Once more, the scene shifted. This time it was a medium sized room with bookcases stacked against all of its walls. The highlight of the room was a large desk centred in the middle, made of dark hardwood. Along with the desk came a leather high back chair which was currently occupied by a grim-looking man with a stare so severe, one would be tempted to turn tail and run at first glance. He was none other than King Steinn, current ruler of the vampires.

He shared the same pitch-black hair and hooded, sky-blue eyes as Lucius, but that was as far as the similarities went. The king wore a permanent, dour expression that was compounded by his ruggedly thick beard. Equally bushy eyebrows that slanted upwards at the tips added to the harshness of his stare and gave the king the overall air of unbending austerity.

Tucked away in a corner, and as hidden away as he could make himself, stood one of the king's long-serving attendants, and the owner of the current memory. He was silently cursing his luck at having the afternoon roster for the day. Even on any ordinary day, most palace officials were loath to face the intimidating vampire king but today was exceptionally treacherous, and it was all due to the young vampire currently standing before the king. The attendant continued to silently cry at his misfortune. Had he known of Prince Lucius' visit, he would have made arrangements to swap shifts with one of the new and naïve servants.

"What excuse do you have for your lateness this time, boy?" Steinn's voice was like distant rolling thunder, a deep rumble with hidden power behind it.

The prince stood with his head lowered, "No excuses, Father. The fault is all mine for having mismanaged my time."

Temper rising, the king's voice began an upward tick in decibels. "Shameless waste of space! Not only are you two hours late, you dare to enter my sight looking like this," the king curled his lips in disgust while looking at his son's tousled hair and rumpled clothing, already guessing what the prince had been up to the night before to have caused such tardiness.

The king had reminded himself earlier in the day to keep the conversation with his son pleasant, but now that they were facing each other, Stein was failing miserably at sticking to the plan of reining in his temper. "Will there ever be a time where you are not an embarrassment to your family?! Have you no shame or do you secretly find enjoyment in dragging our family name through the mud, with your scandalous behaviour? Everyone in high society knows of your antics when you are off galavanting all over the city!"

Lucius met his father's gaze with one of indifference. "Then let them talk, Father. I see no reason why their words should hold any weight. Why should I be ashamed when I have done no harm to others? Has there been any rumour of me causing bodily harm or damage to another's property? Of course there is none, for I am not one to break the law."

He unashamedly continued, "Is my behaviour of seeking pleasures of the flesh truly unordinary for a young vampire of my age? I think not, considering the number of other youthful vampires who likewise enjoy their own nightly rendezvous. Just why are you so vexed, Father?"

Hiding in his corner, the king's attendant could only gawk at the brazenness of the prince. King Steinn looked ready to blow an artery as he shot out of his seat, "If you were not my only son, I would have long thrown you out of the palace and blacked out your name in the family registry!" He stomped towards his son even as a vein in his forehead bulged from pent up anger. "You are not any other young vampire, who gets to spend their time and family money on pointless debauchery. You are the future heir who will continue the Bloodreign name!!"

By now, Steinn was yelling at his son and the sound of his voice boomed throughout the room, "Do not assume your position is safe, boy! Mismanagement of the kingdom could very well lead to food shortages, famine, a breakdown of civil society and an eventual uprising of the people. The elite know that if this happens, their interests will be in jeopardy, which is why they have always valued good governance to keep the peace. Right now, they view you as weak and ineffectual. Do you know what will happen if you do not obtain the basal support of the aristocracy?!"

When Lucius made no move to answer, his father snapped, "They will rebel! They will push for another from the royal lineage and I warn you, there exists a perfect candidate in the form of Felix, my sister's son."

The king was seething at the thought of his nephew one day becoming king. The son of his sister, whom he despised for her supercilious mentality, for being a fibster, her inability to keep a secret and not forgetting her love of gossip mongering. She was insufferable growing up with, and Steinn's grudge was strong enough that he had no wish to see her lineage come to power.

"That boy is only ten years older to you, but already in the army he is ranked a captain with command of a hundred men in his unit. His wife is the Lady Marina, whose family own large swathes of agricultural land up north. They supply at least a fifth of all blood reserves to the city." Steinn said bitterly, "Why are you not even half as capable as him?"

All the while, Lucius had maintained an indifferent attitude but when King Steinn began the benchmark comparison to Felix, his expression crumbled. He almost did not manage to prevent his fangs from elongating in anger as he harshly retorted, "He sounds like the perfect candidate for the throne Father. If it is his family name that bothers you, why not adopt him into our family registry?

"I am sure he will make you proud in my stead, since I am nothing but a failure to you. You could even remove my name to make place for his, something you have threatened to do each and every time we meet. I will be overjoyed to never have to listen to your nagging again."

The king's expression was blacker than a thundercloud. "How dare you, you, you insolent child!"

"I dare, because your words have long lost their value to me." The young vampire turned on his heels and headed to the door, saying without a backward glance, "I take my leave."

"Come back here! I did not give you my leave," Steinn pointlessly ordered.

"COME BACK HERE!!"

The final roar reverberated through the room and down the corridor, sending nearby servants scuttling away in terror. All the while, the king's attendant remained huddled in the corner, sweat drenching his uniform.

The king remained motionless for a long while, staring at the empty doorway until a familiar, tall and slender figure walked in. Queen Gyda gracefully glided over to Steinn, her gentle expression changing to one of concern at the sight of her husband's darkened expression.

"Steinn, what is it?" When her husband remained silent, she hazarded a guess before asking, "Where is Lucius? I was told he had arrived?"

"He left."

The queen gave a soft sigh while gently petting her husband's arm. "Did you antagonise him again?"

The presence of his beloved wife brought a swift and obvious change to the king's demeanour. His angry appearance evaporated into thin air, replaced by comical sulking. "Why is it that in your eyes, I am the one who antagonises him and not the other way around?!"

She let out another soft sigh, as if this were not the first time she had heard those words. She tried explaining, "But you always have a bone to pick with him. Nothing he does has ever met your expectations, starting from the time he was a child. I fear it has reached a point where he does not bother even trying. Remember, husband, the more you hurt him, the further he pulls away. If you do not stop, he will cease answering your summons."

Gyda had meant to infuse her husband with some rationale but instead her words jolted the king's anger back into action, "Then I will cut off his spending! Let us see how far he can go without my money." The king returned to his seat to sulk. "This child causes me endless heartache. As it is, I have my hands full dealing with the drought inflicting much of the lands. We are losing crops meant for animal feed. Livestock perishing directly affects our blood and meat supplies. If it were not for the blood we receive from Earth, I shudder to think of what would happen to our people. I have no time to deal with his selfish behaviour."

Once again, the queen gently coaxed, "If you could be gentler with him, I know he would make you proud. He is just a child who needs time to prove himself."

Her husband merely shook his head, "He has no time, Gyda. The royals think he is a joke. The older aristocrats are dismissive of him. The longer he misbehaves, the worse his reputation becomes. His position as heir is already precarious."

*****

Blackness enveloped the room before switching to a very different scene. Once again, Wisten was searching for his friend, but this time, open disdain for his surroundings was clearly visible, from the upward tilt of his head to the downturned corners of his lips. He was walking through a dimly lit corridor with multiple doorways on either side, moving in near-silence as the sound of his booted footsteps was muffled by the thick carpeting covering the entire flooring. The only barrier separating the room of each doorway from the corridor was a flimsy curtain, which meant that all sorts of moans and groans of pleasure floated through to passers-by.

As he passed each doorway, Wisten lifted the curtain to glance inside before hurriedly moving along. Finally, he reached a particular doorway, peered through, and then stepped inside. The air inside the small room was smokey from the numerous scented incense sticks burning in every corner, their holders precariously placed on window ledges, or in little indents along the wall. There were none on the floor, simply because the entire space was covered by naked bodies draped over each other. Right in the middle of the mess of bodies lay the sleeping figure of Lucius.

Wisten reached for the nearest incense holder and removed the sticks before hurling it at his target. The resounding thud and follow-up yelp gave Wisten immense satisfaction. He finally had something to smile about. Lucius snapped upright, right hand massaging the side of his skull. While wincing, he looked around for the source of his pain until his narrowed eyes fell upon the wide frame of the smirking vampire.

"Wisten, you load of shit!" Lucius struggled to crawl over sleeping vampires to reach the target of his wrath while Wisten simply turned around and walked with languid steps out of the room.

"Your mother sent me," announced Wisten calmly just as Lucius staggered into the hallway, looking about ready to beat the larger vampire to a pulp. He froze mid step, the flames of his anger immediately doused at the mention of the most important woman in his life.

"S-she did?"

"Yes. She is quite cross with you for leaving the palace without bothering to greet her."

Lucius clutched at his still-throbbing head in dismay. The earlier argument with his father had both angered and humiliated him to the point that his only focus had been to flee the palace as speedily as possible. Following that, he had so desperately wanted to brush away the feeling of oppression that always followed after a meeting with the king to the extent that he had rushed over to the usual place he and his groupies frequented for their tyrsts and spent two, or perhaps three days indulging to forget.

Caught in the midst of the feud between father and son, Queen Gyda had been completely forgotten, and now Lucius was being smacked hard in the face by an overactive guilty conscience. His sleep deprived mind struggled to think as he reached out both hands to grab Wisten, but the other vampire was quick to sidestep, one hand raised to cover his nose.

"Please keep your hands to yourself, Lucius, or our friendship is revoked. When was the last time you showered?"

"Oh, uh... The last we met, that day at the party."

"I am ashamed to call you my friend. Urgh. Hurry up and follow me, I have a horse ready for you. I am glad I did not bring the carriage. Just the thought of sitting in an enclosed space with you makes me nauseous." Wisten was not exaggerating. "We shall ride to my home where you will receive some much-needed grooming before we head to the palace."

They rode to Wisten's home where Lucius almost scrubbed his skin raw in the bath, ridding himself of days' worth of dirt and grim. He changed into a set of clothes he had left at Wisten's a while ago, before both vampires headed to the palace. Lucius blushed in shame when he finally greeted the queen, squeezing her slender frame in a tight hug before letting go to stare sorrowfully into her eyes.

"Mother, I am sorry about the other day," he began, but the queen interrupted with her own concerned fussing. "My darling boy, my baby, I am so glad to see you! Have you been eating well? You lost weight. Look at those dark circles under your eyes! Are you not sleeping well?"

Standing off to the side, Wisten silently observed the exchange between mother and son with a growing urge to stomp his foot in frustration. It was always like this! The father would pick on the son, leading to a heated argument which would without a doubt result in the angry son storming off to lick his wounds in his den of choice. Inner turmoil causing her to overcompensate, the mother would console her son and senselessly spoil him to make up for her husband's overbearing ways.

And of course, the cycle repeated itself. It was a twisted family dynamic, and one that made Wisten feel sorry for his best friend. But it also left him utterly frustrated! Wisten's lips twitched at the effort it took to prevent the corners from drooping. Somehow, he managed a neutral expression as he stood by quietly.

The queen led them to an outdoor garden patio as the servants brought in blood tea and some biscuits. Gyda always had biscuits served when Lucius was around, knowing how he loved the taste even if it had zero nutritional value. Wisten accepted the tea graciously as Gyda and Lucius continued their idle talk accompanied with genuine laughter and smiles.

Eventually as time passed, there was a lull moment when all conversation ceased and Gyda seemed to be assessing her son's mood. Lucius in turn leaned back and tilted his face to enjoy the warmth of the sun, using it as a shrewd move to avoid his mother's gaze.

"Lucius, my boy," she called out softly.

He exhaled slowly before looking at her. "Yes, Mother?"

"I know your father tends to be harsher than necessary with his words, but he does love you."

Lucius did an excellent job of hiding his scepticism. "Yes, Mother."

"If he says something not to your liking, please try not to reply in a manner that would rile him further. It upsets me to see the both of you with your fangs drawn, ready to chew each other up."

Her son sighed. "I will try, Mother."

Just then, the familiar brisk and heavy footsteps of his father echoed from inside, making Lucius glance sharply at his mother at the coincidental timing of their conversation with that of his father's appearance. Queen Gyda feigned ignorance, busy sipping at her blood tea.