Author Notes:
At long last we're back! A bit of a warning, this chapter is darker than the previous one with some violence but I don't think it's enough to merit a rise in the rating. Also, I haven't gone through and edited this just yet, so do let me know if you see any glaring errors!
Nightfall came all too soon and Noé gently shook Vanitas until he woke with a groan and a halfhearted jab at his side. Noé took it with grace; his companion looked utterly exhausted and Noé knew how hard it could be to get out of bed on a bad day.
This was a particularly bad day.
Vanitas rubbed at his eyes furiously as if it might wake him up a little faster before moving to the locked door of the cart, crouching before it as he analyzed the seal. For the most part it appeared relatively mundane but there was a soft glow about the edges. Perhaps it was astermite.
The village he'd grown up in hadn't made any use of it but they spoke excitedly about larger cities putting it to use. It was some sort of panacea stone that could do anything. It aided technology but was rumored to have magical purposes as well. Noé knew it had sprung about around the same time vampires had but Noé hardly felt like a magical creature.
Pale moonlight seeped through the cracks of wood around them, highlighting Vanitas's hair as he mulled over the lock. His skin practically glowed. Noé wondered how they would sneak around when he stood out so much for surely that was what they were about to do. He curled a finger through his own hair, which was all but gleaming save for the blood caught in some of it. Perhaps he wasn't much better off.
Vanitas had his ear pressed to the door in question listened intently. He wore a small frown. Noé crawled over quietly.
"What can you hear?" Vanitas said quietly. "Your senses are better than a mine."
Noé closed his eyes and pressed his ear to the door and allowed the world to melt away as he focused on the unknown outside.
Slowly, the sounds of wilderness became discernible. There was the chirp of crickets, the sound of branches swaying as the wind gusted against them,—must be another storm approaching, Noé could smell it in the air—and then there was the sound of gentle snoring. Their captors were asleep.
"I can't sense that anyone is awake," Noé finally said. "Shouldn't there be a guard?"
"I'm sure there is," Vanitas said. "But if he's being so quiet you don't notice it likely means he drifted off."
"What now?" Knowing all this was nice but it hardly aided their escape. They were still trapped.
Vanitas's eyes were sparkling mischievously. He raised a finger to his lips. "Just watch, my dear Noé."
He raised a hand in front of him and focused on the lock. Noé watched intently. Suddenly, a small zap flew from Vanitas's finger and the lock sprung open.
Noé clapped a hand over his mouth to suppress his gasp of shock. Vanitas brushed his hands against his coat smugly.
"So that's how you were freeing us earlier! How did you do that?" Noé finally managed in a strangled whisper. "And if you could do that, why not do it sooner?"
"The Book of Vanitas allows me certain abilities regardless of whether it's on my person or not and I did try this before," Vanitas's brow furrowed in anger, "but it went poorly. Quickly now, Noé, we need to get an idea of the layout of the camp and see if we can find the book."
Vanitas slipped out the door followed closely by Noé who took a moment to take in their surroundings. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting but for some reason he was still taken aback at what he saw. It all seemed so … normal.
There were three carts including theirs arranged in a circle forming an enclosed camp. There were tents set up a little further off, dark and quiet in the gloom. The remains of a fire were in the center of the carts with a spit. No one was still seated before it and it was no wonder; he'd been correct in assuming a storm was coming. The wind whipped their clothing to and fro and he worried for a moment that the sound would give them away. He glanced over at Vanitas who had his arms crossed and was hunched over slightly.
"It's freezing," Vanitas whispered.
Noé just nodded. It didn't bother him very much but Vanitas's garments were thin and, he supposed, if a vampire's senses were superior to a human's he might just have an advantage. Still, he had to admit he'd like to be at home in front of the fireplace right about now.
Vanitas waved him over and they slowly moved to the front of the cart, crouching in case anyone was around. There were two horses that neighed nervously but whether it was because of them or the weather Noé couldn't tell. He held his breath. Vanitas was gripping his arm tightly, his eyes wide with fear.
They crouched together like that for a time but no one came and Vanitas relaxed minutely.
"I need to check each of the seats. Keep an eye out for me."
"Do you really think it will be in there?" Noé said.
"It almost certainly isn't but we can't afford to be careless with this. We must thoroughly inspect everything." Privately, Noé thought he was being absurd. If this book was as important as Vanitas kept insisting it was it would hardly be in the box seat.
Vanitas climbed the mounting steps with practiced ease and took only a few moments to investigate. Once he was finished looking about they investigated the next cart.
As they approached Noé could make out sounds he hadn't heard previously due to the wind. There was a low murmur emanating from the cart and it dawned on Noé that there were a great many more slaves than he had anticipated. His heart sank. So many people's lives were being ruined by this operation. Surely they couldn't leave it be.
"Shouldn't we try to free the other slaves?" Noé murmured as he Vanitas stepped into the box seat. Briefly he wondered why he and Vanitas had been separated from the others. Was the cart too full? Did something like that even matter?
"No good. If we do that we definitely won't get away," he grunted as he stepped back down, no book in sight.
"Vanitas, we have to do something. This is wrong. There are more slaves than slavers. If we free them we can escape!"
Vanitas snorted disdainfully. "They're all humans for one and unarmed at that. Those vampires would have a field day recapturing them. It would be a nice little sport on the way to Altus." He waved Noé over to the final cart. Once again he could hear the sounds of life from inside.
"Vanitas—"
"Quiet."
Noé pressed his lips together tightly but only because he didn't want them to be caught. This wasn't something he was going to leave to rest. He and Vanitas would rescue the rest of the slaves regardless of whatever Vanitas thought. No one should be forced to endure this.
"It's not here either," Vanitas said.
"Of course it isn't," Noé said irritably. "Why would they keep it by the slaves anyway?"
"Oh, ye of little faith," Vanitas grinned. "Do you really think I've returned to you with nothing?"
"Yes."
Vanitas shrugged him off but the downward slant of his mouth implied he was more annoyed than he was letting on.
"Well, I haven't. What do you think of this?" He held up a journal.
"So, you found the book after all."
"I found a book. This appears to be the notes of one of our captors. It might give us an idea of where we're headed in Altus specifically. He's even drawn maps."
"Rather careless of him to leave it there."
"No doubt. Well, let's take a quick look then."
The notes didn't make much sense to Noé. There was an awful lot about "The Shapeless One" and a specific type of slave. One note read:
We found an odd one the other day. Wasn't human at all but he fit the description of what he was looking for. Dark skin, light hair. I've got some suspicions about him. Keep him locked up with the other one.
"They're writing about me?" Noé leaned over Vanitas's shoulder in an effort to get a better look.
"Yes, it seems so." Vanitas was stiff and Noé wondered if perhaps he wasn't fond of physical proximity despite how easily he'd held him before. He moved aside slightly but it did little to ease his partner's posture.
"What is it about you? Well? Have you any unusual powers or anything like that?"
He was staring at Noé with something akin to hostility. Noé took another step backwards.
"Not that I know about," he said. "I told you all that's interesting about me. I was orphaned and I was raised by humans. That's all that I know."
"But there could be more. You know nothing of your heritage? Nothing at all?"
"No…" It hurt to admit even if it were obvious to anyone who met him. He didn't like feeling like a blank slate.
Vanitas studied him a moment longer before a particularly hard gust of wind knocked his hood off. Vanitas hunched in on himself.
"Never mind that then. Apparently, The Shapeless One might have an interest in you. That doesn't bode well…"
"Who is he exactly?" Noé whispered.
Vanitas's frown increased. "No one's really sure. He's more a legend than anything else. He helped the queen from the very beginning, he's rich, powerful, eccentric, and some vampires don't think he really exists. If he's showing up in notes like these he must though," he quietly mused. "I don't like this. It sounds like Altus would be dangerous for you."
Noé hummed in agreement and the two returned to reading what other entries there were. The rest weren't terribly interesting; there were simply a great deal of names and descriptions of the type of slave they desired. The whole thing left him feeling sick. People were not playthings for the aristocracy and that's exactly what this book thought about them.
"Hm, I suppose it's useful knowing who in Altus is utter trash," Vanitas said with a smirk. "Judging by all these prominent names I'd say we're headed straight for Altus Paris."
"Isn't the idea to escape well before that?" Noé said tiredly. "Aren't we about to leave right now?" He strategically left out the bit about rescuing the rest of the slaves.
"I… don't know. There's something off about all of this. Still, you're quite right; Altus wouldn't be safe for either of us. Too many vampires for me and a possible problem for you."
Another gust of wind blew and Vanitas hastily climbed up to the box seat and returned the book.
"We'd best head for the main tent," Vanitas said reluctantly when he hopped back down to Noé's side. "That's where their leader is sleeping and he no doubt has the book on him."
"Let's get to it then. Perhaps he'll also have the keys," Noé added consideringly. "Although with your ability we don't really need them."
"We're not rescuing the other slaves," Vanitas hissed. "If you want to get out of here before we reach Altus we need to do it now."
"I'm not going to allow innocent people to suffer, Vanitas, even if it means I'm back in chains."
Vanitas stared at him in disbelief even as the wind whipped his hair about fiercely. "You're insane."
"It's the right thing to do," Noé said stubbornly.
"Oh, sure, let's just die because you want to play hero," Vanitas growled lowly. Neither of them said another word as they moved to the tent, hunching lower to the ground in an effort to be stealthy.
Inside the tent were several sleeping figures. Noé counted about ten and he realized the reason for the tent being so large was because all the slavers were sharing it.
You'd think they could afford something better, he thought bitterly.
Vanitas carefully tip-toed around the sleeping bodies as Noé kept watch outside the tent flap. There were two guards outside but they had fallen asleep despite the weather. Noé wasn't certain how that was possible but he wasn't going to argue their good fortune either.
Noé took a quick look back in the tent to see how Vanitas was doing. He was silent as a wraith but Noé could see his expression grow more and more frustrated as he moved from person to person without the book revealing itself.
Eventually he reached the far corner and a smile lit up on his face. Noé restrained a whoop of joy; he'd found it. But just as Vanitas reached out for it one of the supposedly sleeping figures bolted up and lunged at him.
Panicking, Noé rushed over to lend his aid, carefully sidestepping the humans, but the man in question let out a shout and suddenly everyone was stirring and Noé's hopes plummeted.
"Noé!" Vanitas shouted. There wasn't any point in quieting down now.
What followed was a scuffle that would have surely been impressive to an outsider but was nothing more than terrifying for Noé.
Vanitas managed to elbow the man that had him in a headlock and Noé proceeded to kick him as hard as he could, finally setting Vanitas free.
The rest of the men launched themselves at Noé, finally awake, and he went down with a pained cry.
Vanitas had tugged a sword off of the vampire they'd managed to knock over together and he didn't show any sign of hesitation as he shoved it through his chest.
Noé could smell the scent of blood heavy in the air but he couldn't look up as the vampires were raining blows down upon him. A few dashed over in an attempt to capture Vanitas but he agilely stepped past them and slid the sword through one. He let out a gurgle as he fell and that was where Vanitas's luck ran out. The other vampire grabbed him and bit him hard in the shoulder ripping a cry of pain out of him before he went limp.
No, no, no. It was a mantra in his mind as he desperately tried to summon new strength. His hands had been shackled together but the sight of Vanitas, shuddering in the vampire's clutches, unable to move, filled him with a rage that made it clear why the phrase "he saw red" existed. Only he didn't see red, not exactly. Instead he saw … formulas overlaid on top of every living and inanimate thing in the room and he understood that if he could only reach out, touch those lines of text, he could make anything happen.
He let out a guttural cry and suddenly the vampires were launched away from him, as if an invisible force had exploded in their faces. Dimly, Noé realized this must be the world formula and he was the one manipulating it.
In the heat of the moment he didn't care what was happening so long as he had results.
The vampire that had been holding Vanitas was staring at him in abject horror and that felt … good. He should be afraid; he had caused an undo amount of pain and suffering on innocent people.
The commotion had finally prompted the last two guards to come storming in not that there was much they could do now. They stared in shock at the bodies before them.
"Let him go," Noé said softly. The vampire obeyed and Vanitas dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He got up to his knees, wobbling only slightly, before staring about in confusion.
"Noé… How did you…?"
"Are you all right?" Noé said urgently.
Vanitas shook himself out of his reverie and promptly moved across the room to lean over one of the bodies. The remaining three vampires glanced at each other uncertainly. Should they bother getting these slaves in line?
For Noé's part, he rather hoped they didn't try anything. He was shaking terribly and he was only now starting to realize he hadn't just shoved those vampires aside.
Blood was trickling from their wounds and Noé knew with mounting horror he had killed them.
"Get out of here," Vanitas snapped at the vampires. They jolted to attention and seemed to silently agree that, yes, leaving would really be the best for everyone involved.
Once they were gone Vanitas glanced uncertainly his way. "Noé? Get over here. This was their leader. I need to ask him some questions."
Noé nodded dumbly and crouched beside him.
"Where did you put the book?" Vanitas hissed, clutching at the leader tightly. He coughed, blood flecked his lips, and he moaned softly in pain.
"A-already sold it," he mumbled.
Vanitas cursed under his breath. "To whom?"
"Don't know…" he managed. "Sent it ahead to Altus. Would fetch… a pretty… penny."
"Fat lot of good that's done you," Vanitas said furiously. "Do you have any idea of what you've done? Do you have any idea at all, you foolish man?"
Vanitas shook him furiously and his head lolled from side to side. Noé gripped his shoulder gently. "He can't answer you anymore," he murmured.
Vanitas continued to clutch at his lapels before letting out a shout of rage as he shoved the corpse away. He stormed out the tent and Noé sat there, allowing him to have his moment. For his part he felt cold. He couldn't stop shaking and the weather certainly wasn't helping.
I murdered an entire group of people, he thought numbly. I didn't even think about it.
Slowly, he exited the tent to search for Vanitas. He was standing near the fire pit they'd constructed and his shoulders were hunched. It had started to rain in earnest and he was soaked to the bone. Noé stared at him miserably. They didn't have the book, they didn't know where they were, and now there was a large group of dead men who couldn't tell them anything further.
Hesitantly, he moved to stand beside him. Vanitas looked up at him, his eyes devoid of tears, before saying in a croaking voice, "You may as well rescue those slaves now. There's no point leaving them here to rot."
Noé silently acquiesced; he'd taken the keys off the leader beforehand. It seemed he'd needed them after all.
The slaves were shocked to learn they weren't going to be sold to the vampiric aristocracy. So shocked Noé could tell they didn't believe him. They hesitantly followed after him all the same until finally there was a rather large group of people surrounding him in a circle of all ages and ethnicities. Several of them looked quite gaunt and he knew the slavers hadn't been feeding them properly. Noé hesitantly explained to them what he knew, which was very little.
"I'm afraid I don't know where we are," he said awkwardly.
"I do," a middle-aged man said gruffly. "These are the forests near Lyon. I know a village we can head to before we reach the city proper."
"That's wonderful," Noé said with relief. "You'll have to lead the way then."
Vanitas finally joined them, looking magnificently put out as he did so. "You said Lyon?"
"That's right."
"Blast," he muttered. "It will take days to get to Paris."
"Why do we need to go there specifically?" Noé said in confusion. Vanitas simply shook his head, which Noé interpreted to mean "Now now."
"I'm afraid we won't be going with you," Vanitas said. "Take some of the slavers' supplies so you can make it. We've already got what we need." He gestured to a bag of supplies. Noé wondered when he'd managed to put that together.
With the situation now well under hand Noé allowed himself to be drawn to the side of the camp. They sought refuge under one of the trees but it did little to warm either of them up.
"For now, we'll need to sleep in one of the carts. The tent isn't much of an option." He didn't need to clarify why. "I imagine that's what everyone else will do, too. This weather is too much of a hindrance," he muttered irritably.
"Vanitas, you're soaked to the bone. Let's just get inside."
He shook his head. "We'll be sharing and I don't want anyone to know what we're planning."
"'We?'" Noé said uncertainly.
"You're not coming with?" Vanitas said looking visibly surprised.
"Where are we even going?" Noé said in exasperation. "I had thought initially I would return home."
"Of course," Vanitas said in the tone of voice of one who had never even considered that as an option. "But… wouldn't you like to see what's out there?"
"I don't know," Noé admitted.
"Don't you want to know why someone was looking for someone like you in the slave market?"
"I'm sure there wasn't a specific reason…"
"Don't you want to know why any of this had to happen?" Vanitas said bitingly.
"…Yes," Noé admitted reluctantly because he did. He'd never had such intense curiosity before in his life and he didn't really even want to return home. He wanted to know more about this strange human who spent time with vampires and seemed unfazed by death. He wanted to know about his people and why they'd tried to enslave him.
He wanted to know.
Vanitas must have seen something in his eye because he gave him a victorious smirk. He knew he'd won.
"Fine, fine, but where are we headed?" Noé said reluctantly.
"My dear Noé, we're off to Paris and after that Altus Paris. I know of a gate we can use to get in."
"And then what?"
"We look for my blasted book," Vanitas hissed angrily. "Sold it. Sold it! As if it were something so common. I can't believe the utter bullheadedness that decision required."
"We'll find it," Noé said. "For now, let's get inside. My eye is starting to hurt." Whatever medicine Vanitas had applied earlier was losing its potency and the cold was starting to bother even him.
"Right," Vanitas said almost guiltily. "I think I found something for that, too. Come on."
They hopped into the cart that seemed least occupied not that that was saying much. It was still quite a bit more crowded than either of them was comfortable with but no one bothered them with conversation. They simply acknowledged their presence and went back to talking among themselves or trying to find a comfortable enough position to sleep.
Vanitas ushered him into the corner and crouched beside him. He carefully dabbed at his eye with some ointment and changed the bandages with as much care as he had before. Once again, Noé could make out a mark on his right arm and he remembered the vampire that had bit him so harshly.
"Vanitas, does it hurt still?" he said indicating his shoulder.
Vanitas shrugged grimly. "I've dealt with a vampire's bite before. I'm just glad he didn't mark."
"Mark you?"
"I keep forgetting," Vanitas said with a curious mix of bemusement and fondness. "You really don't know anything about any of this. A mark is… It's this." He finally moved his cloak so Noé could see the shimmering blue web that covered his arm. Carefully, Noé reached out and traced it with his fingertips. He thought he could detect a gentle hum emanating it. It felt powerful.
"It's a way of marking property," Vanitas said as he covered the mark back up. "It's a mark of possession."
"Vampires do that too," Noé murmured dejectedly. "Before all this I knew nothing about my people. I rather wish I still didn't. You haven't told me anything good about them yet."
Vanitas hesitated a moment before reaching out and cupping his cheek. "You're not so bad though. What you did back there—"
"Was terrible," Noé whispered. "I've never done anything like that before. I didn't think I could. I know they would have sold us or killed us or worse but … it was wrong, Vanitas. I shouldn't have taken their lives."
"Maybe not," Vanitas said neutrally. "But for my part I'm glad you did. Think of it like this, not only did you free yourself and me but all these people. They won't suffer now because of you."
"But how did I even do that?"
"You must have a powerful connection to the world formula. To think, you did it with only a singular eye. I'm glad we're working together," Vanitas said wryly.
Seeing his dejected countenance Vanitas sighed before tugging him a little closer. "You did the right thing, Noé. Trust me."
Noé nodded dismally. He didn't want to argue about it anymore. He didn't even want to think about it. "It's cold," he said instead.
"Don't I know it. I'm completely soaked."
"You should take your cloak off. It will only make your chill worse."
Vanitas hesitated but finally obliged, folding it neatly beside them. He held his right arm close, shielding it from view of any of their bunkmates. Noé inched downwards until he was lying flat on his back. He was tired but more than that he was weary. The world seemed much darker than it did before.
Vanitas gazed down at him, his brow scrunched up in consternation before finally settling beside him and propping his head on his shoulder. He rested his hand on his chest as if to ascertain Noé was still alive, his eyes scanning his face looking for the slightest indication of discomfort. Noé didn't say anything. He wasn't uncomfortable with sharing his space with Vanitas if that's what he really wanted. They were both freezing but hopefully their combined body head would do something to sort that out. Besides, it was nice to have his weight at his side. It was reassuringly real and as far away from captivity as he could get at the moment.
He wondered what Paris would be like. He wondered what Altus would be like. Distantly, he wondered if he was making the right choice. He didn't have to go with Vanitas. He could return home and lead a perfectly normal, carefree life.
But deep down, he knew that wasn't true. He may not have had to go with Vanitas but he wanted to and more than that, with his grandparents long gone, there wasn't anything tying him to Auvergne, not really.
He wrapped his arms about his waist and held Vanitas a little closer. For better or for worse his mind was made up. He would help Vanitas find his book and maybe he'd get some of his own questions answered along the way.
