For the Love of a Vampire

Homecoming

Chapter Six! And no......Hayden and Astrid are not going to kiss. I just thought this was a cute picture and wanted to use it. So there.

Hayden's POV:

It was cold as I stepped out of the airport, confirming for certain my arrival in the bitter wasteland of a civilization known as Berk. The wind was snappy, biting at my hands as I stuck them inside my coat pockets and started walking toward the parking garage. I was hoping against all odds that my visit wouldn't be a prolonged one, but my hope was not a high one knowing Dagur was involved. It was supposed to snow at some point today, but as early as it was I didn't expect it to start any time soon and although the snow was beautiful I didn't need another factor slowing me down. Not when I had stooped so low as to come back here for Dagur's inevitable yet long overdue demise.

I found my car, unlocked it and jumped inside, sending a rumble echoing through the garage as I tore out of it and into the bustling city. Even at this early hour the streets of Berk were a buzz of activity. People travelling to work, opening shops, cleaning snow off the streets from the previous nights shower and even those who were just up for the fun of it. I couldn't help but smile at the sight, even though they were in a place I dreaded so much, but even here I could see that smiles were still a common courtesy among these stark viking descended communities. I heard many cheerful good mornings, and even more hellos, but that's about as much thought as I gave to it as I exited the main hub of the city and into the quieter suburbs. But even as the smaller parts of the city turned into a town and then into a county, I never lost the stares that followed me down the road though I did ignore them. They weren't staring at me, at least most of them weren't, but at what I was in. After all, it wasn't everyday you saw a 2018 Bugatti La Voiture Noire driving down the road anywhere, let alone in a city such as Berk where people tend to take notice of things such as an 18 million dollar car.

Not much had changed in this sleepy little village of a town; and houses that were here when I visited last were still sitting in all their simulated glory, waiting to be put out of their prolonged misery. These houses grew farther and farther apart the further I got from the city, divided by the ever changing lay of the land and connected only by the old paved road I now travelled on. The landscape rushing past me as I made my way was beautiful, I had to admit, and it made me want to stop and take a walk down one of the picturesque lanes; but there was a reason for my visit to my hometown, as much as I disdained it, and it was better in the long run if I got it over with before taking any unplanned leaves of absence.

I let out a placid sigh as I finally turned onto the side road that would lead me to my destination, not quite sure what I would do when I got there...but sensing that would be half the fun of it. It was a quiet neighbourhood I entered, passing small humble houses that represented the meek and deferential people that lived in them. These people weren't flush, well-to-do or high society folk, they led a simple life, a tranquil one...but it was the life they enjoyed. That I could tell by the well kept driveways all shovelled from snow and the clean cut lines that divided this territory from another's. The effortless shine in the paned windows, the homey decor that lined the walkways and rooftops with care, and the congregation of disproportioned snowmen accumulated on the lawns by aspiring children in hopes it may come alive if they wish hard enough. Yes, there was a welcoming hospitality in this everyday common scenery that was absent from those sumptuous settings you found closer to the city, on those mansions which bore no work or touch from the masters who dwelt there or lived behind those walls. This place was a plain uncomplicated one for certain......which was why I decided to park outside of my desired cul-de-sac and walk the rest of the way as to not draw unnecessary attention to myself as a Bugatti would.

I couldn't say that I minded it, though many of my friends would be quick to disagree. The snow was one of the things in this life that I hadn't quite grown to despise, and on many a night I still enjoyed the stillness it brought to the hectic life I lived by watching it fall. It was for this reason I found myself walking rather casually at the moment with my hands in my leather jacket once more, letting each step find itself in a leisurely fashion as I made my way down the empty sidewalks and soaking in each new scene as I passed it. This was the atmosphere, the world I wished to have grown up in, not the lavish smothered one of my past; but it became apparent that a different direction was in store for me when I was born to the most prominent family alive at the time...funny how artistic fate could be.