Numen Chronicles | Nosferatu [Volume One]

Chapter Four | House of Commons

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| Elvin |

The morning came fast. Elvin woke in his tiny shack house. The moment he opened his eyes, his first thought was Alucard. Where was he today, what was he doing, and what new material would present itself for his book?

He sat up, pushing away his soft bed covers as he looked around his sunlit room. A single window clung to the left wooden wall with a black blanket for a curtain, but the sunlight broke through it. To the room's right was a small kitchen area, where several pots and pans were stacked on top of each other beside the basin. Next to it was his beloved desk with piles of paper all over it, and the walls were all but bare apart from the many cobwebs that clung too high for the bard to reach.

Then, a quiet meow caught his attention. He leaned over the side of his bed and stared down at the small black tortoiseshell kitten. The feline's back left paw was the only ginger of its feet, and most of its coat was black with spots of brown and orange. She gawped up at him, meowing again as he sighed tiredly.

"All right, kitty," he said, climbing out of bed, "I hear you."

Elvin made his way to the small kitchen and pulled one of the cupboards open. Once he located a jar of dried fish, he opened it and handed one to the kitten, who savagely tore at it, purring crazily.

"I think I stayed up a little too late writing last night," Elvin mumbled to himself, watching the kitten eat.

When the sound of horses filled the morning air, Elvin turned around and opened his door. His home existed on the outskirts of a large farm area; in the distance, four men were ploughing a field, and two others were patrolling the grounds.

The bard watched, waiting to see if the patrol would find anything. Usually, they'd discover livestock slaughtered by the werewolves that haunted the land, but it didn't look like they were going to find anything this morning. And why was that? Elvin smirked, aware that Alucard, his best friend, had slain the beast last night.

Smiling, he closed his door and looked down at the kitten, who stared up at him, licking its lips. He frowned. "You ate that already?"

The kitten meowed at him.

He shook his head and handed her another fish. "That's all you're getting. I need to go and get more. I'll pick some up in the city...the city!" he cried. "I'm gonna be late!"

Elvin rushed around, grabbing his clothes and pulling them on as swiftly as he could. He then hastily brushed his hair and tied it the same way Alucard did. He stopped in front of the mirror, making sure he got it right, and then grabbed his feather hat and put it on. Then, he snatched his notebook and a pencil and then raced out of his house, slamming the door behind him.

The bard ran along the dirt path. "Gonna be late, gonna be late—he's gonna kill me," he mumbled, panting as he hurried towards the cobblestone path that would take him to the city.

He set his eyes on the city as he sprinted towards it. Alucard told him to meet him outside the House of Commons, the meeting place of the city council, and if he was going to make it on time, he needed to move faster. If only he had a horse.

But he ran and ran and ran. He wasn't going to let Alucard down.

When he reached the city entrance, he passed two silver-armoured guards and succumbed to his fatigue. He had to stop for a moment, trying to remember which way the House of Commons was. Dargamoore was a forest of concrete with castle-like buildings so high that it hurt his eyes to gaze up at them. Everything looked so dark and gloomy; the buildings were made of black brick, foggy cobblestones, and dull woods.