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Where Light Doesn't Reach- A Vampiric Legacy
IchigoUsagi
Posts: 822 Member
Chapter One
Vincent awakens in a strangely dark hallway. A faint flicker of candlelight shines just dimly enough to not pierce the darkness, as if afraid to illuminate the area.
“Mama? Papa?” Vincent cries out weakly, his eyes trying in vain to see even a foot in front of him.
Upon not hearing an answer, he begins to weakly sob. He cries and cries but no one can hear him. He is completely and utterly alone, lost in the darkness.
With no one around, Vincent has no choice but to venture further into the hallway. As he walks forward, he begins to hear a faint conversation. Excited by the sounds, he runs faster. Eventually, he finds himself in front of a very large and imposing door. A sliver of light shines out of a small crack in the wood. Suddenly nervous about entering the room, Vincent decides to peek through it.
“What exactly possessed you to bring that urchin into our home?” a young man with dark hair and fair skin questions.
“In case you have forgotten,” a woman with red eyes and a similar complexion says with a polite frustration, “Acacia needs a husband.”
Vincent listens to the conversation with confused fascination.
“I still don’t understand why you had to snatch him away while they’re both still brats. I detest children,” the young man says coolly. “Do you have no patience?”
“Do you have no foresight?” the woman counters. “It will be better for Acacia if her husband is raised properly. How can we trust the humans to do that?”
“They seem capable enough,” he shrugs. “But I suppose you know best, mother.”
Vincent doesn’t get it. Acacia? Husband? Snatching children? Who are these strange people who talk about humans as if they’re another species? Do they know that he’s in their house? As he opens his mouth to announce his presence, a whisper sounds from behind him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Vincent jumps and spins around to face a calmly smiling man dressed in butler’s garb.
“Lady Desrosiers and Master Sullivan don’t take kindly to eavesdropping,” he says and offers a hand. “This way.”
Vincent hesitantly takes it and is led down the hallway. Once they reach a teeny tiny bedroom, the man in butler’s clothing releases his grip and sits down on the small bed, motioning for Vincent to do the same.
“Who are you?” Vincent asks. Surely with this much distance it’s safe enough to speak.
“I’m Marshall. Head butler to the Desrosiers,” the butler bows his head in greeting.
“I’m Vincent,” he replies, “What is this place?” he asks, a bit fearful of the answer.
“This is the Desrosiers’ estate,” the butler answers.
“How did I get here? Why am I here?”
“I’d assume that either Lady Desrosiers or Master Sullivan absconded with you in the middle of the night,” the butler sighs, “I’m sad to say you’ve been kidnapped, Vincent.”
“Kidnapped?” Vincent asks with wide eyes and a spinning head.
“Yes,” the butler nods, “I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’ll get used to it. Trust me, I know from experience.”
“Why? Why me?”
“I’m not sure. Most likely because you’re the same age as the young mistress.”
Vincent’s head spins. He’s the one those two were talking about? He’s supposed to be someone’s husband?
“I’m sorry, this must be a bit much for you to take in. This is your room now, so it’s probably best if you settle in and get some rest- everything will seem more manageable in the morning,” the butler smiles sympathetically and exits the room, leaving Vincent to sit there. Scared, confused and alone.
5
Comments
@Pegasus143 Thanks! You'll get to see Acacia in the next chapter so the wait won't be too long.
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@LadyLobster
Thank you! And yeah, Vincent really doesn't deserve what I'm putting him through.
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What Vincent presumes is morning comes to the cramped bedroom he has been told belongs to him and there is no more light than the previous night. He blinks his eyes sleepily. He does not want to get out of bed. He doesn’t particularly want to be in bed either. The only thing that Vincent wants is to go home, and he fears that he never will.
“Vincent?” the butler knocks quietly on his door.
He doesn’t answer.
“Vincent, I know you’re in there,” the butler’s voice is patient, “Today you are to meet the young mistress. Open the door so I can help you into the proper attire for your meeting.”
Vincent hesitantly opens the door and the butler pulls a small suit out of Vincent’s rickety old dresser. Vincent refuses his help, still unsure of his sincerity, and somehow manages to get the buttons in the right places on his own.
Vincent stands nervously in a large ballroom, lit up by the chandeliers towering overhead. The butler gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder as the red-eyed woman enters with a little girl by her side.
With her porcelain skin and long silky hair, the girl looks like a living doll. Her face is lit up by a pretty smile. She curtsies nicely as the woman- presumably Lady Desrosiers- introduces her as Acacia.
“You two will get along well, I assume,” Lady Desrosiers says with a lofty air.
“Yes, mother,” Acacia sings. Those eyes. Vincent had assumed them to be a trick of the light and his tired mind, but just as they had been the night before, the eyes of the Desrosiers are completely, jarringly red.
“Y-yes,” Vincent stammers.
“Yes, mistress,” Lady Desrosiers corrects.
“R-right. I mean, right, mistress.”
“Vincent, you will be living under my care from now on, and you will learn to respect my authority. Is that clear?” Lady Desrosiers’ question leaves no room for the word ‘no’.
“Yes, mistress,” Vincent doesn’t know what else to say. He feels as though saying anything else would be a danger to his life.
“Good,” Lady Desrosiers’ features soften from the hardness of a boulder to the relative sturdiness of a porous plank of wood, “Now come, Marshall, let’s leave the children to get acquainted.”
“Of course,” the butler bows and gives Vincent a reassuring look before leaving with Lady Desrosiers.
“So, you’re a human?” Acacia asks.
“Yes,” Vincent answers with a wavering voice, “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you?”
Acacia laughs, a high ringing laugh that sends chills down the back of Vincent’s spine. She grins widely at him, revealing a pair of teeth, slightly more pointed than normal, hiding in her otherwise average smile.
“I’m a vampire,” she giggles, “Couldn’t you tell? Or, at least, I’ve heard that’s what the humans call us.”
Vincent feels faint. A vampire. A monster. He’s caught in the clutches of a family of monsters. If he’d had anything to drink since arriving there, he would wet himself.
“Now don’t look so scared, I won’t hurt you,” Acacia laughs some more.
“Oh,” Vincent’s nerves ease slightly- only slightly, “You won’t?”
“Of course not, silly! Why would I hurt my fiancé?” she questions.
Fiancé. Right. At the ripe old age of ten he’s already engaged.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” he starts, “Why me?”
“Well, for one thing you’re the same age as me. Mother also says that you come from a good family. As for my personal reason, I like your eyes,” Acacia answers.
“Oh,” Vincent says. He’s not sure that answer makes exact sense, but then again, what answer would?
“Come now, Vincent, “Acacia reaches out and takes his hand, “I’ll show you around.”
“And this is brother’s room,” Acacia tells Vincent, who’s starting to wonder just how many rooms one family could have. Something about the sheer amount of space the vampires occupy seems inappropriate.
“He doesn’t like me in here- he detests children,” she goes on, “But I enjoy snooping. If you enjoy snooping, as well, I’d suggest not getting caught- especially by brother. He’s rather-”
“I’m rather what?” the young man from yesterday- presumably Sullivan- asks with a cold tone.
“Rather proper,” Acacia smiles politely.
Sullivan scoffs.
“I’ll show you how ‘proper’ I can really be if you bring that urchin into my dwelling again,” he snarls.
“Of course, brother.”
Sullivan looks down at the two children with disdain. Such unpleasant creatures.
“Scram,” he growls and they scamper away. Like rats. Like the vermin they are.
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She is pretty darn cute, isn't she? And yes, Vincent is in a rather pitiful position at the moment.
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I so keen for more
And seriously isn't everyone engaged at 10? I don't know what Vincent is on about
Yeah, that's definitely the norm, Vincent- get with the program!
It is a rather vampiric name, isn't it? Maybe more vampiric than the actual vampire's names.
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🌌 Remember Me Until Tomorrow - Ongoing || 🔪 White Lies and Half Truths - Hiatus
As the weeks pass by, Vincent begins to get used to life in the Desrosiers manor. He’s taught manners in the evenings by the butler, keeps Acacia company in the early mornings and when the day comes, when they all think he’s asleep, he sneaks out of the little room he’s come to call his and goes to spy on the vampires.
He walks down that dimly lit hallway, his feet padding softly along the wood floor. Quietly, carefully he makes his way towards the large ballroom.
The chandeliers still shining brightly overhead illuminate the area with a warm glow. The portraits looming high up on the walls seem to stare down at him, disapprovingly. They look as though they were taken with a very old camera. Of course they would be. There is barely a scrap of technology in the entire manor. While they no doubt have some connection to the outside world, the Desrosiers seem completely content to stay in the past.
Vincent has been told by the butler that, while Lady Desrosiers does not age, her children- Acacia and Sullivan- age as normal humans and will continue to do so until they reach maturity. This old-fashioned lifestyle, then, must be the will of Lady Desrosiers. Her children would not have known a time when those kinds of customs were common. But then again, Vincent ponders as he walks further away from where he should be, have they known the outside world at all? He makes a mental note to ask Acacia this when they next see each other and continues onwards.
Eventually he reaches a door. It leads to Lady Desrosiers’ study and has a keyhole that makes for the perfect little window. He watches her often- too afraid of Sullivan’s vigilance to go near where he spends his nights. Just like many other nights, he peers through the golden keyhole as Lady Desrosiers stands across from a human girl suffering from some kind of hypnotic state.
He watches with some kind of morbid fascination as she grips the human girl’s shoulders and sinks her teeth into the girl’s neck. Not to turn her, as Vincent has learned biting is sometimes used for, no, this girl is merely a food source. Lady Desrosiers will not stop until she’s nothing but a husk. Even knowing this, Vincent does not try to save her. He’s become desensitized to it over time, sure, but even on his first expeditions he knew better than to make his presence known.
He looks on as Lady Desrosiers throws the dried up corpse of the girl to the floor, feeling nothing. He continues to watch for some time more as she putters around, perusing her extensive library, reading newspapers from some bygone era and eventually lifting the dried up corpse onto her shoulders and disappearing into a cloud of darkness, going somewhere no one can follow. Tired and by this point feeling a bit bored, Vincent sneaks back to his room, unnoticed.
In the early morning of the next day, Vincent is summoned to see Acacia. He bows to her and she curtsies back as they do every day in greeting, and then the two run into her room and take their seats in front of one of the many toys contained inside. Today, Acacia wants to play dolls. Vincent is not allowed to want, and so, they play dolls. In the middle of their play he breaks the fantasy and asks her a question.
“Have you ever been outside?”
Acacia shakes her head.
“No,” she answers, “I am too young and it is dangerous. I do not have fangs of my own to defend myself with. You are only the second human I’ve met.”
“And your brother?” Vincent asks, still mindlessly moving his doll around the elaborate miniature mansion.
“Brother’s had some experience with the humans’ domain,” she crinkles her nose as she says this.
Although her facial expression suggests she has more to add, Vincent doesn’t press further and the matter drops to silence.
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Thanks! I try.
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Another wonderful chapter.
He's definitely had some encounters with humans- whether or not they were bad will be revealed later.
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WARNING: Stuff gets weird.
Was it forgetfulness or confidence that led him to do that? Was he simply unaware of the risk? Whatever the reason, however unwise, Vincent saw something he was never supposed to see that morning.
It is just after he finishes spying on Lady Desrosiers’ daily rituals. As to be expected after watching the same process over and over again, Vincent finds himself feeling rather unfulfilled. The nights have become less and less entertaining for him, to the point where he considers taking a peek at what Sullivan gets up to at this hour.
At first he’s decidedly against the idea, shaking the thoughts out of his head as he walks back to his room. But slowly, ever so slowly, it grows on him. If Lady Desrosiers didn’t catch him all those nights, what risk is there that her son, less experienced and perceptive as he surely is, would notice him? And the temptation of finding out something interesting is not one Vincent can easily resist, being inquisitive by nature and knowing not nearly all there is to know about the vampires. In addition to this, Sullivan has not been kind at all to Vincent during the time they’ve known each other- piling chore after meaningless chore on top of him for no reason other than to be cruel. Wouldn’t it, then, be wonderful to find out something to use against him? This wishful thinking is enough to push Vincent’s logic aside as he takes a turn down the siblings’ hallway.
Vincent passes by Acacia’s door. Most likely asleep at this hour, her room is completely silent. Coming from the next door over, however, are all manner of muffled voices. Who is he talking to? Vincent wonders this as he gets closer. It cannot be Lady Desrosiers, still in her study, or Acacia, not permitted entrance to his room. Does Sullivan, too, take human ‘guests’ as his mother does? It seems likely, if a bit disappointing.
Vincent peaks through a crack in Sullivan’s door to see what all the commotion is about. He is shocked to find Marshall and Sullivan, the butler’s mouth seemingly attached to his neck.
“Yes! Bite me harder!” the vampire squeals a command to the head servant.
His pale hands clasp Marshall’s waistcoat tightly and he has a look of pure ecstasy on his face. His legs are wobbling slightly, not unlike a newborn fawn’s. Vincent doesn’t quite know what to make of it.
“Ah,” Sullivan sighs contentedly, “Your dull human teeth feel so good.”
Vincent feels thoroughly confused. From what he knows about vampires, they should be the ones doing the biting. Why is this one being bitten? Before he can ponder any further, Marshall turns his eyes towards the doorway and makes a silent shooing motion behind the vampire’s back.
Vincent shivers and runs away to hide. He was caught. Of course he was caught. How could he not be caught? He’s incredibly lucky it wasn’t a vampire doing the catching. But still, if Marshall decides to tell Lady Desrosiers or Sullivan about his snooping, he’ll be in huge trouble. Maybe enough trouble for the harshest punishment of all- always alluded to- death. But surely Marshall would get in trouble as well. He does not know much about vampire culture yet, but, from what Vincent gathers, butlers- not only ones serving vampires, but butlers in general- should not bite their masters. Yes, that seems to make sense to Vincent as he relaxes a little, sitting down on his bed.
A while later, so much so that Vincent is starting to feel comfortable enough to get some sleep, a knock comes on the door and Marshall walks in.
“Do you know how dangerous that was?” he asks, sitting next to Vincent.
“What was?” Vincent feigns ignorance.
“Spying on Master Sullivan,” Marshall continues. “Do you know what would have happened if he was the one to spot you? You would be dead.”
Vincent shivers.
“Just for peeping?” he whispers.
Marshall sighs.
“Not just peeping. You’ve seen something you were never supposed to. It’s best you forget about it.”
Vincent nods without any intention of forgetting. He knows what he did was dangerous. He knows that it was rude. Despite all this, Vincent does not want to stop spying on the vampires. If anything, today only cemented it in his mind as a worthwhile activity.
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