Chapter 8

Thedrick awoke feeling incredibly comfortable and warm. He stretched out his small body as he yawned and opened his eyes. Then he suddenly realised where he was, and memories from the previous night came rushing back to him, causing him to almost jolt upright. He froze in place as he turned his head slightly to look up at Joy, who was sitting up in the bed and looking down at him while smiling. Thedrick nervously returned her smile.

“Hello sweetheart, are you feeling better?” Joy asked cheerily

Thedrick opened his mouth to try and speak but the words died in his throat, so he just quickly nodded instead. He was worried if he said anything he might somehow ruin this perfect miracle that had happened to him.

Joy reached out towards him and patted him on the head gently. “That’s good to hear. We better get up now, and I can check on your feet and change your bandages,” she said as she tried to run her hands through his hair, but her fingers got caught on the tangles. “And brush your hair as well it seems. Maybe get some food into you?”

Thedrick was about to lie about not being hungry, but Joy was already hopping out of bed and getting properly dressed again to go outside in the cold, so Thedrick stayed quiet. Soon she turned back to him and then pulled him to the edge of the bed so she could kneel down and unwrap the bandages on his feet. She checked over the wounds, then moved away for a moment to grab something, coming back with a bucket of water, cloth and bandages again, proceeding to clean and bandage up Thedrick’s feet once more.

Then Joy went and found a brush, and she sat Thedrick on her lap while she attempted to tame his wild hair. Thedrick winced as she worked the knots out, unable to help some tears springing into his eyes from the pain. While she was working through it her fingers brushed over Thedrick’s pointed ear, and when she stopped to feel it, panic gripped Thedrick’s heart. Joy leaned down next to his head to look at the ear, parting the surrounding hair to see it.

“Oh! You’re an elf!” she exclaimed in surprise before smiling. “That’s why you’re so small.” She continued to brush out his hair as if nothing had happened, humming to herself merrily.

Once she had tamed the mess as much as she was able, Joy pulled a woollen hat down over Thedrick’s head. “Are you ready to meet everyone else?” she asked as she got to her feet. Thedrick nodded hesitantly, and Joy picked him up, resting him on her hip and carrying him out of the caravan and into the cool morning air.

Thedrick saw that everyone else was gathered around the campfire. The large man Clay was chatting away with the smaller blonde fellow and the young girl. The twins and the masked person were listening to their conversation. Some of them were eating breakfast that seemed to have been cooked over the fire. As Joy approached the group they quieted down, turning to look up at her and Thedrick.

“Alright everyone, this is Thedrick,” she introduced him simply, smiling down at the others. Thedrick gave them a nervous smile in return as he clung to Joy.

“Thedrick, this is my husband Clay, and our daughter Loretta,” Joy started, nodding towards the large man and the little girl. “The twins are Bo and Beau.” The twins offered Thedrick the same blank expressions they had the previous night.

“I’m Jacques!” the blonde-haired man offered, grinning at Thedrick. “And this is Maverick. Much like the twins, they don’t really talk, but I assure you they are happy to meet you too!” He gestured to the masked figure, who’s mask had a simple smiling expression now, different from how it looked yesterday.

“We’re a group of travelling performers,” Joy explained as she took a seat on a log next to the campfire, placing Thedrick on her knee. He clung to her for balance and security. “We tour around all the countries and kingdoms, displaying our talents.”

“The twins do acrobatics, Maverick juggles knives, Clay shows off his strength,” Jacques added to Joy’s explanation. “And I sing and play the lute!”

“And I keep them all in line,” Joy said with a soft smile, looking around at her family. 

Thedrick looked around at all their faces nervously. “H-Hi…” he said in a small voice, shrinking slightly under their gazes.

“Are you hungry dear?” Joy asked him gently with a reassuring smile.

Swallowing deeply, Thedrick shook his head, despite the hunger pains eating away at his stomach. 

Joy looked at him with concern. “But you’re so thin dear, you should really eat,” she pressed, as Jacques passed a bowl of stew and bread over to her.

Thedrick almost felt like crying. He wanted to feed so badly but he couldn’t let these people find out he was a monster, they would throw him out of the safety of the camp immediately, if not try to kill him.

“Here, have some,” Joy said, passing the bowl and spoon to him, then watching him expectantly. Thedrick realised he should really do as she says, he would have to eat for her at some point or she would become suspicious.

“Okay…” he said in a small voice, picked up a piece of bread and started nibbling on it. Seemingly satisfied by this, Joy took another bowl offered to her by Jacques, and started eating herself while Thedrick remained seated on her knee.

While the rest of them went back to talking and eating, Thedrick ate very slowly, trying to make it seem like he was filling himself while actually consuming the least amount of food possible. No one seemed to ask him any questions, such as why he was here. They just appeared to accept that he was a new member of the family.

When everyone was packing up breakfast, Joy looked down into Thedrick’s mostly uneaten bowl of food and frowned. Thedrick looked up at her and smiled nervously.

“Are you sure you’ve eaten enough dear?” she asked carefully, clearly aware despite Thedrick’s best efforts that he had only consumed a few mouthfuls.

Thedrick winced slightly as a jab of pain went through his guts. He nodded quickly, blinking up at her beseechingly. “I… uh… need to go relieve myself…” he muttered quietly. “Can you put me down, please?”

“Oh? You probably shouldn’t walk on your feet; it will likely hurt. I could carry you?” Joy offered kindly.

“I’ll be alright,” Thedrick insisted, trying to sound confident. Joy seemed to give in, and lifted him off her lap, placing him down on his feet. Thedrick tried not to grimace as the pain of putting weight on his wounds shot up his legs. He shot Joy a grin of reassurance, and then quickly ran off out of the clearing and into the woods.

Once he got a short distance away from the camp, Thedrick fell to his knees behind a bush and started retching. He tried to throw up as quietly as he could, which he was quite well practised in. But Thedrick suddenly froze as a shadow fell over him. He slowly turned his head to see Joy looking down at him with concern.

“Oh no dear, why are you sick?” she asked, falling to her knees next to him and placed a hand on his back. 

Thedrick’s mind ground to a halt, he didn’t know how to respond, what lie to tell. “I… I… I said I wasn’t hungry, I just… I…” Thedrick was taking in short sharp breaths as he was on the verge of panic, his whole body trembling as he stared at her in fear.

“Hey hey, it’s alright dear, calm down now,” Joy reassured as she pulled Thedrick against her chest. “I shouldn’t have forced you to eat when you weren’t feeling well. Let’s go back and make you some nice tea to soothe your tummy.” She picked him up again and carried him back into the campsite.

Joy sat Thedrick down on a log while she rushed around and made him some tea. Thedrick looked around to see what everyone else was doing while he waited. His eyes were quickly drawn to the masked individual, Maverick, who seemed to be practising their knife throwing while Jacques watched on and chatted away to them. This skill entranced Thedrick with how awesome and scary it looked. Their mask showed an expression of concentration. Thedrick wondered how many masks they had, as he could only see a couple hanging from their belt.

His attention was also grabbed for a moment by the twins, who were running around and springing off the ground into various flips, as well as cartwheels and somersaults. They even climbed up the caravans and then flipped from the top of them, landing lightly on their feet. Thedrick could certainly not tell the two of them apart, they looked completely identical, including matching short fluffy hair and colourful jumpsuits.

Soon Joy returned to Thedrick’s side, sitting down next to him and offering him a small ceramic cup of steaming liquid. Thedrick gave her a hesitant smile as he took it and brought it to his mouth, gently sipping. Liquids didn’t seem to bother his digestive system as much as solids, so he could usually drink different beverages without much issue.

Thedrick wasn’t sure what he was going to do about getting blood. He certainly didn’t want to try and feed on any of these nice people that had accepted him into their family so readily. He would probably have to try and catch small animals himself. But at least he was safe and being taken care of, with a warm place to rest. He couldn’t really ask for more than that at the moment.

****

Thedrick stood frozen, staring at the group of familiar figures. Panic gripped his chest, he felt like he should run, yet couldn’t move his legs. Then Joy turned and as her gaze passed over the crowd she did a double take, eyes coming to rest on Thedrick and going wide. Thedrick’s muscles all tensed with fear as the two of them stared at each other for a few moments.

Then suddenly Joy was hurrying towards him, and Thedrick only managed to recoil a single step back away from her as his eyes darted around nervously.

Joy practically crashed into him, quickly wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in close to her chest. “Thedrick!” she cried out in what sounded like slight distress as she squeezed him tightly, lifting him up off the ground. Thedrick let out a wheeze as his body was crushed in her arms, now finally managing to move but only able to struggle helplessly in her grip.

Placing him back down on his feet, Joy grabbed Thedrick’s face in her hands, forcing him to look up at her as she pushed his hair out of the way with her thumbs. “Oh Thedrick, you’re alive! Oh my goodness I’m so happy to see you!” Joy exclaimed, beaming down at him with delight while her eyes filled with tears.

Quickly Thedrick’s eyebrows knitted together, and he made a noise of confusion, unable to find his words at the moment. Joy stroked his pale skin gently with her thumb as she looked down at him with all the love and care he remembered so well.

“We searched for you for so long, Thedrick, we were so worried. And after a while we just assumed… well, I didn’t know how you could have possibly survived out on your own, but it looks like somehow you managed!” Joy continued, squeezing his face gently in her hands.

“I… I don’t understand…” Thedrick choked out, gazing up at her in bewilderment. This is not the sort of reaction he had been expecting if he ever saw her again. “You… you saw my…”

“Thedrick, I knew you were a vampire for years!” Joy exclaimed, her expression changing to concern.

“Y-You did?!” Thedrick squeaked out in surprise, his eyes going wide again.

Joy nodded, and then chuckled slightly as well, smiling sadly. “I never said anything because I thought you might freak out and run… but that’s exactly what happened anyway. I should have sat you down somewhere and calmly talked to you about it… I’m so sorry my dear.”

Thedrick felt like there was a massive lump in his throat. “B-But… if you knew I wasn’t human… why did you let me live with you then?”

As they spoke Thedrick noticed that other members of the troupe had walked over and gathered around the two of them now. Clay was looking over Joy’s shoulder, smiling down at the little jester. Glancing around the other’s faces, Thedrick saw they were smiling as well.

“Oh Thedrick… my poor, sweet, stupid boy… barely any of us are human,” she explained, looking around at the others as well.

Thedrick looked around at all their faces in shock as they smirked at him, even the twins who were usually quite inexpressive. “O-Oh?” was the only sound he was able to make, as he swallowed deeply.

Joy nodded. “Only Lottie and I are human, these guys are all non-human creatures, just like you! You were always welcome with us, no matter what you were. You were among kin. You belonged.”

The emotions that had been building inside Thedrick suddenly burst out as he started crying. Joy quickly pulled him in close to her chest again as he sobbed, rubbing his back gently. Soon the others moved in closer, wrapping themselves around Joy and Thedrick, until they were all embracing as a group around the tiny crying vampire.

Eventually Thedrick’s tears slowed, and everyone pulled away to give him some space to breathe again. Joy gazed down at him with care and compassion, just as she always had.

“We missed you so much my dear,” Joy said, cupping Thedrick’s cheek in her hand. Then soon she was leading him over to the stage, where she sat him down to talk.

“If… if you guys are not human as well… then what are you?” Thedrick asked, looking around at the faces of his old adoptive family.

Jacques smirked down at him, then slightly lifted up his hat, giving Thedrick a glance at two broken horns poking up out of his blonde hair. He quickly covered them again though before anyone else could see. “I’m a demon,” he said simply, while Thedrick looked up at him in awe.

Maverick leaned in towards Thedrick and held out their arm, pulling off their glove. Underneath their hand was not made of flesh, but of wood, the digits flexing on ball joints. Thedrick stared up at their mask with surprise, and he saw the expression on it change from a smile to a smirk. 

Thedrick reached up towards their mask, and Maverick leaned in to allow him to touch it. Running his hand across the side of their head, Thedrick realised that the ‘mask’ didn’t end. His hand hit something soft, and he grabbed onto it, pulling it forward slightly. It was a lock of crimson yarn hair. Thedrick let go, then blinked up at Maverick, who was smiling gently down at him.

“A doll?” Thedrick asked.

Maverick and Jacques both nodded. “That’s why they can’t talk,” Jacques explained.

Thedrick then looked at the twins, who both cocked their heads at him. It had been nearly ten years since he had seen them, but they both appeared to still be young children.

“They are changelings,” Joy explained, “dark faeries who took the places of a real pair of twins that the faeries stole away. But they didn’t act human enough, so their new ‘parents’ abandoned them. I found them wandering the woods, a few years before we found you.”

Thedrick then turned his attention to Clay, cocking his head questioningly up at the big man. “I’m… a werewolf…” the big guy said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Wh… why didn’t you tell me?” Thedrick asked, glancing around at the faces gathered around him.

Joy gave a small sigh. “Like you, they are all just trying to live like humans. You were quite the scared little child as well; we didn’t want to frighten you.”

“Ha ha…” Thedrick said humourlessly, turning his head to look down at the ground.

 
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you dear,” Joy said, wrapping an arm around Thedrick’s shoulders and squeezing him lightly. “But I’m so relieved to find you alive and well. How have you survived this long on your own?”

Thedrick raised his head again slightly. “Well, I travelled from kingdom to kingdom for a while, jestering. Got almost discovered a few times and had to keep fleeing. Then here I found someone who would feed and protect me,” he explained while gesturing with his hands.

“Oh? Tell us more, dear,” Joy nudged, watching him with interest.

“He’s the castle chirurgeon, he found out what I was, but he didn’t try to hurt me, he helped me instead! He seems rather mean and grumpy, but he’s actually really nice. He’s saved my life a few times now,” Thedrick smiled as he mused aloud about his dear friend.

"He sounds like a very good friend, Thedrick, I'm glad you found someone to look after you," Joy said happily.

"W-Well, it's not only him. I also met this soldier… he's so huge, at least as tall as Clay! And he's really handsome and nice and…" Thedrick broke off as he started blushing, thinking about his lover.

"Oh? You're in love my dear?" Joy asked gently, and Thedrick nodded quickly. "Well, that's just wonderful then. You'll have to introduce us to all your new friends."

Just then Thedrick heard a voice calling out through the crowd. "Thedrick?" Thedrick recognized Beowulf's voice, and quickly jumped to his feet on the stage so he could look over everyone's heads and see into the crowd. Sure enough he quickly spotted Beowulf, towering over everyone else, looking around with the princess riding on his shoulders, also surveying the crowd from her high vantage point.

Maerwynn quickly spotted Thedrick and started waving and calling out to him. This drew Beowulf's attention to him as well, and soon the guard was quickly making his way over towards the group. Thedrick felt some rising anxiety as Beowulf approached them. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do.