Three had always been Roy’s favorite number. It was clean and complete with an even, goldilocks feel to it. Fortune and good times often accompanied the number, like his birthday which was on the 3rd of July. It was his favorite number and his lucky number.

Now it was Saturday, and it just so happened to be the third day Red Moon Café was open. Day two, Friday, went much like the first. There was some progress; a total of three customers came. Four loaves of bread, a bagel, and a cup of coffee to go were sold. But now it was Saturday, and as expected, the number three was showing its strengths yet again.

Within the first hours of opening, he had a record-breaking six customers – more than he had in the previous two days combined. He grinned joyously as he served his patrons their bread, sweats, and drinks. Noon was just around the corner. The rest of the day with all of its boons was just around the corner, and Roy was excited. For now, he was taking a rest; treating and tending to the handful of customers that stopped by was a bigger drain than expected. He wanted to preserve his energy since he had the feeling today was going to be a long one. A few minutes was all he was granted as the bell rang and another person walked in. He got up and prepared his smile – a few minutes was all he needed.

Striding in was a portly man (Roy struggled to think of him as something other than fat). “Welcome to Red Moon Café,” Roy said. The man walked up and Roy got a closer look at him. “Haven’t I seen you before?” he asked with a frown. At the party few days prior, Lord Salazar was approached by a man exactly like him. “Mr. Bones, was it?”

The customer tilted his head and said, “My reputation precedes me, it seems.” Mr. Bones craned his head every which way, studying the entire café. “I wanted to properly greet you since that opportunity was taken away at the event.”

“Well, Mr. Bones, It’s a pleasure to meet you. As you may know, I’m Roy. Roy Gieryoum.” He

gave the man a firm handshake and asked, “Would you like to order something?”

Mr. Bones frowned, “Wasn’t planning on it – short on time – but fine. I’ll take something to go. His head bobbed on his stubby neck as he scanned the menu. “Just give me something strong,” he gruffly said. Peering into the glass shelves, he quickly added, “And a cookie.”

Brewing the tea and gathering the cookie, Roy asked, “So what happened at the party that put you in such a distressed mood?” He knew the answer of course, but was curious to see how Mr. Bones would answer – if at all.

“There's a deviant about,” he plainly replied, “A Vampire has been causing unnecessary trouble for the humans. We are working on dealing with it – not like we haven't had troublemakers before – but it's an issue of high priority.”

Roy poured out a cup of coffee and put it front of Mr. Bones along with his cookie. “Sounds like a real problem. Is there anything I can do?” He asked out of real concern.

Mr. Bones chortled. His face snapped serious in an instant, “No. This isn't your responsibility, young Gieryoum. Neither are you a man nor are you the Eihlverion. Leave these matters to the appropriate adults and leaders – lest you get in the way.”

The sourness in his tone did not sit well in Roy's stomach, but he just nodded his head and said, “Alright then. Here you are.” He pushed the coffee and cookie towards the man.

Mr. Bones dug into his pocket, grabbed a handful of coins, and tossed it on the counter, “I’m out of time so this. It should cover it.” Before Roy could count out the coins, Mr. Bones grabbed his drink and cookie and strided out of the cafe.

Roy sighed. Rubbing the back of his neck, he slouched onto the counter. Was it wrong to ask if there was anything he could do? Mr. Bones made it seem so. But the man did have a point; all Roy would do is get in the way. What training did he have? What knowledge did he possess? He refused to take up the mantle of Eihlverion for some of these very reasons. Neither was he fit for the position nor was it fit for him. On the other hand, he could see Cordelia being able to handle a task like this. She was born to lead while he not so much. The rock sitting in his stomach dissolved as he came to terms with what Mr. Bone said. He only wanted to disagree with one thing: at 19, he was more than man enough – or at least he thought so.

Counting the coins on the counter, he sorted through them and put them away. Roy’s first impression of Mr. Bones was that he was a coarse man. After counting the money, he couldn’t help but add generous to that.

Stretching out his arms, Roy walked outside. He took in a breath of fresh, cool air. Some chairs and tables outside would be nice, he thought. Going outside and taking in the beautiful day was refreshing to do, and all the better if you could enjoy a hot cup of tea in the crisp cool. However, to do that you’d first have to step outside, which reminded Roy of a particular problem. Referring to An as a problem felt harsh, but he couldn’t find another way to describe it.

She hasn’t left the house once since her room was furnished. It’s not like she even occupied her time with anything – as far he knew, she sat around her room doing what he could only think of as nothing. Maybe it wasn’t a problem, but it just didn’t sit well with Roy. He was at a loss on what to do anyways; each time when he offered to take her out or asked her if she wanted to do something, she responded with a shake of her head.

“Hello, Roy!” His train of thought was broken and he looked down the road. Gliding up with a frilly sundress was Amy.

“Oh hey,” Roy said, “What brings you here?”

She pouted and crossed her arms, “To visit of course. I didn’t put in all that work helping you for nothing!”

“Fair enough,” Roy shrugged with a half-smile. “Come on in, I’ll get you something to drink.”

He led her inside and broke past him. In the middle of the café, she twirled around, taking in the café, and exclaimed, “Oh my, this place looks nicer than I thought it would!” She turned to Roy with the face of a proud mother, “So, how’s it been going?”

“Well, I’d say.” Roy walked behind the counter to his battle station. Resting his arms on the surface. “Still trying to get some business, but today has been a good day for that so far and you’re just adding on to that.”

“Oh?” She smirked. “Then it’d be disappointing if I don’t have you make something.”

He returned the smirk with a smile, “It’s not like I’m just going to send someone who helped me so much home without treating them to anything. What would you like?”

Amy hopped on the stool, swiveled around, and stopped herself by planting her arms on the counter. She scrunched her face and stared daggers into the menu up on the wall. A minute later she asked, “Can I have the, uh, ka-pu-sea-no?”

Suppressing his giggles, he looked at Amy with one eyebrow raised, “Do you mean cappuccino? Do you know what that is?”

“O-of course!” Amy replied flummoxed. “Just had trouble reading, that’s all. And shouldn’t I have something to eat as well? How about getting me a cinnamon roll as well.”

Rou chuckled to himself. From her irritated face, it seemed like Roy had struck a nerve. “I can do that,” he said, “And if you had trouble reading, you could always use our print out menus.” While preparing the cinnamon roll, he noticed something was missing and asked Amy, “Where are your glasses? Aren’t you supposed to be wearing them?”

She perked up and said, “Oh, you noticed! I decided not to wear them today. How do you think I look?”

“So that’s that reason you couldn’t read the menu,” Roy mused, ignoring her question. “You shouldn’t do that – not wearing your glasses for no reason. It’s dangerous if you can’t see, and I don’t think anyone would want you hurting yourself because of it.”

“Oh, well, I’ll keep that in mind.” Amy slouched on the counter and added, “Thanks for the concern, I guess.”

“Oh, don’t be like that!” With the roll heating up, he turned to Amy and said, “You don’t need to take off your glasses anyways; I think you look just fine with them on. No one said you couldn’t wear something that both functional and stylish.”

Amy dug her elbow into the counter and propped her face up by her knuckles, “Wish others would think the same. People always made fun of me, callin’ me four eyes and shit.”

Frowning, Roy said, “That isn’t good at all. Did you tell them to stop?”

“Of course I did,” She snapped. Amy curtly continued, “The only time the assholes actually shut up was when I planted my fist right in their face.” She clenched her hand with an irritated scowl as if she was imagining socking her bullies one more time.

Roy involuntarily winced from her threatening demeanor and took a step back. “That’s one way to take care of it, I suppose.” He took the roll out and put on the finishing touches. Glancing back, Amy still had an irked look as if there was a pebble in her shoe she just couldn’t get rid of. “Take a look at this. It’ll help you get your mind off of this.” He brought over the cup. Cappuccinos was one of Roy’s favorite drinks to make because of all the ways he could tinker with it, pouring out and forming intricate designs onto the drink.

With the cup in front of Amy, he went to work and assembled the drink. She eyes drifted down and lazily watched the process. When Roy began working on the design, Amy straightened herself and asked, “What are you doing now?” She looked at Roy with a frown and then back at the drink.

Roy didn’t explain himself. “Just watch,” he said, only smiling as he worked his magic. He put on the final touches with a sweep of his hand, placing the cup in front of Amy, joining it with the cinnamon roll. “Here you go, enjoy!”

“What the hell,” Amy remarked wide eyed. She moved her hand to push up her glasses, but only tapped her nose since they were absent. “This looks amazing. How did you do it?” Roy shrugged, wearing a sly smile. In the cup, he poured out a flower, a stylish rose. Amy was captivated by it. “Now the true test: does it taste as good as it looks?”

She picked up the cup and went for a swig. Roy stretched out his hand to stop her, “Be careful, its hot!” He was too late; she took a sip a hair too large.

“Aaah!” She squelched, sticking out her tongue and almost spitting out her drink. Eyes watery, she said wincing with her tongue still sticking out, “That thucking hurt…”

“I tried to tell you,” Roy said with a laugh. He poured out a glass of cool water and gave it to her. She grasped the cup and doused her burning tongue with the water.

With much more care, she picked up the cup a second time and sipped the babiest of sips. “Hot as hell but tastes great, I’ll give you that.”

“Glad you like it.” Roy cheerfully watched as she alternated between sipping her drink and munching on her roll. He was always in the best mood when he got to watch others enjoy his creations.

The bell on the door rang. Roy turned to greet the next customer, but before he could say anything, Amy groaned, “God dammit, why are you here?”

“Wow, is that any way to say hello to one of your old friends?” Sarah walked in, a sister in each of her hands.

“Oh, whatever,” Amy slouched back in her stool with a vexed face.

“Hey Sarah!” Roy greeted her with a wave, “Looks like you brought Luna and Riza as well. What can I do for you girls?”

Luna and Riza plastered their faces on the glass underneath the counters, ‘ooing’ and ‘aaing’ at all the treats and food Roy had propped in there. “Well, Roy, my dad would like to thank you for bringing that food for us, and to tell you to not bring anything ever again.

“What?” Amy piped up, “You brought Sarah food?”

“More like he brought my dad stuff for helping him out. A vanilla cake and some chocolate chip cookies was all. But, let me tell you, after these two got their share, they wouldn’t stop begging for more.” She scratched her head, watching as the two hyper munchkins drooled over Roy’s sweets. “My dad got tired of them bothering him, so I took them off of him and decided to swing by and grab something.”

“Sorry for the trouble I caused,” Roy laughed, “But I’m glad they enjoyed it.” He peered over the counter at the two kids, “So, what would you two like today?”

“Cookies!” Riza, the older one, exclaimed, her eyes wide and bright like the stars.

Luna followed her big sister, “Yeah, yeah, more cookies!”

“Alright! Hang tight and I’ll get that out for you.” Roy glanced over at Sarah, “Take a seat, Sarah. Would you like anything?”

She plopped down on a stool next to Amy, “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

In a mini oven, he warmed up the chocolate chip cookies so they reach optimal eating conditions – nice and gooey with the right mix between hard and soft for the best chewing experience. He took out the cookies and spread the fresh dozen on a plate. “Here you go, girls!”

Like a squall, Luna and Riza swopped in, grabbed a handful of cookies, then darted away, running around in the café. “Oh no,” Sarah grasped her head after watching the two kids scamper off.

“What’s wrong?” Roy asked.

“You made so many cookies. Those two get super hyper off of sweats – I don’t think this is going to end well…”

“Then you won’t mind if I did this…!” Amy snatched a cookie and bit a chunk out of it. She chewed with a smug smile befitting someone who just executed a master plan.

Sarah shrugged and grabbed a cookie, “Might as well eat one too, then.”

The conversation drifted as everyone enjoyed their snacks. No one knew what Liz was up to and Roy learned that Michael and Icarus typically worked on the weekends doing odd jobs or labor. For the most part, everyone was biding their time; with their graduation just around the corner, everyone was preparing for what comes after their schooling is done.

“So, Roy, you already graduated right?” Amy asked.

He nodded his head, “Last year from Noctilis Academy at Blumina.

“What?” Sarah exclaimed, mouth agape. “Noctilis Academy? Are you serious?”

Amy tugged on Sarah’s shirt, “Wait, what’s that?”

“Noctilis Academy is one of the best schools in Ehroun. Easily top five, if not top three.”

“Oh shit! Seriously? Roy, how well did you do there?” Both of them started intently at Roy.

He chuckled nervously, scratching his throat, “Well, I did alright. I wasn’t the best at all subjects, but I did well in my favorites: chemistry and biology.” In reality, he was better than he was letting on. He had the number one marks in chemistry and biology in his entire year, but he didn’t want to go on too much about it. Discussing it always made him feel like he was bragging – he hated that.

“Impressive,” Sarah noted, “Maybe you should teach my sisters a thing or two. God knows they’ll need it.” She craned her head around. “Speaking of them, do you see them anywhere?”

Roy frowned and looked. The café was empty. He was sure they didn’t leave – the bell would have rung in that case. Still, neither could he see them nor could he even hear them.

“Nope,” he answered. “Let’s go take a look. They couldn’t have gone anywhere.”

Emerging from behind his counter, he joined Amy and Sarah on the other side and went about searching for the rascals. The café floor was clear, the kids nowhere to be seen. Upstairs was closed off by a door, but they expanded their search to the upper floors. Each floor they checked, but they were nowhere to be found.

Roy went through every room until he got to An’s. He didn’t want to bother her, but she did seem to have a penchant for children. He knocked on the door with hopes that they managed they find their way to her.

An’s muffled voice rang out, “Come in.”

He opened the door, “Good grief, why do you always keep your room totally dark?” He flipped the lights on. Electricity was a real blessing and his father always made sure he knew it, always complaining about how he had to walk around with candles back in his day.

“Darkness is comforting,” An said, sitting crisscrossed on her bed. “Do you need something?”

“Uh, yeah, we are looking for Sarah’s younger sisters, Luna and Riza. Have you seen them anywhere?”

She shook her head and Roy’s heart sank. “No, but they are downstairs.”

“Oh?” Roy tilted his head. He was sure he checked every inch of the café floor, but they clearly weren’t there. “I’ll check again then. Thanks.” He decided not to question the legendary Vampire. After all, he did recall she was able to sense other Vampires, so she might know something he didn’t. He closed the door and rounded up Amy and Sarah, bringing them down. “An said they were downstairs,” he relayed the information to the two.

“You sure?” Sarah said, her voice quivering with concern. At first she was fine, but she quickly grew worried like a doting mother.

“That’s what she said,” Roy shrugged. At the bottom floor, he stood at the center of the café, his arms crossed. The kitchen was empty and so was the store area. The extra room and bathroom were clear – he had checked that earlier, but he made his way over again just to make sure. Sarah and Amy followed him closely down the abnormally large hallway. Propping up the extra room door, he affirmed it was devoid of any children. He went over to the bathroom and stopped. “Did you hear that?” He could hear something vibrating periodically, almost like a low whistle.

“Hear what?” Amy asked, awfully confused.

“Shhh,” Roy hushed her with his finger. He inched around, tracking the noise like a hunting hound, and plopped his ear against the wall opposite of the extra room.

The vibrations became clear; he heard a muffled voice shout, “Help us! It’s dark in here!”

“…The fuck?” Roy took a step back and looked at the wall, furrowing his eyebrows. “Put your ear on the wall. You can hear them on the other side.”

Sarah rushed to the wall and planted her ear. Her eyes grew wide between a mix of relief, fear, and confusion. Cupping her mouth against the wall, she shouted back, “Don’t worry Luna, Riza! We’re coming for you!”

Roy moved along the wall, feeling its grooves. There had to be a way they got there. How they did it was a total mystery, but he was sure there was a way. As he was wondering what the solution was, his finger ran over an indent that pushed in. A click sounded out and the wall moved. It soundlessly tore open and swallowed him whole.