Marked on the Stone - I

MARKED ON THE STONE

(PART I)

Von continued to interview Zhora and the other party didn't seem to mind answering all her questions. Zhora even told her how history of the oath of the Blue Snow clan. He even told her how their so-called hero 'Skane' left the clan just for them to rot and die. Skane betrayed the clan for his own selfishness.

The general dragon even visited the Blue Snow clan because no one was coming to him to beg, so he became worried. Unfortunately, when the general dragon arrived, the clan was already gone in the world. No one survived.

"So? What will happen to you?" Zhora got stunned at her question.

Nevertheless, he answered nonchalantly "What do you mean?"

"You eat or absorb or whatever their soul in order for you to survive. right? I mean, what will you do now the clan is gone?"

Zhora shrugged, "I don't know? I guess, I'll wander around again"

Von's question was not really answered but she took his answer anyway. She sighed as she took her dagger on her waist.

"Von!" Esperanza shouted as he was anxious when Von sliced her wrist. Blood flows down.

Zhora didn't feel troubled at all but was confused instead. "Drink it", Von ordered to Zhora.

Esperanza's eyes went wide at Von's remark. Just when he was about to complain, a handsome young man appeared in front of Esperanza and Von. The seemingly young man slowly went closer to Von while she voluntarily raised her wrist in order to tempt the man. Zhora hold her wrist and stared at her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to feed you" She smiled.

Zhora sighed, "I'm not a vampire"

Von knows that. But she once learned from her master about the black spirits before. They need human souls to survive but others drink their blood. Those who could drink blood are the black spirits who are only over 500 years old. Von was only betting that Zhora is already 500+ years old.

"Just try it. If you could drink my blood and survive with it, then you don't need a contract with a clan anymore." She insisted.

In the end, Zhora tried to drink her blood. He was surprised when he was satisfied with it and it seems that drinking blood does work for him.

"Thanks" Zhora uttered before he disappeared into thin air.

Esperanza immediately healed Von's wound after Zhora left. He still could not believe that Von just let a stranger drank her blood! What the hell was she thinking?! Esperanza worriedly looked at Von but it looks like she was really not bothered by it.

"A being like Zhora is a lonely one, Espe" She said before she took her hands away.

Esperanza heavily breathe some air to calm himself and tried to understand Von and Zhora. But, however he tried to convince himself he still could not accept it. She's a royalty! Her blood was too precious! It was so precious and yet...

"Now we reached our destination, where do you plan to go?" Esperanza asked instead to divert himself from worrying too much.

Von shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we could look around near here. Eli should also be joining us after some days. You might also be needed to go back to escort whoever you should be escorting"

He was speechless. He almost forgot that he did need to go pick up Klaryze to look for her cousin. The travel days he could spent with Von is almost over.

---

Esperanza can't help but feel annoyed while they were looking for an inn. Tak noticed the change in her master's mood. "Master, please calm down. Mistress also didn't like the situation, but look! She's trying to accept it. You know that Mistress does not like others to join with her during her journey. She only has Eli to accompany her, but she also accepted us as her travel buddy since you wear her master's name"

"Yes. My adventurer name does give me a lot of benefits" Esperanza sarcastically said as he smiled wryly.

Tak was agitated by her master's words. "No, no! I didn't mean that, master! What I mean is she trusts us and Eli. If she also accepted someone to join in her adventure that means she trust them"

"Tsk" Esperanza clicked his tongue as he could feel the presence of that black spirit.

Ever since Von let Zhora drank her blood, he was following them. He said that he will join Von on her journey, in return she needs to let him drink her blood. At first, Von was also against it but she eventually gave up.

Esperanza stopped when he noticed that Von stopped in front of a tree. He walks towards on her side to see what she was staring at. There was a name carved on a stone in front of the tree.

"Shouldn't be on the tree instead of the stone?" Von asked as she found it was weird to see a couple name on a stone instead on a tree.

Esperanza chuckled. "Do you want to carve our names on it too? Let's try it on the tree, so you won't complain"

He was trying to joke around with Von and didn't really give any meaning with his words. But, Tak thinks that her master was serious. Von didn't got the hint and just shook her head. "No. I just found it funny"

"Why so?" He asked.

Von tried to think about the reason, but she couldn't say it. "I don't know. It just doesn't look real"

After a while, she noticed the way she said it. "I respect the couple who carve their names on somewhere. But when I just look at this, I feel like it shouldn't be carved in the first place" she added.

Esperanza tried to look at the stone again, even Zhora appeared as a smoke to check the stone.

"There's nothing wrong with it" Zhora reported.

Von sighed as she could not express her thoughts clearly. "Never mind, let's go."