Reina was standing next to her son Caden, who was sitting on a brown wooden chair with a small table on the side that held two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. She was grinning, clearly enjoying the grim spectacle of the two combatants staring each other down.
Caden lightly tapped on his mother's arm. "Should I pour you some whiskey, Mother?"
"No, I am fine."
John then made his move. He rushed towards Russell and started his assault with a diagonal attack using the metal staff. Russell did not have enough time to dodge, so he decided to block the attack with his forearm.
Bam!
"Argh, that hurts, you cunt!" Russell roared.
The prisoner then wanted to retaliate by moving closer, ready to stab the young vampire, but John had already anticipated his intention and thrust the staff, aiming for the chest.
Bang!
A little bit of blood spurted out of Russell's mouth as he was knocked back. He slowly wiped the blood that clung to the corner of his mouth as he observed John. "That was a good hit, kid. I am really angry now."
John did not respond. He started to spin the staff rapidly in his hands and then made a gesture with his right hand for Russell to make his move.
"Raaaaaaaah!" Russell started to run towards John. As he came into striking distance, the young vampire swung the staff, aiming for the head, trying to knock him out in one blow. But Russell ducked, rolling quickly on the ground. He got up instantly while John was trying to adjust his staff for the next move; however, it was too late. The Mad Prisoner was already near him.
Blood began to leak instantly from John's mouth. Russell's dagger was already stuck deep inside the right side of the young vampire's neck. Tears began to flow from John's eyes as the pain was excruciating—a stark reminder that vampire healing was not instantaneous.
Russell then grabbed John by the back of his hair while slowly twisting the dagger in his neck. "You fucking cunt, do you think this is some kind of game? If you weren't a Crimson, you would have already been dead."
Gargle.
Russell chuckled. "What did you say, boy?"
Gargle. The young vampire was drowning in his own blood, the dark warmth filling his throat.
As Russell moved closer, tightening his grip on the dagger, John did the unexpected: he spat the blood in his mouth directly into Russell's eyes and stomped his left foot, clad in heavy leather, with the metal staff as hard as he could, thus making the Mad Prisoner instantly lose his grip.
John quickly removed the dagger that was still lingering in his neck and threw it away. He then tried to kick Russell with a frontal kick, but the Mad Prisoner, recovering instantly, caught his right foot.
"Hehehehe, you're done for, boy," Russell sneered, maintaining his chokehold on the boy's neck while holding his foot.
John gritted his teeth. "You just activated my trap card, bitch," he declared, channeling his gamer bravado. He then did a back flip while Russell was holding on to his right foot, kicking him square on the chin with his left foot. Russell's brain rattled before he was knocked down, unconscious.
John was lying on the ground, blood still leaking from his neck, as he was in great pain.
Cough, cough.
Reina saw that Russell was not getting up from the backflip kick to the chin and declared John the winner. However, the young vampire had already fallen unconscious by the time she announced his victory.
Caden appeared next to the boy and gently picked him up.
"Guard!"
A vampire guard appeared before Caden. "Take the boy to his room to rest, have one of the maids look after him and tell the maid to bring him here as soon as he wakes up."
"As your command, My Lord."
Reina then ordered two guards to take Russell to his cell. "When the prisoner wakes up, give him a healing potion and a nice meal for his services. Also, I want you to bring me three other prisoners."
"Yes, My Lord."
A couple of hours later, John woke up. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to the left, seeing that one of the vampire maids was sitting next to his bed. "Good day, Young Master. This one was instructed to look after the Young Master and let him know to return to the training area as soon as he wakes up."
"What! I thought I was done for the day; damn Aunt Reina is trying to kill me!" The young vampire groaned, running a hand through his hair. He then looked at the maid. She, like the rest of the many maids he had seen in the Crimson Castle, had beautiful fair skin. Her hair was light blonde, styled in a double Dutch braid with a low bun.
The maid then handed him a big glass filled with blood. "Here, Young Master John."
The boy looked at the glass of blood and sighed, taking it from her hand and drinking the blood slowly, in no rush to return to the arena. "This is the first time I am seeing you. What is your name?"
"My name is Haven, Young Master."
"You have a beautiful name, Haven."
She gave him a light bow. "Thank you, Young Master John."
The young vampire drank a little more blood from the glass, feeling his energy returning little by little. "Haven, can you please order me some meat? I feel a little bit hungry."
Haven was momentarily confused by the request for human food, but she did not question him. "Of course, Young Master, I will let the chef know and bring the meat as soon as it is ready."
After about thirty minutes, Haven returned through the door with a big T-bone steak on a silver plate and placed it on the table. John took a seat by the table and began cutting the steak in half. Haven remained standing, as she was ordered to bring the young master to the training area when he was finished recovering.
"Come, sit and join me, Haven."
Haven was hesitant, nervous, and confused about why this boy, who was far above her in status, was inviting her to eat at the same table.
"Young Master John, I can leave and come again when the Young Master is finished eating."
John felt a little irritated by her answer. "Haven, I am ordering you to come sit and eat this steak with me."
She then slowly moved to the table and sat down. John took his piece of meat and slid the other piece, still on the silver plate, over to her. John prayed silently and began eating the meat without manners. Haven watched him, then picked up her knife and fork, beginning to cut her meat and eating in small, refined bites.
"Here, drink," John said, pushing the glass, now half-full of blood, toward her.
"No, Young Master John," she protested softly.
"Drink, please."
She then picked up the glass and took a small sip of blood. For a moment, John saw her iris turn red before the color vanished in a flash. "You like?" the boy asked.
After she took a sip of blood, she looked at him. "Please forgive me, Young Master." She then began to drink all of the blood in the glass like someone who hadn't had water for days. Haven then picked up the meat and began eating it with the same urgency as John.
"So, do you maybe know a vampire maid named Elena?"
"Yes, Young Master. Almost everyone in the castle knows who Elena is because of the Young Master."
"Can I ask you for a favor?" John asked while eating his steak.
"I will do as you command, Young Master."
"No, I want you to do it at your own free will. If you don't want to, then you don't have to do it," he sighed for a moment. "Can you please look after her? I noticed that she is not that close to the maids in the castle, even though she has maybe worked here for over hundreds of years."
Haven finished eating her meat and gave the young master a subtle smile, a rare break in the castle's servant demeanor. "Yes, Young Master, this one will look after Elena."
John also finished eating his meat. "Good, now take me to the underground training area. I am ready."