About 10 years have passed now and I have stopped going to the meetings. No one has found out where the child is nor are they doing a good job searching for her. I still attend the yearly balls but other than that, I stay away from the castle. Now, I’m headed to Osaka to pick up an order from one of their herb stores. It’s not too far away and they have the best items so, I go there to shop. Once there, I walk straight into the store, ignoring people’s long stares. Have they never seen an elf before? I am welcomed by the tiny ring of a bell above the door and a friendly smile. “Ah Oramis, welcome back. Are you here for the usual?” The shopkeeper was a tiny old man with a full head of gray hair and forest green eyes.

“Yes, please.” I walked across the creaky boards of the shop towards the counter that looked just as unstable as the floors. The whole inside of the store smells like rich soil. It wasn’t gross, it was actually kinda calming. He had different herbs either hanging up or ground in jars. He walked into the back while I scanned all of the different jars that littered the shelves.

“Here you are.” He came back out and handed me a small brown sack. “Say, do you think you could do me a favor?”

I took the bag and looked at him questioningly. “What is it?”

“You see, I have a delivery to make but it’s all the way on the other side of town and I don’t feel comfortable leaving my shot unattended.”

“Then why don’t you just let the customer know that he or she would have to come here themselves and get it?”

“You see, I can’t go against them. If you haven’t noticed, there are many vampires around, the buyer being one as well. I don’t feel like being suck dry.” He looked down at his feet. I had no reason to do this for him but without thinking, I found myself agreeing. “Ah, thank you so much. Let me go get their stuff.” He retreated to the back of the store once again but this time, came out with a small wooden box.

~A few minutes later~

I stood in front of a large gray house that had roses growing by the windows to the right. It gave off a sort of spooky feeling. Walking up the cobblestone pathway, I knocked on their door. In a couple minutes the door swung open to reveal a man with dark purple eyes and dark blue hair. “Why is an elf at my doorstep?”

“I have a delivery for you from the owner of the herb shop.” I held up the box.

“DAKU, WHO’S AT THE DOOR!?” Ah, so his name is Daku. I saw his body tense before he glanced behind him. Another man ran up to him, a happy expression on his face. “Ah, an elf! Hi, my name’s Connor. What’s yours?”

He seemed a little too perky… “My name is Oramis.” I pushed the box closer to them. “Now please take this so I can be on my way.”

“Ah, could it be the elf wants to get away here from the big bad vampires as fast as he can?” Daku crossed his arms and teased, smirking at me. I only smiled in return.

“Of course not. I have no reason to be fearful of a vampire like you. I bet a declawed cat would be more dangerous than you.” His smirk turned into a glare.

“O-okay… so you have a package for us? Thank you for delivering it. Y-you can be on your way.” Connor grabbed the box and started to close the door before Daku could ‘try’ to hurt me. If all vampires were this entertaining then I wouldn’t mind moving here.

~2 Days later~

Dear Oramis,

Thank you for delivering our goods. I apologize for my master, Daku’s, behavior. To make it up, we invite you to a gathering at our house next week. It will be at sundown. I promise there won’t be any neck biting so don’t worry. It would be wonderful if you would come.

Sincerely,

Connor Pistévo

I glared at the little piece of paper in front of me. How did they even find out where I lived!? This is so troublesome… I regret delivering the box to them now. What have I gotten myself into now?