Chapter 83 - The King's Bite

It seemed that the town was too far to walk into, so they had to drive. Vladislav was at the wheel, which she had not expected and there were no other cars accompanying them. Allegra wanted to ask if they were really going to leave their security team behind, but she was already in too deep with the partial silent treatment she was giving him, so she decided she would not. When they once again drove past those intimidatingly tall, green hedges, she realised that they must outline the royal property. Once they were past them, the panoramic view of Estoyya returned once more.

She had not realised it was a convertible until that very moment. Vladislav pulled the roof down and she knew it was for her benefit, not his. So, even though her heart softened at the gesture, Allegra staunchly decided to remain silent. They both wore sunglasses because the sun was predicted to beat down heavily on the islet today, but it was probably the first time she had seen sunlight actually hit his skin directly, she had only seen it with Niklaus before. Even though she was aware of him being impervious to it, there was something decidedly unnatural about a vampire basking in sunlight.

Allegra tore her gaze away from her husband, afraid that prolonged contact would encourage conversation and even though her eyes were covered, she knew he could sense her gaze whenever it landed on him. The sparsely populated houses started to come into view and she remembered Niklaus’s words about how much land went unused. On one hand, she could see why if the population was as flimsy as they described, but on the other, if Niklaus’s plan to attract more people to the islet worked, then using the land only made sense. She was jumping ahead of herself, however. They had yet to speak to the islet’s inhabitants and surely what they wanted had to take precedence over everything else.

As they drove by the apartment building site, she noticed Vlad’s fingers tighten around the wheel before they let go, thankfully. She knew those hands held enough strength in them to permanently damage the steering wheel. They began to approach the more populated area of the town and Vladislav slowed down. They were now surrounded by buildings of no more than three storeys in size, but most were two. This road was unfamiliar to her, so she figured it must have been one of the several turns they had passed when they first arrived. Vlad slowed the car down to a crawl as he parked it in a spacious alley.

He disembarked and despite the tension between them, he opened her door for her and took hold of her hand. He led her away from the car and Allegra noticed the hood was still down.

“Vlad,” she said abruptly. “Aren’t you forgetting to lock up the car?”

“Crime is virtually non-existent on Estoyya. I could leave the keys in the ignition and the car would still be safe. Now, come.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as she looked around the street. All the buildings were stone built and ancient, yet clearly well taken care of. It just added that much more to the place’s charm.

“You want to talk to the townspeople and this is a good place to start,” her husband said as they kept walking. “Then we can walk into the town centre afterwards. Driving will bring us unnecessary attention.”

They came to a stop outside a building that she could not distinguish from any other. It did have a sign in front of it, but it was an old wooden thing that was so faded the words were hard to make out. Even when she did make them out, she realised they were in Nuicun. Vlad just grabbed a hold of the handle and turned it. She almost tugged on his hand at how presumptuous the gesture was, but trusted he knew what he was doing. He opened the door and they stepped into a pub.

It was like they had stepped through a time portal and all of a sudden, Niklaus’s comment about cosplaying in the past made perfect sense. Everything inside was wooden, even the furniture, without a cushion in sight. The light streamed in through the windows, but she saw actual gas lamps on the walls of the place instead of bulbs, so she assumed that was what they used during night-time. Allegra was amazed, but allowed herself to be pulled further inside.

The pub was almost empty, albeit for a few patrons. They just looked up at the sight of two strangers then returned back to their drinks and meals. Vlad brought them up to the bar itself where all the seats were empty. He waited for her to slide onto a stool before he did as well. Right in front of them was an old man with a grey beard wearing a hat, perhaps in his sixties, wiping down some glassware. Allegra was surprised they did not have wooden tankards instead.

The two began to speak to one another and Allegra nearly groaned when she realised it was in Nuicun. It was a fairly long conversation, too, and she began to suspect that Vladislav was doing it deliberately.

“It’s good to see you’re still alive, Frank,” Vlad suddenly said. “This is my wife, Allegra.”

“I am what is keeping this land alive,” he said gruffly, without a hint of feeling even though Allegra thought it was meant to be humorous. He gave her a steely eyed look before turning back to her husband. “I never imagined you for one to get married. I thought the rumours were untrue. Still, it’s good to see your Mrs.”

“Rumours? Frank, I'm sure news of my wedding reached the island. Do you never leave this pub?” Vlad asked with some amusement.

“Why would I?” Frank asked, genuinely baffled. “I have a business to run and I live upstairs. Everything I need is either delivered to my door, or taken care of by one of my children.”

“I'm sorry to butt in,” Allegra said, feeling that they had caught up enough in their private conversation. “I just want to know how you feel about the changes here recently.”

Frank’s black eyes studied her for a moment before he answered. “I'm an old fashioned sort of man, myself, so I generally like things to stay the way they always have been.”

“I see,” Allegra said disappointedly.

“But I will admit it has been nice to see some new faces around here,” the old man continued, “and mine is but one opinion.”

Allegra smiled at him then and saw the twinkle in his eye. She suspected his demeanour was gruff, but he himself seemed like a lovely man. Vladislav stood then as he smoothly slipped out a wad of cash from his front shirt pocket.

“We should be going,” the King said, as handed the money to the other man. “The wife wants to see the town proper.”

A stubborn glint entered Frank’s eyes. “I can't take this,” he said as he resolutely kept his palms on the bar, unmoving.

“Nonsense,” Vlad said as he helped Allegra down her stool and slid the money under one of the man’s hands. “You just welcomed your first grandchild and the new pubs in town are sure to be giving you some stiff competition. Take the money.”

Frank’s eye’s softened. “Thank you. I suppose I'll be seeing you in another decade, then?” he asked to their backs as they walked out.”

“For you, my friend,” Vladislav threw over his shoulder. “I will make it five years.”

They stepped out of the bar and Vlad threw her a look of superiority.

“What?” asked Allegra. “You heard him. His is only one opinion.”

They began to walk into the town, her hand still firmly in his.

“And you are fine with new people coming in and snatching business right from under the noses of people like Frank?” he asked.

“Oh, come on, Vlad,” Allegra said disbelievingly. “That’s how society works. The fact that he’s still in business shows that he’s doing something right, but the fact that his competition exists at all means that they have something to offer that a lot of people are interested in. It would be unfair to ignore those people.”

Vladislav relented and they trekked on.

“Does Frank know that you’re the King?” she asked curiously.

“Of course he does,” Vladislav said. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because he didn’t treat you with the usual sycophantic behaviour,” she said. She had been puzzling over it since they entered the pub. “Not even a bow.”

“The people of Estoyya know how grating that behaviour can be to us,” Vlad said and Allegra silently agreed. “They’re respectful, but anything beyond that is only found in those we employ. Although, you will find that many people here cannot accurately identify me. They know a vampire when they see one, but they do not have my portrait hanging in every official building here like we do in Nefolktu.”

Allegra admittedly liked the idea of slight anonymity. The sound of chatter and general movement began to swell the more they walked until they strolled down a street and right into the town centre. It was busier than it had been the day before, but that was probably because they had driven past as the day was winding down. She looked all over, taking in the vibrant people surrounding food carts, talking with one another and sitting by the enormous fountain as they enjoyed the sunny day. She wondered how many tourists this place got and as she looked around, she noticed an astonishingly few number of people using phones.

“What would you like to try first?” Vlad asked after he let her have a look around.

She immediately honed in on a coffeehouse. To conduct a fair survey, Allegra deliberately picked out the one that looked the most ancient. She pointed at it.

“There. Does it look familiar?” she asked.

“It has been here nearly as long as the humans started to resettle here,” Vlad said.

They walked into it. It was fairly busy, but even then, more than a few people looked up at their arrival. They picked a seat in the back, more than used to capturing attention. A server followed them immediately and she looked fairly young.

“Good morning,” she greeted and by the excited way she looked at them, Allegra could immediately tell she knew who they were. “Here are our menus. Let me know when you’re ready to order.”

She had been prepared to field the awkwardness that usually came with trying to have a normal encounter with members of the public, but it did not happen. Vladislav was right.

“Good morning,” Allegra greeted back with some measure of relief. “May I ask you a question? Is this a family owned business?”

The girl grinned proudly in a way that suggested she was a part of said family.

“Yes, Ma’am,” she said. “We are nearing two hundred years.”

“I see,” said Allegra. “And who is in charge if it right now?”

“That would be my mother,” the girl said as she pointed at a plump, blonde, middle-aged woman selling pastries behind the counter. Her proud smile disappeared as if a thought had suddenly occurred to her. “But we aren’t interested in selling our business to anyone.”

Allegra and Vladislav exchanged glances as they realised this must have been a conversation they had had many times recently.

Allegra laughed it off lightly. “No, that isn’t why I was asking.” She glanced around at the busy coffeehouse. “Do you think we could have a conversation with you and your mother when things die down a bit?”

The girl’s eyebrows lifted in shock. “Both of us?” she repeated.

“If it’s possible, yes,” confirmed Allegra.

“Well, I'm up for it, but Mum will probably need you to at least buy something before she agrees.”

Allegra glanced at Vladislav, who did not look like he was enjoying this experience at all.

“I think that can be arranged,” said the Duchess with a smile.