Astarion x M!Reader

Two

Horren strode unperturbed down the long corridor of the archive without paying attention to the young man who was breathing down his neck like an insect.

Smirking, you pranced across the wooden beams to follow the conversation. Wood nestled into your bare feet. When one barely touched the ground, one didn't need to wear shoes.

"Constable.", Brennan grabbed the older man by the arm.

All at once, a sharp expression awoke in Horren's icy blue eyes. He tugged his arm back and freed himself from the grip. Silent anger and a warning were visible on his face.

Your eyes narrowed. There were a few small wrinkles around his eyes and nose. That meant he must have laughed a lot once. Or at least smiled.

"You're just an apprentice.", said Horren.

Brennan frowned.

"And yet you came to me!", he protested.

Horren's eyes darted through the corridors full of books.

"Don't worry, constable.", you purred from the beams, elbows propped on your knees. "I won't tell anyone."

As if he had heard you, he turned his head again to look round. Only when he was really sure that no one was close by did he lean down to the younger man and hissed a few words to him.

"I came here because people say a lot of good about you.", he said. "But even with a good reputation, it's doubtful whether you can defeat something like the black plague."

The hairs on the back of your neck prickled.

So the decision had been made. It would be Horren who accompanied you home that night.

The black plague had started to wreak havoc a few years ago. When it started, people were dying like flies. The solution was obvious: just kill the rats in the city because they were carrying the unwanted disease.

But although the people built huge walls for their own safety and utilised the magic of this world, they were also very short-sighted. For them, they were signs of evil. An evil that would have come very close to your kin if they had known what you were.

Many people still doubted the existence of certain creatures such as witches or vampires. This was partly due to the behaviour of these creatures, who were simply far too happy to pretend to be mortal beings and live among them as if they were completely normal.

On the other hand, it was the fault of the simple folk themselves, for they told their children fairy tales as if those who appeared in them did not even exist.

And once again a smirk danced around your lips as you tilted your head up, tipped your chin and whispered into the shadows. Even if a vampire could partially transfer their powers to the spawns, you didn't want to take the risk that your other darlings could come to harm.

They should prepare the room and then retreat. After all, there were more than enough things to occupy them in your manor than the newcomer.

Your gaze dropped again and this time there was something dark in your eyes.

Horren had just finished arguing with Brennan and turned his back on him again. This time the young man did not run after him. Instead, he stared at the bag in his hand, rocking it back and forth and jingling the coins inside.

"You should keep it, sweet Brennan.", you breathed down to him while your eyes lit up red.

Confused, his head turned in all directions. But then he pocketed the money and returned to his table to read a book.

How restfully simple people were. You had almost forgotten.

Horren had already disappeared out of the door and into the night when you stood up on the rafters and took a long step backwards.

The wind rushed around your ears. Strands of your (H/C) hair bent upwards.

In the next moment, the shadows stretched out their long fingers towards you. They wrapped around your body, your chest, all the way up to your neck. The light was swallowed up before your eyes and before you had blinked, a road appeared.

Cold stone nestled against your bare feet. A light breeze blew through the artfully trimmed trees planted along the roadside.

Your eyes wandered through the night. Although it was dark, you could see. Better than in daylight. Though that wasn't surprising, since you were a creature of the shadows.

Again, a wind tugged at your robe of silver silk. Platinum chains pressed against your chest, which was visible thanks to the generously cut neckline.

You felt nothing of all this, neither from the cold wind nor from the weight of the chains. You were probably wearing tens of thousands of gold coins all over your body as jewellery. Almost all of it sparkled in silver. But it wasn't, because you had already felt the touch of silver before.

The memory still made you gag.

As befitted an immortal, you waited. A few minutes passed. Perhaps more.

How could you have known?

Your sense of time had been lost centuries ago.

A small figure flitted past on your right. Your eyes twitched, a hand darted forward and wrapped itself around its small neck.

Feebly, the rat tried to squirm in your grip, but you squeezed and snapped the little neck as if it were nothing but rotten wood.

"My apologies little beast.", you cooed and threw the furry ball into the river under the bridge. "But there seem to be too many of you. You are a real nuisance."

Footsteps tickled the tips of your slightly pointed ears. They were not as long as those of elves, but not as round as those of humans either. The underside had grooves, as was common in tieflings.

"Who are you talking to?", there it was again, that pleasant scratching in the back of your head when Horren made use of his fine voice.

A smirk played around your lips as you turned to him.

"A pleasant night for a walk, isn't it, constable?", you asked.

He looked at you impassively. The blue of his eyes sparkled in the moonlight. He was really tall for a man, even taller than you, even though no mortal blood flowed through your veins.

Suddenly a movement flitted across his face. His eyes narrowed to slits. Suddenly, his hand brushed aside his long cloak and rested on the pommel of his sword.

"What are you, my lord?", he took a defensive stance.
"Answer me quickly or I will kill you."