Yes indeed, the thought of a final farewell... My gruesome and brutal death flashed by in a second through my thoughts. Worthlessness, hopelessness, this wasn't prominent within the typical vampires that I knew or had known at one time. They all partook in this lifestyle like it was a game, a dirty, bloody game of excitement. If only they knew that there was so much more to this than meets the eye.                       If only I could be rid of my constant wish that I brought with my mortality.

However, I relished in the thought that Mikael could, at some time, recover his memories. Also this new circumstance drove a curiosity in me. What exactly was in that drug to cause such desire between them?

With nowhere to go, I prowled the mansion property for three days looking for an answer, only venturing back to Chris' to sleep in his grungy basement during the day. I also had a strong desire to free Mikael. Hope that I could juggle a plan in my head if I had peered in the mansion to see the perfect opportunity.

The first night, I had scoped a particular scene through the window: Sebastian was still so clueless as to the drug they had received from Chris.

He had caught the two partaking in the elixir in her precious library.

“What the hell's going on?” Sebastian spouted. “So Lucious was correct! Are you getting that from Chris?”

Serena gave him an agitated glare. “It's none of your business.”

Immediately, she began walking with him to the door as Mikael stood with the bottle up to his lips. I ducked my head, placing a hand upon my chest as his gaze wandered towards the window. I wanted him to see me, to recognize me, but tried to focus on my mission to figure out more about this strange drug.

When I looked through the window pane again, he was gone, and I focused my ears in on footsteps heading towards Serena's bedroom. Immediately, those moans began and persisted throughout the night.

Certainly, the drug had some kind of aphrodisiac effect to cause this urgency, the absolute need to be absorbed into each other... at least until the effect of this poison began to subside.

The next night, I peered into the library window to spot Serena apologizing to Sebastian for the way she had treated him. She placed her hand upon his cheek and slowly wrapped her arms around him, embracing him tightly before offering a vial to him.

“A peace offering. You are such a loyal servant, Sebastian,” she said softly into his ear.

He happily took the bottle and held it to his lips to drink.

Mikael was nowhere in sight, and though I did sense his presence, I had not found his whereabouts that night.

Only did I witness her offering to Sebastian, yet I did not hear them in service to each other like those nights I had seen her with Mikael. No lustful moans, no distinct noises of passion between them.

On the third night, I had made a plan to save him. It was simple and unpredictable as the moment suddenly arose.

Serena had sent Sebastian and Mikael on a journey to Chris's in order to retrieve more of the drug that had made her so seemingly pleasant to be around. As the door opened and they stepped out to leave, I jumped at the chance to follow.

A perfect opportunity. Serena would never know and Sebastian wouldn't care. Yet, just before I could depart after them, I heard her voice from behind the pillar.

“Lucious,” she said, calmly. “Have you been out here this whole time?”

I stood in defeat. I lowered my head and stared at the ground. “You should know. Don't tell me you cannot sense me here.”

She gave a faint, sly little chuckle. “Come inside. I have something to show you.”

I peeked my head out from around the arch.

“Come now. I won't bite,” she assured me. That I couldn’t be sure of.

I slowly stepped up the front stairs and right inside the door where she stood. Her arm wrapped around my shoulders and she carefully led me into her library, closing the door behind her.

Stepping into the library after being absent from the mansion for two months seemed like only yesterday. Nothing ever changed. Despite the mansion being remodeled just years ago, everything in the library quarters had stayed the same.

She walked me over to a small end table that sat in front of the large, decorated fireplace and reached out for a small vial that was discreetly hidden behind a flower vase. The vial was exactly like those I'd seen before on the previous days I was here, as well like the one I had seen next to Mikael at the park.

“You know what this is?” She uncorked the lid and held the potion filled bottle up to her nose.

“I do,” I gasped. “It's from Chris, is it not?”

“You've known Chris for almost a century and haven't known of this little wonder? What have you been doing this entire time, Lucious?” She chuckled, holding the bottle out towards me.

“I don't know if Chris has given it a more formal name, but I call it luce.” She carefully moved her hand, mixing the liquid, and I could see crimson rings form on the top.

“Luce?”

“It's Italian, for light. You see, this wonderful elixir has helped not only myself, but your precious Mikael see the light again. And I haven't seen it for almost two centuries.” She looked down towards the floor, her eyes trailing up my body with a smile. “Can you imagine how long I have wanted this?”

“A long time.” I answered.

“Very long. I haven't been so happy... besides for the day I met you.” She held out the vial to me and motioned for me to take it. “Try some?”

“No!” I backed away from her.

With that devious smile, she stepped forwards until I was cornered up against the wall. Leaning in, placing her hand upon the wall next to me, she grinned with the bottle held up against my lips.

“I might have said I'd free you, but don't forget, a blood bond is forever. You cannot escape me so easily, Lucious.” She chuckled again, tipping the poison closer to my mouth.

I knew this. The trade between Mikael and I was just a pawn. I knew I had given her the opportunity to wrap her chains around him as well, trapping us both within her devious palms for eternity. However, I had the notion that she had not offered a bond with him, not yet anyway.

“If you share with me, just a little bit, I'll let you see Mikael,” she whispered.

My eyes went wide and I let out a sigh of disbelief. Immediately, my body began to tremble at this idea.

“But,” she began again. “It will be under my terms.”

I sank under her grasp and fell to my knees, once more she had broken everything that was holding me together. Though, if it could only be for just one night despite being under her terms, this would mean more than the world to me. To see his face, hear his voice, I would overcome my nerves and allow that no matter what her evil scheme could be.

“Fine,” I sighed under breath.

She knelt down in front of me and placed her hand under my chin, lifting my head up to look into her eyes. Placing the vial against my lips once more, I could smell the peculiar aroma rising up from the bottle.

From the almost rotten, vile odor I could tell this poison was not just made of blood. Almost immediately, my eyes watered as she tipped the bottle up to my mouth and I caught a taste of the liquid.

“Good boy. You will soon see the light, just as we have.” She kept that pretentious smile as she allowed me to drink a small portion of the crimson extract.

Instantly, the poison hit my stomach and I fell to my side, wrapping my arms around my waist, writhing in pain. The room began to spin, her face mixed in with the colors and the lights surrounding me performing cartwheels within my eyesight.

“Aw, yes. The onset is quite horrid, though.” Her voice came louder than it had been before. “You will grow used to it.”

I saw her rise to her feet and leave the room while I still lay in misery. What could have been in this elixir other than blood?

I squirmed on my side then rolled on my back to look up at the ceiling. The stucco which made up the ceiling suddenly seemed to be crashing down, raining broken down white bits upon my face. I blinked, holding my arm to my face to block the barrage, yet when I looked again, the onslaught had stopped.

I rolled back onto my stomach, with my knees bent under me, I tried to steady myself upon my hands but crashed down, my face landing on the hard wooden floor.

Suddenly, I heard voices... many loud and unmistakable familiar voices all around me.

“What took you so long?”

“I'm sorry, he had just received a new batch,” Sebastian said from the abyss.

Mikael's voice came, sending flashes of his face and structure into my memories. I knew he was here, and started pulling myself to my hands and knees once more only to find myself falling again.

“I'll meet you upstairs, Mikael, hun,” Serena said.

And just as quickly as the voices began, they stopped abruptly.

I lay there as still as I could to focus in on any movement that could be heard, yet I sensed nothing. Until this strange thirst started to overwhelm me, and I rolled over to my side once more grabbing at my throat. A commanding, hostile appetite I hadn't felt before came over me now as my eyes were wide and I grunted under my breath.

Finally, I heard footsteps approach. Her boots came closer and stopped in front of me once more.

“Hungry?” she asked, holding a small cup in her hands.

I nodded, and she leaned down, setting the cup on the floor. I immediately recognized that scent of fresh blood floating up into the air and squirmed towards the glass. Before I could reach to drink the fluid, she grabbed me by the back of my hair forcing me to look at her.

“Remember, this is by my terms. If you get out of line, I'll have no regrets locking you in my dungeon for eternity!” Her tone was cold. This was her order.

I nodded again, her fingers twisted into the strands of hair in my head, sending sharp impulses of pain through my skull. She let go and allowed me to lap at the blood.

Now with that powerful elixir coursing through me, overcoming my senses and making them stronger than before, the colors of my surroundings appeared brighter. The sounds around me were louder, almost deafening. Many times I wanted to cry out for them to shush, just so my pounding brain could understand their whispers.

Strangely, so too did my desires grow. The desire to feed, the urge to walk the night in search of a tempting victim, and so too the craving I felt to see him. Throughout these heightened ambitions, I undoubtedly kept that one thought in my mind. The true reason I caved to her proposal. Mikael, the reason for my continued existence... what I craved most of all.