“You sure I don’t need to bring anything but underwear?”

“Unless you want to have some casual wear with you too.”

“Mhmm, I already packed a hoodie and some tracksuit bottoms. But nothing else?”

“They were going to make sure you had clothes to choose from there, so don’t worry about it.”

“Hmm, okay then.” I zipped up my bag and put my baseball bat back under my bed. Just in time because when we got back to the living room, my doorbell started ringing.

I quickly moved over to the front door and opened it. I was met with the lovely sight of my girlfriends. Both were incredibly well-dressed and were dragging along a suitcase.

“Hey Auro.” Em gave me a hug, followed by Ria.

“Rora!”

“Hey you two.” I released Ria from her hug and then looked over their bags. “Viktor said you didn’t really need to pack clothes though…”

“I know… but my mom wouldn’t let me leave otherwise…” Em sighed and walked past me into the living room. “Oh, hey Viktor.”

“Hello Emma.”

“And you, Ria?”

“These are just my casual clothes.”

“Wait, really?”

Ria walked by me too, giving me plenty of time to compare the size of my small bag compared with Ria’s quite sizable coffer.

“A girl needs clothes to choose from, you know.”

“Uhm, Ria, I hate to break it to you, but we are girls too.” I closed the door and followed her to the living room.

“But you and Emma are different.”

“She’s out of line, but she’s right.” Em pointed out and sat down at the living room table, Viktor had already taken out a bottle of actual grape juice and was pouring her a glass.

Having put her suitcase down next to the cupboard, Ria also greeted Viktor and got a glass of grape juice in return. “See?”

“Well, I guess you are right.” I laughed and put my bag next to the other suitcases. “But Viktor, don’t you have something to bring along?”

“Nein, I already have clothes for me over there.” He then offered to pour me a glass, but I declined with a wave of my hand.

“Ah, do you have a fixed room there?”

He nodded as he drank from his own glass. “It’s quite roomy. It was built when the conclave was bigger than it is now, and back then it still had room to spare.”

“I’m really getting curious about how the place looks now.” Emma rested her head on her hand.

“You’ll see it soon enough.” He smiled.

-It used to be bigger, huh? I wonder what that means...- But before I got the chance to ask, Viktor took his trusty old flip phone from his pocket.

“Ah, our driver will be here shortly. He’s a bit too early.”

“Better too early than too late, that’s what Helen says all the time, too.” Emma commented.

“Who’s this Helen?”

“Ah, it’s Emma’s family’s driver.” I explained to our curious vampire.

“Then that driver surely knows how to do her job very well.”

“She does indeed.” Emma boasted.

We said goodbye to Shima after we triple checked that she had everything she’d need and that her kitty litter box was cleaned out as well. -Maybe I should invest in one of those automatic litter cleaners too. But then again, I’m pretty sure none of those systems actually work well.-

I swung my bag over my shoulder and walked out behind Viktor and both of my girlfriends, closing the door behind us. When I turned back around to face the street, I saw which car would be driving us.

“Ho-ly shit….” The car I was faced with wouldn’t look wrong in one of those 1930 mafia movies. “How in the name of literally all the Goddesses is this supposed to be inconspicuous, Viktor?”

“Hiding in plain sight?” He shrugged.

“Is this even safe?”

“Don’t worry, Mistress Beaumont, this car has been upgraded and fitted with the most modern of safety measures and a couple of extra things like bulletproof and one-way windows.” The driver walked into view from behind the car and softly tapped its hood with his gloved hand. If dictionaries had pictures, this guy’s photo would be next to the word butler.

“This is our driver, Charles.” Viktor introduced him to me.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mistress Beaumont.” He bowed.

“Your name is… Charles?”

“Yes, mum.” He stood back upright and twisted his white mustache.

In the corner of my eye, I could see Emma had lost all her composure and was pretty much laughing her ass off.

“Couldn’t you have hired someone with a less cliché name...?”

“He was the best person for the job, von daher…” Vik shrugged.

“Nomen est omen is what Mistress Di Roma has told me many times since she took me in.” Charles smiled and offered to take my bag and put it in the trunk.

“What’s in a name, hey?” Em swung her arms around me and smiled.

“Hey Claire, I didn’t know you’d be joining us today.” I deadpanned.

She kissed me on the cheek and then helped Charles with her own suitcase and then with Ria’s.

“Rora, are you going to come inside?” Ria opened the back door of the car and was waiting for me to get in as well.

“Yes, Aurora, stop being pedantic about the man’s name and get in the car.” Viktor teased.

“Say, Charles...” I looked over to our driver.

“Yes, Mistress Beaumont.”

“Do you have something heavy I could hit someone or something with?”

“Hmm. Let’s see.” He looked around the trunk for a second. “Will this tire iron do?”

“Perfect.”

Viktor quickly got in the front passenger seat and locked the door.

“Alright, that’s enough bullying Viktor.” Emma started pushing me inside of the car.

“But he started it.”

“I know, I know, be the better vampire, Auro.”

“Okay then, I’ll try.” I got in followed by Em who then promptly closed the door.

“Good girl.”

That must have unintentionally slipped from her lips as both me and her shot bright red. -Good job, Em, you just played the both of us.-

Viktor wisely decided not to make a comment on that, while Ria started giggling.

After Charles had secured the trunk of the car, he got behind the driving wheel and thus commenced our trip to the town of Chambon-sur-Lignon. The moment the engine started, and the car began to move, I could tell this trip was going to be quite comfortable. You could barely hear the engine noises inside, we had plenty of legroom and seats were comfortable as well. This car was quite clearly built with both safety and luxurious comfort in mind.

“If you all want something to drink or snack on during the trip, there is a minifridge and a cabinet in the center console and below the front seats. I’d help you poor in some glasses and hand over the food myself, but I do have my hands a little bit occupied.” Charles laughed as he steered the car around the corner.

“Oh!” Ria immediately investigated. The fridge was stocked with all kinds of soft drinks and juices, with some of the bottles more clearly marked for people of the vampiric kind. As for the snacks in the spaces below the seats, there were plenty of those as well, from chips to little cubes of cheese and beef jerky. Everything had been taken care of to ensure everyone’s wellbeing.

Em and Ria shared a bit of cheese, and I even ate a couple of cubes, from what I could tell it was definitely one of the more expensive cheeses out there because the taste was just outright incredible. The rest of the car trip was very relaxing, with soft music playing from the radio. It didn't take very long for Ria to fall asleep against my left arm, and a little bit after that, Em joined her by sleeping on my right shoulder. Although I did have to stop them from slipping further down on me once we got into some more mountainous terrain with the classic windy roads. I paid so much attention to the enormous amount of cuteness in my immediate environment that I didn’t even notice the car had stopped.

“Mistress Beaumont, we have arrived.”

“Already?” I looked out of the window, over Ria’s head and saw one of the most impressive looking chateaus I’d ever seen in my life, but then again, I hadn’t been out of my own town for that much either. From what I could tell from my historical knowledge, it very much looked like a chateau from the late middle ages that had seen a couple of additions over the centuries.

“Em, Ria.” I gently tried to wake my girlfriends.

“Hmmm? What time is it?” Em rubbed her eyes. “Are we there yet?”

“Mhmm, we just arrived.”

“Oh.” Em looked around for a second, looking out of her own window first, which offered a great view of the surrounding area as the chateau was built on a hill, and then out of the other one at the chateau itself. “Wow.”

In the meantime, I was still trying to wake up Ria. “Ria, come on now. Wakey wakey.” Then I noticed her breathing was surprisingly steady for being asleep. “You’re faking it, aren’t you?”

The corners of her mouth grew into a smile. “Noooo.”

“Cheeky.” I started tickling her lightly and she burst out laughing. I continued to do so until Charles opened the door next to Ria and greeted us with a silent smile. “Ah, sorry Charles, we’ll get out now.”

“Don’t worry, it’s great to see the dawn of love. It’s been quite a while.” Charles patiently stood next to the car, facing away from us, until we all exited the car.

“My ladies, I welcome you to Château des Trois-Rivières, I hope you enjoy your stay.” He handed us our bag and suitcases and gave us a bow.

We thanked Charles, after which he drove off in the car, presumably to park it somewhere.

By the front door, I could already see four more servants waiting on us. This time they were all ladies.

-Just how much staff does this place have?-