"Why are you sleeping in here again?" I asked Gregory as he laid down on my bed.
"Because I would be able to rest a lot easier if I know that you are safe," He responded without opening his eyes.
"Okay, but why not let Anna sleep in my room?" I pointed out.
"Because putting my little sister in harm's way would also keep me up at night," he bluntly replied.
Well…I can see his point.
"Please, Lucy, just for tonight," Gregory pleaded, "Let me have this night to assure myself that you are safe and sound."
I smiled at him before making my way towards the bed.
I drew the canopy's curtains closed to help protect him further from the sun's rays.
"Just for tonight," I reminded him as I crawled beneath the covers.
"Thank you, my friend," Gregory whispered before allowing his consciousness to slowly drift away.
I yawned before following his lead.
This…was kind of nice.
Gregory and I ended up waking up around 5pm.
The sun was still out so I kept both curtains on the windows and canopy closed. I told Gregory to just stay put on the bed while I got ready for the day.
I needed to take another shower and wash my hair before getting dressed.
He agreed to stay put as long as he got to change my bandages again. I agreed to his terms while pulling out fresh clothes from my drawers.
"Did you want to borrow my tablet?" I offered him.
"…Meh…" he groaned; his arm slung over his face to cover his eyes.
"Is that a yes?" I asked him while approaching the bed again.
He moved his arm to look at me, "Depends.."
"On…?"
"Can I pick what we watch once you are done?" He asked with a small smile on his face.
"Sure," I told him with a smirk, "It's the least I could do for my knight in shining armor."
I batted my eyelashes at him after I handed the tablet over.
He threw a pillow at my face and called me a brat.
My laughter rang out as I closed the door to the bathroom.
It was nice that we could still joke around with each other like this.
Turning the shower's faucet to hot, I waited for the water to warm up a bit before jumping in. The warm spray helped wake me up as I washed the dirt from my hair. Once that was done, I hopped out, brushed my teeth, and blow-dried my hair before throwing it up into a messy bun.
Grabbing my fresh clothes, I speedily dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a plain, pale pink t-shirt. This way I won't have to roll up my sleeves when Gregory bandages my scrapes and cuts.
I decided to just forgo any makeup for the day. Officially deeming today, a day of rest; especially after the night I had.
My fingers unlocked the door and I made my way back to the bedroom to see Gregory with an evil grin on his face.
"Oh, no…what did you decide?" I asked dreading his answer.
He flipped the tablet over and showed me a documentary series about serial killers and murder.
I let out a groan, "Don't you have enough blood and gore in your life?"
"I'm a vampire—blood is kind of my thing," Gregory informed me.
"Gregory, I hate hearing about true crime—it makes me paranoid," I complained.
"I know, that is why we are watching it," he told me while snickering at the glare I gave him, "Oh, it won't be that bad, now give me your arms so we can disinfect those cuts again."
I complied with my bossy best friend's instructions.
Once I was patched up again, Gregory and I leaned back onto the pillows that were laying against the headboard. After we settled down, me beneath the covers and him on top, he hit the play button.
Did I mention that I really hate true crime stories?
Oh, great, the first episode is a killer claiming demon possession…just fantastic.
We stayed in the bed watching these episodes for 2 hours, my head was practically buried into his chest as the episodes progressed. He chuckled and reminded me that the odds were in my favor about never meeting a serial killer. I whacked his arm and told him that's probably what the victims thought too!
Gregory, pulled me further into his side, "Do you really think that I'm going to let a killer get you?"
"My hero," I deadpanned, still peeved that he's making me watch this horrible series.
He opened his mouth to respond, but a knock at my door interrupted our banter.
"Lucy, are you awake?" Anna called out from the other side of the door.
"Yeah, I am," I called out to the small girl while making my way to the door to unlock it. Anna stepped through the threshold but paused when she saw Gregory.
He raised his eyebrow at her pouting face.
"Did you have a sleepover without me?"
I chuckled at her cuteness before reassuring her, "Gregory, just wanted to make sure I was okay after the attack."
"I could have kept you safe," Anna grumbled.
"I know that," I reassured her before loudly stage whispering, "Your brother is just a worrywart and wanted to do things himself."
"I heard that!" He chimed from the bed.
"You were meant too!" I called back.
Anna giggled before flying to my bed and plopping down. Gregory pulled the giggling girl into his side with a smile on his face.
"What are you watching?" Anna asked as I closed my door once more and walked over to the two.
"A documentary series about true crime and serial killers," Gregory explained as I curled back into my spot with Anna in between us.
"Don't you see enough blood being a vampire?" she asked her older brother in confusion.
"That's what I said!" I chimed in from my spot.
"Hush you," Gregory teased while flicking my forehead, "Remember, it was you who said I could choose what we watch."
"And I've regretted my decision ever since," I added on with a smile.
He looked at me in amusement before the sound of the bathroom door opening caught his attention.
"Hey, Lulu, are you awake?" Tony called out.
"Yeah, come on in and join the party," I told him when I saw his head peak out from the open doorway.
Tony ran and jumped on top of me on the bed, making me laugh as I tried to tickle the squirming mass.
I was about to ask where Rudolph was when said boy popped out from atop the canopy on Gregory's side.
"Boo!" Rudolph yelled out, making Gregory jump a little bit.
Gregory rolled his eyes at his little brother before yanking him down from his spot and putting him in a headlock. He rubbed his knuckles into his scalp and laughed at his brother's pleas.
"Oh, come on, Gregory, it was just a joke!"
"Gregory, stop that," I scolded the teenager, "You're going to make him bald."
"Yeah, yeah," Gregory said while letting his brother go. Rudolph flew towards me once he was free and stuck his tongue out at Gregory.
"Don't antagonize your brother," I chided Rudolph.
"What are you watching, Lulu?" Tony asked
"A series about serial killers," Anna answered for me.
"But, you hate true crime stories, Lulu," Tony said in confusion while looking at me for clarification.
"Once again, that's what I said," I informed in exasperation.
"They why are you watching it, Miss Lulu?" Rudolph asked me.
"Because I stupidly made a deal with the devil," I muttered beneath my breath.
Gregory obviously still heard me because he laughed at my expense.
Stupid jerk.
"She let me pick what we watched," Gregory finally informed the boys as he got over his laughing fit.
"Ohhh…can we watch?" Tony requested.
"Sure," Gregory answered before I could suggest we watch something else.
"Sure… let me just set up the series on one of computer screens," I told them, giving Gregory a slight glare before getting up from my spot and logging into my account.
Once everything was set up, the three kids laid down at the end of the bed to get a better view of the screen, while Gregory and I resumed our original spots.
Me cowering into his chest and him laughing at me.
Yeah…so much fun.
"Mom just texted me telling us to come down to dinner," I told Tony while holding up my phone to the enraptured boy.
Thank God, I don't think that I could have taken another episode.
"Aw, man, five more minutes?" He pleaded.
"Tony…" I groaned, not wanting to watch this series for another second.
"Fine…" Tony sighed while getting off the bed.
I put on my pink sneakers before grabbing my grey and white striped jacket.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
The weather was starting to get chillier at night and you could tell that Fall was just around the corner.
Since vampires only need blood about once a week, the dining hall was empty except for our usual table. Freda, Frederick, Maney, and my parents sat waiting for us to arrive. We made it a habit to have a family sit together every evening and morning. It was a little awkward at first for my family to be the only ones eating six days of the week, but we all got used to the friendly company in time.
The only time a vampire needs to increase their blood intake is if they are injured or have overexerted the use of their powers. Being that our clan hasn't had to fight any hunters since they've arrived at the castle, we haven't had to use any extra blood.
Freda and Frederick must have escorted my parents and Maney to the dining hall earlier to prepare dinner. The food was already set up on the table with Tony and my plates already prepared in perfect portion sizes.
We promptly sat down and enjoyed our meal with conversation about what our plans were for the evening.
Suddenly, Anna got a sad look on her face.
"Lucy, do you have to go to school in 3 weeks?" She asked me with big puppy dog eyes.
I smiled at her before teasing, "That depends, if I say yes, are you going to hypnotize me to think otherwise?"
"Darn, you've discovered my plans," she joked back with me.
I laughed at her before seriously replying, "Unfortunately, I do, but I'll try to get my work done as fast as I can so that I can play with you as soon as you wake up."
"Only until midnight, Lucy," my mom reminded me, "You have to get some sleep beforehand."
"I know and I promise that I'll start getting on the set sleep schedule soon," I assured her.
She nodded her head in approval before going back to her meal.
"Did you decide on a club yet?" My dad asked me, quietly reminding me of our previous agreement.
The deal that once Tony got friends, that I would join a club and become more social as well.
I sighed out before telling him, "Yeah, they have a chess club—"
"NO!" My parents shrieked in horror.
"YES!" Tony shouted with glee.
Both my parents sent Tony a look, but said boy ignored them.
"Lulu is going to make people cry again!" He cackled while rubbing his hands together in a villainous manner.
"What?" Gregory asked, suddenly intrigued at the situation.
"Tony, that was one time and I didn't even say anything to him to make him cry!" I argued with my younger brother.
"Sweetie, I know you are really good at chess and enjoy it," my mom began, "But please pick something else—I really don't want to deal with an angry, self-righteous parent again."
My dad earnestly nodded his head in agreement.
"It wasn't my fault that the kid was a misogynistic crybaby," I reminded them, trying to defend myself, "He kept saying how girls should stay in the kitchen and I didn't say anything to him…Just destroyed him in five moves."
"Then requested an opponent who knew how to play the game rather than run their mouth!" Tony exclaimed through his laughter, "Face it, Lulu, you destroyed his credibility and his ego."
"…Good, he was a jerk anyway…" I muttered beneath my breath.
Gregory heard me and tried to stifle a laugh.
"Lucy, we will let you join the chess club if you also join the student council," my mom finally compromised.
I considered my options before nodding my head.
"It might be fun being class treasurer," I conceded, enjoying the idea of getting more experience handling finances.
"Don't you have to get elected first," Tony asked me.
"I'll win," I confidently told him with a grin.
"That's my girl," my mom beamed with pride.
My dad voiced his concerns, "Won't being in two clubs be too much of a strain on your studies?"
"No…I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to handle it," I told him while quickly going over the pros and cons in my head.
"Alright, but if being in two clubs gets to be too much for you—" my dad began telling me.
"I will let you and mom know immediately and we will discuss our options," I agreed, already knowing what his stipulations were going to be in regard to club activities.
"Good," he simply stated with a nod of his head, "And don't forget…no dating until you're 35."
I choked on my water.
Tony was snickering at my predicament.
"Dad!" I yelled out in embarrassment.
"Honey, I told you," my mom began while soothingly rubbing his arm, "It's an all-girls school."
"With an all-boys school down the road," he added on while leveling a look at my mom, "You two didn't think that I would find out about it, did you?"
"Sorry, sweetie, I tried," my mom apologized while looking in my direction.
I covered my red face with my hands, "Dad…" I groaned, "I'm just going to school to study, not date."
"Damn straight, you are!" He declared, "No disgusting, perverted teenager is putting their filthy paws on my baby girl!"
Oh, my God, somebody just end me now.
I noticed Gregory out of the corner of my eye trying to hide a grin on his face.
The stupid sadist was enjoying my embarrassment.
"Oh, Bob, she's old enough to date," my mom chastised.
"Like Hell she is!"
"I was her age when I started dating," my mom defended her statement.
"Yeah and we didn't meet until we were in college not high school," he reminded my mom.
"True, but if I didn't have those past boyfriends in high school then I wouldn't have known what I was looking for in a partner when I met you in college," she logically informed him.
"Boy—boyfriends!" Dad shrieked in horror, "As in plural?"
"Oh, stop it," my mom reprimanded with a roll of her eyes, "Like you didn't have other girlfriends before you met me."
My dad was oddly quiet, not making any eye contact with my mother.
"Oh-oh my—I was the only one?" Mom questioned in amazement, a self-satisfied smile on her face.
My dad's ears turned pink with embarrassment.
"Aw, sweetie," my mom cooed while curling into her husband's side, "You just get more adorable every day."
He grumbled under his breath before clearing his throat.
"Well, anyway, that just goes to prove that you don't need to date to know when you meet the one," he informed me with a look of finality.
"If I agree to these terms can we please change the subject?" I asked, just wanting the conversation to be over.
"What, no way!" My mom cried out, "Don't just give in like that, Lucy. Compromise, sure, but if you roll over like that then you will never be able to recover and reassert your dominance."
I banged my head on the table.
Of course, mom would turn this into a life/business lesson.
Someone just take me out now…please!
"Alright, fine, if you want to have this conversation so badly," I said, coming up with a quick plan of diversion, "When is Tony allowed to date?"
My little brother just looked at me in shock and betrayal.
"Et tu brute?" He whispered to me—our favorite quote to use when we get thrown under the bus.
I mouthed back 'sorry' to him as my parent's attention shifted.
"Tony can date whenever he wants," my dad responded nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders.
I had a feeling he would respond like that and unleash my mother's fury about inequality.
"Oh, really and why is that?" My mom questioned my father.
Guess he's no longer adorable in her eyes.
"Because Tony is, well…Tony," my dad floundered out.
"By that, you mean because Tony is a boy, don't you?" She accused.
"What I mean is that we raised Tony right and he would be a perfect gentleman," he tried to defend his logic.
"But you're point with Lucy wasn't that she wouldn't act like a lady, but because she might get hurt or tricked by a boy," my mom clarified.
"Yes, and Tony is a gentleman and won't do that—"
"But what if a girl does that to him?" my mom questioned.
"What…no it's different with girls—"
"Oh, girls can't be manipulative and devious?"
"I didn't say that," my dad began, trying to backtrack, "What I meant was that girls are more, uh, more delicate than boys—"
"There are women out there that brutalize men every day and get away with it because of this ignorant mentality that men can't be abused, or that nobody would believe them—"
"See, now you are putting words into my mouth," my dad argued, "All I'm saying is that it's different for fathers when it's their little girl dating—Frederick you understand where I'm coming from."
My dad turned towards the vampire dad in hopes of gaining some support.
Said father gave a side glance in his wife's direction.
"Bob, whenever you are in dire straits I will fight side by side with you on any battlefield," he began, "However, if I wish to continue my existence on this mortal plane, I think it will be best for me to gracefully bow out of this conversation."
"Smart man," my mom declared, deepening her glare at my defeated father's figure.
Freda laughed at the situation before turning towards me.
"You took care of that quite well, my dear," she whispered.
I finished chewing my last bite of food from my plate before giving her a roguish smile and a wink.
This caused her to erupt in laughter once more.
"We will talk about this later," my mom growled at my father.
"Yes, dear," he dejectedly agreed.
Sorry, daddy, had to do it.
"Lucy," my mom called out gaining my attention.
She had a hard look on her face and made me gulp in fear.
"Yes…mother?" I hesitantly asked.
"…Nice work on the distraction technique," she acknowledged with a little praise in her voice.
I opened my mouth to thank her for the compliment when she interrupted me.
"Don't do it again," she fiercely commanded.
She meant don't use it on her and my dad again.
I quickly nodded my head in agreement, "Yes, mother."
I'm with Frederick on this one. I want to continue my existence on this mortal plane as long as I could as well.
The conversation slowly eased back into friendly chatter once more. Soon everyone had finished their meal and I helped my mom take the dinnerware to the kitchen.
As an apology for my earlier ploy, I told my mom that I would take care of the dishes.
She thanked me for my help before going off to find my father.
Probably to finish their debate from earlier…
Gregory wanted to go on a walk to the garden my parents recently created. It was at the end of one of the lit-up nature trails. He hadn't had the time to check it out earlier because of how busy he was helping with the clan preparations. But now we both have a day off together and he wants me to go with.
I promised we'd leave as soon as I finished cleaning up.
He decided that to make it go faster, he would wash the dishes while I dried and put them away. So, we set to work and got into a good rhythm, quickly finishing up the task before wiping down the countertops.
"Well, isn't this sweet," Marcus sneered at us from the doorway. He was clearly disgusted by our domestic performance and looked as though he wanted to gouge his eyes out.
Gregory looked as though he wanted to help him out with that task and took a step towards the rude vampire. I quickly latched onto his arm and tried to silently calm him down.
"Marcus, that's enough," Cornelius scolded his son while also stepping into the room. Frederick followed closely behind him. Marcus just clicked his tongue while indignantly turning away in anger.
"Father?" Gregory called out in question.
"Sorry, to disturb you both while you cleaned up, but I needed to ask Lucy a question," Frederick politely informed us.
I looked towards Gregory with confusion before stepping up to talk to Frederick.
"Is everything okay, Mr. Sackville-Bagg?" I respectfully asked the head vampire.
"Lucy, I told you, just call me Frederick," he corrected me with a smile, "And there is a bit of a…predicament we are in. There are members of Clan Genovese who were injured in the fight against the hunters and need more blood. Your parents said that you were the one who took charge of the bookkeeping of the blood transactions. Do we have enough blood to help them?"
I quickly set down the towel while making my way towards the large, second refrigerator where we stored the supplies of blood. Above it was a cupboard that held the ledger of the blood transactions; when they were collected, the expiration on each batch, how much was used, etc.
My fingers grasped the book and I opened it up to the last account description.
"How many vampires were injured?" I asked.
"That is none of your business. Do you have the blood or not?" Marcus snarled at me.
I rolled my eyes.
"Listen up and listen well," I seethed, "I get it, you don't like me. I don't care! You don't need to like me for me to help you. However, you do need to cooperate with me so I can help you. And in order for that to happen I need to know what your situation is. I need to know how many members of your clan were wounded and the state of their injuries to try to estimate how much blood you'll need to get them fully recovered."
I could feel anger course through my veins, and I continued to rant at the disrespectful vampire.
"And I say estimate because apparently vampires don't have an exact science on healing. Which, I get, you can't keep a medical journal without the risk of a hunter finding it," I quickly amended, directing the last comment towards Gregory.
We've already had this conversation multiple times. He is well aware how I despise the fact that vampires are well-adept in alchemy and mystical science, but don't have the knowledge about monitoring and maintaining their own health and well-being.
How am I supposed to keep my new vampire family healthy and safe without this critical information?
"But this lack of records still makes it damned difficult for me to plan my worst-case scenarios and emergency plans when I have to estimate! Seriously, can you even imagine how stressful it is to try to figure out an expiration date on a bag of blood with no data to go off of? I don't know if there are vital nutrients in a fresh bag of blood that you all need or if it can be bottled like wine and the more aged it is, the better. So, to play it safe, do you know what I had to go off of? I had to go off of the recommended life expectancy of blood in regard to the transfusion process. Then I had to create a system to consistently recycle the blood every 42 days."
By this point I had opened the ledger to my expiration logs to show them my notes.
"Speaking of nutritional value," I fervently added on, "I don't even know if animal's blood is like what vegetables are to humans. As in the fact that you may not like the taste, but it's extremely healthy for you. And if that is the case, then does that mean human's blood for vampires is like chocolate for humans? Should you be drinking human's blood all the time or only on special occasions? Have that thought keep you up at night on whether or not you are providing your vampire friends with yummy human blood with no nutritional value or maybe it tastes better because it is better. Oh! And one more thing—"
Gregory's arms wrapped around my middle and pulled me away from the stunned vampires, effectively halting my ranting.
"Alright, that's enough of that," he began, a slight chuckle escaping his mouth, "I'm sure these two understand how serious you are about helping and will provide the information you seek."
Crossing my arms, I brought the ledger to my chest before letting out an indignant huff.
I can't stand this Marcus character.
Makes my blood boil.
I should lock the jerk in a closet filled with garlic.
"I had no idea that you took such painstaking measures to regulate our feeding," Frederick whispered in awe, rousing me from my vengeful thoughts.
"Why wouldn't I take your meals seriously?" I asked him in confusion, my previous ire forgotten, "You are my clan, remember?"
Frederick warmly smiled at me before nodding his head, "Of course, that we are."
He then turned to Cornelius and firmly said, "If you wish for help then you will have to tell my clan member what she needs to know."
Gregory smirked at that before letting me go so that I could open the ledger back up in response.
Cornelius seemed to pull himself together and nodded his head in understanding.
"There are six members of my clan who were critically wounded," He informed.
"How were they hurt?" I asked.
Marcus opened his mouth to protest, but Cornelius held up his hand and effectively silenced his son.
"All six were hit by a consistent beam of a UV light, two of the members had to crawl through flames to help the others get away and have sustained worst injuries."
"How many bags of blood have they received already and was there any improvement?" I continued my line of questioning.
"We gave four of them a full bag of blood and the remaining two had one and a half bags of blood. Their more serious wounds have healed, but they are still injured and too weak to move from the cellars."
"Okay, so let's try two full bags of human blood for the first four and we'll give two bags of human blood and an extra bag of cow's blood to the other two."
"So, we are just an experiment to you," Marcus questioned in anger.
"No, I just happened to notice that when both Gregory and Frederick were injured by a UV light that they healed almost instantly when they drank half a bag of cow's blood that day," I tersely informed him.
"That is true," Gregory reaffirmed, "I did heal faster drinking cow's blood than I ever did drinking human's blood."
"Really?" I asked him, "Maybe the animal's blood is like a vegetable group for vampires, and helps the healing process more…Do you feel anything when you drink human's blood? I mean, do you feel stronger after drinking it or does it just satisfy your hunger?"
"I would have to say it makes me feel more stronger…almost as though I have more energy," Gregory replied after earnestly considering the question.
"That's really interesting," I commented, "Maybe the human's blood does have nutritional value for vampires…It could be that human's blood is like meat for humans, you know a good source of iron and makes you feel energized."
Maybe there was something to a balanced blood diet and moderation…
"Perhaps we should alternate the blood bags?" I suggested with a plan in mind, "We would moderate it like a human's diet and use variation. One week would be human blood and the next week would be animal's blood. Just in case there is a difference in nutritional content between the two bloo—"
"Lucy, focus," Gregory interrupted my ramblings with a smile on his face.
"I am focusing," I huffed at him before turning back to the ledger.
Doing quick calculations in my head, I looked at the accounts with approval.
We still had plenty of blood.
"Okay, so we'll have 12 bags of human blood and 2 bags of cow blood to start off," I mumbled out before turning my attention back to Cornelius, "Who else was hurt?"
He raised an eyebrow at me, "What makes you think that there are others who are injured."
I gave him an agitated look.
Does he really think I'm that stupid?
"Well, since we were the ones who prepared for your arrival, I know that after the attack on your lair your clan has 43 members remaining. I also know that combining your clan numbers with mine would have completely filled up the dining hall this morning," I began explaining my deductions, "However, there were multiple empty seats in the hall, I would say about 20% of our chairs remained vacant, which would mean that…15 to 20 of your members were injured in the attack."
I double checked my math before continuing with my speech.
"You have told me about six of your members being injured. So now I ask you again, who else was hurt during the raid of your lair?" I finished this statement while turning to a fresh page in the book.
I could have sworn that I saw Cornelius crack a smile before returning to a neutral stare.
"There were 12 more members that were injured, making it 18 wounded in total," he finally admitted, "Five of the members suffered multiple stab wounds from a stake gun; thankfully, the hunters missed their hearts. They drank half a bag of blood and are able to move, but it's still difficult for them and their wounds still haven't healed completely. The remaining seven suffered from burns from the fire and reassure me that the blood they drank was enough since they can fly again. However, I'm concerned because their wounds still haven't healed."
I nodded my head in understanding.
"The seven are going to hate me, but, I think half a bag of cow's blood would be best to heal the burns from the fire…" I trailed off to see if he agreed with my diagnosis, he curtly nodded his head and motioned for me to continue, "The other five…it sounds like they also need cow's blood, but if they were stabbed multiple times…it'd probably be safer to have them drink a full bag of human's blood and half a bag of cow's blood just to be sure."
I calculated all the blood that would be needed.
"So, all together, we need 17 bags of human blood and 8 bags of cow's blood," I quickly determined before adding on, "We should probably add an extra bag each, just to be on the safe side. Mostly because some of your members might need a little extra help with—"
"Do you have enough of a supply?" Cornelius asked, interrupting my train of thought.
Rude.
"It'll take a lot of the reserves away," I honestly admitted, "But, right now your clan needs it more and we'll figure something out."
"Are you going to go with that other plan of yours?" Gregory asked me, "Plan P, I think you called it…"
"I can't believe you remember me telling you about Plan P; I have so many of them. But, yes, that's exactly what I was thinking of for the time being. My only concern is if pig's blood tastes alright or if it's completely disgusting," I admitted to him.
"It actually tastes quite similar to cow's blood, if not a little sweeter," he told me with a nod of approval.
"Oh, good," I said, "I'll talk to my parents tomorrow about shipping some pigs in. Do you think that Maney will be able to build a pig pen? Plus, we'd have to ask the farm help if they would be able to care for the pigs along with the cows…"
I trailed off thinking of my plans while adjusting the numbers in the ledger to reflect the current transaction. So, we are going to use 18 bags of human's blood and 9 bags of cow's blood.
Gregory had pulled over one of the carts before punching in the refrigerator's code to open the electric lock on it.
"It shouldn't be too difficult for them to add caring for swine to their list of chores," he commented while pulling out the labeled human bags of blood while I wrote off their id tags in the ledger. This was the system I talked about earlier. It helped to circulate the blood and make sure that it didn't expire in the fridge.
"I wouldn't think so, but I've never taken care of farm animals before," I admitted to him, "Plus, I would rather us learn from them and take over the care of the animals ourselves."
"I thought you wanted to create a sense of loyalty between the villagers and the castle's inhabitants by locally creating more jobs and income?" He asked me with confusion.
"I do want to do that, but it makes me nervous whenever they're here during the day," I confided, "I mean, what if they get curious and start asking questions about their employers? Or what if Countess wanders into the main cowshed again? We lucked out with Maney being present that one time and even luckier that he was able to get her back into her secret room before anyone saw her."
"That's a lot of what if situations that you have there," Gregory slightly teased with a smile.
"Oh, don't even act like you don't worry about—hey, hold on, that bag is only 10 days old, let me see that other one instead," I told him while halting our conversation and pointing to a bag in the corner.
"This one right here?" He asked me, pulling out a different bag filled with cow's blood.
"Yeah, that one is…good to go, yep, that one needs to go first," I approved while checking it off in the ledger, "Okay, so that takes care of the human blood and the majority of the cow's blood. Now, we just need…let's see…3,4… 6 more bags of cow's blood."
"Sounds good, did you want to finish this off while I get the goblets?" He asked trying to make the work go by faster.
"Good idea," I agreed, taking over his spot to retrieve the remaining bags.
"Maybe you should grab 29 cups rather than 18," I called out over my shoulder.
"Why is that?" He asked me from the cupboards.
"Well, 7 of the members will just be drinking cow's blood, while the remaining 11 will be drinking both cow and human blood. They may not want to drink human blood from the same goblet that just touched cow's blood. So, we'd double the number of cups the 11 would drink from—"
"And get 29 goblets total, okay, yeah that makes sense," Gregory nodded his head in understanding.
"You got that idea from watching Tony, didn't you?" He asked me with a smile, "I noticed that he doesn't like his food to touch, especially when there are beets on his plate."
I laughed along with him.
"Is that not the craziest thing?" I asked him, "I mean, it's all going to your stomach and you would think that he'd want to mask the taste of his vegetables with something he enjoyed."
Gregory agreed with me as he finished setting up the goblets.
I finished up my task and looked over the ledger to double check my math.
Gregory closed and locked the refrigerator before wheeling both carts to the three vampires by the door.
"What?" I heard him ask, pulling my attention away from my calculations.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Frederick replied with an amused look on his face.
He seemed almost ecstatic about something…
The other two just stared.
Cornelius looked concerned about something while Marcus looked at both of us with disdain.
Finally, Cornelius spoke up and began asking, "Is this mortal your—"
"Friend? Yes, she is," Gregory quickly cut off the older vampire.
"You and I both know that wasn't the question he was going to ask," Marcus jeered with a cruel smirk on his face.
Gregory growled at the other vampire.
Frederick quickly stepped in between the two.
"Cornelius…" he began in warning, "We have been more than generous to you and your family, but your son cannot continue his antagonizing ways."
"Forgive his youth," Cornelius apologized, "I will be sure to reprimand him for his attitude… As long as your son proceeds with caution."
Frederick bristled at the final comment and opened his mouth to speak when Cornelius interrupted him.
"I do not mean it as a threat, old friend," he explained, "I simply warn him of the dangers that he will endure on this path that he has chosen with his… friend. You will remember that it is the same path that my brother Von traveled upon before meeting his untimely demise with a stake through his heart."
Gregory tensed up, clearly understanding his hidden meaning, and not liking the advice one bit.
Frederick must have felt the same way because he stepped up to defend Gregory.
"My son is perfectly aware about the hardships your clan has unfortunately experienced and, for that, you will always have our sincerest condolences," Frederick began in a calm tone of voice, barely concealing his rage, "However, you will remember that his friend is part of our clan and is, therefore, not the same situation that you compared it to. Times have changed, old friend, it's time that you do the same."
"Have they changed, Frederick?" Cornelius questioned, "I sometimes wonder…However, I see that his conversation has put you in ill spirits and will cease discussing this matter at once."
Cornelius called his men into the kitchen to transport the two trays down to the cellars. He instructed Marcus to follow them and turned to leave but halted in the doorway.
"Young mortal, my friends foolishly believe that they can protect you from the dark world we live in. I pray that a mind as brilliant as yours will wise up and flee back to your world of light," Cornelius informed me before flying to the cellars.
He left so abruptly that I didn't get a chance to tell him where he could stick his advice.
Gregory suddenly burst out laughing.
I blinked at him in confusion before realizing that I said that mental comment out loud…in front of his father.
My face turned red in embarrassment.
"There is nothing to be embarrassed of, Lucy, Cornelius can be a, uh…" Frederick trailed off while searching for the right word.
"Pretentious misanthrope?"
"Yes, that is it exactly," Frederick replied, happily approving my apt description.
I smiled at the fatherly pride in his eyes before finishing up my checking of the account records and placing the ledger back into the cupboard.
"Come on, Lucy, let's enjoy what's left of our night," Gregory told me while holding out his hand.
"Definitely!" I agreed putting my hand into his own.
Things always seemed brighter with Gregory by my side.
We walked down the lit nature trail for a little while before we finally made it to our destination. Taking a seat on one of the many benches placed in the garden, we sat in a comfortable silence soaking in the beauty of it all.
"Wow, your dad did a great job designing the flower arrangements and the garden layout," Gregory finally commented.
"Yeah, mom told him her favorite flowers that were indigenous to this area and…voila!" I replied, agreeing with his assessment of my dad's masterpiece.
As I said before, my dad and Tony were the creative ones in our family.
A question that has been nagging me suddenly popped into my head.
"Hey, Gregory…how come some vampires have scars while others don't?" I asked my friend, tilting my head up from his shoulder to look at him.
"Well…for some vampires, the ones who were once human, their marks and scars remain, even after their transformation. Things like freckles, scars, and birthmarks dim a little, but if they are prominent enough then they will remain," He informed me, I sat up at this information and looked at him in confusion.
"Cornelius and Marcus were—"
"No, they were never human and received their scars from battle," Gregory corrected with a smile, "Vampires can be injured like humans, but, one of the differences is that we survive harder hits. The other difference, and the only downside, is that we can't heal on our own and need to drink blood to heal our wounds. If a vampire sustains an injury and goes, let's say…a month before they are able to drink blood, then a lot of times the wound doesn't heal right and leaves a scar. The only injuries that heal without ever leaving a scar is when we are scorched by daylight. Or more recently, the UV flashlights…Nasty little buggers those are."
I nodded my head in understanding, processing this information.
"I see…" I replied before asking my next question, "But you really can't heal at all without drinking blood?"
Maybe I should increase the blood reserve supply more than it is?
"Well, we can heal a little bit on our own if we get burned, but we need blood to completely restore our bodies," he confided.
That's a bit reassuring, but I'm still nervous about their healing ability being mostly dependent on blood consumption.
"You're worried about something," he pointed out, "What has you so concerned now?"
His fingers were sweetly stroking the side of my head in a comforting manner. I hummed in appreciation towards his caring ministrations.
"Lucy?"
"Yeah, sorry, that just feels really good," I admitted.
He chuckled at my behavior before prodding me further, "Come on, Lucy, tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing, really, I just…I'm worried about the reserves now because I didn't realize that you needed the blood to activate your healing ability."
"Lucy, the amount of blood that you have secured and provided is more than enough—"
"Even with guests being on the property?" I interrupted him voicing the other part of my concern.
"Yes, even though we have guests," He said with a reassuring smile, "We've had to deplete some of the reserves today, but you've already figured out a way to get our numbers back in no time at all."
"Gregory…are there other clans out there? I mean, do I need to be worried about them showing up on the doorstep wounded and injured like Clan Genovese?" I voiced my anxiety.
"No, our law states that a clan can't encroach on another's territory without permission. Us vampires are extremely territorial, remember?" Gregory replied with a smile, "So, they would have to send a letter requesting housing from us before showing up. If that ever happens then we can set up more supplies for them before they arrive."
This soothed my mind a little bit.
One of my biggest concerns with the supply was stocking up too much or too little and the clan suffering for it.
Gregory's reassurances helped ease the fear, but his statement raised more questions in my mind.
"What do you mean that they would send a letter? I mean, your clan moved from the catacombs to the castle, but Clan Genovese was still able to contact your father. How did he receive a letter?"
"Our clans each have a carrier animal that delivers secret correspondence between the leaders. Vampires are constantly on the move, so these animals have to be able to track down the moving recipient without alerting any hunters," Gregory explained to me.
"How are the animals able to locate a den of vampires?" I asked in curiosity.
"Because it's not an ordinary animal," he began explaining, "You know how Rudolph bit that cow and it turned into a vampire?"
"Yes…"
"Well, the same thing happens with all bitten animals," he informed me, "My father has a black crow that he turned into a vampire and Cornelius has a turned falcon."
"Probably a stupid question, but…" I began asking, watching his eyebrows rise in amusement, "Do the vampire birds have fangs?"
Gregory blinked at me for a moment before letting out a snort, trying to stifle his snickering.
"Uh…ahem, no, they don't," he eventually calmed down enough to answer me, "They just have sharper beaks and drink blood, but they don't have fangs."
"You're still picturing it, aren't you," I asked him after noticing his shoulders still shaking from laughter.
"I ca—can't get the image out of-of my head," Gregory wheezed out.
I indignantly swatted his arm before joining in on the laughter.
We both calmed down and lapsed back into a comfortable silence.
It was such a perfect night.
It was so peaceful and comforting…that I didn't notice the two pairs of eyes watching us from a distance.