Blood and Tears - Grumbo Vampire AU

Chapter 2: Meeting

The king was a well-presented man, a young ruler who inherited the throne after the devastating loss of his father just a few years prior. It had been rumored he had been attacked, or maybe he had died of a terminal illness. There were rumors and speculation, though it seemed no one really knew the truth. One day the king disappeared, and the next, his son began to lead the kingdom.

He wore a cream-colored tunic that was noble and dignified, with a deep crimson tailcoat which had been fastened with golden buttons. His trousers were a dark shade of gray and his boots were made of fine leather that was dyed a rich shade of brown. The golden crown that he wore sparkled as if it were the centerpiece of a museum, with rare jewels that seemed to be from a foreign land.

Standing beside the throne was his advisor, a man that looked rather small compared to the size and height of the ruler's seat. He glanced towards the king with a look of skepticism at the architect before them, though there was no acknowledgement towards the councilor's doubt.

"Grian, I'm glad to see you made it here safely." The royal leader greeted with a warm smile, his emerald eyes gleaming with a mix of emotions that were difficult to decipher. "After the attack on the village, along with the recent increase in robbers, the tension in the kingdom has been rather high."

"Thank you, your majesty." Grian bowed his head.

A giggle escaped him, the king shaking his head. "G, please. I've known you longer than I've been king! You can refer to me by my name."

"Oh." The Brit chuckled awkwardly, "Sorry Scar. It's been a while."

"Wait, wait. Do you two know each other?" Scar's advisor spoke up with a shocked expression, causing the ruler to laugh again.

"Bdubs, Grian was one of the architects who helped design the castle. He and his father worked with my father to help build some of the houses in the kingdom as well. We became friends the moment he met Jellie!"

The man known as Bdubs puffed out his chest, huffing something underneath while his cheeks flushed with a slight bit of color. "How come I've never met him before? I mean, I'm your right hand man!"

"I've been working on expanding the farming communities and villages at the request of Scar." Grian explained, "I lived out there for a couple years. I would move between villages to help expand, but because of the recent fire, most of my progress on one of the villages was lost. Scar requested that I return to the kingdom instead of fixing the damage, while another team of workers will be sent to fix the destruction."

"That's right! Grian here is going to help me plan the expansion of the kingdom. He and I are going to catch up and discuss some of our plans. For now, you're dismissed."

He had a skeptical look towards the architect, though gave a bow to the king before walking off. "Sorry about him—" Scar apologized as he adjusted the black ribbon tie around his neck. "—Bdubs thinks I'm a little too trusting of others. With all the thieves and robbers that have attacked recently, he's a bit on edge."

"It's fine! I bet this all must be so stressful— being king and all."

"It's more work than I expected, but I've been managing quite well." The ruler laughed a little, removing the glittering crown from off his head. He stared at the reflection in the golden headpiece for a moment, though his attention quickly turned back to the architect. "But enough about me. I'll take a look at the plans you've made."