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

"Ah," he said, as if he had expected the question. "That is my cousin. She came to live with us after her parents died. Well, I guess she was barely my cousin, related through my mother's side, but back a ways. He resumed his seat in the chair by the fire, and closed his eyes.

"As for why I am no longer with my family... It's quite easy to explain, but it will make me look selfish and cruel. I was in pursuit of something I deeply desired. But... my mother and father forbade me to have it. But, as adolesence would have it, I went against their wishes. I left home -- and not long after, I became what I am today. I became like the me in that picture... never aging. I recieved word that my mother had died, not long after I left, most likely due to a broken heart. My father informed me, with the news, that I no longer existed to him. And I have no idea as to the whereabouts of my sister."

He looked to her, showing no emotion on his face. "And there you have it. My past. And this happened long over fifty years ago."

Zalia listened to him as he explained. "Oh...I see." That was so sad. She was quiet for a while, but finally she spoke. "Well...you have me now." She gave him a little smile, hoping maybe that would mean something.

She looked through the album, but she was starting to get tired. It had been a rather interesting day for her after all. She flipped page after page, though she started slowing. Her eyes soon closed and she leaned back against the chair, drifting off to sleep. The study was warm with the fire and relaxing. She felt safe.

For some reason, her words made him feel better, about himself, though he felt he shouldn't.

His eyes had been glancing around the room, taking in book titles, and squinting at papers that sat at odd angles, so he could barely read them. And even though he couldn't feel the warmth of the fire, the ambience it gave very much reminded him of being a child. How simple the world was then.

He looked to Zalia, noticing that she was drifting off. Silently, he left the room, returning a few minutes later with a woolen blanket. He gently placed it over her, tucking it around her a bit, before giving a smile to himself. Eventually, he left the room, making his way down to the cellar, to regain some of his strength.

Zalia woke up later, surprised that she was so warm. The blanket was wrapped more around herself as she yawned, reluctant to part with it. Eyes scanned the room lazily, then after a time she got up. Keeping the blanket wrapped around herself, she shuffled out into the kitchen and made herself some food. She spotted some leftover cake and had some of that as well.

It was nice being there. But she did feel a little lonely without Alexander. At the time, she didn't know where he was. He might even be sleeping.

Alezander had still been in the cellar, sitting in his chair. His chin was resting on his fist, which was propped up on the arm of the chair. He was motionless, his face expressionless, and his eyes watched a spider as it slowly made its web in the corner of the room. He had been down there, all the time Zalia was sleeping.

Beside him, sat two glasses, both having a few drops of blood left in them, and both, shattered. The glass was scattered along the table and some even on the floor. Futhermore, there were papers lining the floor, ripped and shredded. Some of the empty jars looked as if they had been thrown against the wall, the glass laying about the floor.

Alezander seemed to wake from his trance, as he heard movement upstairs. He smiled to himself before standing up slowly, dusting his shirt and pants off, in case of any debris. He then made his way over to the spider on the wall.

"Sorry," he said, raising his hand to it, "but I don't allow anyone to live in my house without an invitation..." He pressed his hand against it, smashing it against the wall. He held his hand there for a second, before pulling it away, and wiping it onto a cloth tapestry hanging on the wall. He then continued his walk upstairs into the kitchen.

Zalia shivered. She didn't know why, but something had caused her to have a chill. She pulled the blanket closer around herself and cleaned up her dishes in the kitchen. She could hear footsteps coming from the cellar and knew it had to be Alezander.

Sure enough, there he was, just coming out of the cellar. She smiled at him as she saw him. "Good morning." Or was it evening? Well it was morning to her because she'd just woken up. "How are you?" She shifted a little in the blanket. "Thank you, for this...It's warm." She blushed a little and smiled slightly.

"Good morning. And it's nothing at all," he said, pointing to the blanket. "I assumed the fire might go out while you were sleeping." He made his way to the window, pulling it back just a little bit to look outside. It was already evening, the sun almost down. But it would be another hour before he would be able to leave the house.

"Is there anything you wanted to do today?" he asked Zalia, turning to look at her again. "I mean, this house will get very boring after a while, I don't want you to get used to it so quickly."

Karra listened to him talk and nodded a little in understanding. "Well still, thank you." She followed him over to the window, thinking for a few moments. "I should feed soon." she said quietly, tongue touching at the fangs in her mouth. They tended to subtly get sharper the more hungry she became.

"It won't get boring. You're around, and there's all those books." She smiled a little bit and then headed for her room to get dressed. "I'll go out and be back soon, okay?" She was reluctant to cause trouble in the town in case she was caught, but she would rather feed now than before she got desperate.

Alezander looked to her as she left for her room. He didn't reply to her, but instead turned to look out the window again. He eventually turned, heading upstairs slowly, heading toward his own room. But he stopped short, looking at the other black door in the hall. He stared at it, seeming to slip into that trance again, but caught himself before he was completely lost to it. What a perfect place to think while Zalia was out.

"How bittersweet this all is," he said, shaking his head. He made his way toward it, opening the door and disappearing inside.

Zalia got dressed and left the building. She didn't notice him going into the forbidden room, because by the time he was inside she would have left.

She came back about an hour or so later. It was hard to cover up her tracks, but she managed. She went inside and cleaned up, taking a shower as well. Then she got dressed in clean clothes and started walking around the house. Where was he?

She couldn't find him anywhere. She doubted he was in the cellar because he had been there earlier. She'd knocked on his bedroom door with no reply. He wasn't in any of the other rooms. The only room left was the one with the black door. She inched towards it, and gave the door a knock. "A-Alezander?"

She couldn't help but wonder what was in there...

There was a quiet shuffling sound when she spoke. His footsteps slowly made their way toward the door, and it opened slowly. "Sorry," he said slowly. He stepped out, closing the door behind him as he did, but did it in such a way so she couldn't see inside. "How was your feeding? Hope it came without incident." His hair hung in his face, and one would expect him to do the usual hand brushing it away, but it seemed he didn't care at the moment.

Zalia stepped back when he arrived, watching him as he came out. "O-oh, no need to apologize. And yes, i went well, thank you.." She looked at him for a few moments, growing rather concerned. "Are you alright, Alezander? You seem...well, I guess the word would be 'subdued'." Fingers reached out very cautiously to brush his hair away as gentle as she could.

"It's not like you to leave your hair like that."

"Ah, right," he said, shaking his head. "I just didn't sleep well last night. I'm still a little out of it. I think I may go for a walk soon though. I feel like I need the fresh air." He gave her a gentle smile, before patting her lightly on the head. "I might even double check the town to see if I can follow your tracks. Best make sure you aren't followed."

He turned toward his room, muttering quietly, "I guess I'll shower. I could probably stand to use one after last night." He gave a small laugh, before heading into his room.

Zalia was a little confused at how he was acting, and concerned. She blushed as he patted her head, and despite her worried feelings she smiled. "Okay." She went down to the study while he showered, reading through the books.

After a time of him being gone however, she grew curious. What was in that room? She got up and carefully made her way to the upstairs. Her heart was pounding. She took hold of the doorknob. He had forbidden her from looking, so she shouldn't.

She let go of the doorknob. Though if anyone had just seen her, it would seem like she had just come out of there. She still wanted to go in, but she simply didn't have the courage.

The door to his room opened, and Alezander stepped out, his hair still slightly wet. He looked to Zalia, seeming to take a moment to realize it was her.

"I hope you weren't waiting for me there this whole time," he said, smiling a bit, but his eyes moved to the doorknob she was so near. "Surely you could have went to the study?" He made his way to her, placing a hand on her shoulder for a brief moment before continuing on past her. "Or is there something you wanted?" He glanced over his shoulder as he walked.

Zalia jumped slightly. "Hm? O-oh, uhm.." She shook her head slightly after a moment. "N-no, I'm alright. I-I just wanted to uhm...see if you'd left yet." She didn't look forward to being in the house alone. But having almost gotten caught had scared her indefinitely. She followed him as he kept walking past her. "I uhm...I might go to bed soon. Or maybe nap a little while you're out. Just so you know where to find me if you need me."

She glanced back at that door and bit her lip. She knew it was a bad idea, but..."Alezander? What, uhm...What's behind that door?" She was just too curious.

He stopped for a moment, and spoke, not even looking back. "What's in that room?" he reiterated the question. A moment of silence, and he replied, "My curse, I suppose. My darkest secret, the darkest time in my life, and my biggest regret. That is why you cannot go in there... ever." He turned and looked at her, almost as if knowing she had came very close to doing so.

"If you would like... you can join me on a moonlight stroll," he continued, his expression changing slightly.

Zalia listened to him speak, and when he turned to look at her like that she flinched slightly. She gave a silent nod of understanding, her tension being relieved when he spoke of joining him on a walk. "Okay." She glanced over her shoulder, one last time at that door. Then she quickly caught up with Alezander and walked along beside him.

She felt guilty for getting so close to opening the door, and yet she felt relieved that she hadn't opened it at all. She had a feeling that if she had, things would have gone very bad very quickly.

He nodded to her and made his way down the stairs, making his way toward the coat rack to select one coat to wear. He choose a dark purple one, almost appearing black, which had silver stitch work on it. He rested his handle on the door and looked to Zalia. "After you, milady," he said, opening the door for her to walk out into the now dark night. It was a little chilly, but still nice. And the slightly less that full moon lit the area well.

Zalia followed along quietly. When he opened the door for her she nodded and stepped out. It was nice out, despite the slight chill, but Zalia's heart was still heavy in her chest. She looked up at the moon for a few moments, then turned her gaze to Alezander. She would follow where he would lead. He knew the place much better than she did, after all.