Fantasy Betrothed (Closed to Aina)

[FursieTheFlixee]

((I just remembered we were going to have the commoners come rioting right? Do you want to still do that?))

Astraea shook her head after her last comment. She really wished he would just listen to her though and get back to bed. "Or maybe you should get back into a bed," she scolded him. She had seen the way he depended on Emmanuel for balance. That was not a good sign for someone who needed to be recovering.

She was going to guide him back to the infirmary when she heard Aiden's voice from behind them both. She turned, and was pleased to see him. Aiden basically reiterated what she had said to Riccardo. However, his point in Sarai's wellbeing and her health being affected by Riccardo was a good one.

"I have enough medical knowledge to tell you that he is right," Astraea inputted.

Immediately, she made a move to help Riccardo as he has lost his balance. It was Aiden who caught him just in time. "Listen to you king Riccardo," she insisted. She really didn't need for Riccardo to be collapsing at this point. Why did he have to be so stubborn?

She nodded at Aiden, "Good…he really doesn't need to be on his feet right now. He needs as much rest as possible." She watched as Aiden practically pulled Riccardo along back toward the infirmary. "I'll take care of it Riccardo! Don't worry," she called after him. She set off on the task to get the names of the deceased. She really wasn't looking forward to it but she needed to help Sarai and Riccardo the best she could.

Sarai was in the middle of coaxing Seraphine back to sleep when Aiden and Riccardo walked into the infirmary. She ignored them as they walked in and focused back on Seraphine who had woken up saying she was thirsty. Sarai brushed her hair back away from her face, "Sera we'll have blood soon okay. I know you're thirsty but just try and go back to sleep."

Seraphine whined softly, "But I don’t wanna. I can't sissy…I’m not tired."

Sarai chuckled softly, yet the little girl let out a soft yawn. "I'll sing you a song." It only took Sarai a few minutes to get Seraphine back to sleep after she had sang. She sat up in the bed and looked over at the two of them. "Where were you?" was the first thing she asked Riccardo. She wanted to yell at him, scold him for not resting since she hadn't till now.

She sighed, "Nevermind." She laid down back into the bed and wanting to go back to bed.

--

((Yes. They definitely need to do that. Haha. I copied over your previous post too just for an easy reference if you wanted it.))

Riccardo puffed when Sarai asked where he'd been, annoyed with the both of them. Though, he had to admit, it felt really good to be giving his body a break. He immediately felt like he wanted to go back to sleep. However, this was one of the reasons he had not wanted to be in bed. He knew he would likely sleep all night if he let himself relax.

Aiden glanced at Sarai, surprised to see her awake, but somewhat glad, too. He smiled slightly at her, and watched as she laid back down with Seraphine. He turned back to Riccardo. "Shoes off," he demanded.

"Why," Riccardo asked, defensively, looking from his shoes to Aiden.

"Because I don't want you getting any ideas. Shoes off," he repeated.

Riccardo scowled, but did as he was told, dropping his shoes over the edge of the bed and leaning back on his pillows. "No one appreciates me," he mumbled.

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Now, what do you need me to do," he asked. "How is getting blood coming along? Can I do anything to help?"

Riccardo sighed, crossing his arms. "Leighton is on it, but I find it fishy that he had no news of this whole poisoning matter. Emmanuel is trying to see if his father has connections that might help. I'd like another backup just in case, but -"

"My mom might be able to help," he said. "I think we always had an emergency supply, actually!" Aiden felt so stupid for not having remembered this up until then. "If not, she might know something or someone that could help!" He pulled out his phone and walked a few feet away, hanging out in the doorway to the infirmary as he called his mom for a second time that night.

Riccardo glared in Aiden's general direction, but a yawn broke up his scowl. The pillows were comfortable under his head and, like it or not, he really wanted to go back to sleep. To keep himself awake, he sat up, adjusting the pillows behind him to still lean on, however.

Rosita entered the infirmary at this time, looking around before seeing Sarai with her sister. "Good evening, Sarai," she said, walking up to her. "I wanted to see how you were doing? Can I get you anything? Tea or something?"

 

[Aina]

((I'm thinking a few more days and some of the commoners should turn into rogues maybe?))

Sarai could not help but listen to Aiden and Riccardo as they spoke. She was going to tell them to be quiet and for Aiden to leave Riccardo alone so he could sleep. She stopped herself, not sure why she was in a bad mood. She blamed it on the lack of sleep.

She was glad at least that Seraphine was sleeping peacefully beside her. She smiled slightly at her sleeping form closed her eyes after a moment. She was in the middle of falling asleep when Rosita walked into the room. She looked up at her sleepily and she shook her head. She smiled slightly though in order to not look so annoyed. "I fine Rosita," she told her, "I'm glad you're alright."

Emmanuel eventually found his way back into the infirmary. He had spoken to the demon girl where she told him where to find Riccardo. He frowned as he walked in, looking over at Riccardo's direction but bowing in front of Sarai first who he saw laying in one of the beds. "My father hasn't spoken to his human friends in so long. He cut ties with them a long time ago," his frown deepened and he sighed, "I'm sorry I could not be of more help to you."

He looked at Sarai briefly but glance over toward Riccardo again. He was going to ask if Riccardo needed him to do anything when Astraea had walked into the room. Her eyes darkened as she spotted Sarai in there. She wasn't sure to address the news but she spoke anyway, "The commoners are heading this way toward your house right now. Ashton had seen them marching up to the gate."

She exhaled to give them a moment to take it in. "I'm not sure what they want but I had one of my guys go down there. They were furious…apparently, they were affected by the poison. They want to speak with you," she told. "Why has no one told you guys what was going on with your people?" she didn't expect them to answer obviously but by the look on Sarai's face, she guessed that that should not have happened.

Sarai was sitting up in the bed, angrily looking at Astraea, of course, the anger not directed toward her but the situation. If her entire kingdom was affected by this, it meant it was not a personal attack on just the house. This was even worse. She could only imagine how many of them were dead, and that made her heart start pounding furiously in her chest. "I don't think it would be a good idea to talk to them," she finally spoke. She feared that they would become violent and she would too have no kingdom just like Riccardo.

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

((Sounds perfect. Poor people. I feel bad for them all.))

Rosita smiled at her, feeling bad for obviously having caught Sarai trying to fall back asleep. "I'm glad you're alright," she said, backing away to let her have some peace and quiet. She paused, looking around the room before spotting the doctor and going up to him to assist him.

Riccardo raised his brows when Emmanuel entered the infirmary, eager for news. He was a little disappointed by what Emmanuel had for him, but he nodded. "Thank you for checking for me, anyways. You and your people are being very helpful to us. Don't apologize."

Everyone looked up when Astraea entered, Aiden pausing in his conversation with his mother. Something about the way she walked in told everyone she had bad news. "Call me back, Mom," Aiden murmured before hanging up to give Astraea his attention. He froze at her words, afraid of what she'd said. Angry people marching on their home? This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

He glanced between Sarai and Riccardo, inching closer to Sarai as if protectively. He stood back and crossed his arms, looking down in thought at what she said. He looked to Sarai when she spoke and nodded in agreement. "Talking to them would be ridiculous. We should send them away. We can have the guards tell them we're taking care of things and that we'll have news for them immediately."

Riccardo shifted and interjected. "May I offer a bit of advice, your majesties? Your people are scared. They want answers, reassurances, some confirmation that they know that they're being heard, I'm sure. They've suffered a lot and they didn't have doctors at their disposal. Many of them are probably grieving the loss of family members. You are their king and queen, but more than that, you are civil servants. Your duty is to these people and if you turn them away without any other sort of acknowledgement, you're telling them you don't care what they have to say. Sometimes ruling means being screamed at and hated. While emotions are high, they're not going to be happy with you, but when they look back on this situation, do you want them looking back angry that you wouldn't even see them, or feeling that you did everything you could for them?"

He sat up straighter. "We could see them in small groups at a time. That way they won't maintain a mob mentality and they can feel as if personally spoken to. I don't know if we can actually do anything for them, but listen and comfort them, offer them something warm to drink, a place to rest and we can let the staff dote on them a little. It would go a long way to show that you care about their stress."

He sighed. "We can have extra guards in the room as well, ready to jump between you and the people if needed. I think it would really be best to let them in in small groups, like I said."

Aiden frowned, and glanced at Sarai. "What do you think, darling? It could work, but it's up to you."

 

[Aina]

((It's about to get worse.))

Astraea agreed with Riccardo. She knew this was difficult on both Aiden and Sarai but their people needed them. They were angry, yes but also scared. She could not imagine what they were feeling at that moment. She could only see their faces and want to help them. But she had to think about Sarai and Aiden's safety. As well as the safety of the people in the house as well. She wasn't exactly keen on the idea of letting them past the gate but that was all up to Sarai.

Sarai knew that Riccardo had a point, she just didn't like that he was right. She looked at Aiden then at Riccardo. Everyone was waiting for her to decide. "Sure," was all she said before she stood up from the bed entirely. She hated this plan. She was afraid to face her people. She was afraid of the insults they were going spew at her. It was enough that she couldn't protect her family but she couldn't protect her people either. She felt rather helpless.

She was going to say something, but she decided against it. She decided that she would be more positive about it. Despite her fear, despite her inability to think straight, at least her body did the motions for her. "I'll go change," she told everyone and she left the infirmary to her and Aiden's room. She had almost forgotten that she was wearing her nightgown under her robe still. "Bring the first few people into the throne room. I will greet them in a few minutes," she told Astraea before she left finally.

In their room, Sarai went to the bathroom first. She brushed her hair quickly, putting it up in a bun so that it wasn't in her face. She couldn't hide the exhaustion on her face but she ignored it and went on to continue getting dressed. She dressed in a dark blue color to reflect her somber mood. She then headed toward the throne room, her heart beating so fast in her chest, she pressed her hand against it.

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

((I don't know what you're thinking but it sounds exciting.))

Aiden felt almost disappointed by Sarai's answer. He didn't want to go out there, truth be told. He didn't want to face their angry citizens and he kept thinking about how their very own guard had shoved Leon last night. What would strangers do? He didn't want Sarai to be out there in front of them. He'd have to be on his toes. He couldn't let anything happen to her. He watched as she left the infirmary to go change and then took a heavy breath.

"I'll... go to the throne room," he said.

"Aiden," Riccardo called, stopping him. "Look... I know that you all want me in bed, but I would feel so much better if I could join you two."

Aiden hesitated, wondering what Sarai would think before answering. "Sure. Come on. It'll probably be better to have you with us."

"Wait," another voice suddenly called. The two of them both turned to see Seavers, holding his hand up. "Don't leave, yet." He left them to go into the supply closet, emerging a short few moments later with a wheelchair. Riccardo tried not to groan as Seavers brought it over to his bed. "You don't need to be on your feet."

Riccardo huffed. "You have to be kidding me." He let Seavers hold the chair still as he climbed into it, scowling as he got comfortable. He glanced at Astraea, narrowing his eyes. "I blame this on you."

The two men made it to the throne room soon after, arriving before Sarai did to a small group of people and many guards waiting for them there already.

 

[Aina]

Sarai walked into the room, her face expressionless as she did so. She wasn't looking forward to any of this. She regretted having decided to do this. In the room she stood between Aiden and Riccardo. Astraea was standing in front of them, facing the small group.

"One at a time, you may speak," Astraea spoke up. There were guards in the room, standing against the walls and surrounding everyone in case it got out of control.

A woman stepped forward without hesitation. She looked distressed, tears were running down her face. "My husband died last night your majesty. And my daughter went missing three months ago. What am I to do now? What am I supposed to do for my other children?!"

Sarai stepped forward toward the woman. "We are working to find your family who are missing. I understand your fear and your grief," she spoke softly.

"It is because of your father that our family was taken!" someone shouted out loud from behind the first woman who had been speaking. "Your father damned us! He damned us! Betrayed his own people!" the same man yelled angrily. He pushed through the already riled up group, making his way toward the front.

"My wife and children died last night! And now I will starve because I have no blood!"

"We will all starve because of you," someone else yelled pushing his way through the crowd as well. The few guards stepped forward, weapons at the ready. It didn't take long before the entire room was in a uproar. The commoners were pushing each other knocking ones down to the floor, the guards stepped forward to protect Sarai and the others immediately but there weren't enough of them.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Astraea commented and she turned to Sarai, and the boys. "We need to get you out of here right now," she was going to call more of her members to get the group in control but there was shouting and the sounds of glass breaking from outside. The door to the throne room, opened more commoners were spewing into the room surrounding them. They were shouting angrily some of them were wielding swords and axes.

Sarai backed away quickly gripping onto Aiden. Astraea who was still defending them was yelling for the commoners to back away. Her eyes which were normally green changed to a menacing red color. Her hair looked as if it were on fire as well as her hands. She faced the group of people who had been in the room first, they stopped their shouting as soon as they saw the flames coming from her and they seemed to back off. It was the others that had come after that were still pushing their way through.

"Back away or you will all regret it!" she shouted at them. Her voice billowing even over the flames coming off her body. She was furious at this point. Furious with Sarai's people and they were willing to hurt their queen and king because they were angry. Still the group pushed on, and the guards were attempting to push back. They were will too many of them. She wondered idly how they had gotten past the gates but her worry was for the safety of Sarai and the boys. She needed to get them out of here.

Thankfully, Leon came running through from inside the house. "They ambushed us," he explained. He saw that Astraea was trying to fend off the commoners but her efforts seemed futile. He ran toward Sarai first and grabbed her. "Let's get you out of here," he told her quickly. He glanced over at Astraea who had created a line of fire large enough that the people couldn't cross it but there were others who were jumping through the windows as well.

Sarai's focus was on Astraea that she hadn't even noticed Leon run into the room. She could hear the shouting of commoners from outside. She also heard the sounds of growls. There was the sound of a howl that ripped through the air and she froze in place. However, Leon was pulling her along still trying to get her out of the room.

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

((That was definitely exciting. Haha))

Aiden flinched, somberly listening to the complaints of their people as they complained of those they had lost and expressed their fear and anger. It hurt. It was hard to listen to and to take and remain so calm. Especially when they got harsher, yelling at Sarai who was trying so hard to placate them. He felt himself shift at her side, standing a few centimeters in front of her, tensing and ready to jump between her and the crowd that was getting more and more riled up.

"You won't starve," Aiden tried to calm the crowd. however, it was to no avail. Soon, people were flooding in, carrying weapons and yelling angry insults at he and Sarai. He moved between her and the crowd, putting his hands back, shielding her as he looked desperately for their best way out of there.

Riccardo was frozen where he sat, not sure how things had devolved so quickly and how angry the crowd of people were. He wanted to help. They were angry, they were scared, and he wanted to help them, but he couldn't think of what to do. "We're trying," he tried to call out, but his voice was drowned out by their angry shouting. He knew it was futile at this point. He jupmed when more angry people pushed through the door and all he could see was the flood of rioters at his and Sarai's wedding. This wasn't good.

Aiden watched, a chill running up his spine as Astraea started flaming, fire shooting into a line from her. He still had Sarai behind him, hands out protectively and not sure where to go from there. He turned, relieved when he saw Leon, however. He let Leon pull at Sarai, following behind them, but walking mostly backwards as he tried to make sure no one followed after them.

A man jumped through a window and rolled at Aiden's feet. As soon as he got up and saw Aiden, he lunged at him, a knife in hand. Aiden grabbed his wrists and they struggled briefly before Aiden was finally able to pull his arm in an unnatural position and the shoulder snapped. The man whimpered, pulling away to nurse his hurt arm as Aiden continued retreating out of the room with Sarai and Leon. He wanted to stay, wanted to help get everything under control, but he was loathe to leave Sarai even with Leon.

Riccardo was still seated in a wheelchair in the front of the room, watching the insanity play out before him. He made no move to follow when Sarai and Aiden left with Leon. He wasn't sure if he was scared, but just sort of numb to all the chaos that had been devolving around them.

He stood up, wobbling a bit on his feet, staring out over the crowd of angry rioters and the guards trying to control it. He watched as a commoner attempted to swing a sword at the guard. He felt nothing, no fear or anger. Nothing. In silence, he walked towards the crowd of people, standing at the edge of Astraea's flame wall and staring out at them. One of the commoners glared back at him from the other side of the flames.

"If you want to hurt someone, it should be me," he told this commoner through the crackling of the flames between them, all the while the chaos continuing to happen around them. "I bring destruction with me everywhere I go. This is my fault." He still didn't even feel anything, and his words were cool and flat as was his face.

The commoner roared and leapt through the flames at Riccardo, slashing his sword at him.

 

[Aina]

((I tried. Sorry again for taking so long. And why must Riccardo break my heart once again.))

Sarai was reluctant to leave the room. "Aiden," she called behind her to make sure that he was following her. Leon let them through another door away from the chaos. "You left Riccardo!" she snapped at him angrily and she pulled her arm away. She looked at Aiden. Her eyes were filled with tears but she was mostly angry.

How could this have happened? Flashbacks from her and Riccardo's wedding were coming back to her. The flames, the shouting. Everything was getting worse. How was she supposed to help her people?

"What happened?" a voice called from down the hallway. It was Emmanuel, his sister was behind him. Sarai didn't know exactly how to explain what happened but she wished that they could help somehow.

Emmanuel had heard all of the shouting and chaos while he had been talking with his father. Edyn had come running into the room earlier, stating she saw all those people ambushing the house from the beach. Emmanuel didn't waste any time or breath to ask any more questions. He made his way into the throne room. He had to fight off someone as soon as he walked into the room.

First thing he noticed were the flames in the middle of the room. A growl escaped his mouth and his body no longer was human. The skin tore away, his nails grew into talons, while his body was covered in fur. He howled, jumped over the flames teeth baring and he jumped at the first commoner that he saw.

Astraea refused to move from where she was standing. She saw the man approach Riccardo with his sword and she shouted, "No!" The flames wouldn't budge of course unless she allowed them so it gave her a chance to grab the man quickly by his arm. He screamed in pain as his was singed by her touch. Still the commoners had no fear as they pushed on, Astraea standing in front of Riccardo now protectively. "Get out of here Riccardo," she told him.

She heard the sounds of breaking glass once again, a few more people were crashing through the windows. The same commoner swung his sword out at her but Astraea didn't care. She caught the blade in her hand in midair. The fire making it too hot for him to touch which forced him to drop his weapon.

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

((You're good man! And just ignore him. He's a drama queen.))

Aiden was bewildered by what she said. He hadn't even realized Riccardo wasn't right behind them. He was so concerned for Sarai. He turned to look at the door they'd gone through, unsure if he should risk opening it and leaving her. He watched as Emmanuel burst through and Aiden made his decision.

"Protect her," he yelled at Leon as he followed after Emmanuel back into the throne room.

Riccardo blinked, watching as Astraea put herself between he and danger, fighting off the man who'd been about to hurt him. He still couldn't feel anything. Some small part of himself realized it wasn't normal that he wasn't afraid, but mostly, he didn't care. He heard her yell at him to leave, but he didn't want to.

"I can fix this," he said, softly, looking around. "I can fix this. It's my fault. I can fix this."

Aiden managed to push his way through the throne room, ducking from people and side stepping fights going on. He made it to Riccardo, though, and grabbed him. "Thank you, Astraea," he yelled over all the noise. "I got him. Be safe."

He grabbed Riccardo by the sleeve of his shirt and tugged at him as he tried to make his way back to where he'd left Sarai and Leon. On his way back, another person jumped in front of him, though and Aiden let go of Riccardo baring his fangs as he got into another fight. The man swiped at him with a knife, Aiden trying to keep himself between him and Riccardo who was still rather unresponsive. One of the swipes landed, leaving a deep gash across Aiden's cheek. Aiden roared and charged at the man, knocking him backwards a few feet. He turned quickly to grab Riccardo again and pull him along.

Finally, they made it back to Sarai and Leon, Aiden panting and raising a hand to his bleeding cheek. "Got him," he panted out.

 

[Aina]

"Aiden wait," Sarai called after him but Leon stopped her from leaving. She hadn't wanted Aiden to go. She had wanted it to be Leon instead. She could only wait as he went out there in the middle of all the chaos. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding so fast in her chest. Her hands were trembling as well and Sarai felt as if she might pass out.

Astraea was still fighting off another man when she saw that Aiden had come into the room. She didn't have time to respond to Aiden as she was attacked by another sword. Now her entire body was covered in flames and she was throwing balls of fire toward people who came through the window.

Once Aiden had returned, Edyn had gone after her brother. She turned as well into her wolf form. Growling and grabbing people, throwing them across the room. Emmanuel was throwing someone across the room too distracted to see as another commoner approached him with a sword. He swung it forward, slashing him a few times

Sarai let out a breath of relief that she hadn't even realized she was holding. She went to Aiden quickly, pressing her own to his cheek. She looked at Riccardo to see if he had been injured as well but was relieved to find that he wasn't. She pressed her other hand to her forehead. "Mother of Night please end this nightmare," she tried not cry but she needed to get them away from this.

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

Aiden smiled bitterly at Sarai. "It's okay. I'm okay." He glanced back at Riccardo who was staring back into the room, the door open. Aiden shook his head and turned back around to Sarai. "We need to get away from here." He lowered his hand and took hers. He turned to grab at Riccardo's shirt sleeve again, but was surprised when Riccardo headed back into the room.

Riccardo wasn't even sure which wolf it was he saw get surprise attacked by the commoner, but the unfair attack on Emmanuel's back stirred a need to protect the wolf. The wolves had come here for sanctuary and were having to deal with this, the mess that Riccardo couldn't help but somehow feel responsible for.

He ran for the commoner, tackling him and ripping the sword from his hand. The commoner and him rolled on the floor, wrestling for the sword before Riccardo came out on top. He raised the sword above his head without thinking and brought it down on the man's chest.

"Riccardo," Aiden yelled as Riccardo ran into the room. He growled, but he wasn't about to leave Sarai again. "Leon, I'm getting Sarai out of here."

He didn't care in that moment how Sarai felt about leaving. He pulled her along, heading quickly away from the room, trying to think of the safest place for them. He couldn't help but think of Seraphine and the rest of the sick in the infirmary. He led he and Sarai in that direction, praying the infirmary was okay.

To his utter relief, the infirmary was yet untouched by any of the chaos going on up front, but it was obvious everyone had heard the commotion. Many of the servants were huddled there now, some of them holding swords and knives themselves as they waited anxiously for some sort of news.

"Your majesties," Wendy said when they entered. "What's going on? We heard fighting!"

"The commoners attacked us," Aiden answered, even still moving to Seraphine where the little girl was afraid in her bed. "There's a fight in the throne room." He still held tightly to Sarai's hand, not even realizing it at this point.

 

[Aina]

"Riccardo!" Sarai shouted after him but she didn't make any sudden moves to go after him. She struggled somewhat against Aiden's grasp not wanting to leave Riccardo behind. Leon had already gone back into the room. He looked around for his sister and saw that she was fighting off someone. The entire room was covered in flames.

Emmanuel whimpered, having been stabbed by one of the commoners. Edyn quickly attacked that man and threw him across the room angrily. Emmanuel whimpered off to the corner.

Some of the injured commoners surprisingly there were a lot had slinked off out of the house. More of the werewolves had made their way into the room pushing more of the commoners out of the room. Majority of them now were gone thankfully. Astraea still held her ground among the few who were still left behind. She had seen Riccardo come back into the room and she ran toward Emmanuel however.

He had turned back to his human form but he was clutching his gut. He was groaning because of the pain. He saw the demon girl approach him and he wearily took her hand. She lifted him gently from the ground, the flames around her had diminished. She pulled Emmanuel up by both her hands now and she let him lean on her. "To the infirmary," she told him softly.

Sarai had no choice but to allow Aiden to pull her along. She still hadn't wanted to leave Riccardo behind. Seraphine jumped from the bed as they walked in. Sarai wrapped her arms around her immediately. "I'm scared," Seraphine cried out. Sarai was still concerned with everyone who was left in the throne room. What were they to do now?

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

((Haha. I think you missed where Riccardo took care of the man that was attacking Emmanuel. Lord knows I've done things like that, I just changed it so he fought off someone from a different wolf. LOL.))

Riccardo felt shaky, having fought off one of the commoners. He could feel the exhaustion from last night settling in again and his vision trying to go blurry, but he got up, stumbling to his feet. The werewolf he'd helped had moved on to fight more, chasing off more of the commoners and Riccardo was grateful to have helped him. He looked around, feeling more like himself again.

He caught sight of Emmanuel just in time to see him getting helped away by Astraea. "Everyone, watch each other's backs," he shouted out to those still fighting. "Make sure no one gets deeper into the house. Bring the injured to the infirmary!"

He followed quickly after Astraea and Emmanuel, stumbling a little, trying to force himself to remain upright. The adrenaline pumping through his system was helping considerably. He caught up to the two of them, eyes quickly finding the bleeding wound in Emmanuel.

"I'm so sorry," Riccardo said. "I'm so sorry." He looked to Astraea and then up ahead. "I'm going to make sure the doctor's ready for him." He took off running, stumbling a few times as he went, but forcing himself to make it to the infirmary. He felt like he was going to pass out by the time he got there.

"Arthur," he shouted loudly as soon as he got to the infirmary. "One of the werewolves have been stabbed."

Dr. Seavers looked up, nodding in acknowledgement at what Riccardo said and then rushing to gather the needed supplies. By the time Astraea and Emmanuel arrived, Seavers was ready for him at the bed Riccardo had continuously been vacating all night. "Lay him down for me, Astraea," Seavers asked.

As soon as Emmanuel was on the bed, Seavers pulled back Emmanuel's clothes and frowned at the wound. He quickly gathered a sterile wipe and began to clean at the wound. "I'm sorry that this stings," Seavers apologized, continuing to work.

Riccardo finally had to give into his body's screams for rest. He let himself plop down at the end of Seraphine's bed, sitting on the floor and leaning against the footboard of it. He groaned and buried his head in his hands.

Aiden turned when Seraphine whimpered about being afraid and he sat besides her as well. "It's okay, Seraphine," he tried to comfort her, glancing at Sarai. "I won't let anything happen to you or your sister. It'll be okay."

 

[Aina]

((Oops I totally missed that part. Lol))

Emmanuel growled as he moved. Astraea tried to ease him pain a bit by gripping his arm, so he would be distracted by that instead but the werewolf's groaning only continued. He looked around for Riccardo. He saw that he was okay. "Edyn," he moaned in pain, but called out again, "Edyn." He didn’t want his sister to get hurt either.

"Stay here,"Astraea told Leon as she pulled Emmanuel along toward the infirmary. Inside, she was able to lay him down on the bed as Dr. Seavers ordered her to. She had to step back a moment to catch her breath. She felt over exhausted after having used most of her energy in her powers. She had to sit down on one of the beds. She caught her breath after a moment but went back up to Emmanuel's bed. She put gloves on, "What do you need me to do doctor."

Sarai was relieved that Riccardo finally had gotten back. She grimaced at the sight of Emmanuel. "Oh Mother," she put her head in her hands. Could any of this have gotten worse? She could not handle any more tragedy. She ran a hand through her hair. She feared that the commoners would find their way into the house if they didn't do something. All they could really do was wait for sunlight. She hoped that it would not come to that.

"I am not worried about me," Sarai told Aiden. She got up from the bed and she approached the infirmary door which was still open. She could hear the shouting of the remaining commoners still out there in the throne room. "They are angry with me. They have every right to be angry with me," she shook her head, "This is all my fault. Since I've taken over for my father, I've done nothing to help them. They have family who are missing or dead. And now my people will die because they have no source of blood."

"This is all my fault," she repeated.

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

((Haha! It's okay! I've done that myself!))

Riccardo pulled his knees to his chest and put his arms around them, laying his head on one of his knees. He could feel the numbness coming back and he welcomed it. He didn't want to feel anything. He was tired of feeling afraid and stressed and he embraced being numb to it all. He closed his eyes and tried to tune out all the sounds around him. He just needed a moment to himself to recuperate, he told himself.

Seavers looked up at Astraea and smiled tiredly at her. "Rest, Astraea," he told her. "Emmanuel will be okay. I can handle this. I want you to rest. You look tired, my dear." Yes, Emmanuel's wound was a bad one, but Astraea looked so drained. They were all tired and stressed and he couldn't ask anymore of her.

Riccardo picked his head up when Emmanuel called out for his sister. He turned, looking at the door. It was the least he could do for the werewolf to go get his sister. He started to try to get up, but his vision blackened and he fell back immediately, hand to his head as a painful headache sweeped over him. "Aiden," he asked, tensely.

Aiden was preoccuppied, however, with Sarai. He watched as she went to stand by the door, but immediately got up to follow her. He stood dutifully nearby, ready to grab her should she try to leave the infirmary altogether. He didn't think it was too crazy with everyone being absolutely nutty around him. Riccardo and Sarai both had a habit of running towards danger and he'd already watched Riccardo run back into the burning throne room. He didn't think it was too far fetched that Sarai would try anything less insane.

"Sarai, darling, this is not your fault," he told her firmly. "We had no way of knowing this would happen. We've been doing so much work trying to find where the missing vampires have gone. We've been trying to rebuild this kingdom from the ground up. We don't have much of a council, we don't have much money, we don't have hardly anything." He gestured inside the infirmary before gently holding her shoulders. "Chaos and ruin is all that we've been surrounded by. It's a miracle the both of us are still sane, let alone doing what we have done."

He shook his head. "This is not your fault and I refuse to let you blame yourself for this because if you're to blame, we're all to blame and I know you wouldn't put that blame on anyone else." He puffed. "You've done everything you can, Sarai. This is not your fault."

Riccardo tried again to stand up and this time he managed it, wobbling a little, but taking the few steps to go to Emmanuel's bed, watching as the doctor worked on him. "Is he going to be okay," he asked.

Seavers was cauterizing the wound with his medical torch, and he didn't look up at Riccardo's question. "He's going to be just fine," he murmured. "Lucky for us, werewolves heal a lot faster than humans and he should be right as rain in a week." He put the medical torch away, pausing briefly to ensure he'd truly stopped the bleeding. Satisfied, he looked to Emmanuel's face, concern in his eyes before he went back to the wound, cleaning it up again. "That is, if he listens to my care instructions and actually stays in bed." He shot Riccardo a quick pointed glance.

Riccardo ignored the doctor, looking to Emmanuel. He wanted to apologize more, he wanted to go get his sister for him... He was so sick of everyone being hurt around him. This was his father's fault. Surely it was. The poisoning had to have been Demetri's hand. It had his father written all over it and Riccardo should have seen this coming. He took a few steps back to return to his spot on the floor by Seraphine's bed, burying his face in his hands and he tucked his knees in towards himself again.

 

[Aina]

"It doesn't matter. My father did all of this," she interjected with another shake of her head. "Those people are my responsibility. I am their Queen and I failed them." She bowed her head hiding the tears that fell from her eyes. Aiden was her husband but these were people that had lived here since she was born. The servants and guards who served her parents and her grandparents before them. "It's all gone to hell," she sobbed.

"There is nothing else I can do Aiden," she pulled away from him. His words were far from comforting. She would not feel all that bad if those people came in there and killed them. Sarai felt as if there was nothing left. "There is no point in remaining in power if I have no kingdom. My people hate me. They wish me dead," she went to say. "I deserve it. My father can't pay for the crimes he has done so maybe I-" she didn't want to finish the sentence.

How she was still sane was a good question. She wasn't sure how she was still standing either. She looked at Aiden with tearful eyes and she pressed her hand against his cheek again. "I'm sorry Aiden. You don't deserve any of this. It would have been different had you married someone else," she muttered toward him, she touched his other cheek. She was going to say that she loved him. She didn't care what he said about her not having any fault in this. She was so naive and not cut out to be a ruler. She looked at the door again and she reached out her hand after she pulled away from him. She was going to open it, go out there and try to give herself up so that the people would leave her family alone but the shouting suddenly subsided. The crashing. The growling and tearing all stopped. It was eerily silent for a moment before the door opened.

Sarai jumped back but saw that it was only Leon. Astraea went up to him immediately. She had been sitting on one of the beds still. Emmanuel had passed out at some point when the doctor was tending to his wound. He had woken after a minute and he caught on to what the doctor said to Riccardo. "Don't worry doc. I'm not as stubborn as Tenepri over here," he chuckled, "I won't leave this bed." He groaned a bit and looked down at his abdomen. The gash ran vertically across his abs. "I've had much worse...where's my sister?"

"We've managed to get a lot of the commoners off the property. The sun is rising soon so perhaps that is why they are fleeing," Leon explained to them. "And your sister is okay. She's held her own very well," he told Emmanuel.

"How many Leon? How many are dead?" Sarai asked him.

Leon's face darkened. He hadn't wanted to tell her that. They had already lost so many people from last night. "I'd say over 20."

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

Aiden was surprised when she sobbed, but immediately tried to hug her. However, she pulled away and his hands dropped to his sides uselessly as she continued stressing about their situation. Her words left a powerful impact on him and he glanced towards the door. She was right. They were hopeless. The people wanted them dead and what was the point of trying anymore? It was all going to Hell. She was right.

He looked up at her again when she touched his cheek, wincing a little at the sting of his cut. "Don't apologize," he said softly. He watched as she turned back towards the doors, ready to move in and prevent her from leaving but she hesitated before the doors opened almost as if of their own volition. He rushed for Sarai, ready to protect her, but relaxing when it was just Leon.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Leon said the commoners had been driven away, but itw as right back into the fray when he heard the number of dead. Aiden fell into a stony silence, bowing his head and crossing his arms over his chest. How many people did they have to lose before this was all over?

What kind of world were they trying to bring a child into? Everyone around them was dying, stress and turmoil around every corner. He stumbled back a step until he hit the wall and heaved a sigh. "Twenty," he repeated, softly.

Riccardo looked up at the announcement as well, feeling a lump form in his throat. It was so many. They had alread lost so many the night before. It was all becoming too much. This was far too much to deal with. He couldn't keep track of it all anymore. He wanted to scream or run or both. He hung his head again, hands balling into fists where they rested on his knees, breathing a little unevenly.

He wasn't sure what to do from this point. Bringing in more people would surely just result in them dead and he couldn't be responsible for more death. But if he left them defenseless, Sarai, Astraea, Leon, or Rosita could be killed. It was hard enough knowing people had died around him let alone if something happened to any of the ones he was closest to.

Rosita, having been helping in the infirmary this entire time, walked up to Leon. The whole infirmary was quiet, the sick all listening to their monarchs up front, the conversation going on and the loss of hope was almost tangible. She could see the gloom on everyone's faces, the stress on Sarai's face, on Aiden's face, Leon's... This one hurt them. Last night and this night. This had hurt everyone bad in so many ways.

"Hope has fled," she started singing lowly from where she was in the middle of the room. Some of the people around her heard her and looked, recognizing the song immediately. A few joined in.

"Help us, your children
the lost and forgotten
show us your mercy

We ask for love
We ask for grace
We ask for hope
Due from our faith."

Soon, most of the people in the infirmary were singing, some of them tears in their eyes as they sang their song of hope.

Rosita didn't know much about the Mother of Night religion, but she'd heard this song a few times and she knew it was a popular one. She may not agree with who they worshipped, but she thought God would hear her thoughts and prayers as she sang along with them and they all needed all the protection they could get.

The infirmary rang in silence after the last note and Rosita walked up to her friends and smiled comfortingly at them. "We'll be okay," she told them, softly. "I know we've all been through a lot, but we're in this together. I know you're all strong enough for this. I know you all and I know that you are wonderful people. Just give it time and don't lose faith in yourselves."

 

[Aina]

((Sorry for shortness. You think we should skip maybe?))

Leon was the first to lift his head up when he heard Rosita singing. He had no idea she knew that song. He listened in silence as the others sang along. He felt sorry for them. They had been through so much. Sarai looked to be taking this very hard. As well as Riccardo.

Sarai was also surprised to hear Rosita suddenly begin singing. She never assumed someone's faith so she was shocked to hear that Rosita knew the song. She listened as the servants and guards in there sang along. A weak smile appeared her face and she closed her eyes briefly. She saw that Seraphine was singing along too. It warmed her heart to hear Rosita give them a little bit of hope.

She went to hug the girl when she approached them. She hugged her a bit too tightly but when she pulled away she was smiling at her. "Thank you Rosita," she let her go and wiped at her eyes. The song's words had lifted up her spirits just enough that she wasn't feeling sorry for herself. She still knew they had so much things to do. So much work cut out for them. So much death and tragedy around them.

"Rosita is right. The Mother of Night will give us the strength that we need to push through this. I'm sorry…I know that you have lost your friends and family. I mourn with you all for your losses. I never wished this upon you and I take responsibility for it. For not protecting you," she cleared her throat and went on, "We will survive this. And I pray to the Mother that she will give us comfort. We are all scared…I'm scared too."

"For now we can stick together. Pray, and keep our faith."

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

The rest of the night was a lot of cleanup. Guards and servants gathering the dead and helping with some of the damage control. Rosita stepped in, helping to try to keep up moral, complimenting everyone on just about everything as she went and ready to give a hug to anyone who looked like they needed it. She finally felt like she'd found her place.

It had been hard lately, watching Leon and Astraea take command of the guards, Sarai and Aiden were the king and queen and had their duties, Riccardo had his, she'd been having trouble figuring out where she should be and what she should be doing. She didn't like that it had to be a tragedy that made her realize what she was best at, but she did her part helping the people.

Aiden was exhausted, but he helped, too, taking count of the bodies they found even as his stomach twisted at seeing their dead. He got the names down for later use and he felt just horrible that this had happened. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that he'd have to deal with all this, but he tried to continue being strong. He wanted to fall apart so bad, though.

Everyone worked partially into the day when it was all mostly taken care of. Many people returned to the infirmary just to be around others, the comraderie there made quite a few feel better including Aiden. He sat with Sarai and Seraphine Seraphine's bed, glad that the two of them were safe and sound despite it all.

It was at this time, when everyone was calm did a few strangers enter the infirmary, escorted by one of their guards. The strangers were all human and pulling along a large box on wheels behind them as well. They looked nervously around at all the vampires.

"What is this," Aiden asked, standing up from Seraphine's bed.

One of the humans, a young man, stepped forward towards Aiden. "We were sent by a Lord Leighton, sir. We have blood in this crate and have all agreed to feeding the people here from ourselves as well. Lord Leighton paid us and promised we'd continue to be paid for our services."

Aiden felt the biggest wave of relief wash over him at hearing this news. "Uh... Thank you so much for coming!" There was a happy murmur going through the crowd as people stood up to start collecting blood for themselves and their sick friends and family.

Riccardo looked up and sighed at the news. Leighton was supposed to have gotten the blood earlier, but he supposed he shouldn't be too unhappy. At least it was done. He remained where he sat, having moved to a far corner of the room, removed from everyone else. From there, he watched with a bit of satisfaction as people gathered blood, immediately tearing into the plastic packets and finally quenching their thirst.

Just then, he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, and he frowned as he raised it to his face. His heart skipped a beat when he saw it was his father on the caller ID. For a moment, he felt frozen but he shakily answered the call, expecting to hear Demetri gloating on the other end.

"What do you want, you son of a bitch," Riccardo growled lowly at his father.

"Riccardo, I tire of you," Demetri said with a heavy sigh. Riccardo was surprised to hear something a lot different than anger coming from his father. Demetri sounded tired and his voice was rough. "I called as a formality. As you have no ounce of loyalty to this family, I doubt you care, but your mother is dead."

"Good fucking riddance," Riccardo puffed. "Did you do it?"

Demetri was silent for a long moment and Riccardo swore he heard his breath hitch. "She died of poison last night, Riccardo. I have much that needs my attention tonight, however, and cannot answer anymore questions. Goodbye."

Riccardo blinked when Demetri hung up the phone, staring at it. He couldn't imagine his father as a loving man, so it was odd to think he may actually be upset by his mother's death. It was stranger still that he had nothing exceptionally cruel to say to himself. What was even stranger, though, was that his mother had died of poison. As it turned out, this was not an isolated event and was not just directed at Sarai's kingdom. His father and possibly the whole great lakes region had suffered as well. It was oddly comforting to know that.

He didn't bother getting up, though, not even to go celebrate and get some of the blood that had been brought in. Instead, he rested his head back on his knees and stared at his phone in thought.

Aiden brought blood to Sarai and Seraphine, another packet in his hand for himself. "This is exactly what we needed," he said, relief obvious in his voice. Rosita, having helped pass blood out to everyone else, went back to her position near Leon to tear through the plastic in her own blood. She groaned happily at the first sip, drinking it down quickly after that.

 

[Aina]

((I died of laughter because of Riccardo just then!!))

Sarai couldn't bring herself to leave the infirmary. She helped Dr. Seavers instead. She could not see the faces of those they lost. It made her stomach churn in nausea. And she wasn't sure it was safe anyways.

She still felt guilty for not being able to protect anyone. The only solace she had was that her friends and family were safe. But would that last? They could be gone tomorrow too? She did not like to think so negatively but she hadn't expected to lose her parents, or her sisters. She feared that anyone else closest to her would be next.

She was relieved that Aiden took initiative to help the guards collect the bodies and the names. She was so thankful to him. She wasn't sure what state of mind she would be in if it weren't for him. His strength and calm, allowed her to be a little bit braver for Seraphine's sake. In the meantime while everyone else was off doing their duties, she tried to distract her sister with some reading.

She finishing the end of a story, "'I consent with all my heart,” cried the queen. “How can I ever thank you enough, charming girl, for having restored my dear son to his natural form?” And then she tenderly embraced Beauty and the prince, who had meanwhile been greeting the fairy and receiving her congratulations. “Now,” said the fairy to Beauty, “I suppose you would like me to send for all your brothers and sisters to dance at your wedding?” And so she did, and the marriage was celebrated the very next day with the utmost splendor, and Beauty and the prince lived happily ever after."

"Read to me again," Seraphine begged her as she finished the last line. Sarai shook her head with a slight chuckle and she closed the book. "Bunny, I’m exhausted. I'll read you another tomorrow," she told her. Seraphine of course, pouted but cheered up as soon as Aiden came forward with blood bags. She took the bag was about to take a sip when she saw the look that Sarai had given her. "Thank you," she murmured before drinking it.

Sarai smiled faintly up at him. She stood up from the bed as he sat down. "Enjoy," she told him. She looked around her to make sure that everyone was offered blood but her gaze landed on Riccardo huddled alone in the corner. She approached him slowly, kneeling in front of him. "You aren't going to drink?" she asked him.

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

((It brings joy to my heart that I could write that. Be warned, I'll try to keep it to a minimum, but he curses a lot.))

Aiden grinned at Seraphine. "No problem, Seraphine. Let me know if you want more." He watched as the girl brought the blood to her lips, the relief and joy at blood being provided finally almost making him tear up. He realized with a pang, though, that Sarai couldn't drink it because of her condition, but was glad he'd be able to offer for her to feed from him later.

He watched with a bit of worry as Sarai got up, but wasn't surprised when she headed for Riccardo. Aiden turned back to Seraphine and glanced at the book they'd been reading. Fairy tales. He smiled, knowing how much Sera and Sarai loved their fairy tales.

"More fairy tales," he asked, Sera, chuckling. "You know, I always like Narnia as a kid. I wonder if you guys have that in your library. If you do, what do you say we read that together sometime?"

Riccardo looked up, tiredly at Sarai when she approached him. He frowned, though, and looked away at her question. "I don't want any," he mumbled. In some regards, he felt he deserved to be starving, his body unable to heal from the lack of blood in his system.

"Oh. Good news, though." He looked back to her, a little more pep in his voice. "Apparently we weren't the only ones to have our blood supply poisoned. My father called just to tell me my mother died last night. They were poisoned up there, too, so..." He shrugged. "That's good, I guess."

He put his chin on his knee, setting down his phone and tracing patterns with his finger on the wooden floor. "At least it wasn't my father and I can't entirely blame myself for this mess anymore." He sighed. "I should have expected an attack, though," he said, bitterly, frustration with himself clear in his tone. "Had people testing our blood, keeping an extra sharp eye out for anything suspicious... I could have prevented this if I wasn't so fucking incompetent." He slammed his hand down on the floor, before curling his hand into a fist, still not wanting to look at Sarai.

 

[Aina]

((Don't worry about the cursing. It doesn't bother me.))

Seraphine gasped with excitement at the mention of Narnia. "Cassandra and Penelope let me watch the movie with them," she told him. "I love that movie. I wish I could go to Narnia. It's so pretty there. I want the talking lion to be my friend like he is in the movie to the little girl."

Sarai brows furrowed when he looked away from her. "You really should-" she began to say with a shake of her head. But she closed her mouth and allowed him to continue on.

"Oh no," was all she could really muster out. She knew Riccardo wasn't really close to his mother but still. Neither was she, and it hurt knowing how her mother died. She grimaced at that thought. Her badly disfigured body still remained burned in her mind.

She knew he was beyond consoling. He only cursed when he was really angry. "This mess was not your doing," she told him softly. Her eyes saddened as she looked at him. He was so angry and it was justified for she was angry too. Angry at the world and what they were going through. They were all so young. To experience so much tragedy in a matter of a few months was remarkable and heartbreaking.

Sarai went to take his hand in hers but she decided to put her hand gently on the top of his head. "Riccardo I'm so sorry about your mother," she began softly. "You could not have predicted this to happen. I blame myself for everything. I am stupid, unqualified as a queen."

"I've failed myself and my people. But that is not your fault. If anything, all of this is my fault," she said. She took the hand that he had on the floor but lifted his head up with the other. "Please take care of yourself. You need your strength if we are going to fix this. I need you," she closed her eyes, a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "I almost lost you…and I can't again. Right now, its hard. But the first step is to get our strength back and rest up so we can live another day."

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

Aiden grinned. "That would be so cool, right," he asked. "I always wanted to be friends with the lion, too and all the cool creatures!" He took a sip of his blood, casting a glance in Sarai and Riccardo's direction again, worried about what they were saying; he didn't want either of them bringing the other down.

"Sera, you're such a strong little girl, you know that?" He smiled. "I know how hard everything's been, but you've been so brave. I want you to think of something you've been wanting to do and I promise you, me, and your sister will all go have fun one night, okay?"

Riccardo flinched when she put her hand on his head, but otherwise didn't move, didn't even look at her. Her words calmed him. If anything, he remembered what Aiden had said earlier when he was out of bed trying to take care of things. He needed to take care of himself for her and for the baby. It was important that he did that.

He wanted to shy away when she grabbed his hand and lifted his head to look at her. His hand relaxed out of the fist he'd curled it into and he almost cautiously gripped her hand back. The anger at himself wiped from his face until he looked tired and worn down and just sad.

"I'm sorry, Sarai," he said, softly. He let go of her hand to lean forward and wrap his arms around her. "We're all just inexperienced," he mumbled, leaning into the hug and closing his eyes, taking comfort from the contact with her. "You are not a bad queen, just inexperienced. None of us really know what we are doing. This is too much for any of us to handle."

He squeezed her tighter and was quiet for a few moments before letting her go. "For the record, I really don't care about my mother dying. I just wonder how it will affect my father's behavior. He... actually sounded upset by her death. That is very odd."

He glanced over to where the blood had been left in the middle of the infirmary. He really didn't want to get up. His body was worn out. He sighed and looked back to Sarai. "What about you? What are you going to drink tonight? You have to have something yourself. Your body needs more right now because of the baby."

 

[Aina]

Seraphine looked confused when Aiden told her she was strong. She stopped drinking to give some thought to what he said. She guessed that he was right. She had been really scared earlier that Sarai would get hurt again. So she was glad that that didn't happen.

She shrugged her shoulder. "I don’t know," she told him but she thought some more on it, "Could we go to Italy? To see my cousins there? I miss them." Her eyes looked downcast and she looked sad. "I miss my mommy," her bottom lip quivered a bit but Seraphine distracted herself by continuing to drink from the blood packet.

Sara welcomed the hug from him. She noted how he flinched from her touch. She still wouldn't get use to that. At least she had helped his body relax a bit. Her own body loosened its tension as he pulled her tighter into his body. To feel his warmth against her, she felt so calm.

"Don't be sorry," she retorted. She was disappointed that he let go of her. Also with his comment about his mother. She understood why he wouldn't feel anything. While Demetri was beating his son it seemed as if Riccardo's mother refused to step in and stop it. She could guess that that was why Riccardo didn't care. They were also not very close either.

She looked at him grimly about his comment in regards to his father. She glanced over at the blood packets as well. She did not want to drink from anyone if she were honest. She still hated the act even though Riccardo and Aiden always told her it was nothing to feel strange about. She guessed that she just hated the action of biting someone, she wasn't sure.

She looked at him and she frowned. She still had his hand in hers. She squeezed it tightly before she stood up and went to grab a blood packet from the pile. She went back to him, handing it over. "Drink please," she told him, completely ignoring his question about her. "You need your strength," she scolded him and she found herself hugging him again. "I love you Riccardo," she told him before she pulled away. "Seeing you well gives me strength," she said with a slight smile.

"I'm almost relieved that this wasn't your father. He took away so much from me already," she looked down at her lap, "I suspect Cornelius is behind it if your father was hit as was Aiden's mother."

 

[FursieTheFlixee]

Aiden smiled when Sera requested going to Italy. "I think a big trip like that will have to wait until the baby is born, but I bet we can try to do that this year, Sera."

The smile fell from his face when she mentioned her mother. He watched as her lip quivered and he shook his head. "I know." He leaned in, pulling her into a one armed hug and sighing heavily. "I know you miss her, Sera. I'm sorry." He rubbed her arm. "But, you know, we'll have a new family member in just a few months and that will be good, yeah?"

Riccardo was surprised when Sarai got up and left him. He had a sinking feeling she was just done talking to him and, so, he felt immense relief when she simply grabbed some blood for him and returned. He graciously took it from her, surprised when she suddenly hugged him. He melted back into a hug with her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

Her words stung his eyes and he squeezed her tighter before she let him go and he did as well. "I love you, too," he said. He would never understand how she could make him feel better so quickly, but talking with her had already improved his mood a lot. There was still a lot weighing him down, but he didn't feel so hopeless.

He looked at the blood in his hand before raising it to his lips and biting into it as she spoke about the poisoning. He took a deep drink from it, enjoying the feel of fueling his body.

"It must be Cornelius," he agreed before taking another long drink. "He's the only one I could imagine at having done this." He sighed heavily, licking his lips of the blood. "I don't like how mysterious the man is. I've barely heard of him and I don't really even know what he looks like. And yet he keeps popping up everywhere, causing death and chaos... He's behind missing vampires, poisonings, the overthrow of my kingdom, my home..." He shook his head. "I don't like that we know so little about him."

He looked back at the blood packet in his hand and raised it to his lips again, finishing it off quickly. He wanted more if he was being honest, but he knew it was better to pace himself and let his body adjust after everything that had happened to him recently.

"Sarai, make sure you both Aiden to feed, please. I'd force you on me, but... I don't know if there's any poison left in my system." He gripped her shoulder. "You need to stop starving yourself because you're going to screw up the baby and..." He chuckled nervously. "That's kind of my job, so go bother your husband for nourishment. Please?"