Shadows within darkness

Just another note *sigh*: I know that the term 'vampire' was original invented in the 19 th century and doesn´t quite fit into the time I´m writing about, but I´ll still use it because of the lack of a proper substitute. Thanks for your understanding!

Thanks to Rina76 (I love your story too, but reviewed under another name since I had no account until recently!), Kerianya (I´m sorry I made you sad! But then I´m glad, it touched you so much... A predicament^^), Ainaloth (Haha, yes, now Vincent has him all to himself, more or less.) and Kayaz (Yazoo´ll get better, I promise!) for reviewing!

5

He vaguely felt himself being lifted up and a cold, biting wind nipping at his sour skin, though he didn´t care. It wasn´t like he was aware of much happening around him, or that he had actually the strenght to give a damn, both mentally and physically. With mild and surprising indifferent resignation some part of his foggy mind thought that this was a rather pathetic way of dying, but another part just shrugged it off. While he was drifting into black nothingness, trapped inside his broken mind, his aching, dying body was carried miles and miles away from his brothers in a split second.

His ears recognized frantic pounding on wood, the creaking opening of a door accompanied by a stunned female voice that was interrupted by a harshly spoken order to get a doctor. Still, all of this didn´t even reach the brim of his mind.
The female took a sharp breath as she saw the naked, violated boy wrapped into the red cloak of her master cradled in his arms.

She instantly obeyed the command, noticing the seriousness of it. Reaching for an oillamp she threw a cloth over her slim shoulders and hurried into the dark streets to go for a medic. Meanwhile Vincent had climbed up the stairs with inhuman speed and layed the boy on a soft, white sheeted bed. He didn´t need the single candle to enlighten the room for his eyes saw even through the thickest darkness without failure. And right now his scrutinizing look told him that he had to do something quickly or he wouldn´t be able to keep his part of the promise.

Freeing his long fingers from the black gloves with the help of his teeth, Vincent searched for the most severe of the injuries.

Absent-mindedly he thought that the boy had truly been unfortunate…

Under different circumstances the wounds wouldn´t have been serious enough to even bring him near the verge of death. Sure, the hip was painful and left untreated it could quickly become a problem.

But the bloodloss wouldn´t have been that fatal, if only a certain someone hadn´t feasted from the boy quite unbridled. Maybe he should have killed him after all, it would have spared Yazoo this experience. If only he hadn´t shown the potential for a possible change of attitude in the last minute...
The concern and love for his brothers, betraying the impression the vampire had gotten from his haughty thoughts had made him withdrew and give the boy another chance to live with his siblings. Destiny apparently had other plans, though. And now, since he had taken responsibility, he couldn´t just leave it be or kill him…

With a dark expression, Vincent rolled up the sleeve from his arm and held it over one deep cut. Then, with a quick flick of his sharp, long nails over the white skin of his wrist he opened his own blood vessels and let some droplets fall onto the injury.
With a hiss the flesh merged together again, closing the wound without leaving any trace of its former existence. A muffled moan escaped the conciously unconcious boys throat, for the sensation even cut through his foggy brain, but Vincent only went over to the next wound with a determined expression.

When the healer finally arrived, all wounds had vanished as if by magic, safe for the dislocated hip, and the bruises.

Averting her eyes at the sight of the outstanding bones of the boy´s hip, the maid pressed her hands over her mouth to stiffle a moan.

The healer set aside his bag on the nightstand and with experienced, calloused fingers scanned his patients bloodsmeared shape, mumbling at him to just endure it as sharp screams filled the air.

Finally he let go off the boy and wiped some sweat away from his forehead with a dirty cloth. Then he ordered the maid to bring some hot water, who eagerly obliged, and hurried into the kitchen.

“Close the door please,” the healer instructed and fumbled a relatively clean cloth out of his bag, which he stuffed between the boys teeth, careful to not suffocate him. Yazoo´s eyes had become bleary with pain and fine sweat was building on his forehead, though he hadn´t really come back to reality or understood what was going on around him at all. All he knew was hot acrid AGONY sweping through his body in stormy, angry waves and he wanted it to stop!

Vincent had come to stand next to the bed again, observing the healer with unreadable eyes, the lower half of face hidden behind his red collar.

“I´ll relocate the hip now, but you´ll have to hold him down,” the man breathed, as he prepared himself for the act.

Vincent just sat beside the boy and pinned him to the matress by his shoulders. He tried to soothe Yazoo with that enticing song of his, but the boy was beyond pain now and wasn´t aware of anything besides his anguish.

“Ready?” the healer asked, licking his lips. Vincent nodded and put some more weight on his hands, but carefully so as not to brake any bones.

It was only about a minute the healer needed to put the bones back in place, but it was enough time for Yazoo to wake up the entire neighboorhood with the pained shouts that erupted from him, even despite the cloth. Trying to trash wildly in Vincent´s iron grip, the boy´s eyes rolled back in his head until his body finally couldn´t bear it anylonger and he lost conciousness.

Vincent released Yazoo´s shoulders, leaving a brand new set of bruises behind. The maid had entered the room again, looking very pale and worn out.

“Thank you, Miss Aeris,” the elder man looked up briefly, then he continued to examine the bruises of the still form on the bed.

The maid nodded softly and placed the waterbowl on the nightstand, waiting for new instructions from either her master or the doctor. Although she didn´t show it she was really worried, not only about the foreign boy but also for the ebony haired, dark young man. Her employer seldomly came home at all, and if he did, he retired to his library, telling her in a friendly manner that he wished not to be disturbed. Never ever before had he received any visitors or guests, not even relatives had visited him. Aeris hadn´t complained, he was polite, friendly and calm and treated her well, though he was quite a mystery to her.

But now this was so very unlike him and the poor boys condition was so horrible!

“Miss?”

A concerned, but also slightly impatient hand was waved in front of her face. Startled, she straigthened up. “Y-yes?”

“I asked if it might be possible for you to take care of my guest.” Vincent quietly inquired, adding “I do understand however if you feel not inclined to-”

“No, of course I will!” Aeris shook her head, making her brown braids bounce off of her shoulders. “It would be an honour, sir.”

Nodding, Vincent stepped to the side so that she could reach the bed. Wringing out a pure white linen cloth she started to carefully wash away the blood on the boy´s angelic face, inwardly wincing at how someone could do such things to an innocent child.

Yazoo didn´t make a sound and Aeris slowly proceeded towards his body, softly brushing the wet cloth over the abused skin, cleaning away the blood, dirt and cum.

Vincent observed her for a while and decided that she was alright. Knowing that he left Yazoo in good hands, he turned his attention towards the healer, taking him to the side and lowly inquiring about the boy´s condition.

Wiping his sweaty forehead again, the older man shrugged and said “Can´t tell yet. So far he seems relatively fine to me. Lost a lot of blood though. After some rest he should be alright maybe. But if I were you I´d worry about other things.”

Vincent, who could read the mans concern about Yazoo´s mental state from his mind, nodded, paid the man a generous honorar which would make sure that the man kept his mouth shut about the incident and bid him farewell.

When he appeared back in the bedroom Aeris was already done cleaning Yazoo and had shrouded his unconcious form in the white sheets.

“He´s very hot,” she said with worry in her voice and placed a cool hand on the boy´s sweaty forehead. She knew better than to ask her master about Yazoo´s origins and Vincent appreciated her discretion.

“I will leave him in your care. If you need anything do not hesitate to call for it, I will pay whatever amounts necessary, ” the dark haired man said and with that he had vanished from her view. Shaking her head a little, Aeris knelt down beside the bed again and changed her patients poultice.

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This is a short chapter, but the next one will be longer again, I promise! And I finally introduced a new important character :) I have to say that Aeris/th (I´ll use the former, it´s less to type...) was very much gritting on my nerves with her 'pure'
and overly 'good' attitude in AC (even though she appeared like what? 5 minutes?), but we came to terms with each other XD

So, I hope you liked it and leave me a review?