Son of Dracula ||Book Two||

Dorodo

By the time I returned home, I was in a better mood. Being able to relax and be out on my own had helped calm me and put my mind at ease. I was thankful my family had little questions for me, merely happy that I was out of my room I'm sure. Around father, I kept my tongue held tight and simply kept my head down. I was tired of fighting.

Despite not knowing if the figure I had seen was real or not, my hope never vanished like I had thought it would. Each night before I fell asleep, I sat awake and waited. I jumped at every noise from my room, anxious that she would reappear before me. If she followed the same pattern as last time, I'd be able to follow her and anticipate it more. Perhaps the next time, I could catch her.

However, she didn't return the next night. Or the night after that. Or the night after that one either. In fact, a month passed by without her return. Snow fell again, covering all the tracks that I had left in my pursuit of her. Soon enough, there wasn't a single remnant except my memory of that night.

Within that month if I grew restless, I would walk myself out to the forest. Father never mentioned it, but I assumed he thought I was finally giving into feeding like he had hoped. Whenever I returned, he'd thoroughly examine me searching for blood. Each time, he was discouraged. I ignored it and merely focused on what made me feel at ease; the tree that the woman that I thought was mother had led me to.

I climbed to the tallest branches and allowed myself to silently gaze up into the nighttime sky. It was far prettier here than on the roof. Here, I could practically feel the life and energy of the stars. I could feel their light upon my skin and it always seemed as though I could jump and join them.

Going in the middle of the night was always quiet too. Hardly any humans or animals were awake, though there was the occasional pack that would travel beneath me. Sometimes, I could sense humans in the forest as well but they never saw me. One human stood out in particular. It wasn't every night, but it was often enough for me to make note of the pattern. The human would leave the village and wander deep into the forest where they would stay for an hour or so, then returned themselves to their home. I carefully avoided their routine, not wanting to be caught within it.

The longer I went without seeing her again, the more I wondered if I had been dreaming or imagining her. I tried to force myself to remember small moments from that night, perhaps something that I had missed or forgotten, but there was nothing new.

"Leo? Are you coming out tonight with us?" Caelum's voice interrupted my thoughts, pulling me free from my mind.

I glanced up from the ground, blinking back to reality as I realized how deep in thought I had been. I felt as though the weight of the world rested upon my shoulders, surprising me that no one had noticed. "When have I ever?" I smiled, trying to make light of the situation. I put my feet on the table and leaned back in my chair, trying to not notice the faltered look on my younger brother's face.

Caelum shrugged and stood up, switching to sitting on the table. He pulled a striped ball from his pocket and tossed it in the air, catching it when it fell. There were a few tosses that the ball disappeared from our sight, only to return in a different hand. It was just another one of his magic tricks. "Just wondering."

"Maybe you and father would finally start getting along if you decided to go." Alistair's voice echoed from the aisles of books nearby. It was surprising that he hadn't read all the books in our library yet, but judging by how often he dragged us here it was clear it would be a while before he'd accomplish that.

"Maybe," I began, letting my tone slip away for just a moment, "father and I would start getting along if our views matched." It was easier to be more like myself in front of them than our father. I glanced at Caelum to see how he would react to my change in tone.