Astarion x M!Reader

Ten

A strange expression flinched around the corners of his mouth. Even though Cazador likes to imagine himself superior to you he couldn't hide just how much you made his blood boil.

You bathed in that sight of his, how he clenched his jaw and glared down on you. As if that could have helped him get away with his rudeness.

The vampires had little laws, if any. But they all pretended they had one thing in common. Honour. They pretended they were people who respected their own.

It was also good manners not to attack the prey of their own kind. Especially if they held a rank in the natural hierarchy.

Admittedly, Cazador was their equal, but that didn't matter. He was in your debt, otherwise he would be called dishonourable. And a man as vain as Cazador could not afford such an insult.

A curse caught in his throat. He had no other choice. This realisation reflected on his face filled you with an irrepressible satisfaction.

You had to smile, even if you managed to make it look like a polite gesture.

"What do you want?", he growled from his throne.

For all the evils beyond this world, how laughable he looked. Like one great impostor. A servant who pretended to be a saint. How interesting that this was the first comparison your mind drew.

Saint.

How ridiculous. Cazador was far from a saint. Both from the bad and the good.

"You cost me four.", you said, and you were getting tired of repeating it.

He snorted. Of course he did, after all, he still thought he was in the right.

"I'll give you two.", he replied and gestured.

The room bent. Air gave way and for a moment your lungs contracted painfully. You knew that if he had wanted to, his powers would have had no effect on you. But he wanted you to feel what he was capable of.

Lights flickered and suddenly a row of his spawns stood there. Or rather, they were kneeling. How they had been inspected at the market.

How much was a life worth to Cazador?

"If they're good, two will be enough for me.", you said, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

Cazador laughed out loud.

"I beg you. My taste is exceptional."

You almost laughed in his face. But given the situation, this would have been stupid even for a man of your calibre.

Instead, you took a moment to inspire the victims presented to you. They were all men of different statures, races, sizes and ages. One of your eyebrows raised.

At least he hadn't forgotten after all these years that your taste in ladies was limited. But that didn't change how disappointing the pickings were.

Your nose twitched. There was no magic in the air. Only the stench of Cazador's power.

Disappointing, you mumbled and tilted your head. He would force you to choose on the spot. Because you had come to him to demand something, he could decide on the terms.

You would get compensation. But he had made sure that your options were more than puny.

"That's your choice?", your eyes fell on him.

Cazador tilted his head, resting his chin on his fist.

"You shall be able to choose everything in this room.", he tried his best to sound particularly generous.

You wrinkled your nose. A sound escaped you, somewhere between a sigh and a growl.

Your gaze fell on a man who looked very much like Albert. If you remembered correctly, he had once had a brother. Of course, this man could not be related to Albert, because he had come to you more than three hundred years ago to ask for immortality.

But if you couldn't get anything of value for yourself, why not make your darlings happy?

Perhaps Albert would recognise the resemblance and be pleased with him. For the sake of memory.

Your lips opened and you were about to make your first choice when all at once the door to the hall swung open.

A thunderous boom rang in your ears. Wind rattled the banners and the long billows of your robe. Then hasty footsteps followed.

Surprised, you took a step to the side as someone pushed you awkwardly by the shoulder to get into Cazador's field of vision.

Black eyebrows raised and a glint awoke in your enemy's red eyes. Interest tugged at the back of your head.

"Master!", that voice.

All at once, a shiver ran down your spine. It was strange, so incredibly strange. Normally, your sensitive ears were indifferent to voices. But this voice was different, this shiver felt warm.

Suddenly you found yourself wanting to hear that voice again. And you didn't have to wait long.

"Master.", the previous outcry was now louder, almost meek, as if the man had shrunk under Cazador's burning gaze.

"Astarion.", the vampire lord growled.

It was a warning, a promise and yet a welcome at the same time.

You frowned in irritation. Given his temperament, you would have expected him to burn the uninvited guest to ashes on the spot.

But far from it. Apart from a look that could kill, nothing followed.

"Forgive my intrusion.", the man next to you bowed so low that his forehead almost touched his legs.

Something flashed and caught your attention. For the first time, you let your eyes wander to him.

It was his hair. His hair had caught your eye, white and curved like the gout on the waves of the stormy sea.

Something stirred in the back of your mind again. You had seen him before. Or rather, you had noticed his hair. It was the same man who had been huddled on one of the beds in the dormitory.

Yes, of course. You could even smell the stench of the others on him.

But something was different. He seemed cleaner now, fresher. His skin showed no trace of the salt caused by sweating. And the wide, white shirt he was wearing was so clean that it was almost blinding.