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Art took a deep breath and stared at the door in front of him. His lover was inside his bedroom, and Art felt like he didn't want to disturb him, but at the same time, he wanted to talk to him. To tell him that he's here especially during times like these.
"We can do this," Art encourages himself as he takes another deep breath.
He lifts his hand and was finally going to knock on Noctis's door when the door suddenly opened, making Art step back a little because of shock.
Art's eyes widened when he saw Noctis looking back at him with tired eyes, "You do know I can smell someone's scent even if they were meters away from me right?"
Art gulps, and then he clears his throat and says, "I-I'm sorry my lord but... we'll be heading to the South Sanctum now."
Noctis looks at Art confusingly, "And who the hell told you we're going to the South Sanctum today?" he asks him.
Art looks back at Noctis with the same confused expression as he answered, "Augustus?"
Noctis stares at Art with disbelief, then he took a deep breath and said instead, "You were fooled."
"What?"
"Just come inside and close the door," Noctis says, heading to the table where he was originally at before he opened the door for Art.
Art was hesitant, but he went inside anyway and closed the door like what Noctis instructed.
"As you can see I'm not actually in the right outfit to be going anywhere today," Noctis says while reading a letter at the same time.
Art stares at him and realizes that Noctis was actually just wearing boxers with his usual silky robe. Then he saw his face. He already saw Noctis looking tired before, but this time it was different. Noctis looked genuinely exhausted.
"You should rest," Art comments.
Noctis still doesn't look up at Art and says, "I can't. I haven't slept at all when we arrived from Castle Deep. I wanted to rest but the wedding is coming as well so there's really no time."
Noctis then puts down the pen that he was holding and finally looked up to look at Art, "And I get really furious when I'm tired, which was why I didn't want to see you. I didn't want to say the wrong things, or act the wrong way when I'm in front of you."
Art was obviously surprised by what Noctis just told him. He almost blushed by it even.
"You gotta be kidding me," Art says, brushing his hair back while sighing in relief.
"I thought I did something wrong, which was the reason why you wanted to avoid me. But the truth was, it was actually something petty as this," Art says, making Noctis look at him seriously.
"Petty?" He asks back, but Art ignores it.
"You're just a lord Nox, not a god. But even gods aren't perfect, so why should you be?" Art asks him.
"It's not about being perfect Arthur. It's about-"
"What? About being a lord? Because you're a lord you should never show your weakness, even in front of me? Augustus said I should understand you. He said I should understand your situation. I know that okay? I know that you're a lord, and I know I'm just a commander. But aren't we lovers as well?" Art tells him.
Noctis was about to say something but Art quickly adds, "When you're tired you become furious? Fine. Then get mad at me. Say all the wrong things to me. Do your worst in front of me. As long as I am the only one who is able to see it, I will take it."
Noctis didn't know why but he suddenly felt teary while listening to Art.
Looks like his tiredness was finally getting the best of him.
"I will take all of you," Art says, then he opens his arms wide and adds, "Now come here and let me take your tiredness away."
Noctis bit his lower lip, and then he stands up and rushes towards his lover to embrace him.
Art wraps his arms around Noctis, and Noctis did the same to him.
"It will be your fault if I get used to being spoiled by you," Noctis says, his face buried at Art's chest.
"Don't worry, I like spoiling you anyways," Art says with a smile, then, he carries Noctis (bridal style) towards his bed and gently puts him down.
Art went on top of him, staring deeply down at Noctis's eyes.
Noctis couldn't help but chuckle as he says, "As much as I want to have sex with you right now my love, I think my body wouldn't be able to do it. I might not even be able to make my cock go up."
Art laughs at what Noctis just said. He flicks Noctis' nose and tells him, "I'm not seducing you idiot. I'm feeding you."
"Did you just call your lord an idiot?" Noctis jokingly asks.
Art grins and sat on top of Noctis. Then he loosens his collar while his eyes were still looking down at Noctis.
Noctis licks his lips seductively as he stares at Art, "Are you sure you're not seducing me?" he asks again.
Art lowly chuckles and grabs Noctis's arm. Then he pulls him, and just in a snap, Art was sitting on the bed while Noctis sat on top of Art's lap, their faces facing each other.
"You know what, I think I could actually have sex with you right now after all," Noctis says, half jokingly but half seriously as well.
Art laughs and leans his head to the side so Noctis could have a better access to his neck, "Alright, enough with the jokes. Bon Appétit my lord."
Noctis stares at Art's and licks his lips again. Then his eyes turns red, and his fangs slowly appears, signaling Art that he was ready to feast on him.
"Bon Appétit," he echoes. Then without any hesitation, he leans forward and pierces is sharp fangs on Art's flesh.
Art flinches, but after a few seconds, he was able to adjust to it.
Noctis was sucking on Art so hard it felt like Art would run dry. But Noctis knew his limits. He pulls away from Art and quickly wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
Noctis wasn't going to risk making Art faint even by how exhausted he felt.
"That's enough for tonight," Noctis says.
"Are you sure?" Art genuinely asks, and Noctis nods his head and leans forward to kiss Art on the lips.
He drapes his arms around Art's neck and presses his forehead on his.
Without saying anything, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, "Let's stay here for a couple more seconds," he tells Art.
Art smiles and gently kisses his nose.
"What were you even doing before I got here anyway?" Art suddenly asks.
Without opening his eyes, Noctis answered, "I was reading a letter William Harlan sent to me."
"William Harlan? Isn't he one of the-"
Noctis nods his head and says, "Yes, he's one of the government's cabinet member."
"Wait, does he know about you? Or does he just know you as someone who isn't a hundred year old vampire but actually a young President of a very prestige university?" Art then asks, making Noctis open his eyes and smile at Art.
"You should know this by now. I thought Sir Clemens tutored you before?" Noctis teases, making Art roll his eyes.
Noctis laughs and brushes Art's hair back with his fingers, "He's a vampire. He's the only vampire that we were able to successfully give a position at the government."
Art was obviously surprised on what Noctis just said, "He's a vampire? He WAS a vampire? So the...oh Jesus, the photosensitivity shit was a lie. Why didn't I see that?"
Noctis laughs at Art's reaction and says, "Well, you didn't know he was a vampire so his excuse with being allergic to the sun doesn't really sound strange at all."
"So what did he say? Does he actually give you reports about the government?" Art asks further.
Noctis continues to play with Art's hair as he answered, "Well I wasn't finished with reading his letter yet, but I talked to Levi earlier. Levi handles the human affairs, which means he's handling Mr. Harlan too. If something's urgent, he'll talk to Levi, then Levi will inform me about it afterwards."
"Well I think you should finish reading that letter." Art comments.
Noctis was about to say something when someone suddenly knocks on the door fanatically.
Noctis sighs and looks at Art with a dissatisfied look, "Why can't I just have at least an hour of peace with you?" he asks, standing up from the bed while Art assisted him.
Art was about to stand up as well but Noctis stops him and says, "Don't worry, it's just sir Clemens."
So Art stayed at the bed as Noctis opened the door.
But the moment Noctis opened the door, sir Clemens barges inside and immediately says, "Noctis...Harlan's dead. It's all over the news. He was killed at his house."
Art and Noctis' eyes widened from shock.
Art immediately stood up from the bed and fixed his uniform. Noctis looks at sir Clemens with disbelief and shakes his head, "No, that can't be. We just-"
Noctis pauses, then he quickly went back to his table to take the letter that he just received from William Harlan.
Dear Lord Noctis Marius IV,
I have heard of your victory at Castle Deep with your battle with the Night Warriors, so I would like to congratulate you through this letter. I have also heard of your discovery at the Original Blood Brother's Temple about the Kings who you speculate are just as alive as we are. I know in the midst of all that, you are also busy with your wedding preparations with Madam Lancaster. I do not wish to add to your problems, but there is something that I must say, and there is no one that I could trust but you so I did not directly tell Head Levi Bonham about this matter.
I also discovered something; an asset that hundreds, maybe even thousands of men are chasing after. You must be aware that I do not stay at the South Sanctum for the Sanctum's safety, so I hid the asset at my mansion where my wife is guarding it.
I did not want to reveal this just yet because I wanted to be sure myself, but there is not much time left. There's someone chasing after me, and I feel like they know what I know.
If you have the time my lord, I would wish to meet up with you tomorrow morning at my mansion. I would like to show you the asset, and I hope to discuss this matter with you seriously.
Hoping to hear from you immediately,
- W. Harlan
Noctis's hand was trembling when he finished the letter. He immediately gave the letter to sir Clemens and waited for him to read it as well.
Art joins Sir Clemens and stands behind him so he could read the letter too.
While the two were reading it, Noctis couldn't help but grab his necklace to ease himself.
"Asset? What was he talking about?" Sir Clemens asks right after reading the letter.
"Did you send someone to his mansion?" Noctis asks instead.
"I heard Levi called Margaret so she immediately sent some vampires there to see if they could find anything useful," sir Clemens explains.
"Alright. Tell them to not do anything irrational. Reporters will be there to check out the situation, so I don't want them to act strangely. Tell Margaret to ask her soldiers to take whatever they find and bring them to the South Sanctum."
"Yes my lord," Sir Clemens says, bowing his head before leaving the room to do what Noctis just told him to do.
When the door closed, Noctis leans on the table and takes a deep breath.
"You okay?" Art asks.
Noctis looks at him seriously. Then he walks towards Art and says, "Call Augustus and the others. Looks like we're heading to the South Sanctum after all."
~~~
"I can't believe they killed William Harlan," Augustus says while he was driving. He and the rest of the Lord's Guards were at the van. And since the excuse of Pierce injuring his foot is outdated, Pierce was back to being Noctis's driver, and Art was back with the rest of the guards.
"We don't know who killed him yet," Art added.
"Well who else would it be than those darn Night Warriors?" Dmitry angrily says, making Art unknowingly look away.
Augustus glances at Art who was sitting at the passenger seat, then he sighs and says, "Art's right. We don't know that yet. For all we know, they could be the vampires who attacked at the University."
"This is just all fucked up," Felix comments, "Why does these problems just keep on pilling up?"
"Maybe because the blood moon in approaching. As we all know, vampires become twice as strong during the blood moon while night warriors become extra weak. There must be a connection to that." Thorne says.
"But why William Harlan?" Augustus then asks.
Art didn't say anything about the letter so he acted like he didn't know either.
He thought the letter was top secret, so he kept quiet about it even with his brothers. He felt that it would be better if Noctis personally told them about it, not him.
"Who knows? Maybe he knew something that the others didn't." Dmitry says, and the six became quiet right after until they arrived at the South Sanctum.
It was 12 midnight, and the breeze was cold when Art and the others went out of the van.
Noctis and sir Clemens were already waiting outside the Sanctum.
Pierce, who saw Augustus and the other guards arrive as well, joined them and said, "Looks like something serious is about to go down."
"What do you mean?" Peter – Peirce's brother – asked.
"While I was driving the lord's car, I heard the lord mention something about an asset that Harlan has been hiding for a while," Pierce reveals, making Art lift his right eyebrow.
Looks like there's no need to keep quiet about it now.
"You knew about that didn't you?" Augustus suddenly whispers to Art, making Art grin.
"Of course you did."
"What are you doing there?" Sir Clemens then asks, immediately making Augustus and the rest of the guards run to where Noctis was to guard him.
Art glances at Noctis, but Noctis was back to his serious 'lord' mode. He was so focused that he didn't even notice Augustus and Art standing beside him.
"My lord!" Levi shouted when he went outside of the South Sanctum with Margaret.
"What happened?" Noctis quickly asks when he saw his two dear friends approach him.
"The police took Harlan's body, same as his wife. There was nothing we could do," Margaret reports, making Noctis sigh.
"How was he killed?" Noctis asks.
"Right at the heart, both of them. By looking at the crime scene, it would look like a human did the act. But they were perfectly shot at the heart. It was obvious that someone who knew their true identity killed them," this time, it was Levi who answered it.
"Or a human who had no idea about their identity was payed by a vampire to do it for them," Noctis then says, and Levi and Margaret didn't oppose to the possibility.
"So did you find anything? Anything that looked important?" Noctis finally asks.
Margaret and Levi looks at each other, immediately making Noctis realize that the two did find something important.
"Come inside," Levi says, and Noctis and the rest went inside the Sanctum with no hesitation.
When they arrive at the lobby, Levi looks at Noctis seriously and says, "You called me and told me about an asset right?"
Noctis doesn't say anything and just nodded his head as an answer.
Art and the others became curious too so they kept their mouths shut and waited for Levi to continue.
"Well, we found something." Levi finally reveals.
Margaret looks at Noctis as well and says, "Me and my soldiers searched the area. Levi gave us the floor plan to Harlan's mansion so we were able to open hidden passageways as well. When we went to the secret room through the couples's bedroom, we found something."
Noctis was becoming impatient. But instead of shouting at them and demanding them to just get on with it, Noctis grabs onto his necklace and waited.
Everyone thought Margaret was going to show them a hard drive, or maybe even a CD that would be useful to them. But instead, Margaret turns around and says, "Come out."
Everyone was confused on the sudden command, but then, a boy at the age of nineteen comes out from one of the rooms, surprising everyone who saw him.
His hair was white as snow, and his eyes was such a light colored blue that you'd think it was actually white.
Augustus and the others couldn't say a word because of what they saw.
Noctis on the other hand, widens his eyes from shock as he says, "That's...a human."
to be continued...