Meredith had always known about magic. Her family was magic, one of the most powerful mage lines out there. Having lost her parents to all the fighting though, she stayed far away from it, focusing on school and lading a primarily normal life.
Unti...
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Returning to Neil Arc's castle was not something he'd been looking forward too, but this was his place now. It wasn't as if he didn't want to return here; this did feel like home. It was just that he was dreading the way Neil would react to him. The Arcs were battlefield vampires and spent more of their time there than in civilization, so they would know his face, his name, his danger.
Neil was in his room, awaiting his return in boredom, sprawled out on his bed and twiddling with some small spell in his hands. The kid was always bored without him by his side, unable to find much to do with himself. It was sort of strange, knowing Neil's combined years were about the same as his, forty to fifty, but he still acted like an eightteen year old, the age when he'd been changed.
Vampires did mature as they aged, but their minds would always be frozen in the state they died. Neil was old enough that he would someday mature into an adult, but it had been skirting the line changing him so young.
Vincent had been a brutal man and had probably wanted to keep the boy under his thumb as long as possible. Had Neil been only a few years younger, he would have been trapped in the mind of a child for the rest of his life. Even for someone Neil's age, it may have kept him there, but Damien had watched him grow, change, and become something he hadn't been when they'd first met.
Neil had been carefree and kind as a human, so when he'd been changed, that had been what he knew best. Years of Vincent had made him cold, yes, but as Damien had nudged him in the right direction and coddled him, Neil had been falling back to where he'd started. The boy knew right from wrong, but also was a vampire by nature and held a pride for his people that the others of his kind would revere. Someday, Neil would be a good leader.
Though a short one. The boy's stature was set in stone.
Neil sensed his presence as immediately as he'd entered the room.
"Damien, I was wondering when you'd get back, I..." Neil met his eyes, and his words trailed off as confusion blanketed anything he'd been about to say. "You..." Neil fidgeted, his eyes widening, and he trembled as he tried to process him. "You're Damien. I can feel his aura on you, but..." Neil clutched the sides of his head, and Damien took a few slow steps toward him. "Stay there!" Neil's voice was a hiss as he left his bed to slide onto the floor near the window. Holding his head still, Neil quaked, fighting with his own thoughts.
"You tricked me." Neil's voice broke, turning into a high-pitched whine, and tears slid down his cheeks as he held himself. "You... you... you..." Neil was having a hard time making coherent sentences as he started to break down.
Filled with both concern and pity for Neil's situation, Damien swiftly put himself in front of him. In response, the boy snapped his eyes up to him, and they were filled with pain and fear. It was painful for Damien to see that look in his eyes, the betrayed mistrust.
"Neil, I didn't trick you," Damien assured him, holding out a hand to touch him, but Neil slapped it away. "I'm still your servant," Damien insisted, despite Neil's deepening glare.
