A Cruel Jest?

31

"Thank you, Nocturne, for dinner." Mori says as she urges the man to slide out from the booth. She turns to the man, "finish your juice you'll be needing it soon." The man is too stunned at how Mori talks and treats one of the lords that he does what he's told to do. Nocturne looks on in amusement.

"Very good. Maybe I should take you to the courts Mori. You'd have the vampires in line in no time. I'd bet you'd even have my brother on his knees begging for mercy." Nocturne jokes with her. He doesn't notice how white the man has become.

"Shush Nocturne, you've scared him." Mori says in irritation.

"He's the king isn't he?" The man manages to get out through chattering teeth.

Mori bends down so she's at the mans eye level while he sits. He'd fallen back to the bench at the realization of who the vampire was that is sitting across from him, who'd eaten from his wife's neck.

"Look at me," Mori commands and even Nocturne could feel the power behind that command. He looks as well but for other reasons.

The man is helpless to disobey and looks at Mori, "You and your wife will be alright. Nocturne here assures me that although you are his that you remain under my protection. I see no reason for either of you to die, however, he does need more blood this night. He took more than he meant to from your wife and since he had to heal her she needs to remain close to Nocturne. So what we need you to do is carry your wife back to my cabin. There you will set your wife down on our spare bed, then you'll be his dinner. He won't take as much as he took from your wife. You'll both wake in the morning, eat breakfast then be allowed to leave. You have my word on it, so unless Nocturne wishes to break MY word both you and your lovely bride will be fine."

The man looks at Mori in awe. "How is it you would be able to tell the king what to do? We are his property, his to do with as he pleases and yet you give me such assurances. How is it possible?"

Nocturne steps in to answer. "She is my wife, and this is her valley. Here even I must follow her rules."

At Nocturne's answer the man's eyes grow wider than Mori thought humanly possible. "There's a queen of the vampires?" The man falls off the bench and kneels to Mori. "Forgive me, my queen, I did not know."

Mori is giving Nocturne dagger looks. Everyone else in the diner is looking at them wondering just what the hell is going on. "Get up. No one knows. Nocturne isn't known here and he doesn't want people to know his rank." Mori's words act like a cattle prod to the man and he jumps up.

"Get your wife. Take this road straight up the mountain until you hit the gate. Wait there for me to let you in or you might get hit with buckshot. Stings like hell if it doesn't kill you." The man nods in a daze.

He picks his wife up while the waitress brings over two meals in to go containers in a bag, he takes that as well. He leaves and goes to a car parked out front that neither had paid attention to. Nocturne sniffs. He'd of known if he'd looked to the license plate.

Nocturne pays for the meals and they leave. Nocturne finds it nice weather and wants to fly so he picks Mori up and soars into the sky.

"You're angry with me." Nocturne says while flying. "Is it from earlier, the hit or is it something else?"

"To be honest it's both. It will take awhile for the anger from you hitting me to leave, but what I'm angriest at is how you acted at the diner." Mori replies.

Now Nocturne is clueless. "I don't understand, what did I do at the diner?"

"Seriously, you have no clue? Just how in the hell did vampire's become the dominant species?" Mori asks the heavens that last bit.