Dead Light
Chapter Two
Dedicated to ThePirateKing
I hadn't wanted to leave my lover, but I knew that I must. Mere moments after Tobias had fallen unconcious, I fled the sanctuary of the dungeons, seeking his mother. 'So what', you say, 'he's only fainted'. Had he been a she, I would have agreed with you one-hundred percent. But, he was not. He was Tobias. Prince to this kingdom, no matter how much he loathes that title. Soon, he would be the king. That thought hurt me more than the sunlight ever could.
All of that work; drawing him from his depression, befriending him, and even loving him. And for all that work, all that time, what do I get from it? Nothing! That's what! Nothing but the sight of him being given away to some woman, who will never even begin to fathom the depths of his mind. I can, I should be the one marrying him.
My thoughts came to a screeching halt as I trampled just the woman that I wanted to see. Charon Monroe. Tobias' mother, The queen of Illyria. A coat was draped over her hands, black with blue embroidery, and her expression was puzzled as she saw me. Not wanting to waste times on nicities, I snapped. "Stop gawking, dammnit! Fucking pain here, y'know!" I growled, pushing her down the hall. Why the hell did they have to have so many damned windows!? I also didn't care what happened to me later, right now, Tobias needed us. And I needed to get out of the sun. "It's Tobias," I said hastilly, unable to stand the sunlight. With that said, I sprinted away from, eager to both be away from the sun, and be with Tobias.
Contrary to popular vampire lore, the sunlight won't kill most outright. In fact, most can ignore it, or don't even notice it. Every once in a while, though, one of us is 'born' with an allergy to it. Which must be where the typical lore comes from. Though, that will not kill a vampire either. Not immediatly, at least. Stand too long in it, and it will find a way, however. If the pain doesn't get you first. It is literally being burned alive. Just, ignore the whole "undead" thing and it makes far more sense.
In a decade or two, the marks of the sun's wrath would fade. It didn't bother me much, once I was back in the cool, welcoming darkness of the dungeons.
Pushing selfish thoughts aside for the moment; I coudl devote all the attention I wanted to myself once I knew Tobias would be well, I rushed over to my lover. No matter what any legal doctrines say, Tobias will always be my lover. No one elses'. He's told me this, just not with words. He's been reduced to such a pitiful creature, it's almost sad. Almost. If only because if he had not, I doubt I would have ever gotten the chance to meet him. To love him.
Unfortunatley for me, the man I loved was still unconcious -- showing no signs of life, save for the rise and fall of his chest, and even that was shaky, unsteady and uncertain. I drew him close to me, a protective gesture. The only thing I did not know, was who, or what, he needed protecting from. I was just glad to hold him against me, and hear the reassuring sound of his heartbeat; erratic as it may have been.
Without me noticing her, Charon had made her way into the dungeon, a pained expression on her face as she stood in the doorway, surveying us. As if to tell her to back off, I drew Tobias closer to me -- even as I silently pleaded with her to help him. The seven other vampires were awake now, disentangling themselves from the group they had formed to sleep with warmth, out of respect for their queen. Respect that I knew I lacked as I mentally commanded her to help.
She took him from me, examing him for what felt like hours. I knew it truly was less than five minutes, but any amount of time, pained with worry and in a room with nary a window in sight; only a flickering, half-burnt out candle for light, seems like it takes an eterenity to pass. Without a hint of compassion or sympathy for her son, she ordered a female vampire, my mentor, to go fetch one of the medics. At least, I think that is what she said. I'm not multi-lingual, and don't intend to be. Whatever she said, the vampiress scampered out into the day. It wouldn't bother her. Not like it did me. I was glad that I was not the one sent into that light, my face and hands still stung.
"Ian...," Charon said, and I gave her my attention, feeling a question coming on. "Normally I wouldn't... ask about... your... relationship... with my son..." I sniggered, finding amusement in the fact that she wouldn't come out and say, 'I want to know about your sex life with my son'. She glared at me, then continued. I suppose one cannot be crude when ruling a kingdom. "For my own... thoughts... Before the doctor gets here, I would... like to know. So... who does who?"
I burst out laughing at that. I admit it. I have a perverted sense of humour. In layman's terms, which is what I heard, she had just asked, "Does my son fuck you, or do you fuck him?". Which, from reserved, polite but can be ass-kickin' when she needs to, Queen Charon, this was an entertaining question. Her frown at my outburst told me that she thought otherwise. I guess she thought it was an appropriate question to ask. I thought it was rather reduntand. Just from a glance, anyone who's not blind, can tell that Tobias is the catcher. It's not hard, people.
Regaining my composure, I answered. "Madame, if you're asking which one of us has the more painful part of the pleasure, from dusk until dawn, that is, it would have to be your son. Tobias." Too much a lady to turn away and giggle, yet too much a child not to, Charon's face tinged pink with embarassment. She asked. I answered. I guess she would have preferred it if I had left out all the intimate details.
She gave a quick half-nod, as though she had been expecting that answer. She might have just wanted to confirm it, perhaps hearing it made it more real to her.
--
The doctor finally appeared, and ignored everyone but the prince. Tobias.
She was a small woman, and easilly agitated. She had a tendancy to run her hand through her hair and make small clicking sounds with her tongue when she was deep in though. It was what she was doing now. Hand through hair, shake head, mutter something, clicking noise, repeat. She had wasted no time in examining him, even going so far as to strip him down and draw blood; without so much as asking me! Perhaps I'm a bit touchy, and get jealous easilly when it comes to him, but the truth is; Tobias is mine. No one else can have him. No one else should be able to touch him, either. Not without consulting me first.
I got a perverse pleasure when whatever she was looking for in his blood got a "No. Negative. Nein. Nicht. Not. No." from her. I should have been worried, I know. I'm not very good at that worrying thing, though. It must have pissed of Charon even more when she saw me smirk at her tests, coming up negative after negative. I don't know. I didn't look up to meet her eyes. No, my attention was on Tobias. Or the doctor. But mostly, on Tobias.
He hadn't moved much at all. Sure, he was breathing, and his reflexes... the ones that hadn't already been destroyed, were still there. I couldn't even reach him on the mental front. This, scared me. I had always, always, always been able to mentally contact Tobias mentally. And now, nothing. It was like an artist, who works with paint and colour, to be struck completley blind, and still expected to create a masterpiece. Every once in a while, the doctor would look over at me for a, 'is he awake' check, and each time I had to give a 'no' as the answer.
Many hours passed now, in silence save for all of our breathing, and the doctor's notes, when she took them, and her mutterings as yet another test turned out negative.
I alternated between sitting and laying next to Tobias; the other vampires had wasted no time in helping us construct a somewhat comfortable bed from pillows, clothes, and actual bedding. Charon switched between sitting near the two of us, and looking over the doctor's shoulders at her notes. She wasn't comfortable in either situation; it was obvious in the way she fidgeted, repeated herself, and of course, the ultimate give-away; her tone when she spoke to me. I knew she didn't mind my friendship with her son. Not when it was just that; friendship. Now that it was something else, something much more, much greater, and something she refused to acknowledge, she couldn't find much of a way to approach me.
The silence was beginning to suffocate. I hate awkward silences. So, I decided to open my mouth. Which, when dealing with the Queen of Illyria, is always a bad idea. Especially when one is not holding her in the highest of regards. "You can stop looking at me like that!"
"Like what?" She asked, indignant. She hadn't done anything wrong, merely glanced over at the two of them.
"Like... that!" I growled, frustrated. Night had descended, I could tell. Being near Tobias all day, unconcious as he was, wasn't helping me any. I could smell his blood; the last time I had drank from him seemed years ago now. Oh, god, how I wanted it! Yes, this was the worst part of my superiourly selfish day. I had him with me, the entire day, and couldn't so much as kiss him. Unresponsivness just wasn't my thing. Knowing his mother was watching me, I resisted the impulse to lick my lips; though it would be from nerves, she would assume it one of hunger. Please Tobias, Please. Just... wake up. Please..., I pleaded to an empty mind. He wasn't even dreaming! My hands shook as I ran them through his long, silver hair, marvelling at how it seemed to fade into a light blue at the bottoms.
"I... I'm not going to rape him, just because he's here and vulnerable. That's not how we work... I... I actually love him, Charon. He's warm, he's beautiful, and he's the sweetest man I've ever loved," I said, unsure of why I was saying all of this now. I wasn't even sure I was truly talking to her. I just needed someone to listen, to hear me. That, and having your addiction be so near, but so unreachable, was driving me insane. "Other... Other than that, I have no idea why I love him! He's... He's just himself. Maybe, Maybe to most, he's a complete, quiet ass. If you could just... just try. Try! try to understand... Who he is, and who he was... maybe... maybe you would see. Neither...," I left the three of them, and ignored the cluster of vampires in the farther end of the dungeon, and rested my forehead on the slimy, stone wall.
"Neither of us...," I continued more quietly, "...want him to be married to that woman. You thought... that he was dead, for most of his life. Then, you find him, and make him your prisoner. Did you even... care to know who he really is? Or did you... just craft a fantasy of what you wanted, and decided he would be your key character? What did you think would happen! A faery tale ending!? You... you need to wake up.
The ending of your faery tale, and his, are two different definitions. How much do you even know about your own son!? Do you know... Why it is he won't speak? How he got so hurt, that he is crippled now? Have you even... paused to consider, that the wolf side of your werewolf kingdom, won't tolerate a weak ruler? Tobias is weak! You have to understand that! His weakness is the last human thing about him. Do you really want him dead? Is that why you've set up this marriage... Did you... even think... how could you... what about... his happiness...?"
All the while I had been speaking, my legs had been slowly giving way beneath me, and my knees had buckled underneath me. Listlessly, I punched the wall. Completley drained of energy.
I knew that I had acted poorly. The fact that my mentor had taken the time to come and sit beside me, her arm draped casually over my shoulders, spoke volumes on that matter. "Ian...," She murmered, right next to my ear. She had a beautiful voice. Centuries ago, she had been the most sought-after woman alive. Today, things weren't much different; aside from her status as one of the undead.
Back when I had first encountered her, I had been human. She was a nurse. I was dying. As I am still here today, you can piece it together; She turned me. Now, she mentors me. "Teaches" the way of the vampires, I suppose is how you would put it. Though it seems like there is more between us at times, there never was.
"Ian. You need to calm down."
"I am calm now."
She smirked, making sure to show her fangs in the process; reminding me of my place. In our 'lesser' society, the bond between mentor and mentee is the last semblance of family that one can cling to. "Ian. You can't lie to me. I can't lie to you. You need to calm down. Go outside, it's night, the cool air will do you good. I'll see to our Queen and the little Prince."
I dipped my head in a respectful nod, knowing that her words didn't need to be complimented by my own. I cast a longing glance towards my lover, catching the sight of his mother's unpleasant face as I did so. I sighed, and headed up the stairs and then outside; inwardly praying that Tobias would awake soon, and that his mother wouldn't banish me from the kingdom forever; Death threats directed at a vampire were usually a laughable affair, and being away from my love would hurt the most of any punishment that irksome woman could ever devise.
Myst, my mentor, had proved right in the end. The calm, cool air of the night did calm me down; for a few minutes, before my mind turned back to Tobias. Was he alright? Had he awoken yet? Would he ever awake? What... What had caused this to happen to him; nerves, stress, fear,or, what?
My mind raced like that for many minutes, my isolationism in the forest on the grounds not helping any. How many times had I come here, to find Tobias, slumped over with exhaustion, or lost, and simply trying to find his way back? There were some, more interesting, memories of my lover I had here as well, but dwelling on them would have to wait for a later time. Just as a I was steeling myself to go in and face what I felt would undeniabley be the worst news of my undead years, I heard an intimatley familiar presence reach out to me on the mental plane, and the best sound that could ever be heard;
"Ian..." Tobias' voice called out to me, soft and weak, but there, and alive. He was awake! My heart was overflowing with joy at this point. With total abandon, I raced back to the castle, eager to see my love. And, to know what had truly happened to him. But, that could wait. No, it would wait, until I personally knew that he was well, and would not soon suffer from another fainting spell.