The Vampire Kings Protection

Chapter 34

Two weeks passed and I was convinced time had it out for me. Every day seemed to drag by with more torture than the last. The days were long and hot, filled with constant struggles that often had my eyes filled with tears of frustration.

The language barrier was one of the biggest things I struggled with. I tried hard to pick up new sayings but most of the time I would repeat them wrong. I was able to communicate for basic things however when the locals pushed for more conversation I fell behind. Some of the people were kind enough to stop and help me but there were times when all I got was a glare and under the breath insult. Or at least I think it was an insult.

A lot of the time I didn't take much offense but it did have me missing my friends. Missing having someone to talk to and being able to enjoy each other's company. I often thought about Sabina and Eric, most of the time when I was left out of a conversation or in some of the silent moments.

Another thing I had a hard time adjusting to was the weather. I thought after a few days I would be more accustomed, like how I did in Romania. I was dead wrong. It seemed to get hotter every day and most days the air was too thick to breathe right. On the fifth day I had heat rash and somehow had burned through my shirt. Both I was quick to heal inside the safety of my home but the burn returned two days later after I walked the streets for what seemed like a normal period of time.

By night two I declared mosquitoes Satan's helper. I had never been anywhere where they were this bad. It was like a swarm of them waited by the door each morning and every single one made it into my house. I didn't realize there was a bug I could hate more than hornets but when I discovered the eleventh bite mark I moved the up them on my list.

The best thing about my arrival so far was that I had already found a place to work. Several times a week I helped Liliana sell items from her shop. I passed by her shop again and she asked me to work there. It wasn't much but it was enough to pay for my food and some new clothes. It was also where I picked up most of my Spanish and I could officially name every food she sold without mistake. I could also count money and give change. We couldn't communicate fully but she was kind enough to offer me a position.

But with the best things in life came the worst. Working in such a busy area had me interacting with people frequently, some nice and others rude but the worst were the men that approached me. Not because they were aggressive, most were overly nice, it was because I compared every one of them to Alastor.

In the beginning it was natural and unconscious but the more that approached me the more I noticed my comparisons. I realized why I wasn't finding any of them interesting or attractive. They weren't him. I would compare their voice, eyes, smile, laugh, stance, gestures, and the list went on. I even caught myself turning down a great guy because hands didn't look like Alastors. I knew then I had a problem.

I tried to expel him from my mind. To really immerse myself in this community and forget about him but it was hard when he haunted my dreams. During the day I could force myself to focus on other tasks however when I closed my eyes at night my subconscious tortured me. I only had three nights where I didn't dream of him but even those were centered around the castle.

I found myself feeling almost homesick when I thought about him. I missed him a lot more than I thought possible. I figured that the longer I stayed here the less I would think about him, that eventually he would be a part of my past like the others I had met. It wasn't working. He continued to stay front of mind for two solid weeks.

"You really should carry an umbrella around with you." Emilianos familiar voice echoed from behind me.

I turned around to see him walking down the stone sidewalk towards me. This was something else that reminded me of Alastor, his friend visits. Emiliano swears he makes the decision to check in on me, truly wanting to know I am adjusting well but I often wondered if he spoke to Alastor about them.