Clang! Clang! Clang!
At about 3 pm, the school bells chimed, signifying it was home time.
"Make sure you do not forget to carry your slates with you. If I find it, you will receive a good beating before you get it back," Miss Bethany said as she walked back to her desk.
William took his slate and followed his classmates, progressively exiting the classroom like a calm tide. No one dared to misbehave in front of Miss Bethany.
She snuck a glance at William, who also caught her eyes, but she calmly looked away.
William never raised his hands to answer questions during the classes despite knowing the answers, remaining relatively unnoticed by Miss Bethany and his peers.
"Look, he's the one. The cursed new student..." A teenage girl pointed at William as she whispered to her friends.
"And he's the viscount's son, even…" Another commented.
"Who cares? As long as he's cursed he'll bring tragedy wherever he goes..."
"What a disappointment…"
"Why didn't he just go to an esteemed school for elites? We might get cursed too…"
"...Yeah, what a cunt. Ptooey! Those bloody elites, they don't care about us at all! I bet his mother was some whore the viscount forgot he plowed."
'These kids don't shut up do they?!' William thought to himself as he walked through the crowds to get to the school's gate, acting as though he didn't hear a single thing they uttered.
'Argh, I wish I could retaliate… however, Father won't want me to make a scene on school grounds. Dammit! And this isn't like my old life. There's a target on my back and I don't know who the enemy is, or what they are capable of. I must remain lucid. These insults are nothing.'
William stood in front of the gate, wondering, 'How on earth am even I supposed to go home? Why did Father say I should walk home from school, though? He's so unpredictable it's weird. And I don't remember the way back, dammit.'
+
Right opposite the gate of the school were storied buildings. This part of the city was called Barnelton Estate.
+
William followed the path majority of the students walked in, but before he realized he was lost, he was already at the trade district.
The screams and shouts of merchants and shop sellers merged into a cacophony as it drummed into his sensitive ears.
"On sale! Every fabric has a 30% discount when you buy three! Don't miss this opportunity! Buy your fabric now!" A seller boy holding some linen fabric eagerly screamed at the passersby nonstop.
A traveling merchant with yellow teeth pointed at his show glass with numerous antiques beneath as he said with a hint of a western accent, "Fivty emer only for a map of Gilztein the Great Adventerer's treazure trove. I alzo have a luck potion! One zip and you will zcore a fortune!"
"Drink it yourself, bloody pauper!" A passerby in raggy clothes, mocked, eliciting feats of laughter from those that heard.
"Fresh fish! Buy your fish here!"
"Extra! Extra! Get the latest gist about happenings in the northern war of the Holy Solaen Empire and Thu Dynasty here!"
The trade square was bustling with so many people William didn't know where was right to follow. Due to the clash of sounds and rapid movements along with his oversensitive hearing, William started feeling a little dizzy.
He had no control over his movements due to the crowd, pushed wherever.
Suddenly, a small hand grabbed William by the wrist, leading him to an alley with feces and trash littering the ground. There was even a dead cat with flies perching all over.
The hand belonged to a little girl, who left William to hide behind a boy deeper into the dirty alley.
The boy seemed to be about William's age, however, the girl was much younger. They were both in shabby and torn clothes.
"Do you not know the streets are not safe?" The boy asked in a slow and low tone with a hand shielding the girl behind him. It was a comical sight.
William sighed. "Oh, thank you. I got lost on my way back home."
"Are… you a student?" asked the boy.
William nodded. "Yes, I am. Just the first day and I got lost. William, is my name."
The boy tersely acknowledged as he replied, "Berne. And this is my sister, Emma."
"Are you also a student?" William wondered.
"No," the boy said, looking uncomfortable.
William tersely acknowledged too, then pried, "But… the school is free to enroll in, is it not?"
"That…" Berne was about to say something but was stopped by his sister, Emma.
"Cursed," she said, hiding further behind her brother.
Wiliam's face expressed his shock, surprised they knew he was cursed. 'Wait, maybe if I ask them they will tell me?'
He sighed and acted as though he was about to cry. "At school, no one wants to talk to me. They all say that I am cursed, but… but I know not what they even mean by that."
"...your hair, it is your hair," Berne confessed.
"What? My hair?! So it's been my hair all along?" William exclaimed. He scanned the bustling streets frantically, hoping to see someone, anyone, with deep crimson hair.
'No… no…
'How come I never noticed this?! The common hair shades are black, brown, and blonde… but my hair is red!
'This is disappointing. It was such a simple fact, I should've noticed this sooner. Although it might be Father's fault. If only he let didn't trap me in that bloody manor and let me mingle with my peers sooner.'
He sighed again. "No wonder I could not wrap my head around it. It was my hair all along."
Berne was an apprehensive child. He hesitated before speaking, "They… do not want to talk to you because they fear being cursed.
"M-Most especially due to the news going around," he added fearfully.
"Huh? What news?" William was genuinely curious. It was the first time he heard of such a thing. This wasn't odd as the viscount kept him from the eyes of the public, letting William grow up in recluse, sort of; not counting days they went to church.
"Children have been going…" Berne looked around suspiciously before whispering, "...missing!"
William gasped. 'Missing? Such a dire problem…'
"Aren't the officials doing something about it?" he asked.
"I… do not know. They say the disappearances are the works of vampires."
'Vampires?' William felt a little on edge, it had been long since he heard that ugly word. Also considering his eventful 'past' with it.
Emma tugged Berne's shirt, prompting him to say, "My sister does not like this topic."
"Oh, my bad. I also do not—"
Grrrr~
The children's stomachs cried out in hunger.
William spared the few copps he had to buy a loaf of plain bread for Berne and his sister.
Berne split the bread in half and gave his sister a piece. She quickly buried her head into her portion.
He took a bite before turning to William, "Uh… thank you, William. Emma likes bread."
William just nodded with a smile. 'These children are poor and starving. Such a sad occurrence, but it's common in every era of humanity. There will always be those at the bottom; like me in my younger days. But still, shouldn't they try to change their fate?'
The thought prompted William to ask, "Why are you not going to school?"
Berne's shoulders slumped even further as he looked at the ground with melancholic eyes before raising his head to William, answering, "We… need to help our father. He is an inventor."
"Brilliant…" Emma added as she nibbled on the piece of bread in her small hands.
"Ha, of course, he is brilliant too," Berne said, patting her head.
'Well, they aren't orphans so I guess it might just work out for them. I hope so. Anyway, I should get going…' William thought before asking, "Uhm, do you know the way to Lord Maxton's manor?"
Berne's face brightened, and he asked in high spirit, "Viscount Walter Maxton's manor?"
Grabbing William's hands, he inched closer, "You must be his son, right?"
"Y-Yeah." William inched back a little, surprised by the boy's sudden change in countenance—and also his stench.
Berne's eyes glistened as he exclaimed, "Dear Mother, I heard he was of lowly birth and rose to be the emperor's guard and then gained peerage! You have a remarkable knight as a father, William."
William scratched his cheek. "Uh, thanks, I guess…"
"I can help you get back home! After all, you helped feed me and Emma. My father taught me to always repay kindness."
William let out a sigh of relief. "Then I'll have to thank you in advance, Berne."
Under a grocery stall far back, Selene watched silently as Berne led him out of the trade district.
❈ ❈ ❈
Over the next few days, after school, William always met with Berne and Emma at the trade district and regularly bought them something to eat. He soon realized that they were always there, at the market, to beg for scraps and perform odd jobs.
School for William was boring as usual, and even more so now than ever because he had already learned what was being taught. Just basic arithmetic and maenese.
On the last weekday, Morteday, William was on his way to see the two siblings, as per routine.
'Sigh, I wonder when I will be able to learn Father's sword skills. Can I really wait that long?'
Swimming in his thoughts, daydreaming, William trekked down the streets of Denvern City.
Thud!
William, not paying attention, bumped into someone and the books they were carrying fell to the ground.
"Goodness, my apologies sir." William quickly bent down and helped the man pick the books up.
The man bent too and helped pick the books. "It is alright. A book must fall once in a while. It is my fault for being lost in thought while walking on a busy street."
He laughed and nudged his thick, round glasses.
His voice was light but his words were clear. The skinny, bespectacled man had slim eyes far apart from each other, nearly bald head with a receding hairline, and was wearing a yellowish-white long-sleeve shirt under a black suit vest.
'Analytical Readings on Movement Limits of Humanoid Structures.' William read the title of the book that was on top of the stack, but the man quickly snatched the books from the former's hands.
"A kind young man, you are," The man thanked, forcing a smile and continuing his way.
'What a weird fella.' William thought before throwing it to the back of his mind, not bothering with that as he continued walking down the path until he got to the trade district.
William sighted Berne at the usual place he met the siblings, but he couldn't see Emma with him.
"Berne," William called out.
"William. How… was school?" Berne replied, almost stoically.
William noticed Berne was looking a bit gloomy and this wasn't common for the boy obsessed with imperial knights.
"Good. Where's Emma?"
"She went somewhere. I'm supposed to go get her now."
Berne dusted his brown flat cap and already walked past William as he asked, "Do you want to come?"
Berne was no longer apprehensive as he used to be. William felt the situation was a bit off, however, he still agreed.
"Sure, where is she?"
"Just a few blocks away from here."
Berne brought his brown cap further down in an attempt to cover his eyes.
He led Williams up the streets of Denvern City, maneuvering through streets and passing through shortcuts till they got to a dark alley.
'I… have a bad feeling about this. Hmm… was Emma held captive for ransom? Sigh, I'll just tell the kidnappers I'm the viscount's son. I doubt anyone would take the risk of hurting me.' With this train of thought, William followed Berne without any hesitation into the dark alley.
Here, Berne stopped. It was a dead end.
The duo heard a thud behind them and quickly turned around to see what it was.
It was a tall individual with a manly frame in a black hooded cloak.
"Nice. Now get out of here," the hooded individual said, unclear who he was talking to.
Ta Ta Ta Ta… Berne quickly ran past the cloaked man.
"Berne?" William called out, eliciting Berne's glance—his face, riddled with a sorrowful expression.
The situation was self-explanatory.
Mustering up confidence, William inquired, "Who are you? What is happening here?"
He was on high alert, slowly inching forward back in an attempt to bolt past the suspicious man.
"Do you not understand? Your friend sold you out!"
The man cackled loudly and gently walked closer. His eyes were shrouded under the hood but a red glint was highlighted in them.
William suddenly grew apprehensive, fear gripping his legs. He yelled, "S-Stay back! What do you want?"
"What do I want?"
The cloaked man smiled widely, showing his yellow, sharp fangs, as he bared his claws. He added, "Kekeke, I am to assassinate the son of a certain viscount."
'…I-I-I-It's a vampire!'