It's been two months since we saved the dark elf villagers from Abigail and the mages, and there has been an exponential growth in development since that day.
Out of the thirty some-odd men that volunteered to be the new members of the Winter Mafia, I split them into three squads.
Squad Alpha is run under Delic. This squad is in charge of surveillance which means that they patrol the city in general and report back to Delic regardless if anything happened or not so that he can immediately report to me if something did happen that needs my attention.
Xander is captain of Squad Beta which is in charge of the Business District and information. This squad patrols around the Business District in particular to keep watch of all of the big time leaders in that area. With the use of Shadow Movement that they are learning from Xander, the squad moves within the shadows to avoid being seen by said leaders.
Alex is captain of Squad Delta which is in charge of the Shopping District and agriculture. His squad, similar to Xander's, is in charge of the Shopping District in particular to keep thieves and burglars in check. They are also responsible in monitoring the greenery in the city as well as help protect the women as they work in the Winter Fields.
It's sad to say that I don't have enough men to patrol the other districts in the city, but I have to leave it up to Delic splitting up his squad since they are in charge of the overall city patrol.
The Winter Warehouse is also rolling underway. I have placed Xander to be the Head of Operations for the Warehouse since he is more mechanically inclined. I guess growing up in the Iron Woods helped him a lot. Since most of the men are part of the Winter Mafia, I have devised a rotating schedule to balance out their time in the warehouse, on patrol, and for their days off. Overworking my staff is a huge no-no for me, and I'm already thankful that they are willing to do this in the first place. The Warehouse will be ready to go once the fields produce enough of a harvest to reap.
The Winter Fields are doing so much better than I thought it would. With his tender nature and appreciation for nature, I placed Alex as Head of Agriculture to ensure that the plants are growing appropriately. Since the Fields haven't been used for over six months, I figured the dead plants that have overtaken the fields would have caused it to become infertile, but the women have really made it shine. The field was cleared out in a week's time and the seeds were finished planting the week after. Now, the plants are sprouting flowers while others are almost matured enough.
With all of this exponential growth comes an exponential amount of paperwork for me to do. I have no idea how Father was able to do this, and this is probably not even half of what my father had to do. I'm literally drowning in papers trying to get the licensing back up for the Warehouse as well as getting the documents that I need to sign for approval as the Student Council President in order. On top of those papers, I got the homework that I have to do for school mixed in somewhere with all of this. Delic has really been a huge help as my secretary in getting my increasingly busy life in order, but it seems the sudden onset of responsibilities has shocked him too.
It is the start of December, so I have to make my monthly run to the Warehouse for another check along with going to the cave in Eshea Woods to replenish my magical energy. I have Xander take me using his Shadow Movement since it is his place of responsibility. After seeing that everything is in perfect condition, I dismiss myself and head on over to the cave.
"I see you're here for your monthly replenishing, dear niece," Uncle Gabriel comments as he struggles to walk next to me.
I stop walking and pick up the trailing fox. He has shorter legs than mine, so I didn't want him to tire himself out too quickly. "Of course! Plus, I have so much that I want to talk to Mother about," I respond as my excitement shines with a smile.
"You look really tired, though," Uncle Gabriel says as he places a paw on my face. "Have you been getting enough rest? Are you completely drained of magical energy?"
I glance down at my uncle who looks worried. "I'm doing fine for the most part, but the new responsibilities I have are kind of draining. I knew that I would have a lot of responsibilities once I became head of the Winter Family; however, I wasn't expecting for all of them to be rushing at me at once. Even now, I still don't have all of the duties that I'm supposed to be conducting, yet I'm already swamped with stuff."
"I know you will be a great leader, but sometimes a great leader needs to know when to rest and to take a break. If you overwork yourself, you might not be able to enjoy the last few years of your childhood before you become a full-fledged adult."
"I think I already gave up my childhood the moment I decided to take this position," I reply with a small laugh. "Besides, I already have enough great memories of my childhood with my family. Now, I'm making new memories with my new family as a leader. I'm taking enough breaks, so you don't have to worry too much about me. Delic is very strict when it comes to overworking."
"If you say so, Viola," Uncle Gabriel responds as he nuzzles in my arms to give me a hug.
We make it to the cave, and I set my uncle back down.
"It looks like this is the farthest I go," my uncle states as he scratches his ear. "You be careful in there and tell your mother that her brother is still using the brush that she left here." He ends that note with the laugh one would hear from an older brother that teases their younger siblings.
I shake my head while letting out a chuckle. Even with his sister gone, he still finds a way to keep messing with her.
Facing the entrance of the cave, I start to make my way inside. I get halfway in when I hear a small noise. I pause in my tracks to see if the noise would echo again. After a few seconds, the noise moves up the cave where I am. It sounds like stifled pain as if one is injured but trying to keep the noise to a minimum to avoid detection. Concerned, I continue down the path deeper in the cave. The magical energies in here would repel someone who they deem not worthy, so whoever is inside was either deemed worthy or fought their way in.
The noise gets slightly louder as I venture closer until I find a dark figure huddled in a corner. I try to quietly slide towards the figure until it suddenly looks up at me. Ruby red eyes twinkling in the darkness with only a few specks of magical energy to light them.
"Stay away!" the figure yells. "Don't come any closer!"
I stretch out a hand as I get near the figure. "I'm not here to hurt you," I softly explain as I begin to bend down into a crawling position, so I don't look too daunting.
The figure swipes at me scratching the side of my arm that's outstretched. I flinch at the sharp pain, but I keep my hand out.
"Stop! Don't come near me!" the figure continues to shout.
Once I got close enough, I stop crawling immediately. The figure's clothes are all torn to shreds. He's covered in blood and scars. Some wounds still seem to be new as it oozes out a clear thick substance. As I examine the figure more, a small spot of white catches my attention. I glance up to the figure's face to look at his mouth where I saw the white spot. It's his teeth, but it gave away his race.
"You're a vampire," I whisper as I begin to crawl closer.
"Don't come any closer!" the figure whimpers. He notices that I am closing in on him and huddles even tighter into his corner as he tries to swipe at me again.
Since I was a bit near this time, he gets his nails scratched on my shoulder but is caught in my shirt which gives me the opportunity to hold his hand. "I'm not going to hurt you," I repeat as I gently wrap both hands around his. "What happened to you?"
The figure becomes almost silent as he stares in awe at me. Still shaking from fear, tears well up in his ruby eyes. He lunges at me from his corner, and I fall backwards with this tall figure on top of me. He cries and hugs me tightly. I guess the small act of holding his hand was enough for him to trust me. There really isn't anything I can do at this point but try to comfort him, so I stroke his midnight black hair until he calms down.
It takes a while... a long while... for the guy to calm down. His tears have stopped flowing, but the leftover sniffles are still getting the best of him. He lays his head in my lap as I continue to pet his head.
"Are you feeling better?" I ask in a soothing tone. The figure nods his head but doesn't say anything. "You must be in a lot of pain. Can you tell me where you got all these scars from?" The guy stays silent, but I feel a swift shiver wave over his back. Whoever did this to him must have been doing this for a while.
I pick up the guy's head so that he will sit up and face me then gently lay a hand on his knee. "How about this? I have to go deeper into this cave to replenish some energy that I lost. When I'm finished, you can come with me to my home and get cleaned up. Will that be okay, or would you rather stay in this dark cave by yourself?"
The guy looks up at me. His eyes tell me that he's scared, but he wants to believe that I won't hurt him. He slowly nods his head and quietly replies, "I want to go with you."
I smile at him and pet his head. "That's a good choice," I laugh as I stand up. "I will be right back. I promise I won't be long."
The guy silently nods again, and I make my way over to get my monthly replenishment of magical energy.
—
'Xander,' I call through the mind link.
It's quiet for a moment, but Xander promptly answers, 'Sorry, I got caught up in one of the machines. You called?'
'I found a vampire inside the cave in the woods,' I mention as the vampire and I walk through the woods. 'I'm planning on taking him home, so don't react too much when you see him. He's already very antsy as it is.'
'You found a vam-' Xander suddenly goes silent.
'Xander? Are you okay?' I ask curiously since he abruptly cut off his communication.
'Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I was so shocked that I tried to sit up but forgot that I'm under one of the machines and hit my head.'
I admit that I snickered quite a bit at Xander's rookie mistake. It caught the attention of the vampire, but I reassured him that I wasn't laughing at him.
'We are almost at the edge of the woods. Remember to not react too much when you see the vampire, okay?' I remind Xander.
'Yes, Master.'
'Delic,' I call.
'You contacted me, Master?' Delic immediately responds, scaring me for a second.
"We will have a guest over today," I mention. 'Prepare the bath and a set of clothes around the twins' size but a bit taller. Tell the cooks to add an additional serving for today's lunch. Ready the medical kit, for I will need it after the guest has a bath.'
'May I ask who this guest is?' Delic questions.
'It's a vampire that I found in the cave in Eshea Woods.'
Delic doesn't respond for a while. 'As you wish, Master,' he finally says.
Without another moment's notice, Xander meets up with the vampire and me at the back of the Warehouse. Xander really wants to say something but keeps a composed expression.
The vampire didn't want to get near Xander at first, so I told him that Xander is the one who's going to take us to the house. Despite the lack of trust, the vampire stands behind Xander in order to be transported to the house.
We arrive in the reception area where Delic is waiting for us. He wraps me in my shawl since my body temperature fluctuates a bit when I replenish my magical energy.
"I have readied the bath as per your command, Master," Delic announces as he gestures into the hall when the servants' shower room is.
I place a hand on the vampire's arm and look up at him. "You should wash the blood off of you. After you finish, you can come to my room where I will treat your wounds."
Delic puts a hand on the vampire's back to guide him into the hallway, but the vampire quickly hisses at the sudden touch on his back. He immediately jumps behind me and grabs my arm. Delic swiftly reacts and darts towards the vampire, but I block his path with my hand.
"Don't hurt him. He's just scared," I defend as I turn to face the vampire.
Isn't this exactly how Delic reacted when the twins tried to grab my arm?
The vampire kneels down to my eye level, so I pet his head. "Are you okay?" I ask, trying to calm him down.
"My back. It hurts," the vampire quietly replies.
I lean over his shoulder to see if I can get a better visual. "Do you mind if you take off your shirt so that I can see your back?"
Hesitant yet obedient, the vampire slowly removes his shirt wincing from the pain of the dried blood being peeled off his skin along with his shirt. When he finally gets the shirt mostly off his back, it reveals a horrendous amount of slashes and cuts both new and old lining his back in a crosshatch pattern.
I boil with anger at the sadistic madman who did this.
This could not have happened in Eshea. We are in a neutral position, so it must have occurred from outside the city.
Seething with furious anger but trying not to show it to the vampire, I stand up in front of him and grab his hand.
"Come with me. I will help you get cleaned up."