The Lord was still. Motionless as a statue. The only thing that betrayed him as a living being his molten gaze. So the boy was honest. A good trait... He did not speak for a long moment. Long enough for his silence to become uncomfortable.
The human seemed to wish to fill the silence; soft, torn voice trembling with the pain of separation.
"Yes," The vampire finally spoke, tilting his head slightly as he watched the boy, "they will not find you."
It was almost tangible, his grief. Amador realized how much the boy's purity ebbed through his fragile being. His ability to put other's before his own fear, even in the presence of a creature such as he. A ghost of a smile flickered into existence.
The boy continued on, biting his lip and sending a fresh wave of his divine scent towards Amador. The Vampire's face remained impassive as he answered the boy's question,
"You are to live here. This is your new life."
Amador watched the boy try to fight off tears, "I could have taken your mother." He paused, bright red eyes cutting into the boy's, "She has the same blood that runs through your veins. Regardless, I do not believe she would have given consent, being tied to the other. Your father. My kind does not like to take women, if they can yet reproduce. Would you have her here, in your stead?"
He held his gaze, letting his words sink in. The Vampire's eyes fell to the boy's lips. His nervous habit making even more of a mess of his bottom lip.
"That would have left you. Alone. You would not have liked being a foster child, William." Amador's eyes left the boy's to peruse the roman architecture, the french furniture, "This is your home. Is it not to your liking?" A pale hand came up to gesture around the room, "If not, I can always alter it for you." Russet eyes settled back on the boy.
"As for why you are here," The Lords gaze fell to the boys neck, where a strong pulse beat, "It was predetermined long before you were born. Before I tell you why, I must first explain our history."
He began, dark features unmoving, face unreadable, "My ancestors were predators," Amador's tone was frigid, undoubtably the boy knew their legends to be bathed in blood of mortals, "Indestructible, clever, and fierce. Your people had no hope to defeat us. One of the many names you devised for our kind was "Vampire." We called ourselves the Tenebrosi."
"During the Iron Age of humanity, clans were gathering under the pure-born, no longer wandering, solitary nomads. Together they realized, they were far more powerful than the human tribes with their spikes and fire," The Lord paused, lifting a hand, "Weaknesses such as this,"
Long fingers dipped into the flame of a candle upon the table. They flared up instantly with a hot blue light; crackling loudly. Amador watched the mortals face as he brought the burning fingers to his mouth, blowing out the flames. The blackened skin shifted, flaking off until pure, unabused flesh shone pale once more,
"had been exploited by humans for decades to rid themselves of our minority. A stake through the heart, judgement by the sun... Your people were quite creative."
A small smile tugged on the corners of the Lord's lips as he relaced his healed fingers, "In 623 BC in accordance with your people's calendar, the pure-blooded of our race rose to power. Organized our feral species, created armies, erected strongholds... Created a kingdom. Our fist king was Adair. His rule lasted for two millennium. Under him, our species thrived. The pure blooded family however, was small and segregated. There were disagreements. They split into five separate claims to power, spreading across the globe."
"No doubt you know how a vampire is made, William?" The Lord asked, studying the boy's face, his low murmur taking on a pensive tone, "We had no shortage of followers. It was a choice between joining our ranks, or being murdered by your kind. In later years, when technology had advanced, we began to meld into the world of humans. It was effortless to hide our identity in a world of lies, secrets, and privacy. We caught on to the humans technology quickly, recruiting the sharpest minds to keep our existence a secret. Learning how to exploit. The advent of blood donations eased our impact upon your population. Food was easy, our lives were protected, restrictions on creation of new vampires were set in place..."
Amador paused. "However, your existence is a special case," red eyes locked with the boy's, "Before the Great Kingdom split, there had been a truce with a fierce rival kingdom of mortals. We could have crushed them. Our forces were steadily building, the large stretch of desert between us and them our only deterrent. Small scouting parties of our skilled hunters who could hide durning the day deep beneath the burning sands never returned after they set out to travel west. It was enough to pike the curiosity of the king's blood son. He embarked upon the long journey with an army, intent on finding what hindered their progress westward into the desert. They came upon a small mesopotamian clan. Their leader; strong and nubile, put up a great resistance - killing many of the prince's men. It was unprecedented, their tactics and their knowledge of our kind. However," The Lord sighed quietly, "They were nonetheless brutally defeated."
"Outraged his numbers had been damaged by the clan, their prince took the survivors as prisoners, his intent to feed them to his kingdom upon their arrival. It did not work in his favor. His father chose instead to speak with the clansmen's leader, curious of the strong spirit that resided in the humans. As the human clan was ushered into the court of the king, allowed entrance after their mortal leader, one of their folk cut themselves accidentally,"
The lord's slow tale paused here slightly, studying the boy face, "This prompted the furious young prince to rush forth and drink from the human as an act of disobedience, disapproving of his father's diplomacy. The human survived, mauled and bleeding gravely. The prince... Fell dead at the human's feet."
"The blood was poison. Outrage and havoc erupted. The court killed more than half of the survivors before the king, grief stricken by the sight of his immortal son dead, could reign in control."
"These remainders are your ancestors, William."
Amador judged the boy's reaction to his words, resolving he could continue, "The queen called for blood. To wipe out the poisonous race. The leader of the Hipolti's pleaded his people be spared. King Adair and the mortal leader came to an agreement. The humans' clan would bind themselves to the pure blood's; the spirit within their people would fortify the thirst of ours. In turn, we would spare them the annihilation of their race, and so a spell was enacted in that bloody room," Amador's voice fell softly, "The Hipolti blood was no longer poisonous, but rich and pure... Intoxicating... Or so they say."
The Lord smiled slightly, "Our Pure Blooded kin soon found however, if rabble were to drink from the forbidden fountain of the Hipolti, the common vampire would not only die, the essence of the mortal would be destroyed and would no longer be fortifying. It was important then, that the remainder of the clan be protected, as their blood was tempting far past that of any human."
The boy did indeed smell divine, his scent wafting through the enclosed room above the fragrances of the laden table.
Amador continued his hushed tale, giving the boy his history as the candles flickered shadows over their faces, "My mother and father, split from the old kingdom during the divide, were the only pair of purebloods to cross the atlantic. They settled in South America, and I traveled up to the Northern continent in the beginnings of it's colonization. It was interesting time. We had believed no Hipolti descendants would ever emerge here, their bloodline condensed mainly to Europe and the Middle East. Pets to be bred by the Kings and Queens that owned them. Then..." The Lord's eyes fell to the boy's lips once more. "James found you."
"Loyal to me, the doctor was the first to volunteer and join my clan. He refused to believe their was not a strand that migrated as well, and promised me, 'The spell decrees, your destinies are tied.' I did not put faith in it," Amador smiled, "but he found you, William. He traced your pure ancestry back. It is quite interesting how fate seems to intervene; your family members meeting through the strangest of circumstances, keeping your blood pure..."
"Perhaps the bond remained true, or it was chance. After decades of research James found your family line. He followed you at school, studied your parents, and we waited until you were older. It was quite interesting, he would bring me pictures, fawning over you. You grew fast..." Amador's countenance was unmoved, betraying no emotion as his calm tone continued on, "his last visit was only a few weeks before my Captain was dispatched to bring you here. You were never truly without us."
A dark red gaze bore into blue, voice low and clear, "I took you, William, because that is my right. Your blood belongs to me. As do you."
The lord extended a hand slowly towards the boy, indicating a request that the boy step forward and take it, "The Hipolti blood is the only liquid that can truly quench my hunger. The Pure Blooded drink more as we must to keep ourselves alive, but your people's essence can truly sate us. William, You do not know how long I've waited for you."
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