WARNING! Violence and torture scenes ahead, continue at your own risk...
Dominique trembled in fear and seemed to be frozen in place as he stared up into Fane's red eyes. But as panic took over an instant later he scrambled out of the chair and sprinted out the door as fast as he possibly could. In the back of his mind he knew it was pointless to try to outrun a vampire, but at that moment he didn't care. All he knew was that he HAD to get out of there.
As Dominique fled for his life Fane sighed tiredly and leaned against the doorframe. Why did they always have to run? It was just more work and pointless anyway. Normally Fane would enjoy the chase but his patience was already running low. This witch was making more trouble for him than he needed and a growing headache didn't help.
At that moment Lars passed by and stopped when he saw Fane standing with the door open. "You let him run, didn't you?" Lars chuckled. Fane rolled his eye irately and groaned at Lars. "How much of a head start should we give him?"
Fane sighed irately and rubbed his head. "You go ahead. I'm not in the mood."
"More fun for me then," Lars smirked darkly as he stretched his arms. "Have to stay in shape after all." A moment later he was gone.
Dominique's heart pounded as he ran through what seemed like endless hallways and flights of stairs. Most of the doors he tried were locked, and the ones that did open only led to more rooms and hallways. But as he descended another stairway Dominique glanced out of a window and felt a small bit of hope as he saw he was closer to the ground now. As long as he kept going down he would have to reach the ground level at some point. He passed by several servants but none seemed to understand him when he asked for directions, and they would back away or even flee from him as if they could sense that he was being chased and they would not risk interfering. As he ran Dominique kept glancing over his shoulder expecting Fane to pounce on him at any minute, but for some strange reason it looked like the vampire wasn't following him. However Dominique didn't dare stop.
As he came to one last flight of stairs Dominique saw that it opened up into a large foyer with a huge oak door. That had to be the main entrance to the castle. He sprinted down the stairs as fast as he could but tripped on the last few steps and falling flat on his face, but the hope rising in his chest made him push himself back up. He rushed to the door and took hold of the big doorknob and pulled with all his might. As the door creaked open he felt a cold blast of air hit his face, and a relieved smile spread on his face. He had a long way to go yet, but he could hardly believe he had escaped, he was finally free!
Just as he was about to set foot outside Dominique felt something grab him from behind and lift him off the ground, tossing him back inside. Dominique grunted as he landed hard on the floor, his heart sinking as he looked up to see Lars looming over him. He had been so close…
As Lars came toward him Dominique scrambled on his hands and knees to get away but Lars grabbed his ankle. Dominique frantically clawed at the floor trying to find some sort of hold but Lars dragged him back and hoisted him up on his feet by the scruff of his neck. Although his mind was screaming in horror Dominique refused to simply give in. He struggled violently in Lars' grasp and struck out at the vampire's face with his right hand, but Lars easily caught his wrist in midair and squeezed it tightly. Dominique sank to his knees with a cry of pain as he felt the bones in his wrist and hand being crushed.
"Now that was stupid," Lars remarked, tightening his grip. "Really, just how far did you expect to get? As if a clumsy mortal like you could outrun a vampire…"
"L-Let go," Dominique begged, tears welling up in his eyes as pain shot down his arm. "P-Please let go…!"
"So you can try to run away again? I don't think so," Lars sneered as he twisted Dominique's arm sharply, causing him to scream. "You think that's painful? You haven't felt pain yet…"
Dominique cried out as Lars kept a tight hold on his right wrist and dragged him away. That might have been his last chance at freedom, and Dominique was terrified of what they would do to him for trying to escape. Dominique whimpered as bolts of pain continuously shot up his arm, and since struggling only caused more pain he could no longer bring himself to resist. Dominique stumbled often as Lars dragged him along, and to Dominique's horror he recognized where they were going. It was the one route in the castle Dominique knew. They were going back to the dungeons.
"N-No, please, let me go," Dominique begged desperately.
"Stop whimpering and save your breath; you'll need it before we're done playing with you," Lars retorted, giving a sharp tug on Dominique's arm for emphasis. Dominique fell silent after that, except for a few more whimpers that escaped when he felt sudden pain at Lars' continuously pulling his wrist. He trembled in fear as they approached his cell, but to Dominique's surprise Lars didn't throw him inside and continued to drag him on. They went on further into the dungeons past many other cells, and Dominique stared at the other prisoners inside. He grew more horrified seeing dead rotting bodies inside the cells, and the few who were still breathing were barely alive, left behind to waste away.
The stench of death grew worse and worse as they passed the rows of cells. Dominique looked up when Lars stopped at a large wooden door. He shivered as a cold blast of air came from the room as Lars opened the door and grunted when Lars threw him inside, causing him to fall on his hands and knees. Clutching his injured wrist Dominique stared in horror at the various torture devices in the room. The walls were stained with blood of past victims and Dominique gagged at the horrible stench of rotten corpses filling the air and his eyes fell on bones littering the room. He wondered how many had died in here, or who were tortured and then left to rot, not even having their bodies removed after. Then it hit him that he might soon become one of those victims…
He was broken out of these terrified thoughts when Fane walked in just a few moments later with his servant following nervously behind, who looked just as terrified as Dominique felt. He trembled even more as he feared what was about to happen.
"So… what shall we do to you first?" Lars smirked as he rolled up his sleeves. "I'm a fan of 'the rack' myself… What do you think?" Dominique only stared speechlessly, his brain already overloaded from panic and terror.
"I have an idea or two," Fane answered with the same devious smirk. He snapped an order at Damien, who quickly retrieved something from the wall and handed it to Fane with trembling hands. To Dominique's horror he saw that the object Fane was uncoiling was a whip.
"The old fashioned way, then," Lars chuckled as he jerked Dominique up off the floor. Within seconds he ripped off Dominique's vest and shirt, leaving him bare from the waist up. By this point Dominique was shivering uncontrollably, and he let out a grunt of pain as Lars bound his wrists together with a length of rope, tying the other end to the wall before shoving Dominique back down on his knees.
"Care to do the honors?" Fane asked, handing Lars the whip.
"With pleasure," Lars replied darkly, giving the whip an experimental flick and cracking it just by Dominique's ear. The loud snap caused Dominique to yelp, even though it hadn't touched him. He was already flinching and the real torture hadn't even begun yet.
Fane moved to stand in front of Dominique so that he could see his face. "This is your last chance, witch," he hissed, gripping Dominique's chin forcefully.
Dominique shook his head, trying to remain brave despite the fact that he was too terrified to even speak. After glaring at Dominique for a moment Fane gave a slight nod, and Lars brought the whip down across Dominique's back. Dominique gasped as the pain nearly took his breath away, and as the second blow hit he let out a sharp cry, arching his back as the whip cut into his skin. Unconsciously he twisted his body so that his back was away from Lars and he held up his arms to block, but as another lash came down he realized it was of no use. He curled into a ball to protect his vital organs and tried to cover his face as best he could with his bound hands, causing most of the lashes to fall on his back. Soon his fur was stained red with his own blood and his screams scratched his throat, like a thousand glass pieces tearing him up from the inside out.
After a few minutes Fane held his hand up and Lars stopped. Dominique whimpered and groaned in agony, feeling the pain fully settle into his back.
"It's pointless to resist, you know," Fane tutted. "I'm not asking much, really. It's just a couple of spells. Complicated, maybe, but I'm sure you could handle it."
"I… I-I don't believe in... using my p-powers that way," Dominique replied weakly.
"Then you admit that you do have powers," Fane remarked, his gaze suddenly darker. "You said earlier that you were not a witch… which means you've lied to me."
"N-No, wait, t-that's not what I meant! I-I don't know how to use them… Ah!" Dominique screamed as the whip struck him again.
"You're trying my patience," Fane hissed. "Do you have powers or not? Answer me, witch!"
"Y-Ye...N-... I-I don't know!" Dominique cried desperately, clutching his head and flinching as he feared being struck by the whip again. "I-It's in my blood but I've n-never tried to cast spells myself!"
"But technically you should have the ability to do so, correct?" Dominique nodded hesitantly. Fane seemed to think for few long moments before continuing. "You mentioned a grandmother," Fane remarked, causing Dominique to glance up briefly. "What of your parents? Did they have experience with magic as well?"
Dominique looked down again and shook his head. "M-My mother gave birth to me when she was sixteen years old," he explained tiredly, having to pause frequently in between phrases to catch his breath from screaming so much. "T-The father left as soon as he found out she was pregnant. My mother was m-mentally unstable, a-and eventually had to be admitted into a sanatorium, where she d-died when I was two years old."
"Which left your grandmother to raise you," Fane finished. Dominique nodded weakly and fell silent as the memories washed over him. "Tell me more about her," Fane demanded. When Dominique didn't respond right away Lars brought the whip down once more, causing him to let out a strangled cry.
"Her… H-Her name was... Estelle," Dominique gasped, wincing in pain. "Her h-husband Jacques... m-my grandfather... passed away when I was young. I b-barely remember him..." Dominique hurriedly continued as he saw Fane was getting annoyed again. "H-He owned a wealthy business company, and when he died he left e-every penny to Estelle and me, to ensure we were well taken care of. Then just a f-few years ago she sold the company a-and used the money to pay for my tuition-"
Dominique screamed as the lash bit into his back again when Fane wasn't satisfied with that answer. "I don't care about that," Fane yelled. "I want to know about her involvement with witchcraft!"
"S-She was… j-just a healer!" Dominique cried desperately, cringing as he feared being struck again. "S-She only knew simple spells and c-cures for common illnesses. Her… Her ancestors were Parisian g-gypsies, but she only knew what had been passed down through each generation... so a-a lot of that knowledge was lost o-over the years. And in our family e-every third or fourth generation is driven insane and d-dies at a very young age. M-My own mother died in the asylum just w-weeks after her eighteenth birthday…" Dominique buried his face in his hands. "T-That's why I d-don't want get involved with the dark arts. I've worked hard to accomplish what I have, and n-now that my life has purpose I don't want this witchcraft to poison my heart and consume my mind to ultimately destroy me... And I d-don't want it to take my future children either."
"I'd stop focusing so much on the future and worry more about the present if I were you," Lars mocked. "Won't be much of a future if you were to be stuck down here with me," he added, cracking the whip again for emphasis.
"You have only one purpose now, and that is to do as I tell you," Fane added, ignoring Dominique's whimpers. "So unless you want your future to end right here in this dungeon I suggest you follow my orders!"
Dominique fell silent in absolute terror. If he continued to resist then they would beat him more, and at this rate Dominique didn't think he would last much longer. But even if he did agree to do whatever Fane wanted, what if he failed? And if he did succeed, as soon as they were done with him they'd kill him. He was a dead mouse no matter what...
"This is getting us nowhere," Lars growled impatiently. He threw the bloodied whip at Damien and pushed past him to the opposite wall where more weapons and tools hung. He grabbed another whip, one that had nine tails instead of one long lash, and went back to stand behind Dominique. Fane watched the whole thing carefully, and as Lars raised his arm to strike Fane saw with alarm that his scar was glowing. That meant he was using his power to put his full strength behind the blow. A strike like that would kill the boy as he was already weakened.
With not much time to act Fane frantically grabbed his slave and shoved him toward them just as Lars brought the whip down. Damien instantly cried out as the blow struck his side, leaving deep gashes across his arm and cheek. The force behind the blow combined with his momentum from being pushed caused Damien to fall backward and trip over Dominique, who groaned painfully when Damien's legs made contact with his side. He could hear Damien whimpering and turned his head to see the servant curled up into a ball, clutching his arm tightly as blood seeped from the wounds. Dominique stared wide eyed when he noticed that the whip had cut through the flesh down to the bone, and he trembled uncontrollably as it dawned on him that this whole time Lars had been holding back. In the weakened state he was in a blow like that probably would have killed him…
Fane was of the same mind, which was precisely why he threw Damien in the way to begin with. "Are you out of your mind?!" Fane raged angrily.
"What?!" Lars yelled back. "I thought you wanted information out of him!"
"Information, yes! Not his entire meat and blood! I need him alive, you idiot!"
"You don't like the way I do it, then you take over." Lars shoved the whip in Fane's hands and the two vampires locked gazes, glaring at each other. "Do your own dirty work for once," Lars hissed before storming out the door.
Fane stood trembling in rage for a moment, gripping the handle of the whip tightly. With a deep growl he suddenly threw the nine tailed whip at Damien furiously. "Adu-mi prima biciul!"
Damien obediently lifted himself off the floor with silent grunts of pain. Dominique could see how the servant struggled to get up with his injured arm trembling terribly. As fast as he could, Damien found the whip Lars had used before and handed it to his Master.
It took every ounce of Fane's self control to hold back his true strength to keep from killing Dominique. However, every lash was as painful as ever. Dominique screamed until he felt his own voice scratch his throat. Between every blow Fane would wait a second or two so the pain truly settled in before he continued. The tears were streaming down Dominique's face. He had never felt such pain before. It didn't take long before he started pleading for Fane to stop between his screams, but it didn't happen. Fane showed no mercy towards the tied up mouse.
After some time Fane stopped, panting slightly from the effort. "I'm getting tired of these games," he hissed. "Now are you ready to see reason, or shall I continue?"
"N-N-No, please…!" Dominique begged fearfully. Shaking in absolute terror he clutched his head in his hands and finally gave in. "I… I-I'll do w-whatever you want… P-Please… J-just please… stop..."
Fane smiled at the site of the beaten mouse cowering at his feet. "At last you've come to your senses," he smirked at his defeated captive. As Fane was about to leave the room he pushed Damien harshly to the floor. "Curățați mizeria asta! Și l-bandaj corespunzător înainte de a il aduce la bibliotecă. Nu vreau ca el să sângereze peste tot. Vreau să-l gata înainte de apusul soarelui."
"D-Da Maestru," Damien replied fearfully as Fane left the room. Still half conscious from the beating Dominique barely noticed as Damien rushed to fulfill Fane's orders and dragged him over to a table on the other side of the room. The slave struggled greatly but he managed to get Dominique off the floor and onto the table.
Dominique trembled when he saw his blood smeared on the floor and felt nauseated as the room seemed to spin, and he could feel his pulse pounding in his ears. The pain in his body was so great it was overwhelming, but in the back of his mind Dominique realized his body was going into shock from the loss of blood and trauma from being tortured so severely. Even as weak and disoriented as he felt he knew he had to calm down before he died of shock. Feeling as if his heart was about to beat right out of his chest Dominique laid very still. He was close to hyperventilating so he focused on trying to control his rapid shallow breathing. That seemed to help a little and his heart rate gradually slowed back down close to normal. He could feel the blood still seeping out of his wounds and knew he needed to staunch the bleeding soon, but with his hands still bound there was nothing he could do.
Dazed with the pain storming through his body and the fact that Dominique finally managed to relax some, he looked over at the servant, who cleaned the floor as best he could. His eyes slowly closed as Dominique didn't want to move. He just wanted sleep. He wanted out of this horrid place. Exhaustion began to creep into his bones but he fought with all his might to keep his eyes open, knowing that if he fell asleep in this state with no immediate medical treatment he might not ever wake up.
Dominique trembled as he felt someone approach and looked up to see Fane's slave standing beside him. Damien did his best to be gentle with Dominique as he untied his hands and cleaned his wounds. The beaten mouse would let out painful whimpers and Damien would apologize wildly, however his Master had ordered him to clean and bandage Dominique's wounds, so that was what he would do.
"Why a-aren't you c-cleaning your own wounds?" Dominique asked in French, seeing that Damien hadn't touched his injured arm.
"Master didn't order me to, Monsieur." Dominique was shocked to hear his reply. Damien would put Fane's orders above his own health?
"B-but you… you have to c-clean them… or th-they'll get infected…"
"M-Master didn't…"
"Y-you can't let him… refuse you m-medical attention… Y-you could die f-from an infection...!"
"P-please, Monsieur," Damien pleaded, "W-we have to go now, Monsieur…"
Not having the strength to argue about Damien's health, Dominique closed his eyes again. He didn't want to have to face Fane again so soon. "N-Not yet; please, just l-let me rest…" he replied, almost begging.
Damien began to worry more as time passed. With no windows in the dungeons he had no idea what time of day it was, but he knew it had to be close to sunset. "P-Please, Monsieur," Damien pleaded frantically. "Master will be angry…"
Dominique trembled more at the mention of Fane. He tried to lift himself up but the pain in his back was just too much, and was hindered more by his broken wrist. He fell back down with an agonized groan and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "I… I can't… I-It hurts…!"
"P-please, Monsieur… Master doesn't care if it hurts." Dominique glanced up at Damien. There was something in his voice that caught Dominique's attention. Had Damien been tortured before? Had he been tortured worse that he had been just now? "If Master's orders aren't fulfilled it will be a lot worse, Monsieur…" Those words confirmed Dominique's suspicion. Damien had been tortured worse than he had and Dominique didn't even want to imagine what hell this mouse had been through.
Dominique took a shaky breath, but he still didn't think he had the strength to stand, let alone walk. "C-Can you h-help me… please?" he asked, his voice thick with pain.
After a few minutes Damien managed to help Dominique to stand, although his legs were shaking badly. He leaned against Damien heavily, which caused Damien to have to carry most of his weight. The slave tried to support him as best he could, but he struggled greatly and was soon panting tiredly from the effort. The painful expression on Damien's face showed Dominique that his own injuries didn't make this any easier. With his arm slung around Damien's shoulder, Dominique could feel his bones under his thin clothing, causing his doctor side to grow even more alarmed than he already was. The mouse was clearly in desperate need of nourishment, it was no wonder he was struggling. That's when Dominique thought back to earlier when Damien had brought him food and water. Damien hadn't glanced at Dominique to see if he was done eating; he had glanced at him because he was hungry. How could I not have seen that? Dominique thought guiltily. And he had sat there eating it right in front of him. Even though he himself was hungry, it was clear that Damien needed it more than he did.
After some time of walking, they finally reached the long flight of stairs leading out of the dungeons. With both of their injuries, it felt like climbing a mountain. Dominique felt Damien stumble and they fell on the steps. Groaning, Dominique felt Damien was quickly desperate to get him back up. As he looked down to push himself up to help Damien some, he saw Damien had scraped his leg on the steps.
"P-please, Monsieur, we have to continue." Dominique looked up tiredly, but he could hear the desperation in Damien's voice and it was clear that he was using all his energy despite injuring himself further. Gathering up as much of his failing strength as he could, Dominique managed to get back up with Damien's help, and he put forth more effort as they went on. He didn't want Damien to be punished because of him.
After what seemed like hours later, they finally reached the top of the stairs. Every inch of his body hurt, and Dominique wanted nothing more than to just lay down and sleep. Damien continued to support him as best he could, but with both of them so weak they stumbled and fell often. Now that they were in the main part of the castle, Dominique started noticing the other servants around them. Not one of them gave them more than hopeless glances. Not one of them came over to help them, despite of them both being injured. When they rounded a corner Dominique's foot got caught in the carpet and the two of them fell again with a thud, making the other servants turn in their direction. Dominique let out a small groan of frustration, causing Damien to panic.
"I'm sorry, Monsieur, did I hurt you? P-please forgive me, Monsieur. I didn't mean to, Monsieur," Damien said nervously.
"N-No, it's not you," Dominique grunted as Damien helped him back to his feet again. He glared at the servants watching them but when he made eye contact they would look away. "It's them… w-why will no one help?"
"Why would they help, Monsieur?" Damien asked slightly confused. "They are servants and I am a slave, Monsieur." Dominique looked at him in surprise. He had never really thought about it, but just assumed that the terms "servant" and "slave" were interchangeable. How Damien said it showed that a slave would be beneath a servant. But how could that be, he wondered, if both were meant to serve the Master of the house? Then again, when he looked more closely he could see some physical differences between the two; the servants appeared to be better clothed and better fed for one thing…
"And Master gave me the order, Monsieur, so I must be the one to obey it," Damien continued, breaking Dominique out of his thoughts. "Master doesn't like for anyone to interfere, Monsieur."
Even with his little experience with Fane, Dominique couldn't say that he blamed them now. Everyone he met in this castle was just as terrified of Fane as he was.
Fane walked into the library and to his surprise it was empty. There was no sign of either Damien nor Dominique. The sun set gently outside his window, the light leaving and welcomed the night. The vampire groaned as he turned around, annoyed that his slave had not fulfilled his order, something that was unusual for Damien. As he turned to leave he saw Damien stop by the door with Dominique's arm over his shoulder. The slave had frozen in place the second he'd seen his Master in the library. Without a second thought he let Dominique fall to the floor and rushed over to Fane's feet, dropping down on all fours.
"Îmi pare rău, Maestre! T-te rog să mă ierți!" Dominique stared in shock as Damien actually kissed Fane's feet while begging and pleading forgiveness. "V-vă rugăm să aveți milă, Maestre! Îmi pare rău, Maestre!"
"Lanț el pentru la birou birou!" Fane yelled as he kicked Damien in his injured side, causing the slave to cry out. Dominique flinched at the action and trembled as he watched Damien scramble to his feet and rush over to him. Dominique winced as Damien picked him up as best he could and half dragged him over to the desk. Once Damien had gotten him into the chair Dominique collapsed with his head and arms limp on the desk, utterly exhausted. He felt something on his leg and looked down to see Damien replacing the chain back on his ankle. As if he could possibly go anywhere, Dominique thought tiredly. But then again he knew Fane wouldn't risk taking any chances, especially since he had tried to run once already.
Once he was satisfied that Dominique was secure, Fane grabbed Damien's neck and pulled him up, throwing him away from Dominique. Damien started begging in Romanian again but his pleas soon turned into screams as Fane began to beat him for not returning on time. It didn't matter if it had been seconds or hours, he had still disobeyed. And Dominique was forced to watch the whole thing, witnessing again just how brutal Fane was. Each cry and scream from Damien made Dominique's heart break. Was this what Damien went through everyday? Guilt flooded him as the beating dragged on and on. He should never have asked Damien to wait and let him rest. Those few precious seconds could have prevented this from happening.
Dominique let out a silent cry of relief when Fane finally stopped. Although the sight of Damien lying bloodied and unconscious on the floor only added to Dominique's growing fear of Fane. With the memory of his own torture so fresh in his mind, Dominique was scared out of his senses.
Dominique flinched when he felt Fane approach him from behind and moved to stand on the other side of the desk facing Dominique. "Now, let's try this again…"
"W-What do you want me to d-do?" Dominique asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Fane reached across the desk and pushed Azu Vithel toward him. "Translate this," he ordered. "I want every word copied down exactly as is, in an understandable language. Once that is done I will give you another order."
Dominique simply nodded, not daring to ask what Fane's motives were. He laid his head back down and closed his eyes briefly hoping to get just a minute of rest before he started. However he let out a startled gasp when Fane suddenly slammed his hand down on the desk.
"I thought I gave you an order, witch."
"I-I'm sorry," Dominique said shaking in fear.
"Then stop blubbering and get to work!"
With trembling hands Dominique opened the book to the first page and studied it for a moment before getting a piece of paper from the stack and a quill pen sitting on the desk to copy the words into English. However when he reached for the pen, he realized he could barely move his fingers. As pain shot through his injured wrist and hand Dominique realized that his right arm was pretty much useless at this point. And he was right handed…
"Is there a problem?" Fane asked irately, noticing his hesitation.
Dominique swallowed and shook his head wordlessly, too scared to even speak. Instead he reached for the pen with his left hand and dipped it into the ink. He tried to hold it just as he did with his right hand, but it just felt so awkward and unfamiliar. Knowing that Fane was getting more impatient by the second, Dominique put the pen to paper and began to slowly and cautiously write down what he saw on the page. It was hard enough trying to make the letters legible enough, but it didn't help his nerves while Fane watched him like a hawk, pacing behind his back.
The minutes ticked by slowly as Dominique worked. Once he was finished with the first page Fane suddenly snatched the paper away and studied it. "Is this a joke to you?" Fane asked dangerously, shoving the paper in Dominique's face. "How is it that a highly educated doctor has worse handwriting than a child?! Not to mention being careless enough to smudge the ink all over the paper!"
"I'm s-sorry," Dominique replied helplessly. "I-I'm right handed…"
"Then write with your right hand!"
"I can't! I can't even move it-"
"Are you trying my patience?! One more excuse out of you and I will personally drag you back down to the dungeons! Follow your orders!"
"Y-Yes, Count," Dominique answered obediently. Once again he reached for the quill, this time with his right hand. He had to use his left in order to make his fingers close around the pen, and as soon as he put any pressure to the paper pain flared through his arm. Gritting his teeth Dominique kept reminding himself that the pain from the tortures Fane would put him through were worse than his broken wrist. He had to recopy the first page, but thankfully this time it turned out much better than his first attempt. He waited anxiously as Fane looked it over, and let out a grateful sigh of relief when Fane nodded.
"Continue," Fane instructed, and Dominique obeyed. Despite the pain he managed to copy several pages to Fane's satisfaction, and in the back of his mind he wondered just how much Fane expected him to do tonight. However, he didn't dare stop, too terrified to even sleep.
After a few hours had passed Dominique noticed that Damien began to stir. Fane noticed as well and scolded him in Romanian before ordering him to leave. Still only half conscious Damien crawled on his hands and knees trying to drag himself out of Fane's presence as fast as he could. Dominique's ears flattened sadly, but he got right back to work so that Fane wouldn't become angry again.
The night dragged on and even though it was slow going Dominique completed translating several pages of the book. Fane sat in a comfortable chair by the fire drinking wine that one of the servants had brought him (or maybe it wasn't wine, Dominique thought with a shiver) and reading a book, although he kept a close eye on his captive and would check on his progress every now and then.
Before Dominique knew it, it was sunrise, and he rubbed his bloodshot eyes tiredly. Without even realizing it he began to make mistakes, accidentally switching words or writing the letters backwards. His back felt like it was on fire, his entire arm ached like a thousand needles punctured it, and his eyelids drooped more and more until no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't keep them open.
It wasn't until he heard a slight clattering sound that Fane looked up from his book. He frowned when he saw Dominique slumped over on the desk again, and when he walked over he saw that his hand had bumped the well of ink, spilling its contents all over the last few pages he had written. Fane grabbed a fistful of Dominique's long hair and jerked his head up, but Dominique showed no signs of response. After everything he had been through Dominique had just collapsed from pure exhaustion.
"Damned mortals," Fane growled in frustration, letting Dominique's head fall back down on the desk. With an irritated sigh he gathered up the stack of pages that Dominique had completed and took them with him to the chair to look over. He read the pages eagerly, studying each word and phrase carefully for any hidden meaning. However, the more he read the more Fane's eagerness turned into worry. So far it seemed to be nothing more than a than a recipe for spells, almost like a cookbook, with ingredients and instructions and diagrams provided. But nothing that dealt with life or death or the afterlife. Maybe he was looking in the wrong place. Maybe the answer lay somewhere else entirely…
Fane looked back at Dominique's unconscious form with a frown. No, Fane wouldn't be satisfied until he had studied the entire contents of Azu Vithel for himself. As much as he hated to admit it, right now that little witch was his best hope at ever having the chance to hold his beloved Adrianna in his arms again.
Author's Notes: Yeah... not much to say here except I'M SO SORRY DAMIEN AND DOMINIQUE :C
Thank you again to mimmime and NightMagican for helping me write this ^^
Dominique and Fane (c)Me
Lars (c)NightMagican
Damien (c)mimmime
Translations (roughly):
Adu-mi prima biciul!= Get the first whip!
Curățați mizeria asta! Și l-bandaj corespunzător înainte de a il aduce la bibliotecă. Nu vreau ca el să sângereze peste tot. Vreau să-l gata înainte de apusul soarelui.= Clean up this mess! And bandage him properly before bringing him to the library. I do not want him to bleed everywhere. I want him ready before sunset.
Îmi pare rău, Maestre! T-te rog să mă ierți!... V-vă rugăm să aveți milă, Maestre! Îmi pare rău, Maestre!= I'm sorry, Master! T-please forgive me! ... Have mercy please, Master! I'm sorry, Master!
Lanț el pentru la birou birou!= Chain him to the office desk!
