The hunter gave the Count a look of pure venom.
"Are you alright?" the Count asked tentatively.
"This is all your fault! Because of you, they're going to kill me too! What are you..."
"Calm down! I'll think of..."
"You monster! You're not satisfied with killing all those people, are you? You always have to get me involved!"
"Shut up, Lukas, you're in shock. What we should do is..."
"You shut up yourself!"
"If you want to escape, we need to coordinate. We need to..."
"I don't care about escaping! Do you think I can escape? You're the vampire, dammit! You've got the powers! Why don't you just go save your own skin and leave me dead?! Did you save me then only to take me with you when you’re about to die? You’re nobody in my life! Why didn’t you just leave me alone?! I do not deserve this! I... She... She promised! And I..."
The hunter stopped his tirade, panting. To his surprise, he found the Count panting, too.
"Do you think this is easy for me?!" the Count almost shouted at the hunter. "Fuck it, Lukas! The princess..."
Something seemed to have snapped within the Count. He suddenly slumped down on the floor and sat, covering his face with his hands, rocking slightly to and fro.
The hunter was unaware of how the princess died. All he knew was that she died while she was with the Count. Perhaps the Count killed her himself. He sat down opposite the Count, lost in his own scared thoughts.
After a while, the Count took deep calming breaths, secretly wiping his tears with his sleeves. This is not the time to show weakness, the Count thought. He needed to get the hunter out of this alive, if that's the last thing he'll do. He's ready for death but the hunter isn't.
The Count shifted his position on the floor and looked at the hunter opposite him. When the hunter noticed the Count looking at him, the hunter blushed and looked away.
"Sorry..." the hunter said gruffly.”It's just... you couldn't expect me to take this easily." His eyes took in everything within the dungeon cell. “I’m about to... to die you know.”
The Count looked at him for a longer while before replying. "I understand. Don't worry, I'll get you out of here. There's got to be a way. You can trust me."
"Yeah," the hunter replied, but the Count knew the hunter didn't mean what he said. Already, he can see the strains appearing on the hunter's face. The possibility of death was slowly dawning upon him. Upon them both.
The Count could feel what is left of his magical powers. He drew it within him, and found a very small trickle left. The poison from the arrows had leached him of magic for the meantime. He flexed his muscles instead, and found that the poison left him with no physical strength either. Suddenly, with him in that state, the image of the hunter dead before him became stronger. More vivid. More real. He was suddenly scared.
No, he thought furiously. There is a way. There is a way! And I'll find it out soon.
While looking at the hunter, he noticed that a rather large red bump was slowly growing on the hunter's forehead. That probably came when he was shoved inside, he thought. He judged that, with the small power left in him, he could at least heal that bump, since he cannot find anything else to use that small power for. His own wounds from the arrows were too serious for him to heal and he wasn’t hurting much anyway.
"Let me heal that," the Count said tentatively.
The hunter looked at him, puzzled. "This?" the hunter said, pointing at his forehead. The Count gave a nod, and the hunter gave another in reply.
The Count slowly approached the hunter, placing his hands over the hunter's forehead. The Count closed his eyes. Of all times! The Count felt guilty about touching the hunter. If the hunter was more knowledgeable, he would have known that trembling hands or blushing were not part of the healing process. The Count also took a longer time in healing it because he was having difficulty focusing his thoughts.
When it was done, the Count sat beside the hunter. The hunter said nothing. After feeling his forehead and finding the bump healed, he smiled.
Luck, the Count thought. Countless times, he had wished for a moment with the hunter. And finally, it was granted to him. He wouldn't have minded them being locked up together, but they were being locked up together to die and that took a considerable amount of romance out of the situation. Still, in times like these, he thought, you relish the happiness you can find.
The hunter finally felt uneasy about the intense way the Count was looking at him.
"Don't look at me that way," he told the Count.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the Count replied, and he tried to look at the hunter less keenly. But he failed – he had no control over his eyes. So he did not bother trying to look away from the hunter again.
"Why did you come here?" the Count asked suddenly, his hormones racing.
"I wanted to see you," was the hunter's ready reply.
"Why?"
"Because they were about to kill you."
"You didn't use to care for me that much..."
"You were about to die."
"Even so. From our previous encounters, you didn't care about what happens to me one whit."
The hunter gave no reply.
"Are you keeping something from me?" the Count asked.
"Let's rather not talk about this."
"What's wrong with trying to find out why you came here?"
"Don't jump into conclusions again!"
The Count was momentarily dumbfounded by this answer. "I see..." he said slowly. "Is that what you think of me?
Always jumping to conclusions? And why did you say 'again'?"
The hunter said nothing.
"That man you were with in your house. Is he your...?"
"That is none of your business!"
"Lukas, there's nothing wrong with that! It's..."
"This isn't about that!"
"Then what?"
"It's you!"
Again, the Count was stunned by this answer.
"Me?" he asked the hunter confusedly. "What do you mean?"
"I don't want to hurt you more than I needed to. That's why I asked for a clean cut..."
The hunter's replies were not making much sense but if he put this and that together, then...
The Count took a deep breath and inclined himself toward the hunter. "Lukas..." he said slowly. ”Do you... like me, too?"
Silence.
"It was just a simple question needing a simple answer," the Count added nervously.
"You're jumping into conclusions again, are you?" the hunter said in an irritated voice, shaking his head.
"Yes," the Count replied, going all the way. "But am I right this time?"
The hunter closed his eyes for a few seconds then looked down. His hands trembled.
"Yes," he said. He exhaled loudly and covered his face with his hands, just like what the Count did earlier.
The sound of the Count’s own heartbeat deafened him from everything else.
"Are you alright?" the Count asked tentatively.
"This is all your fault! Because of you, they're going to kill me too! What are you..."
"Calm down! I'll think of..."
"You monster! You're not satisfied with killing all those people, are you? You always have to get me involved!"
"Shut up, Lukas, you're in shock. What we should do is..."
"You shut up yourself!"
"If you want to escape, we need to coordinate. We need to..."
"I don't care about escaping! Do you think I can escape? You're the vampire, dammit! You've got the powers! Why don't you just go save your own skin and leave me dead?! Did you save me then only to take me with you when you’re about to die? You’re nobody in my life! Why didn’t you just leave me alone?! I do not deserve this! I... She... She promised! And I..."
The hunter stopped his tirade, panting. To his surprise, he found the Count panting, too.
"Do you think this is easy for me?!" the Count almost shouted at the hunter. "Fuck it, Lukas! The princess..."
Something seemed to have snapped within the Count. He suddenly slumped down on the floor and sat, covering his face with his hands, rocking slightly to and fro.
The hunter was unaware of how the princess died. All he knew was that she died while she was with the Count. Perhaps the Count killed her himself. He sat down opposite the Count, lost in his own scared thoughts.
After a while, the Count took deep calming breaths, secretly wiping his tears with his sleeves. This is not the time to show weakness, the Count thought. He needed to get the hunter out of this alive, if that's the last thing he'll do. He's ready for death but the hunter isn't.
The Count shifted his position on the floor and looked at the hunter opposite him. When the hunter noticed the Count looking at him, the hunter blushed and looked away.
"Sorry..." the hunter said gruffly.”It's just... you couldn't expect me to take this easily." His eyes took in everything within the dungeon cell. “I’m about to... to die you know.”
The Count looked at him for a longer while before replying. "I understand. Don't worry, I'll get you out of here. There's got to be a way. You can trust me."
"Yeah," the hunter replied, but the Count knew the hunter didn't mean what he said. Already, he can see the strains appearing on the hunter's face. The possibility of death was slowly dawning upon him. Upon them both.
The Count could feel what is left of his magical powers. He drew it within him, and found a very small trickle left. The poison from the arrows had leached him of magic for the meantime. He flexed his muscles instead, and found that the poison left him with no physical strength either. Suddenly, with him in that state, the image of the hunter dead before him became stronger. More vivid. More real. He was suddenly scared.
No, he thought furiously. There is a way. There is a way! And I'll find it out soon.
While looking at the hunter, he noticed that a rather large red bump was slowly growing on the hunter's forehead. That probably came when he was shoved inside, he thought. He judged that, with the small power left in him, he could at least heal that bump, since he cannot find anything else to use that small power for. His own wounds from the arrows were too serious for him to heal and he wasn’t hurting much anyway.
"Let me heal that," the Count said tentatively.
The hunter looked at him, puzzled. "This?" the hunter said, pointing at his forehead. The Count gave a nod, and the hunter gave another in reply.
The Count slowly approached the hunter, placing his hands over the hunter's forehead. The Count closed his eyes. Of all times! The Count felt guilty about touching the hunter. If the hunter was more knowledgeable, he would have known that trembling hands or blushing were not part of the healing process. The Count also took a longer time in healing it because he was having difficulty focusing his thoughts.
When it was done, the Count sat beside the hunter. The hunter said nothing. After feeling his forehead and finding the bump healed, he smiled.
Luck, the Count thought. Countless times, he had wished for a moment with the hunter. And finally, it was granted to him. He wouldn't have minded them being locked up together, but they were being locked up together to die and that took a considerable amount of romance out of the situation. Still, in times like these, he thought, you relish the happiness you can find.
The hunter finally felt uneasy about the intense way the Count was looking at him.
"Don't look at me that way," he told the Count.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the Count replied, and he tried to look at the hunter less keenly. But he failed – he had no control over his eyes. So he did not bother trying to look away from the hunter again.
"Why did you come here?" the Count asked suddenly, his hormones racing.
"I wanted to see you," was the hunter's ready reply.
"Why?"
"Because they were about to kill you."
"You didn't use to care for me that much..."
"You were about to die."
"Even so. From our previous encounters, you didn't care about what happens to me one whit."
The hunter gave no reply.
"Are you keeping something from me?" the Count asked.
"Let's rather not talk about this."
"What's wrong with trying to find out why you came here?"
"Don't jump into conclusions again!"
The Count was momentarily dumbfounded by this answer. "I see..." he said slowly. "Is that what you think of me?
Always jumping to conclusions? And why did you say 'again'?"
The hunter said nothing.
"That man you were with in your house. Is he your...?"
"That is none of your business!"
"Lukas, there's nothing wrong with that! It's..."
"This isn't about that!"
"Then what?"
"It's you!"
Again, the Count was stunned by this answer.
"Me?" he asked the hunter confusedly. "What do you mean?"
"I don't want to hurt you more than I needed to. That's why I asked for a clean cut..."
The hunter's replies were not making much sense but if he put this and that together, then...
The Count took a deep breath and inclined himself toward the hunter. "Lukas..." he said slowly. ”Do you... like me, too?"
Silence.
"It was just a simple question needing a simple answer," the Count added nervously.
"You're jumping into conclusions again, are you?" the hunter said in an irritated voice, shaking his head.
"Yes," the Count replied, going all the way. "But am I right this time?"
The hunter closed his eyes for a few seconds then looked down. His hands trembled.
"Yes," he said. He exhaled loudly and covered his face with his hands, just like what the Count did earlier.
The sound of the Count’s own heartbeat deafened him from everything else.
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