The Accidental Vampire

Only the sound of Atlas\'s footsteps could be heard in the deadly silence as he walked away from the main hall, departing.

He had seen the exit thousands of times before when he worked to clean places, but it was always surrounded by guards. It was impossible for his weak self to even attempt an exit, but now that everyone knew he was a guest here, no one was going to stop him.

It wasn\'t as if anyone could stop him even if they wanted. He wasn\'t his old, weak self anymore! He wasn\'t at anyone\'s mercy! If anyone even tried to block his path, he could crush their bones to make a path for him.

Fortunately, there was no need for that. The guards that were in the Palace were already long asleep. A strange smell was present in all the hallways and corridors. The only area which didn\'t have that smell yet was the corridor near the main hall because John didn\'t want to alert the Vampires.

Seeing the content look on the face of Atlas, Lilith couldn\'t help herself but chime in. "That went better than I expected. Not bad. But next time, don\'t attempt something so risky. One mistake, and you could\'ve been trapped there."

"I\'ll listen to you next time," Atlas responded calmly.

"You always say that, but you never listen, do you? We both know your words are hollow. Anyway, shouldn\'t you be running fast? Only two minutes are left!" Lilith reminded Atlas.

"We have plenty of time," Atlas proclaimed. He soon reached the main exit that led them out of the Palace. There were two guards at the exit, but both of them were lying on the ground, deep asleep.

Pushing the door open, Atlas stepped out of the massive castle.

He observed the beautiful castle from the outside, which looked really majestic.

"You know, it\'s only the second time I\'m seeing this castle from the outside in my last four years. The first time was when I had first arrived here. I wasn\'t alone at that time. But leaving this place, I\'m all alone," Atlas mumbled.

Gazing at the dull and sad face of Atlas, Lilith remembered a moment from her own life.

Turning his back on the castle, Atlas started leaving.

"You know, a long time ago, there was a girl," Lilith divulged as she followed Atlas. "Her family was killed as well. She was also like you, drowning in loneliness. Her entire town was burned. When she was leaving that desolate town, she said something similar."

"She thought she had nothing since her family was gone. She was all alone," she added. "But it was at that moment when a person held her hand and told her something."

"Told her what?"  Atlas asked.

Atlas felt like someone was holding his hand. However, there was only a shadow beside him.

"You aren\'t alone in this world. You have me. So what if you lost one family? You have a lifetime before you to make another family, a family that you will never lose. So never lose hope. The world might look dull right now, but it\'s filled with colors. You just need to find your colors," Lilith said, reminiscing her past where she was all alone, feeling like she couldn\'t survive the loneliness.

That was the moment when Castiel extended his hand toward her, broadening her horizons, showing her that she wasn\'t alone. Since then, she had been with Castiel, who was no less than her family.

That\'s why seeing someone else in his body was so upsetting to her; however, somewhere inside her heart, she believed that it was something that Castiel desired.

There was no way someone could control Castiel\'s body without his permission. That\'s why she had decided to support Atlas on this journey as well until Castiel chose to return.

"Are you quoting the words that were told to the girl?" Atlas asked, frowning.

"Hmm."

"Who was that girl?" Atlas inquired, wondering if Lilith was making it up.

"That girl was me," Lilith explained. "And the person who held my hand was Lord Castiel. So believe me when I say this, but I know how you feel. I\'ve been in a similar place, but as Lord Castiel once said, the world is colorful. You just need to find your own colors in this world."

Atlas didn\'t respond. He stopped in his tracks, noticing John standing in the distance. John wasn\'t alone, though. A group of children was standing behind him.

The children were the same children that Atlas spent the last four years of his life with. They were the slaves that worked in the castle.

"Is everything done?" he asked John, stepping closer.

"Yes. It should be any second now." John smiled. "I honestly didn\'t think I could pull this off, but fortunately, nothing went wrong."

Atlas nodded as he slowly turned around to face the castle.

The children wondered why these people had brought them out of the castle. Some even worried for their lives, while others were happy that they could at least breathe the sweet air of the outside that didn\'t feel suffocating to them.

A beautiful moon shone brightly in the sky, basking everyone in the moonlight. Atlas\'s pale body looked even more prideful in the moonlight.

"John?" Atlas asked.

"Yes?"

"You shouldn\'t wait here. Leave. Take the kids and leave. Take them far away from here," Atlas commanded.

"What? Are you not coming?" John asked, frowning. "I thought we\'ll be going together."

"I\'m not coming at the moment. I want to see it end with my own eyes… I will leave after everything is done. You leave ahead. Take the lead. Make sure you go where even I can\'t find you. The kids are your responsibility now. You all are free."

The way Atlas talked, it looked less like he was a superior vampire and more like a friend who wanted them to have a safe life ahead. John didn\'t know what Atlas\'s goal was, but he couldn\'t say no.

The children also heard the words of Atlas, which stunned them. Were they truly being freed? Even in dreams, they couldn\'t have thought of something like this. They weren\'t enslaved anymore? No one was going to hurt them anymore? It was as if their wildest dreams had come true.

John bowed respectfully toward Atlas. Since Atlas\'s back was facing them, he couldn\'t see it, but he didn\'t need to look back to know that they were grateful.

"Thank you for everything. Also, I am sorry I couldn\'t help you find that girl."

"Thank you!" All the kids also bowed and thanked Atlas. They didn\'t know what it was about, but they were sure that Atlas was behind their freedom.

Atlas glanced at John, who still had his head down. "Don\'t be sorry. It\'s not your fault. I should be thanking you instead for helping me. You\'re better than the last guy."

He shifted his attention to the kids, especially Jason. Just yesterday, the two of them were talking about leaving in the future, and now, it was coming true. Just that it wasn\'t the way, they imagined it to be.

"Have a great future ahead. Best of luck." Atlas wished the kids luck before he turned his back on them to face the castle.

He didn\'t notice it at that moment, but Jason had a mysterious smile on his face as he gazed at the back of Atlas for some reason.

"Let\'s go!" John told the kids after taking one last glance at Atlas.

He had already stolen a carriage which he was to use for escape. The carriage had the symbol of the Severis Clan, which could protect him from bandits. No bandits were going to dare attack the Severis Clan unless they wanted to court death.

The kids and John started walking away from Atlas. The kids entered the carriage. John sat in the driver\'s seat. The carriage started moving and left...

Only Atlas was left behind, facing the castle as if he was waiting for something…