[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Zachary sighed, looking down to wring his hands in front of his body. "I don't want to have to live with the knowledge that I've attacked you... Or anyone, for that matter. The rest of the household, except Louie, all carry similar daggers to use against me, if they so please. They all know to aim for my heart, as an angry vampire is an unstoppable force."
A rustling caught his attention, and lazily, Zachary glanced up to meet Mary's gaze with his balanced uncertainty, when a shock of red hair exploding from behind her caught his attention. What in the world...? The pallid expression of a woman caught his eye, all of a sudden too close, bearing pearly fangs to Mary's neck - but before they could meet her skin, Zachary lunged at her, "Mary!" He reached out to grasp the hand she was holding the dagger in, to ensure that she would not stab him, mistaking his actions for an attack. Swiftly, he yanked the girl away and threw her somewhere behind him - not carelessly, there was simply no other option - the female creature, the firebrand with blazing eyes and hair stood there, wearing a maniacal grin. "I found you, Killian."
Killian? Zachary shook his head, about to speak, but the vampiress threw a hand at him and slashed her pointed nails across his face. He stumbled back for a moment, pain blossoming in his cheek as the gashes throbbed for a moment, and spilled blood down his neck. But there was no pulse to keep them bleeding, and in a moment they stopped and began to close. Zachary lunged forward, more angry than afraid.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] Mary starred up at her master in complete disbelief because he was willing to give up his life just so his servants stayed safe. As far as she knew, no other vampire would ever do this - not when they knew that their servants were replaceable. Would she even be able to stab him? "Ma-" The brunette was interrupted when he suddenly called out her name and gripped her hand, then pushed her behind him. Mary tripped over the bucket of water, causing it to spill and her to fall down.
With a groan, Mary turned her head in time to see her master lunge at a redhead. What was going on? Her eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet and backed up, trying to get enough distance between the two vampires.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]He reeled back as the vampire swatted his hand away, piercing the usually unbreakable skin over his fingers and knuckles. Bleeding and in pain, Zachary cried out, "Who are you?!" The vampiress gave a hearty, almost obnoxious laugh, and lunged at him with a short sword, thrusting the weapon at his midsection. Luckily, Zachary still had his wits about him, and moved away in a sloppy dodge before the woman could do any damage with the silver weapon.
"Oh come now, you've been hunting me for these past few months, no?"
Zachary quickly shook his head, but the sword found his shoulder and landed a glancing blow all the way through his collarbone. He cried out, clutching the sword as the woman gave it a twist, and drew rivers of blood. Zachary was still weakened from abstaining from blood for so long, and so, it was still easy to pierce his skin. The wounds were not fatal, however, but the sword was deep in his flesh, and it was silver. "Me? No, of course not. I keep away from monsters like you!" He tore the sharp point out of his shoulder, and staggered away. "You killed ten of my thralls, and fourteen of my underlings just yesterday."
"I have a twin brother..."
"Bah! What an excuse. Have you no honor?" [/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] Mary watched anxiously as the two vampires battled out, though it was clear who had much more experience. The woman tried to stab her master in his midsection but he barely managed to dodge the blow. Heavens...who was this redhead and why was she trying to kill her master?
It occurred to her that she could easily escape by just running to the stables and getting Louie before hiding. Yet...that didn't feel right. Not when he had just saved her from that dangerous woman. Suddenly her eyes widened when she suddenly stabbed Zachary through the collar bone and even had the audacity to twist the knife. Deciding to take a risk, Mary picked up the bucket from the ground and flung it at the vampiress, hoping to give her master a chance to attacked her.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]The bucket ht the vimpiress square between the shoulders, and she turned with blazing hatred in her hazel eyes. And it was perfect - Zachary had a moment to recover and bite. Lunging forward, he dug his teeth into the woman's neck, desperately trying to rip her throat out of her body, but she was no human. With a loud snap, hit left fang broke clean in half against the marble skin of her neck, and Zachary fell back, feeling blood trickle free from his mouth. Prodding the are with the tip of his tongue, he realized, with much dread, that one of his fangs had been perfectly cleaved off in such a way as to make it appear flat - like a regular, human tooth.
The vampiress quickly shifted her attention back to Zachary, and while he was doubled over with hand over his mouth, she rammed the sword through his body. Pain burst forth from the space just below his ribs, and Zachary cried out as he fell to his knees before her, seeing nothing but red blood, and red hair. The world spun around him, nausea roared in his stomach and reined in his mind. But all he could think about was Mary, oh dear Mary. "Mary, run, leave me here!" His eyes shining with tears, he turned to her, calling out and exposing the broken tooth. If he survived, it would impair his ability to feed even further.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] Mary watched as Zachary took the opportunity to bite the vampiress, however it had no effect on her. All it caused was for her to direct his fury over to him again. The second she rammed the sword under his ribcage, Mary felt a pang in her chest, already imagining just how painful that blow must have been. Did he not have guards?
Looking down at the dagger in her hand, she realized that she had a very, very slim chance in actually accomplishing something but it was worth the effort. Her legs suddenly started moving, pumping her forward as she sprinted over to the female vampire. She was scared to close, but it would need to happen. Once she was close enough, Mary managed to stab her in the side, under her rib cage.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]The vampiress, suddenly blinded with intense pain, roared and turned to face Mary, and Zachary realzied that the girl had stabbed the woman with the blade hehad given her. Oh God, what now...? The firebrand lifted a clawed hand and threw a blow at Mary, a staggering slap, and Zachary tore the blade out of himself and knowing that the dagger had been silver, he launched himself at the woman again, drawing his own hidden dagger and slashing it across her neck. It worked - she stumbled away, partially decapitated, but alive.
The woman fled, and Zachary once more crumbled to his knees, feeling the burn of silver swimming through his body. As long as the blade wasn't in him anymore, he knew he would be fine... But it still hurt, and he was too weak to be able to heal straight away. Quickly, he turned to look and see if anybody had seen the fight - thankfully, the gardener was on his break, and Louie was probably playing.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] It had worked! The woman had lost focus on Zachary. Unfortunately, she directed the redheads attention over to herself. Mary wasn't given the chance to react when a harsh slap was directed to her cheek. The force of the blow sent her head snapping to the side while she stumbled back, before tripping on her own two feet. Immediately her hand came up to cup her cheek and she felt something warm against her fingers. She moved her hand and bright red blood coated her fingers. Her claws had managed to leave three parallel scratches along her cheek. They weren't too deep, but they were deep enough to draw blood.
Slowly, the brunette got to her knees before managing to stand up on wobbly legs. The sudden appearance of that red head had left her shaken up and she was scared she would suddenly return and attack them again. "I-I'll go get Peter." The brunette stammered before hurriedly turning on her heel and going towards the manor.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Zachary's eyes widened at May's words, and he launched himself after her, grabbing onto the bottom of her dress as once more, he fell onto his knees. "Wait, wait!" He clutched the fabric tightly in his fist, as his other hand rested over his wounded shoulder. Glancing up at may, his grey gaze settled on the three scratched upon her cheek, the red of her blood crating a striking contrast against her pallid visage. The vampire stood up, struggling to stay standing when his legs felt like jelly, and touched her cheek, tracing his fingers over he skin, just below the wounds. Realizing that the gesture may frighten Mary, he pulled his arms away after only a few seconds, and returned to pressing it over the gash in his shoulder.
"Mary, you saved me." He smiled at her, gently tilting his head in an earnest expression of happiness. "Thank you."[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] Mary's heart beat picked up the second she felt a tugging sensation from the skirt of her dress. What was he going to do? Turning to face the vampire, her eyes widened when he suddenly stood and began to run his fingers under the scratch marks she had received before suddenly pulling away. "I...your welcome." Mary bowed her head slightly before taking a step back. "We must find Peter." Taking in a deep breath of air, the brunette moved to Zachary's side and wrapped an arm around his torso before beginning to lead him towards the manor. Mary still feared him, yet she was worried soemthing might happen to him if she just left him there.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Zachary was taken by surprise when Mary wrapped an arm around his torso to help him stand, and led him to the manor. He was shocked speechless, in fact, and words would have likely ruined the moment of closeness anyway, so he clamped his aching jaw shut and watched her from the corner of his eyes. She had been so afraid of him, yet now... She was helping him. Zachary figured that she would have left him to die, and yet... Ah, he was confused, but he knew he needed to treat her with great care, as always.
Ah, the scent of her blood, coming form the cut on her cheek... He was weak, and wounded - there was nothing more dangerous than a hurt vampire. His eyes widened as his instincts fought to take over, but Zachary could not let them best him. The moment they entered the manor, he moved away from Mary as if she had stung him, and headed towards the staircase, pressing a hand over his mouth as if holding back the urge to throw up. God, the crimson scent of her was so sweet, so heavily intoxicating... He half-turned to her, clutching onto the railing with one hand, and watched her with owl-like eyes, hunger settling in the pit of his mind and creeping up into his thoughts like ivy.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] Once they set foot into the manor, the vampire abruptly pulled away from her as if she had been the one that wounded him. All Mary could do was stare at him as he rushed to the staircase. What was wrong? Was he alright?
"M-master?" Mary questioned before she took in notice the way he was looking at her. It was similar to the way the vampires at the auction house would look at her. Biting her lip, her hand came up to cover the blood that dripping from her cheek. She began to walk towards another enter way of the manner, but refrained from giving him her back.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Zachary watched as Mary began to step back, moving away from him, and his eyelids drooped until his eyes were half-closed with lust. He had never been so injured, and the pain of his silver-inflicted wounds was making his head spin, making the hunger so much harder to control. The vampire lurked closer to Mary, taking a few, unnaturally silent steps. Just a taste, just a little bit... Wouldn't hurt... It wouldn't...
Peter, at that moment, stepped into the room, appearing mildly alarmed at the master's condition. The vampire was trailing blood behind him, walking towards Mary with an unnaturally steady, graceful gait. He interrupted swiftly with controlled confusion, "What in the heavens is going on here?" But seeing Zachary closing in on Mary like some kind of odd revenant, or like a mummy risen from its tomb, Peter understood. "Mary, please come here... Slowly. If you go outside, he will follow you, and that would be bad for young Louie, or anybody else near the manor."[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] The second he began to approach her, May's heart beat quickened once more while a sweat broke out on her temple. She didn't want to go through that experience ever again, yet here she was, being preyed on by her Master. Fortunately, Peter showed up and the brunette changed course. Her footsteps were slow and stiff as she made her way over to the butler. All she wanted was to bolt towards the blonde, but she feared that Zachary would suddenly lunge at her. "S-sir..." Mary called out nervously as her gaze moved back to the vampire.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Zachary followed Mary like a lost dog, more needy than frightening. His eyes watched her cross the room to walk over to Peter, and it was almost funny - how sad they looked, as if he were a child being denied candy.
Peter's expression suddenly changed into one of steely resolve. His brows furrowed, and somehow, as if bearing more authority than Zachary, he spoke, "Zachary, do control yourself. Have you no shame? You've always been so scared of feeding, and now you're behaving like... A common leech. It is degrading to witness." Peter's words landed on deaf ears - Zachary was too injured to listen. It hurt, it hurt... He could smell Mary's blood, and he wanted it.
Peter sighed, brows furrowing even harder as he watched Zachary continue his approach. Suddenly, the butler strolled up to the vampire... And without a second of hesitation, a moment of thought, a hint of fear - nothing, he withdrew his dagger and sank it deep into Zachary's neck. The vampire sputtered, stopping and reaching up to grasp his bleeding throat with an expression of utter horror and confusion. "P-Peter?" He asked, in a rough voice, then coughed and brought up blood.
His eyes turned to Mary, and he reached out, an undescribable emotion appearing on his features - the same look one had a second before they began to cry - and the vampire collapsed, curling into himself.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] The vampire didn't stop his approach, nor did Peters words have an impact on him. He was practically dead and blind to everything around, save for her cheek and neck, where he would surely sink his tooth in and drain her blood. It was freaking her out and she couldn't help but to take quicker steps towards the blonde, that is, until he approached the vampire. Had he no fear?
How could he be so confident, especially when Zachary could just attack at any given moment. However, she was taken by surprise when the blonde suddenly stabbed her master. The silver dagger went straight into his neck, causing for him to cough up blood. "W-why did you...Was that necessary?" Mary questioned as her brows creased in confusion and worry. The look he had given her had stirred something within her, yet he had just been about to drink her blood. She couldn't help but to be confused by his actions.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Peter turned back to Mary, near-psychopathic indifference written across his features. He acted as if he had done this a million times before - and yet both he, and Zachary knew that this was the first time. What had happened to make Peter so cruel, so cold? He had always been Zachary's father-figure, and now... What kind of monster stood before him - who was who, was Peter the human, or the monster? Peter sighed, "He would not have stopped otherwise, and we must quickly get him out of sight. Louie may come looking for you at any moment."
Peter leaned down and scoop Zachary up, the creature lolling like a dead man in his arms. For a second, Peter worried that he might have killed the vampire, and truthfully - yes, he had. In different sense, altogether. "Mary, clean up the blood on the floor as quickly as you can, then meet me upstairs in the master's chambers." He rushed up the stairway and disappeared on the upper level.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] Mary starred at the blonde in pure disbelief. The butler was acting like this was something completely normal - as if he didn't just plunge a knife deep into the Master's throat. She watched the blonde scoop up the vampire and the creature was limp in his arms. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be. If he was then Peter wouldn't have been so at ease.
"Yes sir." Rushing away, Mary gathered the cleaning materials and returned to clean up the blood that had spilled on the floor before going to get rid of the pink water that was in the bucket. Doing as she been told, the brunette made her way to the Master's chamber after she finished. She lifted up her hand to knock on the door.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Zachary Brighton, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]It was hard, lugging the vampire all the way up the stairs, but Peter was used to such back-breaking work. Corpses were lighter once bled, however, and the master was full of consumed blood. He counted his steps and made sure they were ever, so that he wouldn't slip off the stairs, or drop Zachary - both would be so unprofessional. Peter struggled to open the door to the mater's chamber, had slipping off the polished crystal handle before he got a firm hold, and slipped into the room, and finally dropped the vampire rather carelessly onto the enormous, luxurious bed. The butler sighed and stretched his arms over his head, feeling his back pop in several places. "You are awake, yes master?" The vampire's eyes settled onto Peter's form, and gave but the briefest, weakest of nods.
Peter turned and shut the door, before crawling over to the vampire, and resting a knee on the mattress as he reached for the dagger still haphazardly embedded in Zachary's flesh. The vampire shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the pain of the dagger being removed, but got something much, much worse. Peter harshly grabbed into the ornate end of the blade, and twisted it, spun it around at least ninety degrees, and Zachary opened his mouth to cry out, but couldn't when the dagger was buried in his windpipe. What was Peter doing, who was this man? He would never... The blonde was utterly unrecognizable, a sick glint in his eyes as he sawed through Zachary's throat with the sharp edge. "I wonder..." The blonde uttered, and Zachary reached up to shove the man away, but the silver in the blade had weakened him so drastically that he could barely even manage the faintest shove, which Peter easily resisted. The dagger was removed, but Peter's hand quickly replaced the blade, and Zachary tried to squirm, or thrash about, but failed to move. "Your body is warm... Why is that? Ah, the feeding. I fed you this morning, that is why." And indeed, his blood was warm enough that it steamed on Peter's hand when he withdrew it from the open wound. "But, I could feel no pulse. How interesting... And your arteries, there is no pressure, your blood merely falls out, but it doesn't spurt. How interesting." The wound began to heal, and Zachary began to get is strength back as soon as the silver was removed - so he reached up to grab Peter's wrist, begging for mercy. Yet, the man simply stuck the blade into the open wound in Zachary's shoulder. "You look confused. Let me explain. I needed a chance to observe the differences between vampire and human bodies. I am writing a guide on how to slay vampires, for the peasants who still believe it is impossible. This has been most insightful. Thank you, master."
The blonde stood to answer the door, removing his now-crimson gloves before touching the handle. "Ah, Mary. Tend to the master until he recovers. Make sure he is well, and changed, before twelve o'clock sharp."[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Mary Courteney, green, dashed, 10"] Mary was about to knock on the door when it was suddenly pulled open by Peter, who was already giving her instructions. "Yes, Sir." The brunette nodded and waited for the male to step out of the way before making her way inside of Zachary's chamber. "Master." She greeted the vampire while bowing her head a bit, before observing him.
The first thing that caught her attention was the dagger still embedded in his skin, the only difference was that it in a different location. The butler had stabbed his throat...why was it now on his collar bone. With a small frown, she rushed to his side and reached out to pull it out but hesitated. "I'm going to pull it out, Zachary." She murmured before her dainty hands wrapped around it and pulled it out.
[/fieldbox]
