Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Essence of Blood (1x1)

"You know, I hardly sleep," he said, reminding her that the scene of him doing so in the study was a rare thing for him. "You will take the bed, when you are tired. I will take this chair, if I begin to feel tired." He tapped the chair lightly, and then made his way to the window, closing the curtains to block out any light before it even had the chance to enter the room.

He knew she meant well, but he wasn't going to let her be uncomfortable the whole night. He was a gentleman after all.

Zalia hesitated, but then nodded. "Okay, okay. But just because you hardly sleep doesn't mean you shouldn't sleep while we have so much stuff going on. You need rest too." She got onto the bed and slipped under the covers. She was tired from walking all night.

"Goodnight, Alezander." She felt weird, with him being in the same room while she slept. It was awkward. Not that she thought he would do something, but because she felt like he was in there and watching her sleep. Though fatigue overcame her self-consciousness, and soon she was snoozing peacefully.

Alezander sat quietly in the chair, looking at the wall, trying not to make Zalia feel uncomfortable. The moment he knew she was sleeping with steady breaths, he stood and quietly walked to the bag he had brought, pulling out the mirror he kept. He began scribbling on a piece of parchment, his handwriting surprisingly legible with elegant cursive figures. After thinking and rereading a bit, he folded the note, and slipped it into the mirror, the surface acting like water to his touch.

The paper slipped through into the foggy unknown, and he moved to the chair, to attempt to sleep the best he could.

Zalia woke suddenly after a while of peace. She bolted upright, gasping for breath. Eyes were wide and filled with fear, body was shaking like a leaf. She rubbed her face with her hand and curled up a little, looking over at the chair where Alezander was. Alive. Or at least, not dead-dead. She should have expected nightmares after such a request as that. She hesitated again for a long few moments, but then got out of bed.

Dragging her blanket along with her, she knelt down by him again and rested her head on his knee. She wrapped the blanket back up around her and reached up to slide her fingers into his. Just a little nap like this wouldn't hurt. Then she could wake up and go eat and such. But just a little nap like this wouldn't hurt.

He felt bad, for once again, he had not been sleeping, but had drifted into his thoughts for quite a while. And he was only broken out of it the moment she touched his hand. Somehow, he had beaten the instinctual urge to jump or pull away at her touch, and let her rest her head upon his knee. His eyes drifted down to her and he watched her while she drifted to sleep again.

He knew, it was obvious. The feelings she may harbor for him were beyond visible when she did this. But, he felt like he was lying to her, pretending to be asleep while she secretly did these things. But he knew, she would feel embarrassed; and it might also impose a question upon him. Did he feel the same? Most of him wanted to say yes, but there was that skeptical part of him that said no. So he wasn't sure, and he didn't want to be put on the spot like that. Even being truthful, and saying that he didn't know, was almost as bad as saying no.

So, he would secretly let her enjoy her moments like this, thinking she was being secretive about it herself. That couldn't possibly be a bad thing, in his mind.

Alezander had most likely made the right choice. She would have been thoroughly embarassed if he had caught her doing these things and confronted her about it. However she slept peacefully for a time, but then awoke due to a hungry stomach. She got up and put her things away, going off to get something to eat. She was still part human after all. After she'd eaten, she cleaned up in the nearby bath and then returned to the bedroom.

"Alezander, are you awake?" she asked quietly. She sat down on the edge of the bed, but if he didn't respond she'd just lay down.

It wasn't but only a few minutes after she had left that the mirror produced a letter for Alezander. After a moment's pause, he stood and made his way over to the envelope and opened it carefully. His eyes scanned the words it bared, and then he sat it down, thinking a moment upon them. He seemed unsure about something, but he gave no more expression than that. He turned and returned to the chair, sitting down and closing his eyes once again. Not because he was tired, but more to help him think.

When Zalia returned, and asked him if he was awake, he opened his eyes only a little to her, and nodded his head. He sat up straight, and looked over to her. "Is it light outside?" he asked, wondering if she had even looked outside while she was gone. He wanted to make the most of the night, when he could.

Zalia noticed the envelope. "What is that? What did it say, Alezander?" She nodded a little at his question. "Just barely. Dusk is coming soon, so we'll be able to move on then." She looked at him for a few moments, a bit worried. Was everything alright, or had there been a problem? "Is your sister still alive?"

So many things could go wrong, she was a bit worried.

Alezander nodded his head. "I'm just keeping tabs on my sister's health. She is still alive for now, but it is feared her illness might become worse." He gave a small sigh. "I'm not terribly worried, but there is still the chance we won't make it." He didn't want to worry her, but he wasn't going to lie to her either.

He stood, and made his way to his bag. He rummaged through it, saying, "I'm going to the bathing room real quick." He definitely didn't want to travel being dirty.

Zalia listened to him. She too was worried that they wouldn't make it. When he declared his intentions she nodded and would let him leave. It was much more difficult for him to travel than for her, because his time was so limited. She felt bad for him.

Once he returned though and declared himself ready, she'd get their things together and head out on the road once more. They had to make it in time, or else. She didn't even really want to think of the 'or else'.

He was quick, not wanting to waste more time than needed, and not wanting to leave Zalia alone for too long. He knew how uncomfortable she became if left alone. He returned, packing the mirror and tore the note he had recieved in half, throwing it away into the trash bin. He picked up his bag, and motioned to Zalia that he was ready to leave.

He left quickly, ignoring the look the innkeeper would give them as they passed. He didn't know how common vampire sighting were, and he didn't know if anyone would recognize the signs of one; especially nocturnal activity such as he was showing.

Zalia followed him along quickly. Whether the strange behavior was noticed or not, it didn't quite matter. They were off again and headed to a new place. She tried to move as fast as possible, hoping to cover as much ground as she could in their sparse time. "Alezander, how come you didn't know how your sister was doing, or if she was even alive? How come you didn't look for her?"

She thought that maybe he would still want to keep tabs on his family, at least the ones that were alive. She wondered why he hadn't bothered to find out until now.

Alezander led her down the road that they had originally started on, not answering her right away. It was true, that he never talked about her, and that he never attempted to find her, but he had a good reason, as far as he was concerned.

"My sister hates me. We had always been so close growing up, but when I turned and told them I was leaving... I think it broke her hard. She told me she never wanted to see me, or speak to me again; for as long as she lived. There were several other things mixed in her words, but it would be improper to repeat them. I always wanted to find her again, but... I knew she didn't want to see me."

Zalia listened, and she felt bad then for asking such a question. It was incredibly rude of her. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh...sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something uncomfortable like that." She looked at him for a moment or two, then focused back on the road. Silence reigned, 'cause she didn't have anything else to talk about.

And she didn't want to start talking something that would bring a bad subject up either.

It wasn't necessarily a bad subject for him, more than it was realization that he would be seeing his sister after so long, whether she wanted it or not. To be honest, he wasn't even sure if she knew he was coming. It seemed unlikely, since his contact was someone his sister wouldn't bother talking with.

Then he thought of something he hadn't asked Zalia before. He wasn't sure if he should ask or not, seeing as it could lead to bad memories for her, but he knew she didn't have to answer if she didn't want to.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked, brushing his hair back slowly. "I mean, if it's something you don't want to talk about, I understand."

Zalia let the silence go on, until he broke it with a question. She looked down as she walked, quiet for a moment or two more before she would answer him. "No, I don't have any siblings. My mother died soon after giving birth to me. I think it's part of the reason why my father hates me so much. As much as he despises humans, I think he fell in love with her. He'd just never admit it. He always said he took her in to be his 'intimate slave', but if that had been the case, he would have killed her as soon as she found she was pregnant."

She rubbed the back of her neck. "It's something I think about sometimes. I wonder if things would have been better, if my mother hadn't have died when she birthed me."

"You would think, that if he loved her, he would know that she wouldn't want you to be treated the way he treats you. No mother would want that." He knew his words weren't comforting, they weren't exactly meant to be. He was just more confused by the actions her father took. And it seemed with every story, it only confused him more.

When she said she wondered whether things would be different, he couldn't help but wonder the same thing about his life. If Maria had never come to live with them... he would be an old man now. An old man who had the opportunity to grow old with his family. But now he can't grow old. Especially with the people he wanted to grow old with. He gave a small glance to the girl beside him.

Zalia looked down and closed her eyes. "No...I don't think his mind would work like that. I think...I think he's mad at me. For killing her, and maybe..." It was hard to admit it aloud. "Maybe she didn't want me. But he couldn't get rid of me without hurting her, so they had no choice. So when I was born...I was a child that wasn't wanted, and I took the life of the woman he loved."

She bit her lip. "That would make sense." It hurt to think that she hadn't been wanted, even by her mother. But it was all too possible.

"I don't think that's possible..." Alezander said, his voice soft as he spoke. "Even though you may never know, you have to push past that, and realize that now, there are people out there that want you and that love you." It may have seemed odd, but he was talking to them both at that moment.

"Zalia... I just want you to know..." he started but hesitated. What did he want her to know? That he was there for her? Always would be? How he felt? A sharp pain erupted through his chest, and he almost fell from the pain. But he hid it enough to make it look like a minor discomfort. He couldn't worry her. She was already worried enough about him.

Zalia didn't look at him. "Really? Like who, Alezander?" Her throat was tight, constricting her voice a little. "If there's someone out there like that, I'd really like to meet them." She felt like crying. Alezander was the only person who cared about her at all. Nobody else cared. Aside from Alezander, she was alone. Nobody wanted her, nobody loved her.

When he started to speak she did glance at him, confused when he didn't finish his sentence. The discomfort was caught right away and she moved closer to his side, putting her hand on his arm. "Are you okay? What happened?" Was there some sort of side effect now that Maria was controlling him?" She glanced back to their path. "Come on. We need to move faster." She picked up the pace, determined to get as far as they could before the sun rose.