Chapter 75

"So, I take it he wasn't too pleased with our proceedings?" Hector was perched up on the chrysanthemum tree, idly reading a book when Alexis had sat down to pour her troubles to him. His reading would have to wait.

Alexis gave a dry laugh, "I'm not entirely sure. Why do you think a man"-

"Vampire" corrected annoyed cat-like eyes.

"- would jump from an eight-story castle?" she slumped against the picnic table.

"Plenty of reasons" he mostly humoured her at this point, flinching when he noticed a sharp glare from a far up window of the castle.

"What if it's all wrong? And I've made a mess of everything thinking I could fix it?" she asked herself, holding her head in self-induced despair. "I can't actually help him takeover the Empire. I'd rather kill myself!"

"...Right" the sound of pages turning made it obvious her words didn't even reach his ears.

"I don't know what to do..." she had made a mess of everything.

She pouted.

"So what plans do you have when everything is over?" Hectors words made the stressed girl groan. "It's easy to see the lovebirds you and the emperor have become".

"Is it?!" Alexis hadn't even said anything about that.

"Hmm" was all Hector said as turned a page.

"So it's that obvious..." she sighed.

"You'll be returning home after all this, won't you?" Hector was curious, so much that he closed the book he read, his finger wedged between the pages he left on.

"Y-Yes?"

"Do you think he'll let you?"

He recalled the crazed man who demanded Hector help him with a transportation spell. Not ask. Or plead. Or even barter.

But demand.

How his eyes hadn't seemed at all sane. How his hair seemed to get a bit darker and veins of black thread appeared around his eyes.

Every moment Hector spent trying to help him with that tedious and exhausting spell. Every passing hour, was spent in curses and looks of utter despair.

Hector was certain that Alastair wouldn't allow Alexis to leave.

"He has to. It was on our contract".

"I see".

"Do you think he won't?" Alexis suddenly asked. She was sure Alastair wouldn't mind. He'd be as upset as she would be, but he'd let her go, wouldn't he?

Like a stroke of awful luck Alastair appeared before them, his face strangely stoic. His eyes coldly looking over Hector for a mere moment before affectionately turning to Alexis.

Even if Alexis, who exclaimed at Alastair's arrival, didn't know about an elf's ability to hear long distance talks, Hector did. He knew the Alastair who gave him a cold shoulder had heard everything, and he meant for him to.

"You guys really do abuse that teleportation thing" Alexis said, her chin propped in her hand as she shamelessly smiled at Alastair.

Despite her words about leaving, she really, obviously, loved Alastair. She couldn't keep her eyes off him.

Alastair was the same.

Hector couldn't handle being a third wheel and teleported to another garden. Ready to read away at his novel, but he couldn't concentrate. His mind was preoccupied by his life that seemed so much like one of his stressful novels.

He hoped the ending would be as satisfying as his novels.

"I bought up the bill today, at the brass palace. The aristocracy is currently in chaos", Alastair chuckled as he recalled their shocked faces. Some agreed as long as the vampires were under strict laws and others had bluntly fainted.

Vampires were the monster of every bed time story. The villain of every legend. It was only normal.

So he couldn't blame their reaction, but surprisingly his reasoning had made them comply.

"The existence of vampires are still just as real now as they were thousands of years ago. The only difference is that they're an extremely strong species. Their numbers are unknown and if they all happen to be like Ainsley then even just four of them could ruin our empire. This peace treaty will be done through a contract to protect our land. It will be finite and every vampire will agree by it's terms".

They had began to reason after that, but they still needed time.

"They'll come through", Alexis said, comfortingly squeezing his hand, "it's that or we'll all die so we should get an answer soon" she joked.

Alastair grasped her hand that sat above his, intertwining their fingers. He didn't reply and instead stared at her with a troubled expression.

"What do you want?" His sudden and random words stunned Alexis.

"W-what?"

"What do you want?" He repeated calmly, his eyes seemed to roar so much emotion, yet his face was stoic.

Somehow, Alexis understood.

She bit her lip, glancing away with a troubled face.

"I'm not sure", she hated her answer, she hated how Alastair disliked it too. "I think, when all this is over tomorrow. I might know then. But right now, I'm conflicted".

"You can stay".

His words surprised her. She turned to thank him. She didn't expect to gasp in shock.

His eyes were surround by dark linings, similar to eye liner. The only distinguish being the black vein like lines at the ends. His face wasn't warm like she expected either, it was dark. Strange.

The hand intertwined with hers squeezed her hand tightly. His serious eyes neared her as he repeated his words, this time he stared firmly at her.

"You can stay".