“So she’s staying!?” Van asked in surprise.

“Unfortunately yes.” Thea sourly replied.

Van and the others were all sitting in a private room for a family meeting that his parents called for, about the issue of Karen. Everyone was sitting down on chairs that were in a circle except for Thea who was pacing back and forth with clear agitation.

Alvaroz sighed. “We can’t just get rid of her. It turns out she’s here because of House Umbra. It seems for some reason, they wish to get in touch with us, and asked the main branch of the House of Moonshadow for an introduction. Probably not even realizing the friction between us and them.”

Van thought back to the other woman that was with ‘That Bitch’ and wondered what she had to do with anything. “Why does House Umbra wish to get in contact with us?” Van asked.

Lorenzo spoke, rubbing his chin in thought. “It seems it has to do with our experience outside of the vampire lands. Ah! Sorry. Alcray,” he quickly realized his mistake and fixed it. “You see, while it’s true that House Umbra has much influence on the trade that happens between Alcray and the rest of the world, due to their ports. That's only with merchants and a few dignitaries from other countries, they don’t have any actual connections with anyone in any real power, mostly because while House Umbra is indeed powerful, It doesn’t speak for the rest of the Vampires that live here.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Van asked.

“A lot actually,” Alvaroz spoke up. “Thea love, can you please stop pacing.”

She scowled but did so, sitting in one of the empty chairs, her leg tapping incessantly.

“As I was saying” Alvaroz began again. “It has a lot to do with us. Mostly due to a mixture of our parents' connections before they died, and the connections we personally made when we were out exploring the world. Namely a certain connection with a certain school in Istra.” he finished.

“A school?” Van asked

It was Lorenzo who answered again. “Yes. One of the greatest schools on the continent. You see, we ran with another group of people while exploring, sometimes we worked together, sometimes we went our separate ways. But always we kept in touch until the last few years. It turns out that one of these people went and became the principal of the Istranion royal academy. And another became the vice master to the adventurer’s guild in Istra. There are a few others of course, but they either died or didn’t make as much a name for themselves.”

“And because of this House Umbra is interested in you? Why? What do they get out of it?” Van asked.

“Again, a lot actually,” Alvaroz said. “But we’ll talk about that some other time, more importantly, Are you aware of the three factions?” He asked Van.

“Not really,” Van replied with a shake of his head, but secretly a little annoyed about not having his question answered.

“Well. House Umbra is the head of the progressive faction. The leader of which is Tethra Umbra, an Archduchess. Meaning she is of a standing that is higher than normal duchies. There are only three archduchies in Alcray, and she is the head of one of them. Then there is Malon Taldem, Leader of the aggressive faction, also the ruler of an archduchy. Finally, there is Dagon Valtier, Leader of the neutral faction, of which we are associated with, also the head of an archduchy and one of the oldest vampires in Alcray.” Alvaroz said.

“So because we don’t have a single ruler, Alcray can’t make formal connections with the other countries?” Van said thoughtfully “I know that when Alcraz died everything collapsed with him, but surely by now we have something to show for it? Like maybe a council that can represent Alcray to the wider world? It’s been thousands of years after all.”

Alvaroz chuckled at that. “You forget that vampires can ‘Live’ for thousands of years.” he then frowned “And in those thousands of years, bad blood between Houses and clans can grow worse and worse until it reaches a boiling point,” he said, thinking back to the scene of devastation he found when he returned home.

Van frowned as he realized how true that was, for some, long years didn’t always allow one to just forgive and forget, sometimes it just makes them wallow in their own hatred and regret. He would try to remember this for the future.

“Is that what happened to the Main House and the branch House of Moonshadow?” Van asked. “Bad blood that continued until they separated?”

“We Are Not A Branch House!” Thea vehemently hissed, surprising Van and making him lean back on his chair away from her.

Alvaroz stared hard at her, making Thea feel properly chastised. “Sorry…” she said. “But we are not a branch House! If anything we are the True House of Moonshadow!” she then hit the arm of her chair in anger, almost breaking it. “Those Bitches! I will never forgive them for what they have done!”

“What happened?” Van asked, realizing there was more going on than he first thought. “If you hate them that much, why put up with them?”

Surprisingly it was his father who answered. “That… would be my fault,” he said sadly.

Lillia, who was sitting quietly next to him the entire time, reached out with her hand to gently clasped his.

“It's not your fault,” she said gently. “You couldn’t have known that they would do that, you just wanted to prevent the same thing that happened to your family from happening again, there's nothing wrong in that.”

Van waited patiently, in the hopes that his father would explain, thankfully he didn’t have to wait long. But it was Thea who started talking.

“You see, our Houses, like the Vrankarras and the Vranaters, were once one House,” Thea said. “Our feud has been going on for a little over a thousand years when we finally were able to break free of the other House of Moonshadow. Something they would never forgive, despite us trying to leave peacefully.” she sighed. “Their hatred for us was strong, and they did everything in their power to put us back under their control. Until one day, for some reason, that changed. They started to just ignore us.”

“At first we were confused, but it kept on going for over a few decades and we were finally able to feel like we had some room to breathe. We felt safe enough that my parents, who were normally overly protective, felt like it would be okay for me to go on my adventure despite their misgivings.” Thea said a wistful smile on her face only for it to slowly fade.

“Of course, then the Vrankarras had to make a mess of everything and we had to go back home, which actually kinda worked out because me and Lillia were pregnant. But…” Thea paused unsure of how to continue this part.

“I was devastated by what I saw happen to my home.” Alvaroz continued for her. “In my anger, I butchered the Vrankarras until only one of them was left. when I realized what I had done, I felt disgusted. So when the other House of Moonshadow offered reconciliation between her house and theirs, I convinced Thea of taking their offer, I wanted them to get past their hatred for each other so that the same thing that happened between us and the Vrankarras would not happen again. I did not realize the trap for what it was until it was too late.” he finished, angry with himself.

Luna, Looked uncomfortable as if she knew which way this story was going to go. She scooted closer to Van on the couch, as if for protection.

“The other house of Moonshadow.” Thea continued “wanted an exchange, between my daughter Luna, and one of theirs. Just for a few years, in hopes that they would grow up being treated like family and that would help bring the two Houses closer together when they return home… except that’s not what happened.”

Van had a feeling he knew what happened. “They treated her like a servant…” he said solemnly, bringing Luna in so that she can lean on him for comfort, which she happily took.

“They Treated Her Like A SLAVE!” Thea growled in anger, before taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself down. “When I heard what was happening, I returned the poor child they gave and asked for my Luna back. But they refused…”

Thea’s anger boiled again at the thought, and she tried to bring it back under control. Then very quietly she spoke “My parents… they were not happy when they found that their granddaughter had elf blood in her, they tried to convince me to have another child so that child could be the heir. They didn’t always treat Luna like I felt like she deserved. But… when they found out what my baby was going through… they offered themselves up in exchange for her. Because ‘that’s what family is for’.” she finished as if quoting someone, some semblance of tears in the corner of her eyes.

“I lost my parents, but at least I had my daughter back.” she sniffed a little. “And it took a long time for me to forgive your father, even though, I too know that it wasn’t his fault,” she said, looking at Alvaroz.

“That's when we had an idea” Alvaroz began. “The other House of Moonshadow, was always trying to exert control over Thea’s House. So we decided to make you the heir of my House, and have Luna marry into it. Essentially making it so that the County and the Barony will be inherited by you, should anything happen to us. If we were to do that, then any claims they would have on Thea’s county would be voided. They would never be able to get control over the county. Ever. Thanks to the laws of inheritance.”

“It would have been a different matter if we made Luna the heir,” Thea said. “But by making you the heir we solve several problems with one stroke! After all, Luna would be taking your name, meaning that the county would not be under the name of Moonshadow anymore but under the name of Vran! Not to mention that there are still some bigots that would not like an elf blooded among them as equals, so having you as the face of our Houses actually helps a lot.”

“I see…” Van said, “but if there is so much bad blood, especially now, between you and the other House of Moonshadow, then why did House Umbra not know about it?”

“That’s partially both our faults.” Alvaroz said. “We were never really one for politics so we haven't really been going out of our way to make connections like our parents did, though we still have a few allies in both the neutral and progressive faction. We simply haven't made a name for ourselves. The last the other Houses have probably heard, was what the other House of Moonshadow had told them, and considering that we haven’t been around to dissuade them otherwise, that's the only source of knowledge they probably had about us.”

Van thought about that for a while before sighing himself. “Sorry… I wish I knew this beforehand… I think I might have made things worse for the both of you.”

“What do you mean?” Alvaroz asked.

Van told them about the confrontation he had with ‘That Bitch’ and what had happened and how he set her up to be found by Thea.

“Pfffft HAHAHAHAHA!” Thea laughed, hands on stomach and pure mirth in her eyes.

Van grinned “You might have been too far to see it, but you should have seen her face when she looked back and saw you. I know I will never forget it.”

Alvaroz smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “While that is indeed very funny. Don’t you ever lie about someone swearing on their blood again. Do you hear me?”

“Y-ya… Sorry…” Van replied feeling like he was in trouble.

“Other than that,” Alvaroz now gave a full genuine smile. “Good work, in protecting Luna. I’m very proud of you.” he said, making Van and Luna blush a little sheepishly. With Thea nodding vigorously in agreement, and Lorenzo and Lillia giving an approving nod of their own.

“Thanks...” was all Van managed to reply with. But then a thought came to him. “So is that why even though she is an uninvited guest you can’t just get rid of her? Because her family has your parents? And because she came with this Katherine who represents one of the three factions? What really are the three factions?” he asked with some curiosity.

“That’s… a part of it.” Alvaroz said. “As for what are the three factions, well… you asked before if we had a council of some sort earlier. We do. The council is convened every few decades to talk about trade, disputes, our laws, and our stance towards the rest of the world. It’s where the Houses with the most power or influence go to make changes to Alcray as a whole. It's because of the council, led by Dagon Valteir. That those with different ideas and ideologies opposing those that don’t share their own, grouped up together and formed the factions we have today, that’s why we have the three factions.”

“The progressive faction is also known as the peace, trade, and influence faction. They believe that the time of trying to conquer the world through military means is outdated and cannot stand in the light of a modern-day. They instead believe that one can gain control over the continent through trade and influencing of other nations as well as matching or even exceeding those countries' technological output. They tend to embrace technology and are more accepting of other races in their ranks so long as they show merit. They mostly are in the west, where the ports are, with large factories, buying and exporting a massive amount of goods and resources, all over the world.”

“Then there is the neutral faction of which we are a part of. The neutral faction usually consists of those in the middle, sandwiched between the two factions as it were. The neutral faction does not really care for either side and largely prefers to be left alone. The neutral faction is also where most of the farming is done, as it is larger than the other two factions and the land is good for it. Of course being neutral doesn't mean they can't be influenced by the other factions, as you can see with the other House of Moonshadow. The neutral faction is large, but it also consists of many small and minor Houses that are constantly fighting each other for land and power. But it's also the only faction that can change the direction of the council’s laws, due to their large numbers.”

“Finally there is the aggressive faction, also known as the war, conservative, and power faction. They believe that the old ways are the best and that we should work to create another vampire lord in order for us to be led back to our former glory. They train the most out of all the other factions, being very martial oriented, and have the most powerful warriors and largest armies, despite being the smallest faction out of the three. They are the only faction that has a trade route with the demon lands and they have a long string of forts that watches over the tainted wastes that prevents hordes of mindless, uncontrollable undead from getting deeper into Alcray.”

“There are of course a few other very minor factions, but they are honestly not worth talking about,” Alvaroz said, leaning back in his seat. “Out of the three factions, the progressive and the aggressive factions have the most influence. Over the decades, they have slowly been eroding away the neutral faction. I personally believe that it’s only a matter of time before things come to a head and that there might be real conflict between the two factions. But thankfully I still feel like that’s a long way away from now.” he finished.

“So Karen is hiding behind the daughter of the leader of one of the most powerful factions in Alcray? So she can what? Mess with us?” Van asked

Alvaroz sighed, “That does seem to be the case, after all, they could have just told House Umbra the truth, they must have known that whoever House Umbra sent to be their representative would figure out that we actually don’t get along. So why risk making themselves look bad to the people who they want to curry favors from?”

“No…” Thea spoke up. “If I know them, then they have a trick or plan to fuck us over with and that’s why she is here, so everyone watch out for anything that might be suspicious.” She said, sounding a little paranoid.

Everyone looked at Thea with a little worry but decided not to comment on what she said, and just take her advice to heart. After all, paranoid or not, they trusted her.

“So… which side do we lean towards?” Van asked.

“While we are mostly neutral, we do lean towards the progressive faction,” Alvaroz said. “If only because we saw what the outside world is like and honestly speaking. We, vampires as a whole, have to get with the times, the world is moving on without us, and not just in the technological aspects. If we don't do something, one day, Alcray will be left behind and everyone will be worse off for it.” he finished with seriousness, making it obvious how he felt on this matter. “Do you understand what I mean?” Alvaroz asked Van.

“I think so.” Van replied, feeling like he had a few past memories that corroborated with what his father said. “It's like we are standing still while the whole world is moving past us, getting stronger. Right?”

“Right,” Alvaroz said with a smile, happy that someone seemed to get what he meant. Then he took a more relaxed expression. “Do you have any more questions?” he asked

“No… I don’t think so?” Van replied

Alvaroz nodded, “then you should go now, it's getting late. But before that, I should tell you that the celebration will be moved up to tomorrow early afternoon, so be ready, you will be meeting some important guests. understand? ” Van nodded.

“Good.” He then looked to Luna. “Luna dear. Could you please show him to your room so he knows where he is staying for the night?”

Luna blinked sleepy, she was leaning on Van and was partially asleep. When she registered what Alvaroz said she nodded and got up. Taking Van’s hand and in a drowsy stupor led him out of the room. Much to the amusement of everyone watching as she swayed back and forth.

Once Van closed the door behind them, he noticed the zapper fly right to him and then land on his shoulder. “Where were you?” Van thought, looking at the tiny bug who was now riding along.

After a few minutes they arrived at Luna’s room. Entering it, he was momentarily shocked by what he saw and couldn’t help but stop and stare.

Luna, taking notice, blushed at his expression and shyly asked. “What do you think?”

“It's, uhhh… very fluffy,” he said, which seemed to make Luna very happy.

Fluffy of course, was an understatement. The entire room seemed to be filled to the brim with white frilly, soft pillows and other stuffed things. Piles of them, everywhere, on the floor, the walls, just… everywhere.

On the other side of the room was a fairly large bed under a big window that let the moonlight in. it was not as large as the one back home, but still big, though not enough for the rest of the Annas. Which was when he noticed a few none, fluffy looking beds that seemed to have been put in the room, towards the corner. “Well, at least they still get to stay in the same room.” Van thought.

He walked towards the bed and put his hand on it, watching as it sank deeply into the mattress. “Huh...” was all he said. He then gave his location to the other Annas so they would know where they would be sleeping for the night. Once he got confirmation that they got his message and knew where to go he turned around only to find that Luna had already taken off her clothes and was already upon him.

Gently he pushed her off of him, much to her annoyance that her favorite body pillow was leaving. After spending what he felt was a considerable amount of time, he finally found his things and changed into his pajamas, and got into bed with Luna, much to her delight. Hugging him closely as she went to sleep. Soon the other Annas came in and went to bed as well, some, joining in to pile onto the fluffy bed. The zapper, also making a home for itself, next to the window sill.

As Van lay in bed, he nervously wondered what tomorrow would bring, before finally falling asleep.