Crimson Crown

⌠57⌡

"Be careful..." Jackson warned as he gently pushed Jinyoung away from the glass shards. He bent down to pick up the bigger pieces he could see to discard of.

Jinyoung stood frozen while watching the latter. He tried to absorb what he'd just been told, but he couldn't wrap his brain around it. Him? Turned into a vampire?

"H-How am I turning? How is this even possible?" He blurted out amidst his confusion.

Jackson let out a breath as he stood and placed the larger pieces of glass on a tray resting on the nearby dresser. He then ran his fingers through his dark hair, his apologetic gaze resting on the prince.

"It's my fault."

"How?"

"How else, Jinyoung?" He retorted while approaching the latter. "What other vampire do you know? Is there another that you're hiding here too?"

The prince shrunk back from the vampire's tone. "N-No! Of course not, only you..."

"Exactly, and it was I who drew my own blood to put in you." Jackson let out another sigh, beginning to pace again as his head clouded with worries. "I didn't think about the consequences I just— I just acted... I was foolish..."

"No, that was not foolish, it worked, but—"

Amid Jinyoung's sentence, a sharp ache stabbed through his gums. He winced, clutched at his mouth with a whimper. The pain was so sudden and so agonizing that Jinyoung almost toppled over, if it weren't for Jackson quickly tugging him into his arms. His expression was less of concern for the prince's condition, but more so guilt.

He hugged the latter tight, gently caressing his back in soothing strokes. "I'm so sorry Jinyoung, I'm so sorry..."

"It hurts." The prince muffled against his chest.

"I know, I'm sorry, come, lay down." Jackson carefully guided Jinyoung to his bed. Naturally, he didn't want to fully lay down due to the pain, so instead he leaned back against his headboard while Jackson sat himself in the empty space beside him. "When your fangs start to bud, it hurts for a couple of hours, but they come in quick. This usually happens when you're a child..."

Jinyoung of course was well past the age of a child— he couldn't imagine how anyone could stand such pain, let alone a child.

"So, this isn't normal?" 

"Only when a human is turned into a vampire, they can get their fangs anytime after the bite; and I assume that your transformation is also why you've been unwell recently. For pure vampires, around the ages equivalent to that of 8-10 in human years is when we start to grow ours. Sort of our version of early puberty; it is biologically normal for us, so the symptoms are not typically this awful..."

It was hard to imagine Jackson without his fangs; though he was good at hiding them, Jinyoung always noticed how they were more pointed than any of his other teeth and could always pick them out. But at some point in the past, he looked just like any other human boy; no one would even spare him a second glance.

There was only one incident that could have induced Jinyoung's turning. Jackson had bitten him before and nothing happened— so the moment Jackson healed him the day he almost died must've been what triggered this reaction.

"So... when you put your blood in me, you turned me?"

Jackson glanced at the prince, his eyes softening as his guilt ate him alive. "I didn't mean to! I didn't think at all, I'm such a fool..."

"Jackson stop-"

"What am I supposed to do? I can't stop it, I-I've never turned a human before, I don't even know how it works myself, h-how can I fix this—"

Jinyoung leaned forward, reaching for the latter to comfort him. "Calm down, I'm fine—"

More pain jabbed at his mouth before he could even place a finger on Jackson. He slumped back with a groan, clutching his cheeks that had slightly swelled.

Jinyoung's stressed noises snapped Jackson out of his thoughts, his focus back on the situation at hand. "No you're in pain... drugs, you need pain relieving drugs. I'll go fetch some, just relax here, I will be fast."

Jackson swiftly stood up and rushed out of the room. Even though he guaranteed his return, Jinyoung's chest tightened from his absence. The painful throbbing in his mouth scared him, and trying to handle it all alone would have drove him mad. Maybe it was due to his newly heightened sense, but he felt even more deprived with physically Jackson gone. He wondered if Jackson felt the same whenever they were apart; it was not a good feeling to experience so strongly.

Despite writhing in agony, Jinyoung was still helplessly curious. He reached for another hand mirror he kept on the nightstand just beside his bed, holding it up in front of him. Poking halfway out the top of his gums were two sharp fangs, blood pooling around the holes as they pushed through the skin. His eyes widened upon observing his new pair of teeth, pointy and white, right where his canines used to be. He was truly turning into a vampire.

Jackson returned  as quickly as he said he would, his hands filled with a steaming cup of some herbal painkilling concoction. Jinyoung set down the mirror as was handed the cup.

"Here, drink. And do not sip, take all of it, you will need it."

While Jinyoung gulped down his medicine, Jackson sat down beside him again, his brows in a permanent furrow full of worry. It was plain to see that he felt horrible and responsible for affecting the prince's life so drastically; and of course he was bearing the blame as he often did.

Once Jinyoung finished the not-so-great tasting drink, he handed it off to Jackson who set it aside. The warm liquid did soothe his mouth, but of course the ache still resided. It would take a while for the full effect of the painkiller to set in.

"How long is the pain supposed to last?"

"From what I remember, it's an excrutiating few hours, then once the teeth are fully set in, it aches for a day or so." Jackson leaned in closer, examining Jinyoung's mouth himself. He let out a soft breath upon observing his transformation progression. "You're in the early stages but it's already come this far along... I'd say maybe two or three more hours..."

Jinyoung groaned both from the sharp throb in his gums and the estimated hours of more torture. He barely had time to even absorb the reality of his situation, the pain was too much to think about anything else, and yet he still had to endure the process that he did not ever expect to go through. It was a lot to deal with all in one night.

Jackson's hands fiddled in his lap, his usually calm nerves all over the place. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what else to say—"

"Anything but sorry again, please." Jinyoung requested. Seeing Jackson's anxiousness made it nearly impossible for himself to calm down; he didn't blame the vampire, nor was he angry. He just wanted this all to be over with.

Jackson faltered in return, opening his mouth most likely to apologize again, but hesitating in favor of Jinyoung's request.

"...Would you like me to stay until it's over?" Is what he offered instead, as it was the most comfort he could possibly give at this point.

Jinyoung was delighted by the offer and vigorously nodded— having grown tired of talking.

Jackson slid back onto the bed, pressing his back against the headboard. Jinyoung scooted over to give him enough room, then swung himself on top of the latter. The move caught Jackson off guard, but he quickly adjusted to give Jinyoung as much comfort as possible. Jinyoung nuzzled against his chest, tilting his head up enough to avoid causing anymore pain, yet he could still enjoy the pure vampire's warmth against his cheek. He let out some occasional groans as pain constantly flared up again, but being held defiantly helped him relax.

"It'll be over soon." Jackson mumbled in his hair while gently caressing the latter's jaw.