A/N: We are going deeper into the fantasy now. I just say, "the center of the earth". Have fun reading. Feel free to leave me a comment and tell me what you think of the story so far.
After only a day and a half of fever, Yibo woke up again, clearly proving what a good physical condition he was and is in. I enviously noticed that he was even able to get up and walk around right after waking up. He ate something and then accompanied me to the king and his captain as if nothing had happened.
Back when I had the fever, I was unconscious for days and could not walk or do anything even after that without help. Yibo, on the other hand, was absolutely fit. I don't know if that was partly due to the care of the elf vampires or if it was really only Yibo's physical condition that made him immediately fit for action again.
He Peng was still unconscious. He would take longer to wake up, one of the other folk told me. Apparently this is not because He Peng is physically weak, quite the opposite, but because he is so exhausted and mentally damaged that he probably needs several more days to want to wake up himself. So this is more because of himself than because of the bite.
Already in the morning I had noticed with surprise that the king's soldiers brought an old woman, who looked as if she was at least 100 years old, into the cave and directly to the king. She did not seem frightened or as if all this was new to her. It was probably more like she knew each and every one of these elf vampires, welcomed them with smiles, and was greeted by them with gentle hugs and kisses.
When Yibo and I went to the king, the old woman was still there and she was sitting in a seat right next to him. She as a human, small, old, wrinkled and gray-haired, sat next to the king as if it was perfectly normal. And, she spoke to him in his language! And, she immediately beckoned us to her when she saw us.
Yibo and I walked up to her and she gestured for us to sit down in front of her. She exchanged a few more words with the king and then turned to us. She smiled, and the wrinkles around her mouth seemed to double as a result, and you could see that she had very few teeth left. But despite all these wrinkles, her missing teeth and the long curly gray hair, you could somehow still see that she must have once been a beautiful woman. At some point, an infinitely long time ago, she had turned the heads of many men, I'm sure.
"Are you now done staring at me young man?" She asked me in a raspy voice.
"I, um yeah. Sorry. I was just wondering..." I began, but she interrupted me with a wave of her hand and a broad smile.
"I'm 105 years old and I have no idea how much time I have left, so we'd better focus on what I have to tell you."
"Of course." I said and Yibo nodded.
"So, my name is Puria, I am the keeper of the history of this folk. The Amores. King Bac you already know, and also his Beautiful Wife, Queen Maha." We nodded. "Good. The Amores live, just like all the other beings who cause chaos here in your world, at the center of the earth. There they live in jungles and oases, pyramids and huts. It's a whole world of wondrous things. At least if you don't come from there. There live the Amores, the Demoids, who are in constant battle with each other. But also other beings and peoples live there. However, very few of them have names. They usually name them after what they do. The flyers, the gatherers, the diggers and so on. Very few of them are friendly beings and peaceful."
"Why are they here? And most importantly, what are they doing here?" Yibo interrupted them.
"Some time ago, the earth kept shaking where we live, and new caves and passages were formed that led upward to the earth. Before, there was only one way in and out. Many of the beings were initially curious and made their way up. And there they found a people who immediately fought them. And the warlike beings thought they had found new enemies. New enemies and food."
"So they only attacked us because we attacked them first?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "No, these creatures love to fight. It's in their nature. The Amores are also warriors, as you can probably tell from their bodies. They get weapons in their hands from a very young age and have to learn how to fight."
"But King Bac doesn't see us as his enemies. He helped us." I replied.
"Not exactly. He helped you Xiao Zhan. And he helped your friends because of you."
"Because of me?" I asked her, confused and puzzled.
"Yes, because of you. Because you carry the same blood as I do."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that we both belong to their people. We carry, even if only a very small part, their blood in us."
"I don't understand."
"How could you? Even I took many years to understand it. But to explain it to you briefly, so that you might understand a little, I can tell you this. Once upon a time, infinitely long ago, the Amores were already on earth and made friends with the humans. Humans at that time considered them to be gods, because of their height and appearance. They look attractive and at that time no one had ever seen creatures as gorgeous as they are. A few of them, humans and Amores, even had intimate relationships with each other. From these relationships, children were born, mixed beings of which only a handful survived and looked like humans. These then had relationships with other humans and so the blood of the Amores was always passed on. Now, many hundreds of years later, very few still carry a remnant of the blood, the genes of the Amores, in us. Like me, and like you."
"So any of my ancestors were with an Amore?"
"Yes, exactly." Said Puria. I was stunned and didn't know what to say or think about it. "The smell of your blood, which the Amors and all the other creatures can detect as well, identifies you as one of them."
"But if that is true, why did the creatures fear me only after King Bac bit me?"
Puria laughed. "My boy, the bite and drinking his blood only made you stronger, not fearful. That they fear you can mean that you have the blood of a king or queen in you."
King Bac suddenly nodded with a serious look. "Smells like frrrriend." He said.
Puria and he spoke briefly and then Puria turned back to me. "He said friend because he didn't come up with the right word. What he meant was not friend, but family. Family of the king."
Yibo also seemed to slowly realize what Puria was telling us. He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, then took my hand and looked at Puria. "So humans back then considered the Amores to be gods? So like God Amor?" He wanted to know.
"Yes, that's right." Replied Puria.
"Then I understand now why I became so addicted to Zhan and that from the moment I saw him. I was attracted to him and couldn't imagine my life without him after just one night."
"Yibo I don't think this belongs here." I muttered.
Puria laughed and King Bac couldn't help smirking either. "Who knows, maybe you really have fallen under his spell." She said, giggling. Then she cleared her throat, took a sip of water and continued speaking. "Presumably, one of Zhan's female ancestors was involved with a cupid."
"Um..." I began, but then didn't speak further.
"Xiao Zhan, it doesn't matter if it was a woman or a man. It doesn't affect anything. Well, maybe you owe it to the blood though, that you are in that attractive way, handsome and cute and therefore can captivate men and women with ease. Even King Bac finds you attractive." She said. I immediately wanted to say something in response, but she immediately shook her head and continued speaking. "With the Amores, gender doesn't matter. They mate with both men and women. There is no monogamy with them either. They fall in love with only one person and stay with that partner for life. But they certainly have sex with others."
Yibo looked at me darkly and said, "If you sleep with someone else, I'll kill the other person first and then you. Just by the way." I could only stare at him in shock.
King Bac laughed, put a hand on Yibo's shoulder and shook his head. "He only wants you." He said to Yibo.
"That's right. The Amores can smell the hormones in the blood, so they know if someone is ready to mate or not. And Xiao Zhan isn't. He is all yours. If it weren't, I'm sure King Bac would have tried his luck." Explained Puria.
"Okay, but now to something else. What will happen next?" I asked. I wanted to end the topic as I was getting uncomfortable. Besides, I saw Yibo's carotid artery popping out and that could be anything but a good sign. Moreover, I caught myself imagining how a lovemaking session would work with such a huge amore packed all over with muscle, without that you might never be able to walk again afterwards.
"As you know, we are waiting for the Flyers to arrive." She said. Yibo and I nodded again, however. "Good. These are really no different from the flying creatures that are already here now. Except for their color and their very nature. They are not enemies of the Amores, and in fact serve them."
"I see. So they will fight the other flying creatures?" I asked.
"Yes and no. They're more likely to go after the diggers. Those hairless gray creatures. They are enemies and have been fighting each other for a very long time. But of course they will fight the other creatures as well. Along with the Amores and, if you feel up to it, with you." She said. Then she paused for a moment, exchanged a glance with King Bac and the captain from King Bac handed her a bundle and this she gave to Yibo.
Yibo unwrapped it and found in it a war axe and a spear like the one I have. "Oh, that's the same one Zhan has." Said Yibo.
"Yes. These spears belong together, just as you two belong together. Any of the Amores, whether here or anywhere else, will recognize you as belonging together with them. Also, they identify you as friends and allies of the Amores. So always carry them with you." Said Puria. She then explained that King Bac and his captain would teach us to fight with these weapons.
I thought that this weapons training would only take place in a day or two, at the latest when He Peng was awake. Instead, they took us outside into the dense forest and we had to start the weapons training immediately. And again, Yibo had effortlessly learned to use the spear quickly, while I was still struggling. And that although I have had my spear for a long time and had trained with it from time to time.
After the hours-long and very exhausting weapon training we went back, washed ourselves with the ice-cold water and then received new and specially for us made clothes. They consisted mostly of leather and little cloth.
I put on my clothes and Yibo immediately shook his head. "No, you're not going out there like that!" He said and looked at my free upper body, because it was exposed.
"I'll put on a T-shirt, then it should be fine." I suggested.
"Yeah, that would be better. I don't want everyone to see you the way only I should."
"I'm a man Yibo, I don't have anything different than you or anyone else."
"I know ZhanZhan. But you know what I mean too right?"
"Of course."
"And I'll put on a T-shirt too. And when we get back to the city, we'll dress up in a uniform or a battle suit. This is all well and good, but I really feel Naked underneath."
"Me too. Although it looks kind of sexy on you too Yibo."
"You think so?"
"Mn. I think you even look very sexy."
"Do we have a place here somewhere where we can be alone? Just you and me."
"Mn. We do." I said with a grin and took Yibo's hand. I pulled him behind me through some cave passages, by now I knew my way around there, and into a small cave that I had already fixed up a bit the day before, wisely of course. We made love there all night and no one came and disturbed us. But I'm also pretty sure, as good as their sense of smell and hearing are, they knew exactly what we both did.
It was only after we made love that we wondered who the Demoids are? If they are not the flying creatures and not the hairless gray ones, then who are they? And why are they and the Amores fighting so bitterly and, as Puria explained, for more than 200 years?
And there was something else Puria explained to us. Namely, the Amores do not drink blood because they are vampires, but because it makes them stronger in some way for the fight. But not and never because they need it.