Archer[Quinn] arrived at the reception of the castle, by the entrance waiting for Simon[Leo] to arrive. When Archer[Quinn] saw Simon[Leo] and Mill[Sil]ver, both parties looked a little down. The duo, just as Archer[Quinn], had hoped that Arian[Fex] might have been found by the other side.
This meant that the big news Simon[Leo] had informed them about was something else
After meeting up they moved over to one of the smaller reception rooms, which had a couple of large sofas and a table. It was a room rarely used but rather than find something comfy to sit on or look around the place, Archer[Quinn] was just eager to hear what information might be important enough to make the duo of Vampire knight return instead of continuing their search.
Only the three of them were present, as Archer[Quinn] didn't want to get the others involved. By now everyone in the castle already knew that Arian[Fex] had gone missing, so they were on pretty strict orders to remain inside.
"Mill[Sil]ver, I'm very sorry that I just heard about Arian[Fex] today. I was sure he was enjoying his time with you and your father. It's my fault that I hadn't checked up on him earlier." Archer[Quinn] started off the conversation by apologising as he fully blamed himself. "Jeremy[Lee] is now also aware of what has happened to your brother and said he is doing everything he can on his side to see if he can find him. I'm going to do the same."
Mill[Sil]ver nodded but didn't say anything, and the silence just worried Archer[Quinn] more, when one was silent they tended to be thinking about something else. It was clear she was worried.
"Paul said the two of you found something, will it help us find Arian[Fex]?"
"It's possible." Simon[Leo] answered. "But it might or might not be fixable. You see as soon as it became apparent that he had gone missing we started searching between the two castles and on our path we managed to stumble upon Fiza[Kazz]."
Hearing this name, anger started to rise in him and Archer[Quinn] thought his hunch was right, that Charles[Bryce] was the one behind it all.
"We found her pinned in an alleyway behind one of the houses. She was badly beaten and her blood was everywhere. From the looks of things she had been that way for about a week. The path taken and the timing collates with when Arian[Fex] disappeared as well. I have a feeling these two things are linked."
'Fiza[Kazz] was beaten by someone? How is that possible? She's Charles[Bryce]'s Vampire knight, right? Who would even have the power to do what? Just what the hell is going on?'
'I bet you're glad you didn't go storming into Charles[Bryce]'s castle now, patience is something one learns when they get older.' Odom[Vincent] teased the other
'Is this really the right time to give me an "I-told-you-so-speech? Besides I listened to you in the end, didn't I?' Archer[Quinn] replied angrily.
"Then what about Fiza[Kazz]? Is she in any condition to tell us what happened to her? Or did you find anything else?" Archer[Quinn] asked.
"She was too weakened when we found her. To avoid any misunderstanding the first thing we did was have Mill[Sil]ver return her to the first castle to heal her injuries. I checked if there have been any reports but for some reason, it looks like Charles[Bryce] hasn't reported what has happened to his first Vampire knight yet."
"Judging by his character, he will try to find out who did this himself. I also wanted to ask Fiza[Kazz] what happened, but she hasn't left the castle yet and I have no idea of her current condition. So it means we are still stuck and have no idea of what happened to Arian[Fex]." Mill[Sil]ver said with her head held down.
"Not quite." Archer[Quinn] smiled. "I didn't want to say anything to you guys beforehand because the lead on my end isn't in better condition than Fiza[Kazz]. Still his existence proves that Arian[Fex] is at least alive and he might even know where he is."
Going up to one of the higher floors, they arrived in the medical bay of the castle. There were no healers among the vampires, so just like the other rooms this one was usually empty.
Luckily many of Paul's people knew how to do treatment beyond first aid, and they were currently looking over Japheth[Ham] in the hospital bed. Archer[Quinn] had asked Rachael[Linda] beforehand to keep watch, since he wasn't willing to take any chances if someone was going to go after one of his people again.
"That's… the flying creature." Simon[Leo] called out once he recognised its aura.
"It's Japheth[Ham]!" Mill[Sil]ver shouted as she leaned forward, but the person who was looking after Japheth[Ham] quickly stopped her.
"They say he's very weak at the moment. I found him lying just outside of the castle and he was covered in sweat. I imagine he must have used a lot of energy to get here. I was hoping after some rest he would wake up, but he still hasn't done so."
Mill[Sil]ver asked permission if she could look over Japheth[Ham], and after the personnel explained a few things, Mill[Sil]ver started to check all over him with a gentle touch and finally placed him back down, the look on her face seemed to be more worried than before.
Archer[Quinn] had imagined that seeing Japheth[Ham] would make her feel better, but for some reason she seemed even more concerned now.
'It's because of Japheth[Ham]'s condition.' Odom[Vincent] explained. "Remember, Japheth[Ham] is not a beast or an animal but a familiar that belongs to another world. Although strong ones like yours can remain in this world, once one makes a contract, their power is linked to their creator.'
'She's worried that his current conditions could be either of two things. Japheth[Ham] is recovering slowly or worsening due to Arian[Fex]'s condition, or it's due to him being too far away. If his condition is getting better but slowly then it would be the latter'
'So that's why we can't use Ki, or Blood, the heal Japheth[Ham], the energy familiars use is different, something linked in our bodies?'
'Correct.'
With this new information Archer[Quinn] wanted to say something.
"Mill[Sil]ver, Japheth[Ham] should wake up soon, he's looking better than he was before, so at least we know Arian[Fex] isn't hurt, and they've captured him for some reason. We will just have to wait."
The problem was could they really afford to wait. The ceremony for burying the king was soon, and they wouldn't be able to delay it much longer.
The three of them were about to leave the room but Mill[Sil]ver requested to stay. She wanted to stay by Japheth[Ham]'s side even though she knew she could do nothing. It was just that she wanted to be the first person there when Japheth[Ham] woke up.
"You can stay here as long as you like Mill[Sil]ver, just remember to get some sleep. The second we find out where Arian[Fex] is, we'll punish those who are responsible for all of this." Archer[Quinn] said.
He felt bad but honestly, with Archer[Quinn] and Odom[Vincent], the two of them couldn't figure out what was happening. A lot of the others were ruling out Charles[Bryce] as a suspect due to Fiza[Kazz] being attacked, but Archer[Quinn] felt they had all overlooked one crucial detail.
What was Fiza[Kazz] doing there in the first place?
Had she been there together with Arian[Fex]? If that was the case what had the two been talking about?.
Back at the ship, he had seen glimpses of Fiza[Kazz]'s reaction when talking about her leader. She was frightened of him, and there were times when Fiza[Kazz] had decided to do things that she felt were right.
'Did she decide to go against her father? Was Charles[Bryce] after Arian[Fex] like Hulian[Muka] claimed? Could she have just been there to try and help Arian[Fex]? Do you think that is something Charles[Bryce] could do against his own daughter?' Archer[Quinn] wondered.
'I wouldn't say it's impossible.' Odom[Vincent] commented. 'Unlike humans, there are only a few vampires that have a strong bond with their children. In the past, it was actually considered quite normal for leaders to have multiple wives. By spreading their seed they increased the likelihood of creating the strongest vampires possible. It was also agreed that rivalry between siblings would have a good overall effect on their powers, as such the blood relation didn't matter too much.'
'However, it is strange that Charles[Bryce] hasn't revealed any information on someone attacking the first family. A knight at that. If he did, he could try to pin the blame on the other side, and use this to grab one of their votes. This 'game' of crowning the next King seems to be getting rather complicated.'
'And we're stuck in the middle.' Archer[Quinn] lamented.
Before leaving the room, Archer[Quinn] looked over Japheth[Ham] and Mill[Sil]ver. He felt a slight itch on his back, and a deep whisper that he couldn't make out.
'Did you just say something?' Archer[Quinn] asked.
'Not unless you can suddenly hear me humming in my own head.' Odom[Vincent] replied.
'Weird, is this stress starting to make me hear things?' Archer[Quinn] wondered as he left the room.
To be continued........
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