Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

•••

-The Von Helsing Estate-

It was late in the evening when Caius returned home with a satisfied smile on his face. Now that they had had their goodbyes with Caius, Anne and Lea would be starting their journey the next day.

And Caius, still riding the high of the activities he engaged in with both, was finding himself okay with the departure.

That changed the moment he walked into his room and closed the door behind him. His mood took a turn for the worse as he suddenly felt… alone.

Granted, he never had any of the ladies in his home but after over a month of having them not too far away, this felt… strange.

Taking off his uniform, which he would likely not put on again until the Mid-semester Break was over, Caius took a bath in hopes of soothing his mind. Once he got out and right as he was about to get dressed, his Loqui-Link alerted him from inside his Storage Ring.

Caius took out the device and smiled when he saw who was contacting him. He placed the device on the desk and accepted the call which summoned a holographic display of Arlette.

"Evening—" she started and stopped short when she noticed Caius was naked. Her smile became a mix of sultry and teasing. And then she saw Caius pick up a pair of pants.

"Please, please," she said calmly in a lascivious tone as she held out a hand in a hurry, "Please, don't get dressed for my benefit."

"Three pleas?" Caius said, amused and then he let out a sigh, "A shame my room is cold."

Arlette cocked her head with her eyes focused on Caius's groin where his member was dangling prominently,

"Doesn't look like it."

Caius laughed but he put on his pants.

"So how was it?"

Arlette snapped her head back into position but there was some disappointment in her expression as she answered with a shrug.

"Not too bad. Just boring droning meetings and inspections."

Arlette had been away from Lochxen for a few days now, taking care of 'Ophiuchus' business. A lot of the administrative tasks she had taken on as leader of the Organization could be done virtually but there was still a requirement for the occasional personal touches.

"And are you done?" Caius asked.

"Yep," Arlette said, "On my way back, actually."

"Back to Lochxen?" Caius asked in a tone that made it seem like that was a given.

Arlette didn't seem so sure.

"Maybe," she said, looking like she was giving it some thought, "With the Mid-Semester Break, I might give the 'ole Academy a break myself though."

"Then where would you go?" Caius asked with furrowed brows as he snapped on the buttons of a shirt.

Arlette looked taken aback,

"Caius, I had a home before Lochxen, you know. Actually, I have a couple."

"'Ophiuchus' paid well, it seems," Caius said with some jest.

"That they did," Arlette agreed with him with all seriousness, and then she shrugged,

"I'll probably stay in the Capital still. Can't be too far from you. You'll miss me too much."

She said it in a teasing tone meant to hide how much that was true for her. She was never going to go too far. The occasional journeys were fine enough, but weeks living elsewhere when there was a closer option ached her heart too much. Even if she was doing well not to let any of that show in the expression on her face.

Caius didn't even bother looking too much into what Arlette said. He just took it at face value because it was true. He would miss her too much.

And that birthed an idea in Caius's head.

"Why don't you come and stay here?" He asked.

Arlette paused.

"What?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"Come and stay here with me," Caius repeated, even more sure of his request now than he was the first time.

After saying it twice, Caius realized he had technically made this offer to Kaya as well. The difference was, he had known Kaya wouldn't take the offer, because, whether she realized it yet or not, she had things to do back home.

With Arlette on the other hand, Caius didn't know for certain. That said, as he gave it more and more thought, he couldn't think of a reason why she wouldn't/couldn't accept

"Caius, you can't be serious," Arlette said, sounding dumbfounded.

"Why not?" Caius asked with a smile and a shrug.

"Many reasons," Arlette said sharply.

"Do you want to be here?" Caius asked.

By 'be here', it was clear to Arlette that he meant 'with him' and not specifically the location of the Von Helsing Estate.

To that, she had only one answer.

"Yes," she said.

"Then nothing else should matter," Caius said easily.

"Well, something does matter. For one, your Father—" Arlette started.

"What about him?" Caius asked and he chuckled a little.

When he was giving it some thought, his father came to mind and he was convinced it wouldn't be a hurdle. Certainly not to the degree Arlette seemed to be placing it as he could tell by those wide grey eyes of hers.

"Well, for one, what are you going to tell him?" Arlette asked.

"Nothing more than he needs to know," Caius answered easily.

"Caius, this- this isn't ideal," Arlette said and looked to stammer as she sought words to express her worry but was coming up blank.

"Who cares about what's ideal?" Caius asked, with a little laugh now.

Arlette was about to speak when a knock sounded on Caius's door and he held out a finger to her.

"One second," he said and turned away from the Loqui-Link where Arlette still looked troubled.

Caius opened the door and Orland was there.

"Young Master Caius—" he started.

"Father's home, isn't he?" Caius interjected with a smile.

"He is," Orland said slowly, "How did you know?"

"A feeling," Caius said with a smile.

"Well, Lord Lucian has asked you to join him for dinner," Orland said.

"I won't think to miss it," Caius answered as Orland then bowed and stepped away.

Caius closed the door and walked back toward the hologram of Arlette who had, no doubt, heard the exchange.

"If that's not fateful, I don't know what is," Caius said with a gesture at the door behind.

"Caius—" Arlette started.

"My goodness, this is not the Arlette I know," Caius said with a bit of disappointment,

"The Arlette I know will face this with confidence and poise."

"The Arlette you know has never been in this situation before!" Arlette snapped and when Caius blinked in surprise, she added in a low voice,

"Clueless."

"What?" Caius said, dumbfounded but rather than clarify, Arlette simply cut off the connection.

Caius stared at the turned-off device for a few minutes before he shook his head and picked it up off the desk to send it into his Storage Ring after deciding he wasn't going to figure out what she meant by him being 'clueless'. At least not right now.

Of course, he had no intention of forcing Arlette to come here if she didn't wish to. But whatever was making her so worried was connected to his father and that was one hurdle he knew he could still take care of.

And with that, he got ready for dinner. The first one he and his father had had together in a while.

•••

"Caius," Lucian greeted once his son walked through the dining hall doors,

"Come. Sit."

"Evening, Father," Caius greeted and took his seat right before the servants came in with trays of food they laid on the table in front of Father and son.

"So, the Mid-Semester Break," Lucian said, "No more school for… how long?"

'Like he doesn't know,' Caius said with a mental eyeroll.

"A couple of weeks officially. Unofficially, indefinitely," he answered out loud.

"You must be relieved," Lucian said searching Caius's expression behind his glasses.

"Not really," Caius answered lightly, "I actually like school."

"Of course, of course," Lucian said, "I'm sure you've managed to make do. But it must be freeing not to be stuck in a classroom for hours on end."

Caius let out a mental sigh.

He kept his smile though and his tone was natural as he said,

"Really, Father, I don't hate school."

'And I know you know that,' he added in his head.

He was right, Lucian did know that. Caius never seemed impassioned by anything he said about school. Even when he talked about the one class he dropped, he seemed more amused about it and the reaction of the Professor than he was irritated.

However, Lucian believed Caius couldn't have loved all of it and if he could maybe trigger some dislike, he could make a genuine case for pulling Caius out of school and break the stalemate.

He frowned when he realized that wasn't working. And then he beamed when his mind came up with an alternate route.

"What do you have planned for the break. Any Projects?"

"A few," Caius admitted and there was something about his tone that made Lucian's next question come in a reserved tone.

"Any that'll see you out of the Estate?" Lucian asked.

Caius immediately shook his head and answered with certainty.

"Not a one."