Two Beasts | Mikael

Chapter Three

 Mikael wasn't sure what he ought to do. This room was something out of a beautifully painted portrait, and he thought if he touched anything he might spoil it somehow. He had probably already brought in dirt from his shoes.

 What he should he wear downstairs to dinner, he wondered. Mikael looked at himself in the mirror, and saw that he actually was quite dirty. He didn't get many chances to bathe or shave, and he only had three changes of clothes. To anyone who lived in a place like this, he probably would have looked like some untamed ruffian.

 But in the small adjoining room, he found a large bucket filled with warm water. How Radu could have prepared it for him so quickly, he had no idea, but he washed up the best he could.

 In the same room was a chest which stood pressed up against the wall. Wondering if there were any fresh clothes inside, Mikael opened it. There were clothes folded neatly inside, but they were women's clothes. And they weren't anything recent; they were old-fashioned, from at least three or four centuries earlier.

 But the strange thing was that even they had to be at least a few hundred years old, they looked like new. No dust, no signs of fading. It was as if they were being carefully preserved for someone. He didn't Radu would give him a bedroom which belonged to someone else, so whoever these belonged to had either moved away, or was dead.

~~~~~~

 Radu stood outside the bedroom door-Mikael's door, he supposed it was for the moment. He wasn't sure yet how long his guest would be staying. He didn't know if he wanted Mikael to leave the next day, or perhaps stay a little longer.

 He was pulled out of his thoughts when Mikael opened the door. He looked cleaner and more organized than he had when he first arrived. That bucket of water must have been put to god use.

 "I heard your footsteps outside," he said. "Is it time for supper already?"

 "Oh. Yes." Radu stood straighter. "I've come to take you to the dining hall. Please." He stepped back and held out his arm. "If you'll step this way."

 Mikael nodded and walked past him down the hall. For a man with a reputation such as his, Radu would have thought he would see more confidence in the man's walk and posture. But he didn't see it.

 The dining hall was newly cleaned, and an entire banquet was laid out upon the table.

 "Are we the only dining here tonight?" Mikael asked, staring at the table.

 "Only you and I," Radu replied. "Please, take the chair at this end. You are the guest of honor tonight."

 Radu went to take his place at the head of the table while Mikael took the place at the other end. Radu quietly observed how Mikael seemed to stare around the hall.

 "You look as though you have been to many castles before," he remarked.

 "I...haven't really," Mikael replied. "I don't often find myself in castles. I grew up in a Viking town in Norway, you see. I don't believe  we ever had a place like this. Might I ask if anyone lives here other than you?"

 "Not anymore. Please, eat. You must be hungry after all of your travels." Radu watched as Mikael picked up his fork and began to push around the food in his plate. "It's not poisoned," he added.

 "Oh. You think I'm looking for traces of vervain?" Mikael chuckled dryly. "It wouldn't do anything to me, anyway."

 "Oh? And how is that?"

 Mikael raised his eyes to Radu. "It wouldn't be my secret if I told you, would it?"

 Radu chuckled and picked up his cup. "You're an interesting man, Mikael. Try the wine, as well."

 Mikael lifted his own cup and looked at the red liquid inside. Cup in hand, Radu watched him bring it to his mouth and hesitantly sip at it.

 "Well, it definitely is wine," he said.

 "Now, did you really I would slip blood to a guest? I wouldn't have to with you; you are a vampire, aren't you?"

 Mikael placed his cup back on the table with a thud. "I don't drink human blood."

 Radu raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? Animal blood, then? No?" He was even more surprised when Mikael shook his head at that. "No human blood, no animal blood. What do you drink?"

 For a long moment, Mikael sat staring down at the table before saying softly, "Vampire blood."

 Radu stared at him. "The only thing you drink...is vampire blood? You...do realize that is cannibalism."

 "I don't care. Every vampire I've ever fed off of deserved it, anyway." Mikael picked up his fork and hastily began to eat the food in his plate. 

 Radu stared at him, his own food forgotten. While Mikael was eating, he happened to look up and see his host staring wordlessly across at him.

 "What?"

 "How can you only drink vampire blood," Radu asked, "And dismiss it so simply? Even after so many years, my own thirst for human blood can shock me. You are simply a cannibal, and you don't think anything of it."

 "Well, I think it's better than taking the lives of those who still live. I do still have a care for humanity and animals, you know." Mikael put down his fork. "Thank you for the food, but I believe I should retire for the night."

 "Yes, of course." Radu got up from his chair. "Goodnight, Mikael."

 Mikael nodded. "Yes, goodnight," he said, and made a hasty exit.

 Once he was gone, Radu sat down in his chair again. What sort of guest was he handling? He was a known vampire hunter and killer, and to make matter worse, he only drank vampire blood. Radu now had half a mind to stay awake the entire night to be certain he wasn't murdered in his sleep.

 However, he couldn't deny that Mikael fascinated him.