Shed Tears in the Name of Tasty Food!

“Never in my life would I ever see a vampire cry over a bowl of salad,” said Eloi, gaping at Theodore.

The eccentric continued to cry and babble as tears and snot stained his scrunched-up face. “I can’t help it!” he wailed, stuffing lettuce into his mouth. “We’ve been only drinking blood for months—I never realized that solid food tastes so delicious!”

Penelope patted her brother’s back with an understanding nod and handed over her napkin. He took it with appreciation, wiped his face, and blew his nose.

Solomon sighed and nodded. “As half-blood vampires, hybrids do not need blood to survive since they already have human blood flowing through their veins, but to restrict your diets to only blood is equivalent to a human only eating bread.”

Eloi frowned and glanced across the table, whose plates were filled with uncooked abominations. “Still, I don’t know how you can stomach it when these freaks are eating raw meat.”

“We’re pure vampires. Our diets are a little different,” said Charlie.

“A ‘little?!’ Mate, that chunk of meat is still bleeding!”

“We vampires have been getting our basic, essential nutrients from animal blood,” said Cherry, shrugging. “We can still eat human food, but we can't sustain ourselves from it. That’s just how it is.” With that said, she took a bite, savoring the taste. “I’m so glad deers and rabbits are abundant out in the forest,” she said, munching away with a serene smile. “They have so much more earthly flavor than farm animals.”

“...I’m starting to see why the Chevolaires want to wipe you folks into extinction,” Eloi muttered, squeezing his nose bridge. “Can’t you at least season them?”

Solomon rubbed his chin. “Ever since Charlie and I have been occupying my cabin in the wilderness, we’ve ignored cooking entirely. It’s simply part of our nature to enjoy it best when raw.”

Eloi shuddered and looked away in disgust.

“Speaking of shelter, what happened to our house?” asked Cherry. “Please don’t tell me that it got burned down too.”

“No, it didn’t,” said Charlie.

“Oh, phew.”

“It vanished out of thin air.”

“...I beg your pardon?”

“Okay, not the whole house, but all our belongings disappeared. I was pretty pissed at first, but now after learning about Ren, I’m starting to think he teleported them to where Mom would be.”

“Ren, huh? I believe he did. Monty would’ve ransacked our house otherwise.”

Eloi tilted his head. “Why would that guy steal your stuff?”

Everyone else redirected to Cherry, who swallowed her food and nervously cleared her throat. She finally explained her encounter with Monty, her experiences in The Spectacular Theory, and Ren’s dream, causing everyone to drop their utensils.

“You’ve forged a bond with Horace this whole time?!” Solomon asked, widening his eyes in surprise. “And my wife was behind it?”

“I-I was struggling a lot in my classes, so Maribel asked Mister Horace to help me!” Cherry stammered. “I never knew why she wanted it to be a secret, but I thought it was because Horace didn’t want anyone to approach him for tutoring.”

“But it was so that she could lure Monty out of his hiding, right?” said Theodore, smirking.

“Eh? You knew?”

“Did you think our mom was the only one who came up with that idea?” he teased with a wink.

Oh, this sly schemer. Cherry flushed her face and looked away. “I-I appreciate the help…”

“Hehe, of course!”

Charlie frowned as he stared at his sister. “You didn’t even tell me about it?”

“Sorry,” Cherry murmured. “It was a promise.”

Her brother sighed and shook his head. “I understand.”

Cherry glanced back at him and Solomon. “But this whole time, you were fighting him not realizing it? Didn’t he say anything?”

“Horace thinks that we’re both dead, and I’ve been wearing a mask for all our missions out there to avoid getting my face in a wanted poster. All our encounters with him were just us fighting it out.”

“He didn’t even recognize your voice?”

"About that," said Solomon. "Your mother instructed us to conceal your whereabouts, so I also had him hold his tongue out there for safety measures."

"Don't ask us why though," said Charlie. "We don't know why either."

"Really?" Cherry tilted her head. “Then, what happened on your side?”

Reluctantly, Solomon shed light on all his true experiences at The Spectacular Theory that eventually led to him and Charlie being forced to flee his former home. Not long after, they met Ren under disguise, who informed them of the mansion’s location and briefly met Eloi before departing.

“Goodness, so much stuff happened after that incident,” Cherry muttered. “So then, how did you all find out I was at the park? Was my note that obvious?”

“No, but Mom somehow found out anyway,” said Charlie. “She told me I should inform the Vamiers while she went somewhere else without telling us.”

“She must’ve gone after our father then,” said Cherry. “But how did she find out?”

Solomon rubbed his chin. “Your mother must’ve read the future from her tarot cards,” he said. “Her special Crimoire ability is to foresee the possible futures using them.”

The twins glanced at each other.

“You know, we should’ve figured it out by now,” said Cherry.

“You’re right,” Charlie murmured. “Every time we think we’re getting into some trouble, Mom always shows up at the right time.” He gaped his eyes in gradual realization. “Wait, so, every time we had to suddenly move houses…”

Cherry mirrored him. “Does that mean her fortune-telling cards were warning her about some danger?!”

The twins dropped their jaws and turned to Solomon, who frowned and nodded. “Indeed, it is as you have guessed,” he said. “This whole time, your mother has been moving you around every time her cards continuously portray different death scenarios without any end.”

Eloi raised a brow. “This whole time?” he asked. “Why couldn’t your parents face the threat head-on? Your dad is crazy strong and can teleport around places, right?”

“Unless that's exactly why they couldn’t,” muttered Theodore, stroking his chin. “If I knew that Ren could easily hunt me down, I’d do whatever it takes to avoid revealing my identity and whereabouts so I wouldn’t be reduced to stains on the walls.” He cracked a menacing grin and snickered in amusement. “And to keep pursuing for two whole decades? Someone who’s that smart and insane would be none other than Monty.”

Cherry sputtered her words, her eyes shaking with regret. “N-No wonder… no wonder Mom ripped our tickets… She saw our deaths at The Spectacular Theory...” She facepalmed and groaned. “God, I really should’ve listened to her…”

“Can’t blame you,” said Charlie. “She didn’t explain anything to us at all.”

"I wish she at least said something more than 'I saw it from a dream!'"

"Would you believe her if she said she had magical tarot cards that tell us our deaths then?"

"I... okay, that's a good point..."

“I believe she intended to explain everything to you soon, but it was too late, just as I was for my own children,” muttered Solomon.

Theodore and Penelope tossed knowing glances.

The doctor inhaled. “After all, Crimoire can be an extremely sophisticated subject. Even though her tarot cards depict a possible future, they cannot reveal what events lead to that future.”

“I see,” Cherry mumbled, poking her dish. “Oh right, now that you mention it, didn’t I die? There was no way I could’ve survived that headshot. How did you do it, Doc?”

Solomon frowned and looked down at his dish. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure,” he murmured. “When Ren teleported us back into my mansion, you were still severely injured with your frontal bone fractured, but when I checked your condition, I sensed a lingering amount of Crimoire in you. I assumed Ren had done something to heal you—as well as Charlie's burns—before I finished the work.”

“Really? Ren did?” Charlie rubbed his head. “I don’t remember seeing him back at the theater… Wait, that guy… that guy with the black hair kneeling beside us… that was him?”

“Correct.”

Charlie sputtered his words. “Then… then he took our mother? Where is she? Where are they now?”

Solomon shook his head with a grim expression. The dining hall grew quiet as everyone finally learned most of the events thus far. Aside from the mysteries surrounding Ren’s and Fiona’s intentions and whereabouts, the fact that everyone was finally on the same page was more than enough for now. Certainly, such a story needed plenty of time to process, so everyone continued to eat in silence with pondering faces.

Once Cherry finished her meal, she stood up, her chair creaking behind her. “Now that we’re all done with our problems here, we should head back to the capital and talk to Mister Horace! I’m more than positive we can settle this peacefully! He'll surely listen to me now that I’m back!”

“No,” said Solomon and Charlie.

“Eh? Why not?”

“It’s way too dangerous,” said Charlie. “Even if Horace is willing to listen to you, we can’t guarantee that we won’t run into other kinds of danger at the capital.”

“It is what your brother says,” added Solomon. “Theatreux is far too unstable at this moment, with criminal gangs and serial killers lurking in the backstreets. Not to mention… I’m still a wanted man. If not Horace, then the other Chevolaires would certainly strike me at first sight, and if they see you with me, they will not hesitate to attack you as well.”

Cherry plopped herself back onto her seat. “I guess you’re right,” she muttered. “So what now? We wait until Horace finds out and shows up at our door?”

“Not quite.” Solomon stood up and looked over the youths with a gleam in his eyes. He extended an arm, manifesting an orb of blood above his palms. “With the remaining time we have left, I shall train all of you to survive out there.”