Categories > Books > Cirque du Freak > Freak
Freak: chapter 9 BTW: if the ages and times are off I am very sorry! Also sorry for the delay, computer crashed! Also a reminder, this story ignores most of the original story line. Don't like Don't read, Don't flame. Enjoy!
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Darren and I have grown a lot closer since our… discussion. Mr.C's noticed and is clearly smitten. He keeps telling me about the vampire generals; Mr. C seriously sucks at being subtle. I know he's banking on me being one. But honestly, I don't think I want to be one. I love my freedom too much. Darren was excited yesterday because we ran in to a small pack of wolves. The oldest male is named Streak, there are two older females, one younger female, the younger male is called Rudi, and my personal favorite is the pup. He's completely black; I've named him Bandit, since he seems to like stealing Mr.C's red handkerchief. I won't lie and say that I discourage him from doing that! The older vampires avoided a single way station on the way up; we're now about 5-10 miles from the entrance of the mountain.
I asked Larten why, he refused to tell me… but Darren pulled rank on him and I found out that a vampire had been killed in there by a vampeneze when they first hiked up the mountain around 24 years ago. They just didn't feel comfortable around it, let alone in it. So I didn't complain. We managed to cover at least half of the last few miles. I am glad…. I'm really starting to get tired of all this waiting to get to the damn mountain. We reached the spot where Larten had told me about, we'd have to climb it, the guys took off their shirts, Vancha started to take off his pants but Darren and Larten snapped at him. I pretended to be ignorant to them and started climbing. Let Darren and Mr.C pretend that I'm still the innocent little girl the think I am. If you wondering, yes I know what a man looks like without clothes. Greta and I have browsed through, less than innocent magazines…. But enough of that. I've climbed trees and rocks before but never anything like this. I was pretty tired when we finally reached the top.
Running with the wolves was pretty cool. I started to notice just how similar wolves and vampires seemed to be. I know it sounds strange, but when I asked Mr.C happily told me how vampires came to be or what is believed to happen. The Vampires and wolves are kindred spirits because vampires used to be wolves. I've never seen Mr.C act like this. He seemed excited and scared at the same time.
I wondered why. Vancha and I get along but we're not friends, there is something about him. Something off…. Darren talks to Mr.C a lot, as if reassuring him of something I can help but wonder what. After a while the wolves left us. I was a little sad to see bandit go. "Wolves have an excellent memory; he will remember your face even when he is old and gray." Vancha told me, smiling. It wasn't long after that when we FINALLY reached the cave that we had to enter to get in to the mountain.
"What is all this stuff" I asked referring to the glowing greenish yellowish stuff that covered the cave walls that also lighted our way through the caverns. "Luminous lichen." Mr. C said simply. I looked at the vampire oddly, somewhat questioning his sanity. "Is that an answer or a tongue twister?" Darren laughed. Mr.C looked back at me. "It is a fungus that grows on the walls of these caves." I nodded. We followed the cave for what seemed like miles before we were greeted by a couple of vampire guards. Each of us had to address ourselves and our purpose before we were allowed to enter.
"Prince Darren Shan, I have come to seek council."
"Prince Vancha March, I have come to seek council."
"Larten Crepsley, I Have come to seek council." The guards looked unreasonably shocked to see Larten with us, but with a word from Darren it quickly vanished. Finally I had to announce myself. Problem was I technically didn't have a last name… So I took the one I'd known all my life.
"Nymphadora Crepsley, I have come to seek council." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mentor smile broadly. He really got a kick out of the fact that I truly considered him my father, we could easily pass as father and daughter though. We both had red hair, the same pail complexion, same attitude, similar features, the only thing that really set us apart were our eyes. Larten had grayish eyes that only hinted of green, while I had very vivid almost lime green eyes. The guards nodded and recognized us and permitted us to enter the mountain. Larten said we were early and later our names would be written down on a wall. I thought that was pretty cool.
I could only stand in awe at what I saw upon entering. "It's not much," Darren told me. "But its home. " I smiled broadly. "I think it's awesome." It was old fashioned, torches and some of the fungus and even some candles lit the halls. Vampires were everywhere. But few had taken notice of us. At least not yet. Darren and Vancha left us to join the other princes. Mr.C and I headed to a hall, similar to a giant hall and sat down at one of the tables. Larten got up to get us some food; I stayed at the table, just looking around at all the vampires, most were male, and they all looked pretty young. Not as young as me of course, but around 30 or 40 years old. I suddenly had the feeling that I was being watched. I looked in front of me and saw a vampire who could have easily passed as a much older Mr. Crepsley.
"Can I help you?" I asked him, he seemed to be in deep thought, just looking at me with a questioning look. "Oh I do so apologize. You simply remind me of someone I knew…" He trailed off, he seemed very sad. "My name is Seba Nile." He finally stated proudly and bowed. "Nymphadora Crepsley, but everybody just calls me Nyx." I motioned for him to sit down. Seba blinked as he did so. "You said your surname was Crepsley, did you not?"
I nodded. "Yeah, that's my last name… Why?" Seba didn't answer for a moment or two before he shook his head. "I am terribly sorry! I merely knew a vampire with that same surname and I thought, well for a moment…" He laughed softly and shook his head, "But that is simply not possible. That vampire died many years ago." I smiled sadly. "Was he your friend?" Seba sighed. "He was a former assistant of mine, I thought of him as a son… Forgive me I am an old man and am very sentimental. It is simply just uncanny of how closely you resemble him…" He waved it away. "No matter. You are quite young to be here alone. Your mentor is with you is he not?" I nodded, "Yeah. He's getting us something to eat and drink right now." I still couldn't stop looking around at the hall. It was like something out of a novel, or an Indianan Jones movie. Seba chuckled, "This is your first time to council, is it not?" I nodded. "And what do you think of Vampire Mountain?" I couldn't stop smiling. "It's amazing, it's like something you'd read about in a book. " Seba chuckled again. "I am glad that you think so highly of the vampire's capital." I almost didn't hear Seba talking, still too lost in my surroundings. I turned and saw Mr.C approaching, I waved at him to get his attention he was carrying two bowls of what looked like soup and two pints of blood. I wondered idly if he knew the vampire I was talking to. "Here we are, to bowls of broth and some blood; the meat will be along presently…" Larten spoke without noticing the vampire in front of me. Then I heard Seba gasp. "Larten… "
Mr.C looked up and froze. Both vampires were standing. Larten had an expression of sorrow, fear and shock on his face, while Seba just looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "It is I, Seba. " I looked back and forth between the two vampires. What was going on? Seba swept around to my side of the table and stopped right in front of Larten. I swear it looked like the older man was crying, or was about to, before the two vampires embraced like two long lost brothers. Larten murmured words of comfort to the older vampire. I raised an eyebrow at the scene. I was more than a little confused. I was even more confused when after the older vampire had released Larten from his "death grip", Seba scowled angrily and then plucked a hair from Larten ear!
"Hate to break up such an interesting moment but, would one of you kindly tell me what the hell is going on?" Larten looked at me then back at Seba, "Nyx, this is Seba Nile; he was my mentor when I was a vampires assistant." Okay that explained a few things. "Do you two always greet each other like this?" Seba spoke up, "Only when Larten allows me to think him dead for the past 24 years." I looked back at Larten waiting for him to explain. He sighed and motioned for Seba to sit as I had. Seba turned swiftly and sat back in his seat. Larten sat next to me, took a deep breath and started talking.
He told us both how he, Darren and Vancha had been chosen to defeat the vampeneze lord and their adventures. "Vancha and I had to fake our deaths so that the Vampeneze Lord would come forward to face Darren. Together we defeated him and several other vampeneze. But there were a few who got away without seeing us. I should have contacted you, Seba, but I honestly could not bring myself to face you after you thought I was dead. I was ashamed that I had lied to you and I hid for many years. It wasn't until 17 years ago that I contacted the Cirque to travel a bit and still stay out of sight." Larten looked at me and smiled. "A few years later I came across Nyx. She is the first born vampire, and my adoptive daughter." I smiled back at him. He rarely referred to me as his daughter to other people. Mr. C wasn't exactly a lovey dovey kind of guy. Seba sat back for a few minutes. "You have given me much to take in, Larten. I do not like your choices or your actions but I understand why you did so." Larten nodded. "Nor am I very pleased with you, Larten…. But you are alive and well. And for that I am joyful." Seba finally smiled at Larten and squeezed his shoulder. The tension in the air finally seemed to lift. This meeting was a bit surreal, I'd never really thought of my mentor having a mentor of his own…
"I forgive you, Larten." Seba stated. A huge smile broke out on his face as Larten clasped his mentor shoulders. "Arra, however… well, I would very much dislike being in your place when she finds out you are still living…" Seba chuckled. "Who's Arra?" I asked, now curious. Larten blush and stammered. "A friend of mine…" Seba scoffed, "A friend? Tell the child the truth Larten. "Seba turned to me, "Arra was Larten's mate many years ago. The two were joined at the hip… well of course not at first mind you, in fact, I recall the first time the two met. Your mentor Larten …." Larten cut him off, "Seba! Please, I do not need Nymphadora to know of my past affairs… if you would be so kind…" Seba ignored his former assistant. "Tried to best Arra at the bars, which is a game that vampires play. It is a simple one, you use a staff to knock your opponent off of the bars on which you stand on, and the first one to be knocked off of the bars losses. You see, Arra is infamous for her talent on the bars she, at the time, had gone undefeated for over four years. Larten made the mistake of thinking he could beat her and in turn woo her with his strength. Arra however beat him, knocking him off the bars in mere moments. Needless to say she was not impressed. The two hated each other for a great while after that." Seba was chuckling, and I laughing. I could scarcely believe that my mentor, Mr. Pain in the neck Perfect man, would do something like that! "He really did that?" I was still laughing. "Indeed. But I would not mock him about it too much. He is your mentor, and he will always outwit you." I slowly calmed down, but I couldn't stop smirking at Lartens embarrassment. It was nice to see the old hack being taken down a peg. Larten gave me his famous 500 megawatt death glare. I was too busy enjoying Seba's story to pay him much notice. "But I will say, Larten has grown up a bit since then." I grinned up at my mentor. Yeah, I loved the old hack, even if he was a bit of a prude sometimes. I started eating, not really caring what it was, I was hungry. Drinking from such a large pitcher was odd but I got the hang of it. I ate the meat brought to us bloody. It wasn't the best of food but it was better than nothing at all.
Seba then addressed Larten, changing the subject. The two vampires discussed old times, politics, I lost track of the subjects just listening to their voices and watching the smoke from the torches curl and spin. I soon found myself leaning against my mentor's chest and soon drifted to sleep.
(Larten and Seba)
Larten looked down at his now sleeping assistant. "She was tired." Seba stated simply. Larten smiled lovingly, stroking her fiery hair. "We have had a very long journey, longer than usual." He chuckled. "How did you come across her, Larten?" Larten pulled Nyx closer, wrapping a part of his cape around her. "I found her in a dumpster, when she was five months old. Her parents, I believe, were killed by a vampeneze, but I have no proof of such. She is the first born vampire… Of that I am certain." Seba sat forward. "The first born… Amazing… And I will assume that the fact that the reason why she bears an uncanny resemblance to you is merely luck?" Seba chuckled. "Luck of the vampire…" Larten responded. Seba stretched and yawned. Most of the hall was now empty. "Come, lets us all retire for the day. I have a few rooms open; you may take your pick. Nymphadora can pick her room tomorrow night."
"Nyx…" Larten corrected absently. "Pardon?" Seba questioned. "She does not like to be called Nymphadora; she prefers to be called Nyx." Larten explained. "I see." Seba stood as Larten gathered Nyx in to his arms and followed Seba to the rooms where they could stay for the nights while they were in council.
(Larten and Nyx, in coffin)
Larten sighed contently with Nyx snuggled against him. He loved to go to sleep like this. His daughter beside him, safe and sound. "I love you my little bat." He muttered to her, kissing her forehead. Before gathering her up against him, a blanket draped over them, and fell in to a deep and peaceful slumber himself.
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Sorry it took so long to update! (READ TOP FOR REASON) Hope this chapter made up for it! Next chapter will be up, as soon as I can write it!
Come to the dark side...We have cookies!
Remember R&R! Or I will send my flying monkeys out to attack you!
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Darren and I have grown a lot closer since our… discussion. Mr.C's noticed and is clearly smitten. He keeps telling me about the vampire generals; Mr. C seriously sucks at being subtle. I know he's banking on me being one. But honestly, I don't think I want to be one. I love my freedom too much. Darren was excited yesterday because we ran in to a small pack of wolves. The oldest male is named Streak, there are two older females, one younger female, the younger male is called Rudi, and my personal favorite is the pup. He's completely black; I've named him Bandit, since he seems to like stealing Mr.C's red handkerchief. I won't lie and say that I discourage him from doing that! The older vampires avoided a single way station on the way up; we're now about 5-10 miles from the entrance of the mountain.
I asked Larten why, he refused to tell me… but Darren pulled rank on him and I found out that a vampire had been killed in there by a vampeneze when they first hiked up the mountain around 24 years ago. They just didn't feel comfortable around it, let alone in it. So I didn't complain. We managed to cover at least half of the last few miles. I am glad…. I'm really starting to get tired of all this waiting to get to the damn mountain. We reached the spot where Larten had told me about, we'd have to climb it, the guys took off their shirts, Vancha started to take off his pants but Darren and Larten snapped at him. I pretended to be ignorant to them and started climbing. Let Darren and Mr.C pretend that I'm still the innocent little girl the think I am. If you wondering, yes I know what a man looks like without clothes. Greta and I have browsed through, less than innocent magazines…. But enough of that. I've climbed trees and rocks before but never anything like this. I was pretty tired when we finally reached the top.
Running with the wolves was pretty cool. I started to notice just how similar wolves and vampires seemed to be. I know it sounds strange, but when I asked Mr.C happily told me how vampires came to be or what is believed to happen. The Vampires and wolves are kindred spirits because vampires used to be wolves. I've never seen Mr.C act like this. He seemed excited and scared at the same time.
I wondered why. Vancha and I get along but we're not friends, there is something about him. Something off…. Darren talks to Mr.C a lot, as if reassuring him of something I can help but wonder what. After a while the wolves left us. I was a little sad to see bandit go. "Wolves have an excellent memory; he will remember your face even when he is old and gray." Vancha told me, smiling. It wasn't long after that when we FINALLY reached the cave that we had to enter to get in to the mountain.
"What is all this stuff" I asked referring to the glowing greenish yellowish stuff that covered the cave walls that also lighted our way through the caverns. "Luminous lichen." Mr. C said simply. I looked at the vampire oddly, somewhat questioning his sanity. "Is that an answer or a tongue twister?" Darren laughed. Mr.C looked back at me. "It is a fungus that grows on the walls of these caves." I nodded. We followed the cave for what seemed like miles before we were greeted by a couple of vampire guards. Each of us had to address ourselves and our purpose before we were allowed to enter.
"Prince Darren Shan, I have come to seek council."
"Prince Vancha March, I have come to seek council."
"Larten Crepsley, I Have come to seek council." The guards looked unreasonably shocked to see Larten with us, but with a word from Darren it quickly vanished. Finally I had to announce myself. Problem was I technically didn't have a last name… So I took the one I'd known all my life.
"Nymphadora Crepsley, I have come to seek council." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mentor smile broadly. He really got a kick out of the fact that I truly considered him my father, we could easily pass as father and daughter though. We both had red hair, the same pail complexion, same attitude, similar features, the only thing that really set us apart were our eyes. Larten had grayish eyes that only hinted of green, while I had very vivid almost lime green eyes. The guards nodded and recognized us and permitted us to enter the mountain. Larten said we were early and later our names would be written down on a wall. I thought that was pretty cool.
I could only stand in awe at what I saw upon entering. "It's not much," Darren told me. "But its home. " I smiled broadly. "I think it's awesome." It was old fashioned, torches and some of the fungus and even some candles lit the halls. Vampires were everywhere. But few had taken notice of us. At least not yet. Darren and Vancha left us to join the other princes. Mr.C and I headed to a hall, similar to a giant hall and sat down at one of the tables. Larten got up to get us some food; I stayed at the table, just looking around at all the vampires, most were male, and they all looked pretty young. Not as young as me of course, but around 30 or 40 years old. I suddenly had the feeling that I was being watched. I looked in front of me and saw a vampire who could have easily passed as a much older Mr. Crepsley.
"Can I help you?" I asked him, he seemed to be in deep thought, just looking at me with a questioning look. "Oh I do so apologize. You simply remind me of someone I knew…" He trailed off, he seemed very sad. "My name is Seba Nile." He finally stated proudly and bowed. "Nymphadora Crepsley, but everybody just calls me Nyx." I motioned for him to sit down. Seba blinked as he did so. "You said your surname was Crepsley, did you not?"
I nodded. "Yeah, that's my last name… Why?" Seba didn't answer for a moment or two before he shook his head. "I am terribly sorry! I merely knew a vampire with that same surname and I thought, well for a moment…" He laughed softly and shook his head, "But that is simply not possible. That vampire died many years ago." I smiled sadly. "Was he your friend?" Seba sighed. "He was a former assistant of mine, I thought of him as a son… Forgive me I am an old man and am very sentimental. It is simply just uncanny of how closely you resemble him…" He waved it away. "No matter. You are quite young to be here alone. Your mentor is with you is he not?" I nodded, "Yeah. He's getting us something to eat and drink right now." I still couldn't stop looking around at the hall. It was like something out of a novel, or an Indianan Jones movie. Seba chuckled, "This is your first time to council, is it not?" I nodded. "And what do you think of Vampire Mountain?" I couldn't stop smiling. "It's amazing, it's like something you'd read about in a book. " Seba chuckled again. "I am glad that you think so highly of the vampire's capital." I almost didn't hear Seba talking, still too lost in my surroundings. I turned and saw Mr.C approaching, I waved at him to get his attention he was carrying two bowls of what looked like soup and two pints of blood. I wondered idly if he knew the vampire I was talking to. "Here we are, to bowls of broth and some blood; the meat will be along presently…" Larten spoke without noticing the vampire in front of me. Then I heard Seba gasp. "Larten… "
Mr.C looked up and froze. Both vampires were standing. Larten had an expression of sorrow, fear and shock on his face, while Seba just looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "It is I, Seba. " I looked back and forth between the two vampires. What was going on? Seba swept around to my side of the table and stopped right in front of Larten. I swear it looked like the older man was crying, or was about to, before the two vampires embraced like two long lost brothers. Larten murmured words of comfort to the older vampire. I raised an eyebrow at the scene. I was more than a little confused. I was even more confused when after the older vampire had released Larten from his "death grip", Seba scowled angrily and then plucked a hair from Larten ear!
"Hate to break up such an interesting moment but, would one of you kindly tell me what the hell is going on?" Larten looked at me then back at Seba, "Nyx, this is Seba Nile; he was my mentor when I was a vampires assistant." Okay that explained a few things. "Do you two always greet each other like this?" Seba spoke up, "Only when Larten allows me to think him dead for the past 24 years." I looked back at Larten waiting for him to explain. He sighed and motioned for Seba to sit as I had. Seba turned swiftly and sat back in his seat. Larten sat next to me, took a deep breath and started talking.
He told us both how he, Darren and Vancha had been chosen to defeat the vampeneze lord and their adventures. "Vancha and I had to fake our deaths so that the Vampeneze Lord would come forward to face Darren. Together we defeated him and several other vampeneze. But there were a few who got away without seeing us. I should have contacted you, Seba, but I honestly could not bring myself to face you after you thought I was dead. I was ashamed that I had lied to you and I hid for many years. It wasn't until 17 years ago that I contacted the Cirque to travel a bit and still stay out of sight." Larten looked at me and smiled. "A few years later I came across Nyx. She is the first born vampire, and my adoptive daughter." I smiled back at him. He rarely referred to me as his daughter to other people. Mr. C wasn't exactly a lovey dovey kind of guy. Seba sat back for a few minutes. "You have given me much to take in, Larten. I do not like your choices or your actions but I understand why you did so." Larten nodded. "Nor am I very pleased with you, Larten…. But you are alive and well. And for that I am joyful." Seba finally smiled at Larten and squeezed his shoulder. The tension in the air finally seemed to lift. This meeting was a bit surreal, I'd never really thought of my mentor having a mentor of his own…
"I forgive you, Larten." Seba stated. A huge smile broke out on his face as Larten clasped his mentor shoulders. "Arra, however… well, I would very much dislike being in your place when she finds out you are still living…" Seba chuckled. "Who's Arra?" I asked, now curious. Larten blush and stammered. "A friend of mine…" Seba scoffed, "A friend? Tell the child the truth Larten. "Seba turned to me, "Arra was Larten's mate many years ago. The two were joined at the hip… well of course not at first mind you, in fact, I recall the first time the two met. Your mentor Larten …." Larten cut him off, "Seba! Please, I do not need Nymphadora to know of my past affairs… if you would be so kind…" Seba ignored his former assistant. "Tried to best Arra at the bars, which is a game that vampires play. It is a simple one, you use a staff to knock your opponent off of the bars on which you stand on, and the first one to be knocked off of the bars losses. You see, Arra is infamous for her talent on the bars she, at the time, had gone undefeated for over four years. Larten made the mistake of thinking he could beat her and in turn woo her with his strength. Arra however beat him, knocking him off the bars in mere moments. Needless to say she was not impressed. The two hated each other for a great while after that." Seba was chuckling, and I laughing. I could scarcely believe that my mentor, Mr. Pain in the neck Perfect man, would do something like that! "He really did that?" I was still laughing. "Indeed. But I would not mock him about it too much. He is your mentor, and he will always outwit you." I slowly calmed down, but I couldn't stop smirking at Lartens embarrassment. It was nice to see the old hack being taken down a peg. Larten gave me his famous 500 megawatt death glare. I was too busy enjoying Seba's story to pay him much notice. "But I will say, Larten has grown up a bit since then." I grinned up at my mentor. Yeah, I loved the old hack, even if he was a bit of a prude sometimes. I started eating, not really caring what it was, I was hungry. Drinking from such a large pitcher was odd but I got the hang of it. I ate the meat brought to us bloody. It wasn't the best of food but it was better than nothing at all.
Seba then addressed Larten, changing the subject. The two vampires discussed old times, politics, I lost track of the subjects just listening to their voices and watching the smoke from the torches curl and spin. I soon found myself leaning against my mentor's chest and soon drifted to sleep.
(Larten and Seba)
Larten looked down at his now sleeping assistant. "She was tired." Seba stated simply. Larten smiled lovingly, stroking her fiery hair. "We have had a very long journey, longer than usual." He chuckled. "How did you come across her, Larten?" Larten pulled Nyx closer, wrapping a part of his cape around her. "I found her in a dumpster, when she was five months old. Her parents, I believe, were killed by a vampeneze, but I have no proof of such. She is the first born vampire… Of that I am certain." Seba sat forward. "The first born… Amazing… And I will assume that the fact that the reason why she bears an uncanny resemblance to you is merely luck?" Seba chuckled. "Luck of the vampire…" Larten responded. Seba stretched and yawned. Most of the hall was now empty. "Come, lets us all retire for the day. I have a few rooms open; you may take your pick. Nymphadora can pick her room tomorrow night."
"Nyx…" Larten corrected absently. "Pardon?" Seba questioned. "She does not like to be called Nymphadora; she prefers to be called Nyx." Larten explained. "I see." Seba stood as Larten gathered Nyx in to his arms and followed Seba to the rooms where they could stay for the nights while they were in council.
(Larten and Nyx, in coffin)
Larten sighed contently with Nyx snuggled against him. He loved to go to sleep like this. His daughter beside him, safe and sound. "I love you my little bat." He muttered to her, kissing her forehead. Before gathering her up against him, a blanket draped over them, and fell in to a deep and peaceful slumber himself.
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Sorry it took so long to update! (READ TOP FOR REASON) Hope this chapter made up for it! Next chapter will be up, as soon as I can write it!
Come to the dark side...We have cookies!
Remember R&R! Or I will send my flying monkeys out to attack you!
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