Astarion x M!Reader

One

The days were long and tedious, mostly filled with boredom. But between dusty books and the flickering candlelight, he felt at home.

You knew that because he often stayed in the same spot, between two thick shelves of old pine trees where you could smell oil and decades.

The candles flickered as you moved between the shadows, high above everyone's heads where you couldn't even be seen. The smell of old books and knowledge filled your nose.

Suddenly something twitched in the back of your head. Your gaze travelled over your shoulder.

Someone had cut the edges of the paper. Iron expelled the books and suddenly your mouth watered. Your lips twitched unpleasantly and a pair of pointed fangs appeared.

It had been a while since you had fed on a living creature. But the hunger was nowhere near as bad as you had once experienced. So you decided to banish the craving to the corner of your mind and returned your attention to the man below.

He was pretty. Not in a fragile way, but in a way that could be compared to the beauty of a woman. And he was young too.

That was not an important criterion, but you preferred to mark them young. Their minds were still learning. Even though they were almost always filled with fear at the beginning, it was easy to gain their trust. In the end they were like pets, you just had to feed them well and pet them from time to time and then they wouldn't even want to run away.

A grumbling sound made your throat tremble as another man stuck his face out from between the thick shelves. He was old, at least by human standards. His black hair was already greying on the sides of his head and his beard was also losing its colour.

Two green beads hung from his right ear and drew your attention to his eyes. They were blue.

A smirk twitched at the corner of your mouth. You had actually come for the young apprentice. After a long time you had been craving company and this scribe seemed clean and meticulous.

You had planned to use him in your library to preserve books and scrolls from the ravages of time. But the other man, wearing silver and black on his head, made something in the back of your mind twitch.

He would be good for... somewhere other than the library.

A whispering breath escaped you as the two men below began to talk. Your ears sharpened.

"Brennan.", the old man's voice almost vibrated with power.

The younger one bowed his head reverently.

"Constable Horren.", his voice was smooth as silk, with a hint of subservience.

Yes, you liked them both.

Greed was something you always ridiculed. When one lived a life without an end, it was never a question of possibilities but always a question of when one could get something. And if there was endless time, then nothing had any real value.

But many of your kind didn't seem to have fully understood this. Or simply didn't want to understand it.

Many of them wallowed in wealth, huge palaces and vast amounts of gold that would make even a dragon green with envy. They strived for more. Not for an end, but always for more.

You had refused to ever accept this way of life. And yet, in that moment, you had to admit that you could understand them a little.

How could you have made up your mind?

Little Brennan with his innocent submissiveness and the tall Horren who looked like a bear. No, it would have broken your undead heart to leave one of them behind.

So it would be both of them. Only you had to decide who it would be this night. You didn't have the strength for two new offspring at once. But that didn't matter. You would take one that night and the other the next.

After all, it was only a question of time. And your answer was yes.

A soft breath escaped your lips as you leaned back and whispered a message to the shadows. They would inform the others in your estate that there would soon be two new rooms to furnish. And knowing your little darlings, they would have the beds ready as soon as you returned from your little excursion.

Once again, you felt thirsty.

Annoyed, your eyes closed and the world disappeared into darkness for a moment. Nevertheless, you were neither blind nor deaf. In the end, you were still a creature far beyond the imagination of mortals.

There was nothing you couldn't hear, smell or taste. And there was very little that could kill you. A curse and a blessing at the same time.

At that moment, it was more of a blessing, because it allowed you to continue listening to the conversation between the two men.

And you couldn't help but like them all the more. Both of them.

"The book isn't here.", Brennan said, brushing a strand of his silver, almost white hair from his forehead.

You knew he was doing it because you could hear the hair moving and his nails casually scratching his temple.

Horren let out a long breath. It wasn't a sigh, but it was loud enough to make his displeasure clear.

"Forgive me, Lord Constable.", Brennan rose, but Horren made a gesture to tell him to remain seated.

It was a pity he didn't speak more. It had taken only a second for you to take a liking to its sound.

"My thanks, young one.", something clinked, followed by a muffled sound.

You knew it very well. It was a small bag of coins that Horren had thrown onto the young man's table.

"You don't have to buy my silence, Lord Constable.", Brennan insisted.

Your nose twitched. Then you lifted an eyelid to peer.

Gold.

A strange means of payment to a simple mage apprentice.

"Keep it.", Horren turned round and disappeared.

But the drama was not to end. Brennan followed him, sack of gold in hand.

"Let me experiment on you.", his soft voice trembled with effort for anyone else to hear him.

But you could hear. Every single word.