bittersweet
pairing: vamp! henry cavill x reader
summary: henry is a vampire, and he comes to you, a sorceress and an herbal alchemist, for help for his injuries whenever they befall him. one day, he comes to you for help with a life-threatening wound and you aid him the best you can.
Dusk had settled over the valley, the sun huddled behind the tips of the mountains, preparing itself to shine on it’s next batch of souls and wish the others a good night. You could slowly hear the bustle of wildlife quieting down and the night time creatures slowly coming from their homes. Your home was nestled in the crevice of the valley, right on the edge of where the forest ended and the mountain began, tucked in between two rocky slopes and atop a plot of flat grassy land and a small creek from the runoff of the mountain. It was a perfect solace for you, not many trekked up far in the forest because of the myths of the beings that roamed the mountains.
You were out in the small field you called your own tending to your small garden of herbs and flowers, collecting the necessary ingredients for the orders you collected from the nearest townsfolk. Some you liked to grow yourself, given the proper conditions, and others you couldn’t grow yourself, you would forage out where you could, the rest you would buy because of its rarity or they were in season.
You came from a bloodline of magic wielders that was gained at birth rather than learned over years of study and practice. your family didn’t understand your fascination with alchemy as you could simply perform a spell with simply your hands, they mistook it for a distaste for your natural abilities, but you once you were old enough, you explained that you had no intention of denying your magic, but that you also enjoyed creating with what came from the earth. Through your years of study, you learned that some spells created from simple plants were more potent and long lasting than anything you could conjure between your fingers. Of course, you could easily form a protective shield around yourself or make a fire in your hands to keep warm from the cold, but with alchemy any remedy you created could be used for weeks or even months without having to replenish or replace it.
As you collected the last of the components you would need, you looked down at your clothes to see how much laundry you would be doing on the upcoming full moon. your black doublet was slightly grimey from days worth of being worn about, and you could already slightly smell the many scents gathering in the fibers of fabric. Your leather trousers would need a rinse from the mud and dirt collected that wasn’t shielded by your laced up knee-high boots. You made a mental note of them plus the few other garments you had piled in the trunk in your bedroom, it wouldn’t be more than a half day’s work of washing.
“Not too bad,” you mumbled to yourself. you looked up at the blood orange sky one last time, the clouds had thinned which meant there wouldn’t be a storm that night, then you reached down to pick up your basket of herbs and began your walk back towards your home.
Ahead of you, your mare stood grazing in the small corner she claimed for herself. Her coat was splotched black and white, with a long dark mane. You slowly approached her and clicked your tongue so as to not scare her and pat her side. “Rest well, nova,” you mumbled to her and gave her neck a final pat. as a reply, she raised her head and bumped it into your chest, and you smiled down at her. Just as you were about to turn away, Nova’s head snapped towards the treeline and she began to shuffle nervously. You acted just as fast and set down your basket slowly and studied the distance to see what spooked her, the quickly darkening sky wasn’t of any help to settle your nerves.
Neither of you moved as you waited to hear another sound, and just as you were about to call it a false alarm, you finally heard the sound of bustling in the trees and before you could react, a stumbling body came into view, nearly toppling over before they caught themselves on a tree. You squinted to try and figure out who it was from the distance, and something about the curly head of dark hair and long dark velvet coat seemed familiar.
“State your business,” you yelled to the stranger at the treeline. You slowly approached them with a hand behind your back, ready to use any force necessary if need be. They didn’t respond, instead their body finally caved in on itself and they dropped to their knees, and you heard a deep grunt of agony even from your distance, and naturally you grew worried. You began to get closer, and as you were about to speak, the person lifted their head and their face became visible through their hair and your eyes widened in shock at the familiar face.
