Due

"I don't think we have spoken to each other before, have we?", Alistair asked Theodore.

"No we haven't, apart from these balls, I don't really go anywhere",

"and why don't you go anywhere?", Alistair asked.

"I…uh…don't really have many friends",

"well I hope you can see me as one of your friends".

Theodore looked at him with unbelieving eyes,

"You want me to be your friend?",

"Of course, is anything wrong with that?", Alistair asked, wondering why Theodore sounded shocked.

"Nothing. It's just that most people would rather not be my friend",

"Well I want to be your friend Theodore, can I be your friend?".

Theodore nodded. "Yes we can be friends".

Alistair stretched out his hand for a handshake. Theodore took it warily.

"It is a pleasure to be your friend Theodore",

"Same here Alistair".

Alistair relaxed fully stretching on the bench, "so what do you do for fun Theo, I can call Theo right?",

"you can call me Theo. I mostly read, I love reading fantasy books",

"Well, I am not really much of a reader. But I do love to ride, do you love riding?"

"Yes. I love riding too". Theodore loved to ride. He usually rode around their castle and the forests which surrounded them.

Whenever he rode, he usually forgot about his problems. His limp didn't affect him,, and he could move easily from one place to another.

"That's good to hear, maybe we can ride together sometime", Alistair suggested.

"Sure", Theodore agreed.

They heard the noise of the guests as they came out.

"I think the party is over", Alistair said as he looked towards the house.

"I think so, too. I better leave before my parents start looking for me", Theodore stood up. As he stood up, he felt a cramp in his bad leg.

Oh! no! He thought. Why would his cramps choose to disturb him now? As he tried to take a step forward, he stumbled and fell on Alistair.

Alistair caught him as he fell onto his body. Theodore landed on his lap.

"Are you okay?" , He asked as he checked Theodore's face looking for signs that he might be hurt.

"I am fine", Theodore managed to reply as he stood up from Alistair's body.

"Well, good night Theo. Have a good night rest. I will see you around".

"Good night to you too". Theodore replied,, and then he turned around and limped towards the mansion.

Alistair looked at Theo as he left, Theo seemed to be an interesting person. Since Alistair came to this Kingdom. He didn't think he had met anybody who interested him like Theo did. He looked forward to seeing more of him.

"Where were you sweetheart?, I looked everywhere for you?", Theodore's mother asked as soon as she saw him.

"I was just taking some air in the gardens, mother".

"Well you should have told me before you left, I thought something had happened to you", she said as she fussed over his clothing.

"I am fine, mother", he tried to reassure her.

"The boy said he is fine, Martha, can we go home now?", his father said. He gave his father a grateful smile, to which his father replied with a wink.

"Ok. Let's go".

They got into their carriage and made their way home.

"So, did you talk to any interesting young lady tonight?", His mother asked.

At times, Theodore wondered if his mother was blind, or she was just acting clueless. What young lady would voluntarily enter into a conversation with him.

"No mother, I talked to no one",

"Why? I have told you to stop being shy". Theodore rolled his eyes at her.

"Martha, did you happen to see what happened between Lord Gerald and his wife?", His father asked his mother, drawing her attention away from Theodore.

"Yes I did, it was scandalous", and then his mother started talking to his father about the events of the evening and left Theodore alone.

"Thank you", he mouthed at his father. His father smiled at him in return.

He relaxed on his seat and thought about the events of the evening. Alistair was definitely drunk. That was the only explanation he had for their encounter. Come tomorrow morning, Lord Alistair would have forgotten all about their meeting.

Now, one might think Theodore was being pessimistic. But he was simply reacting to how he had been treated all his life.

He had spent his childhood alone, as none of the other children would play with him. He had no friends. Furthermore, he was used to being the object of pity and jokes.

He had learned a long time ago that he couldn't rely on people. As such, he resolved within himself not to have high hopes on Alistair friendship offer. Alistair had just been drunk, nothing more.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a farmer walked home after a hard day of work. All he wanted to do was to go home and rest.

All of a sudden, he was slammed against the wall. He looked up to see a pair of menacing fangs on a handsome face which looked devilish at the moment.

His mouth opened in a soundless scream as the fangs moved closer to his face.

"Go to sleep and forget everything you just saw". The farmer collapsed as soon as he heard this.

The fangs descended on his neck and dug into his neck, drinking his blood eagerly.

When the owner of the fangs was satiated, he laid the body down in a lying position.

He looked down at the body and smiled. He used his tongue to lick the remaining blood on his lips,, and then he checked around to be sure that he left no evidence. He left.

By tomorrow morning, the farmer would wake up unable to remember what had happened to him. He would be marked as one of the victims of the beast.