Recently picked Cirque du Freak back up again and remembered this story. Do not own anything except OC.
Darren and Elena followed their parents to the Gaming Halls, where Vanez was stood waiting for them. "Alright, Darren? Elena?" He asked with a grimace.
"As good as I can be." Darren mumbled. His sister simply nodded weakly.
Vanez clapped Darren's back as they drew nearer. "You've both chosen relatively easy trials for your first." He said kindly. "That's about as good as you can get."
"Great," Elena said bitterly, "That means they'll only get worse from here on out."
"Which is why you two should start your training" Larten said. "I am going to help Seba prepare for the festival of the Undead."
"You mean you aren't staying?" Elena asked disappointedly.
Her father shook his head, "Vanez will take good care of you, I shall check in on you later."
The girl frowned and turned to her mother, "Are you staying?"
Arra laid a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, "Not this time, you two need to learn to follow the direction of others besides your father and I." She turned to Vanez and growled "And you better do a damn good job training them."
Vanez raised an eyebrow and replied gruffly, "I trained you didn't I?"
"That's why we asked you to train them" Arra replied. She kissed Elena's forehead causing the girl to wince, it was still sore from her fight with her mother on the bars, squeezed Darren's shoulder, and led Larten away to find Seba.
"Righto!" Vanez said clapping his hands together, "Let the training begin."
For the next few hours, Vanez worked Darren and Elena to the bone, giving them exercise after exercise, designed to make them use all of their vampiric gifts and test them to the limits. By the time he called it quits for the day both half-vampires were soaked with sweat and fighting for breath.
"Rest up kiddos," Vanez grinned, "Tomorrow evening you'll train for your trials and you'll have them finished by midnight!"
Still breathing heavily, the twins made their way to the hall of Khledon Lurt for some bat broth before bed. Their parents were having a whispered discussion with Seba, Gavner, and Kurda at one of the long tables.
"I still think it's preposterous for the princes to make Darren and Elena take the trials." Kurda whispered furiously.
"Not now Kurda" Gavner whispered back spotting the twins and waving them over.
"How did you fare in your training?" Seba asked.
"I think Vanez is a sadist." Darren replied jokingly causing Gavner to spit out his bat broth and roar in laughter.
"He is ensuring that you both pass." Larten said dryly, "You would do well to listen to what he has to say."
"I was only joking." Darren defended, raising his hands in surrender.
Arra smiled wryly, "Well he can't have worked you too hard if you have enough energy for joking around. I'll have to tell him to make it more difficult for you." Darren's jaw dropped and he stared at his mother in horror while the adult vampires at the table guffawed at his expression. Arra's eyes twinkled as she innocently said, "I was only joking."
"Very funny" Elena said sarcastically, her head resting on her arms, fighting to keep her eyes awake.
"I am not carrying you to bed again so you best wake up." Larten told her.
"You didn't carry her to bed the first time either!" Arra reminded.
"You two should get as much rest in as you can," Kurda warned, "You'll get much less when the trials begin."
Elena let out a yawn and stretched her arms over her head. "Well I suppose this is good night then." She said.
"Good day to be more accurate." Seba smiled.
"Oh you all know what I meant." She replied.
"We shall walk you back to your room" Larten said scratching his scar, "It is nearly morning, we should all get to bed."
Darren and Elena bid good day to the other vampires and followed their parents back through the main halls. When they reached their room, they crawled into their respective hammocks and were asleep before their parents could even call "Good Day."
Larten did not sleep well that night, his stomach in knots at the prospect of his children undergoing their first trial. When Arra awoke the next evening she looked up at him and frowned. "Did you sleep at all?" She asked noting the dark circles under his eyes.
"Not much." He admitted.
She gently ran her fingers down his scar, " You should take better care of yourself. You don't want Darren and Elena worrying about you while they take their trials."
"I am sure they will be far too preoccupied to worry about me."
"You're their father, they'll worry about you whether you want them to or not."
Larten groaned, knowing she was right. "Let us fetch them so they can train early then." He pulled his red cloak over his shoulders and sighed. "I am not looking forward to this."
"They are good vampires Larten," She said encouragingly, "You've taught them well." She took his hand and led him to their children's chambers. Darren and Elena were both awake and waiting for them.
"Good evening," Larten said.
"Evening," Darren and Elena replied.
"How do you feel?" He inquired.
"Nervous." Darren admitted.
Larten smiled, "I would consider you a fool if you were not." He said. "Vanez is waiting, it is time for you to squeeze in a few more hours of training."
"Are you going to help Seba again?" Elena pouted.
"Not tonight." Larten promised, "I will oversee your training this evening, your mother has General business to attend to."
"What kind of business?" Elena inquired curiously.
"The kind that is nothing of yours to worry about." Arra said.
Elena pouted once again but did not push her mother any further. "Should we get going then?" Darren asked.
"Yes." Larten said. He led his children to the Gaming halls, and Arra left for the Hall of Princes, promising to meet them before their trials.
"Evening Vanez," Larten greeted when they entered.
"Larten." Vanez grunted. He then threw a heavy boulder suddenly at Darren who caught it reflexively.
"What was that for!" Darren shouted.
"Just testing you." Vanez shrugged, "I have to compliment your teaching abilities Larten. They are both fine fighters"
"That is reassuring to hear." Larten said with a smile.
"They will be fine Larten, after all they have your genes and Arra's" Vanez said reassuringly. "You two, get your butts on the course." Vanez grinned pointing a thumb at two obstacle courses he had set up. The courses were specifically designed for each trial. Darren's consisted of a series of long tunnels he had to drag boulders through, holding his breath after he reached a certain point. Elena's was a timed obstacle course that was a little more traditional – with the exception that everything was freezing to the touch.
"What did you do? Toss all the equipment out in the snow all day?" She yelled at Vanez.
"That's exactly what I did." He yelled back.
By the time they broke for lunch, both twins had successfully pulled through their respective courses in sufficient time. "Well done, both of you." Larten praised.
"Yes," Vanez mused, "well done indeed."
They had a silent meal of bat broth and stale bread, both Elena and Darren were too nervous to eat or talk much, though Kurda made sure they ate something. Finally it was time for their first trial to begin.
A large group of vampires was gathered at one of the entrances to the mountain. "Greetings, young ones" Paris said as the twins approached with their parents. "We have decided to do Elena's trial first." He said. "The maze had to be set up properly so we felt it best that the trial with less set up be completed first."
Elena nodded to acknowledge the prince's words and stepped forward. "I'm ready." She said determinedly.
"Excellent." Arrow said giving her a kind smile. "You know what to do?"
"I have to track down a General somewhere on the mountain." She repeated the trials instructions simply.
"Be sure that you arrive back here in under an hour." Mika said.
"I will." She said.
"Then let the trial begin!" Paris announced, and Elena quickly made her way out of the entrance. The night was bitterly cold, and Elena knew she would have to move quickly so as to not catch frostbite.
Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a series of broken branches she was sure were caused by a vampire and not an animal. Praying to the vampire gods that this was the right way, she quickly made her way along the path. She became more and more hopeful as she noticed more broken branches. She wished she were a full vampiress so that she could track the General's mental signal instead, though that was probably against the rules she mused. Glancing to her right, she noticed the shape of a small wolf appearing out of the brambles. "Hello Rudi," She said smiling, "I can't play now, I'm looking for someone." The wolf cub yipped and ran ahead of her. Trusting her instincts, Elena followed suit. After about twenty minutes she drew to a stop, having heard someone cursing loudly. She followed the sound of the voice down a divot in the mountainside and happened upon Gavner, sprawled out on the ground with his ankle twisted in an unnatural position.
"Gavner!" She gasped, and then paused. "Are you the General I was supposed to track?"
"Yes," He grumbled, "Before I twisted my ankle."
"Well dad always did say you were clumsy" She giggled.
"This is no time for joking," Gavner snapped, "You're running out of time and you're going to have to help me back. Unless you want to be executed."
"Alright, alright." Elena said hoisting Gavner's broad arm across her shoulders. "Can you at least hop?" She asked.
"I think I can manage to do that." He said.
They made their way back down the mountainside, following the wolves, going as quickly as possible, but severely slowed by Gavner's injury. "Is you getting injured part of the trial?" Elena groaned under Gavner's weight.
"No," He chuckled, "I'm just a clumsy old vampire."
Back in the mountain, Darren was getting restless, anxious for his sister to return on time. "Stop that bouncing." His father growled at him, "You are making yourself more worked up."
"You're worried," Darren noted.
"I am sure she will do fine." Larten said, though he was worried.
"Where's Gavner?" Darren asked, "I'd have thought he'd be here."
Larten smiled, "He would be, but he volunteered to be the General Elena had to recover."
"That's good." Darren said, "At least it's someone she knows."
"Ten minutes left to the trial!" Mika called out. As he did, a malshaped rose up in front of the mountain entrance. Elena was panting heavily, bearing almost all of Gavner's weight now as he couldn't bear to put any on his foot any longer. There were still five minutes left when they crossed the threshold, Elena's lips, fingers, toes, and nose blue, and Gavner a fine shade of green.
The princes stared in shock at the pair. "I would been back sooner," Elena said, "Only this oaf had to go and break his ankle."
Gavner smiled sheepishly as the vampires around them erupted in cheers, Arrow quickly moved forward to take Gavner's weight off Elena's shoulders. Larten ran forward with a pile of blankets, grinning as widely as Elena had ever saw him, wrapping her up tightly and holding her close to warm her. Arra soon joined them, "You did very well." She praised, kissing her daughter's cold nose. "Even with the added trouble of this clutz." She said affectionately jabbing Gavner in the stomach with her elbow.
"Yes, yes, well done, Elena." Paris roared over the noise of the vampires, "On to the Water Maze!" He shouted, leading the way to the hall where the maze was set up.
Elena took her place in the stands with her father, helping him assist Gavner. Arra went with Darren and Vanez to the start of the maze. "Remember to breath as long as possible," Vanez reminded, "and take a big breath when the water gets too high, you won't be able to get any more after that!"
"May the luck of the vampires be with you." Arra said seriously, kissing his cheek before leaving with Vanez to join Larten in the stands.
Darren took a deep breath as Mika called for silence, "Let the water maze trial commence!" Mika shouted, and Darren dashed as quickly as he could through the maze with a boulder strapped to his ankle.
It was easy going at first, but as the water reached his ankles, the added resistance to the boulder was getting to be too much. Darren quickly stooped down to grab the boulder in his arms, taking care to rush as quickly as he dared, not wanting to tire himself out before the end. Water was filling up even more quickly now, and he tried not to panic, remembering Vanez' advice to take deep breaths, and kept on his course. He cursed loudly when he came to his first dead end, glad his father was too far away in the stands to hear him, and turned around again. The water was at his chin now he did not have too much time left. He inhaled deeply when the water reached just below his lips, and he was soon submerged completely. He started to panic again, he couldn't see any opening anywhere and he could no longer breathe. He wanted to laugh in relief when he spotted the exit, but of course he restrained himself, and kicked his legs fiercely, lungs burning, to the end.
Up in the stands, Elena was holding onto her father's hand tightly, squeezing harder each time the maze filled up with more water. They could see from the stands that it was now surely over Darren's head. "He's taking too long," Kurda murmured next to Arra.
"He will be fine." She replied steadily, though she was staring at the maze intently.
"Yes I am sure he is almost at the end." Larten agreed.
Gavner and Kurda glanced uneasily at their friends, not wanting to upset them and also not wanting to see what they would do if Darren failed his trial.
Their unease was unnecessary however, as Darren soon burst from the maze entrance.
"YES!" Mr. Crepsley roared, racing down the stands to tend to his son.
Again the clan erupted, cheering the young half vampire on. "Very good, Master Crepsley, " Mika complimented uncharacteristically, and then raised his voice, "Elena and Darren Crepsley shall now convene in the Hall of Princes to choose their next trials."
Darren was currently being patted dry by his father, who had come prepared with towels. "Well at least I won't need to use that awful shower for a while now." Darren said cheekily.
Seba chuckled at the young half-vampire, "And that is something you should be most grateful for young one!"
Everyone made their way to the Hall of Princes to see what their next trials would be. "Elena" Paris said kindly, "Would you like to draw first again?"
"Thank you sire, " She said stepping forward to draw a stone, and handed it to the elderly prince.
"Trial 87!" Paris called out, "The Path of Needles."
Elena heard Larten draw a sharp intake of breath and stepped back to let her brother pick. Darren likewise drew a stone and handed it to Paris.
"Trial 42! The Cavern of Spiders!" Paris smiled, "From the tales I have heard about your time at the Cirque du Freak, you should have little trouble with this one."
The twins retired to their rooms, exhausted both physically and mentally from their trials. Their parents, Harkat, and Gavner entered the room, Gavner in a splint of sorts. "How's your leg?" Elena asked.
"Healing," He replied patting the injured leg softly.
"I should have known you would do something clumsy and make it harder for her." Larten sighed.
"She completed the trial in record time." Gavner admonished. "And the princes were impressed that she did it and carried me with her, that is a good thing."
"Still," Larten said, "I would prefer my daughter actually made it through this."
"Hey we made it through out first trial okay." Elena said. Arra smiled stroking her hair.
"You both did remarkably well-but don't make the mistake of being overly confident, you still have four to go and arrogance can be dangerous."
"You're lecturing people about being arrogant Arra?" Gavner remarked confused.
"I've earned my place Gavner," Arra snapped back.
"Still arrogant" Gavner mumbled softly.
"What are our next trials?" Darren asked, wishing to spare Gavner from Arra's wrath.
"You need to recover an item from the cavern of spiders." Arra explained.
"The what?" Darren asked.
"Cavern of spiders," Larten said. "There are a series of halls overrun with a breed of spider unique to the mountain."
"Are they poisonous?" Darren asked cautiously.
"Yes," Larten admitted, "But less so than Madam Octa, and you are allowed a weapon, which could be for instance, a certain flute. I am sure this trial will not be difficult for you."
"And mine?" Elena asked.
"The path of needles is a hallway full of razor sharp rock formations." Gavner told her. "You need to make your way through it." He looked her up and down and said "It's a good thing you're so scrawny!" He ducked as Elena through her pillow at him with a glowering stare. Gavner straightened and chuckled, "Well I'm off to bed, morning all."
The General turned and left. "Speaking of bed-" Arra started.
"I know, I know, we need lots of rest," Elena interrupted.
"Watch your tone young lady." Arra growled at her and then softened. "But yes, you do."
Arra and Larten watched their children climb into bed. "Harkat make sure that they get enough sleep." Larten said to the Little Person.
"Will…do….Mr. Crepsley." The Little Person agreed.
"Why do you keep trying to give us a babysitter?" Darren grumbled.
"Because you two are always getting into trouble." Larten said, tucking both of his children in unnecessarily. "Good day." He paused with a hand on the door, "You both made me extremely proud today."
"Thanks, dad." Darren mumbled quietly. Arra and Larten made their leave, and their children slipped quietly into the realm of dreaming.