Blood and Tears

Chapter 11

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"I know how you feel..." Lance said with a glance off to the side.

Keith wiped away his remaining tears and set his hand on Lance's shoulder, causing him to look over.

"Lance, promise me that- if I die in this war. You'll bury me and promise not to cry." Keith said with another sniff.

Lance held his breathe before speaking again.

"I won't let you die, but yes, I promise." Lance said with a smile.

Keith grinned back before looking up to the sky. The stars glowed brightly as they shined down onto Earth's surface.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light in front of the two men and they both jumped back. From the light, came Romelle as she fell face first into the snow.

"COLD!" She screamed out before jumping up into the air.

"Hey Romelle." Lance said with a small wave to his friend.

"Hey Lance, Uh- whose that?" Romelle asked with a nervous glance over to Keith, "it's a vampire.."

Romelle then hid behind Lance's shoulder in fear.

"Don't worry, he's nice. In fact, he's helping us." Romelle gave a confused look up to Lance, "His name is Keith, and he's helping me fight the vampire prince Lotor." Lance said with a grin over to Keith.

"Oh, interesting. But how can we trust him? He's a vampire, and Lotor is too. So they could secretly be friends." Romelle said with a pout as she sat on Lance's shoulder.

"Romelle, he's not with Lotor. Trust me on this." Lance said with a grin down to Romelle on his shoulder.

Keith then gave a pleading smile as Romelle rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Fine, but only because you say so." Romelle said with a hard glare up to Lance.

Lance nodded and slowly stood to his feet.

"So, how do feel about doing a job for us." Lance said with a grin.

"It depends on what it is." Romelle said as she stared down to her dangling legs.

"Well, we were hoping you could go get a cure for us, but it might be difficult." Keith said with a shrug, "a witch Hagar has a cure for a vampire, but we can't get it because we have to go find Lotor fast."

Romelle took a deep breathe before flying up into the air again.

"I'll do it, but only because this is helping Lance." Romelle said with a grunt as she crossed her arms.

Keith let out sigh in frustration and looked to the ground.

"Ok, so where is this Hagar?" Lance asked as he looked to Keith.

Keith lifted his head again and searched thru his brain before finding what he needed.

"Hagar lives in a cavern down in the Rocky Mountains, located in Colorado. She has ghouls and a few vampires guarding her. So you'll have to get in and get out." Keith said as he looked to Romelle.

"Alright, That should be easy for me. You know, with my magic and all." Romelle said with a smirk.

"Well then, you better be on your way. Me and Keith have to leave too." Lance said with a grin.

"Alright!" Romelle waved as she flew into the trees.

"Meet us whenever your done!" Lance yelled after the fairy as she disappeared into the darkness.

"So.. are we walking? Or driving? Cause I have a truck back in town." Lance said as he looked to the direction they had come from.

"We don't have enough time to go back to town. We have to go by foot." Keith started to walk towards the East, "come on, if we want to get there, we have to start now." Keith said as he gestured Lance to follow.

Lance smiled and went after the vampire.

"So, how long will it take to get there?" Lance asked as he watched an owl fly by.

"Probably about a month." Keith said as he kept his eyes forward towards the unknown.

"Wait, What?! If you want to get there before the Valkyrie's or the Amazon's, we have to find a faster way!" Lance yelled out with a grunt.

"Lance, the Valkyrie's don't know where Lotor is, neither do the Amazon's. We killed the only one who knows." Keith said with a chuckle.

"Oh, i guess your right, but it doesn't mean that they won't find him while we're traveling." Lance said as he crossed his arms.

"We'll never know I guess..." Keith said with a sigh.

"Ya.." Lance said as he looked down to Keith again.

Keith wasn't even looking at the ground, he was staring off into space. Who know's what he was thinking about, but one thing is for sure, it's going to be a long journey.

Three days into traveling...

It was so cold, Keith thought he was going to turn to ice.

Lance and Keith managed to make it to the Rocky Mountains. They decided to go to the mountains and camp there to make a plan for when they reach Lotor. Then they'll head back east to North Dakota.

"L-Lance.. are you doing ok?" Keith asked as he looked up to his friend.

Keith was surprised to see Lance wasn't smiling, nor talking. He was shivering and was starting to walk slower than usual.

"Lance stop." Keith said as he grabbed Lance's arm and pulled him off to the side of the trial.

Keith and Lance now stood underneath a cliff overhang that overlooked a giant lake with clean blue water.

"W-w-what..." Lance whispered as he tried to smile, but to no avail.

"Here." Keith said as he took off his hoodie and handed it to Lance, "it may be a bit small on you, but it works."

Lance gasped a bit at Keith's kind gesture.

"But Keith, then you'll get cold-."

"I don't care Lance, just take it." Keith said as he sat down holding his arms close for warmth.

"Keith.. just-."

"No!"