Remembrance

A gentle breeze filled the air with the sweet scent of evening primrose. The moon and stars cast a gentle glow to Earth, sharing their light with a figure that was peacefully nestled in the tall grass below. The man's chest rose and fell, as he stayed entangled in the arms of a deep sleep. One that was interrupted by the lush blades of grass tickling an unsuspecting cheek, as they were brushed by the wind.

He snickered at the feeling, as he allowed his violet eyes to glide open with a blissful sigh. It was all so perfect, wasn't it? The perfect evening. The perfect atmosphere. The perfect company. Speaking of which, he slid a hand casually over, hunting for that nice, warm body he had been holding against his own mere hours before.

But, his search came up empty. The man finally sat up in confusion, as he found only an empty hollow, where his lover used to be. Fueling his growing sense of dread was when his eyes followed a trail of red. It painted the green grass in heavy sweeps, as it lead away from the quaint, little sanctuary they had carved out for themselves; so much blood.

"Di? Di!? Where are you?!"

His eyes finally caught on a silhouette standing on the edge of the cliff side with its back to him. Slowly, the smaller man turned to gaze at him from over his shoulder; the shadow's stern, crimson eyes were overflowing with a wellspring of tears. The prone figure parted his lips to say something forgettable, before his breath caught in his throat. The moon and stars were rapidly faded; the sun was coming up.

The vampire shot up as quickly as he could, his deep, purple eyes flashing with panic as he raced like the wind to reach his beloved before it was too late. The light began burning up everything it touched. Grass, flowers, trees, even the very terrain that everything was anchored on, was incinerated in a fiery display before it ceased to be.

The light kept expanding! There was no end to its destruction! It was going to kill them! Why was the other man just standing there?! Why didn't he run?!

"Di, no!"

The light encased his lover, leaving nothing, but the horrible sight of ashes flying up into the air. Only his last words remained, spoken in a breathless, heartfelt whisper.

"I'm sorry."

_______________________

Alabaster shot up with a short cry, just in time for a strong pair of hands to catch him. His terrified gaze landed on a familiar face, much to the Crystal Vampire's relief.

"M-M-Mal!-"

"Easy, my brother."

Malakai's hand gently caressed the younger man's quaking back. He ignored the patches of sweat soaked into the soiled clothing. It was important that someone of his status observed the social norms, of course. But, at this point, the vampire noble couldn't care less in the comfort of this private room; his only aim was to soothe his brother.

The first born son of Lord Jasper couldn't help, though, but to acknowledge that their father wouldn't have been very pleased with this display. He could almost hear him say in mild disgust that he was being too coddling toward Alabaster; too soft.

This was just another nightmare, after all. A powerless piece of Alabaster's darker subconscious that mattered no more than yet another falling star. Something so unbelievably trivial, that it shouldn't have been enough to bring his reality warping, all-powerful son to his knees; but, on this one matter, the dutifully obedient Malakai Stone would be the first to say that his father was wrong.

Once the lither man caught his breath, he eased back into the chair at Alabaster's bedside. Yellow eyes stared for a moment more, before their owner asked in a tender voice,

"What did you see?"

It would do no good to ask if his brother was alright, of course. Anyone could see how shaken Alabaster was. Instead, acknowledging that the other man was afraid and being willing to listen usually proved to be a much better salve for mental wounds. Alabaster's lips started to tremble, before he buried his face in his hands.

"Something.. from a long time ago. Well, kind of. It was like.. a bunch of little pieces all sewn together to make one story; a horrible, terrible story! And.. And the sun. The sun, it-!"

"Alabaster. Look at me."

Frenzied eyes met those of tempered gold.

"I may not be immune to the sun's tyranny, nor father. But, you ARE. Just something I thought you should keep in mind."

"Y-Yes. I suppose you're right," the vampire noble said with downcast eyes.

Just then, he blinked, before glancing around the room.

"Simon," his soft lips uttered in recall, before turning his gaze on the other vampire, "Where's Simon?"

To say that Malakai hadn't been waiting for this moment would have been the height of untruth. Like a spider, he had spun his web carefully, lies smoother than silk, as he waited for his brother to ask that very question; he would now spring his trap.

"He isn't here. He thought that it was best to leave."

Alabaster's face fell slowly. Such near-palatable disappointment was enough to make the elder of the two feel rare pity. But, he knew that this had to be a clean break or the human would return and continue to put the soft-hearted Crystal Vampire in danger. He didn't need future sight to see what tragedy would happen next; it was something that would happen over Malakai's dead body.

"I see. Did he tell you when he will be back?"

"He didn't," Malakai said with a believable amount of detachment laced neatly between every word, "Although, if you ask me, I don't think that he WILL be back."

Alabaster's brows knit together in confusion. At that moment, the older brother wondered if he had overplayed his hand. Had he managed to keep his distaste for Simon Hart off of his lips? Upon reflection, no, not completely. It was a good thing, then, that he had a little something to distract his brother from his slip up, wasn't it?

"Congratulations, by the way."

"What do you mean?"

"I spoke to father. He kept leaving you out of the meetings with King Bennett and it just never seemed right to me. While it's true that you aren't much of a negotiator, you DO have your own charms and something more than just your powers to bring to the table; you have life experience. Many life times of it, really."

"I was.. I'm going to.. R-really?"

"Yes. That being said, we meet again with the human king tomorrow to discuss what happened. We need to put our heads together to see if we can't find a way to fortify Lenore. We must also reassure Lord Bennett that this attack did not come from our emperor, but rather, from a rogue insurgence. If you can remember something like this happening before and have suggestions, be sure to share it with everyone, yes? Ah, but that's tomorrow."

Malakai rose from his seat in one languid movement, before presenting Alabaster with a smile that proclaimed in not so many words that his younger brother had finally made it to the adult's table in a manner of speaking.

"Get some rest, Alabaster. You're going to need it."

Once Malakai stepped out of the room, he slowly closed the door behind him. Only once it was fully shut, did he allow his smile to fall. He was doing the right thing. He knew he was! But, just because something was right, didn't mean it felt good.

'Forgive me, brother.'

Alabaster smiled as his older sibling left, before sighing and letting his own facade slip away the moment he was alone. He pushed back the blankets, before rising to his feet, stumbling to the window to peer out. The moon was full tonight. There wasn't a cloud in the sky; it would have been a beautiful evening to spend with a certain someone.

Alabaster's heart ached, prompting him to place a hand over his chest, as if that alone could will away the pain; such a fool's errand. Especially when he had gotten the location of his troubles wrong. The source of his misery was surely stemming from the questions in his head that had no answers.

'Why?'

Alabaster leaned forward, resting against the cold glass before allowing the windows of his soul to slide shut. Why did Simon leave him? Why was he nowhere in sight, when he needed him most?!

The Crystal Vampire's power swelled, causing the castle's walls to reverberate like a thin sheet of glass. It was only the worried shouts of the guards and the shrieks of the maids that brought this to his attention. So wrapped up was he in his inner turmoil, that he could have moved Heaven and Hell and not even noticed. Alabaster sighed and shook his head, as he forced himself to regain some semblance of control. The walls stilled, no worse for wear.

'There is no point in feeling betrayed,' he told himself as he sank down into a nearby chair.

Simon Hart was just a human. Mortals like him were usually content to live calm lives, since they didn't have long on this Earth and were very fragile to boot. And this whole vampire affair? It had probably made him decide to do the sensible thing; to stop associating with Alabaster and any of his ilk. He had probably come to the conclusion that none of this had been worth the trouble in the first place; that ALABASTER had never been worth it in the first place.

Yes, that made perfect sense, didn't it? That's why Simon wasn't here and why Alabaster would probably never see the tailor with those bewitching, green eyes, sharp tongue and courageous heart, ever again. He- The vampire's thoughts came to a screeching halt as his heart gave another violent twist. He grit his teeth in torment. Could he really accept that? Could he bare to never see Simon again?