Cassius and Violet

Part 1

It’s already been six months since my life went from chaotic-castaway-vampire-captive to what my life had previously consisted of; helping my Mommasina make a living while enjoying each other’s company in our little coastal town. I occasionally reminisce about those events and the Vampires I encountered, especially Cassius Dormante and his highly irregular rescue of me from the very vampire to whom he had sold me. I don’t understand him, and quite frankly, I have felt very angry towards him. I also can’t help but feel that I owe him my life which makes me even angrier, so in the end I prefer not to think about it at all and dismiss such thoughts from my mind. It is an understatement when I say that I am very glad we will never meet again.

When I was away my Momma was very worried and when I came back, her tangible relief seemed to wash decades away from her. She became noticeably perkier and exuded a glow of gratitude and thanksgiving that I had returned. Since then, she keeps a sharp eye on me. I haven’t told her everything that happened to me except that I got stranded on an island for a period of time. There’s no way I can tell her the rest, because she’s been through enough already. I’ve also worked hard to eradicate any vampire influence and training left so it won’t show and thankfully I’m almost back to normal; I only occasionally obey people’s unwitting commands. All in all, I am thankful to be back where I belong.

“Mommasina! The market is about to open. If we don’t hurry we’ll miss out on the best produce!” Silence greeted my early morning call. How strange. “Momma?” I enter our single room cottage, which is more like a swiss cheese shack. I go to my Momma in her resting place to shake her awake, “Mommasina! Come on! We’ve got to get going or we’ll…” Something is wrong and my voice teeters off. She is so cold and stiff. “Momma?” My voice quietly quakes. My mind seems to be distancing itself from me. I can’t seem to take in what my senses are telling me.

I stare, disbelief evident in my voice as I continue to call her name. Tears start to slide down my face. How odd. No, this can’t be true. She was just fine yesterday. This has to be wrong. There’s no way this could be true. I know!  If I leave and come back everything will be normal. As I’m thinking this I get up and exit our house. I am oblivious to the normal neighborhood activities. Controlling the sobs trying to bubble up and burst forth, I take a deep breath and I entered once again, tentatively calling out. She doesn’t stir; she is still the same. I try again and again to wipe away the reality by exiting and reentering, each time breaking down even further. My walls and fortifications against grief are crumbling as the harsh reality is taking hold. I am muttering under my breath about how it can’t possibly be true, and eventually sit down near her corpse in my grief-stricken, shocked state. I can’t bring myself to touch her again; I just can’t, so I sit there staring and unmoving like my soul has been suspended in time, a breathless endless moment.

Eventually, it occurs to me that I need to go get help, someone that knows what to do and has their wits about them. I’m composed enough, well probably just numb, as I sedately go search for our nearest neighbor. I need to keep calm and composed while I explain the situation. I can do it. I can do it… My feet rhythmically step to the cadence of my thoughts. So much time has passed? I note the mid-morning sun. It isn’t long before I encounter someone just coming back from the market, and call out. It’s the baker’s wife. She comes toward me and enquires what it is I want. The moment I start to try and explain my façade of composure crumples. I am blubbering, hiccupping, and incoherent. My nose and eyes are streaming. As the baker’s wife is still trying to figure out what I’m trying to say, she enfolds me in a hug. She is a plump woman, making her hug feel all encompassing. How different from the kind my Mommasina gave me. I start to feel even more tender as the knowledge that I’ll never be embraced by my Momma again envelops me. After trying to calm me down and listening to my garbled message she finally understands that something isn’t right with my Mommasina and heads off towards our abode at a brisk pace, dragging me along behind her. I stumble after her, unable to stop my gut wrenching sobs.

From that moment on I don’t remember what happened with any clarity. Everything is a blur; the funeral is conducted and my Mommasina is laid to rest while our, no, my neighbors take turns looking after me in my benumbed state. Funerals aren’t anything elaborate in our community; we find a place in the burial grounds that is unmarked, dig a hole, and lay the deceased to rest. Since we’re such a small community, we all treat each other as family and I’m thankful they are there for me since I have no blood relations left. God only knows what happened to my deadbeat Pappasi. After the last of my neighbors has bid me good night, I go to bed with an ultimatum; I grieved today so I will grieve no more; come tomorrow it would just be another day in my everyday life, just without my Mommasina.

I don’t cry anymore after I make my ultimatum, but it takes me a while to start to feel happy and actually smile from my heart. I was just starting to get the hang of things in my solitary lifestyle when I encountered a traveling merchant. We strike up a conversation, and before I know it, are having a meal together and she is extending her stay. Her name is Thana Belkvale and she made me realize how much I miss having close human companionship. Weeks have gone by in which she has moved in with me and decided to set up a shop in our town. We laugh, argue, and help one another just like real sisters.

I tell her many things about myself, even the things I wouldn’t tell my Mommasina, and she listens and tells stories about herself as well. She finds the brief interlude of my life as a stranded vampire victim to be the most fascinating and it is nice to be able to have someone hear me out about it. I even show her the Bloody Soul Stone which I keep hidden with me at all times. I still feel safer with it on me. More than anything else, she listens to how my Mommasina died with a very attentive and meditative look on her face. After about two months of living together, I find out why.

One night she blurts out, “I don’t think your Mommasina’s death was natural.”

I am shocked at her abrupt reference and statement so it takes me a couple of seconds to respond, “What do you mean?” My enquiry comes out tentatively.

“I mean, the whole affair is just plain fishy. How can your Mommasina, who had no health issues, suddenly pass away overnight? I’m telling you, this sounds like two plus two adding up to five.”

“You’re thinking too much. Who would want to kill my Momma? We have nothing of value and no connections. It was just her time.”

“What about your adventure with Mr. Vampire? From your story it seems you really pissed of a rich and influential guy. Men like that have a lot of pride and usually can’t handle having it hurt by a mere human girl, even if you were helped. Sometimes, that hurts their pride even more.”

“Oh please. Hendrick may be what you say, but he’s a vampire and I know he’s the type of guy who wouldn’t waste his time exacting revenge on a human. We are too below him. Insects are more important.”

“Bu-”

“Enough. Let’s just agree to disagree.” After that, we go to bed in silence. It is long into the night before I fall asleep. I may have sounded confident in my argument, but what she said still pricked at me, filling me with doubts and forcing holes into my argument. After all, she brought to light something I had shoved into the shadows of my mind.

җ

It has been almost a year since that irregular blip in Cassius Dormante’s life, and although he now occasionally feels what he considers odd, annoying sensations and emotions, he still continues as he did before the red-haired glitch occurred. After having slept all day he wakes up at night, finds his homeless dinner, and goes to work as a host. If there are any changes at all, it is that people now find him easier to approach and many of the hosts that had kept their distance before are now quite friendly with him. He does have thoughts about Violet Assarda every so often, which invariably provokes an emotional response, more so than thoughts of anyone else, but he always boxes them up and mentally locks them away. He is never going to see her again and prefers when he is undisturbed by emotions all together.

On this particular night at his work place, he is visited by a new client who of average looks but exudes an attractive aura. Being a vampire, he isn’t captured by her charm as his human counterparts, but his curiosity is piqued; it is rare to find a mere mortal with such charismatic attraction. As she sits she gazed at him through masked eyes, “How do you do? I’m glad you were able to fit me in your busy schedule.”

Cassius shows nothing but his host persona of an aloof but satisfactorily attentive suitor who only rarely shows any emotion; his policy is to smile at least once with a dazzling sparkle, as his special service for all his patrons, “Fitting you in was no trouble. I can always find time for those that are worthy. Is there a drink you would like to be served, my lady?”

She giggles, “I think I would like fig wine, if you please.”

“Right away, my lady.”

“Instead of ‘my lady’ you can call me Quiterie.”

“As you wish Quiterie. Do you usually come to Host Clubs or is this your first time?”

“This would be my first time I’ve ever stepped foot in such a place.”

“You seem quite well versed and at home with how things work.”

She smiles, “I prepared myself by gathering information.”

Cassius arches his eyebrow, “That’s quite unusual. May I inquire as to why?”

“I hate not knowing or being prepared, so I take special care in things and places I’m not familiar with.”

“Ah, so you like feeling secure.”

“Yes, I find it infinitely better than making a fool of myself.”

Cassius chuckles and flashes a small dazzling smile, “I see. That makes sense, but I find that taking an unknown risk can have pleasures all its own.” Hmm, I’m kind of disappointed with her conversation and conservative attitude. Ah well, smiling at the customer is out of the way, now to just ride it out till she leaves.

“You know, Violet’s Mommasina died a horrible death.”

Cassius almost shot up completely straight, but was able to keep it to a slight jerk, and refocuses his gaze on his customer, “Excuse me?”

She smiles, “I said that Violet’s Mommasina died.”

Cassius’s face masks over and his true personality emerged, “Is that so… pray tell, why tell me?”

Quiterie ignores him, “The poor dear was so shocked; running around like a chicken with its head cut off. It’s been almost six months since then, but don’t worry we have her in good hands. Thanks to us she’s laughing and smiling again and won’t ever be lonely, but who knows if something might happen to her. The future is most uncertain.”

“Very true. I hope she’s able to continue on without meeting an unfortunate incident.”

Giggling and smiling, Quiterie looks at him with a cheeriness that doesn’t meet the eyes, “What a cold lover you are and after you went to so much trouble to rescue her.”

“My lover?” He turns thoughtful, “So, that’s how you all see it.” He refocuses solely on her eyes with a fierce intensity, “Let me clear your misunderstanding. First, I rescued her to rid myself of an annoyance. Second, I take no pleasure in her company. Third, and probably the most important, she hates my guts. Fourth, since I dropped her back home I haven’t gone near her or her seaside town. So, please explain to me how this constitutes as being lovers.”

She smirks, “Your argument is very weak. You only really express emotions when it involves her. The Cassius before wouldn’t have even deigned to give an explanation. You would have shrugged it off and asked how it was your problem. All you’re successfully doing is running away.” She starts to prepare to leave, not having taken one sip of her fig wine, “I just came to give you a heads up.” Her tone turns mocking, “Who knows, maybe you’ll regret it if you continue to turn a blind eye.”

With that she walks off, leaving Cassius to stew over what she just said, but it isn’t long before he shoves the whole issue in a corner and goes on with his job. It isn’t until he gets home and has nothing to focus on that the conversation starts to prick at him. He continues to stew on it for three more days, and finally comes to a conclusion; I guess in order to have any peace again I’ll have to go check how she is doing… Vomica!

He doesn’t get far on his rescue mission before he hits trouble. Cassius is a good distance out of the city he lives in, when he knows something is off. It has been bugging him for quite some time and he attributed it to his emotions for Violet, but now his emotions are settled which tells him the atmosphere is heavy with the sense of impending doom. Vampires have a unique ability, kind of like a foretelling, to sense the atmosphere and judge whether it is good or bad. Cassius keeps alert through his entire journey, but that is not enough. He is halfway to her house when suddenly he is waking up in some strange laboratory strapped to a table. What the hell!

“Welcome Cassius Dormante, prior king of the vampires and still the most powerful there is among them. I hope you enjoy your stay here as we get to know one another even better.”

Before him stand Quiterie and a couple other people in lab coats, all looking at him as if he is their prized possession. They must have no idea what I’m really capable off… But how the hell did they get me onto this table?

җ

Thana never brought up the topic of my Mommasina’s suspicious death after that night and neither did I; it is kind of like an unspoken agreement to let it lie. Weeks pass in which we keep to our usual routine, early mornings to the market, then Thana does a little merchant business while I help at the wharf. We then head home and fix the house up a little bit, have our supper, and then go to an early bedtime.

One week Thana goes out on her merchant route to some surrounding towns for goods that we can’t normally acquire in our own town. She isn’t gone long, only little more than a week, but the news that she brings back shocks me. It shocks me more than her talk of my Mommasina dying a questionable death.

It all begins with me making myself a little dinner. As I sit down to eat, she bursts in like a wild wind, her cheeks flushed and eyes twinkling. She startles me. I am still getting my heart in the right location under my ribcage when she spouts off with, “I’ve found your Pappasi and he wishes to see you.”

My efforts to keep my heart in its rightful place were futile as it immediately sinks to the souls of my feet. I know I probably have a really dumb look on my face, but I can’t help it. I mean, I can’t honestly take her seriously so the next thing I know I am laughing up a storm, although deep down I am reeling from the pain I had buried years ago and never wished to feel again. “That’s a nice one Thana.” I wipe some tears away as I am trying to regain control and stop laughing, “How can that possibly be?”

Thana isn’t fooled by my outburst and plows right on ahead, “It’s true! Even if it wasn’t and I got the wrong person, wouldn’t it be worth it to find out just in case? I mean, I would totally go, nail him to the ground, and interrogate him till I was satisfied. Not only th-”

I raise my hand in protest, “Alright, alright. Let me think about it, okay?”

She smiles cheerfully, “Okay! Is there enough dinner for me too?”

We go back to our same old routine. Thana doesn’t bother me about it because she knows I am already thinking about what she said, so she isn’t surprised when I announce in the darkness one night, “I’ll go to see my Pappasi. That is if you’ll be kind enough to go with me. I don’t honestly think I could do it alone.”

She replies groggily, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Thank you, Thana. Without you I wouldn’t have come to terms with the problems in my life that involve my Pappasi. You’re giving me the strength to face them, too. I really owe you. That night I sleep really well.

җ

Cassius’s world has changed dramatically. He has never felt so weak or at loss before and dislikes it immensely. Whatever these people are doing is making him feel weak, feverish, achy, and like he is forever drunk; his world is always spinning and showing multiples. He’s never felt such agony in his whole life. They inject him with various substances keeping his fever going. For a vampire, who is normally a cold-blooded being, to be constantly running a high fever is a slice of hell. All of this isn’t really making Cassius weaker; it was only serving to make him angrier. He learned at a very young age to keep his temper in check or devastating results will occur, even for a vampire. To lose his temper now wouldn’t serve any useful purpose and would be life threatening on more than one account. He would bide his time and wait for the opportune moment and then they would regret it.

җ

During our journey Thana and I stop at a mansion. She says it belongs to a friend of hers she came to know during one of her travels; they ended up making an alliance while journeying through dangerous territory and have stayed comrades since. It is a huge place; something I never even imagined I’d step in let alone see from a distance. Thana says we can use her friend’s house as a base until we locate my Pappasi. She insists I stay and rest while she goes to make sure he is still around. We had a huge argument about that, but she finally convinced me by saying she could move faster and more effectively by herself. I’m not a seasoned traveler like she is.

The days that follow Thana’s absence are full of new experiences; having servants get me things, fix my meals, and not having any housework to do. I almost can’t get used to it; I feel very awkward about it because I’m not use to being free of responsibilities and having others do everything for me. It just doesn’t seem right, but I have started to get accustomed to it. It is very relaxing, if a bit boring sometimes, but then I find the library. There I start to read all I can after asking permission.

It is on a beautiful day when I start to get the feeling something is odd, irregular. It really starts to strike me as strange that in all the time I have been here I have yet to set eyes on our generous host. It is also weird that I am not the focus of anyone’s attention. I mean, I may as well be a piece of furniture being well taken care of. When my Mommasina and I had guests, which I admit wasn’t very often, we were attentive and made plans to do things with our guest such as we could afford. They weren’t left to their own devices. I start to take more notice of the staff and listen to their conversations, most of which, come to think of it, are really odd and have been from the very beginning. I have no prior experience to compare it to except at Hendrick’s house where I was too focused on my own survival and escape to take much notice of his staff. I catch snippets of conversation that seem to refer to experiments and chemical formulas, definitely a vocabulary unexpected for servants, and sometimes I catch an intense gaze upon me. But it’s hard to tell because as soon as I notice that feeling of being excogitated and look around, it’s as if everyone is too busy to have been paying attention to me. It’s to the point where I feel eyes upon me all the time. I have to admit I am getting a bit paranoid.

I still act the same, thank God for the practice I had at Hendrick’s, but I’m more attentive to my surroundings. I think I do a good job because they never seem to be suspicious and continue to carry on as usual. Thana comes back once to report that my Pappasi has journeyed elsewhere and she is going to catch up with him and bring him to me. I try to tell her what I notice but she laughs it off and says I am being hypersensitive.

When she leaves again, I go about the house to explore. I don’t notice them trying to hide anything or act any differently; in fact, they are so normal even I start to think I am being neurotic. That is until something happened.

I am walking around the mansion like normal when I trip on absolutely nothing. Down I go, rolling around on a completely level surface like it is some steep slope; what stops me is a hard collision with a wall that suddenly gives way. My first thought is I hope it isn’t going to cost much to repair before I fall down some dimly lit stairs. Thankfully, though somewhat bruised and shaken, I have no serious injury. It is at this point I sarcastically start to wonder if my life is cursed or blessed. So which is it: am I cursed? After all, I certainly don’t know of anyone else who has been stranded on an island, a vampire island no less, sold as a pet, and fallen through a disappearing wall and then down a flight of stairs. Or am I blessed? I have survived all these things and more with barely a scratch. I am curious, so after a moment’s deliberation I go deeper on instead of heading right back up and pretending like it had never happened. Out of a nervous habit I acquired after the whole Hendrick ordeal, I clench my Bloody Soul Stone which I always have on me.

As I go on, the smell and the atmosphere change, reminding me of that distinct antiseptic hospital smell. My curiosity is further piqued. I round a bend and what I see makes me come to a complete halt. Through glass on either side of the hall you see into rooms full of unbelievably inhumane sights; there are multiple species of animals, but there are also humans and a few vampires. Needless to say, I am shocked, but what shocks me even more is what I encounter further on in the last room. What I see through the observation window in the door absolutely shocks and disgusts me, making me boiling mad; Cassius, yes Cassius, has tubes, wires, and needles all over him making him truly resemble someone on their death bed. I mean, I know I hate his guts and that I will probably never forgive him, but this is just too much. He’s not all bad, like Hendrick. I clench my fist around the Bloody Soul Stone, my nails piercing my skin. Blood trickles out of the four small wounds and touches the stone.

What happens next is completely unexpected. I no longer feel the stone in my hand and the world around me takes on a reddish tinge. I feel my body change; my skin tingles, and sparks of light flicker all over me. I don’t have anything to view myself in and it doesn’t cross my mind, even with all the glass around me; I suddenly know I can easily get Cassius out and away from here. Not another thought crosses my mind as I open the door by magic and unplug Cassius from everything with a simple flick of my finger. In the back of my mind I feel my eyes widen like saucers as I view the turn of events from a third person perspective in total disbelief. From inside myself I watch me functioning by magical instinct.

“What are you doing?!”

I turn around and there is Thana, her eyes cold and face a mask. I know Thana’s sudden appearance is odd, but I ignore it. I mean, how can Thana not really know what’s going on, especially after showing up in this secret hall of horrors. “I’m liberating Cassius from this inhumane treatment. Please move aside.”

“You won’t get far. Besides, I thought you hated his guts.”

“At least he’s honest. He’s never once lied to me, even when he was planning to sell me to some vampire.”

“I haven’t lied to you either.”

“I beg to differ. You said we were friends.”

“We are. At least I still think so.”

“Then what is all of this?” I sneer. “It makes me wonder who you really are. A merchant.”  Mockingly I retort, “Really?”

“I was-”

“Past tense. So, what, you went back to being a merchant to rope me in? To use me? What possible use could I have?”

“You seem to be Cassius’s weakness. Nothing was going to happen to you; you were just bait.”

“Bait? So the whole thing about my Pappasi was a lie as well?”

“No, I have actually located your Pappasi. To make a good lie some truth is necessary.”

“What?” My shock gave way to cold determination. I have had enough. Something in me snaps from her monotone responses and the realization that she isn’t who I thought she was. “Was my Mommasina also a pawn in your plan?”

She looks at me without answering, void of any emotion.

“Answer my enquiry.” I demand in a cold, hard tone.

“She was a pawn we used in order to make a statement to Cassius.”

There are no possible words in any language to describe how hurt, angry, and shocked I am. I can’t help but feel it is all Cassius’s fault, but deep down I know that really isn’t true. “Move. We’re leaving.”

“I can’t let you.”

“I don’t think you have a choice.” Instinctively I draw upon my newfound powers and stick her in the middle of a wall with only her face visible. The air is crackling and bright with flashes of reddish light. Whatever I have received is hard to control and insanely powerful. I feel a hand grab my arm and through my peripheral vision see that Cassius is up. Before I am consciously aware, I levitate us up and am forcing a path up through the house, rubble falling as floor by floor we ascend clean through the roof till we are clear of it and looking down on the somewhat ruined mansion and serene countryside. I fly us away until I find a secluded glade and descend into it. The magic peters out and we are both a bit disoriented and full of questions. One of mine is why Thana hadn’t taken my Bloody Soul Stone when she had plenty of opportunities or is she the reason why it disappeared resulting in something strange happening to me? For God’s sake, who knows what they could have done to me in that house. I might as well have served myself on a silver platter.

The biggest one both of them are thinking is what the hell is going on?