Chapter Text
“I didn’t mean for any of this.”
“I know, Herbert.”
Slender fingers gently rested underneath Herbert’s chin, lifting his face to meet those dark, sorrowful eyes.
“I just wanted…”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” he asked with a soft, sad smile. “You wanted. You didn’t give a thought to what it was he wanted.”
Herbert’s lip trembled as he cast his eyes down.
“But I suppose you’ve lived your whole life — and unlife — always getting what you want, haven’t you?”
Herbert jerked his chin away. “What are you saying? That I’m—”
“Spoiled, yes. Though that fault doesn’t lie entirely on you, of course. Your father loves you, but his own guilt has prevented him from setting boundaries with you. From saying no to you.”
Herbert grit his teeth as hot, angry tears spilled from his eyes. “I don’t know why you’re saying any of this,” he said as he turned away. “You don’t need to. It’s my fault. There: are you happy? I’ve learned my lesson!”
“No.”
Herbert flinched as those dark eyes were in front of him again. He stumbled back, his own eyes widening. How did he…
“No,” he repeated, and within the darks of his eyes came a flickering, orange light, like two coals beginning to burn.
“You haven’t learned. Not yet.”
~~~
“Professor? Professor!”
If Abronsius answered, then Alfred could not hear. The roar of the wind against his ears was too loud; he could barely hear his own voice.
Still, Alfred cupped his shivering hands around his mouth and yelled again:
“PROFESSOR!!”
Nothing but the howl of the wind.
Alfred cursed and stuck his hands in his armpits. He squinted, trying to see if he could spot the Professor’s form in the distance, but there was nothing except…
Alfred’s heart jumped. A light!
With renewed hope, Alfred stumbled through the snow towards the orange glow in the distance. He only tripped a few times, but still he managed to make his way through the trees and into…
Oh, oh Alfred could have passed out from relief there and then. A town! It was difficult to tell through the cascade of snow what was what, and there was no use trying to read any signs in this weather, but he decided to try his luck with the only building blazing with life. The firelight spilling from the windows was too inviting.
And so Alfred stumbled through the door into the warmth of the inn, to the sound of lively chatter and singing. He wheezed as if to say something…
…and then he collapsed upon the floor.
“Goodness! Magda, hot water, now!”
Alfred was dimly aware of strong hands lifting him up. His scarf and hat were removed as he was set on a chair, and he blinked up into the concerned gaze of an older woman.
“There you are,” she said, putting a hand to his forehead. “You’re sweating too much for having just been out in the cold. You’ve made yourself sick, silly boy. What were you doing out there by yourself?”
“I…I wasn’t…” Alfred shook his head, and then flinched when he felt someone start to tug off his boots. “H-hey! No, no, Professor Abronsius! Is he here?”
Alfred tried to stand, but was roughly shoved back into his seat by the woman.
“Sit down, boy!” she snapped. “What are you on about?”
“I’m — stop that!” Alfred flinched away when the barmaid tried to remove his boots again. “I’m a student from Königsberg University. I’m assisting Professor Abronsius: is he here?”
“No,” the woman said simply, and then she sighed and shoved Alfred back into his seat when he tried to get up again. “Stay down! What are you going to do, eh? Go out and look for him in that? I’d wager you can’t see your finger in front of your own face in that weather. All you’ll find out there is your death.”
“But Professor Abronsius—”
“Can’t be helped now,” the woman said firmly. “Now sit. If you won’t let Magda help you, you can warm your own feet.”
“Fine by me,” the barmaid, Magda, grumbled as she walked away.
“I can’t just leave him out there,” Alfred croaked.
“There’s nothing to be done now,” the woman said. “Wait for the storm to clear in the morning. You can go out and search then.”
Search for what? Alfred thought, but he just numbly nodded his head. The woman sighed as she left, muttering something about ‘foolish boys.’
“Hey.”
Alfred blinked up to see Magda frowning down at him sympathetically with her hands on her hips.
“He might be alright, this Professor,” she said. “He could have found shelter.”
“Shelter in what?” one of the patrons cackled, ignoring the glare Magda shot his way. “In a wolf’s den? Ow!”
“Oh be quiet,” the woman from before grumbled, threateningly waving a wooden spoon at the man she’d just whacked. “You can join him in the search tomorrow, too.”
“But—” the man clamped his mouth shut at the glare the woman set his way, and he sighed. “Yes, Mrs. Chagal.”
“Hey,” one of the other patrons, whose reddened cheeks and slouched posture indicated he’d partaken in a bit too much of the inn’s ale, spoke up quite loudly. “Maybe he found the cas—”
A chorus of “Sh!”s cut him off, and a few of his companions even lurched forward to cover his mouth. Alfred blinked, but before he could comment a bowl of stew was shoved into his hands.
“Eat,” Mrs. Chagal commanded. “Worry about your Professor tomorrow.”
“Yes ma’am,” Alfred murmured. Magda gave him a small, sympathetic glance before she returned to her work, and Alfred sighed as he looked down into his stew.
Professor…
~~~
“Bah! This blasted snow!”
Professor Abronsius flailed as he tried to trudge against the wind. He’d lost his umbrella some ways back, and he was close to losing his hat, too!
He thought he’d seen a light in the distance at one point, but then he’d lost it, just like he’d lost Alfred, and now here he was in the middle of a white blur.
“Hell and damnation, I can’t even see my own nose through this—”
Clung!
Abronsius stumbled back, nearly falling into the snow. He blinked a few times, then glared at the shape in front of him.
And then he reached out, gave it a few taps with his hand, and…
Well. How interesting. An iron gate.
“And gates are usually accompanied by dwellings,” Abronsius murmured, his eyebrows shooting up.
Quickly, Abronsius managed to squeeze through the bars, panting and puffing as he scrambled forward. He was able to make out the shape behind the gates much more clearly now. The snow was too thick to properly gauge the scale of the place, but, well…
The only sort of place that had doors this big was a castle.
Abronsius’s eyes went wide with excitement. Could it be? Had he really stumbled into precisely what he’d been looking for?
Just a shame that he had been separated from Alfred in the blizzard…
There were no footprints to indicate the boy had been here before him, but then again the wind could have blown away any sight of him. Or perhaps there was a nearby town, or a hunter’s cabin, or something that Alfred could have taken shelter in…
“No use fretting about it in the cold,” Abronsius grumbled as he trudged up to the large doors. “Worry about it when the storm passes…”
He raised his fist to bang on the door, but then stumbled back when it creaked open on its own.
Abronsius squinted. How odd…
He took a hesitant step in, and placed a hand on the door. It was far too heavy and solid to be that weak, even in the face of this wind…
Still, the promise of getting out of the cold was more enticing than his trepidation, so Abronsius shuffled in further.
And then jumped when the door firmly closed behind him.
“Perhaps this castle has ghosts and vampires,” Abronsius murmured. “How interesting…”
Still not deterred, Abronsius strode further into the castle.
And even in his observations, he did not notice the two cold blue pinpricks of light watching him from the shadows.