Fantasy Vampire Corps of Eldergaard

[Reynarda]

Maksim rushed up the stairs ahead of Lanea and grabbed one of the pillows. He flopped down on the bed with a groan.

He couldn’t go to bed in this nasty jacket. He wriggled around on the bed until he had extracted himself from it and then kicked his boots off.

Maksim then lay face down in the pillow. He fully intended to continue in this manner until Lanea spoke.

Maksim lifted his head and looked at Lanea. He winced in sympathy at Lanea’s scars. They all would have scars of some kind if they survived this.

“Well, we defected, stole a lifeboat, doomed our families, and are shacking up with a suspicious lady. This is a pretty average day, wouldn’t you say?”

As his words hung in the air, Maksim’s grin faded. He would normally have hidden behind the veneer of jokes, but he was tired and so felt like maybe, just maybe, trying the truth.

Maksim let out a long side. “Well... you know. Kind of figured the dying out here following Alyx on one of her crazy schemes is better than dying back on the Griffin, serving a cruel master just to protect a family that hates me.” Oof, too dark. He turned and forced a grin towards Lanea. “I shall die like I lived—charming the pants off all the ladies and gents.”

Maksim’s grin faded to a smirk. “What about you? Worried about your hot Allarian?”




Alyx stopped and arched an eyebrow at Fredrick. “ I think you can drop the commander title,” she said wryly.

She frowned, tilting her head at him. She understood what he was saying, she really did, but...

“We try to protect the ones we love with lies. But are lies really kinder than the truth in the long run? Because lies rarely stay hidden.” She glanced back down the stairs towards the sound of voices before looking up into Freddy’s helmet. “Even if you do die, what if your sister finds out that she could’ve spent more time with you? But she didn’t even realize that you were there all that time? How do you think she would feel?”

Alyx let out a long sigh, her eyes drifting to the side. “We tend to think we know what’s best for our loved ones and that we’re protecting them. But the reality is that we might just be hurting them by not including them in the decision.”

Alyx felt like she didn’t know Georgiana very well. They were only allies because the situation had called for it. But she knew how she would feel if she were in Georgiana’s position. “You have my word that I won’t say anything to her. But I want you to consider what you would want, were your roles reversed.”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lanea had learned well enough by now to not actually expect a straight answer from Maksim.

So he was a bit surprised when, after the usual sarcasm, he actually spoke frankly. He watched him carefully for a moment, then let out a dry chuckle.

”Well, the plan is to not die,” he pointed out as he settled himself on the bedroll on the floor. ”But I think you’re not wrong. We might not have the best chances, and things could go wrong, but....”

He trailed off, looking up at the ceiling. He didn’t really know where he was going with this.

”I know we’re not super close or anything,” he said slowly, because he felt like this was something he needed to say. He just wasn’t entirely sure how to say it. “But, for what it’s worth, your family kind of sucks.”

Ok, maybe not the best way to start that. Oh well. Now he was committed.

“If you want to go back to them after all this, if we do survive, that’s cool and all, but. You don’t actually need to, you know? You don’t owe them anything, I guess, is what I’m saying. And Alyx isn’t the only one here with you. I know you guys are best friends, but I’ve got your back too. So if you need anything, I’ll be here. Even if it’s just to tease me about my love life.”

He gave him a glare at the end, but the corner of his mouth was quirked up, and there was no heat to it.

And, as expected, the ribbing began.

“A little,” he said honestly, because even if Maksim was trying to tease him, he was a bit worried. Maybe not entirely for the reason Maksim was thinking, though.

He knew that Rose would show up. If for nothing else, he would at least retrieve the princess. But the Bicksley company being on the Griffin had him worried.

Lanea trusted Rose, and he cared about him a lot. But he also knew him, and he knew the weird hero-worship relationship he had with his boss. And if his boss was collecting vampires, well.

Lanea had absolutely no intentions of leaving him alone with Maksim or Alyx. Leo was safe, because of who he was, and so was Frederick. But as much as Lanea was 80% sure Rose wouldn’t do anything, because he wasn’t actually a bad person, he couldn’t say that he was perfectly confident he was totally on their side.

Rose was on Bicksley’s side, first and foremost. Lanea had no delusions about that.