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You open your eyes and suck in a sharp breath. Above you is a clear blue sky, a huge tentacle, and ash falling from above. You rise to your feet, looking around in confusion. The landscape looks eerily familiar, but it can't be!..
You feel your pockets and find your phone, fully charged. There is no network, which is not very surprising if your eyes are not deceiving you. You stomp forward, not making out the road. Your feet lead you to the cliff, while you mentally fight for your sanity. On the horizon looms a curly head and an achingly familiar:
“You there! Come here - I need help.”
You freeze in place, and your eyes meet. He waves his hand, beckoning you to come closer. Your only thought: “Hooray, I've finally completely lost my mind. It can't be...”
The theater of the absurd, some kind of crazy nightmare, a delirious episode, a large-scale hallucination. You don't believe your eyes, everything is so... real, alive. You feel the sea breeze, the warmth of the sun's rays. And at the same time, you understand that this cannot be. You've gone crazy, you're sure. This is a dream, you're firmly convinced. This cannot be, which means you can let go.
You follow the scenario that you've played through countless times. You don't notice the boar in the bushes. Cold steel touches your throat. You fall to the ground, pale, cold hands holding you tightly.
You say the “right” lines out loud. They feel so strange on your tongue, so alien, imposed. You feel discomfort, but you can't immediately understand why. Much later, you’ll realize - it's guilt.
You pick up the others, yearning that you can't skip the dialogues you know by heart. You just want it to end soon so you can go back. Home, to your world, to your sanity. But a day passes, then a second, then a third, and you still don't wake up from this bad dream.
Another night of this madness, in which you take direct part. You're lucky that you know everything in advance. It has saved your lives more than once or twice. Although part of you, frankly, even wants to try to die in this adventure - what if it returns you to where you are supposed to be? But the instinct for self-preservation makes you move forward and keep breathing.
You don't try to flirt with any of your companions. It's so unfair. You know everything there is to know about them. You know what phrases to say to drive them crazy. You know their secrets, weaknesses, vulnerabilities. You know what awaits them ahead. Part of you screams at you, demands that you just think about yourself first and take advantages you've been given, this is still a dream, but you can't.
One evening, you find your newfound vampire friend staring into a mirror that reflects nothing but the scenery behind him. You quietly approach, knowing full well what lies ahead.
“Lookimg at something?” he asks, not turning to face you.
“Just looking. What are you doing?” you ask back.
“I'm looking too, but not seeing very much. Another quirk of my affliction.”
“Do you even remember what you look like? Well, besides “I look absolutely stunning”?” you ask, unable to resist a little friendly tease.
“Funny... I don't know. I can't remember. My face is just some dark shape in my past. Another thing I've lost. Gods, what I would give to see myself again.”
An idea suddenly pops into your head. What if?..
“I’ll be back in a second, don’t go anywhere,” you babbled and ran to your tent.
You rummage through your backpack, trying to get to your phone, which you turned off on the first day so that it wouldn’t die completely. Praying to all the gods you’ve learned about, you turn it on. 14%. Good enough! But you need to check something first. You stick the edge of your phone out of the tent, pointing the camera at the vampire. Amazing! He’s in frame!
With a satisfied, sly grin, you saunter back to him. He looks wary.
“Listen, a few minutes ago you said you’d give anything to see yourself again, right?”
“Perhaps. What are you getting at?”
He crosses his arms over his chest, still clutching the useless mirror.
“I might have a little magical device that can capture you in a moment. A little painting, an instant portrait.”
You fidget with the lacing of your shirt mysteriously and pretend to be very focused on examining its’ edge. It’s frayed and needs to be trimmed so that the whole cord doesn’t unravel.
“And how much would this… instant portrait cost me?”
Astarion tries to speak calmly, but he can’t stop the nervous tremor in his voice. He’s so excited. The chance to see himself again after two centuries!.. He licks his lips nervously and glares at you.
“Well, it depends on whether it’s one static portrait or… a moving one,” you continue to tease him. You don’t know how to explain the concept of a video to a supposedly medieval vampire, explaining it all with magic.
“Alright!” He's losing patience. "Either name your price and do it, or stop torturing me!”
“Okay. Right now I don’t need anything from you, but one day I will ask you for a favor. And when I ask, you will agree without further questions.”
Your fanged friend thought for a minute, he clearly didn’t like your condition, but he always had the option of not keeping his word. What will you do to him? In impatience, he agrees to anything. He will not refuse when what he wants is right in front of his nose.
You pull your phone out of your pocket, and catch Astarion’s skeptical gaze, directed at the dark rectangle in your hands. You take a few pictures, one short video, and even manage to take one stupid selfie, just to have proof that it is really him in the portrait. Pleased with the results, but dissatisfied with the remaining 10% of the charge, you hand the phone into his hands and warn him that, alas, he won’t be able to admire it for long.
“Magic has its expiration date,” you say, referring to the battery charge.
At first, he doesn’t understand what he’s looking at. You have to help him, you scroll through the photos, get to the selfie. And seeing you next to some blond elf, he finally understands. His hands are shaking, and his eyes are suspiciously shining in the flickering firelight.
“It’s me… after all these years. How did I go two hundred years without seeing that face? I can see what all the fuss is about.”
He looks at himself until the phone screen goes completely dark. The vampire looks at you with a pleading look, as if asking for the magic back, but you just shake your head sadly:
“Sorry, there’s nothing I can do, that’s all.”
He nods, hands you back now useless phone, and turns his back to you, moving towards his tent. After a couple of steps, he turns his head slightly in your direction and says:
“This is a gift, you know. I won't forget it.”
Overwhelmed with emotions, he goes into his tent and doesn't come out until the morning. Sleep never came to you that night either.