"Gaspard, Let me handle this," he said irritably before Gaspard dug himself in any deeper.
"No. I'll do better than that- I'm leaving."
"What?" Gabriel suddenly turned to him again, not sure if he was serious. "Why?"
Gaspard ignored his questions. "And to think I trusted you." He gave Gabriel one last look of disgust before he swiftly made for the trees, disappearing into their darkness.
"Damn it, Lucas!" Gabriel exclaimed after his student had left. "What are you pouting for? The boy will be back."
"How do you know? He could be as far as Spain by tomorrow if he wanted!"
"Believe me, he won't go far. He knows he can't control himself without us for long."
Gabriel scowled. "Why did you use a human for the test, Lucas?"
"I needed to be sure he is the one."
"I thought we already established that with his use of the necklace?"
"Yes, and no. Just because he can use the pendant doesn't mean he is the one prophesied. Though, now I believe all my doubts have been cleared." He pondered over his own words for a moment before continuing. "Find him. Make sure he still returns. And for hell's sake, teach him how to control his damn temper. Since he is your responsibility, of course," He mocked.
Gabriel almost laughed. Gaspard's temper? It was Lucas who needed the anger management training. "Yeah, I'll work on it," he sighed.
"Good. Now, if you excuse me, I have a dinner date I must attend to." His long, black robes swished as he turned sharply and entered the castle, leaving Gabriel to his thoughts.
Chapter 13 Confrontation
As Jocelyn sat at the long kitchen table eating a light lunch
with her father and Luciel, all she could think of was Gaspard. She played around with her food absentmindedly as she thought of how he had acted that morning and for previous encounters of the past days as well. What was going on with him? She wondered as she nibbled on a strawberry. She wasn’t even hungry but she still stayed at the table to spend some short minutes with her father, even if they were accompanied by Luciel. She was determined to talk with Gaspard today, she just had to. Not only was the silence between them murderous to her, but she was also worried there was something very wrong with him. She feared it was her doing, but no matter how hard she tried she could think of nothing she could have said or done that could have caused him to act the way he was.
She was suddenly ripped from her thoughts of Gaspard as her father stood up, his chair squeaking against the floor, causing her to drop her barely eaten strawberry.
"I must get back to the papers in my office now," he spoke as he pushed his chair back under the table giving Jocelyn her own excuse to get up as well. Leaving just Luciel at the table as Jocelyn exited shortly after her father. She dashed up to her room as soon as she knew no one was watching and shut her door. She would have gone straight to see Gaspard, but she had dropped the strawberry onto her own lap and red berry juice now stained part of her once clean white dress. She hurriedly picked out a fresh dress- a nice crisp pink one with matching hat and dressed swiftly. She feared Gaspard might have already gone into the woods to collect more firewood. With any luck, he would still be in the stables or around them, she thought.
As soon as she had slipped the stained dress off and the new one on and tied on her hat, she made her way down the spiral staircase trying to keep herself both looking and feeling calm as she took the steps almost two at a time before she made it down to the hardwood entrance room of the mansion.
"And where do you think you are going off too?" A sneering voice spoke up, stopping Jocelyn in her tracks as she had begun to reach for one of the doors' handles.
"I am going to visit with the workers, Luciel," she said as calmly as possible as her step mother stepped out from around the corner. How long had she been waiting? Did Luciel really wait there the entire time just to stop her and cause her problems? Jocelyn shook her head at this; Luciel couldn’t be that mean could she?
"You're going to visit that new worker again aren't you? What was his name again, Grutas?"
"His name is Gaspard."
"Well, whatever his name is, he is unimportant and I do not see why you keep going to visit him when he should clearly be working."
"I talk with him while he works. I do not see the big deal in all of this, Luciel."
And in all honesty, she did not. What was it Luciel's business if she befriended one of the workers? He still did his job all the same whether she speaks with him or not. Why did she always need to cause her grief?
"The big deal is you should be doing your duties instead of frolicking with the mansion's workers. They are not of the higher class as we are."
"I have already finished my duties for today, and I enjoy the company of our workers, even if they do not have the wealth we do." "You are just like your mother," Luciel spoke the words as if she had poison on her tongue.
"You speak of my mother as if she were a bad person-"
"Yes, she was not a bad person, but her kindness to those below us was sickening. How much you have inherited from her. I could never understand why your father had ever married someone so naive and emotionally vulnerable as your mother. How lucky for your father that I was there when your mother died. He needed a strong wife, not one as weak as Irene had been."
"At least my mother was not an old crow like you!"
Luciel struck her across the face with her hand as soon as Jocelyn’s retort came out of her mouth. Her slap was so fierce it caused Jocelyn to take an involuntary step back, bringing a hand to her cheek to feel where Luciel had hit her. Shock ran across her face at what she had just done, and the fact that Luciel would not get into any trouble with her father. Victor would most likely not even believe Jocelyn if she told him. It sickened her at how ignorant and blind her father got when it came to matters of Luciel and how she treated her. She gave Luciel a very startling hate filled glance before exiting the mansion in a few swift steps, making sure to slam one of the large doors shut behind her. Anger filled her heart at their encounter with each other, taking over the small part of her that would have cried at the slap before. She needed to get as far away from that woman as possible. And what better place to go then where she was already planning on going: to see Gaspard. Her heart suddenly lifted at the chance to try and talk with him again, learn why he was so off with her previously that same day.
She quickened her pace as she neared the stables, trying to contain herself from running the rest of the way. As she opened the stable doors slowly, forgetting it no longer squeaked, she eyed the stable quickly spotting him almost instantly in the very middle with one of the horses tied up outside its stall as he brushed the mare gently. She stood there for a few moments as she watched him talk kindly to the horse as he brushed her down, rubbing her nose occasionally for keeping still for him. She shook her head slightly, dragging her out of her slight trance of him and took a few steps towards him.
"Hello, Gaspard," she smiled as she got close enough and was surprised at the expression that flashed upon Gaspard's face. A look of shock, and what seemed like fear as he quickly moved to the other side of the mare putting the horse between them.
"I cannot talk now, Jocelyn, I have to finish brushing these horses down," Gaspard said from the other side of the large mare, avoiding looking at her. Jocelyn had tried to maneuver around the mare to face Gaspard, but he moved to the horses other side while trying to keep his distance from her. He hated avoiding Jocelyn like this, but the mere sight of Jocelyn reminded him of the poor girl Lucas had killed- and had most likely drunk from. There was no way he could face Jocelyn and not be struck with the images of the girl crying and begging to be released, and no matter how much it pained him to avoid Jocelyn, he just could not relive those memories any clearer then he already was.
"We have talked before while you worked, do you not wish to be friends with me any longer?" She asked. Pain sounded in her voice that she was desperately trying to hide. Why was Gaspard av
oiding her? Had she said something to anger him? Her fight with Luciel had grieved her as it brought back slim memories of her mother, and talking with Gaspard would have usually cheered her up. But now, it only pained her more.
"That is not it at all Jocelyn," he had ceased his vigorous brushing and leaned his head against the mares flank, his voice was low and grieved as he spoke, "I just need to finish my work here. I am truly sorry..." he mumbled before resuming his job, grabbing a pick to clean the horses’ hooves next. He wanted to tell her so badly of the truth of why he could not talk to her, or even look at her for that matter. But, he couldn't, there was no way he could have ever told her.
He gripped the pick in both his hands firmly, dangerously, as he heard her give a sad sigh and leave the stables in soft, swift, footsteps. He felt the pick start to dig into his palm, but he didn't care, it's not like he was going to bleed to death- or bleed at all for that matter.
Anger suddenly flared up inside of him at how selfish he was being. How could he hurt Jocelyn like this when she clearly just wanted to spend time with him like they had done countless times before? How could he think that seeing the memories of the night of his blood test be any worse than practically pushing Jocelyn away from him, farther and farther until she was gone to him forever?
He pulled the horse pick out of his palm viciously, tearing even more skin that refused to bleed in the old human way it had before he turned. He tossed the pick aside, watched his palm heal swiftly and ran outside the stables, looking quickly around him until he spotted her a few yards away sitting on a bench under a large tree. He slowed down from running to a slow walk as he neared closer, unsure of what he could possibly say to her to make up for what he had done.
Jocelyn knew he was standing barely a few feet away, and she still refused to look at him. He had hurt her deeply. Deeper than anything the spiteful Luciel could ever say to her. For what did it matter what she said? She would have rather fought a hundred times over with Luciel then to ever be treated like that by Gaspard ever again.
Gaspard knew she was ignoring him on purpose, and he knew he deserved it. But he did not turn and walk away. Instead he took a few more paces towards her and sat down on the edge of the bench a few inches away from her. He looked at her sideways, slowly seeing if he could handle looking at her. And to his utter shock he could. The thought of losing her was far more grievous then seeing that girl being dragged away screaming, again and again.
"I...I am sorry for what I did..." he spoke softly, his voice gruff. When Jocelyn didn’t say anything and just continued to look away he went on, "I have just been having some...problems, you could say, lately. I did not mean to treat you as I did. You do not deserve that. Please, forgive me, Jocelyn."
"You have been acting strangely for some time now," she said slowly, finally turning her gaze to him, "What is wrong?"
What could he say? That it was his fault an innocent girl died? That not only did she die, but had her blood slowly drained from her body from a vicious vampire? And it was he, Gaspard, who could do nothing to stop him and help her? He didn't want to lie to Jocelyn, but telling her the truth would probably be worse.
"I guess I am just still upset over..." he paused, still unable to speak Elijh allowed without becoming either angered, or grieved. And even though he didn’t finish, Jocelyn knew what he was going to say. Her expression turned soft as she looked at him, reaching out a hand to grasp one of his comfortingly.
"I should have known. It is not fully your fault for how you have been acting, I should have known you still miss...him," she said softly, smiling at him with understanding. He tried to smile back, but it turned into a weak grimace instead. What he said wasn't entirely a lie, as he still did miss his best friend, but he had still not told her the truth all the same.
After he returned to his quarters that night, Gaspard couldn't keep his mind off of what happened the previous night at the castle. He didn't want to ever go back there. How could he after what he had witnessed what happened to an innocent human that was captured and tortured just for testing his vampire skills? With or without Gabriel's mentoring, he would learn how to use his abilities and restrain from drinking human blood. But how much time did he have to waste on trial and error?
Gaspard walked over to the small window facing the mansion. As he looked about absently through the dark, there was a quick change of the smell of the air in the room. He recognized the scent and the new presence immediately without moving from where he was. "Come to force me back?" he asked heatedly.
Just as he had guessed, Gabriel was standing silently in the doorway. "No," Gabriel sighed. "I won't force you to do anything."
Gaspard didn't turn to face him. His eyes were still staring out the window at the moonless night. "Why should I trust you?"
"Still upset with me? I thought you would have had it all out of your system by now." He shook his head and smirked sadly. "I did nothing that should have made you so furious."
"Exactly, Gabriel. You did nothing!" He placed his hands firmly on the window sill. "You let that lying bastard kill the young girl and who knows what else he did to her!"
"Gaspard, I know how much you despise Lucas. But you can't go around accusing him of these barbaric acts. He is not one to mess and incriminate with. I've seen what he is capable of doing to rebels." He placed his right index finger and thumb to his forehead.
"And I won't see it done to you."
Gaspard tightened his jaw. "So you are saying you don't believe he did these things to the girl?" He swung his head around to glare at him. "I know you heard him. You were right there next to me!"
"Yes, I heard him!" He said in a hoarse voice that barely sounded like his own as he threw his arms down to his sides. "Satisfied?" He shook his head once again. "But it doesn't matter what we think is just. Lucas is our leader and his rules confine us all."
"It isn't right." He returned to looking out the window. "People shouldn't be treated this way. We shouldn't take their lives to survive. We may be immortal but we still are-"
"What? Human? But that is just it, Gaspard. We are not humans. We may feel love, despair, and even resemble them. But we are nothing more of the same."
Gaspard hated hearing these words come from Gabriel. It was like feeling death all over again. He stared at a star that shone brighter than the others. It somehow made him forget what was around him as he focused on it. The surrounding stars were much smaller and dim compared to it. The star seemed to rein over the others as it glittered in the center. But no matter how much it out-shone them, the followers still glowed with respect to the brighter one. "Why am I so different from everyone, Gabriel?"
"You've been turned into a vampire. We're all different from humans."
"No, not humans. All the other vampires, I mean. Including you." He finally turned around to face him fully and walked a couple of steps forward. "Why do I have these other..." he struggled to find the correct word, "powers that I can scarcely control?"
Gabriel's face remained expressionless until the last few words. "You mean what you did to Lucas in the castle and last night at the amphitheater to the guards; your burning ability?"
Gaspard nodded anxiously.
"The pendant you wear around your neck gives you that power."
"What? How can that be? It is only a necklace..." He stopped himself from the urge of putting his hand around the warm pendant that lay against his chest.
"It is made of silver and melted with several other fine metals in a way that it gives only the one wearing it special abilities. It was crafted over a thousand years ago."
"But if it does all this, then why do I have it?"
"Not many know of the secrets it possesses. And the ones that do are eager to get their hands on it."
He pulled the necklace out from under his shirt and looked deeply at its design. He knew what it looked like. He had stared and touched it countless times over the last ten years. But now he wanted to see it again, and learn every curve a
nd crevasse that belonged to this remarkable piece. "The half moon and sun... What do they mean?"
"The sun represents the strength and power of the gift, while the moon represents you. You are half of each."
A sudden question came to him as his thoughts lingered on the sun. Why was he able to be outside during the day, when no other vampires ever dare enter the daylight? Even Gabriel could only be here at night. "How come I can walk out in the sun and not be pained by it?"
"Your necklace protects you from it. The pendant absorbs the sun's heat and your body calls upon it whenever you feel the need to use it. For example: when you are angry or upset your body will rise in temperature and is released in contact. It's a part of you."
"And if I do not wear it, I won't have that ability and nor will I be able to go outside during the day?"
"Exactly. That is why you must not ever part from it. Keep it with you at all times or it may fall into the wrong hands." He gave him a serious stare.
"I have always protected it with my life. And I would never allow it to be misused."
"Good. But you must know that it is dangerous even for yourself. You could easily use your burning ability on anyone unintentionally."
"How do I control it? Is that even possible? It seems as if it controls me."
"Yes and no. You can learn to call upon the power with your mind. Though, unfortunately, it often reacts with whatever emotion you are feeling inside whether you want it to or not. All you can do is learn to keep your emotions from affecting you to the fullest."
Gaspard sighed angrily. He couldn't wear his necklace without the chance of burning people. And he couldn't not wear it, or he'd never be able to see the day or even Jocelyn again. He was trapped inbetween. "How am I supposed to use it with my own free will at least, then?"
"I can help you with that, Gaspard. But it takes time and practice-"
"No." He quickly moved away from him and walked to the other side of the room. "I will not return to the castle."
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