Seraphim and Emberfall

Madam Rachell stayed in the boutique for an hour. Hence, people were reluctant to be inside the boutique. Lusi stood silently behind the counter with her hands clenched at her sides.

Outside, Elestria took wide steps toward the clearing. Her chest rumbled with humiliation while her eyes welled up with tears. She was crying because she was too angry.

A light rain fell. Elestria stood in the center of the field with her face straightened. As she wiped the corners of her eyes, the tears came again. Not to mention the choking feeling in her throat.

She was sadly angry not because she was pierced by Madam Rachell's sharp words, but the fact that she could not fight back or because no one could fight back for her.

So, she looked down. The raindrops took the same shape as her tears. "I want to... lean back," she said and choked up.

Scarlett didn't speak. Although she wanted to get back at Madam Rachell, she knew that doing so would be detrimental to Elestria. She continued to wait until Elestria was finished.

The rain didn't become a downpour. The freezing wind blew hard. Elestria ran into the boutique and saw that the sky was almost as dark as night.

***

The boutique comes alive with lanterns. Unfortunately, the lanterns aren't as bright as the sunlight. Lusi was looking around the room and remembered Elestria had gone outside.

Elestria appeared just before Lusi stepped outside the boutique. She came to her, asked her where she was, and then asked her to sit by the fireplace.

The boutique was closed since the weather had turned bad. The market was deserted. In the horror of the weather that morning, Dante said, "It was like the rise of a vampire kingdom."

Lusi sat on the sofa with Elestria. They watched Dante standing by the window. The other employees were just as confused.

Dante turned round. His towering figure came to sit by the fireplace. "Many books explain that awful weather is a sign of the rise of the vampire kingdom."

"Dante, isn't the vampire kingdom almost a fairy tale?" said Lusi.

"Right because it is yet to be seen who the next vampire king will be. However, we must remain vigilant. Vampires move unnoticed, just like that thief."

"What happened to the thief? What did he steal?" asked Elestria.

"He's still locked up. Nothing is missing. We interrogated him but he chose to remain silent."

Lusi responded, "A spy?"

"Yes, that's right. Spies to destroy our kingdom." The employees whispered to each other.

Scarlet whispered, "He did steal information. He's too weak as a tall vampire."

Elestria agreed with that opinion. Now, she was eager to hear more about vampires. She asked, "Can you tell me what a vampire is like, Dante?"

***

Vampires cannot die. Their skin is pale with no blood vessels and is especially strong at night. They avoid the sun because its rays kill them. Their food is the blood of all creatures, but the best is human blood.

Vampires feed on blood by thrusting their fangs into prey. They are solitary creatures. For centuries, vampires were the enemies of all creatures. But, vampires became companions when their mates were of elves, mermaids, or human origins.

The story Dante told came from several sources. The most common version comes from merchants who are said to have met vampires. Dante warned to be careful not to get hurt. A vampire's smell of blood is powerful.

"Elestria," Lusi called in a whisper, "Don't run if your mate is a vampire."

Elestria squinted. "I don't wanna be a bridge between vampires and wolves. That's a terrible position to be in."

Lusi smiled faintly. "They're crazy rich, they say."

Scarlett snorted.

Elestria scanned the room. She saw that the fireplace was running out of wood. She stood up to put some wood. The fire grew bigger just as Lusi cooed, "The weather will last longer. Let's tell some fun stories!"

"What about the wolves who don't have mates yet?" A grey wolf asked. She gave a small smile. She was curious about Madam Rachell's taunt to Elestria.

Lusi raised one eyebrow. She understood what that meant. She spoke, "A wolf who has not met her mate has more time to improve herself so that she will meet a wonderful mate."

Dante smiled slightly. Lusi's defense of Elestria was warm. He sat quietly watching her.

"After all, why worry about someone else's mate." The others agreed with Lusi's opinion. It was actually because Elestria was brought by Lusi. Let's not offend her further.

Lusi smiled proudly.

Shortly after, a servant who put tea on the table for everyone asked, "Madam, it's said that things are precarious now because there will be an attack from the Seraphim Kingdom."

Elestria asked, "What is the Seraphim Kingdom?"

All eyes turned to her. Only Elestria didn't know about the kingdom. Lusi then explained, "It's a kingdom in the north, it's summer right now. They're wolves, but they always try to attack us."

"Is the vampire their messenger?"

"That's right. He was sent here to leak Emberfall's security information."

"They're working with the vampire?"

Dante understood the situation had turned murky. The news of Seraphim's attack on Emberfall was as loud as water. However, there had never been an actual attack. Dante worried that this year they would have to go to war.

Lacking information, Elestria simply watched these people chat. In the village, she never knew about things like this. Amid her confusion, Scarlett engaged her in a discussion.

"Maybe he's in the Seraphim Kingdom."

"Being a bridge isn't easy," Elestria replied.

"You can ask him to stop threatening Emberfall."

"I already told you. You don't know how the Seraphim Kingdom is."

"We don't know either."

Lusi and her servants continued to chat about the horrors of Emberfall that had terrorized them for decades. But, there was a time when they talked about how there were many charming black wolves in Seraphim.