Chapter 31 - An old friend

The next morning, the King had already made all the preparations for our departure home. The carriage was already with our luggage, and all we had to do was get on board. We travel back right after the coffee. My father was afraid of the roads at night, so he always stopped at a hostel along the way.
The wounded from Claus's attack were still hurting. During the trip, I was informed by the King that he could not be in our palace to receive the first nobles who would arrive for the wedding parties because he would have to visit a noble in the Carpathians, an old friend. Because he won't come to the wedding.
It was strange. Why did he have to visit that friend? What is the point of this new journey? The King explained that the son of this friend, an old man and my only childhood friend, would be representing his father at the party.
I was able to rest for a few days before the arrival of Luke Jared VI. His father was Count. Lucas spent a good season with us in childhood, as his mother died in childbirth, and his father was afraid to blame him for the loss of his great love. When his carriage arrived, I could see a strong man and no traces of a child landing. I arranged to host him at my father's request.
Your beautiful brown eyes shone when you met mine, but the voice was completely different, more serious and strong.
- Dear Lucas, you've changed too! - I spoke, approaching and extending my hand to him. - How's your father, the Count? How'd it go?
"I'm fine, my father sent souvenirs and I came to represent you in the great wave of His Highness!" he spoke in an ironic tone and supplemented, "How are you? Anxious, brat?
He was still acting with me as if we were eight years old.
"You're beautiful, princess!" he said, putting my hand on his arm as we walked into the palace.
- Come on, I'll go with you to your room. - I spoke, trying to disguise shame.
We went up to the second floor. I was still walking with a little difficulty because my ribs were still hurting. At dinner, we talked about our childhood. We remember our jokes. He told me how his arranged marriage went wrong.
Luca's father had promised him to marry a French princess. But shortly before they met, the Count discovered that his future daughter-in-law was pregnant with one of the royal guards ' children. All plans were broken, and the princess's father chose to send her to a convent.
On the one hand, Lucas was relieved, but on the other, frustrated. His father decided that Lucas would marry whoever he chose and sent him to travel the world and study. After all, for the Count, Lucas was the only living memory of his great love.
Despite all the events, Lucas was happy. I had known many places, and today I was much more intellectual than before. And the Count felt fulfilled simply by seeing his son like that. Lucas came to my ceremony against his liking, because he was never in favor of arranged weddings. However, he saw in the invitation an opportunity to revisit his best friend from childhood. We've been away for many years. We sat down to chat after dinner in a large tea room on the second floor. Luke was telling me about his life in the Carpathians and his travels when suddenly I heard a noise coming from the window. We turned to look, and I was able to recognize the familiar silhouette of Claus. At that moment, Lucas noticed how quickly I became pale and began to tremble. I whispered, "He's gonna kill me!" just before Claus broke the window into the room.
- How are you, Your Highness?- he spoke with some irony in his tone. - Who is your friend? I have the impression that I already know him.
- Get out! - I said, trying to breathe.
- I don't think I'm leaving, I have to finish something, we were interrupted the other day, if I've got it wrong...
- I remember you. - said Lucas, walking straight to Claus.
- You fool, you know you're never going to kill me. 'Cause he's still trying,' said Claus, pushing Lucas and following in my direction.
- I don't give up easily! - said Lucas, arrogantly.
In a quick move, Lucas jumped toward the broken window, took a piece of wood that hung from it, ran toward Claus, who was already close to me, placed himself between Claus and me, and glued his stick right in the middle of his chest.
I saw when Claus fell, instantly, with his eyes no longer alive. There was a lot of blood on Lucas' clothes and on the floor. It was scary. Without understanding what was going on and how they knew each other, I asked Luke:
- How... how do you know Claus?
- Your Highness knows he's a vampire, doesn't he? - he asked, assessing the total mess of the room.
I just agreed with the head. He continued:

- In the Carpathians, we have many creatures like him. On one of my trips to Paris, while I was studying, I met him. 

- I started chasing him when I realized he liked killing humans. - How do you know him? - He asked, holding my chin without understanding what Claus wanted of me.

The prince I'm going to marry is a vampire. Claus turned it into one when he was in Paris studying, while Phillip was drunk and depressed. How did you know that stick would kill him? Do you hunt them?

- Yeah, but I don't mean to kill your fiancé. I only hunt those who kill people.

- What are we gonna do? With the body? It's too much blood.

- I'll take you to the garden behind the palace. The sun will turn it into dust.

I accompanied my childhood friend carrying Claus to the backyard, and we put him between two bushes so that no one would find him until dawn. The next day, we would only find the stack of the window and a pile of ashes in the place.