#slyeeye

The castle wasn’t the same to me anymore. The same blood-drenched cobblestone floors didn’t give me the same comfortable feeling as it used to, and the stained-glass windows that shielded us from the sun didn’t make me feel any safer. Victor was to blame, for making me feel like everything I thought I knew was a lie.

Him? Jealous? Why? And of what? I wasn’t sure of anything other than the fact that I hated and loved the way he made me feel, simultaneously. I laughed at myself, because as Lord Byron once said, “Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.” And I cannot argue with a man as wise as Mr Byron was.

The sun was setting, and I was getting ready to head out. I couldn’t stand to be here anymore, full of people checking on my wounds and asking me how I was feeling. Even though I told him that I felt no worse than a mild case of barrel fever, they still insisted on fussin’ about. Like, goodness, I wasn’t down in the blazes just yet.

Even Josephine, who usually spent her time nagging me and telling me I was no more useful than a cow with no legs, was buzzing around me like a persistent fly. I needed to spend some time outside of the castle, away from people who knew about me and Victor. Away from Victor himself. Remind myself of why I’m better off far away from him, and people like him.

I pulled on a wee vest and tied a bandana around my neck, making sure I had my best cowboy hat on. I chucked on a holster and sheathed a pistol. Whether or not I would actually have to use it, I didn’t care. I just wanted the protective weight of a lethal weapon on my thigh, just in case the fangs didn’t cut it.

Just as I went to yank open the big heavy doors, I heard the beat of a small pair of wings above me. I sighed, letting the doors fall shut.

“Alright then,” I almost yelled, leaning against the wall in defeat. “Y’all caught me. I don’t want no bobbery. I just want some time to myself.”

The bat did not reveal itself. It just fluttered from corner to corner, keeping an eye on me. I tapped my boot on the ground, impatiently.

“Look, I’m just headin’ out to have me a dandy old time,” I told the bat, showing my palms in surrender. “And then I’ll be back. “I only get out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone.” Lord Byron said that, you know.”

The bat morphed from a winged rat into a fully fleshed human right before my eyes. Victor smirked from the other side of the room, whilst I rolled my eyes.

“I’m leavin’,” I groaned.

“Hold on,” Victor called, hooking his thumbs through his belt loops. “I just wanna talk.”

“Well, I don’t wanna talk to you.”

“I’m mighty sorry for what I said to you in the hospital last night,” he said, head bowed in sincerity. “And for the unnecessary squabble in the crypt.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not up for any jests.”

“Not a jest, Alistair,” Victor swore, taking a dangerous step forward. He took his hat off in one sweep, and pressed it against his chest. “I shouldn’t have confused the way I did, and I shouldn’t’ve stabbed you when I really wanted to kiss you. That was burrow milk of me, and I’m very sorry.”

I blushed beneath the brim of my pristine cowboy hat. Kiss? Me? Surely, he made a mistake. Surely, it’s just a jest. It cannot be fact that Victor ‘No Teeth’ Church, fancies a small little vampire cowboy such as I.

“I must go—”

I start for the door, but Victor is there before I can open them. His hands move to either side of my face, bringing even more heat to my cheeks.

“Forgive me,” he begged, his eyes boring into mine, shining with tears. “Please, Alistair, forgive my foolishness. I act madder than an old wet hen when I feel things I think I’m not supposed to feel. Like affection, and desire.”

I want to look away, but I can’t. I think I want to move away from his grasp, but I can’t. It feels as if my face was destined to be cradled by his paws.

I peel away from his touch and whisper, “I forgive you.”