Sidney Squabbles with Splendor

"You're sure looking chipper today. Any reason for that?"

I noticed how her once washed out complexion was now hopeful and rosy.

She ignored my question by humming happily to herself.

"I take it you had a nice night...with your significant other".

"Oh so you know about him.

So how was Doctor Chesso?"

"He seemed to be doing quite well and apparently he has never retired like I had originally thought.

So he's in good health... for now".

I smiled making damn sure she saw my fangs yet only for a brief moment.

"If only if it weren't so. I'll

I wish...he were dead.

I wish that infernal facility would burn to the ground... with him in it.

You know I was worried when he told me you two had gone to visit Dr Chesso, I was hoping and praying that no harm would come to him but now I wish he had died that night. I wish he had died by your hand or by his.

I know it sounds horrible but that man has stolen part of my life I can never get back.

I gave my best years to him.

I am sorry that must sound horrible, obviously I would never ask you to do such a thing, it's just how I feel."

"Horrible? That's far from horrible believe me.

I think it's only natural that you should feel this way.

If you ask me Wastrum and Chesso shouldn't even exist yet it's not our job to decide that.

A life no matter how despicable and miserable is still a life.

Just between us I think I got pretty close to wringing his neck myself.

You see I used to work for...Vunction X."

Splendor mouthed the words gingerly and then blinked rather cluelessly.

"Vunction X, It's a secret ops for supernatural entities, it's like secret service, MI5, secret agent stuff, it's a league of spies that strive to protect the supernatural world and unsuspecting humans that are ivolved.

I wasn't taking up Janitorial duties at Morningside for nothing.

The truth is I was on that mission for ulterior reasons.

Chesso I believe is responsible for a lot of disappearances so I had hoped that last night he would confess to my daughter's kidnapping but he hardly gave me any information at all.

He just handed me a stack of papers that had a few short explanations about the experiments he put you through.

Just basic information, blood type, height, weight and eye color, you know the usual.

Most of it's written in scientific gibberish, I can't really make much sense of it, I'm not a doctor or a scientist, We all have our gifts, my gifts has been history, geography and literature.

I don't crunch numbers, I don't conduct experiments, I read books, learn foreign languages and immerse myself in the cultures of other countries on my spare time.

I'm a history buff not a mathematician.

So that's why I'm going to those ruins tonight.

Your beau intends to go with me, however he's made it very clear he doesn't want you tagging along.

He thinks Chesso is too close for comfort. I guess he thinks you might be at risk if you are too close to him.

It makes sense but I don't see what danger you'd be if we were both by your side protecting you.

Originally he was going to stay here just to watch over you yet strangely enough he changed his mind.

I'm sure he'll explain everything to you before he leaves tonight.

I told him to, I mean I suggested that he should discuss it with you cause as you know secrets are the silent killer of any healthy relationship.

He needs to be honest with you and not hide things from you.

Look at me and Mansfield, we are constantly at odds lately because we both refuse to communicate with each other.

I don't want that to happen to you two.

I just hope he'll take my advice."

"If he's sensible I'm sure he'll reveal his plans to me... tonight.

Meanwhile, I thought you wanted me to fall for Mansfield, why the sudden change if heart".

"I know originally I had hopes you two would end up together but then I met your boyfriend.

Mansfield is a pink pom pom Cheerleader compared to him.

He's absolutely terrifying, he's moody and macabre, he is everything I always imagined I'd become.

The kind of vampire I've always dreamed I'd be.

I like him but he scares me and I've not experienced this kind of fear in a long while.

He's so very traditional as well, you know the cape the coatiails, the red velvet and purple silk, the long hair and the ghastly complexion.

I haven't seen Vampires like him in ages.

Yes there was a time where Vampires used to feared now they just get asked for their autograph or they request to have a picture taken with them.

They get career opportunities and in some places they even have a certain kind of equality.

It was rough times and dark times when Vampires were meant to be feared and hated.

It wasn't much fun mind you but I miss those days when people didn't bother me and I didn't have to rely on my vampire enchantments so much.

It was peaceful, you lived in a castle by the sea, or castle at the top of a hills or a castle overlooking a cliff somewhere, everybody knew who you were but they were too terrified to confront you and far too superstitious to visit you.

It was lonely but it wasn't a bad life.

Anyhow It's certainly refreshing to see someone of my own not getting swept away with the norms and trends of the modern times. Modern Vampires are so overrated as of late".

"Well I'm glad you approve of him.

I suppose Mansfield deserves to know I'm not living the single life any longer".

"Oh definitely.

A wise move actually.

So are you going to jump in his lap again just to tell him the news?"

I knew immediately after I shut my mouth that this was the wrong thing to say.

"What did you say?"

"Its just...a...joke.

You've done it before so I was just was joooking about it, you know."

"Oh don't tell me Mansfield told you?"

"No not this time, It was your boyfriend that told me about it actually".

Great now I was throwing Dwindle under the bus.

"Oh I suppose that makes it all better now.

Look I could care less about who told you but the fact you thought it was okay to mention such a private moment, is absolutely astounding to me.

I'm glad Dwindle thinks he can trust you and to be honest I wouldn't have it any other way but you can't just discuss every secret out loud like a freaking 4 year old. "

"Look in his defense he hardly even mentioned it to me and that tiny mention was only told to me because he claimed he had a problem with you getting all cozily romantic with Mansfield.

Apparently it bothered him.

I told him not to worry about it since you were truly in love with him and not Mansfield."

"I'm not angry with him I'm angry with you right now and

What made you think I wasn't in love with Mansfield?"

"Well you're not living with him, I haven't seen him put a ring on it and neither of you are that affectionate towards each other in public.

So its actually been pretty darn obvious."

I had a defiant challenge in my voice now.

"Yes my life is just a open book to you isn't it?

Oh I know it has been the moment you met me, you just thought you had me all figured out and if you hadn't you were determined to figure me out anyway.

I'm like some weird obsession to you,

A peculiar fixation, you always had to know what I was all about, so you came to my place snooping around, looking for answers and hoping you uncover some great secrets.

I don't know why you are so interested in me and I have no idea why you've invested so much time into learning about my life but it's really getting old.

Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

Splendor was about to leave so she could join the rest of the crew that was gathered outside on the manor grounds.

"I'm not obsessed with you and you're certainly not some weird fixation for me.

Come on I'm not even stalking you.

I've been fascinated and intrigued by you but I've never let it get out of hand.

You know I'm only looking out for you.

Then I learned of your association with Wastrum and Chesso and naturally I just wanted to protect you."

"Well since you know so much about me then you know, I'm not an idiot.

You weren't sneaking around my house just to check up on me, you weren't there just to see your old house, you were there because you were nosy and you just couldn't stand not knowing what was going on behind closed doors."

"Oh so I suppose going to your house one time makes me a stalker.

So what if I was nosy?

That was my house and my arch nemesis just happens to be living in it, so yes I was curious about it.

I was also highly curious when you claimed you had a demon protecting from that dead beat carney.

I mean seriously did you have to lock your door before that big hulking boyfriend of yours showed up?"

"That is None of your business.

This is what I'm talking about.

It's not about you being a stalker, it's about you over stepping the boundaries.

Don't you understand you crossed the line the moment you entered my home that night?

This is my life, not yours, soo back off!"

"Oh yes, how dare I enter my own home and look around!

I have news for you, the only reason I barged in like that was because I was afraid to ask.

You always looked like you were either searching for all the possible exits or you looked like you were in pain whenever I talked with you, so I wasn't very keen on asking if I could enter your home.

You still can't even look me in the eyes.

You cower everytime I come in the room and you tremble everytime I touch you.

Don't think I don't know how you look at me.

I know how nauseated you get when I walk up to you, I can hear your heart march up a storm everytime I get close to you."

I placed my first two fingers on her pulse just below the base of her hand and I very loosely wrapped my hand around her wrist.

"You better let me go...right now ."

"Not until I sort this out with you.

Why do you see me as the enemy?"

"You aren't my enemy Sidney but it just seems like you don't understand boundaries very well. You also don't seem to understand how these flippant comments that fly out of your mouth can be considered creepy and just plain hurtful."

"Wait you think I'm creepy?"

"It's not so much a thought as it is a feeling.

You just give off some super creepy Vibes, Sidney.

I really didn't even know what to make of it the first time we met.

I've tried to be nice about it but yes you are somewhat of a creepy dude and that's the honest truth."

"So you're saying I creep you out?"

"Yes Sidney, sometimes you do.

I know that might not be your intention but you are very overbearing and intense, you always seem to be right there and right on top of me, looking over my shoulder, constantly asking me questions and when I try to avoid you or I try to get some space, you assume I'm hiding something."

"You are hiding something, aren't you?

You always shy away or go silent whenever I mention Wastrum.

I just have this sense that you're lying to me whenever I ask you about him.

I'm not asking these questions cause I'm nosy Splendor, I'm asking because I care about you.

I know I'm not very good at expressing that yet I just want to know for certain that you are safe.

There is a method to my madness, there really is, you have only to ask and I'd tell you."

"You're doing this all for your daughter.

You think by helping me you'll be helping your daughter.

It's just like he said.

You feel you're a failure for not saving her, so if you save me you think you're guilt will be lifted and you'll be at peace with what you've done.

Sidney there is a price to be paid for what happened to your daughter but you don't need to be the one to pay it.

Chesso needs to pay for what he did not you.

Stop punishing yourself for the sins of another.

You need to forgive yourself Sidney.

It's not your fault it never was, you were never to blame so stop blaming yourself for the evils of the world."

I let go of her wrist but I still didn't remove my fingers from her pulse.

"He told you? Who told you this again?"

"Dwindle my big hulking boyfriend, you're so fond of."

She smiled non chalantly and casually as if we hadn't just got done with heated yelling match.

"You know you're not wrong about me hiding something.

I'm hiding a lot of things actually but that's not because I don't trust you or because I don't like you, I'm just not ready yet.

There are things that have happened in my past that I'm not ready to tell anyone, not even Mansfield and not even Dwindle."

"So did you lie to me when I asked you if he ever touched you, you know in a bad way?"

"Yes I did if you must know.

I don't feel like heading into a court room and then have one of Chesso's cronies kidnap me in between a recess break.

A court case will just complicate things, it may even make things worse.

Chesso as long as he lives will never stop hunting me, so he doesn't need any encouragement.

Taking Wastrum to court means I'll have to face Chesso and all his noxious connections.

He has allies Sidney, allies that will ensure that both he and Wastrum Will get off scotch free.

You do not want to challenge Chesso, Challenging Chesso could mean starting a war, a war that we'll never be able to win, at least not in a court of law.

I just can't do that right now.

I don't have the strength for it.

Wastrum is cursed anyways so he wouldn't even be able to enter a court room without convulsing and climbing up the walls."

"Wow...that sounds more like a possession.

You sure he's just cursed and not possessed?"

"Yes I'm sure, his eyes go black all on his own.

I think he's evil on his own too.

Any curse just amplifies that fact".

"Oh no doubt.

So he was cursed before wasn't he?"

"Yes he was, it was a family curse, a curse that had been passed down from the great and terrible wizard Walrick Wastrum but it wasn't working all that well.

It was apparently making him stronger rather than weakening him as it was originally designed to do.

You see there was a certain demon, a demon who defied the very forces of satan, he had found a way to redeem himself before God, he did this by doing good and seeking justice for those that couldn't fight for it.

His kindness however was misused, Walrick Wastrum betrayed his trust and he used this gift of knowledge, to create disorder and chaos.

He nearly took over the world so that's why that curse was put in place, to suppress his powers yet the curse eventually became weaker over time so Dwindle removed it and replaced it with another one that's more effective."

"A vampire who's well versed in the art of magic, now that's a horse of another color.

I haven't heard of a vampire practicing magic since the days of Yexalla. Now that was a vampire you could trust that and Vincenzo Virake.

Tormundus Yexalla was my grandfather yet he was slain some time ago, when I was no more than 40 years old.

There were slayers in those days some were just for hire while others did it for sport.

This time this slayer was different, this slayer burned the Vunction hall to the ground.

There heart were run through and all their heads had been removed. I'm surprised the slayer didn't stuff their mouths with garlic.

There was something odd about that crime scene, I noticed my grandfather hadn't been mutilated like the rest.

There was a nasty wound in his chest but it was on the wrong side and the fire itself had hardly touched him.

I think perhaps the slayer knew him and wanted him to die with dignity.

I often would dream of my grandfather rising up from the family tomb.

He'd always smile at me and and say "Did you miss me?".

Then he'd proceed to tell he'd never died in the first place, it was all just a joke, a plot to cover up his escape, he'd only been sleeping, then he'd praise me for figuring it all out, say how clever I was to uncover the truth.

I think it may be Just a manifestation of my desire to see him alive, yet I still have the dream to this day".

"Then he must be alive.

Dreams rarely reoccur without a reason.

He still lives, I can feel it.

Is there a way to awaken him?

"Well yes, there's usually always a way to resurrect a vampire, we are resilient creatures after all.

The usual way would be for the next of a kin to provide him with a few drops of blood.

However if there is only ashes remaining, the blood of a pure soul, preferably a child or someone who's never known love can be used to summon them forth from the ashes.

I don't know how to do that, that's necromancy, that's bad mojo, you don't mess with that stuff.

I once heard of a familiar summoning his master from the ashes by slitting the throat of his only daughter.

You see it either has to be the blood of either the next of kin or the one that is to be next in line, so technically it can be familiar or someone who was of great importance to the vampire that perished.

So those are a lot of options, I could either go grab a child, go kill a virgin or I could use my own blood.

Preferably I'd rather use my own.

Then again it would be even better if the whole entire council was present as well.

I wonder if I could bring them back as well.

Things would be different but Vunction X would benefit from having them return.

There might even be Justice again, maybe even peace amongst all the others vampire kingdoms.

I don't know its probably a crazy idea but it's definitely something worth thinking about".

"Yes It might be. Are you trying to spell me right now?"

"Was I?

I just realized I'd never actually tried.

How is it working on you so far?"

I removed my first two fingers briefly, then I grasped onto her wrist again, I fiddled with her wrist with my thumb, tracing the veins on her arm, I placed a very tiny amount of pressure on the bits of skin where the veins slightly protruded.

"It's not working very well.

I'm not human and I am clairvoyant as well, so I must have a strange immunity to your magic.

You know you don't have to spell me to get what you want, all you have to do is ask.

I know what you want.

You can ask for it you know."

"Yes I can but what if you say no?"

"Then ask for a raincheck".

"What if I don't want a raincheck.

What if I want it now instead?"

"Don't you have anymore blood packs?

"Oh yes, I do but there outside in the car and Mansfield ...has the key...to that car.

So I'd actually have to make a conversation with him, smile, laugh, pretend I care and then 3 hours later he'd give me the keys or he'd tell me how he's put those things in some other clever hiding spot.

So yeah, it might be a lot of work and it would take entirely too much time.

I simply can't deal with that right now, so how about you do me a little favor...please?"

I was trying to be as charming as possible and also made my voice as soft and unimpressive as I could so she wouldn't feel intimidated, threatened or creeped out.

"So you think flirting with me will work better than trying to spell me?"

"You think I'm flirting with you.

That's hilarious.

You are practically a child compared to me, I mean age wise of course, obviously you're not a child but you're just so much younger than I am that that would be ridiculous.

Seriously I'm not interested in you like that, I'm just trying to be charming not seductive."

"Charm doesn't work on me either Sidney.

Why not try to use your words?"

"Alright then, this so not going to be awkward but here it goes.

May I- no could you- would you- can you...doooo me a favor... perhaps?"

"The answer is yes.

I will do you a favor Sidney...just this once".

"You've done this before, you're doing this again, so I'd hardly call this only once".

"Stop nitpicking and just drink.

We can squabble later, perhaps you can save it for one of the episodes."

"We'll save it for Mansfield. He loves the drama.

Why else do you think we are such good friends?"

Splendor had to laugh at this