Indecent Folks

I smiled while Swayer laid his arm towards the neighbourhood. "We're practising archery. Come," he said, so I trailed behind him. I found a few vamps carrying bows behind the westside neighbourhood. They stood in a row and aimed for a marked target made of fabric hanging on the trees. Sawyer took the bow and arrow given by one of the vamps before their eyes briefly landed on me. He pointed his finger in the area in front of me, alongside a vamp. "Stand there," he ordered.

"You're going to make me your target?" I asked in surprise.

He gave me an annoyed look before showing me the bow. "I'm going to teach you."

I cleared my throat and joined the row. "I've never shot an arrow before."

"I'm not surprised."

"But I've stabbed someone with it once," I mumbled. Sawyer squinted his eyes before showing me the bow. "What is this for, anyway?" I asked.

"So that you know how to protect yourself."

I pouted and took the bow, no idea how to use it. "I'm a kingmage," I bragged without thinking.

He gave me a sarcastic smile before flicking his finger to my forehead. "That information is practically useless if you don't know everything about your power."

"Why won't you just tell me about that instead of teaching me this?" I asked and leaned closer to whispered, "That way, you could actually help me."

He pushed my cheek away and pointed to one of the targets. "Look at it. Let's say that's Rougan. Where exactly do you want to hit it?"

I watched the fabric gently sway with the wind. The mark is a silhouette of a bust. "In the head?"

"Why would you kill him?" he blurted.

"I thought this was hypothetical?"

"Go on. Hold this tight." He dropped the conversation and taught me the proper stance.

"If I hit a vamp, tell them to not come at me," I warned.

He clicked his tongue and looked away. "We're briefed very well not to hurt you. Focus now."

I raised my arm and pulled the arrow. It was a little heavy, but the stretching sound it made was pleasant to my ears. Sawyer stood behind me and moved my shoulder. "Relax. You're going to hurt your arm."

He gently took his hands off my shoulder and whispered. "On my cue..." I nodded and waited for him. "Happy birthday," he whispered.

I released the arrow and watched it pierced through the fabric, plunging on the ground. A huff escaped my lips as I smiled in amusement. "I'm a fast learner, aren't I?" I boasted. "Can I have this?"

"That's mine. I bought one for you. You want to come with us and hunt?"

I'm almost ready to agree when I suddenly remembered my plan to join Cooper in making the Sapper. "I told Rougan to make room for Cooper."

He gently nodded and watched the other guys practice. "Yes. The handmaids were already preparing the room. Cooper and the guys must be on their way here by now."

"How long should I wait?"

"Maybe tomorrow," he replied and took the bow before walking away. He stopped beside a slim guy who, just like me, had no idea how to use the bow.

"I'll hunt with you then," I told Sawyer.

He looked at me and smiled before nodding. "Go back to the mansion. It's time for lunch. I'll call you later."

I went back to the mansion, but I headed to the left-wing and looked for Rougan, but he's not in his room. A vamp walked past me, so I turned to him to ask. "Have you seen Rougan?"

"Sir Rougan is in his study."

I glanced on both sides of the hallway. "Where is it?"

"This way," he led me to a hallway behind me, so I follow him close. We stopped in front of a door while the vamp knocked twice. I glanced at the lamp on the wall and remembered the fire earlier, so I looked away and gently shook my head. This is absurd. That wasn't me, so I should stop feeling guilty about it.

The guard gently pulled the door, and we found Rougan sitting on the edge of his desk as he read a paper. "Am I disturbing you?" I asked while the vamp began walking away.

"Already disturbed," he replied while he had his eyes glued on the papers.

"Sawyer invited me to the hunt later," I informed him as I closed the door behind me.

He quickly turned to me, confused and frowning. "I didn't tell him to do that."

"Does everyone's move in this village have to be told by you?"

The handmaids came in with our food, so I had lunch with him. Someone knocked a few minutes later, prompting me to turn to the door while Rougan spoke beside me. "Come in."

Sawyer walked in, and his eyes immediately landed on me, so I stared back at him. I felt Rougan slightly caressing my arm with the back of his hand. "Finish eating," he said and stood up before picking up a familiar wine bottle. I briefly scrunched my nose when I smelled the awful scent of the blood.

"What is it?" Sawyer asked.

"I need to make sure,” replied Rougan, walking up to his friend.

I craned my head and found them standing beside the window to my far right. "Make sure with what?" Sawyer asked again. I looked away, but I kept listening to them as I pretended to eat.

"Let me see your chest."

"I beg your pardon?"

"It usually leaves a scar. So let me see."

They fell silent for a while before Sawyer whispered. "So?"

"Nothing. You're good."

Silence filled the room again while I craned my head to look at them. Sawyer was already walking out of the room. "What was that about?" I asked Rougan.

He sat beside me and scooped a spoonful of peas in a bowl. "Nothing that concerns you." I shot a look at him and leaned forward, prompting him to hang his mouth open while he observed me. I reached for his neck, but he caught my wrist. "What is it now?" he asked.

I squinted my eyes while our hands remained in the air. "Did you find the same scar on Sawyer's collarbone?"

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"What?" he asked in an undertone.

"You have a scar here," I whispered, pointing my fingers at his chest. "Is that some disease that occurs among the vampires?"

He huffed with a smile on his face before putting my hand atop the table. "You're overthinking. But it appears, it's something that shows up to anyone that you have " He cut himself off with silence. "Finish eating and put something more appropriate for hunting if you're coming with us," he coldly told me, so I leaned against my chair and stared at my plate.

"Why won't you tell me anything again?" I whispered.

“Because I don't want to," he replied right off.

I shot a look at him while he headed back to his desk. "I still have a lot of questions left unanswered-"

"Look, Dani," he cut me off. "It's nonsense asking me or any of us about things because once you drink the Sapper and get compelled, you will forget about us. So stop annoying me and be a good little girl," he blurted without a pause. I bit my lower lip and stood up to leave. Before I could reach the door, he ran towards me and reached for my arm. He looked guilty as he chewed on his lips. "That wasn't me. I'm sorry."

My heart pounded as I stared at him. "I don't even know what's the real you, Rougan. A cold vampire? An excessively aroused creature? A village leader? And honestly, I don't care anymore." I pulled my arm and left his study, heading straight to my room.

My head spun again, but I promised Sawyer that I'd hunt with them, so I forced myself into a white long-sleeved blouse, leather vest and pair of wool trousers. I was tying my boots when someone knocked, prompting me to face the door. "It's open."

A handmaid came in and smiled at me. "The carriage is ready, Miss Dani. This will be your first time out in the woods ever since you came here, isn't it?" she asked with delight.

I sighed. That gave me a little more motivation to do this. I picked up a flat cap from the cabinet and left the mansion. As I walked past the workshop, Cooper called me from behind. "Dani!"

He was walking with some vamp who carried small wicker trunks. He smiled at me and pointed his thumb at the mansion. "We'll see you in my lab tomorrow."

I smiled at him and watched him walk away until someone gently wrapped his arm around my waist. I turned to see Rougan leading me to the gate and shoved his arm away. "Stop acting all sweet now, or I'll stab an arrow to your head," I mumbled.

He looked at me and smiled. "What, you stab arrows and shoot swords?"

I gave him a sarcastic smile before turning into a full stop when we got close to the gate. "You're not trying to kill me, are you?" I asked when I remembered the extra precaution that they added to the gates.

"Step closer, and you'll see it won't pop out," he said before walking straight past the archway.

I was gently sticking my hand out when someone grabbed me and pulled me with him. "What in the world?!" I panicked for a moment, but it was Sawyer. The gate didn't zap me, but I was still irritated. "You, bastard!" I punched his arm, but he didn't even flinch.

He squinted his eyes at me and took a deep breath. "If we want you dead, you should have been dead by now, Dani. So come on." He slapped his palm onto the carriage's wall, so I hopped in and found Rougan inside.

He was fiddling his lips with his fingers while his elbow rested on the window sill. I sat beside him and looked outside. I don't remember what it looked like around the village when I first came here because it was dark. Looking at all these trees and the chirping of the birds somehow calmed me down. I rested my hands on the window and watched the trees around us.

"Once I'm compelled, will I forget how to shoot an arrow too?" I asked Rougan.

"Maybe," he mumbled.

I glanced at him. He was still gazing outside. "I should be the one who's mad, you know?" I taunted.

He looked at me but with tired eyes and a patient expression. "I'm not mad," he whispered, briefly caressing my arm.

I sat straight and watched him. "I know you told me that I should stop asking because I will forget all of this anyway, but don't you think that I'm the best person you can open up to? You can trust me that I won't tell anyone else because I'll forget them soon."

He gently shook his head and pinched my chin before smiling. "I'll tell you everything soon. Even the things you might don't want to hear."

My shoulder dropped as I gazed at his sad eyes. He honestly does know a lot, and it could be more terrible than I expected. Are we in danger? Is he in trouble?

The carriage stopped, and someone opened the door, so I hopped out with excitement. We're on the road in the middle of the forest. "This isn't close to Midplains, isn't it?" I asked to make sure.

Rougan shook his head before he led me inside the forest. "Here's your bow," he said while we walked. Sawyer came to my left and handed me one. It looks new and womanly.

"There," one of the guys whispered, so we turned to our left.

We found a deer eating from a bush while Rougan looked at me and laid his hand in the direction of the deer. "Do the honour," he whispered. He and the rest of the guys walked to a tree to my far right.

I was about to follow them, but Sawyer pulled my arm and gave me an arrow. "Stand right here," he murmured.

I positioned myself near a tree and pulled the arrow. "Remember to relax your shoulder, or you'll hurt your arm. It's okay not to hit it the first time. Just try to shoot.”

My heart raced as I glued my eyes on the deer. I'm ready, but I couldn't find myself shooting the arrow. Although this was just a practice, I felt guilty about killing the innocent animal. On the side of my eyes, I caught a bird landing on a branch over Rougan's head, so I twisted my body and aimed the arrow in his direction.

"No!" the vamps yelled in unison. Someone grabbed my arm, but I had already shot the arrow. I held my breath when I felt a painful force on my rib as my back hit the tree. I wasn't ready, so I fell straight on the ground. My stomach turned, and I got nauseous while my head started spinning.

"What was that, Sawyer?!" I heard Rougan scowling, so I shifted my gaze at him.

To my surprise, he punched the vamps who tried to grab him. I gasped in shock when he attempted walking up to me with all this worry in his eyes but only anger for his men. He was ready to hurt them to get close to me. What's happening? "No, Rougan!" Sawyer grabbed him as well, but before Rougan could hit him, someone from behind shot a set of arrows on his limbs. I gasped in shock and forced myself closer to the tree. "You asked us to do this, Rougan," whispered Sawyer while he held his friend.

Rougan growled in pain while one of the guys came to give him a vial. He chugged it down and tossed the vial to the ground before he fainted. My shoulders dropped at the sight of his blood on the ground.

"What is this," I whispered in disbelief.

The vamps on the ground stood up and fixed themselves before they carried Rougan by his arms. I watched his feet drag against the grass while Sawyer sat on his heels in front of me. "I wasn't going to shoot him," I explained. "I know. I'm sorry. It was my reflex."

"Your reflex was to throw me onto a tree?!" I yelled.

"I'll take you and Rougan back to the village. The men will stay to hunt. Come on."

I sat there frozen as I glued my eyes at him. "I've never seen him mad like that," I said under my breath. "Especially to the other vamps-"

"I'm sorry for tossing you. Let's go "

I grabbed his arm and clenched my jaw. "Why is he so mad? He didn't look like himself. He looked like he's...possessed."

Sawyer pursed his lips before grabbing my arm and forcing me to stand up. "Do more things like that, and we might lock you up in a room, so you better behave," he warned. His guilt was gone.