Blood Vine

Romeo finally felt a bit calmer. Now that the blonde had moved his wife's body in a coffin, he could think more clearly. He was sitting in a quiet, comfortable chair with a soft back and armrests. He put his fingers in his mouth to confirm it; he really had fangs, about 1 inch in length and quite sharp. He cut his finger while feeling them.

"I took care of Lady Clara as you asked, Master," the blonde said, bowing to him. Now that Romeo was looking carefully, she was a stunning beauty herself. Her features were delicate but firm, giving off a wholesome vibe.

"What did you say your name was?" He asked her, finding it hard to think of her as just "the blonde."

"Huh? M-Master, could it be you forgot about me too?" She mumbled those words in worry, her lips quivering. Romeo simply nodded his head. He couldn't say anything.

"Oh, Master, are you testing me again? I don't think it's the right time for that."

"Testing what? Didn't I tell you my memories are fuzzy."

"Indeed you did, Master. I apologize for doubting you. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Synthia Veltrout; I am your disciple."

"Disciple? Like my student?"

"No, Master. A vampire's disciples are beings he turned into one of his own kind. You turned me into a vampire about 20 years ago."

She said those words with a nonchalant expression. Romeo didn't expect her to be a vampire since her skin wasn't pale but quite flushed.

"But why did I do that?" He asked. At this, her face turned a bit red. Why was it again? How could her master forget such an important thing?

"I used to be a human when you found me on the verge of death in the forest. I was attacked by a pack of werewolves. My life was hanging by a tiny thread of hope which I didn't know would take me to you. You saved my life by turning me into a vampire and letting me consume your blood."

"I see, so that happened," Romeo was impressed. He always thought of vampires as scary and murderous, but this vampire, whom this body was, appeared to be quite a good person.

"Now tell me what is my name?"

Synthia was taken aback at this. Wasn't her master behaving rather suspicious today? He didn't even know his own name.

"Forgive me, Master, but I am not allowed to say your name. It's very disrespectful for a maid."

"Maid? Aren't you my disciple?"

"Indeed, Master, I am your disciple, but after turning into a vampire, my fellow humans didn't accept me, and I was forced to leave my hometown. But to my gratitude, you Master, hired me as your maid." Now that he thought her uniform was already giving it away. Well, at least she wasn't his second wife or something.

"Fine, just go bring me anything that would have my name on it."

"Right away, Master..." She left and came back with a tube-like thing with a lid and handed it to him. He opened the lid to find a rolled-up piece of paper inside it. Apparently, it was a letter.

"What language is this? I can't read it."

"It's Lunarian, Master. It's the most spoken language in this country. Aren't you a scholar yourself, Master? How can you not read it?"

"Just read it to me; my head is still spinning."

"Okay then, Master, please allow me.

[To Count Vladious Lorn,

I heard that you are on your deathbed by your wife. Though I don't see how a Vampire king can die, I am still coming to at least take a look at you. I will try to get there fast, but being in the country of Veridonia, it would take me at least 6 months. Please try to hang in there until then. And prevent your wife from performing the strange rituals that she likes so much. Take care.

From Giovanni Fennec.]

That's the end."

Oh, so his name is Vladious Lorn. Quite unlike a Vampire, but it's fine. But who was this person coming to see him?

"When was this letter received, and who is this Giovanni Fennec?"

"This letter was received about 2 months earlier while you were still locked inside your room with Lady Clara. Lady Fennec is your teacher, whom you respect a lot. She is a mage."

"My teacher? Is she an old woman or something?"

"She should be about 700 years old, Master. Even for a dark elf, she is quite old," she said, making a bitter face. It didn't look like she had any good relationship with this Fennec. But an elf, huh? Just what kind of world was this.

BONK!

Synthia's head was hit by a stick wielded by a woman who just appeared out of nowhere.

"I am just 687 years old. Don't go making such unthoughtful comments about me," the woman scolded.

She looked about 25 years old in human years, with a large hat, sun-kissed tan, long pointy ears, and a tall, mystical hat. Her clothes were deep purple and midnight blue, adorned with silver patterns that shimmered. She looked like she could command magical forces with a mere wave of her hand.

"Please refrain from your childish behavior in front of the Master, at least. You are making him uncomfortable."

"First, decide whether I am 700 years old or childish." They both were glaring daggers at each other. There appeared to be a history of sorts between the two.

"Um, excuse me, are you perhaps Giovanni Fennec?" Romeo tried to change the focus of the conversation. This wasn't the time for childish gibberish.

BONK!

"Calling the teacher who taught you everything, even how to walk, by name. How have you changed after getting married?"

Romeo's head was stinging. The bonk wasn't light, as he had first thought. But he ignored the pain. It looked like she knew this Vladius fellow since quite long.

"Oh, Master, are you okay? Please be aware of Lady Fennec's irrationally violent personality."

Synthia said, pointing a finger at the elf. This wasn't going anywhere. He had to get Synthia away from here first if he wanted to talk to Fennec.

"Synthia, my teacher has come to see me from very far away; would you mind bringing her something to drink? And, teacher, please have a seat."

Romeo said as he started to get up to fetch a chair for Fennec, but before he could, Fennec snapped her fingers, and a chair made of blue aura appeared right in front of him.

"Keep sitting, you idiot; your body still has one extra hole. And Synthia, one black tea, please."

Synthia made a face but obliged and stepped out of the room. Romeo's chance was now.

"So? I get a faint idea of what could have happened, seeing the hole in your chest and the absence of that witch's aura in the estate. But still, can you confirm my deduction?"

"My wife gave up her own life to save me. It's horrific but true. Please, tell me what I should do now."

"I thought so. That woman, though spoiled, was quite fond of you. I already feared she would do something like this. The reason I came here as soon as I could, yet I am a little late. Now, as for what you should do now, it's obvious: make good use of the life she gave you and don't you dare marry someone else. She will feel betrayed."

"T-th-that's not what I am talking about. Tell me how I can fix this mess. How can I bring her back? How can I see her again?" He said desperately. Marriage was the least of his worries; he couldn't just live on with the fact that his wife had given up her life for him. Even if she wasn't Vera, which he knew, it didn't matter. He had to see her again.

"Don't be spoiled, Vlad. I know it must be hard for you, but death is the only constant in this world; it's forbidden to reverse it. Do that, and the consequences could be terrible."

"Forbidden? So it isn't impossible?"

"Of course, it's possible. Reanimation magic exists, but it's a taboo and forbidden magic. On top of that, it's incredibly dangerous and evil magic. I advise you to please perish the thought of it."

The door opened, and Synthia walked in, a tray in hand. She held the tray in front of Romeo first. "Your favorite blood vine, Master; please enjoy." She handed him a glass with red liquid in it, with a faint sweet smell of blood. The other cup, which had black tea, started floating, enveloped in a blue aura, and went straight into Fennec's hand.

"Thank you, but tell me, does this vine have blood in it?"

"Of course, Master, that's why it's called blood vine."

"What's the matter, Vlad? Don't you love this vine? After all, it's the only thing you can consume besides blood."

Now that he thought about it, he was now a Vampire and had to make peace with the fact that he had to consume blood to survive. But inside, he was still human and was averse to drinking blood, at least.

"No, I mean if I drink it, won't it just come out from the hole in my chest, wouldn't it?"

"Ah, forgive me, Master; I didn't think of this."

Synthia said, bowing down. She had a very bad habit of apologizing again and again.

"Can't be helped, huh? Let me do you another favor."

Fennec said as she stood up and brought her hand closer to Romeo's chest, chanting a spell under her breath. In another instance, Romeo felt heat in the region, and he could feel flesh forming around the hole, filling it.

"Here you go; you can't thank me enough for this, can you?" She said proudly and sat down again, continuing to drink the tea.

"Now you can drink, right, Master?" synthia said, looking at him earnestly. How could he refuse a face like that?

"It contains your blood, I assume? Is that why you're looking so earnest?"

"O-of course, Master, you've only ever consumed my blood for the last 5 years, since you stopped stepping out of the estate. It's a very prideful thing for me."

She said with a half-embarrassed and half-excited tone. Romeo got a little flustered by this. If the owner of the blood wants it and is alive, then it shouldn't be problematic. But the main reason he decided to drink it was that something about this vine was making him crave it; the scent of it was incredible to him. He was a Vampire, after all.

"Okay, I will drink it. Why don't you take a seat too..."

Romeo said and brought the glass rim to his dried lips slowly, took a sip, and within seconds, the cup was empty.

"I don't need to sit, Master; I am a maid, after all. But do tell me, how did it taste? My blo... I mean the vine. It seems it was good, looking at the empty glass."

"Oh, come on, his wife just died; can you stop flirting with him? You shameless concubine."

Fennec said with a disgusted face. She wasn't fond of Clara much either, but this woman was just unbearable to be around.

"Well, excuse me for trying to lift up the Master's mood since he needs some optimism in his life right now. And I am not a concubine; I am MASTER'S MAID…."

She ended up raising her voice and left immediately, slamming the door loudly.

Romeo wondered if he should go comfort her or something, but he definitely couldn't leave his teacher sitting here alone either.

"Don't worry; I will talk to her later. Please let's return to the earlier topic. Can you perform this Reanimation magic that you mentioned?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. That's something I won't do, even for you. If you are so dead set on bringing a dead person back to the living realm, you should go find someone else."

"Do you know someone who could help me?"

Fennec took a last sip from the cup and left it empty. She stood up and adjusted her hat a bit.

"Why not ask that demon friend of yours, what's his name again? Azel or whatever. I am tired from a long journey and going to sleep. Tell me where your wife's body is; I want to take a look at her first."

He has a what now, a demon friend? Oh, it's getting more and more troublesome.

"She is in a coffin somewhere; Synthia knows."

"Forget her; I will find it myself."

She said and left Romeo alone there. He took another breath. He too was feeling quite tired now. Was it because the sun was coming up in the sky?

To be continued...