Dhampir Knight

Chapter 6 - Theo's Dad

Theora remained silent for a moment while her mother waited. She was fighting back tears. She wasn't sure why she felt like crying again, but she was trying to repress it because she didn't like crying in front of others, not even her mom. She rubbed her nose, her eyes going to the bowl of red soup again. Now she wished she had just drank it and not asked her mom.

"Is my dad a vampire?" she mumbled.

"Hamel is your dad," Ann said.

Theora frowned angrily at her mom who was obviously lying.

"He's not my real dad," Theora protested.

"He's the man who saw you come into this world, raised you, feeds you, clothes you, and takes care of you, Theo. He's your dad. If you're asking about your biological father, then yes, he is a vampire."

"Ann, you sure about this?" asked Quil, who'd walked back into the room.

"She's nine years old now," Ann replied, her eyes still on her daughter. "She's old enough to know things. And if other children are going to tease her about who and what she is, she needs to know why."

Quil seemed like she had something to say about this, but she didn't; instead, she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame with a frown. There was a faint breeze coming in from outside, but on evenings like this, they often left the door open to let fresh air in before the night.

"Where is my... father?" Theo asked.

"I don't know."

Theora frowned at her mom.

"Why don't you know?"

"Because I haven’t seen him since before you were born, Theo. How could I know?"

There was a bit of a warning tone in her voice, as if Theo was now on a minefield and needed to proceed carefully with her questions. Theora glanced toward the entrance door; now she was nervous about her dad walking in and hearing some of this.

"...Who is he?"

"You don't need to know that."

Theora frowned even more.

"Why not?"

"Because you don't."

"Ann," Quil unfolded her arms with an exasperated expression. "You–"

"Quil, shut up."

Theora was shocked by the imperious tone her mom used, and even more shocked to see the Marshall roll her eyes and obey. She didn't like this strange dynamic between the two of them, and she couldn't understand it. Quil was the Marshall, she was the highest authority in the village, making sure everyone was safe and respected the law... so why was she obeying her mom like this? Just because they were best friends? Still, Quil was her godmother and she had been watching over Theo like a family member for as long as she could remember. It made her feel a bit mad at her mom, and she turned her eyes back to her.

"Why not?" she insisted.

"Because you do not need to," Ann explained, sounding calm and composed. "Hamel is your dad, Theo, that is all you need to know."

"But what about my... biological father?"

"What about him?"

Theo wasn't sure of what she wanted to know about him. Why wasn't her mom telling her who he was? Was he a bad person? Had he done something to her mother for her to have chosen to marry a different man, and for someone else to raise her daughter? Why wasn't he with them? Didn't he want her? And her mom? She tried to think.

"Mom will never... meet him again?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't need to," Ann said. "Do you want to meet your biological father, Theo?"

Theora was surprised by the question, and she went quiet, seriously thinking about it. She wasn't sure. Did she want to meet him? If he was a vampire she had never met, it would probably be a bit scary. And even if her mom was harsh at times, she probably had a good reason not to have stayed with Theo's real father, right? And there was her dad too. Would he be hurt if Theo said she wanted to meet her other father?

"...No," she finally muttered. "I don't think so."

"Alright."

Her mom sounded satisfied with Theo's response. They fell silent, but when Theo glanced up at Quil, the Marshall was avoiding her eyes, staring at Ann with a curious expression Theo couldn't understand. Did Quil know who her father was? Did she think Theora should have asked? Theo wasn't sure of anything anymore...

"I'm home!"

Her spirits lifted up instantly when she heard her dad's voice, and without thinking, Theo jumped out of her seat to run to him before he'd even crossed the threshold.

"Oh!" Hamel exclaimed when Theo jumped to hug his waist. "That's quite the welcome... You feeling better, honey?"

He got down on a knee to hug Theo, and as she wrapped her arms around his neck, he struggled to lift her up.

"You're going to be too big soon for Daddy to carry you," he chuckled. "...You okay, Theo?"

Theo nodded, although she was hiding her face in his coat and didn't want to answer out loud. She heard a faint silence, and then her dad cleared his throat.

"You're home late," Ann said.

"Yes, that fever is a bit... heavier than expected. Marshall, I think we might need to be a bit careful around Yanheim's caravan, I've never seen those symptoms before. It might be nothing, but if they brought something from the south we're not used to up here..."

"Noted," said Quil. "I'll have a chat with Yanheim and tell the village to be careful."

"Good. Better safe than sorry..."

"I'll get going now. Thanks for the stew, Hamel. Good night, Theo, Ann."

Theo didn't lift her head to see Quil leave, but she heard the Marshall's heavy boots walk away in their garden and back into the street. Her dad struggled to close the door while carrying Theo, but as soon as he did, she heard her mom's chair.

"We need to talk."

"W-we do?" Hamel asked. "Oh... I-I see. Well, I'll put Theo to bed first, hm? Can you warm up some stew for me, darling?"

"Alright. Good night, Theo."

Thankfully, Theo didn't have to answer or lift her face again for her dad painfully struggled to carry her upstairs. Still, he didn't complain, only sighing and breathing heavily until he reached the stairs to her bedroom and carried her up.

"Phew," he said. "Finally. We're here, Theo."

He dropped her on her bed, and gently untangled Theo from his neck to sit her next to her pillow. After pushing one of her screwdrivers aside, he sat on the opposite end with a gentle smile. She was holding her head down, not crying but looking visibly upset. Hamel put his hand over her little fist.

"You alright, darling? I heard echoes of what happened... Don't worry, all the children fight! I'm sure you'll make up with your friends soon."

But Theo's mind was far from her fight with Yosette and the others. Instead, her eyes lingered on her dad's arms. He took his leather coat off, as if thinking Theo was worried about him being too hot, and put it aside, revealing the scars on his forearms. He had plenty of them, all in half-moon shapes of different sizes. Theora frowned.

"...I bit you a lot," she mumbled.

"Oh, this?" Hamel chuckled. "Well, you do have quite the teeth... but they're not all yours! Being a doctor can be a bit of a hazardous occupation with children. Let's see... Ah! I'm pretty sure this one is from Dandan. He's not fond of needles..."

But when he looked up at his daughter, his smile melted a bit, for Theora wasn't amused. He sighed and held her hand a bit tighter, tilting his head.

"Talk to Daddy, Theo. You and Mommy looked all serious earlier, did you have a grown-up chat?"

Theo granted him a nod.

"Mom said I'm a dhampir," Theo finally said. "That's why I bite you, and the other children like Dandan too."

Hamel couldn't hide his surprised expression for a second. But he quickly regained his composure, with a faint but real chuckle, and caressed her hand with his thumb.

"That's right," he whispered. "You are a dhampir. Mom explained to you what a dhampir is, then?"

Theo nodded faintly.

"Well, you are quite the special little girl, Theo."

"...Do you not hate it?" she asked nervously. "That I'm... half-vampire."

"Of course not!" Hamel replied without a hint of hesitation. "Why would I? Nothing is wrong with being half-vampire, nothing at all. ...Vampires aren't bad people, Theo, they truly are not. They are often misunderstood, like most minorities. Like a lot of things that people don't understand... and you, you're even more special than vampires, Theo. You're a very smart, brave, and kind girl. You have exceptionally pretty eyes too."

"My eyes are weird," Theo muttered, glancing down.

"No, they're not," Hamel said. "They are very, very pretty."

Theo blushed a bit, although she was used to her dad's compliments. Glad that he had put a bit of a smile back on her face, Hamel gently set a curl of her hair behind her ear.

"You've got your mom's pretty hair too," he said, "but you're curious like your dad, and quite smart like the two of us. I love having a very smart daughter, Theo. And you're very kind."

"That's not true. I'm not kind like you," Theo mumbled.

"Aren't you trying to make a new leg for your friend Danell? And you repaired a lot of things around the village too. Remember last spring? You climbed that dangerous mountainside to get the kite the other children had got stuck too, and you brought it back to Quil without telling them. Even though they didn't let you play with it, you gave it back."

As he said that, he pointed at the little scar Theo had on her knee that she'd gotten from that day. She'd come back with her legs and arms covered in scratches, and only Quil and her dad knew about it. She blushed even more and looked away.

"I just... It bothered me that it was stuck like that."

Hamel smiled. But, after a faint silence, Theo began crying silently. Hamel sighed, but leaned closer, pulling her in for a hug. Theo cried on his shoulder.

"I... hate crying..." she sobbed on his shoulder.

"It's alright to cry, Theo. Everyone needs a good cry every now and then. It's better to let it out, honey."

"I hate it..."

She bawled again, for the second time that day, while Hamel patiently patted her back and hugged her. Unbeknownst to Theo, her dad was smiling. Theo was always acting so tough in front of other children and even in front of the adults around her; it was a bit reassuring to actually see her acting like a child for once. He kept caressing her long blonde curls, letting her cry for as long as she needed until she calmed down a bit.

"...Feeling better, Theo?"

She nodded against his shoulder and pulled away, rubbing her eyes with a sullen expression.

"Never keep your emotions bottled up, Theo. If you do, they will eat you up from the inside and hurt you more. It's better to let it out."

"But I hate crying," she mumbled.

"You don't always need to cry. It doesn't matter how you let it out. Sometimes you can even shout, or talk to a friend."

"...How do you do it? You never get upset..."

"That's not true," Hamel smiled. "I get upset sometimes. But I like to use my words to express it. You know, right? I mumble a lot when I get frustrated."

Theo nodded. She had noticed her dad sometimes talked when he was all by himself, as if he was trying to convince an imaginary friend. If he was working on something that annoyed him, he could talk for a very long time in his locked office. She couldn't understand everything he said, for it sounded just like a lot of grumbling and muttering.

"I don't think mumbling will help me," Theo confessed.

"Maybe not," Hamel chuckled. "Maybe something else, then? Your mom likes to... eh, physically express herself. She pulls out weeds when she's annoyed. Vegetables too..."

"But you and Mommy don't cry."

"No," Hamel sighed. "Adults forget how to cry. You know, when babies are born, crying is the only way they have to tell others that something is wrong. They cry when they are hungry, when they're upset, when they're cold... When we grow up, we learn to find words and to express things like this. But, deep down, when we're upset, we all still want to cry. Adults just forget it is alright for them to do so. We only allow ourselves to cry as a very last resort, when there is nothing else we can do. It's not bad to cry, Theo."

"...I understand," she finally muttered, "but I still don't like crying in front of others."

"Alright, then. You can cry in front of Daddy, or say you need some time alone. Both are alright."

Theo nodded. Then, she rubbed her nose with her sleeve and got up. Very quickly, she cleaned her face and brushed her teeth with the little water basin that was in a corner of her bedroom while Hamel was glancing around. He wasn't often allowed up there, as it was Theo's little private space, so it made him happy to see her little chaos of started projects, and yet, how she managed to keep her room tidy as per her mom's instructions. She also put her clothes in the dirty laundry basket and quickly put on her nightgown before running back to bed. There, Hamel tucked her in, pulling the sheets around her and making sure nothing that was on the end of the bed would fall during the night.

"Oh, Theo," he finally whispered in a more cheerful tone. "Your cousins wrote. Your aunt sent us a bigger package, so she included your cousins' letters in it. You should read them tomorrow."

"Why did Auntie send us a package?" Theo asked, who didn't care much for her cousins' long letters.

"I asked her for a few items," Hamel smiled. "I was worried Yanheim wouldn't be on time, but turns out your aunt's package arrived at the same time as him!"

"What's in the package?" Theo frowned.

"It will be for your birthday," Hamel replied with a wink. "You'll know in a few weeks. It will be a surprise until then."

Theora blushed at the idea of her approaching birthday and something her dad had ordered from her aunt all the way from the Capital. She pulled her sheets above her mouth, and Hamel leaned over to kiss her forehead, and then, checked the sheets once more. After giving her a warm smile, Hamel stood, pulled the curtains closed on her window, and walked to the door.

"Good night, Theo."

"Good night. ...Dad?"

"Yes, darling?"

"...I'm happy you're my dad."

There was a silence, during which a blushing Theo hid even further under her blankets, her eyes right above the sheet, staring at the shadow of her dad at the door. Despite the darkness, she could see his surprised expression and, after a while, how his lips pinched into a hardly repressed smile.

"...I'm very happy to be your dad too, Theo."