My (Monster?) Hero Life

Although they were being guided by the group of soldiers, Kace and his companions were still subjected to another search by the team of guards in charge of the city gates. 'At least they are serious about doing their job.' Kace thought while studying the suspicious looks they were giving each one of them.

Only after asking the trio of leaders about their captives and making them document their arrival, did they finally allow them to pass. Gasps of shock and awe escaped from the crew members as they passed into the city. Kace was barely affected by the sight of the city before him. As he had guessed from before the city was indeed a mirror image from the one in the caverns.

While the members of the crew stared slack-jawed at the architecture and the gargoyles cleaning the area, Kace was busy intently watching how the regular citizens reacted to their presence. He was disgusted to see that they appeared to be revolted by them. Captain Raven appeared to be receiving the worst of their glances though. Kace could only assume at this point that being a half-breed was socially looked down upon.

Raven, on the other hand, was entirely ignoring the spiteful looks that were being fired in his direction. Kace had to admit that he was impressed with how he could keep a straight face. If he were in his shoes, he probably would have snapped by now. As they passed through each archway into a new inner section of the city, they began to clearly recognise the social divide that existed.

While the vampires in the outer areas were not exactly poor from a human's perspective, they were clearly treated as lesser citizens. Their clothing and housing were only marginally worse off than those living in the circles that were closer to the castle. As Kace thought about it, an idea struck him. 'Since vampires live long lives, there probably is not much worth in money. So they probably segregate their citizens based on age and power.' 

The more he pursued this train of thought, the more sure he became that he had hit the nail on the head. To his mind, he felt as though this was a very backwards way of thinking. However, he had to admit that it seemed to work to keep these immortal creatures under control while giving them something to work for.

They finally came upon the final archway that led to the high noble and castle district. Contrary to their expectations, they were subjected to yet another search of their person. This one was slightly different, though. Every one of them was led away one by one to a private room for a more thorough search. Each man walked out of the room and rejoined them only after several minutes had passed. Kace began to sweat bullets as he noticed that each one that came out was walking as though they had just ridden a horse for miles bareback.

When the guards finally grabbed his arm, he was ready to either kill them or have a mental breakdown. His mind was running the footage of an old popular video from the internet. One where the authorities had smashed in the door to a suspects house. At this point in time, he was imagining the horror of his backdoor being smashed in by the guard's arm being used as the ram to force entry.

Before he could react to being dragged away, Celia stepped forward and stopped the guards from performing their duty. They stared at her in disbelief. In all their time in service of performing their duty, not a single person had dared to do what she had just done. The pair of guards who were escorting Kace turned red in the face and were about to threaten her.

"Please excuse my interruption gentleman. However, this individual will, in a short time, be meeting with the queen. It would be best for us all to not allow the Queen to witness any, ahem, discomfort shall we say. On her guest's part." Celia slowly said serenely, making sure that the guards hung on her every word.

They turned to each other and immediately understood what Celia was getting at. If the queens guest was unable to properly sit and show good manners, she would be displeased and certainly ask him for a reason. Then their queen would have to listen to the embarrassing situation around it, officially offending her royal ears. The guards each nervously swallowed a lump of saliva. They were grateful to Celia for helping them to dodge a bullet.

Kace could not have possibly been any happier with the situation. As he witnessed the distressed looks plastered upon the guard's faces, he instinctively knew that his 'dam' had avoided being burst open. Celia appeared as though she were a goddess to his eyes, saving him in his time of need. He silently sang her praises within his mind while swearing to repay her somehow in the future if he could.

As the guards marched him back to the group, he noticed all of the jealous and hate-filled eyes that the crew were staring at him with. He could only shrug his shoulders as even his golden eyes lit up with a smile.

"Sorry guys, I'm just that lucky," Kace said with a voice full of joy.

The crew began to curse his very existence. How could someone be so shameless to take delight in the misery of others while boasting about his own lucky escape! This was simply too much!

After a quick check by the guards that everyone who was to be searched had received the procedure, the soldiers led them onward towards the castle. Kace stared at the giant heavy wooden doors that barred entrance into the castle interior. The soldiers standing by the side, upon noticing their imminent arrival, knocked on the doors four times. They slowly swung open to allow the group passage.