We're now at the halfway point of this story, and the first chapter for the new year. For those reading this story, thanks for keeping me on my toes. I just wished that I get back into a writing mojo this year and finally finish my other stories. Anyways, welcome into the twelfth chapter of Synchro Beast, Crimson Rose!
Chapter 12-Mirrors of the Shadows
Nearing the end of the summer season was truly heading into a spiraling conflict, and many of the surviving farmers were reporting small numbers of livestock that will last for another season, prompting the village to enter into its' ration control until supplies are back to their new normal. However, this meant rising prices of meat and other items needed to survive and the villagers weren't so happy about it. Several of the men had to take extra jobs for the additional money, while the women had to sell whatever valuables they had just to make by the season. That wasn't sitting so well for Serenity, since her bills was backed up so much that she couldn't be able to provide any sort of provisions within her household. Her mother wasn't getting any better, and with the doctors telling her that there was nothing else they can do for her illness, the auburn girl became absolutely frustrated about her requests to work being denied by the council after sending them.
Amy, on the other hand, was dealing with a new problem arising from the constant demands of the Legion to come up with a potion to help restore the grounds of the northern village to the best possible state to rebuild the supplies needed to survive. But, with the frequent visits to the grand vampire, the voluptuous woman had to go through endless nights to catch up with her studies to avoid any suspicions of her activities. There was also the matter of the materials needed to fabricate this said spell; many of the items required were only reachable through clearance out of the village, which she knew was never going to happen as long as the Legion controlled her movements. Amy wasn't pleased with the way the year was moving now and she had to act fast...but how was the woman going to pull it off with limited resources surrounding her study?
Banging on the doors downstairs disrupted her thoughts and made Amy move to answer it, glancing from the corner of her left eye to see Placido gloomily sitting on the sofa. Silently growling in irritation, Amy faced the silver-haired vampel with exasperating eyes.
"You know, life's not all about sitting through your grief." Amy said.
"Oh, and you think that everything's gonna go back to the way before all of this mess?" Placido barked. "You know that nothing is ever going be to the same and I shall be damned if I can't enjoy my own solitude alone!"
"Hey, I'm working every fucking day to find that very cure to reverse your transformation; you think that if I can't save you, that I should just give up on the only person left in my own world?" Amy shouted back. "It's been almost twenty-six years since that siege, and you still haven't fully recognized me as your sister!"
"I do recognize you as my sister! You're sounding like I don't care enough about you!" Placido said.
"Then, why haven't you been there for me when I needed you the most?" Amy sniffed.
Placido got up and went near his adopted sister, placing his hand on her head. He didn't' mean to upset her when he couldn't even leave the village without a reasonable explanation to the Legion. "You know that I will always protect you, but with how the situation is unfolding the way that it is, I can't be able to be at your side without having that possibility of injury done to you by my own hands. You're doing everything that you can just for me, and I thank you for that." Placido stated. "Now, please don't shed any tears until the time is right. I never want you to cry while I'm still around."
"At least there's still some humanity left inside of you." Amy said. "I just want to keep the only family left in my world; if there is nothing left to save you, I don't know what to do at that point."
BANG! BANG!
"It seems that whoever's at the door is starting to get pissed off." Placido said.
"Oh boy..." Amy said, walking over to the door. "Who's there?"
"Open this damn door! I've been outside for an hour!" a female voice shouted.
"I know that voice..." Amy said. "Sorry about that, Aki. I was just having a chat with my brother and studying my new spells, and I lost track of time."
To say that the female hunter was very angry was an understatement; Aki was frustrated about the lack of missions that Amy hasn't given to her in almost seven months. However, the attentive pink woman was actually going outside to find the magenta-haired hunter in hopes of retrieving the items that which she sought to finish what the Legion requested. Though, Amy wondered if Aki was really up to the task, especially since the area that she wanted Aki to go to would bring up bad memories from her past. To be sheltered her entire life and not even seeing the lives of other people through her own perspective made the young woman helpless to understand the feelings of the villagers. She wanted to know of how the villagers think about the way things are right now; to be able to be familiar with those emotions that were held deep within their hearts.
Passing by Placido, the two women headed into Amy's study to discuss what were needed to be said. With supplies very low, Amy had to use ration control to hold off on any leftover food consumption to last until the winter season began. There was also the matter of obtaining the materials that were running low in her spell cabinets. Aki wanted to know why Amy was avoiding her duties in the village. When she spoke to the villagers about her whereabouts, they said that the sociable woman hasn't left her home in days and when they did see her, it didn't last even twenty minutes. Also, the female hunter never received any missions from Amy since that very day of which led to a close encounter with the very creatures that she despised so much.
"You know, I haven't heard anything from you in months, Amy." Aki stated, her arms folding in bewilderment. "You haven't even given me a mission since that fucking encounter in the Forest of Filaroya. Is there something on your mind that you yourself have not told me about?"
"...There are several things on my mind, many of them personal." Amy said, sitting into her chair. "While I'm unable to socialize considering the backlog of requests sent by the Legion, I myself have been trying to discover who my mother truly was to the many that respected her."
Aki was mentally surprised; the person she was assigned to protect with her very life was looking into the past that she barely knew anything about? Not that she wanted to relate, but the ill-tempered woman wanted nothing to do with her own blood-soaked past.
"Still, you could have at least given some time to contact me if anything was wrong. I am your protector, but also your friend." Aki said, holding her friend's hands within her own. "What about Serenity? Doesn't she know what you're going through?"
"Actually, Reni's been coming to me for support these past few weeks. Her mother's health has taken a turn for the worse, and her emotional state as of now is very distraught with despair hanging above her head these days." Amy said, a sigh escaping her lips.
"Don't these damn doctors have any of the medication to help her mother?" Aki barked.
"No; the last of the medication made to help her mother was used up eight years ago." Amy said. "Onto other matters; I was about to head out to look for you, Aki. I have a mission for you, but it will require days or maybe weeks for you to return. Do you wish to accept this task?"
Aki was bewildered by the sudden assignment; what made Amy decided to use her assistance as of now? Though, she didn't know what kind of mission that the pink-haired woman was going to give her. Amy was hesitant to give it to her completely, but if she wanted to please the Legion in the hopes of drawing away attention from her secret meetings with the grand vampire Yami, she had to make it look like she was busy.
"That depends; give me the details of the mission." Aki pondered.
"This mission...might also be a personal one for you, Aki." Amy explained, while heading to her spell cabinet and grabbing an empty jar. "The Legion's requesting me to produce a potion that'll seek to revive the soils of the rural farms to grow back the supplies that have fallen low. However, certain items that I have are currently running low and it'll take me some time to fully brew what it's required. Also, there is the matter of obtaining a couple of special ingredients only to be found in the mountains of Uwatanilo for a spell that I'm studying. Since I cannot be able to travel outside of the village due to the concern for my safety, I am requesting that you travel in my place."
"You mean...that I am to go back to where everything was taken from me?" Aki spluttered.
"...I knew that it was too much for you to handle." Amy sighed.
"No; I...I need this sort of mission." Aki murmured. "I was just surprised that where I'm going to was somewhere that I used to live at."
"I see..." Amy said. "Before you head to the eastern lands, you'll need to see the head priest inside the village church."
"Why...?" Aki pondered. "What sort of wisdom would he be able to provide me with?"
"Priest Ryou is considered one of the wisest prophets of his generation; I have met with him several weeks ago to talk about my situation, and he told me to follow my heart. Plus, he has returned from the eastern lands and others after performing purifying spells to enrich the soils of the lands, greatly damaged on the ground from battles ago." Amy said.
"So, you're saying that I need his permission before heading over to my former village. Is this correct?" Aki stated.
"It's sort of protocol; treading on cleansed lands will draw out the malicious spirits haunting the very region itself." Amy said.
With the explanation of her mission given to her by the very person she pledged to protect, Aki was actually reluctant to return to the place that her nightmares became a reality. To the female hunter, to revisit past memories that were buried the moment she and her family left the eastern village was completely insane. The hard-hitting red-head vowed never to even think about that night that shattered her perfect image of a normal life; many have thought that the scope of the attack on the village was too much for her to finish her training inside the academy, but Aki proved them dead wrong and now needed to deal with the demons of her past if she wanted to move on.
Amy could tell from the body language that Aki was uneasy about going back to where everything was taken from her, and having that journey to enter into such dark memories was very painful to swallow. She knew about Aki's mental state after talking to her father during the summer season, learning that the red-haired woman never started recovering from the slaughter years ago that was committed by the undead. Placido had the same situation a few days after turning into a vampire; Amy had to stay by his side every day to help him sink in the very fact that his parents were never going to come back and trying to adjust living as one of the undead. However, her efforts failed and her adopted brother never accepted for who he became in his mind. It was mind-biting to see herself not even useful to anyone and the determined woman wanted to change that.
It was nearing autumn, and with the trees surrounding the forest having their leaves starting to change color, the studious girl knew that meant only one thing:
Her meetings with the grand vampire will be exposed without the protection of the shadows, and the Legion might do something that will leave her with regret.
Amy didn't want to stop visiting the charismatic vampire; he was the only thing that kept her feeling like herself and the only clue leading to whom her mother was. Once she led Aki to the door and telling her of where the village church was, Amy headed back into her study to devise alternate plans to ensure that she was not going to be punished by the Legion for her defiance.
'I can't back away from this point in my life. I might be leading myself closer to finding my mother's true identity and to why the fucking Legion won't give out any details pertaining to my background. Protecting me isn't going to solve anything, and this necklace my mother left behind tells me that there is something much worse outside the boundaries of the living world.' Amy thought. 'I just wish that Aki could find what she's looking for back at her former homeland. She's been so secluded about her past since arriving here almost fifteen years ago. I hope that she might find what she's looking for.'
~At the northern village church...~
"Oh dear...I'm afraid that the soil in the gardens is starting to dry up with the conditions of the weather changing so quickly." Ryou sighed. "If things don't become better, then our food supply will be quite small for the winter. Friar Bruno has been bedridden for days now since coming back from the Legion headquarters, and those kids haven't recovered their memories yet. But, I know that times will change for the better."
"Father Ryou! The sheets are ready to be wrapped!" the teal-haired boy shouted.
"Ah, yes. Let us hurry; the southern winds are beginning to pick up and I want to replace the sheets on the beds within our church cabins." Ryou smiled.
With so many tasks to complete in time for the autumn season, of which many people would seek protection from the impurity of the world, Ryou had his hands full fulfilling every one of his duties ever since Bruno returned from visiting the Legion, but had fallen under the weather from the intensity of the sun a couple of weeks ago. The church had been deprived of helping hands since the war ended, and only a few generous villagers would come to help maintain the holy building's cleanliness. The two young adults that he brought back with him to the village was taking some of the burden of the chores around the church off his shoulders, as he heard the door of the main church being opened, wondering who would come at this hour of the day after service.
The priest was actually an orphan alongside an older brother and younger sister that he had, but his older brother was absolutely troublesome with the law, especially when it came to the elite guards of the Legion. His sister passed away from a traveling incident once he started his studies into the priesthood, and his older brother was evolving his crimes from grand larceny to actual murder to the point that he was exiled from the village indefinitely. Since that banishment, the priest has not heard any news regarding his older brother's whereabouts. The extensive study into the priesthood had its' own unique challenges and that he couldn't marry once he began his first church service; and over those years, his wisdom became much clearer to those who listened to him.
The sound of the main church's doors averted Ryou's attention from his current duties and told the young boy to continue while he went to find out who walked when it wasn't a church day to begin with.
Her first visit to the village church made her feel...queasy. Aki never was much of a holy person since her family rarely visited their own church years ago. But, in order to perform the mission given to her by the person she swore to protect, the fiery woman needed to gain permission from the head priest himself. Her thoughts were snapped as Ryou entered the large room, hoping to get to the point and leave quickly.
"Umm, please cover your upper area. You're inside a place of holy tranquility." Ryou stated, nervously.
"Whatever." Aki said, wrapping her cloak around her torso. "I've come here by request from Amy herself regarding a mission that she has given to me."
"You're requesting permission into enter the grounds of a place that I have purified?" Ryou asked.
"Yes, to the eastern lands that I request permission to enter." Aki stated. "If you will please grant me access to the lands itself..."
"...Request denied." Ryou said, firmly.
Aki was fuming deeply; did the head priest simply refuse her any admittance into her former home?
"Why the hell not?" Aki spat.
"Please, be careful of your words. You are in the presence of the Holy Lord himself." Ryou explained. "And as for your question, I returned from the eastern lands, but the very grounds itself could not be healed completely since so much malice is resting upon those lands. If a living being were to even think of entering such a cursed territory, I dread just to even think about it. Plus, vampire hunters aren't equipped well enough to handle such dangers that we priests are used to dealing with for generations."
"It doesn't matter to me; that very place was my home and I need to go there right this instant! So, give me permission or I'll have to settle to unorthodox methods!" Aki commanded.
Ryou looked deeply into Aki's eyes; it would seem that she herself would not listen to any reasoning from his wisdom. It's not like it wasn't the first time that he dealt with such ignorance within the hunter society. Countless hunters demanded his permission mostly by force and they ended up missing for decades, with no reports about their very whereabouts. If this very woman, blinded by rage towards the undead, cared less about her very well-being, what choice did he have to make? Ryou needed to talk to Amy about this very matter personally when the time arises.
"Your soul has been blinded by disturbing anger resting inside of you because of what the vampires did to the whole eastern village; that your entire being is clouded by the decisions that you are carelessly making." Ryou stated. "But, since you won't heed my report about the conditions of the eastern lands, I'll grant you permission to enter."
"Fine, now if you excuse..." Aki started.
"Father Ryou! Where do you what me to place the barrel of holy water?" the young man shouted outside.
Aki looked behind the head priest, but whom she saw...was absolutely the most confusing part of them all. She believed that he died on that day; but why is it that he was walking as clear as day like nothing had ever happened to him? Rushing to his spot, grasping his shoulders and looking deep into his eyes with sorrow, Aki wanted to know if he truly was the boy she grew up with. The teal-haired teen was confused as hell; he was starting to fight off her grip on him, but Aki stood firmly to see through whatever illusion was placed upon her mind.
"Leo? Is that really you? But, you died years back in the eastern lands! Tell me you're just a figment of my thoughts just physically here to spite me." Aki demanded. She did not want to be tricked again.
"W-Who are you? And who's Leo? Me and my sister has been with the head priest since he found us three years ago! Father Ryou sheltered us from whoever was attacking us!" Leo questioned.
"But you were deceased all those yeas ago! I was right there to see your butchered body; you and Luna are dead and this is all a dream!" Aki shouted.
"Please, l-let go of me; you're hurting me..." Leo pleaded.
Aki held her head and tried to shake off what she was seeing in front of her very own eyes; her childhood friends, whom she thought died when she was a child, was very much alive in front of her. But, the fiery woman denied it so badly! There was no way that her two friends survived such an attack after she held their lifeless bodies with her own two hands. It was crazy; Aki told herself that it was all an illusion played in her mind, and it wasn't real. However, now thinking about that night, her memories weren't even matching up at all to the night that changed her life forever and the emerging presence of both Leo and Luna were conflicting her recollections of that night. They weren't adding up at all; how could it be that she saw the very deaths of her friends in her own sight, but years after that siege, they appeared to be normal but without their memories?
It was confusing beyond the laws of normality; whoever messed with her memories was going to become her number one hunting target as soon as Aki drags the answers out of him/her. Rushing outside to gather her things and make her head stop spinning out of control, the female hunter needed to head back to her hometown in the hopes of discovering why someone would mess with her mentality. There was also the matter of seeing Luna, but Aki's conscience told her not to or the same thing might occur again.
'What the fuck is going on here? Leo and Luna should be deceased; there's no way that they could recover from such fatal injuries and I was there physically to hold them in my arms! They shouldn't be alive; this has to be a trick played by my damn mind! It has to be!' Aki thought, furiously and confusingly. 'So, why aren't my memories of that day adding up? Why can't I remember whom that person was that fucked with my head mentally and emotionally? Argh, these questions are giving me an intense headache! I'm heading back home to pack for my mission! I'll worry about this damn situation later!'
With those questions being pushed to the back of her mind, Aki left towards her home to prepare for her mission.
~A week later, in the depths of the Forest of Filaroya...~
She was comfortably sitting between his legs, holding a beloved book that she brought years ago while his head was hovering above her shoulders to listen to her read about such a tale.
His arms were wrapped around her slender waist, while being in a peaceful daze with his eyes closed to hear her pure voice ring through his ears, though she was slightly red in the face with their cheeks closely touching each other.
After a week of persuading the Legion to get off her back, Amy was back to her normal meetings with the grand vampire, proceeding to know him piece by piece as the months passed by since their fateful encounter months ago. Since then, the two have met and spoken to each other, learning about one another while entertaining themselves in blissful harmony. Their meetings were kept to the utmost secrecy, with neither side speaking about whom they were seeing; the vampire himself keeping himself busy with his interest by his side. There was still the issue of dealing with any of his enemies, and if they dare showed their faces in his presence, let it be said that they will not be shown any mercy.
Yami has not heard any news regarding the status of the southern district, nor the true intentions of the western clan. Since his imprisonment, there was limited information coming to him about such actions and little answers as to why his former interest targeted not only the mortals, but the very clan that she served under for centuries. He was a bit relieved that Yugi arrived without any troubles to his destination; however, there was nothing else beyond that that he knows anything about. For now, his attention was directed at finding out whom Amy truly was to him. The grand vampire could feel something tugging in the back of his mind, trying to remember who she was, but that spell placed on him was preventing him from recovering such memories.
Amy place her right hand on his face, breaking his thoughts and looking at her with a distant glance.
"Am I boring you?" Amy asked.
"No, not at all, my dear." Yami said. "My mind is concentrated on other matters pertaining to what is happening within my clan. I have little information about what has transpired since my presence dropped from view among my own people."
"And it bothers you so much about the damage that has occurred over these past couple of decades?" Amy asked.
"I only have the words of my trusted followers to go by, but with that fucking bitch running things behind my back, I wished to get out of this prison sooner rather than later." Yami scowled.
"You mustn't rush into a conflict that you have no knowledge as to what it may lead into, Yami." Amy said. "Entering into a battle blind-sided could cost you everything that you hold so dear to you. I do not wish to see your eyes carrying such anguish on your undead soul."
"I do not carry such emotions, but whenever I'm around you, there is some feeling of nostalgia. I know the very first thing that I'll carry out, and that is to take care of the fucking woman that imprisoned me for years. The resentment that I have for her is unbearable and I want to punish those that have deserted me." Yami growled.
Amy placed her hands on the grand vampire's cold face. "You must relax, Yami. Time will surely be in your favor when the day comes." Amy assured him. "Besides, I still know so little about you when we have met so much in such a short time. It kills me to see such a powerful man like yourself, be so focused on getting revenge for the lost years that you have not experienced."
"You speak of much wisdom for someone so young. You're right; I shouldn't be wallowing in anger over something that I can take care in the future. Right now, my top priority is you and only you, my beautiful princess." Yami smirked.
However, a certain sound prompted the young pink woman to push him out of the way, with her lower abdomen taking a serious hit, with blood coming out and making her collapse onto the ground. This very action invoked the furious wrath of the grand vampire, and used his power to force out whoever committed such an act in front of him. To his surprise, the person was actually familiar to him and not to say that he liked him very much; it was that this person came from the western lands under some sort of order from a specific former lover. Oh, how much did he want to vent out his anger...
"I never expected one of the western clan's expert assassins to come and dare to strike me in broad daylight. The forest vampire assassin of the west, Weevil Underwood." Yami snarled. "Tell me; what did Tèa ordered you to fucking do?"
"Hee, hee, hee. My queen wanted to send a personal message to your little whore friend that she doesn't tolerate anyone coming by you. What I hit your friend also contained a special poison fatal to mortals. What makes you think that you can save her now? My queen should be very pleased when she dies." Weevil snickered.
"Well, when you returned to your queen in soul form, send her this message: I will end her damn life with my own fucking hands when I get out." Yami scowled.
With one swift move of the hand, the green-haired vampire was no more, but quickly moved to his interest's body. Amy was clutching her wound to lessen the bleeding, but she felt even more pain now that the poison was moving swiftly inside her body. She saw Yami holding her body upwards to at least ease a bit of her burden. Although she didn't see what the man did to the attacker, the young woman didn't know that she was the intended target of the western queen's hatred. Why did she defend him when he could have dealt with on his own, Yami thought. That question was still ringing inside his head as he saw Amy writhing in pain as the poison was truly making a mess inside her body.
"Yami..." Amy said, breathing heavily.
"You can't use up too much of your energy, and the poison has to be taken out quickly or you won't be able to survive. The smell of blood is enticing some of my trusted men to come here quickly; I sense their presence nearby. I'll order them to take you to my medical team. But, first..." Yami said.
Repositioning her body to face the open wound, Yami placed his mouth on the wound, sucking out the poison, forcing Amy to grab his cloak and breathing harder with her face red, either in pain or pure lust. She wasn't used to this sort of event at all and with each passing second, the pain from the poison slowly started to fall and her breathing was coming down as well, but she was still in so much pain. It was so weird to her; so many people told her that vampires only crave blood and possesses no emotions whatsoever when they feast upon their prey. However, the tone of voice coming from the grand vampire sounded that of concern rather than malice. With the last of the poison taken out, Yami looked at his interest to see that her expression was different than what he was used to noticing.
"That should be the last of the poison. Why is your face so red?" Yami asked.
"I-I'm not used to this sort of event. To be honest, it's kinda embarrassing." Amy said.
The sound of the rustling leaves came into hearing as Crow, Yusei and Jack landed to the smell of blood following their departure from the northern castle. Seto arrived shortly afterwards to know what was the reason behind the grand vampire's power being unleashed. When the scent of blood rushed into their bodies, they immediately knew that it was coming from the direction of where they were heading to, and rush as quickly as they can to survey the situation with their own eyes.
"My lord, are you alright? The smell of blood really made us rush here without any complaint and we needed to know that no bodily harm came upon you." Crow asked.
"I'm fine, but my interest on the other hand has suffered quite a major wound. Returning her to the northern village is out of the question; the Legion will surely question such an incident." Yami said, still fuming over the actions of the western queen.
"You haven't used your powers in years, Yami. What caused you to use such force after so long?" Seto inquired.
"It seems that Tèa doesn't like my princess visiting me over the course of time that has passed since that day, and sent an assassin to deal with her. Her actions are still questionable in my mind, but it looked like she wanted to protect me by her own will. Take her to the medical team in the northern castle and make sure she's resting in my chambers." Yami ordered.
"But, her blood..." Jack started.
"I know it will entice the clan, but since Aokil's Remedy is still on her due to the manipulation of the spell, they won't bite her. I do not want her to leave the castle unless either under her own command or by certain circumstances." Yami stated.
"Yami...I don't want to leave you alone..." Amy huffed deeply.
"Hush, my delicate flower. You shouldn't speak so much if you wish to heal." Yami said. "And I thank you for protecting me, but now, rest is what you need."
Placing his hand on her forehead and reciting a sleeping spell on her, Amy suddenly dozed off into a heavy sleep, with Yami carrying her body over to Seto to return to the northern castle for treatment. With that in mind, the rest departed towards the northern castle, while the grand vampire was now contemplating on his story to tell the hunters when they arrived to find out what brought out his power. Using another spell to mask the smell of his interest's blood to avoid any suspicions, Yami was going to do everything in his power when he gets out to murder his former suitor in absolute revenge.
'Those hunters will arrive shortly, but my hatred for Tèa has grown into a level beyond the horizon. That bitch will do anything to make me hers, but I have no love for her. I just wish that my princess will heal quite fine in the castle. I'm giving her the opportunity to see what has been happening since my 'erasure.'' Yami thought bitterly.
~Into the later hours of the night...~
Her eyes started to open to see a room so different from the one back in the village, so royally built for one of such sovereignty. As she slowly got up, the beige gown that she wore when she visited the grand vampire of which was soaked in blood due to her injury, was now an imperial indigo dress adorned with the finest of jewels. Lifting the dress, the young woman noticed that her injury was completely healed, but blushing in scarlet embarrassment with recollections of what he did to take out the poison inside of her body. Though, now she was wondering where she is after the grand vampire cast the spell that made her so sleepy and drifted into unconsciousness. Judging from the outside view, the observing woman concluded that she had to be inside the northern castle of the vampire clan.
Amy got up from the canopy bed and walked to the door, only to quickly shut it close after seeing several vampires barring their fangs in the hopes of drinking her blood. Was her blood really that delicious to the vampires that smelled it when she was under that spell? However, heavy stomps of fury rushed to where she was and considering the sound of the voice yelling at the very hungry vampires waiting outside, the curious woman knew that it had to be the very brunette that caught Serenity's eye. Within seconds, the small crowd of vampires literally ran off and the turning of the knob prompted her to step back, entering the room was Seto and a blonde woman that she never met before.
"You know, opening the door wasn't very smart on your end." Seto said.
"I'm well aware of that; was my blood really that enticing to the vampires in this castle?" Amy asked.
"We vampires only live for blood and only blood. It's once in a century do we ever cross paths with an individual, whose blood we want to savor for years to come. You should know that part of history by now." Seto stated, nonchalantly. "Onto to other matters, are you fully recovered to return to the village?"
"Wow, you're not going to give the damn girl any sort of rest after waking up from that sleeping spell? Sheesh, no wonder you don't have any permanent women to be in bed with." the blonde woman huffed in anger.
"Valentine...why did you fucking bother coming with me?" Seto hissed.
"I want to see who's taken quite the interest to our dear lord Yami, and why you had to ask me about borrowing one of my gowns. Unless, you're into that sort of hobby..." Mai smirked.
"Ridiculous! I rather be burned into oblivion before I ever cross into that sort of territory!" Seto growled.
"Umm, you wouldn't happened to be Serenity's sister-in-law vampire, right?" Amy stepped in.
"You know about me, already? What are you, psychic?" Mai asked.
"No, because Serenity came to me and told me about that night that she saw her brother for the first time in over fifteen years. She mentioned you when she was telling her story. Are you related to the grand vampire in some way? And what happened to my dress I was wearing earlier?" Amy stated.
"Well, I'm his niece, but I'm always getting into his life more often than I need to. Lord Yami always called me the annoying niece of his generation." Mai stated. "Anyways, that blood of yours literally sent the whole castle into ecstasy and every vampire wants to make you theirs. The Heartless One over here had to major steps to calm down the entire castle, hoping to at least draw away any attention from you. And as for your dress, we had to burn it."
"Heartless One?" Amy pondered. "And that dress was like ninety pieces of gold!"
"It's a stupid and tasteless name they gave me because of my position as the northern commander of the vampire military on these grounds. Also, they think I have no emotions whatsoever to anyone except my own flesh and blood." Seto huffed in annoyance.
"That dress you have on now is like three times more worthy of your figure." Mai said. "You should be at least grateful that he's looking out for you."
"Well, I do want to explore this castle before I leave to get some understanding of what has transpired here since his departure from his clan. Do you have at least a library that I can visit to?" Amy asked curiously.
"The library has extra security due to unnecessary circumstances, but you want to explore these very grounds, you're going to need a bodyguard or two to keep you safe under our lord's command. I'll summon forth Jack and Yusei to keep an eye on you. You already have that remedy on you, so you shouldn't be bitten by anyone here, but keep yourself on guard." Seto stated firmly.
"I will." Amy said.
But, on the outskirts of the castle, the invading army of the western clan followed by their queen lurked into position as they readied themselves for the raid to obtain the last items for their grand plan. Tèa came in person to ensure that she was no longer a part of the decaying clan under Yami's rule of command, and that to prove to those who defy her a taste of what is to come upon them.
'It is time to embark on my most savage raid ever. I will obtain Cresahan's sacred books no matter what, and then...nobody shall stand in the way of my resurrection of Solirais himself! Damned all who opposes me to the furthest depths of hell!' Tèa thought, mercilessly.
Where's the catapult to send me into the sea of despair? I can't believe that it took me almost seven whole damn months to finally finish the halfway mark of this story! Arrgh! Well, not to worry, for I shall find more things to inspire me and be on my merry way to writing again!
Next Chapter: The raid begins and everyone scrambles to protect the castle and its' scared contents. During the siege, Amy and Tèa finally meet person to person, with the female vampire threatening her to stay away from the grand vampire or face death by her own hands. Days later, Yusei visits a mysterious woman to finally release a former ruler out of her eternal slumber...
Sorry for the long wait, and R&R, people!