Chapter 651: Belle Ashe
“Another?” The barkeep went to pour Callum a glass of bloodwine.
“No. Leave the bottle,” he replied.
“As you wish.”
The tavern doors opened. Callum glanced at the noise. He did a double-take and spotted a scarlet-haired, giantess of a vampire walk in. “Sylvie?”
He only muttered the word, but Sylvie’s sharp hearing caught it, and she turned in his direction. Her crimson eyes widened briefly and she broke into a smile.
“Wow, who is that?” the barkeep mumbled in awe.
Callum looked away and hoped against everything that Sylvie had somehow not seen him. “My ex.”
“Seriously? My condolences.”
“Uh-huh,” he grumbled.
“She’s coming this way.”
“What?” Before Callum could prod her for any more information, a shadow cast over him.
“Hey, Cal.”
Callum slowly turned around in his chair and was met with Sylvie’s fit midriff. She had always preferred loose and often open clothing, not for the sake of sensuality, but rather because it was simply more comfortable and easier to move in. Callum looked up and saw Sylvie looking down at him with a curious, albeit hesitant, smile. “Mind if I sit?”
Callum nodded numbly.
“Welcome to my establishment, Miss ‘Tall, Dark, and Beautiful.’ What can I get you started with?” the barkeep asked.
“Are you the owner of this tavern?” Sylvie sat down next to Callum at the bar.
“That I am.” She gave a flirtatious smirk.
“Wow, I’ve never met a tavern owner before. What’s it like?” Sylvie asked with genuine excitement in her eyes.
“Never…?” The barkeep shook her surprise off and opened her arms wide, “I may not look it, but I’ve been building this place up for the last seventy years. Now I have nobles from all around the city dropping by in hopes of tasting our legendary spirits.”
“In that case, I’ll have your best.” Sylvie pulled out a pouch and dropped a few gold coins on the bar. “Will this be enough?”
The barkeep stared at the small pile of wealth and then back at Sylvie. “You don’t get out much, do you?”
“Now I do, or at least, I try,” Sylvie admitted bashfully.
The barkeep grabbed a single gold coin. “I’ll be back with a fresh, cold bottle of blood-wine.”
An awkward silence suddenly filled the bar and Callum wished he knew what to say. Words had always come easily to him, until now.
“There aren’t a lot of people here, huh?” Sylvie noted.
Callum thanked her silently for breaking the tension. He glanced at the large tavern, with its plush chairs and varnished tables. There was only one other patron, sitting in the back corner of the lounge.
“It’s still early. This place primarily serves vampires. They don’t like to come out during the day very much, unlike us hybrids,” Callum explained. “You should see what this place is like in the evenings, you can hardly find a seat. Well, unless you’re a son of Veres, that is. Or a daughter of Ashe.” He looked pointedly at her.
“Right. I almost forgot you figured me out,” Sylvie winced.
“Only partly. I didn’t realize you were Bellum’s daughter until today.” He scoffed to himself, “I guess the ‘Belle’ part makes sense, then.”
“Blame my father for that one. He wanted me to always remember where I came from, as if being over two meters tall would let me forget.”
“You’re hard to forget.”
“Is that right?” She smirked. “...I prefer Sylvie, you know. I chose it myself…”
“But…?”
“But I can’t run away from who I am anymore. The people need me.”
“What people? The vassals and peasants under House Ashe. Believe me, Lady Calantha has it under control.”
“No, not just them. The people of the Ebon Realm. My mother is this land’s guardian. There are forces within and outside this Realm that would gladly hurt the innocent people of these lands in pursuit of their own gain. As a daughter— no, as the last daughter of Bellum, it’s my duty to protect them. I can’t simply be ‘Sylvie.’”
“That’s why you broke up with me?”
“I’m sorry, Cal. I—”
“No, I get it. Destiny awaits. I don’t blame you for it.” He tried his best to appear nonchalant and downed his drink. “I’m just glad I got some answers. For a second there, I thought it was because of my looks.” He gave a playful wink.
“I really am sorry, Callum. For how I left. When I saw you on the island, I didn’t know what to say. But after I saw you today, I knew I had to come looking for you to try and explain.”
“Oh, so you didn’t just happen to coincidentally appear at my favorite tavern?”
“I asked some of the Veres servants where I could find you. One of them brought me to your sister. She’s the one who told me where to find you.”
Of course, Elise did. Callum didn’t doubt his sister had someone tailing him since the moment he arrived back at the manor. “Well, you found me.”
“Yeah, I did…” Sylvie smiled weakly. “I really am sorry. I was going through a lot.”
“Trust me, I get it. I really do…”
“I have returned!” the barkeep announced triumphantly. She uncorked the bottle, fresh condensation on the glass. She went to pour it into a glass, but Sylvie stopped her with a shake of her hand.
“I’ll take it, thank you.” Sylvie grabbed the bottle and put it to her lips. She downed the entire thing in a matter of seconds. “Wow, that is good. I’ll take two more, please.” She produced a couple of coins and plopped them on the bar.
“R-Right…” The barkeep stared at the empty bottle, wide-eyed. “I’ll be back…”
“So, how have you been?” Sylvie turned back to Callum.
“How have I been?” he repeated the question, toying with the words. “Well, I just met with my mother’s murderer.”
“What? Really?”
“Yup,” he said with a bitter pop. “My sister had captured her.”
“Wow, I didn’t know your mother had even been murdered. I thought she died in childbirth.”
“So did I.”
“So… What happened? When you met her? What did you do?”
Callum’s eyes lost focus as he remembered the moment that had been haunting him for the last several hours. “She was a vampire. So, I cast the most powerful concentrated bright spell I could manage. Then I held it to her face as her skin sizzled and charred, until her screams turned into dying moans, and then into nothing but silence. …I killed her.”
“Good for you,” Sylvie nodded and clinked his bottle with her own.
“What?” He furrowed his brow.
“I really am sorry.”
“But…?” Sylvie let the word hang in the air.
“But Kitty just lost her entire family. And she needs her friends right now more than I need to get drunk and wallow in self-pity and remorse.” He turned to walk away, but stopped. “Goodbye, Belle Ashe.” He walked out without looking back.
Sylvie stared at the door, somewhat stunned.
“Sooo, you’re an Ashe?” the barkeep asked.
“Yeah,” Sylvie mumbled absentmindedly.
“Do you know Lord Stryg Veres?”
Sylvie turned back to the barkeep. “We’ve met.”
~~~
Beatrix awoke to a pair of lilac eyes staring down at her. She gasped and sat up. Stryg easily moved back and evaded her accidental head-butt.
“You’re awake, good.”
“I guess so.” Beatrix glared at him. She glanced at the infirmary room; it was a sterile white and empty, save for Stryg and a blonde vampiress leaning on the wall, arms crossed.
“Do you remember what happened?” Stryg asked.
“You mean getting stabbed?” Beatrix carefully raised her shirt and stared at her bandaged stomach.
“The cut was pretty deep. It’ll leave a scar, but you should retain a full range of motion once recovered,” Stryg noted.
“Wonderful,” she said sarcastically. “What happened to the assassin?”
“Arden? I imagine he is getting punished by Lunae right about now, or so Holo assured me before she up and left.”
“Who is Holo?”
“My— doesn’t matter. Look, we need to talk.”
“Regarding?”
“Your father.”
“Not until you answer my questions first.”
“What do you want to know?”
“How about you first start by telling me who that woman is. The one who keeps glaring at me.”
“Meet Gale VIII, my Shadow, and the person I trust the most in this world. She also doesn’t trust you, don’t take it personally.”
“Ah, the legendary Shield of Veres. I should have guessed,” Beatrix said flatly.
“Alright, now tell me about your father.”
“I still have more questions.”
“You get one, then it’s my turn,” Stryg said impatiently.
“What is that strange energy lurking in your body?”