"It's time we got you back home." Mumbo said the next morning, just as the sun began to slowly rise over the horizon. The vampire watched from the safety of his tiny hut, peering out the windows as the morning light managed to slip between the overhanging leaves of the treetops. "If I hadn't been with you...You could have gotten killed. This forest isn't a safe place for humans. I...I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

"But I won't get hurt! Mumbo, please!" Grian begged, his eyes filled with hurt. Slowly, the vampire shook his head, his back facing the human as he stared out of the window and into the forest.

The vampire didn't say anything. He was just so tired. "Mumbo please—" Grian tried again, reaching forward. He flinched as Grian grabbed his hand, though slightly relaxed under the human's soft touch. "I'm...I'm sorry." The architect said, his gaze falling to the floor. "I just want to help you."

Mumbo sighed, closing his eyes as he shook his head. "Nono, I'm sorry. I know you just want to help me. But...I can't be helped, Grian. Everyone sees me as a beast, I'm being hunted. You're putting yourself at risk, with both the humans and monsters, to try and help someone you barely know."

He turned to face the human, staring into his golden irises. His crimson eyes stared back, saddened and afraid. "I just think it would be better for you to stay away from me." Mumbo whispered softly, turning away once more. The tension was palpable.

Grian's hold tightened, the human squeezing Mumbo's hand slightly. "Please, I want to help you. I'm friends with the king, I can make him listen to reason—"

"But why?" Mumbo interrupted, squeezing Grian's hand in response while shutting his eyes. When he opened them again, they were beginning to fill with tears. "Why...why do you even want to help me..? Why do you care?"

There was another moment of silence before Grian spoke up again, the human placing a hand on Mumbo's cheek to wipe away the slight tear that managed to escape the corner of his eye. "Because no one deserves to be exiled like this, monster or not. And you are not a monster."

Mumbo pulled away, taking in a shaky breath before letting out a heavy sigh. "You don't know that." He muttered, turning his head away from the human. "Just let me take you home."

"...okay." Grian said, pulling away and crossing his arms. "I won't stay with you anymore. But I want to visit."

He looked a bit taken aback, the vampire blinking in surprise as his cheeks turned slightly pink. "Vuh—...visit?"

"You're my friend!" Grian smiled, the expression softening his features. "I won't stay with you, but every night I'll come to the edge of the forest and meet you! That way you won't be so alone. And once Scar knows you aren't a threat, he'll be happy to have you in the kingdom, you'll see!"

"Wuh...That doesn't—" Mumbo spluttered, looking down at the ground bashfully. "That doesn't...I-I mean..." He paused for a moment, thinking of what else to say. After a moment, he sighed in defeat, before smiling slightly. "Okay. I'll be honest, having you visit every now and then sounds rather nice. I've forgotten how great it is to actually talk to another person..."

"Great! Then it's settled."

"I suppose it is." Mumbo nodded, his cheeks still slightly rosy. "Oh but, what about that friend of yours? The one we were supposed to look for?"

"Oh my gosh, Wels!" Grian gasped, the color draining from his face as he remembered the knight. "I can't believe I forgot about him, oh I feel so stupid! He must be worried, he's probably found his way back to the castle by now!"

"I'll take you to the edge of the forest, you can see if he's at the castle. If he isn't, the two of us will search for him tonight." The vampire suggested, causing Grian to nod in agreement.

"Okay, okay! Come on, we need to hurry! Oh, he's going to kill me!" He said, practically rushing out the door.

Mumbo chuckled slightly as he grabbed his long cloak, pulling his hood over his head as he followed Grian out of the small hut.

~•~

Grian burst through the castle doors, his hair filled with leaves and sticks as he desperately gasped for breath, as if he had run across the entire village. His clothes were muddy and dirtied, some leaves hanging off his shoulders and some sticking to the fabric. "Hi—," He stopped mid sentence to gasp. "—Scar!"

The king looked away from the work his royal advisor had been showing him, his expression somewhat puzzled. "Oh, hi Grian! Oh, come on! I just had my tailor make new clothes for you. Did you roll around in mud just to mess with me?"

"Oh, uh! Sorry. Donk kicked me off his back and into his stable." Grian lied, scratching the back of his neck with a halfhearted chuckle.

Scar shook his head, a smile across his face as he sighed. "You really love that donkey." Said the king, turning back to his work. "So what are you doing back here? Wels said you weren't feeling too well and wanted to rest back at your home."

"Oh, Wels?" The architect looked a little excited at the mention of the knight's name, causing Scar and Bdubs to share a confused expression. "I mean, uh, yeah! Sorry! What can I say, there's no place like home, hehe..."

"Riiiight." Bdubs frowned, a scowl across his face. "Is he always this weird?" The royal advisor whispered into the king's ear, causing Scar to nudge him in the ribs.

"He's my best friend, treat him with respect." Scar whispered back, before clasping his hands together and stepping towards Grian. "Right. Why don't I have a few of my servants draw you a nice, warm bath? I had my tailor make extra clothes for a reason. After that we can have dinner together! My schedule is clear and I haven't seen you in days."

"That sounds great." Grian said, though he didn't sound too focused. In fact, he was glancing around the throne room, scanning the knights that lined the walls.

Bdubs raised an eyebrow. "Looking for someone?" He asked flatly, causing the architect to snap back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, n-no. Sorry!" He laughed it off, "Yeah, a bath sounds great. Thank you, Scar."

"Of course. Why don't you head on up and get out of your dirty clothes?"

"Yeah, I will. But, have either of you seen Wels lately? I haven't seen him in a few days and I wanted to check up with him." Grian asked, trying to act inconspicuous with his question.

Scar giggled. "He should be patrolling the castle. I'm sure you'll run into him!"

"Okay, thanks!" He smiled, running out of the throne room.

Grian made sure the door was shut behind him before he began glancing around, trying to spot the knight. He was lucky Wels had covered for him, or else Scar might have found out about their little vampire quest. With no sign of Wels, Grian began walking to the bath, hoping to run into the knight on the way there. He made sure to scan the faces of each of the knights standing guard, though none of them appeared to be Wels.

Just as he turned the corner, Grian bumped right into someone, nearly being knocked over. He glanced up, meeting the knight's dark gaze that stared down at him. "Watch it." Wels growled, eyes cold and unimpressed.

His face lit up when examining the guard. "Wels!" Grian smiled, "It is you! I'm so happy you're safe!"

The knight kept his expression stoic, staring down at Grian. "And who exactly are you supposed to be?" He asked harshly, raising an eyebrow, unamused.

"Uh, Grian..?" The architect blinked, "Did you hit your head in the forest or something?"

Wels looked away, though his eyes remained cold. "Sure. Yeah. That happened. Bad headaches."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He frowned, his expression filled with concern. "But...thanks for covering for me. I don't know what Scar would do if he found out about our little 'vampire hunt'..."

"Oh?" Wels smirked a little, "Oh yeah, of course buddy. No need for the king to find out about that."

He let out a little sigh of relief. "Thank you. He would freak out if he knew what we did. I get he's worried about me, but..." Grian sighed, rubbing the bite mark on his neck. "I can handle myself, I don't need to be protected in his castle."

"You know how he is." Wels shrugged.

"I guess..." The architect said with a sigh, before letting out a weak chuckle. "I'm sorry, I probably caused you to worry. I've been gone for a few days."

"It's no problem. Look, I should get back to work."

"Right." Grian nodded, "I should get to the bathing chambers. Thanks again, Wels."

"Of course." The knight smiled, though something in his eyes remained sinister. Grian thought nothing of it as he walked down the hallways, a weight lifted off his shoulders after finally finding Wels.

Though, why would the knight have left him there, alone? Maybe something scared him off? Who knows. At least Wels hasn't been dragged off by some kind of beast!

~•~

Scar walked into the throne room of the castle, hands behind his back as he approached his royal advisor. Bdubs glanced up from the papers in his hands, puzzled as he spotted the ruler. "Oh, hello sir. I thought you were having dinner with Grian?"

"We were." Scar said, a cold gaze in his eyes. "But I have a bit of work to do. Open the dungeon for me, I need to speak to the beasts we have caged."

"Of course, sir." Bdubs spoke with a bow, dropping everything he held to rush towards a torch that was mounted against the wall. The king watched him earnestly, like some kind of predator stalking its prey. Bdubs shuddered under his cold gaze, though he pulled the torch, flipping it as if it were a lever.

The ground slowly rumbled, shaking the room, as the large throne in the center of the hall began to shake and slowly move across the floor. Underneath was the darkened stairway to the dungeon, a sinister grin curling across the king's face as he approached the stairs.

Bdubs began to follow Scar, though the ruler held up a hand, causing his advisor to freeze. "You're dismissed, Bdubs. I don't need you."

"But sir—" He began to speak, Scar looking back at him with a cold glare that quickly shut him up.

"You are dismissed for now, Bdubs." The king repeated, "Why don't you run off to the grand hall and get yourself some dinner?"

He looked a little hurt, though Bdubs still bowed. "Of course, sir." His advisor said, taking a few steps backwards. "If there is anything I can do for you—"

"That's it." Scar waved his hand dismissively, before beginning his descent down the stairs and into the dungeon. Bdubs watched as the king disappeared into the shadows, before the throne began to rumble and shift once more. It slowly shifted across the floor, covering up the hidden staircase and returning to the original place in the throne room.

Bdubs let out a sigh, walking back over to the papers he had dropped across the floor. Scar must be in a bad mood, or perhaps something serious has happened. Normally they were always by each other's side, though the king had seemed more distant recently. The advisor knelt on the floor, scooping up the piles of paper and documents he had dropped in a hurry.

He stood back up and walked out of the throne room, heading to the grand hall to try and get some dinner. Bdubs hadn't eaten much all day, it was hard work being the king's right-hand man. A little break did sound nice, maybe Scar had just been looking out for him?

There was faint laughter echoing through the hallways, which seemed to grow louder as he approached the doors to the meal hall. Bdubs raised an eyebrow as he pushed open the doors, only for him to drop all of the papers in his arms from shock.

Scar looked away from his meal, immediately noticing his royal advisor standing in the doorway. "Oh, hi Bdubs!" The king smiled happily, seated at the head of the table, with Grian sitting across from him. Bdubs rubbed his eyes, taking a second glance at the king.

"But— you-, y-you were just—!"

"Are..are you alright?" Scar blinked, noticing the dumbfounded look across his advisor's face.

"Y-you were just in the throne room with me!" Bdubs exclaimed, which caused Grian and Scar to share a look of confusion.

"Scar's been eating dinner here with me for the past little while." The architect said, raising an eyebrow at Bdubs.

The king got up from his chair, approaching his advisor with a frown. "Are you okay?" Scar asked, his face filled with concern. "Have you been working too much? You look pale."

Placing his hand on his assistant's forehead, Scar let out a little hum of concern. "You have a bit of a fever. Have I been overworking you? Bdubs, if you're ever feeling sick or tired, you can always tell me!"

Shaking his head, Bdubs looked panicked and confused. "Nono, I swear, I-I saw you! I-...I think I did, at least.."

"Why don't you eat something and head to bed?" The king offered, "And take the rest of the week off. It seems like you really need it."

"No, sir, I promise, I am fine!" Bdubs tried to assure Scar, though the clear stress across his expression wasn't very convincing.

"Come on, I'll take you up to bed. I'll have the chefs prepare some soup and bring it up to you." Scar said, turning back to face Grian. "Sorry to cut our dinner short."

"It's okay! Do you mind if I head back into the kitchen and take some food to go?"

"No problem. Be safe." He gave the architect a soft smile.

"Always am." Grian winked and made his way to the kitchen.

Scar took Bdubs by the arm, carefully pulling him out of the dining room and into the hall. "Come on, let's get you to bed." The king cooed softly, leading his advisor up the winding staircase.

"I...I thought I saw you.." Bdubs shook his head, his gaze glued to the floor.

"You're tired and overworked," Scar said gently. "You need rest."

Bdubs let out a sad sigh, nodding as he put his head on the king's shoulder while they walked. "Yes sir.." He muttered unhappily.

"I'll stay with you if that makes you feel better, okay?" Scar murmured soothingly.

"Yes...that would be nice..thank you, Scar." Bdubs replied with another sigh.

He felt like he was going crazy, but maybe he was just truly overworked? Or was Scar just messing with him? Bdubs didn't know. What he did know, however, was that the 'other' Scar (whether he was real or imaginary), was rather cold. Something about him didn't feel right...