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“We done here?”

Her father’s voice called her from outside of the room.

“Yes!”

Necro said happily. She thought she needed to sound happy to make her father less anxious.

She bid farewell to the maids and left the room.

Apparently, her idea worked.

Her father’s face looked far more relaxed than previously.

He wore clothes similar to her’s.

They walked through the corridor as per usual… Necro felt something was off. Drac still never looked her in the eyes.

“Is everything okay, Father? Is there anything you want to tell?”

“Ah… I’m~— Sorry…” He said, sheepishly

She pulled on his hand, making him turn behind and look straight at her.

She hugged him. Her face reaching only as high as his chest.

“There’s no need for you to apologize, Father. I know this is not your fault.”

He hugged her back tightly, patting her head with one of his hands.

“But… I failed both as a father and a ruler… You knew about this possibility before I had even considered it.”

“You did all you could to protect us, that’s more than enough for this daughter of yours.” She said, looking up at him.

“Please don’t feel bad. This was never your fault to begin with. I just hope we can go back to normal after this…”

He looked straight at her before looking towards the horizon through one of the windows and answering.

“Me too, my baby-girl… Me too…”

They both stood there for a second, appreciating the scenery of the mountains and the clouds above them… unbeknownst to Necro, her father spotted a couple battle flags in the distance, passing through the meadows that preceded the mountains. He hugged her tighter for a second, before letting go.

“Your mother’s earrings really suit you.”

“Thanks, Daddy.”

They walked through the remainder of the corridor, reaching the staircase. There, her mother, and brother awaited them. The gloomy atmosphere from the two changed both her and her father’s demeanor. They walked silently through the main hall into the servant’s hallway, as they passed by the arch that led into the kitchen, Necro noticed more than half of their servants were missing. When they left, the servants would remain in the mansion, they each had their own room and, in case they had a family, a fitting small house at the back of the property. Their own meals were also prepared in the main kitchen since there was no reason not to do so. Them not being there regardless of whether they leaving was very strange. As they left the back room the strangeness only increased for Necro. All the gardeners and outside workers were gone… There’d always be at least two of them roaming around the back of the mansion. Cleaning the animal manure and making sure everything was impeccable.

Necro tried analyzing the situation but was unable to understand what was happening. She could guess the missing servants were probably part of the “unofficial forces” her father mentioned earlier… But more than half those missing were women. Even the Head Maid was nowhere to be seen… There’s no way they’d be part of a militia, right?

While she struggled with her doubts, the four arrived at the stables.

There, a plain looking horse drawn covered wagon awaited them.

“What’s this? it looks shoddy…” Drac complained. Using these gnarky looking was already a lot for him, used to living with all comfort. But traveling on this? It was too much for the spoiled boy.

“Shut up!”

Plop

“AWWWW!”

Necro gave him a single slap to the nape, making him drop his head.

“What was that for?”

“For you to stop being stupid. Now listen to Father.”

“Thank you, Nec…”

“Ahem. We’ll go to the Cetadea now… But there’s some things I need to tell you on the way.

Vlad was the first to board the wagon, the rest followed him through the door on the back.

To the side, a shady-looking man waited for them to board.

Snap

As soon as they boarded, Vlad snapped his fingers once. After just a couple seconds the wagon started moving. Slowly at first, but increasingly fast.

Despite being drawn by just two horses, the wagon as moving at an amazing speed. Necro realized this in just a couple minutes. They were moving as fast as the horses would normally dash carrying a single person.

Vlad started speaking a couple minutes after they reached the road that connected the town to the “Capital”, where the Cetadea was located.

The ride was generally a handful of hours long on a coach. But with their current speed, it would only take a couple of hours.

“Now… I need to talk to the two of you. I’ve already explained a part of this to Drac earlier but…” (Vlad)

“Me and your father though about this for a long time, we tried to protect you but… it’s about time you know…” (Jusztina)

“Our families are far older than you might expect, and we preceded the Church itself.”(Jusztina)

“We already knew the time would come where they’d realize who we are and come after us, so we made some arrangements… But we had no clue they would come this fast, so we won’t be able to follow our plan to the letter.” (Vlad)

A tense atmosphere hovered over them all. Necro was greatly confused by the meaning behind their words. She became even more confused seeing the serious expression on Drac’s face… He already knew it all, didn’t he?

“First, we gave you two some of our families’ mementos. The ring you received, Drac, increases your strength, so that if it ever comes to the point where you need to fight, you can.” (Vlad)

“The Ring and earrings I gave you, Nec, will help you use your maximum potential as a mage. I don’t know for sure what they do since I’m not a magician myself and they never told me…” (Jusztina)

“And lastly, Nec, I gave you two items from my personal items. A neckchain that belonged to my mother. If something ever happens to you, it will protect you. And my own seal. From now on, both of you must follow your own path together.” (Vlad)

“It’s very hard for us to say this while you are still this young but… This is your best chance.” (Jusztina)

Necro was on the brim of tears. She knew very well what their words meant. She knew at this point she would probably never see them again.

“One last thing.” Her father said, pulling a ring from his pinky finger. “This is a storage ring… We were never rich to begin with… We lived comfortably thanks to our people and their love, but taxes were always low, lest those very people would suffer. This ring contains all the potions and elixirs we had stored for ourselves, plus the little money we had around. Please take care of it and your brother, Nec.”

“Why her! I’m older!”

“My son, there’s things in life that are more important than age, and you will learn them soon… Please protect your sister when we can’t.” (Jusztina)

“Yes, mom…”

Tears started flowing from Necro’s eyes. She didn’t want to leave them. She didn’t want to let go of her family…

“Please… Let me stay… I can fight! I’m a stronger magician than you think so… Please!”

PAF

Vlad and Drac froze, their mouths agape.

Juzstina was also crying, her arm stretched. While Necro flinched, her hand on her now red cheek.

This was the first and only time any of them ever hit Necro.

“Don’t you realize how hard this is for us!” She shouted. “Don’t make it worse! We don’t want you to die!”

“Jusz… You…” (Vlad)

“I know, Vlad! But… She can understand what I am saying. You know that very well!”

‘I know she’s not a normal kid… But still!’ He thought, but preferred not to say anything.

He thought about saying something again, but before he had the chance, he looked at Necro’s now grave expression. Freezing.

Those eyes.

They were not those of a woman. Let alone those of a child.

Those were the eyes of a demon. Just like himself.

“Understood.” (Necro)