Note to the reader: *.......* means he's saying that in his head.

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Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the last.

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Chapter 25

I moved over to the side of the bed and looked down at the unconscious woman. After removing the blanket that covered her I couldn't find any external injuries and she seemed to be breathing just fine so I turned to Bram.

Becket:"What's wrong with her?"

Bram:"Her heart."

Becket:"Heart? What's wrong with her heart?"

Bram:"It's gone."

*Huh?*

Becket:"What do you mean by gone?"

Bram:"There is no heart in her body."

Becket:"Thats impossible. How is she alive?"

Bram:"I've been using my ability to manipulate blood to keep it pumping properly through her body."

Becket:"Wow magic can do some incredible things."

I was surprised at the thought that magic could be used in place of an organ, but also intrigued.

Becket:"First I need to know more about vampires. How do you naturally heal."

Bram:"Well wounds heal about three times faster than a humans, but we can't regrow limbs. They can be reattached though. We don't die from blood loss and instead only die from damage to the brain. That's why losing vital organs can kill us just like any other race except as long as enough of the organ is left a part of their functions is still possible."

Becket:"I'm assuming you've already tried healing spells?"

Bram:"Yes. The healer told me she was never going to recover."

Becket placed his hand against his chin and started to think.

*Healing magic doesn't work and their natural healing hasn't helped. Now I understand why he attacked the palace to get his hands on the blood of the gods. It's his only chance to save her life.*

I knew the crazy things love could get a person to do so the fact that he attacked the palace without worry if it would cause a war made sense. A few options came to mind, but I hoped that the easiest would work so I decided to try it first.

Becket:"I have a way that might heal her, but you may not like what I have to do."

Bram's eyes narrowed as he looked at Becket.

Bram:"What is it?"

Becket:"I'll need to kiss her."

Bram had a confused look for a few seconds before regaining a calm expression.

Bram:"Why a kiss?"

Becket:"I can transfer life force to her which may return her heart."

Now Bram was thinking silently.

Bram:"I've never heard of an elf that can manipulate life force, but I'm going to take the chance and trust you. If my trust in you is betrayed you won't make it out of here alive."

Bram said that last part with a stern voice. I nodded and turned back to his sister.

*That was surprising. I expected more of a resistance.*

I leaned in and locked lips with her. She was quite beautiful so I might have lingered longer than I should have, but when we separated there was no change. It was impossible to tell if her heart was grown back without looking inside of her body. I looked over at Bram.

Bram:"Her heart is still missing."

I sighed then stood up.

Bram:"I know my feeling is unjust; however, seeing you kiss her pained me. I shouldn't feel that way since the two of you are girls, but I do."

Now I understood why he wasn't as reluctant as I expected. He too thought I was a girl. Since it would only complicate things I decided not to correct him.

Becket:"Well next is a little more complicated. I'll have to try and get some blood of the gods."

Bram:"Blood of the gods! You can get your hands on it!"

Bram had grabbed me by my collar and pulled me close to him.

Becket:"I might be able to."

I swatted his hands off my clothes then straightened them out.

Becket:"I can't be sure if I'll be able to get it."

Bram looked at the floor for a second while he was thinking then his eyes darted up and looked into mine.

Bram:"I'll give you absolutely anything if you save Carmilla."

Becket:"Will you give me her."

I pointed to Carmilla and Bram looked over at her before returning his gaze to me.

Bram:"What would you want my sister for?"

Becket:"I don't want her. I was just wondering if you would give her to me. It was a joke."

Bram seemed a little confused again.

*Does he not understand jokes? Hm. Maybe I'm not funny? Impossible!*

I firmly rejected the idea that I might not be funny. Bram was just weird.

Becket:"I'll try to save your sister. Like I said before my plan is to put you on the throne. I can tell that if I let her die you wouldn't have the heart to become king."

Heartbreak was a terrible thing. Experiencing the death of the one person you loved more than anything else could brake a man. I knew that feeling myself. I walked over to the door, but turned around to speak to Bram.

Becket:"I'm going to see if I can get the blood. If that doesn't work I have one more option that might save her."

I closed the door behind me as I left. Aria was talking with Gene downstairs about new colors for the inn.

Becket:"Aria it's time to head back to the palace."

Aria:"Ok."

Aria jumped out of the chair she was in and walked over to the door with Gene following behind.

Gene:"Come back and visit again sometime."

Becket:"Actually we might be back later today."

Gene:"Really?"

Becket:"Yeah. I need to ask for something that I might not be able to have."

Gene:"Don't push your luck. Someone in the palace might resent you trying to step out of your social class and asking for things."

Becket:"I'll be careful not to step on anyone's toes."

Gene:"Sometimes you don't even need to step on toes to make people angry."

I nodded and took Aria's hand before leaving. The streets were still full of people so I had to keep her close to prevent us from accidentally splitting up. After what felt like hours of swimming through the crowd we finally made it back to the palace. The knights recognized me and easily let me in, but on the other side of the gate I did notice a robed man sitting on a stool reading.

*Is he a mage?*

There was a cane with a blue crystal on top leaned against the wall next to him. I didn't linger long and went straight to a maid to ask where Eva was. The maid told me she was currently in the garden since she always takes her lunch there. I thought it was a little early for lunch since it was probably around 10:30ish, but some people don't wait till 12:30 like I do.

Stolen story; please report.

The maid led me to the garden even though I already knew where it was while I sent Aria on a mission. I was seated across the table from Eva.

Eva:"Good evening Becket."

Becket:"Good Evening."

*Even though I don't consider it evening yet.*

Eva:"So what is it that has you visiting me? I was beginning to think you didn't like me."

She said that last part in a kind of teasing manner.

Becket:"How could I not like such a beautiful young lady. I'm here to ask for something."

Eva:"Hm. A favor. Ask for whatever you want."

Becket:"I want some of the blood of the gods."

Eva was thinking over what I just said then she spoke.

Eva:"What is it that you want to use it for?"

Becket:"I want to heal Brams sister."

Eva:"You want to give it to the man who attacked the palace? Why?"

Becket:"Esyn gave me a mission and I think saving Brams sister will heavily influence whether that mission is accomplished."

Eva:"Oh it's a mission from Esyn then of course I'll give you some, but you'll have to get mothers approval. She is the current ruler of this country after all."

Becket:"I'm sure with your support she'll easily hand some over."

I smiled which seemed to relax her.

Aria:"Becketttt!! I found it!"

Aria came running up to the table.

Aria:"Haa...haa...I found...haa...it."

Aria must have been running as fast as she could since she was so out of breath. She had completely the mission I assigned her and retrieved what I wanted.

Becket:"Good. You did a great job Aria."

I pat her head a few times before taking the item from her and putting it on.

Becket:"I feel much better with this on."

My scaled leaf armor didn't look damaged at all. I assume the mana it had stored in it must have repaired it after Felix tour it off me. I was currently wearing my leaf jacket and tight black pants usually worn under armor along with a pair of black boots. I missed my red cloak, but it was destroyed by Felix when he tour off my leaf jacket. Eva stood up from the table.

Eva:"Well then lets go see mother."

Becket:"Yes."

I felt kind of bad for disturbing her lunch, but Eva didn't seem to mind. Apparently Sylvia the queen was in the kings study going through some paperwork so we quietly waited for her tea time which Eva told me would be soon. Sylvia didn't even glance over at us as we entered the study and found a place to sit. A maid showed up with a tray of snacks and a pot of tea. She seemed surprised to find us all in here with the queen, but she didn't say anything.

Sylvia:"So what brings you here?"

Sylvia had looked up from her paperwork and was now staring into Becket's eyes.

Eva:"Becket has come to ask a favor of you."

Sylvia:"A favor? And what is it that you want?"

Becket:"I would like some blood of the gods."

Sylvia's face scrunched up.

Sylvia:"I'm afraid I can't give you any. It's a limited artifact and since it can't be replaced we're only allowed to use it in a dire situation."

Becket:"I heard just a drop could fix absolutely anything."

Sylvia:"Thats what I've been told, but I've never actually seen it used."

Becket:"Then a very small amount is all I need."

Sylvia:"Like I said it's not something I can give away so easily."

Eva:"Mother please."

Eva was giving her mother a puppy dog look. She was pleading with her eyes. Sylvia sighed.

Sylvia:"Very well since I can't say no to my daughter. Aelisia will take you to get some."

Becket:"And where is she right now?"

Aelisia:"Yo."

Becket looked to the side and saw Aelisia standing there.

Becket:"When did you get here?"

Aelisia:"I've been standing next to you ever since you got back."

Becket:"Oh."

I turned my head back to Sylvia while feeling a little creeped out by Aelisias personality.

Sylvia:"Well I assume you understand. Show Becket into the lower vault."

Aelisia bowed before we all left the room. Aria and Eva weren't allow to follow us past a certain point so I we t ahead with Aelisia.

Aelisia:"So you trying to add the vampire princess to your harem?"

Becket:"I have no idea what you're talking about."

*How does she know? Was she listening in when Eva first explained things to me?*

We kept walking in silence until we reached a dead end. There seemed to be a few small rocks protruding from the wall. Aelisia began pressing them in what seemed like a random order. Suddenly there was a slight tremor before the wall started to move.

Becket:"Interesting. It's kind of like a passcode lock."

After entering the wall closed up behind us.

Aelisia:"Now don't touch anything. This is where we keep artifacts that are a limited resource or that couldn't be figured out."

Becket:"Couldn't be figured out? So you have artifacts and don't even know what some of them do?"

Aelisia:"Yup."

We passed by a bunch of weird looking objects, but I actually recognized a few.

Becket:"Is that a blender?"

I stopped to look at what appeared to be a blender.

Aelisia:"I said no touching. Lets go."

She pushed me on and we finally made it to a spot that was much more cleared out. The artifacts before were just randomly placed, but these seemed like they were on display. Aelisia pulled out a small glass bottle.

Aelisia:"I'll get the blood of the gods for you."

Aelisia walked over to an artifact and began pouring the liquid inside of it into the bottle. While she was doing that I looked around and saw something that stunned me. I found C4 and some other explosives including plastique bombs.

Becket:"There's no way this was made in this world."

Then something else caught my attention.

Becket:"Oh man. I'm so taking that."

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