball, rocking back and forth, hiccupping. "Don't look!"
"What the hell is wrong?" I demanded, walking over to stand next to Bakura. I wasn't worried at all, if that's what you were thinking. Nope. Not one bit.
That's when I saw his back. I think I might have cursed, but I don't remember specifically. All I do remember, is seeing those horrifying patterns spread out all over his flesh. It was as if someone was drawing pictures all over his skin with a burning knife!
I swallowed, and bent down to pick Malik up. He struggled a bit, letting out quiet whimpers.
"No. We have to get out of here." He sobbed. "We have to go to paradise." Over in Bakura's arms Ryou let out a soft sniffle, chocolate brown eyes filling with tears, and I felt that annoying twinge once again.
"Marik, pick up their collars. We're going back to the mansion." Bakura mumbled, trying hard not to look down at the depressed angel in his arms. I winced, sensing his troubled emotions. He really did feel for these kids…
Deciding to actually listen for once, I bent down and swooped up the two chokers before speeding off towards the mansion with my lover. The body in my arms was silent, and I couldn't help but feel a bit worried as those lavender eyes stared ahead unseeingly. Then I remembered that he had to be punished. I was never one to let slaves get away with breaking the rules without penalty, but, for some reason the thought made me sick. I didn't want to have to whip the tanned teen, he seemed he had already been through enough torment.
And then the thought hit me, it seemed so obvious! We had to mark the two slaves anyways, so, what better punishment was there than to feed off of them? It was much better than thirty or so lashes anyways; except for the fact that it might frighten them to the point of insanity.
I blinked when I realized that we had made it back to our home, and Bakura and I were just standing outside the doors. He had a thoughtful look on his face, probably thinking something along the lines of what I was pondering a few minutes ago.
"Bakura," I said softly, trying to get his attention. He twitched a bit, and blinked up at me.
"Yes, Marik?" I watched his eyes sweep over my face and body, and realized with a start that I had actually forgotten all about the burns that littered my flesh. I guess I was too, concerned about losing my gold's worth in slaves. That was all that I cared about. The gold, not them...
"Why don't you heal these two?" I gestured to the prone bodies in our arms. I felt his confusion, and slight hope that I had forgotten about punishment. "Then they will deal with their penalty." I flashed a bitter smile when his hope vanished, and his little look-a-like began to shake in his arms, fear rolling off of him in waves.
"Bring the blond to me. I'll heal them both at the same time." He muttered, and I followed his orders without hesitation. Within seconds, my slave and his own lay side by side while Bakura's hands floated over their bodies, his eyes closed in concentration. I took the time to admire my lover once again. He usually looked most serene and at peace when using his healing powers, his usual scowl melting off his face due to his intense focus.
It was over as quickly as it began, and I watched in concern as Bakura almost fell over, panting in exhaustion. Silly fool, he probably wasted much more energy than was needed.
"Are you alright?" I asked quickly, reaching out to steady him. He nodded, sending me a feeling of calmness through our link to reassure me. A movement out of the corner of my eye had my attention, as the little one slowly sat up and moved around, looking as if he had witnessed a miracle when he found out he didn't hurt.
It was pitiful. How long had it been since he hadn't felt pain?
The small teen turned to Bakura, his head bowed low in submission.
"Thank you, Master Bakura, for your generosity." He paused, hesitating. "I am ready to accept my punishment for disobeying your orders."
What. The. Hell.
I think my mouth gaped open in shock, as did my lover's, as we both stared in disbelief at the small figure curled up on the floor. That annoying twinge was back in full force, only growing as I watched my own slave sit up and move around, looking amazed and excited when he didn't hurt anywhere. Then he glanced at me, and his happiness faded only to be replaced quickly by fear.
"You do realize, that you have disobeyed two important rules." I said sternly, pushing the thoughts of sympathy out of my mind. "You must be punished. And your punishment would usually be thirty lashes." They both flinched and began trembling. I'll admit that I myself, felt a bit sick to my stomach. "However, I think that tonight you will have a different punishment."
"What did you have in mind?" Bakura asked quickly. I glanced at him briefly before returning my gaze to the meek servants. I knew Bakura would be upset with what I was going to say next, but I was prepared to reason with him.
"Bakura and I have not fed tonight." My lover tensed up. "We shall feed on you instead of going out and hunting."
"Marik-!" He started, only to be stopped by my soft glare. Ah, after all these years he was still as stubborn as ever.
"We have to mark them anyways, Bakura." I argued logically. "We don't want something like this to happen again." He sighed, mentally arguing with himself even though I knew he'd agree anyways.
"Fine." See? I knew my lover like the back of my hand! He bent down to pick his small mortal up and left into the manor, disappearing down one of the many hallways.
I followed his example, and scooped my own slave up, scowling when he tensed and prepared for a struggle.
"Don't even bother, kid." I snapped, and he went lax in my arm, shuddering uncontrollably.
When I reached their room, I set him down on his own bed and caught the distraught gaze of my lover. He didn't want to do this, I could tell, and surprisingly enough I found that I didn't want to do this myself.
It doesn't have to be too painful." I said softly, wanting to reassure him any way I could. He shot me a thankful and loving look, making me melt before he focused his attention back to his slave, his fangs extending and his eyes taking on it's crimson color.
"Don't hurt Ryou, please!" I jumped, the small, hoarse voice catching me by surprise as I stared down at the blond teen. "Please…"
"Shh," I crooned, "everything will be fine. Just relax…" My hands began rubbing their way all over his body, trying hard to loosen him up before the bite. My breathing grew labored, and I could no longer control myself as I buried my face in the side of his neck, licking and suckling to my hearts content. I savored his low moans and whimpers, my hands grasping onto his shoulders as I finally sunk my teeth into his warm flesh.
It was heavenly.
His life's essence poured down my throat, the taste unlike anything I had ever encountered. His short cry of shock as I bit him made me groan as I continued taking in as much of the liquid as I could, not spilling anything. When I felt the teen's slip into unconsciousness I pulled back, gasping for breath as I kissed the wound. It closed up, and I looked into half-lidded lavender eyes. A single tear fell from the corner, trailing down the side of his cheek, and I felt an overwhelming amount of sadness.
Within seconds, he had passed out, and I slid off of him stealthily before wrapping him up in a blanket. I didn't want him to catch a cold now, did I? It would be such a waste… It's not that I cared, cause I didn't. The only one I cared about what my Kura…That's right.
"Come, let's leave." I whispered, beckoning him out the door and across the hall to our room. I was feeling frustrated with myself, and just a bit horny from the erotic ceremony of drinking my slaves blood. I knew Bakura would be more than willing to help me out, causing my mind to fill with many perverted images. I smirked.
"I've never had such appetizing blood before." He muttered thoughtfully, looking up at me in confusion. "I couldn't get enough of it."
"I felt the same." I admitted, shoving Bakura up against the wall. "But, I seem to still be hungry." I grinned, pressing harsh kissed down the side of his throat, loving the way he moaned in pleasured pain. I knew he liked it rough, and that was exactly how I was going to be for him…Plus, it was the most pleasurable way of getting rid of my frustration.
He moaned my name, tossing his head back sensually. I smirked; it was going to be a looooong night.
Chibi B: Sorry again for the long wait! And, for the half-butt chapter. It was really rushed at the end, so I apologize. I'm trying as hard as I can to find free time to update and such...
R&R! Thank you so much to the reviewers! You guys seriously make me feel great! Without you, I probably would have never bothered writing any more fics, or finishing my current ones, so, a big thanks to you!