A MAZE OF GREED

Darius's eyes had not left Cyfrin for even a minute. The slim young man with a brown complexion and long hair braided behind his head with a red ribbon looked nothing like a leader of a supernatural breed.

Cyfrin's animal-like eyes were cold and calculative. He had completely disregarded Darius's presence as if he did not exist there. His all attention was trained on only one person- Ambrose Garfield.

For some reason, the leader of the Shades was impressed with the Vampire leader more than Darius liked.

Cyfrin's father had arranged a dinner party for their guests, saying it was rare that Sanchina hosts any guests. Although the Vampires did not get tired, the long journey and the hunger made them agree to his plan.

The guests were shown their rooms, which looked no better than the whole place. As soon as the servant left, Aurora groaned in exasperation.

"Oh, my stars! These people are primitives!" She tested the dust that coated the couch she sat on. Her nose scrunched up in disgust as a thick coat covered her fingertip.

Marcus was quick to step forward and wipe it with his handkerchief.

"They have not changed much!" Ambrose agreed to look out at the humble village of Sanchena.

"Why I hear something else in your words, My Lord?" Mr Hilton had removed his coat and hat before taking a chair for himself.

Ambrose turned around with a hint of a smile. "You will know it soon."

The elders then freshened up and sat discussing some matters, that were useless for Darius. His mind raced back to Kinsville and the dungeons of the Garfield palace.

The beauty he had to leave behind called him towards her. When Ambrose told Darius that they needed to visit Sanchena and thus they would be out of Kinsville for some days, Darius was not glad to hear the news.

Before leaving, he went to see Lisa. When he told her that he would not be able to meet her for some days, her face did not change. She only stared back at him as if her brain had stopped functioning.

He was angry at himself, that he thought of getting some reaction from her when she must be happy to know that. Then he heard her voice.

-"Darius"-

He turned around with hope only to hear her next words that made him only nod in response and get out of there.

-"Do not get killed. Come back safely. Do not forget that it is only my right!"-

"Sire! It is time for the dinner."

Darius was brought back to reality by Marcus's irritating voice. Wordlessly and half-heartedly, Darius followed everyone out of the room and towards the opening, where a long table was set with fruits and various food items.

Large candles were burning in the stands on the table. The torches were lit all around the place. All the villagers had gathered for the party it seemed.

Darius noticed that the people, although were clad in only black clothes, had different colours of ribbons tied in their braids. Ambrose had explained that the colour of the ribbons symbolised the status of a person. As a leader of the Shades, Cyfrin wore a red ribbon.

His father, as an elderly and respected person of the breed, wore a golden ribbon. Their family members wore blue colour and so on.

Cyfrin's father welcomed their guests and showed them their seats. Darius watched as people gathered around a large bonfire at some distance away from the table. Children were running and playing. Women were preparing drinks and roasting the meat.

While men looked after other arrangements and a group of them was working on some musical instruments, that Darius had never seen before.

Cyfrin's father introduced his other family members, and Aurora was surprised to find how Shades lived with their large families. She had tuned out the names and their relations after the introduction of the first four people.

Darius was the least interested in the happenings. His gums hurt when he smelled the scent of blood. Not waiting for others, he gulped down the goblet of blood that was placed in front of him.

"Ummm..." He moaned as the crimson liquid tasted good against his palate.

"I must say that the arrangements are quite impressive!" Ambrose complimented with a smile.

Cyfrin's father laughed a throaty laugh and pointed to his son proudly, "This is all done by Cyfrin."

"Well done Chief!" Aurora said, to which the leader of the Shadows responded by only a nod.

Darius narrowed his eyes at him. Cyfrin was a man with less words than he had figured out.

"Well... if I am not wrong, you also have an elder daughter, right?" Aurora asked, glancing around the large table.

Suddenly a silence fell on the table as the Shades exchanged looks with each other. Darius furrowed his brows when he saw Cyfrin's jaw twitching.

And then he realised. How could he forget her?

He also started looking for that familiar face, and before anyone answered, he saw a woman walking gracefully towards the table.

Her brownish-black curls were not braided like others. Instead, they were short and loose on her head. She was also not wearing black clothes like others. She wore a white knee-length dress that was untraditional in both worlds.

She wore no jewellery. Her brown skin glistened under the playful light of the fire. Her cat-like eyes were focused on the table as she confidently strolled towards it, ignoring the looks she was receiving.

Darius forgot about everything as he watched her awestruck. She was still the same, even after decades- confident, bold and rebellious.

Cyfrin's father smiled as she stopped right beside his chair.

"Lady Garfield, meet my daughter that you were asking for- Zoe. And Zoe these are our guests- the Garfields. They are-"

"Vampires!" Zoe filled his father's sentence as her eyes met Ambrose's dark ones.

Darius could tell from where he sat that Zoe was tensed all this time as her father introduced her to their guests.

"Zoe... and this is-"

"Darius Garfield- the next in the line of Vampire's leadership."

Darius smirked and extended his hand to take hers. When she did not respond, her father cleared his throat, a subtle reminder of what he asked from her.

She unwillingly gave her hand in Darius's. With a cunning smile, he leaned down and pecked the back of her hand with his lips- a gesture that was common in the human world, but not in the Shades.

Every pair of an eye was trained on them. The silence was too prominent that they could hear the crackling of the bonfire nearby.

Zoe snatched her hand from his. Her father cleared his throat again. Which was an indication that the drama was over.

Zoe looked around the table, which was crowded by her family members and some other respected people from the village. There was no empty chair available for her to sit. She pursed her lips as she knew that, it was not a mere coincidence.

She glared at her brother, knowing he did it intentionally, just to show her who the real leader was. Although Zoe had left all her rights as the eldest kid of her father and a natural leader of the Shadows, there were still some people who respected her. They hoped she would realise her mistake and stop running from her responsibilities.

Cyfrin drank the juice in his glass calmly, knowing well of his sister's reaction. Darius watched the tension between the siblings amusingly. And he thought he was the only one who could not get along with Zoe.

Sensing the situation, their father was about to call for another chair, but before that, two men came holding a large wooden chair that looked more comfortable than the rest of the chairs at the table.

With a thankful nod at them, Zoe smirked arrogantly and, elegantly sat on the chair like a queen. Cyfrin's jaw twitched more as he avoided looking at anyone. He filled another glass of juice for himself and busied himself in finishing it.

Five minutes later, the table erupted in chatter and other noises. Everyone enjoyed the food and the drinks. As a chief, Cyfrin stood up to his full height. He raised his hand in the air, which stopped all the activities around and the sounds too.

"My people of Sanchena, tonight, we welcome our guests- The Garfields- in our land. This night is in their honour. Let it begin!" He raised his glass, and the crowd erupted in joyful cheers.

But they were not the same as Darius was familiar to. They were more like animals purring, growling, hissing and chirping loudly. The celebration began, and the men and women circled around the bonfire.

A group of men, who were handling the musical instruments, began beating the drums and blowing the horns as the people around the fire picked up the rhythm and started dancing around it.

The experience was so unique and unfamiliar for the Vampires that they did not mind getting along the flow for a night.. But Darius's eyes were trained on only one person- Zoe, who stared back at him with the same hostility that she held decades ago.