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My father, a true native of Foggy Albion, had the same white skin as his wife, but his coal-black hair gave him a somewhat gloomy and over-aristocratic appearance. His eyes – cold, blue, smiled rarely. In the eyes of mortals, he was a young, gorgeous man. In reality, he was five hundred and seventy-four years old.

And only his eyes gave away the true age of my parents – they glittered with knowledge and centuries of wisdom, and seemed to pierce the consciousness.

Markus and Mariszka were sitting in the far corner, whispering about something. It was our custom not to eavesdrop on each other, so no one paid attention to their confidential conversation. Or rather, love cooing.

When I entered the hall, my father was telling my mother about an old friend who was soon going to visit us for a couple of days. This news did not make me happy: friends were nothing but trouble for our family. Almost every month one of my father's or mother's friends would visit our castle, either alone or in clans, and then things would get very bad. The Praguers. Since it cost a lot of money to feed a horde of vampires, from the very first day of their stay, the Prague newspapers trumpeted that Prague was once again home to a maniac. Other journalists speculated about an unknown predator killing people in the woods. Some vampires behaved too openly and brazenly: despite strict warnings not to kill unnecessarily, they killed for fun. I was always annoyed by it, but my father stubbornly forgave those apostates, arguing that they had been friends for centuries.

I sat down in one of the armchairs and thought about my feelings. Lately I had been thinking of Viper, of her image before my eyes, of her voice, and of my desire to meet her. These reflections did not lead me to a definite conclusion, and no matter how strictly I ordered myself to suppress these thoughts, they returned again and again, making me worry that I had begun to think of a human being. I pondered, wondering to myself, until I heard my mother call my name – this brought me out of the captivity of my thoughts.

– …Cedric a new car. His old wreck is driving me out of my mind.

It's trivial: my mother has once again started another unnecessary conversation about the fact that I should replace the car. Until today I managed to protect my faithful humble friend, but today, in my thoughts, I was far away from this hall, so this time I did not really resist my mother's insistence to make me a "worthy vampire".

– We've talked about this so many times. Has your ardour still not cooled? – I smiled weakly at my mother.

– You know me, darling: I will insist until you replace your old wreck with a more dignified vehicle! You're Morgan! – exclaimed my mother, clearly not going to give in to this argument.

– Well, for the hundredth time, I'm happy with my car, and I'm not going to part with it.

– But let's face it: it's been looking like an old painted can for a long time. And I'm ashamed that my son drives such an old and unusable car!

– You're the only one who can't accept this sad fact, because everyone but you is not annoyed by my Toyota," I said ironically to this.

– We're just silently tolerating it," Markus's mocking voice came through.

I glanced at my father, silently begging him to cool my mother's temper and make her leave me alone, but he just shrugged and grinned dolefully.

– Well, it looks like all the Morgans are united against my choice," I grinned. – What about you, Mariszka?

– I can't go against my fiance's judgement! – she replied cheerfully.

– I see, my opinion is not interested in anyone, – I smiled sarcastically.

– Of course you do, but in this case, the majority opinion should be your judgement. – Markus was in his repertoire: we loved to banter with each other, and today he was the star of a slapstick comedy show.

– I've been to the car showroom today and I've found a great one for you," my mother said to me.

– Like a peacock? – I asked mockingly, knowing my parent's taste.

– By the way, your father thinks so, too. Don't you, Gregory?

– It's a great car," I said, but I knew he supported his beloved and was biased in his judgement.

We could have argued for a long time, but this time I had neither the energy nor the will to waste time on idle chatter.

– Well, I'll accept it," I began.

– Hail Mary," Markus said.

– What are you doing here? I think you're talking? – I asked mockingly, mocking him.

– For your information, I have the unique gift of speaking and listening at the same time, which doesn't stop me from observing your argument. Mum's just a magician – she got the stubborn one to come round and win 1-0! – replied my brother cheerfully.

– Do you really agree? – Mother jumped up and down.

– Agree? I was forced to agree! – I said, laughing. – Besides, I myself am glad that now you will get rid of me.

– I'm going to the salon tonight! – My mother jumped up from her seat.

– Luckily, it's already closed," I chuckled.

– Not for me, it isn't! I want you to go to university tomorrow like a normal vampire, in a nice car, not this junk! – replied Mum as she left the hall.

– What's going to happen to my faithful swallow? – I muttered regretfully.

– May she rest in peace," Markus said in a sad, mournful voice. He and Mariszka giggled.

– Shut up, Markus," I said sharply.

– Whatever you say, mister! Not a word of discretion from now on! – he said.

I heard the laughter of the couple again.

I decided to ignore them and meditate again. But this time my father interrupted me.

– How was your day? – he asked me.

– The usual. My life is so boring and monotonous that nothing interesting can happen in it," I replied, unhappy that my father wasn't letting me reflect in peace and quiet.

– Judging by your mood and tone, the routine is eating you alive. Anything new in your studies? – Father asked again.

– The rector has decided to show his power and make fun of the students," I grinned. – As of last week, the senior courses are supposed to prepare the juniors for their exams until winter.

– Why would they do that?

– Who knows. There's a whole pack of these oafs at the university.

– Interesting.

– And fun.

– How does this happen? – asked my father, clearly interested in this innovation.