Eden removed her hands from Damien and he flopped to the ground, his sister managing to grab him just in ti before he fell flat on the concrete.
"I told you not to overwork yourself!" The girl yelled at him, moving a safe distance from his puke.
"Shut up," Damien tried to voice himself, but another wave of vomit stopped him from speaking and he jerked himself forward once again, his breakfast coming out faster than he had eaten it.
A loud rumble of crumbling gravel could be heard in the distance. Damien heard footsteps coming close to where he was kneeling, and then soone crouched next to him and placed their large hands on his back.
"Let it all out," ca Lord Clent’s voice. "After that excellent performance, you’re supposed to vomit like this, or else I’d think you and your sister used an illusion on ."
"We didn’t—" Before Damien could object, puke shot out of his mouth once again. Clent lightly patted his back.
"There, there. You shouldn’t try speaking whilst you vomit. You’ll choke.
Finally, the vomiting stopped.
Imdiately after Damien was done, a butler with a wand appeared before him and flicked it, making the vomit disappear in an instant as a cup of water and a bucket landed right next to the boy. He didn’t need any further instructions before he was gurgling and spitting in the bucket. Once he was done, the Wizard repeated his wand flicking and disappeared with the bucket and cup sowhere into the castle.
The last thing Damien expected to see when he raised his head was Ahara grinning proudly at him. He at least thought she’d be worried about his face hitting the gem, but instead, she pulled him from the ground into a tight hug.
"You did it, Damien. You ca back in ten minutes!" She squeezed him.
"Ten?" Damien and Eden both barked in surprise, snapping their heads at the clock on the pointed gem.
Sure enough, the tir was now at twelve minutes. Minus the ti he had spent vomiting, what Ahara said made perfect sense.
A proud grin showed on his scratched face as he turned to beam in Eden’s direction. "See. I told you I’d win the bet."
"You did..." Eden asserted slowly. "You beat the ti you set for yourself."
"Not only that, but he evolved too," Clent said proudly as if he were talking about his son. "He was able to outrun in the last lap."
"But it wasn’t the last lap for . It was the first," Damien said begrudgingly. "Just how fast can you guys sprint? I couldn’t even see you passing by ."
"Hmmm, let’s see. I could keep up with a jet the last ti I had a mission in the human world."
"A jet?" Damien’s jaw dropped.
How was that even possible? Wouldn’t their legs snap off by themselves at that point?
But before he could state his thoughts, Eden gasped loudly and everyone turned their heads to face her.
"Oh my goodness he’s a vampire!" She said pointing at Damien.
All eyes turned to Damien instead, and the boy watched as Eden’s eyes stared surprisedly at him. She imdiately charged in his direction, before touching his face and pulling it down to hers. The lad could feel the heat burn his cheeks as he watched the princess squint her eyes at his mouth.
"He has fangs, father. Beautiful long fangs!"
"Just like Henry!" Clent exclaid excitedly, pulling the boy from Eden with a sharp tug.
Damien was rather grateful for the distraction since his face had almost turned to mush whilst in Eden’s grasp. That was the closest he had ever been to another girl’s face who wasn’t Lucy or Ahara. It was sowhat embarrassing to have the princess look at his lips closely like that.
Unfortunately, the sa case happened with her father. He squinted his eyes at Damien’s mouth, grinning until his pearl-white fangs were also showing. Then he raised himself and looked down at Damien, his smile almost reaching the corners of his ears.
"I say we feast. This boy’s developnt resembled his father’s in all aspects, and I’d like to celebrate my friend’s genes living on in his body. Your lunch is on Fangpeak’s royal family today as we celebrate Henry’s son manifesting his vampiric tribal traits today," Lord Clent announced, letting go of Damien as he gestured at his staff.
Ahara clapped her hands gleefully and Damien smiled at her, his cheeks burning from embarrassnt. Lord Clent seed to like comparing him to his father a lot. Not that he was complaining.
"Do you know what this ans?" Eden nudged his arm and Damien tipped his head below to look at her.
"What?"
"It ans your low aura has grown. Unfortunately, we can’t use the aura tester whilst my mother is using it, but I think you’re rank E, at the very least," Eden explained, but Damien had stopped listening halfway.
’The Vampire Queen is here?’
He pumped his fist at the realization, happiness providing him with yet another wave of energy he didn’t know he had left in him until now.
"Victory feels nice, ey?" Eden mocked when he swung his fist in the air.
"Hell, yeah. Winning is such an exhilarating experience. But your Dad was still faster than ."
"That’s a given. He’s an S-ranked Gibbit after all."
"Oh, yeah? Then I’ll beco stronger soon and race him again."
Damien didn’t even realize he was clenching his fists until Ahara took his hand and pulled him. "Co on, the King is calling for us."
And with that, they all made their way back inside the palace to feast.
*****
Damien had been in the dining room before, but today, it felt different. Mostly because the Queen was sitting on the other end of the large black table, side by side with her husband who kept feeding her here and there with his fork.
Unlike what Damien had assud she’d be like, the Queen was like the rest of her family, an easygoing woman who’s always smiling. However, she only did that when necessary, unlike her husband and daughter. They didn’t behave like what Damien thought royals did at all. They kept talking and laughing whilst eating, and exchanging food with each other by sliding plates down the table. Although, he had to admit that it was rather fun to watch.
They looked happy, a lively healthy family.
The boy kept darting his eyes at Ahara to see if she envied the family too as much as he did, but it seed she had other plans—staring admiringly at the Queen. Her food was barely touched by the ti everyone else was done eating, and he had to nudge her ten or so tis to stop her from creeping out the Queen with the way she was looking at her.
Only, the Queen didn’t seem to mind.
It seed she made Ahara sit the closest to her on purpose after she almost fainted when she saw her Highness already sitting on the far end of the table when they arrived in the dining hall. The woman kept giving his sister smiles throughout their lunch, which would sotis help Ahara realize that she was staring a little too much.
"So, Henry’s son finally ca back to us?" The Queen once said after Damien sat next to Ahara, facing Eden who was already digging her teeth into her fried chicken by then.
Her husband imdiately went on a rampage and explained everything about Damien whilst the boy ate his fold in silence, only raising his head to nod when he was required to. It was only after the crockery and cutlery had been cleared from the table, and after Lord Clent had finally updated his wife on all the details including the rematch he had just had with the boy that the Queen finally gave Damien her full attention.
"Gibforge is quite the dream. My Eden had it since she was five, but unfortunately, she wasn’t born with the finest of bodies in Gibbous."
"Mom!" Eden protested and the Queen raised her hands as if in defeat.
"Sorry," she apologized, turning her attention back to Damien. "I’m sure you’ll be accepted if you were able to win the bet my husband placed on you, but the enrollnt might be delayed this ti so hang in there a little bit longer, okay."
A loud clanging noise ca in Eden’s direction and Damien flinched. She had dropped her drumstick in her uncleared plate and was now gawking at her mother, hands quivering slightly.
"What do you an the enrollnt will be dragged? Isn’t Gibforge moving into Fangpeak on Monday?"
"Moving?" Damien scrunched his brows at her and she rolled her eyes at him disappointedly before explaining:
"Gibforge moves through the world’s four cardinal points every two years. Bracadia in the north where the wizards dominate, Clawthorn in the west where the wolves dominate, Draconic in the east where the dragons dominate and here in Fangpeak, the south, where the vampires dominate. It’s an international school that gives Gibbits of all races a chance to feel its majestic presence, got it?"
Damien nodded at her and imdiately after she was done, Eden turned to her mother.
"So? What’s the hold up for?"
"The plan was to stay consistent, but you see, Principal Twiller was busy with the council this week to finish signing the contract forms with Fangpeak," the Queen replied, glancing at Damien suggestively for a mont.
The boy imdiately understood the aning behind her look. He was the reason why old man Twiller couldn’t finish signing the contracts. The Principal had to stand up for him against the council, or else he’d have been punished by the law and sent to an orphanage.
"My team will try and hurry up the pace, but I can’t promise anything yet."
"Looks like I’ll be stuck with Eden alone in the palace again for a while," Lord Clent interjected, visibly sulking.
"Don’t worry, I’m not going to attend any eting this ti," his wife notified him, stroking his hair as if he were a pet.
It didn’t take Damien long to realize she was the most powerful mber of the family. After all, he had seen her glowing statue in the corridors but none of her husband or daughter.
"So, what’s your wish young Amaris?" Lord Clent turned his attention back to Damien once he was done receiving a potion of his wife’s affection, and the boy stilled.
He had planned on using the wish to ask for the queen to et Ahara, but now that the two had already t, what else was he supposed to use the wish for?
"Umm, can I hold on to it whilst I think?"
"Very well then, but only for a year. The promise will beco void after that."
"Hmm."
"Good. Now let’s go teach you about Gibbous so more before you make a fool out of yourself in front of your peers at the enrollnt ceremony next week. Are you coming, dear?"
The Queen shook her head. "No, I think I’ll stay here with his sister."
"Very well then. et us in the training do once you’re done conversing," Clent replied, kissing his wife’s hand before gesturing for the teens to follow him.
The boy bowed at the Queen one last ti, before following the foxy duo out of the dining hall, wondering what he’d use his wish for before it expired.
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