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The Thing with Feathers

Chapter 6: Annabel Lee

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea,

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

 

-Edgar Allen Poe


 

Viktor’s eyes peel open slowly as the light of the morning washes over him. The first thing he notices is that he’s warm—and it’s not from the sunlight. He hums quietly, still half asleep, and turns over to the body next to him. A small smile curves on his face, eyes lighting up as they set sight on the source of his sun. He nudges his lover, but the human groans in resistance, swearing that he’d get up if only Viktor would give him just five more minutes of sleep, pretty please?

 

Victor chuckles with mirth, eyes softening as they roam over the naked body of the man next to him. He hasn’t felt this relaxed in so long. Hasn’t felt this safe in eons. He could give a million excuses as to why, but he knows there’s only one reason why he’s finally...happy for once, and Viktor was staring right at him. So of course he acquiesces to the pleads of the tired human—when he looked so cute all ruffled in sleepiness, how could he not?

 

Instead of pushing his lover to get up, Viktor burrows deeper into the blankets, sighing into the other’s neck in bliss. While a lot of his other vampire brethren seemed to think that humans were stupid and mere food, Viktor found the company of a certain human quite...nice. And warm. So very warm that all he wanted to do was stay in bed with him all day and abandon the entirety of his responsibilities.

 

Instead of five minutes, Viktor lies in a state of semi-consciousness, wrapped in a protective cocoon around his lover until the sun had risen far above the open window. When at last he could really no longer shirk his duties, Viktor kisses the human softly on the cheek.

 

“Wake up, love.”

 

At last, speckled jade eyes twitch open begrudgingly.

 

Viktor smiles to shame the sun and he, a mere human has no form of defense against that.

 

The vampire plants another kiss on the forehead of his Donor.

 

“Good morning, Gabriel.”

 


 

It’s the cold that rouses him up, creeping through past his blankets and clothes.  Yuuri wakes up in his dimly lit room, shivering. He stares at the dead embers in the fireplace and inwardly berates himself for not putting in more firewood.

 

The curtains in the room are drawn back, but it makes no difference. The winter sun is not so kind to anyone this morning. He winces at the harsh light and places one foot on the icy ground before walking to the fire and stoking it back to life.

 

Once satisfied with how much the room has warmed up, Yuuri washes up, slips on his clothes and prepares for another day of this...life he’s been living for the past week.

 

He’s pretty much healed from the werewolf attack, but Viktor only smiles silently when he asks him if he can leave. And Phichit is even worse, practically twitching from anxiety whenever Yuuri even brings up the topic of straying from the manor.

 

So, in conclusion, he’s currently planning another prison break, very soon.

 

But in the meanwhile...he’s been learning how to read and write.

 

And for free, he might add.

 

Most lower-class humans have been forbidden to learn writing (in order to prevent revolts against vampires) and Yuuri was no exception. However, for the past few days, it seemed as though Viktor had personally burdened himself with such a loathsome task. He saw it fit to be Yuuri’s personal tutor, and despite the former’s reservations, he had to admit—Viktor was a pretty decent teacher.

 

He barely manages to slide on his socks when the knock comes, like clockwork on his door.

 

After a quick announcement that he was coming in, Phichit pokes his head in and smiles.

 

“Breakfast?”

 

It’s his favorite word of the day honestly. Not to mention that Phichit was an amazing cook. He makes a mental note to bring up the topic of katsudon to his friend.

 

Together they head into the kitchen, where Phichit has whipped up a particularly Western-styled breakfast, with sausages and bread. Yuuri eats alone, staring at the empty seat across from him. Even though Phichit will indulge him occasionally and sip on a glass of blood tablets while he munched on his food, Viktor never did. 

 

Maybe because the thought of breaking bread with him would be too intimate, or vulnerable for the vampire.

 

Either way, he never asks.

 

After he’s done, Yuuri thanks Phichit and heads to the library.

 

Before he even steps in, Yuuri could tell that he was in a...mood today.

 

While he could usually predict and avoid Viktor’s tumultuous mood swings, Yuuri had no chance because the vampire had seemingly just…shut off today.

 

As he walked in, he could make out Viktor standing by the window, the harsh winter light seemingly to soften when it touched his skin, like somehow nature was more forgiving with her most marvelous subjects.

 

Yuuri entered the library and sat down quietly at their usual table. Viktor hardly seemed to notice, his gaze fixated outside the window, staring at something Yuuri wished he could see.

 

After several minutes had slouched by, he finally turned around and settled across from the human. Without a word, he silently motioned for Yuuri to continue practicing how to write different words and short sentences.  Even when Yuuri wrote a letter wrong or asked for advice, the vampire noble barely uttered a single sound.  And perhaps most surprising of all, Viktor made zero passes at Yuuri today—no jokes or compliments, or brushing his fingertips against his arm.  Yuuri would never admit it to anybody in a million years, but…he enjoys it when Viktor doles out attention like that on him. 

 

The hour seemed to drag by like bruised knuckles on the ground and Yuuri cringed inwardly at every moment; the only noise in the room coming from the scratching of his pencil on paper and even to his human ears, it was deafening.

 

At last, Viktor rose from his chair, and said, “That’ll be it for today, Yuuri.”

 

His voice sounded hollow, and his eyes were blank.  It was terrifying.

 

As he turned to leave, Yuuri stood to stop him.

 

“Wait.”

 

His brows furrowed in concern he didn’t know he had for the vampire.  “Viktor, are you…okay?”

 

Viktor turns around and for the first time that day, Yuuri saw something alive flicker behind his icy eyes. 

 

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair.  “You shouldn’t be worrying about me, of all people.”

 

And before Yuuri could conjure up something else to say, Viktor was already gone.

 


 

“I need to know what happened.” Viktor’s voice is low and serious. For Yakov, it reminded him of the cruel and merciless killer beneath Viktor’s lackadaisical mask. 

 

However, Yakov knew that this question was a long time coming.

 

He sighs, and sinks deeper into his chair. “I was wondering when you were going to ask me this, Vitya. “

 

The Chistaya-Krov doesn’t say a word, only stares blankly at his half-empty glass of wine. Yakov takes it as his cue to continue. 

 

“After you were poisoned by…by your previous Donor, he was immediately killed. Execution by hanging, if I remember correctly. You disappeared, and we all thought you were dead. I thought you were dead, Vitya.”

 

Viktor sinks lower into his chair. He stays silent for minutes, mind whirling deeper and deeper until he can feel himself looking over the very vortex threatening to drown him.  At last he asks the next question Yakov knew was inevitable.

 

He mumbles it so softly that despite for Yakov’s vampiric hearing, he can barely make out the words.

 

“Where is he?”

 


 

Yuuri wraps his arms around himself, shivering in the cold. He steps through the snow and half-heartedly kicks it. The sight of him wandering throughout the vast area outside of the mansion is almost silly, but it beats being stifled inside all day with Phichit chasing after him. He makes short trips outside of the house every day, and while he tells his Thai vampire friend that it’s just to get his exercise, it’s really so that he can plan his escape. So far within the last few days, he’s been able to draw a map of within a kilometer of the manor.

 

Always within sight of the watchful Phichit, of course, but the moment the vampire slips up is when he’ll make his escape.

 

Today is no different, and since he’s finally recovered enough, Yuuri plans to map out one key area that he has yet to explore: the north of the manor.

 

The main obstacle to his search was the massive hill that he had to climb. However, now that he was healed, he figured it would give him a good vantage point of the surrounding area.

 

Yuuri makes his way up the steep incline, eventually starting to sweat despite the freezing temperatures. It seemed as though the hill was fighting him itself, because he had to trudge through so many trees and debris. When at last he reached the top, breaking through to the clearing, he was exhausted and panting for breath.

 

He mentally reminds himself to be in better shape when he finally does escape and nearly collapses into the snow.

 

A flash of grey disrupting the white landscape around him steals his attention from his exhaustion.

 

At first, he thinks he might be mistaken, but as he moves closer, his heart sinks into his stomach as his mind tries to understand what he’s seeing.

 

“Who is that?”

 


 

Phichit is furious, and even Viktor is mildly surprised when the vampire turns around and snaps, “You cannot use Yuuri like that, sir.”

 

Viktor shrugs on his coat, and the other vampire’s protests fall immediately on deaf ears. Still, he presses on.

 

“It’s not going to work! Yuuri doesn’t even like you. He told me himself.”

 

The silver-haired vampire again ignores him and wraps his scarf around his neck. Such silly human habits—scarves and coats and all. He’d never felt the cold a day in his life. It was a pretense of docility, he figures. 

 

Viktor grabs the handle of the door, but in one last act of desperation to be heard, Phichit slams it shut, terrified as he does so. At last, Viktor acquiesces and raises one questioning eyebrow.

 

The younger vampire does not rise to meet his gaze. He looks down as he mutters, “This isn’t right, sir. You can’t use Yuuri like that. Can’t you see that he betrayed you a hundred years ago?”

 

Viktor pulls the door open despite Phichit’s strength. His eyes are cold as steel, determination scorched into blue depths and Phichit's hands go cold as he realizes there is no changing the other man's mind. 

 

“I want to know why, and if Yuuri's human life is the price for my curiosity, then so be it.”

 


 

Yuuri stares at the unmarked grave sitting atop the hill. It’s plain, a simple tombstone, barely noticeable buried underneath the snow.

 

He inches closer, but somehow…it feels wrong. Like he’s crossing into dangerous territory. Like he’s peering into something private, something that he should not be seeing.

 

Still, he feels sad.

 

He doesn’t know this person buried here, but it seemed so melancholy to him that nobody else did too; the blank headstone seemed so unfair.

 

This person had lived, shouldn’t they be remembered in death for it? Shouldn't something mark your time on the earth, something that could last on, even just for a little, after you were gone? 

 

Without thinking, he finds himself settling into the snow next to the headstone. And even more laughable, he starts talking to the deceased person buried there.

 

“Hi there, um my name is Yuuri. I’m sorry I don’t know your name.”

 

Almost comically, he waits for a response, and then shakes his head.

 

“What am I doing…?” he mutters to himself.

 

Yuuri falls silent and simply sits by the grave, the snow continually coming down until he’s blanketed by a thin layer of white. He says a quiet prayer for the unknown soul and departs back to the mansion. 

 


 

Viktor stares from the trees as he watches Yuuri talk to Gabriel’s tomb. Even from his distance, he can still make out the nervous pitch in Yuuri’s voice.

 

He finds it endearing, how kind Yuuri was, even to someone he would never know. Without even having to ask him, he knew Yuuri pitied the poor being who was buried there, with no name and nothing that indicated that they had once lived.

 

When at last Yuuri leaves, Viktor follows.

 

He doesn’t need to visit his grave.

 

He knows who is buried there, after all.

 


 

Yuuri moves down the hill slowly, grabbing onto trunks and branches to maneuver down. He had been so caught up on talking to the grave, that he had completely forgotten about surveying the area and marking it down on his map. 

 

Despite this, he didn’t feel disappointed. No, he would’ve felt disrespectful had he done that in front of the unmarked tomb. Instead, he decided that he would make a farther trip away from the manor the next day to fill out his map more wholly.

 

As he makes his way through the brush, he sees the light of the house, finally realizing how much time he had spent on his little adventure today.

 

It’s so dark that he doesn’t see him coming until it’s too late.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuri sees a flash of something that looks like…blonde hair?

 

But he doesn’t have time to pay attention to that because one moment he’s walking, and the next he’s hitting the ground.

 

“Oof!”

 

The snow softens his fall, and Yuuri instinctively brings his arms closer to shield himself as he’s thrown across the ground.

 

Is it the wolves again? Shit, do I have time to scream?

 

He scrambles to his feet quickly, fists held in front of him and eyes narrowed in determination.  His mind is whirling and his body is definitely bruised from where he hit the ground, but he’s not planning on going down that easily. When his eyes finally assess the situation, he’s…confused.

 

Because standing in front of him, is a very short and very angry blond person.

Notes:

It took me almost 2 years to get over the writer's block I had after the last chapter....

It has also been 2 years since i have written anything at all, so I SINCERELY apologize for the bad writing. Just trying to get back into the swing of things yall ):

ANYWHO. I hope everybody is doing well and staying healthy!! I genuinely hope you enjoy this chapter and know that this story is still ongoing!!! It's just taking me a long time because I like...graduated?? And now am working full time as like an...adult??

also sadly there was no viktor on yuuri lovinnn in this chapter but there will be soon i promise my loves.

pls enjoy my bbs. i love u all so much. thank u for all the comments i have received over the past 2 years that kept me going, you all are the best. also pls stay safe out there!! esp those of you in america,,, u are in my thoughts. i love you all. stay safe.