Blood of Mary

UNEXPECTED MISSION

IT has been years since Xent came to Paramount University but the buildings still look good as new. Everything has been managed so well. He can say that there’s nothing much that has changed in there except the people.

He stopped in front of the Administrative building. Even if he doesn’t look at the people around him, he can smell the presence of humans inside the University's vicinity. And by their smell, he can tell that their numbers have tripled compared to the last time he visited the place.

“Oh my God. He’s so handsome.”

Those were the words Xent heard the moment he went out of his car. And he often hears those words from a human which amazes him.

In the past, humans freak out the moment they find out that a vampire is around. But these days, they seemed fond of them, especially the young ones. Though he’s from the other race, he doesn’t think it’s a good thing. That will only put their lives in danger.

Not all vampires are following the Queen’s order. There are still a lot of them, especially from the higher rank who wants to kill the Vampire Queen so they could change the system. In fact, lately, that’s what they’ve been busy about. They’re trying to convince those who are in the opposition to side with the Queen. If they disagree, they had no choice but to finish those vampires who are after the Queen’s position, and those who wanted to destroy the peace and order that they worked hard for years.

When he enters Leonora Foster's office, the present Headmistress of Paramount University, he didn’t expect the room to be that messy. Boxes are all over the place. He almost didn't see the person he was looking for.

“Good morning, Leonora.”

When he came to the Philippines to meet the Queen, he was directed toward the University. And instead of her, he only meets Leonora which is very unusual. Whenever the Queen calls him, she always meets him personally.

Leonora popped out behind one of the boxes. Leonora looks like someone who's in her early thirties but she's actually two hundred years older than him.

“Oh. Prince Xent Kirkwood! It’s good to see you again. It has been a while but you haven’t changed at all. You still look as handsome as before,” Leonora said smiling at him.

“Same to you, Leonora. And please, stop addressing me like that. No one calls me by that title anymore.”

It has been years also since he had forgotten that part of his past.

“You may be a traitor to others but you’re a respected vampire by most of us. Don’t worry, I’ll only call you by that name in private.”

He let out a sigh. He already told Leonora about it before but he guess he can no longer change her mind.

“By the way. Sorry if I didn’t notice your arrival. I was really busy. You know, the class is about to start soon. I need to look after the students.”

He lean on the wall and crossed his arms. "I really don't think this is a good idea, Leonora.”

"That's exactly the reason why you're here, Prince Xent. To make sure that everyone will be safe."

It's been more than a decade since a fight took place between Prince Bernard and his father. King Edmond considered humans as food and slaves. While Prince Bernard wants equality between the two races. With Prince Bernard, Princess Farrah, and their loyal comrade's efforts, they managed to defeat their father. From that day onward, they manage to get the mortals’ trust. The siblings reached their goal which is to have a peaceful relationship between vampires and humans. It may not be all, but the two races gradually accepted each other's existence.

When Prince Bernard was still alive and became the new Vampire King, humans are no longer afraid to be attacked by vampires. Humans can already live freely during the day while the night belongs to vampires. It is because of the agreement that prevents vampires from drinking blood their usual way.

And now that Queen Farrah took over, it may be a new development but he still finds the University's decision to unite humans and vampires in one place dangerous. And worst, humans are now allowed to stay at the University's dormitories which were originally for vampires alone.

“By the way. Take this.”

Leonora handed him a folder which he opens immediately. It's the personal data of one of Paramount's human students.

He frowned after reading her profile. "Czelvie Grace Asombrado?"

The young lady was smiling at her profile picture. She has a heart-shaped face, beautiful blue eyes, long brown hair, thin and red lips, and pale skin. She can actually be mistaken as one of them. But apart from her beauty, he doesn't see anything special about her other than she has a resemblance to someone he used to know in the past.

He looks at Leonora in confusion. "What's this? Who is this woman?"

"Your next mission," she said, still smiling at him. "You and your team were specially assigned by the Queen to look after that young lady."

He only got even more confused. "Why her? What makes this human special?"

“Only the Queen knows.”

Is that the reason why Farrah didn't meet him in person? So he can't ask about it?

“By the way, your mission includes you and your team pretending to be students in the University," Leonora motioned her hand towards the table. “That will be your team’s uniforms while you stay here at Paramount University.”

That's only when he noticed the uniforms piled in there.

"What the hell."

He was born during King Edmond’s reign. Back then, studying was never his priority. And he doesn’t think he’ll ever be interested to do that. He still got more important things to do.

“I know what you’re thinking,” said Leonora. “Don’t worry, you don’t need to attend night classes. You just need to focus on looking after Ms. Asombrado. Remember, this is the Queen’s order. And you definitely can’t say no to this.”

By Queen Farrah's order, the pureblood he promised his loyalty and the one who founded Paramount, his team was asked to go back to the Philippines for an important mission. He didn’t expect that that important mission is looking after a mortal. But what's actually more suspicious is that that human seems to be important to the Queen.