The Smell of Old Books and Blood

Chapter 13: Afraid to Love People

"Hey! If it isn't daddy's favorite little bugger? How was your day?" The man lifted up the young boy, tossing him into the air and swinging him around.

The boy squealed and giggled, "You're home! Mommy said you weren't coming home until next week." The father tossed up the little vampire one last time before hugging him close.

"I just missed you two so much I made sure to come back as fast as possible. I brought gifts." The father's promise of gifts made the little boy gasp excited, bouncing on the tips of his toes. "But first, where's mommy?"

"Oh oh, mommy took me this morning to help set up her stall in the uh... Grand Bah... Bazer- no- Grand Bazaar!" With hands on his hips, the boy smiled proudly. "All the nice ladies from the other stalls gave me gifts too. Look," he shook his hand, showing a small bracelet made from yarn.

"Oh. How nice. But how did you get home? Did you walk all the way here by yourself? Your mother's finally starting to lighten up, eh?" He chuckled.

The boy shook his head quickly, "Nuh uh. Mr. Dottore walked me home."

"Mr. Dottore?" The father frowned, "Did he say anything to you or your mother?" The boy ruffled through his pockets for a moment, handing a parcel to his father. The father scanned it quickly before shoving it into his own pocket. "No worries. I'll save that for later. Now let's get to those gifts." He reached down and grabbed his son's small hand, bringing him to the living room where a duffel bag sat. "Sit and close your eyes. Okay Kaveh?" The blonde boy quickly nodded, sitting down on the couch and covering his face with his hands. Kaveh heard what sounded like rustling papers and something tapping onto the coffee table. Just what was this gift? "Alright. Open up."

Kaveh opened his eyes, confusing striking before he became absolutely astounded, "It's... so pretty." Multiple things laid strewn on the table, but what caught Kaveh's attention was a bright painting of a building. Not just any building. It was the Palais Mermonia. A beautiful building that Kaveh had recently read about. One that he had told his father he'd love to visit.

"My trip to Fontaine was brief... but while I was there, I found the best artist I could. Not only did he paint this beautiful picture, but he helped me with this," the father tapped on the table, diverting his attention to a blue print, "This is a crash course blueprint to the Palais Mermonia. Adapted to make a model. I want to work on it with you. Kaveh, you're such a talented boy. An artist just like your mother. Not one day goes by that I'm not proud of you. And I want to help you reach your full potential."

"Daddy... I..." the little boy reached out, tracing his hands on the blueprint.

"Do you like it?" He asked, receiving a nod from his son, "I knew you would, Kaveh. Now, this is gonna take a lot of work. And you might get frustrated from time to time. But even if I'm not here, you gotta follow through. Before we start though, did you eat today?"

"The nice ladies gave me some candies," Kaveh held out his hands, showing some candies he had collected, "Mommy told me they'd hurt my tummy if I ate them too early though."

"Nah. That's a human thing. Mommy probably just didn't want you bouncing off the walls from sugar though. I'll put them in the kitchen and when you want something sweet and you've been good, we can have some. How's that sound?" Kaveh teetered on it, looking at the treats he collected. But saying no to daddy wouldn't be nice. After all, he just got back home. How long would he be here before he left again? Kaveh handed the candies to his father and they made their way to the kitchen.

Kaveh sat down at the kitchen, watching his father open the fridge and the sighing softly, "Shit." He ruffled through his pocket and looked down at the parcel, leaving it on the kitchen counter. "When was the last time you ate?"