John woke up the next day, and as usual, a couple of minutes later, he heard a polite knocking on the door. "Come in," John said, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Good morning, Young Master."
One of the maid vampires entered the room carrying a silver tray with a single glass of dark blood on it. She moved gracefully across the room to place the tray on the table located next to his bed.
"It is alright, I will drink the blood right now, then you can take the glass and the tray with you."
John took the glass from the tray and drank a huge amount of it, feeling the familiar surge of energy hit his system. He looked at the maid, who had long brown hair tied into a neat ponytail. She looked like a woman in her early thirties, though John knew by now that age was a deceptive concept in this castle.
"If you do not mind me asking, Miss, what is your name?"
"My name is Rebecca, Young Master." When the maid spoke, John saw no emotional expression on her face. She was the very picture of detached professionalism.
"I am pretty sure you know who Elena is, right? Do you possibly work here longer than her?"
"Yes, Young Master, this one is familiar with the maid Elena. This one has also served the Crimsons longer than her."
"Wow, so you must be strong, right? If you and Elena had to fight, do you think that you could beat her?" John's eyes were immediately drawn to the concept of power dynamics, a habit he had picked up since arriving in this dangerous world.
With no hesitation, Rebecca said, "Yes, Young Master, I can beat Elena with no difficulty."
John's eyes were sparkling when he heard this maid was even stronger, having seen how powerful Elena was against the werewolf. He was clearly trying to map out the castle's pecking order. "Can you beat Richard in a fight? Or maybe Aunt Reina?"
Rebecca looked at John for a moment, her gaze flat. "This one will never hurt one of the members of the Crimsons."
"Oh, come on, Rebecca, this is a hypothetical question!" Rebecca stood there and looked at John, who was staring at her, all excited with stars in his eyes.
Rebecca then gave a light cough, finally breaking her rigid demeanor just slightly. "Well, Young Master, to be honest, Master Richard is quite young. In some cases, a vampire's age does not always mean he is stronger, but a vampire does get stronger with age. In this case, I am older and much stronger than Master Richard. On the other hand, Lady Reina is far stronger than this one."
John nodded his head, feeling a surge of pride that the person training him was considered one of the strongest in the castle, second only to the clan leaders. "You straight, Aunty Rebecca, I like you." John then drank the last of the blood in the glass and returned it to the maid.
Rebecca gave John a light bow. "Young Master, it is not necessary to call this one aunty. Rebecca is acceptable."
"Cool, Rebecca it is. Well, if that is all, then you may leave. I want to lay in bed for a few hours before it is time to go to training."
"Yes, Young Master," Rebecca replied before leaving the room.
When Rebecca closed the door, she paused for a moment in the quiet hallway. Most of the time, she maintained an emotionless expression, a mask that was essential for a centuries long servant of the Crimson family. But John's casual comment about her being straight and calling her Aunty had unexpectedly breached that composure.
Standing in the hallway, she thought to herself that the Young Master had said he liked her. The comment brought a rare, warm smile to her face, a subtle softening of her features that was never seen by the family. She took a deep breath, let the moment pass, and then walked away to continue her duties. Her purpose felt momentarily reinforced by the young master's simple kindness.
====
After a few hours, John put on his training clothes and made his way to the training ground where Reina was already waiting for him.
Tip and Nate, the two teenagers who usually trained alongside John, walked up to him as he arrived. While they were not his best friends, they were his regular training partners, and they had spent the last few days buzzing over the rumors of his survival.
"Young Master John, we are really glad that you managed to survive and come back safely," Tip said, his voice earnest. He leaned in closer, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Did the werewolf bite either of you? We heard that even one bite is fatal to a normal vampire."
John smiled wryly and puffed out his chest just a little. He decided to share the story, though he could not resist throwing in a few exaggerations to make himself look better. "It was intense, guys. The werewolf was huge, and at one point, it lunged right for Elena. He wanted to bite her, but I came in clutch like the hero I am. I stepped in and blocked him just in time."
Nate's eyes went wide. "You took on a werewolf?"
"Well," John said, scratching the back of his head with a grin. "He was way too powerful for me to finish off alone, obviously. It was a struggle, but we managed to escape his claws before things got too ugly. Then Caden showed up and laid the smackdown on the wolf guy to finish the job."
Nate and Tip were instantly excited. "Wow, I wish I was there to see Master Caden in action. We only heard stories about how great he is with a sword."
"Me too," Nate echoed, clearly impressed by John's "heroic" intervention.
Reina, who had been listening and was secretly amused by John's creative storytelling, cut in sharply to bring them back to reality. "Okay, boys, it is time for training. I want you all to start running."
John hated running with a passion, but he knew the routine. Clenching his fist and gritting his teeth, he started his laps. This time, Reina did not let him rest or set a slow pace. She made him run until his legs finally gave out and he collapsed onto the dirt. After John was done recovering, she handed him heavy dumbbells and forced him through all kinds of upper body exercises until his arms felt like jelly.
After John finally recovered, he reached into his storage ring and pulled out a plastic bottle of blood. He was ready to take a much needed drink to replenish his energy, but Reina stepped in and stopped him.
"No, John. This time, you are not allowed to drink blood to help you recover. I thought about how I can make the training more intense, and I got an idea," she said. She smoothly reached out and took the bottle from John's hands before he could take a single sip.
"Guard!" Reina called out, her voice carrying across the grounds.
One of the vampire guards immediately approached her and gave a light bow. "How may I be of service, My Lady?"
She handed the vampire guard a small note. "Bring me this prisoner."
"Yes, My Lady," the guard replied before disappearing toward the dungeons.
After about fifteen minutes, the guard returned with the prisoner Reina had requested. It was a man who stood about five feet eight inches tall, with thick, messy hair and a notably large nose. He was clearly human, and while he looked utterly terrified, there was a spark of defiance in his eyes.
Reina walked up to him with a calm, predatory grace. "Are you prisoner number zero zero eight?"
"Fuck you, vampire slut! My name is Russell!" the man spat, his voice fueled by a mixture of raw fear and desperate rage.
"Hey, you cannot talk to my teacher that way!" John immediately inserted himself into the conversation, instinctively defending Reina despite his own exhaustion.
The prisoner looked at him angrily, his eyes narrowing as he sized up the teenager. "What is your name, boy?"
"John," he replied firmly.
Russell looked at him with pure contempt and snapped back, "Oh, then fuck you too, John."
Reina merely smiled at the prisoner's comment, unaffected by his outbursts. "John, we will not be training outside today. We are going to an indoor training room inside the castle. Guards, please bring the prisoner along."
Reina turned and walked toward the castle entrance, and John followed her immediately. "Aunt Reina, why are we going to train inside the castle?"
"Oh, no reason, John. I just want this training to be a little private," Reina said, giving a low and knowing chuckle that made the hair on the back of John's neck stand up.
They walked through the corridors until they reached the lower part of the castle, stopping before a massive black door. Reina pushed it open, revealing a large, stone walled room that looked specifically designed for heavy combat. A man was already inside waiting for them.
"Hey, Caden!" John cried out, relieved to see a familiar face in the middle of this confusing situation. Caden simply waved from the other side of the room, leaning against a wall with a casual posture.
John looked back at Reina, his confusion growing. "Aunt Reina, what is Caden doing here? Is he going to train me next?"
Reina's expression was calm, but her eyes held a fierce intensity that John had not seen before. "No. I called Caden to keep an eye on your fight with the prisoner. I am going to leave you here with him as I have business to attend to. Do try your best to win this fight."
John was shocked. His blood hunger was momentarily forgotten, replaced by a wave of panic as he looked at the angry man standing between the guards. "Wait, hold up, do you want me to fight this grown man?"