Masala Chai Tea (by guest contributor, Rapunzel Fitzherbert)
What you need:
3 ground cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
2 slices of peel ginger
1 star anise
4 cursed black peppercorns
1 cup of whole milk
1 cup of black tea
8 spoons of honey, or to taste
How to Prepare:
1) Place cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, black peppercorn into a saucepan.
2) Add water, milk and honey. Bring mixture to a boil.
3) Remove from heat and add tea bags. Allow to steep.
4) Strain mixture into mugs and serve to irritating people.
Note: This has absolutely no nutrition for haemovores, but it still has calming effects. I think.
~~~0~~~
Two vampires.
Two mugs of chai.
Two vampires sipping two mugs of chai.
Around them was a wreck so complete that one would have thought that a hurricane had occurred. The halves of the sofa lay against the wall. An armchair over turned against the television. The glass tea table was already a goner, sitting as a sad pile of glass shards. A few decorative paintings on the walls were now lying face down on the carpet and the lamps were either rolling on their sides like wheels or smashed to smithereens.
"Sit down. Both of you." The doctor sounded very cross. She had every right to be.
Jack did as he was told, lowering himself onto the last intact chair of the entire room. He sipped his steaming tea while she picked up the bag of blood lying on the floor, moving it back to its standing rack. Dr. Fitzherbert – Rapunzel, sorry – then turned to face the man, who had sat himself on an overturned cabinet. This handsome fellow was glaring at the white-haired intruder as he sipped his own tea, only stopping when the doctor marched over him.
Her emerald pupils bore down of him, prompting the stranger to protest, "What? I'm drinking my tea." He took a long slurp for emphasis.
Rapunzel didn't seem very amused. "You wrecked our living room!"
"Ah." The aloof fellow cast a glance towards the scene of destruction, primarily at the holes in the wall. Those had been caused by him firing silver bullets out of the shiny pistol that had been confiscated from him. Jack still shuddered as he thought about what would have happened if the bullet had hit not himself, but the bag of human blood that he was attached to. Thus far he had been spared the scent of it, but he was increasingly uncertain that he would be able to avoid it.
"So, Eugene," Rapunzel began, tone testy, "care to explain?"
The brown-haired fellow called Eugene (a remarkably tame name, considering his roguish appearance) appeared indignant. Gesturing wildly towards the white-haired boy, he exclaimed, "He's a vampire!"
"You're a vampire!"
"Yes, but I'm not going to kill you!"
Pointing at Jack – "He's not going to kill me! He's my patient!"
"Patient?" He peered at Jack with suspiciously. "Since when do vampires need treatment?"
"Since they get stabbed by wooden stakes," was the white-haired lad's cold reply, hand going unconsciously towards his bandaged chest. The wounds were rather tender and he wonder if he was still bleeding.
"Stabbed?"
"Van Helsing guy." Noting Eugene's expression of alarm, he added, "Don't worry. He's dead."
"Uh-huh." The other vampire sipped from his cup with a distrustful mien.
"Well," Rapunzel chimed in more pleasantly, though shooting a disapproving look towards the brunette man. "On behalf of my overprotective husband, I apologise, Jack. He's usually not this level of stupid."
"Blondie, that's not very nice."
"It's true, isn't it?"
Jack didn't really hear the rest of that banter, because his mind honed down to only one word - husband.
A vampire and a non-vampire. For real?
"You-" he turned from the blonde woman to the brunette fellow sitting across from him "-and him – married?"
Rapunzel eyed him warily. "Yes…"
But, from everything he had ever learned about vampires, that couldn't possibly work. Well, it could, but it would be deeply unpleasant for one party at least. "How?"
"Well," Eugene cut in dryly, "there was a priest, and there was a crowd, and I wore a suit and she wore this dress with a veil and-"
"Eugene," Rapunzel said chidingly, but there was a slightly anxious tone at the base of it as well.
"-and we kissed, had cake. There was fireworks, I think. Also, our ring-bearers were covered in tar and feathers. I still don't know why." He frowned, scratching his goatee. He then noticed his wife glaring at him. "What?"
"Let's not talk about this now," she said with a note of finality, which told Jack that this was a matter that she had no intention of discussing in front of him. He wondered that whether it was related to the curse-thingy she had mentioned earlier. "So-" Rapunzel clapped her hands together "-who wants cookies?"
They moved to the dining room, because that room didn't look like the set of a disaster movie. Rapunzel served more of her cookie to them, once again presenting the different flavours with pride. Both vampires accepted the offerings, even though they added very little to their nutritional value. They set at opposite ends of the rectangular table, staring at one another.
After a long silence, both decided to speak at the same time, "So-" and then simultaneously cleared their throats in awkwardness.
"You go first," Jack offered.
"No, it's alright." The man waved carelessly at him. "You can."
"Well, I don't actually have anything to say." He scratched his scalp nervously. "It's just been ages since I've met a vampire that wasn't part of my family. Erm,-" noting Eugene's puzzled expression "-coven."
"Uh-huh." The older vampire seemed contemplative about the term he used. "Well, same here. Only that I don't have a coven. Or family."
"Oh." That was odd. It wasn't unheard of for vampires to go travelling or even living alone, but all vampires usually at some point or another were taken under a coven. If they didn't, they'd probably have been killed by hunters or other creatures that they offended within a century. If Rapunzel was five hundred years old, it was likely that her 'husband' – he still not sure if he believes that yet – was either her age or older, so he wasn't just some newly-turned rookie.
As an answer, Eugene shrugged. "It's a long story, and honestly, most of it isn't even mine." He glanced briefly towards the kitchen, where his wife had disappeared to get another pot. He then swung himself back to face Jack, eyeing him critically. "Never knew that there was a coven living so nearby. Otherwise, we wouldn't have moved here."
Covens was the stiffer, more formal term for the clusters that vampires would live in. Different covens that obeyed Council authority were usually polite enough not to encroach upon the territories of others. After all, human flocks had to be preserved and reared before feeding, and most vampires preferred their prey not to know they were being hunted. The lesser the numbers of vampires around, the less likely they'd be detected.
The Guardians' reasons for living apart from other vampires was a lot simpler though – they didn't get along with human blood drinkers. From Rapunzel's surprise earlier when he declared his diet, Jack doubted that her husband was bound by the ethic of animal blood consumption.
"So it's just you two, then?" the boy asked as a subtle probe. He wanted to know if there'd be other gun-wielding lunatics marching through the doorway. A guy had a limit to the number of times he could get shot at in a day, after all.
"More or less. We sometimes have company, but-" he let out a wry chuckle "-we usually outlive them." Eugene tapped the side of his tea cup, playing the end of the tea bag. "I get over it, but Rapunzel's quite a people-person. She gets attached to all these mortals and then when they die, well…" he trailed off. It was then suddenly Jack could sense the wealth of his age, the truth of what he had seen and he had experienced.
Eugene set his emptied cup down on the saucer, eyes piercing into Jack. "'Might be nice if she could have friends that lived as long as she – we do."
Incredulity was scribbled all over Jack's face.
"We don't know you well enough, true, but you seem a decent fellow," Eugene admitted, before his tone turning more antagonistic. "Of course, you hurt her in anyway, I'll destroy you. We have silver ammunition for a reason." He flashed a cocky grin. "My idea, of course."
"Of course," Jack agreed. He didn't think a nice lady like the doctor would be the one to come up with carrying silver-loaded bullets. He took another cookie, munching into it. "Could I ask you a question?"
Eugene appeared amused. "Is that the question?"
"Har har." The boy rolled his eyes. His ex-attacker sure had a weird sense of humour. "No, actually. What I wanted to ask was actually if you had ever, well,-" a part of him was starting to regret bringing up this topic, just in case Eugene decided to punch silver into his chest, but he was curious "-I don't know how to phrase it – try to drink your wife's blood?"
The cup in Eugene's hand abruptly exploded. Hot tea came sizzling between his undamaged fingers and the remaining ceramic piece were crushed to dust as his hand turned into a fist. His brown eyes suddenly seemed to catch a glow that Jack had not seen for decades – a glow distinct to vampires that drank human blood. Which was almost all vampires, incidentally.
"Okay, maybe let's talk about something else," Jack hurriedly changed the subject. He reckoned that the other man might be less keen on him being friends with his wife – if that ever happened. He glanced anxiously out of the window. Was Hiccup ever going to come for him?
"Right." The glow in his companion's eyes had faded and he was now gazing at the shattered mug with much regret. "Sorry about that. Just that, you know, diets are sensitive stuff amongst people like us."
"Yes." Jack nodded. He had first hand experience on the topic. Diet was the very core of a vampire's identity. The problem was that identity could be come an excuse for carnage – a license that too many vampires had been happy to exploit.
Eugene must have guessed what he was thinking, for he hastened to add, "Anyway, I have a fairly safe and sustainable way of getting my share of meals around here. Rapunzel helped me develop it."
"Oh?" He found it a little ironic that a doctor – especially one as sweet as Dr. Fitzherbert – would be the one to help her husband in his, ahem, feeding habits, which usually consisted murder. Not sure that was part of the Hippocratic oath.
Once again, it seemed that the brunette man had worked out his train of thought. "Hey! I'm serious about the 'safe' part. No one gets hurt in the process."
"Really?" Jack leaned forward, sceptical. Why wouldn't he be? "How?"
The man opened his mouth to speak, only to close it abruptly. It was then the white-haired realised that this was something that was not supposed to be shared with him.
Much like the details of his wife's 'curse'.
"I need to clean this up," Eugene said at last, nodding to the shattered remains of his mug and the tea dripping onto the floor. Jerking his chin to the cookies, he told Jack, "Help yourself."
With that, Eugene disappeared out of the dining room, leaving Jack to brood on his own.
All his undead life, the white-haired lad had been told that it was impossible for a vampire to mate with a human. One with simply physiology, since humans were alive and vampire were not quite dead, but certainly not alive either. The second was because of aging – a vampire would always outlive the spouse, much like North outlived his wife all those years ago.
And last, but not least, diet. Diet was indeed a very sensitive topic for vampires, it seemed.
Perhaps Tooth and Bunny were right after all. Perhaps it was vampires were truly not meant to form long-terms relationships with the beings that could easily turn into a snack.
He hoped Hiccup would arrive soon. This house was starting get to him in a bad way.
~~~0~~~
It was three weeks after the beginning of the 19th century, and he spent the afternoon burying the corpse of a murdered girl.
Correction. A girl that he murdered. Sure she was already dying, but he killed her, just because he couldn't contain his thirst for blood.
He was truly a despicable being. If Tooth and North knew about what he had done, well, they wouldn't throw him out. They were too kind for that. But they would be very disappointed, and for some reason he feared that more than their wrath.
So like he had done for his sister, he covered up. He deceived.
Nightfall came and Jack was trying to make tea the way Tooth had always done. His hands were shaking as he lifted the heavy pot from the stove and over to the cup with the leaves. Every now and then, his gaze would flick back to the kitchen table, where the scent of blood was still palatable, though now going stale. He had taken quite a while to clean it, for each inhale of the iron-tasting substance threatened to drive him to frenzied hunger once again. He knew technically he was starving – he had just fed, after all, and on hot, fresh blood too – but his instinct rebelled against his sensibilities, much like that the way it rebelled against his conscience.
He poured the steaming liquid into the cup, splattering some onto the saucer in his clumsiness. He let a snarl in anger and clenched his fist the metal handle, denting the smooth handle. Brilliant. Just brilliant.
He set the pot down on the stove. Rubbing his forehead, he peered out of the window, into the darkness. Part of him longed for his two housemates to return and fill the void of silence, with their tampered but kindly conversation. But another part of him hoped that their return would be delayed, just in case they two caught the scent of human blood in the air and discovered his crime.
To be honest, he didn't know what he was going to do when they did return. Should he tell the truth – that he had broken faith with them by disregarding their principles? No, he couldn't. He would take these secrets and burying them down with him, the way he had buried the girl.
That poor girl.
He was truly a monster.
It was then he heard movement coming from outside of the cottage – like the clambering of feet against the grass, followed by the whinnying of a horse. Pouring the hot water over the coals instead, he brushed down his shirt and pants, checking for any bloodstains as he headed towards the door. He felt his breaths quickening as he pulled open it and went out onto the porch.
There was no one there, save the horse. The beast was grand looking creature, tall and muscular, with a mighty black mane that matched its dark hide. It was saddled and reined, but had no rider. Puzzled, Jack moved towards the creature and was surprised by how calm the horse was. It watched him with its dark eyes, but showed no signs of aggression.
It was then that Jack noticed the small pouch attached to its saddle. Thinking that it might lend some clue to the owner's identity, he opened it up to find a small note, much like that he had found in the drawing room in the afternoon. Being unfamiliar with many of the words, it took him a while to make them ou
Sergei will take you there, if you're willing. I hope you're dressed for the occasion.
He twisted his head towards the horse. Cautious, Jack said, "Sergei?"
The horse neighed in confirmation.
The boy lowered his head to finish reading the note.
When you arrive, show the guards the seal at the end of the note. They will bring you to me.
Your obedient servant,
Pitch Black
So finally, the mysterious pale gentleman that he had met on the docks had a name, though the name itself only added further to the mystery. Jack examined the seal at the end of the note, which itself was made of black wax. The circular insignia depicted a horse, not unlike Sergei, and a spectre with a skull head on its top end. He was starting to wonder if this gentleman was truly a member of the gentry.
Jack glanced at the cottage behind him. The two had left him in charge of the place, but they wouldn't mind his left it for a few hours. Anyway, all the hinting and prodding from this 'Pitch Black' fellow made him wonder if there was a good deal that Tooth and North had been keeping from him.
There was only one way to find out.
He climbed onto the horse and settled himself on the saddle. Taking up the reins, he kicked the horse with the back his heel. "Hiya!"
Sergei whinnied, kicking his hooves back into the dirt before plunging them both into the darkness.
Jack never considered himself much of a rider, and when he let the horse canter against the warm wind, into the jungle, he decided firmly that he probably never was going to be. With the trees and overgrowth above, he only saw flashes of leaves and heard briefly the chirping off retreating creatures. It was almost as if the animals of the wilds knew that a nosferatu was passing through and avoided it.
Sergei was no ordinary beast, it seemed, by how quickly it swung past the trees and over the streams. After a while, Jack realised that that the greenery had disappeared, replaced by the deep orange of sandstone. He glanced around him while gripping the reins at the large stone formations illuminated in the moonlight. They had entered a canyon.
When he looked forward, he realised that the rough walls had now gained the touch of man, in the form of wall of elaborate wall paintings. Many of the paintings seemed to be drawn in a sequential clusters, with each cluster telling a story. One of the paintings which depicted a group of elegantly dressed individuals commencing a toast while trampling over mountains of bloodied corpses. Another showed the image of a dark figure surrounded by soldiers pointing their spears at him. The central figure however warded his encroaching foes off by releasing a colony of bats from under his cloak, which clawed out the eyes of the screaming soldiers.
It was all very graphic. He decided to keep his eyes forward instead.
Sergei finally brought him to the end of the canyon, where there was a massive palace carved into stone. It had large windows, giant columns and larger-than-life statues, all carved around the arched doorway. Sergei leapt up the stone steps, taking him past the granite lions and the marble pillars, galloping through the doorway and into a large courtyard littered with more statues chiselled of various stones. He was taken around a fountain before the horse finally slowed its pace, stopping him before yet another set of steps. There, he saw two gnarled, hideous creatures on guard, both wearing armour but bearing no weapons. They were the strangest things he had ever seen, with dark green hides, yellow eyes and long fangs. If they weren't dressed he would have assumed them to be beasts. As Jack dismounted from Sergei, they approached, speaking to him in a guttural tongue that he didn't understand.
"Um," the boy fumbled for a bit, before showing the two hideous beings the seal on the note. They squinted at the seal, before conversing to one another in the guttural speech. One of them waved his thick, talon laced hand towards him, asking him to follow.
He was led by the gnarled creature up the steps towards the giant stone castle. There he was greeted by grand hall which ceiling seemed to stretch on to eternity before being pointed up to a long winding flight of steps. He ascended, and he saw that it was guarded by several more hideous armoured creatures standing at a crooked attention. He wrapped his arms around himself as he continued on the path, trying to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor.
As he climbed, he heard a muffled echoing bouncing off the wall. It grew clearer the higher he climbed.
"-evidence do you have?" a clear, feminine voice rang out.
"I have conducted a study of my hypothesis on myself," a male one now declared. Yet another gigantic hall in came insight as he climbed, one which the staircase apparently near to. Unlike the vaulted hall, this was circular in shape. He could see throngs and throngs of people seated on near the ground concave seats carved from stone, much like a stadium. Above them on another floor was a gallery running along the circumference of the hall. There several individuals were seated between columns, leaning forward in rapt attention.
In the centre of the hall stood three tall pillars that widened up into platforms. On one of the platforms sat a young woman with dressed in a shimmering emerald dress. Jack had to admit that she was possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, even if her expression was locked into a disturbed frown.
Across her on another platform stood a tall muscular figure. Only the lower of half of his tanned body was covered with woven cloth, while the upper half was covered almost completely in tattoos. He reminded Jack of the Indians that he had seen back in the Americas.
He was the one who was speaking now to the listening crowd. "The study lasted six months and from it, it has been quite conclusive that the mixing of animal blood with human food has been effective in starving off thirst-" this earned some murmuring from the crowd below, making the speaker raise his voice "-and provide sufficient nutrition."
The uproar broke up out in the hall just as Jack entered a small chamber that looked over the hall. It must have been one of the upper gallery rooms he had seen earlier. Outside stood two of the armoured, gnarled beasts that marched up in front of him, as if poised for attack. Before they could do anything, however, a voice wafted in from within the chamber, "Let him in."
The hideous guards then retreated and Jack hurried in, starting feel a little overwhelmed by it all.
Near the arched window that overlooked the circular hall sat the pale gentleman, who was dressed this time in a black robe instead of his black coat. His bony hands still rested on the long cane, and his head was turned towards Jack. "Welcome, my boy. Won't you sit?"
Jack noticed a curved bench near the window, so he sat there. This gave him a very good view over the hall, where the people on the platform were still speaking.
"Who are these people?" he asked the man who had invited him here. "What's this place?"
"Your kinsmen," Mr. Black – he didn't know how else to think of him – answered. "And this is the Necropolis, City of the Dead. The very heart of the vampire community."
The vampire community? He peered down to the masses gathered below. There had to be hundreds – thousands there. He had known there were other vampires, but not this many. All these people could easily start a city on its own – maybe two or three, even!
A chill ran down his back. If all these were vampires, then how humans had died to quench their thirst? That was a calculation he did not want to make.
"As compelling as your claims are, Bunnymund," the beautiful black-haired woman spoke over the muttering of the crowds, "a study conducted on one vampire over the course of six months is hardly a way to make a conclusive argument." This was met by 'hear, hears!' from the crowds.
"Then give me the means to conduct a proper one," the tattooed man, who must be Bunnymund, urged. "Let me gather a team of volunteers who would experiment with me."
Turning to Mr. Black, the white-haired boy inquired, "What's going on?"
"Politics." The pale gentleman gave a distasteful sniff. "A sad inheritance from our human selves."
"What are they talking about?"
A lopsided smile appeared on his grey countenance. "Feeding. What else?"
"Why do we even need this?" someone from the gallery seats shouted, causing both the pale gentleman and the white-haired boy to turn their attentions to the going-ons of the great hall. "This is a waste of time!"
"I'm sorry." Bunnymund spun around to face his opponent, voice dripping sarcasm. "I wasn't aware that immortality has made you rather short of time."
"Our immortal lives are meant for purposes other than foolish, fruitless experiments," another, also sitting along the gallery, called out, full of disgust and anger. "How dare you bring up such a foolish proposal in a session like this!" This gained a flurry of approval from those seated around him.
"How dare I?" the tattooed vampire on the platform was glowering. "How dare you, and vampires like you, indulge in the careless spillage of blood and pretend that it's all just part of your 'nature'!" This sparked yet another commotion that had the lady, who was undoubtedly the mediator of the discussion, to call for order.
"Who are they?" Jack jerked his head to those in the gallery seats, who were looking distinctly disgruntled.
"The council," his companion explained. "Rulers of the vampire community. They form the laws that govern the masses."
"Laws?" That notion puzzled him. With uninhibited bloodlust and sadistic violence set at the core of vampire bevaiour, 'laws' seemed like a laughable notion.
Mr. Black seemed to agree with this, for he muttered then, "They're meant more as guidelines then actual laws."
Jack nodded, before facing the grand hall once again.
"Obtaining the resources of your experiment, Bunnymund," the mediator on the platform was saying then, now that the crowds had quietened, "would require the participants of the experiment to be living in close proximity to humans. Resisting feeding on humans would be difficult to the point of suffering, and should anyone in the team mistakenly reveal themselves, they put all the participants at stake."
"I assure you that the participants need not live to close to human proximity," the one called Bunnymund insisted – boy what, a strange name. "Even if they did, however, this diet change will allow better control over feeding urges."
"Strong claims," the lovely woman remarked in a deadly cold voice, "but again, we have no assurance that what you say is true." There were those on the council seats that crowed their agreement. "We will need to discuss in depth before we can give you an answer, Ealdun Aster Bunnymund. Till then, this session is adjourned."
The tattooed man did not seem happy with this answer, but the woman, who was undoubtedly the one in power here, had spoken and individuals on balcony seats began to leave. Below them, the crowds had risen from their seats and began to move their separate ways.
"Come." Mr. Black was calling for him now. "Shall we take a walk around here?"
As they descended from the chamber, Jack jerked his head towards the gnarled, hideous guards. "What are they?"
"Goblins. We defeated them in a war a thousand years ago, and since then they have been bound in service to this castle," explained the man with careless air. Jack's mouth fell open. How long exactly have vampires been around? By the way Mr. Black spoke, it sounded as if he himself had been present in the war. But that meant …wow. He was starting to feel that he might be the youngest amongst all these vampires. "Come, my boy. Perhaps you would like meet some of your kin."
Well-aware that he would lost without the robed man, Jack followed him.
The route was different from the one that he had arrived at, leading them to the gallery where the council members had been sitting. As the two of them went past, Jack took in the vampires around him. Their skins were of various shades and eyes were of many colours. Garments varied from robes to robes to tunics, made of cloths and motifs he had never seen. These richly dressed individuals all had their eyes on them as they walked through the columned aisle, making the boy feel rather uncomfortable. He noted that some of the people would bow to Mr. Black, which he responded to with a small nod, while others would glare hatefully at him. Jack swallowed. The tension here was as thick as a winter's fog, and knowing now that he was surrounded by vampires didn't make it any better.
Mr. Black led them what appeared to be a private chamber. A series of robed young handmaidens – or at least, they looked young – flanked them, hands over their laps and expressions docile. In the centre of chamber was a large luxurious throne, made of gilded gold and cast to look like a reclining willow tree. On it sat the beautiful lady that Jack had seen speaking on the platform earlier. She appeared to have been reading a scroll when they arrived and only raised her head when they stopped before her.
Now Jack could see that her dark hair was adorned with a wreath woven from lilacs. Leaves and vines were also streamed through her luscious black locks, making it look like a waterfall of greenery. When she stood to her feet, her robes, threaded with leaves and flowers, swept around her shapely form.
"Your highness," Mr. Black greeted her, moving his cane out of the way as he bowed. Jack quickly followed suit, alarm bells ringing in his head. Royalty amongst vampires? That was new notion.
The woman's own response was however what surprised him even more. Her pale, slender hands lifted her long, flowing river of gown as she curtseyed at the pale gentleman. "Your majesty."
Jack gawked at his companion, who was just smiling faintly. Mr. Black was royalty? What was going on here?
It was then this beautiful lady noticed his presence. "Who's this? Another one victim to your greed, Father?"
Father?
"Just a young acquaintance I've made, my dear." He shot a wry smile towards Jack. "It grieves me that to be judged so harshly by my own daughter."
"My judgment is perfectly valid with your history," the lady snapped, before her emerald eyes darted to him. "What's your name?"
So enraptured was he by her grace and splendor that it took several seconds before her question was registered in his brain. Swallowing, he answered, "Jack, m'am. Jack Frost."
"Hmm." She glanced him over while rolling her scroll up. She held out her hand to him. "Princess Emily Jane."
He stared at her in confusion for a moment, wondering if he should shake the hand or kiss it. Eventually he opted for shaking it firmly. Apparently, that wasn't the right move, for the princess raised a brow at him, then glanced towards her father. "Where did you pick up this one?"
"Calcutta," Mr. Black answered smoothly, smiling widely for some reason. "Teeming with British this time of the century."
"Indeed," Emily Jane said in a scornful tone as she handed the scroll to her handmaiden. Assessing the boy, she finally suggested, "Why don't you walk with me?"
"Oh, erm, sure."
As she led him away, Mr. Black made a move to follow. But Emily Jane halted him. "Not you," she said with a disdainful look. "I'm still not happy with you."
"Your wish is my command," was Mr. Black's mild reply, complete with a florid bow. For father and daughter, they didn't look or act like they were related.
The lady in the flowing robes led him into a garden, lush with life that should be impossible given the lack of sunlight. There was a marble fountain in the centre, twisting into the shape of a pine tree. Water sprung out from the tips of its branches.
"What do you think of it?"
Jack snapped out of his fascination. "Oh, erm. It's very pretty." He paused, then remembered. "Your majesty."
"Your highness," she corrected primly, lifting her skirts before sitting along the rim of the fountain. "I had chosen the title of princess, unlike my arrogant father."
"Oh, I see." He didn't see, actually. He had no idea what was going on, or what vampire royalty was for, or why Emily Jane didn't like Mr. Black – besides him being as terrifying as All Hallows Eve. It was all awfully confusing.
"Sit." She gestured to the spot next to her. He scrambled forward to obey, fidgeting awkwardly with hands and not quite sure where to put them. The princess didn't comment on his uneasiness, reaching out to an overhanging branch of a tree and removing its fruit. She held one up to him. "Apple?"
A wave of revulsion swept over him. Having filled himself with blood, the mere thought of returning to human food nauseated him. He shook his head.
"Hmm." She considered him carefully, before taking a bite from the apple. As she chewed, she continued gazing at him in a sidelong fashion. "I understand, I suppose. I used to love apples back when I was human." Her slender fingers curled around the plump, shiny skin. Her eyes narrowed to slits "Of course, I used to be able to love back when I was human too."
Jack blinked.
"You're so young. I can't remember how that felt." She sighed, shaking her head. "There's so little you know." She flung the half-eaten apple away, clearly not caring where it landed. "The longer a vampire lives, the less human he or she becomes. Killing becomes a habit. Violence becomes a joy. Love becomes-" a sneer scrunches up her lovely countenance "-impossible."
"You see," she told him, folding her viridescent sleeves up, "my father did love once. He was the one who was turned first, so protect my mother and I, he stayed away. After my mother was killed by raiders and I was captured, he returned to avenge her and save me. I like to think he still loved us then." She sniffed contemptuously. "He came with chariots and spears, with legions behind him – cursed, like himself, and filled with bloodlust. They wiped out more than ten thousand humans that day. At the point of time, I was so full of admiration and awe that I allowed him to turn me." Her lips curled down bitterly. "It was for my own protection, he had told me then, but I realise now that it was out of selfishness. He had become a god, but he had no one to share his time with."
"I've learned to despised him, of course," Emily Jane said in an almost casual manner, as if she was merely describing the weather. "No father who truly loved his child would turn her into a monster. And don't let him deceive you," she spoke with greater earnestness, looking at Jack straight in the eye. "He will try to convince you to join him – himself and his followers. Here, we call them the supremacists. They believe that vampires should rule the world, not hide from it."
Things that Mr. Black had said to him were starting to make sense now; how he scoffed humans, how he treated Jack like a long lost relative and called him a kinsman, how he felt that vampires deserved to slaughter and maim humans.
"And you, your highness?" Jack asked her, unable to hold back his curiosity. "Are you with him?"
"After suffering centuries by his side? Ha!" She let out a spiteful laugh. "Never again. You must understand that amongst vampires, we are very much divided when it comes to the method of feeding. Diet is a-" the princess paused to find a suitable adjective "-sensitive subject, after all. Were you at the session earlier?"
He nodded.
"Well, the speaker, Bunnymund – he's one of the pacifists. They are a small group, but quite vocal. They promote feeding on animal blood and living with humans as a method to preserve one's humanity." Jack's eyes widened in recognition, but her gaze was on the fountain then and did not see. "Their determination is admirable, but their cause is foolish. Very little of their ideas actually work in the long-run. At the beginning of their movement, they had many followers. Now, the numbers have dwindled to but a handful." Her sigh was full of sympathy, but dismissal as well. "A pity. They mean well."
"Then where do you stand?" the white-haired lad asked, though he was still trying to wrap his head around this revelation. Were North and Tooth part of these 'pacifists', or was that merely a coincidence?
"I prefer to stay neutral, like the majority. They elected me as their leader, and I've been so for the last six centuries." Emily Jane must have felt a need to justify herself, for she quickly added, "We kill to feed, and some take more pleasure in it than others, but only what we need. We only want to live out our immortal lives happily, nothing more."
"I see."
"That is the way of nature, Jack. To live and let live, but also eat or be eaten. We must do what we need to survive." She lifted her hand towards him. "Walk with me, Jack. I will show you the city, and perhaps you can tell what the human world has been up to."
~~~0~~~~
Blood Custard Pudding Recipe (not Blood Pudding) (by Sandy)
What you need:
4 tablespoons of Sugar
1 tablespoon of Water
2 tablespoons of Hot Water
2 Chicken Eggs
2/3 cups of Milk
1/3 cups of Pork Blood
5 tablespoons of Sugar
4 Plastic cups
Butter
How to Prepare:
1. Coat the inner surface of the cups with butter
2. Add sugar and water to a pot and raise to low heat. Swirl sugar around until browns.
3. Add more hot water. Swirl brown liquid in pot. This is caramel.
4. Distribute caramel into the custard cups.
5. In a new pot, add milk, blood and sugar. Bring to boil and stir till sugar is dissolved.
6. Separate two eggs into a separate mixing bowl.
7. Whisk eggs into a mixture, but gently as not form foam. Pour hot blood mixture in at the same time
8. Sieve the mixture into another bowl, removing any foam or solid blood bits with spoon.
9. Pour mixture into custard cups.
10. Steam the custard cups for 30 minutes. Remove cups and refrigerate.
11. Serve by overturning cups onto a plate.
~~~0~~~~
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
"Please-" Hiccup shifted uncomfortably under his ferocious embrace "-let go of me. You're crumpling the suit."
"Okay, okay." Jack quickly retracted his arms. He knew that the other boy was already doing him a huge favour and the last thing he wanted was to annoy him, lest he change his mind. "But yeah, thanks."
"I'd tell you 'no problem', but that's not true." Hiccup smoothened out his shirt and his coat, muttering something to himself. He then waved his friend over. "C'mon, this way."
They removed themselves from the porch of the Fitzherbert house, which Jack had been all too glad to be extracted from them. Rapunzel was alright, but she was clearly hiding something. As for Eugene, well… Jack only trusted another vampire as far as he could throw him.
"Where did you park your car?" Jack asked as they moved from the moonlit road into the nearby forest. Like Burgess, Corona was built in the middle of a hilly forest, but just a bit bigger in an area and population.
"I didn't drive here."
The white-haired boy halted his steps. "What?"
"It'd be too slow." Even under the shadows of the pines, he could see the wicked grin on his friend's face.
Suspicious, he questioned, "Why exactly are we in the forest?"
The grin widened. "Because our ride is would be too conspicuous otherwise."
Jack's stomach lurched as the truth dawned on him.
Apparently, he hit the nail on the head, because right then, a giant black reptile came leaping out of the bushes. The first thing it did was to land in front of the vampire, part its jaws and let out a piercing shriek. Jack yelled as he covered his hyper-sensitive ears, feeling his head spin even after the dragon had ceased its growling. He could detect Hiccup guffawing at his expense, but it was muffled.
"Did you really have to bring that creature?" he groaned.
He could see Hiccup's lips moving, but he couldn't make out the words.
"What?"
He saw Hiccup repeat himself, but still had no idea what he was saying.
"WHAT?"
Hiccup just stared at him, before letting a long sigh and waving him to the saddle on the back of the dragon. The big black monster, whom by nature of his heritage never liked vampires and never will, let out a snarl at Jack – not that the boy could hear it.
"Yeah, yeah." The white-haired boy rolled his eyes as he followed Hiccup onto the dragon. "Well, I think you're a waste of oxygen too."
Five minutes later –
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
"Bad Toothless! No!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"You shouldn't have called him names!" Hiccup hollered at him, before turning back to face the front. "Toothless! Behave yourself!"
"I'm going to die!"
"You can't. You're immortal."
"Tell the Guardians I'm sorry!"
"Still not going to talk to vampires."
"Flight is unnatural for human beings!"
"Which is great, because neither of us really are humans."
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! He's doing a loop! Why's he doing a loop?Why? Why?"
"Try not to agitate him so much, will you?" Hiccup murmured to the Night Fury. It only snorted and narrowed its eyes.
One hour later –
"Oh, sweet land!" Jack threw himself on the ground and kissed it with great fervour.
"You are such a drama queen."' Hiccup rolled his eyes when he dismounted the ebony beast. The Night Fury also rolled its eyes, which made Jack wonder whether boy and dragon were symbiotically-linked.
Picking himself off the ground, the white-haired lad dusted his clothes and realised that he wasn't anywhere near his home, but in some kind of park. Not far away, there was a tall, flashy building with French words on top of it.
Spinning sharply to Hiccup, he demanded, "What is this place?"
"If you read the invitation card I sent you, you'd know," was the other boy's careless answer.
"But-but," Jack stuttered, clutching helpless at the pocket of his pants that should have had a phone, but didn't. "I need to get home!"
"And I need to get back to my own wedding anniversary!" Hiccup began a brisk walk back to the hotel, not giving a second glance. "If you can't wait, you can walk home yourself. It's less than a mile from here, I promise."
As he watched Hiccup disappear down the path of the park, towards the doors of the fancy hotel, he groaned. The dragon by his side let out a gurgling sound that was very much like a laugh.
Jack glared at it. "Shut up."
The dragon's eyes seemed to say, 'Make me.'
Jack was tempted, but decided that it would be unwise to provoke the beast. Hiccup was good friends with him, but between himself and the dragon, he would choose the dragon.
Sighing, he began to his walk, using the stars above as his guide.
~~~0~~~
"Boiled water and dried leaves?"
"Yes, your highness."
"And they drink it?" Emily Jane sounded incredulous. "And this is fashionable?"
"Yes, your highness."
"Humans are strange."
Jack chuckled at her expression. "True, yes."
They were going through what appeared to be some kind of market in a large open courtyard, still all under a stone sky. Vampires from all nations were moving from stall to stall, much the way normal people did, but speaking in languages he didn't understand – languages, the princess had explained to him, that humans didn't speak anymore. The only reason people like her father and herself could speak a version of English that he understood was because they had subordinates bring them writings by humans of his time.
The people jammed between the stone buildings that made the town square examined each other's wares, made offers and struck bargains. It was a very human-like procedure, except that the materials exchanged were largely non-perishables, like books, ornaments, clothes and paintings. For obvious reasons, food was not bartered here.
At least, that was what he thought, until he noticed the auction.
Craning his neck up, Jack noticed the stage in the middle of the market, where the auctioneers was speaking to a watching crowd while gesturing to a girl in shackles. The girl had a fair complexion, with rosy cheeks and dark brown hair. If it wasn't her hopelessness in her eyes, she would have looked like an angel. Behind her, Jack could see several young men and women, all shackled as the girl in front was, with goblin guards standing behind them. All of them were clearly of different ethnic origins and draped in different garments, making it clear that they were all from different places around the world. Most of them had their heads hung low, with dejected expressions.
"Brides."
He turned towards the princess. "What?"
"Brides," she repeated, thinking that he hadn't heard the first time. "It's just a general term for both males and females that are chosen to be mates for vampires. Merchants bring the finest specimens from all over the world and sell them to the highest bidders."
Jack swallowed, unable to hide his disgust as he looked back at the stage. The auctioneer was taking bids, shouting and pointing at those with raised cards. The girl on the stage just stood motionless as her fate was decided. Eventually, a man in an ornate oriental tunic won, though the payment was unclear to Jack. By her shackles, the girl was led off the stage by the auctioneer's assistants, who handed them off to the vampire.
Trembling, he turned to Emily Jane. "What will happen to her?"
"He might turn her and marry her, as some have." She shrugged. "Or he might not turn her and just use her assets as long as he lives. Or he might just drink her dry. It's really up to the vampire."
He felt sick. This was slavery, except that in human slavery, having one's blood drained out of them was usually not expected. He cast a furtive glance to his regal companion. She just gazed at the scene with pure indifference, and for the first time since he had entered her company, Jack felt genuine dislike for the vampire princess.
It must have shown on his face, for she said then, as in defense, "Immortality is a very lonely disease, Jack."
He tried not to look her in the eye, not to look at her lovely face and let himself be deceived in thinking that there was beauty within that matched it. "So," he said stiffly, "you've had any 'brides' of your own, your highness?"
"My father has thrown many handsome young men my way in attempt to return to my good graces," was her nonchalant answer as she steered him not so subtly away from the auction stage. "Some were more pleasing than others."
"Of course," he muttered. Now her remarks when she saw him with Mr. Black made sense. In fact, he was starting to guess that that might be the reason that Mr. Black had introduced him to his daughter after all. Why on Earth had he thought it a good idea to read and obey notes from a stranger that he had known to be a murderer?
Because Jack knew that he probably wasn't very much better than them. He may not have bought a poor human girl off the auction, but he had killed people. Women. Children.
Maybe the princess did have a point. Was it so wicked to kill out of need?
"Jack?" A familiar voice rang out through the crowd. "Is that – Jack! It is you!" Tooth's face suddenly appeared before him, astounded at the sight of him. She seemed like she would have embraced him, no questions asked, if she had not seen his companion. All her surprise transformed into hatred. "You."
"Toothiana," was the princess' cold greeting. "How nice to see you here."
"Get away from him, you witch." Tooth didn't bother with putting on airs, immediately stepping in front of Jack, using her body to separate him from Emily Jane. "I won't let you hurt him."
"It's quite alright, Tooth." Jack tried gently to intervene. He might have lost some of his awe for the princess, but with how fiercely Tooth's eyes glittered, he feared that she might cause a scene. "She's just showing me around the city and telling me about the vampires here." Which you and North had never even so much as mentioned, he added bitterly in his mind.
The girl did not heed him, just glaring haughtily at Emily Jane, as if she herself were a vampire princess. In fact, Jack wouldn't be surprise if she was.
"You're not doing your associates any favours by offending me, Toothiana." Emily Jane shook her long dark locks back, raising a reprimanding finger. "You know that the council holds my word with high regard, and they will not forward E. Aster Bunnymund's proposal if I say so."
Tooth glowered, but had no response. So his guess was right after all – North and Tooth were associated with the pacifistic vampires. That explained their practices – and also why they didn't understand him. "Come on, Jack," she said at last, reaching for his hand. "Let's go."
He let her pull him away, but his heart had a great deal of reluctance. He didn't know why, because he certainly did not want to stay with the princess any longer. Her cool nonchalance was as disturbing as her father's vindictive violence.
But Tooth and North, people whom he had trusted with his vulnerabilities, had been deliberately hiding all this from him: the city of vampires, the culture and history of his kind, the schools of thought about feeding. Why had they not told him? Didn't they trust him?
Or did they keep him in the dark to further their own agendas?
"In here." Tooth dragged him into one of the small stone building. It was a small out of the way place lit up by a few glowing stones. In the centre of it was a hexagonal table, and around it sat two figures. One, Jack recognised, to be Bunnymund, and the other was –
"North!" He smiled. He couldn't really be upset to see his dearest friend.
"Jack?" The large man glanced from him to Tooth. "What is he doing here?"
"Who's this?" the tattooed man put in at the same time. "Another street urchin you've adopted, North?"
Jack frowned. He didn't like the scornful look on Bunnymund's face, and by his tone, Bunnymund didn't think very much of him either.
"Ealdun, this is the boy I wrote about," Tooth said, appearing displeased with her half-naked associate. "Jack Frost, remember?"
"Jack Frost," Bunnymund murmured. He had a cup of something in his hand – probably tea, if brewed by Tooth. He swirled the liquid about a few times. "Fits the hair, I suppose. That, and he's as skinny as a twig."
"Hey!" The boy folded his arms crossly. "At least I'm not named after a rabbit."
"A rabbit?" The tattooed man seemed perplexed. "What rabbit?"
The whole room fell into perplexed silence. Eventually, North was the one who got it, and he celebrated his revelation with a hearty guffaw and by thumping Bunnymund hard in the back. The latter hissed upon impact and glared at the big man. The merry chuckler didn't noticed this, and merely chortled, "Oh, you are a bunny, Bunnymund. Hahah! You hop around and have a tail that is busy! Hahahahaha!"
Tooth giggled, though more at North's reaction than anything.
Jack grinned.
Bunnymund frowned. "I fail to see the humour."
"Well, you've have no sense of humour to begin with, or should I say-" North nudged him in the ribs "-you hare no sense of humour." Then he proceeded to laugh at his own joke.
The tattooed man was remained unamused. "You know what? I'm going to look over the proposal to see if there needs to be more changes. The second session will be starting soon, and I'll need to convince her royal highness-" the hate in his tone was palatable "-that it'll actually work. So if you'll excuse me-" Bowing curtly. "-North-" again "-Tooth-" frowning pointedly "-Frost." With that, he departed the small meeting room.
"You'll have to forgive Bunnymund," was Tooth's attempt to excuse her associate's – friend's? – behaviour. "He travels a lot on his own, so he doesn't have much social skills. He's quite alright once you know him better."
Jack sniffed at that. He figured that this Bunny fellow just a sour old grouch.
"Anyway, you still haven't answered – how did you get here?" Tooth pressed him eagerly.
"I was invited by a guy called Pitch Black," he replied.
His two other companions in the meeting room froze at the name. North was the one stuttered out, "Pitch Black? Leader of supremacists? The vampire king?"
It never really struck until then if that Mr. Black was titled like his daughter was, he would be a king in vampire society – whatever that title meant. "Tall thin guy who likes wearing black. Emily Jane's father."
Tooth's face darkened. "That's him alright."
"How did you come to meet him?" It was North's turn to ask questions.
"We met at the docks one night." His voice was quiet. He knew that the two of them would put the pieces together – him taking a night walk and the discovery of the murdered dock-workers - and know that he had kept silent about it. "He sent for me this evening. He wanted to 'enlighten' me."
"Enlighten," Tooth fumed. "More like he would trick you into joining him."
"Like how you've tricked me into joining you?" He knew that he was being unfair. North had been nothing but supportive throughout his early struggling with his gruesome transformation. Tooth had been unconditionally kind to him. But while Mr. Black – Pitch Black had spoken disparagingly of humans and slaughtered a group of them unnecessarily, he had too attempted to buy his friendship with a meal and sympathy. He was brutal, but he knew what Jack wanted and how he felt. And Emily Jane … though her attitude was calculating and cold, her rationality was oddly refreshing. There was no point denying their bloodthirsty nature if it led to their own suffering.
"I killed a person today," he told them quietly. The words came out so easily. There was guilt, of course, but common sense helped to assuage it. He was merely doing what was in his nature - doing what he needed to do in order to survive. "I was hungry."
The two of them looked at each another, then North spoke, gentle, "We all have killed for hunger at some point, Jack. Don't be too hard on yourself."
"That's not the point." He shook his head. He was conflicted – how could he not be? If he confessed this, he risked losing the only friends he had ever known since his dying. He risked roaming the rest of his immortal, undead life alone again. But he couldn't bear living a lie anymore – not when he knew that there were alternatives. "I don't want to drink animal blood anymore, or pretend to like human food. It's tiresome and boring and I hate it."
"Jack-" Tooth started.
But he couldn't stop. "It's starting to eat me from the inside. And it-" he clenched a fist to his chest, to his stomach "-it hurts, sometimes. I know that I'm not actually hungry, but I feel like I am, and the human part of me feels guilty, and the vampire part of me feels crazy, and I don't know what to do, or how to feel, I-" he broke himself off. He wasn't looking at them, but he could feel the horror radiating of them. His friends must think him a monster, but at least it was the truth. "I think Emily Jane might be right." The room was so still that one could almost count the number of breaths just by listening. "I think living on animal blood just isn't working. I don't know you guys do it, but it isn't for me. I'm sorry."
"Jack," this time it's North who speaks. A big comforting arm reaches to him. "Jack, please, let us-"
"Thank you for looking after me these last few years." He didn't want to hear them speak, lest they say something that actually changed his mind. He didn't want this anymore. "But I think I need to find my own way."
He turned on his heel and departed, ignoring Tooth's cry and North's disappointed look.
~~~0~~~
Creamy Mushroom Soup (by Tooth)
What you need:
6 tablespoons of melted butter
1 thinly sliced onion
200 g of Portobello mushrooms
140 g of White mushrooms
3 cups of light chicken stock
1 cup of chicken blood
2 sprigs of rosemary
Parsley
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
How to prepare:
1) Heat a saucepan. Add melted butter and onions. Cook until onion turns brown and translucent.
2) Add all mushrooms and spread them out evenly. Let it cook for 10 minutes.
3) Add chicken stock, blood and rosemary. Stir the mixture and bring to boil.
4) Reduce heat and allow simmering for an hour.
5) Remove from heat and allow to cool. Then pour soup into a good processor and turn into a puree.
6) After blending, return mixture to pot. Heat back up again. Add salt and pepper to taste
7) Add parsley for garnish and serve.
~~~0~~~
It was a very boring walk, but it wasn't too strenuous, thankfully. As far as he could tell, his bandages were still in place.
He went up to the porch door and rang the bell. He waited.
The door opened. "Jack?"
It's Tooth. She seemed too pale for some of her skin tone, and she looked she might have been crying.
He didn't know what else to say, so he just said, "Hi."
She supposed to be mad with him – for disobeying her, for fighting with her – but he can tell she no longer trying so hard to maintain her wrath. He didn't however expect her to fling her arms around him and sob into his chest. He didn't even have the heart to tell her that it was just recently bandaged and it still hurt, so he just hugged her back in turn.
She only pulled away from him after a whole minute, and when she did, she yanked him into the mansion, practically screaming at the top of her voice, "He's back! Jack's back!"
Lights flickered on. Feet scrambled down the steps. Figures pushed past each other as if in a race. Around the corridor, Sandy emerged first, beaming brightly and running over to embrace Jack. Being quite short however, his arms just circled the boy's waist.
The boy chuckled as he gazed down at the golden-haired man. "Hi Sandy. Sorry to make you guys-"
"JACK!" He'd know that booming voice from anywhere. The moment Sandy released him, the boy found himself abruptly lifted off the ground and smashed into the familiar rotund form. His ribs screamed as North's muscular arms tightened around him. "HAHA! You are not dead!"
"North!" Jack wheezed, gasping for air. "Please!"
"Oh, oops." The big man suddenly let go off him, sheepish about his enthusiasm.
"Where's the kid? Is he dead? Is he dying?" Bunny came scrambling down the steps, eyes darting frantically. It might have been Jack's imagination, but he sounded anxious. The minute his gaze laid itself on the boy, his tensed shoulders relaxed. Relief poured over his features and …maybe a little glad? Any expression of positive emotions however was quickly suppressed, and all he said was "There's blood brownies in the fridge. If you want."
Jack nodded, knowing full well the meaning behind the stiffness. "Thanks."
Bunny awkwardly shuffled his feet and headed the corridor, acting as if he had descended the steps for entirely different reasons.
"You must be starving," Sandy signed with his hands, thumbing as he did. "Why not I make us all something to eat?"
The boy laughed. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."
So the Guardians gathered down in the kitchen to partake a meal together – though Bunny pretended that he happened to be there to check the expiry date as they often did. There Jack would tell them of what had occurred to him, both grim and pleasant, and they would bicker and argue on the next course of action. But for now, all was well, for their boy was home.
~~~0~~~
On another side of Burgess was a lone figure stopped along Fjord Avenue, dark robes flapping in the wind. He stood himself outside the house there and raised his head to the window on the second floor.
Against the backdrop of the lighted room, a slender elegant figure moved. Her white-gold had been undone from its braid, rolling down her shoulders. She lay something heavy on her table near the window before letting out a heavy exhale. With a gloved hand, she brushed back the locks that were in front of her eyes, tilt her head to the side as she shot a glance behind her. Her posture haggard and her face was pinched with worry. She was like one who carried a heavy burden, and yet her beauty was no less because of it.
He watched as she disappeared from the window and the room went dark. He was certain that she was going to bed now, though it was doubtful that she would get much sleep. Her sister probably already dozed off, which would leave her alone in her thoughts and fears.
Poor Elsa. So alone. So afraid.
He would show her, yes, he would, that she didn't have to be alone. He wouldn't ever let be alone, if she'd let him.
But not right now.
For now, he would let her quiver in the darkness. He would let her fears devour her. For now, he would stroll back down the street whence he came, cane stabbing the road methodically at intervals and coat flapping behind him. For now, he would let the shadows of the night engulf him in its suffocating embrace. For now, he would bear with the emptiness of his heart and the nightmares that lingered in the back of his mind. For now, he would pretend that his plans would give him the reprieve that he needed from his cursed existence.
Immortality was, after all, a very lonely disease.
~~~0~~~
I started this chapter thinking of writing the fight between Eugene and Jack, but then I got lazy and didn't. There'd be enough fighting eventually. Theirs would be unimportant. Left out that part, and still haven't written all that I had planned for this chapter 'coz it's way too long.
I keep telling me self not to turn this into some kind of epic tale, but no, the writer just writes, and writes, and writes. It's ridiculous even.
Emily Jane is from the Guardians of Childhood Books. In the books, she's Mother Nature, supposedly 'neutral' in the war between the Guardians and Pitch. She's described on the wiki as temperamental and cold. Why on earth she has such an English-y English name when her father's name is 'Kozmotis Pitchiner', I will never know.
Believe it or not, a good deal of this story is actually inspired by …Star Wars. Go figure.
Guest Reviews Mailbox:
Alene Mask: Well, I managed to avoid a cliffhanger for this one. Hehehe, maybe I should have made the pale gentleman an incredible unimportant OC that dies in the next chapter. Ah, well, too late now. Thanks for reviewing!
Well, the next chapter should be back to school, because this is a flippin' story about flippin' teenagers and my characters don't go to school enough.
Reviews would be nice, but I won't die if you don't give any. At least, if I do die, I hope I won't be revived as a vampire and forced to hunt y'all down. I'm not sayin' – I'm just saying. Yah.
Bye.