Realm of the Rogues

Chapter LX

Alasdair knocks twice on the door and then opens it, without waiting for permission to enter. I guess the mat is enough of permission? Dom follows without question, but I hesitate a bit more. I don't know, it just seems weird to waddle into some stranger's home.

"Hello!" Alasdair shouts out in a friendly voice. I walk up the two steps to the door, and peek in. Whoever is inside is listening to some rather loud pop music, so they might not have heard Alasdair knock, but they definitely heard him shout.

A woman in her forties then pops out from around the corner with an apron on and flour up and down her arms and a bit on her forehead. She looks a bit confused at first, but then smiles big when she sees Alasdair and Dom.

"Oh hello! Please, come in, come in! I'm just in the middle of making some biscuits, so I'll be right back!" she says, and then she disappears back around the corner. I see Alasdair and Dom plop down around a circular dining table. I then decide that I might as well come in too, since the woman didn't seem annoyed by Alasdair and Dom's presence.

I step in and close the door behind me, and then I walk up and sit between Alasdair and Dom, with my face towards the kitchen, where the woman is standing. The two men are talking a bit back and forth, but it seems like some irrelevant small talk, so I decide to tune it out and look at the lady instead.

She's just putting a tray into the oven, and as she closes the door, she wipes her forehead with her arm, smudging even more flour over it. She then walks over to the sink and washes her hands before drying them off in her apron. At that point, she pulls the apron off over her head and comes over to us with a tray in her hands and a big smile on her face.

"Here ye go. It's a bit of tea, but I also have whiskey, if yer prefer that?" I shake my head and accept one of the teacups.

"Tea is fine, thank you," I answer on behalf of all of us, much to Dom's dismay, who begrudgingly accepts a teacup as well. The lady then takes a seat on the opposite side of the table to me.

"How can I help ye?" she asks, and I can't help but look at the smudge on her forehead, not quite sure if I should point it out to her or not.

"Do you know where we can find Farlan and Isobel?" Alasdair asks in that rumbly and friendly voice of his. At the mention of their names, her face lights up, as if she had just met a God. Well, I guess, that to her, all vampires are Gods.

"Oh my! Are ye a friend of theirs?" she asks, but then shakes her head at herself.

"Well of course ye are, I could sense it the moment ye walked in!" she then proclaims and claps her hands together.

"Please, let me get my husband," she then says, before practically jumping out of her seat and fleeing to another room. I stare after her, still having a hard time wrapping my head around why people would so willingly give up their blood to a vampire. But then my eyes meet Dom's, and a pleasing chill runs down my body with the memory of the few times I have offered him my blood. Suddenly it makes sense, and I feel myself blush. Still, I can't imagine all vampires are just as intimate with their 'victims', as Dom is with me.

The lady then returns with a man in tow, who quickly walks around the table, giving us his hand and bowing deeply for each of us. For some reason, he doesn't tell us his name, which I also find a bit odd, so I decide to ask.

"I never got your names," I say, waiting for a reply, but the man and woman just stare at each other with an uncomfortable look, not sure what to do.

"I'm sorry, but... We're just humans to you. Ye've no need for our names - we're not that special," the man explains, and I can't help but lift an eyebrow, not quite sure how to react. The vampires really have their 'blood banks' in submission, huh? After an uncomfortable silence, I nod.

"Of course, my apologies," I reply, which only seems to make the two squirm even more. They have probably never received such humane treatment from a vampire before - and even though that's not what I am, they don't know that.

"So, back to the matter at hand," Dom says with impatience, which seems to trigger the woman, who again clasps her hands together and smiles widely.

"Oh yes, of course!" she says and turns to her husband.

"The Masters and Mistress wanted to know where to find Master Farlan and Mistress Isobel," she explains to him, and his face lights up in understanding.

"Well of course! Please, let me escort you to them!" he says directed at us. We exchange glances among ourselves, not sure what to say.

"It would be no trouble at all! We are frequently at their estate, so it would be smooth sailing getting you there! Please, allow me the honour," he then practically begs, so I nod on behalf of all of us. This time it doesn't seem to vex Dom as much, as he nods along with me.

We follow the man out into the car. The woman decides to stay behind to check up on her biscuits, which is fine by me. I thank her for the tea, which she also seems uncomfortable to accept, but I won't press the matter. They might be used to be treated like objects, but that goes against my morals, so I won't do that.

Alasdair hops into the passenger side of the big and roomy off-roader vehicle, which reminds me a lot of the ones we had back in the pack, since we more often than not had to make our own roads out in the forest.

Dom and I hop in the backseat and buckle in. I smile as I notice how Alasdair's body is much more relaxed now that he is actually in a seat where he fits. The man turns on the car and starts driving down the road. He seems like a person who only speaks when spoken to, so I decide to ask him where we are headed.

"We're going to Braemar Castle," he answers in a regal tone and a proud smile on his face.