𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐂, f.mikaelson

003.

SOUTHERN FRANCE 1002AD

Finn had snuck out of his room that night, past the servants and the guards, and down into the lower parts of the castle. Figuring if he were hiding a 'monster' away, he would want to keep it in the dark, far from anybody else.
The eldest Mikaelson had passed Lucien on his way into the depths of the castle, not bothering to be more polite than he had to be. Lucien was obviously uncomfortable with his company but the servant remained as pleasant as he could.

"Forget the charade. Where do you keep the 'beast' from supper?"

Lucien began to panic. "I don't - I have nothing to with it, Lord Finn, I swear!"

Finn sighed, grasping Lucien by his tunic and pulling him close. Staring into his eyes to show that he was serious, Finn spoke again. "Tell me what you know of it."

Lucien relaxed in his grip and began to tell the Vampire everything he knew about the 'beast' - from rumours to fact, Finn listened carefully to it all until Lucien finished. He set the human down, staring into his eyes as a subtle threat. "I think it would be best for us both to forget this encounter, and not to speak of it again."

Lucien nodded, repeating the instruction as a blank expression rested on his face. He shook his head to clear the fog from his mind, looking up at Finn with confusion. "Do you require any assistance, my Lord?" Finn shook his head, mildly perplexed by the sudden change, watching as the servant scurried off down the hall.

Finn frowned, but now he knew which direction to take his search for the stranger.

Finn stared at the door, unmoving. They kept the beast behind the door and in a small cage. A solitary heart beat against his senses, its slow pace calming his own. He hadn't really planned this far. Finn had managed to sneak by any guards with his increased speed, but he didn't know what he was going to do when he reached his destination.

Surely he couldn't just walk in? The man may have been alone in there, but what would Finn do? What could he say? They were strangers with no reason to talk to one another.

He should turn around. He could still walk away. But his hand reached out and opened the door, despite all his reasoning. The door groaned loudly, and no one came to investigate. The only response was a pair of eyes snapping up to meet his.

A million thoughts rushed through his head, but a simple "Hello?" fell from his lips.

Kaiv had heard the footsteps, he'd felt that fluttering pulse long before it hesitated outside the door - he wouldn't have even acknowledged the presence if not for the dark magic surrounding him. When a greeting slipped from the stranger's lips, he wasn't sure whether to talk or hide. Dark magic like that hadn't been seen for eons.

It seemed that his curiosity pushed him forwards when the man appeared to want to disappear as badly as he did. "You were at supper."

The man stuttered and shuffled in the doorway, as if that statement was the last thing he expected to hear from the prisoner. "Yes. I'm Lord Finn, I came to visit the Count de Martel with my family."

Finn's heart stammered, telling Kaiv the truth. "Why do you lie?" He teased, pulling himself closer to the bars. "What could you possibly have to hide?" His marred face was impossible to see in the darkness, though Finn felt no desire to see it. Finn stepped forward, closing the door gently behind him. "There's a darkness surrounding you; you're drowning in unnatural magic."

Finn crept closer and closer to the bars until he had to kneel to see the figure. "What are you?"

A hand reached out and Finn flinched back. Kaiv stopped, not wanting to frighten him, and held his hand open. Finn hesitated, but took it. There was a moment of stillness, that no breath could break, followed by a spark. Every unlit torch in the cell blazed with light, and a strange warmth filled the air. The warmth filled him from crown to toe but a hollowness entered soon after, when the other man let him go.

Kaiv hummed, pulling his arm back to his chest. "Vampire, that's new. I'm honoured." However, despite his words, the man's eyes looked as empty and as lifeless as they had when he was being beaten into a pulp for sport. And yet, Finn felt that his words were genuine.

Finn frowned, not understanding. "What's that?"

"That's what you are - your species. But you were a witch, before? Though your magic was dormant."

Finn began to panic. They had been so careful, ensuring that no one knew about them, so no one could tell Mikael. All the times he'd scolded his siblings were in vain, as their inevitable exposure would be his fault. The hollow feeling lingered and the Mikaelson lost his patience. This man needed to answer his questions, not give him more to ask. "How do you know that? Who are you?"

"Sometimes the future visits me in my sleep, sometimes the past, and sometimes the present. You'll forgive me if I get a little muddled." Kaiv waved his fingers a little, as if to demonstrate how his thoughts and his dreams entangle in his mind. Mikael's eldest son watched him, noting that his 'condition' seemed more irritated now than at the feast.

"So you're a witch, then?"

"No." Part of Kaiv wanted to leave it there, his voice was horse from all this talking and Finn had nothing but questions - another part wanted to talk because there was so little to do inside a cage and Finn was a breath of fresh air. It seemed his loneliness was the stronger motivation. "But I used to be something similar."

Finn wasn't following.

"You know," Kaiv shared, "Vampires are actually the first immortals without magic of their own."

Finn still wasn't following.

Suddenly, the torches went out and the voice turned quiet. "Leave now, or get caught."
Whilst the Mikaelson didn't fully understand the situation, he thought it best to leave with a million more questions on his mind. 'Who was he? What was he?'

*****
1055 words