S̶̶e̶̶r̶̶v̶̶a̶̶n̶̶t̶̶s/Companions

Hours had passed but the suns were still up. Even though it didn't bother him much, he still preferred the night. Nonetheless, the daylight didn't ruin the atmosphere of the forest, it added a sort of tranquil glow upon the forest, which seemed to get decreasingly active as the sun began to fall. 

A breeze swept through the heads of the tall burgundy trees, as if the fall season had arrived to the lands of Principium, the red leaves fell peacefully. Gliding through the air and falling on the backs of Vouz and Hermes. 

The two who followed quietly behind Kyle, who was a steady pace faster than them but as he looked to the sky and caught one of the falling leaves. He suddenly came to a halt as he turned to them. 

"Let's stop at the river up ahead, we'll rest there for a little bit before continuing." Kyle said before he continued to walk. 

His two companions followed him without question, despite having many. For them, this boy is so mysterious and focused yet confused. He's constantly in a state of thought. They were curious as to what was constantly in his mind. 

A boy so separated from their idea of a vampire yet so close to it as well. 

As they stopped the river, drunk from it. They rested for a few hours. Guarding him, watching him. He didn't utter a word, he didn't want to. 

Being so lost in thought, he forgot to speak.

Unbeknownst to them however, this boy, Kyle has only just come to terms with his life. With his mission, a one he always knew about yet never thought of. 

"It's overwhelming to build a nation from its broken foundations. Where do I start? Well obviously I must first reach the Queen… my grandmother. But what about after, the capital is an abandoned dead land." He finally spoke. 

But to whom they wondered. Was it to himself?

"The prince and princesses are all locked up in different nations. The people of the capital are gone and I have no idea where they have gone. I must return to my mother back in the lower realms but with what, I can't return empty handed…. Stressing won't get me anywhere." Kyle said as he looked at his new companions. 

"That's how I ended up here in the first place. There are questions I have, maybe after getting those answers will I have a better plan. Those answers will help only come when I talk to the queen…. If I do." The memory of the Watchguards began to appear in his head but he smacked himself so he could snap himself out of that negative headspace. 

"So I need to meet the queen no matter what, that's my first task. I'll tell her the current situation and she'll tell me everything else… hopefully." 

He laid his body onto the ground, and relaxed himself, trying to let his mind drift from the anxious fears he felt. He closed his eyes and thought of the thick bed of grass that hugged his back tightly, the cool wind breeze that glided across his skin and the sounds of the small animals, bugs, and the wrestling of the trees which filled his ears. 

He listened to the noise of nature and was quickly brought to sleep. Vouz and Hermes coddled up to Kyle to protect him as he slept. He slept until the Suns fell and the Moons rose to kiss the sky. 

He awoke, staring at the stars. Feeling the warm and soft fuzz of Vouz's fur on the top of his head. They soon continued on the path to the Castle, the pace wasn't fast nor was it slow, Kyle was taking his time to observe the environment, while also keeping in mind how much time he spent. 

Vouz and Hermes followed behind him, this time they were closer than before. 

After an hour, they finally made it out of the forest. 

"If I can remember the map correctly, the start of the forest is where Aliana's region begins. So we've finally made it to Lord Alucard's region, The Beginning's Plains." Kyle said as he checked on Vouz and Hermes who were quietly following behind him. 

"Beginning… Plains?" Vouz questioned as he gazed over the land. 

He witnessed many beauties of the world, so much that he thought it was life but this- the view of the plains were something he had never seen. 

The land was an ocean of tall burgundy blades of grass, seemingly empty, devoid of animals as it was the lawn of the Great King. The soil was moist, filled with the rich contents of the blood from the river. 

As Kyle and his companions traverse the Plains of Alucard's Region. As they traversed the Beginning Plains, hours passed and the sun rose once more before they were able to lay eyes on the castle's which sat atop a hill overlooking the capital below. 

Kyle did not stop to observe and gawk at the sight because only one thought filled his mind and that was the thought of seeing Drey's and Melissa's faces once more. 

One of the suns began to fall and the sky dimmed as Kyle and his companions finally reached the capital.

 Kyle is only now realizing how vacant and old the capital city is as he walks through the streets. Some buildings had holes while others had vines growing over them or a mixture of both. The streets themselves were filled with grass and vines which seem to stretch all the way to the forest. 

There were wild creatures roaming the city, they seemed to be the only sign of life. 

As they advanced along a path that led directly to the castle, a Naery strolled in front of them. Kyle recognized it as the same Naery that took shelter in the castle's lounge by its smell. 

Vouz immediately shielded him, as the Naery glared at them. 

They began growling at eachother, instantly showing hostility but it appeared that Vouz was the one itching to start a fight so Kyle grabbed his fur to pull him back as he walked towards the Naery. 

His eyes lit up brightly as he looked into the Naery's eyes "Excuse us, we need to get home now." 

"Grrm." The Naery's hostility was placated as it just walked away towards one of the nearby buildings. 

"This is sacred ground, we're gonna try our best to keep conflict away from it. Well rest soon the castle is up ahead." Kyle said as he continued to walk towards the castle. 

They soon reached the gate of the castle's estate at the bottom of the hill, although there was a latch to lock the gate the entrance wasn't locked so they were able to walk in without worry. There was a stone paved road that led up to the castle past the gate. 

As they finally reach the castle grounds, Kyle's retainers, Drey and Melissa as well as Deiamos, were in the medical room. 

They were all wondering about Kyle's whereabouts as nearly a month went by and they were only notified of his well-being. 

Although Drey believed it, Melissa seemed worried about how Kyle's been doing physically. Knowing he was malnourished before he left and his discomfort in taking blood from a living being. She was worried he might've gone out of control in a desperation to live. 

Drey tried convincing her to just trust him and Melissa does but she couldn't but worry. 

Drey of course worries as well but he forces himself to disregard the negative thoughts and keep the positives of what could possibly happen out there. Although with all the unknown wild animals, he doesn't know what could happen or what could be out there. 

They were waiting for his return patiently, with no current objective so they were reading the Records of Alucard as well as other books relating to Blutheim's history. 

A mountain of books were in the medical room, most of them were read while some of them were unopened and still filled with dust. The medical seems to be the place where they spent most of their time to not leave Melissa out as she couldn't be removed from the blood bath. 

"Deiamos, I've been meaning to ask. If all the soldiers died in the war, why were you the only one to survive?" Drey asked as he closed his book. 

"I wasn't the only-" Just as Deiamos tried to answer, he was interrupted by the sound of the medical room's door opening. 

"H- hello." Kyle said awkwardly as he walked into the room, Vouz and Hermes stood outside of the room behind him. 

They were all surprised by his sudden appearance, given that they were just thinking about him and his whereabouts. 

"I'm sorry for disappearing so suddenly as I did, we've only just arrived on Sancta Terra and I've made dire mistakes. One of us could've died because of my impatience, Melissa… I can't tell you how sorry I am for your legs but I thank you deeply for saving me that day. I appreciate the both of you so very much and I apologize for dragging you into this mes-" Before he could finish Drey stopped as they raised their hand. 

Deiamos quickly stepped out of the room, he knew this was a private moment meant for only their ears and did not want to intrude. 

"Me and Melissa have been speaking about it. And yes you did drag us from our everyday life back on earth but you saved me from a life I wanted to escape. I may be a vampire servant of a child but you showed me that you're more of a man than most of the men I worked with in the CICA." Drey stood up and walked closer to him. "I know the secrets that the government hides from the world, I am a hunter agent who went awol. You've helped me escape- no you saved my life. I don't regret anything at all. I'm with you until the end because you showed me a new world and a new life but I can only speak for myself." He stepped to the side to allow Kyle to see Melissa. 

Kyle didn't need to say anything to Drey, he already knew Kyle acknowledged what he said and there was more he needed to tell. Especially to her. 

"…Melissa, I." The memories flowed into his head again and tears began to swell up in his eyes. "During the night I lost control and Queen Aria possessed my body. You were both forced to kill all those people who were lured there, we killed about a hundred people or more that night for blood. When my body fully transitioned into a vampire, I was hit with the memories of all the people I took blood from. From their birth to their death, even Captain Jeremy's memories…. I can't apologize enough and I know you won't be able to forgive me but among those people, one of them was your fiancé. Melissa, I-" He was interrupted as Melissa stood up from the bath. 

She wore a white gown that Deiamos found in one of the castle rooms, it was thick so her body wasn't see through but she stood straight. Although a bit wobbly as she had been sitting for almost a month, she nearly forgot how to use her legs.

She stepped over the rim of the tub as blood dripped down the bottom of her gown, her legs and feet drenched in blood but completely healed- leaving only a thin and jagged scar around both of her legs. 

"Kyle, I know it wasn't you but Queen Aria. I understand that it wasn't you that day, I mean if you saw yourself, you definitely do not act like that- I mean even your personality and demeanor changed. I forgive you but I can not forgive the Queen. You may have pulled me away from my life but there is no going back now. An experience like this doesn't even happen to the most fortunate of people on earth and I don't have a home there any more, you weren't the one who turned me anyway." Melissa glared at Drey with a disdainful look in her eyes while walking up to Kyle. "But I value your accountability. You've definitely grown up over this time you were away so I'm very proud of you. You don't seem so impatient anymore. I'm behind you every step of the way so don't cry no more." She wiped his tears. 

Kyle was left speechless, all his fears and anxieties were wiped away by their words. Knowing they were by his side gave Kyle the confidence he needed to move forward with his goal. 

"Please don't think of yourselves as servants, you are more than that- you are my friends. I would do anything to keep you safe even if you hated me." Kyle said as his eyes glowed in accordance to his heart.