*This chapter in particular needs a serious rework, so just take it with a grain of salt*
"You know, I am shopping for your present," Vincent said with a sigh. "Can't you leave me alone for a bit?"
The two of them were currently in a normal shop, with no magic whatsoever. Vincent had visited a few shops that morning, just looking around for anything he could get for Arnya. Which was difficult considering that she followed him all the time.
"Why can't you give it to me after you buy it?" Arnya asked curiously. "Why wait till Christmas to open it?"
"It's a tradition," Vincent shrugged. "I don't know a lot about how it started and all, you can ask someone else for that, but it's a season of giving. It's also a lot more thoughtful this way. Haven't you gotten anything for Christmas?"
Arnya, after some thought, answered, "I received some guns from Axel every now and then."
"..." Vincent went speechless. In his mind, an imaginary scenario was thought out.
"Merry Christmas little sister! Here you go, a gun!"
"Wow thanks big brother, Imma go shoot some people now!"
"Haha, see that dad? She loves her present. look, there she goes, showing it off to all her friends."
Vincent groaned. "I don't think that a weapon is the ideal gift."
Arnya tilted her head. "But when wizards reach eleven, they receive wands."
Vincent opened his mouth before closing it. "Point taken."
A few hours later, they both came out of a shop with Arnya carrying a stuffed bear.
Arnya looked at the plain old teddy bear with confusion. "This is my gift?"
Vincent looked embarrassed as he scratched his head. "I saw you looking at it for a while and thought you wanted it, was I wrong?"
"I was just thinking about all those teddy bears at the orphanage," Arnya explained. "I remember how comfortable it was to hold one. Warm, soft, comforting."
Vincent stopped scratching his head and let his hand down. "Well, if that's the case, this is my gift to you. It's a bit early, but Merry Christmas."
Arnya hugged the bear close and felt how cosy it was. A faint smile slowly made it's way to her face as she nodded. "Thank you."
The scene of her smiling while holding the bear made Vincent smile also.
...
A slim man with piercings on his ear sighed as he walked around some cages, cages of children shivering in fear. He brushed aside his shoulder length red hair and looked up, eyes glinting as he looked at the moon, licking his lips.
"It's almost time for dinner," he muttered. He knelt down in front of a young boy and grinned. "Why, don't you look tasty."
The boy started crying.
The man gave a savage smile. "Don't worry, I won't eat you, yet."
He got up and walked outside where people stood, their eyes blank.
"Load the children into the trucks now," he ordered.
Everyone there started manually moving the cages into the back of the truck.
"M-mum?!" a girl yelled at a woman moving another cage. "Mum, what are you doing?!"
"Dad, don't please, I'll be a good boy from now on!"
"Help us...."
The man smiled as he looked up at the cloudy sky. "Ah, muggles, so easily manipulated."
...
"Never thought I'd spend this season staking out this place," some officer shivered from the cold. "So what are we looking for?"
A police squad hid around some docks, watching as the workers there went about their business.
"Some note attached to whoever attacked those three men had a date and location," one other officer answered. "We're keeping them in custody until we figure out what that note means."
Another officer frowned. "So for all we know, this could be a trap?"
Suddenly, two large trucks pulled up right at the waterfront. The men at the docks stopped what they were doing and immediately opened the back of them.
"Those sons of...!" An officer cursed as he spotted dozens of children in cages. He turned to another officer. "Make contact with the station for reinforcements."
He then turned back. "How the hell did all these children get captured?! Not a single missing person report came in out of all these people?!"
...
"What do you mean unnatural?" Arnya asked Vincent who hid in the shadows of a nearby building.
"When someone goes missing, usually their family alerts the police," Vincent explained. He wore a hoodie due to it being much easier to move in then a cloak. "Not too sure of the exact details, but with this many people here, why has none of this been brought up by the news?"
Vincent's eyes narrowed when he noticed a singular guy with red hair and piercings on a single ear smiling happily to himself. "That must be the boss."
"Vincent," He turned to see Arnya pointing at the man. "He has a wand."
"!" Vincent's eyes widened as his head shot back. "A wizard?! No! The police—!"
The sound of a gunshot echoed, making the red haired man look in the direction of a police officer who, along with others, surrounded the whole dock.
...
"Everyone get down on your hands and knees! Release those children and give yourself up! You're surrounded!" The officer ordered as he and the others took aim.
However, as if they didn't hear them, the workers continued to move the cages filled with children.
"Wh-What are you doing?! The officer yelled, his instincts telling him that something felt very off. "Get down on your hands and knees now!"
The red haired man started laughing. "You muggles have no idea what's happening do you?"
"Who the hell are you?!" The officer pointed his gun at the red haired man.
"So rude, you would usually introduce yourself first, but I'll play along," the man mockingly bowed. "Names Roden."
The officer felt like something dangerous coming from the man. "Shoot that one man, now!"
Bang! Bang!
Multiple shots rang out as the rest of the group followed the command without hesitation.
"N-no way..." The officer muttered as all the bullets stopped in mid air, barely an inch away.
"You can have them back now," Roden smirked as he pulled out his wand and flicked it.
"Get down!" The officer commanded as the bullets were shot back at them. Multiple shouts of pain came from all around him as sparks flew everywhere.
He cursed as he looked around at all the downed officers, all hit. He groaned in pain when he noticed a red stain on his shirt getting bigger.
"That's all? How disappointing," Roden muttered as he walked up to the officer, picking up the gun. "How does this thing work? Like this perhaps?"
Bang!
"Arghhhh!" The officer yelled in pain as he held his leg.
"You know, these things are actually pretty fun," Roden said thoughtfully to himself. He turned to the workers who were still unloading the cages. "How long till the boats ready?"
"Half hour, sir," someone answered, his eyes blank.
"Good," Roden looked at the gun and back to the officer lying on the ground. "Let's see how long you can last."
He aimed at the officers shoulder, making the man grit his teeth for what's to come.
"So I guess I pull the trigger like last time—!" Roden felt a chill and turned around, just in time to see a rod centimetres from his face.
"Who—?!
A large crack sounded out as Roden felt a searing pain on his face. A bang sounded out along with something blowing him away.
He tumbled to a stop and got up to see Vincent catch the rod and kick towards him.
...
Vincent's eyes widened when Roden block his kick, no signs of actual injury on his arms.
"You little brat!" Roman yelled in anger as he pointed his wand at Vincent. "Avada Kedavra!"
Green lights shot out of the wand, straight towards Vincent. Feeling danger from those spells, Vincent ran for cover, throwing a rod as he dived behind a crate. "For a wizard, he's as strong as me."
Roden sneered as he aimed his wand at the incoming rod, only for his eyes to widen when he realized he couldn't affect it. He blocked with his arms as the rod collided into him, causing another pulse that blew him away.
Vincent didn't want to give Rodan anymore time to think as he rushed out.
"So, you're the Trespasser I've been hearing so much about?!" Roden grunted as he got up. "From your smell, you're definitely a Muggle, but these weapons, their full of magic."
Vincent didn't answer as he caught his rod and started pressuring Roden with attacks from all sorts of angles, most of them blocked by Roden through his arms and magic.
"I need to get some distance," Roden thought as he flicked his wand. "Accio, barrel!"
Vincent looked behind to see a large metal barrel that shot towards him. He jumped on Roden's shoulders and kicked him into the oncoming barrel. With a loud bong, Roden stumbled backwards in a daze and felt a kick at his back which sent him tumbling to the ground. Vincent then landed on him, holding him down with pure strength.
"You fools, help your master—?" Roden yelled before realizing that every one of the workers were out cold.
"Good job Arnya," Vincent nodded as he noticed a small red mark on everyone's neck and forehead, just the size of a bullet.
"Now," Vincent looked at Roden with a small hint of anger in them. "Who exactly are you?"
"Roden, now if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it you'd get off!" Roden aimed his wand at the ground.
A gust of wind knocked them apart, sending Vincent and Roden tumbling away.
"Avada Kedavra!" Roden yelled. A lightning bolt like spell shot straight towards Vincent who barely had enough time to raise his gloved hand, creating a transparent shield that halted the incoming lightning.
"Magic?" Roden looked taken aback before he grinned savagely. "But, the killing curse is not known for being unblockable for a reason!"
Vincent was being pushed back by the bolt, the shield he held shattering bit by bit. He looked at the gem embedded in the glove, the power source of all the spells that came out of the glove. It's light was getting dimmer by the second. "It won't hold on for much longer!"
Vincent directed the spell to the side and dived for cover behind a large crate.
"What the heck do I do?" Vincent thought, feeling tense due to the situation. "I don't want the people around us to get caught up in the thunderbolt potions blast so that's out of the question. Arnya is only here to observe me, what she did earlier was just a favor so I can't expect any more help. What potion can help me now?!"
"Is this all the so called Trespasser can do?" Roden scoffed as he approached Vincent's hiding place. "Well, it's to be expected. Although I don't know how you did it, but that magic wasn't your own. Ha, no matter what tricks you use, someone like you could never match up to a real wizard. You may borrow our knowledge, our power, but listen here, you'll always just be a cheap imitation of the real deal."
"Imitation?" Vincent took some deep breaths to calm himself. Time seemed to slow down.
"He's right, because I don't have magic, I've looked for ways to gain and use it's power. I've succeeded, but I know, I know that their cheap knockoffs from the real thing."
Each footstep that Roden made seemed to have echo as it approached. The sound triggered a memory in him.
...
Footsteps sounded in an alley as Vincent, extremely young, walked up to a blond-haired teenage boy with tattoos across his face. The teen leaned back against the wall, eating some kind of bread.
"You want me to teach you how to fight?" The teenage looked down at Vincent who looked up, eyes cold and lifeless. The teenager finished the bread in his hands and dusted the crumbs off. "I'm a genius when it comes to battle, but when it comes to teaching, I got nothing. Everything I've done is self taught."
"Any advice then?" the teenage boy took out another piece of bread and broke it in two. He looked thoughtful. "Well, I guess, improve on what you've got. If all you can do is run, run faster. If all you can do is jump, aim to jump higher. If all you can do is throw a rock, aim to always hit the target. In short, if you have something that you can do, improve on it, even if it's just the little things."
He then looked down. "Wish I could've learned how to cook."
The teenager shook it off before handing the bread to Vincent who looked confused. "Have a bite. As my follower, this king will never abandon you."
...
"Ever since I found a way to use magic through equipment and potions, I've started to overly rely on them, I've been chasing after something I never had, I haven't been improving everything I already had."
"My skills, my knowledge, and the one thing that I've neglected...
"...Analysing."
Vincent closed his eyes, going through everything he knew about Roden through this fight. His actions, his breathing, the spells he used so far, his speech pattern, personal strength, nothing was left out. Through this, Vincent has understood, the man called Roden. All this in a mere seconds.
He soon opened his eyes.
...
Arnya frowned from atop a rooftop. "He's just sitting there. He doesn't look like he's given up, so what's he doing?"
Vincent's figure in the distance could be seen perfectly by Arnya, his breathing, his posture, all of it was visible in her eyes.
"Should I help him?" she thought as she took aim with her pistol. "But father told me to only observe. Even knocking out all those men earlier was a bit excessive. Why did I do it? Because he asked me too? Who do I listen too, father or Vincent?"
Arnya didn't know why this feeling bugged her so much. She noticed Vincent start to move and made her decision. "If I judge that he can't take it, then I will save him."
...
"Oh, coming out into the open now?" Roden mocked as Vincent stood in front of him, wand pointed at his chest. "Given up? How disappointing—?!"
Vincent rushed him unexpectedly with his two rods in his hands.
"Avada Kedavra!" Roden sneered. "Foolish kid, at this range, the spell would be faster than you can react..."
"...He'd think, and due to it being a killing spell, anywhere it hits would be instant death. So he'd aim for where it's more likely to hit, that means..." Vincent smiled from under his hood.
Roden felt his mind go blank when his spell dissipated on contact with Vincent's rod, blocking his chest, right above the heart. "How did he—?"
Before he could think any further, Vincent was already in range, swinging a rod to his face. Instantly putting his guard up he felt pain as his stomach caved in from a punch from Vincent who used both hands to pull his head down and kneed him in the face.
Recoiling back from the pain, he struggled to aim his wand. "Avada Keda—!"
A black streak shot past, snapping his wand in two, leaving Roden with his mouth hanging out in shock. "What?"
The black streak was caught by Vincent who smashed him in the face with the iron rod.
Roden was sent sprawling to the ground, coughing as he struggled to stand up. Vincent stomped on him, making him scream out in pain as his ribs broke under the pressure. "He must have thrown it when aiming for my face earlier. How did he know that my wand would be in its return path?!"
"Y-you-!" Roden muttered in agony under the pain. He looked up to see Vincent's golden eyes boring directly into his.
"Avada Kedavra, the killing curse, seems to be your favorite spell," Vincent said coldly. "You seemed far to confident in being able to beat me with just that, otherwise you'd have apparated away if the situation got out of hand."
"H-how'd—?" Roden asked while gritting his teeth in pain before getting cut off.
"—I block the killing curse?" Roden stared in shock as Vincent guessed his next line.
"As if I'm telling you," Vincent said while inwardly sweating.
"I was betting that my rods could at least stop the spell, I didn't expect the magic nullification to be so powerful that it'd negate a killing curse."
"Can he see—?!"
"—the future?" Vincent glared. "Your face says it all."
"I still haven't lost," Roden, though still in pain, started grinning. "You say you know me? You don't know a thing about me. Ah, I really didn't want to do this, but remember kid, this is all on you. Look in my left pocket."
Vincent narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"Look in my pocket and tell me what you see."
Vincent kept his foot on Roden's stomach and rummaged through his pocket, finding a potion of sorts.
He opened it and sniffed. "This smells familiar, it has a scent of wolfsbane in it, but the only potion I know that has this is—?!"
Vincent's eyes widened in realization as he looked up in the sky, the clouds shifting to reveal the bright full moon.
"You!" Vincent's fist shot towards Roden's face, intending to knock him out, only to be stopped by Roden's hand, starting to grow fur.
"The big guy in me would like to play, be rude to ignore him don't you think?" Roden grinned as his body started morphing and fur growing.
Vincent gritted his teeth in frustration as he tried to ply his hands from Roden's grip but to no avail. The still morphing Roden's clothes started ripping apart as he stood up, bending Vincent's arm along with it causing him to kneel in pain. He grabbed some gravel from the ground. With a howl at the moon, the wolf looked down to see Vincent in pain from how twisted his arm was.
Soon, all that stood in front of Vincent was a humanoid looking wolf that looked hungrily at him. Its arms weren't that big, but Vincent felt the power in its grip, something that far surpassed what Vincent had.
"Crap..." Vincent used his free hand and legs to kick and punch it, causing it to jerk a bit. It seemed to have only made it mad as it howled at him and went for a bite which Vincent took the chance to throw the gravel in its mouth, making it reel back as it choked.
Luckily for Vincent, it let go of his arm, grunting as it tried to cough up the gravel from it's throat.
"If I leave, then the people here will die," Vincent muttered as he looked around at the unconscious men. "What should I do?"
Roden growled and charged at Vincent who weaved and dodged through his moves.
"Not good, I'm starting to panic," Vincent cursed as he felt some anxiety well up. "I need to calm down and focus otherwise I'm dead."
Vincent then made a mistake, he dodged a split second too late as Roden's arm collided with Vincent's chest sending him flying into a crate with a loud bang. He slid to the floor, coughing as Roden charged towards him.
"Damnit!"
Bang! Bang!
Roden staggered as large giant holes appeared in his elbows and knees, making him collapse while snarling in pain.
Vincent turned around to see Arnya wheeling up, eyes crimson red as she aimed her gun at Roden's face.
"I blew apart his elbows and knees, he shouldn't be able to walk or crawl for a while, even with his healing capabilities."
"Arnya?" Vincent said surprised. "What are you—?
Arnya stayed quiet, looking surprised at herself. She didn't know why she interfered.
"Arnya you—" Vincent stopped himself. He sighed and then got up, holding his stomach in pain.
There were more pressing matters at hand, namely, the injured officers and the controlled.
"Help me heal these people, then we're bringing this mutt to Sister An."
...
An hour later, reinforcements had arrived, discovering the downed officers and workers. The strange part was that they weren't hurt at all.
They also discovered a boat load of missing children, perplexing them to how they had no knowledge of such a case. The workers and parents all woke from their slumber with no memory of what they did under Roden's control.
...
"Greyback?" Vincent asked Sister An who looked grim.
"Fenrir Greyback is most notably known as the most notorious werewolf alive today," Sister An explained as they looked at the locked tied up Roden in a phone booth. "He's obsessed with overthrowing the Wizarding community and infects others with lycanthropy, hoping to create an army that can do so."
"And this man was under his command? To bring these children back for food?" Vincent clenched his fists.
"I'm afraid so," Sister An kept her eyes on Roden. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Vincent asked.
"I didn't realize any of this was going on, using magic to manipulate muggles to do his bidding, I should have noticed it before," Sister An said regretfully. Vincent placed his hand on Sister An's shoulder.
"I only noticed it by luck due to those three...men?" Vincent found something strange, if Roden could manipulate people's minds, then why did the three men that Vincent encountered tell him where they were taking the children. From his analysis of Roden, he wouldn't need to hire men when he might as well use a spell to control them.
"Vincent, what's wrong?" Sister An asked.
"Nothing, but seriously, it's not your fault," Vincent said, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. "I read about it, the imperius curse, it's impossible to tell if someone was under it unless you get a close look at them or speak to them personally."
"...Right," Sister An looked extremely tired.
Vincent's felt pain in his chest looking at her. Hearing that her brothers alive and someone that killed her best friend is one shock, but now that she heard that children were being kidnapped under her watch, for food nonetheless, it's enough to...well, it's not something that many people can explain.
"When I get back to Hogwarts, I'm capturing your brother, I promise."
Sister An looked at Vincent and nodded. She then waved her wand, shutting the booth.
"Remember this place, it's an entrance to the Ministry," she explained. "I just set a spell around so that only wizards can see what's inside. I've also sent them a letter in advance so that they know the situation. Hopefully, they can get more information about them, find Fenrir if possible."
"That's good," Vincent looked around at all the families walking around the snow. "Let's go home."
"Yes, lets," Sister An looked around. "What's Arnya doing?"
"She said she'd be gone for a bit," Vincent said frowning. "She didn't say where or why, she just left straight after. But after what happened recently, she seemed, upset."
...
Axel stood still, shirtless, closing his eyes as he felt the world around him. He took deep breaths as he readied his spear. "Begin."
Seven vampire knights lined up with pistols in their hands. They surrounded him and nodded to each other. One of them shot Axel, aiming for his head. However, a split second right before the gun could fire, the spear appeared right where the bullet was going land, blocking the shot.
One after the other, the group fired in a pattern of sorts, but whether it was the legs, chest, head or arms, he would somehow block every single one.
As time went on, the shooting sped up to the point where Axel had to block three to four bullets in a single movement. Sweat started flowing down Axel's back as he continued to keep up with the onslaught of bullets. Although his movements weren't as fast as a bullet, he was somehow blocking every single one of them.
Finally, a bullet finally got him in his shoulder, signaling the end of the session. Axel opened his eyes and sighed. "I've still got a ways to go. Hell's Hunter is still stronger."
He pinched the bullet out and nodded to the knights who walked out. Once they were out, Axel couldn't help smiling to himself.
"But man! I felt so cool!" Axel thought folding his arms. "It's like one of those comic things that have come out recently."
Bang!
Axel's spear appeared to deflect the shot to the side, feeling an explosion of sorts from the deflected bullet.
"Uhh, Arnya, you do realize that your big brother could have died from that?" Axel felt scared seeing the small crater at his side. "
"I thought I'd help with your training, was I wrong?" Arnya asked tilting her head. She noticed his bruised hands. Even though Axel heals fast, the fact that his hands were bruised meant that the rate he was getting hurt at far outdone the speed at which he healed.
"Of course that's wrong! What would you have done if I died?!" Axel freaked out.
"But you've gotten better at blocking bullets now," Arnya noted. Axel then looked prideful.
"I trained a lot during the time you were away," Axel waved his hand, noticing the look. "You should definitely not underestimate your awesome big brother. Through this intense training, I'm now able to block for a full twenty or so seconds. Although, bullets hurt you know. You see this wound here...oh, I guess I would have healed that by now, but that's beside the point, I worked through so much pain to be able to do this."
Axel's smile faded a bit. "Well, I guess, I'm going to need to experience pain to make up for my deficiencies."
He shook it off. "Well, what do you need? Anything for my little sister."
"I needed a place where I could speak with father in peace."
Axel narrowed his eyes. "Alone or...?"
"Alone, please," Axel sighed as he nodded.
Axel walked to the entrance and stood guard as Arnya bit her finger and dropped a singular drop of blood on the ground. Three drops later, red vapor started being emitted from the blood and rose, soon, it created a figure of a large slim and handsome man looking down at her.
"Arnya, what a surprise."
"Father," Arnya nodded. Her eyes hardened. "What are you doing?"
"Straight to the point I see," Dracula raised an eyebrow.
"Not long ago, three men came into an alley to kidnap Vincent, after beating them up, Vincent questioned them as to whether or not they were affiliated with someone else. That led him straight to a werewolf working for Fenrir Greyback."
"And you think I had anything to do with it?" Dracula asked in a mild tone.
"I find it strange that right after coming back from Hogwarts, Vincent encounters a wizard that turns out to be a werewolf," Arnya crossed her arms. "It seemed to coincidental to me, not to mention, why would a wizard ask regular muggles to kidnap for them rather then control them. The only answer I can come to was that you had some part in it."
"From what I know, us vampires never get along with werewolves since we're against the feeding of children and innocents. Because of this, whenever there's a discovery of a werewolves feeding ground, you would send vampires to actively destroy them. So, I'm guessing that the moment you discovered that a feeding ground was located in London, you probably asked or paid money to those three men to kidnap children and take them to where and when the shipment would take place..."
"...And timed it around the period when Vincent would come back from Hogwarts, so that he'd notice instead of Hells Hunter," Dracula finished as he raised an eyebrow. "Why, Arnya, you've sure changed over the past year. The past you would never have noticed these things. I wonder, is it due to the influence of Vincent?"
"Have I really changed that much?" she thought to herself.
"Well regardless of how much a part I've played in this, Vincent Wong has given me quite a show to watch," Dracula muttered while Arnya tilted her head.
"You've been watching?"
"Why of course, my dear daughter," Dracula folded his arms. "You know as well as I do, if I so wish, I can see through your eyes, hear from your ears, smell from your nose, and talk through your mouth. There isn't a vampire alive that can escape my control or notice. Well, except..."
He glanced in the corner to where Axel stood, his fist tightening around his spear.
"According to my calculations, Vincent Wong is in no way shape or form to fight a werewolf," Arnya analyzed, unphased by Dracula's claim.
"...You've grown quite attached to the boy, I see. My, it seems that the reason you've come here, was because you thought that at some point, I would lead Vincent into an event where he may very well be killed."
"...Why? Didn't you want him as your successor?" Arnya asked. "If you kill him—"
"Vincent Wong may be my ideal successor, but I still see some untapped potential," said Dracula. "But that's all, potential. Whether or not Vincent Wong is capable of withstanding the role of Dracula, tests are needed. If he lives, all is well."
"And if he dies?" Arnya asked.
"Then that's all he amounted too, nothing else too it."
Arnya sat there silent as Dracula looked down and a hint of sadness flashed across his eyes.
"I believe that our talk is over," Dracula left no room for comment.
Arnya silently wheeled her way out, head hung low. Axel watched Arnya go with a complicated expression. He made his way to where Dracula's image stood.
"Do you really believe this would help her grow?" Axel asked. "That some boy she'll know for a mere fraction of her life could change something in her that hasn't been changed in the past few centuries.?
"A possibility will only remain a possibility if one doesn't take the chance," Dracula shrugged. "In the end, it doesn't particularly matter."
"Are you upset at her disobeying you?" asked Axel.
A low chuckle escaped Dracula's lips. "About her interfering? No. If anything, it shows that somewhere, deep down, she can think for herself."
Axel sighed as he looked to the sky. "Is this really the only path we can take?"
Dracula didn't answer.
The two held their silence, simply taking comfort in each other's presence.
...
Arnya slowed as Vincent's house came into view, her thoughts still tangled in everything that had just happened.
What am I feeling right now?
The question drifted through her mind, as it always did.
Contrary to what she let the world believe, Arnya did feel things.
The problem was that every feeling immediately turned into a question. She never knew whether what she felt was good or bad—only that it existed. And whenever she tried to grasp it, to examine it, the sensation slipped away. Forgotten. Unrecoverable. She could never remember how she'd felt about anything before. Each emotion might as well have been her first.
Lost. Empty. Void.
She didn't truly understand those words, but they seemed to describe her default state well enough.
But right now—right now she felt something toward Vincent.
Attachment, perhaps. And that feeling seemed to lead to others too—when she ate something tasty, when she met someone new, when she experienced something unfamiliar. She had no way of knowing whether she'd felt these things before, nor whether she'd remember them later. But in this moment, one feeling stood out clearly.
She wanted to keep feeling new things.
And staying close to that boy might let her do just that.
"…and the King just stood there and beat up, like, I dunno, ten people at once!"
Arnya paused as voices drifted out from a nearby alley.
"He saved me from all those thugs," the speaker continued. "Then he just left. Didn't even say a word."
"The King?" someone scoffed. "What kind of idiot calls himself that? And ten people at once—yeah, right."
"Oh—right, you're not from around here," the man scratched his head. "This was years ago. Five, maybe six. There was this teenager going around London, picking fights with gangs. Anyone he didn't like, he crushed. I swear, he was invincible."
"A kid like that would've ended up in juvie," another voice said.
"That's the thing," the man replied, almost reverently. "No one could beat him. Police couldn't hold him either. He'd let himself get arrested, then break out just for fun. Eventually, since he never hurt innocent people, they stopped trying. They'd question him, sure—but never restrain him."
"So he was like a vigilante?" someone asked. "Like the Trespasser these days?"
"He could be the Trespasser," someone suggested.
The man shook his head. "Nah. The King used his fists. And a gun. Funny thing is, the police could never catch him with it. But that's beside the point—the Trespasser uses iron rods. I mean, who fights with sticks?"
"I'm interested now," another voice said. "What happened to him?"
"Some say he picked a fight he couldn't win. Others say he's still alive—just left London," the man shrugged. "Either way, he saved my life. And for that, I'll always be grateful."
The voices faded as the group walked off.
Arnya stared into the empty alley for a long moment.
When she finally entered Vincent's house, she picked up the bear he'd given her and hugged it close. The familiar weight and warmth steadied her thoughts, easing the swirl in her head.
"What do I do?" she whispered to herself.