Kicking another person, Calhoun quickly ran away from there as the wound felt like it was spreading the pain throughout his body, and one of the men had got a hit against the side of his head. He needed time before he could fight them again, and he huffed for air, his body staggering as he ran through the alleys and the men followed him quickly on his heel.
When Calhoun hid between the walls and away from the eyes, the main man who was in charge of the group demanded,
“Where is he?! He should be somewhere close by! Make sure to drag and bring him to me!”
“Sir!” came the collective voices from the other six men who had accompanied the man who just ordered them.
“Everyone split up!” came the next order, and the men dispersed from the streets.
The rain had eventually slowed down, leaving a drizzle of the rain. He gritted his teeth at the wound that was on his stomach. He doubted he would be able to get back to the castle right away, and his body felt like it was losing its strength.
When he got to an alley, his body slid down, and he sat down on the ground.
Calhoun noticed how blood dripped down from his leg, and he leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes, taking a breather. The rod had gone too deep into his body, and he coughed out blood from his mouth. With the amount of blood that he had lost, he now craved for blood.
He sat there for minutes that felt like hours because of the pain, and when he heard a small sound approaching his way, he believed it to be a stray cat. When the sound stopped in front of him, Calhoun opened his eyes, and his eyes fell on a small girl who wore oversized clothes as her hands almost disappeared because of the long sleeves. The girl was a human and probably around the age of five.
Instead of being scared by him, she stared at him.
“Haven’t you heard not to speak to strangers and to run away from them?” Calhoun asked the girl.
The hand that he had placed on his stomach hadn’t moved, and his tongue ran across the corner of his lips, feeling the sore and metallic taste of blood coming from his mouth. The pain in his body didn’t reduce, and he was hungry.
He could smell the scent of blood wafting from the little girl, and it was divine.
It wasn’t just because of his hunger, but there was something so sweet coming from her, like the petals of roses. He was gravely injured, and to make it better. He needed blood.
His eyes moved to look at the ends of the alley, making sure her guardians weren’t around, and he raised his hand forward that he had been clutching on his stomach,
“Come here.”
When the girl took a step back, Calhoun’s eyes narrowed. It seemed like this was easily scared, and he decided to use a much sweeter tone, “Come here, little girl. Let me see what you have in that hand of yours.”
The girl’s eyes fell on his hand that was covered in blood. The girl finally took a step forward and brought her hand forward, opening them to show him a four-clover leaf.
“Hah,” Calhoun responded, looking at the leaf and then up at the girl. “Do you believe in that thing?”
The little girl slowly nodded her head. Her eyes were brown, and her hair blonde.
“How lucky are you to be meeting someone who is at the peak of hunger,” murmured Calhoun to himself. “Why don’t I take a look at the leaf? It seems like it’s not working well for you. I will return it to you.”
The girl’s eyes turned slightly wide when her eyes fell on the ground that slowly spread the redness in the water.
She was small and naive, moving towards him for him to get hold of the clover-leaf.
Just like he thought, the girl took five small steps towards him, holding the cloverleaf for him to take. The smell of blood that belonged to her got more potent, and his eyes turned red. All he had to do now was quickly grab her and then sink his fang until she was dry.
But before he could grab her, the girl covered his mouth with her handkerchief.
“What do you think you are doing?” asked Calhoun.
“Hurt,” she spoke with her small voice.
“You know I am starving,” said Calhoun.
“I have no food,” replied the little girl and a chuckle escaped Calhoun’s lips.
“Why will I ask my food to bring me food? It makes no sense, stupid little girl,” Calhoun brought his hand up and flicked the girl’s forehead before pushing her forehead with his index finger so that she would keep a distance by taking a step back away from him so that her blood would not tempt him. “You are a funny one.”
Calhoun then said, “Go back to your parents. I cannot promise that I will spare you if I meet you next time,” he ordered before leaving the alley and the girl behind.
Back in the castle, Morganna hummed a happy tune as she looked at the sky that had started to clear.
“You seem to be in a rather pleasant mood today, mother,” noted King Laurence, and Morganna’s smile only widened on her lips.
A soft sigh escaped the woman’s lips, and she said, “The weather today is pleasant. What is not there to appreciate it. I can tell that our rule in Devon is going to thrive and one day is going to outshine the other lands by capturing the others as ours. I can tell just by the weather today that it is going to be a good day. Wonderful actually.”
King Laurence responded with, “Here, I thought things would turn sour after what happened between you and Calhoun, but I am glad to see that you haven’t taken it ill to your heart.”
Morganna chuckled, “Why would I? He is my grandson, and I have decided to accept him and love him dearly.” She had asked her men to kill Calhoun today and dispose of him where no one would find his body. Calhoun would not make it back, thought Morganna to herself.
But after a few hours, when Calhoun returned to the royal court, it was like a slap on Morganna’s face, and she couldn’t help but glare at the boy. She had sent her best men to kill Calhoun, hoping to never see Calhoun’s face ever again in the castle, but here he was, standing in the large room with her son.
