The world beyond the hidden kingdom felt far larger than either Saline or Lilian rembered.
Or perhaps, in Lilian’s case, far larger than she had ever imagined.
The road stretched endlessly before them as they left the forest behind. Birds sang overhead while sunlight filtered through the branches, scattering patches of gold across the earth.
For a ti neither spoke.
Both simply walked.
The excitent of finally leaving the elven kingdom after so many years lingered between them like a living thing.
Saline skipped ahead before spinning around dramatically.
"I’ve decided."
Lilian sighed.
"That sentence never ends well."
"We’re definitely lost."
"We’ve been walking on a road."
"We can still be lost."
Lilian considered that.
Then reluctantly nodded.
"Fair."
Saline grinned triumphantly.
The conversation faded as the trees gradually began to thin.
The change happened slowly.
At first, Saline barely noticed it.
A missing tree here.
An open patch of land there.
Then suddenly she stopped walking altogether.
Lilian nearly walked into her.
"What happened?"
Saline stared ahead.
Her expression had changed.
The playful excitent was gone.
In its place stood confusion.
"This wasn’t here."
Lilian followed her gaze.
Rolling fields stretched toward the horizon.
Wooden fences divided the land into neat sections while livestock wandered lazily across the grass.
Beyond them stood dozens of houses.
Smoke drifted from chimneys.
Children ran through dirt roads.
People moved between buildings carrying baskets and tools.
It was a Village...a large one.
Saline blinked several tis.
Then pointed.
"That should be a forest."
Lilian looked at her.
"You rember?"
"A little."
Saline frowned.
Her gaze swept across the settlent.
"When I was little..."
She hesitated.
Fragnts surfaced...broken mories that she tried to push back.
"...there were trees."
Her voice had grown quieter.
"A lot of trees."
Lilian studied the village again.
"Maybe people expanded."
"Expanded?"
"They built houses."
Saline continued staring.
Perhaps Lilian was right.
Ten years had passed.
Entire villages could appear within a decade.
Forests could disappear.
Roads could change.
People could grow old.
The realization felt strange.
For so long, life inside the hidden kingdom had remained almost unchanged.
The outside world clearly hadn’t shared that luxury.
"Co on."
Lilian nudged her shoulder gently.
"If we’re going to explore, standing here won’t help."
Saline smiled and said to Lilian
"You’re becoming adventurous."
"I learned from a bad influence." She replied her sarcastically.
They entered the village shortly afterward.
Almost imdiately, sothing felt different.
People stared.
Not openly at first.
Just quick glances.
Curious looks.
Whispered conversations.
Then the staring beca impossible to ignore.
Saline looked down at herself.
Their clothes.
Of course.
Inside the hidden kingdom, their attire had appeared perfectly normal.
Elegant fabrics woven by elven craftsn.
Flowing sleeves.
Silver embroidery.
Fine materials.
Outside...
They looked bizarre.
Several won paused while carrying baskets.
A pair of rchants stopped talking entirely.
Children openly pointed.
Saline smiled awkwardly.
"They’re looking at us."
Lilian nodded.
"I noticed."
"Do we look strange?"
"Very."
Saline sighed.
"Wonderful."
The village itself fascinated them.
Everything felt unfamiliar.
Different.
The architecture lacked the elegance of elven buildings.
The roads were rougher.
The houses simpler.
Yet there was a charm to it.
Life bustled everywhere.
Farrs returned from fields.
rchants advertised goods.
Children chased one another through the streets.
It felt alive.
For a while they wandered aimlessly.
Stopping occasionally to examine things that caught their attention.
At one point Saline spent nearly ten minutes staring at a bakery window.
Lilian eventually dragged her away.
"You can’t keep looking."
"I wasn’t looking."
"You were practically drooling."
"The bread looked delicious."
Lilian chose not to respond.
So argunts could not be won... especially with a girl nad Saline.
The afternoon sun hung high overhead when sothing changed.
At first it was subtle.
A door closed.
Then another.
Then another.
Conversations stopped.
rchants began gathering their goods.
Children disappeared.
The streets emptied with startling speed.
Within monts, people were rushing indoors.
Windows slamd shut.
Doors locked.
The atmosphere transford completely.
Saline frowned.
"What is happening?"
Lilian looked around.
"I don’t know."
The village had beco eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
Even the wind seed to hesitate.
The feeling unsettled her imdiately.
A woman hurried past carrying a child.
Before entering her house, she glanced toward the two girls.
Fear filled her eyes.
"Get inside."
Saline blinked.
"What?"
"Get inside!"
Then the woman disappeared.
The door slamd shut.
Silence followed.
A heavy silence.
The kind that made instincts scream.
Lilian slowly turned.
"You feel it too?"
Saline nodded.
Sothing was wrong.
Very wrong.
Then ca the scream.
It echoed from sowhere deeper within the village.
Sharp.
Terrified.
Human.
The sound froze both girls.
Another scream followed.
Then another.
Movent appeared at the far end of the street.
Several figures erged from between the buildings.
They moved unnaturally fast.
Their bodies blurred.
A man stumbled backward before one of the creatures seized him.
The sight that followed made Saline’s stomach twist.
The creature sank its teeth into the man’s throat.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
Lilian froze.
Her golden eyes widened.
"What..."
The word barely escaped her lips.
Saline felt sothing cold crawl down her spine.
A mory.
Long ago and disgusting.
Yet terrifyingly familiar.
Vampires.
The realization hit her instantly.
The sa monsters Florence and her saw years ago.
The sa creatures responsible for her nightmares.
The village hadn’t emptied because of a storm.
Or an attack.
This had happened before.
People knew.
They expected it.
Which made everything worse.
A vampire lifted its head.
Blood covered its mouth.
Then its eyes locked onto them.
Silence.
A single heartbeat passed.
Then it smiled.
Saline grabbed Lilian’s hand.
"Run."
The creature lunged.
The girls spun.
Their feet pounded against the dirt road.
Behind them ca shrieks.
Growls.
Footsteps moving impossibly fast.
Saline risked a glance over her shoulder.
Bad idea.
There were five.
No.
Seven.
Maybe more.
They were gaining.
Quickly.
"Saline!"
"I know!"
The village blurred around them.
Fear surged through her veins.
She had no weapon.
No training.
No idea what she was doing.
They were going to....
A silver flash cut through the air.
Sothing flew past her.
Then a vampire’s head separated from its body.
The corpse collapsed instantly.
Both girls stumbled to a halt.
The remaining vampires froze.
For the first ti, uncertainty entered their expressions.
A figure landed between the girls and the creatures.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Dark hair.
Grey eyes.
A sword glead in his hand.
The blade dripped crimson.
Another figure appeared beside him monts later.
This one possessed white hair.
The sa grey eyes.
The sa calm confidence.
The vampires hissed.
Neither man appeared concerned.
The dark-haired one rolled his shoulders.
"You took your ti."
The white-haired man sighed.
"I killed three before arriving."
"Excuses."
"I hate you."
"Mutual."
Saline and Lilian stared
The two n continued arguing as though a pack of vampires wasn’t standing twenty feet away.
One of the creatures snarled and attacked.
The dark-haired man vanished.
Literally vanished.
One mont he stood beside them.
The next....
Blood exploded across the road.
The vampire’s body fell apart.
Another charged.
The white-haired man moved.
His sword flashed.
A clean strike.
The creature collapsed.
Everything happened so quickly that Saline barely processed it.
The remaining vampires finally realized sothing important.
They weren’t the hunters anymore.
They were prey.
The battle ended within seconds.
Silver blades flashed repeatedly.
Bodies fell.
Blood stained the road.
Then silence returned.
The last vampire collapsed.
Neither man appeared out of breath.
Saline stared openly now.
The dark-haired man wiped his sword.
The white-haired one glanced toward the sky.
Then both turned.
Their attention settled on the girls.
An uncomfortable silence followed.
Finally, the dark-haired man spoke.
"You two aren’t from around here."
Saline crossed her arms imdiately.
"That’s your opening question?"
"It seed polite."
"We were almost eaten."
"You’re welco."
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Fair point.
The dark-haired man smiled faintly.
It was the smile of soone who enjoyed irritating people.
Saline recognized the type imdiately.
Unfortunately.
anwhile, the white-haired man had shifted his attention toward Lilian.
Unlike his companion, he appeared calr.
More reserved.
His gaze lingered on her face.
Then her eyes.
Sothing unreadable crossed his expression.
Lilian noticed.
"So..."
She broke the silence first.
"Do vampire attacks happen often?"
The white-haired man’s gaze finally shifted.
"Often enough."
"People seed prepared."
"They usually hide before nightfall."
Lilian frowned.
"Usually?"
"Usually." He confird.
The answer felt incomplete.
Before she could ask more, the dark-haired man stepped closer to Saline.
Not threateningly.
Simply curious.
His grey eyes studied her openly.
The attention made her suspicious.
"What?"
"You look familiar."
Saline blinked.
"I’ve never seen you before."
"I know."
"Then how do I look familiar?"
"That’s what I’m trying to figure out."
She imdiately decided he was annoying.
Very annoying.
The man seed delighted by her expression.
The white-haired one looked toward his companion.
"You’re bothering her."
"I noticed."
"Stop."
"No."
Lilian covered her mouth.
A laugh escaped anyway.
The white-haired man sighed.
Clearly accustod to this behavior.
The dark-haired man eventually extended a hand.
"I’m Xandros."
Saline stared at it.
Then shook it cautiously.
"Saline."
His eyebrow lifted.
"Interesting na."
"Thank you."
"That wasn’t a complint."
"It is now."
For the first ti, Xandros laughed.
A genuine laugh.
The sound surprised everyone.
Especially the white-haired man.
Who looked mildly horrified.
"You’re encouraging him."
Saline pointed triumphantly.
"I vibe with him."
"Don’t."
"Too late."
The white-haired man pinched the bridge of his nose.
Lilian laughed again.
This ti she couldn’t stop herself.
The atmosphere gradually relaxed.
The danger had passed.
The tension faded.
For a brief mont, things felt almost normal.
Then Xandros’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
His gaze shifted past Saline.
Toward the road leading deeper into the village.
His smile disappeared.
"So."
The single word felt heavier than everything that ca before.
Saline noticed imdiately.
"What?"
Xandros’s eyes returned to her.
Sharp now.
Focused.
Careful.
The kind of look people wore when approaching dangerous topics.
"You said your na is Saline."
"Yes."
"And you’ve never been to this village before?"
"No."
His gaze lingered.
Studying her.
Evaluating sothing.
Beside him, the white-haired man had also gone silent.
Even Lilian noticed the shift.
A strange feeling settled over the group.
Adrian folded his arms.
Then asked quietly,
"Then why does your face match the description that Rion has been searching for?"
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