After a few weeks. . .
Rhazaroth would come during day time to the restaurant to help Lucien to adjust to a day time routine.
With my help, we worked on a diagram of how to readjust Lucien into sleeping during the night and being awake during day time.
By two weeks into it, Lucien has been capable of being awake from five in the morning to about twelve in the day and going to sleep at that hour, only to wake up at seven in the night to up to ten in the night and going back to sleep. There have been some relapses, but that is normal and Lucien is a quick learner, so we are in no hurry to accomplish everything at once.
'I might have to buy or make something to give him shade though.' I noted.
'Dhampirs are often a bit weaker during day time but unlike actual vampires , they will not die or burn from the sun.' Rhazaroth reassured me.
'But Lucien will definetely burn.' I remarked pointing to Lucien's features. 'Although he is half human, he is still an albino. And albino's have almost the same sensitivity to the sun as a vampire.' I told him. 'In short, while he will not burn to ashes, his human skin will definetely suffer, especially in summer.' I murmured.
Lucien frowned and then turned to the window and opened the curtain. Probably to prove he could handle the sun. . . *HISSSSS!* He hissed out of pain and jumped to the shade in the corner.
Rhazaroth seemed to nod as he took in the information and witnessed Lucien suffer by a small dim of sunlight. 'Hmm. . . Well, if you think about it, human children so not go to school during summer, right?' He pointed out.
I thought about it and confirmed it with a nod as I closed the curtain. 'I mean, sometimes they go, where it is to catch what they did not learn, or because if poor academics they have to attend summer school. . .' I explained. 'But outside from that, children have summer break from the end of June to early September at best, why?' I asked him.
'Let's put it like this, during the summer, he will have the routine of a vampire, but from the last few weeks of summer to early school days, he shall transition from vampire routine to human routine, and he will keep the human routine throughout winter.' Rhazaroth proposed. 'And, once spring comes around, he shall start a even slower transition from human routine to vampire routine and keep the vampire routine through out summer.'
I thought about it and nodded liking the idea. 'Sounds perfect.' I smiled and then turned to see Lucien. 'Does this sound good Lucien?' I asked him.
Lucien looked up to both of us from the shady corner while touching his burning face with a bit of embarrasment. '. . .' He seemed to think about, and while it clearly looked like he did not understand everything, he still nodded, probably trusting us with his life. 'Yeah. . . I think so.' He said.
Rhazaroth and I smiled to each other and we both went to work.
. . .
November. . .
The sunny days turned pale and gray, there was still some warm, but the chilly wind did not helped. This made a perfect opportunity for me to bring Lucien out to the human world. Or at least the town we live in. And expose him to usual human-activity-hour and probably talk to the local school teacher about letting him start school.
I have also finished the deal with the merchant orc, who was delighted to receive the sugar, salt, knit kits, and gave me a lot of non-human things that non-humans had cero interest in, or just were plainly unuseful to them. But that's a story for another time.
A few days before, I had noticed that the cloak that he came with was, while dark and protective of rain and cold, it wasn't exactly "sunproof," so I bought him a bigger cloak of a bit bigger than his size, but it protected him from the sun, rain and cold, so it was a good investment. I do plan on taking him shopping today to get clothes of his size (maybe even bigger to save money) and better sun protection.
And I also checked the gloves that the box they gave me for him and. . . Nop! They were not sunproof either. I had to get him some protective gloves of leather for him to use.
'Free day!!' Liam jumped out of joy and everywhere, with the little girls giggling and clapping just as excited as him.
I laughed as I finally caught him and got him dressed for the gray and cold day.
Lucien was the only one standing still. Already ready because he knew how to get dressed and he was twice more calm than Liam. Lucien was also staring at our dynamic with worry, like he was afraid of Liam. . . Or for Liam.
'Are you okay Lucien? If you want you can arrange the shopping day another time and you can stay in the attic as long as you promise to behave.' I told him.
Lucien shook his head. 'Mm-mm, I wanna go out.' He declared.
'Okay.' I nodded and then turned back to Liam and finally got him into his winter clothes. 'There we go!' I let Liam keep running around as I got the babies dressed and into my back and front with the long scarf.
While I was doing just that, Lucien kept staring, like a statue. I admit I found it both a bit funny and a bit creepy, for I just noticed that his blinking pattern was like, twice as slow as a normal human. . .
But I ignored the feeling and went on to get my babies on my back. 'Ready. Now, Lucien, please come.' I requested giving him my hand while stretching the other to Liam.
'Free day!' Liam ran to me and took making jumps.
'Yes, Liam, it's free day but let me talk with Lucien, okay?' I told Liam and he seemed to calm down. 'Thank you.' I then turned to see Lucien who finally took my hand. 'Now Lucien, as you probably already know and heard, I have a restaurant downstairs that opens in the morning but closes at night.' I reminded him.
Lucien nodded. 'Yeah, I can hear a lot of people talking and even screaming downstairs.' He told me.
'Very good. So I'm sure you are aware that, humans are daylight creatures most of the time, right?' I asked.
Lucien nodded. 'Yes. Although some of the nightlight humans tend to work in dark places as well, and are usually. . .' Lucien turned swiftly to look at the stairway, as if he just heard something break. 'Not, so loud.' He explained.
'Well, that is because, unlike vampires, we humans cannot see in the dark and we don't thrive in it as well as vampires or even dhampirs do.' I explained to him. 'Therefore, we tend to save our breath and energy sleeping at night and thrive in the daylight.' I started to bring the children downstairs.
Lucien kept grabbing my hand with a serious expression, like an adult analyzing the information he was just given. 'But daylight hurts.' He said remembering the pain from the sun.
'Because you are a dhampir, and an albino one at that, it is completely normal for you to feel pain in the sun since you have albino and half-vampire genes, but normal humans like me or other halfblood like Liam here, who is half-human and half-elf, we do not feel pain of the sun, not after a loooong period of time at least.' I explained thing to him as he stood on the door that separated our home from the restaurant. 'Another thing for you to know is that, the main reason for me and Rhaz to get you to get used to a daylight routine is for you to get better exposire to human society, and for you to be able to go to human school.' I told him. 'After all, since we humans are only awake in daylight, there's no human school during the night, so it is both your and my only option.'
Lucien blinked as he digested the information I just gave him. '. . . Well, if it's necessary, I will do it.' He told me.
'Lucky, mom says I am still "too little" to go to school.' Liam mimicked me unamused for the phrase I often tell him.
'That is because you are.' I assured Liam. 'Lucien is around six or seven years old, or not?' I asked Lucien.
'Six and a half.' Lucien responded. 'Mother said I was born during a moon eclipse six years and a half ago.' He explained.
So he does not know when his birthday is, huh?'I raised both eyebrows but smiled. 'I see, thank you for telling me.' I nodded to him and then went on to keep explaining. 'Another thing to warn you, is that I would prefer if you would eventually hide your fangs.' I requested him. 'It does not need to be today, nor now, nor sooner rather than later, but, vampires often prey on humans and a lot of humans tend to hunt them down as retaliation and. . .' I took a deep breath. 'You would all of us a favor, if you were to learn to hide them.'
Lucien looked surprised probably taken aback by my request. 'B-But I do not hunt humans. I do not even drink blood. I am not able to even if I tried.' He pointed out.
'Yes, and I know that.' I assured him that giving his hand a tight yet soft grip. 'But a lot of humans do not understand the difference between a vampire and a dhampir. And a lot of humans have had family, friends and even pets who have been eaten by humans.' I told him. 'The same way a vampire clan will no care of the human who tries them on, the humans won't care of you or me or anyone of this family if it means having the satisfaction of revenge in their hands.' I warned him.
Lucien's red eyes blinked with tears threatening to say hi, his grip on my hand went tighter, yet he trembled. 'I-I . . . I do-do not want you to get hurt.' He whimpered.
I let Liam go and used the free hand to clean his eyes. 'And you won't. Not if you follow my lead and not let you of my hand unless I tell you to.' I promised him. 'Look, I am not asking you to hide your fangs forever, I am only asking you to hide them while you are out in the open and broad daylight. It is way easier for humans to accept you as an human albino under my care, than a dhampir.' I explained human nature to him. 'There will definetely be that human who has nothing better to do than to judge and criticize everyone for everything, believe me, I know. But, what can you do? Humans are complex, and most of the time prefer to make other humans feel less in order to make themselves feel better.' I chuckled.
Lucien giggled. 'That sad, and funny.' He frowned noticizing the contrast.
'Yes. But, you know why I am still taking you out?' I asked him and shook his head. 'Because you are still human silly!' I squeezed his cheek. 'I personally believe you'll be able to adapt yourself better to the human life than the vampire life? Why? Well, for one, you already eat human food. Yes, you have allergies and objects, but even some humans are allergic to silver, garlic and onions. Not everybody, but the allergies still exist.' I reassured him. 'Reason number two, is because of your growth rate. Whether vampires like it or not, you'll probably grow faster than their pureblooded people, so no human will suspect you of having vampire genes if you grow as quickly as us humans.' I pointed out. 'And last but not least, humans are flexible. Even thought most humans work during daylight, you have also seen humans work during the night. Once you become of age, you can easily take on a night human job, and nobody would question you.' I shrugged as I finished giving him the perks of living among humans.
I then noticed Lucien smiling. Like an actual toothy bright smile. With his fangs barely visible. Then he seemed to remember that he needed to hide them. 'Oh, sorry. . .' He covered his mouth.
I chuckled cleaning the last bit of tears from his eyes. 'Don't worry, everybody has the right to feel emotions and express them.' I assured them. 'But again, I am not asking you hide the fangs forever, only when you are out in broad daylight! And once we return back home upstairs, you can bring your fangs out like always.' I proposed to him. 'But, since we are coming out right now, try to just smile with the lips. Sounds good?'
Lucien nodded.
I then opened the door and brought the children into the restaurant.
The restaurant was full of humans this time. Because winter was coming around, Green Lee told me that a lot less non-humans would be coming because they also needed to prepare for the winter, which in turn, it was another reason as to why I decided to leave Orson in charge will I bring my new kid out to town.
Lucien narrowed his eyes because of the light, but he started to look around as we walked by.
'Good Morning Lady Baker! Miss Baker, hi! How are you Miss Baker!? Good Morning boss!!' The people around me greeted me, whether were locals, regulars, or my employees, they were all saying hi to me.
My reputation must have probably went up sky high because of the contest. Should I do something for winter? I wondered as I walked out the back door with my kids.
I then brought Lucien to meet Peanut and Jam for the first time, who were being taken care of by Valerian. 'Good Morning Valerian!' I greeted him.
Valerian turned to see me. 'Oh! Lady Baker, hello!' He put the poop shovel to the wall and trotted to me to say hi. 'I just started to clean the stable, so you need something?' He wondered.
'Yes, I am taking the cart and the children out.' I told him presenting Valerian to Lucien. 'I just got the new one a few weeks ago, and haven't got time until now to show him around.' I told Valerian giving a good excuse.
'Well, with the good reputation the restaurant has, it is not wonder.' Valerian accepted the excuse and then clapped. 'Anyway, I'll help you getting started. You want just one or the two horse?' He asked.
'Both, that way they both get their walk and finally get their walk in one go.' I exhaled.
'Very well.' Valerian then trotted to get the things ready.
While Valerian did what he was told to do, I then brought Lucien to the horses. 'Lucien, this is Peanut.' I took Lucien in my arms and brought him face to face to the male horse. 'Peanut, this is my new kid, Lucien.' I presented Lucien to the horse.
Peanut smelled with curiousity and caution, probably already aware of Lucien being half "Blood-sucker," which made Lucien half-predator.
Fortunately, Peanut seemed to understand that Lucien was a good one, for then he put his nose on the chest and took a big sniff.
Peanut then pulled from the kid as if analyzing what he was smelling. . .
Then he put his nose on Lucien's chest and took a big sniff once more and pulled out analyzing again. . .
Peanut then huffs, and puts his nose on the child's shoulder accepting him as part of the family.
Lucien, a bit surprise at the actual size of the horse (probably never saw one in daylight, much less up close), but he then smiled (without showing his fangs) and gave a small touch to the horse's nose. 'Hehe. . .'
We then heard offended huffs from the sassy Jam (the mare) who was staring at us with the "what about me?" Offended stare.
'Yeah yeah, we're coming missy.' I then brought Lucien to Jam. 'Jam, this is Lucien. Lucien, this is Jam, the mare.' I presented them to each other.
Lucien blinked as the mare sniffed him with a stare that said "I am watching you and you better be grafetul about it." Lucien stiffled a laugh. 'She. . . Has a lot of personality.' He remarked.
'She does. A good word to describe her is "sassy."' I told him.
Jam then huffed, and turned her head away. As if she was offended by what I just called her.
'Excuse me? Do I have to remind you who almost hit to the other side of the barn because I did not put your blanket "correctly"?' I reminded her.
Jam huff louder and stomped her front right leg.
I sighed heavily. 'Years are not making you any younger, and clearly not any less sassy.' I determined.
Jam huffed snipping her mouth, as if to say "watch it."
I showed her my tongue. Jam then showed me hers, as if mimicking me. We then turned out heads to the opposite suite huffing.
Lucien turned to look at each one of us, then at Peanut who was also witnessed everything. Peanut himself turned to look at the floor and had the actual audacity of taking a deep breath and exhaling if he was expressing his resignation. Lucien could not help but giggle a bit with this.
Liam for his part was giggling at my and Jam's interaction far louder than Lucien.
'Glad you find my discussion with Jam amusing.' I muttered under my breath.
. . .
At the main street. . .
We were finally here, and I could tell Lucien was staring at nothing yet everything at the same time.
People walking around in the streets, some entering a few stores, others leaving such stores, a group of people conversing in the middle of the cold with their elegant and brightful attires, others walking alone either in a slow pace or running for some other reason. The men with their top hats and suits, the woman with their beautiful dresses and extravagant hats.
Boys ran in their boots with costs in their bodies, girls chatted amongs themselves with their pretty dresses, and grabbing their hats from the wind. There were coaches on their charriots being pulled by horses, and each coach was either fullfilling a task such as a delivery of bringing people to where they needed to go.
As I went through the town with the children on the cart, with my baby girls still on my back and front, Liam and Lucien on the cart itself as Liam waved at everyone who came by our cart, and Lucien, well, he was covering himself up with the cloak that he was wearing, but his head was turning to see everything and everywhere he could turn his eyes to.
I then brought Lucien to a tailor in town, and while I let Liam ran outside with the other boys who already knew him and let him play with them (after all, with Liam's magical skills, he made things a lot more fun), I brought Lucien inside the tailor's shop with my babies who were out in the steampunk themed stroller that I brought on the cart.
The tailor shop on the inside was warm, with frontal picture windows that let both warmth and sunlight come through and mannequins standing close to the windows to show people outside what the tailor offers. The floors were made of dark wood and were squeakly clean. Another pair of mannequin were being showed on a wall and that was lighted up by a pair of gas lamps.
'Hello my lady, can I ask what's your purpose here?' A tailor in his mid-thirties presented himself as he came up to us with what I could tell (or recognize) was a very "gay tone," and a "customer service" smile.
'I came to get personalized clothing this child.' I told the tailor as I gently took off the hood off Lucien, who was staring wide eyed at the very elegant human tailor.
The tailor raised his eyebrows in surprised, but not in a mean or grossed out way, but more like in an automatic reaction when someone just saw something they did not see coming. 'I see. You are searching for clothes that protect "porcelain skin," I presume.'
I nodded confirming his guess. Lucien on the other hand, seemed to check out his own skin after hearing the tailor call it "porcelain skin."
The tailor kneeled to Lucien's level and took the child's hand to check out the skin's texture and confection. 'Hmm. . . This type of skin will easily get burn with the hot summer sun and turn red in less in a minute. I suspect you haven't let the child out until today for it is a gray day, and practically the start of weather transition from cool to cold.' He stood up straight and turned to see me.
I nodded confirming his suspicion. 'I even ended up buying this heavy cloak for him just in case the gray day turned a bit too bright later.' I added.
The tailor nodded approvingly. 'Well, I must say, you made a good choice with the black wool exterior and cotton interior of the cloak, but I do suggest at least having at least two other cloaks, the one that he already has is perfect for winter, but the other two should cover the seasons in which the weather transitions and one much heavier for summer.' He immediately recommended. 'If you follow me, I can show you my best textiles and materials to confectionate both of the other cloaks and, if you want a five clothing set for each basic ocation for any boy in this town: home, church, school, work, and sleep.' He offered.
'Oh, that sounds amazing!' I immediately accepted.
Lucien seemed to flinch at the word "church," his breath and posture went stiff, surely he heard horrors about the church and what they did to fellow vampires of his ex-clan, but I gave his hand a squeeze of reassurance and we followed the tailor guided us deeper into the shop.
'As you can see there's a huge variety of textiles, patterns and styles of clothing to choose from.' The tailor guided us through many different maniquins and attires. 'But for a "porcelain skin" child, the materials not only need to protect but they should also feel comfortable in it. After all, you would not want the child to suffer from itchy or uncomfortable clothes just to protect him for the sun.'
'Surely not.' I agreed with the tailor, while stopping Lucien from touching a very expensive-looking attire of a mannequin.
'Which is why, tailors like me like when people like your son over here come to our shops.' The tailor pointed to Lucien. 'His skin makes it a fun little challenge for people like me and gives us the opportunity to try the newest textiles and clothing on him, even if you cannot buy them, just to see how his skin reacts to them and how comfortable he feels in them.' He admitted, while informing Lucien's growing pastel pink blush in his cheeks at his words. 'Is there any budget in you my lady?'
'Well, I'm afraid I cannot accept the five clothing set as a whole if one or all of them go exceed my budget of five silvers.' I told the tailor.
'Five silvers?!' The tailor could not hide his surprise. 'Are you a noble, perhaps?' He wondered in a much lower voice.
Lucien frowned at the tailor's sudden change in voice tone and volume.
'Not really, I am just a restaurant owner. A very, suscessful one at that.' I answered trying to be discreet.
'Really?' The tailor seemed to think about it, and then his eyes seemed to budge out from his sockets. 'A-Are you, Lady Baker from "Spice Delights?"' He asked in a much louder voice. A bunch of tailoring worker came out from his back like an especial effect. 'My my! No wonder your golden eyes sounded familiar to me!' He remarked. 'The people often tell me about Lady Baker's restaurant, although I haven't gone too, I'm afraid.' He told a but embarrassed. 'Being new in town makes you busier than before, and I've also here about your. . .' He side-eyed Lucien. 'Habit, of taking in non-human children.' Raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
Lucien gulped down and his hand grip went tighter as he started to hide behind me.
I chuckled a bit uncomfortable. 'Don't worry, he was left at my doorstep by his parents.' I told them. 'In bright daylight. Both of them as human as I could recognize.' I lied.
The tailor frowned and grunted. 'People with not taste I presume.' He deduced.
'Oh believe me, you have no idea.' I agreed. 'They only have me a box with no clothes for him and a bunch of useless things.' I whispered to the tailor covering Lucien's ears from hearing what I wanted to say. 'Only a pair of "silk of gloves," is what they put in the box as clothing!'
The tailor gasped offended. 'No! Don't they know that this is the countryside?! Even I, who is a mere commoner tailor, knows better than to just give away silk to a literal child, who will practically ruin it before even putting them on!' He exclaimed indigned.
'That's what I thought!' I agreed and then uncovered the child's ears. 'Ehem, coming back to the subject, what type of clothing and textiles do suggest for my little Lucien?' I brought Lucien infront of me.
The tailor cleared his throat. 'Well. . . Because of the "porcelain boy's" skin and your pretty generous budget, I highly suggest using cotton as the primary material to cover him due to being able to both being soft and protective, but I also suggest denser material like linen or hemp, which are also affordable, denser, and not itchy. . .' He turned to see his fellow tailors and waved his hand, making them scatter. 'Another thing to consider is the colors. . . Ehem, please follow me, my lady.' He requested without looking at me, probably hiding his embarrassment.
I smiled and brought Lucien, who was curiously touching his neck as we walked even deeper into the tailor shop.
. . .
A few hours later. . .
Both Lucien and I were exhausted. The tailor insisted on making Lucien tried each and everyone of the attires to make sure they fitted perfectly or a bit bigger (as I previously asked). It was a miracle the babies were too entretained by the colors and maniquins around them to become fussy or irritated.
The tailor even went as far as making my money worth it by giving me a deal of two sets of each attire for the five silvers, and I saw no reason to refuse.
The two home attires were made of cotton on the inside and light linen on the outside, the shirts were white cream and beige and the pants were gray and beige.
The two sets of school clothes were made of strong cotton, the two long sleeve shirts were pale blue, the wasicoats were dark ocean blue, and the pants were coal black and dark brown (with black suspenders attached in both pairs of pants); plus a black coat that combined with both sets.
The church attires (or as I will oficially call them "elegant attires"), were made of fine quality linen on the outside and high dense cotton on the inside, the long sleeve shirts were pure white, the waistcoats were black and midnight blue and both jackets and pants were of the same colors as the waistcoats respectively to each set.
The working outfits were primaron made out of hemp with the interior being made out of strong and dense cotton, the shirts were beige and light brown and both pants were dark brown (with black suspenders that could be attached or detached).
Last but not least, the pijamas, both top and bottom were made of light flannel and while one of the pijamas was light blue, the other was white.
'Thank you so much for the deal.' I thanked the tailor with a huge smile. 'I hope to come by next time Lucien grows, for I fear he comes through a growth spurt like any other boy.' I promised the tailor.
'Come back any time.' The tailor said.
'Now that I think about, do you maybe also do uniforms?' I asked.
'Why yes, I do for maids, buttlers, chefs and even barn boys, why do you ask?' The tailor confirmed.
'Because I've been thinking of getting my employees our own uniforms.' I told him.
*KA-CHING!!* The sound could be heard from the eyes of the tailor, which I swear turned into money coins for a brief moment. 'Why if you wish, it would be our absolute pleasure to make you such uniforms.' He offered.
'Thank you very much.' I smiled brightly.
The eyes of the tailor seemed to narrow, like the eyes of Lucien which seemed to squint as soon as he saw me.
'I admit I am still thinking of the style and specifics of the uniform, and I am checking the budget for it.' I admitted with a bit of embarrassment. 'But as soon as I have the details, I let you know.'
'Of course, my lady.' The tailor nodded bowing a bit too much than one should bow to a commoner and we bid each other goodbye.
By this time, even Liam got tired of playing and was entretained with the horses who were staring at him, like they were actually understanding every word he said.
'You are back mom!' Liam trotted to see Lucien in his new attire. 'Wow. . . You look new!'
Lucien, who was no longer wearing his little vampiric suit (which I quickly hided away from human eyes as Lucien dressed), and was now wearing one of his school outfits and the coat, blinked in surprise. 'R-Really?' He hugged the coat.
'Yeah!!' Liam nodded enthusiastically.
I chuckled. 'Come on now, we still have to go to the shoe maker and the hatter.' I told them as I picked Liam and brought them up to the hat.
Lucien gulped down, probably remembering the tiredness of the tailor. 'Em. . . Weren't we going to the school?' He asked shrinking down.
I took a deep breath knowing what that tone meant. 'Lucien, little Lucien, Lulu, Lucy, my tini tiny little ball of snow and big red cranberries for eyes.' I kneeled in front of him. 'The school is at the other side of town. Which means, as we go to the school we shall go for all the things you will need. Not just the clothes, it's also the shoes, the hats, maybe one or two umbrellas, school stuff like backpack, notenooks, books, pencils, razors, etc.' I debriefed him onto all the things we needed to get him.
Lucien looked at me with what I can only describe as PURE HORROR. If he was pale before, he was now dead-looking like a ghost. His tired smile turned upside down and his eyes seemed to almost pop out of their sockets. Yet, he still gulped down and closed his eyes in resignation. 'Very well.'
'Woooow!! We'll be going on a huge adventure!!' Liam jumped in the cart with excitement.
'Come on now.' I picked Lucien up and put him in the cart. 'Now remember: the sooner we do this with no complaints or tantrums, the sooner we are done and we get to go home.' I told Lucien as I put the girls in back and front once again and put the stroller in the cart with the boys.
'Wahoooooooo!!!' Liam exclaimed in excitement. Lucien on the other hand, sighed like he had just aged over one hundred and fifty years.