Banquet

While Ezekiel and the rest dealt with the vampire peasants in the city, something extraordinary was happening at the imperial castle.

Exciting yet melodious music was playing inside the lively colossal ballroom as the guards welcomed their guests. Vampires were dressed to the nines as they accompanied their partners inside the ballroom. They could see other vampires clinking their glasses filled with red wine (which might be blood) as they talked while some of them had already taken the dance floor showcasing their graceful skills. The scene of the vampires dancing elegantly with their beautiful partners and the others interacting politely looked beautiful.The ambience was nothing but peaceful as all of the vampires interacted gracefully with each other.

Yet, if you looked closer, you would notice their caution in their actions as if one mistake was enough to make their king furious.

The person in question was holding his glass in his hand as he talked with some of his business partners freely. Alistair had a huge smile on his face as he laughed cheerily. His brown long hair was let down as his red eyes sparkled in delight.

Suddenly, someone appeared beside him and whispered in his ear, instantly turning his smile into rage. The atmosphere inside the banquet became heavy as everyone strained their eyes on their king.

Alistair threw his glass on the neat marble floor, splashing whatever was in the glass onto the floor. The noise of the glass breaking and his enraged face made the banquet quieten down. Alistair glanced at his people in anger and saw several eyes shift their eyes away in apprehension making him click his tongue annoyedly.

He turned around swiftly and left the ballroom leaving the vampires to look at each other. Only one person would dare to disobey the king's summons. The vampires pursed their lips as they were confused on whether to leave or stay.

Suddenly the tapping of fingers against a surface echoed inside the quiet ballroom, making everyone collectively look at the corner of the hall. They saw a person who was absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the surface as his eyes focused on the door through which Alistair left.

On noticing their gazes, Regan glanced at them making the vampires gulp and shift their eyes.

'This son and father pair had the same intensity in their gaze'

Regan stood up from his chair nonchalantly and said without any warmth in his voice, "The banquet his over"

He turned around and left the ballroom with those words, exactly like his father.

…

"The human will be fine after some rest," Xavier said as he finished bandaging the last of her wounds.

He turned to look at his friend who was looking at the human with a frown on his face. Xavier raised his eyebrows as he walked out of the room while removing the gloves to his office.

He was shocked to find Ezekiel standing in front of his house with a bleeding human in his arms. At first, when he smelled the delicious fragrance coming off the human, he thought Ezekiel was here to share her but immediately, he shook his head.

Ezekiel had stopped drinking the blood of humans for years. He would rather rely on other sources than drinking directly from humans. Xavier heard the voice behind him before his footsteps resonated, "What about the glass shards?"

Xavier sighed as he turned around to face his distraught friend, "Do you trust my skills?"

Ezekiel stared at him for a minute, making Xavier raise his brows. Ezekiel scoffed as he walked towards the chair and sat down.

"Who is she?"

Xavier turned to his friend and saw him pursing his lips, not intending to answer him. With a look of disbelief, he said, "Don't tell me you saved a stranger"

When the silence in the room lengthened, Xavier widened his eyes in shock.

'The Grim Reaper had some conscience after all'

He hurriedly stood in front of Ezekiel and probed, "Where did you meet her?"

On seeing him remain silent, Xavier squinted his eyes as he mumbled, "How strange!" making Ezekiel look at him.

Xavier pursed his lips as he said, "Well, isn't it strange that a human managed to cross our boundaries?" On noticing the frown deepening on Ezekiel, he added, "And, her attire? What kind of clothes are those?"

"I have never seen those clothes in my life"

Ezekiel tapped his fingers on the table lost in thoughts, as the image of the human standing in the middle of the road, looking helpless came into his mind. Taking a deep breath, he snapped out just in time to hear Xavier mumble under his breath, "Maybe I should take a sample of her blood and see what it holds"

Xavier shuddered when he felt a cold glare on him. He looked at Ezekiel who was oozing with coldness and chuckled awkwardly, "I was just kidding"

Ezekiel stood up and turned around to leave when Xavier asked dumbfoundedly, "Aren't you bringing her back with you?"

Ezekiel halted for a second before continuing to the front door as he said, "I don't know her"

His answer was equivalent to 'I don't know her so why should I bring her with me?'

Xavier's lips twitched at his response. He instantly appeared in front of the door, blocking his exit as he looked at Ezekiel calmly and said, "Then, what should I do with her?"

Ezekiel shifted his cold black eyes at him and said sharply, "Nothing"

Xavier massaged his forehead as he said helplessly, "Alistair would send troops in the morning, you know"

Ezekiel froze at the sudden realisation. Looking at him, Xavier knew without a doubt that he had forgotten about the banquet while he was helping the human.

Ezekiel pursed his lips as he glanced at the room inside, a struggle brewing in his eyes. Pursing his lips, he instructed, "I will find a way to thwart Alistair"

He shifted his eyes to his friend and said, "Keep her here… I will be back the day after tomorrow for her" and left the house without another glance.

Xavier stared at his empty front yard and shook his head helplessly. He closed the door and turned towards the room with his eyebrows furrowed. He mumbled, "Well, let's hope Alistair wouldn't find out her existence"