NOTE: This chapter was posted a couple months ago on deviantart but I totally forgot to post it here. So sorry about that ^^;
Fane stood at a little distance watching quietly from the doorway with his arms crossed as he waited for Dominique to finish healing Damien's wounds. The only reason he was allowing Dominique to heal his slave at all was so that Fane could witness the boy actually using his powers himself. Dominique could feel the Count's eyes on him watching his every move, which only made him more nervous and made it more difficult for him to concentrate on the healing spell causing him to falter here and there; but as time went on and he gained more experience, the easier it became and the faster the wounds healed.
Fane smiled to himself. He had almost given up on the little witch having any connection to magic at all; but now here was positive proof right before his eyes. It meant that he was one step closer in finding a way to bring his beloved back from beyond the grave. If anyone could do it, it had to be a witch. If not... No, this had to work. He had searched for so long and failed too many times; he refused to do so again.
"Never thought I'd see the great Count taking orders from a whelp like him."
Fane groaned inwardly as his thoughts were interrupted by the smug voice of the Danish vampire who appeared behind him. "I am the master here, I give the orders," Fane snapped.
"Clearly," Lars chuckled, causing the Count to roll his eyes.
"What do you want, Maurus?"
"Just came to see how our little witch is progressing," Lars said moving to stand beside Fane and leaning against the doorframe casually. "Looks like he's coming along just fine, especially now that he's acting on his own."
Fane frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Open your eyes, little Stefan," Lars said putting one hand on Fane's shoulder and gesturing at Dominique with the other. "He's getting more bold. He admitted to healing your slave once already without your knowledge, so he's obviously practicing magic without supervision. The more he practices, the stronger he'll become; and the stronger he becomes, the more of a threat he will be. Witches have always been natural enemies of vampires-"
"I am well aware of that," Fane nearly growled as he jerked his shoulder away from Lars, although he couldn't help feeling a cold chill run down his spine as memories of a previous encounter with a witch flashed in his mind. He stared at Dominique, who glanced up nervously as he felt Fane watching him and then instantly lowered his eyes again. He couldn't even hold eye contact with Fane. The boy was terrified of him, that much was clear. But Fane had underestimated a witch before; if given time who was to say that Dominique might gain the courage to challenge him as well? "He wouldn't dare," Fane muttered partially to himself.
"What's to stop him?" Lars prodded.
"He knows the punishment for disobeying me-"
"And yet here he is practicing magic behind your back when he claims he has no knowledge of such things," Lars pointed out. "And now he has talked you into letting him heal a worthless slave." He chuckled and shook his head. "You really are obsessed with this immortality thing to allow that to happen."
"As you are obsessed with destroying an entire bloodline," Fane retorted back. "Speaking of which, don't you have anything better to do with your spare time, such as killing a Lehmann or two? Rather than annoy me," he added under his breath.
"Aw, but you make it so much fun," Lars teased. "But, you do have a point. As much as I would love to stick around and watch you dabble with magic, I have my own curse to work on." Fane watched as the Danish vampire turned to leave. "Good luck with the whelp," Lars added with a chuckle over his shoulder.
Fane scoffed as Lars left. However, as much as Fane hated to admit it, the Dane had a point in all that he said. On the one hand, he wanted Dominique to practice magic so that he could be strong enough to bring Adrianna back from the dead with whatever means necessary. But on the other hand, the more Dominique practised, the stronger he would become; and the stronger he became, the greater the chance that he might rebel. After the beating he had received from being whipped once already, Fane seriously doubted that Dominique would attempt such a thing anytime soon; but one couldn't be too careful. If the boy did dare to step out line then he would simply be beaten back into submission, simple as that.
After several minutes Fane left his place by the door and stood behind Dominique looking over his shoulder, observing the process of the wound healing up close. "My, how proficient you've become in so little time."
Dominique flinched at the sound of Fane's voice behind him. "I-It's only a simple healing spell," he replied cautiously.
"Well, now you can move on to more important things," Fane smiled.
Thinking that meant Fane wanted him to continue translating Azu Vithel, Dominique hastily rose to his feet. "I-I'm sorry, Count," he apologized nervously. "I'll get right back to work."
Fane's smirk widened as Dominique took the hint. "But first," he added, "I have a question for you."
"Y-Yes, Count?"
"Is it possible to recreate a curse on one person and place it on another?"
Dominique's ears folded. By this point he was extremely nervous and a little confused at such a strange question out of the blue. "I don't know," he answered truthfully, though he was fearful of what would happen to him if Fane was not pleased with his answer. "There is probably a way but I don't know how."
"You should find out then," Fane commented.
Dominique looked up surprised. "H-How-?" He trailed off when Fane stared at him with a look of annoyance.
"You're holding an ancient spell book in your hands and yet you ask how? Surely there must be such information somewhere inside."
"What if there's not?" Dominique asked quietly. Fane gestured to their surroundings in response.
"Look around you. What do you see?" Dominique averted his eyes briefly as Fane smirked in amusement. "I did not collect one of the world's biggest libraries just for show." Dominique looked back up and froze when he saw Fane's smile had faded, all traces of humor gone from his expression as he slowly circled Dominique's chair. "From now on you are to divide your time between translating Azu Vithel and researching the removal of and copying of spells. Along with anything dealing with resurrection from the dead. There is no shortage of resources available to you so make good use of it. Report any of your findings to me immediately, no matter how small or insignificant you think they may be. Understood?"
"Yes, Count," Dominique nodded obediently. Apparently satisfied Fane finally left the room, leaving Dominique alone with Damien still lying nearby unconscious. Dominique looked over at him worriedly but was a bit hesitant to continue trying to help him as Fane had given him new orders. His words replayed in Dominique's mind as he looked around. Ever since he had arrived all Dominique had really done was translate Azu Vithel, so with his head being stuck in a book he had never really noticed just how big the library was. Not only was the room itself huge, but the rows upon rows of shelves filling the room and lining the walls seemed to stretch on and on. Feeling his head swim Dominique took deep breaths and forced himself to turn around to the desk. He had to stay focused on one problem at a time to keep from becoming overwhelmed. He would deal with searching the library later. For now he would continue to translate, since that was the first thing Fane told him to do.
After some time of working Dominique looked up when he heard a groan come from Damien. He felt guilt storm through him as he watched the slave struggle to pull himself up off the floor and gradually stumbled to his feet. Even though he had healed some of the more serious wounds, it was clear that Damien was still in a lot of pain. Despite Fane's orders Dominique knew he couldn't sit by while another was in need of help. "Are you alright, Damien?" he asked concerned.
Hearing his name Damien flinched slightly and glanced up. "Oui, Monsieur," he replied. Dominique watched sadly for a moment as Damien simply continued cleaning as if nothing had happened. What kind of stupid question was that, it was obvious that Damien was not alright and that his automatic response would be "yes." Letting out a small sigh Dominique turned back to the book and slowly continued working as Damien resumed his duties.
Time passed until Dominique felt his eyes were growing tired. Thinking he needed a break to also stretch his legs he rubbed his eyes and slowly looked around. So far he hadn't discovered anything that Fane had alluded to in Azu Vithel, so he might as well start exploring this library. Remembering what Damien had said earlier about Fane keeping his books in a certain order, Dominique assumed that Fane would also have them organized into specific sections to keep track of everything, so he only had to figure out where Fane kept any books dealing with magic. Only the more Dominique looked around, the more he discovered what a difficult task this was going to be. He walked through row after row with books, and for every aisle he passed several new ones would appear. Soon he came upon a staircase that he discovered led to a second level filled with even more shelves full of books. Fane really hadn't exaggerated when he said he had one of the biggest libraries in the world.
Pausing by one of the bookcases Dominique chose a random book and pulled it from the shelf. Flipping through the pages he found it to be written in a language he didn't understand so he put it back in it's place. He repeated the action several times, and with each piece he found the more his mind reeled at the wealth of the Count. Among his collection were the first books ever printed, original documents of the greatest screenplays and stories, first editions of classics in their original languages; even ancient historic scrolls from Japan and the great Pharaohs of Egypt that pre-dated centuries before the first printing press.
In better circumstances all of this would have been much more impressive to Dominique; but at this moment the only thing he was concerned about finding was any book about magic. However, the more he wandered through the endless rows of bookshelves the more lost he became. Just the sheer size of the library made him feel so small. How was he ever going to find anything in here? He didn't even know where to begin looking. His breathing became heavier and his chest pounded as the weight of such a daunting task nearly overwhelmed him. What would Fane do to him if he couldn't find the answers he was searching for? Would he be thrown in the torture chamber in the dungeon again? Damien had been whipped for less, why wouldn't the same happen to him?
After what seemed like hours of wandering Dominique finally found his way back to the desk where he had been working. He hadn't even noticed that Damien had left until he saw the slave re-enter the room carrying a tray of food for Dominique.
"Damien," Dominique breathed out and rushed over to the slave, who had only taken one step into the room. "Please, help me!" Dominique begged, an edge of panic showing in his voice. "The Count wants me to find something and I have no idea where anything is in this place, and he's going to be back any minute, and… and… y-you have to help me!"
Damien jumped at the sudden outburst and nearly dropped the tray of food, but he managed to keep it from spilling and quickly set it down on the desk. "O-Oui, Monsieur," he answered obediently, although he was trembling nervously.
Dominique let out a shaky sigh of relief and Damien followed him as they walked through the aisles of books. "I need to know where the Count keeps his books about magic," Dominique said trying to explain what he was looking for. Damien glanced at him worriedly and his ears folded. "You know, like a spellbook? Anything that even mentions witchcraft or spells…" He trailed off when Damien didn't respond right away. "You do know where all the books are, don't you?" He asked confused, recalling how Damien placed the books away earlier.
"Oui, M-Monsieur… but I do not know their names or what they are about Monsieur," Damien replied scared. "Please forgive me, Monsieur…"
"But...But you have to know!" Dominique exclaimed, feeling panic begin to build in his chest again. "You know this place as well as Fane himself, surely you must know where they are!"
In an instant Damien fell at Dominique's feet and bowed himself to the floor trembling in fright. "I-I'm sorry, Monsieur…please, Monsieur, p-please forgive me."
Seeing Damien bowed down at his feet brought Dominique somewhat back to his senses. Guilt flooded through him as he realized that once again he had frightened the poor mouse to the point of begging for mercy. When would he ever learn?
Watching how frightened Damien was Dominique slowly knelt down in front of him. He had forgotten that Damien didn't know how to read so of course he wouldn't know the contents inside the books; and that little oversight had caused him to scare Damien unnecessarily. He had been so worried about what Fane would do to him that he had given no thought to how he was reacting around Damien, and he had to suffer enough without Dominique adding to that.
"It's alright, Damien," Dominique finally replied quietly trying not to frighten the mouse any further. "And I'm sorry. For everything," he added guiltily. Damien looked up briefly in a little confusion as he wasn't used to being apologized to. Why would anyone apologize to him, a lowly slave? "For the beating," Dominique continued. "For this… I should have asked for help instead of bursting out like that." His eyes met Damien's briefly as the slave glanced up at him. "So… Will you help me? Please?"
"Oui, Monsieur," Damien responded automatically. He was still a little confused about being apologized to but wouldn't dare question it. So for the next few hours the two mice continued the daunting search through the library. Damien followed Dominique very closely, making sure to return each book in its rightful place when Dominique was done with it, even having to move some that Dominique had placed in the wrong spot.
With each incorrect book that Dominique pulled from the shelf the more discouraged he became. At this rate it would take several days, if not weeks, just to find the correct section. Perhaps when Fane returned he could ask where he kept those particular books. Although the thought of Fane returning sent shivers down his spine and he feared how the Count might react to his failure.
Feeling himself begin to give up hope Dominique pulled one last book from a random shelf and quickly glanced through the dusty pages until suddenly a word caught his attention.
"Witches," Dominique whispered to himself. As his eyes quickly scanned the pages he found that the passage in question spoke about witch trials, but that was enough for him. It had witches in it so surely there must be something of use. It wouldn't hurt to check.
After handing the book to Damien to hold Dominique kept looking near the spot where he found the book. Luckily he found several others similar to that one, all containing information about witches. When he was done he and Damien both had an armful of books which they carried back to the desk where Dominique had been working on Azu Vithel. He sat down in the chair tiredly, glad to at least have made some little progress. So as Damien left to go prepare dinner, Dominique settled in and began the task of reading each of the books.
Unfortunately however, it seemed he wasn't so lucky as he had thought. The books were indeed about witches, but they only recounted the trials and history of witches. There was nothing pertaining specifically to witchcraft or the dark arts. They were only history books.
Dominique easily lost track of time as he read and jumped startled when Fane suddenly entered the room. His ears folded and he couldn't help trembling slightly as Fane approached him. However it seemed that the Count had no interest in him as he wordlessly gathered up the papers that Dominique had translated and took a seat in an armchair by the fireplace and began reading. Dominique continued reading but he watched Fane nervously out of the corner of his eye. Some time later Fane finally stood and walked over to the desk.
"Catching up on your ancestors history I see," Fane remarked. Dominique gulped as he felt Fane looking over his shoulder observing what he was doing.
"Yes, Count," he replied quietly.
"And what, pray tell, do you hope to accomplish with that?"
Dominique's heart pounded in fear as he heard the annoyance in Fane's voice. "I-It was all I could find," Dominique stammered. He gulped when Fane continued to glare at him. He hesitated to ask but it was now or never. "Could you please show me where your books about magic are?"
Fane sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he was getting a headache from the boy's stupidity. "Must I do everything myself?" he remarked partially to himself.
Dominique heard the comment and folded his ears. "I'm sorry, C-Count-"
"Shut up and follow me," Fane replied. Dominique hastily obeyed and followed Fane to the second floor, stopping by a row of bookshelves against the wall. "This entire wall is filled with books containing information about magic and spells written in several languages." Fane turned and gestured at the adjoining wall. "If none of those help, then this wall contains books that I simply don't know what they are because they are written in an unknown or dead language."
Dominique stared at the shelves of books and back at Fane. "How can I read them if they're in another language?"
"You can read Azu Vithel."
"That's different… I have a personal connection to it because my ancestors wrote it. That doesn't mean I can translate every language."
Fane frowned. This boy was testing every ounce of his patience. "If you can heal wounds then I'm sure you can find a spell to aid you in translation. If not, the dictionaries and encyclopedias are down there." Before Dominique could even reply Fane simply walked away, leaving the younger mouse to figure it out for himself.
And so Dominique spent the next several days trying to do just that. As Fane instructed he used the time in between sessions of translating Azu Vithel to research the material inside Fane's books about magic. Despite the dangerous situation he was in, a part of Dominique (perhaps the witch inside of him, he thought grimly) slowly grew more curious and interested in the things he found. With the sense of urgency to find the information Fane wanted Dominique hastily browsed through the pages as quickly as he could, but even so he was slowly gleaning small bits of knowledge of the spells and rituals contained inside. They weren't as complex as the information inside Azu Vithel, merely the simplest spells of healing wounds and controlling the elements, such as fire and water; along with spells to ward off evil spirits and temporary protection from supernatural creatures. There were also warnings against creatures such as werewolves and vampires, and passages detailing how to deal with their kind. Such information would of course be of immense value to Dominique, but the fact that Fane always showed up at the worst of times made Dominique afraid to dwell on it for long as he didn't want to be caught.
The only time Dominique saw Damien was when he brought food to him daily and whenever he came to clean the library. Thankfully he didn't see Lars anymore, and he hoped the Danish vampire had found something better to do and would leave him alone for the time being.
Fane also continued to check on Dominique's progress at the end of every day, sitting in his chair by the fireplace and reading the pages the boy had translated. It was slow going in Fane's opinion, but if there was anything he had learned over the centuries it was patience. That still didn't deter him from scowling disapprovingly or reprimanding Dominique if he thought he was slacking, and as the days wore on even Fane felt himself slowly growing mad with anticipation. His dark mood grew worse and worse, and as always his wrath often fell on his slave Damien. Dominique cringed each time he witnessed Fane lash out at his slave, but there was nothing he could do to stop it and he didn't dare speak out of turn. He understood now why on that first day that none of the other servants had helped him and Damien and why they wouldn't interfere. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of the Count's wrath.
As time dragged on Dominique tried to force himself to work faster as he could sense Fane's growing irritation. He was afraid of rushing too fast as he didn't want to make any mistakes, but still the sense of urgency hung over him. Some days Fane's attitude was better than others, but on this day it was particularly worse. Damien had already been beaten twice and it wasn't even noon yet. The storm clouds outside reflected Fane's foul mood, and he frowned at the pages in his hand as he sat in his chair by the fire re-reading the pages that Dominique had translated, wanting to miss nothing. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Dominique calling him until he cleared his throat loudly.
"Um... C-Count?"
"What?" Fane snapped, glaring dangerously at the boy.
"I'm s-sorry to interrupt," Dominique apologized, his voice shaking in fear. "But I... I-I think I've found something that you might want to see."
Finally, Fane thought to himself as he motioned for Dominique to bring the papers to him. Dominique quickly obeyed and walked over to Fane, his hands trembling as he held out the papers to Fane, who quickly snatched them away. The whelp had better have a good reason for interrupting him.
"It's a... ritual of sorts," Dominique explained, struggling with choosing the right words to describe it. "Something to, um, detect, or sense, a curse that has been placed on someone-"
The Count held up his hand to silence Dominique, who quickly obliged. He nearly held his breath as Fane's sharp eyes quickly scanned the passage he had copied, watching the range of emotions pass over his face; first eagerness, then confusion, then annoyance. The younger mouse's heart pounded in terror as Fane glared at him when he was finished.
"And how exactly do you think this is useful to me?"
"Y-You spoke before of replicating a particular curse a-and placing it on someone else," Dominique stammered in fear. "The first step in doing that would be to know exactly what kind of curse has been placed on the person. A curse such as vampirism or lycanthropy, for instance, is easy to detect because the effects of the curse are physical and can be seen with the naked eye. Other curses aren't so visible on the surface as that." Dominique felt himself rambling as he always did when nervous and took a deep breath to make himself slow down and get to the point as he didn't want to make Fane more angry. "The ritual described here would be beneficial to someone wanting to remove whatever curse has been placed upon them. Identifying exactly what curse is there would aid in finding a way to break it."
"So you could use this method to replicate the curse detected in order to place it on someone else?"
"I don't know. There is nothing in this passage relating to copying or transferring a curse to another." Seeing that Fane was not happy with that answer Dominique hastily added, "But detecting the curse you want copied could possibly help me understand more about it. And there's still a good bit of Azu Vithel left to be translated. Maybe future pages will tell how to transfer or copy a curse."
Fane was quiet for a few moments seeming to think the matter over. "I have just the candidate for you to practice with. Ferka!" Fane suddenly shouted, causing Dominique to jump in surprise. A few moments later the slave Damien rushed into the room and hastily bowed in front of Fane, panting from running at hearing Fane's call as quickly as he could. Fane gestured at Damien bowing at his feet. "Well? Get on with it then."
Dominique stared in confusion. "But… But it will only work on someone who is cursed-"
An instant later Dominique found his airway cut off as Fane's hand locked around his throat. "Do not question me, boy," Fane hissed, exposing his fangs for emphasis. "Do as I say!"
"Y-yes Count," Dominique whispered, gasping for breath when Fane released him. He rubbed his neck painfully but quickly did as Fane said. He carefully removed Azu Vithel from the desk and kneeled on the floor in front of Damien, who sat with his head bowed and trembling slightly, awaiting orders. Dominique gently laid the book down on the floor beside him and studied the diagram drawn on the page.
"There has to be as little disturbance as possible between us for me to be able to detect anything…" Dominique switched to French so that Damien could understand. "So I need you to remove your shirt and lie down on your back, please."
Damien quickly obeyed and removed his shirt, revealing again his thin form. Guilt flooded Dominique as he watched Damien lay down and close his eyes, shivering in fear. He glanced at the book and gently placed his hands on Damien's torso near his heart as the diagram instructed, causing him to flinch at the touch. The poor mouse was so thin that Dominique could feel the bones in his chest and ribcage. Feeling Fane staring at him impatiently Dominique took a deep breath and slowly read the incantation from Azu Vithel. He could feel energy flowing through to his fingertips just as when he had healed Damien, but this felt different. Instead of simply healing flesh, he had to probe deeper beneath the surface of skin.
Fane tapped his foot growing more and more impatient as time slowly dragged on and nothing seemed to happen. "What is taking so long?" he demanded, causing Dominique to jump as he was so focused on the task. He gulped nervously before answering.
"I-I'm trying-"
"Try harder," Fane snapped. Dominique felt his heart even bother, he thought dejectedly to himself. He knew he would fail at this, and he didn't want to think about what Fane would do to him. Why did Fane even order him to do this anyway, what was the point if there was nothing there? Why would he have Dominique experiment on a slave if there was nothing to be gained? Feeling himself growing desperate Dominique closed his eyes and focused all his energy. He was pleading for something, anything, to make Fane happy and to get this over with.
After several long agonizing moments Dominique suddenly froze. Probing a little further he nearly gasped as he could actually sense something there. It was small, barely a flicker, but it was there. He didn't know what it was or how he found it, but he continued on, trying to locate it again. Fane watched him intently, noticing that something was different. He nearly held his breath in anticipation, not knowing what to expect.
After probing more Dominique sensed it again, but each time he located it and tried to get close it would disappear. However each time the force seemed to grow stronger. It wasn't until Damien let out a small whimper of pain that Dominique came back to his senses. He instantly removed his hands, causing Fane to frown. "Why did you stop?"
"I-It's hurting him," Dominique said quietly.
"That doesn't matter… Continue."
"No, I c-can't-"
"Have you forgotten what happened the last time you said 'no' to me?" Fane threatened.
"What more can you possibly do to me?!" Dominique yelled desperately. "You've already had me beaten and tortured, by this point I would welcome death! Anything would be better than this..."
"Who said anything about dying?" Fane smirked, causing chills to run through him. He had already gotten a taste of Fane's wrath and had seen what Fane did to Damien; there was no telling what other tortures awaited him should he refuse to cooperate again.
"P-Please," Dominique begged once more, but one look at Fane told him he would receive no mercy. Feeling his heart pounding in fear, he turned back and stared at Damien, who kept his eyes shut tightly and didn't dare move. "Je suis désolé…" Dominique whispered, his hands trembling as he moved them back to hover over Damien's chest. He recited the incantation once more, faltering when Damien showed signs of pain again. He spoke more quickly, hoping that the sooner he finished the less time Damien would have to be in pain. Thankfully it didn't take quite as long to locate this time, and using all his strength and energy Dominique tried to get as close as he could to the mysterious force. He was so close…
Dominique flinched when a sudden shock seemed to course through him. He recalled the warning whispers echoing in his head earlier when he first began, and for one frightening moment he wondered if he was going too far, crossing some kind of line. The shock itself was proof, as if a warning telling him not to continue. However Dominique was more terrified of Fane than he was of a little shock. He knew that whatever pain Fane would put him through would be far worse. So he continued on, ignoring the warning signs. He received several more shocks as a result but he didn't care. Failure was not an option at this point-
Without warning Dominique felt one final jolting shock before the connection suddenly broke off completely and he fell back with a painful grunt.
"What happened?" Fane growled.
"I… I don't know," Dominique said, panting breathlessly from the energy that had drained out of him. "There was something there, a very powerful and old magic, but I couldn't even touch it…" Dominique trailed off when he noticed that Damien had stopped breathing. "Oh no… no, no, no, please no!" he begged, his doctor's instincts kicking in as he crawled back over to the slave and tried to resuscitate him; but to Dominique's horror he could feel no pulse or heartbeat. "Oh god," Dominique gasped in horror, holding his head in his hands. "Oh god, I-Ikilledhim!"
"Yes, yes, what about this magic?" Fane said insistently, completely ignoring what had just happened as if it were an everyday occurrence.
Dominique glared at Fane as tears filled his eyes. "Magic?! A mouse is dead and all you care about is the damn magic?!"
"Be careful how you speak to me," Fane warned. "And why should I care about my slave?"
Dominique folded his ears and just stared at Fane with disbelief. How could anyone be so careless and cruel? So heartless? But realizing that Fane was waiting for an explanation made Dominique snap out of it. "I-I told you, I couldn't touch it. I don't know how to explain it; as soon as I detected it and tried to probe further, it shut off the connection. It was almost like a defense mechanism."
"But you could find it again?"
Dominique hesitated briefly before answering. "I could… but chances are it will just end with the same result. As soon as it senses me, it will kill the host to protect itself." He glanced over at Damien's body. "Whoever created this spell was much more powerful than I could ever be."
Fane seemed to be deep in thought for a few moments. "You would get more information if you were to find it again, would you not?"
"W-well, yes, but-"
"Then it's settled. We will continue this in a few hours."
Dominique looked up in shock but before he could say anything Fane had walked out of the room, leaving him alone with Damien's body. Dominique looked at the poor mouse sadly, hating himself for being the cause of his suffering. He had seen plenty of dead mice before as his field of study was medicine, but never did he imagine that he would be the cause of someone's death. The weight of everything that had happened over the last week began to crash down on him, and on top of it all he was now a murderer. He pulled his knees up to his chin and buried his face in his arms as he finally broke down.
As the events replayed in Dominique's mind over and over there was another thought that stood out to him. Fane had said something about that they would continue later… What did that mean? Would he be forced to do the same thing to another servant? How many would die before Fane was satisfied? How many in this castle had a curse on them that Fane wanted him to find and replicate? And what was his motive? What was the point to all this? His head was so full of questions it hurt.
Dominique was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a small noise. He glanced up through his tears with frightened eyes, afraid that Fane or Lars would come through the door any minute, but nothing happened. Maybe he was just paranoid, imagining things.
But then he heard it again. A barely audible sound almost like a sigh or gasp. He looked over at Damien's still form, feeling his heart nearly skip a beat when he thought he saw the slave's chest rise and fall slightly as if he were breathing. "No. T-That's impossible…" Dominique whispered to himself. It was just his imagination… or was it?
Dominique quickly crawled back to Damien and put his ear to his chest, and to his astonishment there was a heartbeat. It was weak, but definitely there. He jumped back in shock when Damien's eyes suddenly snapped open and he gasped sharply, only to squeeze them shut again in pain.
"H-How…? How are you a-alive?!" Dominique exclaimed in astonishment. He gulped as he thought of the powerful force he had come in contact with earlier. What kind of dark magic was this?
As Damien groaned it brought Dominique back to his senses. "Damien, can you hear me?" he called softly. At first he seemed too disoriented to give a response, but as soon as his eyes flickered opened and he realized that someone was looming over him Damien bowed his head as best he could and gasped out apologies in the three languages he knew.
"It's ok, don't be frightened," Dominique said softly, speaking in French as he gently put a hand on the slave's shoulder trying to calm him. Damien flinched at the touch and glanced up at him briefly seeming to recognize him, but he immediately averted his eyes again.
"I am sorry, Monsieur," Damien apologized again using French. Dominique shook his head.
"You've done nothing wrong. It's me who should be begging your forgiveness." As Damien looked up at him in confusion a sudden thought hit Dominique. "Wait… has this happened to you before?"
"Has what happened, Monsieur?" Damien asked nervously. "I'm sorry, Monsieur, I don't understand."
"Have you… died before, and woken up?"
"Y-Yes, Monsieur. All the time, Monsieur," Damien answered obediently.
Dominique stared in shock. "How many times has it happened?"
Damien's ears flattened and he closed his eyes in fear. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know, Monsieur. Master does as he pleases, Monsieur."
Dominique sat there feeling almost overwhelmed by it all. This couldn't be possible, Damien had been dead just moments before! No pulse, no heartbeat, nothing! And now not only was he breathing but he was awake and talking! He was weakened, yes, but still… How did a slave of a vampire Count get such a powerful curse upon him?
"How did this happen?" Dominique asked still in shock. "How did you become cursed?"
"I d-don't know, Monsieur," Damien answers fearfully. "I am sorry Monsieur, I do not remember."
Dominique just stared at him with pity. It was bad enough being Fane's slave, but how much more awful it would be being tortured and killed over and over again. To not even find peace or relief in wondered how long Damien had lived through this hell. Fane must not know how he became cursed either, or else he wouldn't have Dominique experimenting on him to find out more about the curse. One thing Dominique was sure of was that at some point Damien had to come across magic or a witch at some point in his past. It must have happened long ago if he couldn't even remember…
Dominiques eyes widened as another thought occurred to him. "Damien… how old are you?"
Before Damien could say anything Fane re-entered the room and smirked as he saw Damien lying there trembling. "Ah, he's awake. Good. Now we can start again."
"Wha- a-again?" Dominique asked horrified. He cringed when Fane turned his evil smirk on him.
"You failed the first time; now is the chance to redeem yourself."
"You can't be serious!" Dominique nearly yelled. "He is in need of medical attention-!" He flinched when Fane grabbed the collar of his shirt and yelled in his face.
"Do as I say, oryouwill be the one needing medical attention!" Dominique grunted as Fane released him, causing him to fall backwards. He backed away nervously staring in fright as Fane looked down at him. "Prove to me that I'm not wasting my time with you, or else I will have you begging for mercy and crawling into submission... Like him."
Fane suddenly snapped his fingers, and using all the strength he could muster Damien forced himself to crawl over to his Master. Being too weak to even bow he collapsed once he reached Fane and simply lay prostrate at his feet. Damien was panting with the effort and winced, a small groan escaping his lips as the pain racked his body. Dominique could only stare horrified at the scene. Damien had been killed mere minutes ago, why would he put himself through more pain to please Fane? How could he be so loyal and obedient to such a cruel mouse? As Damien trembled laying at his his master's feet while Fane only smirked in sick satisfaction, Dominique realized that it was the same reason why he himself had chills running down his spine at that very moment; fear. Everyone in this castle, including himself, had such fear of the Count that to disobey was simply not an option, not without harsh, painful, and often fatal consequences. Bowing his own head in defeat Dominique gave in and found himself nodding in obedience of his own. "Y-Yes… Count."
As the days passed Dominique fell back into his routine, although now in addition to his research Fane would force Dominique to experiment on Damien at some point in the day. Though that always ended the same as the first try, meaning Damien was killed several times on almost a daily basis. Which in turn, only added more and more to the guilt building up inside of Dominique. It was bad enough being forced to torture a fellow mouse; but to kill that mouse over and over and over, watching him struggle as the curse brought him back to life only to repeat the same process again… it was nearly more than Dominique could bare.
After a few weeks of this Dominique could stand it no longer. A small idea came to him as he watched Damien struggle while he slowly regained consciousness. He began to wonder if he could somehow use magic to ease Damien's pain as he came back to life. It couldn't be too difficult, the only difference from the other times that he had healed Damien is that he would be healing him from the inside as opposed to healing external wounds. It would be risky as Dominique knew that Fane probably wouldn't be happy about him wasting the time healing his slave, but if Fane didn't know then it wouldn't matter. So Dominique decided that he would try after the next session.
The opportunity came soon enough. As always Fane returned to observe the process as Dominique attempted to sense the spell on Damien, which ended as before with Damien's death. But this time as soon as Fane left the room Dominique ran and fell on his knees by Damien's side. With his hands hovering over Damien he quickly began reciting the healing spell hoping it would heal the damage and help him wake up easier with less pain. As he began the spell Dominique recognized that familiar hint of a voice whispering to him, but instead of feeling encouragement as before this time the voice felt cautious and warning. However Dominique pushed it aside and continued, and as he remained focused on the task the voice fell silent. Feeling the energy pulsing through his fingers Dominique looked for any sign of a response from Damien and after several agonizing minutes ticked by his worry grew. Something felt off and he didn't know why...
Dominique's heart raced as he sensed the dark magic on Damien that he had encountered before but he continued to recite the spell determined to heal him. Seconds later Damien's eyes suddenly shot open and a scream ripped out of his throat as his body began to convulse and twitch. Dominique jumped in surprise and stared horrified as Damien continued to scream and tremble in agony.
"Oh no..."What have I done?Dominique thought, an intense fear gripping him. He put his hands on Damien trying to calm him down but his shrieks didn't lessen at all. Tears came to Dominique's eyes as he watched Damien suffer and he was helpless to stop it. "No, no, please stop," Dominique begged, "p-please stop!"
"What the hell is going on in here-?!" Fane said as he burst through the door, his sensitive ears folding at the piercing sounds of the screams. He froze when he saw that the cries were coming from his slave. "Get away from him!" Fane yelled as he pulled Dominique away from Damien and tossed him aside. He stared with wide eyes watching Damien still writhing and twitching on the floor and screaming in pain. Fane turned on Dominique with his red eyes blazing. "What did you do?"
"I-I don't..."
Dominique was cut off as Fane struck him in the face harshly before grabbing him by the throat and pulling him up on his knees. "Answer me, witch! What the hell did you do?!"
The younger mouse gasped desperately for breath. "I-I just... I was just t-trying to help-!"
"How?" Fane demanded. "Tell meexactlywhat you did to him!"
"I tried to heal him!" Dominique cried, wincing and choking as Fane slowly squeezed his throat harder. "I thought if... if I healed him he would… w-wake up faster and with less pain!"
Fane's mind raced as he watched his slave. Each time Damien had come back to life the curse had healed the most deadly injuries by itself and Damien was always unconscious when it happened. Dominique's spell must have done something to interfere with the curse. How would that affect Damien? Would he actually die this time as it was magic interrupting magic?
After finally releasing Dominique Fane knelt down by Damien and grabbed his wrist feeling for a pulse, folding his ears as the slave continued to cry out. To Fane's horror, he felt no pulse. What would happen when Damien stopped screaming? Would he stay dead? All his work would be lost if Damien died now. He was so close to finding a solution. Damien couldn't die now!
After a few agonizing moments Fane noticed a slight change in Damien's screams. Again he felt for a pulse and to Fane's immense relief he felt the blood faintly begin to pulse through Damien's veins as his heart slowly resumed beating. Fane let out an audible sigh of relief and was surprised to find his hands were actually shaking. Realizing just how close he had been to losing his slave made Fane remember the one who almost ruined everything. Dominique clutched his bruised throat and shrank back in terror as Fane turned to glare at him with rage burning in his blood tinted eyes. The anger built more and more as Fane also realized that Lars had been right all along; Dominique was deliberately using magic while Fane was not around. However Fane determined to squash this little stunt of rebellion right then and there.
"Do you see what you have done? Do you see what youcouldhave done?!" Fane growled, his voice starting as a low whisper but rising slowly louder. "All that work will be gone if he doesn't wake up from the dead!"
"I-I'm sorry," Dominique whispered in fright with tears in his eyes. "I'm so, so sorry-"
"Sorry isn't good enough," Fane sneered. "This is what happens when you try your little magic tricks! You have no knowledge of what you are doing! You are only making everything worse! How do you expect to be of any help to anyone if you continue these games?!" Dominique cried out as the Count grabbed a fistful of his hair, jerking his head up forcing him to watch Damien suffer. "Take a good look!" Fane shouted pointing at his slave writhing on the floor. "This is where your little magical adventures will take you! This is what happens when you disobey me!"
Tears were falling from Dominique's amber eyes as Fane suddenly released him and walked over to Damien, reached down and grabbed his head, and sharply twisted it to the side breaking his neck killing him instantly. Dominique winced at the sickening crunch of bone breaking and a sob escaped his throat. Fane was right. This was all his fault. Everything he did was wrong, every decision he made was wrong.
Fane sighed and walked over to Dominique,who flinched and backed away until his back hit the wall. Fane crouched down in front of him so that Dominique would have to look him in the eyes. "Do you see now? Only I know what is right." He gestured at Damien, who finally lay still. "This is the consequences ofyouractions without proper knowledge. Knowledge that I alone possess. So as long as you obey me, I can ensure this never happens again."
Feeling himself slowly crumble Dominique finally broke away from Fanes gaze and hung his head, letting the tears fall down his cheeks onto the carpet. Fane turned to leave the boy wallowing in his own grief but paused at the door. "And by the way…" Dominique slowly glanced up through the bangs hanging in his eyes. "This is your final warning, witch."
Dominique felt his heart pounding and he stared at the door even after Fane had left. His eyes slowly went back to Damien's body and he felt a sob rise in his throat. He had done that, with his own two hands. Feeling himself begin to hyperventilate Dominique curled on the floor as tears overcame him, feeling like his heart was breaking in two as he slowly lost all hope.
Standing outside the door Fane smiled to himself as he heard Dominique's sobs. Finally the little whelp was learning his place. It had taken a while but at last he had gotten inside the boy's head, manipulating him by using his feelings for his slave. With Dominique in the palm of his hand, he was just that much closer to accomplishing his goals.
"Curând, iubirea mea," Fane said quietly as he left to resume his duties.
Authors notes:
Finally finished. This has probably been one of my favorite fics I've ever written. I don't know why it just is. Maybe it's because Damien and Dominique hold a special place in my heart, stupid as that sounds. I'm sorry for torturing you, my babies!D':
Many many thanks to my cowriterMimmiMe for all those days and nights of helping me write this. I seriously couldn't do it without you 3
I hope all the magic stuff makes sense. If anyone is confused about any of it just ask me and I'll try to explain.
If you want to know more about Fane's "previous encounter with a witch" go read /d7c2p63byMimmiMe. Actually go read her entire story about Damien, it's amazing!
If you're wondering about Lars' curse you'll just have to wait for "Echoes of the Past" to find out more:D
Speaking of which: now that this fic is done, "Echoes of the Past" is next... and the prologue is already finished so I will upload that within the next day or so Yes Dominique and Damien will be a big part of it, and yes Basil and Amber will return. Along with some other OCs you might recognize.
Thank you all for being so patient with me. My job prevents me from writing and drawing as much as I used to but I appreciate the ones who still follow this series and still read it 3
Credits:
Fane and Dominique (c)me
Damien Ferka Sorena (c)MimmiMe
Lars Maurus (c)NightMagican
Next Fic in the series: Echoes of the Past
