Vilainous Deeds

“Sebastian,” she said quietly, waking me from my restless slumber.
“Layla, where were you?”
“I just needed a little time to think. Why did you run off like that?”
“You know difficult it is for me to diffuse anger, Layla. I had to do something.”
“Ah... I suppose that’s fair.”
“Then why are you upset?”
“Because you just left me, Sebastian,” she said, anger evident in her tone. “You didn’t ask if I was alright, and just left. No ‘are you okay, Layla?’ and certainly no ‘Let me stay and comfort you.’ I just wish I meant something to you.”
She turned on her heel, but I was quicker, and grasped her by her shoulders. “Layla, you mean everything to me, and that’s why the thought of not being able to rule beside you made me so mad. If I didn’t have you, I would surely go insane. You... you ground me to this life. You keep me from being consumed by anger and hatred. Without you I would be no better than who I hope to one day destroy.”
“You just left. Why do you even stick around? You should take her up on her offer. She’ll do much more for you than I can even hope to.”
“Layla, please don’t talk that way. We both know that you help me out in ways no one else ever could. Can you please just not even pretend that you don’t matter to me.”
She refused to say anything to me after that. She just hugged me close. She held onto me and gripped the back of my shirt, trying to hold me close.
“Layla, say something,” I begged her after a moment, and she didn’t. She just kept holding me, and when I pulled away to see her face, she was crying. “Layla...”
“I missed you, Sebastian. Can you stay with me? Please? Just stay here with me for a little while?”
“Of course.”
And so I did. I held her close, letting her tears fall onto my shoulder, and her sobbing gradually slowed down, and gradually stopped.
“Sebastian, I’m leaving,” she said sadly. “I need to leave so that you can reach your full potential.” She pulled away, and looked me in the eyes. “Please, Sebastian. Understand what I’m asking. Understand I’m trying to make things better for us.”
“That’s ridiculous, Layla. Just stop for tonight, alright? We’ll be wed not this week, or the next, but in three weeks. We’ll move it up from next month, and it’ll happen soon. Surely we can get you a dress. I may be busy for a while. But for now can we get some sleep, Layla? Please?”
“Yes,” she said sadly, and pulled away, falling asleep quickly beside me.
⍬
I woke with Layla still fast asleep beside me, and I knew that I had a long few weeks ahead of me. The first thing I did was go to town and announce the engagement to Dominus Saxon, who congratulated me and said he would happily announce it to the town, and invite anyone I wanted him to.
“Just invite whoever you wish to. I don’t really care who is in attendance. Do you know an Haeres by the name of Sari?”
“Yes, she’s currently trying to find a husband. She was widowed and she has no one to support her. Why do you ask?”
“Did you see her at the party?”
“Yes, I did, actually, now that you mention it.”
“What was she wearing?”
“Uh, a light green dress with a light green matching mask with black and gold fringe.”
“A green mask,” I mused. “So it was her.”
“What was her, Mercator?”
“She was the one who gave me the aphrodisiac. Who tried to hurt Layla and I together.”
“Why on Earth would she do that? She’s a good woman. You two would have a lot in common with your political views, actually.”
“Just keep her away from me if you’re able,”I said, and sighed, deciding to just go back home. Upon my arrival I found my servants were housing a guest for me, and awaiting my arrival.
“Sebastian! We are so glad to have found you! This man has been waiting for you, and he said that you told his father that he was to visit you on this day. Is that correct, master Sebastian?”
“Yes, I do believe it is. Where is he?”
“We brought him into the dining room and fed him some biscuits and tea. I hope that is alright.”
“Yes, yes. If we ever have visitors feel free to feed and give them something to drink if they are awaiting my return home,” I said impatiently for their future reference, and I went to the dining hall where I was greeted with wine and a full breakfast.
The man stood to greet me. “Thank you for seeing me! I am sorry to meet you like this, having already intruded on your property and enjoyed your delicious food and drink. My name is Cassiel. Cassiel Leden, but please just call me Cassiel. I understand you spoke to my father on some matter? He refused to tell me what it was, but insisted I meet you here.”
“Yes, I was under the impression I am to be your trainer, and you are to learn combat.”
He paled. “I should have known that he would try to make me do that again. I am not good at fighting, and I never will be. Plain and simple.”
“Then leave,” I said simply. “I am willing to train you. I am an excellent fighter in all ways, with nearly any weapon you can imagine and in unarmed combat, and I consider myself a skilled teacher. I have a free class that I teach.”
“I do not wish to participate.”
“Would you prefer to do a one on one training session? Just one to see where you stand? I can tell when someone has the talent they need. I will be honest if I think you have a chance. It might be good for you. What do you say?”
“I don’t know. When?”
“How about now? I’ve recently added a training room to my manse, so we’ll have a place to work with. I say we ought to eat breakfast, and then get to work?”
“I can’t eat and then fight.”
“Eat light,” I suggested, laughing mirthlessly.
He smiled weakly, and nodded.
I decided I couldn’t really do a training program one on one. I needed someone to help me out just with demonstrations and the like.
One of my more talented students lived only a few miles from my house, and I was at his house in a short time.
“Alexander, I need your assistance, if you have time to spare for me today.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now.”
“Lead the way.”
I did, and found Cassiel lounging in the garden out front. “Well, follow me, then,” I commanded. “We may have all day, but we ought to get started.”
“You mean to tell me that you actually expect me to get to the top of this?” asked Cassiel, and Alexander just stared in disbelief
“Well, not today, of course. That would come with a very long time of practice. But eventually, yes. And you would have to defeat every training dummy on the way up.”
“But that’s impossible!”
I shrugged. There were difficult obstacles placed high up, climbing through the room to the very top, with small footholds, and difficult places to get footing. There were many, many training dummies throughout the room, and a few more up on higher ground. It was a very, very tall room, exactly as I had intended. It had cost me a fortune to buy, as well.
I climbed up to the starting point, carrying my dagger with me.
I began, leaping from foothold to foothold, block to block, and defeating enemy after enemy, climbing all the way to the top, and finally I climbed back down to about thirty feet, and dropped, landing gracefully in front of the others.
“Difficult, but not impossible, I assure you. It requires much practice. But we are not there yet. Not even close. Let us begin,” I said, and so we began.
We started by doing some very basic trainings with the sword, my favorite, and moved on to other weapons, and finally to unarmed combat, where he excelled. He had talent. I wouldn’t tell him otherwise; he would do well to learn from me, and he would be a great fighter if he tried. But how in the world could I convince him of that?
We finished, and he looked exhausted, though I was just starting to have fun. I wasn’t exactly a typical sort of teacher, but that was okay. I was better than other teachers, too. Perhaps unconventional in method, but effective nonetheless.
“You may go, Alexander. Thank you for your assistance today. If you would like payment for your services, I will indeed reward you.”
“Why would I need money?”
“I don’t know. You were very helpful. I suppose the choice is yours. Let me know next class. You are dismissed,” I said, and turned my attention to Cassiel.
“You look tired.”
“You’re a bit of a slavedriver, aren’t you?”
I merely shrugged. “I suppose. I’m an efficient teacher. Now, I have some things to say about you. And I’m going to be honest. You are awful. You’re sloppy and ineffective. Your form is horrible, and you fail to see opportunities you have for shots. But, I will add, you show potential. Raw, untapped potential. I saw it in your eyes, the gleam you got, the excitement. You were enjoying the fight, despite your losing. To me, that is the sign of ability. You can become skilled. You would just need to put in the time and effort to get to a good position. However, I will not accept you into my class.”
“Excuse me? You just said you see potential.”
“Yes, I see potential, but you are too far behind where my other students are. You would require one on one training for a while to get caught up, and for a long time, I might add. You would literally have to live here and be trained by me for a few months to even be in a position to join them.”
“And if I were to refuse?”
“Then I would send you on your merry way, and you’d go back to your miserable life with no ability to defend yourself whatsoever.”
He pursed his lips. “Would you be willing to allow me to reside here and learn from you?”
“Yes, that would be doable, I suppose.”
I called my servants to me, and asked them to get him a room, and to get him situated into it.

At supper, Layla sat beside me and was quiet throughout the whole meal, leaving only small chatter amongst Miya and Tara. I could tell it was not going to work well for me to try and convince Layla of anything tonight, so I just left the room immediately after dinner, and went straight to me study, intending to see if it would be possible to get some new feeders for my manse.
“Master Sebastian?” asked a timid voice from the door, and I looked up. “I knocked, sir, but you didn’t answer.”
“Yes? What is it, then?”
“Miss Layla said you seemed stressed, and asked if I would bring you both a glass of wine and a mug of tea, so you could take whichever you preferred.”
“I’ll take the tea, thank you. What is your name?”
“Alula, sir,” she said, setting the tea on my desk.
“Tell me, Alula. Why do you seem to nervous?”
“Among us is a woman by the name of Meda. She is worried. She sees something bad coming in the near future.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous.”
“I’ am sorry, sir, but she has never been wrong before. If we have any luck, we will all be spared.”
“You are dismissed,” I said, and she scampered out of the room.
⍬
Weeks passed, and it was finally the day of my wedding. Layla had said very little to me, and seemed nervous, though not unhappy. I was busy with preparations, wanting things to be just right, and Layla had the maids make her a handmade white dress of the best quality of fabric, and she spent all three weeks making it perfect. We didn’t have the time to converse. I had sought her out the week before and asked if she would still like to continue with it, and she had smiled, insisting that she was sure, and it was exactly what she wanted to do. I was glad. I was ready to be done with the whole business of a wedding.
Sometimes I would have a hard time even finding Layla at night. She had horrible jitters, and would walk around, sometimes outside, sometimes around the halls, just walking aimlessly for hours, I supposed. I tried to sleep, but something didn’t feel right when she wasn’t there with me. Like there was something I was missing.
“Sir, are you ready? It is about to begin,” announced Tannim. “Miss Layla is ready, cuz I checked on her. Are you ready?”
“Yes, Tannim. I’ll go now,” I said, downed a glass of champagne, and walked out, emerging onto the aisle, and walked up to the front of the church, and waited. Layla joined me shortly after, and she took my breath away.
A pale woman with dark brown hair cascading down her back, with bright green eyes and red lips approached me slowly. Her eyes stared at me, showing her nervousness, her innocence.
How could I ever even try to choose someone like Sari when I had a beautiful woman like my Layla?
Her lips called to my, distracted me from everything else going on. Nothing existed to me in that moment, nothing but her beautiful red lips, the color of a cherry, her eyes bright jade orbs.
Light pearl skin, drawing me in, her bare shoulders and low jutting dress topped with a white corset.
I stared at her in a daze, and she was smiling shyly at me, though occasionally I would see her gaze flicker out to the audience we had accumulated. I knew it was just nerves, but it didn’t feel right. It sent something off in my head. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.
“I do,” I pronounced, and smiled down at her once again, only to see her glance off to the audience.
“What are you looking at?” I hissed, trying to stay as quiet and unnoticed as possible.
“Nothing,” she replied. The priest looked mildly annoyed, but the ceremony continued, and passed without incident.

Many guests congratulated me, and only one was I unhappy to see.
“Congratulations, Mercator Hewitt,” Sari said, throwing undue emphasis on “Mercator.”
“Leave me in peace, Haeres Sari,” I begged, and she smiled.
“Where is the lovely little lady?”
“Do not dare to bring Layla into this conversation after what you did to us.”
“Oh, I merely meant to mention she’s not by your side where she ought to be. Am I wrong?”
“I believe she is off getting a drink.”
A look of understanding filled her expression. “So that’s where she went.”
“What are you going on about?”
“Nothing, dear, nothing.”
“No. Tell me.”
“Say please, and I’ll consider it, Mercator.”
“Please,” I spat.
“Let’s go for a little walk, shall we?” she asked, tossing her hair.
“Have you seen dear Layla around lately?”
“I have. Of course I have. Stop talking in circles, and just be clear with me. What are you getting at?”
“Let’s try to find Layla, and that may clear my train of thought up for you.”

We walked around inside the church, and eventually Sari led me up a set of stairs, and smiled sadly. “I pray I am wrong for your sake,” she declared, and continued to lead me on, seeming to know exactly where she was going.
“Ah. So I was not wrong. I am so sorry. I will leave you alone now,” she said, seeming genuinely upset, and turned, fleeing the area, and for the first time I noticed what she was going on about. Layla was in the arms of another man.
“L-Layla?” I stuttered out, and I saw her cherry red smeared a little around her lips from the pristine line it had been.
She pulled back looking shocked. “Sebastian!”
“Layla, why...,” I mumbled, speechless. No. This could not be happening. “How long have you two been together, then?” I asked, anger filling my silver blood, making my bloodthirst come straight to mind. I wanted to kill him.
“I knew him since we got here. He was nice to me. But it was nothing more than friendship!” she insisted.
I pursed my lips. “Your lipstick is smeared.”
“I meant at first. When you were off giving your training sessions, he was nice to me, and he courted me a few times, and I tried to get you to relax with another woman.”
“At the gala!” I exclaimed. “So it was you after all! How could you do this to me, Layla? And then to humiliate me like this?”
“I tried to get you to marry Haeres Sari,” she said sadly, looking down at the ground. “You and I couldn’t be together. Never. We aren’t meant to be together.”
“You’re meant to be with him, I take it?” I asked sarcastically, and turned away in disgust.
“Sebastian, wait! I never meant to hurt you,” she called after me, but I just stormed down the stairs, seeing Haeres Sari at the bottom, looking concerned.
“Are you doing alright?”
“I’m fine. Leave me be, Haeres.”
I stormed away from her, and went to where the audience was gathered, and I tried to mingle amongst them, and pretend nothing was wrong. I couldn’t do it, and I didn’t have to.
“Fire!” someone screamed, and there was a mass panic. Fire is a very, very bad thing for vampires. And This fire was inside the church. One of the candles had tipped over, and someone was stupid enough to pour their wine on the carpet that had caught fire, so the large wooden church was going up in flames. With Layla on the second floor, not aware of what was going on.
“Layla!” I screamed, and ran as fast as I could amongst the crowd desperately trying to go the opposite direction as I was. “Get out of my way!” I screamed louder, but it was no use. I was fighting a losing battle. I pushed harder and harder, eventually breaking free, but only to find that the part of the church containing the stairwell was engulfed in flames.
Up the stairs I ran, and found Layla screaming, and her boy was running around, enveloped by the surrounding flames.
I scooped Layla up and shielded her with my body as best as I could, carrying her down the stairs, but it was no use. We both lit up like paper.
“I’m so sorry,” were her last words before she crumbled away into dust, as I surely would have, and wish I could have, had I not been a blooded offspring. I was immortal. I couldn’t die. Sure, it hurt like hell. That was a given. My flesh burnt off of my bones, and Layla’s dress tore to burn, molten pieces. I emerged from the stairwell, and just sank to my knees, and stayed there. I couldn’t move. So much had happened. I wished I could have just turned back the clock a few hours, to before the wedding, and just called the whole thing off. Now Layla was gone. I felt her ashes coating my seared body, and I continued to burn in the fire around me. The walls caved in, the ceiling breaking apart, and large chunks landed on me, crushing me, breaking me down. I was broken. Body and soul. I was completely shattered.