Dhampir Knight

Chapter 1 - Don't get caught

"Ann! Hamel!" the woman vociferated.

She was stomping toward the little thatched house while dragging a reluctant girl, and a few steps behind, a chubby boy was following them. He was half a head taller than the girl, and his whole face was flushed red as he was bawling his eyes out, holding his arm with a red bite mark on it.

The woman didn't stop at the fence but walked herself into the garden, ignoring the startled chicken that ran away, and up the dried grass path to the door. There, she banged once before shouting again.

"Hamel!"

They heard the sound of a chair falling, someone wincing, and then the stumble of steps toward the door until it opened. The girl could have told which of her parents had opened the door without even needing to glance up; her father appeared, with his messy hair and his glasses off-balance on his nose. As usual, he had dark circles around his eyes and his clothes were wrinkled.

"Y-yes? S-sorry, I fell asleep for a second..."

His eyes fell on the little blonde girl, and she looked away, visibly guilty. His amicable smile fell a bit but he quickly returned to the angry middle-aged lady.

"How can I help you, Euphonia? N-nothing wrong I hope...?"

"Nothing wrong? Your daughter is a little savage! Look what she did to my poor boy! Dandan! Show him what she did to you, honey!"

Her son, who was still sobbing out loud, walked over to show the deep bite on his arm. Hamel grimaced for half a second, before putting a knee down to check.

"I'm sorry, Dandan, it must hurt, doesn't it? Luckily, it doesn't look too bad to me! It's not bleeding, you will heal in no time–"

"Not too bad? Your daughter did this!" Euphonia barked. "What if he gets infected by some disease because of this?!"

"The wound isn't even open, he won't get infected... Plus, it looks like a children's quarrel to me, Euphonia. They both seem, uh... a bit roughed up?"

Indeed, it looked like both children had rolled in the dirt before being dragged over. Not only that, but Dandan was missing a patch of hair on the side of his head, and the girl had a large bruise appearing on her cheek. To Hamel, that bruise was a bit more worrisome than the bite mark, although his daughter would never dare cry out loud in front of other people like Dandan was... He pinched his lips and gently tried to grab his daughter's hand to pull her over to his side. However, before he could move her more than an inch toward the house, the woman brutally jerked the child back, her nails digging deep into her shoulder.

"She won't get away with this! I want her to apologize for what she did to my baby boy!"

"Come on, Euphonia, it's nothing more than children's quarrel..."

"Your daughter needs to learn she cannot fight boys and get away with biting people like a little savage!"

"...Did you just call my daughter a savage?" a calm and cold feminine voice suddenly asked.

The little girl froze.

"A-Ann..." Hamel muttered, turning a bit paler.

Euphonia turned around, spotting the blonde woman who had appeared in the garden, carrying a basket of vegetables. Unlike her husband, she was looking impeccable, with her blonde hair braided in a low bun, her flowy dress, and a leather apron wrapped tight around her waist. She walked over with a fierce expression to face Euphonia, who'd lost her confidence a bit, perhaps because Ann was carrying a sharp-looking machete and half a head taller than she was. It only took her a second, though, before she swallowed her saliva and put a determined fist on her hip.

"Your daughter needs some correction!" she insisted. "Did you see what she did to my boy? That is no proper behavior for a girl her age!"

"What did she do to your boy?" Ann raised a fair eyebrow, staring at Euphonia.

"Can't you see?!" the woman exclaimed. "She beat him up and bit him! Look at his arm!"

"And?" Ann retorted, visibly unimpressed.

"Aren't you going to correct her? Look at what she's done! She deserves a proper punishment!"

"She will get one," Ann said. "Is that all?"

Her cold expression was melting away the other woman's anger. Despite Euphonia's best hopes, this argument was just going nowhere. There was no use fighting with a wall of placidness, and she knew Ann all too well to know that she would not win against her. Euphonia silently accepted that she just would not get what she wanted out of her, not this time. Perhaps not ever. She'd never, ever seen anyone win an argument against Ann, not even when the other party was right. In desperation, she turned back to Hamel, who jerked at the sudden attention.

"Your daughter had better not touch my boy again!"

A smile appeared on Ann's face, except it was an ice-cold smile. She took a step closer to Euphonia, making the other woman slightly recoil.

"I agree. Your boy better never touch my daughter again either. Right?"

"R-right... Let's go, Dandan."

She gave one last glare at the little girl, and they angrily left the garden, silence falling back on the place. After a few seconds, and once they were out of ear's reach, Hamel dropped to his knees to grab his daughter's face between his hands.

"That boy is awful!" he exclaimed. "How could he bruise a little girl's face like that? Look how dark it is already! You're very brave, Theo, but you really shouldn't–"

"Theora."

Her mother's cold tone made the girl look down at her feet. Hamel stood back up too. Very faintly, he tried to pull his daughter to hide behind his legs, out of his wife's sight.

"Ann, he's two years older than her... Don't be mad at Theo, she most likely defended herself, everyone in the village knows her son's a bully! It's not the first time he's–"

"Theora, aren't you going to properly face me?"

"Ann..."

But it was no use. She was ignoring him, her cold gaze riveted on the child hiding behind him instead. Theora, who had repressed her tears with all her might all along, finally stepped out of her dad's shadow to look up at her mom. Her pale purple eyes were teary, and she was frowning to try and hold them back still, her lips pressed in a hard, stubborn line. She was clenching the hem of her top hard with her tiny fists.

"Theora, do you know why I'm mad?" her mom asked.

"B-because I didn't win," Theora cried with a broken voice, "but I almost did! If he hadn't run to his mom–"

"He's two years older than you!" her dad exclaimed, slapping his hands to his sides in frustration. "This is ridiculous! And bigger than most boys his size too! I've already told Euphonia to watch his diet a bit, but would you think she–"

"I am not mad because you lost," Ann corrected her.

"I didn't lose!" Theo protested, but she closed her mouth at her mom's glare.

"There's no shame in losing a fight so long as you stood your ground, Theora. The reason I am infuriated is because you got caught. If you are to face a bully, you cannot expect them to play fair; it is foolish. Do not let them tattle on you or hide like cowards. And certainly do not let them have the opportunity to get revenge on you. If you want to beat them, make sure you win, and if you do, do not give them an opportunity for revenge. Do you understand?"

"...Yes, Mom," Theora nodded.

"Ann, they are kids," Hamel sighed. "Seriously, she's nine years old..."

"Exactly," Ann said, finally looking at her husband. "If she starts getting picked on by older kids now, how will she defend herself later? If she managed to get caught by Euphonia, her training is lacking."

"Training…? She's nine..."

Her husband sighed, resigned not to argue anymore, but returned to his daughter, checking her all over with his ink-stained fingers and a gentle smile. He was a thin, lanky man, with a few gray hairs already. Theora preferred his real hair, which had the color of nice bread and matched his darker, brown eyes and freckles. She wished she had freckles too. She wished she had anything that would have made her look a bit like her dad. He took out his handkerchief, also ink-stained, and used it to try and wipe some of the dirt off her hands.

"I know that boy picks on you a lot," he said, "but it's not like you to get into a fight, my Theo... What happened this time?"

"He called me a half-breed."

Her father gasped, his kind expression falling off.

"...He truly said that?"

Theora glared at her dad, upset he would doubt her for even a second. But Hamel's eyes went straight to his wife; her eyes had gone ice-cold again. Her mom was often scary like that. Those blue eyes of hers that usually looked like a pretty winter sky could turn as cold as the ice on the mountains in an instant.

"Ann, he's a child," Hamel quickly said. "He doesn't know what that means."

"I know, Hamel. But that unruly brat heard it from someone, someone who dared to call my daughter such a thing in front of him and in a way that a child that dumb understood it was insulting to her."

"You know Euphonia is a bit... Come on, please set an example for the children!"

"Exactly," Ann smiled. "I'm going to show my daughter that no one should call her a half-breed. No matter who, or where."

Then, she turned around, obviously about to leave the garden. Theo and Hamel exchanged an alarmed look before her dad raced after her mom.

"Ann!" He ran after her. "Ann, wait! Please!"

His wife was walking fast, but didn't accelerate, so as he ran and quickly got out of breath, he managed to catch up to her right outside their garden and grab her wrist, making Ann turn around with a glare. Theo, who had followed to watch the scene, found her weak father incredibly brave at times like this, when he dared to face her mom... After a brief silence between them, Hamel bravely summoned a weak smile to his lips, and very slowly, used two fingers to grab the weapon she was holding tightly.

"Let's... leave the machete, at least. Please...?"

After a hesitation, Ann slowly released her grip to let him take it. Both Hamel and Theo let out a little sigh of relief. She also dropped her basket, the vegetables tumbling at her feet, before she resumed walking away to catch up to the poor woman. Hamel sighed, and seeing that her mom was far enough, Theora dared to walk up to him.

"Don't follow her, there's really no need for you to witness that, Theo," he sighed. "Come on, dear, help me pick up these vegetables, and let's go home to get you treated. Does your cheek hurt?"

Theo shook her head, although her cheek did hurt a bit. After one last look at her mom's figure disappearing at the end of the street, she agreed to help out and pick up the vegetables. The two of them got down to gather the vegetables back in the basket, Theora frowning at some that had obviously been picked out too soon or poorly. Her mother was not a good farmer at all, and not a good cook either. If he noticed, Hamel didn't say anything about it, putting on his usual gentle smile.

"We should have some soup tonight," he suggested. "You liked the one your mom made last time, didn't you?"

"No," Theora said. "I lied. It wasn't good at all."

"Oh..."

Hamel chuckled.

"Maybe I should make it, then. Which vegetables would be good? I know your favorites aren't in season yet, but these carrots–"

"Dad, I'm sorry," Theora muttered, standing back up.

Hamel looked up, his hand stopping on another dirt-covered potato. He hesitated for a second.

"...Sorry for what, dear?"

"You were sleeping," Theo said. "I know you didn't sleep much last night, but because of me, you couldn't even finish your nap..."

Hamel broke into a smile, and dropped the vegetable in the basket, crossing his arms on his knees instead.

"You're so considerate, my Theo. I'm alright, dearest. You know I'm used to not sleeping much. It can't be helped that Potine's baby decided to come a bit late, hm?"

Still, Theo looked upset and felt guilty. Her blonde curls, which had been put up in a bun by her mom earlier, were now falling on both sides of her face, dirty and covering her pink cheeks. He gently tucked one strand behind her ear, making her lift her eyes.

"...So, that soup?" Hamel smiled, trying to cheer her up.

Theo tilted her head slightly.

"Can we have rabbit stew instead?"

"Rabbit stew?" Hamel repeated, a bit surprised. "W-well, sure... I guess we can buy some rabbits if the hunters caught some."

"I caught them already!" Theo announced merrily. "Two of them, this morning. They're fat too. Enough for the three of us."

"You did?" Hamel smiled. "Good job, Theo! Your traps are getting better, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Theo nodded, her cheeks flushed with pride. "I made it so it killed them in one snap!"

Hamel's smile dropped.

"I-in one... snap, dear?"

"Mom showed me how to kill them quickly," Theo nodded. "Now my traps detect when they're in the right spot so it can kill them right away, and without damaging the fur too. I can take their fur to Granny to make us new gloves."

Hamel let out a long sigh, trying to contain himself.

"...Mom showed you how to kill bunnies?" he said.

Theo bit her lower lip.

"Yeah... She said the ones I caught before had their fur too damaged or they couldn't be used for food because it spilled blood and I didn't collect them right away, so she showed me. Now I changed my traps to just kill them right away! It's better than when I used the knife too. It breaks their neck, it doesn't spill blood, and they–"

"Theo, Theo," her dad interrupted her, grabbing her hands and closing his eyes to try and chase that image away. "You... You don't have to kill bunnies, dear. Don't you like bunnies?"

"I like rabbit stew," Theora said with her big honest eyes, breaking her dad's heart.

"But, ahem... Wouldn't you want to keep a bunny to be your friend?" Hamel insisted. "A cute little bunny? You could raise it...?"

"...I think I'd rather eat it," Theo frowned. "I don't need a bunny to be my friend. Danell and Romie are my friends."

Her father let out a faint sigh.

"Alright," he said, resigned. "I need to have a chat with your mom when she comes back... Now let's get you home and cleaned, alright? And I need to put something on your cheek too."

"Do you want to see my new traps?" Theora asked her dad excitedly.

"As long as you cleaned them, yes."

"I think I should make a trap so people can't walk into our garden," she said. "I didn't like Euphonia coming in, and it made Mom mad too."

"I don't think that's a good idea, dear. How could it tell guests from intruders?"

"I can disable it beforehand! I don't know if Mom would remember to, though... She might forget it's there."

"Right. Maybe it's better if we discuss your next inventions together before you build them, Theo. I'm not sure–"

Hamel interrupted himself, for the village's bell was ringing, and it was an unusual hour for it to ring. They listened for a second, while Theora's face brightened.

"We have visitors!" she exclaimed.