Chapter 11 / La Paz

June 3rd 15.001.  

Velaric’s Mansion. Bloodspire, Umbra [Vampire Continent]

The table was already set when Dominique arrived, brisk as ever, with a stack of papers under one arm. Everyone was gathered, the weariness of the previous night still clinging to them, though softened by the smell of bread and butter.

Dominique didn’t sit. She placed the stack on the table with a neat thump. “I’ll be occupied all morning with boring stuff,” she announced. “But you can do as you please, but there’s one rule: only trust the ones in pink jumpers. They’re my staff and my guards.”

Risha smiled. “Pink like your favorite colour.” Dominique returned the smile and left the room. 

“Training after breakfast?” Sukira looked directly at Risha while sipping her coffee. 

Eloise waved a hand, calling a nearby servant. “Can I deliver this list of groceries I need you to get for me? I will also need access to the kitchen.” The servant bowed and left without question. 

“I’m done, let’s goOoo”. Risha shouted with dirty hands and a piece of bread still in his mouth.

Elon, who had been silent through most of the breakfast, stood as well, tucking a small, leather-bound book under his arm. “I’ll join you outside.”

♥︎

Cloud was ripping a dead rabbit apart, enjoying his breakfast as well, while Sukira set Risha in position. Elon settled on a concrete bench, opening his book but keeping one eye on them from time to time.

“All right,” Sukira said, sharp and precise. “You know what to do”.

“Really? C’mooon, it's been two months of the same exercise.” 

“Mhh, okay, if you can do one sequence without mistakes, we’ll move on.”

“...He convinced you very fast. You are being permissive…”, Elon spat those words at her in a low voice.  

Risha groaned, dragging his feet, but went through the routine they practiced every day at the lake house: 

1. Stand on one foot on the ground — 10 seconds

2. Hop on one foot on the ground — 10 jumps

3. Stand on one foot on a log — 10 seconds

4. Hop on one foot on the log — 10 jumps

5. Stand on one foot on the ground with the knee lifted — 15 seconds

6. Stand on one foot on a log with knee lifted — 15 seconds

7. Hop on one foot on the log with knee lifted — 15 jumps

   
   

Run the circuit on the right leg, then the left. If a step is missed → restart at step 1.

His hands slipped once, but he caught himself, muttering under his breath. By the end, he was panting and glaring at her, proud.

“Well??” he demanded.

Sukira unfolded her arms, satisfied. “Well, it’s time for the next exercise.”

Risha perked up, hopeful—then blinked when she said: “Running.”

“WHAT?? 

RUNNING? 

I KNOW HOW TO–” 

Sukira arched a brow, cutting his shouting coldly. “Try.” She traced the path he needed to run with a finger ‘from there to there’. 

“NO! I want to do other stuff. I want to learn how to move like you. This is a waste of time!!”  He was throwing a tantrum. 

“Try running”. She repeated. 

“You’ve seen me run. This is NOT fair!!” He was louder than usual, but she didn’t react to his tone and kept her voice calm and low. 

“I’ll say this one more time, Risha. Try running from the two points I showed you.”  

The kid’s face was red, rage all over, but he placed himself on her right, a few meters away from Sukira and Elon. He prepared himself and started running on a straight line, but at the moment he reached the exact point where she was standing, he found himself on the floor. 

“?!!?”

“It seems you can’t run”. She said in a mocking tone. 

“...what happened?” he mumbled to himself, still on the floor, thunderstruck. 

“Again.” She said with no space to reply back.

Risha, who was very stubborn, returned to the starting point without even removing the dirt from his clothes, still trying to understand what had just happened. 

He failed. Two, three, five times. Until he noticed it. 

She was throwing a minuscule, small stone at his feet with a speed that made the obstacle almost imperceptible, making him stumble every time. 

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he returned to the starting point and ran, but this time, he jumped at the perfect moment. He continued running, excited, giving her a slight smirk. 

“NOW WHAT??” his frustrated body was lying on the floor, once again, only a few meters away from the finish line. 

The piece of ground where the stubble happened was covered in a thin layer of ice.

“Nice move,” Sukira said to Elon, who didn’t reply or look at her, his eyes still on his book.  

“AGAIN,” Risha shouted from afar, while returning to the starting point.  

Hours passed, and different obstacles, from random objects to magic traces, appeared on his way. It was lunchtime already.  

“It's enough for today. Let’s meet again tomorrow.” Sukira commanded. 

Risha walked towards them slowly, with a defeated pace, dragging his steps, gaze stuck at the floor. 

“Come closer”, Elon said, and the kid stood before him, still sitting on the bench where he spent the whole morning. 

Elon skimmed through the kid’s body with his eyes while grabbing him firmly but gently by the shoulders, with both hands. 

Risha was full of bruises all over him; he passed the last hours not only running, but hitting the floor, stumbling on branches, stones, and even books Sukira threw at him from all different directions. He rolled and jumped. On his forehead, hidden by his falling bangs, a bump started growing after he crashed into a magic barrier wall. Risha didn’t complain, not even once, about the pain, probably because he was too occupied trying to reach the finish line. 

Elon healed him, and everything disappeared in a second. 

“After every fight, training, or any encounter that involves your body and soul, take a moment to heal yourself. Please, make it a habit.” 

Risha nodded with conviction. His eyes were shining. 

“You did well, kid.” She patted his hair, all sweaty and full of dirt. 

They were strict, and their personalities weren’t particularly nurturing, but they always took a moment to recognize the little boy's efforts. They listened to him and his requests, even those that came out in the form of tantrums. 

They are the best, Risha thought to himself while looking at both of them with shimmering eyes and a full-tooth smile. Immediately after, he was commanded to take a shower, and the excitement on his face was erased, followed by a big pout. 

♥︎

Eloise spent the whole morning looking at the clock. First, cautious to avoid burning Risha’s birthday cake, and then, expectant for the morning to be over.

She said she’d be occupied all morning, but it is past lunch already. I hope she liked the sandwiches.  

She made some snacks earlier for the rest, who were resting after an intense morning of training. Dominique never arrived for lunch, but she asked one of the pink-suited to take the food to her studio. 

Eloise had been getting to know a different side of Dominique. So far, she had seemed like a child-behaved, reckless teenager. They were almost the same age, Dominique just a few years older, but Eloise’s maturity and careful thought made her feel older yet inexperienced in a strange disbalance. Since arriving, Dominique’s playful smiles had vanished, replaced by a seriousness sharpened with anger, driven by her family’s situation.

After wandering the halls for a while, Eloise finally found the studio. She stood at the door for a moment, questioning whether to interrupt.

Then the door burst open.

“I knew it! I could recognize your smell miles away!!” Dominique’s voice rang loud and proud. She grabbed Eloise’s arm and pulled her inside, scanning both sides before shutting the door.

“Domi…” Eloise whispered, cheeks warm at the sudden display.

Once inside, Eloise realized she was staring. Too aware of her blush, she quickly asked, “Did you get the lunch I sent?”

“Yes, thank you for that, Eloise. You are the best. You saved me. I was starving, but I was way too occupied. I hate this.” She gestured to the desk, buried under papers.

Calm down. She didn’t mean it that way. Don’t flutter. Calm down.

“I’m glad it helped. I wanted to check on you. It’s strange seeing you this busy, and it's only been a day. Oh! I also made a cake!”

“Really?? That must have been way more pleasant than this shit”. 

Eloise’s eyes wandered across the cluttered room. So many questions crowded her lips, but only one slipped through. “…what exactly are you doing here, Domi?”

Dominique sat in her desk chair, gesturing to the one across the table for Eloise. With a quick word, she dismissed her secretary and guard.

“Uhm… I guess hiding it from you feels pointless now. I can finally tell you everything. I was literally dying,” Dominique said, handing over a light green envelope sealed with the Fenroth stamp.

Eloise’s mind froze for a beat. Literally dying? Did she mean that? She held the envelope carefully. 

“What’s this?” Eloise asked as she looked at her family's signature on the paper. 

“An invitation. To join what I’m doing here.” Dominique’s excitement was contagious, her chin resting on her hands as she gestured to the sprawling maps and reports.

Eloise’s brows knit, the page trembling faintly between her hands.

Eloise,

I am writing to you from La Paz, a new, independent ground we are shaping along with other leaders of different races, a place meant to stand apart from the cruel ways we’ve been taught. It is still small, barely more than the stubborn hope of those we choose to believe in this. Yet even in its silence, it feels alive. A place where Calamities and names matter less than the will to begin again. 

Aaron remains in Eloria, keeping our roots steady while we build this branch in Umbra’s desert. We cannot tell many, not yet. But it is growing, Eloise, and in time it will stand as proof that we were not wrong to dream.

I wish for you to see it with your own eyes. You have always held what we lack: the gentleness to steady us, the patience to remind us why we began. La Paz needs that more than anything.

I hope to see you here soon.

Your sister, always, Ailin.

Eloise reread it. And again. One more time. Ailin’s words, mysterious as she was, were finally clear enough. Her older sister has been repeating this for a long time. This was bigger than any of them. Bigger than her. Too big, perhaps. 

“...so, questions?? I know you’ll have a bunch. Shoot, shooot, I’m ready.” Dominique was practically bouncing, thrilled to share her secret.

Silence. 

“This is… impressive. But I don’t belong in something like this.” Eloise’s voice shook, though she tried to steady it. “Dominique, you’re brave. My siblings… they’re so smart and confident, like they already know where they’re going. I’m just a naive child. Everyone thinks that. Why would you want me in La Paz? I—I can’t do it.”

Her hands trembled slightly as she lowered the letter. “Domi… I’m not good enough. Even not so long ago, I despised vampires.” Her voice softened further, almost breaking.

Dominique was in shock, caught off guard by Eloise’s vulnerability instead of immediate thrill. She noticed the tears welling in her eyes and moved quickly to her side, kneeling and resting her face against Eloise’s lap, tilting up to catch her eyes.

“You don’t have to be like any of us,” Dominique whispered softly. “You just have to be yourself. We need you as you are. You are more than enough.”

She paused, letting the weight of it settle before adding, “And it’s okay to be afraid. I’m not fearless because I’m brave. I’m fearless because I’m stupid.”

Eloise let out a tiny laugh, though the tears kept falling down.

“You can take the next few days to think about it. I know you love thinking things out. Find your strength, and then join us.”

“I… I’ll do that. I’ll think about it,” Eloise managed a smile through the blur of tears.

Dominique exhaled deeply, closing her eyes for just a moment. Then, softly, almost like a secret, she murmured: “…you always smell like roses, Eloise.”

A sudden BANG rattled the door against the wall.

“I told you we should’ve knocked first,” Elon muttered, reproaching Sukira’s entrance.

“Maybe you were right,” she admitted, her eyes were already scanning the scene before them.

Eloise froze. Dominique was still kneeling at her side, her head lazily pressed against her lap, utterly unbothered. Heat flushed across Eloise’s face as she stiffened, desperately wishing she could melt into the floor.

Dominique, of course, noticed nothing. They were both very innocent, though in very different ways. She glanced up with a wide smile. “Perfect timing! Come in, come in.”

Perfect timing? How so? Lately, Eloise couldn’t stop herself from questioning everything.

Elon’s brow arched slightly, his gaze flicking from Dominique’s position to Eloise’s flushed expression, but he said nothing.

Meanwhile, Sukira had already drifted across the studio, running her fingers along the odd little art pieces cluttering the shelves—pop-art relics, bizarre objects whose meaning escaped her. “Where’s your twin? Shouldn’t he be around, that little smart-ass?”

Dominique rocked back onto her heels, stretching like a cat. “Oh, Tech, he’s already waiting for us at La Paz.”

Sukira blinked, sharp eyes narrowing. “Us? Plural?”

Elon tilted his head. “…La Paz?”

Only then did Dominique notice their blank stares. She laughed, throwing her hands up in mock despair. “Wow, really? I’m the smartest one in the room? HA! Fine, fine. Sit tight, babies—I’ll catch you up.”

She bounced back into her chair, shuffling papers dramatically. With exaggerated gestures, she reexplained the whole thing: La Paz’s founding, her relationship with the Fenroth’s siblings, the current situation with the rumors of Elexi coming back, their hope to create something beyond Calamities… and how everyone who was involved has been called to the headquarters. 

Sukira crossed her arms, unimpressed. “And cutie-pie over here is joining?” Her chin tilted toward Eloise.

“She’s thinking about it,” Dominique cut in quickly, sparing Eloise the weight of the question. She knew that she needed time, and she was going to give it to her. 

“I see.” Sukira’s voice was steady. I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again: I have other things to do. It's incredible what you are doing, Domi. It's the correct—the only way, I would say. I wish you the best, and I truly hope our paths meet again, but I’m not going. “ 

Elon leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. “And what if this ‘La Paz’ collapses like everything else before it? You’ll forgive me if I don’t celebrate a dream that hasn’t drawn breath yet.”

Dominique’s jaw dropped. “What the—? You two are impossible!” She leapt to her feet, pacing in frustration. “This is history in the making, and you act like I invited you to a tea party! Ugh! Fine! Forget it. Go think about it, all of you. To your chambers. NOW. I don’t want to see any of you until tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?” Eloise asked softly, still trying to catch up.

“Yes, tomorrow night! Risha’s birthday banquet, we will wait for midnight all together, that’s how we do it here. Dress nicely.”

She spun toward the door in a sweeping exit—but froze mid-step. Her eyes widened.

“…By the way,” Dominique blurted, looking around frantically. “Where the hell is Risha??”

Her voice boomed down the hall, echoing against the walls.

Elon’s reply came with infuriating calm. “I left him with a pile of very boring exercises. Cloud is guarding him.”

♥︎