The Man With The Gloves (mxmxmxm)

1. The Great Departure

"I've tried joining. Didn't work out."(Game of Thrones, Season 6 Episode 8, 'The Hound')

"Our son is strong enough as it is, Camelia. Did you see him beat all the tutors we hired to train him in martial arts? Besides, he just turned three-hundred years old. He's no longer a child you constantly have to worry about."

Fayez, who had been packing his belongings for the last thirty minutes, stopped what he was doing to intently listen to his parents' barely whispered words. 

It humoured him, how they spoke about him as if they were unaware that he was just in the next room. When he was a toddler, he was always annoyed by the fact that everyone seemed to be all too aware of his presence, talking about him behind his back and looking at him with frightened expressions. 

Everything changed after that dramatic event, when he accidentally killed a little girl, the only friend he ever had. After that, not only did he wisely kept his gloves on at all times, but he also did his best to keep his social interractions with the others residents of the castle to the strict minimum. Gone was the daring, lively little boy. Even his parents didn't get more than a few words out of him on a daily basis. 

Gradually, the beautiful but doomed creature, about whom there was so much gossips, became a mere presence, one that you could easily forget about. He turned into a docile, studious teenager but, as vampires age much more slowly than human beings, you could tell that there was still a fire burning under this impassive exterior, and that being the perfect little child was boring him to death - no pun intended. 

Now, he was three-hundred years old, which equated to twenty-one years old in the human world. He was a powerful, educated, level-headed young lad. Although his business required most of his energy, and he was a very busy man who didn't have much time to devote to his family, Fayez's father was very proud of him. As for the servants, they saw Fayez as a polite and impartial young master, and that was more than enough for them. The only person who sometimes seemed to regret the old Fayez was his mother. 

"Robert, please. Fayez might look strong and intimidating on the outside, but he is my son and I know him - although, not as much as I used to. Under his though appearance, there's a wild, wary little boy who's still traumatized by -"

" You're being overly dramatic. All I see is a fine-looking adult vampire."

"Then you're being in denial"

"Camelia! Must I remember you that you're the one who suggested that it was time for him to go face the real world?"

"I know, alright? I know, and I am sure that it's the right thing to do, as he is not happy here. Still, I can't help being worried about him leaving the castle. We're all he's ever known! He might be clever, but compared to the other students, he will be too innocent, too unexperienced. Besides, how will he handle being around strangers all the time? Can you really picture him in a dormitory? For Christ's sake, I think the last time I heard the sound of his voice was two days ago, when he asked me to pass him the salt during the dinner. He's not fit for community life"

Well, thanks for the boost in confidence, mum, Fayez thought with a sour expression, before taking his luggage and discreetly entering the room where his parents were still arguing about him. 

"... like a sheep in a den of wolves!"

"Mother, Father, I'm ready to leave now" 

Upon hearing their son's monotonous voice, his parents startled and looked at Fayez with a guilty expression. 

"Oh, hi, darling. Didn't hear you coming." his mother sheepishly told him. 

"We were talking about how we believe in you, and are convinced that you will have an amazing time at the Institute for Supernatural Beings" his father had the audacity to add, which almost caused Fayez to snort, because did they really believe he was that gullible?