Jack frowned as he looked at the city in the distance, not impressed by what he saw so far. They were not far from the first major city in the Empire of Duluhan, the city of Vulreach, but it was not as well defended as it should be. The walls around it were barely taller than Drake, it had too few sentries, and he had yet to see a patrol the entire time. He knew that the emperor was more concerned with his war with the Twiverse Kingdom, but was he really this lax with this side of his empire? Jack could take this city with a few hundred soldiers, and he feared for the humans if the rest of their cities that were closest to the Nation of Blood's army were this unprotected.
Noelle reached into her bag, pulling out a purple cloak and throwing it over her shoulders. She pulled the hood over her head, covering her ears as she turned to the rest of them.
"You will all have to stay here and wait for me. I sent word ahead, preparing for the worst, and there should be a contact waiting for me there. You cannot enter the city without a travelers pass, but even then, they will not willingly let three vampires enter their city. I will meet the contact and bring him back here; try to stay out of trouble until then."
They nodded, the dark elf leaving as Drake fell backwards into the grass, sighing in relief. Midnight stood and kept watch, an arrow knocked and ready as usual. Jack sat down next to Drake, glaring at the sun, and Elaine sat next to him, having been quiet since their last fight.
He looked over at her, frowning beneath his helmet. They had not even reached their destination yet, and he could already see how all of this was taking its toll on her. She had been sheltered in her forest, innocent and ignorant, and had no idea how cruel life could be. He was worried that she would lose her innocence, her kindness, and grow cold as life battered her left and right.
Drake looked over at them, pulling Jack from his thoughts as the large vampire began to speak.
"Brother, I must admit something to you. I think I am falling for Noelle."
Jack raised an eyebrow, surprised; not only did his best friend say something odd, but Jack could swear that the vamp sounded serious.
"The dark elf? She has made it clear she despises us, and has been nothing but cold and rude. Is this another one of your jokes?"
Drake shook his head, his eyes holding no hint of laughter as they peered at Jack from behind his mask.
"No, this is no joke. Sure, she is cold; her entire family and people were killed by vampires, so who can blame her? But, not only is she beautiful, she has a fire that refuses to be stomped out, no matter what life throws at her. I admire that."
Midnight scoffed, shooting Drake a look before speaking.
"You have odd tastes. Why chase after someone who will not return your feelings? You are just setting yourself up for heartache."
Drake sat up, looking over at Elaine.
"Elaine, you know her well, and we have traveled together long enough that I consider you a friend. What do you think? Would I be wasting my time, or would I be able to show her that not all vampires are bad?"
Elaine looked over at the large vampire, smiling for the first time in days.
"I will not lie, it would be difficult. Not only was her entire life ruined by vampires, but she got no love from my people either, who never got along with the dark elves. She has closed off her heart...but you are a kind, probably the nicest vampire I have ever met. I am sure that, if your feelings are true, and you are patient, then you will be able to get your feelings across to her."
Drake nodded, appearing to be at ease from her words. Midnight turned to them, placing a hand on her hip.
"You say that like you have met a lot of vampires, Elaine."
Drake chuckled, looking over at him and Elaine.
"I am glad to hear that; I was beginning to grow envious at how close you two are getting."
Elaine turned red, embarrassed as she looked away and played with her hair.
"I h-have no idea w-what you are talking about."
They spent the next few hours making small talk as they waited for Noelle to return. The city was quite large, easily double the size of Silvith, and it was not surprising that it was taking the dark elf a while. Just as they were beginning to worry, Midnight spotted Noelle returning with what looked like a man.
They all got up, waiting until the dark elf reached them. Jack saw the man behind her had dark skin, darker than he had ever seen, and as Jack looked, his hair was different as well, more fuzzy looking. The man had chocolate colored eyes, and seeing him made Jack realized how dull vampires could be. Sure, they were all beautiful with no blemishes on their skin, but they were all the same; pale white, with the same features and same colored eyes. He never noticed it when he lived with them, but now that he had seen different races with completely different looks, he almost envied the diversity other races had.
Noelle sighed, turning and gesturing to the man with an annoyed look in her orange eyes.
"This is the contact, Jerry. It took longer than I would have liked; it seems wearing a cloak was not enough to hide that I was a female, and the men in the city kept bothering me to no end. After being hounded after by every man with a pair of working eyes, I prefer the disdain of the forest elves."
The wind shifted, and Jack was hit with a scent he did not recognize, narrowing his eyes as he realized it was coming from Jerry.
"Jerry, was it? You are...not human, are you?"
The man shook his head, smiling and flashing a set of sharpened teeth, like a wolf's. Noelle smirked, turning to lead the way as she talked.
"I forgot about your sharp senses, vampire. Jerry is a werewolf, one of the last of his kind. So far, he doesn't talk much, so don't expect much conversation out of him."
They all gawked at him for a bit, the werewolf saying nothing in response, and they set off, Jerry walking next to Noelle and leading the way. They went around the city, their destination past it, but as they walked, Jack looked behind them, seeing a small group of humans leave the city and head in their direction. He kept his eye on them, and as they kept walking, it was clear that the humans were following them.
"We are being followed. It appears that the human men were not done hounding you, Noelle."
Noelle looked behind her, scowling at the group of humans in the distance, when Jerry stopped, turning around and smirking as he took his cloak off, getting their attention as he spoke for the first time.
"I will take care of them."