April 9th. Rainy late night. James was still on the ground; soaked from the rain and dirtied by the mud. He was so numb inside, he didn’t know what to feel, nor what to think. He could only see the bodies of his adoptive parents and his blood parents as they laid dead in the cathedral burned into his mind. Footsteps broke James’ thinking and he slowly looked to the opening to the road. He saw a man wearing a purple waterproof robe with the hood over his head with a few other men with him also in robes but in red. The hooded man looked to his right and saw James on the ground.
“Mr. Ruth?” The hooded man called to him.
James realized the voice belonged to King Duval.
“Your… majesty…?” James struggled.
Duval took off his hood to reveal his face, showing his bewilderment. Seeing the state that James was in, he then looked in the direction of the cathedral.
“Something has happened! All of you, search the cathedral! Find survivors!” Duval commanded his men.
As his men dashed to Holy St. Lithe, Duval kneeled to James’ level and held him up. He felt that James was cold and looked pale as winter. He looked at James’ face and saw his eyes were crimson. Duval then opened his mouth and saw he had fangs; his eyes widened in shock.
“You’ve been bitten… who did this to you?” Duval asked.
James started to breathe heavily in anger.
“… Delianna… Remi…” He growled. “She killed them… She killed Harland…”
James’ breathing started to become erratic as his eyes started to glow crimson. Duval picked James up and saw he was about to go into a frenzy.
“Your majesty… what’s happening? I feel so… thirsty…” James said frantically.
“You need blood. I will give you something when my men come back.” Duval stated.
Duval’s men dashed from the cathedral back to his area.
“What is your report?” He asked.
“There are six humans dead in the foyer; the six include Father Nyris Dustine and the main two nuns: Theresa Faye and Deborah Lee.” One of the men replied.
“And the other three?” Duval asked.
“The three we suggest are a witch and her two protégées’.” Another man replied. There seemed to be a fight in the foyer since there was silver dust on the floor and the father’s cross was thrown along with his severed hand. The six worked together to fight but were killed in the process.”
“Were there any survivors?” Duval asked.
“There are children on the orphanage side. They were asleep. There are a few nuns, as well. They were upstairs asleep.” A third man replied.
“Alright. Paxton, Simion, Reuben, go back to the cathedral and send them to the St. Joseph. Guide them to the back way of the church and come back to the castle. Nikolas, Daniel, with me.” Duval commanded.
As the three went back to the cathedral, Duval and the other two went back to Duval’s castle.
~~~
Inside the castle, Duval laid James down on a table in a room filled with beds. James’ breathing was still erratic. James started to yell inhumanly with Daniel and Nikolas holding him down as he moved uncontrollably. A woman with short platinum hair came in the room mixing ingredients in a bowl; Duval looked at the woman.
“Oriba! Is that ready?” He asked the woman.
“Yes, your majesty. Please keep his head still.” She replied.
Duval held James’ head still as he continued to scream. Oriba put the bowl to James’ mouth and slowly poured the red liquid into his mouth. When James felt the liquid hit his tongue, he stopped screaming and held onto the bowl; making Oriba let it go. James drank all the liquid in the bowl, quenching his thirst. James began to feel drowsy afterwards and went to sleep; prompting for Oriba to grab the bowl back. Duval then picked up James and laid him on a bed.
“We let him rest now. Let’s get to our rooms, people.” Duval commanded.
Duval and the rest of his people left out the room, down a long hallway, and into a door that led to the throne room. Moments later, Paxton, Reuben, and Simion came back and were in the throne room and walked towards Duval. They bowed their heads in respect.
“Report.” Duval commanded.
“We sent the nuns and the children to St. Joseph until the investigation ends at Holy St. Lithe.” Paxton addressed.
“Good. We’ll deal with this in the morning. Don’t forget your rings. To our rooms.” Duval commanded.
Duval and the others when to separate areas of the castle to their rooms.
~~~
April 9th. Cloudy morning. James was awake sitting in the bed still in thought of what happened last night. His mind then went to Delianna. He also realized that the reason he couldn’t see her in his premonition with Harland was that she had some type of power that blocked her from his sight, as he expected before he realized Delianna was the killer. He clenched his fists together; wanting to take revenge for his family. Duval walked in the room with a bowl in his hands. He pulled up a chair and sat next to James.
“How are you feeling, James?” He asked.
“I… I don’t really know how to feel right now.” James replied.
“Many things going through your head at once?”
“Yes. I feel so… angry, lost, and my head hurts so bad.”
“One of the downfalls of becoming a newborn vampire. Everything for the next two weeks. Or in your case, your head, and your eyes. You’re the one with the premonitions, right?”
“Yes.”
James began to groan and held his throat.
“Thirsty?” Duval asked.
“… Yes.” James replied
He looked at the bowl Duval held. Duval gave James the bowl; James drank the liquid in the bowl and gave it back to Duval.
“What is that?” James asked.
“Blood substitute. Quenches the thirst of any vampire but doesn’t quite have the taste.” Duval replied.
“Do you… drink blood?”
“Yes, but only animals. Now, I want you to answer some questions about what happened last night, and I would like to make a proposition with you after.” Duval stated.
“Alright. Ask away, your majesty.”
“You said someone by the name of Delianna Remi killed Father Nyris and the others?”
“Yes, and those other three people were my mother, my father, and my aunt. Their names: Elsa, Gad, and Esper Ruth. Elsa and Gad were my parents.”
“Okay. You are most certain this Delianna killed Harland?”
“Absolutely.”
“And is she the one that bit you?”
“Yes…”
Duval saw that James hands were balled in fists at that response. Duval saw that James wanted to have revenge. Duval puts his hand over James’.
“You seek revenge. I understand that. But you shouldn’t let it consume you. Time will help you as karma comes to her.” He stated.
James nodded in agreement.
“So… what is your proposition?” He asked.
“How would you feel if I said I would be honored if you were to be my retainer?”
James looked at Duval in confusion.
“What? Why? I don’t know how to fight.” James said.
Duval chuckled.
“Not as my guard, but as my advisor. Since you are now a vampire, you’ll have to practice more on your premonitions. But there might be a time where you must fight, so you will be taught that as well. With that, you can live here. I can tell one of my maids to ready you a room today. How does that sound, James? It will be a step forward to make sure incidents like this never happen again to anyone else.”
James looked Duval in the eye; seeing his truth was there.
“You have been a respectful and well-loved king to all of the people of Velorice City; especially your visits and donations for the orphans in the cathedral.” He praised. “So… I accept your offer, my lord.”
James then bowed his head out of respect.
“And I thank you for taking me in after I suffered a crushing loss.” He added.
“That’s what everyone should do for one another in our land; albeit human, wolfen, and vampire. And call me Duval.” He stated.
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