“Arthur, get off of me!” Roy demanded, attempting to pry himself away from his clutches. Nothing was holding him back today; a radiant sun shined overhead without a single cloud to blemish the sky, water from yesterday’s showers drained away and the mud dried up making travel easy, and Lord Einkraden even had a carriage prepared to ferry him to the city. Except his son, Roy's dear best friend, wasn’t letting go.

“I’m not letting you go without me!” Arthur refused to hear out Roy. He instead gave him the look of a puppy that desperately wanted a treat and be told he was a good boy.

Roy rolled his eyes. Alex, Hana, and Ilyia were all snickering in the background. He scowled at his friends and they all burst into laughter. “Do you really want to come, or is your father asking you to?”

“Why can’t it be both?!” Arthur pouted. A tear rolling down his cheek, he turned about the sweetness and proclaimed, “How can I be sure you’ll be alright if I’m not with you?!”

Shoving with all his might, he detached Arthur from his side and sent him straight into the dirt. Arthur popped back up, maintaining his puppy face with pure dedication. “Arthur, please. There’s nothing to worry about.” From his pocket he produced a wrapped parchment, “Your dad gave me a list of people in the city that I can contact if I ever need anything.” He strangely didn’t give him a letter of introduction as one would expect, saying ‘A Gieryoum needs no introduction’. “And,” he continued, “An will be with me too.”

“She will?” Arthur finally looked past Roy and at the solemn maid. Losing his composure, he stammered, “I mean, of course! I don’t doubt An in the slightest.” Arthur sighed and gave Roy one last hopeful look, “but still, I’d like to come.”

Roy drew in his breath and looked around. Everyone was waiting for his answer. He exhaled and said, “No.”

“Aaaahhhhhh!” Arthur screamed, dramatically clutching his heart as if it had been pierced. He collapsed onto his knees as if he was a soldier on the battlefield that had been caught unaware and gunned but retained his composure like a true hero. Arthur bounced back up an instant and asked, “Can I visit at least?”

“Not a chance in hell, you snake! We all know you have no intention of you just ‘visiting’.” Everyone’s face showed the same understanding. The moment Arthur walks through the door of his domicile, only an act of god would get him out.

With a smug face he declared, “Invitation or not, I will find where you sleep, and I will be there.”

“Oooookay, we’re leaving.” On that note, Roy said his final goodbye to his sane friends with a wave, and headed to the carriage. He didn’t want this farewell to go on any longer; he didn’t know if he could survive if it went on any longer.

An sat across from him in the carriage compartment. He knocked on the frame to signal the driver, and the ride lurched forward. He let out a relaxed, joyous sigh and eased up in his seat. He was finally on the road to his dream. If the excellent weather held up, it would take over 12 hours to get from the Gieryoum estate to Solduen – an all-day journey. Roy tapped his knee nervously. There was a lot of time to kill, and he didn’t bring anything to do.

“So, uh, how’s it like being a Vampire?” He optimistically asked, trying to stir up a conversation.

An focused her gaze on Roy. “… We live oppressed, in poverty, constantly hunted. Being a Vampire means forever hiding in the darkness.”

“O-oh…” She thoroughly dashed his hopes of having a decent conversation. He buried his face in his hands as a tinge of depression and despair filled his heart. An’s simple, yet bleak, words killed his desire to talk.

It was a few hours before he gained the composure to talk to the imposing Vampire. Clouds filled the sky and his favorite weather invigorated him. He would have wished for it to rain, but it would impede his travel. Mother nature can do all it wants as soon as he reaches Solduen. He looked out the window and said, “Dad never told me about Vampires as you could tell; all I know is from what I’ve heard while out and about. Stories about Vampires draining humans of all their blood until they are lifeless corpses or rabid monsters. Stories about the terrors they cause.”

“It is true,” she plainly replied. Roy whipped his head to face her in surprise. A cold chill rain down his spine. Fear began to grow in him and then she explained, “It is true, Vampires can drink the blood of humans. They can turn humans into monsters, Bloudens. But doing that isn’t necessary. Human blood can be substituted for animal blood. Animal blood can be substituted by supplements. Supplements can be substituted by nothing. What you hear, these stories, is only an extreme. Vampires have their monsters – but so do humans. Don’t forget that.”

Roy wasn’t sure if that explanation calmed his terror. He was actually shivering in fright. An said it without any animosity, but her ice blue eyes gave the look of a reaper. “Maybe in Solduen we’ll run across other Vampires and I can get to know them. Hopefully that will help.”

“You say strange things,” she remarked with a frown.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said with a shrug. A yawn worked its way out of his mouth and his eyes watered up. He tilted his head onto the seat rest and took a nap. The ride jolted and voices outside woke him up. Parting the carriage curtains, he peaked outside. They were currently moving through a town, which explained the bumpy stone roads and busy streets.

Across from him, Roy noticed that An was also sleeping, resting her back against the carriage corner. A peaceful expression was on her face, unlike the normal sternness that she usually wore. It was a lot less scary looking at her when she slept, he mused. It was as if she was a normal girl with the typical problems of what the boy she fancied thought of her or which flower dress should she wear the next morning. Then her ice eyes sprung open and she asked, “Do you need something? I heard my name.”

“No, I didn’t say anything,” Roy asked, slightly confounded. He had no idea how she woke up. Unless he was talking aloud on accident – which the thought of made him cringe – the only noise was the muffled voices of the people outside. Glancing at his watch, they should only be a few hours out from Solduen; they were tantalizing close. “So,” he proposed, “want to play a game or two to pass the time?” He had plenty of riddles and easy games that can be played with nothing but your mind and mouth.

Without hesitation, she replied, “No.” Roy slumped in his chair and sighed. There was nothing to do but wait.

By the time the carriage pulled up to the titanic gates of Solduen’s towering outer walls, he felt like his brain had rotted from the lack of stimulation and his muscles had atrophied from zero physical exertion. Dead, he decided, was an apt description of how he felt. He enviously looked on as An got up and hopped out of the carriage not in the least bit affected by the journey. As much as his body refused to move, he shook his limbs awake and stumbled out behind her.

Solduen, the oldest city in the world, capital of Ehroun, finally stood before him. It felt like a dream to finally be here. Now all he had to do was buy his home, his café. His fantasy was interrupted; a droplet splashed on his forehead. Another one came down. He looked to the sky and saw mother nature was knocking. Grabbing An’s hand, he whisked her towards the city gates. As much as he loved the rain and its stormy weather, he forgot to bring an umbrella. With their few bags, he led her to the station built into the wall and took refuge in there.

Outside rain began to fall. Thunder roared through and the thick sheets of rain and he could only see more than two feet past his face when lightning illuminated the area. They were stuck in the office etched into the city walls. Roy watched An intently. He hoped she would ask ‘now what are we going to do?’ or some other question pertaining the plans now that it is raining. Before reaching Solduen, in the monotonous ride, he developed an entire schedule and plan for many circumstances. Roy wanted to share it, but An was more interested in examining the quiet office and the people that shuffled about than whatever he had in store.

“Come on, we have to go met someone,” Roy said without enthusiasm. Rain or shine, it actually didn’t matter. Lord Einkraden arranged for a meeting with a realtor in the entrance office at the main gate. Scanning the room, the man should be around here, he thought. He went up to the front desk which was nothing more than a boring reception desk one might go to in order to drop off paperwork, make an appointment, or report a missing child. “Is there a man named Salin Boyle around?” He asked the older lady stationed at the front.

She pointed to a man snoring on a chair, “That’s him.” Roy thanked her with a nod and went over to the man.

The man who he was told was Salin Boyle was halfway out of his seat with a hat slouched over his face. His stomach bobbed up and down with his throaty snore. “Mr. Boyle?” Roy called out at a conversational level as to not disturb anyone else in the lobby. Salin Boyle did not stir. He called out loudly a second time, “Mr. Boyle?” Still nothing. Roy put down his bags and shoved the man.

The hat flipped over his face and the man looked around wide-eyed. He blinked and rubbed his eyes and groggily muttered, “Uh, yes, what do you need?”

“Are you Salin Boyle?”

He looked up at Roy and took in his face. In one continuous motion, he rose up from his seat, caught the tumbling hat, and dipped into a courteous bow, “Salin Boyle at your service, Lord Gieryoum.”

“Please, call me Roy,” he interjected before Mr. Boyle said anything more.

The short man twirled his hat and plopped it on his head, “As you wish, Roy. Also, apologies for earlier, was sleepy,” he chuckled.

“No worries,” he replied, “But, if you don’t know, it’s storming bad out there.”

Salin scratched his chin and frowned, “Will be difficult to go out to the available properties then.” He shrugged. “This will have to do for now,” Salin dug into his work bag and hauled out a large binder. “Until the weather settles down, we can browse through the maps, floorplans, and photos I have available.”

Grabbing seats from the foyer and assembling around a coffee table, the three sat down and Mr. Boyle began to flip through his catalogue. “Now, did you have anything in mind?”

Roy rubbed the back of his neck and swished his mouth side to side. “I need a place with enough room for a café on the bottom floor. So enough room for a bar counter and seating for a couple of tables.”

Salin flipped through the pages and asked, “Do you want a wide floor plan or a tall one?”

“I’d rather something more cozy than expansive. Vertical over horizontal.”

“Then take a look at these,” He showed him a building that was two stories tall that was build length-wise to the street. The black and white pictures gave Roy a clear idea that he didn’t like this rectangle of a building.

“Is there anything else?” Roy asked with a frown. One by one, Salin had shown him different properties, but none of them were just right. Some too spacious and expensive, others cramped and unworkable. Some right in the middle of the busiest of streets where running a storefront would not be comfortable with the stress, and others erected in the middle of nowhere where people would find reasons not to go there to avoid the barren landscape.

Salin leaned forward, “There is one more place I can recommend, but I don’t have any documents on it.” He craned his head back and took a look out a window. Night had come and dark clouds still obscured the sky, but the rain had stopped. “How about we go take a look?” Mr. Boyle had a warm, curios smile.

“Why not,” Roy said, getting up. “Lead the way, Mr. Boyle.”

“With pleasure,” Salin replied with a bow.

The streets of Solduen were made remarkably; the stone work was impeachable, leaving the surface without bumps or cracks. Enough room was given on larger so that carts, carriages, and people could travel with ease, and well-spaced and vibrant lampposts kept the roads visible in the dark of night. The architect deserved high praise for their vision in city development.

“What do you think?” Roy questioned An as they followed behind Mr. Boyle.

“About what?”

“On the options Mr. Boyle showed us.”

An was quiet. She finally said, “No opinion.”

Roy groaned and slouched his shoulders, “You’re no help at all.” An made no reply to his complaints; she was colder than a winter night.

Mr. Boyle led them towards a towering gothic church. The main road, named Canor’s Way, wrapped around the perimeter of the church, but there were smaller streets and alleyways that jutted out. One such street branched off towards the church and looped back into the Canor’s Way, creating an island of buildings sandwiched between two roads on the East side of the church.

“Now, the available building is in the middle of this road here on the right,” Salin explained, pointing with his hand. To the left was a giant wall covered in green and moss. It elevated the church and surrounded it with a barrier. “Here it is,” Salin said, coming to a halt.

Roy examined the front and butterflies floated in his stomach. It was an older building with dirty stones – outdated compared to the rest of the industrializing city. The front door sunk into the building on the right side. Where the building jutted out on the left was a semi-hexagonal frame fitted with windows. In the same style as the imposing church, it had a gothic feel to it with out-of-style edges. Character was what it had. “Let’s take a look inside,” Roy eagerly said.

“As you wish.” Mr. Boyle opened the front door and bade them in.

Roy was astonished. Dust covered the premise and it was barren, but it was much larger than the entrance indicated. The room stretched out longer, giving ample room for a counters and cabinets, but had the perfect width that he could fill it with several tables and chairs, booths and bookcases, and whatever else he could think of. A comfortable, cozy size.

It went up three floors excluding an attic, much to Roy’s surprise. The building was deceiving him at every corner, and he was enjoying every bit of it. A living area was carved out overlooking the street on the second floor, surrounded by vacant rooms. A master bedroom awaited him on the third floor with the same view of the street, but it was high enough to peer over the stone wall and into a lush garden on the church property.

“This is perfect,” Roy blissfully sighed.

Mr. Boyle leaned in and clasped the boy’s shoulder, “Are you a taker?”

Roy grinned from ear-to-ear, “What was the name of the street again?”

“This,” Salin pointed at below, “This is Ihlfam’s Refuge.”

Pleased, Roy nodded his head, “Ihlfam’s Refuge. That’s a name I could get used to saying.”

“I’ll go grab the paperwork,” Mr. Boyle said with a wink. He trotted off to his bag which he left on the first floor, leaving An and Roy behind.

An, walked up next to Roy. He found it strange that Mr. Boyle had not even glanced at her once through this entire process, let alone say anything to her. He asked, “What do you think,” intending to keep her engaged in the process.

“No opinion,” she dryly replied.

“Of course,” he muttered.

Outside the sky cleared up. Stars twinkled and shined on the night sky,and sitting gracefully between the towers of church was a dark red moon. “The time just after the rain is the best,” he mused. “The air is clean and fresh with a nice coolness to it.” The red moon was a fitted sighting for the start of his new life; what better way to begin his café with a vampire than with the crimson moon that is associated with them.

“Red Moon Café,” he said with a smile. “I think that’s what I’ll name my new home.”

I forgot to add that before I continued, I would like some input on how y'all feel the story is progressing. General likes and dislikes or critiques. Anything is fine, really

I plan quite a bit for each chapter and they do take some time to write (the first chapter going 3.3k words while this one at 2.8k). So, before I get ahead of myself, I want to know if there are any adjustments you would like to see moving forward.

Or if you have any questions or comments, that'd be fun as well.