Stained By Sin

FOUR

Aki was guarding the perimeter of the Crow’s residence when he heard the unfamiliar rustling of wings. Turning his head to the direction of the sound, he caught a glimpse of white heading towards him.

“Ivory,” he muttered under his breath. He took a couple of blades strapped on his legs. Aiming for the bird, he waited until it was close enough for his throws. He was about to let go of his blades when he noticed a piece of paper neatly tied on the bird’s leg.

So this was a messenger dove. He was cautious with letting it enter the parameter, in case it was being tracked. Not that the location of their residence was a secret. He was just making sure there would be no unwanted surprises. Knowing the Ivorys, their mind works in all kinds of devious ways.

The dove finally reached the edge of the parameter. Just as all messenger birds were trained, the dove stopped in front of the area, flying in circles while waiting for permission from Aki to enter.

Aki made one last check of his surroundings, making sure that the bird was truly alone, before letting the bird in. He stretched an arm in front of him, palm open, facing up -- a sign that it was okay to land. The dove flew straight to him, landing softly on his forearm.

After petting the bird a little, he checked the paper tied on its leg. There, on the side facing him, his best friend’s name was clearly written.

“This must be from the king,” Aki said, the word “king” rolling out off his tongue bitterly.

He was not yet with the Crow clan when the fight between the Ivory and Crow happened, but he was well aware of how the current king forcibly took the throne for himself. Unlike Elara and the other royalties, he was a turned vampire. However, he didn’t know his sire, or which clan the said sire belongs to. He couldn’t even remember his face. All he remembers was his scent, which was still clinging on his clothes after the transition was done. That's how he knew his sire was a pureblood. One that should belong in a clan and should have taken Aki with him, something like an etiquette for turning an innocent human to a vampire. But, nope. His sire was obviously an arrogant asshole that left him even before his transition was over... Left him confused and alone.

And so he became a Nomad -- one without a clan.

Before the current king banned it, turning humans into vampires was not forbidden. It was, however, generally frowned upon by the vampire population, especially by the purebloods. They believed that the curse should only be within the original families of the village -- their power kept only for themselves. But with how the turned vampires now outnumbered the purebloods, it was painfully obvious how not all members of the original families think that way. The moment they learned that even after transforming humans into vampires, how the turned ones would never be as strong as the purebloods, their mindset began to change.

Elara gave him a history lesson shortly after they met. She said that, originally, they were all human. Of course, it was already a given the very first vampires were the purebloods, which was also why they were the strongest and regarded as the royalties in the vampire hierarchy. According to Elara, back when the original purebloods were human, they were living in a village hidden from the other people, located in the heart of a vast forest. The said village was sectioned into two: the inner section and the outer section.

The inner section was where the wealthy families live, while the outer section was reserved for the poor families.

It should be normal though. It’s not like they were the only village doing that.

The problem, however, was with how the wealthy families treat the poor ones. The wealthy families were cruel. They chose the inner side of the village to live in so they could have the poor families defend them from attacks, mostly from wild animals. Since their village was located in the middle of a forest, attacks from bears, wolves, lions, and other dangerous animals were common. With no other choice but to fight the wild animals, a lot of outer section citizens sacrificed their lives just to protect the others. They were also the first line of defense when there were occasional bandits that happen to find their hidden village.

Aki remembered asking Elara why the poor families didn’t leave the village.

“The village was very deep inside the forest. If they tried to venture out, to relocate somewhere else, they need to find their way out, first. Only the inner section families knew the way around the forest, and with very few supplies on hand, I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to survive the wilderness,” Elara had replied.

“How come there were wealthy families in that village then, when they are hidden from the other people? Where do they get their wealth?” Aki asked her.

“The river cuts through the middle of the village. The wealthy families live around its largest part, where precious stones are abundant. Aside from gathering grains, meat and vegetables, one more task of the poor families was to find precious stones for the wealthy families. They do the hard work while the wealthy families hide under the shade of trees and keep watch of them. You know, making sure no one would dare steal the gems. If they caught one stealing… you can expect a very severe punishment.”

Aki nodded, listening intently to Elara. They were walking side-by-side back then, back from an exhilarating hunt. Elara had also just begun rebuilding the Crow clan. With only a handful of survivors from the previous fight, she resorted to finding Nomads that were looking for clans that would accept them. Aki was one of the very first recruits of the new Crow.

“If the outer section was the one that do all the dirty work, what’s the role of the inner section?” he asked, genuinely intrigued with Elara’s story.

“They collect the gems that were found, then sell it to other villages. They were the ones that go out of the hidden village to conduct business. And in return for the outer section’s service, they bring back other necessities that cannot be found in the forest. Like… warmer clothing and such. In a way, they were conducting a give and take relationship with each other. Only, the inner section takes a lot more than what they give.” Elara sounded sad. Aki looked at her curiously, but she just waved her hand and smiled.

“How is that story related to the origin of vampires?” Aki asked.

“That’s the unbelievable part. Oppressed, tired and furious with the inner section families, the people of the outer section began to collectively pray for a disaster to befall families of the inner section. True enough, their prayers were heard. One night, all the families in the inner section experienced intense pain simultaneously. Their body felt like it was being ripped to shreds, from their skin down to their cells. After quite some time, but what felt like years, the pain subsided. When the families came to, they experienced intense hunger and thirst that no human food can satisfy. Suddenly, the scent of human blood becomes appetizing. And once they realized it was the only thing that can alleviate the hunger, all hell broke loose in the hidden village. The outer section prayed for freedom. They got it through their deaths – still by the hand of the inner section they despised so much.” Aki could still hear the sadness in Elara’s voice, but she hid it with a smile. She was trying so hard to appear strong, but recounting their history after witnessing her entire family get killed… it must have been a torture for her.

They were silent for a while, the only sounds that could be heard was the crunching of dried leaves and soil under their feet, the occasional chirping of the birds and the incessant buzzing of cicadas.

“Were you… part of the original vampires?” he asked after some time. He looked at her, trying to look as understanding as he could.

“Fortunately, no. I was born long after the curse happened. It was my grandparents and parents that belonged in the original purebloods.”

“Were they still around when… you know…” Aki asked, mentally cursing himself for blurting out such an insensitive question.

“It’s okay,” Elara smiled at him, assuring him that she wasn’t bothered by what he said. “And, no. My grandparents and parents were already dead before the attack happened. But, it wouldn’t really make any difference since they also died in a battle.”

“Battle? There were other battles aside from the rebellion?”

Elara nodded. “Imagine, all those arrogant families, suddenly gaining superhuman strength and speed. Everyone wanted to lead... everyone wanted to assert their dominance over each other. So fights between families were very frequent. That was also what made them decide to abandon their family names and establish clans instead. Some of the weaker families joined hands with the more powerful ones, seeking protection and ensuring their survivals."

"So that forest where the hidden village was located..." he trailed off, hesitating to even ask the question.

Elara just nodded, opening her arms widely. "The very forest you are walking in right now."

Aki was silent for a moment, processing all the information he had just received. Elara was silent as well, but he could tell she was just allowing him to be with his thoughts. Every once in a while, he would feel Elara's stare on him, but he ignored it. Everything she had just said was unbelievable, and if he wasn't a vampire himself, he would never accept the story.

"Tell me... If you weren't born yet when all these happened, how did you know all about it?" Aki asked when he finally decided to talk. He turned his head to look at her and was met with a droll stare.

"We're vampires, not Barbarians. My ancestors wrote countless books telling our history." Elara stopped walking before looking up at the sky. A hint of a smile was forming on her lips, her face a mask of nostalgia.

"Do you miss it?"

Elara looked at him, grinning. "Sometimes. But I can't dwell much on the past, can I? If I wanted to rebuild my clan as fast as possible, I need to focus on the future. The only reason I should look back on my past is to remember my anger for that guy." In an instant, the smile on her face vanished. Her face was stoic, rage visible in her eyes as she probably remembered the events during that night.

This was the warrior side of her, the side Aki only see during their hunt. And even then, it was but a shadow of what he was seeing right now. Elara would be terrifying on a battle field, that much he was certain.

Aki stopped walking, his memory of that day slipping. He had reached the gate of the Crow clan's current residence. The place he had called home for about twenty years.

The place wasn't much. Big enough for some fifty plus vampires, with houses made of thick leaves, softened tree barks, and chopped tree trunks.

Compared to where Elara used to live, this place was a total downgrade.

However, it is a place that she had built from scratch, and Aki knew she cared for it deeply. She just didn't show it.

As soon as Aki reached Elara's house -- the only house in the Crow's residence made of bricks -- he decided to stop his mind from wandering. Elara needs his focus on the present. After all, he was sure that the letter in his hand was about the human in his bedroom... The human he himself brought. He shouldn't be inattentive.

The dove -- which was now resting on his shoulder -- flapped its wings a little, which made Aki remember its presence. He had almost forgotten all about it.

Aki patted its small head, before he continued to enter the house he shared with Elara. He nodded to the vampires that were guarding the house, silently thanking them.

When he reached the door to Elara's bedroom, he took the bird from his shoulder and moved it back to his forearm. Without knocking, which was something that had become a habit for the two of them, Aki entered her room.

There were no flying knives this time. Instead, Aki saw Elara sitting by the window, her eyes were dazed, as if staring outside at something that was not there.

She must have been very deep in her thoughts that she didn't sense Aki's arrival.

"Elara," Aki said, disturbing her daydreams.

Elara jumped a little, clearly shocked with his voice.

"What... When did you enter?" she asked, her eyes now sharp and focused.

"Just now. What were you thinking about? It's been ages since I last caught you off guard."

"Nothing," she said curtly. She stood up from her chair, walking towards him with lethal grace. Dang, if she weren't his best friend, he'd definitely do her. She was just like a snake, graceful when she moves, lethal when she strikes.

"You're openly admiring me again. You know I'm off-limits to you," she said, a grin playing on her lips.

Yep. He was painfully aware of that.

Not that he would dare do anything to her. He cared too much about their friendship that he wouldn't want anything to ruin it.

That didn't mean he couldn't tease her, though.

"There's always a 'maybe'", he winked at her, which was answered by a sharp glare.

"Why are you here?" Elara stopped a few feet away from him. Her arms crossed, her foot tapping impatiently against the hard floor.

"Letter delivery." He nudged the dove to fly, and it obediently did, landing on Elara's now outstretched arm.

"Ivorys?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yep," he said with a grin.

Elara’s lips twitch in anticipation. Whether she was amused or annoyed, Aki had no clue. But if he were to guess, he’d say she was amused. Because for him, this was amusing. After kicking the Crows out of power, the Ivorys were now being all peaceful, sending them letters instead of carrying out an infiltration mission.

Aki walked towards Elara’s bed while she read the letter. Feeling very much at home with Elara’s bedroom, Aki didn’t as much as blink before lying down on Elara’s bed. She was a strict leader, but also a forgiving friend.

He crossed his arms behind his head as he laid, watching her finish reading the letter. When she was done, she looked at him, an evil grin on her lips.

“So?” he asked.

“As expected. They wanted to negotiate with us. They want to meet with us tomorrow night, at the clearing of this forest.”

“Do you think they would really just negotiate with us? This might be an ambush,” Aki said, doubtful.

Elara smiled at him sweetly. Too sweetly, it looked dangerous on her.

“Aki, the Ivorys are such a goody-two-shoes. I don’t think they would dare break the rules they themselves implemented. They were the ones that said that whenever a discussion is agreed between two clans, the leaders between the clans should talk without any soldiers with them,” Elara explained.

“I know about that. But still, I don’t think I can trust them enough to go somewhere with no guards.”

“Aki,” Elara said, glaring at him. She began to walk towards him, then sat on the side of the bed, her eyes still glued on his. “We are the Crow, and the Crows are a master of fighting. Do you think they can take us down when left with no guards? Do you think they can take me down?”

Aki felt himself shiver with fear and excitement. This Elara was the warrior one. The one who wouldn’t go down without a fight. Whatever tricks the Ivory might have in store, she would fight and she would win. He was certain of it.

Elara must have sensed that her words put him at ease because her chilly gaze softened, and her lips formed a small smile.

“Besides,” she said, “Do you think we’re as morally good as they are?”

Dazed with the sudden shift on her mood, Aki blinked a couple of times and recovered just enough to mutter the word, “Uh…”

Elara chuckled, reached for his cheek, then patted it affectionately.

“We are the Crow, Aki. We don’t have rules.”

With that, she stood and left him lying on her bed.