Bleak Days (OPEN)

[Victor Castle]

Oh the damn sun, that heated ball of gas shining so brightly down upon his back as he made his way back to his pride and joy. It stung much like a fresh bug bite but it was constant, never stopping whenever he left work or his home to carry out necessary, daily errands.

Victor just gritted his teeth and carry on his way, shifting the brown paper bag in his arms. It was heavy but not too heavy for a thin man such as he, he lack much muscle like other men he frequently passed in the street. Victor was simply Victor, he cared not he looked physical but cared only that he was presentable when facing his customers and mother. They mattered, they affected his day-to-day activities.

His customers brought in money to pay the bills, whilst his mother, his sweet caring mother with her daily phone calls brought affection, warmth into his icy cold bleak little life. His life was constant, never-changing from day-to-day, from week to week and so on. Yet he still could not explain this annoyance, this feeling of the sun burning from beneath his skin. No doctor could pinpoint it's origin without his birth parents medical history. This was simply impossible! Victor had no clue who his birth parents were. He had long ago accepted that Castle was his true surname even though a piece of his heart was missing. It belonged to what had been lost, it had disappeared along with his memory that fateful day so many years ago.

His destination was the same as the day before, his home, his sanctuary tucked away between shops, in the business district of the great city of New York. Silver Tomes his beloved little book shop, there was nothing he did not have in stock from Norse Mythology to rare out of print books which collectors would drool at the mere sight or mention of.

This was his life but he was happy. Victor was truly a simple man, enjoying the simple pleasures that life brought. Dressed in his usual dark slacks, white shirt underneath his grey wool jacket topped by a green scarf draped over his shoulders he carried on his way, his emerald-green eyes, sharp and focused upon the path he travelled so often. It never changed, there was that same small yet quaint café on the corner before turned into the business district. Stopping there for his early morning cup of coffee, that necessary pick me up to help him through the wee hours of the morning. Yes he lived above his shop but still he visited that café each morning, after discovering it by chance one afternoon during his lunch hour. Strange what one passes by each day.

Soon enough he could see that cursive sign that he had personally designed in the distance. Victor was not perfect, he was an academic still soaring through most of his classes, except gym. It was the only class he received lower than an A grade, it was the time he had received an F. However that was not important, especially during this very moment in time. Something could his hawk eyes, a lone figure lurking outside his store. A customer maybe? Victor could only wait and see, he would have to wait until he reached his store that was.

[Cassandra Black]

There wasn't much life as a servant. Day in, day out she just worked throughout the sun, which vampires hated, and through the night, when they were at their most powerful. Let's say, Cassandra thought herself safer in daylight, when vampires weren't as powerful. She dug her hands in her scruffy pockets, and looked up at the sun's rays. So bright, today...New York City was having its sunniest day in a year. Cassandra, being human, wasn't fussed by the beautiful sun. But she noticed vampires that were.

Her eyes widened when she saw vampires racing, racing down the streets, desperate to get to work avoiding the sunlight. Cassandra sighed, and leaned on a bench. It was her only day's rest, and she was happy she could relax from her aching, tense muscles and spend the lovely summers day doing human stuff, like shopping (or looking around in Cassandra's eyes) and knowing you are 99% safe from the risk a vampire might jump out and bite you and drink till the very last strain of blood from your body is gone, and then make you fall to the ground, dead, your last words being "Ouch!"

Then Cassandra realized she'd banged her head at that precise moment, and had yelled "Ouch!" herself. She jumped a bit, knowing she hadn't meant to be attention-seeking by exclaiming everything out in public. Who would WANT to be around a small-for-her-age little servant such as Cassandra? Her beautiful pearly skin felt a bit overheated. She might get sunburnt if she stayed out much longer. She didn't have the sensitive skin of a vampire, but it was pale enough to be mistakened.

Then she remembered - the woman she'd met on the streets, who had taught her about families. "I have a family," she whispered to herself. "They're either dead or out there." She gazed upon the beautiful horizon, thinking about her family, and whether all was well or they'd taken a turn for the worst.

[Victor Castle]

Never before had he seen a woman act this way. Victor had seen plenty of women in his ‘short’ lifetime but not a single one acted like Cassandra did. He watched her closely on his approach, watching her clumsily bang her head. Nothing surprised him these days not even women who lay on benches, only to bang her head.

The gentleman in Victor could not let her remain there injured, not matter if it were small and unimportant. He had to help, he would never hear the end of this from his mother if he just walked on by. His emerald green eyes moved between the woman and his store several times, before he took a deep unneeded breath. The woman had won over his own profit and business. Heading over to Cassie, he shifted his groceries in his arm trying not to drop them, that was all he needed. His weekly shopping spread across the pavement beneath his feet.

“Miss?” He asked loudly as he drew nearer. A single dark eyebrow lifted as he gazed down at her. His business and few employees could wait a little longer for him to return. Thankfully it was mere meters away from the bench. Her words did not escape his sensitive hearing, Victor could never explain why his hearing was better than anyone else. Doctor just started confused at him, thinking he was simply lying but he hated to lie to anyone especially his mother and former lover. No wonder her betrayal destroyed him, frozen his heart.

“Are you alright?” He asked curiously, wandering about the statement. He would not voice his concerns just yet. Victor had not interacted with another woman since Lily, he had distanced himself from them. Customers and employees did not count, such interactions happened on a daily basis. His heart was still in a million pieces, waiting to be repair but how could he trust anyone not to betray him?

History could easily repeat itself, lightning could strike twice in one lifetime.

[Cassandra Black]

“Miss?”

A vampire. She knew it. Cassandra straightened herself, rubbed her head and glanced at the man. He had pale skin; definitely a vampire. She reached into her pocket and took out a tissue, dabbing her head and glancing. Uh-oh. Terrible, in front of a vampire. "My head's bleeding..." she murmured, glancing at the sickly redness in the tissue. Her eyes lifted to face the vampire. Would he drink from her? She had began to worry. She stuck the tissue on the bleeding wound and rubbed it in. Best cure.

“Are you alright?”

"Um, I hope- I mean, I think so," she said. The tissue was getting quite soggy, but it remained hidden. The last thing she needed was to lose her lifeblood. She pressed the blood-stained tissue against her head. "Do you have any tissues, please?" she asked politely. Her only day off was pretty hectic today. For once, she didn't care. She was used to being hurt. Bad luck she'd chosen to wear a short blue dress to show her scars and scabs on her legs, and she was getting pretty cold. She shivered. Her blue sparkly tiny size-too-small short-sleeved jacket wasn't much protection over her delicate white skin.

[Victor Castle]

His eyes were drawn to her slight wound, to the sight of blood. Victor could never understand where this strange urge came from, it arose out of nowhere. It had happened before, whenever he had accidentally cut his finger or hand when clumsily cutting up the meat for the family Sunday roast, or that time when Merrick had gotten into a fight and come back with cuts and bruises across his muscular body.

Each time had resulted in this terribly, almost sickening sensation rising through his body clutching at his heart and blood bubbled up and slid out the wound. Forcing his eyes downwards, focusing on her youthful face. “I have a first aid kit in the back of my shop” He remembered that he had initially purchased the small, fully stocked kit after one of his assistant had twisted her ankle falling down the stairs leading down to the shop floor one day.

“Can you stand?” He queried, curious whether she could move from the bench. If not he would happily assist her, Victor would not leave anyone would needed help in any shape or form, if he did what kind of gentleman would he be? He would be worse than his brother, the womanizing muscle man, more of a brute than anything else. He shook his head, answering her question with a firm no. Damn that was one thing had been missed on his errand, tissues.

Still he had his groceries in his arms but at the moment that did not matter. His own personal needs had to be put on hold. He had not noticed her short dress, his eyes never lingered below her face, he was not that kind of man. He hardly ever felt the need to ogle the opposite sex as if they were a piece of meat being dangled before him. No that would be betraying his heart, his shattered icy heart. For now his heart still was in the past, it still belonged firmly to Lily, even though she had cast him aside for another, for a dancer. However the one thing he did notice was the way she shivered as a gentle wind passed over them.

“Cold?” He asked, placing his full brown paper bags at her feet “Take my coat, it’s the least I can do” He said with a friendly smile. The various cans clink as they moved slight with the simple move, if she was cold then he would hand over his thick wool coat. Victor did not suffer with colds or any kind of chill that was something that had never affected unless it was blisteringly icy wind whipping through the city, only then would he feel something nip at his toes and finger tips.

[Cassandra Black]

“I have a first aid kit in the back of my shop”

"Oh, where is it? I'm freezing here, I need somewhere to be indoors," Cassie shivered. Then she remembered that she needed a tissue, not shelter. The sunny day had turned into a cold harsh wind, and Cassie wasn't used to being outdoors in the heavy winds. On her days off, it'd mostly been sunny. If not, it was Christmas and she was focused on her sledging skills. She shivered again by the harsh wind. If only she'd put her tights on before, she was freezing out there.

“Can you stand?”

Could she? Cassie stood up with great difficulty, then managed to, and felt her feet aching with the little weight on her body. Everyone called her an anorexic - what was it her fault she was barely given food? "Yes, but it hurts to," she said. What? It was a bump on the head! Maybe she was just imagining her feet hurt. She gave it a shake, only causing it to hurt more, and to pull a muscle. Oh, damn. She grimaced in pain then pulled out her last tissue, pressing it against her head, the blood seeping out.

“Cold? Take my coat, it’s the least I can do”

"Er, thanks, but my arms aren't really cold, because of my cardigan, I should've gone home and fetched some tights or leggings because my legs are cold," she said, the longest thing she'd said since arriving. But what was there to say?

[Victor Castle]

This girl was most strange, Victor was certain of this. She had initial acted stand offish when he first approached her with good intentions. He was sure that he had never seen her in the business district before, a girl with golden hair like her was something, no someone he would have remembered. His memory was not shot yet.

His shop was mere feet away from the bench, where she had been laying minutes ago. He had to get her out of this bitter cold and into the heat of his home. This cold was hardly affecting him but still any hot-blooded human could not last out in this weather for long, without getting ill one way or another. Whether it be by catching a cold or the cold settling in the muscles causing such pain, it was something this poor girl did not deserve.

“Come, it’s just across the road madam” He replied politely “If you want I can assist you to my shop if you wish, it would be quicker but it’s up to you” The ball was in her court, he could slip an arm around her waist, to let her relieve some pressure onto him. He imagined that she weighted next to nothing from her slight form.

“I don’t want you to catch a cold on top of the head injury, you have already suffered” He said, removing one arm then the other from his thick woollen coat, before draping the soft material of the coat over her shoulders.

“Come, it’s this way madam” He told her, trying to move her in the direction of his warm shop and out of the cold of this most bleak day.

[Cassandra Black]

Just up the road. Good. Cassie hobbled towards the man who asked if he could assist her. "Yes, please. That would be easier." Her feet suddenly really hurt. She had probably banged them against the leg of the bench when she banged her head on the arm.

“I don’t want you to catch a cold on top of the head injury, you have already suffered. Come, it’s this way madam”

Cassie followed him, limping slightly. Then she pulled herself together and tried to walk properly, grimacing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to distract you from anything. It seems odd how I just banged my head, but I think being kinda accident-prone runs in my... family." The word 'family' was flat and toneless. Cassie sighed, then walked, focusing on not grimacing when she walked properly.

[Victor Castle]

With an arm wrapped tightly around her waist, he took as much as weight as possible, in order to lessen the pain rushing through her, up from her feet. No woman in his opinion, deserved to suffer even from the smallest injury. His pace would be slow, this was for her sake to make sure that she suffer no further injury. The simple shop keeper would not forgive himself, especially he was the cause of any injury to any person.

His head turned left then right, checking to the non-existent flow of traffic, it was better to be safe than sorry especially at this time of the day. A car could easily speed around the corner at any moment, if they were in the middle of the road then anything could happen within seconds. He started to move towards his quaint book shop, taking slow steps nearing the curb with every step.

Crossing the road was not the easiest of tasks, juggling his shopping and Cassie as he moved. One moment the brown bags were slipping, threatening to spill open and collide with the road beneath their feet that simply would not do! A soft chuckle escaped his lips at the very thought that she was distracting him from some important task. No, that was not the case, he was only doing the right thing by help her out, any pure-minded, good gentleman in this city would do the same for an injured young woman such as she.

Silver Tomes grew closer and closer, that cursive scripture that always made him smile at the mere sight of it, was staring straight at him. “You didn’t distract me, I was on my way back to my shop that’s all” He replied honestly. Victor had finished all the important tasks for the day, his employees could handle the store front for one afternoon. The door was mere inches away, all he needed to do was retrieve his keys from his pocket, but in the present situation that impossible.

Oh what to do? Ah yes!

“I need to put my groceries down, you’re going to need to hold on just for a few moments more” He told her, before he starting to bend down.

[Cassandra Black]

“You didn’t distract me, I was on my way back to my shop that’s all”

Awkward silence.

“I need to put my groceries down, you’re going to need to hold on just for a few moments more”

Oh no. She felt a little faint. She was going to pass out. "I think I'm going to pass out," she whispered, her voice a bit croaky.

And then she did. Oops.

[Victor Castle]

Leaning down, if only for a moment Victor managed to place his brown paper grocery bags down. Now he could focus on the young woman, who was unstably balanced against his side, his arm, her only crutch in this moment in time. His hand thrust into his deep pocket, searching for the key to the front door, that familiar chill against his flesh and that welcoming jiggle as they moved whenever he moved.

Sharply he turned his head as she softly spoke, this was not good. Her body grew limp in his arms and if he didn't act quickly, she would slip out of his grip and collide with the cold, hard sidewalk beneath their feet. Removing his hand quickly, he wrapped his other arm around her, just under her arms, pulling her into him. This was not good. in this position he would not be able to reach his set of keys, he would have to wait for his assistant, his manager.

Five minutes later

The nerve in his forehead was starting to throb, growing increasingly more frustrated with the looks he was receiving as the minutes rolled by. Sure it was strange to see a young woman unconscious in the arms of a strange-looking man, standing outside a closed book shop. His intentions were anything but pure, he just wanted to help Cassie, get her out of the cold before dealing with the wound upon her head. A familiar brunette appeared, spotted out of the corner of his eye. The tension upon his face chipped away, ever so slightly as it meant this plight would be soon resolved and Cassie would be warm and on the road to recovery very soon.

"Now what do I see before me" The cheeky nature of his assistant assaulted his senses, the man could easily get on his nerves, destroy his absolve in an instant but still he was one hell of a manager. "A young innocent maiden draped in the embrace of the ice king himself" He chuckled loudly, enjoying the sight before him. Strangers could not help but curiously stare at the five foot six blue-eyed man laugh almost frantically at the plight of his employer and somewhat friend, that often depended on the mood of Victor, which could and would change almost daily.

"I have no time for foolishness Nathaniel,open this door" Victor demanded coolly, not wanting Cassie to freeze a minute longer. "This is not what it looks like" He soon added, not wanting the man standing mere inches away to get the wrong end of the stick, as he often did. Nathaniel tilted his head to the side, his manicure left-hand drove into his jeans pocket, fishing out his set of keys. "Whatever you say Vic" He shot back, a smirk playing on his lips not entirely believing his boss but the sight was an improvement in the right direction.

In his opinion, Victor needed some fun in his nights but maybe this one was a tad young for the dark-haired, thin pale skinned man who held her like she was a fragile, porcelain doll. The man was too much for a gentleman sometimes. Moving forward, he inched between Victor and the door, making quick work of lock, he pushed the door inwards but not before picking up the almost forgotten shopping.

Victor waited patiently, once the door was open he hurried inside.

[Cassandra Black]

Cassie woke up feeling light-headed. She had forgotten a bit of what had happened, but she felt her head and there was a small bump. The events came back to her and she let her head flop back on the ground. Wait, it wasn't ground. She had been picked up by someone. "What's going- where am I?" she asked curiously. She had no idea where she was, she was being carried by someone - a man, most likely a vampire... She was confused. Very confused.

"Who are you?" she asked the man holding her, and she realized this place looked awfully like a bookshop. Perhaps the shopkeeper had found her with her head bleeding, and taken her back. That sounded like a well enough story. Cassie felt the bump on her forehead and it throbbed with pain when the tip of her finger touched it.

[Victor Castle]

"Nathaniel, you're in charge this afternoon" He told his trustworthy employee as he headed for the backroom, with Cassie still balanced comfortably in his arms. "Also bring the bags in, the kitchen is now fully stocked for the coming week" He added quickly as he passed the stunned man.

Victor walked through the shop, past the counter and through the partially opened door that lead into the back, the part of the shop that only his employees saw. The small yet homely kitchen which doubled as the staff room. It had initially just been a spare room, an unused part of his apartment before he had outfitted it for his staff. Afterall they worked day in and day out, with no compliments falling at his door.

His feet moved towards the deep blue sofa, located in the far corner beneath a rounded window. Cassie was light in his arms, it was almost like he was carrying a feather pillow, not a living breathing human being. "It's alright Miss" He tried, wanting to calm her down or he might end up dropping her, which would likely end up further injuring her. It would not be the ideal result for Victor, oh no he would prefer to help or harm Cassie.

With haste, he doubled his pace. Soon he was standing before the sofa, carefully he leaned down, lowering her onto the cushions."You are in the back room of my bookstore" Victor informed her, smiling down at the confused young woman before him. "I believe you banged your head" He mumbled through his explanation, as he had not witnessed the event, Victor could only come to the most logical conclusion.

"How rude of me, I'm Victor Castle" He replied warmly, take a seat at the table opposite where she now lay. "Might I enquire your name miss?" He asked politely, curious at who this young woman was, and how she ended up injured on his doorstep. She was clearly in agony, a nasty side effect from her fall. Victor was certain that there was a new pack of painkillers under the sink. Standing up he headed over to the sink, taking a glass off the sideboard. The water soon flowed from the tap, filling the glass.

Victor's hand turned the tap off as quickly as he turned it on. Placing the full glass on the side, he set to work to find the painkillers. "I'm sure they are here somewhere" He muttered frustrated to himself as he carried on searching the many cupboards above and below the sink.

[Cassandra Black]

"You are in the back room of my bookstore I believe you banged your head"

Ohh. She had banged her head? No wonder there was a lump. It felt like a heart was thumping in the bump, and Cassie felt it worriedly. Cassie looked up at the man. "D-Did..." She couldn't ask that. The man didn't look like the type of man who would drink from someone who had just banged their head badly. "No.." She whispered to herself and asked, "Where's Des? Did Ina do this? Des is back in the coven!" She was jumping to and from everything, and she felt like she had a really bad headache.

"How rude of me, I'm Victor Castle. Might I enquire your name miss?"

"C-Cassandra... Black." She muttered. Probably the man would not hear her. "Did they take my mum? The people... in the carriage... did they take my family? They.. they took me... Where are my family? Where's Mum?" She was so worried. When she had passed out, she had a vision about the night where the men took her, and possibly killed her family. They had sold her, and then the vampires had crashed the young human's dreams. "The vampires - I didn't see them... Are they in prison?" She blinked, this was all so confusing.

[Victor Castle]

Poor girl, she was clearly highly confused as it seemed that the bump to her head was worse than he initially thought. Cassie sounded like she was suffering from a concussion but her thought pattern and grip on fact and fiction was becoming blurred together. After all vampires were creatures of fiction, they simply did not exist but at the same time, something in the back of his mind pricked for a moment, something about the word vampire felt familiar, felt right and homely but that could not be!

This was reality and vampires were fantasy. Victor would not confuse the two, this was his life, a small part of a wider story and fantasy was not part of this. Finally his hand found the small, off-coloured package that held the painkillers, quickly he popped two out of the slip. He headed back to the sofa, glass of water in one hand, tablets in the other. “Here, this will help with the pain” He held out his hands for her to take what was held in each.

He could not help to think, who was Des? Who was Ina? Were they, her friends? Her family? Or had they been the ones who caused her injuries? This question for now, would go unanswered as if he pressed her too hard, he feared that he might cause her unwanted stress or drive her to move too sudden which would end up with her having another injury inflicted upon her person, by accident by either her hand or his. This was situation that he would have to tread lightly, walk on eggshells always thinking before speaking, before acting.

“Miss Cassandra, please you need to calm down” He started, trying to sooth her obvious anxiety. “You are safe here, you had a bad accident” Victor was trying to explain what he knew, even if was clearly very limited. Her family? This had taken a strange turn. Had she been the victim of a terrible crime? Had something happened to her family in the moments before finding her? Victor was simply speechless, he did not what to say, how to react to such words.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry” He apologized, turning his gaze away from her. Wanting to look anywhere but her face, not wanting to see her sorrow, her plight. “Vampires aren’t real miss Cassandra” He boldly added, sighing before the phone by the sink started to ring.