3 Valerie Breaks the Rule

Holding his smile, Gasper observed his new father. Well it was his only father but still. He was dressed in a long black coat with lace at the cuffs and neck and stood just taller than five feet. With smooth facial features and back-length blonde hair, his red eyes gave him an otherworldly sort of beauty. Even in male clothing he looked like a beautiful woman. Gasper had made the right decision using his wish.

One by one, the servants turned from the open doorway of Gasper's room to stare at him. The tension was making his scales itch. He just had to act normal. What was normal for babies? He had been holding eye contact for too long. He started to sweat. He just needed to think on his feet.

The idea struck Gasper. Feet. Babies liked feet. Sitting down he started grabbing his feet with fake interest. He saw the butler pull out a dagger. They weren't buying it. It was time for him to up his game. He started letting out nervous giggles as he put his toe in his mouth. They were all still stiff with tension, god help him. A wave of pain that assaulted his head caused him to flounder on the ground. Praying hurt!

The sound of heavy footfalls heralded the end of Gasper's headache. He rose to look at the source of the noise and nearly soiled himself. Thankfully he no longer had that ability. Standing on the opposite side of his dad from him was a group of vampires garbed in grey surcoats. Each of them, with gauntleted hands on swords, seemed poised to attack.

Backing up to the window wearily, Gasper couldn't help but feel afraid. He didn't want to die. Maybe he could use his shadow? He wasn't even sure if he could do anything against that many people yet. As if to mock the dire thoughts, his father spoke in clipped tones and the knights turned to leave. The headsman's axe was no longer on his neck.

With the knights gone, Gasper's father turned to the butler and started shouting angrily. He didn't even know what was being said, but the tirade made even the stone-faced maids back away. The butler shrank back, and then nearly flew to retrieve the cart and flee. He hadn't even known vampires could get that pale. Finally finished, his father left without even glancing at him.

Gasper felt conflicted watching his father leave. He was grateful that his life had been spared, but it was clear that his new parent wanted nothing to do with him. Not that his previous parents had. When his father had disappeared, one of the maids came over and scooped him up. Holding him gingerly the maid placed him in his room and closed the door.

Now back in his cavern of solitude, Gaspar began practicing with his shadow again. Adrenaline and residual fear still coursed through his veins. He wouldn't be able to stop them if they came for his life next time. Not with just one little shadow hand he wouldn't. From one hand to tree he continued to increase the parts he had out. He soon found it simpler to just bring out spikes. He had far less control over them after they appeared, but they required less effort to summon.

Gasper must have spent hours engrossed in training. Earlier It had just been about the wonder of magic and now it was about survival. From three spikes to six. Extending from his shadows to extending from other shadows. Near the end of his session he had finally managed to slip into his shadow. It had taken a combination of flexing his invisible muscle backwards and imagining himself sinking to accomplish.

Inside the shadow, it was like Gasper could see the other shadows. For the first time he could sense the scope of his new home. His room itself was located three stories up in a wing that contained at least 50 rooms judging by how the shadows were grouped. Overcome by the new sensation, His head was starting to ache. He needed to do one last thing before he rested.

Now that Gasper was in his shadow, he had to try coming out of another shadow. If all else failed, it would be his trump card. Moving to or rather pulling on the shadow closest to him, he popped his head out from under his coach. Success. Even with his head pounding, he couldn't help but finally feel some relief. At least he could run if things got bad.

Crawling out from under the coach, Gasper realized the shadow sense dulled but didn't disappear. Instead of the whole castle, his sense was limited to little more than his own room. Could he use that for something? He'd have to think about it later when his head wasn't filled with lead. Tired and hungry, he began laughing. He wouldn't be able to eat for another couple of days. Dragging himself back to his coffin, he quickly fell into restless slumber.

Gasper stood on a green field. The smell of ash and blood heavy in the air. He briefly caught sight of a man with curly blonde hair and was then robbed of his vision. A fear greater than any he had ever known filled him.

"You are dead Balor." A voice said and then Gasper was falling into the darkness. He couldn't be dead. The fear gave way to wrath. He wanted to live.

Gasper woke still groggy and drenched in sweat. Even now, he still felt himself filled with knife-sharp fury. Balor. That was the name he had heard in his sleep. He knew he had a part of Balor in him but why now? Had his training jump started something? A shiver went down his spine. He had never felt so angry or afraid before.

A shift in the shadows grasped Gasper's attention. One of them was moving. It was a small shape that moved from his doorway to his bedside. His coffin was opened with the usual burst of light and he was greeted to familiar red eyes in an unfamiliar face. A little girl had arrived. Somewhere between five and ten years old, she had short blonde hair and wore a plain white dress. Her cute face, that was still held the roundness of childhood, appear even more dazzling to him with her expression. She was showing him the first smile he had seen in ages.

Eagerly the girl seized Gasper from the coffin and cradled him in her arms. Holding him tightly she began to coo. Her words were mostly unknown, but he caught onto one of them. Valerie. He hadn't thought about it, but it made sense. The only person who would to care about the original Gasper, or him for that matter, in this place would be her.

Valerie sat down on a couch with Gasper still in her arms. Slowly rocking him back and forth she began singing. Even though it was a discordant little song, he quickly found himself lulled back towards sleep. He was still exhausted from the bad dream and lack of sleep.

Just when Gasper was going under, Valerie stopped singing and began poking his cheek. Stop that. He batted her hand away. She continued poking him, so he grabbed her finger. He opened his eyes in annoyance only to watch her expression melt. Okay, he would forgive her this time. He closed his eyes and fell back asleep holding her finger.

The next day passed in a similar fashion. Gasper woke up still hungry and left his coffin. He struggled for a bit to practice with his shadow, but each new attempt left him more tired and hungry. Giving up, he lied back down and shortly afterwards he felt Valerie arrive. Lifting him up she went back to the coach and started speaking to him. He still didn't understand what she was saying but her soothing voice soon put him to sleep.

Seeming a little pale, Valarie arrived at Gasper's room the next day pushing the cart. He really shouldn't have been surprised. Expecting to be fed, he realized she had other plans. With a little grunt she placed down a metal basin filled with water and started to take his sweaty outfit off. What happened to the other servants? No answer was forthcoming. Deprived of his clothes, he covered himself in embarrassment while ignoring the discomfort. He didn't even know why he was nervous. He had been bathed multiple times before now.

Ignorant of Gasper's inner plight, Valerie placed him in the warm water. Starting with his head she poured soap over his dirty hair and began to knead his head. As she slowly worked her way down his back, he relaxed a little. It would be fine. There was nothing to worry about.

Turning him around, she began to work on his front. He flinched when she had gotten to his legs and he reflexively lashed out with a claw. Luckily, he had hit the washcloth. Regrettably, he failed to see the determined look in her eyes. His eyes widened when she pinned his arms above his head with one hand. As she started scrubbing his overly sensitive area, he thrashed about. Thankfully it finished quickly. Thinking he had endured the worst of it, Valerie delivered the coup de grace. With a giggle she flicked him.

Gasper sat there soullessly as Valerie toweled him off. He was just john john with a little john. There to amuse people but little more. When she had put his clothes on, he learned something even more horrifying. The absolute rule had been shattered. He was now in a little blue dress! Why? She picked him up and began spinning around. Why must he endure such humiliation?

When Valerie stopped spinning and hugged Gasper, he was feeling ashamed, humiliated, and hungry. So, he did the only thing that could satisfy all three. He bit her. As his teeth pierced her skin, bittersweet blood filled his mouth. He only now realized the full extent of his hunger. As he drank, she began slowly stroking the back of his head. The longer he did it, the less bitter her blood got until only sweetness remained. Maybe he could bite her again later?

His anger vented and hunger satisfied, Gasper stopped biting Valerie. Licking up any remaining blood he noticed his shoulder was wet. She was crying. With long silent wracking sobs she had fallen to the ground, while holding him in a death grip. He hadn't meant for it to hurt that much.

Troubled Gasper placed his clawed hand on Valerie's face, and she stilled. Staring at him for a long moment she donned a beautiful smile and kissed his head before squeezing him even tighter. His ribs were starting to hurt but at least she was feeling better.

Saying something in barely a whisper, Valarie placed Gasper on the ground. Moving over to the cart she picked up the bottle that had originally been for him to drink. Unscrewing the cap, she downed it in one go with a face like she was tasting a bitter medicine. He guessed that would be a good description for what it was.

Sticking out her tongue, Valerie gathered the metal basin and left. Gasper was happy she didn't seem to be in any lasting pain but, there was just a tiny problem. He was still wearing a dress.