Blood Knight

Capitolo XII

"Stella, if you don't hurry you'll get left behind!"

My small legs struggled to hoist myself over the rigid formation of rocks. My dress was torn and I knew my hair was a mess because it was all tangled in a branch.

"I...I can't! It's too big!"

Monticello sighed loudly, reaching down to pull me up over the craggy boulders. "You can't keep relying on me to help you whenever you're stuck," he said, placing me back on my feet. My other friends, the estate boys, had gone far ahead. We were supposed to play a game of policeman and thief, and I unfortunately was playing the policeman.

"Sorry Monty," I could feel my nose start to get runny. Angrily, I wiped at the tears streaming down my cheeks.

Monticello tsked his tongue. "Don't do that to your dress. Your mother won't be happy if you ruin it like that."

I craned my head back to stare up at him. He was so big, and scary. And he wasn't very happy ever. Why did my mum have to stick me with this bloke? It was no wonder the other kids didn't want to be around me. "Why you gotta be so mean to me?"

Monticello huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm not being mean."

"Yes you are."

"No, I am not."

"Yes you are!" I shouted, stomping my foot on the ground. He was always picking on me!

"I am-" he stopped, sticking a nose in the air. "I'm not arguing with a child."

"I'm not a kid! I'm seven years old!" I held up my fingers, proving to him that I was a big kid.

He bent down, leveling with my eyes. "Do you know how old I am Stella?"

Um...how old was he? "Uuhhhh....a hundred!"

His hand came up and mussed my hair before answering. "No, I'm fifty-five."

My nose wrinkled. "Why do you look so young then?"

"Because I'm like your father. A vampire."

The thought made a lot of sense to me. "But how come you're a scary vampire? My dad is really nice and happy. Why are you so weird?"

My cheek stung as he pinched it. "Mind your own business. Now do you want to play with your friends or not?"

My nose ran again, which I rubbed away against the hem of my dress. "I want to go play!"

As I rushed across the uneven path, Monticello called after me. "Wait Stella! Don't go that way! Stella! Stella-"

"Stella."

My eyes snapped open, stinging against the light that invaded them. 

"Oh...sorry."

"We're here," Monticello stood from his seat. "The home is a few blocks away."

My eyes darted towards the window. The bus that we had taken had stopped in a small village, which I was guessing what Legri. It was a quaint place, run down from years of weather, something that I wasn't necessarily familiar with. I pushed myself to my feet, feeling groggy as Monticello and I stepped off. I could see more of Legri better now. The street was rather small, and the homes were classic Italian architecture. Small cars were parked in the street, making it seem even more narrow than before.