"How old are you sir Valarius Tepes?" Another unexpected question from the boy came.
A look of amusement painted the man's face again. He began to wonder how the child's brain worked. He wasn't shy like some other kids. He was smart, audacious and looked a bit problematic.
"To be honest with you child, I've stopped counting that a long time ago. You'd understand soon. Now go bed" Valarius said with a serious expression and little Sebastian, just like the man decided to keep his other questions for another day.
Valarius took Sebastian to a vacant room in his mansion."Sleep well. If you are in need of anything, my room is the one opposite yours" He said to him.
"Thank you sire" little Sebastian said.
"Milord?" Benjamin called once again after noticing the king was not himself.
Snapping out of his traumatic childhood memories, Sebastian turned to see Benjamin standing beside his throne. Looking worried.
"Milord are you alright?" Benjamin asked, he had been trying to get the king's attention but it seemed like the king was entranced in the haunting memories of his childhood which Benjamin knew about.
The memories were unforgiving and unpleasant and they still sometimes affected the king.
"What is it Benjamin?" Sebastian rubbed his temples.
"I found out that the families of the black magic holders have all left their homes. The guards of the village while doing their usual survey at night, reported strange movements last night and linked it to the families". Benjamin reported.
Sebastian sighed, exasperated.
"Find them and get rid of all of them. I've shown them enough grace" Sebastian stated. He was fed of with their shenanigans.
"As you wish sire" Benjamin said and was about to walk away when Sebastian added "Also, get someone to check on those in the cathedral".
"Ok sire" the right hand man of the king responded before walking away.
In Benjamin's absence, Sebastian glanced at the other guards who were afar off. Hoping no one saw when Benjamin was trying to snap him out of his trance.
Sebastian stood up from his throne and began walking towards his quarters and a guard followed him but was few steps behind.
As he walked through the corridors, he recalled what father Roberts had asked him.
"Milord, if the lady turns out to be a dark seer, what would you do?".
The question continued playing on his mind and he inwardly made a decision.
The king continued to handle minor matters that concerned the kingdom till it was night time.
He lay on his bed thinking about the Debutante ball which was going to occur in Denver soon and a smile covered his face because he had some plans for that day.
Thinking about the ball, he realized he hadn't seen his human all day and a part of him wanted that before he drifted to sleep, hoping that seeing her face would hopefully grant him pleasant dreams.
But knowing how quiet the castle was because it was night time and everyone except the guards on night shift would be asleep, he decided not to walk all the way to guest room and knock which would probably wake others up.
Even though a part of him didn't exactly mind it, he knew Nolan would view it as a weird thing to do because it was past midnight.
So he opted for something else. He stood up from his bed and adjusted the rope on his silk robe before disappearing out of his room.
Mirabelle was sleeping soundly on her bed with her back against the bed and her front view facing the ceiling.
The king who had appeared in the room carefully listened to her breathing which was soft and steady.
The room wasn't lit and the only supply of light was the moonlight which passed through the windows, illuminating some parts of the room.
Sebastian turned to Nolan who was sleeping on the large couch. His chest moved up and down as he breathed slowly. The man was deep in sleep with a disheveled hair and was totally unaware of presence of the vampire.
Sebastian's eyes returned to Mirabelle, scanning her face.
"She's so pure" Sebastian thought to himself as he walked closer to her. His steps not making a single noise.
Hovering over her, he felt his hands move towards her face, wanting to touch her freckles which added to her beauty.
But at the exact moment, Mirabelle changed her position. Her back was now facing him.
Sebastian let out a breath and retracted his hand.
"Soon my sweet".
With that, he returned to his room in the same manner he came to hers.
But unfortunately, in his sleep his memories continued to resurface.
Little Sebastian got used to Valarius' presence and the man also treated him nicely but Sebastian found some behaviors of the man strange.
He'd sometimes leave the mansion at night and return very late and sometimes he came back with red stains on his clothes.
Sebastian was curious to know what Valarius was always up to but decided to ask one fateful night.
Sebastian was fast asleep on the couch in the living room when Valarius walked in and Sebastian's eyes immediately shot open.
"You're awake my boy" Valarius said walking towards little Sebastian who had now straightened up.
"Mister Tepes, why do you always come back late at night?" Little Sebastian asked as he looked at the man's clothes, wanting to see if there was any red stain that day and he did find some.
Valarius followed little Sebastian's line of sight and saw that the child was looking at the red stain on the collar of his shirt.
He sighed, not knowing if he should reveal his nature to the child or not.
"How about I ask you a question first?" Valarius asked, intending to feed his own curiosity first about the child before answering the question.
He had already began to see little Sebastian as his own but he still needed to know more about him.
"What do you want to know?" Little Sebastian asked.
He didn't plan to spare Valarius when he begins asking his own questions because he had looked around the mansion several times in Valarius' absence and had seen things he was inquisitive about.
He never felt lonely at the mansion because there was always something new to see.
"Explain the sword and the mask" Valarius said and Sebastian's facial expression turned a little sour as he answered.
"The sword belongs to my family, it is the only thing I have left of them and I found the mask where my little sister died. I believe it belongs to someone who was present the time she died" little Sebastian answered and Valarius began to wonder how a seven year old could put his words so well.
A day before he had asked Sebastian of his age. But what amazed him more was his story. A little child with no one else to call family.
"You said you saw the mask close to her?" Valarius asked. Wanting to confirm something himself.
Little Sebastian nodded.
"If that is the case then it was your little sister I tried saving but it was too late" Valarius stated.
About a week ago, while little Sebastian was sleeping soundly thinking he was still holding on to his little sister, she was being murdered by the human mob.
Esther had decided to look for Ezekiel when she noticed he was yet to return. She was moved by her worry and her innocent mind didn't calculate the risks.
Running towards the exit of the forest but not really knowing where she was going, her little legs didn't carry her far before she was sighted by the human mob which had one thing on their mind which was to wipe out the whole Zennor family.
They grabbed her by the hair and tossed her around like a rag doll before proceeding to use their daggers on her.
In that same forest, Valarius was hunting when he perceived a unique blood. With his abilities, he quickly moved towards where the smell came from.
Seeing what was going on, he quickly attacked the human mob and realizing there was a new threat, they defended themselves.
He moved as fast as possible, snapping the necks of those who he caught in his arms. He turned briefly to look at the child who was badly injured and it seemed she was mouthing some words as tears flowed from her eyes.
Distracted by the child, the scarred leader Teka saw it as an opportunity to drive a dagger in Valarius' chest.
He hissed, feeling the pain for only a moment.
He was about to go get hold of Teka when the masked man drew out a silver knife and intended to use it on him but he quickly dodged it from piercing his heart so it landed on his shoulder instead, causing excruciating pain for the vampire, bringing him to his knees.
While he was distracted, Hanna finished Esther off herself and gave a hand signal which Valarius didn't see to the rest members of the group.
Only five members of the group survived as they quickly fled, away from the vampire Valarius who had turned weak due to the silver knife in his shoulder.
Valarius touched the knife, attempting to remove it from his shoulder and when his hands came in contact with it, it made a sizzling sound, like he was burning.
He pulled the knife out and turned to Esther who was already dead. "These humans!" He gritted his teeth.