Night Children: Secrets are only secrets for so long

Night Children: Secrets are only secrets for so long Sixteen: Akward

Viktor entered his father’s study, Griever stood outside the door along with Lucid. The two Twilight Guardians, keeping guard of the royal family. The study Viktor knew well, it was windowless, so it was perfect for staying in during daytime attacks, not to mention the secret door that lead to a panic room. There were few who knew it existed.

“My son, take a seat,” Vincent said gesturing toward the chair on the other side of his desk. Viktor sat down in the overly conferrable seat. “We need to talk.”

“About the murder, I have a-”

“No, no, that will be cleaned up, don’t worry.” Vincent said interrupting his son.

“So you know who did it?”

“Not exactly, but I’ve been talking to the Blood Brigade, so I have a pretty good idea.” Vincent tapped his hand on the desk, seeming to be lost in thought, he came back to the real world and looked at his son, “but these matters are not what I have asked you to come here for.”

“And what is?” Viktor questioned feeling nervous under his fathers piercing stare.

“The Blood Moon is approaching.”

“Uh… so?” Viktor raised one eyebrow in question, why was his father talking to him of moons?

“Viktor, the month of the Blood Moon is when we Night Children mate.” Vincent felt a little awkward talking to his son of such things, but he was keeping out information. Viktor only needed to know the essentials- past that he might no go through with it. “You must mate with a human woman this month, and don’t kill her. This is the only time of year when this can happen, if the girl or girls can’t survive we must wait for another year to pass in hope to get a heir.”

“Awkward,” Viktor said keeping his eyes on the spotless ground. “So like… what I just start picking up human chicks?”

“No, they are frail, you need to find someone strong, who can survive, and I know who.”

“Really?” Viktor said rather surprised that his father was choosing his mate just like that.

“We had a prophecy of a saviour, and in this time when the women are weak, we have one that is strong, fearless, and completely committed to protecting Night Children.” Viktor raised a eyebrow hoping his father wasn’t hinting toward what he thought his father was hinting toward, “Evanangelique.” But he was.

“That would be considerably more awkward than this conversation.”

Vincent stared down his son, “the other women won’t survive, I can see that, in this time we are lucky to have Evanangelique, she is your saviour, the one who will give a heir,” Vincent felt he was right, their saviour was to be born female, it was the reason he had yet to kill the girl. She had a date with destiny.

“Let me get this straight,” Viktor said standing up, “you,” he pointed to his father, “want me,” pointed to himself, “to have sex with the girl I thought for seventeen years was a boy?”

Vincent sat his fingers interlaced and elbows propped on the desk, a cocky look on his face, “that is exactly what I want.”

“AWKWARD.”

“Keep your voice down,” Vincent scolded, “it is your duty to do this.”

“And how am I suppose to convince my best friend, who may I say again I though was a guy, to get in bed with me?”

“Just tell her too, she has to listen to your voice Viktor,” Vincent said.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not you’ve done it with dozens of others before.”

“That was…”

“Different?”

“Yeah.”

“Too bad,” Vincent said, “You better get on it, we are in the nights of the Blood Moon.”

When Viktor immerged he looked utterly crestfallen, “what the hell happened to you?” Griever asked when he and the prince were out of Lucid’s earshot.

“Mating season.” Viktor responded with a horribly dull voice, “why didn’t you warn me?”

“Didn’t know,” Griever responded, “only royalty can successfully mate with humans, perhaps a handful of aristocrats but for the most part the rest of us Night Children can only turn people, we can’t create through birth. And a lot of time humans can’t survive us turning them.”

“Oh.”

“There must be something serious though, I didn’t think you would mind mating so much, doesn’t sound much different from your ‘morning routine.’”

When they were both in Viktor’s room he spilled, “father picked the most likely candidate for survival, he is sure that she is the one that will provide me with a heir.”

“What? Is she ugly?”

“No quite beautiful actually,” he immediately regretted saying it aloud.

“Then what is your problem?”

“It’s… Evanangelique.”

“Oh… awkward.”

“You’re telling me, what should I do? I can’t just drop my voice and tell her to sleep with me.”

“I think it would work,” a glare from Viktor shut him up, “fine, woo her then. Get her to fall for you and gently perswade her to sleep with you before the end of the month.”

“What if she doesn’t make it?”

“To your date? This place is gated.”

“Smart-ass. I mean, what if she, like so many, die in mating?”

“You have centuries to get over it.” Viktor glared again, “look I’m not happy about that possibility either Viktor, I like Evan, she is a good kid, a good fighter, and given the chance a fine woman. I wouldn’t be happy if she were to perish, but she is human, and like all humans, they die.”

“What if I turn her first?”

“You can’t mate with a Night Child.”

Viktor crossed his arms over his chest, his father and the laws of his world made it utterly impossible for escape, he just had to hope Evanangelique was strong enough to survive.

~

The daylight peeked through the windows of the house. The furniture for the most part had been put back to its proper placement by Griever and Alana but there was still much to be done. I cleaned blood off things, doing my best to keep from crying as I did so. On the floor I found the picture I had drew of my mother sitting in her chair, I laid on the ground and cried for a good long while, holding the picture to my chest, how I missed her. I felt so lost.

I eventually found the strength to get off the floor, I put the picture in the top drawer of my dresser for safe keeping. I went down the hallway and found scrapes in the wooden floor, I bent down the scrapes were accompanied by blood and broken off fingernails. I was nearly sick twice as I cleaned it up. Further down, into my parent’s room, it was untouched. I picked up a black cross necklace my mother had wore and put it around my neck, I wandered around the room trying to remember them imprint them, their lives, to my memory. My mothers laugh, my father’s hard stare, the way when mom would scold me she would talk with her hands, or the way when dad was proud his smile would reach his eyes.

I changed into a pair of black pants and a dress shirt, unfortunately I still lacked a bra, so I put just one wrap around them. In the kitchen I started to make some food the way my mother had taught me. I sat down alone in my usual spot and ate, the silence of the house unsettling and enough to drive one mad. How did my mother do this every day?

I leaned back in my chair and thought of Viktor, Griever, and Alana. Would they come see me again? Or would I be forgotten, an insignificant piece in the long life of a Night Child?