Nord

Teachers Pet

"Hm... And yet, he won't be coming to get you. You should just forget about him, your adventure with him is now over. How about you start one with me instead? I never said that you have to be a slave, unless you're into that sort of thing."

His lips curled into a devilish smile.

"There are many people who live within my little world, you see, I have certain... how should I put it?.. Privileges, within the world of Vampires. There are many rules that we generally live by, but under my rule, my subjects are granted a little slack. They are allowed a little more freedom to pursue their dreams, and unique... pleasures."

He stood up and walked over to the girl. He forcibly turned her around and leaned over so his gaze met hers. He brushed his fingers across her cheek softly.

"You should be honoured to be asked to join my Kingdom, I do not just let anyone join as they please. Only the most beautiful and interesting may live under my rule, and I've yet to have any Royal Blood amongst my people, even if they've renounced their heritage, such as you have."

He stretched his arm past her head, placing his hand on the wall, cornering her against the wall. He leaned in close enough so she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"A unique individual such as yourself is very enticing to me, why don't you join me and be my lover. I can give you the world if you want it..."

A disgusting smile spread across his face.

"...Though, it's not really something you can decide on, if you refuse me... Well, I have ways of being a little more persuasive. And I'd hate to damage a new toy before I get to play with it."

Teachers Pet

Horus walked into the room and headed over to a small desk that had an assortment of bottles and glasses arranged on top of it. He took one of the clear glass bottles from the middle of the arrangement, filled roughly halfway with a brownish liquid, and pulled the top off. He swirled the liquid as he pulled over a small glass cup. He tipped the bottle so that the liquid started to fill the cup. It was almost filled to the brim before he stopped pouring, replaced the top on the bottom, and placed it back with the others. He took the glass with him as he sat on the edge of the bed and crossed his legs. He glanced at the scared little girl in the corner, raised his glass to her and downed the beverage. He held the glass in front of his face, observing it as he talked to Evangeline.

“I’m afraid that Azrael won’t be walking through that door. You see, he already paid me a little visit.”

He raised his eyebrow and cast a look at the girl, trying to gauge her reactions to what he said.

“Oh yes, he left without making much of a fuss. Came back with Raleigh not too long ago, you see I had another little job for them to do whilst May brought you to me. After he got the money I offered him he went off to another city to fulfil his needs, suffice to say, you won’t be seeing him ever again.”

He smiled wickedly at the child.

“But don’t worry about all the little things, you can have plenty of fun with me, I’ve got lots of things to teach you.”

Teachers Pet

Breathless, Azrael staggered through the forest. Even if May had been trying to hide her tracks while holding Evangeline hostage, Azrael would of been able to find his way to the home of Horus blindfolded. He'd stayed in Horus' little 'Winter Kingdom' for almost a decade, catering to his Lords wishes, fulfilling tasks similar to what Raleigh and May had to do.

Azrael trudged through the light blanket of snow for the better part of three hours before reaching one of the lesser known entrances to Horus' hideaway. He would of gotten there a lot faster, but the scuffle he had had to endure with Raleigh turned out to be somewhat more challenging than Azrael had first assumed it would be. Well, the kid had turned out to be a equipped with a bit of a surprise, but that was to be expected of an Underling of Horus. Azrael looked over his shoulder at the bound and unconscious young Vampire who he had dragged with him all this way. It was undeniable to say that the cub had skill, but he would need to put in much more time and effort before he could outmatch someone of Azraels skill. The fact that the left hand side of his body was virtually numb to the bone was testament to the fact that Raleigh possessed a high ability in combat, and although the numbing effect was down to the weapon that the boy had possessed, Azrael grinned at the replaying image of when Raleigh made his only successful attacking move. It turned out that the blade, that Raleigh had been gifted to by Horus, was in fact a magic imbued dagger. Such things, although not generally hard to come by, did require someone with a proficiency in magic to imbue the weapon. Not doubt Horus had such a person, or probably persons, locked away in his dungeons, creating things like Raleighs blade whenever he should require. Magic weapons were generally used by high-ranking humans in their armies, a gift presented to those who had brought fame or fortune to their liege. Most of the time it was simple magic, making the blade glow or emit flames and such, showy things to scare your enemies and inspire your allies. But this numbing effect was the sort of thing used by Assassins and such, the sort of profession Vampires generally shy away from, there was no honour in stabbing a man in the back or finishing off a weakened opponent. But, such things rarely bothered Horus, that much was true, he had always been somewhat of a black sheep, a stain on all Vampires have ever believed in. But, who was Azrael to judge whether his behavior was acceptable, such things were above Azraels rank within the realm of Vampires. Instead, Azrael had just left Horus' group. He'd never looked back.

Azrael dropped Raleigh on the floor and then placed his hands on the stone wall in front of him. For a moment it just looked as though Azrael was doing stretches, but suddenly there was a clunking sound and a rectangle started to form in the rock face. As he pushed the door shaped object moved into the cliff with Azrael. After a couple seconds Azrael came out from the dark of the corridor and grabbed the young Vampire once again and dragged him into the dark of Horus' Lair.

"Welcome home, kid. I sure hope your Master will be pleased to have you back."

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Horus had been casually waiting on his throne, wishing Azrael would hurry up so that Horus could go and play with his new toy. He had no doubt that Azrael would outmatch Raleigh, so it was only a matter of time before the Elder Vampire would arrive at Horus' doorstep. He sat patiently and waited, twiddling his fingers and started reminiscing about the days when Azrael was his pawn. He settled into a warm feeling of nostalgia only to be interrupted by a loud clunking sound to the right of his throne.

"Ah, he sure does pick his moments wisely, that Azrael."

Horus said with a large grin. He was looking forward to meeting his long lost friend. They had a lot to catch up on. He stayed seated on his throne but rested his chin on his fist and gazed toward the opening that started to appear in the wall at the side of the room.

Azrael stumbled through the secret doorway, still dragging his unconscious adversary. The first thing he saw was Horus, with his beaming innocent smile, sitting on his throne. Azrael propped Raleigh up against the wall and made his way over to Horus. He bent down on one knee and and placed his hand over his heart.

"My Liege."

Horus' smile cracked and his burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh Azrael, must you mock me everytime? I thought that we were friends now."

Azrael scoffed and tried to stand. His body shook under the effort, still weary from the effects of the magic weapon that Raleigh had struck him with. He nodded in Raleighs direction.

"You should send the boy to somewhere that he can rest. It would be a shame to lose such a talent, even if some of his skill comes down to your dirty tricks. Where did you get such a weapon anyway?"

Horus smiled wide. Looked at Raleigh and nodded with pride.

"Yes. He is quite the treasure I must say. Anyway..."

Horus whistled and a sprightly young Vampire, large scar across his nose, sprinted into the room. He came over to Horus and gazed at the floor as Horus spoke.

"Would you please take Master Raleigh back to his quarters, and bring in some tea for our guest, he'll be staying for a little while."

The young Vampire nodded and promptly left, Raleigh slung over his shoulder.

"Now, Azrael, where were we."

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He'd talked for quite a few hours and was looking forward to getting some sleep now. He walked through the hallways, until he found the room where he would be staying. He grabbed the door handle, turned it, and walked in. Evangeline was sat on the bed.

"Hello Evangeline, did you miss me?"

Said Horus.

Teachers Pet

Horus was a big Vampire, and as he stood up, his frame seemed to completely obscure the majority of the throne behind him. He took the three steps leading from the base of the throne to the room floor at his own pace. Horus watched as May left the room, and then he stopped in front of the sobbing girl. He crouched down onto his haunches and looked at the human curled up on his floor.

"I know who you are, little princess. You've caused quite a stir inside your fathers castle. You're lucky most of the population is unaware, otherwise you might have been caught by now and I wouldn't have been able to accept this marvelous gift."

Horus grabbed the girl by her hair and dragged her up onto her knees, and with his spare hand, directed her gaze at his own. He looked into her eyes for a few seconds before letting her fall back to the floor. He stood back up and started to wonder around as he spoke to himself.

"Now. I wander what poor little Azrael would be doing with a girl like you. Perhaps he wanted a high class slave to do his bidding? No no. That would be far too dark for him. Is he taking you somewhere? The little princess no longer wants to play royalty? Hm... Maybe. But that still doesn't explain why Azrael would burden himself with such a task. Well, this is most perplexing. I wonder if he will indulge me with the answer when he comes to get you. Assuming he does actually care about you to some extent and that you were not just a simple pastime. Haha, I can imagine it now, him busting in here all 'Give me back my princess'. Ah, isn't here such a hero? He's got the looks and the good intentions. So humble and selfless. Tell me little girl...."

He said turning his gaze back to Evangeline.

"...You haven't fallen for him yet have you? He's like that you know. Making ladies fall for him and then discarding them like yesterdays bones. Poor old Elizabeth, she fell for him hard..."

He returned back to his throne and clicked his fingers. Two Vampires entered the room.

"Take this one to my chambers and put a guard on the door, she is not to leave. Also, we'll probably be visited by a very disgruntled Vampire soon so please make sure everyone is on alert for that, but don't slow him down too much, I'd like to talk to him myself."

He returned back to the casual position he was in before May arrived with the princess, who was now being dragged away backwards by her arms.

"Don't worry, Evangeline. I won't be too long."

Horus said winking.

Teachers Pet

Azrael watched as the twins threw Evangeline between one another, and then as May started to strangle the human. A sharp grin appeared on both of their faces as they started to enjoy the little game there were playing at Evangelines expense, purposefully trying to bait Azrael.
He was not amused.

The words that came from Azraels mouth were calm and without volume, as if conversing normally. His posture remained stoic and relaxed. And yet the words carried a terrifying edge with them. An unmistakable hint of rage cut with a underlying sense of honesty.

"I do not know why you are playing this pathetic little game, but I will not be distracted by your childish little amusements. I will not be toyed with by the likes of you. To think that a pair of incestuous vampire rejects would have the audacity to mess with me, or the company I travel with, is laughable. I told Horus that I would have no further dealings with him and his lackeys, and I warned him that dragging me into that mess of a world that he created so that he could play King, would result in a bloody mess."

Azrael never took his eyes from Raleigh as he spoke his words, he was sure the kid would not heed his words, but Azrael always liked to make sure people knew what they were getting into before he dealt with them.
His eyes narrowed.

"Now, are you going to tell that whore of a sister to let the child go, or am I going to have to swap out the body she cradles with your true death corpse... Or rather, what will be left of it."

Raleigh gritted his teeth behind closed lips. A shock ran through his entire body as he heard those words. He almost backed away as he felt a sickening aura emanating from the senior vampire. He stood fast. Unwilling to back down from the challenge which he and his sister had now created. His anger rose as Azrael disgraced the twins and their master so openly, he had never heard such words uttered without the perpetrator soon to face death at the hands of the all-mighty Horus. Whether he would rather not face this Vampire or not was now out of the question, he had insulted everything that Raleigh held dear, and this Vampire would pay, Raleigh would reclaim his broken honour and make Azrael pay for the words he chose.

He slipped an ebony knife from a holster on his back, and brandished it at the older Vampire.

"May, take that little shit to Horus and tell him to make good use of her, and tell him to leave me a piece of the action. And tell him I'll bring him this one too..."

He gestured at Azrael with the knife, shining green in the light.

"... Tell him, I'll be bringing an old friend to come and watch the party."

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He yawned loudly as he sat on his cold stone throne as his head rested his fist, his arm propped up on the arm rest.

It had been several years since he had come up to his northern lair. But only a few nights ago he had woken up from a night of heavy debauchery and decided that it was time for a change of scenery, he had forgotten just how beautiful the snow was when it covered the ground.

Before he was about to retire to his bed chamber he was confronted by one of his favourite vassals, May, seemingly without her brother. Which was odd, they never went anywhere without one another. Their 'forbidden' relationship was one of the most interesting things about them.
With her was a small girl. Horus' mouth grew wide as he recognised the child. It seemed May had brought him quite the elegant little gift.
May frog marched the girl infront of Horus and stood her there, both hands on the little girls shoulders.

"Well well, May. What is this you have brought your master?"

Teachers Pet

Raleigh could tell that his sister was intentionally trying to rile him up, but he let her continue anyway, his mind had long since been decided when he realised the Vampire opposite was Azrael. Even though Azrael was somewhat older than both Raleigh and May, it would be foolish to mistake this as a weakness within a Vampire, if anything, the majority of Vampires became better the older they got, experience counts for a lot when your body can perform inhuman movements.

He started to square up to the older Vampire when the young human girl stepped between them, spouting some nonsense, talking like Azrael was her pet or something. The little girl grabbed the Vampires hand and pulled him away. Not particularly wanting to fight, not just because they currently had the Kings Army searching for them, but Azrael was not exactly bothered about some youths grudge match.

Raleigh furrowed his brow. Visibly disgusted by the vile act of a Vampire being ordered around by a pathetic human.

"Where are you going, Azrael? Have you no honour that you have to be pulled around like a little human lapdog?"

Azraels eyebrow twitched at the insult. He knew there were no truth in the words, Azrael and Evangeline were simple just travelling together. The young vampire was merely trying to lure Azrael into a pointless fight. In response, Azrael took Evangelines hand and walked past the other Vampires.

Raleigh was annoyed by the open faced insult, Azrael knew that Raleigh was asking for a fight but instead chose to be pulled along by the young human. He looked toward his sister who showed no particular interest in the situation.

"I didn't say you could leave yet, Azrael."

Raleigh moved swiftly up behind the couple, broke their grip apart and held the human close to him and held a finger outstretched, pointing at Azrael.

"Don't you dare walk away from me. You'll fight me, or I'll give this girl to my sister to take to Horus. How about that?"

Teachers Pet

"What do you mean, no fighting? We're Vampires. We are made to fight, I mean, do you know any Vampires that wouldn't choose to die with blood on his hands and a smile on his face? I like the danger.. It's exciting. But, I will refrain this time, for you."

Raleigh looked at the sky to see it starting to brighten, he couldn't help but agree with May.
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Azrael had long since heard the voices before Evangeline but had decided not to try and avoid them just yet. From what he could gather it was only two people, and should the Kings guard had reached this far already, which Azrael deemed rather unlikely, he could easily take care of them. If they were normal people, then perhaps he could get some information from them about the area, like just how far the nearest town was.

Evangeline hid behind Azraels back.

"No. I do not think they will hurt us. If it was someone coming for us they would not be so open about it. Plus, I cannot make out the sounds of metal armour, so I do not think that is your fathers army. Let us see who they are before we judge them."

He put his hand on her head in an attempt to reassure her as the voice edge ever closer. Who ever these people were, they seemed to be heading right for the travelling pair, and it was not exactly like they were on a main road. Azrael tensed slightly, readying himself for any eventuality.
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"Apparently so."

Said Raleigh. He looked the pair over carefully. The man seemed to be familiar, but he couldn't place just where he knew him from. It wasn't uncommon to meet Vampires, there were many Havens and occasional meet ups to discuss the world and competitions of strength, a chance for Vampires to prove themselves.

"Azrael.... I thought I recognized you."

Azrael moved Evangeline behind his back again.

"Hm..? Do I know you?"

Raleigh shook his index finger at Azrael whilst shaking his head.

"Twenty seven years ago, King Creek. There was a small strength competition hosted by Horus. My first ever completion. In my first fight I was put up against Horus' most prized pupil. I was no match for that man, he beat me within an inch of my unnatural life."

Raleighs eyes started to burn with rage as his lips tightened, the next words came out from gritted teeth.

"Do you know who that Vampire was. It was you. You Bastard!"

The only thing stopping him from leaping at Azrael right now was his promise to May about not fighting anyone. But he was sure she could tell how worked up he was right now.

Teachers Pet

He took a deep breath but couldn't taste anything in the air, but then, May was always better at tracking than he was. He was better at the tasks that came after they had found their prey.

Raleighs grip on May loosened slightly as she wriggled her way out of his grasp. It was true that he was never wrong, or at least she had never been wrong yet. He directed his gaze from her and toward the direction in which she sensed the incoming couple. Raleigh was curious to see what type of Vampire travelled with a human. Sure, it wasn't uncommon, but if the Vampire was weak, then he and May could gift themselves with a new plaything, before eventually handing the human over to their Patron, Horus. They'd found quite a lucrative and easy life under his 'command'.

As May freed herself from the shadow of Raleigh, he leaned back until he ended up sitting crossed-legged on the floor. He watched his sister take the lead for a moment as he watched her elegant figure dance with every step that she took. With a swift movement, he jumped up on to his feet and jogged a few paces to catch up with May, taking his place a few steps behind her, keeping a watchful gaze in the direction they were headed.

As they walked, May gently took Raleighs hand in her own. She noted her eagerness to meet another Vampire. In their line of work, they often dealt with Humans more than Vampires. He nodded along with her words.

"Indeed. I hope they're strong. I could do with someone to test my skills against, I'm almost startin' to feel a lil' rusty. But let's be careful, if they have a Human with them it might be because they are training them to be a Vampire. Which would make them either very foolish or very confident in their Vampire abilities, not to mention they would likely be quite seasoned. Keep that excitement on the back burner, there's better times to save it for."

He said squeezing her hand as they carried on forward.

Teachers Pet

Azrael grasped the bandages within his hand and slowly started to wrap them back around the wound on Evangelines neck. Somehow, he didn't feel like drinking right now, no matter how good it was.

"Just get some rest, we have more travelling to do tomorrow and it will not help us if you are exhausted and drained of blood."

He smiled and took a step back from the princess.

"Goodnight, Princess."

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Raleigh would do anything for his sister, and it was true that they had been pushing hard for the last few days. He was about to open his mouth when May appeared next to him, taking his hand within her own. He always felt happiest when he was with her, that might be one of the main reasons why they had never been apart for all of these years. They were very close.

May liked to tease him, but he knew to never take it seriously. He enjoyed her playful and energetic nature, it was a rarity amongst Vampires, most of them were quite a moody and serious bunch. A lot of Vampires saw this as a weakness within May, but as long as Raleigh stayed by her side he would protect her from anyone. He'd spent almost all of his Vampire life training himself and fighting with others to make him one of the most formidable fighters that lived, all so he could protect May. She was his only sister, and he loved her, more than anyone had ever loved anything.

She pushed him and ran on ahead. Apparently she had more energy than she had previously let on.

"You say it like I would even want their attention anyway. Not that any of them could match up to you."

He dashed in the direction that May ran off to. He slipped around trees and within moments he spotted his sister stopped within a small clearing. A wicked smile was on her face. With no less than 20 feet between them Raleigh jumped at his sister with his arms outstretched. She turned to something but he knocked her down, pinning her hands to floor either side of her head, his knees on the floor either side of her hips as he looked into her eyes.

"And why do you suddenly look so happy, dear sister?"

Teachers Pet

"Teach you?"

Azrael scoffed.

"Do you think that you can just demand that I teach you? Do you know how many people seek out Vampires just to ask to be a Vampire? If we permitted their request, we would have many, shall we say, undesirables, within our society. It is our highest rule that only those who are worthy, or show potential greatness, be accepted into our ranks. Only those who 'fit the mould', and I am afraid that so far I have not seen many of these qualities within you. And this spoilt princess act will get you nowhere with me. Many Vampires would openly mock you if they saw you like this."

Azrael turned to look into Evangelines eyes as he spoke, his stick almost burnt down to his fingers.

"Vampires work for what they want. They push themselves to their limits and then exceed those limits, and when they are strong enough, they take what they want. No one would say a bad word against a Vampire who failed for using their own hands to attempt to achieve their goals. Even if that goal were something as malicious as going against the Vampire Order."

He threw the remnants of his stick into the fire and watched it burn to ash. He listened to the princess as she shuffled around behind him with the cloak. He turned around on his haunches and saw her lying on the ground. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her head affectionately.

"You are no burden to me. And it is not like I am saying that you will never be a Vampire, one day, maybe. Because whether you like it or not, you are apart of our world now. More so than any human would ever even imagine being. But there is more to being a Vampire, than being a Vampire. We have many hardships and 'rules' to undertake and learn. Being a Vampire is not just about not being human, it is a whole new way of life. No one enjoys drinking blood the first time."

He smiled.

"Most people are not turned for a long time while they learn. And I mean a long time. You are hardly even an adult yet, and we do not blood children unless under the most rare circumstances. All I ask is that you live this new life of yours for a while before you take on the task of trying to be a Vampire. Stay with me and I will make sure you do not get dragged back to the Capital, if that is what you wish. And the longer you stay with me, the more you will learn about Vampires, it will help you make a more informed decision."

He ruffled her hair slightly and stood up, turning his back on her.

"Your wounds will heal, but we will keep your bandages clean. As for being angry..."

He paused.

"..I do not remember the last time I felt like that, but in the past it has turned out to be a very violent event. So you will have to try a bit harder than just being a brat. Heh."

He turned his head to the side, it was covered in shadow, his white teeth barely showing in the absence of light.

"Oh. Please, do not wish for death. It is not always as pleasant as it sounds."

He said referring to the un-death that allowed Vampires to exist.