'Whoa' wasn't enough to describe what I was seeing. There was an entire upper city up here. The ground was a white marble road. On either side of the place there were cylindrical bird cages going to the top of the dome. Their tops opened up, and I saw delivery birdmen flying in and out. All of the buildings up here were mansions, and at the very end straight ahead, up some large white steps, I saw the largest mansion and presumably our destination. My mouth was still hanging open.
"You look just like a tourist." I went red. Both Enora and Annicri were watching me. "I am a tourist! Hey, why aren't you reacting the same way? Have you been here before!?"
"Nope. Never. I suppose I have already been culture shocked quite a bit before." Before I could respond, Annicri cut in."We need to hurrycri. Lord Harken has a fixed schedule, and it is already evecring."
I continued to hold my girlfriend's hand as we walked up the steps to the large mansion. The mansion has a small half dome on top, but this one was made of glass. It seemed to be opaque. I couldn't see inside of it. Annicri noticed where I was looking. "Right up there is his office. He does everything from up there during the day."
We were stopped at the door by two more guards who were also unsurprisingly bird people. "Hey, Annicri, I am sorry to say, but the lord can't…"
She handed him the envelope with a stamp that matched their insignias. "My apologies… head right in. He is just about to be through with another guest."
They opened the large double doors in a practiced motion. We followed Annicri into a lobby area. There were tons of bird maids cleaning the place. It was simply amazing. They flew next to the wall as they dusted the top of giant paintings. One of the large paints was of the domed city. "It must have taken forever to paint that!"
"I heard it took them 4 moncris." Moncris? Months? Moons? I didn't get the chance to ask her as we boarded another wooden platform. This time I braced myself by hugging Enora. "Eh?"
This platform also spring boarded to the top floor in an instant. Causing me to bounce and grab a handful of Enora's chest. It felt so soft and springy. I couldn't resist squeezing. When I looked up her face had become blood red. "Hey! What did I say about touching!?"
"It was the lift!" She looked back down at my hand. "Then why are you still grabbing it!?"
"Can cri love birds flirt later!?" I quickly released my hand. Enora and I both looked away from each other at the same time. God, what was wrong with me? What was I doing? I looked back to my girlfriend. When I met her eyes I had to quickly look away again…
Annicri dragged us both into a waiting room as she knocked on a door. Enora and I sat on a sofa next to each other as Annicri knocked on the door. Someone let her in the room that had an opaque glass door. The moment she was gone I felt awkward. Was she mad at me? I was no longer holding her hand, but my hand was already missing the warmth. Enora was looking away from me towards the door.
"Hey… I am…" She didn't look at me, but she did respond. "It's okay. I'm not mad…"
"Will you look at me?" She still didn't look. Instead, she was twisting the parasol around in her hand. "I can't…"
"Please…" She looked down and slowly turned her head towards me. "I'm not mad…"
She said again in a small voice. Her parasol vanished before she grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. Her voice was shaky as she spoke into my ear. "I-I know you didn't mean to…I just can't…"
I had to see her face. I had to know if she was mad. I had no way to know what she was feeling. I grabbed her by the shoulders as I pulled her away. When I met her eyes I immediately noticed the change. They were glowing. Her cheeks were red. Her mouth was hanging open, exposing her fangs. Her breathing was exaggerated. She was breathing heavily as she stared at my exposed neck. "E-enor…aaa…"
She bit into it as fast as lightning. I had to quickly cover my mouth. It felt electrifying. My legs twitched as I wrapped my arms around the back of her neck. If she was thirsty I would let her have her fill. My eyes started to roll back and breathing was becoming difficult by the time she separated from me. I didn't even notice that three people had entered the room.
"Are we interrupting something?" I couldn't respond as I was still catching my breath. "Hoh, so Annicri was telling the truth."
"Exacri! It is just as I told you. She has a human lover, and they are in the heat of passion! Crikikiki!"
Enora buried her face in her hands. I felt bad. She was being ridiculed for her bodily needs! "Ha-hey! Don't be rude! She needs sustenance too!" All of the bird people started laughing together. "Crikikikiki" ""hahahahaha!" To my surprise even Enora was staring at me blankly. "Dork… Yeah th-that's right! She was just giving me blood."
"Crikikiki! I'll be on my cri. While I would love to stay. I can't… crikikiki…." Annicri laughed her beak off as she left the door we came in. When she was finally gone. One of the remaining birdmen spoke. "Please, let's speak in my office…"
The bird who must have been the lord of this city led us into his office. Lord Harken was a sharp dressed full bird. I'm not kidding. There were no human features from what I could tell. He was mostly red except for his beak and tips of his feathers. Those were golden. He wore a fancy black coat with a red tie. The other person looked similar to black bird I met at the gate. Just like that bird his face and torso were human.
"Welcome to my office. Take a seat." Doing as he said we took a seat in front of his desk on the black cushioned seats that were present. Lord Harken jumped onto a horizon pole behind his desk. The other bird stood behind him. Or under him depending how you looked at it. The office was really open. Besides this desk, the chairs, and that pole there was nothing. But this side of the dome wasn't opaque, so I could see outside into the city below. "Surprised?"
"Y-yes sir." I had no idea how to talk to someone of higher status than me, and I fumbled out the words. "Please no need to be so formal. You can just call me Pier. As you should already be well aware… since you are her lover you have a higher status."
"Eh?" I looked back over to Enora. "*sigh* Please, don't look at me like that. It's a long story."
"As well it should be. Why does the princess of the reclusive Twilight clan visit my humble city?"
"P-p-princess!?" I almost jumped out of my chair as I got loud. "Like I said… It's a long story… no offense, Lord Harken, but don't speak about my family here. I had planned to lay low in this city for a bit. You and your guards…"
"Alright…Alright, I understand. There is a problem though. You already stick out as a vampire here…"
"I don't care if rumors spread, but it can't be known that I am a Twilight."
"Haah… I don't know your reasons, but I will see what I can do. For now, why don't you take a rest in one of my…"
"There is no need. Come…" Enora grabbed my hand. "We are going to get an inn."