Four

"Your majesty, if I may?" Ryka spoke diplomatically, bowing his head to show his reverence. "I don't think it wise for you to play right into the humans' hands. They might not be wise, but their intentions are unscrupulous."

Ryka, the vampire warrior raised his head, revealing a pair of emerald eyes that looked utterly misplaced on his hardened face. He had shoulder-length hair and was big-framed, a man that was always out for blood, pun unintended. He was considered a beast by many due to his big size,  his straight mouth which rarely ever stretched to form a smile and his hawk-like gaze that never missed much.

The Vampire King, Carlisle, was a being that could not easily be understood. At six feet plus two inches, he towered over a lot of vampires and people alike. The composition of his face was designed for raw sin. He was almost ethereal, his looks gaining him much attention wherever he went. He walked with a confidence and a grace that clearly originated from the depths of his very veins. Many a being  failed to emulate him in his endeavours and the way he carried himself.

However, it wasn't his handsomeness or his poise that made him an object of mystery. It was the power he held. Being the most powerful and a pure blood in the Vampire Kingdom, yet navigating his life like a normal man was what his subjects and those lower in ranking failed to comprehend. 

He treated his subjects equally, fought to create a world for them in an otherwise brutal world, reminded them all that their kind were nothing like they were depicted in the humans' sources of entertainment. There weren't monsters, just enhanced beings; a tad bit special and stronger.

While many respected his efforts and consented to leading lives being bound by his rules, they had a long way to go before they fully trusted human beings. Human beings were selfish, vile and easily taken to the ways of greed. Many a vampire believed the humans to be monsters, not the other way round. Therefore, that's why they couldn't understand why their own King loved to converse with them, leave the Palace grounds for their unsafe and unpredictable environment.

Despite their concerns, although somewhat stemming from a place of pure respect, they never voiced their opinions. Many stories surfaced regarding Carlisle, some terrifying whilst others made them all bow their heads in awe. Some were almost too surreal to ever utter, lest the absurdity of the story be known and they be punished for tarnishing their King's name.

So, stories of his life were whispered in their homes; as fables to their children and as entertainment in bars. Some spoke of Carlisle having once been a human being. The truth in that no one would ever be able to measure because it all didn't make much sense for someone so powerful to have been a mortal once. Turned vampires never acquired such unadulterated power.

Ryka, was one of Carlisle's subjects that didn't share King Carlisle's interest in humans. He wished he could read Carlisle's mind and attempt to see the world through his silver eyes. Perhaps then would he understand why the Vampire King overlooked how cunning humans were.

Carlisle, the King of Vampires, smiled and pushed the glasses he wore on the sharp bridge of his nose further upwards. "Your worry is misplaced, old friend. Have I given you reason to deem me an invalid? I should think having lived for so long, I would have gained vast knowledge about mortals and immortals alike. You doubt that I can carry my own weight around mortals?"

Immediately, Ryka lowered his eyes in self-chastisement. In as much as King Carlisle loved to converse with all vampires; great and small and always made it known that he greatly enjoyed being treated as an equal, Ryka treated the King's position with uttermost respect. He also could not bring himself to treat him as an equal, despite Carlisle's encouragement to do so. He held him in far too high regard to wrong their leader like that.

"Forgive me, Highness. I forget myself," he said grimly.

Carlisle's laughter rang in the spacious office. It was a room the King loved to spend most of his time in. Especially when dealing with State affairs that required his expertise as well as his immediate intervention. Vampires were troublesome creatures; impulsive by nature and requiring constant guiding.

"I only jest, Ryka. While we're on the subject of the south-east border, I want you, Klint and a couple more men of your choosing to head out there and attend to the matter."

Ryka nodded his head, although he would have much rather his King taken heed of his advice. In as much as the situation in the south-east border needed to be managed with urgency, it couldn't hold a candle to the possibility of a threat to the current King's life.

Yet another attack had surfaced in the south-east border, the one in which delegations from all over the country and the world entered the Kingdom. Six bodies had been discovered within three weeks and no trace had been left behind by the perpetrator. Which had led Carlisle as well as Ryka to investigate the possibility of it being the work of a number of perpetrators, not just one.

The attacks had started three weeks ago, a human boy of ten being the first unfortunate victim. His blood had been entirely sucked dry, leaving him in a wilted state that had robbed the boy of his life. Two more bodies had surfaced three days later, a few blocks from the first murder scene. Other bodies had also been found a week ago and now a pregnant woman had been murdered in cold blood. Ryka had described the corpses to be strange in a very similar fashion. All of them had their eyes gouged out and all of their blood sucked dry.

Carlisle fought to create a world for his kind to balance out their animal instincts with the humanity in them. This meant that feeding for him and all of his subjects had to be done fairly, with both parties involved having consented to the terms of the feeding. Most importantly, feeding could never lead to death. His subjects had obeyed this rule, understanding the significance of curbing their elemental need just the slightest. However, some had made known to their grievances regarding the matter, finding his laws to be absurd and unconventional to bind such powerful beings under. Such people had been imprisoned and some severely punished for their defiance.

"I'll carry out the assignment with supreme precision. However, it would bring me great pleasure knowing that you'll take one of my men on your excursion this year."

Carlisle signed on the last of the documents Ryka had brought with him and finally raised his head. "I always go alone," Carlisle said in a level tone.

Ryka would have given up, intimidated into silence under the King's gaze, but he wasn't the Commander of the Royal Army for no reason. He had a relentless spirit in him and was not easily bullied into giving up. This was one of his qualities that Carlisle admired. He needed strong, grounded people around him to challenge him, not weak-minded people that hung on every word he uttered and were completely of no opinion.

Ryka kept his gaze on the King's eyes, aware how much Carlisle cherished direct eye contact. "That's true, but just this once make an exception. With the delegation from Bulgaria coming in in a few weeks' time, tension is high at rumours of you taking Princess Zara as your bride. If word gets out that you've left the Palace, I'm afraid that trouble might brew."

"My people seem to have extra time on their hands to be finding entertainment in something as insubstantial as rumours," Carlisle spoke sarcastically.

"They care about your well-being and wish that you would wait for your second soulma..."

Any trace of the gleam of amusement that had been present in Ryka's eyes seemed to vanish with a quickness that could be easily described as frightening. At once, a dangerous glint entered his gaze.

"To talk of a soulmate truly astounds me, Ryka. I had a soulmate, and she's been six feet under for the past six centuries. If there's someone who can bring her back to life, I'll listen then," Carlisle spoke lightly, although his bright irises had dimmed to a dark colour as proof of his anger.

Every cold-blooded creature was promised one being to spend the rest of their long lives with. A being that fit into their puzzles like the perfect missing piece. King Carlisle being over six hundred years had lived a life that other cold-blooded creatures vowed to be hell on earth. He was without a soulmate, having killed her with his own hands in a moment of blinding rage. A moment that would forever haunt him and was the main reason why he had an eternal debt to pay; leaving himself vulnerable out in the human world, an easy target for whosoever cared.