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Gael fought back the tears in his eyes and mourned for his mother in silence. He walked inside with Leviathan in front of him. It appeared that he was too afraid to face the Countess. Leviathan bowed, but it was not low enough for Gael to be seen.
"My lady. Forgive my tardiness. I was helping the young sir with his attire." He said.
"You are forgiven, Leviathan." She paused. Gael could sense that she was looking for him. "And the boy?"
Leviathan stepped aside and kneeled at Gael's side.
"He's here, milady."
Gael noticed the three other servants, if he can recall their names, they were: Kuro, Shiro and Aiko. Each of them had different colored hair—Aiko had maroon-colored hair, Kuro had black hair and Shiro, like Leviathan, had white hair but with a black streak on it. Each of them wore black suits, Shiro and Aiko wore skirts with their suits given that they're women.
As he was examining their looks, Gael barely heard Daria and stood to attention.
"So, you're Gael de Nero." She said, slowly fanning herself with her paper fan.
He stiffened. He never felt so intimidated before. He found it difficult to answer her.
"Y-Yes, ma'am. Forgive me for staring. I just.."
"No worries, boy." She hummed and continued to fan herself. The silence was making him a bit uncomfortable and impatient. He needed answers: Why is he here? Why did they take him in? How long will he stay here? And why did she let him live?
He noticed a little light in Daria's eyes.
"Gael, Leviathan here has told me that you might have some questions regarding the event that happened two days ago. If so, then out with it. I didn't call you here for nothing." She said.
Gael stood to attention. Two days? He was asleep for two days straight? "Wait, that was two days ago? I thought it was last night."
"Yes. It was two days ago. The blood that you drank took a long time for you to heal because you aren't what we are. So it needed more time to adjust into your blood system and to heal your wounds." She replied nonchalantly.
He tried to relax, but even that was a challenge for him. He isn't what they are? What does that mean?
Clearing his throat, he asked, "Not to be rude, but I have no other way to ask this question." He gulped. "What are you? Alongside with your servants."
Daria's eyes began to glow a deep shade of red and deeply chuckled.
"Well, aren't you a straightforward young man? How quaint. I, young man, am exactly what your father was: a vampire. Don't misinterpret my words though, boy. Not all vampires are like him. We are not cold-blooded killers like he was. No, no. He was among the Luscents."
She waved her hand at Kuro. He nodded his head and walked out of the room and came back with a glass filled with a red liquid which Gael suspected was blood.
"What are the Luscents?"
"The Luscents are vampires that abuse their powers. Their souls are impure and vile and lose all sanity at the first sight of blood whether it's theirs, a relative or the average Joe's. They don't even care if it's from a dead rat. They become bloodthirsty and won't stop until they are satisfied; which is, in other words, until they suck their prey dry.
Also, Luscents cannot turn humans to vampires. They would just become mindless and violent slaves. The vampires that are born into a Luscent family become human over time. And by the smell of you," She pauses to inhale deeply. "You are fully human."
"Are there any other types of vampires?" Gael asked, with full interest.
"Yes, there are Cysts and the Geos. The Cysts are the mindless, soulless vampires. Despite that, they are still able. You might wonder, 'Why do they end up like this and how?' Well, that is because they either have avoided drinking or they were turned and never drank afterwards, thus became a Cyst. Just like Kuro, Shiro and Aiko for example. As for Leviathan, that is a story for another time.
As for the Geos, we are pure-blooded. We can control our bloodlust, but can only go on for a few months at best. Some of us bring justice, some are good enough to become royalty and some, if they prefer it, go solo. We are, in fact, the 'good guys', trustworthy. The only vampire race who can turn people into vampires."
Gael found it hard to process this. Vampires exists. And after all this time, he realized he was living with one. He wondered if his mother knew that her husband was a vampire. So many questions came with astonishing answers.
He began to get more interested and eagerly asked, "Do you have any weaknesses? Are there any more creatures out there? Does.."
Daria clicked her tongue and cut him off.
"One question at a time, boy. I'm not an answering machine."
He clamped his mouth shut, feeling warmth in his cheeks.
"Yes, we do have weaknesses. Severing the head and a wooden stake to the heart is an instant death for us. To kill a Cyst—not that it's necessary—you need silver. Silver drains a Cyst's blood and stuns them, thus killing them since they can't take it out on their own. As for the Luscents, silver burns their skin, but it does not kill or stun them. Silver drains a Geo's blood if pierced into our skin but it's not enough to kill us. However, it does make us weak and vulnerable and unable to get the silver out on our own. Therefore, we would need someone else to take it out and get us some blood to recover from the blood loss.
"The scent of garlic weakens all vampire's senses—mostly the nose—but it poses no threat otherwise. Well, if consumed, it causes swelling in the throat for a few hours. Luscents and Cysts are immune to the sun, but burns the Geos alive after being exposed to it for more than a minute. And don't think that they can simply walk out with an umbrella or after wearing a lot of sunscreen.
And for your information, vampires cannot eat human food. It's like chewing plastic—tasteless and stale.
And as for your second question—yes, there are other creatures out there. But the only living creatures are witches, werewolves and phantoms. We all keep our distances from one another and we don't interfere with each other's affairs as long as it doesn't affect us in any way. The only way for us to communicate with each other is through business or if there is a threat and we might need backup." She explained.
"I have one more question." He said.
"Yes?"
"What happens if someone from another species attacks someone from another species? For example; a vampire attacks a werewolf and vice versa."
Daria thought for a while.
"Well, if a vampire bites a werewolf, that werewolf would be in agony for a long time and when they stop writhing in pain, they would turn into a human and would forget everything. Who they were, what they were doing and so on. If preferred, the vampire would turn that werewolf into a Cyst, but they would no longer be a werewolf. And if a werewolf scratches a vampire, that vampire would have that scar and anyone who sees it will know that they will be hunted for life and any werewolf who sees that scar will do whatever it takes to kill them because that scar shows that they threatened their species.
A witch can cast numerous spells. If a witch wants to attack a werewolf or a vampire, she can just cast a dangerous spell with no name, and the vampire would wither into ashes. As for the werewolf, they would become a statue and sleep for eternity until the witch herself sets it free, but the wolf would only be in its wolf form, never to turn human again.
The phantoms are too dangerous to be around. They are always in caves or graveyards or even in forests at night. No one has ever had the nerve to encounter a phantom because goodness knows what happens when a phantom attacks."
There was one more question that was aching to come out. His heart was almost bleeding because he won't ask and the question was screaming in his ear. As much as he wanted to ask it, he found it rude so he bit his tongue.
"Gael de Nero," She called.
"Y-Yes?" He timidly answered.
Daria paused to look at him. She snapped her paper fan shut and held it out to Kuro, who took it without hesitation. She stood up from her chair and walked towards him, her silk garments gliding across the floor. Besides him, Leviathan, who was still kneeling, stiffened and bowed his head.
Daria slowly kneeled. Her eyes—which are know meeting with Gael's—are looking at him with such gentleness that made her seem different.
"You are free to ask any question. You are free to speak your mind. No matter how rude or inappropriate it may sound." She said.
Gael gulped, finding the right words.
"Why did you take me in?" He asked. An eerie silence followed. Gael could not read the look on her face. It was blank, almost emotionless. She was beautiful, yet terrifying. Dark, yet comforting. It was the type that would traumatize you if she gets upset. It was also the type that would appear in your nightmares.
She lifted her hand and cupped his bony cheek and replied bluntly, "I couldn't leave you behind."
She stood up and continued, "Ever since the tragic event two days ago, I decided to not leave you to remember what you saw. And if I left you, you probably would have died the next day. And since you already consumed my blood, the only thing that is left is to turn you and erase your memory."
Gael's breath hitched. He should've known about this, let alone thought. He should've seen this coming.
"Being a vampire is a wonderful gift, boy. A gift that gives you so much. Speed, strength, heightened senses and an everlasting life that can never be compromised by sickness, age or death. Forgive me for saying this, but we can never let you go seeing that you know too much. Please understand your position here; you don't have a choice."
Daria was right—even though he hated to admit it.
"Gael de Nero, are you ready to join us?" She said, holding her hand out to him.
He contemplated for a moment. It's either do or die. He doesn't have a say in this. Then again, when was he ever given a choice? But this is his chance to refresh his life. He will finally be given the freedom he craved for. A chance to live an immortal life where nothing gets in his way. It's depressing, however, that he will forget about his mother.
"But, what about my mother? Will I forget about her?" He asked, eyes stinging with tears.
Daria's brows began to furrow. "Unfortunately. But even though she died as a human, she lives in your memories, your mind, heart and soul. I won't erase her, just her death."
Gael wiped his tears, lifted his head high and gave her a firm nod.
"Yes, I'm ready."
Daria chuckled and smirked.
"That's all I wanted to hear. Now," She paused, kneeling once more, "look into my eyes and relax. Look and forget the cruel life you live and awaken into a new, better life."
Gael's whole world began to spin. His vision began to blur. He felt sick and dizzy. He could hear his heartbeat as he fell into a blanket of darkness. His breathing quickened and he heard his pulse thump faster in his chest as it grew louder. A great amount of pain was felt in his neck. His lungs burned. His breath slowed down and the pain stopped. His heartbeat stopped and that was when his life as Gael de Nero died and his new life as Gael van Sergio began.
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