Chapter 24: The Time-Keeper

He was breathing heavily. The thick snow is almost freezing his feet. The cold breeze of wind gushing all over him that if he didn't move a muscle, he'll be nothing like a cold corpse.

But he won't. He can't stop from running now. He shouldn't or it would be over.

But then, he suddenly stopped on his tracks when he saw what lies before him. A cliff, that if he chose to die, this would be the easiest track. It was far too high that he can't see what lies below. Would it be huge sharp rocks? Or would it be a flowing river?

It would be better if it's the latter. And of course, dying would be his last option. He wouldn't wish for that. He has come this far to give up.

He looked around, there's nothing but trunks of leafless trees filled with the thick snow. He can't find anything to escape. Is this the end of him?

He flinched when he heard several footsteps behind him. And he knows, for sure, it's them.

"It's over, Zaman. Hand over the artifact." Said one of them. They are all wearing white robes with the symbol of golden cross on it.

"Are you referring to... this?" He showed them the golden pocket watch from his hand.

"That's the Time Keeper! Get it!" The men in white robes charged towards him.

But the man called Zaman just smirked and said, "I'm sorry gentlemen, but I can't let you have this!" He suddenly jumped from the cliff, much to their surprise.

They failed to find his body and assumed he already died. After all, vampires can't fly.

It was the usual hot and sunny day where most people enjoy staying inside. But for some, it's an opportunity to hang out like these two teenagers who haven't seen each other in a week.

To make up for his sudden disappearance, Rae invited Yana to take a stroll and to talk about the stories he owed her to tell. And their feet brought them to a small beach nearby.

"So, how was your training?" She asked while playing with the sand.

"It's getting better." He beamed, "Though, I admit, Dad is very strict in every training. He never really went easy on me." He chuckled.

"I see. I'm glad, you finally found your dad."

Even she's smiling, he can feel, there's sadness in those words. Come to think of it, he never once saw her dad. Not even on the pictures. Yana never mentions him not even once. He wanted to ask so bad. He wanted to know more about her. And when he was about to do so, the lass suddenly turned to him.

"Rain Anderson Elliot," this is the first time she called him by his full name, "Such a long name but... have you ever wonder who named you and where did it come from?"

The lad rubbed his nape, "I... actually don't know. I asked Cal and he was certain that it was Mom who named me. And that, my name Anderson came from my late grandfather's second name." Then, he held his chin, "But as for the names Rain and Elliot, Cal wasn't able to answer it."

Yana blinked, "I see. Maybe they're someone your mom used to know?"

"You think so? But I haven't heard anyone acquainted to mom with those names." He said as he recalled those who attended the ball.

She chuckled, "It's just a hunch."

Just then, they saw a strange light from the sky. And from above, someone fell on the sea.

"Rae!"

"On it!" The lad removed his shirt and jumped as high as he could before he took a dive. He swam and reached for that small body who fell from the sky.

Not for long, she saw Rae coming out carrying the body. It was a boy, and he was fatally wounded as his clothes were soaked in blood.

What's more, this boy wears an unusual clothes.

A gray duffle coat with a unique patch on the right chest. He's also wearing pants and boots which she can perceive he came from a cold place. And she noticed something fell from his hand. It was a golden pocket watch.

'This must be his.' She thought and hold for it for now. She placed the watch in her pocket.

"We should take him to the hospital."

"No," Rae said, "We'll take him to my house. This boy is vampire."

'A vampire who fell from the light? That's strange.' She thought as she followed Rae back to their residence.

"Cal! I need your help!" The lad exclaimed as they opened the door.

They were surprised to see the young master carrying the body of a young boy. He quickly laid him on the sofa.

"What happened?!" The triplets came.

"He's wounded, we need to help him." Rae explained.

Calcifer removed the child's coat and saw the huge wound on the side of his waist.

"This boy won't last long. He lost so much blood." Calcifer said as he examined the child.

"What are we going to do?"

"Let me help." Damien stepped in even if Calcifer was glaring at him.

He tore the boy's clothes to see his fatal wound. And it seems like it's eating his life away.

"Miss Ran, Miss Ren, Miss Rin, we need a basin of water, some clean cloth, and a lot of bandages." Yana said when she saw the wound.

The triplets nodded and left to look for the things needed.

"Young master, may I have a word?" Calcifer asked and invited him to talk somewhere.

Knowing this, Rae stood up and followed Calcifer.

"Where did you find this boy, young master? Why did you suddenly bring in a vampire we don't even know?"

"Cal, that boy needs help. If we don't, then who else will?"

"Young master, I'm not saying that it's bad to help others but you should reconsider who are you going to help. We don't even know if he's one of Alucard's spies."

"So is that it?" Rae frowned, "Is this how we're going to help our fellow vampire, if he's not one of our enemies?" He scoffed.

"Cal, you told me, a true king must have a heart. A compassionate heart. If I want to be a king for my clan, then I'll start by helping this boy whether he's an enemy or not." He seriously said.

And it did strike Calcifer's guilt. He was right. A true king shouldn't choose who to help. He was so preoccupied of the fact that he has to protect Rae's identity that he forgot what the late King Van Helsing have taught him.

And while this was happening, the triplets came back to deliver the things they asked of them. Yana helped Damien in treating the boy's wound.

When they examined the wound further, they saw a golden bullet stuck inside it. Damien pull it out using a tweezer and placed it on a tray. After that, Yana cleaned the wound and wrapped it in bandages.

"You seemed very skilled on this." Damien praised.

"My mom is a nurse, she taught me everything to know about first aid." She said.

"That's useful." He said and then glanced at the golden bullet.

"Now I know why he's fatally injured by a single wound."

The lass looked at him, "It has something to do with that bullet, right?"

"Yep. This is no ordinary bullet. I can feel its aura coming out. This bullet is no doubt, came from someone who belong in the Holy Ministry."

"Holy... Ministry?" She echoed.

"It's the organization known for monster hunters. You can easily identify them through the golden cross symbol in their robes. And they use weapons that can damage us, monsters, that we can't easily regenerate." Damien explained.

"Is that so?" She mumbled.

'Then, this kid's been hunted down by those hunters. How cruel that they even wounded a powerless boy.' She thought and became sad.

Rae came back inside, "How was he?"

"Better than earlier. We've taken out the cause of his wound. It looks like it came from a hunter." Damien reported.

"Young master, if we keep this child with us, we'll be hunted by the hunters as well." Calcifer said.

"It's the more reason for us to protect him." Rae insisted, "We don't know what this boy has been through. Maybe the reason why he's here is because he needs help."

"And how about the hunters? If they've found out you're the vampire queen's son, they'll kill you without second thoughts. Not everyone is as nice as that priest." Calcifer reasoned out.

"I know Cal. And I'll be ready for it." Rae said as if he has finally made up his mind.

Then, he turned to Yana, "Thank you so much for your help. We'll take it from here."

The lass nodded, "Alright. I'll go home now." She said and bid her goodbye.

When she reached her house, she visited her phone and saw her mother's messages.

"Oh shoot! I need to bring her some clothes." She rushed and left the house with a bag of clothes.

Usually at this time of the day, he would be out to stroll for a walk or would just chill on his small sofa while drinking some tea. But it all changes in a snap of a finger when someone from a faraway land dropped by and paid him a visit.

And now, he had no other choice but to be the guide of his visitor. But instead of going to bright and beautiful places, his visitor chose to investigate inside the hospital. Yes, 'to investigate the hospital'.

"Do we really have to visit each room? People are starting to get suspicious of us." The priest nervously said.

"You're right. It seems like he's not here." She said with her stoic yet serious expression.

She stopped checking the rooms and started to walk away. Father Stephen followed her.

"Why would you even think he'll drop by in a hospital?" He asked.

"Because he's wounded. My bullet reached him."

"But you said he's a vampire." He whispered.

"I did. But vampires can't remove a bullet from a holy weapon. So I presume he'll be here to ask someone to remove the bullet from him." She explained.

The priest was about to say more when someone suddenly greeted him.

"Father Stephen! Why are you here?"

"Oh, miss Yana! It's nice to see you again." He smiled awkwardly.

"I was just... taking a visit. How about you?"

"Oh, my mom works here. So I brought her some change of clothes." The lass smiled and noticed the lady beside the priest.

She has a straight short lavender hair with two lower braids on each side. She's a bit taller than her, has a fair complexion, and a nice curve on her figure. Not only that, she has perfectly long eye lashes and rounded golden eyes which matches her small pinkish lips.

'She's so beautiful! She's like a model!' Yana thought, 'Why is she with Father Stephen? Is she his lover? B-but... he's a priest! On top of that, she looks older than me but looks younger than him!'

The priest, noticing how the lass looked at her, cleared his throat, "I haven't introduce you to one another."

He turned to the girl beside him, "This is miss Yana, one of my students. And miss Yana..." He glanced to the lass, "This is Miss Grosvenor, my uhh..."

"Workmate." Miss Grosvenor rebutted, "Nice to meet you, miss Yana." She bowed politely, not even shaking her hand.

Even she has a pretty face, her serious expression gives her an intimidating aura.

"Are you heading home now? We should all go together." The priest suggested which is hard to refuse.

Even he has successfully removed the bullet from the boy's wound, there is one thing that keeps on bothering him. After treating his wound, Damien changed the poor boy's clothes soaked in blood. And he noticed this strange thing. The boy's hands. They're all wrinkled, like the one from an old man.

Why is it, that a young vampire boy has an old wrinkled hands?

'There must be something more on this boy. And I don't like this feeling.' He thought.

Rae knocked on the door before opening it.

"Thank you so much for helping him, Damien. I know it's a selfish request to ask for this."

He scoffed, "No worries. I volunteered myself. After all, I studied medicine and science way back then."

"That's amazing! I wish I could study those things too."

"That's not something to be admired about. It's just normal studies that humans usually take."

"I beg to disagree." Rae said, "Every little thing that we do, as long as we put effort in it, that's something to be called admirable." He smiled.

His words left a warm feeling inside his chest. No one has ever complimented every little thing he does.

The Van Helsings are the exception to that. Makes him want to stay more inside this family, the way he always wanted.

Suddenly, they heard the boy moaned as he twitched his eyes. Slowly opening them.

"How are you feeling? Are you alright?" Rae asked.

The boy nodded and looked around, "Where... am I?"

"You're inside my house. My name's Rae. What's yours?" He beamed a smile.

He blinked, "Zaman..."

"Zaman, what a unique name." Damien shrugged.

The boy slowly touched his body as if looking for something. And when he can't find it, he suddenly got up and panicked.

"Where is it!?"

Rae blinked, "The what?'

"My watch! Where's my watch?"

Rae glanced at Damien as if asking him. The gentleman shook his head as a response.

"What does it look like?"

"It's gold, and rounded. It's a unique pocket watch."

Rae gently patted his shoulders, "I'll find your watch, don't worry. For the meantime, you should rest well to regain your strength." He said and gently pushed the boy to lay down.

"I trust you mister... Please find my watch. It's the only treasure of my family." His eyes began to water.

The lad nodded, "Will do."

Then, they stood up and left the room.

"Where are you going to find the watch?" Asked Damien.

"I'll go ask Yana first. Maybe she has seen it."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks, Damien." He patted his shoulder before he left.

Rae left and went to Yana's house. He rang the door bell few times but there's no response.

"Maybe I'll go look for her." He mumbled and walked around.

From the other side of the street, he saw Yana together with the priest.

"Yana!" He called and cane running towards them.

"Zaman is finally awake!"

"Zaman? Who's that?" The lass asked.

"Oh, sorry. That's the boy we saved earlier. His name is Zaman."

"Oh, I see. You came running just to tell me that?"

"Ah, no. I was about to ask, have you seen a golden pocket watch from the beach?"

"Yeah I did."

"Great! It belongs to Zaman."

"Alright. I'll return it once I've put mom's clothes in the laundry."

"Sure." Rae nodded and glanced at the priest.

"Father Stephen, fancy meeting you here!"

"Same here, Mr. Helsing! How have you been?"

"Getting better, I'd say!" He chuckled and noticed the girl who's suddenly hiding behind the priest's back.

"Who's with you, father?"

"Oh, uhm... She's my workmate, Ms. Grosvenor." The priest moved on the side. But the lass doesn't even turn to face him.

"Hello there, my name's Rae. Nice to meet you." He beamed a smile.

"N-nice... to meet... you too..." She suddenly stammered.

Her cool and intimidating aura earlier is now replaced by a nervous and shy expression.

Her face is all red. She can't bear to face Rae not because she hates him nor she dislikes him. But her face tells that it seems like she knew him, someone she used to know. And Yana can clearly tell that feeling. A face of someone who just encountered the person they like.

All of a sudden, a pang of pain came in her chest. It feels like she wanted Rae to stop greeting her. How she wished that girl wouldn't turn to face him. Or Rae might see her pretty face, far from her plain appearance.

Would he smile brightly at that girl like how he used to smile at her? Why does he smile to everyone like how he smiled at her? Why can't she have that smile all by herself?

'Wait, Yana! Is this... what they call... jealousy? Why would I be jealous? Why would I?'

In such thoughts, she quickly ran away and went back to her house. She placed her mother's old clothes in the laundry basket when she heard the sound of something fallen. She looked down and saw the golden pocket watch she kept earlier.

"Oh right... I must return this..." She mumbled and stared at it.

It's really a unique item. It has a strange carvings that embossed it's figure like a skull. In such curiosity, she opened the watch and saw multiple clocks; from the hour glass, to the classic ones, and the digital. When she was about to touch it, the watched suddenly glowed brightly that made her close her eyes.

When the bright light was gone, she opened her eyes and felt the cold breeze of wind as she finds herself falling from the air.

"Aaaaaarrrgh!!!" The lass screamed at the top of her lungs.

And when she finally thought she'd going to die, someone jumped from below and caught her just in time. A warm blanket was wrapped around her body as she felt the cold atmosphere. Then, they landed at the top of a building.

'Man! That almost killed me!' She sighed in relief.

"You're not her..." Said the person who saved her.

By the voice, she can tell he's a man. She can't see his face, he's wearing a black hoodie coat. But when he slightly lifts his head to look at her, she saw his two glowing red eyes.

"A vampire!"

"Yup, that's me." He said, "You don't belong here, aren't you? Based on what you wear, you came from the past."

Yana frowned, "What are you saying, mister? Where am I?"

"You might not believe it, miss. But this, is the future." He said and pointed the city before them.

"You've... gotta be kidding me..." Her eyes widened as she saw the whole town was covered in snow. That explains why the air was colder than before.

The lass shook her head, "No way... There's no way it would rain snow in the Philippines."

"Yeah sure it won't, unless you go messing it around with the Time Keeper--wait! The fact that you got here means that you have the Time Keeper, right?" The vampire suddenly grabbed her shoulders.

"What are you talking about? What Time Keeper?"

"It's a golden pocket watch, with a skull symbol on it."

Yana blinked, "I did have that with me a while ago..." She tried to check her pocket.

"Do you still have it now?"

"I... don't think so..."

The vampire sighed in frustration.

"I'm sorry! When I opened it, I was eaten by a bright light and then suddenly, here I am! I don't know what happened!"

The vampire looked down, "Now how are we going to stop him..." He mumbled.

"Uhh.. Stop who?"

The vampire sighed and looked at her in the eyes, "Zaman, the most wanted vampire criminal."