Zhea
1655 hours
Herbert Fletcher Zaeheri
His neat handwriting was slowly turning into ant-like scribbles. Who would have thought reserving two spaces for a party in JAL ended up from austere payments to a one-page letter as if he was sending a note to his war-tending lover? Herbert raised his head to glance at the receptionist who proceeded in picking up the undead ringing, switching tones from gentle to monstrous. Customer service seemed to have exploded off the politeness chart. It went from simple conversations of, "No, sir, we do not offer lunch and compensation" to "Get out of the hotel." When the Haranke wiggled its delft blue head towards his direction, Herbert bobbed his head earning a hiss from the other where he had a front-row seat to the slithering fork tongue. If he did not have an encounter with serpents before, he would have thought the receptionist took the fancy of him as her dinner palate.
"If you are in your room we will send you a friendly invitation reminder. You are required to bring the entry pass to our eighteenth floor," the receptionist said, pushing the silver glittering entry pass to her customer and proceeding to pick up his scribbles. "Alright, that will do. Two people for the evening, Fletcher and Yueru from room 345D join tonight's exclusive party. Are you planning to go in as a couple or as individuals?"
"How does revealing that information helps in enjoying our party night?" Herbert asked, taking the entry pass to read the details and silently admire the neat signature that smelt metallic as if it was real blood. "I thought it is a party for everyone regardless of singles or couples."
"Well, Sir Fletcher, we would like that information to prevent any mishaps like couple stealing or unwanted fights since all our decors are imported from other kingdoms," she revealed as she tapped the invisible board quickly with her sharp-manicured talons. "Not to mention the possible usage of magic or supernatural abilities that could cost JAL a huge amount of loss. Please understand our concern."
"We are going as a couple," answered Herbert without any second thoughts and in no time the receptionist provided him with two bracelets in half silver and half gold. "That's an exquisite taste for a going-in pass."
"Yes, it resonates with our kingdom's mission in manifesting the silver and be gold. We have it specially woven. Please wear it before you head to the party," she reminded and bowed. "That's all for the party's registration. We hope you have fun throughout the exclusive party. Thank you."
The elder vampire slipped the bracelets into his pocket. He couldn't help but play with the carefully braided cloth that felt like a freshly processed silk cloth. It would be a night for him to remember. Attending an exclusive party can be an experience he could bring back to Harl. In his mind, he already planned to drag one of the historically famous empire founders residing in Harl for centuries. It was time for the prominent founder to explore the evolution of the world. Just as Herbert was about to climb into the lift, he scented fresh blood from the outside. While none of the Harankes paid heed to the fishy odour, Herbert turned towards the open door with a large welcome mat and tracked it. Only when he did step outside of the hotel, he noticed the familiar mammal curling by the door.
He bit his inner cheeks, preventing the animalistic growl from fleeing its pit. Removing the cloth covering his weapon, Herbert pressed it to the wounded sides to prevent more blood from flowing. He lower his head close to Actticus', breathing in heavily as his shoulders rose and fall at the unsteady breaths. His sight was getting bloody. Everything around him was covered in red, replacing the beauty of their originality. Herbert could see his fingernails breaking into jet-black ones. No one and he could repeat it a zillion times, no one in this whole wide universe was allowed to hurt Actticus. The one and only wolf who dragged him out of the darkest pit of his life. Soft whines and weak purrs resonated against his ears, hauling his senses to their surface and painting his world lighter. A soft paw landed on his chest, tapping in rhythm. Herbert wrapped the cloth around Actticus' wound and cradled the wolf in his arms.
"I'm sorry," he whispered and stood up to look at the sinking sun. "Let's get you back to our room first. And, we can work everything out."
Pulling Ac tight to his chest, Herbert raced towards the lift, pressing the buttons intensely. Logically, he was aware that punching the numbers several times would not speed up anything, but the feeling of the cloth soaked in Ac's blood made his heart race. With his fingers curled tight against the wolf's fur, Herbert rushed out of the lift once it stopped. He apologised for almost knocking into a walking couple. The child who was throwing tantrums next door went unnoticed despite the widely open door. All Herbert could think of was to stop the bleeding, and –
Where's Yueru? Where's the prince of Roa?
He felt his legs going weak at the thought of what could possibly befall the future king of Roa. And, most importantly, is he still alive? Herbert pushed the door of his hotel room open, and shut it tight. As far as he recalled, he did not know anyone here in this kingdom, let alone one this terrible to inflict such pain on his special affiliate. The lights in his room lit brightly, reflecting onto the ground the hits his eyes. Herbert lowered his gaze to adjust to the brightness. He cursed internally at the sudden beams as he stepped forward. Only when he heard the sound of glass cracking underneath his boots did he lift his gaze. Those draped curtains were parted, revealing a broken window where the handle was. Not taking his boots off, Herbert set Actticus on the bed, sinking himself next to him.
The ground was filled with broken vases, glasses and fragile photo frames that belonged to JAL. Herbert began to doubt if anyone realized that there was a break-in at the hotel. He ran his blood-stained fingers through his blonde hair, trying to study the pattern on the ground. Several glasses were seen to be in smaller shards than expected as if they were trampled on. The vampire caught the scent of fertilizers, bleach and saffron in the air. It was a mix of fresh rose milk together with dried saffron that was put under the sun for days. Those scents were not supposed to be present in a traveller's room like him or Yueru. He knew well that the prince did not carry any scented soaps or candles with him. It would be the joke of the century if he did, hence Herbert was certain that this was the doing of someone around them.
The heavily armoured individuals were the first suspects on his list.
"Sorry," Herbert muttered, tending to his injured wolf who purred at him, trying to gain his full attention.
Ignoring the broken glasses, the elder vampire rushed towards the toilet to fill a bucket of water. Herbert studied the bathroom covered in a mess of shampoo being oozed out of their containers, including broken combs. They were searching for something, something that Herbert and Yueru had left inside. It was his only speculation for the mess they caused. Rolling his sleeves up, Herbert headed next to Ac to wipe the blood away from his wounds. Luckily for the wolf, they shared a bond in healing, a mishap that turned into a lucky charm which is a story Herbert will reveal in some other chapters of his life. As long as he lived, Herbert was certain that Actticus would live to see the world with his own eyes. He removed the sword from behind and sunk his palms into the blade just enough to draw his blood out of it.
"Where's Yueru?" Herbert asked, steadying the wolf while allowing his blood to drip into the wound that was shaped like an apple whose seeds were dug out by a spoon mercilessly. "Was he injured? Did some kind of royal guards take him away?"
Ac whined, burying his face in the sheets. It was enough to let his owner know that he had failed in protecting their companion, but Herbert did not blame the little one. He soothed the fur on Ac's body watching as his blood worked as a healing mechanism for the wound. It could take almost a day for the wolf to be better, but he knew that he could not wait for tomorrow to search for the prince. He needed to act quickly before his unknown enemy decided to rip the prince's heart away from his living body. Then, their journey would be for nothing. No one could be saved, not Roa and not even the prince himself. He would be better off dead than when he was at the age of a toddler. Leaving the wolf to rest, Herbert headed over to the middle of the room. He climbed up onto the chair, opening the space in the ceiling with a gentle push.
Droplets of silver liquid leaked from a hidden spot, finding their new home on Herbert's palm. The vampire hissed at the scent of sizzling burnt skin. Immediately, he wiped them off on his shirt just in time to catch a flying red note that withered from space.
The next arrow has to be released soon and time is running out,
You have been observing my scout,
Yet, your attention was a drought,
They were all sadly your deadweight,
Welcome Home My Old Friend.
Word Count: 1629 words
Cumulative Word Count: 19,202 words