Grian sat on the edge of his bed, his face resting in his hands. Every attempt he had made to try and sneak out just ended up backfiring and failing spectacularly, Scar had guards pretty much everywhere at all times. Even the tiniest squeak of the floorboards underneath his boots would cause the guards to peer in, making sure he wasn't trying to do anything.

He heard the door of his bedroom open with a creak, causing the architect to glance upward with tired eyes. Instead of meeting the cold gaze of a knight watching him, Grian locked eyes with the king, who shut the door as he stepped into the bedroom.

"Scar!" He stood up, "Scar, you need to let me out of here! You can't keep me locked in this room forever! I'm not some kind of brainwashed vampire slave!"

Pleading eyes stared into Scar's cold gaze. For a moment, they softened. He glanced away, letting a sigh escape. "I'm protecting you from those beasts, Grian. They'll hurt you."

"Please, Scar—" Grian stepped forward, desperation filling his voice. "—just let me show you! Mumbo, he's harmless! He would never hurt me, or anyone! And those other creatures, they're all nice! They're just scared."

The king straightened his posture, the green of his irises slowly becoming colder as he stared down at Grian's pleading expression. "Those creatures are evil," He spoke in a sickening sweet voice, placing a hand on the human's shoulder. "I know it's confusing, but they'll only hurt you. That beast only used you for blood."

"No he didn't!" Grian looked up at him, holding eye contact with Scar's cold gaze.

After a few silent moments, Scar took a step back, his face morphing into one of confusion. "Fine, fine." He eventually said, waving his hand as he turned back to the door. "I won't leave you here. I'll let you see the vampire in just a little bit. I'll have Xisuma bring him out of the dungeon."

"Thank you, thank you! I'll prove to you that he's not a threat to the kingdom!" Grian smiled, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Scar said nothing as he left the room, shutting the door behind him. He leaned his back against the wall, staring down at his hand. "What happened..?" He muttered the question, flexing his claws. Grian should have been under his power, he should have listened when he spoke.

He noticed his claws looked a bit smaller, not as sharp or powerful as they once were. "Tsk," the vex tightened his fists. "I need magic. I don't have as much energy as I used to.."

It had been a while since he had the chance to enjoy some magic from another beast. Usually Scar didn't need to use his vex magic, which helped save his energy, but Bdubs was annoyingly loyal. Sometimes his advisor needed to 'forget' certain things he saw or heard. Obviously that was having a greater toll on Scar than he expected.

But it didn't matter right now. He now had more than enough magical creatures to feed on, soon he would be able to regain his full strength. But for now, Scar would need to be a bit more cunning if he wanted to convince Grian that those monsters were truly wild beasts.

He walked down the castle halls, guards standing tall and saluting the king as he passed. As he entered the throne room, Wels could be seen trying to drag a very resistant beast out from the staircase that led down to the dungeon. It was Doc, his snout wrapped in leather strips to prevent any damage from his flames.

"Dumb beast," Wels snarled as he tugged on the chain, trying to force Doc to walk. "I wish I could just skin you and make you a rug!"

"Now, now, Wels. No need to be so violent." Scar spoke calmly, walking over to greet the knight with his hands behind his back. He smiled at the creeper as he passed, Doc letting out a growl at the sight of the king. "These beasts have more value than you could ever imagine!"

"We should just get rid of them all. Especially those vampires!" He said, the guard's voice dripping with venom and hatred.

"They can be civilized, trained." Scar smiled as he dragged a hand down the beast's cheek, Doc unable to pull away from his cold touch due to the chains around his neck that held him in place. "And this one is especially unique...One of the last of its kind, with those horns on its head being able to be turned into gunpowder."

"Tsk." Wels huffed, looking away as his grip on the chains tightened. "As long as I don't have to see that vampire ever again, I'm happy."

He tugged harshly on the chain, which forced Doc to stumble forward. The creature growled as he passed Scar, before being pulled out of the throne room.

Scar looked towards the staircase that led down to the dungeon, watching as Xisuma climbed the stairs. "This is the last one you wanted." He said, tugging Mumbo along. The vampire looked weak and disoriented, his wrists and ankles wrapped in chains, as well as his neck being clasped by a silver collar that kept him weak.

The hunter shoved him forward, causing Mumbo to trip over his heavy chains and fall to the ground. He whimpered a bit, shutting his eyes as he curled into a ball. "Just a powerless fledgling," X shook his head as he glanced up towards the king. "This one will be useless. It will take years for him to control, or even unlock his powers."

"He has a purpose." Scar spoke while his eyes stared at the crumpled figure lying helplessly on the floor.

"We need to kill this infection before it continues to spread." Xisuma pulled out his silver knife, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the beast. "Anyone can be turned in just a moment. If he manages to bite someone—"

"Just leave that to me. No need to worry. Especially when I have such a capable vampire hunter."

Xisuma was about to speak, though he was interrupted by a guard entering the room. Behind him was Grian, who was being led into the throne room. Upon spotting Mumbo, he shoved aside the knight, rushing to the vampire's side.

"Mumbo? Mumbo!?" His eyes began to fill with tears as the human placed his hands on the vampire's cheeks, his face cold to the touch.

Hearing Grian's voice was enough to make Mumbo open his heavy eyes, as he stared at the architect with a weak smile. "It's good to see you.." He said with a quiet voice, barely strong enough to speak.

"I'll get these chains off you, I prom—" Grian couldn't finish speaking before a knife was brought to his throat, Xisuma looking down at him with a cold gaze.

"Don't touch those," He ordered. "That's the only thing keeping that beast from killing us all."

"He's harmless!" Grian yelled back, lifting Mumbo's head and hugging his body. He helped set the vampire's head down on his lap, allowing for him to rest somewhere a bit more comfortable than the floor.

Xisuma tried to step forward in an attempt to tear the vampire away, though Scar placed a hand on the hunter's shoulder to stop him. Something in his eyes told X that he had everything under control.

"Are you hurt? What have they done to you?" Grian mumbled softly, stroking Mumbo's hair while cupping his cheeks.

"'m okay," He said, a bit sluggish, cuddling against Grian for warmth. "I missed you.."

"I missed you so much." The human smiled with teary eyes, pressing their foreheads together while placing a hand on Mumbo's cheek. "I-I tried to get you out sooner, but Scar wouldn't listen, a-and I couldn't do anything, and—"

"You're crying.." The vampire looked up at Grian, a bit of his tears falling on Mumbo's face. "Did he hurt you—?"

"N-no, no! You shouldn't be asking me that! I should be asking if you're the one who's hurt!"

"I already said I'm fine." Mumbo smiled weakly, his cherry red eyes a bit paler than normal. "The silver just burns a bit. Makes me weak. But I've started to get used to it."

"Oh Mumbo," The human spoke with a voice that was shaking, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, like how you protected me."

"It's okay. I'm okay." He tried to assure Grian, who only shook his head while he held back his tears.

"No it isn't. I don't want you to be locked away in a cage for the rest of your life!"

Mumbo tried to move his hand, though the chains were weighing him down, too heavy to allow any movement. Grian noticed this, his hand moving to grab the vampire's, holding it tightly within both of his own. "I want you to be free. I want to be with you. I-...I lov—"

Suddenly Mumbo's pupils went sharp, the red in his eyes coming back brighter than before. A low growl began to build in his throat, his fangs becoming more prominent in his mouth. His fingers shifted into claws, which began to dig into Grian's flesh. Xisuma grabbed the architect, pulling him away from the chained beast.

"Mumbo—!"

"Stay back!" Xisuma yelled, drawing his knife. Mumbo was looking more feral with every passing moment, his breathing becoming more labored and ragged as he continued to growl with each passing moment.

He tried to lunge for Grian, drawn to the smell of his blood, though Xisuma managed to roll across the floor and grab the end of his chains, stopping the beast from running rampant. Mumbo snapped at them, trying his best to attack, though he was caught by his leash and unable to move forward.

"Muh-Mumbo—?" Grian tried to reach out his hand, which was starting to drip with blood, though Scar pulled him back.

"Now you see the true side of these creatures." The king said, his eyes firm as he watched Mumbo thrash in his chains. "He hypnotized you before, made you think he was friendly and kind. But look at him; that thing nearly killed you!"

"I-I.." He tried to stutter out some kind of excuse, though Grian's eyes couldn't tear away from the sight of Mumbo. He was wild and feral, if he hadn't been wrapped in chains, it was likely that he and Scar would be dead by now.

Xisuma tugged on the leash, causing Mumbo to fall back and growl. Scar turned to Grian. "Head back to your room. I'll have Bdubs bring you a warm bowl of stew for dinner. I know things must be confusing right now. Please, get some rest."

Grian was hesitant for a couple moments, his eyes wide from the shock. He was shaking a bit too, but eventually he managed to nod his head. He gave Mumbo one last glance before rushing himself back to his room, not sparing a single glance back towards the monster.

Scar made sure he was completely gone before turning back to the hunter. "I'm impressed," He smiled a bit, pulling out a small vial of blood. "I didn't think he would truly go feral."

"Hungry beasts will do anything for a meal." Said Xisuma, pulling back his cloak. Attached to his belt were a couple vials of blood, all small, but some were different shades of red.

"This was very helpful, Grian seems to have finally snapped out of that vampire daze." The king giggled, gently shaking the vial to watch the blood swirl inside.

Scar turned towards the beast, stepping a bit closer. Mumbo growled, his red eyes watching the king's every step. He dumped the vial of blood into the ground, causing red to spill over the floor. Mumbo quickly went to lick up the blood, desperate for the taste.

"Bring him to the west tower. We've built a cell to store him there." Scar explained to the hunter, watching as the red in Mumbo's eyes began to fade, the vampire slowly returning to his senses.

"Seems this whole training idea of yours might just work." Xisuma nodded, beginning to drag Mumbo out of the throne room.

"Wha—...where—..? Where is Grian..?" Mumbo asked, dazed as he began to come back to himself.

"Don't worry about your slave, beast." The hunter hissed while pulling Mumbo out of the throne room and out to the hall. "He's no longer under your spell."

"Grian back to himself?" A familiar voice asked, Wels walking down the hall to greet Xisuma. "Good. It took him a while."

"Vampires have a strong sense of control over their minions." X spoke while dragging Mumbo along, the three heading up one of the tall staircases that led up to a tower.

"Yeah, good thing I have a strong will." The knight chuckled a bit smugly.

Xisuma rolled his eyes, dragging Mumbo up the many flights of stairs, the sound of footsteps trailing after them.

"I heard you talk to the king about something," Wels spoke up again, breaking the silence. "About killing that vampire, the one who controlled me."

"Hm?" Xisuma looked back at the knight, his eyes a mix of curious and cold.

"I want to help." Wels said with a firm gaze, "I want to kill that thing for what it did. For using me like that."

"The king still hasn't approved yet." The hunter replied, continuing to walk up the stairs.

"So what? That beast should be killed!" Wels argued, the knight's voice filled with anger. "He has two more vampires, Scar won't care if we kill one of them."

"Of course he will. We could be charged with treason."

"We would be celebrated as heroes!" The knight snapped, "Those beasts should be killed, all of them! If not, they're never going to stop hunting people like us!"

"And how do you expect us to kill that thing?" X rolled his eyes, continuing to climb the staircase, pulling Mumbo along.

"Tonight. Let's go tonight. I'll dismiss the guards and take their stations. We'll drive a silver blade through his chest. It'll be that easy."

Xisuma was quiet, contemplating the risk and punishment vs the rage and revenge that he so desperately wanted to give into. The hunter looked back at Wels, his eyes serious and cold.

"Tonight." He said, "Don't keep me waiting."