The Tale of The Canadian Vampire

Chapter Two

A thin line of sunlight peered through the cracks of the trees, hitting the slumbering Canadian directly on the face. A small, agitated whine followed out of his thin, pink lips. Matthew tried to grasp onto his pleasant dream that he was having, begging for it not to leave him so quickly.

The sound of a drum in the distance ripped him out of his dream world and he sat up a little too suddenly for his taste. Pressing the soft palm of his hand to his forehead as dizziness washed over him, he slowly processed what the drumming was. Looking down towards the forest floor, he grew to realise that it was not the sound of a drum but his heart pounding so wildly that was what he mistook it for.

Blonde locks swayed back and forth as Matthew looked around, trying to figure out where Francis was only to come to no conclusion. A soft sigh escaped him and he raked a hand through his disheveled hair that was bound to have picked up some grass and twigs while he was asleep. Then he remembered the hospital and the fact that he was not there anymore. He began to wonder if the hospital was in a state of pandemonium or not. A laugh bubbled up in his throat and he shook his head rapidly to get rid of that thought; like the hospital would even notice that he was gone.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't feel quite so ill anymore. Was this Francis' doing? He questioned what the other did while he was asleep, not that it really mattered. The warmth of the embers from the fire emitted a small, reddish glow, signaling that the Frenchman must have tended to it until the sun awoken.

Carefully, Matthew got to his feet, wobbling back and forth a bit at first. His vision went complete black and he heard the drumming of his heart in his ears once again. If he wasn't sick anymore then why did he feel this way?

Once the darkness from his eyes cleared, he began stumbling through the forest aimlessly, looking for the man who captured him from the safety of the hospital. He couldn't go back into town. If people were looking for him, how could he explain how he went missing in the first place?

"Oh, I just got up and walked out of the room even though I was deadly ill. Yeah right," he laughed to himself, before he looked downwards when he felt a slight breeze on his backside.

His hand instantly shot backwards and he grasped the thin material, using it to cover his rear end. Though he was sure Francis took no heed to what he was wearing, his whole face lit up as red as the embers. He took deep breaths to calm himself down, muttering words of encouragement to himself to will the blush on his face to go away.

How embarrassing it was to walk around in a small gown that didn't even cover him fully. He mentally cursed Francis for not grabbing his clothes on the way out but he knew that it wasn't his fault; he needed to make a swift escape before a nurse came in to check on him.

Matthew sat down by a stream, cupping his hands as he reached down and picked up the fresh water, bringing it to his lips to drink. His eyebrows furrowed together as he drank some more but no matter how much he gulped down, it didn't satisfy his thirst.

"Are you thirsty?" the familiar voice rang through his ears like thunder and his eyes shot over to where the source of the voice was coming from.

It took the young man a moment to remember what his name was before it clicked in his brain.

"Francis!" he cried out in a joyous glee, more than glad to see him. But the thing was, he couldn't see any of him, just the dark shadow of a figure standing among the canopy of trees.

A sound of a cheerful laugh filled the air, making the birds sing along with his voice. It made Matthew's heart warm as a sense of relief washed over him. He slowly got to his feet again and walked over to where the noise was coming from.

A pair of arms wrapped around him and he was pulled against a fabricated chest, feeling that same, strong yet gentle hand in his hair. Before he could get too caught up in the moment, he reached up and pushed away from the man who was holding him in the long-awaited embrace.

Clearing his throat, he forced himself to look up into those beautiful, ocean eyes that seemed to gleam in the darkness. Reaching backwards again, he shut the back of his gown like the curtains back at his old apartment.

The smile was prominent on the Frenchman's face as he seemed to be awaiting Matthew's response to him, letting him take his time to form the right words in his brain. All that the Canadian was able to get out was, "why did you leave me?"

Another laugh escaped him and Matthew frowned; was he mocking him? A reassuring hand pressed down on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze like Francis could read his mind; now that would be something. He quickly shut out any dirty thoughts that he was having, smiling a little too innocently if he could.

"I cannot go out in the sun, Matthew. Even you should know this," he said and Matthew mentally slapped himself for not thinking of this sooner. "Like the stereotypical vampires that you hear about in novels, I have to stay indoors or in the shadows when I go outside and when night falls, I can walk freely through the forest," he explained, clearing up some of the questions that the other had.

"Why don't I feel sick anymore though?" he asked curiously, cocking his head to the side as he awaited Francis' response.

"Well," the Frenchman began, bringing his arm up and pointing to his wrist.

Matthew's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at what he was pointing to, but then he saw the two small puncture wounds on the other's wrist, similar to the ones he currently had plastered to his neck.

"Oh, right. But..." he began only to get a hand pressed against his mouth. His eyes widened a bit and he tilted his head upwards slightly to look at the elder man. The smell of roses filled his senses as he breathed in the scent from his hand, slightly overwhelmed by it.

"Shh, no more questions. You'll find out soon enough," Francis hushed, pulling his hand away.

Matthew almost whimpered when the sweet scent went away; it gave him a sense of safety for some unknown reason and that was a little odd to him. Suddenly, his hand was grasped, making him tense before he allowed himself to relax, following after the Frenchman into the darkness.

"You said you were thirsty, correct?" Francis hummed, glancing back at the Canadian who couldn't see more than a couple of inches in front of his face.

"Uh, yes," he responded after he barely avoided a large tree root that was sticking out of the ground. He felt as though his glasses had been taken off and now he was as blind as a bat; just where was Francis taking him?

After what seemed like miles of stumbling around blindly and tripping over almost everything that was in his path, they came to a large clearing the forest. Though the trees blocked out the cloudless sky, the sun peered through open cracks in the bundles of leaves, leaving Matthew with some light to be able to see. Scratches and bruises dusted over his body, and Francis noticed the small pain he was in.

A hand came up, cupping the Canadian's face. He began speaking, but it sounded distant to Matthew. All he could focus on was the sharp, white fangs that poked out of his lips as he spoke. His eyes gazed upwards and he saw that Francis was smirking and that made him swallow thickly.

"Lay down, Matthew," came the simple command and Matthew did so.

The grass was cool against his damp back caused by perspiration. He looked up at Francis, watching with wide eyes as he bent down beside him. He felt a finger trace up and down his neck, no, the veins of his neck to be precise.

"I'm going to drain you of your blood to the point of death," he said bluntly, causing Matthew to go into a state of panic. Hands clamped down on his shoulders and held him down to the forest floor. "You will not die, and I will quench your thirst afterwards," he finished with a promise.

Matthew could only nod in response, scared to death now. He shut his eyes tightly when he felt the warmth of Francis' breath cascade down his neck, making him shiver. His shaking hands were gripping tightly on the grass below, bracing himself for the pain.

A pair of fangs sank deep into the man's neck, making him bite down on his lip to hold back any whimpers of pain. He could feel the blood flowing out of him and seeping into Francis' body.

"Keep your eyes wide, Matthew," Francis' lips moved against his neck, making all the hair rise on the Canadian's body.

Matthew opened his eyes wide as they could go, watching the leaves that slowly drifted down from the thick branches of the trees. He wanted to ask Francis how much more he had to take, but he didn't dare to. He felt like he couldn't speak or even move for that matter.

After what felt like hours, the Frenchman pulled away, his pink tongue poking out to sweep across his bloodstained lips. He cooed words of encouragement to Matthew but Matthew felt like he was the darkness, seeing no light in sight.

Then, a faint glow came from the shadows that seemed to be strangling him. His arm reached out, trying to grasp hold of that faint light, needing it more than anything.

As he had this inner war with himself to keep alive, Francis bit down on his wrist again, pressing it to Matthew's lips. The human fluid he had taken from Matthew had been converted to something that the Canadian needed to survive; vampire blood.

As Matthew gulped down everything that Francis had to offer, the light inside of him seemed to grow larger, scaring off any of the darkness. His hand reached up and grasped Francis' hand, pressing it closer to his cool lips.

All too soon, the arm was pulled away from him and he eagerly licked his lips, trying to get anymore of that sweet blood that was left. As he looked around, his eyes grew large once more. Not only could he hear the thumping of his heart, but another one at that. Slowly turning his head, his mouth dropped open when he realised that he could hear Francis' heart pounding in sync with his own.

He carefully looked around the forest, seeing everything in a new light. The birds chirping and singing to one another in the distance was so clear, along with the howling of the wolves as they stalked after their prey. The sunlight through the trees almost burned his eyes, being much brighter than it had been before.

The next thing he knew, he was being lifted and carried back into the shadows of the forest, his mind awestruck from being able to see clearly this time, almost like he was carrying a flashlight around with him.

"I hope you don't mind beginning your life anew as a vampire, Matthew. But you still have a long way to go," he warned.

As his mind processed this, Matthew only smirked in return, saying a simple sentence. "Bring it on."