Chapter 15 (1/2)
Don’t waste the conspiracy
Gin stood there for half a minute, suddenly suggesting: “Shouldn’t we follow him and watch?”
“You’re so evil,” said Feisha in disdain.
“Are you sure that’s the word you want to use to describe a noble vampire?”
“I thought you would’ve been honoured.”
There was an awkward pause.
“What in the world did I do to make you think that I’d like to be called evil?” asked Gin, shocked.
The reply was sincere. “You don’t even need to do anything for me to think that.”
Gin parted his lips, two razor-sharp canines glistening in the light.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while now, but doesn’t it feel weird to keep on extending and retracting your teeth?”
Gin’s gaze held warning. “No, it just tickles a bit. Makes me want to bite someone, in fact.”
“I think you should get a shot of rabies vaccine,” Feisha quipped, turning on his heels and bolting towards the kitchen.
It wasn’t quite mealtime, and so the dining hall was unusually quiet and deserted. Feisha crouched by the entrance and made a ‘be quiet’ gesture at the figure storming towards him. In response, Gin crept noiselessly to the other side of the door.
Inside, Dea was standing next to the stove.
“Good job!” Gin fist pumped out of the blue.
Feisha was unimpressed. “He hasn’t even done anything yet.”
“I’m raising his spirits.”
“If you don’t shut up, he’s going to notice and then you’ll become one.”
As if on cue, Dea’s ear twitched. The two eavesdroppers ceased their argument immediately and tensed up at the same time.
Antonio raised his head. “What are you looking at?”
Dea’s eyes remained locked onto the entrance. “Nothing.”
“I can smell a human,” said Antonio, sniffing the air.”
Feisha broke into cold sweat.
“Ignore him,” Dea said lightly. Antonio continued to cook his steak.
In Feisha’s mind, if Dea spends all day picking fruit, then Antonio spends every waking hour cooking food. He’d always been able to find leftovers whenever he rummaged around the shelves so far.
Dea watched Antonio work, once again falling silent. The steak was skilfully slipped onto a plate and pushed towards Dea. “Want some?”
“I don’t eat meat.”
“One of these days you’re going to have to change your diet. It’s destroying one of life’s greatest pleasures.”
“I’m a light faerie, not a dark faerie.”
Antonio just shrugged in response and grabbed some cutlery off the rack. While he ate, Dea’s expression showed a trace of hesitation.
The steak was finished in record time.
“What did you come here to talk about?” asked Antonio, putting his plate down. “You used to leave as soon as I took my first bite.”
Dea looked at the ground. His pride as a faerie made it very hard for him to spit out his next words.
Feisha’s knuckles were turning white.
Dea let out a breath. “No, nothing. I just wanted to ask if you needed any fruits. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Hold on.”
Antonio’s mouth and Feisha’s mind called out at the same time.
“You haven’t asked me yet though?”
“What?”
“You said that you came to ask if I needed any fruits. But you haven’t asked me yet.”
“Because I don’t want to ask you anymore,” said Dea, making to leave.
Suddenly, Gin’s body was violently shoved into the doorway. Before he could flip out, the perpetrator clung onto his legs tightly, wailing, “You can’t do this, you can’t treat Hughes like this!”
…What did he treat Hughes like? Gin stared at Feisha’s face full of grief and anger, completely baffled.
“How could you do this to him? Hughes has been nothing but gentle and considerate towards you, especially with your sharp canines. Do you think that’s an easy thing?” Feisha said, hands exaggeratedly gesturing. “He’s risking the possibility of contracting tetanus every single time you kiss, you know?”
…Invisible folk can contract tetanus? Gin was even more baffled.
“And!” said Feisha, scrambling off the ground and running to Dea, “This is true love! You’ve known them for so long, how could you have the heart to tear them apart? And you call yourself their friend!?”
…Even the mere idea of a noble vampire being friends with a werewolf was laughable, Gin thought in disdain.
“Shouldn’t you be congratulating them in this time of happiness?” asked Feisha with his back to Dea, furiously winking at Gin.
Gin’s brain may not form the correct connections on most days, but today was clearly not one of those. He slowly picked himself off the ground, coldly looking at the cautious Dea and confused Antonio. “Are you really together?”
The room was silent. Feisha coughed.
“…Yes,” said Dea.
Antonio’s face was full of question marks.
Gin abruptly turned around, hand bracing him against the door frame and exaggeratedly shaking his head: “I can’t believe this, I just can’t believe this… How do you want me to believe such a harsh reality?”
“How do you want to believe it?” asked Dea.
“That’ll be up to you,” Gin said, immediately serious. Hopefully they can make Hughes believe as well, and then their misunderstanding would be solved, and then he’ll be able to embrace that slim body again…
His thoughts were no longer on the current situation.
Dea frowned in disgust at his lecherous expression. “What do you mean?”
“Gin, it’s time to wake up to the truth,” Feisha quickly cut in. “No matter how much you interfere, Dea’s never going to like you. Just move on, man. What Dea and Antonio have between them is true love, you should be congratulating them….”