The moon shined to all equally, bathing the world with its gentle light. As the drunks and the partying masses slowly fall prey to their heavy eyelids, the council of vampires started their routine. They gathered at the rooftops of the Dairy Lodge district, baring their unquenchable pride to the world. It was her fight, her battlefield, Maria thought.

The vampires sent by the Council of Elders were in turmoil. The appearance of the Orthodoxy threw a wrench in their plans, for who knew what was in the minds of those arcanists? That’s why this gathering today was to think of a plan, so they could achieve their goal no matter the cost. To rule everything from the shadows.

“What should we do to counter this situation?” the vice leader; the de facto leader of the vampires following the Council of Elders, asked.

No one muttered a word. Even when their leader asked, they cared not about it, only listening to their own pride. That’s why it was customary for their followers to use bribery when fear failed to do its job, and vice-versa.

“No one has an idea, huh? How about we give a rank increase to the one whose ideas are useful?” he incited.

“Do you really have the power to do that? If I remember correctly, you’re doing this to increase your own rank!” a mutiny appeared.

The vice leader clicked his tongue. A lull in the conversation appeared; one that she could make use of.

That’s why she cleared her throat, unleashing her presence as the granddaughter of the hero.

“Everyone stop,” she commanded.

The vice leader, seeing his rule was being upended by the figurehead, opened his mouth.

However, a glare stopped him in his tracks. If he said anything, he’ll die; that’s what he felt. He gulped. Survival instincts overpowered his pride. He closed his mouth, and his mind was already formulating revenge.

The vampires, seeing the always reticent leader finally speaking, listened.

“We’ll look for some information, such as where the terrorists and the Orthodoxy stayed, in order to go after the terrorists while acting as the Orthodoxy,” she stated.

A reason to talk finally appeared to the vice leader.

“Maria Alucardia, you’re going to get us killed!” he accused.

The person he was accusing simply did not care and continued her piece.

“Then, we’ll go after the Orthodoxy while acting as the terrorists,” she added.

His pride was shattered. In his rage, he tried to defame the figurehead. However, every time her glare landed on him, he faltered. Thus, the meeting ended without his contribution whatsoever.

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It was at this night, that the fate of all vampires under the Council of Elders, was decided. And such a grim fate it was, that the cloudy night sky started pouring down its tears of joy.

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The sun was already up when Ciel woke me up for morning training. Spotting the raindrops on the window, I steeled myself to be caked with mud.

“Must we really train in this kind of weather?” I asked.

“You’ve already promised,” Ciel shook her head.

Well, as they’d all said. If you can’t win against them, join them. That’s why I immediately changed my gears and learned to appreciate how wondrous a hot bath would be after training ended.

We passed the hallways and corridors, before finally arriving at our destination; the training grounds. There, my elder sister had already arrived. Apparently, she always started her training routine before sunrise.

“What type of weapon do you prefer?” she asked.

Ciel answered readily, “Greatsword!”

“How about you, Layne?”

Although I’m capable of using various weapons, I seldom used one back in the day. That’s why I picked the normal choice.

“Longsword,” I replied.

The knight captain nodded at our choices, before asking a guard to take a practice weapon of that model.

Taking the practice greatsword handed to her, Ciel started accustoming herself to it as if it was an ingrained reflex. She felt its weight and its length, and the techniques she could muster using them.

Meanwhile, I took my sticky stick and swung them around like a kid. The beliefs Laincelot had ingrained, made him capable of using all forms of combat as if he had trained in it for his whole life. Still, I have to say it’s a bit hard hyperbolizing yourself to your audience unless you know at least a quarter of what you’re talking about. That’s the reason I had to train myself back in the day. Now? I’m just looking for a slow life and some small adventures on the side.

Sarah Carter looked at her siblings. She nodded her head at Ciel’s way of accustoming herself with her weapon. Looking at whatever Layne was doing, however, made her shake her head. Thus, she decided to let Ciel have a mock battle with ser Robard while she battled with Layne.

“For today’s training, Layne will have a mock battle with me, while Ciel will face against ser Robard!” she exclaimed.

We went to our respective spots. Me against my elder sister, and Ciel against ser Robard Loen.

I observed my opponent. She used a somewhat relaxed stance, with her feet apart and her sword pointing to the ground. That’s why I feinted my slash, which will first attack from the ground towards her throat, transitioning into a slash from the sky towards her head.

As if she had the answer to everything I threw at her, she interrupted my transition, resting her training sword near my neck. Her approach was methodical.

After that first session, I remembered the words an eastern swordsman said after he lost to me.

‘Dedicating my whole life to the blade, I am nothing in front of the true geniuses.’

I only remembered them though, since they don’t really apply to my situation. I knew where my problems lay. Right now, I’m not exactly athletic, and that’s the problem.

I guess I have to do this routine every day, huh?

So, I trained.

Tired from moving my untrained body, I lay on the muddy ground with the sun’s warmth caressing my face. However, a shadow that covered up my sun’s light, appeared.

“How’s the training?” Ciel asked.

“Terrible. My body can’t move the way I intended it to.”

“Even though you nearly defeated me when we fought on the empty lot?” She teased.

“It only tested our reflexes and skills, not the whole package,” I sighed.

She rubbed my head.

“Aww, you don’t have to worry about that since I will fight our battles!” she smiled and strode towards the female bath.

“That’s the scenario I wanted to avoid the most…” I whispered to myself, walking into the male bath.