Blood and Tears - Grumbo Vampire AU

Chapter 7: Caught

The air was cold, bits of snow slowly being carried on the chilly breeze of the dark winter night. The candlelit streets had gone out, the final flame extinguishing just moments ago, as the sleepy village lay quiet and dark. Grian watched from the window in his room, taking in a deep breath of the crisp air.

"You ready?" Wels asked, walking into the bedroom with a quiet voice. The architect nodded, a smirk across his face that made Wels regret ever agreeing to this plan.

He walked past Grian to the open window, throwing down one end of a long rope. The knight tied the other end to the leg of the bed frame, giving a few firm tugs to ensure the safety and support of the rope. "Okay." He said, "I'll go down first, then you follow me down."

"Sounds like a plan."

Wels carefully climbed out of the window, grabbing a hold of the rope in his gloved hands. He slowly rappelled down, sliding down the rope before planting his feet firmly on the ground.

"Alright, it's safe." He called up in a hushed whisper, causing Grian to (less than gracefully) copy his escape. He nearly tumbled out the window, sliding down the rope while swinging like a madman. He let go and nearly face planted into the dirt, only for the knight to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Jeez," Grian chuckled while climbing out of his personal guard's arms. "You're good at your job."

"Yes, well, let's hope I'm good enough to fight off a vampire." Wels said, clearly a bit anxious still.

Grian nudged his elbow into the knight's side. "Come on, once we get that vampire, you'll be promoted and seen as the hero of the kingdom! It'll be easy!" He assured Wels, beginning to walk through the darkened street to head to the outskirts of the city.

"Hold on," The guard stopped him, pulling out a long, hooded cloak. "Wear this."

"Really?" He asked, blinking.

"No one will question a knight wandering the streets past dark. But you will draw attention to anyone who might be up. That's why you need to blend in."

"Fine, fine." Grian gave in with a heavy sigh, wrapping the long cloak around his body and pulling the hood over his rugged hair. "Better?"

"Much." Wels smiled, gesturing for the architect to head down the cobble path.

Grian began walking, and his knight followed, the only sound coming from their footsteps, along with the faint rustle of trees. It was a quiet night, everyone in the kingdom fast asleep in their homes, leaving the two able to wander freely through the streets. It was only a short walk from the castle to the verge of the kingdom, especially when the streets weren't crowded with people. The two made it to the forest with relative ease, only passing one or two guards on the way, who were dozing off, or already fast asleep.

"Why do you even want to do this, anyway?" Wels asked as he pulled out his blade, slicing through overgrown plants that blocked the forest off. "You acted really worried when King Scar was telling you about the vampires."

"I couldn't let him know what I was up to. He would obviously try to stop me." Grian explained, pulling his hood further over his head as he followed the knight deeper into the forest.

"But...you don't need the money from the reward. Being the King's lead architect— I'm sure it pays rather well."

"It does, but the money isn't for me." He said, "It's for two close friends. They're getting married. But I don't think they have much money. Her bakery, it's been slowly losing sales. They're really good friends of mine. If I tried to give them money, I know they wouldn't accept it. So I thought I could anonymously 'donate' some of the reward money."