William Holloway

I'm a devil in disguise

There were many reasons why, upon his release from the prison that had held him for the past several years, William had immediately sought out Sebastian and Sacrosanct. Even if his instincts were screaming to get as far away from his last known location as soon as possible, even if he wanted to hide far, far away. There had been promises made to stay near the immortal vampire, promises made both to Sebastian himself and to William's own heart. Sebastian and William so tied together by fate even in their immortality. William could no more willingly remove himself from Sebastian than he could control his powers. Coming to Sebastian meant comfort, safety, happiness. And yet he'd expected nothing more from his friend than a safe place to lay his head. The notion that Sebastian might want to hire him to protect him in some way seemed entirely absurd, especially with the confessions he'd just made to his companion. And yet William questioned more the need for a body guard at all. Perhaps, there was no need for one at all other than a desire to keep William close by. And if that was the case...

Still, William instead focused on the entirely foreign notion of a 'fan girl'. While the words, separately, might have made sense to the Englishman, putting them together merely left William knitting his brows together in utter confusion. It was, after all, easier to focus on that instead of the consideration that William might have ever been willing to kill Sebastian. Though the Hunter hardly considered that Sebastian could really be in danger from these apparent deranged children hell bent on attacking the Earl, his explanation was enough. After all, why debate their motivations and intentions when William all together wasn't sure they existed in the first place? If Sebastian wanted to invent these crazy, obsessive girls as a reason to hire William, who was he to judge? Instead, William's focus shifted entirely to the way that the manor had changed since he'd been gone, focusing in entirely on that subtle, yet major, way that Charles had addressed his master. Voicing it with that lighthearted joke and that playful smile on his lips, William fully anticipated his companion to come back with one of the same jokes he'd long grown used to, and instead what William received was anything but.

Sebastian hardly seemed thrown off from the abrupt way that William sat up, the Duke having been utterly stunned by the response he received. It wasn't as though meeting the monarchy was that absurd, and yet somehow William had assumed such privileges had been lost to them both when their mortal lives had ended. William's lips parted ever-so-slightly, preparing to voice his confusion. But even that wasn't allowed, as Sebastian continued to speak of exactly what country his loyalty was now tied to. William's entire body seemed to freeze, as if his very muscles were unwilling to accept the information being presented to him. Those words, full of so much weight and meaning, simply refused to make any real sense to the Duke. Abruptly, William sat up, his spine as straight as it could be, much like the way he had sat entirely on edge within the dank cell of his prison. And perhaps this was a prison, but a different sort of one. One where he had to watch everything he knew and loved change into something he wasn't sure how to follow. Still, this had to... William voiced those words, trying to write off the whole thing as the joke it had to have been. It wasn't a funny joke, not at all.

And yet, even as he said the words that begged for this to be a joke, William knew that it wasn't. Gone was the lighthearted, human Earl that had been his closest companion; instead replaced by someone else entirely. Someone that William wasn't entirely sure that he knew. But he'd seen it already, hadn't he? Sebastian had been becoming this before he'd left. And entering his office today, William had seen the way the weight of the world seemed to rest upon Sebastian's shoulders in a way that it hadn't before. Weakly, William's gaze drifted to the vampire's hand as he lifted it to show off the heavy signet ring he wore. Any pretending that this was a joke was all but gone in that moment, and slowly, William's mind weaved together the very reasoning for that.

The realization of what must have happened for that title to be bestowed upon the former Earl hit William harder than any hardship he might have endured throughout the past two centuries. William had known it would happen eventually, even then. That someday, somehow, Sebastian's bachelorhood would eventually come to a screeching halt. It was something William had put off as long as possible for his own fate so long ago, and something he'd even thrown one hell of a fit about when he'd discovered his own sister would be the one to take his Sebastian away from him so long ago. Ah, how much better that would have been now, in retrospect, for the two of them to grow old together as brothers. But this... this weight and this responsibility and this person was something new entirely, if only because he knew that Sebastian had cared about them. He'd told William as much, hadn't he? That there was someone else who held his heart. A woman that would no longer merely be a consequence of the title, a person to manage the household, to give Sebastian heirs, but a literal Queen.

How could William compare to that?

Miserable, heartbroken, William reached up to rake a hand through his wet locks. Those two words decidedly heavy as he quietly spoke what he already knew to be true into existence. His deep brown eyes focused on his companion across from him, the Duke prepared already for the anguish of watching Sebastian be in love with someone else. And even though he knew the words to be true, it was an additional ache to hear the two worded confirmation of two hundred years of dread. Quickly, before William had a real chance to look away or move, Sebastian continued with those words of promise that this wouldn't change anything between them. But how could it not? How could this not shatter everything that they-

William should have tensed as the vampire moved in closer to him, but the comfort of having Sebastian so close to him overrode any of the anxiety and unease he might have felt. Desperately, he wanted to pull Sebastian in. To insist that he had loved him first, that he wasn't going anywhere, that this wasn't fair. He wanted to throw a fit like a small child in some last, desperate attempt to get what he wanted. And yet he knew that would grant him no peace. Instead, William let his eyes flutter shut as he felt the breath upon his ear, those noises so delicate. William stiffened ever so slightly in surprise at the notion that he... As Sebastian's words settled upon him, William's eyes flew open to observe the near playful look upon his features. The words, as scandalous as they might have been, were hardly as surprising as they should have been in the situation. Wasn't this exactly what they'd always been planning, in a way? That regardless of what their futures looked like for status, for home life, that they'd always have each other?

Slowly, as Sebastian increased that distance between them ever so slightly, William's hand reached out and grabbed ahold of the vampire's. William pushed his fingers between Sebastian's, giving their entwined fingers a squeeze. "I'm..." He said, though he paused, clearly unsure in which order to say the vast number of things that needed to be said. Slowly, the tiniest glint of a smile worked its way onto William's features. "I'm an extremely expensive bodyguard," He teased, knowing full well that they both knew that the services requested of him would have been done without question. Was it a surprise that William would gladly end anyone who dared to harm him? "In all seriousness, mate, you don't have to hire me to keep me from leaving. I mean it when I say I'll never leave. Unless..." He shrugged, unwilling to repeat the very circumstance for what had caused their last parting. "But even then, I'll fight my way back to you." Slowly, William lifted Sebastian's hand, planting a chaste kiss on the vampire's knuckles directly below the signet ring that symbolized everything that had changed. "But if you want me here, I'm yours. I'll be your bodyguard, your best friend... whatever it is that you can or are willing to give me. I think... by now, you have to know that I'll always do that. You have to know how I feel about you." William paused, nearly stopping short of those words that he'd held back for two centuries. "You know that I love you, regardless of who you're with or what you are or even what bloody country you swear allegiance to."

Slowly, William released Sebastian's hand, though he didn't move from his place beside him. Instead, he relaxed, with a playful smile spreading across his features. "Could you imagine my father if he heard this? His son, swearing loyalty to Italy, of all places?" A small laugh escaped the Duke's lips at that very notion. God, he could almost feel his father rolling over in his grave. Finally, William brought his gaze back to Sebastian. "I suppose if I'm meant to be your body guard, I should meet your Queen soon, no?"