Prince Charming

Note: Chwa! It's been beta'd! (-Ahem- If you couldn't tell, that does mean my call for a beta has been answered, so whoot! No more need for that...) This would be the first chapter I've had proofread for me in a long while. I'm very happy. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Twelve

Drake scowled and rested his back against the wall of a shop next to the bar. Shadows masked his features as he peered through the tavern’s small window, waiting and watching in silence. He had no reason for his actions, he chided himself mentally, eyes burning holes in the back of a dark, rust red mop of hair belonging to the man practically draping himself over Teige’s uncertain figure. If Teige got hurt, it made no difference to his traveling plans, might even make things easier, and he certainly had no reason to suddenly want to use the newcomer’s remains for kindling as he reached a hand up to touch his companion.

From his position, Drake couldn’t hear what was being said, but just the glimpses he got were enough to set his blood boiling in jealous distaste. When the man took Teige’s hand, leading him out of the bar, it was almost more than Drake could take to see the smaller figure’s elation, his features dancing with a newfound energy and eyes cast to the stars. If not for a dark gaze cast his way at the last minute, he might have left right then, but the way the man looked at him, eyes filled with malice and triumph, as if he knew he’d taken something from him, made Drake change his mind in an instant. Silently, he shifted from his stance, preparing to follow once again.

In order to stay out of sight, Davinoff lingered behind when they turned the corner around to the back of the bar, and settled for a position where he could withdraw in a moment’s notice, but still make out the occasional snippet of conversation as he waited. For a time, he heard nothing of interest, only bits and pieces, mostly dealing with talk of vampires that him shudder under the protection of his cloak. Then, he heard a scuffling that sounded almost like a confrontation and paid closer attention, pulling himself up straight.

“…don’t believe I ever got your name…” Teige’s voice sounded almost neutral, if slightly out of breath, but carried an undertone of tension. Fear, perhaps, or suspicion. The next words came muffled, and Drake almost gave up on listening when the other man spoke, his tone thick and unexpectedly laced with threat.

“…smart little bitch, aren’t you? Can’t really see why Cyprien is so taken with you…should learn to keep your mouth shut…” Then came an obvious scuffle, breaking twigs, commotion and a string of words that the wind covered up. When Drake heard a scream, he moved, prepared to sacrifice every bit of pride left in him in order to ensure Teige’s protection, but the sight he came across by the time he got there stopped him dead in his tracks.

Drake watched Teige hit the man, dead on, and straddle him, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of his dark haired companion, gleaming ivory teeth bared before he sank them deep into another man’s throat. In a daze, Drake watched the man struggle, fighting his own urge to toss everything in his stomach as bile threatened to rise in his throat and disgust churned in his gut. Gnashing teeth, bloodstained lips and inhuman laughter filled his mind, plaguing his conscious as he fought to step back from the scene, eventually stumbling and nearly falling before he finally made it away.

By sheer luck alone he made it away from the bar and into some dark, refuse-filled alley before he lost everything he’d eaten that day, and by the time he made it back to the inn, he didn’t know which felt worse, the thought of Teige rolling in the grass with his lips on someone else’s neck, or the idea of Teige as a bloodsucking night dweller, the one race he hated, feared, and disgusted more than any in their world. That night, sleep was no escape.

A wide ocean stretched out before him, endless and beautiful as the cloudless sky above it. He heard a gull in the distance, sending its call through the salty evening air and bringing his attention to the warmth beneath his feet, the tingling of dry sand just before a wave sloshed over them and the wetness slid between his toes. Laughter rang out from behind him and he glanced back to see the most stunning blue eyes in the universe, perfect and blue as the ocean before him, glittering with humor and happiness.

“Don’t leave me, Drake…come back here and sit with me. Keep me safe…” Watching as a beach breeze blew two loose curls of black over the man’s smooth, ivory skin, he smiled, shaking his head before stepping back onto the dry sand, doing as instructed.

“Safe from what?” He argued mildly, tracing a finger over the soft cheek before him as he sat and taming the freefalling strands of obsidian. “…the seagulls?”

Again, the man laughed, the sound light and carefree as his voice, sending shivers of warmth, comfort, and something else altogether through Davinoff’s consciousness as he leaned in, their lips less than an inch apart when Teige shook his head and withdrew slightly. “No…not the gulls…”

Hearing Teige’s suddenly serious tone, Drake pulled back slightly, brow furrowing with worry as he lifted a hand to the other man’s face, brushing his thumb over a porcelain cheek and studying the features he knew and loved so well. “Then, Teige, what-“

“Him.” A gust of wind blew across the beach, colder than the others and causing the smaller man to shiver as it stirred up sand in its wake. “Don’t leave me, Drake…take me with you and don’t let him have me. He wants me back…he wants me back and he won’t leave me alone, please, Drake!”

Teige’s last words came out almost as a scream, and Drake reached instantly to pull the man into his arms, but before he could, Teige dissolved, turning to dust and catching on the wind as laughter filled the air and a black darkness loomed over the once crystal clear sky. High pitched screeches and the beating of a thousand tiny wings fluttered across the harbor and his heart went cold with dread. Bats.

They came across the horizon like a black veil, a plague of locusts swarming in, coming to devour him and rip everything he had from him. He tried to get up but he couldn’t stand, the sand sinking in around him and holding him down until the blackness coated the sky, bats coming down like rain and swirling about him in live tornadoes. Laughter filled the air, not Teige’s soft, comforting laughter, but thick, booming laughter like a dark thundercloud, throbbing in his head and filling the air until he wanted to scream.

Out of the haze, a figure formed before him, but only partially formed, no body, just two, gleaming crimson eyes and white, ivory fangs, laughing at him, taunting him until-…just before he could scream, the entire scene faded away, and he began falling. Down, down, down.

He hit the ground silently, blinking to determine his surroundings and frowning as he heard crying in the distance. Sobs, over and over. Starting to run toward the noise, he discovered he couldn’t run as fast, his legs shorter and his hands barely the size of teacups. By the time he arrived at the scene, the noises had subsided to only the occasional choked cry, everything coming from just two people, a man and a woman, currently kneeling and shaking, holding each other with their backs to him. Curious, he moved in closer. They didn’t seem to notice him. Finally, working up the courage, he stepped around from behind their backs, coming to see the focus of their sobbing, and his heart stilled.

There before him lay a boy, even smaller than he was in his current state, likely not even four years old, with burgundy red hair as dark as his, still on the ground. At first, he thought he might be sleeping, though some dark part of him already knew that not to be the case. Then, his eyes landed on his neck. Red, blood, everywhere. Crimson stained his neck and his chest, his shirt. As soon as his eyes came upon this, the two adults seemed to notice him for the first time, the woman shrieking and pointing and the man quickly standing and lifting her away as if to protect her.

“You! Look at what they did to him! It’s your fault, Drake! The vampires got him! The vampires! We told you to protect him, and look at him! They killed him!” He tried to back up, but her screams grew louder, filling his ears and pounding in his head. “My poor baby, my poor son, he’s gone and you did it! It’s your fault they got him, they killed him! You killed him, Drake!” He turned around, covering his ears and trying to run but the sound only got louder, drilling into him and stabbing at him until he fell to his knees, arms wrapped uselessly around his head and over his ears in an effort to block the sound. “You killed him! You killed him, and now they’re coming for you, you can’t run! They’ll kill you too! They’ll kill you! They’ll kill you! They’ll-“

Drake shot up in bed, heart pounding in his chest and head drumming with pain, like a thousand needles being forced into his skull all at the same time. His body shook, the blankets clinging to him as he tried to shove them off and lungs barely able to take in air. Body trembling, he hung his legs off the side of the bed, forehead dropping to his palms as he tried to gain some semblance of the real world. For the first time since Teige had left the room the night before, he was glad for. If anyone ever saw him in such a shameful state of weakness… Then memories from the night before returned, sweeping back the most prominent effects of his dream and filling the clean slate with all new problems and worries. Cursing, he slammed to a standing position, nearly fell on legs still weak from his trembling, and caught himself just in time to swear again.

“Gods, damn this world and the next… Vampires…” He scoffed, scowling and hating himself for even the small amount of vulnerability he’d already shown to the empty room. “I wonder where he ended up…some…darkened lair…” He stumbled halfway across the room, reaching his bag of materials and stooping to snatch a loose brown shirt. “Another tower…” Roughly attempting to shove the shirt on over his head, he growled in almost wolf-like fashion as the rather flimsy cloth nearly ripped. “…maybe a dungeon…” By the time he had it successfully over his head, he looked about as calm and tidy as an enraged bull.

This time, though, it wasn’t the fact that his obsidian haired companion had suddenly sprouted fangs and decided to romp in the grass with complete stranger that put his mood up in smoke, but the fact that even though he knew that to be true, he still worried for him. He didn’t want the man trapped in a dark lair, captured in a tower, or chained to a cold dungeon wall. Vile, murdering beast or not, he wanted to know with firm conviction that the man had come to no harm the night before, and, possibly worst of all, he wanted to make sure that the man never left his side again. The night before, he’d wanted to set the town up in smoke, but had, at the very least, vowed to leave the smaller man long behind him in the morning. Now, felt almost willing to search the bed of every damn man in the village to find the promiscuous runaway.

Strapping on boots and finishing with his dressing, Drake decided that if Teige planned on coming back, he would likely return to the inn first, so he notified the innkeeper of his vacancy and the expected return of the man he’d come in with a day earlier. After putting that behind him, he headed for the stalls currently housing Stallion. If Teige hadn’t returned by the time he’d checked on his horse, stocked up on supplies, and eaten breakfast, he’d worry about that problem when it came up. As it turned out, he didn’t have to worry even that much.

Pushing aside the large stable doors with an audible creak, he stepped inside and squinted in the darkness, letting his eyes adjust before moving in further. If not for the quiet groan that followed his rather noisy entrance, he might never have noticed the other occupant in the barn. As it happened, he froze as his eyes landed on the unconscious, curled up figure on the hay. For a moment, Drake couldn’t move, just stood there, trying to comprehend his situation. Then, he stepped into the open stall, approaching the sleeping figure until he stood directly over him, conflicting emotions waging a war in his conscious mind.

He tried to picture the man, fangs drawn, ravaging a town perhaps, drinking blood like water and leaving bodies strewn out carelessly in his wake, tossing carcasses behind him without a second thought. He had every reason to kill the man while he still had a chance, before he could do any serious damage, before he could rip families apart with the loss of their children, their siblings. Kneeling beside the sleeping figure, he fingered the hilt of his dagger, still sheathed in his belt.

What if one strike didn’t kill him? Could he make himself strike again? With the man conscious and in pain? He shuddered, dropping the hilt before he’d even lifted it and withdrawing his hand as if burned, winding his hands together and shutting his eyes. Of course he couldn’t; he was weak. One thought of Teige’s eyes, now so beautiful and trusting, blank and lifeless before him, made him sicker to the stomach than any thought of Teige with blood on his hands. So, shoving the guilt behind him and swallowing the sting in his throat, he reached out, brushing gently at the obsidian locks across the other’s forehead in an effort to stir him.

“Teige? Come on, princess…morning time…” He muttered quietly, watching as dark lashes flitted open, like black butterfly wings lifting to reveal a sea of azure flowers.

“Drake…?” In Teige’s half-asleep state, his voice sounded breathy and light in a way that made the larger man’s insides do flips. Swallowing down the reaction and praying the smaller man was far too unaware to notice, Davinoff gave a gruff nod.

“Yeah, that would be me…have a nice night?” Teige blinked, as if still trying to bring the world into focus for a moment before his eyes widened, and Drake felt sure he saw a flicker of panic wash over such previously peaceful features.

“I-…” His eyes landed on Davinoff, their gazes locking for a moment before he swallowed audibly, diverting his face to the ground and shaking his head as he wrapped arms around himself and plopped back into the hay. “Yeah…terrific.”

Drake eyed him, his expression almost concerned as he opened his mouth, but then dissatisfied as he cut the words off with a frown. “That great, huh?” From his curled position, Teige opened one eye in a silent, squinted glare. “I’m just wondering…how did you manage to get kicked out of his bed before you both woke up in the morning? Or were you just bad enough that he got up especially early to make sure you were gone by the time he was awake enough to fully comprehend what an idiot he’d been?”

“You know what…” Teige mumbled sourly, stuffing his face in the hay with a grimace. “…I hate you.”

“Nice to know…” The older man muttered without much enthusiasm. “Just be happy I found you…I was planning on leaving you behind…but I’m in a good mood this morning, so if you get up right now off your royal bedspread…I might think about keeping you with me.”

Teige lifted his head from the straw, bringing a few golden strands with him as he did so, quite obvious against his otherwise inky mop of hair. “You would have left me behind?” He questioned in mock hurt, placing a hand over his heart with dramatized disbelief and fluttering his lashes in a move far too feminine for his gender. Drake frowned slightly. “How could you, Drake? The nerve of you, threatening to leave poor little old me all alone in the world to fend for myself…it’s just cruel!” As he watched, Davinoff had to resist the urge to reach out and rid his companion of the yellow wheat strands caught in his hair, just itching to pull them out and barely paying a whit of attention to Teige’s flowery display of acting. “Whatever would I do without big, strong Drakey to protect me, hmm?” He had sat up by then, propped on his knees as he advanced on his still crouched traveling companion. By the end of his rant, he’d come face to face with the puzzled redhead, his hands on the larger man’s knees and their faces about a foot apart. After a moment of running his eyes over the figure before him, Drake eventually shook his head, mild frown still in place.

“You do realize you look like a scarecrow with all that hay in your hair, right?”

Gawking, the smaller man gave an indignant huff and pushed roughly at the other’s chest with sudden force, knocking the larger man off balance and standing as Drake fell over backwards with a startled grunt. “You’re just plain mean, you know that?” He defended with pout, folding his arms across his chest and resisting the urge to laugh at the look on the other’s face as he shook his head and propped himself up on his elbows, trying to get an idea of exactly what had happened. “Maybe wanna work on your balance though…” He mumbled beneath his breath with a small smirk that he covered with his fingertips.

Despite his quiet tone, Drake caught the words, and reached for Teige’s ankles the next instant in a retaliatory attempt to trip him. Yelping, Teige jumped back to avoid the attack, and grinned as he escaped outside the door of the stall. “Ha! Missed me, missed me-…eeep!” In the time it had taken him to escape and flaunt his freedom, Drake had made it up and beside him, catching his waist and tugging it to him, the smaller man’s back to his chest as he quirked an amused eyebrow at the startled, blushing form of his companion.

“You act like such a child…have you ever mentioned how old you are?”

Teige blinked, shaking his head with an innocent expression as he stood captured, apparently not minding his position in the least. “Nope…I don’t even know myself exactly…but I can assure you I’m a big boy…I can take care of myself most of the time.”

“Most of the time.” The redhead gave a quiet snort of disbelief, dropping his hold on the smaller figure and snatching up his almost forgotten pack before heading over to the horse, still penned up in its stall. “Come on…you’ve held up departure long enough, I have somewhere to be before winter sets in.”

“Held up departure?” Teige followed after his companion curiously, eyebrows slightly raised as Drake lead Stallion from his hold. “I thought you said you were gonna leave without me?” After glancing his way once, reins in hand, Davinoff opened his mouth, thought better of it, and shut it again with a mild frown as he pulled the saddle and baggage into place.

“Just get on the horse.” Teige grinned, his expression blatantly pleased as he did as instructed, mounting the beast with a great deal more ease than his original attempts and smirking as Drake came up behind him. “You’re getting better at that…” The larger man admitted, a mildly impressed note in his tone as he said it, and Teige seemed exceedingly happy to hear it, grin broad and eyes dancing at the flattery.

“Ain’t’cha proud of me?” Even faced the other way, Teige felt sure he heard the man roll his eyes, and at that moment Drake couldn’t have cared if he was a bloodsucking vampire, salivating werewolf, or shape-shifting salcidae in disguise, bent on taking over the planet. When he spoke, he meant his words with every fiber of his being.

“Oh yes, m’lady…very proud.”

~

Raspel groaned, instinctively lifting a hand to his neck and letting out a hiss and moan simultaneously as he grit his teeth, forcing his blurry eyes open and struggling to gain a semblance of his surroundings. “What the he-“

“-hell were you thinking, yes, that’s my question alright.”

The barely conscious man blinked again, the stern voice setting his head pounding and temples throbbing as he desperately swallowed in an effort to dampen his seemingly permanently dry throat. When he spoke, it felt raspy and raw, painful like sandpaper on an open wound as he croaked out a name. “Cyprien?”

“Who did you expect? Teige? You obviously failed in that effort…”

Reddish-brown eyes squinted dully, then shut when the fallen vampire lifted a hand to his eyelids, rubbing circles over them as memories started to come back. Of course, Teige. The one who’d got him into this mess in the first place. He frowned as a variety of odd images swarmed through his mind: the smaller body struggling against his, the fall, the lips on his neck, then teeth in his throat.

“If you don’t mind my asking…how in seven hells did you manage to get yourself bested by an eighteen-year-old partially human half-breed?”

Raspel tested his jaw, shifting it from side to side, and then once again brought his hand to the sorely sensitive section of his throat, wincing before he deemed it safe to sit up. Once up, he tilted his head back slightly and squinted again, finding himself virtually helpless, exhausted, and aching all over at the feet of a rather unhappy looking silver-haired vampire.

“I, uh…” He swallowed again, more out of the desire to try dampening his throat a second time than out of fear for the situation he’d woken to find himself in. “…he’s…ngh…pretty smart, actually…for a daywalker.”


Note: Bwhahahahaha.....ok, sorry. I'm just in a good mood...xD Just so everyone knows...I think I'm going to take up a Monday/Friday posting schedule. Nice and simple and easy for me (and everyone else I suppose) to remember. *nodnod* Onto the reviews!

Review Replies

Dee: Omg! Teige is a vampire! Arrgh I have mixed feelings towards that and now I have mixed feelings towards Cyprien and who Teige will end up with. Omg I am so confused Waaah. You must must must update soon. I am loving this story with a passion.

xD Not quite! I suppose he's pretty close...but he still eats regular food and walks in the sun, so you can't call him a vampire, not totally. People still like Cyprien? I suppose that's good...I try to update as quickly as possible (and still leave myself backup in case of writer's block), and am currently right at the end of chapter sixteen...so I should be able to keep up with my posting plans. Thank you for commenting and I'm glad you're enjoying it!

MakaiKitty: Oh, very interesting chapter. My only question is, did Drake see what happened? He seemed like the was going to follow, but did he end up catching up to his wayward little minx? Wonder what he thought if he did witness that tasty little feeding? Can't wait to find out what happens next.

Wayward little minx...dang, I like that description...xD Sorry...-ahem- Well, this chapter answers that question. But you should know, if not for you and several others wondering that very thing...he might have ended up walking off completely ignorant. I like it better the way it is now...but originally, I had written it without him seeing the scene at all. Hope you enjoyed it! ^^

rachel80: ohh i wonder what cyprien's reaction will be! will he be enraged? and did drake see this little incident? the suspense is killing me as usual :) oh, i love the way you revealed the vampires in the form of birds, it added yet another predatory and chilling element to them. can't wait for more :D

Yay! I was very happy with the bird scene, and a couple people mentioned it, so that makes me happy. I think this chapter answered most all of those questions...hope you like how it turned out and thanks for leaving feedback! ^^

LB: Ok, I can't see that Tiege was "dealing with his vampire side" at all. It looked more like he was embracing it and not bothered one bit about it. From the first few chapters, I would have thought he would be having a panic attack over finding out he was a vampire (or on his way to being a vampire....I'm really not clear on what you're trying to make him into since the other vampires make comments about him being 'just a human'). But in this chapter, well, he seems pretty fine about drinking blood, not really even all that disgusted with having to clean the blood off afterwards (it came across as more of 'this is such a bother' that he got the blood on him in the first place). Seems a little inconsistent to me. It's a well written fic for the most part and has been enjoyable. But, you might want to watch that it doesn't start developing plot holes.

xD By 'dealing with his vampire side'...I meant he was...well...dealing with it...dealing with BEING a vampire...sprouting fangs...all that. Perhaps not facing the idea head on (you must realize he WAS likely a bit startled and pretty much acting on instinct), but at least using it to his advantage. Panic attack? Well...Teige is a pretty accepting person when he's got his head on striaght. He probably won't like the fact very much...when he has time to actually think about it...but panic attack, no. He's seen Cyprien feeding, he spent almost a year LIVING with him...he's probably pretty used to it. Also, he's a reasonably smart guy, all things considered, and he couldn't have gotten by without noticing some symptoms previously, before he took that first bite out of the woman in the forest. He's definitely not as deeply prone to denial as Drake.

'On his way' would be pretty much correct. The vampires reffer to him as human because, in their mind, until he's an all out blood-sucking nightcrawler that can't eat a scrap of dry food without puking...he's human. Right now, he's still mortal and dependant on sunlight and water, though his body does yern for the occasional taste of blood. I'm glad you still think it's well written despite any problems it might have, and I'm working hard to keep it that way. Hope this chapter and my answers helped make it less confusing? ^^; Thanks for the comment!

Falcon Bertille: I can understand why you like this chapter so much. It does seem especially well written. I particularly enjoyed the opening description about the bird of prey swooping into town. Those first couple paragraphs were packed full of so many great sensory details - you made me clearly imagine what it might be like to fly. And when the birds turned out to be vampires, that was a nice surprise.

The confrontation between Teige and Raspel was very sexy, especially the blood drinking. I loved this line: "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." Very beautiful and poetic.

Somehow, I just know that Drake saw the whole thing. How will he deal with discovering that Teige is (sort of) a vampire? For that matter, how will Teige deal with it, once the shock wears off? All these questions and no obvious answers! The suspense is killing me!

Can't wait for the next update!

Love,
Falcon

Yay! More happiness in the birds department. ^^ So the birds turning into vampires was a surprise...that's good. I didn't know whether anyone would suspect anything odd beforehand or not. I'm glad it turned out well, regardless.

And another yay! Raspel's name finally makes it to the review board. xD I've liked Raspel for a long time, I don't know why exactly, but I'm considering some possible more intricate plans for him in the future...yet, no one seems to ever notice him. I suppose he's always stuck in the shadow of Cyprien...and in a way, he really is...but it still makes me happy to see him mentioned, and I was glad to give him a more glorifying...sort of...role in the last chapter.

Thank you uber much all over again for your help and lovely reviews!

Anna: Found this story just today, and I am so impressed. I read it all in one sitting and am now on pins and needles waiting for the next update.
I love the style, as I am not a fan of overdone descriptions and wordy backgrounds. I look forward to your next chapter and upcoming . . . smut did you say?
O and good job with detail work, I hate sloppy loose ends and you have tied them all up nicely.

Whoot! Wow...do you know what the ironic thing is? (Something that tells you a little about the differences in taste among different people I suppose...) I posted this on another site while Aff was down before it actually made it here...and the first person to comment ripped me up and down for BEING overdone and wordy. And here you say you like it because you're not a fan of that. xD ^^

Smut! *ahemcough* Well...yes...just a bit longer and yes...though I'm really terrified of the smut this time...I suppose I'm always terrified of smut but, o_O It's the first time I've posted any in a good long while. Glad you like it so far and thanks for the comment!

Corenn: In a good state ? Huh... Is that very important if... he can't walk properly ? ^_^'' *looks at her harem of bishies* Just a little T_T *hug Cyprien* And I think I begin to like his friend too ! He seem sympathic... :p I reeeeeally can't wait for the continuation T_T Sorry for the betaing, but... being frensh... It would be kind of hard XD Of course, if you have texts to write in frensh, I would always be glad to help XD in exange of a Cyprien doll !!

French! So that's what you are...I had a feeling you spoke a different language...^^ Cool. I might be taking a French class sometime soon...if I do, I'll bug you for tutoring. Whahahaha...(just kidding). Heheh....ANYway... Walk? :gonk: Welllll....there are at LEAST two more chapters now where he won't show up soooo..........how long will this ailement last? :gonk: And yay! Another mention of Raspel! I'm glad you like him...I like him too...but few people seem to notice him, so I'm glad he's getting at least a little mention now. xD

No worries about the beta thing. Got it covered. *nodnod* But if I do something in French...a Cyprien doll? Do hand-drawn paper dolls count? xD Thanks as always for the comments. They're dependably friendly and make me grin. Hope you like the continuation! ^^