(Archived) Poth Short Stories and One-Shots

Eternal Vow - Chapter 7

It looks like something might be going on with notifications being delayed or not showing up at all, so just a heads up to make sure you've read the previous chapter before reading this one.

***

Palette woke to the sound of footsteps bustling past his room. Reaching groggily for the timepiece on his nightstand to confirm the time, he pushed the covers off himself; popping the kinks from his bones and stifling a yawn. His eye lights fell on his clothing across the room.

At that moment, he was thankful for Goth's foresight in preparing everything the night before.

Crossing the room, he separated each article to figure out what needed to go on first. He had only worn the outfit once, so he would have to spend a few minutes recalling each step.

The white stockings and pants went on with no problem, the buttons on the white undershirt and blue vest were easy enough to figure out, and the laces of his brown boots only required a minimal amount of tightening this time to fit securely. The overcoat proved to be the only difficult task, and that was only due to the buttons that needed to be threaded into the sides of the vest to secure it in place.

Donning his hat, tucking the tail ends of his scarf into the back of the coat, and securing his pin, he made sure he had the essentials stored away in his coat's inner pockets and crossed the hallway to his master's room. As expected, Goth was fast asleep. Palette wasn't surprised; despite being an early riser, even he didn't feel fully awake yet due to the odd hour.

Placing a hand on Goth's shoulder, the taller skeleton gently shook him as he called out softly, "Time to wake up." He sighed when his words garnered a slight jolt, but no further response, and tried again, "Come on Goth. We need to get ready so we can meet our special guests today."

Goth verbally reacted this time, but only to give a dissenting groan before curling deeper into his blanket. Letting out an amused huff, the servant pulled down the covers and attempted to raise his companion into a sitting position. Wrapping an arm around the smaller's back for support, Palette immediately noticed heat coming off of him. Looking closely, his sockets looked a bit swollen as well.

"Oh stars, were you sick after all?" Palette whispered anxiously, leaning in to place his forehead against Goth's to check their temperature. His companion's skull felt much cooler, which confused the monster since a fever usually spread throughout the whole body. Then again, maybe this was an illness specific to vampires he didn't know about.

"Hnnn...," Goth groaned, finally seeming to rouse as his sockets cracked open. The vampire stared at the skeleton mere inches from his face for a moment before his eye light contracted and his sockets flew wide open. Within the space of a second, the smaller was reeling back and toppling over the edge of the bed with a startled yelp; hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"Goth!" the taller gasped, scrambling off the bed to check on his companion. The vampire whined as he let his feet flop to the side and pushed himself up. Palette aided him into a sitting position, throwing questions at him, "Are you okay; are you hurt; do you need me to get someone; do you need your canteen?"

"N...no, I'm fine," the vampire stammered as their cheeks flushed lavender, "You were... why were you so close to my face?"

"You felt really warm; I was checking your temperature because I thought you were sick," Palette explained, scrutinizing the smaller's appearance as he reiterated, "Are you sure you're okay? If you don't feel good, I can talk to Lord Reaper; I'm sure he'd understand you wanting to stay home and rest."

Goth let out a breath, "It was probably the blankets I was curled up in that made me warmer. I'm not sick, so our guests may take offense to me staying home. How much time do we have before we need to leave?"

An exasperated frown worked its way onto Palette's face; he suspected the vampire was attempting to distract him with the question. Regardless, he checked his watch before relaying, "We have about forty-five minutes. The only things I have to do after this are transferring some blood into a travel flask and getting something to eat."

"Alright then, go ahead and make your preparations while I get dressed, I'll meet you downstairs," Goth nodded, crossing the room to grab the clothing hanging in the closet.

"You don't need help with any of it?" the servant questioned, still not completely convinced his master was fine.

The vampire shook his skull, pulling the white overcoat detailed with red embroidery along the hood and sleeves from the hanger to access the rest of his outfit, "I've been dressing myself for decades, I can handle a little extra clothing."

"If you're sure," Palette deferred, heading for the door to give the smaller his privacy, "I'll be downstairs in either the kitchen or the living room; shout if you need help."

Receiving confirmation, the servant left the room and made his way downstairs. Passing through the living room, he found Reaper and his primary blood servant, a mouse monster-like vampire named Cheri. The woman was too busy adjusting the white cravat under the vampire's black cloak to notice the skeleton, but Reaper greeted him with a smile, "Morning young Palette, you're looking quite sharp. I see my son is absent; did he perhaps get lost on the stairs?"

"Thank you, Lord Reaper; your outfit looks very nice too," The servant complimented in return, even though he knew the older vampire could care less about such niceties in their own home; it just felt like the proper thing to do. He snorted at their quip, "As for Goth, he didn't get lost; he's getting dressed while I transfer some of his blood supply into a flask and find something to eat."

"Ah, that would be a wise choice; as archaic as the rule is, Lord Arnest is a stickler for tradition and would be put off by servants dining alongside their masters," the elder agreed with a sigh, addressing the woman in front of him, "I trust you've had something, Cheri?"

"Yes, Lord Reaper," the woman replied dutifully, stepping back after tucking in the hanging tail.

"Good," The vampire praised, waving Palette away, "Off with you; you must prepare before we set off."

The monster contemplated asking the elder about Goth's odd behavior, but decided against prying and accepted the dismissal to head into the kitchen. If the smaller vampire said he was fine, Palette would trust him.

In less than a minute, he had a flask full of blood tucked away in his pocket and a sandwich on a plate. He was able to polish off his food and clean his plate just as Goth descended the stairs wearing a white and red ensemble that complimented Reaper's black and white. The only exceptions were his partially hidden black vest, the black belt cinched around his hooded coat, and his black knee-high boots.

"Wow, you look really cool!" Palette gaped, standing from his seat on the couch.

The smaller vampire blinked owlishly before answering with a blush, "Oh, thank you. Your clothing looks good on you as well."

A cleared throat interrupted the pair, directing their attention to Reaper, "Come, both of you; we are expecting honored guests that mustn't be kept waiting."

With that said, the group filed out of the house and down the stairs leading to the public pathway.

***

Word Count: 1,253