Flower came to a stop as the group reached a clearing blossoming with many colors and vibrant flora.

The fox gave a soft, happy sigh then spun on his heel, offering Dae and Eve a toothy grin. He spread his arms open wide and gestured at the clearing around them.

“Welcome to the magnum opus, our piece de resistance. Welcome to our lovely camp.

“Camp?” Eve mumbled, looking rather disappointed. “Uh… I was expecting something different.”

Dae frowned, “This ain’t no camp, this ain’t nothin’ but a stupid field.”

Flower chuckled and adjusted the purple fingerless gloves on his hands,

“Correction, little one, this is a meadow. And of course you can’t see it right now. What kind of good camp doesn’t have an enchantment?”

He asked like it was basic knowledge.

“Oh, Ryusei, dearest, could you please let your favorite general and company in? Onegaishimasu?”

A low voice responded from seemingly out of nowhere. “Welcome back, Yalkov. Good job on your task.”

Flower pouted as he was ignored.

The scene before the group shimmered before it dissolved into the dirt. Now instead of a brilliant meadow full of colorful flowers, there stood a nature-filled military camp. Tents and weapons were scattered among the ground, a few odd permanent buildings here and there. In the middle of it all was a tall red tree that seemed to reach the heavens. On the side of the tree was a building built into it.

Creatures of all sorts and backgrounds bustled around. The camp was quite lively. Nothing like the dull, boorish surroundings of the vampires' hideout.

A tall man with jet-black hair and light purple eyes descended before them. As he grew closer Eve could spot the stars spinning in his irises, though those weren’t all that notable when compared to the huge black wings that sprouted from the man’s back and kicked up dirt as he landed in front of the group.

Flower padded over to him flashing another signature smile. “Aren’t you going to welcome me back? You wound me.” He spoke, feigning a hurt expression. “Whatever the came, we’re back! This is the one we were looking for.”

Flower spoke, gesturing towards Dae and Eve. Ryusei looked over at them and frowned a bit, “Which one is it exactly?”

Flower thought for a moment and looked at the two,

“I… actually have no idea. Why are there even two of you in the first place?”

Justin cleared his throat awkwardly, “Uh, my apologies; It was for the best. That one is Eve. The other is…. Anyways. Eve is who we needed.”

Dae grumbled something incoherently, then turned to Flower and Ryusei, “My name is Dae Jeong, and this is Eve Williams. I am here 'cause some jackass wouldn’t take us home.”

The blond’s hostility and dislike towards Justin was so clear, that it was almost humorous

Ryusei sighed a bit, “Whatever be the case that brought you here, welcome to the cam, Jeong.” The man gave a small bow of his head that Dae returned in kind.

Ryusei turned towards Justin, “Take them to Sarah. She has been eagerly waiting for your return.”

The vampire nodded and gestured for Dae and Eve to follow behind him. The two did so, staying silent as they took in the marvel around them. Justin chuckled a bit at this and shoved his hands into his pocket.

“Sarah is essentially the leader of the resistance.” He began to speak, “If… it helps any, or makes you more comfortable, Sarah is Human.”

Much to Dae's disdain, Eve walked up to Justin, “I thought you said humans didn’t really know what was happening outside the villages? What would drive someone to lead a resistance against them?”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Justin let out a sigh and glanced over at Eve, a gentle smile on his face “Many apologies, but that is not my story to tell. When you meet her, you can ask… perhaps she will tell.”

Eve frowned, but he understood well. He kind of appreciated Justin’s respect and care of the subject now that he thought about it.

“I get it… but- how do we know we can trust her?”

Flower hummed behind him. He and Ryusei had been following behind the group, hand in hand. For the winged man to be so seemingly annoyed with the man, he looked rather content being close to him.

“See for yourself, Williams. Here she comes.” He pointed him toward an elderly woman making her way toward the group. His skin seemed pulled like someone had stretched it out. Her cheeks were hollow and drooping a bit. Her face was wrinkled, each groove etched with time, and a warm smile tugged at her lips.

The woman wore a yellow cardigan and a pale blue skirt that fell just above her ankles, and her curly white hair swayed as she walked.

“Hello, you must be the new recruits that Mrs. Ivanov wrote about.” Sarah spoke, addressing Dae and Eve.

“I wrote that.” Justin muttered in protest.

Sarah chuckled and gave him a light-hearted smile. “My apologies dear, you know what I mean. It’s nice seeing you again.”

Dae watched their interaction and leaned over to Eve, whispering into his ear, “What’s with them? She’s acting like his grandma or something.”

Flower laughed and stepped forward, “Well your conclusion isn’t far off, Jeong. Ms. Sarah is much like a grandmother to all of us, even though most of us are much older than her. Still, he takes care of us.”

Dae jumped back a bit, “Oh shit-! You heard me> The fuck?!”

Flower laughed once more, “Why of course! I’m a fox, these ears aren’t just for show.”

Eve stifled his laughter at Dae’s helpless expression and Flower grinned, his tail wagging faster with amusement.

Finishing up her conversation with Justin, Sarah turned towards the three.

“My apologies everyone, we seem to have gotten off track. Greetings you two.”

The woman smiled kindly at Eve and Dae.

“I am Sarah Jones. I helped create this little resistance you see here. You must be Eve and uh… Silpae*?”

Dae’s eyes twitched and he looked at Justin, who was grinning.

He heaved a heavy sigh, “Ma’am, my name is Dae Jeong. I pray to the gods that no one is named Silpae*.”

Sarah frowned for a second and glanced over at Justin, who quickly straightened his expression.

Eve tried to think of the name, but fell short, “Huh? What does that mean?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Dae responded, crossing his arms and continuing to glare at Justin.

“My apologies then, Mr. Dae.” Sarah responded, as gentle as ever.

Eve turned his attention to the elderly woman, “Uhm, Miss, uh, Sarah? If you don’t mind my asking, what pushed you to put all this together? What exactly do you fight for? Justin said that humans didn’t know of the war, and the walls have been up for hundreds of years…”

Sarah’s smile turned a little sad, “Oh… well, It’s a bit of a long story, but I am willing to share. Let’s walk and talk, follow me.”

Eve nodded and walked beside her as she led them to the building built into the large tree.

“Around when I was fourty-two, some… vampires had come to my village. It was one of their night hunts.” Sarah started, her grey eyes cloudy as she recounted her memory, “I was home with my husband and my son. Like many homes, we had a welcome mat on our door. Sadly, I was unaware of just who exactly we were welcoming in… my family lived on the edge of our village, so I suppose we were easy pickings. It was that damned woman, Jurgen Wagner’s wife or something. She just strolled in like that was her home. My husband went to investigate, and he instructed me to grab our son. See, my boy was like you. He had rare blood, and I suppose they wanted to make use of that. When I got to my baby boy’s room, there was another woman. I believe it was the Wagners’ daughter? I tried to fight her best I could, but I was just a woman with no combat training. How was I supposed to beat a vampire alive for centuries? In the end, that girl knocked me out. When I awoke, my son was gone, and my husband was in pieces in our living room. I don’t know why they didn’t finish me off… I think about that almost every day. I then joined the outside world, and slowly made allies and learned the truth. Thus, here we are now.”

Sarah looked a little watery-eyed. Eve gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder before quickly retracting his hand. “I’m sorry for your loss.” He spoke with sincerity.

Dae frowned, “How can you work along side their kind with what they did to you? Don’t you hate them?” He asked, confused

Sarah frowned once again and sighed, running her fingers through her hair, “It is true that I resented them for a while. I couldn’t get that night out of my head. But we have to keep in mind that most of them didn’t choose to be this way. We may not all be human, but we are all people with our own stories. One does not speak for all.”

Dae glanced around the camp and noticed many pairs of sharp red eyes. He shifted uncomfortably and shot his eyes to the ground, watching his feet as they walked

“I see…” He trailed off, going quiet.

Sarah smiled gently at him, “It’s alright dear. I am going to introduce you to all of the comanding officers and your higher-ups. Some you have already met, but it would be good to get proper introductions and learn what they do.” She said this as they arrived at the centermost building.

Justin stepped forward and opened the door.

“Alright everyone, inside.” Sarah said as she walked in.

The building’s main room was about as big as a barn, and stairs wound up the tree’s hollow trunk, many hallways and rooms were carved into the wood.

There were three other people in the room. One was a tall woman with pale, dotted skin, and long blonde hair tied up into a high ponytail. His striking red eyes flashed over to them the moment they opened the door. There was also a shorter man beside her with wavy orange hair and tan skin who was playing with a wisp of fire in his palm. He had tattoos of flames running down his arms and legs and a spout of flamed ink down the left side of his face.

Eve didn’t know what to think of him. The man had pointed ears like the vampires Eve had seen, but the flames in his eyes skin, and palm told another story. Just what the hell was he?

Off to the far side of the room sat someone alone. They were reading an old book, the text on the front had long since faded.

Blue locs lay flat on one side of their face, and the other was shaven, black, and curly. Bandages covered part of their face, but their eyes peeked out just enough where Eve could see green and pink irises surrounding a crescent moon-shaped pupil. Horns curled on their head, and their ears were feathered. This person was a rather confusing sight.

“These are your commanders.” Spoke Sarah.

(*Silpae means failure in Korean)