Strange Desire

Undisclosed Desires

"You bastard."

Frederick listened to the insult. He stood high on the roof of the castle, gazing out over the valley. The rain was easing up, the last few drops pelting him on his shoulders, running down his cape.

His suspicion was correct. Rookery's walls were crumbling. The lack of hunting left him vulnerable. Frederick could see the hole growing in his mental defenses.

He shook the remaining water from his frame.

He could have ended it already. With the hunter's defenses lowered, it would be easy to swoop in and snuff him out. Rookery didn't know it, but his life was owed to Rudolph. Frederick would do anything for his children, and now that Rudolph had asked him to be more empathetic towards humans, he did his best to honor his son's wishes. He watched over everyone in the castle and the village. This was his new domain and he guarded them from outsiders and rival clans. Protected them. All of them.

When he saved Rookery from the fire, he cast his spell to bring him into his embrace. A typical spell to lure prey. Normally, Rookery was immune to it. He was trained to resist vampire magic. However, in his current state, Frederick was able to peer deep into his mind.

Something was there. Something curious and anxious. It throbbed in Rookery's mind, tearing at his walls, searching for Frederick now that it had seen him on the other side.

Frederick watched the fog move over the valley and gave a low growl. His tongue swept over his fangs.

"What's the matter, my dear? You've been up here for hours."

Freda came up behind him, taking her place by his side.

"The usual trouble, I'm afraid," Frederick muttered to her.

"You worry so much about that man," Freda said, knowing her husband too well. She intertwined her arm with his, holding his hand. "Rookery's behaving well enough. He seems to have learned his lesson and the townspeople keep him in check. You don't need to obsess."

"What if others come? He has to have informed his guild by now. I could have made a grave mistake."

Freda looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Frederick sighed. "I pulled him from a fire earlier. Lightning destroyed the old church while he was in it, doing lord knows what. I brought him out."

She stared at her husband for a moment, then smiled. "Your heart has never changed, my sweet. You would save a fly from a web if you were able."

"And my heart gets in the way sometimes," he muttered.

"Which in turn may be beneficial. You saved him. If Rookery follows the old laws of his kind, he will know he is bound to you now."

"That's a big if."

Freda looked out over the valley, following her husband's gaze. "It pains me to say, but he is a proud hunter. He knows the way of his guild. Others cannot interfere until the debt is paid."

"There's something else."

Freda lifted her stare from the valley. "Oh?"

Frederick tilted his head away, searching for the words as if he was embarrassed to say them. "I think he's receptive to me..."

Freda stared at him, surprised and slightly amused, much to his chagrin. "You cast a spell on him? "

"I didn't mean to- I mean, I didn't think it would work!"

She laughed quietly to herself. "Oh, Frederick."

"It's not funny."

"This is what happens when you deprave yourself for too long," Freda lamented.