Chapter 6: Chapter Six: A Rough Start
He heard Midnight curse under her breath as his mind raced, trying to think of what to do and say. Elaine was completely covered, her face hidden behind the mask and her ears by the hood of the cloak, but the clothes she was given would only hide her scent so much, and if they got too close to her, they would be able to smell that she wasn't a vampire. His body moved faster than his brain, calmly walking back to meet them. His heart began to slow down, his breathing slowing as he took control of his emotions; these were soldiers that he trained himself, and he knew how to talk to them. He would see what they wanted and send them on their way.
He stopped then they reached him, all three of them forgetting to salute as the shortest one bounced from on foot to the other, always having more energy than she could handle.
"Captain, captain, we finally found you! That battle must have been difficult, judging by the condition of your armor. We were going to join you, but a massive fight broke out at the camp, and we stayed behind to deal with it. I wanted to make sure you knew that we didn't slack off or anything like that!"
He glared at them, the vampett not noticing until she finished talking and standing still.
"We have been over this many times; whenever you are speaking to someone that is above a certain rank, you must salute and wait until you are told to be at ease and speak. I have already been talked to about your inability to do something so simple by a couple vampires, and I am out of patience. The next time you speak to me without saluting first, all of you will be running until I feel like you have learned your lesson."
They all quickly saluted when he was finished, looking straight ahead as he sighed and told them to be at ease, frowning under his mask and hoping he could keep their attention from the others. Each one had armor similar to his, but all of their helmets were slightly different from each other. The shortest one, a vampett going by the name Twilight, had a bird Jack did not know of engraved in her helmet. She was the youngest of the three by a year, and she had a crush on him and was not very good at hiding it sometimes.
The other two were taller and slightly older, the tallest a vampett named Rebecca and the last one a vamp named Ethan. Ethan had small horns added to his helmet, and Rebecca had her family crest engraved on the top of her visor, where the skulls forehead would be. While they were young and could act like children at times, he had trained them well, with all of them being capable soldiers. Ethan was smarter than the average vampire, and it was him that Jack kept his eye on as Rebecca stepped forward and finished what Twilight had been saying.
"Captain, we dealt with the brawl without any casualties, only injuring a few vampires and restraining five of them. By the time we finished, the battle had already begun, and it was clear that you would win without our aid."
He nodded, looking over at Rebecca, who was the same height as him.
"Not a single death? Impressive. I appreciate you keeping the peace while I was away. The battle was long, but not too difficult. Thank you for reporting this to me, and you all have probably earned a good days rest."
His eyes went back to Ethan, who was looking past him at the others before speaking.
"Captain, where were you heading to? And what is this strong scent of blood I am smelling?"
He froze for a second, realizing he had forgotten that Elaine had bled all over his cloak as his heart began to beat faster. He quickly recovered his composure, pointing at his armor and answering.
"Look at me; that scent could be coming from multiple different places on my armor right now. As for where I was going, while it really isn't your business, I was going to check the forest for any deserters or vampires up to no good."
Ethan's eyes narrowed, the vamp always being to clever for his own good.
"I see. This scent is odd, and much more powerful than any elven blood I have smelled before. Must have been a powerful elf, but maybe you did not notice, given how fast you are."
Jack shrugged, wanting the vamp to drop the subject already as he began to turn around.
"Maybe; who knows? Anyway, I will be heading out now; you three get some rest, and make sure no one causes any trouble while I'm gone."
"Bye captain, don't have too much fun without us!" Twilight yelled after him, hopping and waving at him. Rebecca bowed her head, turning to leave and find her tent. As Jack was leaving, he looked back, noticing that Ethan was staring after him still. Jack felt like he did nothing suspicious, but if he had failed to fool the vampire, then they might have to deal with him sooner rather than later.
He rejoined the group and they left, passing the sentries without a word and sighing heavily when they were out of earshot, the main camp slowly growing smaller and smaller behind them. They headed towards the forest, passing the battlefield and wrinkling their noses from the smell of the corpses, Midnight turning to Elaine once they reached the tree line.
"Alright, once we are hidden in the trees, you take the lead and take us to the elven city, Silvith."
Elaine nodded, the group walking into the forest, being surrounded by tall trees and plants. The sun was in the sky now, and he appreciated the shade the trees offered, giving them some extra protection against the cruel light of the sun. Once they had gone a good distance, Elaine began to lead the way, taking her mask off and pushing her hood down as she shook her hair free. He saw Midnight looking at the elf, probably frowning beneath her mask.
"You do know how to get there, right? I remember you saying you knew nothing of the land outside the forest, but you at least know the forest well I hope."
Elaine shot her a dirty look, her previous fear of them gone and forgotten; he admired her courage, but they were not safe yet, and she still had many other things to fear.
"I am an elf, and I know my own forest. I have just never left it."
Midnight sighed, shaking her head as they continued to walk.
"Yes, but you should have been taught that much by now. Listen up, and I will cure your ignorance."
While her words were cold, she meant them, and Jack saw Elaine looking over her shoulder, eyes filled with curiosity.
"As you know, this forest takes up most of the north and center of the land we all live on. The east is completely ruled by the vampires, called the Nation of Blood. The dwarfs live in the mountains in the far north, and have decided to help no one and keep to themselves. Somewhere in your forest is the last large city of the elves, Silvith, and to the south of the forest we have the Empire of Duluhan, one of two human controlled territories. The other one is far to the west, the Twiverse Kingdom, which has been at war with the empire for years."
Elaine nodded, listening intently as Midnight continued, the edge in her tone gone as she began to sound more like a teacher than a grumpy soldier.
"The west and south used to have two other races living on it, the dark elves and the werewolves. Before any of us were born, the Nation of Blood declared war on them and destroyed them one by one, and only a handful of either race is still alive. They were considered powerful races, and with them gone, the humans quickly went to war over the land that was there for the taking, while the vampires turned their eyes onto the elves and their forest. It is whispered among the soldiers that the leader of our nation, Zillion, started the war because he feared your mothers magic, as we vampires are naturally weak to it. So, to this day we are-"
Her lengthy explanation was cut short when a vampire suddenly appeared in front of Elaine, popping up out of nowhere, and Jack's eyes grew wide as the elf froze, the vampire raising his arm and swinging a curved blade at her.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone