Cross

I: The Cross Castle

The Cross Castle

"The merciful man doeth good unto his own soul, but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh."

The most exciting part of Aldous's day had to have been when he awoke from his painful slumber, taking in the rays of sunlight peeking through the holes in their tent and taking his very first whiff of dust and debris with only bits of oxygen.

He and his colleagues had been travelling for six weeks without break, and they had yet to stop for anything, and that included proper shelter and a bed, and as you can imagine there wasn't exactly a big and soft and comfortable mattress in a carriage, especially not one as small as theirs.

The group of young hunters had been sleeping on the uncomfortable wooden benches of their carriage from the day they had left the LOH base in their village, and Aldous had long grown sick of it. Why had they tortured themselves so?

Well, ever since more and more supernaturals began helping humans, it had become difficult for them, as hunters, to do their jobs properly without being shunned by the community. If it wasn't that this supernatural was good for humanity, it was that it was valuable. Since their week had begun, they had managed only two vampires and a wolf, and it didn't help that the creatures were getting better and better at blending in. To put this short, they were broke.

As Aldous sat upright in a more comfortable position, his first question was whether or not they had finally reached Cross castle. Cross castle would be their saving grace as they knew they would have to pay no fees for staying however long they decide to rest.

"Oh yes, I see it up ahead!" his colleague called out excitedly.

"Really?"

"No, you twat. We still have a good day in this heap of wood before we get to the gate." Aldous sighed. This sarcastic doofus was his best friend between these three colleagues, Eiser. The two had grown up together in the village, had faced death together, and in the end they both became hunters and blood brothers. Their solemn vow: to always look out for one another.

"Thank you for crushing my dreams, Eiser. A true friend you are indeed." Aldous moaned as he fell back, regretfully so as he landed directly on their equipment. "What're friends for?" Eiser snickered, well aware of what had happened behind him.

Aldous was immediately far too exhausted to get up once more. He did put in the effort to roll off of their equipment but had lost any will he had previously had to stand up. As he laid there, he couldn't help but feel queasy about the prospect of living in a castle run by a family of vampires. He had chosen his profession for a reason...and it was definitely due to his hatred for the supernatural. Living with vampires made him feel uncomfortable if nothing else, but what other choice did they have? They had no money to afford an inn. Staying at the Cross castle for a week or two was their only option and Aldous had to live with it.

"The Cross family is fine, Aldous. We'll live, I can assure you that much." Eiser spoke up suddenly, as though knowing exactly what his brother had been thinking. Aldous hummed in response, shutting his eyes as yet another thought crossed his mind. That happened often. "Eiser...where do you think the family feeds?" he asked, curiously.

They were a family of vampires living in a large, isolated castle in the middle of nowhere, they had to get their daily dose of blood from somewhere...but where? Their servants? Their guests? Cannibalism? He chuckled at the thought. To him, it didn't matter in the slightest. Either way, to him they were bloodthirsty monsters, always searching for their next kill. They were just an especially sneaky bunch, that was all.