The previously loud canteen was now silent; the only noises were the steps of the director as she walked down the aisle and the cnking of the guard’s escorting her armor. She looked forward and had her chin up; she seemed to be in a perpetual state of self-righteousness, but to be fair, she probably could afford to be so confident.
The director walked slowly, each step resounding through the space. Her dress was in the same fashion as yesterday’s, but this one was teal, and she wore some gemstone earrings to accompany it. Everyone in the aisle was either sitting or standing pressed on the tables, their backs to them. When the director arrived to be in front of Luca, who stood between Alyska and Cory (a small gap was between Cory and Preston), she stopped on her tracks, still looking forward.
“I assume you remember our arranged meeting ter, Mr. Luca?” Luca felt a shiver down his spine, but he knew he had to keep the situation in control, so he stopped rubbing his face (wiping the smirk off of it) and stood straight, his hands behind his back, trying to appear as decent and proper as possible.
“Yes, Director Caushmar. I’ll be there.”
“Good.” She then tilted her head ever so slightly to look to her right. “Mr. Tarnul? Would you be so kind as to accompany me?”
“Hmph.” Preston’s face reflected satisfaction. “Of course, Director, it fills my heart with joy that you want to share your break with me.” Luca would’ve shuddered at the rich man’s brown nosing, but the director’s gaze was locked onto him.
“Good, gd to see you are enthusiastic.” Preston walked confidently and positioned himself between the two guards that trailed the director as she began walking once again. “It’ll make it easier for you to receive reprimand for initiating a fight on university grounds.”
Luca had received joy for a couple things in Zenith, and meeting Alyska or being able to support his family were, of course, still number 1. But seeing Preston’s face fall as he realized what situation he found himself in? That definitely made the top 5.
When the director was already a couple feet away, Luca bumped Cory’s and Alyska’s arms with his elbows and began walking outside quietly; both of them followed; Luca could hear Cory’s attempts to not ugh excited as they walked outside and made their way into the inner walls; once inside them and sure to be out of earshot, they felt comfortable enough to talk again.
“DUDE!!!” Cory excimed, a smile from ear to ear and looking at Luca. Luca chuckled as Alyska grabbed her knees and caught her breath. “WHAT. THE. FUCK.” Luca sighed and shrugged.
“What?” Luca said nonchantly, teasing them both.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT!?!” Both said at the same time, one excited, the other horrified.
“I-I- Okay, let me expin myself.” Luca caught his breath and stopped ughing. “I heard the armored guards coming, and I knew they were escorting someone because, why else would they be there right? And this guy wouldn’t want to be caught misbehaving by someone important, so I just kept provoking him until he hit me.”
“But how did you know he was going to hit you?” Asked Alyska, slowly catching her breath.
“I’ve seen that type before; they win the battles making the other angry, but if they don’t understand something, they get mad!” Luca shrugged once more. “If you don’t fall into their game, that’s the best way to provoke them.” Luca had seen plenty of people fighting in his life, mostly from when he helped his mother when she walked at the local tavern; after all, one of the few things people did when they passed through the town was go to the tavern and get drunk. Over his younger years he saw more fights than he could count; his mother, however, avoided many of said fights through sheer people skills, and she then taught Luca how to avoid fights to protect him, inadvertently also teaching him how to start them. Luca wasn’t the violent type, but even he knew how sometimes one or two punches needed to fly in order for one to thrive in such a world; this applied even more now in Zenith.
“Holy shit Luca.” Cory leaned back and crossed his arms. ”I’ll be honest, I didn’t peg you like the kind of guy that actually does good in the big city, but gods be damned if that wasn’t cold.” Cory took a step forward and gave him a light friendly punch in the arm. “If I ever need some guy out, I now know to rely on you.”
“W-Well hold on, I don’t exactly-”
“Too te! You are now my number 1 contact for emergencies.” Cory patted Luca’s arm pyfully; a second ter he was looking confused at his arm and squeezing it. “...hm…”
“Something wrong, Cory?” Asked Alyska.
“Ah!” Cory pulled his arm back, and Luca could swear he looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I uh... Anyway! I got css, so see y'all ter.” Cory then walked away, waving behind him. “Nice to meet you, Aly!”
“Pleasure to meet you, Cory.” Alyska giggled happily, probably at the prospect of making a new friend.
“See you ter, L.C.!”
"Bye, Co-eh, no!”
“Shit! I’ll find it, I promise!” Cory pointed back and winked as he finally left. Luca felt his heart flutter, but he shook his head and redirected his attention to Alyska.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes, we shall.” Said Alyska.
Both of them made their way to the nearest lifting ptform, which was now in the docking station in the fortress, so Alyska pressed the nearby button stand and both waited for the ptform to slowly descend. As they waited, Luca took a couple deep breaths, preparing himself for the ptform.
“Still not used to it, huh?” She asked calmly.
“Heh, yeah it-” Luca’s world froze for a second; there it was, the opportunity. “Honestly, I don’t know how I’ve done it this many times... without help.”
“WE-” She cleared her throat to kill the enthusiasm in her voice. “Well, I’m here so... I could help you.” Luca was still looking up at the ptform; this was it, the perfect chance; he just had to be careful and phrase it correctly.
“...” The words wouldn’t come out. Luca was tired of the feeling; not being able to do something infuriated him, but he didn’t have to feel this way anymore; he had confronted thing after thing, so decided to have everything not take a massive effort, he spoke. “... Hey Aly, i-if it’s not too much to ask, could we hol-”
“Yes.” Her hand grabbed his, and by instinct, his grabbed hers back. Luca took a deep breath through his nose, and as the ptform reached the ground, he felt calm once again.
“Thank you…” He muttered as they both got onto the ptform. While it slowly rose, Luca closed his eyes and rexed—a very needed break from all the thinking.
“Hey Luca?”
“Hm? Yeah?”
“It’s just…” She looked at the ground and then at him. “I don’t know; I also didn’t take you as the guy that would do that, you know?”
“What, the provoking thing?” Alyska nodded silently; her face had a bit of worry on it. “I don’t know... He started it. He yelled at you; he pushed Cory... ” Thinking about it, it was odd, Where did that all come from? “I guess I just got defensive.”
“A-And it’s good! Don’t get me wrong, thank you for doing it; the man definitely deserved it, but...” She squeezed his hand. “I don’t want you to get in trouble, Luca; you said it yourself; this is a good opportunity, not only for you but for all your people.” Luca nodded, slightly ashamed of his actions now. “Just... be careful, okay?”
“I’ll try Aly.”
“You better.” She said in a jokingly commanding tone. The ptform reached the station, and both of them walked forward, only to find the doors of the fortress open and multiple people pouring in and out of it, running from pce to pce, a big contrast to how Luca saw it before, almost completely empty.
“You think something happened?” Asked Luca.
“Let’s hope not; should we go to the cssrooms to wait? I think they are on the second floor; maybe it’s not as crowded there.”
“...Sure.” A bad feeling found its way up Luca’s back; maybe it was the amount of people or the rush they were all in, but something didn’t feel right.
As they made their way through the wave of guards and janitors, Luca noticed how no one seemed to actually look stressed or nervous; they all had calm faces, and some even exchanged some words with others as they ran through the hallways. Was this normal? Were they used to this? To Luca, it all seemed chaotic, but perhaps there was an order to it all, an order he just wasn’t seeing.
“Wouldn’t want to lose a gold in this crowd.” Joked Luca. He walked behind Alyska to reduce the space they occupied, but he still held her hand as she led him.
“Hah, it would probably be gone before hitting the ground.” She responded as they made their way to the main hall.
The stairs were completely crowded with employees going up and down. Most were wearing uniforms and some were wearing armor, but between them, few wore leather armor, and Luca didn’t notice a single leather armor person going down; instead, they all went to the second floor.
“Should we go to the stairs on the left hallway?” Alyska asked before noticing the worried look on Luca’s face. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah, just... lots of people you know?” Luca smiled at her, trying to remain calm, but in truth, the number of people wasn't his biggest concern. His gut told him something bad happened, but then again he always felt uneasy here in the city of the fair and just. “Let’s go to the other set of stairs, yeah.
“Okay.” She squeezed his hand, not totally convinced of him being fine but deciding to trust him.
Making their way through the hallways wasn’t easy, and Alyska even got bumped into while going up the stairs that found themselves next to the doctor's office, but she managed to maintain her footing, and they both got to the upstairs hallway.
“Where did you say the cssrooms were?”
“Other hallway, we are taking the long way there.” She had to almost yell for him to hear her. The flow of people went to the left, almost pushing them there, so that way they followed the crowd.
“I hear it’s best to call it the scenic route.” Joked Luca once more; it brought him joy hearing her ugh.
“Not much scenery to see here, besides the people.” She responded, and he would’ve responded too, if it weren’t for a scream piercing the air.
“MAKE WAAAAAY! FOR THE MINISTER OF COIN, MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL AND VETERAN OF ZENITH: THADDEUS ALEXANDER REGENS1Pronounced as THAI-dee-uus al-ig-ZAAN-duh REE-gehns.”
In an instant, the scene shifted; no longer were Luca and Alyska fighting through a crowd to try and get towards their cssrooms; now instead they stood with their backs pressed to the wall, like everybody else that was in the hallway. The urgency of the situation had changed, and everyone was now in the same position. The two novices had been dragged into that position by the crowd, but the announcement of the minister of coin’s arrival was all they needed to know.
“... Luca…” Alyska whispered, her voice straining from the fear.
“... J-Just do what everyone does…” Luca whispered back, trying to console her; the task proved difficult, solely because of his own fear. He squeezed her hand and she copied it.
His ears rang because of the sudden silence that filled the hallway, only filled by the steps of two people. After a second, the first one walked in, and without even looking, Luca’s blood already froze.
Every muscle screamed to him to run, to get out of there and escape. His very instinct was to avoid being in sight of the man that walked in front of him; he couldn’t see him, but the idea that a wretched vampire, a creature of the night that feasts on the lives of people, was just in front of him… somehow, someway, he had to get out of there. Luca felt his body heat up and start to quiver in fear, but by some hidden strength, he was able to remain still with his head down as the two figures walked in front of him, suddenly stopping a couple feet from where they were.
“My pride and joy.” The voice was rough yet eloquent, fluid and slightly raspy.
“Yes, father?” The second voice was smoother, indifference clear in it, monotonous.
“A young d, with hair of crimson and valiant heart such as thine in thy younger years, is that not what the previous director told me was the appearance of his recent... protege?” Kreaspell, how many people did he tell!? Probably those in the council thinking about it. Did all of them have an issue with him?!
“I believe it was father, word for word, such as you retold me after he told you, bless his soul.”
Every fiber of his being wished for the man to ignore him, but it was too te, and the steps he heard towards him were predicted, but not for that less dreaded.
“Ah, and is that not, but the very description of the man that stands before me?” He stopped walking right in front of him; Luca could see his shoes, which looked expensive; benefits of being the minister of coin supposedly; he would have ughed if he wasn’t so focused on not dying there and then.
“I wouldn’t say so, father.”
“Oh?”
“Well, though young, there’s no way to see if his heart is truly valiant, also; It’s more of a scarlet than a crimson.” The man in front of him let out a hearty ugh.
“YES! I suppose you are correct, my son.” The minister bent over slightly, trying to get a better look at his face, but Luca continued looking at the ground, no matter how terrifying the images his brain made of the figure he saw on his peripheral vision were. “After all... we do know our reds, don’t we?” A low chuckle was all Luca could hear after he closed his eyes shut, desperately trying to slow down his beating heart and to keep control of his bdder. “Tell me your name, boy. Tell the name of the man who was worth sacrificing our reputation for.” Luca couldn’t wake up from the nightmare; it was a strange feeling, contradicting every urge in his body, but even if he wanted to, he couldn’t speak.
“Luca... his na-” Alyska’s voice, though cut short, made him open his eyes. Luca felt the air shift as the man was suddenly standing to his left and bending down to meet Alyska’s gaze, though she was still looking at the ground, terrified.
“AH! Thank you, young maiden. And tell me, What is the name of the woman who dared speak in my presence when not given permission?” Somehow, Luca felt worse, Alyska didn’t do anything; she wasn’t wrongfully invited; it wasn’t fair.
“A-Alyska Eain, o-of Pide… sir.” Her voice was rightfully trembling, and it cracked on every other word. It was incredible how she held back tears.
“Aaaaah, the Eains, yes, I know that name.” Finally he straightened his posture and looked down at her, giving her some space to breathe. “Shame, I remember an old head of the family, begging and begging to every other major house for a chance of becoming their acquaintance, truly obsessed with getting their glory from the old days back that one hehe… Son, uh, what generation was the man I’m speaking off? It was George or Gorge…”
“Jorge Eain, sir?”
“WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT SPEAKING OUT OF TURN GIRL?” Suddenly the man was near her face again, screaming at the top of his lungs. Luca peeked to see around; everyone was looking at the floor the same as him, ignoring the situation as the man yelled to Alyska, acting as if they didn’t care for what was happening. “LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING YOU INSOLENT LITTLE STAIN. I DON’T CARE IF YOUR BOOTLICKER OF A FATHER TAUGHT YOU TO SPEAK WHENEVER YOU WANT, BUT WHEN YOU HEAR MY VOICE, YOU BEST BELIEVE NOTHING SHALL INTERRUPT IT; THE BIRDS STOP SINGING, THE WIND STOPS BLOWING, EVERY SOUND ABOVE THE SOIL STOPS WHEN I-” A single step echoed through the hall, the shift from loud to silence once again bringing a ring to Luca’s ears.
He didn’t know what came over him; maybe it was the same thing that made him confront that Preston guy, but suddenly, Luca was a step forward from where he was a second ago, and he was looking up to the face of the minister of coin; and as if the sight of a true vampire wasn’t enough, his wretched gaze matched Luca’s as he took in every detail of his face.
In truth, he didn’t look much different from a human; despite his pale white (almost gray) skin and the two big fangs that peeked from his open mouth as he stared at Luca in disbelief, he looked like any other human man in his forties. His hair was long and silvery; it flowed down to his shoulders and rested upon them; his facial hair was no more than a slim mustache and a goatee, all also white; his eyes were a dark red and his cheekbones were defined; all in all, Luca found the slightest bit of comfort in seeing that the once human man that was now before him still looked human enough.
“Hmm… Valiant heart...” Said the alleged son of the minister, which now Luca saw was a figure in dark robes covered by an equally dark hood that obscured his features; he was slightly shorter than himself, that was all Luca could tell.
He wanted to say something, apologize, or tell him off, but suddenly that didn’t matter. Luca felt a grip on his neck as the man grabbed him by the throat; an instant ter his hand wasn't holding Alyska's, the air was blowing past him, and a sharp pain hit the middle of his back, spreading to the rest of his body. The hand came back and gripped his throat again; Luca was now pinned in the air against the wall at the end of the hallway, the one previously to his right; the pain on his back was strong, but he managed to open his eyes to a sight that struck panic into his very soul. The minister was taller than him by a head, and he was now held above his face pressed on the wall; his face different from what it was a second ago. His eyes were sunken like those on a corpse, though the eyeballs remained, with a red sclera that appeared filled with blood and contracted pupils that focused on his own eyes. His face reflected anger in the most extreme way; his teeth were on full dispy as his face extended, his jaw now even more slender, and his cheeks were almost showing bone. His fangs were now rger, and his ears had extended more; his hair floated as if it were in water, and his skin turned a purplish hue; all in all, seeing a human face contorted in such a way so close to him, and his body still yelling at him to escape, showed to be too much for Luca, as the tears started flowing and his voice came out hitched.
"P-Please, I-I-I didn-”
“WHO DO YOU THINK I AM BOY!?” His voice was deformed, a mix of what it sounded like before, a screech and a low bellow straight from a nightmare. “I’VE MANAGED THIS CITY SINCE YOUR ANCESTORS LEARNED TO USE A TOILET, AND YOU THINK YOU ARE WORTHY OF STEPPING UP TO ME? THAT YOU HAVE ANY POSSIBILITY AT ALL OF BESTING ME IN ANY WAY?” A strange and horrifying sensation; the minister’s bony yet strong fingers that wrapped around his throat as his hands grew bigger, pierced his skin, and inserted themselves into his flesh. Luca could only scream, but it was quickly silenced by a screech from the very man who threatened his life. “I COULD KILL YOU IN ANY MOMENT, AND IT’D BE LIFETIMES SINCE I’D HAVE TO THINK ABOUT YOU AGAIN. THE ONLY REASON YOU AND YOUR KIND ARE ALIVE IS BECAUSE MINE IS MERCIFUL. But don’t mistake me for any other undead fiend roamer boy; I don’t tolerate impertinence, and much less for you.” Luca felt the cold breath hit his face as the tears fell down it and the minister’s face got ever closer, extending his features even more and making him look monstrous, demonic even. “NOW, I give you permission to speak, boy. Is there something you want to say to me?!” Luca couldn’t even fathom speaking; he could almost not fathom breathing as his throat closed up, the fingers still magically piercing it, the pain seizing his jaw in a constant clench. “SPEAK!”
“I-I’M SORRY!” It came out on its own; his tries to follow up with his apologies, however, came out as incoherent mumbles. Finally the minister released his throat, and Luca dropped to the ground, crying and sobbing as he put his hands on his own throat to check it was all okay. The minister looked at him from above as he sat on the ground, and Luca was able to breathe in a slight relief as the man left and his son followed; however, his relief would be short-lived; killed by the words that filled the silence.
“Tell someone to clean the spot, thank you.” The voice of the cloaked figure was distant but didn’t come unheard, and as Luca cleaned tears from his eyes, he gazed down at a puddle of his own urine, released at some point during the frightening encounter.
Horrified, Luca stood up, his pants were now wet and warm, and his eyes shot around. Everyone in the hallway focused on him, peering at his face and at the mess he made. Some chuckled lightly, and others looked with pity at Luca, but then his embarrassment turned mortifying.
“Luca…” Alyska’s voice set something in him abze.
Luca started running, not wanting to look at her in the face. He heard his name being called but didn’t turn back, and as everyone returned to their duties like nothing happened, and Luca avoided the crowd that resumed their movements best he could, as he ran towards his dorm as fast as his legs would carry him, the pair of immortal creatures walked down the hallway, but only the younger one looked back to see the scarlet-haired man crying and running down the stairs with pants a shade darker than before.
Time: 13:58
