Reia and the two unconscious vampires he was carrying were greeted with thankful cheers from all the villagers of Obsidian Mountain Village. However, when they saw the condition in which two of their saviors were, they quickly led Reia to a small, neat and tidy house where the three of them could rest and stay for as long as they needed to.
"Thank you so much for protecting our village. We'll forever be grateful to you, Blood-Mage Hunters," the man that had called them to fight the dragon told Reia, bowing over and over again, almost on the brink of tears from thankfulness.
The vampire just awkwardly smiled in response, still not being used to people thanking him even after almost a hundred years of saving humans and defeating monsters. Realizing that he was probably bothering them, the man left the house, bowing one last time.
Reia glanced over at Lucius and Cyrus, who were laying on the two small beds in the room, still unconscious. Cyrus seemed unscathed, having passed out before the dragon had woken up. However, Lucius had bruises and cuts from fighting the creature, but it was nothing he couldn't overcome.
The vampire just stood there, his vision focusing on nothing in particular while his mind raced with different thoughts for a few minutes, then he sighed, looking down at his blood-soaked and dirty clothes. He walked over to the corner of the room, where some villagers left a bag full of different clothes for them, since they probably noticed the state in which the three vampires were. Reia opened the bag and searched for something that would fit him, pulling out a simple black long-sleeved shirt.
He pulled his dirty shirt over his head, tossing it aside. Before he could put on the clean one, a gasp from behind him made the vampire quickly turn his head. To his horror, both Lucius and Cyrus had woken up, and they were staring at him; at his scars -his grotesque, ugly scars covering almost the entirety of his back, chest and arms.
"Reia, what are those?" Cyrus whispered the question, his face pale and his eyes full of concern as he stared at his friend's body.
"W-Where did you get those from? Dear Lord..." Lucius said, his voice barely audible as he got up in a seating position, not taking his eyes off of the vampire in front of him.
Reia quickly put on the shirt he was holding, hiding his scars from his companions once again. Silence filled the small room, the three of them staring at each other for what seemed like hours. Then, Reia broke the silence. "We've all got a past, don't we? And that's all it is. The past. So please don't meddle with what I'm unable to explain," he said, his voice hoarse while a sad smile tugged the corners of his lips and a dark, almost unreadable emotion appeared in his eyes.
Both Lucius and Cyrus stared at him in silence, their mouths slightly agape. They didn't know much about Reia's past, but they knew it wasn't the most pleasant. That much was evident from the way he always flinched at sudden movements, or from the way he would sometimes go into his own little world, staring in the distance with a cold, emotionless look in his eyes, like he was physically present but in reality he was far, far away. He had always been closed off, keeping all his thoughts and emotions bottled up inside him, like he was terrified of being vulnerable in front of anyone, even in front of the two people that he considered his family.
Cyrus and Lucius knew all of that, and that was exactly why they never forced him to talk about the things he had been through, hoping that one day he would feel comfortable enough to tell them on his own. However, they had never expected the gravity of the things he was keeping bottled up inside him.
"Who the fuck did that to you?" Cyrus asked, his voice filled with anger, a threatening look in his eyes. Then, a different thought crossed his mind. "Don't tell me you... Did you..." he stumbled on his own words, his eyes growing wide at the thought that his friend might have given himself those scars.
Reia shook his head, closing his eyes. "Please..." he whispered, his face looking tired and scared. "Please, don't make me talk about it now," he pleaded, his voice slightly breaking. He opened his eyes, looking at the two vampires with a desperate look in his eyes. "I promise I'll tell you everything, just... Not now, please," his voice was shaky and he looked paler than he ever did before.
Both Lucius and Cyrus were taken aback by Reia's reaction. Anger, confusion and guilt were twirling around in their minds. Anger towards the one that did that to their best friend. Confusion towards Reia's desperation and fear. And guilt towards themselves, for clearly making Reia think about something that he was trying to forget.
Lucius was the first one to cave in. "Reia... We would never force you into telling us something when you're not ready," he said, his voice sad but sincere. "Just know that we'll always be here for you, no matter how long it's going to take you to feel comfortable enough to tell us about it," his eyes softened and he smiled at Reia.
"We're family, you fucking idiot," Cyrus chimed in, his voice loud but raw with emotion. "Whatever it is you're afraid to tell us, it doesn't matter. Nothing's gonna change what you mean to us. We love you, fuckface," he said, starting to sob halfway through his heartfelt confession, even though he was trying to hide it.
Reia stared at them for a moment, his body still slightly shaking. But, as he watched the sobbing Cyrus and the smiling Lucius, his heart filled with warmness. Love for those two coursed through his veins, making all his fears seem so insignificant. They were his best friends. His family. His home.
The vampire softly laughed, his own eyes filling up with tears from all the emotions he was feeling at once. "Thank you," was all he managed to tell them.
**********
A week had passed since they defeated the dragon and came to the village. For most of that week, Lucius and Cyrus stayed inside, recovering and bickering over childish things while Reia quietly sat at a small table in front of the window, reading or writing something, smiling as he listened to the two vampires.
However, after a week, both Lucius and Cyrus had fully recovered and wanted to boast their abilities to the other.
"There's no way you could have defeated that dragon on your own," Cyrus rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh but I fucking did," Lucius snapped back. "It's not my fault that you were passed the fuck out like an idiot when I did it," now it was his turn to roll his eyes.
Cyrus's face grew red with anger, showing his fangs. "Like your stupid emo powers could have done that! 'Darkness manipulation' blah blah blah," he mocked, making Lucius give him a nasty glare.
They would have kept arguing for hours if Reia didn't stop them. "Both of your abilities suck and you're both stupid," he calmly said, making the two vampires snap their eyes at him. "They suck... For now," he continued. "Because neither of you know how to control them yet. So, instead of fighting like two idiots, you could work on that instead," he told them, turning his attention back to the piece of paper he was writing on.
"And how the fuck are we supposed to do that?" Cyrus asked, puffing like an angry kid.
"Yeah, how are we supposed to learn how to control our abilities?" Lucius also asked, looking a little defeated.
Reia sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, putting down his pen and turning towards them once again. "If I help you learn, do you promise me you'll stop fighting and arguing every two seconds?" he asked them, a serious look in his eyes.
They stared at him for a second before both of them excitedly nodded their heads in agreement.
That same day, Reia started teaching them how to have better control over their own powers.
"Do you feel the magic coursing through your veins? Focus on it. It's part of you. Learn how to accept it as something that has always been a part of you, not as something foreign," he explained.
For days on end, they continued training. Lucius and Cyrus had always been fast learners, so they were improving quickly. Even though they had much more control over their abilities, they still had a lot to learn. Their potential was incredible and Reia was sure that soon they would become masters.
After about two weeks since they've arrived at the village, a knock came at their door. All three of them were surprised, since none of the villagers bothered them. They gave each other weary looks before Cyrus quietly walked over to the door and cautiously opened it.
An old looking man with greying hair, dressed formally was standing in front of their door. "I'm glad I have finally found you," he politely said, bowing down. "I am but a mere messenger here to deliver the word of the king," he said, making all three of them flinch in surprise.
"The.. King?" Reia asked, his eyes wide and his voice shaky.
The man nodded. "He has asked for you to go to the capital. He wishes to meet you as soon as possible."
To be continued...
Hi! I would like to dedicate this chapter to one of my best friends, Lavinia <3 Tomorrow is his birthday and I just wanted to let him know how happy and thankful I am to have him in my life. We've known each other for god knows how long, so I am extremely grateful for him sticking with me for so long. I'm also very confused about how he managed to put up with my annoying ass for so long LMFAO
Anyways
Lavinia (Ik you're reading this so imma address you directly), I love you a lot and I just want to remind you how amazing you are! HAPPY BIRTHDAY POOKIE BEAR<333333