6th Night

Elstein…

"Eona Amethyst Lorentz…"

Her train of thoughts was cut short when someone called out to her using her whole name which none of her family members use. Eona glanced at the man approaching her with a smile on his lips. She may not have known who he was, but she knew it was Cohen - her ancestors' employer, her grandmother's and now her mother's and, who knows, maybe her future employer too. He looks young, like he was only in his late thirties, like her mother. But she knew better. He was, after all… a vampire. He is a being who is not supposed to look like his age.

So he really was aware of her existence when she just came to know about him. With a shaking hand, she put down the cup of hot chocolate she was holding. She didn't know what to feel at that moment. It was only a few days after she came to know that her family had been serving him as a blood donor for such a long time. Meaning, they let him take their blood freshly from their veins in exchange for money and she couldn't grasp what that would look like from an onlooker. Now she can stop wondering how they have more wealth than she could imagine. The answer could only be him.

Through her peripheral vision, Eona glanced at her mother, who couldn't look at her directly. She looks uncomfortable knowing that she, whom they have tried their all to keep away from vampires, is now here in the place governed by them and is face-to-face with one. If she hadn't overheard them talking in hushed tones early that morning, they'd still be lying to her about the existence of vampires.

Cohen sighed. Though he could not read Eona's mind, he could see the conflicting emotions in her purple-colored eyes.

"Eona, please don't be too hard on your mother. They just wanted what's best for you and keeping you away from our world was the best possible way."

"Best?" She mocked. "By telling me that I was being delusional every time I mention your kind being real because I can feel it? By telling me that the reason I've been dreaming about your kind was because of my wild imagination and that the only memory I have from ten years ago was just me creating my own fantasy? I believed them to the point where I'm still having second thoughts about whether what happened to me three days ago was just an illusion my mind conjured or someone really did try to drink me dry. I thought I was going crazy! After all, I fell off a cliff, bruised and bloodied with fractured bones all over, yet somehow I ended up just fine when I woke up the next day."

Helena's eyes widened. "W-what? Why didn't you tell us anything?"

"Would you believe me if I did?" Eona whispered, which made Helena bite her lip.

She knew they wouldn't have. They'd deem her crazy for sure. Isn't that what they have been doing all this time?

"Helena, can I talk to your daughter alone?" Cohen could see the anger as well as the betrayal that Eona was trying so hard to suppress, so he wanted Helena to leave them for a moment. "You have a client," he added without even glancing at the door and a second later, the little bell on the door chimed signalling that someone just entered.

"Of course," with a regretful glance, Helena left them to talk.

For a moment, silence enveloped the two of them where only the minimized conversation of Helena with a client could be heard in the foreground. Cohen silently watched the young girl in front of him who returned to look outside the glass window, probably instilling in her mind that what she sees is reality and not just a dream. She was silently looking at those who were walking by - humans and vampires alike with werewolves and witches here and there. She is probably wondering how they could co-exist with one another without the predator hunting the prey. But the peace surrounding the place is fragile. It is only because of a law that anyone who will cause disruption will be killed on the spot. They are currently in Elstein, the only neutral city located in between Aceldama, World of the Living, Tempestra and Sythra, where every being can pass through freely or build a business of their own to gain income. It is the city responsible for guarding the Astral Gates, which separates every kingdom.

He tried to read her mind but it was hopeless. It's as if it was filled with an unending sheet of black silk. He usually didn't find it hard to know what a person was thinking, but with her, a barrier seemed to have been put in her mind and every time he tried to get through it, he ended up with a throbbing pain in his head. It has been like this ever since she was young, so he couldn't find the truth about what happened when she was kidnapped ten years ago. Eona has changed drastically in the last ten years. Her white-blonde hair and violet-colored eyes stood out the most because they were rare. Her cheeks look like they have a permanent blush on them and her lips have a naturally rosy tint. Eona indeed possesses a beauty you could not find in anyone else. At first glance, one would think she's one of them, though she's human. The injuries she suffered due to the incident ten years ago were no longer there and so were her memories before it happened, all of that.

"Will you hear me out?"

Eona contemplated for a minute before she nodded yes. If she learns about the reason why her family lied to her about them in one night, she'd rather have him, a vampire himself, do it. After all, he was part of the Vampire Council. He knew far more about their laws than her mother worked for him.

"Your family have been working for me as blood donors for a long time and your mother is the current member where the responsibility was passed down to. I call it a responsibility because the contract your ancestor signed along with me states that in every generation, one female member of your family should work for me as blood donor if the former has already decided to stop doing so."

"So our family have been damned by our ancestors from the very beginning?" She asked bitterly, but Cohen never said a word. It was the truth anyway. "Am I going to be next?"

He might have been paying them more than enough but she couldn't think of herself as the one giving her blood in exchange of a high amount of money.

Cohen smiled tenderly. "I think your mother wouldn't want that. It was your family's decision when to stop the contract you have with me. I would always respect whatever that may be. After all, I could always draw another contract if needed. The reason why you weren't told about our existence is because your mother didn't want you involved in anything that has got to do with my kind. She, along with your grandmother, wanted you to have a normal life, a life which they never had. They wanted you to live your life with normalcy which they never got to experience on their own. There may have been vampires out there that could co-exist with humans without a problem, but you should remember that there are those who only want to drink you dry, who think they're higher than you are and who look at you as a walking blood bag. After all, we will always be a predator behind the face of a human being whose blood hunger can't be suppressed, no matter how hard we try. Sure, there are those who could go on for days without drinking but their hunger will be much worse than when they drink blood on a normal basis."

"He doesn't seem like human to me…" she whispered when she remembered what happened to her on her way back home from school.

Cohen frowned. Could she be talking about what he was thinking? If she is, then the kingdom has a bigger problem than they thought. Lepers are not considered as vampires nor are they considered human. They are monsters born in the middle of transition and they are not allowed to exist due to the danger they pose to everyone, because they feed and they kill anyone on their way.

"Care to tell me what happened?"

She nodded before she started telling him everything. She reminisced every detail she could remember until the time she lost consciousness.

"I was actually wondering how I ended up without the injuries I suffered that night, the next morning when I woke up. It's as if it never happened at all."

Cohen heightened his sense of smell. Someone's blood - one so strong that he immediately recognized whose was mixed with hers. Does that mean he's been in the world of the living all this time that he disappeared from the court? What was his godchild thinking? If the council learns of what he did, he'd be subjected to trial, his right to the throne would be forfeited, while Eona would be killed and his parents wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Someone's blood is attached to yours." He informed her but he was careful enough not to tell her about whose blood it was. "A vampire's blood has the ability to heal you completely without leaving a bruise. With the injuries you suffered from the fall, as you have told me, you wouldn't have survived the night without it."

"Meaning?"

Cohen contemplated before explaining further. "A vampire's blood is in your system. And with you losing consciousness, that vampire must have forcefully made you drink his blood."

Her heart thumped in apprehension and excitement. "Am I going to turn into one of you?"

She looked around the store and her mother was still busy assisting the customer who came in a while ago. He must have felt her stare since he subtly glanced her way. Sapphire-blue eyes filled with all the secrets of the world met her violet-colored ones and she somehow felt a sense of familiarity in them - as if she had seen those eyes so many times before, but she remembered only seeing him once. He's the store owner of Reliquiae. What is he doing in Elstein? Ah, if Blaze is a Lycan, this man must have been a supernatural being, too. After all, they were friends. Blaze spoke of him like they were.

Cohen chuckled, which made her glance back in his direction, completely forgetting about the man whose name she remembered was Siegrain.

"No, you won't turn into one. After a week or two, the blood mixed with yours will wear out until it's completely erased from your bloodstream."

But Cohen was still deep in thought. How come he could only tell that a vampire's blood - one that was Rouen's, was attached to hers only after he heightened his senses? In normal circumstances, he could have recognized it right from the beginning. This kind of circumstance only happens if someone intervenes.

"Did you meet someone after the incident?" He asked.

Eona nodded. "Yes. The man who has been in my dreams since I was a child. One with distinct red eyes."

If only Eona had been looking directly at Cohen's eyes when she answered, she could've seen how his eyes grew wide with the mention of the words 'red eyes'. Cohen didn't want to believe it, but Eona didn't look like she was lying. He knew of beings who possessed those unique colors of eyes. How couldn't he, when they were at the beginning of their existence? But after the Blood War, they already ceased to exist and can now only be found in records at their archives.

"He must have been the one who gave me these?"

Cohen's eyes focused on her neck when she pulled her collar away from it. He blinked. But what was in front of him didn't change. Faintly glowing lines are spread out on the side of her neck like an incomplete insignia. He frowned as he looked directly at her questioning eyes. The mark on the side of her neck was a seal, an incomplete one at that. That must have been the reason why he could not immediately tell that Rouen's blood was attached to hers.

"Do you know him?"

Eona let go of her collar, hiding her neck from Cohen's view. "It's more of like I can't remember who he is to me."

"What do you mean?"

"He… was the beginning of my memory."

That caught Cohen's attention, so he urged her to continue.

"It's not true that I don't remember anything before I woke up in the hospital when I was eight. I don't know the rest, but I remember being in a forest with nothing but blood and snow surrounding me. He was there. He rescued me from the hands of a vampire who was about to drain my blood. The next thing I know, I was already in a hospital, waking up after being in a three-week coma without any memories at all aside from that night. I'm sure you knew the rest."

Cohen nodded, so she continued.

"I tried to tell my family but they never once believed me until I stopped talking about it completely. But when my life was put in danger a few nights ago, he appeared in front of me, looking the same way he did that night when I was eight. He had a look that says he doesn't have a choice but to do what he did. It must have been this." She pointed towards her neck.

"That mark on your neck - "

"You can see it?"

"Am I not supposed to?"

She gestured at her mother. "Though my mother and grandmother can clearly see the bitemarks before they faded, they can't see the mark that spread out at the side of my neck like fading filigree lines. And it seems like everyone else can't see it either."

"You were bitten?"

"Yes. But the bitemarks faded completely after twenty-four hours."

Cohen was deep in thought. Did the seal appear before she was bitten or after? He had so many questions swirling in his mind but he knew Eona couldn't give him the answers he needed.

"In my eyes, the lines are faintly glowing like molten lava. I've never seen a seal such as the one on your neck. It's actually quite beautiful if you ask me, even though it is obviously incomplete."

She frowned. "A seal?"

Cohen nodded but the question is, what kind of seal is it? He couldn't tell because it hadn't reached its final form yet. Why does Eona have it?

Did the Noble bite her to stop the seal from appearing completely? Then that would only mean Rouen's blood did something to Eona - something that the Noble who bit her did not want to happen, at least not yet if you put the incomplete seal on the equation. And if she was bitten to prevent anyone from knowing that Rouen's blood was attached to hers, why would a Noble Blood be protecting her?

***

"Would that be all?"

Helena tried to be as professional as she could in assisting her customer personally even though her mind was filled with thoughts of her daughter, who finally found out about the very thing they were trying so hard to keep from her. The man nodded with a smile. After he paid for everything, he left after thanking her.

"What's with that dejected look?"

She looked at Cohen, who was walking towards her. She subtly glanced at the table where Eona was at before but her daughter was nowhere in sight. Where is she?

"Eona went out after we talked. She said she needed to be alone and think about some things." He answered the question she never asked.

Cohen wasn't just her employer. He was a friend. He wasn't like most of his kind who looked down on humans. He treats them the way he treats his own kind.

"What if - "

"She'll be safe. Don't worry. I'll find her after an hour or two. Elstein is a safe place for everyone to roam around, since it is a neutral city. The kingdom's sentinels are stationed everywhere because it's the only place under Aceldama's rule where all beings are allowed to enter. Those who knew of it, at least."

Helena sat down and held her head. "Could she ever forgive me?"

"Your daughter is not a child anymore, Helena. You should have known that she would find out sooner or later the truth about your way of living. She'd been dreaming about our kind since she was a child, like something was telling her there is a world out there not known to many and that she was destined to find it. The only mistake you made was that you made her feel like she's being delusional to the point where she questions if what's happening around her is real or not. You know your daughter is different from others her age. Our world calls out to her and she unknowingly seeks it herself."

Helena remained silent. She couldn't counter his words. She really didn't want Eona to know about their secret life for the fear that she might want to become a part of it, but fate has its own way of ruining things.

Eona didn't have any idea how long she'd been walking around Elstein with no apparent destination on her mind. She observed her surroundings, studying them like a traveller would to a new place she's been at for the first time. She is in a world away from the mundane one she grew up in and it felt like she's been transported back to the old way of living. It was enchanting. Supernatural's must have preferred how people live their life in the olden times compared to the modern one. It's as if time stood still yet it moved on at the same time. The streets are illuminated with lights from lamp posts powered by electricity. The different stores were lined up in a row beside the streets and wooden benches in between trees were neatly put beside the sidewalk for the passers-by to rest on if they wanted to. Elegant carriages were passing by her like it was a daily thing. It must have been their means of transportation. Talk about going back in years. But it was beautiful. Upon reaching the central park of the city where a huge water fountain was placed at the center, she couldn't help but be fascinated. It was so mesmerizing. She glanced up at the full moon. Somehow, it appears to be bigger than what she usually sees. Yes, it definitely is bigger. As if it was nearer than it had been in her world.

"Is it real?" she thought.

Someone chuckled right beside her, which made her glance in that direction. She recognized him immediately. He was the only being she knew possessing those beautiful red eyes. He is wearing a long white sleeved shirt, paired with black trousers and black leather shoes. He, too, is looking at the moon. His black hair was being ruffled by the slight wind and his eyes seemed like they were shining under the moonlight.

"It is real. There is no reason for it to be not," he said like he had just read her mind before he smiled softly at her. "Pós eísai, agapité? (How are you, dear one?)"

He didn't change a bit. He looked like the way she remembered him to be. He may look young but she knew he was older than that. Way older than he appears to be.

"I…" she started to say, but then she pursed her lips, not knowing what to say first.

Different emotions were swirling inside of her and she couldn't get a hold of her own self. He noticed her being restless. More importantly, he could read her mind and the jumbled thoughts she was having at that moment. Her thoughts were a storm of questions and she couldn't get it to settle down.

"Take your time and ask."

She bit the side of her lip. How long had she been longing to hear those from her family? But she ended up keeping everything inside because of how they kept her in the dark until only a few days ago, when they no longer had the choice but to tell her the truth.

"What happened to Shaun?" She whispered.

"Shaun?" He asked with a furrowed brow until he realized something. "You must be talking about Saber."

It was her turn to frown. "What?"

"His real name is Saber. All I can tell you right now is that he has just returned to his original post as a knight working under my wing."

"Is he…. human?" After what happened, she almost doubted whether everyone around her was human beings or just pretending to be one.

"He once was. Now, he still is, but at the same time, he is not."

What? Eona felt like the jumbled thoughts in her head just became more chaotic because of what he said, but she didn't pry any further.

"Is he doing alright?"

"Eínai asfalís, agapité (He is safe, dear one)."

If he is safe, then that is good, right? And if he is planning to show himself to her one day, all she has to do is wait.

"Did you do this to me?" She asked after being silent for a while.

His line of sight was redirected towards the filigree lines on her neck. Though his bitemarks were completely gone, the lines were in perfect view for those who had the ability to see them.

His lips were drawn in a grim line before he answered: "No."

"Then who did?"

"I apologize, but I cannot give you the answer to that question right now."

"What is this then?"

By the way he sealed his lips, he looked like he didn't want to say anything but she was not going to let it go. It's not like she could see him every time she wishes so.

"You're the one who wanted me to ask."

He gave out a sigh. "It is a seal. One that cannot be allowed to appear completely on your skin. At least not right now anyway."

"W-what do you mean?"

"The young prince gave you his blood out of his own goodwill. And I appreciate that because you would have died if he did not. But, you, having a vampire's blood in your system has its repercussions. One of them is the forced appearance of that seal on your neck earlier than the preferred date by the one who cast it. You will be put in danger and so does he - though in a completely different situation. I just made sure to prevent any of that from happening soon." He explained, but he grimaced because of something that was running through his mind, though Eona didn't notice it.

"Prince?"

"That Night Class student who was with you that night. He is a royal in the lower vampire society. The crown prince of the kingdom that rules over this place and all of Aceldama."

With everything he said, only one thing registered in her mind. The fact that he witnessed what happened to her a few nights ago. "You were there? With Blaze?"

So he is the one Blaze is working with. Does that mean Siegrain and his attendants in the store where she met them were not human beings either? After all, Blaze is associated with them.

He nodded but he chose not to further elaborate.

"So you're a Lycan too?" If he is with Blaze, then he could also be one. But the bitemarks he left on her neck a few days ago weren't those of a werewolf but a vampire.

"I may be friends with a Lycan, but I don't share the same blood as him."

"You're a vampire."

He was silent for a moment before he glanced back up at the moon as if looking for the right words to answer her. "In a way… yes, I am. But not quite."

She frowned. Isn't that almost the same way Blaze answered her when she was able to talk to him a few days ago? But she did not dig in deeper because he obviously did not want to talk about it any further. He should have explained a little bit more if he wanted to. But why would a vampire and a werewolf be working together? Aren't they supposed to have bad blood between them? That was what's written in all the folklores she read. She wanted to ask so many questions. Like, what does he know about the incident ten years ago? Why was he there that night? Why is he here now? Why did he save her then? Why did he suddenly appear now after her life was put in danger again? But everything went to the back of her mind when she asked him the one thing she wanted to know the most.

"Who are you?"

Sadness filled his eyes though his face remained passive. "My name is… Aelvien," he answered vaguely before his eyes slightly glistened for a second. It's as if he's communicating with someone. "I have to go."

She did not want him to go yet. She wanted to talk to him a little more. Even though she never said anything, Aelvien could tell what was going on in her mind.

"If anything happens, call me." He whispered as if saying he'd be there in an instant before he disappeared in a blink of an eye like he wasn't there in the first place.

A few moments later, Cohen found her and it didn't even seem like he had seen Aelvien who was just there with her before. Has it already been that long since she went out of her mother's shop?

"I see you've reached the central park. Do you want to go eat somewhere? I know a place where they have cuisines safe for humans to eat."

She nodded absentmindedly, hoping to see Aelvien somewhere, but to no avail.

Cohen decided to take her to the restaurant overlooking the entirety of the park. Eona ordered food for her while he only asked for a wine.

"Don't you want to eat something?"

"Human food isn't exactly flavorful to us vampires. Though we eat once in a while, it's just to indulge our human side."

"What does it taste like? Human food, I mean."

"Bland." Eona raised her brow at him in question. "It depends. Vampire-borns can actually taste them and enjoy the flavours, but not those who are turned."

Eona furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity. "I thought all vampires were turned."

"Mostly, they are. But there are very few who were born as one. Like the prince, for instance. The one who's always by his side was also a born vampire."

"Hmmm…."

She looked around the restaurant they were in. The customers are mostly humans but there are a very few who were not. Those who recognized Cohen pay him respect by slightly bowing their head while saying 'your grace'. The restaurant was beautifully furnished. Surrounded by glass walls where they could see the view from the outside. Crystal chandeliers were hanged on the ceiling and the servers were dressed in long sleeves paired with gray vests and slacks for men and pencil skirts for women. Every table was separated by built-in flower boxes. A grand piano was placed in the center of the stage, making everyone see who plays it wherever it is.

"Miss, would you like to give it a try?"

"Try what?"

"Would you like to play the piano?"

"I can?"

The maitre'd nodded as he smiled.

"Go on." Cohen encouraged.

When she stood up, the maitre'd assisted her towards the piano. The entire room became silent as the chatting and murmuring stopped when she sat in front of it. People are wondering who she is and they're also anticipating what she's going to play. She glanced at Cohen, who held his glass of blood up to her in encouragement. Slowly, she positioned her fingers and inhaled a deep breath before the first note was heard inside the restaurant, followed by a melodious voice that made everyone seem to have stopped breathing. Everyone expected her to play something but no one thought she'd also sing.

Cohen wasn't the only one shocked. He even heard someone gasping while listening to her sing. He didn't know Eona possessed such a voice - one that could captivate every being. She's like a siren in the sea, luring fishermen to their death with her enthralling voice. At that moment, there was only one thing on Cohen's mind. The second part of a written prophecy regarding his godchild.

"In a hundred years, when roses bloom, memories of the past will gather, bringing forth a doom. The prince's path will cross with that of a wanderer, one who has been living in the human world. She is a woman possessing a voice so sweet and captivating who will stand together with the prince whose blood was that of gold and together they'll defeat the enemies of old."

Her learning about their existence might have been the work of fate after all. A fate which destined the life of their crowned prince to a greater height before he was even born.