KICK!!!!

I push the thought aside as I kick open the door, showing me everything inside of the chapel. Death reeks all throughout the room with no sign of life anywhere in here.

"Why did you come all the way here?" Lia asks with a confusion in her voice.

"Amelia’s scent is here," I respond as I draw my sword.

Statues of Remi appear to be on both sides of the room with various poses, giving me a better idea of what this is for. The church is dedicated to him which means I don’t need to worry.

Creeeeek!

A door opens up on the right side of the room with a large creek following it. My eyes immediately look over that way, taking notice of her red hair almost instantly.

"Amelia?" I question loud enough for her to be hear.

"You’re the guy from before," She responds with a confused expression on her face.

"Dante. My names Dante, but I’m here to help protect you," I say with a calm tone.

I’m noticing the guard is no longer with her anymore as well so he either died along the way or left her behind. Either way, she needs someone to keep her safe.

"Why would you be here to protect me?" Amelia questions with a confused look on her face.

"King Remi sent me to find you and to keep you safe," I answer with a serious tone.

She looks a bit surprised by the fact that her father sent me, but it doesn’t really matter at the moment. We were sent to protect her regardless.

"I don’t understand. My father has never mentioned either of you before," Amelia says while crossing her arms, a serious expression on her face.

"It has been a long time you could say," I reply while keeping a calm tone.

"Regardless your father sent us to help keep you safe," Lia chimes in.

I can watch her eyes going back and forth between the two of us with a confused expression still on her face. She is definitely contemplating on what is the best decision to make here.

Shuffle! Shuffle!

Footsteps from outside immediately take my attention as I slightly turn my head to listen more.

Soldiers are making their way here... Definitely not good to keep wasting time like this. Amelia might not get much more of a say in the matter right now with what’s about to happen.

It also sounds like a lot more than I want to deal with right now. There is a lot more soldiers than before and we have a princess to look after.

"Feed."

"Feed."

"FEED!" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Voices begin to echo around me as I try to keep my focus towards the door.

"What is it Dante?" Lia asks while keeping her voice down.

"Soldiers are coming," I answer while gripping my sword.

Fighting all of them will not be wise, especially if the hunter is with them. What is the best decision to make here?

"Just come back here then," Amelia interrupts and she gestures for us to come to her.

Without wasting any time we both head over to her and quickly go into a room in the back of the chapel. Inside the room it appears to be an old bedroom for whatever priest would live here.

There is a small hole in the wall as well which means we have a way out of here after all.

Lia makes a bit of noise as she blocks the door, making sure no one can follow behind us. It doesn’t sound like the soldiers entered the chapel yet though.

"Where is your guard anyway?" I ask quietly.

"He disappeared while trying to see what was happening," Amelia answers with some sadness in her voice.

"Even more of a reason for you to stick with us then," I say with a calm tone in my voice.

Her heartbeat is getting a bit faster the longer she stares at me, at least that’s what I’m noticing. I don’t understand what the reason is for it just yet since I’m honestly not posing a threat or anything.

"Dante are you royalty?" Amelia asks with a curious, yet nervous tone.

"No," I answer softly.

"You are dressed quite nicely for someone who isn’t. Well, besides the blood..." Amelia says while looking at me closely.

"My family just prefers to dress well," I reply.

The sound of boots stomping in the other room starts to draw my attention away from what’s going on with Amelia. Listening a bit more might prove to be the right decision.

I walk over to the door and listen as the footsteps stop.

"A vampire is definitely lurking about in the capital here," A man says from the other side of the door.

"You really are a hunter," A soldier replies with awe in his voice.

"It is my job to kill them so of course," He says with positive tone.

It sickens me to hear someone talking about such a thing positively.

"What are you doing Dante?" Lia asks quietly.

"The hunter is in the chapel," I answer while keeping my voice low.

He is only a few feet away from the door right now so he might already know that we are still here. It would be best to have Lia get Amelia away from here for the time being.

"Then we should go," Lia says with concern in her voice.

"Take Amelia away from here. I’ll meet up after this is done," I reply while slowly lifting up the bookshelf she used to block the door.

"We can just go, all of us," Lia pleas.

"Hunters are relentless. I need to kill him before we continue forward. Get Amelia to the wall since I don’t think the castle is a good idea to go back to," I respond with a serious tone.

BA-DUM! BA-DUM!

My heart begins to race more at the thought of fighting a hunter officially for the first time since leaving the manor.

I don’t know what fate awaits me, but I won’t let them kill Lia or Amelia.