Blood Bound

Plan A and Plan B

"Lust?" 

"Shut up." 

"He's too hot to resist?" 

Bess hissed, and glared at Brook that's still calmly snacking on the pastries. He grinned. 

"Okay, seriously, I'm listening, so what were you trying to say?" Brook fixed his sitting position before reaching for one more piece of pastry. 

"My point is, we have one month alone with him, before the trial, before the..." Bess hates to say the word. "auction." 

"Our parents love that you experienced when you're young, I think that what shaped your humanity, and I kinda feel like the only thing holding the 'bad Bess' at bay is also Mom and Dad's love, and your... love too." Bess rolled her eyes. Brook grin wider, Bess almost regret mentioning about the love thing.

"Well." Brook finish eating the last piece of his scone, properly gulping them down. "To be honest I kinda agree, but, Bess, there're some drawbacks to this... humanity. I'm blessed with a strong physic, and maybe being a pure blood slayer—I mean Dad isn't a real Redhound but he's exceptionally good—kinda help too. The drawback is... yes you're right, I only take on werewolves because they don't look human, I can reason with my humanity."

Bess actually knew about this, many people that have given her request told them Brook declined their request for vampire attack, she figured it was too disturbing for him to kill something in human form.

"So you wait 'till fullmoon?"

Bess sworn, if 'bad Bess' is excited on doing a mass-pre-nightwalker-murder, Brook's slight smile told her he took pleasure in killing the big wolves.

"Yes, and then I go on full blast." Brook quickly look away, to take another piece of the small sweet and pop it in his mouth. Bess can see he tried to control his expression.

"But it's hard though, to kill werewolf, one is hard enough, how do you do it?"

Brook scoffed. "Died a couple times but I'm still here, aren't I?"

Bess frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"The alteration, Bess, it worked." Brook looked into Bess' eyes, there's so much confident in Brook's eyes. He knows well how much power he has.

"I thought it's not supposed to be... that powerful."

Brook just smiled, and his eyes switched to somewhere behind Bess. The girl turn around and find little Henryk making his way towards the dining room with eyes wandering around. Behind him is a maid, worry on her face.

"I'm sorry, Miss, he refused to be taken to the game room, he wanted to be with you and Mr. Brook." The maid fiddle with her fingers. Bess smiled.

"No, that's okay, Marry, you can leave now, we'll take care of him."

The maid nods and walk away after curtsied a little.

"Come sit down." Bess shrug her head pointing to the seat across her. Henryk sit nicely.

"Was it nice? The bath?" Brook asked while Bess call the maid to bring them another plater of snacks and tea. Henryk nodded.

"Yeah, the last time I really bathed was... I can't really remember. Most of it was just washing my body in the river and putting on the same clothes again." Henryk hug himself, comfortable in the silk beige shirt and black jeans.

The maid came with a new set of snacks, and fresh pot of tea.

"I made a honey milk tea for him is it alright? We don't want to make it too bitter for the young master." Cally, the same maid that served them put the tea pot in front of Henryk. She open the top of the pot and a warm steam burst elegantly out of it. Bess can smell the milk tea even from her seat. Henryk nods with a smile towards the maid.

"I like milk tea, thank you so much miss."

Cally, hearing the word 'miss' got flustered, she obviously loves Henryk even more after that.

"Call me Cally, young master, it's my pleasure, I hope you enjoy." She curtsied a little bit and walk away.

"They served like they're serving to the royal family, are you guys—"

"No, come on." Bess scoffed. "It's just... there weren't so many hunters back then, Redhoud was one of the biggest, and this house was so big to begin with, people started to offer for help, they took it."

"So they were strangers and you accept them just like that into your house? I mean... it's an apocalyptic world, it's hard to trust people, right?" Henryk blew on his milk tea repeatedly, before poking it with his tongue to see if it's the right temperature yet, and then blow some more.

"You live in a house full of legendary killers, I don't think they would dare to even mess something up." Brook answered, the Redhound siblings clearly got fascinated with the way Henryk is taking things, he was so bouncy on the road but after the humanity thing was exposed, there's a heavy atmosphere around him.

"So, tell us, what's your family name? I mean we're hunters, we'd know everyone and anyone, we might know your Mother and Father too." Brook lean forward.

"Rezmond. Ever heard of them?" Henryk finaly took a sip on the milk tea and the kid sighed in content.

Brook looked at Bess, and Bess shrugs her shoulder.

"Nope, sorry." Brook lean back again, he was seriously thought he might know them. Just in case.

"It's okay. I mean we pretty much live on the very edge of Nox town, near the crossing to Troca, so it wasn't really alive, our neighborhood." He reached towards the closest sweets—s'mores—and took a big bite before rolling his eyes in delight.

"So your parents were farmers? Or maybe fisherman?" Bess kinda give credit for Brook for giving good smooth questions to little Henryk.

"Yeah, Dad used to be a fisherman, my Mom was a cook, she would sell baked goodies, or lunch to the fisherman or farmers nearby."

Brook nods slowly, and he leans in again.

"Were they... lovable? Were they good to you?" Brook asked in a smaller voice, and Bess almost slap him for the rude question. She thought he was the one who's supposed to be all lovey-dovey and caring, and she's the bad cop.

"Yeah, they were. Mom used to sang me lullabies whenever I'm going to sleep, and I remembered Dad watching us from the door. Dad would always bring the best fish back home and brag about how he snuck the best for his family and sold the other which are not as good as the one he brought home and convinced them that it is the best caught of the day." Henryk chuckled softly, his eyes blankly staring on the table, reminiscing.

"You know they loved you then?" Brook lean back to his seat, Bess watched him slowly smiling from his side.

Henryk's gaze fall back towards Brook with a confused look.

"Yes, I know." He answered anyway.

"Good. I want you to always remember that memory when you're facing the hard times. If you can do that then you don't have to worry about anything."