"You two should come inside for a while." Mr. Rogers had said cheerfully. "Don't worry all the drinks are on me." He smiled warmly.
Mr. Rogers was the owner of inn. He ran the place with his family. He was a short, middle-aged man with brown hair and green eyes. which was a distinct trait of the humans who lived who lived in Bronts Village.
Though vampires also live here, but those vampires are half bloods - Half human half vampires. Their eyes are a mix of red and green. and they were really beautiful.
Since the majority of people in Bronts Village are humans, it was one of the most peaceful, serene places in the land of Valencia. Since Valencia was the kingdom of the vampires it was really beautiful. Every inch of it was, and Bronts Village was no exception.
It was a peaceful village with beautiful trees and flowers. streams and hills. It was just so close to nature.
Ryan and Aziliah were good friends of Mr. Rogers. They assisted him a lot and always came to lend a hand when they were free. In fact everyone in Bronts Village had a genuine fondness for the two of them. They cared about them and treated them like they were part of them.
The two stepped inside the inn together.
Ryan was putting on a brown leather jacket, black shirt and brown boots. A silver necklace hung around his neck and an earring in his ears. He was looking very handsome as usual. While Aziliah was dressed similarly in black. She had left her blade at home. Her signature black mask was on her face and her ink black hair was packed in a high ponytail her bangs framing the mask. They looked lovely.
Mr. Rogers handed them a jug of beer. He told them to enjoy and celebrate since is not all the time that they get to stay here during the festival.
He knew that usually they would be in the capital by now, because Aziliah would be participating, so it was nice to have them around for a change.
"Thank you Mr. Rogers." Aziliah said with a smile on her lips that they couldn't see.
"You're welcome my dear." He said, when suddenly..
"Aziliah!!" A female voice echoed and she turned to look at the source. Just to see Mr. Rogers Wife- Creesy and his daughter Mary rushing down the stairs to meet her.
"Hello Mrs. Rogers, Hi Mary" She said smiling.
"Aziliah, I can't believe you're still here.." Mary said squealing as she held Aziliah's hand.
"Well I'm only going to be here for today, I'm leaving tomorrow." Aziliah said.
"Awww why? I finally got to spend time with you during the festival and you're leaving!!" She screamed dramatically and Aziliah wanted to cover her ears. Mrs. Rogers excused herself.
Aziliah looked at her side and found that Ryan had disappeared too. 'Betrayer!!' She screamed in her head when she got pulled by Mary upstairs. The drink in her hand had also disappeared curtesy of Ryan.
Ryan had sneaked away with Mr. Rogers the moment he saw Mary. She was a chatter box who was always clinging to him. If she gets hold of him then he was good has dead. She would pester him the whole day.
"Sorry Azi. It's either you or me" He muttered as he left. He went to the bar and sat down. He drank and played games with the men there. Mrs. Rogers brought them some deep fried chicken and more beer. They were all having a good time while Aziliah was being tortured by Mary upstairs.
"Come on Aziliah... Let me style your hair... please..... You never let me touch it.... Didn't you say I was like a sister to you..... Please.... Just this once... it's not like I'm trying to take of the mask..." Mary kept pestering her
"...."
Mary was about the same age as Aziliah. She was just a year younger. She was a cute petite girl with little freckles. A bit chubby and she loved spending time with Aziliah and Ryan.
Sometimes she would sneak into Aziliah's house and spend the night there and always watched Aziliah training or sparring with Ryan. And giving Aziliah a make-over has always been a dream of hers even though she knew she couldn't take off the mask. She would dress her up the way she wanted.
"Come on just this once let me dress you up..... come on let me dress you up for the lanterns festival tonight.... please... I promise you'll like it... Please Aziliah..." Mary pleaded.
"Fine.... " She agreed. "Just shut up already." Aziliah was already tired. She regretted coming out today. 'Ryan you'll pay for this just you wait.' She swore to her self.
"Yay!!"
"Oh your hair is so soft and silky Aziliah." Mary gushed as she brushed Aziliah's hair. "And it smells so nice.." She had a dreamy look in her eyes.
Aziliah could only groan silently in her head. Aziliah wasn't really the type that liked participating in the festival. In fact, one of the reasons she always went to the capital was because no one would dare approach her for no reason. Everyone kept their distance. She would go to a restaurant with Ryan, eat, buy some stuff and sleep. Then watch the lanterns floating in the sky from the comfort of her room. While Ryan goes to have fun with girls.
Right now she wished she could just disappear and appear on her bed.
"Once I'm done with your hair I'll dress you up nicely.... Don't worry I got a dress well suited for your figure.. ahhh." Mary continued Yapping.
This was going to be a long day. Aziliah thought to herself.
Meanwhile, back at the capital a grumpy faced man with pure white hair and blue-gray eyes was busy escorting his lovely elder sister as she went from one shop to another.
Everywhere they went, people kept staring at them. Some ladies gushed at how out worldly handsome he was, while others praised the lady who was with him.
Her raven black hair and ruby red eyes were captivating. She had a veil covering the lower half of her face but that didn't stop the people from staring.
Xavian and Iris were exploring the capital happily. Well more like Iris was forcefully dragging Xavian everywhere. They were alone with no guards accompanying them.
Iris had coax their father into letting them explore without guards. Her reason was that it would draw too much attention to them. She said already Xavian's appearance alone would attract a lot of attention so there was no need for people to know that the princess was moving among them.
The siblings were wearing common clothes like commoners. Iris was wearing a veil because the people had seen her a lot over the years. So they knew what she looked like, meanwhile Xavian wasn't really known by the people since he rarely leaves the palace and rarely attended balls or tea parties simply because of their overprotective father.
"Ooh this one will look good on you little brother." Iris said picking up a silver necklace with intricate patterns on it. She tiptoed and put the necklace on him. She nodded in satisfaction. "How much is this sir?" She asked the shopkeeper, while Xavian kept looking around.
They had been walking around for hours now and he was getting really bored. He had seen a lot of interesting things when they left the palace but Iris had insisted on going shopping.
He was already exhausted And irritated by the number of girls that kept ogling at him. Their gazes were just making him cringe. Besides it's not like he hated the attention but it was too much. All he wanted was to go back to the palace, to his room and most importantly to his bed.
Soon they left there and went to a the towns garden and sat on a bench under a tree.
Xavian sighed and closed his eyes the moment the soft cool breeze hit him. He could finally relax.
"Are you having a great time little brother?" Iris asked facing him.
"Nope... I want to go back to the palace if you don't mind." He said with his eyes closed. It seems he was trying to fall asleep on the bench.
"Are you sure?"
"hmmmn."
"Liar.." She huffed. "You were clearly excited to leave the palace, so don't give me that attitude."
"Like you said, I was excited but not anymore." he said still with his eyes closed.
"Fine since you're tired, how about we get an inn or a hotel to stay in for now so you can rest. what do you say?" Iris suggested.
Xavian sighed, "Why don't we just return to the palace?" He asked.
"Hell no! I want you to see the maidens release their lanterns tonight... I'm telling you, this is something you don't want to miss." She said with glee.
"I'll still pass Sister. Besides I can watch those lanterns from the comfort of my room, it's more magical that way" he said.
"You can't be serious right now." Iris rolled her eyes , "Now come on, let's go get a room to stay in." She said as she draged him off the bench.
Xavian could only groan as she dragged him with her.