Chapter Twenty Eight

he road was poetically bumpy for Alex and Dahlia. Travelling through the deserted parts of Australia wasn't so peaceful, after all. They saw lots of wildlife; coyotes, kangaroos, snakes, spiders and all other creatures characteristic to the 'Down Under'.

"Where are we going?" Dahlia asked curiously.

"I was thinking Sydney, just to rest for a while and get cleaned up. Your brother's castle is in Brisbane, so we'd have to drive for about 12 hours to get there and I was thinking of stopping at Coff's Harbour and visiting Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve. I heard it's a beatiful and calm place with lots of meadows so we can even have a picnic, hopefully without being disturbed." He told her the plan.

"It's so hot in here, can't you turn on the AC?" Dahlia groaned.

"It would drain our battery if we used it for so long. I could stop in some shop nearby and buy you a fan, if you'd like." He suggested.

"How come you aren't hot? You're even wearing long sleeves!"

"I don't get hot often." He answered simply.

"I wish I could say the same. I swear, if you were gay, I'd be taking off my clothes right this second." She grumbled as she wiped a drop of sweat from her brow.

"I won't look, I promise." He laughed at his joke, but was surprised when she unexpectedly tugged the bottom of her t-shirt.

She exploded in laughter and screamed, "I got you!" reapeatedly, almost like she couldn't believe it.

"Did you really think I was about to get naked with you?" She wiped the happy tears streaming down her face.

Alex and Thanatos were both disappointed, and frankly, didn't find any humour in the situation.

"C'mon, cheer up! How many times have you been tricked before?! I mean, it's probably impossible to get a reaction from you unless it's one of your Lords."

"You'd be surprised."

***

"God, I feel like my ass turned into a pancake from sitting so long." Alex grumbled while rubbing his bottom.

"You stole the words out of my mouth." Dahlia, as per usual, streched like a cat upon exiting the car.

"I'll pump the gas and you can pick ouf whatever snacks you like. Make sure to get me something as well." He told her as he closed the door and gave her his wallet.

"Use the black card. If it doesn't work here, use the blue one. If that one also doesn't work, say my name and I'll hear you. No need to shout though, I can hear perfectly fine." He chuckled to lighten up the mood and surprisingly, she kissed him on the cheek and said 'okay'.

If she hadn't turned around and skipped to the gas station, she would have noticed the pink hue on his cheeks and would have teased him for it.

But Alex didn't know that the same tinge of colour was on Dahlia's cheeks and that it was why she went so quickly in the first place.

She had no idea why she did it, it just felt right at the moment.

She opened the door and the bell over the door rang loudly. "Hello?" She called out.

A man with a scruffy beard and blue overalls came out of nowhere and sneered at her, "What do you want?"

"I was wondering if you sold clothes here." She gulped nervously. There was something off about the man, he was too huge to be human and too rundown and old to be a vampire. He didn't seem like a lycan, but he also didn't seem like a witch.

All she knew was that if she called for Alex to help her, she wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere alone. Maybe not even to the toilet.

And she wasn't the rustiest when it came to combat and self-defense.

"To the left." He grumbled as he turned around and walked to the back of the store.

"Thank you." She still said, knowing he could head her.

She looked to the left and saw a rack of clothes, universal it seemed.

Both Dahlia and Alexander originally packed warm, thinking they were going to spend the holidays alone in an odd dimension where tempetures could drop easily. Because of that, the only thing Dahlia could wear were tanktops and trousers. It certainly wasn't modern and looked nothing like the gowns and dresses the people wore around her, but it was comfortable. She was also surprised to find that the castle's closet was full of old, vintage clothes- clothes that were once considered very modern and chic.

It was so much more comfortable than the Victorian style everyone wore.

Though it wasn't exactly true Victorian, it was more of a mix. The humans had to wear the old style, but vampires pretended to be older than they truly were by wearing the thousand year old clothes' replicas.

Picking up some berries, bananas, water and coca-cola cans, chips and a few clothes, Dahlia went to the register. The man wasn't there so she used the small bell that was on the counter.

The man soon appeared and added up all the items and the gas price. She took out her mate's wallet and handed the man the black card. He swiped it and it beeped. He handed it back to her and she gave him the blue one. It also beeped, and the gold one did too.

"ALEX!" She screamed loudly.

"I told you not to yell." Alex peered over her shoulder to see what the problem was.

"I know." She giggled.

"What is the problem?" He asked the sulking man in front of them.

"Your cards aren't working."

"Can you take royal cards?" Alex spoke calmly.

"Royal cards?" The man spoke in sudden fear.

Insulting a royal was considered great disrespect, which is why he was surprised to still be alive.

"Yes." Alex answered.

"Of course, sir." The man rushed to get all the items in a paper bag.

Alex took the wallet from his mate and took out the simple green card. The man swiped it and it didn't beep.

They left the store, Alex seemingly in no hurry.

"Why didn't you just tell me to use the green one?" Dahlia grumbled at her mate as he opened the door for her.

"It attracts too much attention."

"Whatever."

***

"This so cool!" Dahlia gasped at the room.

They arrived to Sydney and booked a room in a nice hotel. It was a strange one, but the only room with two beds. It had a bathtub straight across from the beds, making it difficult to bathe in private. The huge windows across the tub didn't help either.

"How do we bathe?" Dahlia asked.

"I'll leave and you can go first." He suggested.

"What am I supposed to do while you are bathing?"

"You can watch, I'm not shy." He devilishly suggested.

"We can stay in our underwear and turn our back to each other." She suggested.

"I don't think underwear is going to protect you. If I don't jump you, Thanatos will make me." He laughed.

"You can go out and get us something to eat and I'll go while you're gone. I can sleep and I'll wear one of those covers for your eyes, just to be safe."

"Sounds good."

"Bye now."

"Bye." He chuckled.