John saw Caden standing by the door. He was in his usual state of readiness—a simple white vest revealing well-defined muscles, with long black hair tied together with a crimson band into a severe ponytail.
"Caden, I heard from Grandmother that you are the son of Aunt Reina. I first wanted to come to Aunt Reina to thank her for training me, then I wanted to personally thank you for saving me and Elena."
John walked over to where Caden stood and held out his hand in a confident, open gesture. Caden was a little stunned by the directness and the sheer warmth of the compliment. He looked over to his mother, Reina, where she only smiled and nodded her head at him, giving her silent approval.
Caden then looked back at John and couldn't help but smile, reaching out his hand to shake John's. "You know, you don't need to thank me, John. Grandmother woke me up from my slumber to come and save you, and that is what I did."
"I know, but I feel like I have to thank you for saving me and Elena, even though Grandma sent you. Also, I'm always happy to see a new family member."
Caden's smile widened, pleased by the acceptance. "You know, I'm impressed that you managed to survive long enough for me to come and find you. That wolf I fought was very strong… well, not that strong, but I mean, for you, he was leagues above, hehehe."
John immediately adopted a confused, challenging look. "What do you mean by 'not that strong'? Pardon my French, but if I remember correctly, that werewolf beat the living shit out of you when he slammed you in that tree."
Caden protested vehemently, taking the bait. "Yes, but I wasn't at my peak condition! Also, I punched him through the huge tree!"
John touched his chin thoughtfully, leaning into the memory. "Well, he did loosen the tree when he kneed you in the stomach. I did not like how he almost beat you, but that brief moment of the fight I saw was fire, I ain't gon lie."
Caden looked genuinely irritated that his heroic rescue was being critiqued by the person he rescued. "He did not beat me, and I was rusty! You know what? I am not going to argue with you," he said, folding his muscular arms.
Looking at the two arguing like brothers over a minor sports victory, Reina could not help herself from giggling. "Hey, stop arguing over trivial things," she said, stepping in as a mediator. "John, tomorrow we are going to start your training again, so be ready."
"Yes Ma'am," John replied instantly. He then turned back to Caden, his respectful manner restored. "Caden, again, thank you for rescuing me and Elena. I hope you can give me some pointers in the future."
Caden smiled, the mock annoyance gone. He reached out and gently patted John on the head. "Sure, kid."
====
After John left, Caden went to the table to pour himself some blood in a glass. He took a long, thoughtful drink, the question still lingering in his mind. "Mother, does the kid have any potential?"
Reina walked to look out of the tall, arched window, her gaze distant as she watched the clouds. "John has not shown any of late, but I am certain he will surprise us in the future. He is a hybrid, after all."
Caden froze, the glass halfway to the table. His black eyes narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean, Mother? You did not tell me he was a hybrid. Is the father a human being?"
Reina smiled gently, turning from the window. "His father is Jiren Fang, a werewolf."
Caden could not believe what his mother was saying. He set the glass down with a heavy thud on the table. "How is this possible, Mother? Does Father know about this?"
"Your father was the one that told me, son," Reina explained, her voice low and serious. "He said we must keep it a secret for the time being. Not many in the castle know about this, perhaps only a handful of the oldest and most trusted."
Caden finished the blood and then poured himself a large measure of whiskey in another glass, drinking it in one quick gulp—a distinctly human gesture for a moment of shock. "Jiren Fang... His father is one of the strongest warriors I've seen in battle."
"His grandfather hates him for being part wolf," Reina said simply, stating the harsh truth of the situation.
"It is understandable, knowing Grandfather's history with the wolves," Caden replied, rubbing his temples. "But I hope he can look at John as his grandson and not the wolf that is in his blood."
====
After leaving Reina and Caden, John walked to the back of the castle where Thomas and Carmilla were riding horses. The horses they rode were noble and well-cared for: Thomas was on a caramel-colored steed, while Carmilla rode a magnificent snow-white horse.
When Carmilla saw John coming towards them, she waved and shouted, "John! Come ride with me!"
When John got near them, he shook his head with an embarrassed smile. "I don't know how to ride a horse."
Carmilla was genuinely astonished. In the Crimson world, horse riding was a basic skill. She moved her white horse to where John was standing and held out her small hand. "Grab my hand, John." She had a lovely, encouraging smile on her face.
John giggled a little and reached out his hand. Carmilla easily pulled him up onto the horse behind her. John felt very nervous, clutching the saddle, but Thomas rode up beside them and ensured him that everything would be alright. For hours, they helped John, giving him tips on how to sit, steer, and feel the rhythm of the horse.
After practicing, John, Carmilla, and Thomas took the horses back to the stables. They also decided to feed the horses, and Carmilla asked one of the stable boys to bring a basket full of apples and carrots.
Carmilla took one of the apples and gave it to her horse. "John, so tell me and Thomas what you do for fun on Earth."
Thomas also took an apple and fed it to his horse. "Yes, John, tell us something interesting."
John giggled, peeling a carrot. "Alright, calm down, you two." John then pondered for a moment on what to share. "Well, me and my two friends usually go to the cinema to watch movies. Do you probably know what a cinema is?"
Both Thomas and Carmilla shook their heads.
"Figured as much," John replied. "Well, a cinema is where people go to watch a movie to entertain themselves. It's like a room with a huge screen where a visual story is told. It's almost the same as a storybook that you are reading where you see everything in your mind, but except you see everything on a big screen with moving pictures and sound."
Carmilla was fascinated. "One day I also want to go to Earth and go to this cinema! Even though we don't have a cinema with a huge screen, we do have devices that can record events, like photographic jades, or we have devices that show a close-up of how people fight in the Colosseum."
"Wow, that's so cool! Also, one day I will take you to the cinema, don't worry 'bout it, Carmilla. So, we watched this movie where the people fight with glowing swords in space, where they have powers to push people with this invisible power."
Carmilla then chimed in, "Well, there are people who can also do that in this world."
John got excited. "Really? Can they also teach me?"
Thomas giggled. "Hold on, John, you must first get stronger. Not even I'm on that level yet."
"Okay, I'll chill. So, in this movie, most of the people cheer for the hero of the story, but I am different. I like this one old man who is like a dark lord who shoots lightning bolts from his hands. I think that was pretty cool."
Thomas then said, "In this world, there are people who can do that; they are very powerful individuals."
John was thinking for a moment if he could also become like the character in the movies. "We would mostly hang out at my friend Freddy's house and play video games all day. That's what we mostly do during the day to pass time."
"It must be nice to enjoy life like that, John," Carmilla said, giving the horse another apple. "We are always expected to excel in school. We don't have a lot of time to enjoy life like that; we always train or study. But times like these, where I get the chance to relax, I try to enjoy it at its fullest."
"So, what do you guys do?" John asked, curious about their version of "school."
"Well, we do study languages, math, history, and science. We also sometimes go out with our mentors, where we hunt humans that are sometimes part of the assignment."
John was shocked. "Do you kill them?"
Thomas gave a light sigh, the fun leaving his voice. "Yes, John, that is how it is, unfortunately. However, sometimes our mentors will not let us kill and just simply let us feed, and then he will compel the human to forget the whole event."
"Do you like to hunt humans?" John asked, his voice low with apprehension.
Both Thomas and Carmilla looked at each other and then back at John. "We love to hunt, John. It is unfortunately how we were trained, and it's also in our nature."
John looked a little down when he heard their answers. "Then I don't want to go to that school. I don't want to kill people."
Both Thomas and Carmilla knew that it was going to be hard for John to accept that hunting humans was the vampire's nature. Thomas then went up to John and placed his hand on his shoulders. "It's okay, John, we understand."