Chapter 9 First Black Out

A HOWLING DOG from a distant awakened Iafleur. Upon opening her eyes, what greeted her was the lovely night sky decorated with thousands of stars. The cold breeze brushing on her skin made her feel a bit shivery and prompted her to rise and sit. She used her hands as support and immediately felt the mild prickly sensation from underneath her.

Iafleur gasped upon realising where she was. But how did she end up in the middle of the woods? She pans her gaze in her surrounding but all she sees is nothing but darkness and tree silhouettes.

"Where am I?" she muttered to herself. It was then that she felt something weird around the corners of her mouth. Iafleur proceeded to lift her fingers amd grazed them on her lips, only to find herself in a shocking confrontation of an odd phenomenon she had no recollection of. A slimy yet a bit stick liquid was what her fingers grasped.

"W-what is this? H-how did I---" her voice trailed, her fingers tremored. 'B-blood! H-how did I get this?'

Still oblivious to what's happening, Iafleur hastily gets back on her feet and roughly wipes away the stain on her mouth using the sleeves of her shirt. Her mind only draws to a rough entanglement as she strives to remember what happened after she blacked out from the taxi.

Th-there was an a-accident on the road and then--- and t-then she rolled down--- sh-she rolled down the window of the c-car and then she smelled something...

... she smelled something rather odd and that was the end of it. She can no longer remember what happened after.

Still frightened of what happened, Iafleur runs away as fast as she possibly could. She needs to find Dracyan. Where is he? He must be so worried for her.

Iafleur somehow managed to find her way to the exit of the woods and comes outside by the side of the road. Since nighttime often makes everything appear so different compared to daylight, Iafleur finds the new environment unfamiliar. Though there are only a few vehicles passing by, she can't seem to call one of them for a stop and ask for directions.

A slight vibration of her telephone inside her pocket startled Iafleur and she nearly jumped.

"H-hello?" she shakily uttered upon answering.

- "Thank goodness you're safe!" - exclaimed Dracyan from the other line.

Iafleur felt relieved just by hearing his voice. The poor young lady shed a tear. Her emotions are a mix of various kinds and it sends her tremendous anxiousness.

- "Where are you?" - he immediately asked.

She sniffed and looks around. "I-I don't know. I think I'm in the middle of nowhere."

- "Okay. Just calm down, alright? I'm coming to get you. Stay where you are. I'm coming." -

"W-wait! I don't know where I am---" she was cut off upon hearing the ended call sound when Dracyan broke his line. Iafleur hopelessly stares at the screen of her telephone. "But you don't know where am I."

Another tear fell from her blue eyes and dropped on the screen of her telephone. Iafleur wipes it away but another one makes a drop, and then another, followed by another. Her tears came one after another, sorrowfully sending her down to bend and squat. Iafleur wraps her arms around her folded legs and buries her face on her knees and there she burst into tears.

'What is happening to me?' Suddenly her emotions are racing upward to a higher level which she finds odd. Iafleur may often appear innocent and fragile but she was never that a crybaby before. She never remembered herself surrendering to tears like that. Why is she suddenly like this all of a sudden?

But perhaps, her tearful night made an advantage of its own for Iafleur's sake since it rendered her unaware of the minutes passing by. But Iafleur remembered everything quite perfectly beautiful, in contrast to what she had felt earlier.

She remembered how a warm touch of someone's palm landed on her head and softly caressed it. Slowly, she lifted her eyes and a fine bloke with a wide-spread smile that even his eyes looked genuinely happy greeted her. Dracyan stretched out his hand which she gladly accepted. And there he told her how he will always find her no matter what happens.

It was a wholesome tearful night that even upon reaching their motel room, Iafleur couldn't forget every single detail of it. 'The little things.'

"How are you feeling now?" Dracyan softly inquires as he lays the teacup on the table.

Iafleur gently smiled. "I'm feeling better now. Thank you." Yet her smile faded almost instantly as she tries to recall what happened. "How did I get there by myself?"

When Dracyan's eyes looked away, it hinted Iafleur of an unpleasing event. Dracyan pressed his lips, reluctant as he is to divulge her. Iafleur sighed. She could understand if he wants to protect her from something but she needs to know what happened.

"What happened to me? The only thing I remember was blacking out while we were stuck in traffic because of a road accident. What happened after that? How did I end up in that woods alone?"

But in the end, Iafleur's persistence and desperate eyes convinced Dracyan. He sighed. "I am not quite surprised to know that your impression was having a blackout and not being able to remember. But you never blacked out, Iafleur."

"What do you mean?" she inquired curiously. "If that was the case then I would have remembered everything."

He gave her a grave look. "I'm serious. You never black out. But after that police officer pulled us over due to the road accident, that's when you suddenly began acting strange. It seemed like you were a different person. And without saying a word you abruptly open the door and begin running towards where the accident happened. I followed you but you ran so fast. I didn't even know you were a runner!" He even scoffed at his last words.

Iafleur's forehead only wrinkled. The deep creases indicated her utmost confusion. "What are you talking about? Why would I run to the accident area?"

"How am I supposed to know?" he exclaimed. "You're the one who suddenly ran outside. Even the police officer who tried to stop you couldn't keep up. I followed you but unfortunately, I lost you in the woods."

"T-then---"

"Yes," he cut off. "I was only nearby when you finally answered my call."

She pondered Dracyan's recollection of the moment. Why would she suddenly run outside? It explains now why she end up where she woke up earlier. But Dracyan's information lacked a most important detail that might be the missing puzzle to her cause of running away--- her acquisition with the blood in her mouth. Did she do something when she got herself separated from Dracyan into the woods?

"Well," Dracyan added, "that's all there is now. At least you're back safe and sound. Do you feel any pain somewhere?"

Iafleur shook her head, still wondering about the blood.

"That's good to know. And by the way, a contact of mine arrived earlier while you were in the shower," Dracyan informs her and proceeds to take out the black bag by the side of the bed. He unzips it and bares out two weapons, one of which is Iafleur's expertise. "I gave him a call beforehand to forge us weapons that could allow us to withstand a vampire for long. You know this already, a vampire's weakness only comes in two things; sunlight and white roses. These weapons are carefully designed to stand against a vampire, they are not just defence tools."

"And I reckon this katana is mine?" said Iafleur.

"Yep. I know well of your skills as an expert swordswoman." Dracyan winked and handed her the katana.

Iafleur couldn't help but feel delighted knowing that Dracyan had this sword made especially for her. 'So, you really care about me that much, huh.' He even remembered tiny details about her. Iafleur proceeds to unsheathe the sword, the silver blade gleamed at the light's reflection. It was flawlessly perfect and Iafleur was more than astonished.

Indeed the sword was carefully crafted, and the details of how it was forged were quite magnificent. The middle part of the blade had a glass embedded within that contains a white liquid. The small blades that are protruding from the sword's edge, including the tip, are pathways in which the white liquid will flow out.

"You may be able to wound a vampire with a normal sword but it's useless since they can heal themselves instantly. But with that special katana forged specifically to fight against a vampire, you can't only wound them but also kill them with it. The white liquid as you might have realised by now is a white rose tonic. The tonic will automatically enter their bodies once you graze them with it," Dracyan explains.

Iafleur thoughtfully nodded her head with a wide grin on her face. The blade's design was pleasing to her eyes. The handle itself has white rose petals drawn on it.

"It's very lovely. I love it. Thank you so much!" Iafleur expresses.

"I know you will," said Dracyan.

The second weapon wasn't a sword but a gun whose bullets are all entirely made of wood. Of course, Iafleur also remembered that vampires are also easily wounded with wooden stakes.

After the two had their weapons sorted out, they finally proceeded to Faerionn Town. Iafleur and Dracyan were instructed by a soldier who met them at the entrance of the town. The key that would open the door to the Sacred Woods is still yet to arrive due to some certain minor problem that caused the delay.

"I have already booked a room for you both in this inn. You can spend the night here," said the soldier.

"You said the key is on its way? We can wait for it until it arrives and proceed immediately," Iafleur responded.

Unfortunately, the soldier's answer disappointed her. "The key is still yet to arrive until tomorrow morning."

When the soldier left, Iafleur and Dracyan proceeded inside the inn to check their room. But to Iafleur's surprise, the lady in the reception only gave them one key.

"I'm sorry, there's two of us. Shouldn't there be two keys?" Iafleur confusingly uttered.

"I'm sorry but the room booked for you is a single one. Apparently, it's also the only available tonight."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Iafleur exclaimed, catching a little attention from the bystanders in the hall.

Amidst the embarrassment, Dracyan still managed to smile. "Thank you, miss. We'll take it."

Dracyan immediately pulls his companion away from everyone in the hall. He was a bit hurt that how Iafleur reacted upon knowing that they had to share a single room. She sounded like she was very disgusted.

The room indeed was quite a bit small, fitting only enough for one person. As Iafleur tiredly sunk onto the bed, her face still wore the uneasy countenance, the same expression she had each time Dracyan gets half-naked before her. Thinking about him, she turns in his direction and finds him sulking by the single sofa near the window.

"What the matter with him?" she muttered to herself.

She smiled and approaches him. He must be quite worried about their mission. "Something bothering you? Are you nervous about entering the Sacred Woods?"

Dracyan shook his head in response. Iafleur raised another question, "What's the matter? Do you want to tell me?"

Alas, he sighed, still avoiding meeting her eyes. "I just don't understand you sometimes."

Iafleur's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What are you talking about? If you want to say something just say it out loud."

"Oh, yeah?" He finally meets her gaze. "When you asked to sleep in my flat last night, you didn't make such a fuss. But now that we get to share a single room you act like a disgusted human being afraid to touch a disease."

"I see." She scoffs, followed by a chuckle. It further enrages Dracyan as his eyebrows are now deeply forming a crease. Iafleur clears her throat and explains, "You may want to think of it as the same situation but to me, it is not. In your flat, you had an extra bedroom where I could sleep alone, however, the difference with this one is that there is only one bed inside this small room. It's not also much comforting for me to move around, especially since you love to go on naked when it's just the two of us."

He raised an eyebrow at her last statement. "I beg your pardon, mate? Since when have you ever seen me naked? But I still see no reason for you to act disgusted like that."

"It wasn't a reaction of disgust, I was simply surprised."

"Something you shouldn't be feeling," he further argued. "This isn't the first time we slept together."

"W-what---" she stammered and the latter failed to grasp her words. Apparently, her blushing expression amused Dracyan. He rose from the sofa and gently flicks her forehead.

He chuckled. "See? Just the right words to win an argument with you."

Iafleur would've knuckled his handsome face if she wasn't frozen stiff and solid. Why is hearing the words "Slept together" make her feel so embarrassed? Nothing of the sort happened between them but--- blood only rushed to her cheeks. Her face is probably as red as a tomato right now!

Dracyan's soft laugh from behind her somehow snapped her back. She glared at him. "We've never slept together. You know, other people could misunderstand us for that."

The victorious Dracyan only shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not like we can do anything to people's opinions."

Iafleur only let out a loud groan after Dracyan entered the bathroom with a triumphant grin. She 'tsked', "I'll get back to you someday, you'll see."

♛♛♛

GENERAL PENDRIUS AND his troops of elite soldiers found a stream of water in the woods. The men instantly jumped into it and had their fill except for one person. After hours of scouring the Southern parts of the Sacred Woods, the soldiers are still unable to meet the success of their mission. They still haven't found any sign of the princess. They've been inside and out of the woods several times before General Pendrius made a final decision that they shall only be leaving the woods unless it's necessary or if they finally locate the missing princess.

"It's really quite a massive woods, ain't it?" commented one elite soldier after having his fill of water.

"It is. I heard the Council talking about how a country can fit in the woods," answered another soldier.

"Is that right? Then if we win this war and kill all these monsters we could make this place second England," added another soldier.

"Yep. It's that big."

"Don't let your guards down, men. Don't just sit there and be so casually talking like we're in some park. We're still inside the enemy's territory. Be alert!" said General Pendrius. Amongst his men, he's the one who never drank water.

"General, don't you want to drink some? We know you're thirsty and tired. You can rest a moment and we'll watch," one soldier suggested.

General Pendrius decidedly agreed. Eventually, they made a camp there for the night. Evening came and everyone was busy, General Pendrius excuses himself and detaches from the rest of the group. He walked further away from his companions until he was far enough to be perceived by them.

And in the blink of an eye, a cloaked man held by another person appears before him.

The cloaked man softly groans and sarcastically comments, "As always, your speed amazes me."

"You're welcome."

"Slyvek, my lord." General Pendrius greeted. Slyvek Soldrino, the Umbran who supposedly found the lost Vampire Kingdom. And if weren't for the Council's purpose to infiltrate them, he wouldn't have agreed to his order of kidnapping the princess and bringing her there.

'How long must I pretend to be a double agent until he catches me?'