A Vampire Story Chapter 4: Intermediate Chapter: Red Tea, a Twilight + Touhou Project Crossover fanfic

Dear gentle readers,
In light of recent events concerning broken operating systems and lost chapters as well as laptops, I have deigned to present you with an intermediate story of fair quality in order to show that I have not forgotten about you in any way, shape or form.

Please read warmly as it begins, and remember that real vampires appreciate tea.

紅魔官紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館レミリアが好きだ紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館紅魔館

Remilia was weary. Her mansion had just been ransacked by a pair of unwelcome guests with obnoxious spellcards, who proceeded to beat up herself and the other inhabitants of her mansion in order to stop her plans to go outside without a parasol. Despite being a powerful vampire of 500 years, she was handily defeated by a pair of humans who left just as abruptly as they came.

"Sakuya! Bring me a cup of tea, and have the remaining fairy maids clean up around here! I'll be retiring to my room for now."

"At once, milady." Sakuya curtsied briefly, then blinked out of sight, using her time manipulation to carry out her orders as quickly as possible. Remilia smirked bitterly, grateful for at least one thing to be going her way this night. That, and the fact that her sister remained blissfully silent in the basement, despite the racket coming from upstairs.

As Remilia crossed the hallway to her master bedroom, she found herself stopping at the window and staring at the moon looming overhead. "Even though the moon is so red..." she muttered to herself, becoming lost in the thoughts of a young mistress as the ambient noise of the mansion's inhabitants competed with the noise of the night from outside.

"Alright, so, what's the best choice of tea for this situation, when the mistress is so down and defeated?" Sakuya wondered aloud as she rummaged through the mansion's spacious pantry. As a skilled maid, she was well versed in teas, both in terms of selecting a good tea for a situation as well as being knowledgeable about the history and preparation of an individual tea. After several minutes of deliberation, she selected a black tea with rose petals and set it on the counter before beginning the process of boiling spring water and preparing china for the mistress's tea. The loose tea leaves were brewed in a separate container, and the teapot and cup were themselves rinsed with hot water to keep them from cooling the tea too quickly. After a few minutes of steeping at just under boiling temperatures, the tea was ready to be strained into the teapot. Sakuya moved the china to a small pushcart, along with milk, honey, and a modest plate of scones for Remilia to enjoy. Once everything was in place, she began the silent trek to her mistress's bedroom.

Despite being known for abusing her powers to be the perfect maid, Sakuya took her time traveling across the mansion whenever she had to deliver things like this. Although she took pride in her work at keeping the mansion tidy and running smoothly, her true pleasure was in performing these simple yet personal tasks and keeping the mistress company. It was in these instances where she felt she truly shined, as both a maid and a companion. So as she crossed the final hallway that led to Remilia's bedroom, she stopped briefly to enjoy the glow streaming into the mansion from the bright red moon overhead. "Because the moon is so red..."

Sakuya trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished as she strode into the master bedroom of the mansion, pushing the cart of tea along.

Remilia sighed as she settled into a small rocking chair by a window in her room. Although it might have seemed absurd to see such a young looking figure in such a chair, no one who has been fortunate enough to come across one when feeling weary and battered will deny its effectiveness. The young scarlet mistress set to rocking back and forth gently, waiting for the sounds of wheels and footsteps to enter her room. She knew better than to expect a knock - manipulation of fate means some prior knowledge of fate, and she already knew that Sakuya would simply walk in and serve the tea. Even this did not make her omnipotent, however, and few events had served to make this more obvious than this last one. 'A shrine maiden and a human witch...' Remilia recalled the fights she had just faced, one opponent using powerful sealing magics, and the other using overwhelming magical strength that made her own techniques seem elegant but impotent by comparison. She rubbed her temples in frustration and gave up trying to understand it just as Sakuya arrived with the tea.

"Sakuya, I hope the tea is still piping hot by now."

"I apologize in advance, milady. I was briefly entranced by the moon."

"It's fine. Please pour the tea. It smells like black tea with roses tonight."

"Very well. And might I add that milady is correct about what kind of tea it is." Sakuya began pouring tea into the teacup, leaving a small amount of room in the cup for milk and honey. Remilia added a small amount of each to the cup, then took a sip, closing her eyes and leaning back in the chair as she did.

"It's surprisingly sweet and mild for black tea. Is this Darjeeling?"

"Actually, this one is a Chinese tea that Meiling requested from Kourindou. The official name for this tea is Dian hong, though another common name is Yunnan Red."

"Red? I would think that they would call it a Yunnan Black."

Sakuya smiled faintly at the way Remilia quickly forgot her troubles and immersed herself in thoughts of tea. Even though Meiling was more well versed in the history of Chinese tea than she was, she would endeavor to keep the conversation going for her mistress's sake. "In western countries it is called Yunnan Black, but because it's an Asian tea, it would be considered a red tea. It's even written with a character for red."

"Ah, of course. How fitting for a vampire, then, to be drinking red tea under a red moon." Remilia took a few thoughtful sips, then glanced up at her loyal servant. "And what of the rose flavor?"

"Well, this tea is normally prepared with rose as a flavoring, but I supplemented it with some rose petals from the garden to enhance it. Forgive me if I should have asked permission first."

"Hm. Diligent as always."

Silence filtered into the room like a scarlet mist as Remilia sat gripping her teacup, neither speaking nor drinking nor even sending her maid away. Minutes passed, and the tea slowly grew cold in the pot. At last, Remilia dismissed Sakuya, who curtsied once more before taking the tea set back to the kitchen.

The moon passed over the mansion, and Remilia sat alone, contemplating what to do next.

The next morning, Sakuya was yawning as she oversaw the last bits of cleanup when she heard Remilia calling for her. 'Strange.. I would expect the mistress to be preparing for bed at this time,' she thought as she answered the call coming from the main foyer. When she arrived, the first thing she noticed was that Remilia seemed much different from the previous night. Somehow... completely cheerful?

"Sakuya, please prepare a parasol and a small satchel of that red tea for me."

"At once, milady, but may I ask what for?" Sakuya was taken aback by the sudden change, but hopeful that it for the best.

"I have to uphold my honor as the mistress of this manor, so I will be paying a visit to that shrine across the lake." Remilia flashed a wry grin at her maid, who smiled in response. "And if we should have a rematch, at least it'll be their place getting destroyed this time!"

Sakuya nodded, disappearing and reappearing in a flash with the requested items. "I will dutifully watch over the mansion in your absence as always."

"Thank you, Sakuya. And thank Meiling for the tea for me, as well." With that, the Scarlet Devil took the items and set off to take her revenge on the red-white shrine maiden and her white-black accomplice.