Carriage
Carriage
Alan was asking Theodore about his plans for the next day. "So, you will be traveling by the carriage then?" He was a little confused why Theodore would want to do that when he could reach the Palace just by thinking about it.
Theodore wiped his hand on the towel and replied with a smirk, "Damien was boasting to Lilith that he was going to ride a carriage. So I think it will be nice if we travel by carriage for maybe an hour or two. He will get to experience the ride."
"Oh! I see I see," Alan nodded his head and said, "Well, I had already asked to prepare the carriage anyway. So, there's no problem."
Theodore looked a little restless and out of the place. So Alan asked him, "Is anything wrong?"
"No, not exactly…" Theodore then contemplated for a while and then asked Alan, "Why don't you keep an eye on Damien for a while?"
Alan pursed his lips and replied, "He might be already sound asleep but sure. Should I expect any trouble?" He asked that because Theodore still looked tense.
"Oh, no," Theodore shook his head and finally said with a little smile, "I haven't had the chance to inform Adeline about the incidents of today. I was abruptly summoned to Hell when I was in the middle of the meeting with the council."
Alan understood what Theodore was trying to say. So he asked, "Ah! Will you be coming back or will you sleep in the Palace?"
"No, I will be right back." Theodore would have preferred to sleep with his wife than sleep alone. But he had promised Lilith saying he wouldn't leave Damien's side. And he didn't want to break that promise.
When Theodore finally teleported back to the Palace after disappearing for more than half a day, Adeline came running to him and asked, "Was there any problem in Hell? Why did Lucifer summon you?"
Theodore wrapped Adeline in a tight embrace and rested his cheek on her head. "Ah! I missed my wife so much. I finally feel so relaxed."
"Theo..." Adeline smiled and hugged Theodore back. From the way he sounded, she assumed that nothing bad had happened.
"Did something interesting happen today?" she rephrased her question.
Theodore hummed for a while and then answered his wife while still hugging her tight, "I would say it was more of a mix of events. Mammon rallied his armies and attacked Lilith's stronghold. And Damien got kidnapped and–"
"What?" Adeline pushed herself back to look at Theodore's face and asked, "Damien got kidnapped? Did he got found? Is he okay?"
"Don't worry, he is fine." Theodore took a deep breath in and briefed what had happened.
After listening to what Theodore had to say, Adeline sighed in relief. "It looks like it was fate that Alan settled there in Grazia in time. Else things could have turned out very badly."
Theodore agreed to her. "Yes. Many things could have gone wrong."
And he also said in a worried voice, "I just hope that Damien won't go through the withdrawal now that he has tasted human blood."
"Withdrawal?" Adeline creased her brows in confusion.
Theodore's eyes dilated as he explained to her, "Blood is like an addiction to the vampires. So when they don't drink blood for some considerable time, then they will slowly start to lose their sanity, ultimately going into a slumber because their body also won't function properly."
Adeline asked in a worried voice, "So you're saying that he might turn all grey and unmoving if he doesn't get his supply of human blood?"
"No, I don't think Damien would be affected that severely. And I don't think we can call him a blood addict just because he licked blood once." Theodore sighed again and said, "I'm just saying that he might show the signs of discomfort or he might yearn for more blood."
"It would be too bad if that happened to him," Adeline was visibly upset after hearing what Theodore had to say.
"Nevermind that. It's just if's and what if's…" Theodore quickly regained his composure and changed the topic, "Anyway, I will bring Damien here tomorrow morning. He was insisting on meeting Ariel and I thought she would also be happy to see him."
Adeline smiled and nodded her head, "She will be over the moon. It will be a nice surprise for her."
"Yeah." Theodore then asked Adeline, "Is our daughter already asleep?"
"Yes. She was whining saying that she wouldn't sleep unless she got a goodnight kiss from you. But she fell asleep after a while."
"I bet you were waiting for yours." Theodore smiled and leaned down to kiss his wife goodnight. "Now I shall go back. Sleep tight."
"It won't be as cozy without you, but I will manage," Adeline gave the sweetest smile to her husband and saw him off.
---
When the first rays of the sun hit the land, Theodore went to Damien's room to wake him up.
"Damien, get up now."
Damien was still deep in his sleep. He didn't even hear a word that Theodore had just said.
Theodore walked close to Damien's bed and gently nudged him, "Damien, don't you want to go and meet Ariel?"
"Ariel!" Damien shot his eyes wide open and sat up on the bed.
Theodore scoffed at how fast Damien opened his eyes upon hearing Ariel's name.
"Okay, a maid will help you to get ready," Theodore informed him.
A maid who somewhat looked scared entered the room.
And in order to ensure that Damien wouldn't bite that maid, Theodore stayed in the room throughout.
When both Theodore and Damien were finally ready for the journey, Alan led them outside where the carriage was going to pick them up.
"Whoa! So this is the Kya rage? It looks amazing." Damien glanced at the magnificent wheelbarrow that a servant was rolling forward after throwing the horse manure in the field nearby.
Theodore narrowed his eyes at Damien and asked, "Are you expecting me to roll you all the way to the Palace in that thing?"
Alan laughed and pointed at the carriage that was approaching them. "That's the carriage. Doesn't that look more comfortable?"
Damien's jaw dropped upon seeing the real carriage.
Two beautiful white and brown horses were pulling the extravagant carriage. As the carriage belonged to that of a Prince, the decorations on it were even more beautiful.
And when the carriage stopped right in front of Damien, he couldn't help but admire that beauty.
The coachman opened the door of the carriage and prepared the footstool for Damien.
"Wicked! This looks like something God would ride on," Damien praised the carriage after seeing the interior. But before getting inside the carriage, he ran in front of it to see the horses up close.
"Tsk!" Theodore rolled his eyes and said, "Trust me, I wouldn't be traveling in this if it was something my father would ride."
"Did you say something?" Damien asked Theodore while nuzzling with one of the horses.
"Nothing!" Theodore heaved a sigh and then asked Damien, "Come on now. We have to leave."
"Okay." Damien ran and hugged Alan to thank him. "I will visit you whenever I come to this realm."
"Sure, young man. You are welcome here anytime." Alan gave a polite smile and gently patted Damien's cheek.
Damien then happily jumped inside the carriage.
After getting settled in, Damien eagerly waited for the carriage to start moving. He was so ready to see more of the Earth realm through the carriage window.