Chapter Text
“What are you doing out here?” Goldsmith questions, eyes fixed on Owen as if inspecting him.
Owen shrugs, “I was looking for others.”
Goldsmith brightens, as if finally finding someone who could understand his struggle. “Exactly! It's so hard finding people around here for some reason. I got back in town after a little walk and suddenly there were absolutely no people around,” the lord groans, making a show of his displeasure.
“Oh, I hear you,” Owen chuckles, his hands fidgeting with the wraps around his limbs. They look a bit dirty. Abolish should ask the doctor for some new bandages if he has any.
“Honestly, I went for a tiny walk by myself, since I couldn't find my butler anywhere.” The jab at Abolish does not go unnoticed. “Then I ran into a group of people and they were all like: ‘Oh, why are you alone?’ and I was like: because I don't know any of you!? Why would I go out in the woods with any strangers who could turn out to be axe murderers and hack me at any second?” Goldsmith rants to a very entertained Owen.
The lumberjack gives the lord a sympathetic nod in agreement. “Everyone's pairing up and going in groups with complete strangers. It feels a bit absurd to me.”
“That's what I said! They even took my butler! Just whisking him away from me! Then they have the audacity to ask why I was alone,” he scoffs, as if truly offended. Abolish grimaces at the way Goldsmith talks about him. It makes him seem incompetent. For the record, Abolish is an extremely competent butler. Goldsmith just happens to be extremely hard to deal with.
Owen's eyebrows raise as he looks at Abolish, as if asking for confirmation. The butler keeps his face completely neutral. Any sign of reaction is going to end with judgement from either one of the vampires. “I didn't think you'd be that type of person, Abolish. Just leaving Scott like that,” the brunette says. It feels mocking, but Abolish can tell that he didn't intend it to be sarcastic. Goldsmith seems to think of it as a lovely quip, though. He giggles behind the hand covering his mouth.
He takes a moment to remember that driving a stake through Goldsmith's heart will also result in the end of his own life. Abolish finds it within himself to keep some patience, even if it is just so tempting.
“I'm planning on getting a group of people to go on an expedition into the dead woods. I have a feeling that there are a lot of riches over there,” Owen begins to explain his idea. The more he talks, the more it sounds like he's trying to lure people to their death.
“The dead woods?” Abolish speaks up for the first time during this entire interaction. It catches both of their attention. The lumberjack's smile twists into something slightly unhinged.
He nods his head before explaining, “They've been ravaged by disease. Now they all rot away. The woods have been here since I was a child.”
“Interesting.”
“Truly fascinating,” Goldsmith chirps, though it sounds almost mocking.
“Would you both be interested in joining my party?” The brunette asks directly, suddenly deciding to stop beating around the bush.
Goldsmith glances at Abolish and the butler simply shrugs. Whatever his lord wants is whatever he will do. “Eh, I don't see why not.”
“Great! I'll be leaving when the sun begins to set, so maybe in half an hour.”
It's just so obvious he wants to kill someone. He must be hungry.
It happens more on instinct than anything.
Abolish offers Owen raw meat.
Owen looks at it like it's poisonous. Goldsmith looks at Abolish like he's gone mad. That wouldn't be too far off from the truth.
“You looked hungry, so I thought that when we went back to the village you could cook up some food,” Abolish explains his train of thought for once. The suspicion in Goldsmith’s face eases as he smiles at his butler. “If you want, I could even help you prepare it.” The smile has gone stiff but he hides it well by smoothing his coat. It’s something he only ever does when he’s annoyed, or, in very rare cases, nervous. The butler assumes this is the former.
Owen gives his own tense smile before carefully taking the meat, as if Abolish were the one with claws. “Thank you, but I’m fine with cooking this on my own.” He stares at the flesh in his hand for a moment before going back to meeting their gazes, “Guess I’ll be seeing you both later!”
The vampire makes a quick exit, not wasting any time on pleasantries.
“He must hate steak,” his lord jokes as they walk back in town as well, “I would never refuse a steak cooked by you.”
Abolish deadpans, “You can't have steaks.”
His liege frowns, something strikingly similar to a pout. “Well, if I could eat them, I would never refuse them.”
“Of course, my lord. I would be honored to make your steaks.”
────────
The first thing that happens when they arrive back into town is another run in with people. This time, it’s the pair of paranormal believers. Avid and Shelby skip to the gates from where they were in the forest. Shelby waves at Abolish with a huge grin on her face. Abolish is coming to realize that he has yet to actually talk with his roommate.
“So Scott! Have you found a house, maybe a place to stay?” Avid asks, but his questions are probing, almost like he’s interrogating the lord.
Goldsmith nods his head and gestures towards Shelby and Abolish, “The three of us are roommates.”
The brunette seems to finally notice Abolish for the first time because he gives an awkward chuckle. Avid gives Goldsmith a weary look before he excuses himself and runs off into the town.
Shelby happily skips over to her roommates. “He had to go home if he talked about vampires,” Shelby states, a decent explanation for the sudden departure. Did he think that Goldsmith was a vampire? Abolish has to make sure that his lord's identity is kept safe, through any means necessary. If it meant disposing of the boy…
He shouldn’t dwell on that right now. There are more pressing matters to attend to.
Their happy little group of three ends up in their house as Shelby enthralls them with tales and mementos of her outing with Avid. A small item—nearly the size of a head—is placed outside their door. Shelby says that she found it in a crypt, completely unsure of what it is. Abolish himself cannot place where the object may have originated from, but it has clearly been around for a while.
“Do you guys have any wool? I just need a bit more and I can make a bed,” Shelby asks, her head fully in the chest as she rummages for any more bits of fleece she can gather.
Goldsmith looks at Abolish, as if expecting the butler to always have the thing needed on hand. Abolish rolls his eyes but searches through his pockets regardless. Once the wool is procured, Shelby is able to make them two beds.
She looks at the beds and frowns. “There aren’t enough for all of us.”
The lord shrugs, “I’m an insomniac, so there isn’t much need of a bed for me. Besides, Abolish and I will share a bed.”
The person in question whips his head up and looks at Goldsmith with a startled expression. “We will?”
“Of course. We’ve done it before,” Goldsmith says, like it’s completely acceptable behaviour between a lord and his manservant. Abolish is filled with dread at the idea of people misinterpreting their relationship. Their roommate, on the other hand, has never looked more excited in her life. She beams at the two of them, a huge grin on her face as she nods her head in agreement.
Since when was she involved…
They make some more renovations around the house including adding a hearth for both warmth and food. When they all step outside the house to get a proper look of their—read, Abolish and Shelby's—hard work.
It is not a pretty sight.
Abolish can see Goldsmith holding back a gag at the building, already very sick of living with humans. The lord forces another smile back on his face before he turns to face Shelby, “Abolish and I shall go down to the mines to get us some stone for an overhang.”
“That's great! I think I'll be staying here for a bit,” is all the response Abolish can hear before he is dragged away by his lord.
“We are living in the dregs of society. What happened to the opulence? To the glory and riches of this town?” Goldsmith complains as they descend down into the mine that apparently he and Owen created.
It was never glorious, and it definitely never had an opulence. That was all Goldsmith. The people here were just livestock. Livestock don't tend to worry about how they look or are perceived. They're far too busy being slaughtered to care.
While Abolish mines the stone, Goldsmith scarves down some flesh to calm down his growing cravings.
“I don't get why people are so weird about the raw meat thing. It's not like I'm getting sick, so they have no need to worry about me,” the lord grumbles, using the handkerchief to clean off any blood remaining on the corners of his mouth.
He's getting more of an appetite. Abolish can see it in the way he carries himself in constant irritation. Though, that could also be explained by the fact he has to spend time around these lunatics.
Adding the overhang to the house is a lot more simple than Abolish would have thought. Despite that, Goldsmith looks at the overhang with resentment. “This place is appalling,” he grouses, scrutinizing the building with disfavor.
The butler hums in agreement, “Putrid.”
“Disgusting.”
“Foul.”
“Revolting.” Goldsmith cracks a grin, his canines peaking out.
Abolish smiles as well, “Beastly.”
They both look at each other before bursting into a small fit of laughter. It’s mainly Goldsmith who giggles behind his hand while Abolish presses his lips together and tries to hold back silent laughter that shakes his whole body.
The feeling that blooms in the butler’s chest is warm. A softness that Abolish had not felt in far too many decades. For five seconds, Abolish forgets his rank. For five seconds, Abolish forgets that they are in the remains of the town which took away his lord. For five seconds, Abolish has no duties.
It goes away as quickly as it came. Goldsmith coughs into his fist before composing himself. His butler is quick to follow his example and they both walk back towards the center of town.
Abolish’s eyes catch on the group of people… on the roof? He takes a step ahead of Goldsmith, as if the group would ambush the lord. His liege looks at him curiously before lifting his gaze to the posse on Pearl’s roof. The group all look at the two of them with wide eyes before all making a synchronized sound in greeting. It’s awkward, and it seems like they were not expecting anyone to come by.
“Okay, so, either you all are very happy to see me or you were talking about me behind my back,” Goldsmith declares, looking at all of them with suspicion.
A chorus of ‘no!’ and ‘we would never!’ follow in response, causing the lord’s gaze to pierce even deeper.
“Well, we were talking about your clothes and how good they looked,” Pearl supplies, already buttering up Goldsmith. Abolish knows that she will probably be successful, considering how much that man loves being complimented.
Drift chimes in agreement, “Yeah! We were just talking about how cool your outfit is.”
Everyone else nods their heads in agreement.
“Flattery will get you everywhere, but if you were complimenting me then why couldn’t you say it to my face?” He questions.
There isn’t any response to that. They all look at each other nervously before Owen speaks up, “You know, Avid was commenting on how old your clothes look.”
The boy is thrown off-kilter by the sudden shift of attention because his face goes crimson as he attempts to defend himself, “I said it was vintage!”
His roommate is there to support him, regardless of how incriminating his own words make him look. “Yeah, I mean, it looks so well-kept and authentic.”
Goldsmith turns to his butler, as if he cannot believe a word coming out of their mouths before rolling his eyes. “Obviously it’s authentic. I got this made from real and proper material, not from whatever third-rate trash you picked that thing out of,” he scoffs, gesturing towards Avid’s entire outfit. Abolish has to bite back his laughter. He cannot give Goldsmith that much ego.
Owen and Mr. M both chuckle as Avid’s face goes impossibly brighter as he tries to salvage the situation, “Alright, alright.” He looks around at Goldsmith and Abolish before beginning to question, “Where’s Shelby?”
“What?” Goldsmith responds incredulously, looking at the boy like he had grown two heads.
“You’re her roommate and you were with her last, so where is she?” He continues to press on.
The lord’s eye twitches, but this time he doesn’t hide it as well as he should. “Why should I know everything about them? My butler and I were down in the mines getting stone for our overhang.”
Avid’s turning out to be more of a problem than Abolish had anticipated. He’ll have to find some way to deal with the boy, sooner or later.
Everything turns into a mess of questioning and interrogating, and after a few minutes of arguing with each other, Avid flees in search of Shelby and Goldsmith rolls his eyes in annoyance.
The rest of the day goes as well as Abolish could have thought, considering that his lord is now being accused for the disappearance of their roommate. Why Abolish isn’t the one being accused or even implicated in any way is beyond him, but he’ll take any protection from the attention he can get. Goldsmith makes his rounds around the town, talking with everyone and making sure that they know he did not kidnap Shelby. His social game is levels above everyone else’s and it’s very clear in this moment what he’s playing for. His innocence is on the line, and for once, this isn’t a crime he committed.
By the time the moon rises, once again the kind of beautiful ruby that would be in Goldsmith’s eyes if he was any stronger, a group has conjugated around the campfire near Pearl’s house. Avid continues to accuse and push forth more blame on Goldsmith for the disappearance of Shelby. At this point, his voice has become more than abrasive. It gets underneath Abolish’s skin much more than he would like to admit. The lord is on the verge of actually mauling someone when the woman of the minute walks by their circle.
“Shelby!” Goldsmith exclaims, turning to her with relief as collectedness washes over him in small waves.
“Oh, hey,” they grin, unaware of the distress or accusations their disappearance caused. “What’s going on?”
Abolish speaks up, “My lord was accused of your murder.” The humour in his voice is evident as the butler throws a pointed look towards Avid. Avid guffaws, as if offended, but he can’t say much in his own defense.
She giggles, like Abolish just told the funniest joke ever before realizing that he was serious, “Oh. Oh! Scott didn’t do anything to me, guys! I kinda got lost around the woods, and night fell and it was very scary.” Her rapid explanation dispels any guilt from Goldsmith, so the butler knows he served his purpose well.
The group disperses once more, leaving Pyro, Shelby, Owen, Goldsmith, and Abolish. Owen herds them together to show a strange book he found in the dead woods.
Right.
His expedition.
The scholar is more than intrigued by the book, he takes it in his hands and flips through the pages with fascination. He passes it to Shelby, who squeals with delight.
“You said you found this in the dead woods?” Goldsmith asks as he peers over his roommate's shoulder to inspect the book. “Did you find anything like this during your travels?” He inquires, this time towards Shelby.
She pauses to think before responding, “I mean, I found the little head thing we have on our house.”
Pyro’s eyes widen with interest as Owen nods his head. “Where did you find it?” The vampire asks.
“Uh, somewhere near the dead woods, I think.”
“Interesting…” Owen hums, eyes moving to the edge of town. Whatever he's planning, it's not going to be any good. Abolish can already tell he wants one of the people here dead. Owen tilts his head up to look at the moon, “It seems like morning is going to come soon, so I might head out to the dead woods to go and search for some more things.”
The butler pities the fool who will fall for this very obvious set up.
“I'll go with you!” His lord chirps.
The butler pities himself for the mess that is bound to happen with this very obvious set up.
“Then, if I go missing, Shelby will be blamed for my murder,” he teases, looking at the redhead with a grin.
They giggle and shake their head, “No!”
“Better prepare your defense.”
Pyro chimes in, “I'd like to come as well! It would be nice to see the dead woods.”
Oh no.
Oh dear.
Abolish looks at the scholar with sadness, already knowing that he will have to strike him down for his lord.
It's been so long since he killed someone. The butler wonders if his hands will shake. The butler wonders if the axe will feel heavier than usual. The butler wonders if maybe, just for once, his sire will show mercy to the poor boy.
The walk to the dead woods is filled with chatter, mainly just Goldsmith and Owen asking Pyro about his life, his status, and what draws him to Oakhurst. They answer with reckless abandon, not realizing that they're being led to their grave.
To get to the decaying forest, they have to cross a river. Owen goes forth with ease, probably due to the fact he's been here before. Abolish is next, offering his hand for Goldsmith to take so that his clothes do not get sullied by the water. Still, his heels catch on a rock causing both him and Abolish to tumble into the stream.
Great.
Pyro laughs at their stumble, only for him to follow soon after them. Owen watches with mild amusement, like a cat watching mice squirm.
He is far too cocky. The butler wants to wipe that smugness off of his face. All will happen in due time, he tells himself.
They trudge through the rotting woods, and Pyro takes a moment to give them some food for the road. Berries and garlic, not anything Goldsmith or Owen can consume, but something Abolish enjoys immensely. He's not a fan of the garlic—he might just be conditioned to dislike it due to his lord—but he accepts the berries and takes a bite as they continue traveling deeper into the woods.
“Have you guys heard of the consecration of a second beacon?” Owen asks while they traverse a hill.
Goldsmith nods, “Yeah, I've heard about it, I've felt it, I just haven't seen it.”
The vampire looks at the horizon before pointing out a building, “Oh, look! There's one over there. We could help them out.”
Pyro hums in approval and their group goes towards the obelisk.
“I still don't see what the point is though…” the lord grumbles as they have to cross another stream to get to the building. There's a faint orange light that seems to emanate from the obelisk, indicating that it was already sanctified. Abolish grimaces at the sight.
Owen builds a makeshift staircase towards the pillar and everyone goes to check the beacon. “Huh, guess we're late to the party,” the brunet mumbles, his hand going out to poke the glass before pulling away and hissing slightly. “Hey, Pyro, could you back up a bit?”
“Oh, of course,” they chime happily, backing away from the beacon. Abolish takes the initiative and backs up as well.
The two of them stand on the ground near the pillar and they chat idly. Disowned from the will, coming here in hopes of clearing his name with his research.
They have so much to live for.
The sympathy in Abolish's eyes is undeniable as the vampires begin talking about staking claim. The pair have found out about each other, now there isn’t much Abolish can do.
A gloved hand reaches out to take Pyro’s, holding him in place.
“Wait, what's going on?” He questions, trying to shake his hand from the butler's. Abolish can see the panic beginning to grow in his eyes.
“Well, he's been here longer, so he stakes a claim,” Owen adds on, ever so helpfully as he jumps down from the obelisk to the ground.
Pyro laughs awkwardly, “A claim? A claim on what?”
Goldsmith's grin is unsettling, it's the kind of hunger that Abolish hates seeing. “On you silly!”
“Can I have a little nibble?” Owen asks, eyes pleading with Goldsmith like a sad animal. “Just a bite, I promise.”
The lord sighs and rolls his eyes but relents, “Fine. Just a bit.”
Abolish lets go of Pyro only for Owen to creep up next to them and grab their hand to feed from their wrist. The scholar looks at them with horror. Their knees begin to shake, their entire body losing blood before the lumberjack parts, blood dripping off of his lips.
“I—” Pyro stutters, stumbling forward in an attempt to run away. “I should go.”
Goldsmith looks at Abolish. His eyes flick towards the fumbling boy before going back to Abolish.
The butler lunges, grabbing Pyro before he can escape and pushing him into the water. His bloody wrist stains the water with a crimson red. He feels the words, “I'm sorry”, threaten to leave his lips. They never come. Instead, his axe lodges into Pyro’s back, causing the boy to scream and writhe in pain.
His lord walks like he has all the time in the world. He signals for Abolish to get off of the other, before pulling Pyro up and sinking his fangs into their neck.
“Vampires!” Pyro cries before falling limp.
When Goldsmith parts, his eyes are a murky red. Not quite the vibrant ruby Abolish is accustomed to, but a dull burgundy. His skin has lost whatever ‘life’ was in it, instead slacking to a lifeless ivory.
The body floats in the water for two seconds before it coughs and desperately swims back up to get air.
Pyro survives, but Abolish knows better. He is no longer human. Abolish reaches out to dislodge the axe from Pyro’s back. It's a graphic sight, honestly. His clothes are torn and his flesh is visible before it slowly fixes itself.
“I… Vampires are real?” They question, voice hoarse and hacking out blood. Goldsmith grimaces, whether it be from the retching or the waste of blood.
“Yeah, the rumors are true, Avid was right,” Owen answers, but he sounds disappointed. “Came out here and got nothing…”
Yeah, that sounds about right.
He sighs, “Anyway, welcome to the ranks of the living dead.”
“Abolish, are you a vampire too?”
The butler removes his blood-stained gloves and yawns. “No, not quite.”