The Search Is Over

Chapter 115

When grieving the loss of a loved one, mornings can often be the hardest. During sleep the mind seeks to restore itself, and upon awakening, it crashes hard and brutally back to the reality where that lost loved one is dead. Regulus had the displeasure of rediscovering this unpleasant fact upon his own evening awakening, as evenings are mornings for vampires.

As soon as his mind returned to consciousness it was struck with the loss of his parents all over again. Ariana had been right. Seeing them, then losing them again was hard...Miserable even.

They were gone, and it hurt. He missed them both so very much. After speaking with them for so long yesterday, he could nearly imagine them sitting across from him at the breakfast table, Walburga reading the morning paper, and Orion being bored with it. He no longer ate breakfast, though, and his parents would not be downstairs when he got up.

Gods it hurt. With a soft groan, he turned onto his stomach, pressing his face into the pillow. His bed was the same. While normally that was a comfort, today it only served as a painful reminder of how different everything else was.

A slender arm slipped around his waist and Kreacher's body pressed closer. There, yes that was familiar and in the best of ways.

"Kreacher misses them too," the elf whispered.

Turning, Regulus embraced him, holding him close without speaking for several seconds. Kreacher made most things better, and when not, at least bearable.

"I love you," Regulus said, and Kreacher smiled.

"Kreacher loves Master Regulus as well."

"How are you feeling," Regulus asked, sitting up suddenly.

"You will need to feed, else you could feel weak or...ravenous."

Too much hunger could drive a vampire out of their mind, causing them to feed to excess or even on those they cared for. The hunger, if left unchecked, could destroy all self restraint. As a young vampire, he was always terrified of becoming feral due to such hunger and losing his humanity.

Some did and they could never function in society and lost everything, at times being put down by other vampires out of necessity. If such vampires were too careless they put others at risk by posing a threat to the secrecy required for vampires to survive. This sort of near animalistic vampire was always horrifying to Regulus. As a result, he always made sure to feed when Dora suggested it and never to push those limits even when deeply depressed.

Kreacher sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sliding to the floor.

"Kreacher could eat...or drink...He is hungry whatever it is now called,"

He chuckled.

As Regulus hurriedly dressed, he contemplated the thought that he would have the task of training Kreacher in the skills that would keep him safe and sane as Dora had taught him. Dora, at least, had not believed this to be a particularly simple feat, as before him, she'd never turned another.

Suddenly the gravity of this hit him. Before he could ponder for too long, he was distracted by a tug on his sleeve. Kreacher stood close at his side, a concerned look on his face as he peered up at him.

"What troubles Master Regulus?"

"I was just thinking that I will be teaching you as Dora taught me. It is my job to keep you from going insane or feral."

Kreacher's lips twitched.

"Some would say that broom has already flown."

Regulus laughed, his concerns fading as Kreacher likely intended. The elf was stronger than anyone he knew, himself included. He would be fine. Regulus would make sure of it.