Since morning had come, Lucy had no choice but to leave. Meekins still hadn't returned, so she wouldn't get caught climbing the metal gates. When asking if Alfendi had the key to the locked bars, he could only answer no, stating that Justin never gave him the key to anything, seeing as he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. He wasn't one for the outside world much either, he told her.
Now all she had was her thoughts as she strolled home alone. What a night, now knowing that her so-called 'friends' couldn't be trusted, and that the vampire in Forbodium Castle was hundreds of years old, able to become a deranged creature with bottle up grudges.
Could she even trust Alfendi? If he wasn't to be trusted, then he would have already killed her. But weren't that 'is original plan? She thought to herself with a shiver, No. That were 'is evil side, the side t'Mayor 'ad to lock up.
"You think you can trust him at all?"
Lucy turned her head to the right, gasping at the sight of little, blonde haired Diane Makepeace. Light brown, glassy eyes narrowed as her Cheshire smirk grew. "By 'eck, Diane! You scared me! Wot are you doing out 'ere so early int' morning? Does your father know you're out 'ere?"
The young lass giggled, like the mention of her father was some sort of joke. "Papa's the reason I'm out here, Lucy. He told me to warn you. About your friends."
"But I-"
"Don't trust Alfendi Layton." She put a gloved finger under Lucy's chin, "He's a scourge, a murderer, a plague on London itself. He…" She stopped, her eyes wide, and she stepped away.
Before Lucy could ask how Diane knew anything about the Prof, two arms hooked onto hers. A pair of hands pushed her down the sidewalk. Somewhat looking back, the path to the castle gates was the only thing that greeted her. No Diane in sight.
The people that had her were none other than Dustin, Florence and Sniffer. "Hello, Baker." A fourth figure followed close to her side.
"Give over! Blaine? Wot's going on?" She asked, confused as to why she was with the trio.
He tipped his head politely to her. "Apologies for the abruptness, but the Mayor requests a meeting with you immediately, Lucy." His innocent smile played for a second until the mischievous laughter of the three dragging her to city hall blasted through the silent city. Blaine's eyes darkened into pure black orbs. "Do be quiet, if you don't mind." A low rumble accompanied his voice, "Your loudness might arouse the other citizens from their slumber and the Mayor doesn't like negative attention.
Lucy grimaced as the white building came into view. Wot would t'mayor want with me? I 'aven't done anything to… Unless… She struggled as they passed office after office, eventually landing in the office. His office.
"Mr Lawson, sir. We've bought Lucy Baker in, as you ordered." Blaine announced darkly.
The trio dropped her unceremoniously onto the cushy chair. Without another word from anyone of them, the quartet disappeared.
The mayor turned his chair around to see his guest. He had a concerned expression, but his eyes spoke a different intention. Desire, greed, but for what, Lucy felt she was better off not knowing. "Lucy Baker. I've heard a lot about you since you've come to London. You've been causing some trouble if my sources are correct. Trespassing on private property, huh? Why, I wonder." His tone was calm, but it was the choice of words that frightened Lucy.
She shrank into the seat. She had never gotten in trouble before. Her behavior was always as good as she could make it and she always followed just orders. If it weren't for those three…
"No, Lucy. If it wasn't for Alfendi."
The name caught her attention quick. Of course, she knew he had met Alfendi, but what did he have to do with…
"Everything, Lucy. He has everything to do with why you're here." Justin stood up and pointed right at her. "You are the final piece to the spell, and you are going to do what I ask you to, without question."
"Wot?" Lucy exclaimed, baffled by the mayor's sudden declaration. He had to be off his rocker to think she would listen to him like that. She had free will and she didn't have to listen to him. Lucy understood now, why Alfendi's other personality didn't quite trust him.
"No, Lucy. You can trust me. I'm not the bad man here. If you continue with this crazy talk, then I can become a bad person, your enemy. We don't want that, do we?" His voice went from demanding to calming as he finished. Something about what he was saying dug into Lucy's mind. Like he was completely right.
Maybe she should pay attention.
Seeing her eyes turn hazy and her shoulders slump, Justin knew he had his subject under. Now to get his true objective completed. "Lucy, since you trust me, you'll do what I tell you to, right?"
She nodded.
"So if i told you to, say, go to Forbodium Castle, you would?"
Another simple nod.
"Would you talk to Alfendi?"
Yes.
"And if you spoke to him, would you convince him, or maybe even trick him, into biting you?"
She would.
"Allow him to turn you into a vampire, like him?"
Lucy most certainly would. And it was all according to Justin's plan.
Though the plan was delayed, as Lucy wasn't able to return to the castle until about a month later. In that time span, the castle was the first and only thing on Lucy's mind.
Meekins wasn't at the gate this night, presumably because he wasn't needed to protect the castle at night, since Lucy was the only one to come and go tonight. She easily went over the gate and into the castle, sneaking around until she noticed a lone door beneath the ground floor staircase. This was new.
It was meant to be explored, wasn't it? Yes, it was. So Lucy pulled on the door handle, then pushed, immediately gaining a result this time. Losing momentum, she fell down the wooden stairs, into the dark basement.
"Lucy? What are you doing here?" Golden eyes glowed in the darkness as Alfendi stood above the poor lass. Helping her to her feet, he saw her rub her head in pain. The smell of blood forced him a step back.
Not again.
Focusing back on the task at hand, Lucy realized what she had done, but made no comment about it. She had to make sure it did happen and if she mentioned the blood, Alfendi would possibly try to fix it. She needed it to get worse even though it really hurt. "Where are we?" Changing the subject, she searched around the area for any light she could look to. The door just had to close behind her, didn't it?
Of course, Alfendi knew there was no light in here, but that wasn't what worried him. Surely Lucy realized she was bleeding. Her hand was covered in blood! How could she question anything else? Was it to… Help him? He wasn't used to modern ethics even after being around London for so long and seeing so many people pass by. Lucy could be helping him get used to the scent, though it was debatable. "This is my room. While your human eyes don't allow you to see it, there, on the other side of the room, is a coffin."
"You actually sleep in one of those?"
"I don't know anywhere else to sleep during the bright days. Though it's not my own, I have grown accustomed to sleeping in it. It replenishes some of my energy." He felt his jaw tighten as the scent grew stronger. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned his power, weaker now without the proper nourishment.
If only he could move a little closer, and truly return to his full power.
"I guess that's why it's so dark in 'ere." Lucy's voice pushed away his thoughts, "So you don't lose your powers to t'light." She moved her blood-covered hand around until she felt the sleeve of his coat and gripped it.
Stop. Tempting me.
Alfendi could feel the headache come, his mind pulse with every second he let her stay near him. "Would you like t-to leave?" For a second, he thought he saw her glare at him, but took it as a trick of the eye as she nodded, then held her head. Finally, she noticed the pain!
When they finally got out of there, Lucy made sure to keep close to him. Now that he could see it, there was no denying he'd strike for the blood. Pulling off her hat, she sighed. "I didn't mean to get 'urt, Prof. Maybe I should go, so I don't rattle you any longer."
"No!" He froze, almost mentally kicking himself for the outburst. She should, for her own safety, leave. Closing his eyes, Alfendi gulped and calmly stated, "I mean, at least stay for a bit. I'll be okay for now, if you'd just… Stay a few feet away." His ear twitched as he heard a small growl. Was that Lucy? It couldn't be. Himself, possibly. He could also sense agitation nearby, from Lucy.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowned. This wasn't going to help with the plan. She had to keep close, so he'd bite, not far away, where he couldn't. "Aye. Alright."
So they strolled through the castle halls that way, Lucy about five steps behind Alfendi as he walked backwards, already knowing the place by heart. This was mainly so they could continue speaking face-to-face, but Alfendi was also a bit suspicious of her behavior.
He had requested that she place her hat over her injury, so he wouldn't be tempted anymore than he already was, and she begrudgingly placed it over the wound, with a wince from not being gentle enough.
Despite this setback, Lucy knew she could still get him to snap. She was still asking the questions here. "Wot exactly do you do for food, Prof? You don't exactly leave or anything." Getting him to talk about his eating habits, while odd, was something she had not questioned him about before. Maybe if she kept him talking, she could get closer to him.
"Rats, mainly. They sneak in from time to time and populate the castle quickly. I sometimes make it a game, for entertainment, since it gets boring in here quite often." He kept a close eye on her expression as he turned left, "I'd suggest not looking through the vases around here. All of them have some sort of dead animal corpse in them, a few even."
Lucy felt his eyes bore down on her now. She had to divert him from any suspicions he had. She put a finger to her lips and gave a thoughtful expression. Surprisingly, she had nothing left to ask him. "I weren't planning on it," She tilted her head slightly, "Why don't you ask me questions now? I feel like I know too much about you, but you know little about me."
That was true. It was always Lucy questioning him about his abilities and himself and he knew so little about his student. "Alright." He smiled, "What do you enjoy, Lucy? Any hobbies? Interests?"
That practically set her off. She had so much. "Well," She began, "I love reading mystery books. Anything with crime fighting and good versus evil. The Sherlock Holmes books are my favorite, because they 'ave t'kind of mysteries you wouldn't expect to 'ear about often. I think t'books are the reason why I came to London."
"Oh? How's that?"
Her eyes almost sparkled in her determination, her drive to reach her goal. She jumped toward him and declared happily, "I want to become a crime stopper! A detective of t'Yard that'll solve mysteries and save t'day from all the wrongdoers!"
Yes. Come closer, Lucy.
Alfendi laughed as she bounced around him. What an excitable girl. Where did she get all this energy from? "With that attitude, I don't think the criminals stand a chance!"
"Really? You really think I can do it?" She grabbed his hands and smiled up at him.
Perfect.
"I do." He pulled her closer, "I believe you can do anything, Lucy, if you set your mind to it." Alfendi had his mind on something too, that's for sure. What was he doing? He couldn't hurt her! Why was he bringing her neck so close to his fangs? He didn't plan for this!
The monster couldn't control himself though. It wasn't the calm side of him that was acting. He wanted the fresh drink provided by sweet, delicious Lucy.
Fangs so close, and the cool breath, Lucy didn't think it would be so easy. She got so into her dreams, she didn't even notice him nudging her head to the side.
So hungry. I want it all.
"You just have to take a couple risks to get there." Alfendi let his sharp teeth graze her skin, finding the perfect spot to nip into.
Lucy cringed as she felt him dig in. At first, the sharp fangs were unbearably painful, but after a minute or two, Lucy felt herself relax. Maybe it was the loss of so much blood, but her head started to hurt more than her neck. So unbelievably dizzy. Why was she letting this happen again?
Enough. Enough. I said that's enough!
In a sudden spasm of muscles, Alfendi felt his throat close up and his arms shove Lucy away from his mouth. "Damn." He hissed, almost spitting out blood as he and Lucy fell to the floor. "What the hell were you thinking?" His anger towards himself was already building and he felt the need to take it out on somebody. Lucy being the only other soul nearby, was his new target of hate.
A rush of headaches and lightheaded dizziness poured itself onto Lucy. She could barely recall what she was thinking, much less why she did such a stupid thing. Her neck was covered in a patch of her own blood. Trying desperately to keep focus, Lucy mumbled, "Were… I… Just… And…"
Then he saw it, a sort of fire in her eyes, dimming. It wasn't her life, but something inside her, a foreign desire. "Lucy?" He scrambled towards her as she fainted. "Lucy!"
It wasn't Lucy that acted recklessly tonight. It was a spell, and Alfendi felt his suspicions return. Why was this girl such a magnet for trouble? And why was Justin using her?
"You'll be alright, Lucy." He murmured as he watched her quiet form on his lap.
He'd make sure his human was still dreaming.
