Prince Charming

Note: I, personally, was very happy with this chapter...it's long, for one thing, but I wrote it right after finally getting out of a big, lumpy writer's block, so maybe I'm just prejudiced. Either way, I hope you people enjoy, thanks again for your lovely comments! (And I almost posted this yesterday, but got dragged away from my computer by real life issues before I could get to it sooo...I'm posting it reasonably early in the morning, for me, today. My appologies. ^^)

Chapter Eleven

Dark wings beat at the air: once, twice, three times. A bird of prey, huge for its species, the very essence of power, dipped low in the sky, so close it almost skirted the ground before swooping at the last instant and swerving high into the air. On this night, however, its keen eyes searched not for food, but a very different sort of prey, unblinking yellow orbs tirelessly scanning the landscape and following a trail distinctly out of the ordinary for one of its kind. Then, its eyes came to rest on a city, a village more appropriately, tucked away into the scene of endless trees and grass but bustling with the unmistakable scent of hot, writhing human life.

Here, its trail came to an end, and the bird swooped low around the outskirts of the town, impeccable hearing straining to sort through the jumble in search of a specific human voice. Eventually, it came to a fluttering stop, talons outstretched and wings beating as the lethal weapons dug into solid bark, steadying the beasts landing until it could safely fold its wings, eyes already intent on the inn room window before it, eyes and ears tuned on the two figures inside.

“Come on, Drake…” The smaller of two figures whined, his body already positioned near the exit of their current shelter, arms in the air as he emphasized his complaints. “You’re overworked, undersexed, uptight, and unhappy!” The bird’s eyes tuned in on him, its own presence far too silent and unobtrusive to ever come to the notice of the currently ranting, dark-haired youth. “What are you afraid of? Actually enjoying yourself?”

The other human, still strewn out on the bed, literally radiated signs of discomfort, his mind obviously in turmoil and body registering signals so very different from what his lazy stature might suggest: arousal, frustration, guilt. The bird shifted in agitation on its current perch, talons digging in to the soft wood as a higher conscious inside struggled for release. The man had no right to feel such things towards his mate, his prey. Seconds later, a new arrival to the branch beside him distracted his attention, and he cocked his head, bird’s eyes astute and unwavering as they summed up his companion. Eventually, he clicked his beak in a mildly disinterested greeting, feathers ruffling for a moment before the voices from inside returned.

“Fine,” The youngest of the pair spoke up haughtily, his body language speaking a thousand words a minute even as he took his time with his actual speech “but don’t come looking for me when the second cot in this room stays empty tonight.” The eavesdropping fowl resisted the urge to cackle its objection, wings beating the air furiously even as it remained, for the most part, perched; the other human in the room showed similar signs of distress, nearly falling from the bed in his haste to sit up: surprise, anger, jealousy.

“You can’t possibly expect to-“

“Find someone with a higher sex drive than you? Not hard.” The smallest man turned from the room in a huff, closing the door tightly behind him, and the anxiously disgruntled bird of prey watched in relative silence as the still seated, redheaded mercenary waited, debated, then finally stood from the bed, grabbing a cloak and waiting a moment before following quietly after his smaller companion unnoticed.

Simultaneously, the two waiting birds lifted from the branch, swooping low, then veering off into the cover of trees out of sight before shifting mid-air, wings growing, talons changing, and beaks disappearing until two fully clothed men stood side by side in the woods, one of them instantly folding anxious arms across his chest. “Change of plans,” Cyprien snapped coarsely, his ebony eyes darting repeatedly back up to the empty window of the room that not so long ago contained two living beings. “We can’t wait any longer.”

Raspel looked curious, but unperturbed, his expression carelessly laid back to the point where, if he hadn’t known the action would likely result in some rather painful form of reaction from his companion, he might have yawned. “Jealous?” He questioned without infliction, and his fellow vampire snarled.

“Well of course I’m jealous, you illustrious halfwit! The damn bitch is about to get himself fucked over by, if not that damn ten-ton gorilla himself, than some other greasy, undereducated, farmyard human slum from this pathetic mortal excuse for a town. The little overzealous, horny wench has no idea what to do with himself, and if he doesn’t get himself raped and killed in the first go at it, then it certainly won’t be long, god damn him-“

“Cyprien?” The silver-haired immortal paused his rant, turning at the inquiry to find his companion with an oddly unsettling expression on his face. Just the fact that Cyprien had admitted to his jealously had startled his partner, but the infuriated flow of seething comments that followed made him wonder. “He is just a human, you know…”

“He is my human.” The older vampire hissed, eyes gleaming red for one brief instant with possessive fury before flickering back to normal, his mood calming slightly as he ran his tongue hungrily over two lethally sharp fangs with a cruel smirk. “Or he was…and he will be again…very, very soon.”

“How-“

“I have a job for you, Raspel.” Cyprien interrupted suddenly, his tone curiously gleeful in a way that made the brunette frown with insecurity. Before he could open his mouth though, the other continued. “A very…important…job.”

~

Teige scowled, scuffing his foot irritably on the dirt path beneath him and sending up small clouds of dust as he went. Damn him, that man could be so irritating…not to mention stubborn. After the incident with the elven queen, Drake had conveniently decided to ‘forget’ everything that had occurred that night, and though it hadn’t bothered him particularly much at first, Teige now harbored a growing dislike for that fact. At the least, the man could admit to feeling some sort of attraction to him, if not any like for him personally. But no, he ignored each and every attempt for conversation even mildly related to the subject, and had now taken to trying to avoid him altogether (very difficult to achieve as traveling companions), regardless of anything Teige said or did in an effort to get through to him.

Coming up on a bar, the dark haired youth erased the frustration from his features, figuring that if Drake was so set on ignoring him, he may as well at least attempt at going through with his threat, even if he had absolutely no idea how. Upon entering, smell instantly bombarded his senses, like a thousand toxic gasses forced into one room: beer, dirt, grease, blood, sex, and sweat. If not for the constant traffic in and out, he felt for sure he would have likely choked on the smoke as well. As it was, it only filled the air at a slightly less toxic level. After his experience a few days ago, of which he still had no more than foggy memories, he had found himself noticing more, not just sight wise, but smell, touch, and even taste. In the bar, he became rapidly reminded in a rather negative way of those new sensations.

In an effort to escape some of the main traffic and gloom, he slowly siphoned himself off, drifting back until he’d made it safely to an unobtrusive observation point where he could, if he wished, glance over and inspect most all occupants of the bar while going, for the most part, unnoticed. With eyes now capable of picking out the minutest details without much trouble even from a distance, he found his made-up game of name and identify instantly entertaining. Watching as each person entered the bar, he made guesses on their age, temperament, whether they were single or taken, and even what field of work they specialized in.

“You might want to be careful.” The smaller man jumped, his raven curls whipping about his face as he spun to face the cool monotone of his intruder. Dark, burgundy and brown hair hung straight about an otherwise rather pallid complexion, the smallest amount of stubble dotted his square chin and unreadable, rust colored eyes watched him as he turned. For a moment, Teige forgot the original comment, too lost in trying to figure out first, who stood beside him, and possibly more importantly, how he’d gotten there; he hadn’t heard him come up.

Shaking his head, he frowned slightly, ocean eyes blinking in puzzlement as he struggled to decipher the situation put before him. “Careful about what?”

The man grinned, a feral look that sent his heart pounding and blood rushing to his face all a the same time; for a moment, he felt sure he’d seen two gleaming, pointed fangs in the man’s jaw, but then they disappeared and when he blinked, the man looked human as ever. “Vampire hunts.”

His gaze snapped up. “Excuse me?”

The man shrugged, a careless roll of his shoulders that drew the smaller man’s gaze first that broad expanse itself, then his obviously well-muscled front, barely concealed by a half open tunic that matched the color of his hair. “The people around here…” He caught himself staring and shot his head back up at the words; apparently, the man hadn’t noticed his preoccupied glances, and he let out a quiet breath of relief. “…they’re very superstitious…always lookin’ for someone to stab in the heart, burn at the stake…seems they’ve had…vampire killings.” Every time the word ‘vampire’ left his lips, Teige swore his mind played tricks on him as it teased him with a flash of fangs, but before he could even assure himself once, the mirage always faded. “And with you sittin’ back here in a dark corner alone…pretty, pale skin…wide blue eyes…” With the last two comments, he lifted a hand, tracing the backside of two fingers along the smooth expanse of the smaller man’s cheek, causing him to tense and stare in mild shock. “…watchin’ people.” He dropped his hand and Teige blinked, their eyes locking even as the man’s lips drew back into another predatory smile. “Someone’ll think you’re up to something…”

“I…but…I’m not…”

“Tut-tut, didn’t say you were…” The man conceded quietly, pressing a single digit to his lips to silence him before dropping his hand to the smaller man’s wrist. “…but, to be on the safe side, perhaps you might enjoy continuing this conversation outside? The night is young and beautiful…free of the pollutions of this human wasteland.”

Teige blinked repeatedly, trying to focus on the man’s words even as he nodded faintly, allowing himself to be lead simply because he no longer felt totally confident of his ability to walk on his own. Everything felt hazy, like a peaceful, floating dream, and he didn’t really register much of their movement until they stepped outside. In that instant, his senses came alive, bursting with clarity again as his heart soared and he glanced immediately, without thought, to the full, cloudless sky above, the waning moon a slim crescent but each star casting more than enough light to bathe the town in a silvern glow.

Besides his companion though, one other pair of eyes watched as the suddenly energized young man exited the bar, hand in hand with a handsome stranger, and though Teige himself did not notice, the ever-observant dark eyes beside him instantly spotted their observer, currently cloaked from the cold of night and watching from just outside the building opposite them. An unfriendly leer twisted onto his lips, his eyes glittering with triumphant malice before he turned the corner, leading his smaller captive around the corner of the building, and off into the shadows.

“Do you believe in vampires, Teige?” The smaller man’s gaze lifted with a flicker of movement, his expression first surprised, then considerate, a small smirk curving onto his lips before he finally answered, nodding lightly as he kept track of their surroundings.

“Yes, I believe I do.” They had made it out around behind the bar, the brick wall of its backside one way and nothing but forest in the other direction. Glancing up, Teige smiled again to the stars, his hand still captured within his companion’s grip. “But whether I believe or not…you seem rather obsessed with them…” He turned his gaze to the larger man, clear ocean eyes curious, but unobtrusive as they ran over the more rugged figure before him. “…trying to scare me with gruesome tails of bloodsucking beasts in the night?”

The other man chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound that reminded him of cat’s purr, licking its lips perhaps as it had the canary pinned in the corner, one wing already broken and the other beneath its paw. Teige almost jumped when his back came in contact with a wall; he hadn’t realized he’d been backing up, and all of a sudden, his companion looked a thousand times larger. “Oh, vampires aren’t all that scary…” He had one hand just to the right of his head, and the other around the vicinity of his hip, both flat to the wall and creating a sort of man-made cage. “…and certainly not gruesome…” Standing there, pinned, Teige felt every word against him, each syllable sending a single ghost of heated breath fleeting across his lips and chin. “…they keep all their kills very…” The man’s lips met his skin for the first time, pressing with a surprising amount of tenderness to the dip just between the base of his jaw and column of his throat, sending a fiery stem of heat to every place in his body imaginable. “…clean.”

Swallowing a moan, he shut his eyes tight for one instant before forcing himself to stand straighter, placing a grip on each of the other’s wrists and moving just enough to force the man away from his neck. When their eyes locked, he gave a quiet pant and a second swallow before speaking. “I don’t believe…I ever got your name…” The man frowned ever so slightly, just a brief flicker of movement, but before he could reply, Teige continued. “…and actually…I don’t think you ever asked for mine either…” The vampire tensed, his body stilling as the smaller man continued. “…yet, somehow, you knew it.”

After a moment, the larger man’s lips curled back into a mixture between a smirk and a sneer. “You’re a very smart little bitch, aren’t you? Though I can’t really see why Cyprien is so taken with you…you should learn to keep your mouth shut while you still can.”

A cold panic dropped into the pit of the smaller man’s stomach like a stone, causing fear to well up in his conscious even as his mind struggled to find means for escape. Not just any vampire, but Cyprien’s vampire. Someone who planned to take him back, lock him up and, worst of all, keep him from Davinoff. In one moment, he dropped his legs out from under himself, slipping down the wall into a crouch and escaping the larger vampire’s pin before dashing off to the side in a wild leap for freedom. Less than a second later, the man caught him, shackling his wrist in a far more powerful grip and yanking him back rough enough to make him screech as the treatment pulled at the joints in both his writs and shoulder, slamming their bodies back together, his back to other’s chest, and pinning him there as the man trapped his other arm and waist in a vice grip against him.

“Cyprien wants you back, little bitch…” Raspel hissed against the smaller man’s neck, his voice sending a heated shiver down Teige’s spine even as he cried out and struggled violently against the grip. After his outcry, his captor clamped a hand over his mouth, his grip overpowering enough to contain him with one hand and silence him with the other. “…and it’s my job to fetch you. So you just calm down, quit struggling…and I promise I won’t bite too hard.”

Teige’s eyes flew open impossibly wide before shutting tight as the immortal’s grip muffled his scream. In a desperate attempt to rid himself of the other’s detainment, his heart near choking him in his throat as he felt teeth grazing his exposed neck, he stomped down, hitting first the roof of the man’s foot, then apparently somewhere in his shin as he kicked backwards. Although not totally effective, it startled the man enough to loosen his grip to the point where, with enough struggling, Teige broke free. But, the stunned state was short lived, and in the half a second it took Raspel to regain his bearings, Teige had already determined that he could not overpower, outsmart, or outrun the man as quickly as he’d need to to successfully escape, and so, instead of running, he turned in a whirl to face his oppressor.

Under any normal circumstances, Teige’s weight alone would never have been enough to get the other man on the ground, but in his still semi-startled state, a head on collision was the last thing he expected, and more than sufficient to get him down. So, straddled atop a vampire twice his size, ten times his strength and likely several centuries older than him, Teige bared his fangs for the first time he remembered clearly, and sank them deep in the other man’s neck.

At first, he thought the man might throw him, his hands gripping tightly to his forearms in a vice grip that made him want to cry out in pain, feeling like his bones might crush under the sheer pressure, but he refused to back off. To his credit, the man’s blood tasted like a wild nectar, pumping with life and adrenaline that made his body soar with an almost invincible confidence, telling tales of endless forests, pines, oaks, maples, and the howl of wolves in the trees on a night of the full moon.

Then, slowly, the man’s grip lessened. Gradually at first, it loosened to a mere hold, then took on an almost clinging nature before it slid down eventually dropping away completely and moving from his arms to his hips. There, his grip tightened again, fingers clutching and tugging up ever so slightly at the base of his tunic shirt, dragging his body closer instead of forcing it away and startling the smaller man near to the point where he dislodged. But, Teige caught himself just in time.

Forcing himself to ignore the growing arousal pressing at him from underneath as the vampire ground their hips together, he kept at his work, only realizing just then how very unsure he was as to how long he could drink, or how much the man could stand to loose. When he felt the other’s heartbeat gradually begin to slow, he began to get an idea. Keeping track of the immortal’s heartbeat, he slowed his own pace ever so slightly until finally, he felt the vampire’s soft groan of consent, his eyes fluttering with the effort to stay open even as his lips worked in an attempt to form words. When Teige did finally back off, the man’s grip had fallen from his hips to his thighs, so lax, they had almost no handle at all, simply laying there as he barely had the strength to roll his head from side to side.

“I think…” He mumbled in a voice so quiet, even Teige from his distance of less than six inches could barely hear. “…I might have some idea why Cyprien is so smitten with you…” With that, his eyes fell shut, his breath falling into a slow, but steady pattern of sleep as the dark haired youth ran his tongue once more over the two small incisions at the vampire’s neck, catching the last remnants of crimson liquid present and sealing the punctures.

“Little late to start appreciating my positive qualities, isn’t it?” The smaller man muttered as he stood, running a finger along his lower lip and frowning as it came back stained red. “Don’t think I’ll be returning to sleep with Davinoff tonight…” Heading back to the town, he lingered along the outskirts before arriving at the horse barn just to the side of their inn. There, he gave a brief glance to the water trough, examining its smooth surface for his moonlit reflection and grimacing at the sight he made. “Well there’s a sight you don’t see every day…a vampire straight from the storyteller’s mouth…in all its gruesome glory. Clean, my ass.”

Kneeling beside the trough, he promised himself that the innkeeper had surely replaced the horses water for the night and the thing had not been touched yet by horse slobber before he cupped up the convincingly clear looking liquid, splashing just enough on his face as quietly as possible in an effort to remove all bloodstains and return himself to a state of at least semi-normal appearance. Once satisfied with his face, he dried best he could with his shirt, attempted to run his fingers through his hair and gave up on the first try. Finding the barn locked but a large, unblocked window wide open, he scrambled with reasonable ease up half-empty barrel of oats and onto a haystack into the barn. Inside, he found an abandoned stall, thanked god it was clean, and curled up against a loose pile of gathered hay where he fell asleep for the night, not worried in the least who found him there in the morning.

Note: Little more of Cyprien in this chapter, lot more of Teige dealing with his 'vampire' side...oh! And I need a beta! Not need, need...but I'm really getting antsy. I got a beta for my last story, 'White Rabbit', around this time...well...to be honest...right before the first bout of smut. Because I get terribly, anxiously nervous when it comes to that. And anyway...I've been writing without one for awhile (old beta is still a good friend of mine but has sort of...faded off into the distance somewhat? No longer betaing, anyway.). So yeah...I've been mostly self-editing...but then when I read back over parts, I notice I skip words and make sloppy sentances and mess up things sometimes...I don't know...really all I want is someone to look over it once for me before I post. If anyone's up for it, feel free to tell me. I check my eMail daily. ^^

Review Replies

MakaiKitty: Well, although I don't like the idea of Teige spending the night with a random stranger, maybe this is just what Drake needs to force him into making his move? Can't wait for the next chapter ^-^

First review! xD Yeah, I wasn't about to put Teige up with a random stranger, no worries...well, in a way, I did...but though he can act troublesome at times, Teige is often a pretty clueless little person. He was secluded in a tower for almost a year you know so...yeah. But you're also right too, partially. Though Drake has too much pride to come out and stop him outright...the experience does give him a small...nudge in the right direction. Thanks for reviewing!

Falcon Bertille: Poor Drake. I think he's unraveled just about as much as one man can unravel. But for someone like him, it takes a descent into madness to finally admit the truth. Maybe it's just a silly hunch on my part, but I get the feeling that as long as he keeps calling Teige "woman", he'll never be able to truly hurt him.

I thought that the idea of Teige gradually developing an immunity to being turned was interesting and innovative -- I don't think that I've ever seen it done before. But the concept makes a lot of sense. I'm really curious to find out how our heroes will manage to reverse the process once they realize what's going on.

Very sweet moment with Drake carrying Teige into the tent after Teige faints. A nice hint that there's some hope for our lovers, despite all the earlier knife brandishing. If Drake can ever manage to be intimate with a CONSCIOUS person. *Wink*

I loved this line: "The words slammed against his skull like a hammer against dry papier-mâché..." Very powerful image.

And don't worry. Not all your female characters are bitches. I remember there was a nice lady in in "White Rabbit" -- the one who ran the boarding house where Ashi stayed. And in "Breaking The Fall" both the ex-wife and daughter were really lovely people. So far, in what I've read, only the Elf Queen comes across as truly unpleasant. And we're probably not seeing her on her best day...

Love,
Falcon

xD Oh, we're going to see Drake going through some MAJOR breakdowns in the near future...I really do almost feel sorry for him. But most of all I hope it comes out alright. Delving into people's 'dark pasts' can be the most horribly mundane and cliché thing ever...but I made an effort for it not to be quite so dreary and typical as usual. As for the 'woman' theory...that would be exactly why Drake will never be able to hurt Teige. ^^

Yay! I'm glad you liked the immunity idea...I didn't come up with it from the beginning, but more it sort of gradually seemed to develop in my mind. I was wondering myself for a long while how come Teige never turned before, after spending so much time in a vampire's clutches, and I needed a way to have him both vampiric, and curable...so it seemed to work out well enough.

Yes! There is hope...whahaha. xD Or some, at least. I think he will, eventually...but Drake is a very stubborn little...er...big...character to deal with. He like's to take his time. And yay on the simile! xD I almost didn't put it in...glad you liked it.

Oh yeahhhh....ok then. I suppose I was just feeling guilty. And no, definitely not her best day...xD Thanks, as always, for the review! ^^

Corenn: YEAH ! I KNOW it was a word !... Huh, let's say I guessed it right.
“Take it off!”
“What? My clothes?”
The dialogue which killed me XD I soooo laugh at it...
Eyh ? Did I have the right to kidnap Cyprieeeeen ? ¤___¤ Pleeease !

XD Glad you appreciated that line...it made me grin. As for kidnaping Cyrpien...knowing you...I'd probably never get him back. :gonk: But...I don't need him for the next chapter, so if you promised to give him back in good condition...I could probably stand giving you a temporary lease. xD Thanks for the comments!


RecklessMist (not logged in): ;) yay! More yummy goodness!

I know what you mean about the ego boost. I have a story posted on three sites, and the last one, I got some really good comments. So after a year, I decided to update it. :)

xD Thanks! Wow...nice inspiration they must have been, eh? Cool for you. ^^

Sjonna: Ack! I almost forgot about this! I'm glad I decided to browse through the originals section . . . gonna mark the page now^_^;;

I hope Drake doesn't kill that poor kid. I have the feeling he's the tempermental type who'd take offense to that sort of thing . . .

xD Glad you found it! Oh, he won't...he's too much in love with him to lay a hand on pretty Teige...but he IS the sort of person to get defensive. So anyone ELSE that hurts him........but yeah. He wasn't particularly happy about it though. Thank you for the comment! ^^