Two Beasts | Mikael

Chapter Five

 Radu knew Mikael would try to escape somehow. All he had to do was wait.

 He spent the day up in his study, trying to concentrate on anything beside his guest. But he couldn't concentrate on anything else. In his time as a vampire, he had been alone. He killed every other vampire who dared to enter that part of the world, his territory; and on his yearly trips outside that part of the world, he never met any other vampires. And certainly not one like Mikael.

 Mikael. That man was a well of anger and stubbornness. If he wanted to leave the castle, he would find a way out, even if it put him in danger of any kind.

 Perhaps he was worth giving some thought, too. There was something sort of...unique about him. It seemed he lived and traveled in solitude (he certainly didn't seem the type to have many friends). He was hell-bent on killing his son Klaus for uncertain reasons, something Radu would have to remember to ask him about. The fact that he only drank vampire blood was strange all on its own.

 Or perhaps the man was just a lunatic; given the stories about him, that was very likely. But Radu had only just met Mikael the day before, and he didn't want to judge too quickly.

~~~~~~

 Radu waited patiently in the dining hall that evening to see if Mikael would join him for supper again. Given the current circumstances, it didn't seem very likely, but he still waited.

 He waited until his patience began to run out. Still, Mikael didn't come.

 "Well?" Radu called, his voice echoing against the walls. "Will you be joining me tonight, my friend?"

 He was hoping to get some reply, even if it was something insulting. But there was absolute silence.

 About a minute later, though, Radu heard something. It was a cracking sound, like bones breaking, and it had come form outside.

 He sped to the front doors and flung them open, but found he couldn't step outside.

 "Damn barrier, damn spells," he muttered. He closed his eyes and tried to remember which spells exactly he had used, but he couldn't think straight.

 Radu slammed the doors shut and sped up the stairs. "Mikael?" he called. "Mikael, are you still up here?" He knocked hurriedly on Mikael's door. "Mikael?"

 Refusing to wait for any invitation, Radu flung the door open. The bedroom was empty, and there was no one there at all.

 "Mikael?" He went to adjoining room, the little washroom. There was no one there, either.

 But the chest was still there. He didn't have to open it, because he already knew what was inside. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of that when giving Mikael this room. What Mikael must have thought of being put in a room with a woman's wardrobe.

 Radu went back to the main bedroom, and leaned out the window. On the ground below, he could make out a figure, a body. One that wasn't moving.

 Radu sped to his study, knowing what he needed. He opened the chest in the corner, the one where he kept the blood. He stored it in bottles and did his best to preserve it. One bottle ought to have done it, but he drank two just in case it didn't.

 Now that the blood was flowing through his body, he could think easier, and was able to remember the spell he used on the doors.

 "Mikael?" he called once he was outside.

 He spotted the body, the one he'd seen in the window, and went to it. It was indeed Mikael. His neck had broken, but was healing. He must have tried exiting by window, and the barrier caused him to fall and break his neck.

 "Come on, you." Radu lifted Mikael's unconscious body in his arms. He carried him back into the castle and up to his bedroom.

 Radu laid Mikael down on the bed, and stared down at him. He couldn't help having the feeling that there was something else wrong with him besides a broken neck. Whether there was or not, Radu decided to stay with him, and wait to see what state he would be in when he woke up.