(The Midnight Chronicles: B1OOD)
Noctis Marius IV - the last living highborn vampire - has finally turned 121-years-old, which means he is now at the right age to look for his wife and continue on his bloodline before the 'Blood Moon' occurs.
...
The moment he got inside, he saw at least twelve other guards sitting on benches and chairs.
Some were sharpening their swords, some were assembling their guns, and some were just relaxing while a slow song played at the background.
"Hello," Art awkwardly greets, making everyone look at him.
He gulps and closes the door behind him. Then he looks back at the guards and continues, "I'm Arthur Bain. Noc...I mean, Lord Noctis appointed me earlier and he told me to look for Harris Martel?" Art says, and the guards still continued to look at him weirdly.
Art was about to just leave since no one was literally talking to him. But before he could do so, a tall man with red hair stands up and says, "What was your name again?"
Art gulps and nervously says, "A-Arthur Bain."
The man nods his head and walks towards Art who was slowly walking backwards until his back ended up hitting the door.
"Lord Noctis appointed you himself?" he asks, now standing inches away from Art.
Art doesn't say anything and nods his head as an answer. He thought the redheaded man was going to add something, but instead, he starts laughing, making everyone start laughing at him as well.
"Lord Noctis? Personally appointing you? Don't make us laugh pretty boy," the guard in front of Art says, shocking him.
Art looks at them confusingly because he didn't know what was so funny with what he told them, "I'm serious," he says, making the guards laugh again.
The redheaded man practically hits Art's shoulder as he explains, "Lord Noctis never appoints a guard. He doesn't even care about us so don't act like you're special."
"But I'm-"
"What's going on here?" a low voice suddenly asks, making everyone automatically stop laughing.
The voice scent chills through Art's spine.
The guards moved away, revealing a tall black man whose hair was already grey because of old age. And the man was wearing an eye patch, making Art realize that this man was none other than Harris Martel.
"What's so funny?" Harris asks, then everyone looks at Art, making Art unconsciously gulp as the man approached him.
"Who the hell are you?" he asks Art.
Art takes a deep breath and answers, "I'm Arthur Bain and I was appointed by Lord-"
Harris cuts him off and says, "I don't care who appointed you. But since you're here, that means you're a guard now. And you're another vampire that I have to be responsible for. So I'll go straight to the point. I don't give a damn if Lord Noctis or the Midnight King himself appointed you. You mess up; I kick you out, simple as that."
Art doesn't say anything and nervously nods his head.
"The Lord's Guards are brothers by title, but we don't have any initiation or any stupid rituals like that. You hold the title with pride, and you protect the Lord with your entire life," Harris explains. Then he gestures at the redheaded man and says, "This is Augustus Thaddeus, the Second In Command. He'll be the one who's going to assign you to where you'll be placed."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
