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For thousands of years, the vampire lived a lonely existence amongst the humans. He'd learned to blend in as well as he could; feeding only when necessity struck him, making sure he drained only enough blood to sustain him and never an ounce more than that.

He would go out of his way to patch up the puncture wounds his fangs would create, use the small amount of perception-altering ability he possessed to wipe the ordeal from his victim's memories, to allow them to go on living their lives as normally as they possibly could. 

However, he'd only been allocated a small fraction of this ability, given to him by his trusted eternal mentor, Aamirah. This ensured that he could not abuse the power, and it certainly had its limitations. It was ineffective on animals, so if he ever needed to feed on them, such as the times when disease and illness hit the village he was situated -- as it would hit hard and all at once and the consumption of infected blood was a massive danger to him, he'd be stuck terrorizing the same herd, and, through repeated exposure the animals would begin to recognize him and react in fear, sometimes alerting their shepherds, who posed a risk of catching him mid-feed. 

As the perception-altering ability was limited, it could only wipe the memory from the conscious mind, meaning that sometimes his victims would suffer from nightmares, and these fear-mongering tales of his existence would still find their ways to the locals, strengthening the belief in his existence, making it so he had to sneak around in the shadows even more so than he had before. 

For thousands of years he had lived, but it was only in his recent hundred years, did he begin to question his very existence, begin to feel the true depth of his loneliness.  

 

---

He was a lone vampire, the only one of his kind in existence, and such an existence had begun to feel aimless, whatever it was he was supposed to be striving for, it seemed further and further from view.

The black skinned nymph edges closer, her silver eyes falling onto her creation's slouched back, eyeing the way his long black hair falls over his features, blocking his eyesight. "Akal," she calls, instantly lifting him out of his stupor. 

But there's a delay in his speech. "Sometimes I wonder what am I living for, master Aamirah," he finally coughs out, avoiding her piercing gaze.  

"Akal," she repeats, warningly. Must this happen with every kind she creates, or is it simply living in the realm of the humans that does it to them?  

Presently Akal had been in the human realm for a longer period of time than any of her other creations, but he was also the most dangerous, his predatory instinct posed triple the threat her other creations did. He needed more time to mellow, needed more time to pass her tests.  

"Is it simply to watch time pass us by? Am I meant to sit here and scribe human history? It cannot be for much else, as you know as well as I do that they will never accept me, that I will never be enough like them to fit in here."

"You never need be, and you never need to," she assures, chuckling. Her all knowing nature was, at the best of times, unnerving, but the inside jokes she appeared to share only with herself, that seemed to reach this cosmic scope of understanding he would never be a part of, were worse. "I understand the struggle, Akal. It is true that this stage of your existence is the hardest one, but it is essential. 
 You must prove to me you are capable of withstanding what is placed before you. Prove yourself to be a worthy leader, and a worthy creature. I have made mistakes before, leaps in judgement. My power in the wrong hands... you understand that that would be catastrophic, do you not?" 

"Then why make me as I am -- why make me a predator?" Seeing as he'd been alone this long, who was he meant to lead? 

"I did not make you as you are," she lulls, and he finds himself mellowing in an instant. "Whilst it is true you guided me to the basis of your creation, as all my creations do, I simply followed through. 
  And now, I simply guide you and watch over your progression. Your existence is up to you, your future rests within you. The difference between struggling for survival in the human world and living in a land where you're free to live beyond the shadows, in harmony, beauty and abundance, it will be but one day away, eventually. You just need to have patience and belief that you will pass through this phase of existence."

Akal nods, he knows the length of his existence is but a blip to her, but even a few more months would feel like an eternity for him, considering the amount of time he's already been living. 

Only a few more months, but a few more months of struggling among the humans the way he has been, it's a few more months too many. 

He can't voice this to her, he knows the shame he'd feel at even mentioning it would be so great, and he fears disappointing her, he always has.

 

 

"Have you tried the cleanse I asked of you?" Aamirah asks, as she takes a seat opposite him at the lone table he has placed in his log-cabin, atop it sits one lone chalice she notes is empty. 

Akal nods.

"And how well did you do, Akal?"

"Four days before I..." He takes a breath, twiddling with his thumbs to avoid meeting eyes with her. "Felt my energy levels deplete and realized I wouldn't be able to sustain feeding on animals for an entire week, the way you had asked of me."  

"It is the soil," she says, nodding, as she mentions the difference in food quality between the realms. "In my land -- the land I wish for us to share, believe me -- the blood from the animals would sustain you for longer periods of time than that of the human, you are not bound to human blood in the way you believe yourself to be, you must simply overpower the urges. The sooner you do this, the sooner we can make our way to the land I speak so fondly of, Akal. The land that will allow you to flourish in the ways I have foreseen."

"I know that master Aamirah, but I fear I am not ready, even for such a task as simple as a week's cleanse from human blood."

She places the chalice closer, pushing it over to him. "It is not a simple task for your kind. But you must begin again. This time, accompany each feed with the gift I offer during this meeting."

He raises an eyebrow at her words but as he glances at the chalice, expecting it to be as empty as he left it, he takes notice of a handful of vibrant shaded berries placed inside it. 

"They're from Aandia. Mix these berries into this very chalice during your feeds and remind yourself what you are fighting for here, Akal. It will be nothing like anything you have ever tasted before, even as unfulfilling as the animal blood had been previously. This time, it will not be. It should help this week cleanse I ask of you transpire into a few weeks, even to a month. We will progress from there, once you succeed in this task."

"Master Aamirah,"  Akal calls, exactly a week later, prideful at having accomplished the task she presented to him with help of the berries from the land of Aandia.

Aamirah tilts his head upwards, and he tries not to wince as he meets her piercing gaze head on; silver doesn't harm him as much as it used to, but it still has its affects. Aamirah promises that the more tasks he completes, the less the color will be of harm, even going so far as to promise that it will be an honorary material and color for him and the kind he is to blueprint for, but that sounds the same as promising that the sun would eventually be no harm to him as well, though he does not doubt her predictions, he just feels that far away from the promises of the particular situation as of current.  

"Oh Akal." Her brows furrow, as she finally lets go of his head and directs him into his designated seat at the table. "Why do you suffer, when you have completed a monumental task such as this so fluidly?" 

"I am alone here," he chokes out, noticing the words seem to leave his mouth quicker than he can process them, as if gazing at her head on simply draws them out by default.  "I do as you say, I have always done as you have said and asked of me, even if it has been a process in which I've failed on occasion, I continue until I succeed, do I not? I grow in my ability to understand other living creatures and treat them with mercy and understanding... yet I am still the only one of my kind in existence. Have I not yet proven myself to be worthy of a companion, even just one, master Aamirah?" 

She sighs, as if this is a topic she has been dreading, but makes no move to expand upon why. Akal peers at her, the most innocent longing on his beautifully crafted features.

If only he could see what she could see.  

"I came here to tell you, that I have foreseen such a companion arriving for you, in a short amount of time, and it is of your scope of time I speak of here.  You will have a companion, Akal, but only when it is time, and only with a willing companion. Do not dare force this change upon an unwilling companion or I will cease your existence as you know it." 

As much as her words strike fear into him, emphasising the seriousness of the situation, Akal rests that night with a new-found excitement. Finally, his days would not be empty and aimless, he would have accompaniment. Someone like him. 

All he had ever dreamed of, at the heart of the matter.

 

 

But day by day, his excitement dwindles. 

Months have passed, and he begins to wonder if Aamirah is wrong about her news of a companion coming his way sooner rather than later. 

He eyes the silver blade he tucked under the table for safekeeping many moons ago, the wooden stake he has placed atop the window sill, and as he lets himself wallow in the pain he's amassed over the years, the confusion, the uncertainty, he decides that it will be tonight that he ceases to exist, by his own hand. 

There is no guarantee that he will pass all of his tasks, there is no guarantee that Aamirah will take him to the promised land of Aandia, no guarantee his kind will live on, no hope of acclimatizing, no hope of procreating with humankind, no hope of anything. 

Just an endless cycle of waking when others sleep, feeding on the very opposite part of a being than those around him, sleeping when others waken.  

Before this, he decides to take a walk to clear his head, allowing his feet to take him wherever they may, understanding that sometimes being as cooped up as he has been the past few weeks can lead to a similar state of dissatisfaction it can for humankind.

Edging closer to the lake, Akal gazes at his reflection, knowing it is visible only to him. His long black hair, which stays pin-straight no matter the weather, his dark almond eyes, which border on black, his prominent cupid's bow. His features appear to arrange rather pleasantly... he never goes out of his way to encounter humans but of the times he has encountered them, he's noticed that his appearance strikes awe rather than fear within them, sometimes he feels he could even go so far as to see attraction line their irises. 

But he doesn't know what he's meant to do with this information. Probably understand that he is intentionally alluring to them so they make for easier prey, not so that they have any hopes of being around him for his sake, like as a companion. 

It's on his way back from the lake when he stumbles across a notice pinned to a tree. Handwritten scrawl reads: ‘Of Utmost Importance. Prince Elios: Missing! Hefty reward offered for his safe return. Contact Palace Guards Immediately if sighted or found!’
 
Akal hums. He's heard tales of this prince, but had never paid much attention to village matters to be able to identify him by name alone. Thankfully the notice comes with a sketch. 

He decides he will keep a lookout for this prince, and if he finds him, maybe pass word of it to a human so they can reap the benefits and he stay as safely incognito as he needs to be to keep existing here, without the threat of pitchforks and being hunted on the regular by terrified village inhabitants accompanying him.

 

When he gets back to his cabin, the first thing he notes is that something is different. Something is vastly different. 
 

He reaches under the wooden desk, and within a fraction of a second is pulling out the human hiding there, taking note of his long blonde hair, the amber eyes he's famed for, and the skin tone which is mildly lighter than his own, there is no question that this is the prince he just encountered via a drawing. 
 

Akal glances at the disguised prince for a little while longer and decides he'll humor it. 
 

"Who are you?" Akal asks him, tone guarded but evidently indifferent.  
 

"So it is true," the missing prince gasps, reaching out his hand in awe, cupping Akal's cheek in the same astonishment, an action that freezes Akal in place. "Your existence is not a fable, after all. I cannot believe this." 
 

A moment of startled silence passes. 
 

"Come," the prince then sings, not an ounce of fear within him as he takes hold of Akal's hand and leads him to the cabin's lone table. He makes no note of how small the cabin is in comparison to a palace, rather, he seems happy to be on the insides of somewhere so cozy. "Let's sit, dear vampire. We have much to discuss."

 

 

"You have everything," Akal deadpans, half an hour into their conversation. Most of it has been excited drivel about Akal's existence and the prince's disbelief that this is really happening, now he is finally getting to the reason he has broken into Akal's home, how it was he even found Akal in the first place. "Looks, riches, charm. Why are you here, what is it you want from me?"
 

"I came here to ask a favor," he starts, chewing at his lip, running a hand through his hair quite abashedly. "I came here to ask a favor, but now I see I was misguided in my desires. I have a better idea. Can we talk of it, dear vampire?"
 

"My name is Akal."
 

"Akal," the prince draws the name out as if he's tasting it, the words rolling off his tongue like velvet. "I am Elios." 
 

"I am aware." Which makes the prince blink in surprise. "I saw your missing notice," Akal amends. 
 

Elios opens his mouth to speak, fear flashing into his eyes in an instant, but Akal shakes his head, cutting him off. 

"Forget about that, it has nothing to do with me. Once again, I ask: why are you here?" 
 

"I seek a greater existence than the one I've been forced into, ever since the very days of my youth to my present moment. Akal, I think you can help me."
 

"Elaborate."
 

"When I was a child, I would run away frequently, I hated confinements, I ended up with several guards accompanying me at any given moment, whom I would still play tricks on for just five minutes outside the castle walls whenever I could chance it, but it appears it was not enough, I desired a greater freedom, then, and now. 
  Presently, I came to seek your help in winning the affections of the woman I love; she's a commoner of the village, engaged to another common village boy -- though I doubt by choice," he teeters off, strangled note to his words. 
  "And I am to wed into royalty only. I had a foolish idea that if you feasted on the boy, she would forget about the boy and see me, see what we could be. That I would somehow be able to bend the palace rules if my fellow royals knew of your existence and the very fact that you had helped me and by admission, were... as they say, bound to me."

 

"You came here to threaten me?" Akal asks, cold chuckle emanating off him, though there is a genuinely humored element to his laughter. Did this evidently arrogant prince think he was going to take Akal prisoner here? "And believed it would work?" 

"Forget all of that," Prince Elios says. "It is in the past now. Upon meeting you, I have realized there is something else I seek. Something greater." 
 

"And what would that be?"
 

"I want to become like you, dear vampire. I want to be what you are." He kneels in front of Akal, taking both his hands into his own. "Make me like you, vampire Akal, I beg of you. Allow me to reach greatness. ...Immortality. 
My love is but a thought in the back of my mind in your presence, surely that accounts for something. Perhaps the love I feel for her is not as strong as I once thought, just another chance at escaping my confinements." 
 

Akal peers at him for several moments before he shakes his head in disbelief. "Leave," he eventually says. "Before I do something we both regret and make you into my next meal."

 

 

He now understands why Aamirah hasn't visited in the past few weeks, and that is because the annoyingly persistent prince is his new task. His future companion. 
 

He must figure out how to go about changing this human into his own kind by himself, mustn't he? All the while the prince gets more persistent and excited in Akal's presence. 
 

"Do it," the blonde prince begs, possibly for the fiftieth time that week, kneeling at the feet of Akal.   
 

"I do not kill," Akal says softly. He has not killed in a very, very long time. It was one of the first of his natural instincts to leave him, in fact. "I will not kill you for this flight of fancy you have taken upon yourself. Madness, even."  
 

"Not kill," Elios emphasizes, eyes almost twinkling in the moonlight.  "Make me more, make me like you are. Allow me to reach infinity, true greatness."
 

"I have told you that it is impossible, there is only me. Myself alone, I have no ability to create more like me. It befalls only upon my master and mentor." 

Clearly that was his task here, to come to this realization, to verbalize it, for Aamirah to hear him verbalize it and return to him, to his companion to be and take him through the change himself, right?

It was the first time he hadn't been directly instructed on what it was the task entailed and frankly, he was at odds here on what to do. 
 

"I believe that isn't so," Elios says. "I am determined to find the way, Akal, my dear vampire."
 

Akal still feels uncomfortable being addressed directly by his name by the human prince, but makes no move to mention it. They had been in contact for several weeks now, everyday, at that. 
 

Still, he doesn't find himself warming to the human as easily as he'd hoped. This was his future companion, he knew that, but their methods of interacting were massively different. 
 

Their methods of existing were massively different, also.
 

How would this overzealous, vibrant human prince function as a vampire that needed to live in obscurity to survive?

 

 

The blonde prince enters the cabin with a smile so wide it threatens to fall off his face. "I've found a way," he says in all of his wide-eyed glory.  "There is a being -- a being of guidance as she calls herself, she told me how to make it possible for us."
 

For you, Akal almost corrects, but stops himself at the last moment, lest the human prince breaks out into tears. Elios had clearly encountered Aamirah, so that at least confirmed that Elios was his latest task, his companion to be. 
Her telling him how to go about changing himself into a vampire, also meant that Akal had been wrong about his task at hand. He was supposed to figure it out himself and had clearly been taking too long to do so. 
 

"What would it require?" Akal caves, realizing that Aamirah has given him a loophole here. She won't tell him, nor will she guide him through the process, but she told Elios, knowing Elios couldn't keep it to himself. 
 

Akal will be given one chance to complete whatever process he's about to be informed of, and if he messes it up, he can kiss his companion and existence goodbye. 
 

He knows that much. 
 

"Almost total exsanguination, the first wound must be a bite, the rest, it is up to you but I must be at a point where I am lacking so much blood I risk death." 
 

Akal feels the urge to sit down at these words, feels his own blood run cold at the thought of doing that to another being. The total glee that coats the prince's words, tells him the feeling isn't mutual on Elios' part, even on the recipient’s end.  

"Then you must place your own blood into me, allow it to get to the point where what was once your blood, replaces what was once my own, as the blood pumps anew. The being of guidance I met informed me that you have certain..." He stops here, as if racking his brain for the right words.
 

"Magic?"
 

"Yes! Magical abilities that will keep me alive so long enough to perform this. That will restart my heart just as my human self dies, so to speak. Abilities that will allow your blood to pump through me, change me into what you are. She says it is a difficult task, but believes you are capable of performing it. Please Akal, there is nothing I want more than to be as you are. To reach infinity."
 

"You are sorely mistaken at what this kind of life contains, Elios."
 

Elios blinks at the first use of his name from Akal, feeling warmth spread through him, almost as if the rest of Akal's sentence skips by him.  
 

Akal shakes his head, burying his head into his hands for a moment, before he meets eyes with the human prince. "And this human love of yours, you would abandon her for a life of aimless misery?" 
 

"For greatness, I would abandon everything. Besides, she has chosen her village boy, I was blinded to the love she clearly feels for him out of envy. She was just another way for me to escape my confines. But this... this is my destiny, Akal." 
 

Akal searches his eyes. "Only when the desire to kill leaves your system." 
 

The blonde prince blinks, eyebrows furrowing together. 
 

"I can feel it on you, Elios. If you change in this state, harboring this ill emotion, I fear the results and the consequences. Her village boy lives. Only then, will I even contemplate the thought of changing you into my kind."
 

"Deal," Elios says easily, shrugging.

 

 

 Akal glances at him, taking in his appearance. Had it not been for the blood soaking his recently developed fangs, coating the entirety of his chin and his neck, soaking into the material of his white shirt, he would've looked the picture of innocence, by the smile that graces his features. 
 

Not like someone who'd just committed a straight up massacre. 
 

"What have you done?" Akal roars at his fledgling, who stands over the bodies he has drained entirely, merely blinking at the sight that lays before him.
 

"The being of guidance failed to mention the hunger," he says so faintly it's almost a whisper, as Akal edges closer to him. "And how consuming it feels."

 

"Have mercy on us," Akal gasps out, taking in his appearance at a closer proximity. "You have overconsumed. Your eyes are glowing red. Elios, did anyone see you do this?"
 

Elios looks mildly vacant when he next meets Akal's eyes, before he shrugs his shoulders. "Everything but the meals I allocated myself faded into the background, dear Akal." His eyes fall over the humans whose lives he just took and it's as if reality has only just hit him. He gasps, a pained, croaked sound. 
 

His love, her betrothed, the family that lived with them. All laying there, pale and cold as ice, puncture wounds so visible, the room so soaked in the blood he didn't manage to consume, he fears even he will have nightmares about it, even though it is now his primary food source. 
 

"What have I done?"
 

It's only when the guards creep out from the shadows does it dawn on Akal how much he's zoned out of his surroundings himself.
 

"Outed us," Akal says icily. "If we don't face certain death via the king's orders, we are looking at certain banishment.” Realizing his previous question about being seen has been answered without a shadow of a doubt now. "And we have nowhere to go."
 

For a split second Akal watches Elios contemplate adding the guards to his kill list, before his eyes fall shut and his body flops against the one that is now holding his hands captive. 
 

Akal decides he won't fight, either. Elios must detox from overconsumption before they can safely get anywhere, as is. 

 

 

  The blade edges closer to the Akal's throat. His eyes are downcast, he knows better than to goad humans, but what is he supposed to do when the razor sharp edge of the blade will not kill him, and he continues to survive when the humans expect him to die there and then? 

"Father," Elios drawls, eyes narrowed menacingly as he crosses his arms over his chest, gaze fixated on his father's ageing features. "Must you be so foolish? The blade will not kill either of us."

"No," the human king says, and Akal watches how he can't meet his son's eyes, disgusted at what has become of him. Akal feels a wave of confusion wash over him, then something like defeat.

It was true that humans would never accept anything outside of themselves like Aamirah mentioned, wasn't it?

"But I will make an example of the both of you. Deceitful, unholy creatures of the night or not, murder will be punished during my reign.  You are hereby banished for all of eternity," the human king spits. 

"Where will we go?" Elios asks. 

"That is not my problem. Figure it out or die trying. Be out of my kingdom within five minutes or I swear I will find a way to kill you both. May your victim's souls find the peace they were so viciously denied of."

"Gladly," Elios spits back.

 

 

  Aamirah sits under the tree they've presently sought refuge of, miles upon miles from their village of past residence. 

"Do not assume that I am here to punish either of you, or kill either of you. I come in hope of re-homing both of you."

Akal glances at her incredulously. Elios won't meet her eyes, the fear and regret clear.  

"Akal," she starts. "I did not expect him to be able to control his urges as a newly changed vampire, but his actions... they put both of you in danger. They put this village in danger. Let me talk with you in private."

She throws a sealed bag of blood Elios' way and tells him to feed before he passes out, that voluntarily starving himself out of guilt will do nothing to help him. 

Akal almost questions where the bag has come from, but then remembers who she is and the power she holds. Anything is possible around Aamirah. He follows on alongside her, out of hearing distance from Elios, which is much further for a vampire than it is a human. 

"We must speed up his process by force here, force him to change diet, so he mellows at a faster pace than you did, thousands of years ago. 
  I believe he cares about you and admires you enough to do as you instruct of him, and on the human-free diet I mention, there is no way his instincts will overpower him in the same manner, especially as the creatures in Aandia can easily defend themselves and stop a situation such as that from escalating to what it has here, avoiding any deaths whatsoever. 
 Let us return to Elios and explain."

 

"Aandia would welcome you," she eyes the blonde, amber eyed vampire, who does everything to avoid meeting her gaze. Either he's been told that silver harms newly formed vampires in particular, or the guilt he harbors overpowers everything else in him as of present. "Both of you. It will require a change of diet, possible confinement if you ever act out again, and completing any tasks I assign you for the betterment of this beautiful land. 
 Any power you acquire must be used only for good and the further development of the land. I will eventually grant you the ability to carry on the vampiric race, but you will only be granted this once I know I can trust you wholeheartedly. Until then, you live alone. Or with each other. Whatever suits you best."
But Akal can't hold his tongue right now, still harboring anger at Elios for his reckless actions. "Do you think it is wise to take him along after what he just showcased himself capable of?"

"You doubt the companion you wished so heavily for, Akal?"

"I do after what I just witnessed of him."

"Yet I didn't when I witnessed the same actions from you, all those years ago. Look at you now. Do you believe my judgement was wrong, with you?"

He takes a deep breath, pausing. He glances back at his fledgling, who's demeanor screams nothing but vulnerability and the need to protect him suddenly overpowers  his anger and disappointment. "I suppose not. But I will not let him out of my sight until he mellows. Do not tell me I am wrong in that."
 

"Mentorship is changing you," Aamirah notes. "You have never once stood up to me, as you just did."
 

"I will not apologize for being firm in my opinion here."
 

"Wonderful," Aamirah says, and he notices the faintest smile on her lips. "Come along, then. Let me introduce you and Elios to our prized land, Aandia."

 

 

"Take your hand off of me," Akal instructs, voice void of any gentleness.
 

Elios expression falls in an instant. "Akal," he whispers, voice already cracking. 
 

"I hold to what I said.  You're too primal and too young in your vampire journey to be here, she should have left you to mature."
 

"Oh," Elios murmurs, noticing what's going on here. "To suffer as you had?" He edges closer to Akal, perching beside him. "Tell me about it. It must have been so difficult to live through, I understand why you would be upset that I get to skip it." 
 

"It's not something I would wish on anyone, never mind my companion. But I understand why Aamirah made me go through that, I understand it's necessary for a vampire's development. Especially the ones propagating the rest of the race."
 

"I don't believe so, not with the abilities Aamirah holds at her disposal. Not with your great guidance. I was only reckless because there were so many humans around, Akal. I won't do anything like that again."
 

"I hope that's true."

 

 

"Akal," Elios sings, several months after they've settled into Aandia. "I love it here. Truthfully, to spend an eternity by your side, in the most beautiful land in existence, it is almost a dream come true."

"Your way with words hasn't left you," Akal coughs out, and though he realizes he's been a little harsh with Elios lately, he thinks the younger vampire has bettered from it, and is less likely to act out or act without thinking. 
 

He has to admit that seeing Elios smile gleefully everyday and sing the majority of his sentences out of happiness, it's warming and lessening any grudge Akal had been holding against him.
 

"We will dine with the Fae this evening," Elios informs him.
 

"I know that, Elios. How are you feeling about it?" 
 

"Excited," Elios says. "But mostly for the next encounter. We will meet the mermaids, I am so curious about them."

 

 

"Have you met Luna?" Elios asks one night. "She's Fae. One of Aamirah's most prized -- quick learner, beauty beyond words."
 

Akal nods. "We have had conversations here and there." 
 

"She admires you very much, have you noticed?"
 

"No," Akal says, but Elios hears the shakiness accompanying his reply. He has, he just doesn't want to discuss it with Elios.  
 

Elios narrows his eyes in contemplation. "Suppose it is hard to miss when one knows what to look for." He looks off into the distance, almost like he's afraid to meet Akal's eyes. "I wonder if Aamirah has matched you two for a... future lineage."
 

"I am a vampire," Akal says blankly. "She is Fae. How is that possible?"
 

"I have overheard her mention a possible combination of our races for the betterment of the future or something along those lines." 
 

"No, it is because she still doesn't trust us wholly, and thinks mixing the two race's blood incites placidity into the vampire's beginnings. Suppose it will. Suppose we do have a reckless streak, as evidenced through the both of us, during our beginnings. If Aamirah wants Luna and I to start a lineage, I would not refuse." 
 

Something twists within Elios' gut at the thought. He regrets even mentioning the prospect.

 

 

And he thinks he's coping well, until he notices how close Luna and Akal have been in proximity since the mention of a future lineage. He knows he shouldn't even be contemplating his next action, but somehow he can't stop himself. 
 

"Luna," Elios whispers one night, following his previous interaction with Akal, having managed to lead her away from Akal and spend some time talking with her himself. "Have you always been such an exemplary student, or was it a case of trial and error at the beginning?"

"No I've been like this since the beginning," she chuckles.  "There's not always a lot to do but learn in this realm, so I make the best of it."
 

Elios hums. "So I suppose you're not curious about other realms then, other races... romances, stuff like that?"
 

Luna's eyes momentarily widen, before she clears awkwardly.  
 

"Akal, right?"
 

Her cheeks tinge pink. 
 

"Ah," he murmurs, feigning sadness. "I understand the appeal, of course, but it disheartens me so, to have it confirmed like this."
 

She blinks. "Whatever do you mean?"
 

"I just..." He eyes her long dark hair that glimmers with health, the iridescent effect of her eyes, the way her skin looks like she's bathed in moonlight, and he knows he’s not exaggerating with his next sentence. "Ever since I got here, I've been in awe of your beauty. He's really, really lucky to have captured your attention, you know? I wish I were him, right now, actually. I'd be so proud to call you mine. Shame you already have feelings for another."
 

"They're not necessarily feelings," she whispers after he's finished, taking hold of his hand and pulling him closer. "Just not an apt refusal if I were to be matched with him. That hasn’t happened as of right now, Elios."

"Shouldn't you have a choice?" Elios murmurs, gently cupping her cheek, gazing longingly into her eyes. 

"I hadn't really thought of it before but now that you mention it, y-yes, I believe I should. I believe we both should." 

"I'm never far," he trails off, eyes twinkling, teasing manner to his words that seems to pull her in closer. "Remember that."

"I will," she says, almost as if she's in a daze from staring into his eyes, from having him this close a proximity. 

She was beyond curious, that much he did know. Perhaps this would be easier than he thought, leading her astray from Akal. 

 

Several weeks later, as he lay beside Luna in their shared bed, running a hand through her dark hair, he murmurs her name softly.

"Yes, my love?"

"Is it true that lovers would do a lot for each other, as I've heard?"

"Lovers would do anything for one another, I believe that wholeheartedly now I know what love is, Elios." 

He chuckles, and the sound is like music to Luna. "Well the truth is, I just want you to answer one question for me, Luna. Would you do that?"

"Of course. What would that question be, Elios?"

"Fae are trained to be able to enter the human realm at will, correct? Or at least know how to bridge the distance between realms, is that correct?"

Luna nods. "Though we are forbidden to enter the human realm without Aamirah."

"She has a lot of rules, don't you think?"

Luna contemplates this, blinking.

"You're not allowed to love until she tells you when to love, you're not allowed to train until she delegates a task, you're not allowed to visit the realms you've promised to assist unless she's with you, need I go on..."

"It's true," Luna muses. "It has me wondering what we're not allowed to see in the human realm alone, that she will let us see if she accompanies us."

His eyes twinkle, though it goes amiss to Luna. "Guess we'll never know..."

"No," Luna says, smiling wickedly. "We'll know."

Aamirah strides in, silver eyes stony, posture rigid as anyone had ever seen her. The rest of the Fae stand still, watching in fear as she grabs Luna by the arm and with one flick of her wrist, throws her against a nearby tree.  

"Luna," she grounds out, not caring about the crowd that's formed, not caring that Akal is at the very front of said crowd.

"Aamirah."

A look of saddness passes through Aamirah's silver eyes, Luna’s change of voice the only confirmation she needs in this instance. "So it is true. How I hoped with everything in me that it wasn't."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Luna lies fluidly.

"Well I suppose your lover does. Is that right, Elios?" Who is standing side by side with Akal, look of fear passing over his delicate features. 

Akal turns to him, question in his eyes. "What is going on here, Elios?"

"Oh, let me tell you," Aamirah draws out, stony expression back in place. "Not only did he accompany Luna to the realm of the humans, they fed on a human. 
Fae are banned to enter the human realm without my assistance and it is the biggest crime imaginable for a Fae to feed on a human being. Not only did Elios once again feed on a human, after agreeing to stick to our human-free diet that is implemented on everyone in this land, he introduced blood -- human blood -- to a Fae, whose magic has now darkened. Irreversibly. 
This is a crime punishable by death."

"You dishonor me," Akal chokes out, in disbelief, not even realizing the physical distance he begins to place between himself and Elios.

But Elios doesn't flinch. "She made her own decision, I simply provided the option."

"We are not creatures of the night!" Aamirah roars, and the rest of the Fae cover their ears, shivering at the sound. "You risk the lives of everyone here. Everyone is now in danger." 

She edges closer to Luna, grabbing her by the shoulder, rage barely contained.  

Luna shrugs the hand off her shoulder, meeting Aamirah's eyes head on. "I will not apologize. Had we known the strength it would have given us years ago, I'm sure many of us would have chosen the same thing I did, last night. 
 Yes, I fed on a human. Yes, I'm in love with Elios. And it’s only in knowing and loving Elios do I understand the freedom I lack. There is a force greater than the moon out there, Aamirah, you have been lying to us." 

"Lying?" Aamirah rasps, as if the word is undecipherable for her. 

"The sun," Luna says simply.

"You wish to meet the sun and its rays? You wish to burn into a crisp? So be it." She turns to Elios, hatred pooling in her silver eyes, which don't sting half as much for him to look at these days. "You want to be the predator the humans view you as so badly? So be it. 
 From this day forwards, your teeth with not shrink. Your eyes will remain as red as the day you massacred the human family and reached the state of overconsumption. The long blonde hair that was so mystifying and prized to your family in your human life... you now have no ability to disguise it.
You are both banished, and will live your remaining days in the realm of the sun, which is unsurvivable for a vampire, and debilitating for a Fae. 
 Both of you greatly dishonor me and all I have fought for. Leave now and never return."  

"Wait," Akal calls.

"Continue speaking and you will not go unpunished either, Akal," Aamirah warns, which stills Akal in place before he shakes his head.

"Is there nothing I can do, is there no other way besides banishment?"

"Eternal banishment is my kinder option," Aamirah says stonily. "I mean what I say when I say that if you keep speaking in either of their defense I will not excuse you of punishment yourself Akal."

"That matters not to me. Can we hear them out? Perhaps there is something we're not aware of right now. Were either of you threatened, have you tasted a new plant that has messed up your internal processes... please, tell me this wasn't an intentional act on either part."

"I'd be lying if I attempted so," Elios says, quieter than he had been with Aamirah. "We chose this, Akal. Banishment is the only way."

"Elios..."

"I'm sorry I fell in love with the woman who was supposed to be promised to you," and he knows he sounds believable right now, he's so glad he does. "And I'm beyond apologetic that you'll never get to have the future with her that Aamirah decided you would, but the truth is, it shouldn't be like that. We should have choice, Akal."

"You loving her matters not to me, Elios." 

But how he wished it did. He has to blink away the tears that are forming. 

"Had you mentioned how you felt about her, I would've wished nothing but happiness for the both of you."

"You're different than me, then," he chokes out. Truly different. Here he was, willing to live out the biggest lie just so he didn't have to see Akal and Luna together for the rest of eternity.  

"But the actions the two of you have taken, they're irreversible. You must see that."

"I will face the consequences of my actions," Elios says softly. "But I will miss you everyday that I am away. I never intended to harm you in any of this, Akal. You made me who I am and I will forever be grateful for you, indebted to you. Loyal to you."

"I wanted to be there with you, through it all," Akal whispers. "How I wish our circumstances were different, Elios."

 

  Several hours later, as Luna and Elios are supposed to be packing their things, the portal to the land of the sun having but an hour until it closes, a tortured cry echoes around Aandia. Elios is occupied, still speaking with Akal, begging for his forgiveness, but Luna stands over her 'eternal' mentor's body, smirking. 

The wound is unsurvivable. And all it took was the darkening of her light magic. Who knew. 

"Whatever you need to say to Akal, get it said now. You don't have long left, and we know how useless the rest of your potential heirs are. Goodbye, Aamirah."

Hearing the tortured cry, Elios and Akal rush over to their dying mentor. Akal, in a state of panic, tries all her can to ensure her survival, and Elios stares at Luna in a state of daze, apprehension running through him. 

"Get her out of here right now Elios if you want her to live," Akal grounds out.

"Noted," Elios murmurs, still glancing at Luna in apprehension whilst she sends a proud smirk his way. Irreversible, he thinks, shivering. Sure, he did not force the blood of the human down , but it had not even been a concept in her mind prior to their journey to the human realm. 

He had kickstarted the darkening of the light magic that resided within Fae, that powered Aandia, that Aamriah had fought so hard to protect. The severity at what he’d done, it was beginning to hit him now.   

"We can stay now," Luna says, her gloating evident.

"You stay and I kill you myself," Akal continues in the same tone from before. "I will not repeat myself. Leave now, the both of you -- your banishment holds, mutiny will not save your lives. Go, now!"

They hastily make their way away from Akal and walk through the portal. Akal leans over his mentor's dying body, tears falling at their own accord. 

"Master Aamirah," his voice is coated in pain, in pure agony. 

But she doesn't hold the same sentiment. "Your punishment? You will never lead your kind, you will not procreate, vampires were a mistake," she hisses, on her dying breath. "Find and guide a worthy line into leading Aandia and I will forgive you.” But even then by the tone of words, he doubts it. “If not, you disappoint me the way your companion did. Goodbye Akal."

 

 

 Several years later.

“Shenai," Akal starts. "This is foolish. Just speak to him yourself."

"This cannot go on any longer Akal! Aamirah is gone and her last words were misguided. We need you and we need you to find the lineage, the heirs. The mixing of the Fae with our newly formed Vampires, born only in Aandia and never introduced to the human realm, it has exceeded our expectations, but you are the blueprint, the first. We know we cannot keep it up forever without your assistance. We have developed the blueprint for vampires with naturally imbued magical abilities, modelled after us both, black hair and violet eyes."

"As happy as I am about this, I am no king. Why leave it up to someone unfit to choose?"

"I want you to be the king but I know I will never hope of convincing you, so this is why I settle for this. The rest of our inhabitants have accepted that I will take over from Aamirah, I just need you to catch up and trust in me, trust in the visions I have seen. Please find an heir, Akal, our future rests on it."

Please let yourself create an heir also, she almost continues, but knows this has to be teetered into lightly. One step at a time, find the line for the future leadership of Aandia, then prove to him that he’s capable of having a child, and no longer banished from the prospect under her rule. Especially not when a child from him is so necessary for the future of their survival. 

 

Shenai knew that what the Aandiels' had just achieved had been monumental, but it would also just become a lucky draw without Akal’s help. 

 

It takes several months, before Akal settles on a family who have just welcomed a son. 

"Torienh? A lovely name."

He sees the gentleness in the younger vampire's eyes, and an heir in his son, whose black hair and violet eyes are exactly as Shenai mentioned in her visions, down to the very shade.
  
"Davante will be a peaceful first ruler, which will set the path for the destined Torienh, and finally for..."

"Stop there," Akal mutters. "I get it. In Davante and his heirs’ hands, Aandia is safe for generations to come. That's all I need to know." 

Shenai sighs. "Will you ever stop this pity party, Akal? How long until you see how necessary you are to us, also? Anyway, I am tired of constantly having to say this only to be ignored by you, hopefully one day you will see. 
  Back on topic. As the blueprinter, yours and your companion's life lines are much longer, we are almost starting from scratch without Aamirah's abilities and guidance, but we've done it. Fear not, worry not, and allow yourself some peace of mind. 
  You are necessary here, you are wanted here, and your own heir..."

"I am banished from procreating, Shenai, stop mentioning this heir that will never exist!" 

"Aamirah is gone." 

"What do you suggest? Her magic is final, even if I wanted an heir, I am incapable of conceiving one." 

"There is a way. It is risky, I understand, but I will take that risk, knowing it will save our kind from a sure defeat. I am sorry you will not recall this conversation after it is finished, but one day you will understand why I had to erase it from your memory."

"W-what?" Akal starts, backing up against the tree Shenai leads them to. "You just said we were safe for generations to come!"

"And every heir needs a partner, an intended. You will provide the most important intended for our most important ruler." 

"Shenai, please no more crazy talk. I will not have a child, ever. I am incapable."
 

"No, there is a way. It pains me to have to put you in this situation, for when you meet her, the stars will align, and you will fall into a love so deep you forget every pain you have ever experienced. However, your tale will be full of heartbreak, and you will not watch your offspring grow, but the simple fact that an offspring will exist will save our kind from assured destruction. Love them while you can, our beloved Akal. Aamirah was wrong about you, so wrong. 
 You have done so much for us. You are so far from a mistake and I'm sorry I have to hurt you this way." 

"No, no, no," Akal chokes out. "Shenai, no, no, no. Please don't do this." 

"The concept of losing your memory only hurts now, beloved Akal, once it's gone, you will have known nothing else but the deepest of loves and a happily family."

"Until you tear that away too?"

"You fate was written in the stars and I am so sorry, I will never be anything but apologetic at what I have to give you a taste of before I so cruelly take it away for the betterment of our kind. The future of our kind. 
You have served us so well, Akal. It pains me to have to do this. I hope one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me, but you will never regain these memories, I know that. 
  Please, forgive me as of present, for when you do not know there is anything to forgive, I always will."

 

 

  "They grow in strength everyday," Luna says, turning her attention to Elios. "How will we match them, my love? We have a lot of work to do."

Elios only nods, hardly contributing, a common theme whenever they speak, these days. This bothers Luna greatly. 

"You still have care in your heart for the first, I understand that--"

"He made me what I am," Elios enunciates. 

"Aamirah made me what I am, I let go of her. I do not understand why you cling to him like this, that's all I am saying."

"You killed Aamirah, of course you've let go of her. I could never do the same to Akal." 

Luna rolls her eyes. "We have more important things to discuss right now. Primarily, your change from human to vampire. How was it?"

"Agonizing, even as determined as I was for the end result."

"But replicable?"

"Probably, it's a specific process, one wrong move and the person you're trying to change into a vampire is dead."

"We have time," Luna says, shrugging. "And a lot of choice in our wonderful realm of the sun," she continues in a sarcastic manner. 

Elios nods. "It's an army we seek?"

"Yes," Luna says. "I was thinking one out of every four, at the beginning. We may see many deaths to start but slowly and surely we will develop our own kind. And they will be a million times stronger than the Vampire-Fae hybrids of Aandia."

"We will need males and females if we want a long lasting lineage." 

"Yes," Luna says, like she's so excited over the prospect. "Ours," she then  murmurs, most determined about this prospect, about overpowering Aamirah’s procreation blockage. "They can become the royalty, the rest should fall into place naturally, they will take your form seeing as you were the first of our kind and I do not want to be reminded of my origins once I shed of them.”

Elios blinks. “You can do that?”

“Everyday I force myself to grow into enough power to ensure it. I have the magic to ensure it, now. I want us to wear the characteristics she deemed as an eternal curse with pride, Elios. Even now, you are doing so much better in the sun, you can spend hours in it and feel little to no pain."

He nods.

"I will ensure you feel no pain whatsoever by the end of the year. Finally, to name our land. The land of the ashes? No longer." She takes Elios by the hand and leads him to the scroll, where she's scribbled out one word.

Elios peers at it, trying to decipher it. "Killers of..." He starts, blinking. 

"Killers of the Fae," Luna interjects. "Fitting, right?" 

Elios looks disturbed. "They're your own people, Luna." 

"Not anymore. Not since you made me better. Not when they banished you.  When she banished you. Faenraehl it is."