Taming My Vampire Servant

"He's still breathing," Sigmund uttered when he placed his hands under Lycus' nose.

"Let's bring him to his hut to warm him up!"

With haste, Sigmund carried Lycus on his shoulder and ran to the hut. He carefully placed him down the bed, and tucked him underneath the thick blanket. Ivory then lit the unused, small fireplace at the side of the bed. Afterwards, she yawned, feeling sleepy due to tiredness.

"Hey, why don't you sleep in our hut? I'll keep watch of him," the Vampire suggested.

"Eh? But-"

"Don't worry, I won't do anything bad to your relative. Go now."

Convinced with this, and since she trusted him, she walked towards their hut. And as soon as she laid down the king sized bed, she fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in the oak forest that she and Lycus frequented these past days: in her dream. She ran as fast as she could to the wolves' den to ask for the alpha wolf's help.

"Ivory, you've been guessing wrong these past few days, but if you tell me who I am today, I'll tell you how to save Lycus."

"You're a banished Werewolf Servant, and you're in the Land of Rosaria…" Ivory uttered. Her fearless light-blue irises then looked straight into the eyes of the giant creature. "Werewolves are the Silverblade clan's Servants, and if you are called the alpha wolf and the leader of all the wolves in this forest, then you might be… the late King Ulysses Silverblade's Servant."

Hearing Ivory's correct answer, the alpha wolf suddenly howled, and the other smaller wolves did the same. 

"So, uhm… Did I get it correctly-"

Suddenly, all the wolves in the pack turned into their human forms. They had wolf ears while their almond-shaped eyes glowed. Female Werewolves wore leather brassiere with fur collar, short leather skirts, fur armbands, and leather boots. On the other hand, males only wore leather skirts, steel armbands, and leather boots.

And the alpha wolf, who had striking blue eyes, was the most handsome in the pack.  He had medium-length silver hair, and furred and cupped ears wherein the inner ear was silver in color while the outer ear was black in color.

He was also cladded in a different armor; he was only wearing steel pauldron armor on his right shoulder, a steel gauntlet on his right hand, and pants with a steel armor belt. But what caught Ivory's attention was the wolf's head on top of the pauldron with eyes made of sky blue topaz gems, which symbolizes his power as their leader. 

Ivory gaped in awe. She was fascinated by the appearances of the banished Servants she saw for the first time in her life.

Most especially, she felt deeply connected to the alpha wolf. 

"Ivory, let me introduce myself formally," the leader of the Werewolves said, "I am Wolfram. The late King's Werewolf Servant," and he shook hands with her.

"It's finally nice to meet you, sir Wolfram!" she gave a warm smile, and she also waved to the other Werewolves who seemed pleased to meet her.

"Now, about Lycus-"

"He's… not my relative, isn't he?"

Wolfram gave a lonely smile, "He's not, but you may consider him as your family. Besides, he really treats you as one… like a member of this pack."

Ivory was saddened to hear this, "Then he is…?"

"He's a Werewolf as well."

"But he doesn't have wolf ears! What happened?"

"Twenty years ago, the Oracle was suspiciously replaced right after the king died during the massacre. According to him, Lyria, Goddess Destinia's messenger, said that Werewolves should be banished because it was believed that my Master was an unjust ruler and the Silverblades used us Werewolves to instill fear onto the people… but it's all false."

"Oh no…" Ivory murmured. 

Wolfram sighed as he recalled what happened, "Since my Master was already dead and I had returned to the Goddess' side, I asked Her about it… and She said that it wasn't Her, but Lyria, who decided on her own. According to the Goddess, she used Her Sacred Scroll and gained her almighty powers temporarily," he explained. "So I had a deal with Her for all Werewolves."

"What deal?"

"To let all remaining Werewolves live separately from their Masters… and look like humans."

Ivory listened carefully to his stories. Feeling a bit tired from standing, she sat down on the ground, and Wolfram and all the Werewolves surrounding them also did.

"They traded their superb hearing and wolf ears to be independent. They can freely control how they handle their mana, but only have them limited. The Goddess promised to make up for her messenger's grave mistake, and let all the Werewolves left hide in the Sanctuary… but there were some who were unfortunately caught by the castle, just like Lycus."

"So if there were some Silverblades who got away, then the next in line to the throne… Wait, is the massacre some kind of evil scheme just to get rid of the royal family?!" she widened her eyes in shock. "Then the current king and the current Oracle are fooling everyone in the Kingdom!"

"You are absolutely right," Wolfram nodded his head. "Now, about Lycus… Since he only had a temporary mana supply, he couldn't replenish quickly. Perhaps traveling in your dream for several days took a toll on him."

"So, how can I save him?" she asked. "Please help me… I want to save him, for all the support he has given me!"

"If you want to save him… then you must become his Master."

Ivory was too shocked to speak.

"Yes, you heard it right," Wolfram said, "After I allow you to take control of the powerful mana, you can share it with Lycus. It won't affect your current Servant's mana supply at all."

"Wait, that's…" What would she say to her possessive Vampire Servant? She knew Sigmund wouldn't accept this. She promised him not to be close to other Servants!

"Do not worry, I'm sure your Servant will understand," he smiled at her to reassure her. "All Servants are understanding towards their Masters. They're holy, and do not feel human emotions like jealousy."

"Ah, yes… That's right," she replied, stuttering.

Wolfram stood up, "Alright, come with me into the den. I will give you your most awaited wish."

With that, Ivory and the other Werewolves followed the leader into the den. It was dark at first, but it got dimmer as they went deeper into the den. But soon after, a bright light could be seen at the end.

Inside were two silver goblets, with wolves carved into its surface, and were placed on a carved stone counter height table.

"I've prepared it just for you, Ivory," Wolfram took one of the goblets, and he gestured to Ivory to take the other one.

The curious Ivory peeked into the goblet, and saw a red liquid, "I am weak at alcohol, sir."

It made the alpha wolf laugh. "You won't get drunk with that, I promise," he said, "However, before we drink this, we have to make an oath. It's under Goddess Destinia's orders."

"I understand, sir."

"Repeat after me… I, state your name."

"I… Ivory Sprucemint..."

"...will promise to properly use my powerful mana and do everything in my power to bring back the throne to the Silverblade royal family."

Ivory then repeated after him. Now, she knew clearly why she had to go to that oak forest in her dreams - because Goddess Destinia gave her a very important mission.

"For now, pretend that Lycus is a Spirit Servant. I will lose my communication with him after I entrust him to you as his Master. Please trust him as much as you trust your current Servant."

Ivory nodded.

"Great. Now, drink it up to the last drop."

She gulped the red liquid, even though it had an odd aftertaste. As soon as she finished it all, Wolfram took the goblet from her.

"Ivory, I now officially welcome you to the pack!" he patted her head with a warm smile, and all of the Werewolves clapped their hands to welcome her.

She was delighted, but she was still confused, "Thank you, but… can I ask something, sir?"

"Hmm? What is it?" Wolfram uttered.

Ivory sighed, "I've been wondering… Why do I have a mana like a member of the Silverblade clan?"

"You're curious?" he chuckled, "Listen carefully… It's because you are..."

"HEY!" Sigmund's voice echoed inside the hut, "I noticed the sudden light inside that's why I hurried here. Are you having a nightmare? Why do you look so restless-"

But upon seeing him, she immediately embraced him with tears in her eyes. "I… I did it! I'm done with the challenge!"

"Then… you can now control your mana?"

She pulled away and looked into his eyes, "Yes… but Sigmund, I have to tell you something…"

The Vampire wiped the tears that fell onto his Master's cheeks. He asked, "What is it?"

"It's about Lycus… he's a… Spirit Servant!"

"What the hell?" Sigmund said. "It must be the reason why he had so much control of his own mana… But who is his Master?"