Author's Note: Once again, sorry for the slow moving pace. I just want to write a slow story.
***
Two men found themselves in a conversation as they were waiting on an employee to get them some boxes of shoes. They were in a cobbler's workshop, sitting on stools, and they'd noticed two other men enter the shop.
One of them was a representative of His Grace, for it was well known his nocturnal sleeping patterns made shopping a rare treat for him. He certainly could walk about in daylight, but he'd be very cranky and tired.
The second man was a huge fellow that was a source of a bit of scandal.
"That's the one," said the first waiting man, who was wearing glasses and holding a faded hat. "That's the man that called himself Brast Jaster."
"But that's not Brast Jaster, is it? Not really." That was the second waiting man. He was balding and had a bit of a belly.
Shaking his head, the man with glasses said, "He's actually Vynstrum Dahlren. He won a fighting tournament in Geraldan."
Folding his arms, the balding man asked, "Didn't that man beat on some women?"
"I don't know if that's true," the man with glasses said as he subtly gestured with his thumb towards Vynstrum Dahlren. "I do know His Grace has taken him in as one of his tailors, and I think that Dahlren man isn't even paying for his own shoes. His Grace is clearly supporting him."
"If that's true," said the other man, "then he might not be as terrible as the papers have said. His Grace would never support a woman beater. He's the grandest gentleman you can find."
When they noticed that Vynstrum Dahlren happened to look their way, the sitting men hushed themselves.
***
Well, now Vyn had a proper set of shoes to claim. He even had a few pair of fancy shoes that had silk ribbons and golden buckles, along with slightly high heels. The Duke had sent the money to order them a while ago, and now Vyn was helping servants carry the shoe boxes up to his new apartment.
There was a den with a fireplace, a bedroom, two smaller rooms that could be nurseries, and a garderobe, which in this context was a place to relieve oneself if the chamberpot was too full. Vyn had never heard of such a thing.
The walls in the apartment had that watermelon wallpaper that was in the room he'd been in before, and the floors also had that white tile. Vyn rather liked the place. It was cozy and warm.
He even had a set of clothes to fill up one of the wardrobes.
It felt nice.
During this time, the Duke hadn't really bothered him much. It seemed that he'd wanted Vyn to have everything he needed before anything got serious. Vyn had to admit to himself that he didn't want to get into cult affairs while he only had a single pair of ill-fitting shoes.
The work in the tailor's workshop was fun. So all this time it felt like a vacation to him. No hard labor at all. He'd been allowed to use the training yard and gymnasium the guards used to workout in too. Of course this castle had such things. Why wouldn't it?
It almost felt like a fairy land to Vyn.
He didn't really do anything that wasn't entertaining to him.
He was even allowed to go to the castle's library and read anything he wanted.
One evening, however, that was when it truly began.
Vyn was sipping a cup of tea when the there was a knock on his apartment's exit door. He answered it, and a servant nodded to him. Then the servant moved away for the Duke himself to step inside. Vyn gave a little bow, and then the Duke greeted him quite politely.
"You can go and sit down," Vyn said.
The Duke shook his head, and then he quite bluntly told him, "You're going to travel with me."
Vyn shrugged. "You're going to the capital?"
"The Social Season." The Duke gestured towards the door. "Come. I'll give you etiquette books."
"Why didn't you just bring them?"
The Duke gave a brief smile. "I need you to stay with me, listen to how I speak, and learn as you live." He started walking. Vyn assumed he had to follow, and he did. "You'll learn even more as we travel to the capital," continued the Duke, "and as I attend events and functions there."
"Aren't you worried I'll embarrass you?" Vyn asked. "I don't know anything about fancy-ass rich folks."
Looking over his shoulder just for a moment, his eyes seeming to burn, the Duke replied, "I can easily brush your mistakes away with the excuse that you're foreign and uneducated. It certainly wouldn't be a lie."
Vyn wasn't offended at all. He even chuckled, and then he said, "But you think I'll get to a good level of fanciness eventually?"
"Yes. You'll be known as my Favorite. On the surface, you'll be learning of what the most fashionable men wear and what trends will be popular in the future. You'll also be my assistant and friend, similar to an old woman's paid companion."
A hand going to his hip as he walked, Vyn asked, "Do rich people tend to have Favorites?"
"Some do," the Duke admitted. "When one has money and power, there will be all sorts of people clinging along. Have you imagined what your true purpose will be?"
Shrugging, Vyn answered, "Letting you know if any Lunathsell members are sneaking around, giving you tips on how to deal with them, and overall being a secret werewolf bodyguard?"
The Duke's shoulders and back trembled with mild laughter. "Ah ha! You're no fool, Sir. That's grand. I can't endure fools for very long."
Vyn understood that sentiment.
Within a few days, early on one morning, Vyn had packed up and was in a carriage off to the capital. There was a group of mounted guards close to the carriage too.
The city of Geraldan, Cheppa Village, and the Duke's castle were all located inside a province named Vibren. Those weren't the only things in the province. Provinces tended to have multiple cities, villages, towns, etc. Each province had a sort of mini-ruler, an aristocrat. A higher rank would often have a larger province. There was once province, however, that belonged to the Royal Family, named Apsalantha. Within Apsalantha, there was the capital, which was named Wynyohrd.
Their destination was, in fact, Wynyohrd, in Apsalantha, which would require some hours in the carriage.
Vyn was seated right across from the Duke, and that Duke displayed a surprising amount of trust. He literally lowered his head and went to sleep right in front of Vyn, daylight grazing his white cheek. Vyn was disappointed at that. He'd wanted to have a conversation. It's not every day you get to speak casually to a vampire Duke with nobody else around and for such a long time. Before, Vyn had certainly spent time with him, but there was usually a servant or someone else about, not always but usually.
Vyn decided to pass the time with reading or embroidery. He didn't want to sell the piece he was working on. He already had two salaries, one as a private tailor and the other as a secret bodyguard/informant. No, this hoop was meant to be hung somewhere for Vyn to enjoy as a work of art.
He hoped the tailors back at the castle wouldn't get too bored, but then again, they had the castle's entire staff as a customer base whenever the Duke didn't have any orders. They might be up to their ears in requests. So Vyn pushed his concern away.
Absolutely nothing even remotely eventful happened.
They stopped at a city at one point. They didn't need to spend the night at an inn, but they need to take a little rest, feed the horses, use a pot, get something to eat, things like that. That meant an inn was still ideal. Vyn had to take the Duke's shoulder and shake him awake. He had a firm body.
With a mumble and a smack of his lips, which was strangely cute and had Vyn smiling, the Duke opened his eyes and asked if they were about to get some food. The Duke liked food a lot, it turned out. Blood alone can't keep a body in good shape.
"Yeah," Vyn said as he packed his embroidery away, "I think so, but stay here while I take a look."
While the Duke waited in the carriage, Vyn climbed out and took a quick walk around the inn. It looked normal. He couldn't even see anyone with loose clothes, nor clothes that might've been tightened with drawstrings. He then went into the inn. nothing strange there. He went to the waitress serving food and asked her, "Have you seen anyone dressed oddly, maybe anyone that kind of talks like me?"
She shook her head. "Nah, I haven't, not today."
Eyebrows rising a little, Vyn repeated, "Not today? Have you seen any yesterday or before that?"
Nodding, the waitress put some food down to a table with a seated hungry couple. Then she looked back up to Vyn and told him, "Some months ago, I served a group of men that wore their clothes pretty loose. Their accents were kind of like yours."
"Do you know where they went?" Vyn asked.
The waitress said, "I overheard they were headed towards Cheppa Village, something about them looking for an apostate. I didn't ask about it." She shrugged. "It wasn't my affair."
Vyn thought he knew what that had been about. He handed the waitress a few coins and thanked her. Then he asked, "Is the innkeeper around?"
Smiling then, the waitress said, "Yes, he's over in the corner, eating a bowl of peas."
Vyn thanked her, and then he went to the innkeeper to ask him similar questions about any oddly dressed people. He told Vyn the same thing the waitress had said, and he even confirmed that he hadn't seen anyone else like that in a long time. Vyn thanked him and gave him some coins. Then he told the innkeeper, "My Master and his men need rooms. Do you have any?"
