Himere wasn't big a city. It was a sober place made up of around 150 acres littered with houses and shops that were densely built against one and other and in the centre of it all stood a two story high temple dedicated to Hermes. The walls that protected the citizens weren't imposingly tall and were made of a dull gray stone that had seen better days, but despite it's appearance it seemed sturdy enough to protect those within.

The sun was setting and both I and Ophyr were quite exhausted from the long journey. It was a relief to know that tomorrow we would at last reach Gadriar, but right now both of us needed a bed and perhaps a warm meal. Well- I guess I was the only one who required actual food. After a few minutes of roaming tjhe streets like ordinary travellers we stumbled upon a cozy looking tavern without too many patrons. It was ideal. The two of us brought out horses to the stable boy. I gave Kai a gentle Pat on his flank while I heard Ophyr wish "Mira" a goodnight.

It felt a bit surreal to just wander around like this. I was a king after all and though not everyone knew what I looked like in Appollis ,I was often paraded through the city with much fanfare. Gold, white silk and heavily armoured guards were signature to my presence, yet here, while I was dressed in sober garments and 'alone', no one had even glanced twice at me. I wondered how it was like for Ophyr. I figured he probably felt the same, although he didn't show it if he did. The vampire seemed calm, even relaxed once in a while. After our encounter with 'Riddy' I noticed that my fellow king hand loosened up.

The moment we entered the tavern the delicious scent of stew hit my nose, believe me when I tell you I nearly moaned. Ophyr however seemed indifferent to the smell simply glancing around before walking up to the bar where the tavern owner stood. It was an old man, around the age of sixty who was short and round. A full gray beard hid half of his face while the hair atop his head seemed to be missing. At the sound of our nearing footsteps he looked up from the glass that he had been drying, setting the old towel aside before offering us a friendly smile.

The man introduced himself as Maurice, owner of the Calico tavern. In turn I explained that we were two travellers named Thane and Darian, in need of a room for the night and perhaps some food. Though no one recognised our faces, our names were less unknown.

Soon enough we found ourselves seated at a table while a pretty young woman with Bouncy brown curls came to take our orders. I figured she was Maurice's daughter as she had the same green eyes and while those of Maurice were tired and washed out from the years that he had lived, her's were bright and lively like meadows.

"So a beer and a bowl o' stew with some bread for you mista' Thane" she smiled while quickly scribbling down a few words in a notebook before turning to Ophyr who seemed to be very interested in the state of his manicure.

"And fo' you, mista' Darian? The trip musta' been long, don't you want somethin' to drink or eat?"

The vampire king glanced up at the girl and gave her a polite smile, shaking his head before running the tip of his tongue over his teeth, showing off his fangs to her, instantly making her understand and give him a short "ah, o' course". She didn't seemed phased at all, which surprised me honestly. Had she met vampires before?

Himere wasn't very close to Sareth, yet it was a popular place for travellers to stop by. Though judging by her reaction it didn't sound to wrong to me that she had perhaps met a few traveling Sarethians before. Interesting to say the least.

The girl nodded, stuffing her notebook in her apron before bouncing off, leaving us alone at a table with only a candle to illuminate our corner.

——————

I reached into my bag to pull out the bottle I had filled earlier, ignoring the way that Arrin was looking at me while I uncorked the thing and took a swig. Bandit's blood, it wasn't great but it wasn't bad, it was fresh and that's all that counted really. I instantly felt my energy return, not strong enough to chase away the fatigue, but now I at least felt somewhat alive.

My gaze slid back to the other king, raising a brow at him when he just silently stared at me. This was the first time in years that we had been this close to each other.

The last time had been perhaps less than a decade ago, during a banquet where we had been forced to spend time together. We were barely teenagers back then, two young princes scarred by the war, families broken, unsure of what to do or say. Arrin made it clear from the start that he didn't like me. He had called me a filthy bloodsucker before promptly walking off in search of some servant to annoy with his rants. The memory almost made me chuckle. Arrin had grown older, one could even say that he became more reasonable with age, but I still recognised that prejudiced impulsive teen from all those years ago.

"Do you remember what our waitress looked like?" Arrin suddenly asked, causing me to raise a brow at him.

It was an odd question, yet I wasn't opposed to small talk. After our 'ordeal' in the forest we had grown closer, not much but I no longer felt that familiar hostile tension between us anymore. On the road to Himere we had talked, even joked and I felt like we were making progress on the whole 'trusting each other and not projecting the crimes of our families upon one another' thing.

"Dark brown curls, green eyes, freckles, she was curvy I believe and was wearing ehhhh- green dress? Yeah, a green one" I said, closing my eyes for a second to recall a mental picture of her.

"Why do you ask?"

Arrin seemed very amused and it was annoying the hell out of me.

"What? What's so funny?"

"You didn't notice that absolute massive rack she had?" Arrin chuckled, keeping his voice down as he leaned a bit closer to me.

My eyes widened, cheeks going red when he dared to utter such vulgar thing about our waitress. "Arrin- it's not polite to describe people as- why would I even add that to my description? I already said she was quite curvy" i stammered, awkwardly leaning back a bit, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable due to Arrin's close proximity. The paladin king laughed, crossing his arms in amusement as he watched me struggle with my words.

Suddenly he ran the tip of his tongue over his top lip, seeming contemplative before tilting his head to the side. Every time he did that I knew some snide remark was going to leave those lips, but to my surprise Arrin's tone was more curious than rude.

"You're not really into women are you?" He carefully asked.

I picked up my bottle of blood and gave it another taste, running a hand through my jet black hair before setting it down and lazily looking up at the other.

"Why would you assume that? I don't immediatly objectify every woman in my near vicinity, so that must mean I prefer men?"

Arrin gave me a look and I returned the look with an exasperated sigh.

"I appreciate their company as long as it remains platonic"

"You can just say you're gay Ophyr, does your speech always need to be so intricate?" Arrin shot back, earning himself a glare from me.

I was just about to shoot something mean back but was cut off by the waitress from earlier bringing Arrin his food. We both gave her an awkward nod and tight smile before watching her walk off again. I groaned, leaning back as I observed the other dig in. It must be strange being a human, constantly having to fill yourself with a full meal every few hours. Vampires still needed to feed on blood and ever since we lost our immortality we had to rely even more upon the sanguine liquid, but even then it was sufficient for us to feed maybe three or four times a week? Another sip of this bottle and I was full.

"What about you? I guess you're 'straight' as they say?" I began, pressing the cork back into the bottle before storing it in my bag. To my surprise Arrin shook his head, still downing a mouthful of beer.

"No- no, I'm very fruity. I thought I was bisexual at some point but the older I got the more I realised that I really wasn't into women" the paladin king retorted. I gave a soft "ah" in response.

"So- why did you notice her- chest area-?"

"Oh, I just did, I just found it funny how you didn't at all. Not even a quick look before uncomfortably looking away out of respect or something, no, you were just completely uninterested" Arrin explained as he bit off a piece of bread he had previously dipped in the stew.

I watched him eat, light brown skin illuminated by the weak Flickering of a candle, golden eyes with a gaze sharper than that of an eagle. His curly blonde hair seemed soft and if we had been friends I would've perhaps reached out to touch it.

It felt weird to be near him like this. Sitting at a tavern table in near darkness while discussing each other's sexuality and commenting upon the chest of a lovely girl we just met. It was so casual, a stark contrast from what I was used to from him.

I kind of liked it.

——————————-

I wasn't drunk.

Sure, I was a bit tipsy. The beer had been good quality and I had asked for a second serving, but I could still stand up straight and walk like a normal person.

My main problem was with how I just couldn't keep my eyes of the vampire king who was currently leading us upstairs to our room for the night. Like I stated earlier, he was attractive, really attractive. I still wanted him and the alcohol wasn't aiding me in repressing those carnal thoughts. Finding out that he liked men didn't help either and right now I was using every inch of self controll to not get a hard on. Dear Apollo and we'd be sharing a room!

He was the firstborn child of the woman who had killed my father, his people had fought mine for decades and now his sister was teaming up with a lich to restart the war. But he? Had he ever wronged me? No, he hadn't. It was rather cruel of the gods to make him such a fine sight and it was even crueler to make him dare I say a good man. He had his faults, but so did I and in the grand scheme of it all he was a good king.

I wanted to hate him, genuinely hate him simply because that felt like the justified thing to do. The thing my people expected me to do judging by our history, as if it was just another duty I was expected to take on.

Was prejudice justified?

Soon enough I was laying in one of the two beds in the room. Luckily nothing 'happened' between us despite my current state.

This tavern certainly knew how to make a place cozy. I didn't know what exactly made it feel so nice here, maybe it was the fluffy carpet on the oak wood floors, or the gentle candlelight in the corner, or the thick deep red curtains that hung infront of the windows or maybe it even was the sheer comfort of the beds themselves. Secretly however in my mind, it was the fact that our beds were really close to each other. Seriously the only distance between mine and his was a small wooden nightstand that held a framed picture of a calico kitten.

I turned onto my side so I could look at the other man, my eyes sliding over his bare shoulders that peeked out from beneath the deep red covers, slowly rising and falling with every breath he took. His hair cascading down his neck and back like a waterfall of liquid onyx and just for a second I felt that familiar tightening in my abdomen.

"Ophyr?"

A soft grunt was the response I got.

"I Uhm-"

I Uhm what you idiot? I'm sorry? Maybe you're not so bad after all? Perhaps I was wrong about you? Spit it out, Arrin!

"Goodnight"

GOODNIGHT? ARRIN YOU KING OF NOTHING-

"Oh- Uhm, goodnight"

And with that my feeble attempt at real apology evaporated into thin air. Perhaps I wasn't ready for it yet, maybe waiting a bit was good. I still felt resistance in my heart and it didn't feel fair to admit that I was wrong when I myself didn't fully believe it yet.

With a sigh I turned onto my other side so I no longer had to look at the majestic vampire who laid less than a foot away from me, closing my eyes and starting to drift off into dreamland.

"Far from ...home"

The all consuming darkness held me in place, preventing me from lifting a finger as the disembodied voice neared. Panic crept up my veins but I couldn't escape.

"Where....are you-....going..."

" ..little king?"

Trapped like a mouse circled by a cat, my body trembled. I couldn't even open my eyes but I knew who was there.

The sudden stench of death penetrated my nose and I could feel his breath in my neck, the sound of bones scraping against each other accompanying his wretched presence. The sickening rustle of parchement skin.

"I"

"Am"

"Everywhere"