The Father and The Watcher

Calleas meets a new watcher.

 Calleas lies in his bed with the pain flashing harder and harder with each breath he struggled to take.  No pain was quite as terrible as the one he felt in his heart.  He couldn’t find his daughter anywhere.  The thought of anything happening to his little girl scared him stiff.  Each thought that came to his mind was darker than the last.  The fear that he would leave his daughter in this dark world angered him, which only increased the pain more.

 

Calleas could feel her walking in his room.  Her calming effect wasn’t working quite as well as it has in the past.  Acilia sat by his side and stroked his hair.  His tears couldn’t be held back as he looked into her eyes.  He starts to speak but she shushes him.  He just continues on as if she hadn’t said anything.  “I can’t leave her Acilia.  I can’t leave her like this.  I can’t die Acilia.  Please help me.”  She could see the fear in Calleas’s eyes and like a flash the image she once saw in years past became present once again.

 

As much as it pained her she knew it was Calleas’s time to become what she knew he secretly feared.  She had to complete the process, but this time it would be more difficult because so much time had passed from the first bite that she had to start over again.  She leaned over him and whispered, “Shh.  All is going to be fine.  Don’t worry my love.”  She kissed his lips very softly and very slowly.  She inched over to the base of his neck closed her eyes to let her teeth sink into his skin.

 

The pain that was a fire grew even hotter in that moment.  All Calleas could do was cry out in pain.  He reached up and held on to Acilia for dear life.  The blood felt warm going down her throat.  If it weren’t for Calleas breaking her skin with the pressure of his nails digging in she would have continued to drink.  He broke her concentration on the pleasure she was getting from his blood.  The next thing she had to do was let him drink her blood.  He lied there almost lifeless; everything seemed to be in a haze.  She laid out her arm and places her fingernail at the top of her wrist.  She slowly slid the nail down to the base of her wrist.

 

The blood started to break free slowly from her skin.  She lowered her wrist down to Calleas mouth.  Her blood was warm moving down his throat ever so slowly.  It seemed to seep into every crevice available as it slid through his body.  It traveled from his muscles and into his veins.  It moved faster than his normal blood cells.  He felt the hunger grow through him.  His wounds were healing and his body seemed to be brought back to life in an instant.  He suddenly felt an extreme force push him down.  Acilia had to pull her wrist from his mouth.  She didn’t stand too far from him.  The moment he stopped drinking he could still feel the pain from the healing wounds.  Only this time there was an even greater pain traveling through his body.  If his earlier pains felt like fire then this pain felt like an ever-growing inferno.

 

The new blood that was in his body was destroying every single living cell that was left in his body.  Calleas felt as if he was being thrown all over the room but yet he still remained in his bed.  He twisted and bent in pain.  He screamed from the pain and Acilia came to hold him down.  She looked into his tearful eyes.  Without saying a word she was calming him down.  He started taking in deeper breaths with each passing wave of pain.  He finally fell asleep and Acillia stoked his hair gradually.  Alexander walks next to her and says, “You need to go to the little girl now?”  A fear grew inside Acilia she looked up and frantically hissed, “You left her alone?”  Alexander looked directly into Acilia’s eyes.  “He’s not here Acilia.  She is safe within these walls at this moment.  I feel him far off in the distance but I think you should be with her now.  Let Calleas sleep, I will be right here with him.”

 

She reluctantly walked to the room where Grace was.  When she walked in she found the little girl sitting with her face in her hands.  She was crying and she was scared.  Acilia sat down by Grace’s side.  Grace looked up to see Acilia’s warm smiling face.  It hurt to look into Grace’s eyes.  They shined just like her father’s and she feared for the day that she would face the same fate as her father.  Grace quietly asks, “Is my papa dead?” with the hot tears falling down her face.  Acilia bent down to meet Grace’s eyes and she looked in them deeply.  “Your father is never going to leave you Grace.  He is resting in his bed right now.  Tomorrow you’ll both be able to go home.  No matter what Grace, he is always going to be watching over you.  Whether you see him or not.”

 

Grace wrapped her arms around Acilia.  She held her in her arms.  The images of her future flash continuously in her mind.  She holds Grace tighter hoping whatever strength or wisdom she had would pass on to her.  Acilia pulls away from Grace and whispers, “Now it is time for you to rest.”  Grace looks down and says, “I can’t sleep.  My papa would always sing me my lullaby before I went to bed.”  Acilia smiled.  “Do you remember the words?  Maybe I know it.”  Grace sighed, “All I can remember is ‘Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.”  Acilia put the covers over Grace and tucked her in snug. 

 

She stroked her hair and started to hum the tune.  Grace smiled and lied back into the pillows.  Acilia reaches in a dresser near the bed and pulls out a small box.  She winds it up and opens it.  It plays the tune of the lullaby Grace’s eyes linger off to sleep. 

 

She senses him at the door.  She welcomes the man at the door into the room.  Jeremy was much younger than he looked.  She sensed his fear and anger, but deep down she knew he had a good soul.  She watched him looking over at Grace.  She could see this girl has all ready touched his heart.  She knew more than he would ever know.  After a short conversation she felt she must return to Calleas’s side.  She spoke aloud, “Her name is Grace. Watch her grow and protect her.”  She stood up and walked out the door leaving Jeremy even more confused than he was just moments before.  She passed Alexander in the all and looked into his eyes.  He says, “Don’t worry Acilia.  He’s going to come around.” And he smiles.

 

She returns to Calleas and stays with him all night.  Through out the night Calleas would wake up screaming in pain from the transformation but Acilia was always there to comfort him.  When the morning came the sun shined on to Calleas’s face.  The warmth of the sunlight woke him up.  He shot up quickly hoping it all was a nightmare.  His heart broke when looked down to see the bloody bandages around his bed.  Alexander popped in and broke the silence.  “Ahh, good morning Calleas.  Acilia gave me these clothes for you to wear.” He smiled at Calleas.  “Where’s Grace?” asked Calleas.  “She is in the dinning hall with Acilia and Jeremy.” Said Alexander.

 

“Jeremy?” he asked.  Calleas has never met a Jeremy in the castle before.  He shot up but was stopped by Alexander’s hand.  “He is perfectly safe Calleas.  He’s a watcher like myself.  Of course he doesn’t really know too much about that yet since well, like you he just finished the process.”  Calleas grabbed the clothes from the bed and quickly changed and rushed downstairs to the dining hall.  Calleas couldn’t explain the anger he felt but he knew that he wanted to be close to his daughter.

 

He walked into the dining hall to see Grace sitting near a young man.  As he grew closer he could hear that Grace was telling him a story.  She was happy and that comforted him so much and he coughed.  Grace’s eyes shot from Jeremy to her father.  She immediately left her seat and ran into her father’s arms.  Calleas held Grace in his arms as tightly as he could without blocking her airwaves.  Acilia walked in with a tray of coffee and juice.  “Good morning Calleas.  I see you have reunited with your daughter.  Have you met Jeremy?”  Jeremy slowly turns and faces Calleas.

 

Calleas could feel the sadness in Jeremy’s crystal blue eyes.  Jeremy stood up from his seat and Calleas was surprised to see how tall he actually was.  Calleas walked up to Jeremy and held out his hand.  The two men shook hands.  Immediately Grace starts telling Calleas the story of the morning.  How she met Jeremy and how she told him all the stories he would tell her.  The morning was cool and warm all at the same time.  Grace was now outside with Alexander, he wanted to show her where all the prettiest flowers were.

 

It was now Jeremy, Calleas and Acilia left in the dining hall.  Acilia took in a deep breath and started the conversation.  “Calleas, we need to speak about you and what you are going to do with Grace.”  Calleas shot his eyes over to Acilia.  “I’m going to take her home.  What else is there to discuss?”  Jeremy spoke, “I think I should leave.”  He sat up but Acilia motioned for him to stay seated.  “No Jeremy, you need to hear this just as much as Calleas does.”  Her eyes moved back to Calleas.  “Yes, you will take Grace home but how long are you going to stay before you leave?”  Calleas was confused.  “What do you mean leave?  I’m not going anywhere!”  The anger was flowing through his blood stronger than before.

 

Acilia sighed.  “You can’t stay very long with her Calleas.  How long do you think she can go without noticing that you aren’t aging like all the other father’s in the village?  How long before those father’s start to notice and suspect something?  How long before they act on-“ Calleas shouted.  “I don’t know!  All I know is that right now I need to be with my daughter and I am not leaving her.  When the time comes I’ll find a way to leave.  Then I’ll become her watcher and then that will be it.”  Acilia looked down to the table.  “You won’t be her watcher Calleas.”  Calleas shot his eyes back from Acilia and Jeremy.  “What?” he asked.  “Jeremy will be Grace’s watcher.  I have full faith in him.  He will do a very good job at-” Calleas shot up.  “Why the hell do you think I asked you to finish the process Acilia?  I want to be Grace’s watcher!  I don’t even know this boy!”

 

Jeremy stood up proud.  “I never asked for this Calleas.  I don’t even know what is going on.  If this is what I am supposed to do then I am going to damn well do it to the best of my abilities.  After what you and I have been through do you really think I would let that happen to that little girl?”  Calleas looked at Jeremy.  He knew that Jeremy meant every word he had just said.  He didn’t know why he felt so strongly about protecting Grace but he knew deep down that Jeremy would be the man for the job.  He sighed.  “What am I supposed to do?  Just not watch my daughter grow up?  Completely cut her out of my life?”  Acilia smiled.  “You can watch her still but you are not her watcher.  You have a different path.  Grace is going to be in the best of hands.  She will not only have Jeremy but Alexander will be there as well.”

 

Hearing that Alexander would be there watching over Grace as well brought an immense comfort to Calleas’s heart.  Not too long after that he walked out to the garden and picked up Grace and headed back to the village.  He walked out of the woods and turned back to see Jeremy and Alexander off in the distance looking back at them.  He walked back to him little cottage and inside he went.

Author's Note

There may be spelling errors since I have written this kind of late.