#arc4

Day 2 : Sunshine

Day 4 : Travel

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We rushed into town but we didn't get further than main street before we saw them. Lexine was walking down the road, holding a singed Raina in her arms. I ran up to them.

"Raina! Are you okay?" She looked so banged up. "What happened?"

She tried to reassure me in a raspy voice. "I just got… immolated a bit… but Lexine saved me so I'll be fine."

"Immolated!?!"

Lexine explained very briefly what happened, my eyes went wide at hearing about the mess that occurred while we were away. By the time she was finished explaining, Foxman and his group caught up.

"Lexine!" He yelled.

"Oh, Foxman, sir! It's been a long time!" Lexine said after noticing the fox approaching.

"Please, Lexine, don't be so formal, we're practically family."

"Yes sir..."

He was about to correct her again, but then he noticed the injured girl in her arms. "Oh no! What happened to Raina?"

"Wait, how did you know her name?" I asked, puzzled.

"Uhh..." Foxman averted his eyes. So did Lexine.

Before he could respond, he was suddenly scooped up by an elderly woman. "Foxy!" Granny Sota shouted.

"Babe!" Foxman replied and the two were suddenly all over each other.

While all that was happening, the crow doctor stepped up and inspected Raina. "Immolation burns, I can heal these."

"Oh! A doctor!" Said Lexine. "Thank the mother! I thought I would have to blow all my blood credits on healing magic or something."

"Yeah, let's avoid that. We don't need a broke vampire on our hands." Commented Dr. Nial. "Please bring her to her bed chambers, I can't treat her properly there."

"Let me carry her." I volunteered. "I actually know where she sleeps. And you'd be more valuable researching Warehouse 21, Lexine."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Anne would be carrying me...?" She said sheepishly, her face getting more red than her burns.

Lexine approached me and handed the girl over. As soon as she was in my arms, she got even MORE red. My cheeks were getting warm, too. I've never held a girl like this, at least not since I became me. But I couldn't let myself be distracted, Raina needed me.

With her arms free, the vampire stated "Sun protection off, please." Her skin started to sizzle which prompted her to pull out her parasol.

"We'll talk business tomorrow." Said Foxman with a wave as Granny pulled him away by the hand. With that, I carried Raina off with the crow doctor following me close behind.

I delivered her back to the mansion where I brought her safely to our bed. She shakily cast a clean spell on herself and also magically changed her clothes into her nightgown. Dr. Nial pulled out their wand and cast a spell that practically melted the burns off her body. They started treating the burns under her clothes and I had to swiftly walk out of the room.

After a while, I was called back into the room and her burns were all gone. "Her skin is going to be prickly for a while, and she'll need to rest as her body consumed a lot of strength healing all those burns so rapidly."

"Thank you, doctor!"

They tilted their top hat at me before leaving out the door, Raina and I were alone. I go to my bathroom and change into my nightgown. Then I climb into bed next to her.

She was silent.

"Heh, what a day, huh?" I said, she didn't answer. "Hope all of them aren't like this."

Silence enveloped us for a while. I kinda figured she just didn't want to talk right now, so I held my tongue out of respect for her. The blinds were down so it was dim. The only light source was the digital candles above the bed. I hadn't turned those off yet. I started to wonder if I should.

"Hey, Anne..." Raina finally broke the silence.

"Yes Raina?"

"There's… something I haven't told you, something you deserve to know..."

"Go ahead, I'll listen."

"See um, I'm not exactly human I'm... I'm a monster princess."

"Oh that, I already know. You're an Adelaide right?"

"What?!" Her mouth was agape.

"I kinda figured it out along the way. With your magic signature more monster-like than human-like, and the spellwriting." I said, rubbing the back of my head. "I didn't want to say anything because it wasn't really any of my business who you were related to."

"Oh." Raina was stunned for a moment.

"But, ya know, it's okay though, you're still-"

"It's not okay!" Raina snapped back. "Berry Blitzkrieg knows, I don't know how but they do. They're not going to let that slide..."

"Well, if they do come after you, we'll protect you."

"You'd all be putting yourselves in danger, I couldn't-"

"Raina, what is this town called?"

"Huh?" She looked baffled.

"What's that town called?"

"Uh... Sanctuary?"

"Yes, this is a Sanctuary for me, it's a Sanctuary for all of them, and it's a Sanctuary for you. That's the entire point Raina, we protect each other," I lean in to rest the end of my arm on her cheek as I peer into her eyes, "and I'll do anything to protect you!"

"Anne..." Her beautiful jade green eyes were shimmering. I pulled her into a hug and she pulled me closer into her embrace. Her grip was tight.

"Plus anyways, I've been hiding something, too." I added.

This gets her to finally pull away from me so she can look at me quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"My creator, my father, is Hekatos."

"WHAT?!?!" She nearly jumped out of the bed.

"Yep, it's true." I nodded.

"You mean that rizz is hereditary?!"

Her comment caught me so off guard, I couldn't help but break out laughing. She joined me.

"But I guess it checks out. You have those distinctive red eyes of his." She said, then her eyes shot open. "Wait, does this mean... were you... Nameless?"

My dad was very vocal about my origins when he was in control of me, so the fact that Nameless was Hekatos' son was about as well known as the hero himself. "That was the persona he gave me."

"Wow, I'm... sharing a bed with a legendary hero, oh my god!"

I laughed. She was taking all this surprisingly well, but then again, I guess spending so much time with me had numbed her sense of normalcy.

"Though wait, wouldn't that make you hundreds of years old?" She asked.

"My body's hundreds of years old. Mentally I'm 18." I clarified. "I only started being myself after my father stopped controlling me."

"But, you have access to hundreds of years of memories, don't you?"

"Eh, kinda. I mean, because I didn't feel any emotions back then, recalling those memories feels like I'm reminiscing about a show I watched a long time ago. It's all kinda detached, ya know? And there's a lot of large gaps in what I remember."

"Even so, you still got something from it." She stated. "You're more a hero now than you ever were as Nameless."

I felt my cheeks getting hot. "I'm not really..."

"Would Nameless have created Sanctuary? Would he have comforted me, told me that he'd protect me no matter what?"

"Well, no..." He was too detached and brooding to do that. He'd only consider someone's else's emotions when he wanted me to sleep with someone.

"That's because you're better than him, you're better than your father!" She rested a hand on my cheek. "You're my Anne."

We lay there for the longest time, looking deep into each other's eyes. My heart was pounding right out of my chest. I'm so in love with her. I wanted to say it, I wanted her to say those words back to me. I can't do that though... it's far too soon. It's important to pace ourselves in relationships like this. No need to force romance.

Eventually, Raina pulled her hand away from my cheek. The rush of cold air robbed me of her warmth.

"I'm going to turn out the lights. Good night, Anne." She said as she reached for the switch.

"I love you, Raina."

She froze in place, and then slowly turned to look at me.

....AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

I WAS SUPPOSED TO SAY GOOD NIGHT THERE! I WAS TRYING TO SAY GOOD NIGHT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?! SHE'S NOT GOING TO BE READY TO HEAR IT! I'M THE WORS-

"I-I love you too, Anne." She said a little rigidly, but she smiled at me so warmly.

Oh thank GOD she was ready to hear that.

I pulled her into my embrace and she held me back. That was the happiest I've ever been in my life, and I can tell from the dazzling smile on her face, it was her happiest, too!

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