A young boy slept in the bed who looked no older than nine years old, his mother looking down at him as she brushed his black hair aside, “I will need to cut your hair tomorrow. It has grown in length,” she said, looking at the hair before their eyes met. She was used to seeing her son with shorter hair that didn’t fall on his forehead.
“Tomorrow,” the young boy replied, a glint of mischief in his eyes which made his mother wonder if he wanted to keep his hair long. The woman looked at him, her dark red eyes which her son shared looking at him. Leaning forward, she dropped a kiss on his forehead.
“Get some rest, Dami. Tomorrow will be a long day. You will need to complete the assignments which were given today,” said Lady Quinn. Brushing his hair one more time before getting up from the bed, “Goodnight,” she wished him.
“Goodnight, Mama,” the boy wished back.
The lady went to the table where the candles were burning brightly in one stand. Picking it up by its base, she lifted it and started to make her way out before closing the door behind her. The fireplace was the only source of light right now. The boy had his eyes closed for several minutes after his mother walked out of the room. Hearing the sound of the footsteps reduced and diminished before his eyes snapped open.
Turning his eyes to look at the door, he looked at the bottom to make sure there was no one right now at the door or passing by it. It had been several minutes since his mother had left the room. Waiting for some more time, he pushed the duvet of cover which was on him. Placing his feet on the ground, he stood up before making his bed with the pillows and blanket in a way that looked like someone was sleeping in there.
Damien made sure to have the size of the pillow in there that looked like it was him who was sleeping so that no one would find it out at first glance. It wasn’t the first time he had done it, since he had found the ability to apparate and disapparate. Once the setup was complete, he took the coat which was tailored for him by his mother. Looking around the room, he snapped his fingers and the boy disappeared from the mansion of Quinn.
Damien was on top of the roof, his feet steady like a cat that didn’t wobble as he stepped on the tall mansion. He looked at the sky which was clear and bright in this part of the land of Valeria. The stars shining bright up in the sky which were millions to count and when he looked below and away from the mansion, he saw the villages that were many and scattered from each other. There were only a few towns with the tall tower bell which he caught sight of, ringing in a distance to point to the hour of the night. Letting people know that the night had come and had ended but to Damien, the night had only begun.
“I thought you weren’t going to come,” young Damien turned around to find his cousin Alexander who had only climbed up and on top of the roof, walking towards Damien.
“You said you were going to take me to the forest,” there was eagerness in the young boy’s voice. His smile wide which his older cousin found to be worrisome.
When Damien smiled like that, nothing ever good happened and they ended up in trouble.
“I think we should stay inside the mansion,” Alexander suggested and in time a gust of wind passed by them as they were standing at the second tallest building in the mansion.
“Ah!?” Damien looked at him in surprise, “What happened to taking me out?”
“We’ll do it tomorrow,” Alexander said, turning his back to face Damien but Damien crossed his hands across his chest, tapping his feet on the roof of the building, “How r. Didn’t you give me your word that you will be taking me to the forest?”
“I did?” Alexander tilted his head to receive a quiet glare from Damien, “I change my words then,” he said before starting to walk away from him.
“What a sore pureblooded vampire you are. Going back on your word,” the comment made Alexander stop walking. He turned over his shoulder to look at Damien with his narrowed dark red eyes.
“Don’t think it is going to work on me,” the older boy knew exactly how Damien’s mind worked. To his mother and family, he was a quiet and obedient boy and it was only here did he show his true colors. The scheming little vampire knew just where to press someone’s button to get an answer.
“But you turned to answer. Doesn’t it mean it worked?” the little boy gave him an innocent expression that had Alexander rolling his eyes at his cousin.
“Keep thinking about it. I heard there have been some odd activities in the forest going right now is not feasible. There have been some officials from the council who have been camping at the border,” Alexander let Damien know to see Damien blow air out of his mouth.
“Lord Alexander,” came a voice from below. When the two boys looked down, they found it was the butler, Martin who had come out, “The night is going to get colder. It would be wise for you and Master Damien to step inside.”
Alexander gave a nod to his butler, not wanting to cause him trouble. Since his parents had passed away, it was Martin who had been looking after the house but that didn’t mean the butler had overtaken the house and its rules. Everything was asked and run through by the young vampire who this mansion and other things around including the butler himself belonged to.
“We’ll be down there in a minute,” Alexander replied to his butler.
“Would master Damien want to drink something?” asked the butler looking at Damien.
“You don’t have to call him master because he has asked you to,” Alexander muttered under his breath. Damien had everyone call him master in a way that it had turned out to be a habit and a tag that had got stuck to the little boy. Some of the people in his mansion had referred to him as Master Damien that made the younger boy make everyone address him in such fashion and now he was the young master Damien Quinn.
Damien gave a thoughtful look, wondering what to drink when he said, “Do you have the Winter’s bottle with you in here?” the butler didn’t react to the mention of alcohol by the young vampire who was of age nine.
