"Are we there yet?"
"No Allen."
"Are we there now?"
"No..."
"How about now?"
"Do I have to cut your head off to get you to shut up?"
"Hey, that's not necessarily going to kill me. You can try it though. I'm sure I'd like it."
"You're disgusting."
"I know you are, but what am I?"
"Did I stutter?"
"... No..."
"Good."
Silence finally filled the air between Matthieu and Allen as they continued walking though the now darkened forest. Night had fallen upon them quickly, causing the forest to have an eerie feel to them. Flavio letting his models out to feed didn't help with Al's already terrible anxiety. He may have seemed like a tough guy on the outside with his well sculpted muscles and confident demeanor, but deep down he was a caring individual with horrible anxiety. Every little noise made him paranoid at this point in their travels, whether it be the snapping of a twig or a hoot from an owl nesting in a tree.
Kuma suddenly stopped in his tracks for the second time that evening. He gave the air a large sniff and growled. Matt stopped next to him, knowing something was indeed wrong. He lightly sniff the air himself. The strong scent of overly perfumed women invaded his enhanced senses, causing him to give a small groan. Al tensed as he sensed what his two traveling companions were also sensing.
"Would now be a good time to start running?" Al asked in a whispered tone, his figure standing extremely close to the muscular body of the tall blond.
Matt nodded as silence once again crept into the night. With reflexes and agility almost that of a cat's, Al took off. He screamed when a skinny, pale skinned woman with teal colored eyes and long, brown hair stepped out in front of him. He almost fell but caught himself before he could hit the ground. He spun his body while still low to the ground and took off to hide behind Matt's larger build. The blond rolled his eyes and directed his gaze to that of the female's.
"Evening Misty," Matt said dully.
"Good evening Matthieu. Hello Allen~," the woman, now known as Misty, replied.
Allen stuck his hand out to the side of Matt, still behind him, and gave a curt wave before pulling his hand back in. Misty smirked and began to walk to the duo. She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Kuma standing defensively near Matt's left side. Perched on top of the large bear's back was your seemingly lifeless body. The brunette licked her lips hungrily at the sight of your exposed neck. She could practically smell the scent of your life essence from where she stood silently.
"Don't even think about it," Matt growled.
"What ever do you mean Matthieu?" she asked, trying to play dumb with The Hunter.
"You know very well what I'm talking about glitter ball."
"Glitter ball? Let's not call each other names now Matthieu. I'm sure Mr. Vargas wouldn't be very happy with you doing that."
"It depends on which "Mr. Vargas" you're talking about."
"Don't start getting technical with me. You knew who I meant. But..."
"But what?"
"But it would be such a waste to let a perfectly good meal go to waste, wouldn't it be?"
"She's not a meal Misty."
"Oh really now? If she's not a meal, then what is she pray tell?"
"That's classified information that I'm not going to give up."
"Whatever."
Misty began to walk towards your body again, ignoring the glare Matt was giving her. She stopped her advance and began to back up with a look of pure disgust on her face. She glared at you and then to Matt. A long slender finger pointed pointed to you and then to the direction of the castle. Matt continued to stand motionless with an expression of boredom that could only rival his father's. The model did the motion once more, but she still didn't gain a response from the tall blond man.
"She has his scent on her."
"Yeah, so what? That doesn't exactly tell you much."
"No, it doesn't, but it tells me enough to know that I don't like her."
"Aw, are you going to cry because you can't get even within spitting distance of him, and she can get as far as to have him touching her? To have him hold her flush against his own body, caressing her softly as he places gentle kisses down her neck? If you think that's what he does with her, then you have another thing coming you hussy."
Misty's eye twitched at the name. She had been called that before by a human photographer that had been captured, and let's just say that he didn't live to see the light of day the following morning. Matt had crossed the line with her this time, and she wasn't about to have any of that. She placed a thumb and index finger to her mouth, using them to create a loud whistle. A flock of models soon surrounded Matt, Al, Kuma, and yourself, of course you were not aware of this.
Matt bragged his hockey stick from its holder and got ready to fight. He turned his body to face Al, who had still been standing behind him. He looked on mortified as he did a quick head count of about seventeen models. Matt lowered his head so that his forehead was touching the other male's. His gaze quickly settled on your limp body, making sure that no model was trying to sneak up on him.
"Take (y/n)," he spoke into Al's mind.
"Who?" Al inquired through the same form of communication as Matt.
"The girl that's unconscious. Her name is (y/n), but you need to take her away from here, now."
"What?! Are you nuts?! I can't out run them!"
"Oh, yes you fucking can. I've seen you playing night baseball with all your buddies, and you can outrun all of them. Therefore, you can fucking outrun a bunch of models in high heels. You need to do this, and you need to do this now. Listen closely Al. You're going to grab (y/n) and run like all of hell is on your ass. Don't stop until you get over the ridge and past the meadow three-fourths of the way out of the forest about fifty miles northwest of here. Hide out that way with the girl in a tree or something until I come get you guys."
"Alright, but those models probably heard all of that!"
"No, they didn't."
"How can you be so sure?"
"It's an old mind trick. I don't have time to explain so get (y/n) and go!"
Allen gave a small nod and rushed over to you. A few models lurched forward to grab a hold of him before he could get to you, but they failed, tripping over their own feet as it would have seemed. After you were securely in his arms bridle style, he bolted to the direction of the meadow with three models on his tail still. He could here Matt fighting the remaining fourteen models, but ignored that and focused on loosing the models in the mess of trees before hitting the ridge.
After another twelve minutes of running Al stopped. He had lost the models in a cave system about seven miles back and made it to the other side of the forest. Before fully resting, he slung you onto his back and scaled a maple tree. He clambered up to a wide branch high above the ground and laid you down on it. He sat by you feet and stared at you for an unknown amount of time.
'She really is pretty. I can see why Luciano wants her, but what for?' the brunette thought to himself.
What seemed like hours past, and Matt had not come to retrieve him like he said he would. Al began to get worried, but cleared his thoughts by mapping out constellations in his mind. A tap on his shoulder snapped him back to reality. He turned to find Matt sitting next to him and Kuma sitting on the ground just below them, keeping a watchful eye out for anything suspicious.
Matthieu's face was littered with small cuts here and their and a rather deep looking stab wound on his shoulder. No doubt it would scar his flesh once it healed, for her did not have the same healing and regenerative powers as an average vampire did. Al looked him over. He didn't seem to be bleeding anymore, but he could tell that all of the wounds were fresh and ready to heal. In fact, the cuts on his face were beginning to dissipate rapidly. The brunette figured they would disappear before they arrived at the castle.
"You're alive!" Al exclaimed while hugging Matt tightly. "I still have a brother!"
"Half-brother," Matt corrected. "And would you quit hugging me?!"
Al let go immediately and dropped his hands in his lap. Matt inspected you, making sure no harm had actually come to you. Once he was satisfied, he got up and stepped over his half-brother. He picked you up effortlessly and jumped down from the tree. He nodded his head at his bear, silently telling him to follow. Kuma did so without a second thought, with Al following somewhere close behind them. Al caught up to them and started walking on the other side of Matt, his hands clasped together tightly behind his back.
"So, do you mind telling me about that mind trick you pulled back there?"
"No."
"Enlighten me then."
"If any two people, one having to be a vampire in some way, share a physical connection, whether it be foreheads touching, holding hands, etc., they can share a mental conversation without other vampires hearing said conversation. It's rather quite useful in situations like we were just in."
"I'd say so! Hey, I've got another question for ya."
"Oh yeah? And what's your question?"
"How much longer until we hit the castle?"
"We're here already shit-stain. Jeez, pay attention to your surroundings will you?"
Al pouted in response and said nothing. Him and Matt, along with Kuma and the still unconscious you, walked to the thrown room. They passed a few human servants, mainly maids, and a handful of other vampires. They avoided The Hunter's gaze like the plague but gave questioning looks in your direction. The further the three males got, the less number of humans and vampires they encountered. They group soon stopped in front of the throne room doors. Al knocked a few times. The large doors were opened from the inside by the very same pair of maids that had been there early that morning.
Luciano was sitting on his thrown, an outfit very similar to the one he had on the previous day graced his body. The only difference was that the waistcoat's color was a midnight blue rather than a deep red. He arose from his seat and swiftly made his way down the red carpet leading from the throne to the double doors. Matt met him halfway with you in his arms. The prince smiled at the sight of you, his love, unharmed and peacefully breathing through your slightly parted lips. He caressed your cheek, his thumb rubbing over your skin back and forth.
"Well done Matt," Luciano complemented, taking you into his arms bridal style. "You came back a full two and a half hours before you promised. I am very impressed and very pleased."
"I'm just doing my job as The Hunter. I live for this kind of thing."
"Mhm, you seem to have gotten into a fight while retrieving mia bella ragazza. Did you run into a wild animal?"
"Ha! I wish. Try your brother's models."
"Ah, so you ran into multiple wild animals."
Matt and Luciano chuckled together at his joke. Al just stood awkwardly next to Kuma, who was growling lowly at him, towards the back of the room with the two human girls.
"I'll have to tell Flavio to keep his girls in the castle when you are on missions if they are going to interfere with your work."
"You can if you want. They honestly gave me a run for my money. For girls in high heels, they can move pretty damn fast."
"That they can. That they can indeed."
"With all do respect Luciano, I'm going to my room to sleep for a bit. I'm fucking tired."
"Sì, sì. Go sleep. Just to warn you though, there will be a ball tomorrow night so I can announce my bride-to-be to the kingdom. I expect you to be there."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Va bene. You are dismissed."
Matt nodded for what seemed like the billionth time that day and left, Kuma and Al on his heels. Luciano sighed as he rested his magenta hues on your beautiful face. He walked back to his throne and sat down, you being placed on his lap. You seemed to curl up against his chest despite you still being down for the count. Your legs hung of the edge of the chair motionless. The prince stroked your hair and placed a long and gentle kiss to your forehead before he wrapped an arm around you to keep you from falling off of his lap while you were unconscious.
~Author's Note~
DreamsForDays here! I am deeply sorry that I didn't post this at its normal time. I didn't even have it finished, and for the most part typed, until a few minutes ago. I was procrastinating so much, but I made sure I got it done so I could have it out on its usual update day. Now, onto translations!
Translations: Italian
Mia bella ragazza - My beautiful girl
Sì - Yes
Va bene. - Alright.
That's all of the translations for this chapter. I've recently been replaying Assassin's Creed II (I really love this game!) and I've been picking up on some Italian from it, so hopefully I won't have to rely of Google Translate or random sites anymore. I think that's all for this chapter. Thanks for reading! Feedback in the comments is always appreciated. Until next time!