I woke up on the kitchen floor of the Ocean swarm with sweat drenching my forehead.
…I see, it's that dream again.
The unending dream of the world where the dead wait for me. Normally it only appears after the completion of each task given by the officials back at the orphanage. When I left, it disappeared as though a phantom. But it suddenly reappeared for the first time in two years since I arrived in Terdia. What scares me was the new face that joined the ranks of the dead.
I was on the verge of sitting up and yelling, but a small weight on my abdomen pulled forth my hesitation. It is the little ball of fur that is sleeping on me. I was trying to remember the reason behind such an occurrence when a voice called out to me.
"Nightmare?" (Cheff)
"…Don't you need sleep?" (Me)
"Not until they leave." (Cheff)
It is likely the past experiences of his adventuring times that Cheff had. If I have to force myself, I can probably do it too, but there is no reason to compete. I scooped the furball off my abdomen, looked around, before deciding to lay it on top of Selena's forehead. I would love to put it on Mark, but what lay ahead is only a foreseeable disaster, so I abstained myself.
I am about to open the door to the backyard when Cheff stops me.
"Where are you going?" (Cheff)
"Washing my face." (Me)
"And then?" (Cheff)
"Morning run. Why do you think I have no belly like you?" (Me)
Annoyed, I fired back a rude remark, but Cheff paid it no mind. Instead, my hazy sight tells me of his tensed right hand beside him.
"You're still suspecting me?" (Me)
"It doesn't hurt to be careful." (Cheff)
"I ate garlic, maybe twice a week." (Me)
"It doesn't change that you could talk to them." (Cheff)
"Then how about you join me for a run then?" (Me)
"Then nobody will be here." (Cheff)
Cheff, your eyes are telling me that more than keeping your employees safe, you just don't want to run…
"You've got a hostage." (Me)
I pointed at the furball on top of Selena's face.
"Something you don't really seem to care about." (Cheff)
"Then why bother saving it in the first place?" (Me)
"Bank." (Cheff)
I sighed. Look, calling that furball a blood bank is too much. How much do you actually think I'm on the side of the vampires? Or that I'm going to do something bad to this place?
"Stop it Cheff, you're being too obstinate. I'll be back before sunrise and prepping the food like I always do. If you're so suspicious…" (Me)
I reached for the dagger behind me, making Cheff apprehensive. But rather than drawing it from the scabbard, I grabbed the entire thing altogether, scabbard and all, and placed it on the table.
"And I don't know about that, but since you can use it I think you can see that I can't." (Me)
With that ambiguous note on magic, I took one last suspecting look behind, ignored him and left.
***
After washing my face roughly with the hose, I wiped my dripping face with my shirt and left through the backyard. Normally I would begin my routine from my house, but since this time I'm at the Ocean Swarm, I decided on running back home, before continuing on the usual route.
Well, I want to run a little longer today since there is quite a bit on my mind.
Of course, there are the things that Cheff and I talked about the night before, but it is also a fact that Cheff doesn't know everything.
For instance, the unique skills of the princess. Not one, but two.
Firstly, the ability to discern the truth. It is the moment when her eyes turn crimson from her ability upon activation. This is a characteristic skill of vampires, but it is wrong to say that it is a common ability possessed by every vampire. In fact, it is rare and said to be held only by the pure blooded; even so, not every pure blood possesses it. By staring at the person during or after he or she speaks with the said eyes of crimson, the user of the ability is able to discern the truth.
This is a skill that is not many know of, but it couldn't be said that it is entirely hidden either. It is indeed inscribed on a few books, so I can only think that not many people have seen them. Or since 'seeing is believing', the readers probably thought of it as a farce, until those that come across the truth are killed off to conceal the truth.
Faced with this ability, one is unable to spin lies undiscovered. When I realised the princess is a vampire, I immediately confirmed the pure blood running in her veins and the possibility of such a skill. The word 'truly' which she said is an indicator to her wariness of my words, and since there was no method to identify the truth except using this skill, I concluded that she did possess this skill.
Of course, seeing how well she hid her expression on our first encounter, it could have been a false show of her own, but the pride of vampire nobility and royalty are not to be underestimated. Regardless, I spoke words that did not elucidate whole truths, so I was able to get by serving the princess using this loophole.
Even with this shocking ability, it still does not undermine the second unique skill of the princess. It is said in vampire legends, that holders of the crimson eyes of truth have a chance of an even rarer ability: mind reading. More than distinguishing falsity from words, this allows a vampire to expose exact information from someone's thoughts to themselves.
It is a frightening ability. Granted, there exists magic in this world that reads thoughts, but most mages need to chant before casting magic. As an innate ability, the vampire is able to use it in discretion, and with higher efficiency than even mages capable of voiceless incantations. It isn't a joke that I eluded the princess purely by chance.
When the princess told me that I am different from other humans, I felt my trained senses giving off danger alarms in my head. I did my best blanking my mind by concentrating at surrounding objects while trying my best not to look away from the princess out of disrespect, until her words signal the end of it all.
Initially, the princess spoke to me in my mind, probably a side-ability from the mind reading skill. She likely did so to prompt my mind into giving her answers against my will, which I somehow avoided by luck. Of course, she can get answers simply without prompting my mind, but it would be akin to searching for one particular fish in the sea. By exciting the mind into focusing on an exact thought, the task of mind reading becomes much easier.
Mind reading works on anyone, but being able to hear and converse using the mind is not everyone is capable of. If she knew that I can hear her, I would have likely see no end to trouble. That was why I blanked my mind to not react to her mind message.
Of course, prompting the mind could also be done by normally speaking, but I am guessing that the princess probably didn't want anyone, including her followers, to know about her mind reading skill. With so much said, it still remains a fact that mind reading is a frightening skill, and a skill the vampire princess has.
I could not remember exactly since I was desperately avoiding her question in my mind, but I vaguely recall that she spoke of a purpose. Without doubt, this purpose is the reason behind her journey, and the incident of the retainer. As to what it is, I can only guess its significance when the princess willingly used mind reading, a skill she insists on concealing, on me regards to this purpose.
Not to forget the immeasurable power hidden in the princess. Back then when she was about to raise her hand at the guard, I was expressionless. But behind that mask of mine is a trembling face of pure fear just at the sight of her raising her hand, albeit halfway. It felt like a foreboding sense of a massacre.
I just want a peaceful life and someday realise my dream as a non-alcoholic bartender, but somehow I got dragged into something huge against my will.
As though responding to my desires to run away from this looming problem, my legs worked harder and subconsciously brought my run into a full sprint.
When I finally realise where I am, I slow down into a jog and begin to cool down my body. The sparse vegetation around me gives me a sense of tranquillity. This place I always pass though never fails to prepare my agitated heart for the best serenity I experience every morning – the river. Coupled with the cool wind before dawn, I begin to feel lighter…
My feet came to an unnatural stop.
That's because, the wind which I always delightedly inhale in, is filled with a stench of blood.
…There is no mistaking it, the smell is strong; so much so that I can't help but wonder who the victim is.
With my supposed morning soothing session shattered by this abnormal development, my already agitated heart only worsened and palpitated faster. For some reason, the dream I had just a while ago came to my mind.
That new face. The new identity that appeared in the ranks of the dead.
Spurred by this sense of anxiety, my rigid legs start to move once again.
Move faster, move faster.
I did not stop until I reached the clearing where the river is. When I finally arrive, the sight of what I would have always called peaceful, is painted over by dread.
The river that was supposed to be clear is dyed red. What used to reflect the clear view of the stars now turned translucent, barely even able to show the moon. As my eyes travelled along upstream, I see the main cause of this sanguinary transformation.
A spear… no, that is far too long and thick to be a spear. Rather, a stake pierced the river deep into the riverbed at an angle, and along with it impaled a human figure altogether. The silhouette slouched over the inclined stake, its body yet to fall due to the support of the stake. Blood flowed along the shaft of the stake before dripping into the river. As though a display of cruelty and ruthlessness, the river – now already dyed red – continued to flow heartlessly. The scene feels like an abstract idea for a severe punishment, except that the survival of the victim is unlikely.
"How… This, cannot be." (Me)
The scene before me and my dream melded together like a vile and abhorrent blend, almost too much for me to swallow. I haven't even finished connecting the dots to this overwhelming story, and my sight already travelled to the face of the victim…
My eyes met with the lifeless eyes of the vampire princess.