Changing Oneself (Entangled side story)

25, Things Are Different Now

Currently, Sang was studying a beetle that had wandered into his bathroom, Ieli was reading one of Sang's notebooks while his leg jumped up and down with anxiety, and I was eating the midnight lunch Sang had prepared for us. It had been two nights since I last went to the castle, two more nights of waiting. I could tell Ieli was getting restless, feeling less angry and annoyed with Yenthyr and more worried as time wore on.

I was getting worried, too. Although Yenthyr had help from four other vampires, an Alpha, and Vanilla's strange aura-based powers, Yenthyr was weakened by the poison brought on by his curse, and I feared how badly he could get hurt in the fight. Part of me ached to be there just so I could help protect him, but I knew I would probably only get in the way, and I didn't want to lose my other eye, either. I was sure Ieli wanted to help protect his partner as well, but he wasn't as strong as the older vampires in the castle, and I knew Yenthyr wouldn't forgive himself if Ieli ended up hurt.

It was just a matter of hoping, hoping he would be okay enough to live the rest of his life in peace.

The anxiety was difficult to deal with, though. Sometimes we ended up pacing, or if got bad enough, we would go for a run together or we would go hunting. Sometimes we slept to chase away the slow passage of time. Sometimes we couldn't bear to eat, and Sang had to urge us to drink nutritious shakes to keep our health in good shape.

Tonight, however, the anxiety felt different. It felt more like I was expecting something, and less like I was fretting. I pushed the food around my plate with a fork, frowning and waiting. With each minute I took only one bite, then went back to pushing the food around. As each minute passed, the tension within me grew.

When I finished my food, I stood. "I'm going to walk around outside for a bit," I announced to no one in particular. They both were close enough to hear me, and without waiting for a response, I turned and headed to the door.

"Stay close," Ieli told me.

"I will," I replied, opening the door and stepping out into the cool night. Sang had one of the outside lamps lit, so I could see around fairly well. I decided to merely take laps around the abandoned train station, hoping that working my energy out through repetitiveness would help.

I set off, hugging the uneven tree line as I began walking in wide circles. The night outside felt far more calm, the world moving on its own schedule, unperturbed by anything going on elsewhere. It was nice, getting to breathe in that calm.

Although, once I reached my tenth lap, I began to smell Vanilla's strong and sweet scent. I froze in place, waiting, wondering with short breaths what he wanted to come out here again for. Did something happen at the castle? Was Yenthyr alright? Did things go haywire and he was coming here because he was the only one who knew the way, and he knew that sending his mate here would be worse than coming here himself?

It seemed like ages passed before he finally emerged from the foliage. I wasn't too far away from him when he picked his way through the low hanging branches and waist high ferns, and he came to a halt when he spotted me.

He must've seen the fear in my eye, or seen in it my aura, maybe, or felt it? I wasn't sure how exactly his powers worked. But he gave me a sympathetic face, and I turned to fully face him as I felt a shudder of despair hit me.

"It's okay, don't worry. He's not dead," Vanilla assured me. I released a heavy breath and suddenly felt weak in my legs. I crouched down and hugged them to my chest. "But he isn't too well, either. It's over, by the way. Yenthyr asked me to come get you and his partner Ieli, and Doctor Sang too. I think he could help with the injuries."

"In- injuries?" I echoed. Vanilla nodded, his visage revealing his own worry. I wondered how badly his vampires were hurt, and how badly Yenthyr was hurt.