"A lot has happened since you last set foot in the kingdom, and by a lot, I mean two centuries' worth of stuff." Elissa began. Her tone was more casual now that they were on full stomachs. It is always advisable to eat first before doing anything triggering for vampires, and in this case, if they were to fight, Elissa wouldn't be the one picking up teeth on the floor. Marcus would. That was why he opted that they feed first. He believes that food has a magical effect on anger; either that people don't get angry when full or that most people, if fed well enough to their fill, would be too tired to fight, much less argue over petty issues. Right now, Marcus was counting on that.
"I know that." Marcus's reply sounded a bit aggressive, and he immediately apologized. He did not know why, but he felt an urge to. "I am sorry. It is of my knowledge that I have not been to the Kingdom in a lot many years."
"Don't sweat it. Loosen up a bit." Elissa encouraged him. "You are too tight right now. And that is making me uncomfortable."
"Is it? I'm sorry."
"Please, let's just continue, shall we?" Marcus now felt embarrassed more than ever.
"There you go again. I am not angry with you. At least not entirely, just a paltry sixty percent- that is official kingdom business. We are cool for the rest, I suppose. Unless you have something on your chest that you would like to share?" Elissa reassured the vampire sitted across her.
"No, I don't think so. Please, let's continue, shall we?" Marcus now felt embarrassed more than ever.
"Good. Now, what was I to say?" Her mind drifted a while to capture the essential thoughts she had that seemed to have wandered off. "Oh yeah. Kingdom business. Urgent ones first."
"I am all ears." Marcus moved closer to her, bridging the gap between them. He felt a sudden urge to clasp his hands together but fought it. Elissa's words were reassuring to the ear, but he figured that his control over the usual involuntary body actions caused by fear were out of his reach. Controlling his pose was critical in showing that he was still in control. If he didn't, Elissa would notice and it would be a big deal. She always notices. When she did, it would imply that Marcus was not comfortable, and one thing Elissa hated was repeating herself. They both knew where that road would lead, and it was not a pretty destination. Not at all.
" Okay. A lot has happened since you were last on Kingdom soil. Two hundred years is a lot of time, so I will have to filter everything that happened back at home and concentrate on the more important ones." Elissa began. "The King is still alive and well. Not a hundred percent well, like ninety percent well."
"May the gods grant him strength." They both rehearsed out loud. It was mandatory as per the Kingdom's rules but wishing that the King be filled with never-ending strength was a show of loyalty to the Crown. It was instilled in their very DNA since they were turned.
"The entire Kingdom is flourishing, agriculture-wise. Things are going relatively well if you take the war out of the picture. It has been a prosperous two centuries in major sectors apart from the defense and armory. There is a lot to talk about, but there is so much time one can tell about the happy stories from home while we are facing the worst predicament I have witnessed in my five centuries of existence. That brings us to our main issue." Elissa stood up and headed for the counter, and poured herself a glass of water. Marcus is never once left his seat.
"All this talking is making me thirsty. Just a minute." Elissa gulped on her water, savoring its taste as she did with literally anything that went into her mouth. 'Makes you enjoy the little pleasures of life,' she always said. Marcus just watched, meek as ever.
"In a nutshell, we are losing the war," Elissa said casually as she sat down, something that took Marcus aback.
"What do you mean we are losing the war?" He inquired. What bothered him was not the losing part but was rather the way Elissa said it. It was as if it wasn't important. She said it as if one were talking of an everyday occurrence. 'I am going to sleep tonight.' That kind of normal. Losing a war wasn't normal, at least not to Marcus. In his entire life, the Kingdom had never lost a war. A few battles had not gone in favor of the regiment, but that was all his dictionary had in terms of loss. Losing a war was completely out of the picture.
"If I remember well, you left the kingdom before the war. As I said earlier, a lot has happened in two hundred years. The war started, we were on the brink of winning, some shit happened that turned the tables on our faces, and now we are almost losing. Not exactly a picnic now, is it?" Talking of their loss seemed to agitate to the older vampire of the two.
"What of the freeze-frame? What happened to that?" Marcus asked, careful of his words. It was a critical issue, and as per Elissa's tone, a little silly slip would mean an undesired confrontation.
"That worked for the first century and a half. We were frozen in time, but for old vampires like me and a few of the King's guard to oversee the natural effects of the freeze. The crops had to be taken care of; animals tended to, people fed. It was peaceful. The King held his ground at the Mountain, slowing down time while accelerating it at the same time. The former for the enemies' disadvantage and the latter for our benefit. It was a genius idea that bought us a hundred and fifty years to strategize ourselves for the war while waiting for Thunder, which begs the question, where is she?"
"I… hmmm... She is…" Marcus stammered.
"She is…" Elissa urged him on.
"I found her this week. There has been progress on that front." Marcus hoped that the dust worked on Kate and that they had a clean slate. It would be bad to lie to Elissa twice if she turned out to be hostile towards him and his cause.
"Good. That is the best news I have heard this entire year. Now, where is she?" Elissa practically beamed.
"That is the problem. I technically don't know." Marcus dreaded saying that sentence out loud.
"Excuse me, what?" The most dangerous vampire in the room barked.
"I know where she is, but it's a long story." His hair was on edge.
"The story better be worth it. Or else!" It was official. Marcus was back to being held on tiptoes. In his apartment. He swallowed an hour's worth of saliva before reliving his encounter with Kate for Elissa's and his life's sake.