Lady Dhampir
Halloween

They were here again. The shadows.

The little boy silently whimpered, and hid himself further underneath the covers. He was scared, yet trying not to cry, not to scream, not to make a sound. He just cried silently, tears running down his plump cheeks, while listening. It was horrible, to be bound to listen. He wanted to cover his ears, but he was also nervous to not to know what was happening.

He heard footsteps. Very faint, light steps on the carpeted floor. It was coming towards his bed, towards him. He shut his eyes tighter, as if he could make it go away if he didn't see it. The blanket over his head felt too thin to cover him. He'd be found out and exposed soon. He shivered, scared. He heard the steps coming closer. There were at least two shadows... They barely made a sound, but he could feel their presence. With shaking hands, he held onto the handle of his little dagger. He had to do something. If they tried to hurt him, he had to defend himself... But his little dagger felt way too small, and him way too helpless. He was so small compared to the shadows! He repressed a sob. He didn't want to die, and he was scared he'd be hurt too. He didn't want to go through any of this. He listened, frozen by fear. The characteristic hiss of a blade taken out of its sheath reached his ears, making him open his eyes in fright. They were coming. They were coming for him.

Then, he heard a -stomp!- sound. There were more steps, more people suddenly in his room. He heard fabrics being ripped, grunting, and the clang of clashing blades. His breathing quickened. Somebody made a strange, strangled sound. Then, something heavy fell. He tried to breathe more silently, but he was scared, and fear wouldn't allow him to calm down. He felt stuffed under the blanket, he couldn't breathe. The sounds suddenly calmed down, and something heavy fell again. He had to know. He moved the blanket.

"Young Master, it's over. You're safe. Please go back to sleep."

Liars. They were all liars. He was never safe, the shadows would come back again. Maybe not the next night, but maybe next week. They always came back. He heard movement in his room, somebody was moving something heavy. A faint blow of cold air told him someone had opened his balcony window, and he shivered. He was too hot under the blanket. He waited until the bedroom was quiet again to dare and peek out of the blanket.

His bedroom was in the dark. It was a large bedroom for a small child, and even his canopy bed was too big. It could have easily held four more like him, but he was all alone. He wiped his tears with his already wet sleeve. He glanced at the large window with its door that led to the balcony, but there was nothing. Nothing but the snowy night, and the moonlight peeking between the curtains. It was all over. With his limbs still shaking a bit, he crawled on all fours to the end of his bed, towards the middle of the room. There it was. In the dark, everything seemed blue and grey, but there was a large, dark stain on the carpet that wasn't there before. He shivered. There wasn't anything else. Just that large, brown stain that will be cleaned by the next evening. He sat, and glanced down. His pajama pants were wet... again. Ashamed, he got out of his bed, and walked to the adjacent bathroom, taking a large detour away from the stain. He rinsed his pants, threw his underwear aside and cleaned himself as good as a boy his age could on his own, before grabbing his bathrobe to wrap himself in. He walked back into the bedroom. There was more than enough room in his bed for him to go back to sleep in a dry spot, but he didn't want to. Instead, he walked to the window. The door to the balcony was locked, with a key he didn't have. Distressed, he turned around, and walked to the opposite side of the room, to the door. This one was never locked.

He walked out, barefoot on the carpeted floor. Everything was quiet at that time of the night. He nervously put his fingers together, trying to gather his courage. A castle was a scary place to wander alone in at night, even if you'd been born and raised in it. This castle always felt too big for him. There were rooms he wasn't allowed to enter, some that would be locked at certain times, and some that would be open but too scary to go in.

He began wandering around, unsure where to go. He just felt lonely. The castle was so big, and yet so empty. It was very late, so it took a while before he crossed paths with a pair of red-eyed maids.

"Young Master?" they called him, surprised to replace him wandering by himself. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer, and instead, began running away before they could try to catch him. He heard them calling him, but he had already gone far, into another corridor. He stopped only when he was out of breath, and sure they hadn't followed. He calmed down, readjusted his bathrobe, and resumed walking. This area of the castle was even darker, and quieter, but there were large windows, enough to light it up anyway. He continued walking, unsure where to go. He could walk for a long time before he'd have gone everywhere and be back to his room...

A silhouette appeared in the middle of a corridor. He stopped right in his tracks. This shadow was smaller than most, and a strange shape too. He hesitated, nervously grabbing the belt of his bathrobe.

“...Lucius?" The familiar female voice suddenly called out, recognizing him.

Immediately, all the fear left his heart, and a warm feeling filled it instead. He raised his blue eyes, trying to see the woman better. He took a step forward.

"Grandma?" He called with an unsure voice.

"What are you doing out of your bed at this hour?"

It really was his grandmother. Relieved, he ran towards her, diving right towards her waist to hug her. She was seated in her wheelchair as always, pushed by a maid, but he ignored both and just went to hold her as close as he could, his body against her legs and his head on her lap. The elderly lady chuckled.

"This is not a good time to visit your grandmother, young man," she gently scolded him. "What has you wandering alone through the corridors at such a late hour?"

The memory of the shadows and what had happened in his room that night got him tearing up again. He couldn't repress a sob, although he felt embarrassed to cry in front of his

grandmother. Still, she gently patted his back, waiting for him to calm down.

"There, there. Cry if it makes you feel better, and then, you'll talk to me."

"I shouldn't cry," he sobbed. "Boys don't cry..."

"Rubbish. Men cry more than women, darling. Your grandpa was a crybaby himself."

"But... my brother said..."

His grandmother sighed.

"Your older brother is quite the arrogant child. Don't listen to him, Lucius dear. Men who conceal their emotions don't make good leaders."

Lucius clumsily wiped his tears, standing back up to face his grandmother with red eyes and a runny nose. She took the handkerchief handed to her by the maid, and began wiping his wet

face gently.

"B-but..." He kept sobbing. "They said I'm never going to b-be a leader anyway... I'm just a... A

spare..."

His grandmother's eyes opened wider, and then darkened.

"Those naughty kids... I'll have a word with them tomorrow morning."

"I don't want to be called a spare," Lucius cried. "Or a crybaby..."

His grandmother smiled gently, and caressed his cheek.

"You're not a crybaby, my darling. You're a brave boy. How else would you be wandering out on

your own in such a dark place at night?"

His big blue eyes looked at her, as if he was doubting her words.

"Grandma, they came again..." he mumbled. "The shadows..."

His grandmother's expression got more serious. She took his hand, pressing it gently.

"You're safe, Lucius. Do you still have the dagger your grandpa gifted you?"

He nodded.

"Under your pillow, like he taught you?"

He nodded again. He'd always kept it there. He knew how to use it, but when the shadows came, he always held onto it like it was some sort of talisman his grandpa had left to protect

him. His grandmother patted his head.

"Then you'll be alright."

"...I don't want to go back to bed," he cried, worried she'd send him back. "I don't want to go back to my bedroom... Grandma, can't I go to uncle's house again? I miss big sis Astoria..."

His grandmother sighed.

"You know your uncle left to take care of your auntie, darling. They'll be back sometime, when her health gets better. Winter here is too cold for her. Astoria explained it to you before she

left, didn't she?"

Lucius nodded again, with a little pout. Knowing and understanding was easier than accepting that he had to be away from his cousin for several months... And lonely. His grandmother gently patted his head.

"I miss her," he cried. "The others are so mean... They don't like me. Even mother doesn't like

me... I always bother her."

"Nonsense. It's not that she doesn't care about you, Darling, your mother is just busy. Do you think I'd let my daughter be if she wasn't a good mother? She's just very busy with her job..."

"But she spends more time with the others... She doesn't like me. I'm just a spare, and I'm

annoying..."

His grandmother sighed. Once there were bad ideas in a child's head, it was hard to take them out. And for sure, his older siblings had done quite some damage to their younger brother's self-esteem... The age difference didn't help, either. Lucius was too young to understand everything that was happening around him, but old enough to misunderstand people's attitudes. It was a delicate age for a young prince to be in.

"I miss Astoria so much," he cried. "I don't have a friend here..."

"Lucius, come with me."

She moved her wheelchair down the corridor, and her grandson followed, still wiping his eyes

and trying to keep up with his grandmother and her maid. They didn't have a light on to warn others of their arrival, so every servant they crossed paths with just jumped out of the way before bowing politely. At least, no one would be running after him and ordering him to go back to bed when his grandma was with him.

She stopped and turned her wheelchair towards a wall covered in paintings. Lucius knew all those paintings, he had seen them many times. His grandmother pointed her index finger towards one of the biggest portraits. There were four people in this portrait, and an animal.

"Do you know who this is?" She asked with a gentle voice.

Lucius nodded. Of course, he knew. His history teacher would have been really mad if he didn't

get that right.

"Answer me," his grandmother scolded him.

"It's you, and grandpa, and uncle, and mother..." "Right. And do you know who this is?"

This time, her finger was pointed towards the white wolf. In the portrait, that white wolf was

lying down at his younger-looking grandmother's feet, with two big golden eyes staring towards him. Lucius hesitated. He had seen the white wolf painted a couple times with his grandmother's other portraits, but he had always thought the wolf wasn't real. His teachers had told him it was the symbol of the House De Crescent, his grandma's birth noble house, so

he thought the wolf was there to illustrate that... He turned to her.

"Grandma had a wolf?"

"It wasn't my wolf," she shook her head. "It was my best friend." Lucius opened his mouth in surprise. His grandma had been best friends with a wolf? He knew she had done a lot of very cool things a long time ago, but in his eyes, this was the coolest thing ever. He looked at the wolf again, even stepping closer. It was a very beautiful wolf, with

silver-white fur, and golden eyes...

"Really?" Lucian asked, impressed.

"Yes. Her name was Blanche."

"Her eyes look like grand-uncle's..."

"She had beautiful golden eyes. They would glow in the dark, too. She was truly amazing..."

"Where is she now?" Lucius asked, sounding sad again.

"She's with your grandpa. She passed away before you were born, darling."

Lucius' expression fell. He knew about death. Despite his young age, he'd already seen people

die, and been to a funeral before. He was very sad when his grandpa had passed away, and he

remembered the castle being very quiet for a few days.

"...I'm sorry, Grandma. You must be sad."

"I'm alright," his grandma smiled. "She had a very long life for a wolf... a very long one. I'm

happy she can rest now."

"I wish I had a best friend like Grandma," Lucius said, staring at the wolf. "A wolf is so cool..."

"...Should Grandma replace a good friend for you?"

He turned to her, his eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yes. Didn't you know? Your grandma has a secret magic power, and I can use it to give you a

best friend. You'll have to wait until your tenth birthday, though."

"I can wait! I will definitely wait!" Lucius exclaimed, excited. His grandmother chuckled, and put a finger on her lips to have him be quiet. Lucius calmed

down, and nodded, but a smile was stuck on his face. It was cute to see the little boy smile through his red eyes and wet cheeks. She cupped his chubby face between her hands. "There. I don't like my grandbaby crying. Now, shall we have a nice glass of milk? And then, you

can sleep with your grandma. A little scare will teach your mother a good lesson..."

Lucius nodded, and he took her hand, while they strolled down the corridor together.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, darling?"

"...You won't die too soon, right?"

"Oh, I'll die eventually, darling. Maybe not right away, but I'm not that young. I've held on

surprisingly well, considering the life I've had... and you know your grandpa. I bet he's impatient to see me again."

"Yes," he nodded, agreeing with her. "But can you stay a bit with me? It's only grandma who

likes me..."

She sighed, and squeezed his hand.

"Well, I can't leave you alone until I'm sure you'll be fine... That's why I'll take care of your best friend for you, Lucius. But you have to promise me you'll be a strong boy. Don't let your siblings pick on you, and don't let them call you a crybaby. After you reach ten years old, you

can't be a crybaby anymore. You'll be a strong boy, darling. I'll see to it." "Yes, Grandma."

"And you have to stop wetting your bed, too."

Lucius turned red in shame. He didn't know how she knew, but his grandma's perceptiveness

was scary at times. He nodded, then remembered to answer out loud.

"Yes, Grandma... I'll try."

His grandmother stayed quiet until they reached her apartments, and the maid poured them

two cups of hot milk. Someone had also somehow known to bring clean pajamas for him, so

his grandmother made him get changed before they drank together.

"Lucius..." his grandmother suddenly called him, her purple eyes unfocused, staring into the

fire.

"Yes, Grandma?"

"You have to promise you'll watch over this family when I'm gone, alright?"

He was confused about her demand for a bit. He was the youngest out of all his siblings, how

could he possibly watch over their family? Still, he decided to nod. Perhaps it would be easier when he was more grown-up.

"I promise, Grandma. I will do my best!"

His grandmother smiled, and watched him gulp down his milk.

"....You remind me of my brother."

"Grand-uncle?"

"Not that one... I had two more brothers. You were named after the younger one, Lucian. He

wasn't fond of the noble life either... and he was secretly quite the crybaby, too. He went on to

become one of the bravest men I knew. I'm sure you'll turn out to be a good man like him, Lucius. Just remember to keep that crybaby boy in your heart, too. Can you do that?" Once again, Lucius nodded, while a bit unsure what she really meant. Still, he loved his grandmother a lot, enough that he'd be doing his best to do whatever she asked of him. He'd finish his milk, go to bed, and the next morning, he'd work hard at not being a crybaby that

wets the bed anymore.

He had promised his grandma, after all. And if he did well, he'd have a best friend soon. Yes, he

could do that.

For his Grandma Milena.