Bloodstained Masks

Chapter 20

Taking a left turn down a quiet, Kay franticly searched for a place of familarity. Finally, he found what he was looking for.

Opening the door of a small bakery, Kay smiled at the little jingle that the bell rigged to the door produced. Wooden tables lined the corners of the building, cushioned chair accompanying them. A thin white cloth covered the four small tables.

Kay revelled in the design of the hole in the wall bakery and resturant. A tiled floor covered the ground and behind the counter, a young woman stood before a customer as she took their order.

Two boys walked into the bakery, passing Kay nonchalantly, as if he had not been there. In their hands, they each carried a large paper wrapped bundle of meat. With an eager expression, a man hurried to meet the to boys. Grateful, the man thanked them, before herding them into the kitchen. A little girl greeted the two boys before ordering them into the kitchen, and telling them to scrub the floors.

People pushed past Kay as they made their way to the counter. As the two boys, no one spared a glance at him.

Kay, now sitting at a table, stared in revere as he watch the fallout of the children's antics. He had no interest in buying something. Just watching.

It seemed as if despite the trouble, the anguish, this single place was frozen. Frozen in time as if it were a memory.

With a sad smile, he rose from his seat, only to turn toward the door. Almost out the door, Kay turned to meet the widened eyes of one of the boy, his eyes much like his. Giving a small wave, Kay walked through that door and disappeared into the alley.

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The bright sun hung over the city as Kay watched people pass him as they went up and down the crowded streets.

The sun shined, a golden yellow visible from where Kay sat. It was visible now, as obvious as the leaves which hung from the meek, chesnut branches show. Spring had arrived.

The birds which flee over the buildings of Holeq, were now building the nest where their young would grow, only to leave less than two seasons later.

Kay watched for seconds to as a Robin glided through the air, disappearing behind what was an inn.

The leaves that towered over Kay filtered the very sunlight that touched his paper white face.

The street was a busy one, a new found energy within the mind of the people that walked it. Horses who carried carriages and people who usually raced down the street slowed to a mere trott as if even they could enjoy the spring.
Kay held a constant long face. For hours, he sat on the small bench, hands in his lap.

From the the far corner of his eye, Kay could see a small food stand on the side adjacent to the road which faced the street. As he sat, Kay watched as a middle aged man approach the cart. The man, sporting not a pale, but rather, a dark brown complexion, his eyes a marron color. He stood there, clad in the steel armor of the city's guard, to his sides, a silver sword and a crossbow. It seeemed even as he was stuck, tied, and still, life went on.

The small flask that  clung to Kay's belt slushed as he shifted, though it was not filled with what one would had imagine. No, but rather with something a little more sinister than the devil's liquid.

Thinking back to the guard he'd come across, Kay frowned as he thought back to the unpleasantry that had gone on. He'd thought often of this is the past two weeks he'd been there. Kay was proud of his calm and diffusion of the tense moment. He'd simply met the man's  hostility with kindness, but that was his only proud moment.

He was stuck, unable to know what to do. The sun would rise as surely as it would set. The moon would would rise too, as it would also set. But no matter how much time pass, the cards had already been dealt. He was a vampire, a social puria.

His very religion, what he'd used all his lift to define himself was suddenly against him. He was the villain, the monster. And now that he was the very thing he'd been taught to ostracize, it wasn't as funny. And like always, he was alone. He always chose wrong, it was always never worked out. And though when a door closed, a window opened, it was so small, so narrow, it always seemed like he'd never fit.

And so, there he was, alone sitting on that bench, Kay could feel the irriation. People passed, like ghosts as they made their was through their days.

He wore a bitter scowl as he watched a small bird. The dark blue feathers seemed to brighten in the wake of the sunlight.

As Kay watched as others passed him, he could notice that faint tint red that seemed to spread throughout their skin. People walked the streets feeling the warm caress of the sun's light, while Kay felt nothing if not discomfort. He just felt... numb.

He could not return home. He just couldn't. He was a vampire. To his religion, the only good vampire was a pile of ashes, burned by the stake that had been pushes through its chest.

Cradling his head in his hands, Kay felt a somber mood that seemed to surround him. Utter hopelessness, no way out. A small bubble that seemed to exist in the bubble it was in.

And their was no one who could help him. Sure, the Empire recognized the vampire houses, but they did nothing to console the things that folks did to them. There was no line where the government and religion ended, rather they were intertwined.

The bleak feeling that Kay had become engulfed in contrasted the outside of his small bubble. The black and white mirror that he'd been offered to use to reflect the world seemed now to contradict its self when on the other side of the mirror. It no longer fit the picture frame. Taking in a deep breath, Kay rose to his feet, digging his hands into his pockets. Thus time he no longer saw his breath. Nothing. Smiling a sad smile, Kay knew what he could do.

Pulling a small piece of paper from one of the two pockets, Kay examined it. The wind struck, pushing hard against the scrap of paper. Taking a firm hold of the paper, he read the directions. Dropping the piece of paper onto the floor, Kay quickly dusted off his clothes before using the heel of his boot bury the paper into what would be, if it wasn't already, the past.

He knew he'd spent most of his life so sure of himself, but for the first time, he hesitated, hesitant in the path he'd prepared to take. It would go against everything he believed in.

He quickly cleared his head of any and all doubt he'd collect. Planning was always very smart, but it usually never accounted for the variables. And at a time like this, he had to jump in.

Looking hesitantly at the busy street side, he saw people pass by, a constant reminder time was flying by and though he may have all the time he'd ever need, but things change.

Deciding to take his leave, Kay stiffled a cough. As he took a step from the bench, Kay stopped. Scowling, he attempted take another step only to find he couldn't. He tried and tried, yet he never moved from his spot. People who passed looked curious, wondering why he didn't just move. It was easier said than done.

Finally, he took a step back, another and another until he fell back, falling onto the bench.

Clenching his teeth, Kay sat up as his head fell to his hands. He sat there, cradling his head as he wept.