Blood Bound

First Week

"Again! You're not focusing!" Bess' loud voice echoed in the room, the gray room that Henryk has been in since 7 days ago. If he could choose he'd prefer to be trained by Brook, even though that's not the best choice either. 

Bess scares him, Brook makes him feels weak. 

"I'm trying." Henryk whimper while his hand is still trembling under the crossbow. It's a piece of cake for every hunter, it must be for him. 

He shoot, and miss. Not as bad as his first time, but not close to being perfect. 

"Okay, time for a little break." Brook walks in right on time. Henryk sighed and his hands fell to the sides of his body. The bow feels terribly heavy on his hand. 

"He shouldn't be slacking but--" 

Brook glared her sister. 

"You'd kill him." 

Bess shrugs, walking out of the room. 

"Yeah, I guess that could happen." She yawn and disappear while Brook is still waiting for the kid that's limping towards where the weapons belong. 

"Come on kid."

Henryk nods and sigh. "What's for lunch?" 

"Not sure, some steak with mash I guess." 

"Can I request macarons for dessert?" He walked towards Brook. Brook scoffs. 

"I'll talk to the chef, but don't be too disappointed if they can't make it alright?" 

Henryk shrugs his shoulder. "Everything tastes nice here, it's more than alright. But um..." 

Brook waited for the kid to continue his 'but', but he's lost in his own mind. 

"What?" 

"I want to ask this to you before we rendezvous with the witch but--"

"Did you just call Bess a witch?" 

Henryk innocently blink his eyes to Brook. He gives Brook a small nod. 

"Yeah." 

"Damn, that's too polite, witches are nice." 

"Wait, they are real?" Henryk frowned, not really his concern anyway, but if they are real, that's cool. 

"Yeah, story for another time. Continue, what is it you're going to say?" 

"Uh..." Henryk hesitated again. "I want to go out to the town if I can, I mean I'm prisoned in this house for a week already, it's... suffocating." 

Brook thinks for a moment. Henryk's not exactly on the position where he can waste time and walk around the city for some entertainment but he made his point. Bess would have say an exact no at him. But well... Brook thinks he deserve a little fun. 

"Let's talk to the witch first, okay? I can't decide this on my own." 

Henryk looks disappointed but his eyes sparkles when he saw the maid coming in with plates filled with his appetizer, and the old man Alastair is there too, ready for his lunch. 

"Oh, you're just on time. I'm sorry I have to let them made the lunch earlier I'm too hungry to wait." Alastair pat the seat beside him, asking Henryk to sit beside him. 

"Where's the other?" Henryk asked, looking around. The dining table is so big it made him sure they should be joined by some more people. There maybe not many people in the big house, but they didn't even notice Alastair on the first place, they may not notice the other. 

"Who do you mean? Rodrigo?" Alastair laughed but quickly stopped and his expression changed. "Well I shouldn't laugh at him though, he made a mistake he couldn't fix." Alastair whisper and grab the cutleries beside his plate and starting to cut the cheese phyllo crab bites on his plate. 

"What happened?" Henryk carefully asks while reaching for his own appetizer and savor it slowly. 

"He... uh... well..." Alastair glances to both of his Grandchildren and realize they never really know the true story either, might as well let them know. 

"His non-slayer wife and young daughter were turned into vampire." He sighed, he clearly felt his pain, but that doesn't mean he'd agree with Rodrigo's way of running away from his pain. 

"He grieve for far too long and his enemy threaten to compel both his wife and daughter to go and kill all the Redhounds. Him, being a vampire hunter, realize he has to kill them both, sooner or later." Alastair put both his cutleries down and reach for his water and drink the lump in his throat down. Talking about that always made him... mad. 

"So he asked the trainer to kill his humanity." Alastair stopped his story there and he continue to eat his appetizer, slower now. 

"D-did he kill them? His daughter and wife?" Henryk doesn't want to push Alastair but he wanted to know. Alastair nods. 

"Yes, he did." He cleared his throat. "Let's stop talking about that, how was your training?" Alastair smiled and faced Henryk who's still a bit sad with the old story, but Alastair asking about his training to him made all his muscles ache all over again. 

"Ugh... well.... I just need a refreshing weekend that's all." He eyes Brook in hope the older man will help him talk about his holiday to Bess, but at the very moment, a maid come in with digital letter in her hand and approach the dining table. 

"Pardon me, there's a mail left on the door for Miss Arabess." The maid politely give the round black box to Bess and curtsied before walking back to the pantry. 

"What is it?" Brook tried to peek from across the table but he couldn't see anything except a black round box with a button on top of it. She put the box on top of her palm with the button facing up and push the button. A white hologram pop up on top of the box, but just like a paper, the back side is blank. After she read the first line she sighs and swishes her hand on the hologram and it fades like smoke.  

"Request."  She throws the small box to the empty spot on the table beside her. 

"Where?"  Brook twirl his crab phyllo with his fork on the plate, planning something. 

"That resident near Biksha border. Someone died, blood drained, not turned." Bess rolled her eyes. Now that she's home she lost all the will to work. Even though the people in Orro pay her with a really good amount. 

"Why? You don't want the job?" Brook smirked. Bess sighed again and pop the last cheese phyllo to her mouth. 

"I want the money." She pouted, and play around with the black box. Brook glance to Henryk. 

"Well, Henryk has a deal for you." Brook smirked to the little boy who's completely clueless. 

"What? It's better be good." Bess leans back to her chair and cross both her arms on her chest. The kid annoys her too much today the least he could do to make it up to her is offering a good deal. 

"He said to me, he wants to spent his weekend in the town, you know, having a little bit of entertainment." 

"Absolu--" 

Brook shused Bess and his sister pout before throwing her body back to her chair. 

"If, he can kill this vampire that's still lurking around near Biksha--because obviously they wouldn't be able to get out of the country, they protect it like their life depends on it, Henryk, will have the chance to spend his weekend in town." 

Bess leans forward slowly, interested. 

"If he can't?" Bess squinted his eyes on the little kid, that's definitely feeling the chill from her staring.

"Then he'll get extra hours of practice, you get to coach it, I'm not going to disturb you." 

Slowly, Bess smirked, still squinting his eyes on Henryk. 

"Fine." She uncross her arms and lean back. 

"When do we leave?"