《Bambi And The Duke》


 Chapter 1 - Note Before You Read The Book

    1. The book is written in Victorian Era settings but doesn''t stick to the facts. You will find a few things that have been added to fit into the story. So if you find a unicorn or frogs flying in the book wearing capes and sses, then remember that this is a historical-fantasy-romance fiction book.


    -


    *Do add/check the other books of the author*


    The Fourth Mistress


    Letters to Romeo


    The Crown''s Obsession


    Young Master Damien''s pet


    Valerian Empire


    Heidi and the Lord


    Belle Adams'' Butler

 Chapter 2 - Ribboned Gift- Part 1

    Do NOT giarise or copy this book as this book solely belongs to ash_knight17


    .


    The year 1766


    Vivian''s small hands pressed against the cold windows of the quiet room she was locked in. Her once red eyes which had gradually turned ck in a few weeks of time now stared at the guests outside the room who chattered merrily with each other while she had none as apany. The window the little girl stood in front was a custom made with a ck tint that made it difficult for a person who was outside to see what was inside the room.


    Spending some more minutes with the hope that either her mother or father would let her out she stood by the window waiting for them except as minutes turned to hours no one came to let her out of the room.


    Little Vivian had the least idea of why she had been locked away in the room which had never happened before. Her family loved her. Her father dotted her as she was her their firstborn child before her younger brother Gregorie who was a couple of years youngerpared to her vampire age that was if she was still a vampire like the rest of her family. The party in the Harlow manor continued without her.


    The door burst open after some time. Not far behind him stood a woman at the door who didn''t dare to step her foot inside the room.


    "Abel, wait. Emmanuel said not to open-"


    "That''s enough, ine!" The man stopped her from spluttering any more nonsense. Picking up the girl in his arms, he walked out of the room, taking her to her own bedroom and tucking her in the bed. Stepping out, he locked the room behind him before sending a re towards the woman.


    "I cannot believe what you have done to your own child!"


    "I merely asked her to stay in the room," the woman was none other than Vivian''s mother who spoke in a worried tone now at the thought of what her husband would say, "Emmanuel isn''t going to be happy if he finds she is back in her room. We need to protect ourselves, Abel."


    "Protect from what sister?" scoffed Abel disbelievingly.


    Hearing this, ine whispered, "She isn''t us, don''t you see it?! She is a human. There has to be some sort of witchery if it isn''t it would only mean someone tricked us and she isn''t our child."


    "Hell, can you hear yourself speak? She is your daughter, ine. Why is it so hard for you to believe it?" Abel argued with his elder sister.


    "Because she''s a human. No vampire turns to a human out of nowhere. We are vampires, Abel. When was thest time you heard one of our family members turned into a human? When did that happen?" she questioned him and then shook her head, "We don''t even know what she is and where to go looking for answers," she was ashamed to think about it.


    Being born to a vampire family and married into one, ine along with her husband strongly believed that vampires had to marry vampires and that humans were nothing but dirt under their feet. There were rare cases where vampiress bore a human child who was shunned mostly by society and in turn by their own family. Fortunately, unlike his sister Abel spent more time outside and in the council than in their house to pick up those foolish ideas. He was well aware that it was hard to change his sister''s mind once she had set it. It wasn''t exactly his house affairs but the little girl was his niece. She didn''t deserve to be locked in the room for something she had no control over. It wasn''t that he hadn''t noticed it. With weeks, the girl had lost her appetite when it came to drinking blood. Thest time he had seen her, her eyes had swapped between red and ck for a fleeting moment. When he had first arrived at the manor, he hadn''t given her absence much of a thought until Gregorie, his nephew took him there when the owners of the manor went to bid their guests outside.


    "We don''t know why she turned to a human but that doesn''t mean you keep her in a room at the fear of being discovered by the people that you have a human for a daughter now. She''s barely even seven. After being loved all these years if both her parents suddenly behave distant with her, it''s going to break that child''s heart."


    He then continued, "She''s a child, ine. Don''t forget that and above all your daughter," hearing no response from his sibling he sighed, "I will take my leave now and visit you in the morning when your mind is much clearer," he stated before walking past her to reach the stairs to meet his brother-inw Emmanuel on his way. Bowing his head, he left the manor. Sadly, what Abel didn''t know was that his sister and her husband had decided to give up their daughter. The next day, before dawn broke in their empire, the girl was sent with a maid from anothernd. With the ck sheep gone, there would be nothing to be ashamed of in their society who thrived to have nothing but vampires.


    Vivian was sent to another empire where the sun rarely graced its light and warmth on thend, thend which was infamously told to be built and made of bones, known to many as Bonke. She crossed towns along with the woman her parents had sent her within the carriage. She had cried, tears streaming down her eyes and begging her parents to not send her wherever they were sending her before they left the manor and the empire of Valeria. Her father hadn''t bothered in staying out to bid her and her mother whom she was attached to had refused to meet her eye.


    Getting down from the carriage, Martha, the old woman who had brought her here looked at the mansion in front of them before looking down at the little girl next to her. The woman didn''t work for the Harlow''s but knew one of the maids who worked there by which the Harlow''s had contacted her as she was in the town to take the girl with her while giving her enough money to keep the girl''s lineage a secret and to be forgotten. She pitied the girl.


    "Vivian," she called the girl who had been looking at the massive mansion in front of them. The little girl turned her head, her ck eyes looking at her and she gave the girl an encouraging smile, "This is where we will be living from now," hearing this the girl''s eyes welled up with tears.


    "I want to go back to mama," Vivan pleaded, hoping she would take her back. She wasn''t used to staying away from her parents. The woman was a kind-hearted person and if she could, she could have dropped the girl elsewhere on her way here to avoid any troubles but instead, she hadforted the little one in the carriage.


    Bending down, she squeezed Vivian''s hand, "I am sure you''re mama wille to see you in a few days. You will have to be a good girl for that Vivian," not knowing what else to say she lied about her mother visiting her, "Until your mamaes you have to listen to what I say, dear because if you won''t she might note. You don''t want that now do you?" she asked her softly, the girl shook her head vigorously before wiping her eyes and nose with the handkerchief the woman had given her.


    Taking the girl by her hand, the old woman stepped into the mansion and its wide doors. The Carmichael''s were one of the few good pureblooded families in Bonke and the maid knew it would be safe to bring up the girl here. It wasn''t that they were tolerant of humans misbehaving with them to show who was the higher creatures butpared to the rest of the pure-blooded vampires one could say they were bearable. By the time of night, Vivian was given a room in the basement of the mansion which wasn''t far from Martha who had spoken to Mr Carmichael about Vivian, introducing her as her niece who was here to learn about a maid''s work.


    So began the life of Vivian at the Carmichael''s mansion.


    Being the youngest maid in the Carmichael''s mansion, she was told what to do and what not to do. Martha, the oldest maid of the household made sure to repeat it every night to make sure the little girl learned about the house rules. The first one was not to be in the presence of any family members. The second one was if she by mistake did end up presenting herself in front of them by mistake, she was not to speak to them but only nod her head. The third rule was to listen to every word when the Carmichael''s spoke to them and not to misbehave. Many other things followed the rules but one of the most important ones was to stay away from red-eyed people as she was a human. Vivian was given a simple task like helping in sorting and cleaning the vegetables, watering the nts or picking them, following Martha around sometimes until the woman asked her to stay in the kitchen.


    During the first week of one afternoon , as Martha minced the meat on the table, she spoke to Vivian who had been staring into the fire, seeing the fire crackle and boil the pot, "Dear, why don''t you go fetch Paul for me," the girl nodded her head before going in search of Paul who was one of the servants who worked in the mansion.


    Looking around carefully while peeping from the walls and pirs that were built, she searched for Paul as if she were a mouse. Before she could walk across the hall, she heard footsteps and voices approaching her making her freeze behind one of the pirs. Surely, when the old maid had advised her not to be in the presence of the Carmichael''s what she had actually meant was to steer clear from them of causing suspicion as Vivian previously belonged to a vampire family. The girl had taken Martha''s words literally due to which she hid behind the wall when she could have walked out of there without behaving like a thief.


    Peeking slowly to see who it was from afar, she saw it was Mr and Mrs Carmichael who had guests today. She caught sight of two children, a boy an a girl from afar. She hadn''t seen children of her age here and she missed her brother, Gregorie, wishing he was here with her now. Before she could take a longer look at them, she felt someone tap her shoulder.


    Turning around, her eyes went wide at the sight of a blonde boy who looked a little olderpared to her with red eyes that stared at her. His blonde hair fell past on his forehead, holding an expressionless stare that was fixed on her face that made her fidget as she stood unsure of what to do.


    "Leo!" someone called to which the boy stepped away from her, not sparing another nce he walked towards the children who had arrived.


    With the intense gaze that left her face, she bolted back to the kitchen.


    "Did you find Paul?" she shook her head to Martha''s question, "He must have gone out to the market. But it''s too early for him to be out already. Here take these, make sure you don''t throw the small ones out this time," the woman gave her a pointed look. Yesterday when one of the maids had made her sit in front of the peapods to pick out the peas, she had thrown half of it until Martha found it and taught her how to remove all of them before throwing the outer skin. The girl hadn''t spoken a word since they had stepped inside the mansion, she didn''t push the girl to speak because she didn''t have the heart to do it. She hoped that one day in the near future, the girl could let go of her former family as it was clear as the day in Valeria that her family wanted to get rid of her and wanted nothing from her.

 Chapter 3 - Ribboned Gift- Part 2

    At night after dinner was served, Vivian looked outside the window where the clouds poured rain since she hadst gone to sleepst night. She didn''t understand how the clouds could rain non-stop. Her childlike mind wondered from where the cloud picked that much amount of water and if it was borrowing from someone.


    "All cleaned up," a man came entering the kitchen with his hands carrying used tes. His short ck hair was tied into a pony which made his hair look pointy, "We might need to refill the water there."


    "Don''t worry about that. I have asked someone to do it. Please pass me those sses, would you?" Martha picked therge container from the boiling ce on the b to cool it.


    "When did we start boiling this?" asked the man, about to dip his finger in the container which was filled with blood before his hand was swatted away. Being a vampire, the sight of it didn''t repulse him but he looked at the girl who had turned to see it before looking away as if it was a pot of vegetable which didn''t have blood right now in it. For a human child, it was one of the ndest reaction he had seen.


    "The Easton''s drink it warm at night," Martha answered, taking the ss and pouring the blood into it, "I heard Lady Renae say something about Woville not being so easy when ites to acquiring blood. Some humans are trying to corrupt the blood which affects the young vampires," Paul raised his brow in question.


    "Is that even possible? What about here then? Shouldn''t we be heating up the blood here too to make sure young master doesn''t get inflicted," he voiced his worries, " Mr Carmichael must really have faith with our Lord if he hasn''t asked us to boil every blood we feed the young master with."


    "It must be so," the woman murmured. cing the sses on the tray, she called for Vivian, "We need to pick up the wilted flowers. Let me show you where it is so that you can do it before you go to sleep. Come on now," and like a cat, Vivian followed Martha close behind her.


    In one of the rooms, Mrs Carmichael was narrating a story to her niece Charlotte before she could go to bed. It was something that had turned out to be a habit for the family every time one of her youngest sister''s children visited them. Her nephew and her son both sat in the corner of the room who were ying chess,


    "As the young fawn says that, Bambi''s mother gently rubs her child''s neck in assurance to say not to worry as she would always be there to keep her safe. That is all for today," Lady Renae closed the book in her hand whilst Charlotte sat up in her bed to ask her curiously,


    "What about the hunter? Does hee back again?"


    "Of course he does," Leonard, the only child of the Carmichael''s answers his cousin''s question.


    "So what happens when he does?" the young vampiress asks Leonard.


    "What is the point of having aunt Renae read the book to you if you''re going to hear it in pieces?" Julliard, Charlotte''s elder brother asked her who was the same age as Leonard.


    "I won''t be able to sleep if I don''t know now!" Charlotte eximed before giving her cousin a persuasive look who smiled back at her. The door to their room was knocked.


    "Come in Martha," Lady Renae didn''t wait for the maid and walked up to her to pick the sses from the tray the maid held to give it to the children and she then spoke to Charlotte, "I believe Julliard is right, dear. You will have to wait until tomorrow night or read it in the morning once youplete a good night''s rest. You didn''t tell us what you wanted for your birthday tomorrow."


    The little blonde vampiress didn''t wait a second before voicing her wish, "I want Bambi!" Lady Renae chuckled at the wish.


    "And why would you want Bambi out of all things? Here I thought you wanted the wolfst time," says Lady Renae.


    "If I have Bambi, then Bambi won''t be killed by the hunter," Mrs Carmichael bent down to drop a kiss on her niece''s forehead before murmuring, "Aren''t you the sweetest child."


    "She''s asking us to get inside a book to get her a gift," Julliardmented at the ridiculous request of his sister. The young Carmichael who was drinking blood from his own ss found something strange behind at the door or rather behind their maid when he lifted his eyes up from his ss. It felt far more like a shadow and the more his eyes spent time looking at what it was the more the shadow hid behind the maid until ck eyes met his which were wide in surprise when it met his gaze.


    "Let us see what your brothers and I can do about it," Lady Renae smiled down at Charlotte as she tucked her into bed, "It''s time for you boys to sleep too. Both your father''s wouldn''t take it well if they found you boys wandering in the corridors unless it was of importance. Go on now," she waited for the boys to leave the room and following them to make sure they got into their room.


    But children of the vampires were never one to listen not the ones of Easton or Carmichael''s. Like every night, the boys usually stayed up in the ss room of the mansion, taking their seats on the narrow wooden board below the ceiling.


    The ss room was made of ss windows entirely along with a thick ss ceiling which let one see the sky. Pots of flowers were ced in the room to culture the nts that didn''t grow well outside in the Bonke atmosphere. It was one of the most beautiful views of the mansion.


    "When are you guys moving back to Bonke?" asked Leonard, one of his feet stretched across the wood and other feet of his dangling in the air.


    "Not anytime soon. Father said he needs to finish the job the council gave him before we move back here. The humans aren''t making it easy either," Julliard replied looking up at the sky, "Father and mother don''t usually bring anything up in front of us. They think it will lose our innocence," he rolled his eyes.


    "It is the same here," Leonard swung his legs to look down at the tall pirs, "Though I did hear something about humans trying to corrupt vampires."


    "What does that mean?" Julliard asked to receive a shrug from his cousin, "Anyways I am d that the decades havee close to an end and we are in the phase of growing up now," he ran his hand across his chestnut hair.


    "Finally growing up," Leonard murmured. Unlike humans, the initial years for a vampire to grow physically and mentally took its own time before pausing at the age around seven or eight for close to a decade or in some cases two until their age resumed for a certain time before their age froze. Both the boys appeared to be around ten in terms of human age.


    Seeing a small figure which Leonard mistook for a cat, in the beginning, saw that it was the same girl he had seen today. He hadn''t seen her before, which made it obvious that she was new apart from the way she behaved. They had enough servants in the mansion and it made him wonder why she was added when a human of her age couldn''t work like the others in his mansion. His cousin had been busy looking at the dark clouds above them to notice the girl walking behind the pirs in the dark.


    He tilted his head, seeing her tiptoe while her hairs that had been previously tied was now open. With the way she walked now, her steps slow and her head turning around looking at the expansive room it seemed that she was lost. He still remembered the way her eyes had widened in a mix of shock and fright when he had mistaken her for a thief who had been lurking in the corridors until he had tapped her shoulders.


    "What are we going to do about Charlotte''s gift, Leo? She seriously cannot be expecting us to get inside a book to get a character out so that we can gift it to her," the brown-haired boyined with a sigh, "I promised her that I would get her what she asked this time."


    "I did too," agreed Leonard, not moving his eyes from the little girl who had finallye out of the shadows to look at the pots of flowers.


    He then heard Julliard speak, "Maybe we could get something close you know. Not Bambi from the book you know, like a deer but a baby deer. How do you think Bambi looks like?"


    "Bambi?"


    "Yeah."


    "The way Bambi was described...she must be an innocent fawn with big eyes. Naive in the big bad world she isn''t aware of," Leonard''s sight followed the girl''s movements as she touched one of the flowers with her hand, leaning in to smell it before a small smile graced her lips lightening up her entire face which took the young boy by surprise, "and a smile," he whispered.


    "Fawns don''t smile, Leo," Julliardughed softly which went unheard by the girl due to the pouring rain. Julliard turned to Leo, following his line of sight to see the girl, "Who is that?"


    "Bambi," answered Leo. Jumping from the wooden board like a cat on the floor, Leo walked towards her in time to see her look at the flower.


    Julliard was quick to follow the trail and he whispered, "Wait, Leo!" which wasn''t as quiet as he had expected to be. His voice startled the girl who turned to look at them and in the process pushed one of the pots which fell on the floor in a muddy mess, "Shit."


    "My mother doesn''t like anyone touching her pots," Leo stated looking down at the floor and then to the girl who seemed like she was about to cry for the mess she had just caused.


    "I am sorry," the girl whispered, her voice was small and quiet like the windchimes Leo had heard in the market but had never asked to buy it.


    "We won''t tell who did it," Julliard who stood behind his cousin, heard Leo speak to the girl, "In return, we need a favour," he waited for her to speak but she didn''t.


    Leaning forward Julliard whispered, "I don''t think we are allowed to give people as a gift yet. She asked for an animal, not a human and I don''t think she understands the concept of bribery yet."


    "Trust me, this is what Charlotte was asking for," Leo then cleared his throat and said to her, "Meet me here in the morning tomorrow. Sharp at nine," once she received a nod from her, he smiled patting her head, "Good."


    When morning arrived, like spoken, Vivian had gone to the ss room where the two boys waited for her. She had gone back to the ss room because all these days Martha had told her to listen to the Carmichael''s without a question. Julliard who had mindlessly brought the gift wrapper got smacked by Leo for thinking they could gift wrap the girl.


    "How do we present her then?" asked Julliard while staring at the watch, "Knowing my sister, she''s already been up for two hours due to the excitement."


    Leo looked at the girl who stood quietly without a word. He stared at her until he picked the ribbon from the ground and cut it. He wound the red ribbon around her neck until he tied it into a small ribbon, "This should do," the young Carmichael stated before the three of them made their way to where Charlotte was.


    Charlotte was in the drawing room with her mother and her aunt Renae who had brought her presents that contained clothes and shoes. Excitedly, she took hold of the gift one of the maids had got her. Being one the only young vampiress in the family, Charlotte was a dotted child with the family and the servants of the mansion. Opening the gift, she saw it was a wooden teacup and she looked at her mother, her eyes shining brightly with pure joy.


    Lady Renae''s eyes fell over the door at themotion that was being caused by it and she wondered what the boys were up to this time. Finally, when the door did open, her nephew stepped into the room, her son following next with a little who behind them before she was made to stand in front of them.


    "Charlotte, happy birthday," both Julliard and Leo wished her.


    Julliard then announced, "Here is the Bambi you were asking for," Lady Renae covered her face mortified while her youngest sister Prisci paled at what the boys had brought as a gift.

 Chapter 4 - Temperament- Part 1

    Before anyone had the opportunity to speak, a high pitch scream pierced through the room. Charlotte jumped out of her seat to go where the girl was. The birthday girl''s excitement scared Vivian and she took cover behind the Carmichael boy when she screamed in happiness.


    "Charlotte!" Charlotte''s mother, Prisci scolded her daughter, "How many times have I told you not to scream! In two more years, you will be hitting the mark for growth and screaming like a hooligan is no way to behave for a youngdy as yourself."


    "But she is so cute. I love her!" the vampiress dered in joy and then said to her brothers, "This is the best present ever!"


    "I told you this is what she was asking for," said Leonard triumphantly looking at Julliard who looked wary at the moment as his aunt scowled at her son.


    "Charlotte, sweetheart. Why don''t youe here while your aunt and I speak to your brothers," Charlotte nodded at her aunt''s words but before walking alone, she held the human''s hand who looked scared, to take her to the couch so that they could both sit.


    After seeing her niece and the unknown girl sit on the couch, Renae turned to her son, "Leonard," her son straightened when she called him by his full name which meant he had caused trouble, "You cannot gift a person as a present."


    "Why not?" he frowned at his mother''s disapproving eyes, "Mr. Peril bought a man as a gift to his sister. Why can''t we?" Mrs. Carmichael raised her brows and asked him,


    "Where did you hear that?"


    "I heard father and uncle Sullivan speak about it a week ago," Mrs. Carmichael looked at her boy. His dark red eyes looking up at her questioningly at what he had done wrong. She knelt down to speak to him, "Leo, we don''t gift people as presents because it is wrong. Everyone are their own person and stealing that right is wrong."


    "Why did Mr. Peril gift a man if it is wrong?" Leonard asked his mother. Mr. Peril was a close acquaintance with the Carmichael''s and he didn''t understand why he would do that if it was wrong.


    Mrs. Carmichael pressed her lips wondering what to reply to her son. It was true that people were traded as objects by the name of very but she didn''t agree to it. Just because they came from a pure bloodline of vampires, she didn''t want her son to embrace the very to be something normal.


    "He is a stupid man. I am sure both of you..." Mrs. Carmichael gave her nephew a pointed look along with her son, "Don''t want to be stupid or called to be one."


    "I knew it wasn''t a good idea," spoke Julliard to only be snapped by his mother, "Where came the talking when you presented the human as a present. Young man you better be prepared to clean the library once we get back home."


    Mrs. Carmichael stood up on her feet. Turning around she saw her niece showing some toys to the girl who sat very quietly, listening to her excited niece ramble about teacups, "Now. Where did you find the girl so that we can return her to her family before we get used of kidnapping."


    "She works here," her son responded. Realization hit Mrs. Carmichael that she was the girl Martha, their housekeeper had brought home about a week ago.


    When Paul, one of the servant man of the mansion arrived at the door to call everyone for breakfast, he saw the little boys being given pointed looks by their mothers. It had been three years since he had started working here at the Carmichael''s mansion and the scene was something verymon he hade to know here. The little boys always got into trouble doing something or the other, keeping their parents mostly their mothers on their toes. Not long even a month had passed since the boys had set Ms. Tate''s fur coat on fire. Though the situation had been dire that day it wasughable now. Before he could wonder what the boys had done this time, his eyes fell on little Vivian sitting next to Ms. Charlotte.


    "I am d you are here," Mrs. Carmichael sighed at Paul''s appearance.


    Vivian who was much familiar with Paul than the others in the room, slipped quietly from Charlotte when her mother began speaking to her.


    "We have been searching for you since morning," said Paul when Vivian caught hold of his loose brown trousers with her small hands, "Are you alright?" he received a nod from her and he smiled, "That''s good to hear. You must be hungry, let''s fix you breakfast when we get back to the kitchen."


    After listening to what his mother had to tell them, Leonard''s eyes fell on the two servants- Paul and Bambi. Something Paul said made the girl smile, something he hadn''t seen afterst night. She looked frightened since his cousin sister had screamed out of sheer excitement. Charlotte was famous for it and she had that effect on most of the young vampiress of her age. When the girl''s eyes met his and he saw her clutch Paul''s trouser for dear life. It seemed that Bambi trusted his servant and was scared of him.


    Paul who had finished talking about the cake they had prepared for Ms. Charlotte found the young Carmichael stare at him, his eyes turning narrow to which the man gave him a puzzled look.


    "Won''t we be going to the fair?" Charlotte asked her mother.


    "Not today. We have to go visit your grandparents remember. The sooner you finish your breakfast and get ready, the sooner we get to the fairter," her mother replied.


    "But Bambi wille too right?" Charlotte asked with hopeful eyes, "Let''s have breakfast together!"


    Prisci passed a trouble look to her sister and her sister, Renae nodded, "Unfortunately, she..." At her nce at Paul, he gave out the girl''s name, "Vivian."


    "Yes, Vivian has something to do and won''t be able to join us at the table. But you can y with herter once we get back from meeting grandpa and grandma. Is that alright?" Renae asked her niece and got a swift nod.


    During breakfast, Mr. Carmichael and Easton''s family was joined by the Meyers family and Giles Carmichael''s younger brother, Sullivan. Renae''s second sister Margery was married to William Meyers and they had a son named Rhys who was two years younger to Leonard and Julliard as Margery had marriedtepared to her other two sisters. Sullivan Carmichael worked for his brother who managednds and animal rearing.


    "Happy birthday, Charlotte," Sullivan wished her from his seat.


    "Thank you, uncle Sullivan," Charlotte thanked him while swinging her legs slightly under the table.


    "I heard that you opened half of your presents already. You should savor the time of a present," said Sullivan, taking the napkin from the front of the table and cing it to the right, "What did your brothers gift?"


    By the mention of it, Charlotte opened her mouth but her mother interjected between, "They haven''t given one yet. Julliard has promised to get her a gift at the fair, haven''t you Julliard," Julliard who had his mouthful did nothing but nod his head before swallowing his food.


    "Yes, mother."


    "We have something really big nned. It''s going to take time," Leo added taking a bite from his te.


    "Another gift! I am being spoilt," murmured Charlotte to hear the adults chuckle.


    "It is your day, dear. Everything is epted," her uncle Giles answered to see a wide smile on her face.

 Chapter 5 - Temperament- Part 2

    After breakfast, Leonard walked across the corridors and the hallway when he caught sight of his uncle Sullivan who was reading a parchment. Hearing the young boy''s footsteps, the man looked up with a smile.


    "Where are your cousins?" the man asked.


    "They are getting ready. Won''t you being with us?" Leonard asked seeing his uncle begin to roll the parchment.


    "Not today. I have some work and round to do. The west zone cattle have fallen sick and we are figuring out what happened to them. Maybe the next time I will join you," answered, uncle Sullivan.


    "Say, uncle, what do you think we should gift Charlotte?"


    "Depends on what she likes. Why? What''s wrong with the one you just gave?" Leonard was caught by surprise at his uncle''s question. He looked at him and then the floor, rain beginning to hit the ground again with the soft buzzing in the air.


    "Mother said it was wrong to give the girl as a gift."


    "Let me tell you this, Leo. In the human world, it''s wrong and that''s where your mother came from. Mythweald held a low opinion about it but in the vampire world, it is something you will see which is very normal. You don''t have to feel down about it, I am actually quite proud of you," Leonard raised his face to see his uncle smile, "We are vampires, Leo and among all, we are the higher creatures who will thrive for great things in the future," Sullivan patted his shoulders.


    Sullivan let his words sink into the boy''s mind, seeing the young vampire process what he said before he switched back to their conversation, "Why don''t you get the dolls which Charlotte likes to collect? You might find some very good ones at the fair. Have a safe trip," and the man left the mansion when his coachman arrived to tell him that his carriage was ready.


    At night, the Carmichael mansion was quieter than the rest of the days in that week. With the three families who had gone to visit Mrs Carmichael''s parents, the house was left in the care of the servants. The corridors of the mansion were lit with candles around which were quiet. Vivian in her room, curled in her bed as rain pelted against the windows before sliding down the transparent ss. Being one of the servants who served the family, she had been given simr rooms like the rest of the workers.


    There was no firece, no warm quilts that she had grown up used to, no parents around anymore to look after her. She was alone and left out cold. Being pushed away forcibly by her own parents, her childlike self-waited for her parents to one daye and get her. She tried to be a good girl, listen to every word which was asked for her to do no matter how scared she felt. Sadly, she waited for something that would nevere by. She was a child and that is why she remembered her family today in particr more than the other days. Seeing the motherly love being given to the girl in the morning, she missed her mother. The hand that usually ran over her head during nights all these years had let her go.


    Nheless, she was a child right now who would be able to forget the hollow that was created to fill it with things that were going toe in the future.


    At midnight when the families arrived back at the Carmichael''s mansion, the Carmichael''s carriage was first to arrive. Leonard was the first one to get out of the carriage, not waiting for the coachman to spread out therge umbre, he shoes touched the wet ground.


    "Leonard!" his mother called out the boy but he didn''t wait and instead walked towards his room, "Leo-"


    "Let him be," Mr. Carmichael ced a hand on his wife''s forearm.


    When they got down and got int, Mrs Carmichael spoke softly, "You do know it wasn''t his fault. Christopher always does things to get him into trouble."


    "That doesn''t mean he goes punching as a retaliation. He needs to know how to behave than act on his instinct. Give him some time until morning," her husband then walked in the direction where their room was. Giles loved his son but that didn''t mean he would support him with such behavior. He was young and he believed his son could fix his errors before it was toote.


    Out of all the grandchildren, Charlotte was the only girl in the family due to which her parents had called her cousins and their family to celebrate the day. Things had gone fine until the time of evening when both Leonard and Christopher who was her paternal cousin''s son got into a physical fight. When she inquired, her son had told her that it was Christopher''s fault as he wasn''t letting go of her parent''s dog and had tried pushing it into the firece. Christopher''s side of the story said he was only ying with the dog and trying to scare it without actually wanting to put it in the fire. Both the boys had received a smack on their cheek for misbehaving by their fathers.


    Christopher being older than Leonard by five years, his hits had really got to her boy but her son hadn''t stopped and had instead continued to beat him with same ferocity to her horror. As proud as she was for being his mother and holding his ground she didn''t know what to do about that uneven temper thatid beneath his sweet appearance. Renae was thankful that her sister''s children were a good influence, unlike her cousin''s son. Her motherly instincts wanted to go and soothe the bruise that had formed on his face yet she didn''t follow her son. She knew it was hard for him but as her husband said, he had to learn how to control it.

 Chapter 6 - Temperament- Part 3

    In the empty halls where the sound of rain didn''t reachpletely, the boy''s footsteps echoed which was carried in angry strides. His blonde hair had caught few drops of water when he had stepped down the carriage which now stuck to his hair. Getting inside the room, the door shut loudly. Pushing the desk away from the wall, his hands hit the wall as anger still coursed through his blood and with the humiliation of being pped in front of everyone. The wall was covered with older dents to mark the anger which he covered by pushing the desk back when he was done. On his way to pull out fresh clothes from the closet, the firece showed the bruises on his face and smudges of blood that covered one side of his mouth.


    With the arrival of the morning came to the promise of going to fair but Leonard wasn''t going to apany them.


    "Why isn''t brother Leoing with us?" Charlotte who had both her hands on her waist asked her aunt when she found out about it from her brother, Julliard.


    "Uncle Giles is very upset as he got into a fight yesterday. He wants Leo to reflect on his behaviour," her aunt answered but Charlotte shook her head.


    "But aunt Renae this is my present isn''t it supposed to involve all the people I want?"


    "I know darling. Unfortunately, I have no say in it and it is all up to your uncle. Go get ready or you will miss a lot of things in fair," Mrs Carmichael reminded her niece who had been excited to go to the fair the humans held in the next town.


    "It is only today he can''te with us?" Charlotte confirmed to get a hum in answer, "Then does it mean if we don''t go today to the fair and we go tomorrow, brother Leo cane with us?"


    "I think so, that is if the fair is still open. I will ask Paul to check if it is going to be there until tomorrow," Mrs Carmichael replied to get hugged by Charlotte.


    "You''re the best," and as the girl hurried out of the room, she heard her mother shout at her to not run in the halls. On her way to meet her brothers, she caught sight of the girl, Bambi, whom her mother had several times told her yesterday that she should stop calling her that and call her by her name along with saying she wasn''t a present she could keep.


    "Hi," Charlotte halted her feet to talk to the girl. She smiled at the girl and saw the girl return her smile. Not knowing what to say as she didn''t speak, she continued, "We won''t be going to the fair today but we will be going tomorrow if it''s still there. Mr Paul," Charlotte greeted the servant when she saw him walking towards them with a basket of clothes that needed to be washed.


    "Miss Charlotte, I see that you have met Vivian here," the man said looking at the two young girls.


    "I have! Is it alright if I take her to y? Mother said I will have to take your permission for it," the young vampiress pleaded.


    "Ahahaha," the man scratched the back of his neck at that, "I don''t think you need my permission for it but please be careful and bring her back to the kitchenter," when Vivian looked up to him, he said, "Seems like you made your first friend here," he looked at the young vampiress take the human girl with her, hoping she would be okay after all Vivian was still new to this ce and also because children were the reincarnation of devil. Deciding to check on them after an hour, he made his way to clean theundry.


    Vivian followed the girl up the stairs, beginning to get a littlefortable after their first encounter.


    "So what do you want to y? There are the dolls which I got here for now and there''s also the kitchen set..." Charlotte rambled, talking to Vivian, "Do you have dolls too?"


    "It''s at home," Vivian answered.


    "Don''t worry about it. There are plenty here so we can y house together," she said turning the knob of the room where her brother and cousin were. Leonard sat on the bed while Julliard had taken a seat on the dressing table which was wide enough to fit his frame, "I spoke to aunt Renae and we decided we would go to the fair tomorrow with everyone."


    In the meantime, Vivian couldn''t stop staring at the blonde boy due to the bruises his face was covered in. When he stood up, he walked to stand right in front of her.


    "What? Never seen bruises before?" Leonard asked the girl.


    "It hurts?" she asked him instead softly.


    "A little bit," Vivian remembering what her mother usually did to her, brought her hand up to blow warm air on her full sleeve to ce it on the boy''s cheek, taking the boy by surprise again.


    Leonard swatted her hand away, a hint of pink appearing on his cheeks embarrassed, "W-what are you doing?"


    "Mother tells it goes away," Vivian answered, holding her hand close to her chest.


    "That''s okay. It will heal in two days," he said moving away from her and taking a seat on the chair where his books were ced, "Odd girl," he muttered pulling a book from the stack before getting lost in it.

 Chapter 7 - Hide And Seek- Part 1

    When the children of the vampires were taken to the next town which was holding itsst day of the fair, Vivian was left behind in the mansion with the other servants to attend the work like the rest.


    After Charlotte had gone on and on in excitement about the fair, the human girl had eagerly waited for morning but when she said it to the housekeeper, Martha about it, the maid had asked her not to be excited about it as today was an outing only for the Carmichael, Easton and Meyers family together. When told, the little girl looked confused as to why she couldn''t go with the other children.


    "I will be going to the market there at the time of noon. Why don''t I take her out with me?" Feeling bad for the girl, Paul hadter asked Martha seeing the little girl wipe the already dried utensils in the corner.


    "Don''t you have an errand to run to the other town to pick up the scrolls Mr Carmichael asked you for yesterday?" asked the old housekeeper.


    "Mr Carmichael informed me in the morning that Mr Scruggs letter reached early today to let him know he won''t be avable at his house for the next two days. I think the children were looking for her. Ms Charlotte seemed very fond," the girl who looked sad since Martha had told her that she wouldn''t be going.


    "Ms Charlotte is a dear and a weing child," the man nodded his head in agreement.


    "She indeed is. You should have let her go. She is a child."


    The housekeeper replied back to him in a hushed tone, "As much as she is, vampires don''t mix with the humans and you know that better than anyone else," picking up the sticks which he had previously brought along with him from the nearby forest, she broke it into uneven halves before putting it under the pot which was yet to be fired.


    Paul consciously moved his right hand to trace it over his left hand which was missing three fingers from the left. For a human mind, his memory was bright and clear of the day the incident took ce. He was in histe teens when he was punished by one of the vampires whom he had thought was his friend but in actuality, in the rtionship of a vampire and the servant, the servant never could be of much value. He smiled at the bitter memory.


    "She is my responsibility until the timees where she will be married to a suitable man," he heard the old woman say as her brows creased in concentration.


    Vampires didn''t want anything to do with the humans except for the cheapbor and blood that came by. It was a dream for many to have a much better ce to live, to live in harmony but that would take years. Two years ago an unfortunate event had caused disruption across the four empires, making the human servants even more distrustful than before under the vampire household. A human had poisoned and killed an entire family. The man was caught but the deed hadn''t been forgotten.


    If Vivian was meant to go today with his master''s family she would have been asked personally to apany. The Carmichael''s were decent peoplepared to the rest of the vampire family he hade across but that didn''t mean they were keen on associating themselves with the lowly humans.


    "I will make sure she''s next to me all the time. By the looks I think both of us can be assured that she isn''t the kind to slip without notice," Paul assured the housekeeper and called the little girl, "Vivi let''s go out to the town."


    On their way in the carriage which Paul rode himself, the girl sat next to him outside with the wind racing against her cheeks and hair which brought delight to her little heart. When she still lived with her parents, she had never got the opportunity to sit outside the carriage or next to a coachman. She was one of the high society''s daughter but now that she had no connection to that part of the world, she got to experience something more beautiful.


    Paul, looked to his side to find the girl with her eyes closed and wondered if he should stop to put her inside the carriage but when she slowly opened her eyes, she saw him looking at her. He sent her a warm smile.


    "The town we are going is called Winslow which consists of humans mostly. Recently vampires have been making trips so there might be people around so stay close by once we get down," he said not knowing if she understood his words but she nodded her head obediently making him smile, "We might not be able to go the fair but a nce wouldn''t harm anyone now would it," the two horses continued to pull the carriage, the chains around them moving as they moved forward in the direction of the city. The girl was a shy one, noted Paul. She spoke very few words and maybe in this entire time since she had begun staying at the Carmichael''s he had heard her barely speak more than four to six lines, and they weren''t long. She would always hide behind Martha or him when the vampires were around which made him wonder what that was all about.


    What the man didn''t know was that Vivian was formerly a vampire child before she turned to a human. Turning humans into half vampires was something which was being opted to increase the poption count of the species but a vampire naturally turning into aplete human was unheard. It was considered ill omen and bad luck, not to forget what the elite vampires would speak due to which her parents had given her up.


    Even though Martha had taken Vivian under the Carmichael''s family, the old housekeeper didn''t understand the depth of what misfortune her parents had left her in.


    A vampire child when was born, grew up slower than a human child. When a human child would reach an age of seven and ready to move to eight, a vampire child would have spent more or less sixteen to eighteen years. The vampire child would have spent two years each instead of a human who spent only a year, which slowed the process of vampire growth initially but it varied with all vampires. Some would shoot up until seven and then spend years developing intelligence or thoughts to think. It was one of the reasons why vampire children were sheltered by their parents. The vampire children would then continue to grow after the sixteen years before seizing their age for a longer time, making them youthful. Most of the vampires grew old at a certain point, maybe after a few centuries but not the pure-blooded vampires. They were considered to be the most elite of all the race.


    It was just that in Vivian''s case, few years of her young age had been stolen after she turned to a human. She was like a fawn now, younger than her age and a little lost.

 Chapter 8 - Hide And Seek- Part 2

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    As they reached the town, Paul pulled the horses to a halt before jumping down the carriage to ce his feet on the ground, "There you go," he said lifting the little girl and cing her in front of him. They were at a small market where not many visitedpared to the local market which was situated close to the river of the bank of the town.


    Holding her small hand in his, he walked into the shop, asking for the vegetables which had to be restocked in the mansion before he came back here after two to three days.


    Vivian looked at the almost deserted alley, her ck eyes taking in the surrounding quietly while Paul spoke to the shopkeeper. When the shopkeeper picked an odd vegetable, she looked at it.


    "Could you pass me a ss of water,dy," Paul asked the shopkeeper who obliged, going in anding out with a copper ss filled with water. The man then washed one of the tomatoes he had bought and turned to the little girl, "Do you want to try it?" he asked her to which her refusal was quick as she shook her head vigorously. "Are you sure?" he asked her again and then bit into the fruit. Tugging her hand, he pulled her along as they walked towards the carriage to ce the vegetables inside.


    Once they had made two trips back and forth to the carriage and the small market, Paul decided to give the girl a little tour around before they would head back to the mansion. Nothing interested her as she seemed to walk next to him but it was when they reached the fair that was taking ce did her eyes get stuck to the colour-filled atmosphere. The fair was set up on arge empty space to fit in everything they could from the little stalls which sold goods and food to the games which were set up randomly without any organization.


    Vivian hadn''t seen something like this before and it only made her curious as to what was what. It was a busy ce, people bustling and chattering around, making her push towards Paul as she was small for the men and women to notice her. There were colourful balloons on the side and next to it where children of her age hovering over the counter for something that was pulled out of a cup which she strained to see by moving her neck. A boy held something pink like a cloud in his hand as he tore and ate it which fascinated her to no end. Though they hadn''t got in to look around things and enjoy like the rest, Paul had given the girl enough time to look at the fair before they headed back to the carriage.


    By the time the families returned dusk had broken, the sky painted red and blue which was rare for thend of Bonke. The people of the town had consulted with the high priests after receiving the approval to host the fair in the town. Soon there was chatter in the halls and the mansion wasn''t as quiet as it had been a few hours ago. That night, Vivian found it hard to sleep due to the recurring dreams of her parents. Beginning to miss them, she got out of the bed, her small feet padding down the corridors and halls. She wanted to see her mother. Candles burned softly on the walls and the sides as she walked towards the main door. Her small pale white gown brushing the ground as she walked so that she could meet her mother. The housekeeper had told they woulde to see her but for some reason, they hadn''t. Did they not know where she was?


    Reaching the main door, she tried reaching for the handle but due to her height, her hand couldn''t reach it. Standing on her toes which was turning painful, she stretched her hand as much as she could to no use. Seeing the table at the corner with a vase, she went to touch the vase,


    "What are you doing?" the sudden voice in the darkness scared her. She had meant to pick the vase and ce it down but instead, she ended up pushing the vase with a force which fell on the carpeted floor in clinks of noise as it broke into pieces.


    Leonard who had been bored had stepped out of his room to stroll through the mansion when he found something to move past the corner of his eye. He had followed the person to see it was the human servant who walked in trance. The first thought of his was that she was sleepwalking but the sad expression on her face gave away.


    "You keep breaking pots and vases like this, you will be punished for not being careful. It was an expensive vase which father received as a gift from the lord," said Leonard looking at the vase with a frown, "Where were you trying to go in the middle of the night?" he questioned her.


    "Home," she answered, her hands clutching her nightdress tightly in fright.


    Home? thought Leonard, "Where is it?" he continued to ask her to which the girl had no answer. He saw her lips tremble as she repeated, "Home," repeating the word like it was something precious which she wasn''t aware that it no longer was her home.


    "I don''t know where home is if you don''t tell me. Martha or Paul might know about it. Why don''t you go sleep and go home tomorrow?" the young Carmichael boy asked her to see her shake her head.


    "Vivian!" Martha who had dropped by the kitchen for water had heard something break in the hall, deciding to look if a thief had broken into the house she had gone to find two children out of their beds, standing at the main door of the mansion. With hurried footsteps, she came to ask them, "What are you two doing here at this hour of the night?" Her eyes that fell on the broken sses on the ground widened and that was when she heard the little girl sob.


    "H-home," Vivian sobbed, huping every time she said it.


    "Oh dear. Come here," the old woman carefully took the girl into her arms and patted her head gently, "Didn''t I tell you, you have to be a good girl for that. Good girls don''t get out of bed at this hour," she picked the girl, hoisting her on one side of her hip as Vivian cried into her shoulders.


    "I want to see mother," came the muffled words from Vivian which both Leonard and the housekeeper heard.


    "Shh," the old woman cooed at the girl who had her hands around her neck and faces hidden as sobs erupted from the girl''s lips. The woman patted her head gently, sighing internally, "There there, now," turning to look at Leonard, she said, "Young master, you should head to bed too," Leonard nodded his head whilst standing in the hallway when the housekeeper carried the girl back to the servants quarters.


    If Vivian had lost a few years in growing up who was forced to get in sync with the human ways of growing up, Leonard was wiser for his age than the other vampire children. Mentally, his growth had already begun tremendously for his age, maybe it was one of the reasons why there was the brewing anger that was hidden under his skin. It was something he had acquired from his maternal grandfather. Walking back to his room, he climbed his bed toy on his back, looking at the ceiling where the curtains began to drop around therge bed.

 Chapter 9 - Hide And Seek- Part 3

    In the morning, in the kitchen, little Vivian nibbled on the bun Martha had baked for her along with the rest of the family for breakfast. With the arrival of the morning, the night was forgotten by the girl. When she was done, she ran out to the shed from the back door to look at themb which Paul had bought yesterday from the market.


    She bent down looking at themb. Her movements were careful as she tried getting closer to themb inch by inch. She raised her hand to only shriek out when the animal turned its head towards her.


    "You are going to scare the poor animal, Vivi," Paul chuckled who hade to the shed to check on the animals there, "It won''t bite you. See," the man rubbed the animal''s head to show her. Vivian looked wide-eyed and then went to touch the animal to only retrieve it back to her side when themb moved its head.


    "I touch it," Vivian said softly as Paul walked to the drum where they stored water.


    "Take as much time as you want," he said drawing water from the drum and taking it to pour it in the canals they had built which connected to all the sides of the shed where the animals could drink from.


    Leonard who was sitting by the window, hearing his cousins argue with each other on what they were going to y. Charlotte wanted to y house which the boys refused. Her brother, Julliard wanted to y Hide and Seek, and their cousin Rhys wanted to sleep but was dragged forcefully to y by his younger cousin sister. Leonard left the three to decide and took a seat at the window, seeing the clouds gathering together as they darkened. The shed being opposite to where he now sat, he looked at the girl who had crouched in front of the animal as she tried touching it.


    A smile lit up on her face when she seeded in touching the animal''s head at a distance before moving closer to it. Personally, he had never touched amb, more like he never bothered himself in acquainting with the animals which were going to be killed as meat. Attaching to something which was going to be killed was useless.


    "Yes!" Julliard eximed,ughing in the course when Charlotte sulked, "We are going to y Hide and Seek now as promised so don''t chicken out."


    "I won''t," his sister replied, filling her mouth with air.


    "What happened to your new friend? You can call her to y with us," Leonard turned away from the window to hear Julliard ask Charlotte.


    "I will go find her," she said, running out of the room to find the girl with her two piglets flying following behind her. Vivian was taken back into the mansion by Charlotte and Leonard who had apanied her. They now stood in a circle ready to pull the sticks which Julliard held in his hand.


    "Who is this?" asked Rhys when Vivian was brought into the room, receiving three different answers,


    "My friend."


    "Bambi."


    "Vivian."


    "Okay..." Rhys raised his brows who then turned to speak to Vivian, "Do you know how to y Hide and Seek?" he asked her seriously. Seeing her nod, he responded with an okay.


    "Alright then," Julliard began raising his hand with five sticks, "Whoever gets the shorter stick is the seeker. Now the rules are very clear. The game is limited only to the mansion. Anyone found outside will be immediately turned to the next seeker. No climbing trees either," Leonard rolled his eyes as he usually got away by climbing in and out of the mansion by using the help of the trees, "Just inside the mansion. Clear?" hearing everyone agree to it, they got ready to pull out the sticks.


    "I think you pulled the shorter end of the stick, Charlotte," Leonard smiled, "You can start counting here and we''ll leave. Don''t miss the numbers in between," The vampiress walked to the far end of the wall with slouched shoulders, mumbling under her breath of how her brothers were unfair making their little sister a seeker. As the vampiress began counting numbers from one to hundred, everyone began hiding in different corners of the mansion quickly, disappearing in the secretive ces which the others weren''t aware of.


    Vivian being new who hadn''t explored every nook and cranny of the mansion seemed to walk in the corridors of the hall. When she still lived at her home, she had yed the game of hiding but there was always someone to tag along with her which made the hiding sessful. Now that she was on her own, the young girl tried to quickly find a ce to hide. Her head turned left and right, her footsteps leading to a room which she turned the knob and closed quickly as the counting came to an end. As the room was a fully furnished one, she looked at the paintings that hung on the walls and some which were on the floor. She looked at it in awe. Her mouth slightly parted as she stared at one of them.


    "Idiot," the word left out of Leonard''s lips, staring at the girl from the closet he had hidden in.


    Hearing the footsteps that were distant that belonged to his cousin who was currently looking for them, he stared at the door then the girl. Didn''t she forget that they were ying a game and that she was supposed to hide? Maybe it was hard for the girl to process as she was still young. But if she was caught, it wouldn''t matter if she was young, she would end up being the seeker next and if she did, he doubted she would find any of them. With the footsteps getting closer as seconds went by, he opened the closet, taking the girls hand and pulling her into the closet with him before shutting it as quiet as possible.


    He raised his finger, cing it on his lips to indicate her to keep quiet but it seemed like the girl had other ideas when she opened her mouth. Leonard''s eyes narrowed, cing his hand on her mouth so that she wouldn''t scream. He didn''t know why he had even pulled her with him now. Thanks to her there was a higher probability of being caught by Charlotte. Noticing her eyes looking at something behind him, he turned to find a dark spider that had made it''s home. Seeing the spider approach them, Vivian caught the boy''s hand which was next to hers.


    At the same time, Charlotte had stepped into the room to check if anyone was there. With the spider crawling closer, Vivian shut her eyes tightly and at the same time, someone sneezed from the other corner of the room.


    Who knew that his cousin, Rhys had hidden under the pile of canvas, thought Leonard. Charlotte began tough, hopping towards him in glee.


    "I caught you! I caught Rhys!" yelled Charlotte.


    "I must be allergic to the paint," Rhys mumbled as he got dragged out of the room.


    Feeling it was safe, Leonard opened the closet door and flicked the spider down the ground before stepping on it.


    "The spider is gone, Bambi," said Leonard, whose hand was being held by Vivian. Opening her eyes she saw the wall to see that he was right. Leonard slipped his hand out of her hands and stepped out of the closet.


    "Where did it go?" she asked softly, her eyes searching the closet. A few moments ago she had been scared of the spider and about to cry, and here she was now looking for it.


    "Probably on a vacation," he answered, leaving the room with her trailing not far behind him.

 Chapter 10 - Squabble On The Street- Part 1

    After the first game of hide and seek, the rest of the game Vivian followed Leonard, hiding along with him. Rather than finding it irritating, the young Carmichael boy didn''t mind it as she gave off a feeling of an animal who was following him wherever he went right now.


    Lucky for them, Leonard was never the one to get caught. It was his house and he knew every corner of the mansion. When everyone retired for the day, he had a habit of walking through the darker sides of the mansion at midnight without anyone''s notice. Right now both of them had hidden in the halls behind the pir that covered thempletely. Anyone passing by wouldn''t know that there was someone hiding behind therge pir which was decorated with flowers.


    When a couple of footsteps were heard from the main door, Leonard heard his father''s voice apanied by other people,


    "...the councilmen who arrived at the mansion said it was caused by feral wolves that might have entered at the time of night," said a man, "They said the body would be buried tomorrow behind the Isle town graveyard."


    "The news is hard to believe. Who knew wolves were fatal for the pure-blooded vampires," his father said walking past the pir both Leonard and Vivian had hidden behind, "I bet there will be another edict passed soon after this. Did you get in touch with Mal..." the voice disappeared. Leonard stood up from his hiding and signed the girl to get out as they would be going up to the room.


    Not soon after lunch at the Carmichael''s mansion, men began to drop by the mansion to talk to Giles Carmichael and the others about an unfortunate ident that took ce on the previous night. The Lord of Bonke, Lord Wilhelhum Rune had been attacked in his chambers and had passed away. The Lord wasn''t a popr man amongst his subjects. He was crude in his behaviour who often dealt in dishonourable work secretly. The councilmen who were in town had gone to inspect the scene to see the body having deep furrowed gashes and it looked like some rabid animal had done it as no vampire or human could inflict something like that. Some of the body parts were torn and shredded, some even missing which added to the gore. As the news passed across towns and the entire four empires, people were shocked to hear the unexpected death. For a pureblooded vampire to die by wolves only made the wolves as a threat to the nightly creatures.


    Important people like the council, few of the elites which included the humans and vampires and a few others arrived at the Isle town where the highly regarded grave was located for most of the pureblooded creatures. The Carmichael''s, Easton''s and the others had arrived at the graveyard to pay theirst respects to the deceased lord as the priest read from his book which was specifically made for the vampires. Vivian stood next to Charlotte who stood next to her mother, both the girls looking at the ground which was hollowed with a pile of mud settled next to it. Vivian had been pulled by Charlotte before they got into the carriage and her mother Prisce allowed the girl toe with them not wanting to argue with her daughter at that time.


    Leonard who stood next to his father caught sight of a young man who stood next to the priest, his eyes were set on the open coffin where the dead lordid. His eyes and face showed no emotion, and as if feeling Leonard''s eyes on him, the man''s eyes snapped at the boy, tilting his head before his gaze moved back to the coffin. The coffin was made of carved wood and the insides were cushioned. The dead man was dressed in fresh clothes but it didn''t hide scars that were ced. Leonard had heard his father tell his mother that their lord had died by a set of ferocious wolves that were found not far from the Rune mansion. For a boy of Leo''s age who was already in the process of growing again as a human would, he felt something unsettling by looking at the man in the coffin.


    After the lord was buried, Leo walked with his parents to greet the Lord''s son, Nichs, Leonard came to face the man who he had been staring at.


    "We are sorry for your loss," said his father, "It was something uncalled," the young man nodded his head, his features appeared to be softer and gentle.


    "It was. Two days ago he was telling me about the time you, him and the others who had gone hunting and had hunted the wild boar," said Nichs with a small smile.


    "The memory is fresh. He was so pleased that he gifted the vase we have now," Leonard who hadn''t been giving his attention to what the adults spoke now turned his eyes on the ground at the mention of the vase. The vase was no more in the mansion as he had taken the pieces and hidden it in the shed.


    "Is this your son?" Nichs asked, his clever eyes falling over the small boy, "How old is he?"


    "Leonardpleted eight years of vampire age with a plus two years of human time four months ago," answered his father.


    "Ten is it. Good afternoon, Leonard," Nichs greeted the young Carmichael and to say, "You must be very excited to finally grow up as an adult. I hope that in future we get to work together," turning to Giles he then said, "I have few papers father wanted to hand you. I will send them in two weeks of time."


    "Of course," Giles and his family bowed their head, leaving the young man behind. On their way, Giles met a man named Malcolm, "Renae, why don''t you go to the carriage and go home with the others. I will be back soon," his wife took their son towards the carriage who was joined by her sisters.


    Going to one side where people weren''t there to listen to what they spoke, Giles spoke before the man named Malcolm could open his mouth, "What are the council saying? I heard there might be a problem with Nichs taking his father''s ce as a Lord."


    Malcolm sighed with a hum to indicate what Giles heard was true, "Nichs is a capable man and he''s proven us in the council many times but with Wilhelhum dead like this, there are some suspecting that it was a ploy to rid the Lord. Not that I deny, the man would have dug his grave by himself without even noticing it. Nichs is a good man. And even if he did grow up under the shadow of the Lord we all can say he is different."


    Giles who was looking at the deceased Lord''s son, talking to one of the family and shaking their hand said, "Maybe. Knowing you, you would have already thought about resolving it. With Valeria given to Lord Alexander earlier to his age, the council will oblige."


    "That they will. I heard one of the councilmen say that the procession would be set in a week as they don''t want to drag on who might take the lordship. There are few men who have already stepped in wanting to take the role but we all know where that is going to end," Giles agreed to Malcolm, "The court council is going to be hideous with many fighting for the position."

 Chapter 11 - Squabble On The Street- Part 2

    The Carmichael''s stopped their carriage in front of the church as both sister''s of Renae had packed their luggage so that they could depart after seeing their lord for onest time.


    "Do we really need to go mama?" asked Charlotte tugging her mother''s dress.


    "Yes, dear. Your father has business to attend to and you and your brother have the governess waiting to continue your education. I am sure we will be back soon from Mythweald," her mother Prisce rubbed her back.


    "I hope to see you soon, sister. You too Margery," the sisters hugged each other before the two carriages departed leaving Mrs Carmichael, her son Leonard and the little girl, Vivian next to the carriage. Mrs Carmichael saw her son looking at the church behind them and asked, "Do you children want to go in?" she took them so that they could pray.


    It wasn''t in a vampire''s nature to believe in God because, since the early existence of the nightly creatures, humans had used the power of God in trying to eradicate them. The pureblooded vampires had more resistance to it than the average vampires which kept them away from harm. Now with the age of vampires who had begun to live among the humans, it was necessary to blend in, to learn what the humans knew and did.


    Some of the local people of the town were present in the church, some who were sitting, some talking to the two priests and taking in their blessings. Once Mrs Carmichael and the children finished praying, she went to take the priests blessings who were white witches in disguise.


    "Father Connor. Sister Isabelle," Mrs Carmichael bowed her head.


    "Good afternoon, Mrs Carmichael. How have you been doing?" Sister Isabelle greeted her, her bright green eyes smiling at the woman and children.


    "Very well, sister."


    "Did you go to see the lord?" Father Connor asked. He was in his teenage years while Sister Isabelle was past thirty.


    "We did. We were on our way back home and thought to drop by. I believe we all need to make time for God as he watches us."


    "That hasn''t been any truer. We are all children of a higher source. Let me see," Sister Isabelle raised her hands so that Mrs Carmichael could ce her hands which she did, "Hmm...Seems like what you said is true. You have been doing well. Your health is fine too. May God bless you," she smiled, releasing the hand and giving her hand to Leonard who seemed a little adamant in keeping his hands away from her, "Still stubborn I see."


    "Leo!" his mother called him, nudging him by her hand, "I am sorry, Sister."


    "Oh, that''s alright. He is an adolescent, transitioning from a child to an adult," the priestess ced her hand on the boy''s shoulder. Seeing Mrs Carmichael give her an anxious look as she waited for her to speak, she said, "Don''t worry. He''s doing fine," noticing the girl she asked, "Who is this shy thing behind you?"


    "She''s part of the workers. My housekeeper brought her telling the girl needed shelter," Mrs Carmichael said, guiding the little girl in the front so that both the priest and priestess could look at her.


    "How kind of you," murmured Sister Isabelle, "With the amount of distrust humouring thends, it is hard to find anyone to believe and take trust on. Life in the church has been the same for peoplee here to get aid but sometimes one can do only so much and let the rest take its turn," shifting her hand, she ced it on the girl for some time and then brought it to her side, "May God bless you, children."


    "God bless you," Father Connor smiled and the Carmichael''s left the church in their carriage which was put beside the church.


    "What is the matter, Sister Isabelle?" asked Father Connor, seeing the grave expression Sister Isabelle held right now, "Is the boy having a problem with his anger again?" Mrs Carmichael had brought her son more than twice to the church to consult on the boy''s behaviour. He was too young to pick emotions as such therefore it was no secret between the priest and priestess of this particr church.


    "It isn''t the boy. The girl. She has changed."


    "What do you mean?" he looked confused at her.


    "A vampire has turned to a human," replied Sister Isabelle with her light amount of brows creasing, "I don''t think we have evere across such case before."


    "Maybe it''s a one in a billion oue. I don''t think we have to be worried about such meagre things. If a human turned to a vampire without being bit for transformation, that would be our work," he stated, "But how would it work for her? With what I have known vampires and human age differently. And doesn''t each vampire have a different time to grow and stop?" Connor still had a long time in learning the life he had taken up and to catch up to Sister Isabelle''s wisdom which would take years.


    "They do. Even if all vampires stop ageing when they touch eight, they spend a minimum of six to seven years before they start growing. Though like you said the children age differently until they are eight, most of them grow suddenly, slowly, in gaps. They take time to develop different abilities."


    "The girl..." Sister Isabelle breathed out of pity, "She is six. I think she lost close to four years of her vampire time and has been suddenly forced to adopt the human time which she might take some time to adjust," she smiled at a family who hade to pray


    "Do you think she will regain her basic nature?" Connor asked curiously.


    "That''s hard to say. Anyways you are right. It isn''t our work where we need to worry."

 Chapter 12 - Squabble On The Street- Part 3

    Back at the Carmichael mansion at the time of the evening, Vivian was back at the shed looking at themb whose neck had been tied next to a wooden pole fixed on the ground. With her body crouched, she sat on her feet without cing her bottom on the ground. Now that she had learnt to get close to themb, she petted the animal with her fingers.


    "Aren''t you going to feed it?" asked Leonard who hade out of his room bored. With his cousins now gone from the mansion, the ce was quiet and peaceful again. Picking up the grass from the box he put it in front of themb which began eating it. The little girl''s eyes lit up like Christmas had arrived and her eyes went to the box where the freshly picked grass was kept. Seeing her reluctance, Leonard took some more grass and this time instead of feeding it, he handed it to her, "Try it," at the same Paul who had gone to pick the logs came back to exim,


    "Young master, I see you have taken a liking to themb too," in response the boy shook his head.


    "I want it to grow up quickly so that we can feast on it. The fatter the better," the boy''s blunt words made the servant let out a nervous chuckle.


    "Of course," Paul noticed that little Vivian was too busy trying to feed themb to hear the words that were exchanged, "How could I forgot, food is important to you," he murmured to himself, "By the way master, I found some sses being buried next to Shirley," Shirley was their horse.


    "Ah..." the boy trailed and the servant confirmed that it was his young master''s work who had put it there, "Will you be going out on this Sunday which is yet to arrive?" asked Leonard. Paul usually went to visit his sister who lived in another town on Sundays. It wasn''t something he did regrly because there were times when he would go to different towns just to stroll through the streets. He had taken the young boy once on his insistence who had enjoyed looking through the normal life which people led.


    "I have to collect something from Mr Scruggs this Sunday but I promised to take Vivian out next week," Paul answered, stacking the logs in ce and organizing it one over the other.


    When the next Sunday did arrive, Mrs Carmichael''s cousin decided to drop by along with his wife and son, Christopher. Leonard was unhappy that he was stuck with his second cousin he didn''t like. With a word to his mother that he was going with Paul, Christopher was sent with him to both their dismays.


    Paul who had gone to visit his sister, now walked with the two boys next to him while his sister, Grace held Vivian''s hand so that she would get lost in the sea of a crowd where the fair was taking ce along with Grace''s son who was twelve years old, putting the little girl safely between Grace and her son.


    With only a few days that had passed since Leonard had walked around the simr atmosphere, he stayed quiet the entire time, looking at the human children jump out of excitement. Christopher on the other hand who was three years older to him looked at the ce which waspletely alien to him. Being another pureblooded child, his family had never sent him to human town before.


    "This ce stinks. Who would even walk here?" eximed Christopher in disgust, seeing some humans walk on their bare feet and he scrunched his face.


    "You are right now," stated Leonard.


    "No wonder your character stinks."


    "You must be talking about yourself," the young Carmichael didn''t turn his head to look at the boy walking next to him.


    Christopher pulled Leonard by his shirt, jerking the boy behind but Leonard had been in this situation so many times with his second cousin that he twirled around before pushing Christopher on the ground. Both the boys red at each other and Paul interrupted them, trying to remind them to be civil with each other,


    "Boys! What did we decide about behaving well when we left the mansion," Christopher refused the hand Paul had offered so that he could get up, "Listen carefully now. One more pitter patter of chat and out of line, I will send you back home with a note telling about your misbehaviour of how you both are bent on tarnishing your family names," he warned with an evil re.


    "And here I thought the speech wouldn''t work," his elder sister Grace chuckled.


    "Works like a charm," smirked the man, knowing the boys were aware that their fathers would listen to the man when it came to this matter.


    Vivian was too enraptured by the ce, the sweet fragrance that drifted from a nearby stall where food was cooked in the open and the colours which attracted her attention. Seeing the cotton again, her feet took its own mind but Grace stopped.


    "Where are you going? Hmm?" seeing the girl eye the candy, she smiled, "Do you want the fairy floss?"


    "I will bring it," said Christopher, making both the adults give each other a look at the sudden change of heart the boy had, "Here," he gave it to Vivian once he had bought it.


    "Now Vivi, what did I say when someone does you something good?" asked Paul to see Vivian blink at him, "You say ''Thank you''."


    "Thank you," she whispered with a smile as she held the treat in her hand making him happy.


    "She''s still learning," the man conveyed to his sister.


    While Grace taught Vivian on how to tear and eat the fairy floss, Leonard wasn''t happy with the recent exchange. The boy he hated was talking to Bambi who knew no better of what he was capable of. When his eyes met Christopher''s, the boy smirked over something which only got young Leonard irked.


    They continued to walk looking at the stalls. Leonard at one point had gone on his own without anyone''s notice before he came back. Vivian had her mind on the fairy floss which was now stuck around the corners of her mouth. Christopherughed seeing her when the adults were bargaining over an object with the vendor they stood in front, "You look stupid. You need to wipe your mouth," Leonard stepped forward to pull out the kerchief from his pocket and began wiping her mouth with not much gentleness.


    "Idiot," hemented.


    "Look at you cleaning a human. Your parents must have not taught you the right ways of living as a pureblooded vampire," said Christopher clicking his tongue. Remembering Paul''s words, Leonard ignored the boy but it didn''t discourage Christopher, "What''s the matter? Don''t tell me you have turned to a girl by ying house with the girls."


    Leonard turned around to ce his fist across Christopher''s face, and soon the boys began fighting to cause quiet few eyes turning to them.


    Paul who had finally bargained the woodendle at the right price had a wide smile on his face which dropped when he turned at the ruckus caused behind them to find both the boys on the dirty ground wrestling each other.

 Chapter 13 - Music Box- Part 1

    This is a PREQUEL to the books ''Valerian Empire'' & ''Heidi and the Lord''. Please read them, before reading this book.


    It went without saying that after going back to the mansion both Leonard and Christopher were thoroughly scolded for their ill behavior. The servant who had taken them along with him was reprimanded for not keeping an eye on them. Not only were the boys covered in bruises but also mud, their clothes half torn and hair that looked as if birds had begun living in them.


    Leonard''s father, Giles sighed tiredly rubbing his forehead while he sat on the armchair of his room.


    "You worry too much," his wife who had been brushing her hair spoke looking at him through the mirror, "He is still a boy who is learning new things. Sister Isabelle said there was nothing to worry."


    "I don''t know what to do with him at times. I don''t remember my mother saying anything about me or Sullivan behaving like this." Renae smiled at her husband, cing her brush on the dressing table, she went to stand behind him, bending down to leave a small kiss on his lips, she said, "That''s because Leo takes after my grandfather."


    "Of course," Giles closed his eyes at the thought of it. Out of all the grandchildren, his son was the one to acquire most of the character mentally and physically from the old man.


    "It was my fault, dear. I was hoping they would mend their ways and be friends than what came through by the evening today. I will make sure to keep Christopher away from Leo from next time," Renae moved her hand from her husband''s shoulders and weaved her hairs through the fingers, ting it at the side, "But refusing him to go out again with Paul is a little harsh, don''t you think?"


    Giles stood up from his armchair to go to bed where his wife now was pulling up the quilt, "He spends far too much time with the servant," he voiced his concern. Renae ced her hand on top of his which was on the bed,


    "Paul has been faithful and he''s given us no reason to not trust him. I don''t think anyone here in the mansion is. A little time with him gives him a different perspective of the empire. Our boy is well behaved. Let him go out one more time, if something happens again you can handle it," Renae tried swaying his decision to only get a hum from him. Taking it as his agreement she smiled.


    "Right now thesends are safe for no pureblooded vampires. Not for children especially. Until the council resolves on what is going on and where the poison is being bought from, we all need to be cautious. There are humans who are trying to freeze our hearts, corrupting it to turn us amongst ourselves," he said ncing out the windows which were open, walking towards it he closed it shut to avoid the rainwater which was going to fall down from the sky soon.


    As the rain did begin to pour, thend and the windows shook with the growl of thunder. Lightning struck on thends, the objects in the mansion getting momentary light before it immersed back to its darkness of the night. Leonard sat at his usual spot in the ss room on the wooden b under the roof where he could hear the water drops pelt down furiously.


    With a screw in his hand, he turned the little screw in the wooden box that he held in his hand. It was a box that needed to be winded before it produced beautiful music. In the afternoon when they had been walking through the stalls, this was one of the items which had caught his interest. Even with the number of people who chattered their way in and around the ce, the music had made him turn his head. It was a wonder how a little box could do so much. Unfortunately, when he had gotten into a brawl with his second cousin, the top of the box hade out after falling on the ground.


    Trying to fix it, he rotated the screw carefully. Once it was fixed, he winded the stick that stuck outside to hear the tinkling music which the box produced. He sat there for minutes, ying with the box until he found the little girl walking behind the pirs again.


    Little Vivian who had fallen asleep early due to the sheer excitement of going to the fair, had was woken up by the enormous sound of thunder. It didn''t help that the light that constantly passed through the transparent window turned the most innocent things in her room to a scary shadow in her eyes. With every thunder that struck from the sky, she jumped looking around the room as if something would jump and eat her alive. Nheless she continued to walk to the end of the room with a nket which was dragged behind her, unaware that it was cleaning the floor as she walked.


    Walking to the nts and flowers, she sat down in front of it to draw her knees close to her chest. Her eyes drooping at one point to only be woken by the thunder again. Leonard who had been watching her, got down from the b to go and sit next to her with not so much as a word.


    "What are you doing out of bed?" the boy stretched his legs in front of him.


    Giving him an anxious look she whispered, "Ghosts in room," to which he rolled his eyes.


    "Ghosts don''t exist. They are made up stories so that children go to bed soon," responded the boy, "If they did exist, don''t you think it would have followed you here?" he drawled a little, looking at the door as if someone was there. Little Vivian turned suddenly to see what he was looking at. Did the ghost follow her? Scooting closer to him, she went back to holding her knees close to her chest again.

 Chapter 14 - Music Box- Part 2

    Leonard took the music box out of his pocket, turning the stick in a clockwise manner he let the music y from it. The girl who had her eyes roaming everywhere suddenly set her eyes on the thing the boy held in his hands. Her expression changed to one of a concentration, transforming into awe and fascination when it began ying music.


    "Good, isn''t it?" he grinned proudly to have the music box as his possession.


    It continued to rain the following morning, letting both the children fall asleep on the floor where the music from the box had stopped after some turns of the side stick. When a maid who had to water the nts in the ss room entered the ce by pushing the door, it had woken Leonard from his sleep. Slipping out of the ce without a sound, he went back to his room to sleep while leaving the human there for the maid to take care. With seven months that passed through thends, the rainy season moved to one of the harsh Winter which Bonke had experienced in its history. The weather was cold but the trees didn''t dry out due to the rain which showered at rare times, not letting one forget that Bonke was and of rains.


    The little girl who hade to the Carmichael''s mansion had slowly let go of her memories from where she hade which was reced with a much better one where she was taken care by the housekeeper, Martha and Paul. Initially, it was more of a responsibility than the feeling of love that hade by the old woman but she had grown to be a mother figure in the little girl''s eyes. And in time, she hade to care and love for the girl. Vivian had learnt to pick out the flowers from the garden under Paul''s guidance, doing little errands like fetching the servants when they were needed by the housekeeper or taking light weighed objects were what consisted as her work.


    When it came to Leonard, Vivian had grownfortable around him and the same could be said about the boy. She followed him around the mansion when she was given nothing to do. With the growth offortableness of the people and the environment, she had begun to speak again.


    "That is why Paul said the bees will bite you," Vivian who sat next to Leonard exined one of the incidents that had taken ce that morning.


    "You are taking away their food by plucking it. You should always take the flowers that they can''t see," said Leonard who had the little girl nodding at him in agreement. He turned the page of the book he had ced on hisp, reading the content as his governor had asked him toplete reading it by tomorrow.


    Vivian moved her hand across the te Leonard had pushed into her hands. Vivian who came from one of the pure-blooded family was one of the girls who had the opportunity to be exposed to the world of education even if it was only alphabets and basic words she had learnt. Instead of learning to write sentences from the book in front of her which Leonard gave her, she took her time to draw on it.


    Leonard had noticed something simr with his cousin Charlotte who took less interest in her books. He wondered if it was something the girls shared, "What are you drawing?" he asked from where he sat.


    She continued scribbling on the te for a few seconds, bringing the te in front of her, she eximed with a smile, "Billy!" Billy was the name given to themb which she spent time with.


    Leonard stared at the drawing which looked nothing but a piece of circr drawings with four stick-like legs. The ears looked like the one''s cat did, "That looks..." he trailed trying to get the right word so that she could understand but not knowing what to say, he settled with, "That''s nice. Here give it to me," he said taking the te and chalk from her. Once he finished drawing with Vivian leaning close to it, Vivian said,


    "You draw Billy good, Leo."


    "Of course, I do. My previous governor taught me about arts and how important it is," he responded, raising his hand he flicked on her forehead.


    "Ah!" Vivian rubbed her forehead.


    "Stop drawing and start writing. I need to read myself," after ten minutes Paul came to fetch the children for lunch.


    "Lunch is ready, master Leonard. Your mother is on her way to the dining room," Paul informed the boy who closed his book and ced it to his, getting up he dusted the front and the back of his trousers, "Vivi,e. It is time for you to eat too," the man gave his hand for her to hold which she did.


    While Vivian was taken back to the kitchen behind which a small room was built for the servants so that they could it there, Leonard joined his mother at the grand dining room.

 Chapter 15 - Music Box- Part 3

    Taking a seat next to his mother, he was served with delicious food that was brought in by a maid.


    "We will be having a gathering here tomorrow, Leo. There will be many important guestsing home," Mrs Carmichael stated cutting her knife through the meat on her te to a thin slice.


    "Important?" asked Leonard.


    "Yes, darling. Few of the councilmen, the Lord himself and few of our...rtives," at that, Leonard turned to his mother, "When I say, rtives, I mean our cousins, your cousins."


    "Will grandpa and grandma be joining us?" he asked her.


    "No, they won''t be. Both grandpa and grandma have to visit Uncle Patrick who lives in Valeria but they did tell to drop by on their way back home. Leo when I said about cousins, I believe you understand what I mean..."


    "It is not I who starts the fight," the boy turned back to his food, keeping his eyes down while continuing to eat.


    "I know that but fights can be avoided. You cannot go hitting and fighting people who annoy or irritate you. You need to learn to not to let anyone get under your skin," his mother ruffled his hair gently with less movement in her wrist, "If you behave well tomorrow, I promise to send you to Mythweald once Winter passes," Leonard nodded his head.


    "Okay," he answered.


    "Okay..." Mrs Carmichael smiled looking at her boy.


    Leo wasn''t actually difficult to handle as he was alwayspliant with most of the things she asked him for. At least the ones she knew he followed. She hoped that he would keep his promise as tomorrow was an important day for them, for him. As her husband was a Duke, he worked for the Lord directly, looking after part of thend. In thend of the four empires- Bonke, Valeria, Woville and Mythweald, eachnd had one Lord and three Dukes and in the hierarchy, the Duke came right after the Lord.


    The next day, people from the theatre were called to y music in the Carmichael''s mansion and the best food from their kitchen was served to the guests. Candles were lit everywhere with the maids making sure the guests had their sses filled with their specific requests. Nichs who was the deceased lord son had taken the position of lordship immediately. His hair had turned brown from ck, with a hint of bronze in it, his movements smooth, and character gentle and soft as he conversed with his subjects. He appeared wise, his intelligent eyes looking at people and not missing anything. All these things, Leonard noticed standing on his father''s side. When the Lord met his eyes, he was quick to look away knowing it was rude to stare at someone.


    Moving his gaze around the room, he caught sight of his second cousin Christopher who was joking about something to a person of his age. Leonard had followed his mother''s word, to avoid unnecessary dispute in the hall today. Going to Mythweald to spend time with Julliard was importantpared to fighting with the boy tonight. On instances, they hade face to face and as clear as the day could be in anothernd, Leo had ignored the remarks of the bigger boy.


    With toasts being made by the Lord, the Dukes who hade along with the head council, the soiree continued. Vivian who was a servant was asked to stay in the kitchen and not go to the hall where the elite of the elite people hade to the mansion. With nothing to do, she stayed trying put in one ce before she went to the shed to y with Billy, themb.


    Christopher who had only finished attending the bathroom was walking across the corridors when he caught sight of the girl whom he went to the local fair with Leonard. Stopping by the open window he looked at her pet the animal. Thinking about something, he smiled, twisting his lips at how easy it was to pull his cousin down from his horse. Clicking his tongue, he turned around to walk.


    Leonard had excused himself to go to the kitchen. With weeks and months that came by, the boy had grown ustomed to the little girl who was always there during the most time of his hours. Walking through the wide passage he bowed at the guests when he came across them, being polite he dropped to the kitchen with a quick nce to find Vivian but she wasn''t there. When he finally did find her, she had tears streaming down her eyes as if there was no tomorrow.


    "Bambi?" he called for her to turn and wail.


    "L-Leo," she cried, "T-they took him."

 Chapter 16 - Music Box- Part 4

    "What? Who?" he asked with a frown at what she was speaking before it dawned on him that she was talking about themb. Sure Leonard had fed themb enough for it to be fat but seeing the fondness the girl held for it when Paul had asked in the past if he would like somemb stew, he had refused it before saying this particrmb was not to be touched.


    Stepping out of the doors, he saw Christopher standing next to his servant who had themb''s head in his hand right now.


    "I would like them diced and boiled."


    Hearing this much was enough for the boy to go at him before throwing a punch across his face. Though Leonard was three years younger to Christopher, he had enough strength to push the boy on the ground and throw fits of punches. His anger boiled at a much higher pace and it was as if someone had possessed the small boy. For a person of his age, there was too much anger that was contained in him. To think that he had killed themb for his taste buds when he himself had held back from killing it, his flew left and right, finding everything and anything which was part of the other boy.


    It was until someone pulled him off Christopher did he hear his father speak to him,


    "Leonard stop it!" and the boy stopped struggling to get to the other boy. He was then pushed to the side, "Room. Right now," his father spoke to him sternly with barely container anger of the scene his son had caused where few of the guests had got to witness it.


    "What were you doing standing by and looking at instead of stopping them?!" Mr Carmichael scolded the servant who was the one to butcher themb. The servant in response stuttered with an apology which Mr Carmichael ignored to help the boy up.


    His face was beaten to a point where bruises had begun to form. It was when he noticed one of the boy''s fangs broken did he feel like things weren''t going to go well with his family. For a vampire, the most important part was his fangs, it was the pride of being a vampire. Usually, fangs were broken or pulled out as a form of an old punishment. Once broken, it never grew back.


    "What happened here?" the Lord had only stepped on to the scene a few seconds ago to look at the boy on the ground, "Treat the boy," the lord snapped his finger at his servant who hade along with him.


    "Pardon me, milord for seeing something so unsightly," Mr Carmichael apologized, bowing his head deeply with shame.


    "There''s nothing to apologize. Children are always full of energy," Nichs smiled, his expression as tranquil as ever. The missing fang didn''t go unnoticed, "Go easy on the boy," the Lord took his steps back inside the mansion.


    As the night came to an end, Mr and Mrs Carmichael apologized to Christopher''s parents profusely, the Lord had stayed back until the end, adding in his wise words and pacifying the family. Thankfully Mrs Carmichael''s cousin hadn''t med it entirely on Leonard and believed his son had done something. But the incident was not left alone.


    Mr Carmichael was holding the end of the rope when it came to handling his son''s temper. There were times in the past when he had felt if it was the pampering but that had nothing to do with it. As his wife had told, it was something that he had acquired from Renae''s grandfather. All these times he had been lenient but by breaking the other boy''s fang, he didn''t want to oversee the matter. With the matter being shushed, the lord suggested something on the boy''s well being which was considered by the parents after a lot of thought and discussion.


    "What you did was wrong today, Leo and to think your mother took extra care by telling you to stay out of trouble," said Mr Carmichael to Leonard who was sitting at the edge of the bed with a nk face, "It is the severity of what you stole from the boy by defanging him. If the matter reached the council, there would be consequences no matter what the reason you felt you had to do it. The Lord said..." he paused for a moment before continuing, "As a punishment, you will spend a decade at the Rufus mansion," hearing this the boy snapped his head to look at his father, "You cane here on asions and we will be allowed to visit you as often as we can but from this moment, you won''t be living here. It is the best option we have right now than send you through the council courts which isn''t something you would want to experience."


    "Malcolm Rufus was the man who brought up the current lord. I am sure you will turn out to be a fine man. I suggest you start packing," and his father left the room with a dull thud while leaving the boy gaping at the door in shock. Were they sending him away from home?


    At first, the boy had thought his parents were making up a bad joke which he realised had turned into a harsh reality. With his mother and maids packing the little number of clothes at the moment, Leonard pleaded with his mother, but it seemed like no one was going to take his side as everyone was upset with him. Seeing that there was no way out this time, he sat in a corner staring at the luggage being packed one after the other. Walking out of the room, he closed the door with a loud thud which resulted in him getting scolded again.


    After an hour, carriage of the lord was pulled in the front of the mansion so that the luggage could be tied behind securely. Leonard didn''t speak to his parents until his mother bent down to kiss his forehead.


    "Take care, Leo," he knew his mother was sad but that didn''t change her decision and neither did his father''s.


    With the lord who had stepped inside the carriage, waiting for him toe, Leonard turned around to give the mansion a nce before his eyes settled on the little girl who stood behind Paul right now. Her eyes had turned red from the number of tears she had shed after themb was killed. She looked at him a little-lost wondering where he was going at this hour of the night, alone with a stranger.


    Mustering a small smile as he smiled at her and everyone, he stepped into the carriage for the coachman to close the door behind him. The carriage started with the horses knocking its hooves on the ground and pulling the carriage slowly at first and speeding its pace for it to disappear midst the dark forest of the night.

 Chapter 17 - The Lion Returns- Part 1

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    The white walls of the room were sttered with blood across it and a body thatid on the ground as if it were a fish trying to breath when it was taken out of the water. The man who was on the ground struggled, his hand trying to reach out the person who was standing in front of him. But before he could grab the leg of the person, his hand was stepped on by the shoes heal erupting a painful groan out of his bloody mouth.


    "Please, milord," the man begged, his face was contoured out of pain, his body weak after being beaten.


    "Tell me, how did we end up like this?" Lord Nichs twisted his feet to put more pressure on the man''s hand where the bones beneath his shoe could be heard cracking in the silence except for Mr Harlow''s groans, "Your begging is only making me angry, Mr Harlow. I thought we had a very clear deal amongst us. Your work was very simple. Find the witches and bring them to me. I don''t remember asking you to hand them to one of the Duke''s of the North. Did I tell anything like that Leonard?"


    "No."


    Leonard who stood not far away with his hands which had been just put to use in beating Mr Harlow now was ced in the trousers of his pocket. His blonde hair which had grown slightly longer at the sides, a slope forming from behind which was cut short tapering down. His longshes fluttered oncezily, sweeping his gaze across the man before blowing air out of his mouth. If it weren''t for the fact that he had not only beaten Mr Harlow but had also killed his wife whose body nowid on the dining table, one would say the man had grown to look like an angel.


    With years that had passed by, Leonard had grown under the guidance of Sir Malcolm Rufus. Malcolm was a retired councilman who once served in the division of half-vampire and their creation. With Leonard who was sent to stay with the man for the sole to learn the strict ways of pureblooded vampire ways and to avoid the council getting into the matter. Lord Nichs had taken an interest in the boy, knowing that the boy could be shaped for a great potential in the future. He had taken matters into his hands and had taken him to the city where both Malcolm and the Lord lived, which was at the heart of the Bonke which wasn''t far from theke of bones. Though the anger wasn''tpletely removed from the boy who had grown to be a man, he had learnt to use it in converting it into a better councilman like Malcolm.


    "What do you think we should do with a traitor like you, hmm?" Leonard saw the Lord lift his feet from Mr Harlow''s hand.


    "Forgive me, milord! This won''t happen again, I promise! You have my word-"


    "Your words mean very little for me. Alright," the Lord sighed, taking a step back he went to look at the stack of books that was neatly organized before the bloody mess that was caused. Mr Harlow felt relieved for a moment until he heard the next words which were spoken in a whisper, "He is yours, Leonard," he murmured as he looked through the books.


    Leonard pushed himself from the wall, walking towards the man who trembled in fear for his dear life seeing the blonde man get closer to him with every step which was taken towards him.


    "Please don''t kill me! I never meant to-argh!!" Leonard pierced his hand through the man''s chest, his glove which started from his wrist and ended at his mid fingers dipped deeper into the man''s flesh until he found the heart to curl it around and squeeze it. The man went still after a few seconds and Leonard pulled his hand out of his chest.


    If it was one thing he had learnt, it was the amount of pleasure that was given in torturing a person slowly. It was one of the ways he gave an outlet to his temper. Something Lord Nichs had taught him.


    Taking a cloth thatid around, he took it to clean his fingers. Not waiting for the lord, he stepped away from the murdered scene to go out of the house where the sky was dark. It was a moonless and a starless night as usual for the people of Bonke. The heavy clouds hovering above him, waiting to pour down and wash away the evidence of what they had done here.


    As the Lord''s coachman took the bodies from the house, dragging into the forest, Leonard had lit his cigar, taking a huge puff from it before releasing it into the cold night.


    Hearing footsteps from behind, he looked at the corner of his eye to see Lord Nichs holding a book in his hand which he must have picked from the shelf inside the house.


    "You have been getting better," stated the Lord, flipping the book and going through the contents randomly, "Did you know that there are spells that can be used by vampires like us to control the vampires we turn? Who knew we would find something so fascinating."


    Once Leonard had started his expedition alongside the Lord, he hade to learn that the Lord had his own quirks. One of them being borrowing books for himself from the men and women he killed. He didn''t question it because it wasn''t something he was interested, not that he couldn''t ask.


    "Pridmore has begun to suspect about your frequent trips to the othernds," said Leonard after another puff from his cigar, "The other day I overheard him talking to Lionel about Ms Ventress."


    "Ventress," Lord Nichs clicked his tongue, "You don''t have to worry about it. Devon will take care of the matter. Have you packed everything?" he asked, gaining Leonard''s attention.


    "Yes," he answered, wondering if Lord Nichs caught the news from Malcolm.

 Chapter 18 - The Lion Returns- Part 2

    It was the year 1777 and more than a decade had passed by since he had left his house, trying to be a better-pureblooded vampire which he did. He turned to a fine young man, learning everything and anything. With the leave that he had applied, he had nned to move back to his home where his parents were waiting for him toe back.


    Initially, when he was sent away from his home, he had been angry. So angry that he had even bit the man who had provided him with a roof to live. Now that he thought about it he smiled, Malcolm was a patient man, for him to be able to treat the young boy he was before with the same amount of patience, he was thankful for it. He had been angry with his parents for kicking him out of the house but he could no longer me them. If Lord Nichs hadn''t intervened and had let the council take the matter into their hands, his young self wouldn''t have been able to go through with it. Which was having your both fangs being pulled out in the council court. That was a humiliation for any kind of vampire.


    He was invited during asional parties which Lord Nichs and Malcolm Rufus attended but the visits were usually kept short.


    "You must be very eager to get back home," the Lordmented as he ced the book in his coat, "Is it about the excitement to be going back home finally or is it about living with your parents or...could it be the girl?" he asked.


    Leonard tapped the bud of his cigar as if he were unaffected by the Lord''s words but the Lord knew better; just as well Leonard hade to know about Lord Nichs. No matter how kind Lord Nichs appeared, behind the calm demeanour, the man was a cunning fox. Though he had helped him by lowering the punishment for what he had done when was young, the man had kept him close due to the fondness he held for Leonard when he was young.


    Due to the short visits to his own house, Leonard couldn''t meet the little human girl he hade to befriend. After all, she was a human and he a pureblooded vampire. The pureblooded weren''t meant to mix with the humans. Very few did among the lot and those were the ones who were always talked behind the others back for their poor choice of lifestyle. It was after a few months did he meet her, for her to only hug him innocently after she had seen him which hadn''t gone well with his uncle Sullivan. He had learnt to visit her without anyone''s notice which was in vain as Paul always caught him lingering around for mere seconds of his visit to the kitchen.


    Vivian, he thought to himself as he said her name in his mind. He hadn''t met her for two years due to the amount of work the council had handed over to him, he had been travelling across the fournds without a break. Now that he had finally moved to work under the Lord himself on the Lord''s personal request, he could, atst, go to his home. He would finally be able to see her.


    "You didn''t show me thest letter you received," Leonard scowled at the man.


    "It isn''t for you to read," Leonard clicked his teeth, throwing the cigar on the floor he stamped his feet on it, "I thought we agreed to not interfere in each other''s lives."


    "We did," the Lord agreed with a smile, "But it is hard to resist when a letter with so much of love and admiration is sent to the mansion," Since Leonard had left the Carmichael mansion, Vivian had sent letters to Leonard which in the beginning made no sense as she was still learning to write at that time, "I heard you didn''t receive a letter for two years now."


    "I asked her not to write. I had to concentrate on work than being distracted," replied Leonard. It was the time he had got his second assignment after the first one didn''t go well. At that time he was still young and needed to focus on being part of the council.


    "If she is still distracting, I can make sure she is cleared from your path," Leonard sent a quite re to Lord Nichs who chuckled in humour, remembering him still as the young boy who always had a re settled on his face. The lion had calmed in years.


    "I was only teasing. There is no need to look at me with such eyes," the Lord smiled. At Lord Nichs'' words, Leonard looked at the darkness of the forest not saying anything.


    The next afternoon, Leonard left the main city in a carriage with many trunks being tied behind and above the carriage roof. After hours of the journey where the sun had already set, the ck horses came to a halt when the coachman pulled over the carriage in front of the Carmichael mansion. The white walls of the mansion looked the same, the two pirs stood high and mighty on either side of it.


    "Young master, Leonard!" Paul was the one who was first to greet him when he stepped inside the mansion, "We weren''t expecting you until next Friday. Allow me to take the coat," a decade that had passed by not stopping the time in the humans who lived. Paul now looked older, his physique still the same except for the ageing lines on his face that had begun to appear.


    As they walked in with another servant who carried the luggage inside along with a maid, Leonard looked around to say, "The house seems quiet."


    "Yes, master Leonard. Mr and Mrs Carmichael have gone to the soiree at Ms Peyton''s residence," Paul informed him to continue to speak, "I just got the room cleaned two days ago."


    "Thank you," murmured Leonard, walking to the windows he looked out at the estate. Not paying much attention to what Paul was giving orders to the maid and the servant when it came to preparing dinner and heating up the water at the base so that Leonard could take a warm bath after the long journey he just had.

 Chapter 19 - The Lion Returns- Part 3

    It was after Leonard was almost done eating his dinner alone at the dining room with Paul who kept himpany by standing not too far from his eyesight did he inquire if there were any new servants who had been taken in during his absence.


    "Your mother hired two women, one to rece Martha and the other to take ce of the girl who left to get married."


    "How''s Martha?" asked Leonard, siping water from the ss that was filled for him.


    "She has turned a little weak now. Seems like the old age catching up but she should be alright for now. Vivian has gone to tend to her today at my sister''s house," Leonard nodded his head in response. Taking the napkin to use it to wipe his lips, he excused himself to go back to his room.


    In the next town not far from where the Carmichael''s residence was, Vivian washed the utensils in the small kitchen of the house.


    "You should get going, I will do the rest," a woman came into the kitchen with more dishes in both her hands. The woman was none other than Paul''s sister, Grace.


    "I should be done in fifteen minutes and I have Tom to apany me back to the mansion," Tom was Grace''s son, "Mr and Mrs Carmichael won''t be home until the time of midnight."


    "Aren''t you a doll,"mented Grace taking the utensils to dry them and ce it back inside, "By the way did I tell you that Mrs Maxfield found a new husband. I heard it from Mrs Collins."


    "I didn''t. One of these days Mrs Collins is going to get into trouble if she keeps trying to pass every single information she gets to hear," Vivian responded back, tucking in her hair behind her ear that had loosened from the braid, "The vampires don''t take it too kindly at what the humans have to speak behind their back."


    "Well, I don''t think anyone would speak in front of them knowing the possibility of what the vampires are capable of. I also heard the night isn''t safe for anyone," the woman pushed the girl to the side, taking Vivian''s ce to clean the rest of the dirty dishes, "I can handle it from here. Go," she said firmly to which Vivian hugged her.


    "I wille to visit soon," she said to bring a smile on the woman''s lips.


    "Of course, you will. Go on now and tell Tom not to stop anywhere in between. We don''t want both of you being kidnapped by any crazy person," Vivian replied with a yes, waving her hand she went to see Martha again, telling her she was leaving and would return as soon as she could.


    With the family being poor, they had barely been able to buy a horse for themselves to afford a carriage. Tom rode the horse with Vivian who sat behind him, her hands clutching the sides of his shirt and her eyes closed due to the fear of falling off the horse. After the twenty minutes journey, Tom dropped the girl in front of the mansion waiting for her to get in safely before he turned around and left. The servants who weren''t allowed and were forbidden to get inside the mansion from the front, because of which Vivian had to walk around until she stood at the back of the mansion where the servants got in and out.


    It was past eleven in the night when she finished washing her face and changing her clothes to a nightgown. Having the habit continued from a young age when Mr and Mrs Carmichael wasn''t in the mansion, Vivian went to the ss room to look at the sky even though there was nothing to look with the way the clouds covered to create a ck sheet of the mask in the sky. What Vivian didn''t know was that Mr and Mrs Carmichael''s son had returned back home which the maid who had opened the door for her had failed to mention it to her. And also that he was in the ss room when she had entered the ce.


    Looking at the nts, she caught sight of a new pot that was added along with the rest which she wasn''t familiar with. Going closer to look at it, she went to touch the sharp thorn.


    Before she had the opportunity to touch it someone scared her by speaking to her out of nowhere. At that moment she ced her hand on the small gap of the pots which ended with her pushing down the new pot from its ce into a mess on the marble floor.


    "Leo-Master Leonard!" Vivian corrected herself.


    Leonard''s red eyes fell on the pot which he had bought before it settled on the girl in front of him. Her strawberry blonde hair looked ruffled with a lot of loose hair falling from the sides of her face. Her frame still petite and lean since thest time he had seen her, "It took me a lot of effort to get the nt and you broke it in less than a second. I think it is time we start cutting down your wage with what you break here."


    "I-I am extremely sorry. I apologize for it. Please allow me to fix it," she bowed her head in shame. She didn''t know why but her hands felt like they were made of butterfingers.


    "It isn''t something you can fix. It cost me fifty gold coins," hearing this her ck eyes went wide and she looked down at the nt to see it''s stem broken. Was he serious about the cost? The nt didn''t even look special. If what he was saying was really true it would be almost a year worth of her wage. She then heard him ask, "Are you hurt?"


    "What? No," she shook her head vigorously at his fierce gaze on her, "I didn''t know you wereing today. If I knew...I would have baked you a cake."


    This seemed to soften the look in Leonard''s eyes and a small smile appeared on his face, "Is that so..." he drawled.


    "Yes," her reply was quick. She had been counting the days of his return and if she knew he wasing today, she would have gone to meet Martha yesterday.


    "Alright then. I have time for a cake before I go to sleep," she heard him speak.


    "Now?" she asked puzzled, it was past eleven and didn''t he have dinner?


    "Hmm. Let''s go to the kitchen so that you can prepare the cake," he responded with a smile and began walking towards the door to only stop and turn to ask her, "What are you standing there for, Bambi?" hurrying to his side quickly she walked beside him.

 Chapter 20 - Woolen Sweater- Part 1

    Vivian pushed the wooden spoon in the batter she had prepared, moving it around as she twisted her wrist to make sure everything was well mixed. Her movements were slow and precise just the way Paul had taught her in the kitchen. Two years ago when Leonard had arrived at the mansion, she was only sixteen when she had learnt to bake her first cake under Paul''s guidance. Finding out about it Leonard had praised her for the treat she had prepared that day but that was all the words he had exchanged with her before he left with the councilman he hade with.


    Looking up from the bowl in her hand to Leonard who had his eyes fixed on her hands. The blonde tresses of his hair settled on his forehead looked darker in shade due to the scarce amount of candles that were lit in the kitchen. He had grown tall again. They had never been of the same height but when they were young they differed by two-three inches and now it seemed to have doubled or was it more? She thought to herself.


    Transferring the batter to another container, she ced it on the baking paddle to push it to the enclosed mud and stones below which she had started the fire minutes ago.


    "This will take more than half an hour," said Vivian turning to see Leonard hovering over the bowl which had been emptied to swipe his finger over thest remnants of the batter and lick it with the tip of his tongue, "Didn''t you have dinner?" she asked blinking her eyes and moving it to something uninteresting at the corner of the kitchen.


    Hearing the tone in her voice change, he looked at her who had her back facing him cleaning something on the b. She had turned around in an effort to hide her cheeks, Leonard wasn''t oblivious on the effect his little action had done on the girl.


    Walking around so that he could look at the muddy oven where she had ced the batter which was now getting baked, "Why do you ask?"


    "You seem hungry," she answered, her voice sweet like the batter he had tasted, "Has work been busy? I overheard Mrs Carmichael say that you had gone to North for yourst council case."


    "I did. There are some unexpected creatures that have been harboured by the white witches. Unfortunately, the case was dismissed before we could get to the bottom of it. What about you?" he asked settling his dark red eyes on her. His gaze which had previously been warm before they left the ss room, it now felt intimidating the way he observed every small movement of hers.


    "I," she smiled, "I don''t think anything has changed in my work routine except for a few additional ones as Martha''s health hasn''t been that great for some time now. I have gotten better with my work."


    "Is that so. I am amazed they haven''t cut down your wage yet for the number of breakages you cause here," Vivian hid her face hearing Leonard remark on her slippery hands, "People here are very generous. If you get fired, finding a job outside won''t be easy."


    "About that, I was offered a job by Mr Jerome. He told he was interested in hiring me for the position of housekeeper at his mansion. He said he finds my work here to be very, ah the words he used were precise and clean," she shook her head at the memory with a smile, bending down she peeked into the oven.


    "Isn''t he generous," Though Leonard''s words appeared nonchnt, there was something hidden under it, "And what was your response to it?"


    "I said no and that was three months ago. I cannot leave when Martha and Paul are here."


    Mr Jerome Wells was born from an average vampire family, unlike Leonard''s pureblooded lineage. The man was respectable in the town who at the age of his early twenties had made a good name when it came to furnishing houses of the elites who now was in the process of stepping into the elite world.


    When it was time, she dusted the mittens she wore on her hands, bending again this time she pulled the long paddle to put the cake on the b. Few more minutes and an uneven cake which seemed a little burnt around the edges was put on the te for disy.


    "Ah..." drawled Vivian a little bashful, "Please don''t doubt the taste of the cake by its physical appearance."


    "Believe me I am," Leonard muttered under his breath when she took the knife and began cutting thin slices out of it. After he took a bite from the slice he was offered, he said, "Hmm not bad."


    Eating the whole slice which Vivian had offered him, he ate it without anyints. As he took thest bite of the cake he heard the sound of carriages and horses in front of the mansion.


    "Thank you for the cake. I hope I can eat such delicacies made by you in the future," his words brought warmth back to her cheeks, "It is ratherte for you. I will see you in the morning," he gave her a heart clenching smile that squeezed her heart leaving a sweet pain to linger in her chest.


    "Yes," Vivian smiled back.


    "Goodnight."


    "Goodnight," she murmured, her eyes following him until it could which wasn''t too far as the corridor to the kitchen wasn''t long.


    Remembering that she had to clean the mess she had created in the ss room, her shoulders drooped before she went to fetch the mop and a bucket. As the next day arrived, she continued with chores of her work in cleaning the house with two other maids. The Carmichael''s had a total of eleven servants which included Vivian in it. Now that Martha had taken her absence, Paul had reced her position. Right now, she wiped the windows at the staircase with a clean white cloth. Moving her hands in a circr motion while humming a song, she wiped the already clean ss.


    Mr Carmichael came dressed down the stairs in formal attire with Mrs Carmichael trailing behind him asking him when he would return home. Vivian bowed her head at both of them.


    "Oh, Vivian!" Mrs Carmichael eximed after she had got down the stairs, "I entirely forgot. I will be going to the townter this afternoon and will need your assistance."


    "Yes, mdy," Vivian bowed her head again.


    "Why do you need to go to the town? You can send Paul or someone else if it''s something you need to fetch," Mr Carmichael asked his wife when she helped him with his coat.


    "That''s alright. I need to go visit Martha too on our way, Paul just informed me that..." their voice diminishing until the stairways were quiet again except for the wind that blew the leaves out and away from the branches of the trees.

 Chapter 21 - Woolen Sweater- Part 2

    She took a deep breath, looking outside the window. The weather today was much better than what it had to offer in thest week that had passed by. Vivian wondered if they would get the opportunity to look feel the warmth of the sun on their skin. With Bonke always raining more than half the time in the year, it made the atmosphere damp and cold. The mansions were always cold, except for some ces where the owners of the mansion strolled and stayed, and the Carmichael mansion wasn''t any different from the other high-ss family. The servants didn''t sleep next to a firece and the only ces they could find warmth apart from their room was in the horse shed and the kitchen.


    After a few minutes she heard the sound of footsteps from where she stood, she looked up the stairs to see Leonard descending down, who had dressed well just like his father had. He was cuffing the button of his shirt.


    "You''re going out, master Leonard?" she asked.


    One side of his lips curved, to ask, "Missing me already?"


    Vivian who hadn''t thought out before asking him the question now had a faint ssh of pink spread over her cheeks. It wasn''t anything new to ask one another when one of them left the mansion when they were children but they weren''t children anymore. Maybe that was why Vivian felt shy wondering if she had been too forward with the man. Her heart too shuddered unknowingly when he came to stop two steps away from her. The ray of light that she had hoping for broke through the clouds to pass through the windows and fall on both of their forms unevenly.


    "I am going to meet a friend of mine named Maximilian Gibbs. He''s arranged hunting for us behind his mansion. I will bete for dinner. Take care of the mansion," she nodded her head promptly to see him step down the stairs and disappear at the corridor that led to the main door.


    The same noon, Vivian apanied Mrs Carmichael out to the town to get woollen threads as she was out of it. Knowing her son might need a sweater for the winter like snow that was around the corner, she wanted to weave one.


    "No, not this Sir. How about that?" Vivian pointed her finger over the blue bundle behind the man where both the women hade to buy. As the man handed the bundle of wool, she examined it in her hand, "What do you think about this, mdy?"


    Mrs Carmichael took the strand of wool between her fingers, feeling the texture before she gave a hum of approval, "This feels much lighter than the others. I think this should do. If you could please get this packed," the vampiress asked politely.


    "Yes, Lady Carmichael. Is there anything else you would like Madame?" the bald man asked, seeing if he could sell more items from his shop to have a better earning.


    "That is all. I will be going back to the carriage," she told Vivian before handing over the money to the man and heading towards the carriage.


    Vivian waited for the man to pack the three bundles of wool Mrs Carmichael had asked for while looking around the small store that was known for its finest wool in the town. The wool that was taken by the sheep were dyed in different colours. Stacks of wool was ced in and around the man who had finished packing it.


    "Here is your parcel miss," taking the bag from him, she turned around to stop to only turn back and ask, "Mm, sir, by any chance would you be having the colour of red with you? The wool I mean."


    "Red? Let me see," disappearing behind the two small curtains he came back with a ball of wool which was maroon in colour.


    "That will do," Vivian said looking at the wool he held, "Can I get two more of it?"


    Once she had got it packed and paid the money of her earnings from what she had saved, Vivian went back to the carriage carrying both the bags in one. They then went to visit Martha. Upon their visit, Grace, Paul''s sister who had been taking care of the housekeeper made tea and served it to Mrs Carmichael who took it without hesitation. Before they left the house, Mrs Carmichael who stood at the door asked in a low voice,


    "Has she been eating well?"


    "She has, mdy. We are making sure to keep her warm but I don''t think it''s helping much," Grace looked over her shoulder.


    "I see. I asked Giles to arrange for a doctor this morning. He should be here in a day or two," Mrs Carmichael pulled something from her purse which jingled with coins inside it, "Take this," Grace didn''t hesitate in taking the money from the vampiress. Grace''s husband was a shoemaker and his ie wasn''t sufficient and neither was their son''s who worked with his father. Medicines were expensive for the sick and it didn''te by anywhere cheap when it came to taking care of a sick woman who needed a constant firece running at night due to the harsh cold.


    "Thank you for your generosity, mdy. If it weren''t for you, we don''t know what would have happened," Grace bent her head down to appreciate the benevolence thedy was showing to the people who worked in her mansion.


    "Martha and Paul have gained the right to it. They have worked hard and this is just a token to it," hearing the church bell ring in distant the vampiress murmured, "Looks like it''s time. Please don''t hesitate in asking if there''s anything that Martha needs. I am sure you know where to look for that."


    "Yes," Grace bowed her head again and she exchanged a bow with Vivian who returned the gesture, stepping into the carriage, both the women rode back to the mansion with the coachman.


    Vivian who sat in front of Mrs Carmichael saw thedy have her eyes set outside the small window of the carriage. With all the women she had met andmunicated until now, Lady Renae was the kindest of them all. Being the wife of the Duke in Bonke, she had never let the title get to her head. She wasn''t only beautiful but also kind andpassionate in nature, one could say understanding with the people around her. Most of the vampiress and vampire never showedpassion to the lower ranked people.


    Only if all the vampires were like her, the world would have been a perfect ce to live for everyone. It would be a paradise, thought Vivian to herself. At that thought she smiled, maybe the world wasn''t meant to be a paradise for everyone. Only a few lucky ones got to taste the sweetness of life.


    After she was done helping Paul in the kitchen and serving dinner to Mr and Mrs Carmichael at night, she hurried with her work so that she could start knitting. Vivian who was about to escape to her room got called by Mrs Carmichael to the drawing room who had settled on the wide couch with the ball of wool and a needle in her hand. She had already begun knitting a small blue piece and there was no doubt at this rate thedy wouldplete whatever she had in her mind by morning but she doubted she would stay up thatte.


    "Could you get the buttons we boughtst time? I thought to add some more colours to it."


    "Of course. Give me few minutes to go fetch it," excusing herself, she went to the room where the previous unused wool, buttons and other embroidery work were ced. Searching it, she found it to be on the top shelf. Looking around she raised herself by standing on the tip of her toes while pping her hand to reach the box. Finally getting her hand on it, she pulled it towards her and went to the drawing room around it.


    "Is there anything else you would want me to assist you with?" asked Vivian to see the Lady raise her head thoughtfully and heard her speak,


    "Would you like to keep mepany? There is an extra pair of needle in here, go get your wool," Mrs Carmichael smiled under the lit candles. And like that, Vivian provided Mrs Carmichael with herpany. Compared to thedy of the house who sat on the plush couch, Vivian sat on the cold ground which she had got used to. With the wool that had been put in the needle, she started knitting the thread, meshing it one over the other with what she had learnt from Charlotte who had taught her during her visit to the mansion.


    Putting up all the concentration, Vivian continued to knit the wool along with the Lady inplete silence. It was when she had managed to make a patch did she hear the door open to allow Leonard to step into the room with the same clothes he had left the mansion.

 Chapter 22 - Woolen Sweater- Part 3

    Walking to where his mother sat, he bent down to kiss her temple, "How is Maximillian?" asked Mrs Carmichael.


    "He''s doing well. The head council sanctioned his leave earlier than mine. He will probably be posted in the same town, at least that''s what he''s been hoping for," looking at Vivian who sat on the floor, Leonard walked around the couch to take a seat at the side, "You don''t have to knit mother, you do know that you get decent clothes in Isle valley."


    "I am aware but I want to be able to do such small things for my son," said Mrs Carmichael with a smile, "Vivian said you went hunting. How was it? We need to n it as a family pic."


    "That we will have to. There are quite some deer now in the forest, especially fully grown ones," Leonard''s gaze fell on the girl who was knitting in full concentration, "Where''s father?" he enquired seeing his father missing in the room.


    "He''s in the room going through some papers Malcolm sent. I heard from that the Lord has been anticipating your change of title," Mrs Carmichael looked up from her hands to look at her son.


    "He has been for a while. The council needs the paper signed by father before they can give it to me," cing one leg over the other and picked the newspaper thatid on the table next to him, "Lord Nichs has some work which has been pending for some time. He''s been waiting for my title change"


    "Why wait if it''s urgent? He can give it to your father," his mother said, her expression a little confused.


    "It isn''t a pressing matter. The work this time is a little longer than the others when ites to the duration. He needs it to be undisruptive because the job requires that," Mrs Carmichael nodded with an understanding look and she replied, "Well if that is so." Leonard read the newspaper, ncing through the headlines until he came to thest page. Folding the paper back the way it was, he ced it on the table to look at Vivian.


    Vivian could barely cross the threads with Leonard looking at her so intently that her hands had turned unsteady. She normally didn''t have a problem in knitting and this was the first time she was finding it hard to make her hands work. Stopping for a moment, she lifted her gaze to meet Leonard''s eyes. Noticing her looking up, he offered her a smile and asked,


    "When did you learn to knit?"


    "Two years ago," she answered, lowering her eyes down when she felt his gaze was too much to handle.


    "It must be for Jerome," Mrs Carmichael''s words took Vivian by surprise.


    "Mr Jerome?" Leonard asked raising his brow in question, "Why? Surely, he is capable of buying clothed articles for himself."


    "That''s right. Mr Jerome has taken quite a liking towards our young Vivian here, hasn''t he dear?" Mrs Carmichael asked teasingly to see the girl bend her head down to hide her eyes from the other two, especially from the scrutinizing gaze that came from Leonard who sat right opposite to her, "He wanted her to knit for him. Isn''t that sweet?" the vampiress asked.


    "Indeed. Very sweet," Leonardmented.


    "Mdy, if you could excuse me for the day," Vivian asked thedy to receive a nod to which she smiled and bowed her head. Bowing at Leonard who stared at her, she picked up her things and left the room.


    "She''s still shy," Mrs Carmichael chuckled, "I don''t know how Jerome is going to manage to win her. He oftenes by to meet your father but I believe it is only in the hope he can meet the girl. It is good that he is a little old-fashioned."


    "I doubt he is," Leonardmented to receive a questioning look from his mother.


    "Why would you say that?"


    "Rumors about the town haven''t been really that pleasant."


    Mrs Carmichael smiled realizing how much she missed her son, "I keep forgetting that you work for the Lord sometimes. You were so little when you left the mansion."


    "I didn''t leave, I was sent away," corrected Leonard.


    "Do you still hold a grudge for it?" he stood from his seat, going to sit next to his mother he held her hand to say, "I don''t. That was a long while ago."


    "Come here my boy," she took him in her embrace, "I am d that you are here for good now."


    "I am too," Leonard answered as she let him go, "I will be retiring to bed now. Goodnight mother."


    "Goodnight Leo," Leonard picked up the jacket he had previously ced on the table and went up to his room.


    Vivian who had excused herself from the drawing-room sat in her own small room on her bed. Instead of continuing with what she had started while sitting in the drawing room with Mrs Carmichael, she pulled out the new wool she had bought from the thread maker. Pushing away the dull green coloured wool, she reced it with the maroon one. A candle was lit at her desk to provide sufficient light in her room so that she could knit. She wasn''t sure if it was alright to show the wool she had bought which was of the same high quality as what thedy had bought, after all, she was just a servant girl.


    Another reason being she didn''t want anyone to know who had knit the sweater once she would give it to the person. Biting her lip from a secretive smile that threatened on her lips, she made sure each strand was ced in a perfect harmony with the other like it was meant to be.


    She hoped toplete it in time so that she could gift Leonard the sweater as his birthday gift which was two weeks away. Vivian being only a servant girl didn''t earn enough to give something expensive but she tried doing her best with what she had.


    Two days passed by and thend of Bonke was back to epting the rain which fell from the sky continuously without a pause.


    Leonard who had finished eating his breakfastte around eleven in the morning wiped the napkin over his mouth, setting it down he stood up to for the maid to clean the table. When he stepped out of the dining room, he saw his father talking to a young man with short ck hair at the end of the corridor. It was Mr Jerome. The man''s wandering gaze didn''t go unnoticed and after what his mother had said, it didn''t take time to notice what or rather who he was looking for.


    On the other side of the corridor, he caught sight of Vivian walking with a small bucket in her hand. Raising his hand, he stopped her from passing any further. Her questioning eyes looked up at him. Standing right in front of her to cover her entire frame with his, Leonard spoke,


    "I have a blue quill in on one of the shelves of my room but I think I lost itst night. Could you please find it for me and ce it in the study room, Bambi?" he asked her with a sweet smile on his lips.


    "Right now?" Vivian had been asked to change the water in all the vases by Paul.


    "Right away," he confirmed, his gaze soft on her.


    "Okay," Vivian nodded and headed towards his room. Seeing her gone for the moment, he walked to where his father and Mr Jerome stood.


    "Jerome. It has been a while since west met," Leonard brought his hand forward with a false smile on his lips to shake hands with the vampire which he had no intention to build friendship with.

 Chapter 23 - Dropping The Facade- Part 1

    This is a prequel to the books ''Valerian Empire'' & ''Heidi and the Lord''. Please read the, before reading this.


    "How is your businessing along?" Leonard sized the man up and down subtly as he asked the question to the curly ck haired man. The man almost matched his tall height by only falling behind with a mere inch.


    "This year has been very generous. With the word Mr Carmichael and the others have spread, I have been having many customers to earn a livelihood here," Jerome smiled to showcase his pearly white teeth. As he belonged to an average vampire family, his fangs were visible which couldn''t be hidden. The pureblooded vampires could hide their fangs and expose it only when it was needed.


    "That''s good to know," murmured Leonard.


    "Give me few minutes, Jerome and we will leave to look at the house in Willow," Mr Carmichael turned around to walk back inside, leaving the young men at the entrance.


    Leonard noticed how Jerome''s eyes that were on his father until he disappeared in the halls now looked around as if he were searching for something.


    "Are you looking for someone?" The question must have startled the curly haired man as his eyes snapped back at Leonard and he let out a shortugh which was slightlyced with embarrassment.


    "Oh, it''s just one of your maid. I promised to get her the famous sweets from this shop in Wovilles when I would return back."


    "Vivian?"


    "Yes, Vivian," just speaking her name brought light to the man''s dull red eyes which didn''t sit well with Leonard, "She''s a lovely girl," Jerome continued to speak praises of her, "The first time I met her, she was cutting the shrubs when she stepped on a rose stem by mistake. The blood was too much because of the thick thorn," that idiot, thought Leonard to himself, "And even after I treated her feet she continued to work. I haven''t seen anyone who works hard. I offered her a position with a higher pay to only be refused."


    "Why does it sound that more than giving her work you are trying to woo her," it wasn''t a question but a statement.


    Jerome did nothing but smile looking down at the ground and then back at Leonard, "It might be".


    "I apologize but she won''t be working in any other mansion no matter how high the employer would want to pay the wage," Leonard looked at the man straight in his eyes as his blunt words were delivered clearly. The atmosphere had suddenly turned dull and dark. Both the men looked at each other in the eye, none ready to lower their gaze down.


    "Looks like I have someone topete with," Jerome stated, his eyes flickering over a maid who crossed the halls before settling back at the Carmichael man.


    "You don''t have to worry about that," not understanding what it meant Jerome tilted his head, "What I mean to say is," Leonard''s dark eyes brooded with untamed temper behind it, "There isn''t a need forpetition. And if there was one," he paused, "The winner has already been fixed."


    "Is that so?" Jerome twisted his lips. If Leonard was being so upfront he didn''t see the reason to not be the same, "Correct me if I am wrong but as far as my knowledge goes, pureblooded vampires don''t take maids or any lower creature to them as a wife. Are you insinuating that you want to marry her?"


    "That has nothing to do with you, Mr Jerome. The matters of my mansion are something I had like to keep private than invite an outsider to take part in which I extremely dislike."


    "It depends where miss Vivian''s interest lies or rather whom. I will give her the sweet another time," Jerome smiled. Hearing the footsteps from behind, Leonard decided not toment on it further as his father came in sight.


    Vivian who had gone to fetch the quill from Leonard''s room had found it and had gone to the study room as ordered to ce it there. It was when she was about to get out did Leonard step in. To allow him in, she retraced back her footsteps.


    "You found the quill," Leonard noted looking at the table and leaned over the front of the desk in a rxed position.


    "You kept it next to the window sill, master Leonard," she replied to see him nod. Thinking that was all it was he needed for the moment, she went to turn towards the door to only hear him question her.


    "Where are you going?"


    "I have to go water the nts. Paul asked me-"


    "A few minutes shouldn''t matter," he patted his hand on the seat for her to take, "Come, sit."

 Chapter 24 - Dropping The Facade- Part 2

    Vivian looked at him before walking towards the chair with slow steps. upying the empty seat next to him, she yed with her nails worried if she had done something wrong. The servants who worked here were sometimes called to the study room alone when they were out of line or cked during their work hour. Peeking a small nce at him under hershes, she saw him staring ahead of him with his jaw set firmly before he opened his mouth to talk to her.


    "How long has it been since Mr Jerome began visiting the mansion?" with one hand behind him on the desk he leaned back.


    "More than a year."


    "Hmm," he nodded his head. So it was after he had started his work and had asked her to not send him letters. If he hadn''t asked her to do so he would havee to know the number of men trying to woo his Bambi. His jaw ticked in irritation, "And how acquainted are you with him?" Frankly, all these years he had only learnt to direct his anger somewhere while keeping a leash on his emotions. He had meant to behave well with the facade of showing a sweet man but Leonard could hardly hold it together.


    Vivian looked at him slightly taken aback by his question. Why was he interested in Mr Jerome?


    "Answer my question, Vivian," his voice seemed patient but his eyes told otherwise. It demanded answers and these were the rare instances when she felt intimidated by him.


    "He mostly spoke about work and nothing more," she answered him truthfully.


    "What else?"


    "Else?"


    "Yes," he nudged her to speak, "How about receiving treats or gifts from him?" She shook her head, "That''s good to hear. I don''t want you chatting with him from here on."


    "Why not?" came Vivian''s question.


    "Your job is to look after the mansion and not waste your time in talking to him when there are jobs you need toplete. Not just Jerome but anyone for the fact. I will have a word with Paulter so that he looks after the guests. After all, he is the footman of the mansion. Is that clear?"


    "Yes, master Leonard," Vivian frankly didn''t understand why he was forbidding her from going and greeting any guest who came at the mansion. Did he not trust her in keeping the guests''pany thinking she would tarnish their reputation?


    "Good and another thing. Why have you been calling me master Leonard?" he leaned forward this time so that he could have a better look at her.


    "Because you''re the master of the mansion?" Vivian asked unsurely as he tapped his finger on the wooden desk, "No?" she asked meekly.


    "Let me rephrase the question. Why have you been calling me master Leonard instead of Leo?" she saw him push himself up from the desk and turned her chair around with not much effort. Bending down in front of her, he tried unbuckling her shoe to which she pulled away quickly.


    "W-what are you doing?"


    "I need to see something. You haven''t answered my question yet," he reminded her, stretching his hand to grab one of her feet by her ankle. The lone action had her heart beating in her little chest. Her mind racing for words to speak, to reply but she found none as he unbuckled her shoe. Even during the small visits to the mansion when he was away, he was always like this. A little pushy, overbearing and sometimes irrational with his actions. When she had turned twelve, he had climbed a tree and wanted her to climb the tree too. Her refusal to do it had gained her his silent treatment for the next few visits.


    "Last year Mr Cahrmichael reprimanded me as I addressed you as Leo. He told a servant should address the owner rightly," she remembered the day she got scolded and with her even Paul had been scolded for not grooming the servants the way they were expected to be groomed. Mr Carmichael and his brother had done more than scolding that day. The words were spoken by Mr Carmichael''s brother, Sullivan Carmichael had been hurtful and degrading. It was then she had realized the gap between their status.


    "I am sorry you had to hear that. My father grew up with his traditions but I haven''t, not around you at least," he offered her a smile which was filled with warmth, "Well, he isn''t here at the moment so I don''t see why you have to use the honorifics," she felt him remove her sock from her feet. He raised her feet so that he could inspect the sole, running his thumb which tickled her, he ced it down to undo her other shoe.


    Vivian having no clue what he was up to, let him do what he pleased so that she would get over with it quickly so that her heart could settle down and not fail due to over functioning.


    Leonard''s hand which was around Vivian''s ankle felt the warm skin on her dainty legs. Though something deep down wed at wanting to touch her more under his seeking hands, he let go of her feet once he was done inspecting to see if there was any mark left behind. He reminded himself to wait a little more. A little more until the time was right.


    His eyes trailed up to her face which looked innocent and pure. Her ck eyes held a question in them which never appeared on her lips. Her strawberry blonde hair was ted which now rested on the side of her shoulder. Standing up, he jammed his hands in his trouser pockets.

 Chapter 25 - Dropping The Facade- Part 3

    "Master Leonard, will yo- Why are your feet bare Vivi?!" Paul who hade to see Leonard found Vivian sitting on the chair while the young master stood in front of her, "Please go out and wear them."


    "It is my fault that she''s barefoot. Sit here and wear them," he instructed thest line for her to listen to. Not meeting either men''s eyes, Vivian picked her socks quickly, "What did you need Paul?"


    Paul turned his gaze from the girl to the young master who wasn''t happy with his presence. Internally it made him sigh. When they were both children he had encouraged Vivian to write letters as she seemed sad from the absence of the young Charmichael boy. But they weren''t children anymore and that worried him. Mr and Mrs Carmichael might have not noticed or he hoped they didn''t because it was quite evident that Leonard Carmichael showed interest on the girl more than an employee would.


    "About lunch...The kitchen wanted to know if you would like to have steak, pork or nk of the deer?" How about a fresh cut out of heart from your chest on a clean silver tter, thought Leonard to himself. He took a few good seconds before he replied steak, "Please excuse us."


    Vivian was ushered out of the study room by Paul to leave Leonard behind the closed doors. The remaining hours of the day she was asked to help in the kitchen.


    Before the hour of dinner arrived, Vivian had finished doing all her chores and had retired to her room early. Settling herself cosy in the sheet of her bed she continued to knit the wool. It took more than a week for Vivian toplete the sweater as the only free time she found was at night. While Vivian sat in her room in front of the candlelight, Leonard sat in the darkness of the ss room staring at the ck sky with a bud of cigarette in his hand.


    One fine day, Vivian who was out to pluck out the flowers for the vases found Maximilian Gibbs apanying Leonard inside the mansion. She bowed her head at both of them. Seeing Maximilian smirk at her, she quickly lowered her eyes on the ground. Maximilian''s father was a close friend of Mr Carmichael due to which it allowed Leonard and Maximilian to be in each other''spany enough to be close friends. Out of all the people she had seen the Carmichael''s interact with, she had to say Maximilian was the peculiar one out of all. His hair was dark grey in colour and his eyes strangely were the colour of turquoise even though he was a pureblooded vampire. She had never known vampires to have a colour which wasn''t red. But it wasn''t just his appearance that made him odd. His turquoise eyes were always curious which made one extremely ufortable. The maids always steered clear of him. If he weren''t Leonard''s friend she would have pegged the man to be suspicious.


    Humming a tune just for her to listen to, she plucked the flowers carefully without harming the leaves and branches. Raising a single flower to her face, she leaned forward to smell its fragrance. The scent of it was so lovely that couldn''t help but smile. She wondered if she could take these to old Martha who was sick in the bed. Mrs Carmichael as promised had gotten a doctor for the old woman but no medicine sufficed and with hours and days, her health deteriorated.


    It wasn''t far when the sad news about old Martha death reached the mansion in the morning. Mrs Carmichael had attended the small ceremony without her husband but was attended by her son, Leonard. Paul, his family and Vivian along with few others were present as the priest prayed for the woman''s soul to rest in peace in the local town cemetery with the rest of the passed away townsfolk.


    Eyes filled with tears Vivian saw three men drop the wooden coffin to the ground. Wiping her eyes and cheek with the kerchief which was wet for a while now, she sniffed under the rain holding an umbre in her hand. In her lifetime, the only close to a mother figure she had grown up to know was Martha who had taken under her care. The woman had loved her as her own and now that she was gone Vivian didn''t know how to fathom the emptiness that was left behind in her heart. She stared at the coffin being buried. People who hade began to leave until she was the only standing there in the rain. She didn''t question God why he had taken Martha away because she knew old age was inevitable and to those old people, sickness and death was inevitable. She missed the old woman and the only parent she ever knew or remembered was no more among them.


    She stood there for a while looking at the medium sized headstone beneath which the old housekeeper was buried. Someone came to stand next to her and she had to blink away the tears to see it was Leonard who hade back.


    Leonard raised his free hand to wipe the trail of tears that streaked down both her cheeks. His hands were cold against her warm cheeks. Her lips pink and the rim of her eyes had turned slightly red due to crying. He didn''t utter a word knowing it wouldn''t change the loss that was caused but instead he brought his hand around her and let her cry to her heart''s content on his chest which she did without holding back. Rubbing her back gently he kept her there until she quietened down.


    "Would you like to stay with Grace today?" he asked her gently. Feeling her nod he said, "Let me take you there," and he took her in the carriage he hade in after taking his mother back to the mansion.


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    After Leonard had dropped Vivian at Paul''s sister''s house, he returned back to the Carmichael''s mansion. With his shoes slightly wet, he stepped inside the mansion. A maid came over to help him out of his coat.


    "Everything settled?" Mrs Carmichael arrived in sight with fresh clothes that had been changed from the ones she had worn half an hour ago.


    "Yes, mother," he answered, "Paul said that he would be back at the mansion in two hours of time."


    "Is that so," murmured Mrs Carmichael walking down the halls with Leonard, "Human lives are very fragile and delicate. And they live only for a certain amount of time. It is quite sad when the time of a dear onees to an end," Stopping in the middle of the hall, Mrs Carmichael patted her son''s head with affection, "That is one of the reasons why people like us have to be careful when ites to our emotions. Let me go see what is being cooked in the kitchen. I will see you at dinner," his mother left to walk in another direction.

 Chapter 26 - Obliviousness- Part 1

    The scarce amount of light fell through the small window which was next to the bed as the maids cleaned the room which was once upied by thete housekeeper of the Carmichael mansion. Some of the things were thrown from the room, some kept to amodate the future servant who would join to work for the family. Carrying the new sheet in her hand which was washed two days ago Vivian began spreading over the wooden cot. Once done the maids left the room and so did Vivian but not before giving a nce over the room.


    She could see the younger her crying in front of the housekeeper who was sitting on the bed.


    "What''s the matter, dear?" Martha asked the little girl who cried, huping as tears fell down her cheeks, "I won''t know if you don''t tell it out loud. Why are you crying?" the woman asked patiently to receive no response from the girl.


    "Papa and m-mama hate me," hearing this, the middle-aged woman frowned.


    "Who told you that?"


    "J," little Vivian cried, rubbing her eyes, "She said that is why they don''te to see me and take me with them," Martha pulled the girl close and used her hand which had roughed due tobour to wipe the girl''s tears.


    "J doesn''t know anything. Don''t listen to what she says, Vivi," the woman spoke, picking the girl she ced the small girl on herp, "Your mama and papa are busy at the moment. I am sure one day they wille to get you."


    "When?" little Vivian looked up in question and tears in her eyes.


    "I cannot promise when but one day for sure," Martha kissed the top of her head, "Now stop crying. They wouldn''t be happy if they found out that their little girl was crying now, would they?"


    Vivian smiled at the memory, hoping wherever Martha was right now at peace.


    Frankly, as she grew up the faces of her parents was blurred to the point that she couldn''t recollect how her parents looked anymore. Martha never spoke about them and if ever Vivian did bring anything up regarding some information about her family, the old woman would slide it by ignoring her words as if she couldn''t hear anymore. The former maid J was true though. Her parents didn''t seem to like her as years had passed, not once did any of her family members try contacting her ore to see her. With her younger memories faint, it made Vivian wonder as to what she had done for making her parents disown her at such a young age.


    Locking the door behind with the key, she went up the stairs back inside the mansion.


    While Vivian walked across the halls, she caught sight of Leonard who was with his parents and the guests who had arrived at the mansion. The guests were Mrs Kennedy with her daughter Shirley who was a year or two younger than Vivian. Hailing from an average vampire family, the duo usually made trips to the Carmichael mansion in hopes that Mr Carmichael would present his son''s hand in marriage to Mrs Kennedy''s daughter.


    In Vivian''s books, Lady Shirley was a beautiful and a soft-spoken girl whom she had not even once heard her raise her voice. She had never got the opportunity to converse with her. Lady Shirley''s long, lustrous ck hair was tied up with her sides loose, her beautiful dress sweeping the floor from behind as she walked next to Leonard. All in all to Vivian Lady Shirley was quite perfect. Seeing Leonard and Lady Shirley walking past her, Vivian bowed her head with a smile at the pair. She received a warm smile from the Lady but the same couldn''t be told about the man walking next to her. It made her wonder if Leonard was in one of his moods again. Why though? Lady Shirley was a goodpany and she didn''t understand why he wouldn''t be happy about it.


    "Vivian could you ask Paul that we need to cut the branches that have grown in the sides of the mansion," Mrs Carmichael asked her and she nodded her head with a yes.


    Finding Paul who was at the horse shed, she called him, "Paul!"


    "What is it?" Paul turned back, who had been collecting the dung with his gloved hands.


    "Mrs Carmichael wants you to trim the branches which are outside the mansion."


    "Did she tell to get it done right now? I am a little busy right now," Paul waved his dirty gloves at her making her scrunch her nose.


    "I think she did," the creepers that had climbed up the pirs of the mansion had begun trying to reach the other nts around it, she then asked, "Would you want me to do it?"


    "Did you finish cleaning the cupboards in the east wing?"


    "I did."


    "What about the sheets in the room?"


    "Changed it."


    "Alright then. Don''t cut too much and be careful until Ie," Paul yelled seeing the girl turn around on her heel and walking behind the shed where the tools were ced.

 Chapter 27 - Obliviousness- Part 2

    Carrying the pruning scissors in one hand and in another hand an empty bucket so that the twigs and leaves could be put in it than litter on the ground. Standing in front of the right pir, she looked left and right pulling up the branches and extending it enough so that she could snip it with one snap. The slender branch was stubborn as it didn''t break away from its family with one snip. Vivian had to jag around it before it finally broke free which she threw into the bucket. It wasn''t just the front pirs that had the creepers running up and down. Most parts of the mansion outside were filled with creepers. It was one of the things Mrs Carmichael fancied and had nted it when they Mr and Mrs Carmichael had bought the house.


    "What are you doing? If you jag it like that it will only hurt the nts," Vivian turned around to see Paul standing behind her. He looked at her then the bucket where the stems were cut.


    "Sorry," murmuring apologetically, she handed him the pruning scissors she was using.


    "Hold this," he gave her the stem to hold. Unlike her who had struggled to get it cut, Paul had got it snipped in one single movement. Maybe this is why people relied on experience, thought Vivian to herself, "That''s how you do it."


    "Thank you, I will manage the rest," Paul''s eyes darted across the windows of the mansion at the top, moving one after another with a smile, "We will have to clean the windows up there clean."


    "Again?" asked Vivian tilting her head. It had been less than a week since theyst cleaned the windows spotless, "Myril and Freddie have taken thedder to fix the light in the backend of the mansion right now. And I don''t think it''s a steady one because every time I stand on one of the top rungs I can feel it moving, waiting to plop me on the hard floor."


    "Let me go speak to Lady Renae about it. We might need more than onedder this week," they would definitely need more than onedder. With Leonard''s birthday right around the corner which was in less than three days, Vivian could tell that Mr and Mrs Carmichael would like to host a grand party for their son who had also taken up the title of Duke from his father, "And careful again," he said over his shoulders to walk inside the mansion.


    Leonard''s birthday. Thinking about it a big smile appeared on her face. She had been waiting for it since he had returned back to the mansion.


    With her life spent in the Carmichael mansion, the members she hade to care were the housekeeper Martha, Paul the attendant, Grace who was Paul''s sister and her son Thomas, Burton the Carmichael''s coachman, Leonard, Mrs Shelby who was an old vampiress who lived not too far with her two cats. Not to forget Mr Jerome who was a kind, handsome vampire who treated her like ady every time he visited than a servant who was lower to him. Basically, Vivian cared for everyone whom she came across to be nice and polite with her. It was a character she had picked from the deceased housekeeper.


    Fortunately, she had finished knitting the sweater along with the sleeves before his birthday had arrived. Unable to get direct measurements from him to check if it would fit him right, she had checked it from his shirts that went toundry. She had taken extra care to make sure it would fit him right, checking the length of his sleeves, counting the space between his broad shoulders by using her hands as the measuring tape. She had picked the maroon wool while keeping in mind of his beautiful dark red eyes where she had witnessed emotions behind them. She hoped he would like it because his words mattered a lot to her. If there was somethingmon between both Leonard and Vivian, it was them themselves.


    Removing the smudge of mud on few leaves with her hand, she wiped her hand over her apron. It was when she was about to pick the bucket of unwanted twigs and stems that would be going to the fireter did she notice someone behind the bushes. The atmosphere was dark as even the little amount of light that had graced on them in the morning was back to be hiding behind the clouds making the atmosphere dark and gloomy. Out of shock and surprise, Vivian ended up stumbling forward right at the pir which she managed to hold on time before her face could meet the pired stone but that didn''t stop the very jagged stems she had cut to graze over her.


    Looking up again, she found no shadow anymore. She wondered if someone was really there or if it was only her imagination. Biting her bottom lip she leaned back and forth slowly to have a look from where she stood but it didn''t seem like there was anyone there.


    Giving it onest nce she turned around to only meet Leonard and Lady Shirley as they walked past the tworge doors of the main entrance. They were talking about something which Vivian couldn''t hear.


    Seeing Vivian out in the front, Lady Shirley expressed in concern, "Are you alright? You hurt your face."


    "Did you fall down?" Leonard furrowed his brows, pulling out the handkerchief from his trousers, he stepped closer to Vivian and ced the cool white cloth on her cheek, "Hold it on," he advised, "Are you alright?"


    "I am fine," Vivian assured him with a smile but he wasn''t satisfied.


    "Let me see," said Leonard turning her cheek to inspect the sharp line that ran down from the side of her eye.


    Lady Shirley stood in her ce staring at both Leonard and the maid whom Leonard was tending to at the moment, forgotten that she was here apanying him a few seconds ago. She did miss the way Mr Carmichael''s voice fell a few octaves down as he spoke to the maid. It was the first time she noticed the maid working here. Shirley who was sixteen years old had made her mind when her mother had first introduced her to Mr and Mrs Carmichael along with their son who had stayed for the briefest time that Leonard would be the one she would be marrying. It was also what her mother wanted. Her family hailed from an average vampire line. A year ago everything had been good until her father was killed by a ck witch.


    Since she had met the young Carmichael man she had been bewitched by his mere presence. And she could tell that anyone around or of her age felt the same way about him. Jealousy brewed in Lady Shirley''s chest at the sight of Leonard speaking to the maid who was below his and her very own status.


    "You have to go clean it before it causes any infection," this seemed to get both their attention and the maid stepped back.


    Leonard''s hand was left hanging in the air when Vivian stepped back from him to create enough space between them. Her heart began to thurm gradually and not wanting any more attention that she had right now, she apologized and excused herself but not before having another look at the bush.

 Chapter 28 - Obliviousness- Part 3

    Seeing there was no one in the hall she almost ran back to her room and shut it close behind her. Uneven sounds of breath were heard in the quiet room and something told her that it wasn''t because she dashed out of the main hall. She patted her hand on her chest to lull it to be still. It was only recently did shee to realize that everytime Leonard stepped to close to her her heart would beat as if it couldn''t contain itself. Was she catching a fever? cing her hand on her forehead she scrunched her brows. It didn''t seem like she had a fever.


    Lightly patting her cheeks three to four times with her fingers in an effort to get herself together she went to the basin and leaned forward to look at the small mirror she had bought from the fair for herself. The stem really did take revenge on her for not cutting it with care.


    Wetting her apron with the water, she wiped her cheek careful feeling the burn it left every time she tried cleaning it. Dabbing her face clean, she looked at the ck-eyed girl who stared back at her through the mirror. Vivian had grown to be an absolute stunner due to which she often receivedpliments from mostly men and a few women. Her body was slender with a proportionate body. Widening her eyes she moved her face slightly before smiling at the thought that she had a beautiful pair of eyes. It didn''t have colours of blue or green or red or specs of gold in them but they were purely ck which shone every single time she smiled with her heart out and she was aware of it because people hadplimented her.


    Tucking the blonde locks of her hair that had loosened out from the braid, she unlocked her room door to see Leonard standing right in front of the door.


    "Where is Lady Shirley?" Vivian asked making room as he stepped inside and closed the door.


    "She went to use the powder room," Leonard murmured taking in the status of the room. There was a small cot in one corner next to whichid an old tea table and in another corner was a basin. Clothes were stacked on the tea-table.


    "I think you should go back to her. She might be looking for you in a minute," Vivian suggested hearing him hum for an answer.


    "I will."


    Wondering if he needed something, she asked, "Did you need something?" to her question Leonard''szy eyes went to settle on the prominent red line could be seen running down her temple up to half of her cheek.


    "Does it hurt?" this time he ced his thumb directly on the red line and felt her flinch.


    "It hurts now!" She tried swatting his hand away but the man was too stubborn to move, "Leo," her soft voice pleaded with her eyes looking up at him.


    Leonard could smell the faint scent of blood on her face from where he had pressed his thumb. Holding the side of her face in one hand, he said, "Do you know Bambi how vampires heal sometimes if they don''t heal by themselves?" Vivian continued to look at him in wonderment to his question, "Here..."


    "That''s alright, Leo. I washed it-" but Leonard had already ced his other hand on the wall, leaning forward until his face was close to hers he gave a single lick on the metallic line formed.


    Vivian had turned into a stone except for her beating heart that she could hear and so could Leonard. She could feel his gaze on her as he had licked, his expression serious thatcked mirth. When his coarse tongue licked again over her tender skin, this time it jolted her back to reality and she pushed him away without much effort. Not because she was stronger than him but because Leonard made her think they were the same kind without many differences.


    "W-what was that?!" Vivian stuttered holding her cheek protectively while moving away from him wide-eyed. Her innocent reaction made him chuckle.


    "I was healing you," a sly smile came upon his lips.


    "I d-don''t want that kind of healing!"


    "Well, that''s too bad. See, it''s already healing," he tipped his head and she carefully avoided stepping close to him and went to the mirror to see he was right. Was that an ability of vampires?


    "Vivi, are you there?" Paul knocked her room door suddenly.


    Vivian began fretting as she bit her bottom lip. As Leonard went to open the door, she jumped to catch his hand and pull it away.


    "Don''t," she whispered shaking her head, "It''s not right to have a man in an unmarried girl''s room."


    "It''s me so it''s fine," he said and she shook her head vigorously. Hearing the footsteps disappear, she let go of his hand. Unlocking the door after a good minute, Leonard left the room.


    What she said was true but there was also another reason. The day she and Paul had got scolded by Mr Carmichael''s younger brother, Sullivan, she was clearly told not to associate herself with Leonard as they belonged to two different ss.


    That night she had been upset. Paul had found her in the church of the town, talking to her about his life before he started working for the Carmichaels, asking her to maintain distance from the higher ss people, telling it would her hurt if she weren''t careful. Saying sometimes keeping distances maintained remaining the value each other had.


    Vivian didn''t understand though why it should be followed when Leo never treated her to be lower than him.

 Chapter 29 - Blackened Hearts- Part 1

    Maids and servants were busy, preparing the mansion for the evening birthday celebration of Leonard Carmichael. Dried twigs and leaves in front of the mansion were swept into the bin. The bushes were trimmed, flowers plucked out for decorating the entire ce and when it wasn''t enough, more of them were bought from the nearby town. After many years Leonard would finally be celebrating his birthday with his family in his mansion as he was away for around a decade. It was a special asion where people of high social standings were invited tomemorate the Duke''s birthday.


    Needless to say, like everyone else who had got into the mood of celebration, Vivian had been busy making sure that all the tasks Paul had assigned them were being done without missing a single detail that was requested from Mrs Carmichael.


    Even though it wasn''t her own birthday she had woken up early, earlier than the usual days. The sweater was wrapped in a in brown cover which she had bought yesterday. With the gift in hand, she had gone to his room hoping to wish him but he wasn''t there at his room. As she cleaned the family portrait that hung on the wall, she looked around asionally to see if she could catch sight of Leonard.


    "Vivian!"


    It was Lady Charlotte who was apanied by her brother Julliard and her cousin Rhys.


    "It is so good to see you," the girls exchanged hugs.


    "It is good to see you too. Did you just arrive? Would you like something to drink?" Vivian inquired them.


    "I am fine, thank you," Rhys who was the youngest cousin replied politely. Looking at the portrait she was cleaning he asked, "When was this one done?"


    "Brother Leonard hasn''t changed much," the blonde vampiress noted seeing the painting. Mr Carmichael was sitting on the chair with his wife next to him while Leonard stood behind elegantly, his hair was made to look paler and lighter than his regr blonde hair and his skin tone was given a warmer colour.


    "Mrs Carmichael wanted a family picture together and got the painter from Valeria to get it done on different time frames. Master Leonard was thest one to be done, he wasn''t thrilled," Vivian could spot the faint lines of frown which the painter had hidden under his various palette of colours used on the canvas but her eyes didn''t miss anything when it came to Leonard, "Master Leonard isn''t at the mansion as he went out early this morning but he should be here soon."


    "Didn''t you say he was summoned by Lord Nichs?" Julliard asked Rhys to which the younger cousin responded, "The council has put an assignment out in Bonke and Valeria. He wanted to gather people around to give out the information."


    "Aren''t you supposed to be there then?" Julliard was well aware of the fondness the Lord of Bonke had for Leonard and he also knew Rhys was a close informer of the Lord. Unlike both his brothers, Julliard had maintained a low profile in the vampire society as he worked in the welfare of humans.


    "Not at the moment," Rhys answered, "I believe our things have been ced in the guest rooms. Excuse us," turning around he began walking from there.


    "I hope you will be joining us in the evening, Vivian," hearing Julliard, she wondered if it would be alright to be there but servants weren''t allowed not unless they were serving the guests. In all these years Paul had not let her go out there during any celebrations that took ce at the time of night.


    "Of course, she will!" Charlotte linked her hand with Vivian.


    "Alright then. Excuse me as well," Julliard bowed his head and went to catch up with Rhys.


    "Come with me. I have something to show you," Vivian still had a lot of work to do, "Just for a few minutes. Promise."


    They went to the guest room where Lady Charlotte was staying in. Once they got in thedy locked the door and Vivian saw her bending down in front of her trunk, unlocking it and beginning to rummage through the clothes. Charlotte came back with an envelope in her hand.


    "What is this?" Vivian asked looking at the envelope.


    "Read it," she pulled the letter from the envelope and began reading it.


    Dear Lady Charlotte,


    I am thrilled to say that your father has approved to give your hand in marriage to me. I have been captured by your beauty and nature. I write this letter to you in the intention that we can have a day fixed to discuss the wedding which will take ce at the time of a few months. I am not going to be in town for two weeks from the time I write you this letter but once I am back I hope we can find a day of your arrangement. Hope to see you soon.


    Below the parchment was a signature that read David Harrison.


    During the time the Easton''s visited the mansion, Charlotte had told Vivian about the Duke in Mythweald who had taken an interest in her but the vampiress had never taken an interest in the man. Her interests relied on someone else, to be specific a human named Rory of a low-ss family.


    "Did you speak to Rory about it?"


    Charlotte nodded her head, "He asked me to run away with him," Vivian''s brows so very slightly contoured at the idea, "I know it won''t be easy but I can''t see myself marrying the Duke, Vivi. I have given my heart and soul to him. Father didn''t even ask me before giving his approval," walking to the window, she sighed.


    "Why not speak to your mother about it? Or your brother Julliard. I am sure they would understand you and would ask your father to rewrite the letter sent to Mr Harrison," suggested Vivian.


    "It isn''t that easy. If it were easy I wouldn''t have packed my trunks ready to leave," Charlotte gave her a small smile, "We are caught in the time where humans and vampires don''t trust each other. Our families don''t hold anything against the humans but that doesn''t mean they would want to deviate from their traditions."


    Maybe that was true but Vivian doubted that her family was like that. The way she saw it her mother and her sisters were one of the broadminded vampiresses she hade across, not that she knew many but out of the lot they were decent.


    "I don''t think it holds true, Charlotte. Why not try talking to your mother about it once? You never know if everything will work out right."


    "I will think about it," Charlotte let out another sigh and then finally put up a smile on her face, "See this," she pulled out a metallic chain from her dress which had a seashell hanging as a locket.


    "Did Rory gift you this? It is very pretty," shemented as she looked at the closed shell which was almost silver in colour.


    "It is, isn''t it?" tucking back the chain in the dress she turned aroundpletely, "I think Lord Nichs will be visiting the celebration in the evening too. It''s good to finally have everyone at home and have a family gathering. After he left here, it was really hard for us to get in contact with him except for the letters. It was a sad time as none of us expected things to go down that road."


    Vivian felt her heart sink in guilt. The time when Leonard was sent away from his own house she didn''t understand what had happened but as she grew up, she realized it was partly her fault that he was punished. She didn''t remember all the details but she knew it was her sheep that had instigated the entire incident.

 Chapter 30 - Blackened Hearts- Part 2

    As the time of evening arrived, so did the guests begin to arrive at the Carmichael mansion one after another until the entirerge hall that was built for celebrations was filled up with people. There were rtives, few councilmen, friends of the family and others who were waiting to be acquainted with people to build connections. Rain didn''t grace down thends of Bonke which made it easier for the guests as their clothes weren''t smudged with mud or dirt. And as guests came in, the servants who had put their effort in setting everything up from the flowers to the food and to the light, three-fourths of them were back in the kitchen room while the maids who were trained were sent out to the hall to serve the guests with food and drinks.


    Vivian had never got the opportunity to step into the main hall during any asion. Like any other, she wanted to see what was in there, how thousands of the tall candles brought light into the room in the presence of the guests. To experience what it felt like to be part of apletely different world.


    Seeing Paul setting out tes after te, she asked standing next to the small window which was opened for air to pass, shemented, "There are many guests today."


    "It is master Leonard''s birthday. It is quite expected to have so many people. Not to forget people who were acquainted with the Lord are also here," Paul ran his fingers over the tes to make sure there was nothing sshed out, "By the way you did a wonderful job on the cake, Vivi," she smiled brightly looking at the cake which was all set on the trolley and waiting to go out.


    She had begged and begged to Paul to let her prepare and design the cake for Leonard''s birthday. It was something she had been working on and after a lot of requests did Paul agree to let her prepare it but only under his observation as it wasn''t a tea party that could be fixed. Today was a big day and not a try out day. Everything had to be perfect.


    "When does the cake go out?" she asked eagerly.


    "In ten or fifteen minutes."


    "Can I go?" Vivian asked carefully to see Paul stop what he was doing.


    "I thought we have already gone through this. The hall isn''t safe for you," he spoke in a low voice.


    "But you let others go. I won''t break anything there and be extra careful," Vivian pleaded but the look on his face said that this wasn''t something he would agree to no matter what.


    "Keep a look at the pot there. Let me go check if the guests need something," her shoulders drooped.


    Vivian didn''t understand why Paul was extra protective when it came to her. It was true that he was partial when it came to her but the current housekeeper never held back when it came to scolding her. Tapping her leg on the hard ground of the kitchen she bit her lip thinking about slipping into the halls just for a few minutes to look at the celebration taking ce in the mansion.


    Taking the woodendle she stirred the pot and put few drops on the back of her hand to taste it. Not able to decide if it needed more salt, she picked up the jar which had crystal salts in them. All she wanted to do was give the gift to him but too shy to give it in front of everyone, she wondered if she should ce it in his room. After what happened in her room between them, Vivian hade to be conscious of Leonard''s presence around her. In ways of feelings where she never felt before. Her heart would start beating suddenly and her cheeks would turn warm everytime their gaze met.


    cing the opened jar back on the b she said,


    "I will be going out for a little while," she informed the maids who were in the kitchen.


    Walking through the corridors which led to her room, she picked the gift and walked up the stairs that led to Leonard''s room. Carefully cing the gift on his bed, she turned to walk away but stopped. Thinking if she should ce it elsewhere just in case someone else came into the room she went back to pick the gift and ce it under his pillow.


    Not satisfied with the cement, she ced it on his desk and was about to leave when she heard footsteps approach the room door. The door opened so suddenly that Vivian hid behind under the desk. Idiot thought Vivian to herself. Not knowing if it was Leonard who had entered the room, she sat there put hoping he would leave the room which he did after opening and closing the closet.


    Getting out of the room, she started walking down the stairs when she caught sight of Mr Jerome walking through the passage. Forgotten that Leonard had mentioned about staying away from the man, Vivian greeted him as their eyes met.


    "Good evening, Miss Vivian," he wished her. Before he could take her hand to kiss the back of her hand as a gesture of greeting, the girl raised her hand in front of her chest at the sound of the rain apanying with the thunder and lightning.


    "Good evening, Mr Jerome. Are you enjoying the celebration?" she asked.


    "Very much. All of you seem to have done a wonderful job. I didn''t see you in the hall," he stated, his bright red eyes looking at her with a smile.


    "Someone needs to be in the back kitchen to make sure we aren''t out of hands," Mr Jerome like other guests who had arrived at the mansion had tidied himself up cleanly, wearing a brown suit which didn''t hold a single wrinkle on it.


    "You are indeed a hard working person. I really hope you reconsider my offer of working in my house as the housekeeper," and before she could refuse the man continued to speak, "You don''t have to answer right away as I am in no hurry. Please take it into consideration."


    "Okay," Vivian''s smile made the man''s heart flip in his chest.


    Leonard who had been in the wide hall was swarmed with people around him, wishing him good health and talking to him about the council work that had been given down by the head counselor. Having talked enough about work, he stood with Julliard, each of them holding a ss in their hand. Frankly, all he wanted was a small gathering of family and not people who he wasn''t close to but now that he was a Duke things like these couldn''t be avoided. He looked around the hall, his eyes scanning the floor and not missing any person who walked in and out of the room.


    His eyes?scanned again this time for a particr strawberry-blonde haired maid. She wasn''t here, thought Leonard to himself. If she was he wouldn''t have missed spotting her in the crowd. Where was she? Though it was his birthday and her duty to get up earlier than he woke up to wish him, he had woken up right after dawn and had gone to her room to find her bed empty.


    He raked his fingers through his blonde hair. Taking a sip from his ss of wine which was strongerpared to the one the humans drank, he ced the ss when a maid was passing by them.


    "Going to search for her?" Julliard he tilted his head in question, a small smile on his lips which didn''t break throughpletely.


    "I will be back soon."


    Making his way out of the hall he decided to look for her in the kitchen but he didn''t go that far as he caught both Vivian and Mr Jerome at the beginning of the stairs.

 Chapter 31 - Blackened Hearts- Part 3

    "Mr Jerome. I hope the celebration isn''t tiring you," Leonard came forward.


    "Oh, it isn''t. I am actually quite enjoying," Mr Jerome responded back and wished him, "Happy birthday, Duke Leonard."


    Vivian looked at both of them exchange their small formal greetings to each other. Leonard looked more irritated than usual at the moment.


    "If you could excuse us, Mr Jerome, I would like to talk to her," with no hint of subtlety in his tone or expression, Leonard spoke directly to the man which took the man by surprise.


    "Of course," seeing the man leave, Leonard caught her hand, pulling her in another direction. On their way, he didn''t seem to speak and she wondered if she had to wait to wish him until they stopped where ever they were going. Her heart had begun to beat again as his hands circled around hers.


    "Why aren''t you at the hall?"


    "I had work in the kitchen," She wondered if it was normal for a Duke, a pureblooded one at that to have a friendship with a maid like her. Was that even friendship? Paul''s experience in thest household he worked for scared her. What did Leo and she have?


    "A few minutes shouldn''t hinder the work."


    "Keeping the guests waiting for food and drinks wouldn''t reflect well on your family. The cake will be cut-" Vivian was turned around suddenly to a halt, "Why are you mad?" she asked carefully.


    "You tell me," he asked letting go of her hand and jamming both his hands in his pocket.


    "Ah yes! Happy birthday, Leo!" she wished him suddenly with a bright smile on her face, "I came to your room in the morning but you must have left early for work."


    "..."


    "Leo?" Vivian called his name who seemed to be in some deep thought as he stood still before a smile broke on his face.


    "Thank you, Bambi. Where''s my gift?" his hand went to brush some strands of her hair away from her face but Vivian could hardly keep her thudding heart quiet. She stepped back when his hand was too close her to which his eyes narrowed, "What happened?"


    "What? What happened?" she prompted his words, her eyes a little dted.


    "Why are you moving away?" he asked her, taking a step forward and she had to take a step diagonally as there was no space behind.


    "Where am I moving?" she asked nervously looking elsewhere and then back at him, "Master Leonard, I think you should return to the main hall. The cake will be cut soon."


    "I want you to be there. Be there when I cut the cake prepared by you," he said not taking another step forward. The tips of her ears had turned pink out of shyness. It seemed like she had finally begun noticing him as a man and not the boy whom she used to once follow around when she was young, "You will be there right?" he asked for her confirmation.


    The nod which was slow turned to a confident one, and she responded back with a sweet smile, "I will be there. How could I miss it."


    Vivian followed Leonard, one step behind him knowing well if someone saw a maid like herself walking next to the Duke like an equal, words would turn to unwanted rumors.


    Letting Leonard walk into the hall first who was soon surrounded by his family, urging him to cut the cake, she slowed down her footsteps. From the corner of her eye, she could see Paul who walked in the direction of the kitchen. A few minutes and then she would get back to the kitchen, told Vivian to herself.


    The cake was cut and everyone took turns to wish the Duke for taking up the title as well as for his birthday, wishing him many more toe. Vivian felt chest fill up with an exinable feeling when Leonard''s eyes met hers. As her eyes roamed around quickly before leaving the room, she found Pauling from the other end of the hall. A little confused she looked at him. Paul must be one good servant to be able to run around the mansion so fast, she then left the hall to go to the kitchen where the maids were working. The servants and maids ate dinner once the guests left the mansion except for some rtives of Mr and Mrs Carmichael. The servants were tired but everytime an asion like this took ce, their wages were always doubled for the day whichpensated their efforts. It was close to midnight when all the dishes and the hallways were cleaned all over again.


    Vivian sat on her bed, her head resting on her knees as she stared at the flickering candle. She couldn''t believe she had got to see Leonard cut the cake, maybe not see the cake exactly being cut because of the people surrounding him but she saw him and he was happy. It felt rewarding that everything had gone so well. The guests were pleased, Mr and Mrs Carmichael were happy and she was happy too.


    Her eyes had only begun to droop when it opened up wide before it began to close. Stretching her arms and legs, she got down from the bed, picking up the empty ss from the small table next to her bed, she stepped out of the room. It seemed like all the workers had gone to bed due to exhaustion.


    Making her way back to the kitchen, Vivian pushed the lid of the pot that contained water when she heard some sound in the hall. Normally it was her to break things around the mansion so she wondered who had broken what outside.


    Putting the ss down, she followed to the ce where the sound hade from. Looking left and right, she found no one until something wet fell on her forehead. It was when a strangled cry was heard did she run up the stairs while holding the front of her pale white night dress. It was when she reached thest step of the stairs did her movements slow down in shock. She covered her mouth.


    Blood was everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, blood sttered across the objects and bodies on the ground where some of them didn''t have their parts intact.


    With shaky legs, she walked to hear a sound from one of the rooms. Noticing Mrs Carmichael in one of the rooms where the door was open she felt relief flood in that thedy was alright but when she turned to face her with Mr Carmichael''s body lying next to her feet motionless on the cold floor, it didn''t feel right. Thedy didn''t seem like herself. Her eyes had turned pitch ck and veins had appeared from the sides of her face like a tree''s root.


    "Mrs. Carmichael...?"


    Something snapped Mrs Carmichael who previously appeared to be in daze. She turned to Vivian, opening her mouth to show the fangs that grew. The woman went to attack her but was thrown on the wall by none other than Leonard who was covered in blood himself. The crash didn''t stop the vampiress'' from getting on her feet and lunging towards her own son, attacking him with brutal movements and going for the direct kill.


    It was when Leonard ran the dagger that was in his hand through his mother''s chest did the woman stop moving gradually. Seconds passed until his face filled itself with grief as he held his dead mother close to him in his arms.

 Chapter 32 - Corruption- Part 1

    After the guests took their leave from the mansion, the Carmichael''s along with their rtives sat in the drawing room. The room was spacious enough to hold Mrs. Carmichael''s two sisters family and her cousins along with Sullivan, Mr. Carmichael''s brother.


    Most of them sat on the couch talking about the evening that had passed by, some ying the board of chess in the corner of the room.


    Maids entered the room holding a tray with sses that were filled with fine blood from children which was brought by Sullivan. Though they didn''t encourage the deed of buying such goods, it was hard to pass such delicacy because the blood was the sweetest out of all living beings. It was a subtle secret which was maintained by the pureblooded vampires of Bonke which included the previous and the current Lord.


    As time passed, droplets of water trickled down therge, transparent windows turning the outside world into a blur. The rain had once again begun to pour down the heavenly dark clouds. It was the usual amount of rain the people of Bonke were used to but the current of winds had changed along with the increase in sounds of thunder and lightning that came from above.


    "Lady Renae. Lady Prisci," the maid in the kitchen greeted them when they entered the room.


    "We would like some appetizers brought into the drawing room. nd one of course," Mrs. Carmichael asked the maid who bowed her head and on her way to the backyard to fetch the goose that was tied in the shed, "Where''s Paul?" at the same time Paul arrived.


    "Mdy, is there anything you need?" the housekeeper asked to see her look around the kitchen, "Mdy?"


    "We wanted to make sure all of you had your dinner from what was cooked in the kitchen," Mrs. Carmichael''s sister replied back with a smile.


    "Thank you for showing your concern, Lady Prisci," Paul bowed his head and a smile on his face, "All the maids and the servants have finished with their dinner. I sent most of them to their room as they have been up before the sun rose today."


    Seeing the maid bring the live goose into the kitchen, Paul looked at her quizzically before being exined that they wanted something to eat as they had their drink for the night. Taking lead, Paul took the goose in his hand back outside to kill it. Mrs. Carmichael''s eyes fell on the pot which was a few meters away from where she stood. Walking to it, she asked,


    "What''s there in that one? Seems like not even a bowl was taken from it."


    "T-that mdy, actually there was too much salt put into it," the maid looked at the backdoor hoping that the housekeeper woulde to answer questions.


    Unfortunately, when the broth was being prepared someone had ced the jar of salt next to the pot which the other maid had added without realizing that it wasn''t sugar. And it wasn''t just a little amount that was added but more than the required amount turning the dish salty and inedible to eat due to which it wasn''t served to anyone.


    "That''s alright," Mrs. Carmichael replied back, a small chuckle leaving through her lips, "There was too much going on today. A little mishap is bound to happen," she ced her pale hand on the maid''s shoulder, her eyes gentle surprising the maid as she has expected to be scolded.


    "Yes, mdy," the maid bowed her head down deeper than ever with gratefulness.


    "Now, let me see how bad it tastes," Mrs. Carmichael picked a clean spoon thatid on the b, dipping the spoon in the wide vessel she brought the spoon to her lips, "You should try this, Prisci," she turned around to look at her sister.


    "I think I am fine," Mrs. Easton shook her head not knowing what the dish actually tasted like.


    As hours passed, all the servants retired back to bed in the servants quarters and so did the owners of the mansion along with the rtives who had decided to stay back. The night was quiet. Leonard had only stepped into his room when he found a present lying on his desk. He had informed one of his maids to clear out the presents, saying he would open it in his leisure time. What was this doing here? he thought to himself.


    His feet carried him towards his desk and lifted the dull brown paper in which something inside was wrapped. There was no name from the presenter. It was just one single present, curious he began removing and pulling the wrapper out to see a maroon sweater inside it.


    He looked at it for a few seconds, feeling the texture on his fingertips when he heard someone outside his room. Turning around, he turned the knob to his door to see no one at the door. He was about to close the door when he caught sight of trails of blood which were in drops. The blood ran from one corner of the hall to another. Worried, he closed his room door behind him and walked on the white marble floor, picking up the trail.


    But before he could go further to inspect, out of the blue, Leonard was attacked by one of his second uncles who tried to get to his neck. He pushed him away, as the man fell on the floor.


    "Uncle Benton?" he called unsure as his uncle got up in slow movements before he revealed his face to show red eyes that had turned entirely ck.


    ck eyes, Leonard frowned. He didn''t get much time to dwell on the fact as the man went for his neck again not waiting for the young Duke to recover from what was happening. Pushing him to an empty and unused room, he locked the door knowing there were no windows there. The only way out was the door which was right now locked. Leonard ran through the rooms as the sounds of screams began filling up his ears.


    At one side, he saw his aunt Prisci on the ground crying as she held someone in her arms. Getting closer he found it was his cousin Julliard whoid in her arms, unmovingly as he was dead with a vacant expression on his face. By now the pulse in Leonard''s veins only increased at the tragedy of what had or was taking ce in his mansion. The pureblooded vampire whose blood was warm had turned cold with every step he took. Something had happened, something very bad which he was trying to figure out as he tried saving his family. There were other two rtives of his whose eyes had turned pitch ck. Unfortunately, they couldn''t be pushed into rooms or away as they tried killing the other family members. Leonard took the extreme step of running the wooden stake through their chests which he usually kept with him.


    He then understood.


    Their hearts had been corrupted. Soiled to the point where they had turned on one another; on their own kind where they didn''t understand what was right and wrong.


    Not wasting much time he made his way to his parent''s room to find the door opened. He pushed the door wide open to see his father dead on the floor with a pool of blood that had formed around him.


    Running to his side, Leonard called out his father, "Father! Father!!" he shook Mr. Carmichael but the man was long dead with a hole in his chest which Leonard had missed out of shock.


    Another scream was heard and it was unmistakably his cousin, Charlotte who had screamed for help. Unwillingly, he left his father side to aid his cousin.


    A few others were hurt, some confused, some angry. As he searched for his mother and Charlotte, he found his mother with her side facing him. He felt a sigh of relief pass through his lips until she turned her face towards him to show her beautiful face covered in blood.


    Her dark red eyes had turned ck which drained every hope he had built before to shatter into a thousand million pieces.

 Chapter 33 - Corruption- Part 2

    His mother looked at him, her eyes empty and emotionless. There was no kindness or the tenderness that once used to reside in there. Strangely she didn''t attack him. They stood there in the long hallway, looking at each other. One in pain and the other in hollowness thatcked any sense of who those pair of eyes were staring at.


    "Mother?" Leonard called out softly, wishing his mother was still in there somewhere where he could reach and bring her out of the darkness. His mother didn''t respond and his heart only sunk that much farther.


    Hearing someone''s steps, her head suddenly snapped and she went in another direction.


    When Leonard followed her, he saw his mother who had opened her mouth to show her fangs threateningly at someone. Like others, her face had begun to change as veins like lines began marking from the sides of her face and it went on to stretch until her cheekbones.


    "Mrs. Carmichael...?" It was none other Vivian who stood there.


    Mrs. Carmichael looked at her in rage and went to take a bite from her before she was thrown to the side of the wall which didn''t cause any damage to her. When a vampire was corrupted, it didn''t matter how many times the person was pushed away or beaten, the person would stop at nothing. It was when his mother lunged towards him, he realized he had to make a decision which would cost his peace and sleep and everything that he held dear to him.


    Clutching his hand on the stake he ran it through his mother''s chest when she came to attack him, her fangs inches away from his neck. He didn''t move as one hand still holding on to the wooden stake while the other rested on his mothers back.


    As both of them slid on the floor, Leonard pulled out the stake, letting it go to tter on the floor. With both his hands around her, he held her carefully, hugging her.


    Vivian who had only arrived at the scene looked at Leonard and his mother in shock. Not knowing what had happened, she stood there with her hands cold.


    No one knew how much time passed with the anguish of loss that had taken ce; people who had killed their own loved ones. It was midnight when the council members were informed who were still around thend. Lord Nichs had reached the mansion after receiving the word about the tragedy that took ce. The spilled blood was not cleaned as people had to inspect what had happened. With the sudden corruption of hearts that had taken this dark night. The servants were in deep slumber due to which it was only Vivian who stood in the corner along with Paul. It was three in the morning but she wasn''t sleepy but worried.


    Vivian looked at Leonard whose facecked any emotions as he spoke to the Lord. After some time, Leonard called Paul to say something which the housekeeper bowed his head.


    "What is it?" asked Vivian worried as she saw Paul begin to walk towards the kitchen.


    "Stay here and don''t go anywhere. I will be back soon," Paul instructed her.


    "But where are you going? Did they say what happened?" Paul shook his head at her question, indicating it wasn''t the right time to speak.


    She stood there in silence and in a corner as people came and went. No one spoke to her. Not Leonard, not Charlotte not anyone who usually spoke to her as everyone was mourning over the loss. No matter how hard she tried to digest as one body was passed down the stairs after another, she felt her heart hold tight at the number of people who had died. Six deaths and some of them injured.


    When Paul returned back, he came with all the servants and the workers who worked in the mansion. Even the family members had gathered in the hall.


    One of the elder council members then spoke, "It is an unfortunate night for all of us. We have lost our dear ones tonight and we can only hope that where ever they are, they are going to rest in peace. But before we bury any of them in their coffins, we need to find the culprit," murmurs of confusion took ce in the hall, "We wouldn''t want to waste time and would like to catch the culprit so that we can punish him with whatever the council sees fit as. As the action or perhaps the issue took ce at midnight, I doubt we would have to suspect any of the guests. Of course, they will be going through interrogation if we don''t find any of you as a suspect but for now. Each and every one of you will have to go through interrogation which will be started right away. I hope everyone you will be cooperative in giving out the information."


    "It is alright, right Lord Nichs?" the other council member asked the Lord.


    "I think it''s an excellent way to weed out the traitor," Lord Nichs responded back looking at all the people who stood next to Leonard.


    "We would like to use a room, Duke Leonard," Leonard nodded his head and so began the procession of interrogating one by one.

 Chapter 34 - Corruption- Part 3

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    .


    In the room were three council members, Lord Nichs, and Leonard who listened to the questions and answers. First, it was the rtives and then came the servant''s turn. And then it was Vivian''s.


    Pushing the door slowly, Vivian stepped into the room.


    With no firece which was lit, the room was cold to a chilling point not that it mattered to the vampires but being a human, Vivian felt goosebumps rise on her skin as she made her way towards the chair which one of the men pointed her to sit down in. Taking the seat which wasn''t exactlyfortable, she waited for the people there to start asking her questions. She noticed that Leonard had stood up to go and stand near the window on the other side of the room.


    When her eyes met the Lord''s, the Lord smiled, "Vivian, right?" he asked her, testing if it was the right person.


    "Yes, milord," she responded back, her voice trembled as she sat in front of high social standing men of the society.


    "You don''t have to be nervous. The council will only ask you easy questions which you will have to answer for. Okay?" seeing her nod her head he then said, "That''s good. Lionel, you can start," to this, the man in his round sses and beard cleared his throat.


    "Miss Vivian. We heard from the Duke that you witnessed Mrs. Carmichael''s death. Is true?" the man asked.


    "Yes."


    "Could you exin to us what you saw? We would like you to give us as much detail as possible," another council member waited for her to speak.


    Vivian felt her heart beat rise which didn''t go amiss by either the Lord or the Duke in the room. Rubbing her mmy hands over her nightdress skirt, she opened her mouth, "Mrs. Carmichael looked different. She...she looked lost," she said looking down at the ground, "I don''t think I have ever seen her that way since I remember working here. She has always had kind eyes, even though they were red, there waspassion. Shecked those things tonight. She came to attack me and then...master Leonard."


    "We spoke to the other maids and found out that you weren''t in the kitchen nor in the main hall for work as you had excused yourself from there. Not to forget the broth you were in charge with," Lionel, the councilman pushed his sses up his nose. Vivian didn''t understand why he would mention the broth, seeing her expression, the man exined, "Mdy, you would be quite stunned to know that something was mixed, or should I say you mixed something in the broth so that others could take charge of it. That very same substance which was added was the reason why what has happened tonight."


    She didn''t know what to say. Her head began reeling in and out, trying to remember the events and works she had performed. Frankly, if someone asked her she couldn''t remember everything as the day seemed to have moved like a blur. The only thing she had been excited was to wish Leonard happy birthday and give him the present she had made especially for him by hand.


    "I didn''t do anything like that!" she answered firmly to see Lionel raise his brow.


    "And what proof might you have? Do you deny that you excused yourself from a working ce when the mansion was full and neededplete attendance from the servants? Or do you deny the fact that you were one of the servants to reach the mishap scene first when you were supposed to be asleep?" he asked her.


    "Vivian," Lord Nichs interrupted, "You have to be cooperative and tell us what you did so that we can judge your motives."


    "I wasn''t that tired and I took a little time to tidy my room before getting some sleep. I heard something fall down from my room and I came to see if everything was alright when I heard a scream."


    "Do all the maids have ess to the kitchen and authority to cook?" the third council member who was younger than the other three councilmen questioned her.


    "They do. All the senior maids who have lived in the mansion for a long time are allowed to take part in the cooking."


    "And how long have you been working for the Carmichael''s?" Lionel asked.


    "More than a decade," she answered, waiting for more questions to be asked and did ite.


    "Onest question. Was there any disagreement in the family? I mean anything that the Carmichael''s or others would have scolded you for harshly?" Vivian wasn''t sure if there was a direct matter. Feeling her hesitance to the question, the councilman remarked, "Seems like there is one."


    "It was a small one. Negligible," said Vivian, feeling her toes curl under her long dress.


    "If it were negligible, you wouldn''t have remembered. Is that why you poisoned the Lady?" Lionel asked her as if they had already decided she was the culprit.


    "I didn''t kill anyone. I would never think something so harsh," she whispered, clutching her skirt and nced towards Leonard who still had his back facing her.


    "I think that''s enough Lionel," Lord Nichs cut in, "You can go back to your room now. Please send the housekeeper on your way," he smiled at the girl who bowed before she left the room.

 Chapter 35 - Master-Slave Part 1

    Vivian stood in the corner of the hall with her back against the wall as seconds felt longer than usual. Two maids who stood next to her whispered in a hushed tone which wasn''t clear but she could hear bits and pieces of their confused and shocked conversation. It seemed that the council members hadn''t just used her but every single one of them who had stepped into the room for interrogation.


    As the rays of the sun finally passed through after the gloomy rain, her hands felt cold and she doubted that the warmth of the sun could make anyone feel better. People had died. Killed by their own which was a tragedy, a day no one could forget.


    Was it true though? That something had been mixed in the pot she was handling? She didn''t understand why anyone would do that. The Carmichael''s were good people, kinder than the other pureblooded families and everyone was aware of it. Why would any person stoop so low? She stared at the marble floor, her eyes fixed on it as everyone was asked to wait here and not leave.


    She couldn''t erase what she had witnessed. The blood, the bodies, the death of Mrs. Carmichael by her son. Leonard hadn''t spared her a nce during the procession that took ce with her and the council members. And she had noints about it. Her gaze moved from the floor to the wooden door where Leonard was. Her heart ached for him. He had killed his mother for the sake of her, for the sake of everyone and maybe for Mrs. Carmichael''s sake to end the misery of wildness that took ce in the night.


    Vivian who was a servant and a friend to him was aware of the bond both he and his mother shared. Though she hadn''t experienced the motherly love and affection directly from her own mother, whom she didn''t know of, she had seen it in Mrs. Carmichael''s eyes for her son. The vampiress cherished her son until herst breath.


    Before she could let her thoughts go any further, Vivian heard something rattle and fall from the other side of the room. Commotion took ce inside the room which pulled everyone''s attention who stood outside the door now wondering what was going on.


    The doors flew open and the councilmen held Paul who had his hands tied.


    "I didn''t do it! I would never do it!" Paul screamed frantically, "Please believe me that I didn''t kill them," he tried confessing his innocence.


    "Should have thought it out before you decided to kill all of them," said Lionel, the councilmen pulled him roughly, taking the housekeeper out of the house.


    Vivian took time to grasp the situation, and as it processed she realized the councilmen, the Lord and Leonard had picked the culprit to be Paul. But Paul would never do it, thought Vivian to herself. Her body was too rigid to speak and before she could even voice her thoughts on it, the Lord spoke,


    "Thank you for everyone''s cooperation. As happy as we are to be able to find the culprit who was responsible to cause what took ce, we will be holding the funeral tomorrow in the morning to give others the time toe and visit before the cremation takes ce. Everyone can go back to your rooms," the family guests were reluctant in the beginning, nheless, they left the space as the hall got deserted in a matter of few minutes.


    Vivian was one of thest few people to leave as she stood fixed in her ce. Leonard had left with Charlotte and his uncle Sullivan while the Lord stood there waiting for everyone to disperse.


    Clutching her hands tightly, Vivian took steps towards the lord and saw him turn to her as she reached him. She bowed at him and he returned it.


    "Lord Nichs, pardon my intrusion but what is going to happen to Paul?" she asked anxiousnessced in her soft voice.


    "For what he did today, death is what will be dawned on him as punishment. Not just him but even his family," as the Lord said this, Vivian''s eyed widened.


    "H-his family?"


    "Yes," Lord Nichs nodded his head, "This isn''t a simple mistake or an error that has been caused. Not an object that was stolen but lives that were twisted and killed. By killing his master''s family he brought this not only on himself but also his family. The council people don''t take these things lightly. By killing the others in his family, it will ensure no revengeful act to be taken ce in the future."


    "But milord, I-I think it''s a mistake. Paul isn''t a person who would ever attempt something like this. I have known him for a long time. I know it''s too much but can you please recheck on it. Please, Lord Nichs," she bowed her head deep, waiting for him to agree that he would make sure to see if Paul was innocent or not, "Please, milord," she whispered.


    "I will give it a go. Just one," hearing this, Vivian closed her eyes in relief and stood straight up. Thank you so much," she bowed her head again and dismissed herself from the hall.


    The day passed by quicker than expected and the next day arrived. Guests and other family rtives who were close to the Carmichael''s arrived at the mansion and the cemetery. People arrived, leaving their condolences and going back from where they hade. The grief of the losses that had taken ce was too much. The Easton and the Meyers, family rted to Mrs. Carmichael left after burying their family members. The people who stood during the final time with Leonard was his cousin Rhys, Lord Nichs, and his uncle Sullivan.


    That evening, the servants were called to the dining room and this time it was by Leonard. The servants didn''t utter a word in front of the Duke or the Lord. Silence filled the room when thest maid her way hurriedly to stand beside another worker. None of them had a clue as to why they were called. Did another murder take ce? Had someone betrayed again? It was hard for anyone to digest the fact that the housekeeper who had been working for the Carmichael''s family all these years had gone to such a lengthy exchange to kill the family. Though whispers and hushed voices had begun back in their rooms since the previous morning, none had the courage to ask or speak in front of the vampires who stood in front of them now.


    "Everyone''s here?" asked Leonard looking at each and every one of the servants, his eyes gauging the familiar faces he hade to know since he started living again in the Carmichael''s mansion. His eyes didn''t avoid Vivian''s but as soon as the eyes met, in the same vigor, it moved to the next person.


    Vivian who hadn''t realized the close attention Leonard had been giving her since the time she hade to know him now felt the emptiness and the huge space between them. With him keeping the distance from everyone, she hadn''t found the opportunity to check if he was doing alright. It was as if a hole had been buried which had dug itself after that dreadful night.

 Chapter 36 - Master-slave Part 2

    Receiving a few nods from the group, she heard him speak, "From here on, there will changes in the mansion when ites to the work to be done and what to do and not allowed to," he paused to make sure he had everyone listening to his words which they did, "As we don''t want any mishaps, each and everyone will from now hold the master-ve bond ced on you. This will be done so that I can have your whereabouts. The servants are not allowed to leave the mansion unless told to or taken permission directly from me. Servants talking in the middle of the work or anywhere that maybe will not be tolerated. You havee here to work and I expect nothing less."


    What was master-ve bond? Vivian had never heard about it until now. The only bond she had heard about was the soul bond which was possible and was ced by people who loved one another.


    "If anyone has issues about it and wouldn''t want to work here can step forward and leave the mansion," said Leonard looking at the small crowd of maids and servants of the mansion.


    The maid next to Vivian, trembled in fear as she took a step forward as their master of the mansion had asked. She looked nervous and scared.


    "Anyone else?" asked the Lord standing next to him. Seeing no one else object to it, the man said, "Let me lead you out," he said taking the maid from there and the young girl walked to where he was before following him out of the dining room.


    "The servants from the right cane here in line so that I can ce the bond," Leonard ordered and the servants though apprehensive about it, they began to form a line. Not a few secondster, everyone heard someone scream outside in the halls, the painful echoes filling up their ears as fear took ce. It didn''t take anyone much time to know that the maid who had decided to leave the job had been killed.


    Fear slowly started crawling under Vivian''s skin. Her heart began thudding, her ears numb and hot due to the emotion as she looked at the walls behind which the halls was located. Why was she killed? Her hands began to shake and she had to dig her nails into her palms to stop the shivers erupting out as she was the next one from being bit pierced with the nails.


    As the man in front of her moved away to make space for her to step in, her eyes fell directly on Leonard who didn''t look at her. One night and everything had changed. It changed the person she knew him to be. The Leonard in front of her was distant and aloof, his eyes empty and without any emotion in it. It pained her to see him like this. She wished she could tell him things would get better in time but time couldn''t bring back the people he loved.


    She raised her right hand in front of him, facing her palm upwards the way she had seen others do. She tightened her left hand harder to stop any possible fear being seen on her as Leonard pierced his thumbnail right at the center of her palm making her flinch due to the tearing of her skin. He kept it there for two seconds before she felt her heart thud loudly as if her heart would stop any minute. Her heart then went to beat normally as he let go of her hand.


    Her mouth parted out of habit to speak to him but he spoke before she could.


    "Next," and her heart broke a little at the aloof gesture.


    With everything that went down at the Carmichael''s mansion, word had spread like a wildfire in the forest not letting any tree untouched which made things that much difficult for the lowly servants. Most of the families had begun to adopt the master-ve bond for the precautionary situation of not wanting the same plight. The servants weren''t trusted and were ill-treated by a lot of the pureblooded family.


    Like Leonard had stated, the servants kept to themselves and avoided speaking to one another in the mansion. The ce which one''s held light and happiness now was filled with nothing but darkness. The mansion had turned quieter and quieter with days that it seemed like no one lived there anymore. And if proof was required it would only be the Duke who rarely came out of his room to eat or go out. Leonard spent most of his time working outside in the council and for the Lord but that didn''t stop the servants from being obedient to his words.


    The servants who had been bonded with Leonard had received small design like marks on their body after he had drawn blood from their palms. Some had on their hands, some on the back of their neck. The mark for Vivian had appeared right above her lower back. As days turned to weeks, the human girl came to understand that things couldn''t go back to the way it was before.


    On one particr night, Vivian had trouble following asleep and to drive it away she hade to fetch few of the logs which were ced in the kitchen for the study room and the drawing roomte at night. Picking up the woods which weren''t cut evenly, she carried them to the drawing room in the dark where no one was in sight. Like any other day in thend of Bonke, rain pelted against the windows of the mansion ruthlessly. Taking the remaining logs with her, Vivian began to make way to the study room when she caught something outside the windows she was passing by.


    Halting her footsteps, she turned to the closed window and used the side of her hand to clear the fog that had appeared on the window due to the cold weather. Her brows furrowed when she caught sight of people there. As the lightning struck the ground, she saw it was Leonard and his uncle Sullivan standing out there in the rain. But they weren''t alone. On the ground was Paul and he wasn''t the only one there tied down. She caught sight of Grace who was Paul''s sister, her husband and their son Thomas.


    As if time had slowed down, she saw Leonard and his uncle pulling the people on the ground one by one before they began tearing the bodies, limb by limb.


    Vivian covered her mouth in horror as she stepped back from the window which had slowly begun to turn hazy. Running back with the logs still in her hands, she went straight to her room and shut the door close. Tears began flowing down her cheeks. Huping, she wiped the tears with her hands.


    Suddenly her room door was knocked loudly, and Vivian looked utterly frightened.

 Chapter 37 - Master-Slave- Part 3

    Vivian suddenly woke up due to the sudden thunderous sound that came down on thend. She sat up on the bed as sweat covered her forehead, strands of hair stuck to the sides of her temple and the back of her neck.


    Was it a dream? Unsure if it was, she moved the covers and got out of bed, quickly unlocking the door she walked hurriedly towards the window from where she had witnessed Leonard and his uncle kill Paul and his family. She wiped the foggy screen of the window, stepping as close as she could to see the rain continue to gush down from heavens.


    There was no one in sight. Vivian felt a wave of relief wash over herself to see no one standing out there or parts of the bodies scattered on the ground outside. Closing her eyes, she felt her breathing gradually go back to normal. And though it was nothing but a bad dream her mind had conjured after the day''s events, she couldn''t shake the feeling off her chest that something like what she had dreamt could be a possible oue.


    Paul had been used of killing the pureblooded family by the council in the presence of the Lord of Bonke as well as Leonard who was the Duke. Death was the penalty and the housekeeper wasn''t the only one who would be paying the price for his crime. ording to Lord Nichs, Paul''s entire family would be executed in front of the town to make sure no one would dare tomit a crime like this again.


    She knew well that Paul would never do something like that. He was innocent in her eyes. A man who had given most of his life to a family, why would he bite the hand of his feeder? It didn''t feel right to her. As the window began to fog up again, Vivian decided to talk to Leonard about it. Or perhaps talk to Paul as there was a week before the execution would take ce. If she could find out before that on what the truth was, many innocent lives would either be saved or put into punishment.


    Thunder and lightning struck down again, light reflecting on her face, she turned ready to go back to her room when she felt her heart leap up to her throat.


    Leonard stood in the corridor, quiet and still looking at her without a word. His face held no emotion and even the darkness, Vivian could tell his eyes were empty due to the loss of his parents. It was as if he had lost his way back to home and his appearance broke her heart. She wanted to be there for him, to support him with what he was going through.


    As he started to walk towards her, Vivian gulped softly and started to walk in his direction.


    "My room needs to be stocked with logs," Leonard spoke in a monotone when they came to stand face to face.


    Vivian bowed her head, "Is there anything else you would like me to help you with?"


    Raising her head, she noticed him looking at her with unwavering eyes. Seconds passed by with unspoken words until he responded with a no and passed by her to go to his room. Vivian bit her lip, turning around to see his silhouette disappear into the darkness.


    After she fetched enough amount of the wooden logs from the kitchen, she carried them in both her hands, walking up the stairs to his room.


    Knocking on the door, which was already open, she stepped inside to see him sitting next to his bed with a book in his hand. Going straight to the firece, Vivian bent down and began cleaning up the grey ashes from there so that she could rece it with fresh logs. As she was transferring the ashes to the bucket bin, some part of the dust reached her eyes and nose, itching it.


    Not able to hold in, she sneezed right on the ashes which fell on the clean floor from the bucket and some on her face.


    Her eyes were quick to widen at the sight of the mess she had created. Taking the side cloth she often carried with herself, she began cleaning it up not before taking a quick peek at Leonard who hadn''t bothered to look at her.


    Leonard who had upied himself, reading an old book which he had fetched from the study room felt Vivian''s eyes on him but he didn''t turn to look at her.


    The young Duke was tempted to look at the girl, knowing well what she might have done. With the girl back to work, he raised his head to look at her with an unnoticeable frown. Just as he thought, she had been clumsy enough not to keep the ashes far from her face and now she was cleaning the floor.


    Without a word, he continued to look at her. Diligently, she cleaned the floor before having a closer look to make sure there were no spots or residues on the ground. Once she was done cing the logs in the firece, Leonard turned his gaze back to his book.


    When his housekeeper turned out to be the murderer of his parents and rtives, Leonard hadn''t known what to make of it. In a span of a few hours, he had lost things that he held dear to him. Someone whom his parents and he had entrusted with the family and mansion had turned vengeful for no reason. It was then he realized how right his uncle Sullivan had been all this time about the status between humans and vampires, the lower ss people and the high social standing pureblooded vampires. Humans, especially the lower ss ones were never to be trusted. The feud between the humans and vampires would never end.


    The lord of Bonke at first had advised changing the working staff but seeing Leonard''s unwillingness to do so for a certain obvious reason, he finally suggested him to create the master-ve bond which would be easier to manage the servants. The master-ve bond was something which most of the pureblooded family used to keep track of their servants.


    Now that the bond was ced, it was easier to know the whereabouts of the servants. He had only finished reading his book when he had tried to find all the servants in their quarters except for one.


    It was past midnight for Vivian to be roaming the halls of the mansion. And though he had decided not to associate himself with any servants, old habits were hard to let go.


    He had gone to find her.

 Chapter 38 - Master-slave- Part 4

    Leonard had found her but he didn''t know what she was out in the halls, standing alone while looking outside the window.


    "Master Leonard, the logs have been stocked," Vivian''s soft voice drifted across the room interrupting his thoughts. He turned his head again,


    "Alright," he nodded his head as he looked at her cheek that had been smudged by the ash. He wanted to go and wipe it off her face but he didn''t. She was Bambi but that didn''t mean he had forgotten she was one of the servants of the mansion.


    Vivian who closed the door behind her felt her heart sink further down.


    As the morning arrived, the ground was wet with soil and the clouds hovered over thends of Bonke. Vivian was out in the garden, plucking out the weeds from the garden when she heard a carriage enter the gates of the mansion. The brown carriage came to halt in front of the entrance of the mansion, the coachman jumped down from his seat to open the door. Out of the carriage stepped down, Lady Shirley holding her blue gown in the front to avoid herself from stepping on the gown.


    Seeing that they had a guest, Vivian made her way inside the mansion to get the pot of tea ready for thedy and the master along with other edible treats. Once the tea was prepared, Vivian went to serve it to them who were in the drawing room. Vivian hade to notice that recently, Lady Shirley''s visit had be quite often to the Carmichael''s mansion. Not to forget that Leonard always went out with the Lady during their invitation to other parties when they were called. She didn''t know why but the person she hade to admire had be one of the people she didn''t want to see around Leonard.


    It was when she was offering the Lady the cup of tea did she hear Leonard say,


    "I have to thank you, for the lovely sweater she wove for me," he thanked Lady Shirley.


    "Oh please, don''t. I have plenty of time and I am d to hear that you liked it," Lady Shirley smiled at Leonard, "And after all the color of maroon suits you well."


    "I only wish you would have given it to me in person than keep it in my room," hearing this Vivian''s hands faltered and the hot cup of tea spilled on Lady Shirley''s arm making her cry out suddenly.


    "What are you doing?!" Lady Shirley got up from her seat holding her arm which had been lightly burnt as she held her hand, treating herself like a doll that was fragile.


    "I-I extremely apologize, mdy. Let me go get a cloth to clean it," Vivian bowed her head in apology while her teeth gritted against each other, hiding the bubbling anger she felt. She didn''t need to guess that it was the sweater she had woven by herself which now Lady Shirley imed to be hers.


    "Yes, if you could do that!" Lady Shirley huffed before looking at her arm.


    "Are you alright?" Leonard asked the Lady in concern.


    "I think it''s going to leave a scar," it should! Thought Vivian to herself before Leonard gave her a look of disapproval at her still standing there in the room instead of going and getting the cloth she had spoken of.


    On her way, Vivian was struck with disbelief. She had never pegged Lady Shirley to be a liar, to im something which wasn''t done by her. She closed her eyes to cool her head off, ming herself for not giving it to him in person. The only reason she hadn''t left a note was that she wanted to surprise him but who knew that Lady Shirley would swoop in to take the credit for something that had taken Vivian hours toplete.


    Going back to the room where both of them sat, she caught sight of Leonard looking at Lady Shirley''s arm who flinched a little every time Leonard ran his hand over it to make sure there wouldn''t be a scar as Lady Shirley insisted.


    If it was allowed, Vivian would have put the remaining tea from the kettle on Lady Shirley''s arm all over again and this time it would be a deliberate act. Though she doubted her master would be happy about it.


    "Give it to me," Leonard raised his arm and took hold of the cloth from her hand before dabbing it on her arm.


    Lady Shirley who once had been polite to the servants of the Carmichael mansion including Vivian, rolled her eyes when her eyes met the maids.


    Vivian wanted to tell her out in front of Leonard but she didn''t know why due to the recent change between both her and Leonard, she doubted he would take her side. His re was evident when he found a mistake done by any of his servants. Vivian being smart steered clear of his scolding, working to her absolute perfection so that no finger could be pointed out at her. It wasn''t that she didn''t follow the same routine before but this time there was no Paul to take care of her mistakes.


    There were also times when she felt he was waiting to scold with every housework he gave her.


    But in actuality, it was the only way for Leonard tomunicate and keep her around him which he would never say to her directly.


    During the time of noon, Vivian was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes after both Lady Shirley and Leonard hadpleted their lunch in the dining hall when a fellow maid came to call her; telling the master was asking for her in his study room.


    Washing her hands with water and wiping her hands with the apron tied around her waist, she made her way to the study room. Now that she had poured hot tea on thedy, Vivian wasn''t sure whatid behind the study room. It wasn''t that she was scared because she hadn''t meant it to happen but this was Leonard who had been tending to Lady Shirley with care, his guest.


    Taking in a deep breath she raised her hand to knock,


    "Come inside," she heard Leonard''s voice before her hand could make contact with the wooden door, "Close it," he said from where he sat behind the table.


    Gingerly, Vivian carefully pushed the door to close and turned the knob to lock it.


    "I told you to close the door, Vivian. Not to lock it," Leonard stated and Vivian closed her eyes to reprimand herself. She wasn''t scared but she was definitely nervous to not listen to his words clearly. Quickly she unlocked the door and turned, her cheeks red due to what she did a few seconds ago,


    "Care to exin what happened in the drawing room?"

 Chapter 39 - Belief And Lies- Part 1

    Leonard asked her, "Care to exin what happened in the drawing room?" his eyebrows looked rxed, his expression grim as he stared at her, waiting for her to speak.


    Vivian stared back at him until she felt she couldn''t look straight at him and her eyes shifted to look at the table. The anger on Lady Shirley for taking up the ownership of something which wasn''t hers ha dissipated but she was upset. Upset with the fact that Leonard thought the sweater she had knit specially for him was woven by Lady Shirley. She had wanted to surprise him, make him guess on who might have given him the present but who knew things were going to turn out this way?


    Biting the inside of her cheek, she looked back up to see him still looking at her with his dark maroon eyes. Before everything changed, Vivian and Leonard used to be friends, at least that is what she thought it was. Unlike the way he usually looked at the other servants of the mansion, she had noticed his eyes were softer on her and maybe that was one of the reasons why she decided toe clean about the situation.


    "Lady Shirley is lying," said Vivian, though she had been brave enough to bring the lie in the light that didn''t mean she was courageous about it. The sides of her hand held her skirt for support. There was no telling if Leonard would believe a maid''s words.


    "Lying about what?" he asked her curious to what she was talking about from behind the table.


    "The Sweater. She wasn''t the one who knit it! She''s taking creditability for something she didn''t try for..." Vivian''s sudden outburst over the matter which caught the Duke''s attention and he slowly sat up.


    The young Duke wasn''t a slow man to not know where her words were leading in to. Though rift had been caused between the servants and owner, Leonard knew Vivian wasn''t the kind to spout lies in the air.


    "Why would you say that?" he asked her curiously, "And even if she didn''t knit it herself, it was a gift given by her. Bought or prepared. Spilling tea with a bad aftermath behavior wasn''t expected from you," surprisingly his tone didn''t hold disappointment but Vivian being oblivious about it went ahead to speak,


    "But master Leonard what happened there was by mistake and she deserved it after the lie she said because it was..." her words turned to a whisper when Leonard stood from his seat to walk up to where she was and she stopped herself from speaking as her heart sped up. She didn''t know if her heart that was beating much loudly was due to fear or his closeness from where she stood.


    In all the days that had passed, this was the maximum amount of words they had exchanged.


    "Complete your words, Vivian," Leonard prompted her to speak as she looked away from his intense gaze on her.


    "I," she felt her heart begin to beat again, her eyes turning blur as nervousness caught her senses. She had wanted to y the game of guess but who knew she would have to answer it straight like this, and she finally said, "I was the one who did it."


    Leonard was caught off guard by her confession.


    He hadn''t like the tone she had used while using Lady Shirley about not being the one who had knit the sweater and hade to fix her attitude on it as he didn''t want something like this repeating in the future again. A servant of a mansion reflected the owner in the pureblooded vampire families. A bad behaviour would only mean how loose and incapable the master of the house was when it came to handling the house servants.


    His eyes slightly wide now stared at Vivian who looked to her side without making an eye contact with him. He had seen her knit alongside his mother but it was definitely not the colour he had in his closet now. His brows contoured in question,


    "How can you say it is yours? You didn''t even see the sweater we were speaking about?"


    Vivian shook her head at his words, "The sweater wasn''t made from sheep''s wool but rabbits found in the far mountains whiche after Isle Valley. The colour was picked to match your dark red eyes and the pattern was knit in a way to have space between the two lines which took more time than the rest. The cor was kept simple, keeping in mind that it wouldn''t turn stifling if it took too much of area. The sleeves were measured to the recent clothes you got tailored when you arrived here," as she bbered the details Leonard felt the little amount of warmth touch his frozen heart.


    The Duke didn''t need to know further who had made the sweater for him.


    "Why didn''t youe and give it to me personally?" he asked her, the revtion still sinking in that Vivian had been knitting it for his sake.


    "I wanted to surprise you," she looked up to meet his eyes, "It wasn''t right for Lady Shirley-"


    "Vivian."


    "-to tell it was her who made it-"


    "Vivi," Vivian felt Leonard''s palm on her cheek which spread around to brush his thumb over her tender skin which stopped her from speaking any further, "Thank you for the gift," he said his voice much lower than what he had used while questioning her.


    Vivian didn''t know why but the atmosphere between Leonard and her felt different suddenly.


    She opened her mouth but no words came out of it. She stood frozen in front of him. She had known Leonard for far too long but never had she felt this aware of him.


    Leonard who still had his hand on Vivian''s cheek stared into her innocent eyes that looked at him in surprise. Since his parents had passed, Leonard had distanced himself from everyone be it his rtives or the lord of theirnd. He didn''t trust a soul, the word had turned heavier in the passing days that believing it seemed impossible.


    Yet, he wanted to depend on this one here who stood in front of him now.

 Chapter 40 - Belief And Lies- Part 2

    Vivian felt the heat transmit from his warm fingers, the pad of his fingers still touching her cheek as she looked into Leonard''s eyes as hidden emotions surfaced through those maroon eyes. It felt as if someone had told him snow had begun to fall in summer. Though he would never admit it out loud, he loved the snow.


    She was d that she had told him about her gift and with his expression it was enough to know that he liked it.


    For confirmation, she asked, "You liked it?"


    He moved his hand from her cheek, "Yes. It''s a lovely sweater," he replied continuing to look at her. She smiled, happiness stretching over thepliment he made,


    "But," he started and her smile faltered. She opened her mouth to speak but Leonard continued, "I can''t overlook your behaviour with Lady Shirley. Right or wrong, you forgot the maid''s conduct and for that, you shall re-pot the nts from the garden to the ss room tonight."


    Her shoulders slumped in response and suddenly felt his hand on her head before it retraced back to his side.


    "I will see youter," he said leaving the study room.


    She felt her heart lighten at his words and action. It felt like old times when he would scold her very lightly before guiding her on what had to be done. Bringing her hand on her cheek, she felt the once warm cheek turn cold due to the cold weather that had already begun approaching thend of Bonke.


    When night fell, Vivian sat outside the mansion in the garden digging the wet ground with a trowel in her hand. With most of the servants who had retired to bed with only one walking the grounds of the deserted area outside the mansion.


    She thanked the heavens for now letting it rain right now because if it did, she didn''t know if she couldplete the punishment Leonard had given her. Shivering slightly, she nted the nt in the ground which she had picked from the ss room. Her hands and boots were covered in mud which also included the bottom of her skirt as she had bent down to do the work.


    Taking the other nt which was to be re-potted, she went around the mansion to enter from the kitchen to avoid dirtying the halls. Keeping the muddy boots in the corner of the kitchen, she took the nt with her to the ss room, her face tilting up to see the master of the house sitting in his usual ce. On the wooden board near the roof. He had a book in his hand, his eyes glued to it as he continued to read without looking down at her intrusion into the room.


    She pushed the pot which needed to be nted with fresh soil and used the trowel to loosen the soil as she jagged it up and down.


    So far as she remembered, Leonard was always with a book or two next to him when he was in the mansion. Even when they were young he spent his time reading books like his cousin Rhys. Julliard and Charlotte were more inclined to y games in the mansion during their holidays. Thinking about that a sad smile fell on her face. Julliard was one of those pureblooded vampires who was extremely kind in nature. In the group of cousins, he was the pacifier, and with what she had noticed he was an alley, a brother and a best friend to Leonard. To think that he was no more was saddening and the more to know that he was the closest cousin to Leonard.


    From where she stood next to the nts, Vivian looked up again at him to see him sitting in the same position without a change. The pain would have been unexinable to speak about or to share.


    It took her a while before she was done with the work given to her. She washed her hands with the water, letting the water pour down from her hand to the pot which was recently redone. Once her hands felt cleaner, she ced the can of water down before dusting her skirt. The floor would be cleaned in the morning, therefore, she didn''t find it necessary to clean it right now.


    Bending down to pick up all the things that were brought in to the ss room, Vivian made a turn to head towards the door when she saw Leonard jump down on the floor like a cat in ease before standing up on both his feet.


    "You''re done?" he asked looking at her hold the water can and tools inside it.


    "Yes," she saw him stare at him for a second.


    "A tea party has been arranged in Lord Nichs'' mansion. A few guests will arrive here before we head to the mansion," he informed her ready to take his leave from the ss room but Vivian opened her mouth to ask something to him.


    "Master Leonard," he stopped himself, "Um, I...It is about Paul and his family. Isn''t a trial going to be held before the execution?" her words turned meek seeing his hardened expression.


    "There won''t be another trial for it. The council and the others have already concluded that he is the culprit and there is nothing more to investigate when everything points at him," replied Leonard his eyes clouding back with coldness.


    "What about you?" Vivian asked him carefully, "Do you believe him to be the one murdered too? Paul would never do something-"


    "Are you done with the cleaning? You should retire to your room," came Leonard''s clipped tone.


    "He might be inn-"


    "Innocent?!" Leonard turned fully to face her, rage marking every inch of his handsome face, "His footmarks, his handprints were all over the bottle which was poured into the vessel in the kitchen. He was the one who was in charge of the food and he confessed that himself. Are you going to say something else?! Or was it you who did it?" his voice echoed through the room making her flinch. Vivian had never been on the receiving end of his anger.


    "The information was notpletely checked. When I went-" she stopped suddenly when his hand made contact with the pir next to her, the pieces of pain and dust falling on the floor.


    "I saw him lurking out in the mansion, even the day the murder took ce. I saw him holding on to the bottle. You don''t know what happened," he whispered and before she could say anything more, his eyes zed in anger, "All fucking servants are the same. Get out!"


    Vivian flinched further at his words that brought tears in her eyes. Bowing, she made a quick dash from the room.

 Chapter 41 - Belief And Lies- Part 3

    Leonard stood in the cemetery in front of his parents grave, his warm pureblooded skin had turned cold after staying out here for a while now, doing nothing but stare at the graves thatid next to each other. With the time that had begun closing towards midnight, the cemeteryid quiet in peace with no one except for him among the dead thatid underground.


    Fresh flowers were ced on both of them, and since they had begun to reside here it was the second time since he visited them. The first one was when they were buried.


    His eyes were hollow and empty, back to being devoid of emotions after his little outburst with Vivian. He hadn''t meant to snap at her like that but asking about Paul had brought in tremendous anger into his mind.


    His mother often taught him to be kind, taking extra care over his haste reactions when he was a young boy. After all, anger was his second nature. The entire Carmichael''s preached bnce and equality through their actions knowing well if words were spoken, the other pureblooded high-ss families would mock their thinking. His father had been strict like any other male vampire but his mother had been kind with her words. Due to their trust in their servants, everything had been taken away from him and his other family members.


    No one would have guessed that the Carmichael''s would be the one in the receiving end of the humans hate. It was an unfateful and unfortunate thing to happen, a mistake which everyone took a learning from in the high-ss society.


    Leonard had spent plenty of sleepless night with the pain that consumed him. The rare time he slept, he woke up with his mind filled with blood on his hands. Blood of his own. He would sometimes think of how he could have looked after his family to avoid what had transpired. But no matter how much thought was put into it, it didn''t change the truth. The home he had been anticipating to get back wasn''t home anymore, not without his family.


    A few days ago, memories had continued to haunt him as if he had been taken back to the past to re-experience what happiness was like before the dull grey atmosphere weighed down.


    His hands tightly clutched into fists at the thought of the housekeeper. It was true that he had caught sight of Paul with the bottle but the man had worked for more than two decades and not once did the thought cross that he would have been up to killing people whom he served. How did things turn like this? thought Leonard standing at his parents grave as wind breezed through. He wanted to kill the man, make him feel what it was like to lose one''s own family.


    Trust wasn''t an easy word. It was usually earned and kept. This time it was broken to the point of no return.


    "What are you doing here?" asked Leonard sensing the person who stood not far behind him. The tall figure with brown hair and gentle expression came forward to stand next to him. It was the Lord of Bonke.


    "Toby informed me you were here all alone. And I thought to drop by," Lord Nichs stated, his hands ced in his trouser pockets as he looked down at the grave.


    "Keep your bird to yourself. I don''t like being watched. I am not a child," Leonard rolled his eyes.


    "No one said you were," the Lord smiled bending down to pay his respects to the couple, "The time isn''t right, not with disputes that have begun in thends between the vampires and humans. I am only keeping an eye, nothing less or more. I would be troubled if I were to lose you. Did you like the flowers?" Leonard saw Nichs touching the fresh flowers he had brought along with him before moving his hand over the older ones that were pushed aside.


    "Hmm," Leonard hummed in response. It seemed that the Lord had made sure to ce flowers until they stayed fresh as he himself hadn''t gone to visit his parents grave. He saw the Lord fix the position of the flowers in a symmetrical fashion at the centre.


    "And don''t mind Toby. He likes to look around and give me news instead of wasting my time on the newsletters the townsfolk spew about. Humans can be cunning in their own little ways," Nichs turned to look at Leonard who had a frown on his face, something he usually adorned on his face since he knew him as a boy.


    Unlike how Leonard was brought up, Nichs had a different upbringing. He didn''t trust the humans, but then he didn''t trust the vampires either. If there was anyone he could trust it was none other than him himself. It was only because he had seen Leonard grow up close and had mentored him in few things did the Lord feel little biased towards the young Duke. If it was possible it could be told that Leonard was more like a younger brother to the Lord.


    "I want to push the dates," the Duke said catching Lord Nichs'' attention. The Lord stood up to face him from the front.


    "Why the change? I thought you wanted to kill him for killing your parents," Lord Nichs tilted his head in question, "Do you by perhaps doubt what you saw?"


    "I don''t. I want to make sure. Speak to Lionel about it," Nichs nodded his head.


    "I''ll put in a word about it," the Lord then changed the subject, "What got you here? I thought you wouldn''t be visiting for another two months. How are the servants?" Nichs asked as they began walking toward the rusted gate of the cemetery.


    "Obedient."


    "Is that so. How about the girl? What was her name again?" Lord Nichs asked even though he remembered the name well.


    Leonard didn''t bother to give her name knowing well that the Lord knew her name, "She''s doing fine," though biased, Lord Nichs always schemed something at the back of his mind while keeping the curtain of his gentle and calm demeanour.


    "You have to be careful, Leo. Things could go both good or bad," the Lord didn''t exin any further and neither did Leonard question the words spoken by him.


    Reaching back at the mansion, Leonard wondered if Vivian had fallen asleep. It was ratherte for her to stay up yet he decided to go to the servants quarters. Walking through the deserted corridor, he went to stand in front of her door which was closed. He didn''t make an effort to open the door and instead stood still staring at the door. After a minute he turned around and left the empty corridor.


    In the morning, when Vivian woke up, she couldn''t shake the feeling ofst night that happened in the ss room. When she had proposed the idea of reinvestigating Paul''s action, she hadn''t meant to anger him but she should have known.


    Pushing herself from the bed, she began folding the nket she had slept it while fluffing her pillow when a fellow maid knocked her door.


    "Vivian?" the maid called her.


    "Yes," Vivian opened the lock. The maid who was younger than her looked troubled as she stood there at her door.


    "Master asked for you," the maid informed.


    "Give me two minutes, I will-"


    "No, now," the maid shook her head, "He told to call you right away. He''s at the study room."


    "Okay," nodding her head, Vivian made way to the study room of the mansion. The door was already open and when she peeked in there was no one there. Biting her lip, she wondered what to do. This was a tricky situation.


    Was she supposed to stand here and wait for him? Or was she supposed to go an look where he was? But if he was to return back here, she thought to herself.


    "Vivian," she heard his voice from behind and when she turned she saw him not far from where she stood. She walked to where he was, wondering why he had asked for her early in the morning. There was another maid who stood behind him with a box in her hand, "As I mentionedst night, there''s a tea gathering at Lord Nichs'' mansion. Unfortunately, Shawn has some errand to run and I would need someone to assist me there," when he looked at the maid behind him, the maid was quick to hand the box to Vivian, "We will be leaving here at the hour of eleven. Complete your work here before that," and he walked away without another word to her.


    She looked at the box and then the maid who looked as taken aback as she was. Her fellow maid didn''t stay long to talk to her as it was forbidden to huddle and speak in the mansion.


    If Leo wanted a servant to assist him, why did he care how she would look? And out of all the other servants, why her?

 Chapter 42 - Lord’s Mansion- Part 1

    Please read the book ''Valerian Empire'' and ''Heidi and the Lord'' before you read this one. As they are the first books thate in the series. ''Bambi and the Duke'' is a prequel where the information of other characters are provided in the other two books. Not reading them will make you miss a lot of things.


    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


    Leonard''s carriage rode from the Carmichael''s mansion, now heading towards the heart of the Bonke where Lord Nichs'' mansion resided. With the coachman riding the carriage, Leonard and Vivian sat inside the carriage next to each other on the same side of the seat facing the opposite direction they were heading in.


    At the hour of eleven, Vivian had dressed in the clothes which were given to her in the box. The simple dress was pale green in colour, it''s hand sleeves short that didn''t go too far from her shoulders which were paired with a ribbon of the same colour of the dress which was tied around her waist.


    Standing near the carriage, Leonard had sent her in first due to which she had picked the opposite seat thinking he would prefer to sit facing the coachman''s back. An owner sitting next to a low servant was never epted in the society and she hade to realize this when Leonard''s family or his cousins took any of the servants out. Though Charlotte had been a dear friend of hers, always taking Vivian along with her during her visits to the Carmichael''s mansion, Vivian always sat on the opposite side. It was an untold action which was supposed to be known and followed by the servants.


    But who knew that Leonard would sit next to her instead of sitting where he was supposed to. The journey wasn''t too long nor was it short. In less than an hour, they arrived at the tall mansion standing alone midst the barren ground that stretched until it touched the forest that surrounded it.


    Seeing few carriages already stationed not far from the mansion, Vivian wondered if they werete. She followed Leonard inside while keeping a good distance between them as she trailed behind him like a nonexistent string that was tied to him.


    Like she had guessed, the room they were directed to already had most of the guests seated, some standing and talking to each other.


    Vivian didn''t miss Lady Shirley who had taken a seat in front of a male guest who was talking to her. With her expensive white gown and her hair tied fancily, she couldn''t deny the fact that Lady Shirley was one of the most beautiful women in the room. As if sensing her eyes or sensing Leonard''s arrival, Lady Shirley''s eyes moved from the man to them and the smile on her face faltered catching Vivian standing behind Leonard. But the young girl made no effort to go greet Leonard. Things that could be easily obtained was not something men went after. Her mother had taught her well that men liked a good chase.


    "...surely it would be good to retreat the n."


    "Hmm, maybe but Rueben doesn''t want to change the order right now," said Leonard to the man whom he was talking to, "You will have to wait for a few months before proposing it as there will be a re-election in the council team."


    The man nodded his head, "I will do that."


    Lord Nichs walked towards them, "Did you receive the documents I sent you Mr Verne?"


    "Yes, milord," Mr Verne bowed his head, "Thank you for sanctioning the statements early from Lord Herbert. I am extremely grateful for your generosity."


    "That''s the least I could do for you," Vivian heard the Lord respond back with a smile on his face.


    In the beginning, when Leonard had asked her to apany him to the Lord''s mansion, it had made her wonder why he had picked her and she still wondered why. She had never once apanied any of the pureblood outside the mansion as Paul never rmended her to any of the Carmichael''s members in the past. Vivian was the art of clumsiness and there was no telling when she would bump into a pureblood by mistake or break something around her.


    "Vivian," hearing her name from the Lord''s mouth, she stood straighter than before, "What a surprise. I wasn''t expecting you here," he looked at Leonard as he spoke thest line.


    "Shawn has been sent to pick the scroll from the council. Mathias doesn''t trust birds and wanted someone toe to collect it," Leonard then turned towards Vivian, "Why don''t you go get the Lord and me a drink," Vivian bowed her head before exchanging a small smile with the Lord.


    Seeing her leave, the Lord offered the young Duke with a sly smile to which Leonard didn''t bother with a reaction but the Lord didn''t let it go, he said,


    "I didn''t expect you to bring her here."


    "She''s a maid. I don''t think there''s anything more to think about it," Leonard answered before turning to his left to make sure the girl was still in sight.


    "I think it is when you bring her here. She looks pretty as a peach," Lord Nichsmented.


    "How is Timothy?" Leonard shifted the conversation. Timothy was Leonard''s mentor Malcolm Rufus'' son. With him growing up in the Rufus'' household, Leonard hade to be friends with Timothy who was Lord Nichs'' age.


    "Same asst week and before that. It will take some time," Leonard pursed his lips.


    After Leonard had left the main house of the Rufus household to go back to live with his parents, he hadn''t heard much from Timothy. It was only after a few weeks didn''t hee to hear from the Lord that the man had lost his human lover due to the transformation.


    Though humans came with huge ambitions and dreams which couldn''t be fully fulfilled in their time span, they were as fragile as they came by.


    There was a reason why their high society didn''t acknowledge love between a human and a pureblooded vampire. Humans, when transformed by the vampires, were called half-vampires. Then came the vampires who were lowerpared to the pureblooded vampires but it wasn''t the issue of hierarchy.


    It was about the scale of sess when it came to turning a human to a half vampire which was most of the times low but that didn''t stop a vampire from turning a human to close to their kind. Trouble was caused when the change didn''t take ce which would create a vampire without any sanity or mind, destroying everything and anything who were considered to be a threat in both the society. Unfortunately, for Timothy, the process of transformation hadn''t gone well and he had lost her forever.


    "It is a tragedy. To fall in love with a human. I wonder how many have sumbed to it and how many turned a blond eye to avoid the misfortune that is caused," Lord Nichs murmured quietly by his side, his gentle eyes intelligently looking through the room, "By the way, I did ask one of the members to look into the matter but they found nothing there. The answer remains the same."


    "I see. When will he be executed with the rest?" asked Leonard, "The sooner the better."


    "Lionel informed me that it would be less than a week. So it should be soon. Would you want to have ast word with the man?"


    "That won''t be necessary," Leonard had been hurt and angry, he still was angry at the thought of why his family hadn''t been careful like the other pureblooded families. Given the time, he would have tortured and strangled the man for robbing his family from him. If he said the word, he knew Lord Nichs would help him but the betrayal was too deep. To think someone he knew and his family trusted could do something so cruel was hard to digest.


    "Looks like you will have to be careful, Leo," Lord Nichs said looking past him. Furrowing his brows, Leonard turned to see what the Lord was talking about before his jaw ticked.


    Vivian who had gone to bring the drinks had stopped by to talk to a certain vampire he had asked her to stay away from.

 Chapter 43 - Lord’s Mansion- Part 2

    Vivian filled the two sses with the jars of blood and alcohol that was ced at the corner of the room closed the lid of the jar that had blood in it. Humans who worked for the pureblooded were taught not to flinch at the sight of blood in the jars or sses when served. Because, none of the vampires would take the expressions of the maids or servants lightly when it was something that the night creatures consumed.


    Using the thin steel rod to mix the alcohol that poured into the ss, she ced it on the small table.


    "Ms Vivian," she heard a familiar voice and she turned with a smile seeing it was Jerome Wells. His curly hair looked shinier than thest time she had seen him and it was very long since they had met.


    After Mr and Mrs Carmichael''s death, it seemed like Jerome hadn''t visited the mansion except for the time of their funeral.


    "Mr Wells," Vivian bowed her head before lifting up, "I didn''t know you were invited here too."


    "I had some business with the Lord and had to see him. Where else to find him but at his mansion when he''s free of work. My younger brother works for the Lord of Valeria and needed me to pass some information. And I am as surprised as you are," Jerome answered taking a look at Leonard who looked busy talking to the Lord at the moment, "Did Duke Leonard change his attendant?"


    "Ah, no. The usual attendant had an urgent errand to run therefore I cam in his ce, it''s just for today," she saw him nod at her reply.


    "How have you been? I hope you''re doing well," he said looking at her with a little worry marking his forehead.


    "I have been doing well, thank you for asking. We recently dug the backyard to make room for the new nts," she informed him as they usually spoke about gardening.


    "I will be sure to drop by the mansion sometime this week."


    "That would be nice."


    "You should," came Leonard''s voice who came to stand next to Vivian, "It''s been a while, Mr Wells."


    "Duke Leonard," the vampire offered his greetings, "I heard about your encounter with one of the ck witches. Did it go well?"


    "It did. Though I did want to pierce the witch''s chest with my bare hands," Vivian''s eyes grew slightly wide at Leonard''s words to which Jeromemented.


    "Of course but I am sure the council wouldn''t be too happy about it."


    "I don''t think the council needs to know every little detail. The council has a lot of trusts and wouldn''t doubt in my capabilities. A small mishap can always be overlooked," stated Leonard raising his chin.


    "You should be careful, my Duke. I have heard of how the council can rece the member with another to fo the job," By now Vivian didn''t know why but it felt as if there was something else going on and that they weren''t exactly talking about the council or the witches. The atmosphere around them felt tense and she was standing right there not to feel the ufortableness that grew right now. To break the ice, she offered the drink she had made,


    "Master Leonard, your drink," said Vivian handing over one of the sses to him.


    "Did you make another one for Lord Nichs?" he saw her nod at his question, "You can go give it to him."


    "Yes," she answered, taking the ss along with her she went in search of Lord Nichs who was talking to a few women who had flocked around him for his attention.


    Vivian looked at the Lord wondering how to approach him without hindering the conversation he was having with the women. He was truly a gentleman who made sure to answer each and every question that was passed to him, his face always smiling with a gentle expression no matter how much the females around him would bother him with their questions. It made it that easier for everyone to call him their lord.


    As if noticing her, the Lord waved his hand for her toe.


    "What are you doing standing there?" he asked her.


    "Apologies, milord," she bowed her head as many eyes came to fall upon her.


    "I haven''t seen her before here," one of the women spoke while the other next to her said, "Didn''t shee with Duke Leonard?"


    "My, do you mean to say shees from the household of servants who killed the family," murmured the first woman which Vivian caught loud and clear.


    "That is why we are told not to entertain any servants. They are after all beneath our sole who must be kept where they belong," this time it was Lady Shirley to talk from the group. Vivian hadn''t realized she was standing here, "Don''t you all agree?" she smiled at them in question.


    "Everything you said was the truth. What''s with her clothes as if she''s trying to fit in," one of Lady Shirley''s friend who had a drink in her hand out of nowhere decided to throw the red liquid on Vivian''s dress, spilling half of it on the floor and the rest that dripped down from Vivian''s chest down her dress. The smell of blood and alcohol came out strong from her pale green dress now but that wasn''t what bothered her.


    It was the unasked humiliation in front of everyone in the room, her eyes began to prickle due to shame and embarrassment.


    "She looks much better like this," one of themmented which brought in a group of snickers andugh, making her feel small.


    "That wasn''t necessary, Ms Ventress," Lord Nichs looked at the woman who had thrown the drink on Vivian.


    "But milord, don''t you think she looks better like this? If we don''t convey their status you never know who will be put to rest next."


    "She is right, milord. The horrors they are capable of is something we need to be very guarded of," another woman added to Ms Ventress'' words.


    "I believe it could be conveyed in another way," Leonard came forward, his eyes set on Vivian who had her head down and her hands sping each other. He could see her quiver in shock.


    "But-"


    "That is enough, Ms Ventress. Not only is your approach wrong, but you have also dirtied my floor," Lord Nichs'' words rebuked the flock of women.


    Leonard then spoke to Vivian, "One of the maids here will help you clean. Go," there was no emotion in his voice as he spoke to her. Lord Nichs was quick to snap his fingers to get the butler to take the girl with him from the hall.


    The Duke didn''t have to know who had pulled the strings from behind for Ms Ventress to throw her drink on Vivian. Lady Shirley stood there with an innocent expression on her face as if she had done nothing and wasn''t aware of what was going on.


    Who knew that women could be despicable? These were the kind of women he disliked the most. Scheming, lying and a maniptor. Lady Shirley had gone too far.


    When Vivian had confessed about the sweater, Leonard hadn''t nned to let it slide. It was one of the reasons why he had brought Vivian along with him today. To let her witness something.


    He never let anything slide and he wouldn''t let this one slide either, especially when it involved his Bambi.

 Chapter 44 - Lord’s Mansion- Part 3

    The blood mixed with alcohol smelt strongly on Vivian''s pale green dress as she followed the old man who was Lord Nichs'' butler with shaky legs. Though her parents had disowned her without her knowledge, reducing her pureblooded vampire lineage to a mere maid, she had lived a life nothing like it. Vivian who had been under the guidance of Martha and Paul all these years, working for the Carmichael''s had never been humiliated to this decree. Mr Carmichael''s brother Sullivan did hold an acidic tongue but never had Vivian been so demeaned especially in front of suchrge crowd.


    Her eyes burned with unshed tears and she refused to let it fall. She wasn''t hurt but utterly embarrassed for something she didn''t do and expect.


    The butler stopped at arge door, pushing one side of the door. His movements were slow, expression dull but eyes sharp as he held the door open for her to get in.


    At the main hall Leonard didn''t go after Vivian, instead, he chose to stand in the circle where the women and Lord of Bonke where. The atmosphere had cooled down as if nothing had urred. It wasn''t an unusual sight to happen in the high society of the purebloods. Servants were often treated lowly to show where they belonged and thest few months things had turned dire for the lowly beings.


    He looked at Lady Shirley who had a contented look on her face as she spoke to Lady Ventress who had poured the drink on Vivian. As his eyes moved past the women, it came to meet the Lord''s who held a mischevious glint in his eyes as if already knowing what was going to happen and waiting for the curtain to be pulled for the show to start.


    "It was a lovely evening!" one of the women eximed to her husband who hade to stand next to her, "The theatres are always so vibrant that it makes everything so much better. You should go to the Odessey of the hunter which is being yed this Saturday."


    "I have heard good words about it," Ms Ventress nodded her head.


    The women then leaned to whisper to Ms Ventress, "But it''s best to go with a partner if you know what I mean," this received quite some murmur among the female.


    Ms Ventress then turned to look at Lord Nichs, to ask, "Have you seen it, milord?"


    "I have. It is indeed a very interesting y. Like what Lady Harlin said, everyone should take a partner if you don''t want your night to be left out dry," the Lord responded back and added, "Would you like to go see it with me, Ms Ventress?" it gained a coy smile from Ms Ventress.


    "I would never refuse an offer of yours, milord. I would be very delighted to apany you," she bowed her head.


    "The pleasure is all mine," he smiled as his eyes shone with unsaid intentions. The Lord then moved his eyes to Leonard who was quiet, "What about you Leonard? I don''t think you have been to the y recently. It will make thedies think here that you don''t like the theatres."


    Ms Ventress gave a look to Lady Shirley who was a close friend of hers knowingly well how her friend was aiming for the Duke and wanted to gain his attention. Ms Ventress said, "Shirley hasn''t been to the y either. Maybe Duke Leonard and Shirley should go together, after all, I heard that she knit a sweater for him for his birthday," the woman smiled putting her friend in the spot in front of everyone.


    "My, you did?" one of the women there asked, "The Duke must be special for her to knit it right. I heard from her mother once how bad she was at it," sheughed making Lady Shirley send a small re before the young woman smiled ufortably.


    "It was a simple gift," said Lady Shirley.


    "It was a wonderful gift," Leonard suddenly said making everyone smile at hispliment over the gift he received, "Lady Shirley put in a lot of thought in knitting the sweater. There is no doubt to say that she has a talent in sewing."


    Lady Shirley couldn''t hide the blush that covered her young beautiful face.


    "Those are good words to hear, isn''t it Lady Shirley?" Ms Ventress asked her friend teasingly and her words fell into a whisper, "Maybe the Duke can take you to the theatre."


    "Lady Shirley if it is true you should make use of your talent. There are very few hands we find when ites to fine sewing and tailoring," the vampire said standing next to his wife.


    "I wouldn''t go that far, Sir," Lady Shirley responded back bashful.


    Leonard then added, "I think Sir Wingerton is right. You should definitely make use of it, I am sure most of us would be very pleased. Maybe we should show them what you''re capable of right here. What do you say, milord?" he asked Lord Nichs to which the Lord nodded.


    "It doesn''t sound so bad," the Lord remarked and called one of the maids who was serving food to the guests.


    "I-I am really not that talented," Lady Shirley stuttered quickly, her mind going nk at the thought of being caught, "Maybe we should try it some other time."


    "Rubbish," Leonard waved his hand and then spoke to the maid who had been called, "Please get Lady Shirley some woollen threads and needles," by now a good amount of people who had been talking on the other side of the room shifted their attention to them.


    When Lady Shirley had receivedpliments one after another, she had been pleased even though she wasn''t the one who had knit the sweater. She had been showered withpliments but never had she expected for things to turn in this direction. Her palms felt mmy and her forehead began to cover itself with light perspiration.


    Not knowing what to do, she looked at her friend Ms Ventress for help but the woman had no clue that Shirley didn''t know to sew a single piece of cloth and she had only made up the lie.


    Leonard after asking the maid to fetch the sewing box nced at Lady Shirley who looked distressed from the mention of the sewing box. His cool eyes drank in the fear that had begun to envelop the human female''s face. When the maid arrived back with an old wooden box, Lady Shirley looked as if she would faint any moment.


    "This must be enough right? A simple one for the Lord would be perfect," Leonardmented as he helped her in opening the box and setting everything on the table that would be needed for her, "Come, mdy," his eyes cold as ice which traced the ends of his lips as he smiled at her.

 Chapter 45 - His- Part 1

    Leaving Lady Shirley with the rest of the crowd behind, Leonard made his way to find where Vivian had been taken to which would probably be the servants quarters. His steps resonated across the empty corridors of the hallway. With the master-servant bond ced on her, it wasn''t hard for him to find her.


    The door to the room was wide open. The old butler stood in the front directing the maids as they helped Vivian change from her previous dress into a new one. The sound of his step into the room was sharp enough to bring everyone''s notice that someone hade. With a wave of his hand, both the maids and the butler bowed to him before taking their leave, leaving only Vivian and him alone in the room. Though the butler was an old man who wouldn''t take a spec of interest in anyone except for his lord or the maids who were doing their duty, he didn''t like the fact of anyone seeing Vivian undress or naked.


    She stood there with her head down wearing a cleaner dress which was white in colour. Her hair was tied low in a ribbon just as he hadst seen her except for a few errant baby strands of hair at the sides of her temple which stood out. The tip of her nose had turned red.


    Finally feeling his presence, Vivian turned to look at him, her eyes ck eyes quieter than usual, holding shame and embarrassment of letting him see her.


    Vivian who had never been brought to the Lord''s mansion before didn''t know what to do and had let the maids pull down her dress after struggling and asking them she would do it herself. It wasn''t umon for high-ss women to be dotted with plenty of maids hovering over them as they bathed or dressed but she wasn''t one. She wasn''t used to it as she was a maid herself.


    With her back exposed which was yet to be buttoned, she turned it away from him as his eyes had fallen upon her lower back. Her action broke Leonard''s gaze and his eyes slowly travelled back to look at her face.


    "Are you alright?" he asked her, his eyes burning into hers heatedly which she didn''t understand.


    She nodded her head, "Yes, master Leonard."


    "Come here. Let me help you button your back," Vivian looked at him suddenly with widened eyes, words stumbling out of her mouth in form of stutters.


    "I-I will do it, m-master."


    He stared at her hard for a fleeting moment, before saying, "Fine. Do it."


    Vivian raised her hands before moving it behind to get the material in her hand which had fallen on either side of her back. Though she did get a hold on the cloth, she found it hard to push the button in the assigned puncture. As a minute passed with her struggling and trying she didn''t notice Leonard walking up to her to stand behind.


    Cold hands caught her wrists and she turned behind to meet his dark red eyes.


    "I don''t have all time, Vivian," he stated, letting go of her he ced his hands on either side of her waist to position her straight behind him. Now that he stood close to her, the faint smell of blood and alcohol still lingered on her skin. His long elegant fingers began to button the dress but not before admiring her pale back which had little spots of brown scattered on her skin scarcely.


    With Leonard standing right behind her Vivian''s form had turned rigid not to forget his warm breath on her neck which only made her heart thud that much louder.


    Feeling him button up thest one in the dress, she took a step front to only be pulled back to him and this time much closer than could have ever imagined. Her back touched his chest while one of his hand had wound around her waist to keep her where he wanted.


    "Where are you going? I am not done yet," his demanding voice did something to her like a spark had been ignited which would slowly burn and crumble her very soul to dust.


    All the buttons were done therefore Vivian didn''t know what Leonard meant when he said he wasn''t done.


    He kept her in ce for seconds which turned to minutes, her body slowly gettingxed against his. His warm breath felt pleasant against what she felt, the insecurity of her status disappearing as the heat began to seep into her skin which was offered by his mere actions, "Vivi," he whispered her name.


    For a moment Vivan forgot about their status, her mind fuzzing as she felt him lean closer if it was possible, his nose hovered above the skin of her neck.


    "Leo," she gasped when the tip of his neck came in contact with her skin before covering her mouth for the error she had done.


    Leonard was intoxicated by the girl''s presence by having her in this position in his arms right now to consider the fact that she hadn''t addressed him with the title ''Master Leonard''. Hailing from the pureblooded family and being mentored by the finest purebloods, Leonard was too intuned to the girl.


    Thest time he had held her in his arms was when Martha, theirst housekeeper had passed away. He noticed how there was room even after he hugged her.


    It wasn''t just him but also her living in sleepless nights, pondering about what had happened and what the future held. Then there was just them, their rtionship fragile and delicate which had been built since the time they had known each other.


    Hearing a pair of shoes approaching them Leonard let his arms fall down. Vivian twirled around when he set her free, her eyes looking at him anxiously with her lips slightly parted. Her wet eyelids looked dry.


    "Come with me," Leonard began walking towards the door knowing well the girl would follow his footsteps and it pleased him when she did as he thought.


    On their way, Vivian was filled up with mixed emotions. She was embarrassed to step back into the room, not that anyone would give her another look as she was a maid of the Carmichael family. Her eyes traced Leonard''s wide back which was covered by the shirt he wore.


    She couldn''t stop the small blush that crept up her face which she had been holding inside her. Vivian couldn''t deny the fact that things weren''t the same as it once used to be, she thought to herself, something had definitely changed.


    He had hugged her but never like this. He had called her name plenty of times but had it been always so...sweet?


    Stepping into the room with her eyes lowered down, she followed Leonard. The room strangely contained less chatter than when she had left.


    "Has Lady Shirleypleted with knitting a scarf for the Lord?" she heard Leonard ask the people around.


    With furrowed brows, Vivian raised her eyes carefully before spotting the small crowd that had formed at the couch. At one side sat Lady Shirley and on the other far corner sat Lord Nichs with crossed legs. The furrow between her brows only deepened when her eyes fell on the two needles Lady Shirley held in her hand with a ball of woollen threads. Was this one of the ways people spent their time at a tea party hosted by the Lord?


    She saw the woman who had poured her drink on her speak, "Duke Leonard, Lady Shirley isn''t doing that well today. I am sure once she returns back home she will be able to get the scarf done."


    "I am in no hurry, dear," the Lord said, his eyes gentle on Lady Shirley.


    Lady Shirley felt a wave of relief and was about to set all the knitting items aside when Leonard spoke, "That''s too bad to hear but I am sure even a tiny patch would lower down people''s curiosity here. Don''t you agree, gentlemen?"


    "It is true," one of the men who stood behind the Lordmented, "With the Duke having nothing but praises for Lady Shirley, it makes one curious. And I don''t think I have ever heard Duke Leonardpliment anyone."


    "One cannot deny that," added another vampire.


    It was true though, thought Vivian looking down at the floor. She had never got the opportunity of Leonard showering anyone with a singlepliment. His words were reserved for a very few people.

 Chapter 46 - His- Part 2

    "A small piece should be enough demonstration of your skills, Lady Shirley," the Lord changed his words with a gentle smile on his lips.


    Vivian who stood behind Leonard peeked to see the Lady smile queasily. For a person who had lied and imed something which wasn''t hers, Vivian didn''t need to know that the Lady didn''t know how to knit. With everyone''s eyes on the Lady, the distress was showing up clear on her pretty face.


    Vivian''s eyes kept going back and forth between the people and Lady Shirley who were anticipating for her to start knitting. The Lady had tried working both the needles together but every time she tried moving it, it would only end up tangling with each other.


    When a good minute passed with Lady Shirley trying to get it the needles working with the wool which only failed with every try, few of the people in the room couldn''t hide their amusement.


    "Ah, I think I am unable to get it right today," said Lady Shirley with an uneasy smile.


    "Would you like one of us to help you with the beginning?" one of the women offered help.


    "I feel a little dizzy," Lady Shirley touched her forehead.


    Ms Ventressughed, "Lady Shirley must be feeling a lot of pressure from being asked to knit in front of everyone. A little fresh air should help-" she went on to suggest.


    "That won''t be required, Ms Ventress," Leonard cut in walking towards Lady Shirley to pick the needles and woollen ball, "Pardon me but Lady Shirley''s unwillingness and finding a reason to not being able to knit one line makes me doubt if she really did knit the sweater as she imed," he looked at the woman in the eye.


    "W-what? Of course, I was the one who knit the sweater for you," Lady Shirley defended herself, "Why would you think that?"


    "And yet even a child could get the needles working to a decent state than what you have achieved," Lady Shirley only turned redder. Murmurs began filling up the room and even though Vivian wasn''t in Lady Shirley''s ce she felt ufortable with the shift of atmosphere.


    "Aye, Duke Leonard, maybe she isn''t well," a vampire came to Lady Shirley''s aid.


    "If one is ill, one shouldn''te to a tea gathering. Isn''t that right, Lady Shirley?" the young human opened and closed her mouth. If she wasn''t ill before, she would surely be now with Leonard attacking her without a rest, "Did you make the sweater, mdy?" he asked her with an even voice.


    "I-I di-"


    "Did you steal someone''s gift to im it as yours?" the human girl''s eyes widened at the thought of him knowing what she had done. Not wanting to give up, she stuck to her lie.


    "I was the one who knit the sweater," her words were firm.


    "Sure you did it. I don''t think anyone needs to know further on your talent of knitting or should I say, stealing," Vivian who was witnessing the scene felt Leonard look at her before he made his way to her. He raised his hand to give her the needles and the wool, "One patch," his words were softer towards her which many noticed in the change of tone, raising brows in the question of what was going on, "Take a seat there."


    Vivian looked at her hands, gulping before taking a seat in the direction Leonard had pointed her to go in. As she started knitting with her skilled hands, she could feel the audience had moved from looking at Lady Shirley to her. The atmosphere felt heavy and shaking it off was difficult as she concentrated on her hands. It took her a few minutes to create a decent patch of cloth with the help of the wool.


    "That should be enough, Vivian," at his words, she dropped the needles when he came to retrieve it.


    The patch was thrown right on Lady Shirley''sp and it didn''t take many by surprise. Leonard was a person who didn''t bother with people usually but when someone tried stepping into his territory to damage something of his, he didn''t let go of it.


    Lady Shirley looked utterly embarrassed, "I am disappointed that you would steal something made by one of my servants and give it to me as a present," his lips were set in a thin line.


    "Is what Leo says true?" Lord Nichs asked Lady Shirley who opened her mouth, "Please do keep in mind that a lie won''t be tolerated here," the girl said nothing but stared at herp with tears falling down her cheek.


    By the end of the day, Lady Shirley had apologized to Leonard and the Lord before leaving in her own carriage with a shamed face who didn''t meet anyone''s eye during the time of her stay in the mansion. With everyone gone, Lord Nichs stood with Leonard at the balcony of the Lord''s room looking at the view of the forest.


    "It was a cheap shot to expose her like that. Childish if I might add," Lord Nichsmented seeing the girl Leonard was so infactuated with standing next to the carriage and talking to his coachman, "Would you go that far without considering what the society we live in might say?"


    "The society has a lot of options which I have no interest to heed."


    "And you aren''t the least bit worried that she might turn against you? She is a human, Leonard, with what you did today. The vampires and vampiress would have caught a whiff of how you feel for the girl."


    "Is that so," Leonard murmured seeing Vivian smile at something the coachman said about the horse, "I will just have to keep a better watch on my belongings then," he smiled ruefully.


    The Lord looked at the girl closely and couldn''t deny the fact that she was a pretty one but not pretty enough for his own taste. When he met Leonard for the first time, the boy had a certain charm to him. The untamed temper behind his eyes was something that had caught his attention. He wondered how entertaining it would be to tease the boy and bring out his temper for his amusement.


    "My coachman seems to be taken by the girl," the Lordmented, the ends of his lips twisting into a smile.


    Leonard stared at the duo next to the carriage, the coachman smiling ear to ear as if his wish hade true. His hand clenched into a loose fist when he noticed the boy say something making herugh.


    "I should get going," said Leonard not waiting to take the long route, he jumped from the balcony gracefully like a cat and walking towards Vivian.

 Chapter 47 - His- Part 3

    "The horses are bought from Woville from Mr Ritcher''s farm. Our Lord prefers it that way," the coachman said holding the reins of the horse as he spoke to Vivian who listened to him intently.


    "I have never been to Woville," Vivian spoke her thoughts to receive a startled look on the coachman, Joann''s face.


    "You haven''t?" She shook her head. Since she could remember she didn''t recollect going anywhere out of Bonke. She spent most of her time inside the Carmichael''s mansion with a limited amount of people, her world was small though it could have beenrge if her parents had never sent her away. Vivian who had been transformed from a high-quality pureblood to a mere human had no clue about where she exactly came from. The only person who knew of it had died with the secret leaving her in dark, "Well it isn''t much of a surprise, most of us don''t get to travel outside ournds unless we have the permission of our master or mistress," with the rough friction between the humans and vampires who were at each other throats, men were ced as a checkpoint, letting only some of them pass by with their masters permission, "The closest town of Woville isn''t far from here. It would take you less than two days by carriage. Compared to Bonke, it is much warmer. This time of the month is when the flowers bloom at the far edge of the rivers. You should go see it."


    "I heard about the flowers from Paul. He often visited Woville and Valeria due to work...." her words trailed remembering the man. Even with the amount of work which was shouldered by him, he managed to travel back and forth between thends on Mr Carmichael''s orders.


    A small doubt crept into her mind.


    The councilmen, including the lord and Leonard, had dered the man to be guilty in terms of causing the death of the pureblooded vampires. It was told that he had mixed something in the pot which was infected to turn the vampires on each other.


    The council had always been just, at least that''s what she heard from people. They never made a mistake but what if this time they had mistaken who the culprit was? Or what if Paul was the person who was behind everything that had transpired? What if he had taken the poisonous liquid during one of his travel? Yet, after so much of thought, Vivian couldn''t find a solid reason of why Paul would ever do something so ill.


    "I hope one day I get to see it," Vivian responded back with a polite smile. She was well aware of the fact that she or any of the Carmichael''s servant could leave the mansion for simple sightseeing. The master of the house would never allow that.


    As if reading her mind, the Lord''s coachman said, "Lord Nichs is a good man, you could ask him if you ever wanted to. I am sure a single day wouldn''t be much of a hassle."


    "Go where?"


    Leonard walked towards them in slow steps, his dull eyes falling on her and then the coachman.


    "Duke Leonard," the coachman offered a deep bow to the blonde Duke who came to stand not just near them but right next to Vivian, "We were talking about Woville and how the Ms here hasn''t found the opportunity to travel," gone was the friendly tone from the servant''s voice which was now reced with a stiffer one.


    "And what conclusion did youe up with?" Leonard stared at the man.


    "Ah, I-" Vivian interrupted the man,


    "Joann said if you send me over some work to Woville I should go visit the river nearby to the local town," her eyes were cast down as she said it, twisting the conversation they had.


    "Was that what you said...Joann, was it?" the Duke inquired the coachman who had begun to feel stressed out. The servant didn''t know what to answer. He was half distracted with the way the Duke stood right next to his maid which his Lord never did and also because of the uninvited re that was directed towards him.


    Vivian was conscious enough to know that Leonard might have overheard their conversation about skipping him and taking the Lord''s permission to leave thend of Bonke. Though she doubted the Lord would allow it as he was a close friend of Leonard.


    "Yes, Sir," the coachman bowed his head again to affirm his answer to the Duke.


    "That''s good to hear. Get my carriage ready, I would like to leave," the coachman bowed for the third time not making eye contact with anyone as he left to get the Duke''s carriage in front of the mansion but not before pulling aside the lord''s carriage.


    Seeing the man go on his way, both Leonard and Vivian turned to look at each other at the same time, dark red brooding eyes staring at the ck ones in curiosity.


    Seconds fleeted by and none spoke a word. After what had urred inside the mansion with Lady Shirley, Vivian couldn''t help but wonder if Leonard had taken her here today just to witness the scene. Remembering his warm breath, she lowered her eyes unable to look into his eyes anymore. Shyness enveloped every feature of hers.


    Suddenly she felt over conscious of his presence. Her lips felt dry and she parted them to wet it with her tongue. Her eyes were everywhere but on him. She could feel his eyes that continued to stare at her, turning her head into a mess until the Lord came through the main doors of the mansion.


    "Leaving so soon?" asked the Lord.


    "I need to go meet sister Isabelle. She has information on the dark witch," dark witch? Vivian had heard about white and ck witches but never had she heard about a dark witch.


    "I see. Then you better hurry along, we wouldn''t want our dear priestess waiting," as the carriage was pulled in front of them, the lord turned to look at Vivian with a smile ying on his lips which confused the human girl, "Ms Vivian, it was good to see you. I hope Leonard will bring you here again," he tipped his head up slightly to receive a bow from her.


    "The pleasure was all mine, milord," she responded back.


    Seeing Leonard already walk into the carriage, Vivian bowed again before following her master''s footsteps that led into the carriage.


    On their way, Vivian who sat opposite to Leonard stared outside the window, keeping her eyes away from the man who seemed to be in an unreadable mood. She didn''t know what had caused his ill mood and internally she hoped it would go away as the atmosphere inside the carriage turned heavy.


    "What did I say about not talking to anyone unnecessarily?" she heard Leonard speak from his seat.


    With her brows furrowed together she responded back, "I didn''t, master Leonard," his eyes narrowed.


    "You didn''t? Was that the horse you were talking to before we left the mansion?"


    Horse? Was he calling Lord Nichs as a horse?


    "Forgive me, master but calling the lord a horse is very rude," Leonard gritted his teeth together at the girl''s oblviousness.


    "The coachman," the words passed through his mouth.


    Oh! Vivian blushed at her folly. He was talking about the coachman whom she had forgotten but the same couldn''t be told about Leonard.


    "When you told not to talk to people, I thought you meant not to talk to the guests," she voiced her understanding, "I didn''t know the servants were included in it..." she trailed to receive no response from him, it made her wonder if he was angry at her and Vivian didn''t like Leo being mad at her.


    Before she could apologize, she heard Leonard say,


    "I am sorry for what happened today," he referred to the wine spilling on her dress, "You don''t have to apany me for the next tea parties. You are much suited in the mansion."


    Vivian felt her heart sink with his words. She must have embarrassed him in front of the crowd, her incapability had put her on a receiving end of the vampiress action. If she was an experienced maid she would have known to handle the situation better.


    As if reading her mind, he said, "It wasn''t your fault. Women and men often tend to behave in such fashion. You don''t have to ponder about it."


    Nodding her head, she continued to look outside the small window.


    Leonard saw her faze out as the trees passed one after another. The dress he had personally picked for her had been ruined and now she wore another dress which was borrowed from Lord Nichs'' dressing room. Her cheeks looked flushed, the cold wind hitting her every time the breeze slipped into the half opened window.


    Seeing her interact with Mr. Wells and other people who seemed slightly interested in her annoyed him. If he could, he would have wrung the vampire''s neck for even looking at her. He didn''t want anyone''s eyes on her. Though he didn''t have a im on her, it didn''t mean he didn''t consider her to be his. She was his maid after all.


    A piece of her hair came on her face, hindering her eyes to which she moved it behind her ears.


    Right now she looked nothing less than an expensive painting which he didn''t want anyone to buy but only wanted himself to take home.

 Chapter 48 - Master And The Maid- Part 1

    On one fine noon when the rays of the sun escaped through the gaps of the clouds continuously, Vivian had only finished feeding the animals in the shed. With her hands covered in a thinyer of mud, she poured water from the small built-in reservoir of water in the shed.


    As she wiped her hands on the apron that was tied around her waist she caught sight of a carriage ride through the ck gates from afar. From the carriage stepped out Mr and Mrs Easton who was followed by their daughter, Charlotte.


    Though less than two months had passed, it felt like years had passed by since she hadst seen them. Like many things that had changed, the Easton''s like many others steered clear when it came to talking to servants. The current housekeeper of the Carmichael who was a vampire greeted them, Mr Easton''s words short before they got inside. The Easton''s didn''t stay long in the mansion. In less than an hour, they were seen stepping out of the mansion with Leonard who hade to see them off.


    On her way, Vivian came to meet them and she bowed her head, her footsteps first slowing down before picking up speed.


    If it were before, Charlotte would havee bouncing to talk to her, her bubbliness filling up the room but after her brother Julliard''s death, she stopped talking to people. For a girl who was brought up in an environment filled with love and care to suddenly be thrown to experience death in front of her eyes was too much for her. Though she saw Vivian, her eyes drifted away to give no response.


    With Mr Easton and Charlotte who had got inside the carriage, Prisci stood outside to talk to her nephew,


    "You didn''t change the staff. I was worried your uncle Sulivan changed the entire mansion," said Aunt Prisci, remembering a few familiar faces around the mansion, "Come to our house when you visit Mythweald," she ced her hand on Leonard''s shoulder as she spoke to him, "I heard it isn''t that far from the council quarters."


    "I will Aunt Prisci. The new job will require me to travel back and forth. I will be sure to drop by when I have time to spare."


    "That would be lovely," she squeezed his shoulder, a smile that reminded Leonard of his mother as she held a close resemnce to his deceased mother.


    "Have a safe journey," he waved at them when the horses pulled the carriage behind it, taking them out of the mansion.


    Vivian who was previously walking by them stayed behind to see the carriage take off. With Leonard''s back turned to face her, she wondered if he was doing alright. It made her heart settle down to know that his family still visited him, to know that there were people who cared for him in his family. After the horrid incident, it wasn''t just the servants who were avoided by his close rtives but also Leonard as that was where the episode took ce. Some of his rtives steered clear of him, not that he was interested in talking to anyone.


    There were minutes in the days when her heart went out to him out of sorrow. Leonard who was a quiet man unless someone poked his temper had turned even more aloof in the mansion. She wished he could talk to her or perhaps lean on her shoulder for whatever support he needed but the man was a stubborn one.


    And to begin with Leonard wasn''t the kind of person to expose his feelings, he never did. With what she could recollect it was her who always went crying to him while he would pacify her gently when they were children. It was a wonder how his mother understood him without him uttering a word even when he was small. Maybe that was why Leonard felt a deep loss over his parent''s death.


    Vivian being slow as usual didn''t realize she had to get going to continue her work instead of standing behind the main doors staring at the person whom she worked for.


    Leonard who turned around to get inside caught his human standing and dreaming about something as she didn''t notice him walking towards her. He was about to snap her from her daydreaming when his housekeeper walked towards them with swift footsteps and envelopes in his thin hands. The housekeeper previously worked for Lord Nichs who was sent to the Carmichael''s household to take over thest housekeeper''s responsibilities.


    "Master Leonard, these are the letters that arrived in the morning," the housekeepere vampire said handing all the letters except for one which he withheld in his other hand, "Vivian," before the girl could take the letter, Leonard took hold of the letter in his hand.


    "Did you forget that everything thates from outside needs to first go through me, Jan?" he gave a sharp look at the new housekeeper.


    "I apologize, master. I will be sure to remember it," Jan, the housekeeper apologized with a deep bow.


    "Who is it from?" Leonard flipped the envelope to check who it was and felt his jaw tick while the housekeeper spoke,


    "It is from Mr Wells."


    Leonard still had his eyes set on the envelope for a few more seconds, wondering what to do about it, he looked up at Vivian who looked like she had been caught stealing cookies from a jar she wasn''t supposed to. Calming his voice he said, "I will give this to you once I review it. You can go back to your work."


    He saw Vivian purse her lips, wanting to say something but she knew well not to speak on it. Nodding her head she bowed at him. Once she was out of sight, he sent a harsh re at his housekeeper who flinched ever so slightly as the average vampire kept his eyes on the floor.


    "Anything and everything thates to the mansion should first pass through me. No matter how small the matter is. Is that understood?" he raised his brow for the housekeeper to understand.


    "Yes, master Leonard."


    Leonard then questioned, "How long has she been getting letters from Mr Wells was there any other letters?"


    "To Vivian? No master, it has just been from Mr Wells. This is the first letter of this week," hearing this a frown formed on Leonard''s handsome features.


    "First letter?"


    "Yes, Mr Wells usually send two letters in a week. In total he must have sent seven letters," the housekeeper informed his master. Leonard''s loose fist clenched together before he released a sigh. Jan, the housekeeper didn''t fail to notice the way his current master kept a closer tab on this particr human maid than the rest of them.


    "Draw me a warm bath, I would like to soak myself for some time," the Duke informed, beginning to walk through the halls.


    "I will do that right away. Is there anything else you would like?" At the housekeeper''s question, Leonard''s footsteps slowed down and he turned to look at his servant.


    "Yes."


    "What would that be master?"


    "Send Vivian to help me with my bath today," and with that, Leonard headed to his room.

 Chapter 49 - Master And The Maid- Part 2

    Vivian who had gone to dust the west wing of the mansion stood in front of therge family portrait that was hung on the spacious wall with twomps that lit on each side in the deserted hallway. The portrait was of Mr and Mrs Carmichael with a young Leonard who had a grumpy look on his face in the painting. Her memories of her childhood had meshed into one single heap that she didn''t remember when it was painted.


    Taking the dry cloth she had brought along with her, she began wiping the edges while being gentle on the paint. When it came to wipe the side where Leonard stood next to his mother, she couldn''t stop the warmth that began to spread on her cheeks as a small smile pulled her lips upwards thinking about the younger Leonard.


    He hadn''t changed, and neither had she.


    Even after all the things that had transpired, he was still the boy who protected her in his own way. They had grown up in time but they were young in their hearts. Though he had branded her with the ve bond to him as the rest of the servants in the Carmichael mansion, she was still somewhere special than the rest which Vivian didn''t deny to notice.


    Though he hadn''t told it in words, he had gone to the point of insulting Lady Shirley in front of her just for her sake and that thought itself added fuel to her changing feelings for him. Nor Martha or Paul was next to her but she knew this much that she could count on Leo to have her back.


    Once she was done cleaning the portrait, she moved to the next one which consisted of the deceased Mr Carmichael''s parents in it with him and his brother, Sullivan. Thinking about Mr Sullvian made Vivian ufortable. He might be Leonard''s paternal uncle but she avoided him in the mansion like a gue that was going to strike her if she happened toe in front of him. Unlike his brother Giles, Sullivan showed no mercy to the humans, he disliked humans from the high society and it was no question how he felt for the servants, especially when one of them was responsible for his brother and sister-inw''s death. It wasn''t just his ideas but also the way he looked. He was a scary man.


    "Vivian," she heard the new housekeeper Jan speak as he approached her, "Master Leonard needs your assistance in his room."


    "Won''t master be eating lunch in the dining room today?" as it was past noon, Leonard sometimes had the habit of either skipping his meal which she would send to his room so that he would at least take a bite. At those times, the food woulde out untouched but that didn''t stop her from sending the food to his room.


    "He will have his mealter. He needs help in bathing," Jan stated before adding, "He''s already gone up to his room. Don''t make him wait," at his words, Vivian could feel the palms of her hand sweat which she instantly wiped on her apron to follow the housekeeper.


    "Sir, Jan," Vivian began keeping up with his quick pace, "I haven''t finished cleaning all the portraits in the West Wing. Is Movari busy with work?" she asked him. It was usually the maid named Movari who helped him bathe.


    "She isn''t."


    She wasn''t? Thought Vivian to herself nervously. Why was she being sent to bathe him then?


    Coming from Lord Nichs'' mansion, Jan was the kind of person to speak much with any of the servants except for delegating the orders that needed to keep the mansion running smoothly. Not questioning further, Vivian handed the cloth to the housekeeper before making her way up towards Leonard''s room. As she got closer to the room, her mind had already begun to spiral out, her heart thudding in her chest as she quietened her heart that had begun to thud by taking a deep breath.


    Knocking the door, she heard Leonard''s voice saying her toe in.


    As she turned and pushed the doorknob to step inside the room, she caught sight of Leonard sitting on the edge of hisrge bed reading a letter in his hand. He had changed himself into a dark blue robe from his previous clothes. Due to the way he sat with his legs crossed one over the other, a part of his thigh was visibly making her quickly look back up to his face.


    Bowing her head, she got inside his bath to prepare the tub by turning the faucet as warm water flowed down the tub. The water must have been prepared by Jan before he came to tell her, thought Vivian as it wasn''t hot enough that would burn at the touch. Adding salts and necessary scents into the bath, she twirled her hand as she waited for the water to fill up the tub. When everything was ready, she went outside the bathroom to call him,


    "The bath is ready," her voice drifted into the room but he was too engrossed into the letter he was reading that he failed to hear her. She cleared her throat, this time speaking louder than before, "Master Leonard?"


    "Hmm," he responded keeping the letter on the bed and walking towards the bathroom. Just before he went to untie his robe, he turned around to see her standing one step outside the bathroom, "What are you doing standing there?" Vivian''s eyes met and she couldn''t stop the small drums beginning to thud which she wasn''t sure if it was her imagining it as she could hear it through her ears.


    Leonard didn''t miss the way her breath hitched, her senses were on alert as he turned around to face the tub while facing his back to her.


    The Duke didn''t know what it meant to persuade someone carefully whom he was in love with.


    Since the time his eyes had fallen on Vivian and since he had called her Bambi she was his to worry and care for. The tender flower bud that he had protected from everyone had grown to be the most delicate flower which he didn''t want anyone taking away. He didn''t like that men had begun to take notice of her, especially Mr Wells who had asked her to move to his residence after severing the master-ve bond in the Carmichael mansion. He didn''t know what the previous letters held but the one that was received today was enough to put him off the edge. He couldn''t stop gritting his teeth over what was written.


    The girl was his in every sense.


    It might have been a subtle move for Leonard when he had hugged Vivian in the Lord''s mansion but for the human girl, things had flipped upside down. Her innocent feelings towards the Duke had slowly begun to change and she hade to be fully aware of his presence. And Leonard noticed it.


    He noticed everything when it came to her. The way she moved and breathed, the way her eyes had begun to drop unable to hold his gaze when he looked right into her eyes.

 Chapter 50 - Master And The Maid- Part 3

    When Leonard pulled the robe off his body in slow motion, Vivian couldn''t help but look at the way the silky material began to first fall of his broad and taut shoulders. The blue robe flopped down on his feet to reveal the muscles it was hiding all this time.


    Vivian sucked in her breath looking at his back frame. Her breathing already beginning to get shallower by the mere sight of his naked back. His skin was as pale as hers, and even though she hadn''t traced his skin on his back the texture was no doubt as smooth as the robe thaty on the ground.


    The broad back made way to his lean waist and his lower back firm that made her blush for ogling at him.


    Leonard didn''t wait to see her reaction and stepped into the bathtub, spilling some amount of water around on the ground when he went to sit in itfortably. Vivian, on the other hand, did nothing but stand in the spot she was in, her nerves all over the ce which spiralled one after the other at the thought of apletely naked Leonard in the tub waiting for her to wash him.


    Not making eye contact with him, she went towards the stand b where the soap and the scrubid, she came to the tub with her eyes glued to the soap in her hand. Her face that had turned red didn''t dare to look at him as she pulled the stool to sit next to him.


    "W-where do I start from?" her innocent question quirked one side of his lips upwards which wasn''t visible to her.


    Was she supposed to wash his hair first? Or was it the neck she should start with?


    Leonard raised his immersed hand from the water as water droplets hit the surface with small sounds. Of course, it was the hand, thought Vivian to herself as she took his hand in hers.


    Starting from his fingers she rubbed the soap moving up to his wrist to see him lean back with his eyes closed. Picking up all the courage she moved the bar of soap up his arm before dropping the soap and running his skin with her fingertips. Going to the other side she picked his other hand which was resting on the edge of the tub.


    All the while, Leonard had his eyes closed which she was thankful as she wasn''t sure she could keep up with her maid duties of washing him if he ever opened his eyes to look at her. But what Vivian didn''t know was that Leonard was much more attuned to her movements and her beating heart with his eyes closed.


    She gulped wondering what to do after she was done with his arms before he raised his left foot. Her hands shakily went to hold on to his leg while also holding on to her dear life and sanity. Passing a look towards his face, the man looked no less than a beautiful piece of art.


    With gentle movements, she put pressure on the sole of his feet, massaging it with both her hands. Hearing him hum in the middle of the massage made her feel satisfied to know she was doing it right. Washing his legs until his knee Vivian asked,


    "Would you want me to wash your hair, master?"


    "Yes," he hummed with his eyes closed before he opened to reveal his dark red eyes.


    Now that enough foam that she had created while washing his hands and legs had been pushed into the watered tub, she could finally look at him without blushing every few seconds as it hid his lower body. Pouring water on his head, she poured the white liquid on to her hand from the bottle, shethered it with both her hands before applying it on his wet hair.


    She peeked to his side to see his eyes closed back again as she massaged the liquid into his hair, moving her fingers in a circr motion. Once she was done with it, she poured water again from the bucket, removing all the soap from his hair such that his wet hair stuck to his forehead, the sides of his temple and his cheeks. One part of his hair was stuck right in front of his eye and Vivian couldn''t resist herself from moving it away from his face.


    At the same time, Leonard decided to open his eyes to catch Vivian''s gaze. She gulped when his eyes looked straight at her. The way he looked at her right now did something to her body. Like tiny little fireworks going aze on her skin. She didn''t realize the way she had been bncing herself with one leg on the side of the tub with her hand on the other side to support herself so that she could remove that piece of blonde hair that was hindering his handsome.


    When her soapy hand lost the grip on the tub, she looked no less than a startled cat that was thrown into the water. Her leg followed her hand into the water to join Leonard in the tub. More water sshed into the ground as she fell into the tub on top of her master who had caught her from falling into a more awkward mess.


    The bottom of her dress was drenched, the fabric of her skirt floating above the water she was in as her hands were held in Leonard''s hand. The small fall had given her a fright turning her eyes wide and her lips parted for air that had been knocked out of her.


    Vivian being slow, it took her time to notice thepromising position she was in with her master.


    She was quick to apologize, "Forgive me, master Leonard!" She went to stand up but the man hadn''t released her hands from his. Or rather he didn''t want to.


    His expression was calm and serene, used to his Bambi''s clumsiness, it was something he had expected when he had asked his housekeeper to send her in ce of the other maid. Finally, she hade to see him as a man and not just a childhood friend or a master. Leonard wasn''t the kind of man to let an opportunity slip through his fingers, not when it was so close.


    Vivian tried freeing herself from his grip by pulling her hand but he had other motives as he pulled her hands so that she fell right into his arms.


    "M-master Leonard?" her sweet voice was filled with nervousness, "I think I need to get out of the tub."


    "Is that so?" Leonard moved his head closer to her as he asked looking at her, "I think you''re fine like this," she felt him pull her closer.


    Before she could utter another word, in such a small space of room they shared, Leonard managed to get up and push her in the tub, reversing their position entirely so that sheid in the tub while he hovered over her body.


    "Vivian," leaning towards her he whispered her name as if intoxicated by her.


    "Leo-"


    She felt Leonard cover her lips with his, stopping her from even uttering his name.

 Chapter 51 - Master And The Maid- Part 4

    Vivian looked at Leonard, her eyes wide while he had his eyes closed as he pressed his soft lips on hers. He had caught her off guard when he had flipped her from top to bottom in the small space of the tub, and with the simple touch of the lips, she lost the ability to think about any and everything.


    As he pulled back from her lips and face, his eyesnguidly opening up to look at her, giving her enough time to process what just happened, Vivian sat frozen.


    For both of them who hadn''t kissed anyone before, they stared at one another. She had been too shy to be exposed to a world of bodily desires and if there were a slight possibility of it Leonard had closed her eyes and ears, away from anything that would taint her. On the other hand, Leonard who had been living in the world full of desires for ambition, power and sex in midst of the hungry humans and nightly creatures had never taken an interest in involving himself in the sexual pleasures the world was waiting to offer him. Being born into one of the respectable pureblooded family, women had subtly tried getting close to the Duke but he never took the bait.


    Because he was the one to ce baits and not the other way around. Being taught and mentored by the finest men of the high ss pure blooded vampires, Leonard had turned out to be just like them or maybe better. Unlike other men, he didn''t indulge too much of his time on other women.


    When he had first met Vivian, she was of no importance, someone who worked for his family. A stupid human girl who broke things and still did on asions. Few things changed while few things remained with them as they grew up. In the beginning, when they were still young, it was as if Leonard had received a pet to take care of, the pet being the fawn named Vivian. From watching her hide behind Paul to seeing her cry, Vivian had grown to share the silliest details of her days in the mansion without holding back to being her tears wiped by him.


    She was no different than the rest of the humans or vampire''s he hade to know but it was the little gestures from her that had stolen his heart piece by piece in time before his heart wasn''t with him anymore.


    "Vivi," he ced both of his cold hands on her cheeks to hear her gasp.


    Though her mouth was slightly parted, Vivian couldn''t get a single word out to speak to him. Not with him touching her so close. He called her name again while approaching close to her, his hands not letting go of her and instead settling there infort.


    After what had happened at the Lord''s mansion, she hadn''t spoken anything out of the Carmichael mansions matters to him. That didn''t mean she hadn''t noticed the eagle like red eyes that watched her keenly. She had always been conscious when he was around but this time she was nervous, her nerves wrecking beneath her pale skin.


    He sat so close to her that for a moment she forgot what it was to breathe. Her eyes were fixated on him and so was him. While he looked calmed, Vivian could feel her breath get shallower and lower that she began to breath through her mouth.


    She gulped when he leaned closer to her, his face merely few distances apart from hers. Eyes staring, lips hovering overs she could feel her mind beginning to spiral out as her heart began to pick its own rhythm.


    He had never looked at her like this before. There was tenderness mixed with fierceness in them. And somewhere in her chest, she could feel her little heart jump with every movement of his.


    "Leo..." she whispered his name on his mouth.


    He was going to kiss her again and out of shyness she went to turn her head to her right but that didn''t go far as the man in front of her leaned forward to close the gap between them. The kiss that had been initiated with a small press of lips had now be deeper.


    She felt Leonard''s hands slide down her cheeks to settle on either side of her neck, pulling her closer as he sucked her lips with his. He licked her lips taking the sweet taste and savouring her patiently, not wanting to rush anything. She was sweeter than he had imagined her to be, intoxicated with her, he gripped her tighter in his arms. Taking her closer so that she wasn''t leaning on the tub anymore he bit into her lips making her gasp in pain before licking to soothe it.


    He kissed and sucked, tasting her upper and then her lower lip in a routine. Impatience taking over patience, Leonard wanted to feel her more. His hands going from gentle to fervent which sent the girls senses to go haywire. Not giving space to move away from him, one of his hands was quick to entangle in her loosely tied hair while the other pulled her back towards him. With clever movements, he slipped his tongue into her warm and sweet mouth, tasting every nook and cranny not letting anything unknown to him. Once he was done taking enough taste of her for the day, Leonard finally loosened his grip on her head yet keeping the other hand on her small back.


    Her face was flushed beyond red, her eyes staring down unable to meet his gaze anymore partly because of him kissing her so intimately who hadn''t moved away from her.


    All the while, Vivian''s heart had continued to beat, flipping and tripping with every minimalist touch of his. She couldn''t believe it. To realize that he had kissed her, it was the pain on her lips which had brought to her senses. Unconsciously, Vivian''s tongue peeked out of her parted lips to run it down her lips. At the same time, he brought his hand up to run his thumb over her swollen upper lip, Vivian couldn''t stop herself from closing her eyes at the thought of his lips being there a minute ago instead of his hand.


    "Are you alright?" she heard Leonard ask her, breaking her haze so that she could look up into his dark red eyes.


    Not knowing what to say, she did nothing but nod her head to see him give her a tender, boyish smile which she hadn''t seen in a while.


    "Let me help you up," he said standing up first and it was then did she remember that her master was naked as a newborn baby. She quickly averted her eyes from him and stood up in the tub with him.


    Water dripped down from her soaked clothes back into the tub. The water that had been previously warm had turned cold, and once she stepped out of the tub she felt her body shiver.


    Not knowing what to do as she stared at the floor, she felt Leonarde into view in front of her with a towel hanging loose on his hip bones. With another towel he had picked he wrapped it around her shoulders carefully.


    "I don''t want you catching cold. I''ll ask Jan to send your clothes up here so that you can change into them," with that he leaned forward to drop a kiss on her forehead and left her alone in his bath before stepping out of it.

 Chapter 52 - Crossing Lines- Part 1

    When the door to the bathroom was shut close leaving Vivian standing alone in the room with a small pool of water at her feet, her hand slowly reached her lips to touch it. Feeling the softness as it had been chewed and sucked on. Her tongue darted out of her mouth again this time to feel the taste of his lips that lingered on hers. He had kissed her not once but twice in less than a minute.


    Blood rushed both up and down her body. Though many men had sought to pursue Vivian, the girl had been nothing but oblivious to their subtle advances. Leonard, on the other hand, didn''t wait, he believed in getting things done when it had to be done, on his terms.


    With her clothes wet, stepping out of the room was not an option. Not because she would end up dragging the water droplets all over the marble floor but also because she didn''t want to risk herself from being caught in the state she was in. She stood there waiting for the housekeeper to send someone with her clothes so that she could change into them. Minutes passed by which felt like seconds as Vivian was lost in thoughts which were filled up with her master''s thoughts when a fellow maid arrived at the door, knocking and pushing the door open.


    "Did you fall in the tub?" the maid whispered with a worried look after seeing her drenched clothes and passed on her clothes to her.


    "I uh-slipped," Vivian replied as she dried herself with the towel Leonard had wrapped around her, "Thank you for bringing in the clothes, Hana," to receive a small nod from the maid.


    "Let me wait outside for you," the maid named Hana closed the door.


    Once Vivian had finished drying herselfpletely and changing into her dry set of clothes, she came out to see the maid standing with her head bowed and not far across the room Leonard sat in front of his desk with his legs crossed one over the other, the tips and the ends of his blonde hair still in the process of drying as he looked down on the parchment while writing something on it with a face filled with seriousness.


    She didn''t know he was still here in the room. Vivian had thought afterpleting his bath and changing his clothes he would be going out to the town but seemed like she had thought wrong. The blush on her face still evident, she bowed her head along with the other maid in the room. Leonard turned to look at her, his eyes holding delight and mischief while his hand still holding the quill in his hand as he hadn''tpleted writing the new edict that was asked by the council.


    Jan, the housekeeper who had only arrived at the door looked at the atmosphere that hade to change between two particr individuals. The housekeeper who had been moved from Lord Nichs'' mansion to Duke Carmichael was a vampire who was as smart as he came to be known as one of the employees of the Rune mansion. He was sent here for more than one reason by the current lord of Bonke. His role wasn''t only to fulfill the duty of the housekeeper but also to keep an eye on the suspicious servants as his Lord believed there was someone who lived in the mansion who was still trying to kill the Duke as he had grown to be a vital figure in the council.


    It was apparent that something had happened with the brte maid to have her blushing under the Duke''s eyes when he looked in her direction. Call it curiosity that he wanted to know what was up but it wasn''t in his position to have the privilege to ask what was brewing. Nheless, the housekeeper swept his thoughts aside and opened his mouth to speak,


    "Master, lunch has been prepared and is waiting at the dining room," the housekeeper informed his master.


    Leonard continued to keep his gaze on Vivian before his eyes moved to the housekeeper. His eyes suddenly sharp to make Jan know as if he knew exactly what thoughts his mind had. The housekeeper bowed his head deeply to convey his apologies over his intrusive expression, waiting until the Duke walked past him outside the door, heading to have lunch.


    As the days went by, the day came to wash the clothes in the week. It was the time when the maids and other servants took their dirty clothes to the bank of the river where the water didn''t rush but flowed gently down to wash them. It was the area where most of them took to clean and wash too. Vivian along with the rest of the party of the workers of the mansion went to clean the clothes.


    "Did you hear what Mr. Sullivan saidst night when he arrived to have a meal with the master?" asked one of the maids who was beating he dress with the washing paddle.


    "What was it?" Another asked.


    "I don''t think master would like you women discussing it if he heard it-" a blonde woman named Movari began to be interrupted by the curious maid who wanted to know what was it.


    "But he isn''t there here now, is he, aye? Yes, you were saying Mary," Vivian saw Movari roll her eyes before continuing to clean her clothes.


    Mary looked a little distracted before realizing she was being asked to say, "About that," she got closer to the maid, "Benny who was serving the main course of the meal heard Mr. Sullivan bring up the discussion of changing the entire staff again," Mary was nowhere whispering in her ears that everyone nearby had their ears picking up the information.


    "He did? Does that mean we will be freed from here?" another servant asked hopefully. Since the day of the master and ve bond, things had turned awkward and difficult for the servants to voice anything in the fear of being killed, especially not after the Lord of Bonke had killed one of them without any remorse. Nobody wanted to die.


    "No, master has been adamant on not wanting to do it. Wouldn''t it be better though? I feel like someone''s always hovering over my shoulders, like Jan!" said Mary with a sigh, "I wish Paul hadn''t done it. Aren''t the council being harsh?"


    "Haven''t they always been," came another voice from the crowd of servants.


    "Don''t speak of it!" Hana eximed taking the clothes she had finished washing, "The man is being dealt the way things are to be. You reap what you sow."


    "But Mary speaks the truth. Don''t you think so too, Hana? Most of us are here because of the money not that we aren''t but we cannot deny that it''s been more than a prison," hearing this Vivian''s eyes snapped up to meet the maid''s eyes.


    "You should be careful with what you speak, Evngine," Vivian spoke up from where she sat, picking up the dress she had worn two days ago and soaking it in the river, "Paul was used only after the facts were verified by the council and the lord. Or is it that you aren''t satisfied with their decision. As hard as it is...some things are out of our hands. We all miss Paul but that doesn''t mean it is right to defend him when he''s..." as she trailed, her words only sunk to realize what it meant.


    The lord might have told her that he would look into it, but would he really? She was amon girl, not to forget a human girl who was of no value. Why would anyone think of defending someone without a motive when they had a business of their own to do.


    "What about his family?" Movari was the one to ask this time.


    "We can only hope the council doesn''t include them into it," said Vivian looking down the clothes and starting to wash it. The servants of the mansion were agitated because in two days of time Paul would be executed in the middle of the town and in front of all the men, women and children. It wasn''t that Vivian wasn''t worried about the man, in her heart she still believed he was innocent and was falsely framed.


    "Get back to work you all! Jan ising," said a maid who sat farther from the bank of the river.


    Vivian wished she could ask Leonard about it but she was nervous to do it. It wasn''t a simple question that he was say yes and smile at it. Though weeks and months had begin to pass since the unfortunate tragedy, the wound was still fresh and open.


    She was also nervous because it was him.


    Close to a week had passed since Leonard had kissed her on her mouth. It hadn''t repeated but the man had been extremely nice to her, not that he wasn''t before but this felt different. It felt as if things had gone back to the way they were when they were little children. He hadn''t asked her to wash him but that didn''t mean he didn''t keep her around during his time in the mansion.


    As the house keeper arrived at the bank of the river, Vivian and the others kept their head down busying themselves in washing the clothes. Jan wasn''t a scary looking man, he looked average as a vampire but it was the things he did and reported. Unlike Paul who had been lenient in taking up others responsibilities, the new housekeeper was far from that. Right after he was appointed in the mansion, two maids and one male servant had disappeared, not to forget they had been caught talking about the previous housekeeper. This was one of the reasons no worker of the Carmichael preferred to talk to Jan, not that he minded it.


    "Vivian," she heard the housekeeper call her name, "Get back to the mansion immediately," there was no time for questions of why as he turned in the same speed he hade and left.


    Receiving a few worried looks from the servants, she headed back to the mansion with the bucket of clothes she had brought along with her.

 Chapter 53 - Crossing Lines- Part 2

    Vivian followed back Jan who had immediately left after informing her that Leonard had asked for her presence in the mansion. Not sure what Leonard wanted from her, she walked quickly while trying to catch up with the housekeeper who had already begun to disappear from her sight.


    With the mansion almost empty as the maids were out at the river bank, there were hardly two other servants except for her and Jan as they stepped inside the mansion.


    "You will find him in the right wing," seeing the housekeeper leave, Vivian made her way to the right wing.


    When she came to the right wing, she began to peek through the series of the room as she passed them one after another in search of the master of the mansion.


    Finding him in one of the guest rooms, Vivian walked forward and bowed her head. Her heart flipped in her chest by only seeing him. He was wearing the sweater she had knitted for him. Warmth spread all over her skin and heating up her body. He hadn''t touched her since thest time he had kissed her in his bathtub yet the memory was vivid and vibrant at the back of her mind. Her feelings had begun to grow, feelings that were pure slowly getting corrupted. At night when she was in her bed, Vivian couldn''t stop thinking about the way he had kissed her. She wondered what he would say if he knew what went in that head of hers. Just thinking about it brought blood rushing down her cheeks and between her legs.


    As if sensing her emotions from afar, Leonard turned to look at her.


    Time seemed to have frozen, eyes meeting each other while they stood in the same room staring at each other without a word. He didn''t wait for her toe up to him and instead, he walked to where she stood, his long feet taking big strides on the white floor.


    "Where were you?" he asked, his dark red eyes brooding slightly at her absence.


    "I..." she took time to get her senses back in ce, "I was at the river. We were washing clothes..." she saw him give her a nod.


    "What about lunch? Did you eat?" she shook her head, "Good. I asked Jan to bring lunch to my room. We can eat together."


    "That''s alright, master Leonard. I will have itter," his eyes narrowed at her words.


    "That won''t be necessary."


    "But-"


    "Vivian," he uttered her name with a sharp look, "You will be eating with me. Take a seat," he walked to the table and pulled the chair for her. She didn''t remember when was thest time they had eaten together or at the same table. A maid sitting at the same table where her master sat was an uneptable gesture in society.


    She heard the chair screech on the floor in the deafening silence of the room, making her head jerk up from her muddled thoughts before her feet carried herself to the chair and she sat down.


    For a minute Vivian didn''t look left or right and instead decided to keep her eyes on the table she was seated in.


    "How was your day?" she heard him question while he was behind her in front of his wooden carved closet rummaging through the clothes.


    "It went well, master Leonard," she answered his question, "We maids found out that it is much easier to clean the walls with the stick and woodenddle with wet cloth around it. Jan has been teaching us a lot of things. He is very good at cooking too. In the morning he finished preparing six dishes in less than ten minutes. I didn''t think it was-" her speech was interuppted when she felt his hand touch hers after he took a seat next to her, "h-humanly possible but...then I realized..."


    She suddenly couldn''t remember what she was talking about to him. With him touching her hand which was a simple touch, her mind had gone spiralling leaving her with theck of ability of speech.


    Unnoticeable goosebumps formed under the dress she wore, her body very much aware of him sitting next to her and touching.


    "What did you realize?" he prompted calmly, his hand tracing up her wrist and then her arm, "Hmm?"


    "I realized," she gulped when his hand reached her shoulders, "That he wasn''t a human but a vampire," she struggled with the words. Her voice lower than usual.


    "Is that so," he murmured.


    She saw Leonard lean forward in one single movement and kiss her lips.


    "Would you like to turn into one?" he whispered against her lips, "You just need to ask but I think I like you the way you are," he pulled her chair closer him.


    "I-I didn''t think about it," she looked away from him, her gaze shy and unable to hold to look him in the eye. She couldn''t concentrate on what she was speaking anymore! He was too close which made it impposible to think anything.


    "Such a sweet girl," he murmured brushing her lower lip with his, "Would youe with me somewhere if I asked you to?"


    Without asking where he meant with somewhere, Vivian nodded her head with the trust she had with him. Pecking her lips again he leaned back in his seat with a considerably bright mood, "Let''s eat," and not ten secondster did the housekeeper appear with a tray of food in both his arms.


    The housekeeper showed no change in his facial expressions that made Vivian wonder what he must be thinking with the way he served the food with a stoic face.


    After finishing her meal with Leonard, Vivian went to her daily chores.


    It was the time of evening when Leonard had gone out of the mansion after receiving a letter from the oldest Duke of Bonke. Vivian who had just finished recing new sheets in the room which had been washed and dried walked down the stairs to find Mr. Wells standing outside the mansion taking to the housekeeper.


    "Mr. Jerome, good evening," Vivian greeted him when their eyes.


    "Ms Vivian. It has been a while," he replied as he held his hat in front of his chest and gave her a slight bow.


    "What brought you here?" she asked him curious.


    "Thete Mr. Carmichael had wanted a house built under my supervision. It is half done and needs few modifications. I thought it would be better to consult the Duke before going ahead," he then added, "I didn''t receive any letters from you. I thought something grave must have happened and thought to visit you myself," he said making her smile.


    "Forgive me for interrupting you, Mr. Wells," the housekeeper spoke, "Maids or any servants of the Carmichael mansion are not allowed to send and exchange letters with others."


    "Really?" Mr. Jerome gave a ridiculous look at both of them, "That must be absurd. What if they want to contact their family?"


    "They will have to visit here, Sir. With the things that have happened it is the most logical reasoning," Jan answered without any emotion, "Mr. Wells, would you like to have tea in the drawing until master returns?"


    "I think I''m fine here. I shall take a walk in the garden," Jerome replied.


    "Very well, Sir," the housekeeper bowed.


    Before Vivian could tell her greetings for the day, she heard Jerome ask her, "Ms Vivian. Won''t you provide me yourpany in the garden?"

 Chapter 54 - Crossing Lines- Part 3

    The housekeeper found the maid looking at him for permission, to permit her walking with Mr Wells who was Duke Leonard''s guest. Seeing no harm in it, he gave a nod of approval.


    Seeing the housekeeper go inside the mansion, Mr Wells asked, "Shall we?"


    "How has work been? Were you able to acquire thend next to the Isle estate to build the market there?" Vivian asked taking small steps next to him as they began walking away from the entrance and towards the garden.


    "It has been going well. About thend next to Isle...hmm," he hummed thoughtfully before continuing to speak, "I have put in a letter to the council hoping they would take it into consideration but I am not sure if it will be. Maybe if Duke Leonard could look into the matter, it would be easier and quicker too. After all, I have heard what an influential man he is when ites to the council duties and also with the Lord."


    "That might be a good idea," Vivian responded knowing that Leonard could push for the barrennd to be turned to a market ce for the vampires where clothes and other items could be sold to people at a ce.


    "I wasn''t lying when I said I came here to not only meet the Lord but also you," Mr Wells stopped by to look at her who was looking down at the ground as they walked next to each other, "Have you been doing well?" he asked in a worried tone.


    Vivian nodded her head, looking up at his face and smiling, "I have been doing well, Jerome," she used his name just the way he always insisted her to call him. In response, he smiled at her.


    "I am d to hear that. How have things been in the mansion? Your housekeeper doesn''t look bad," he turned around to look in the direction where the housekeeper had disappeared.


    "He''s an exceptional worker. He knows almost everything and was quick to learn about Paul''s work," mentioning the former housekeeper''s name stopped her from speaking. She cleared her throat then, "He''s very strict though,"ughing at the end.


    "Well, you did mention about him being a former employee of the Lord''s mansion. You cannot expect anything less than that," the vampire chimed in the words, smiling before his expression turned slightly serious which Vivian noticed, "Has there been any case of missing servants?"


    Missing servants? Vivian didn''t understand initially what he was talking about until it hit her. She had spoken about the death of a maid before all of them were given the master-servant bond.


    "I don''t think so," she replied to see him furrow his brows.


    "You don''t have to be worried, Vivian. If something goes wrong in the mansion, let me know about it immediately," he looked around them to make sure there was no one in sight. Once he finished confirming it, he lowered his voice, "Though your master is a Duke no one is given the authority to take away someone''s life, not even the Lord himself. Things like these are done behind closed doors, hell a lot of things are done behind the closed doors of rich families which we aren''t aware of but you do know that it isn''t right, right?" there was concern present in his eyes


    .


    She nodded her head.


    She then asked him, "Was there anything you could find about Paul?" he shook his head.


    "Unfortunately, there''s no evidence that can be produced in front of the council to prove his innocence. When I asked one of an acquaintance of mine who works inside the council deputy of scroll works, she said she found no plea being recorded which would have been put forth by the Lord or anyone else for that matter."


    "Is there no way to extend the time?" she asked hopefully before disappointment was reced in her ck eyes.


    "They have prolonged his sentence for a long time. We cannot do anything but watch it through."


    "Would it be possible for me to meet him and the others? Before they...execute him?"


    "Of course, I can arrange it tomorrow," she had less than two days before the council would execute him in front of the town like any other criminal of the society.


    "Thank you," she offered her thanks.


    She then heard him sigh, "I really wished things turned out to be better for all of us in this world but there are always people to disrupt the little peace we have built between the vampires and humans. Please do remember Vivian. If anytime in the future things get out of hand, please don''t hesitate to let me or anyone out of the mansion know about it," he repeated his words, "I will be sure to drop by once in a while though I doubt it will be difficult from now," he said looking over his shoulders.


    Wondering what he meant by it, she turned around as the sounds of the wheels entering through the mansion gates became prominent. The carriage pulled up in front of the mansion which was none other than Leonard Carmichael''s personal carriage.


    As Leonard got down from his carriage, the housekeeper Jan was quick to appear from inside the mansion, taking the master''s coat before speaking to him, making Leonard turn towards the people in the garden. He had returned back after closing a deal that needed parchments to be inked and signed in the town to only return to see Vivian and Mr Wells standing close next to each other.


    Vivian was quick to bow and she raised her head to look at him, who was already headed in their direction, she was greeted with Leonard''s displeased look. Forgotten that Leonard disliked her speaking to Jerome she took one discreet step away from Mr Wells she stood quietly with both her hands holding each other.


    "Duke Carmichael," Jerome bowed his head, a piece of his hairing to fall on his forehead which he swiped back with his hand.


    "Mr Wells," Leonard greeted with no smile on his face which made Jerome smile at his obvious distaste to him, "To what do I owe you the pleasure? Vivian, you can go ahead and continue your work," he said not looking at the girl who scurried away the very next second.


    Vivian didn''t turn around to see or hear anything more, not making eye contact with the housekeeper on her way inside the mansion, she went straight in not looking left or right until she reached the servants quarters to change her clothes so that she could help others in preparing dinner.


    After spending less than an hour in the kitchen, she found out that Mr Wells had already left while the housekeeper sent her up to Leonard''s room to assist him with whatever was needed. As reluctant as she was to step in the zone where there might be a furious pureblooded vampire waiting for, there was no way she could pass on the job to anyone else.


    Going to his room, where the door was shut close, she raised her hand and knocked once, "Master Leonard."


    "Come in," she heard him from the other side of the door.


    "Is there anything you would like to help me with?" she asked him, her voice sounding meek and she cleared her throat.


    "Help me change," he raised his hand, his expression void of any emotions as if he were talking to any maid.


    "Yes," going to him, she was about to take his cuff buttons in her hand to unbutton it, Leonard pulled her towards him. A surprised gasp escaped her lips. He looked into her eyes, his red eyes burning into her.


    "Is it very hard to listen to what I say, Bambi?"


    "What?"


    "I asked you very specifically not to entertain Mr Wells, yet you go walk in the garden with him, exchange letters. Are you doing it intentionally?" the hand that was ced on her small back was pushed such that there was no space left between them,


    "I didn''t mean to," she frowned, "He only arrived a few minutes before you arrived. He asked me to apany him for a walk and I thought it would be rude to refuse. Jerome didn''t speak much," she didn''t realize that in the flow, she hadn''t referred to the person as Mr Wells but as Jerome which made Leonard narrow his eyes at her.


    His hand made way to her shoulders then to her neck, to hold it firm yet gently as he leant down to kiss her on her lips. He didn''t want to hear her speaking of another man. Taking another man''s name which was his fault as he had initiated the subject.


    Sucking her lips, he sank his teeth very lightly on her lower lip, pulling it along with him as he retreated back before letting it go.


    "The next time hees, I don''t want to see you talking to each other. I want youpleting the work Jan has assigned you for the day. He will be told to keep you busy," he brushed her hair away from her face.


    "Okay," she nodded her head while chewing her lower lip which stung a little.


    She began unbuttoning his shirt once he stepped back, one button after another she could feel her hands shake out of nervousness. Though Leonard noticed it, he didn''t stop her and instead found it quite endearing. Her cheeks had begun to flush red and he wondered what would happen if he took her to the night theatre.


    He would definitely take her there. Not right now or this week but soon enough.

 Chapter 55 - Prisoners- Part 1

    Late night when everyone was fast asleep in the mansion, Vivian heard a stone hit her table that came through her small open window, waking her up from her sleep. In the dark where the candle she had previously lit before going to sleep was fading away with few more minutes left before it would fizzle out, she made a reach to the stone. Upon touching it, she found the stone was covered with paper. Going to the window and taking a peak, she found no one in sight and sat down on her bed to unfold the paper.


    ''Dear Vivian,


    I write this letter to you in this form hoping you will find it to read due to the current situation where you work. I have spoken to the guards and one of the councilman to let you see Paul tomorrow after the time of Dawn. The time will be limited but I hope you make most of it. Forgive me that I won''t be able to apany you but my friend, Henry who is a councilman will be there to assist you. My carriage will be waiting for you in the town near Jacksonville''s cobbler shop.''


    At the bottom of the paper, Jerome Wells name was signed.


    Reading the paper another time, she took the paper to the candle and lit it on fire until there was no evidence left of it. Vivian was sure that if Jan or anyone else found it, there was no saying what kind of ire she would be facing from Leonard. All she wanted to do was go visit Paul and in all these days that had passed, she couldn''t muster the courage to ask Leonard. Every time she would even remotely mention thest housekeeper''s name, his mood would set off in the wrong direction.


    When morning arrived, opportunely, Vivian and the other maids were sent to fetch groceries and other items from town. Reaching the town, they split to get the things separately from where she slipped out of the town in the carriage that Jerome had promised. Though Jerome wasn''t there to help her personally, he had sent the councilman named Henry as mentioned in the letter.


    Arriving at the prison hold where all the used criminals were locked in separate cells, Vivian waited for a few minutes as Henry spoke to the guards. The building was old, old enough that would make anyone think that it would copse any moment.


    After speaking to the guards, the man appeared to her side, "Is everything alright?" she asked him.


    "The guards seemed to have been changed this morning and the new ones don''t know about the new visitors but it''s all sorted. Come along, we don''t have much time," Henry walked in the narrow corridors of the entrance of the prison building which looked old and rusted.


    Vivian had to be careful on her way, following the man closely as she heard growls and grunts, screams filling up few of the cells that made her wary of the ce she hade to. This wasn''t a ce for her, it wasn''t a ce anyone would like to visit not with the heart-chilling screams that echoed through the empty walls and space which made her shiver.


    "He is here," Henry said, stopping to unlock the metal door which creaked as it was pushed open, Vivian caught sight of a shadow sitting in the corner of the cell. Both his hands and feet were tied in chains to the wall, when the light Henry was holding touched his face, Vivian couldn''t help but gasp at the bruised face of the man. Tears filled in her eyes, "I will be waiting outside," the man said leaving her with the prisoner.


    "Paul?" Vivian called the man''s name but he hardly seemed to be in a state where he could listen to anything. It was evident that he was being beaten every day with every hour of his consciousness. One drop of her tear slid down her cheeks which fell on the empty ck ground where no light reached. Taking the kerchief she had been holding, she blew warm air on to it before cing the cloth of his swollen cheekbone.


    What kind of world was this? She was sure the man was innocent yet she had no power in helping him. The men who held power did nothing to save the man or his family.


    One day. That was all he had. Vivian''s entire life had revolved around Martha, Paul and the Carmichael''s and it seemed like everyone was leaving one by one. Wiping her cheek off the tear that had trailed down she continued to blow hot air on the kerchief and cing it on his bruised face.


    Getting up from the ground she went outside and spoke to the councilman, "Might you know where his family are ced here?"


    "They must be around here. Let me lock this one," he said, pulling the door closed and locking it.


    When they came upon the next door, Vivian peeked into the small barred slot.


    "Vivi?" came a man''s voice she came to recognize as Thomas who was Paul''s nephew.


    "Tom?" Vivian tried to get a better look and saw hime out of the shadows as she raised thentern up. Though there were bruises, he looked in a much better condition than Paul was. She waited for Henry to open the door before stepping inside the cell, "Thomas!" she crouched down and they both held each other''s hands.


    "How have you been, Vivi? I thought I wasn''t going to see you," he smiled looking at her tear streaked eyes which shone in thentern light, "What are you doing here?"


    "I wanted to see all of you...I-I am good. How have you been?" she mustered a small smile.


    "Apart from a few beatings that take ce every day, I should say it is fine. The only painful thing is that we have to hear uncle Paul''s screaming in pain every hour he wakes up. The guards here are far worse than what we get to hear in the town," Vivian had no words that she could offer to make things better. Both of them knew that Paul and all his family members would be executed tomorrow in the town, there was no way they could get out of it. Somewhere deep inside her heart, Vivian wanted to loosen the chains and she wondered why she shouldn''t. At that thought, she pulled out the pin from her hair and began twisting it around the lock.


    She ced a finger on her lips when Thomas was going to ask what she was doing. Hearing the sound of click from the lock, she ced back the pin her hair. She knew that if someone were to found out about it, it wouldn''t be just Thomas but also her neck in line for the execution.


    "Take care," she hugged him and though the lock had been unlocked on Thomas'' hands he sat there with a puzzled look of what she had just done.


    "It''s not right," he whispered.


    "I know," she whispered back, "But what is fair in this world," she continued to hug him, hoping if he could, he could run away and save himself. Going back to Paul would cause suspicion, but she wanted to save as many as she could. People who never partook in something they were used of. She wanted to quickly look for Paul''s sister and her husband but time didn''t seem to be with her.


    Lost in her own thoughts of saving people whom she cared for, she didn''t notice the sharp footsteps that approached the cell she was at, "What a pleasant surprise to see you here, Ms Vivian," it was the Lord of Bonke. He had a smile on his lips which made her let go of Thomas, "Does Leonard know that you are here?"


    "He doesn''t. Are you going to tell him?" she asked getting up from the ground and looking at him in the eye. As gentle as the lord looked, Vivian didn''t know why but there was something very unnerving about him.


    "I don''t know. I may or may not but for now, I think it would be best for you to step out of the cell and the building. The prison isn''t a ce for ady like you," Vivian decided not to argue with the Lord and instead bowed her head before ncing at Thomas, she left the building with the councilman.


    Thanking the councilman for his time and help, she returned back to the town market with the groceries the coachman of Mr Wells had helped her buy when she had gone to meet Paul.

 Chapter 56 - Prisoners- Part 2

    Leonard sipped the tea from the white teacup which had blood mixed with it, his tongue relishing the rich thick texture of the blood which wasn''t found in milk. The sun that rarely graced thends of Bonke was already up and high, rays of sun filling up the entire ce and piercing through the sses of the mansion which refracted various colors on the walls. It was the colors that had woken him up from his sleep along with the birds that had perched in one of the trees.


    And when Jan had arrived at his door, the first question he had asked was, "Where are the three maids?"


    "They have been sent to the market, Sire. They should be here in half an hour," the housekeeper replied back looking at his pocket watch.


    "Hmm," counting the number of servants in the mansion had be a habit to Leonard since he had ced the master-ve bond on all his servants. The trust he had gained in years had been washed away with the blood of his own.


    His finger skimmed round and round the delicate teacup, he held in his hand. Hearing the sound of the rattling carriage which was used by the servants for bringing in supplies for the mansion, he ced the cup on the saucer and stood up from his seat. Walking to the rails, he looked down to see the carriage being pulled in front of the mansion before the horses came to a full stop.


    The maids got down one by one, picking up the items from the carriage along with the coachman who helped them.


    Then there was his Bambi, carrying as many bags as she could in her arms.


    "You''re going to drop them," he heard Vivian say to the other maid who tried carrying when she was the one who almost dropped a bag from her hand to catch hold of it in time.


    "This one is much heavier than it looks," the maid said picking the bags as she went inside following Vivian into the mansion. Feeling the master bond again, Leonard counted the servants again. A total of fourteen servants were present in the mansion, sensing their souls of where they might be present at the moment.


    As the day went by, Vivian couldn''t stop thinking about her visit to the prison. She was worried and anxious. Worried about what was going toe tomorrow. With a brave step, she had opened the lock on Thomas'' bound hands which she had learned from Leonard and now that she had done, she was more than worried about it. Not to forget that Lord Nichs had seen her there. There was no telling if he would or wouldn''t tell it to Leonard, hoping he wouldn''t mention her in their conversation, she rubbed the wet cloth against the cold tiles. It wasn''t that she believed she had done wrong by unlocking a prisoner, there was nothing to feel guilty as she knew by all her heart that the family was innocent. With being run out of time, this was all she could do. Every time Leonard passed in front or somewhere close to where she was, she couldn''t help but feel the anxiety build in her chest.


    While Vivian was upied with thoughts of worry in the Carmichael mansion, the scene in the prison was nothing less of worry. Grace, Paul''s sister stared at the sun that had risen high up the sky. Dirt and mud covered the wrinkles on her face. To think they would be used of something they hadn''t done, she wiped the tear that fell on her cheek. Though the council had used andbeled her brother as a traitor, she knew he wasn''t the kind of man to kill someone. She had known him more than anyone else could and her mind was filled with nothing but sorrow.


    To think that the family they had served all these years had put them in prison. Things had never been easy. To begin with, humans and vampires had never trusted each other. They had never seen each other in the eye, harmony didn''t exist between the two creatures.


    She wondered if they would ever coexist to be equals, without the kind from where they came from or the status.


    "Did you beat this one up yesterday? He looks as if he''s been untouched," she heard a guard speak from one of the cells.


    "I did," came another guard''s voice, "I made sure to give him few more but looking at him, it doesn''t look so. No wonder the Lord asked if the punishments were being passed," then she heard the heart-wrenching screams that took ce in the cell where the guards were present which was none other than her brother, Paul''s scream.


    "Ahh!"


    She closed her eyes in pain, praying it would end quickly.


    When the next day arrived, like most of them Vivian had gone out to the town where the execution was going to take ce. Not thinking it through she hade to catch thest glimpse of the family and words couldn''t describe how much pain she felt when the guardsmen pulled the family up to the dais. She frowned when she saw Thomas standing there with the others. She had hoped to save at least one of them but why? Had the lock note off?


    On the sidelines, below the tform stood Leonard with few other councilmen, his face stoic void of any emotions. The announcer came forward to pull out the scroll from his pocket, and read from it, "This man and his family have been used in involving in the murder of the Carmichael''s and their other family members that took ce a few weeks ago. Like other criminals, he shall be executed for the treason caused to his owner, setting an example for the others..." the announcer''s voice dulled in Vivian''s ears when they brought Paul forward.


    Fresh red stain was inked on his clothes, his face bloodier than what she had seen yesterday. Hisplexion that had turned pale. Picking up her skirt in the front, she made her way to the front of the crowd, passing one after another person but noting in full view.


    A rope was put around Paul''s neck, his face visibly a little worried until his eyes fell on Vivian who looked utterly devasted at the moment. Tears began filling up in Vivian''s eyes seeing him give her a smile, holding back her tears she stopped breathing when the handle was pushed forward removing the ground from Paul''s feet that he was suddenly left hanging. Her hands tightened on her skirt. As she shut her eyes, the unshed tears sttered on her cheeks. Her feet automatically took a step back, one after another until she was away from the townfolk crowd that had gathered.


    As she tried to get far away from the pain with tears that she wiped every two seconds she crashed into Leonard.


    When both Leonard and Vivian were little children they always had been on the same team, always together and for the first time, it seemed that they were on different sides that made things difficult for both of them. On one side was Leonard avenging his families death and on the other side was Vivian who was mourning the loss of someone dear to her.

 Chapter 57 - Prisoners- Part 3

    Tears glistened down the cheeks as ssy eyes looked into Leonard''s red ones. When Paul was sentenced to death after the two trials that took ce in the court of council''s, he knew that the news had shattered Vivian because of the closeness the girl and his housekeeper shared. And now that she had seen him hang to death she looked utterly devastated.


    "My carriage is parked on the next street. Let''s go back home," his voice was void of emotions which held no sympathy for what just took ce.


    Vivian looked taken aback for a second before she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.


    Her head felt muddled up. She wanted to scream at the people who had hanged Paul and the rest of the family. Scream at the councilmen, the Lord and Leonard for not looking further at the matter of the housekeeper''s innocence. And though she wanted to scream her heart out in pain that had been caused by the loss of lives, due to the inability of her unable to save them her lips were tightly shut close.


    It was as if both Leonard and Vivian were ying a game of chess among themselves, losing people by turns who were important and close to them. If it really was true, the question was who would be thest one to stand alone.


    When Leonard started walking, heading towards the carriage he didn''t turn back to see her or the execution that was still in procession. Was this how the vampires lived without anypassion for the dead or the humans? Truth was that as much as Vivian had been close to Paul, in years of the time the man had be Leonard''s family too. Leonard was never the one to express his emotions openly, to admit that even though the man was found guilty for killing his beloved family, somewhere deep down his mind felt unsettled.


    Vivian followed Leonard to the carriage but with a good distance, unlike all the other time where she often stayed close by him unconsciously. Their way to the mansion was quietest among all the time they had shared. Going back to her room so that she could pick the apron she had left there, she got back to the work with Jan not saying anything about her absence in the mansion.


    As strict as the new housekeeper was, Jan was well aware of the circumstances of the Carmichael mansion before he was sent to work for Duke Carmichael. Most of the servants had hoped for their old housekeeper to be rescued and saved but Jan being a lowly vampire knew there was no saving when it came to the betrayal of trust in the vampire world, especially not when it concerned a pureblooded vampire.


    With the death of Paul and his family members, an example was set to every servant who resided in Bonke to not cross lines with their owners. With the passing days, things had turned even more difficult creating an evident gap between the master and the servants of the high society of vampires.


    Vivian pulled the ck sheets of the expansive bed, throwing it on the ground and beginning to dust the bed. Taking the fresh covers thatid on the table, she began spreading it evenly, pulling and tucking it the ck covers. After changing the covers of the pillows, she took the clothes that were in the bath and inside the room making her way through the hallways she caught sight of the Lord, Leonard''s cousin Rhys and another man who hade to the mansion.


    She bowed her head at all the three pureblooded vampires. She hadn''t nned to stay there to talk and greet them as it was something Jan was supposed to do. In that kept in mind, she tried to make a quick dash out of there but Lord Nichs spoke to her,


    "Good afternoon, Ms Vivian."


    "Good afternoon, milord," Vivian greeted him, her lips tight due to the circumstances he hadst found her in. It didn''t help that he had that unnerving smile ying on his lips right now.


    "Might you know where Leonard is? It appears that he isn''t in the mansion right now," how did he find that out when he had only entered through the main doors of the mansion, thought Vivian to herself.


    "Forgive me, milord. I do not know."


    "How unfortunate. Hmm, will you be going to market today or tomorrow?" Lord Nichs asked with a dull humour which caught the other two men''s attention. Vivian gulped hearing this, "Make sure you don''t wander too far away from the market, not all parts of the market are safe."


    "Yes. I shall keep that in mind," she bowed her head again.


    "Have women gone missing again from the town?" the other man asked Lord Nichs who had been looking down at Vivian, shifting his gaze he nodded his head.


    "There have been reports being sent to the counciltely on young women being abducted. Leonard has been working on it but unfortunately, no trail has been found," answered Rhys to the man''s question.


    "About the ve establishment?" the man''s dull red eyes continued his question.


    "None were added there. It has been clean," Leonard''s cousin answered not adding anything more in front of the maid who stood right now. Things like these were confidential and he didn''t understand why the Lord would go ahead to speak in front of her.


    Vivian wanted nothing but to be excused but the Lord kept her around, keeping her thereby making up conversations. She wondered where Leonard was so that she could dash out of the ufortable men. Lord Nichs was a good man but his words sometimes made her ufortable. And when it came to Leonard''s cousin, Rhys it was a different case. The man hardly spoke anything to the people around him, speaking to a lowly human maid like herself even when they were children was something he had refrained from. Then there was the other man whom she had seen a few times but hardly knew anything about him. All in all, it was a difficultpany to be with and all she wanted was to go take a break from her work, after all, she had been up early in the morning to begin her chores.


    As if God had heard her plea, the housekeeper appeared, "Master Nichs," Jan came from the other side of the hallway, "Master Rhys, master Timothy," the housekeeper bowed his head.


    "So this is where you sent him," murmured the man named Timothy, "I was wondering if you killed him and put him in theke," Nichs chuckled and the housekeeper smiled.


    "I think he''s considerably a decent house employee, especially if I haven''t received anyints from Leo on it,"plimented the lord.


    "Thank you, milord. Master Leonard has gone to visit the grave and should be back soon. Would you like to take a seat in the drawing room while I prepare something to drink?" Jan asked politely.


    Leonard''s cousin didn''t wait and instead began walking towards the drawing room. As Jan went to escort the guests, Lord Nichs fell behind, not moving from where he stood so that he could talk to Vivian.


    "Vivian darling, you should be careful of your actions," spoke the Lord to her in a soft tone so that the others who had gone to the drawing room couldn''t hear what he was talking. Seeing that the human didn''t understand what he was saying, he said, "You might be special to Leonard but that doesn''t mean you test the limits of it by unlocking a prisoner who was put by him there."


    Her mouth and her throat suddenly felt dry hearing this. The Lord knew of what she had done.


    "Don''t fret, dear, the matter has been put to rest now. Before the boy could escape, I proposed him with two paths. One which would save him and the other which would save you. Lucky for you he picked to save you," Vivian felt her heart sink at the information. Thomas had saved her from the action she had caused, "But I hope to see you not repeat something like that again. It would upset Leo to a very great deal if he found out what you did and I wouldn''t be this nice the next time," he smiled before joining the other two men in the drawing room.

 Chapter 58 - Prisoners- Part 4

    She who was supposed to be helping in the kitchen couldn''t help but hang around the drawing room in fear of Lord Nichs tattling on what she had done to the prisoners to Leonard. As good as their Lord was, Vivian had been worried that he would tell it to Leonard as they had a good rtionship between them.


    Until the time of night where she was serving Leonard dinner, she felt the anxiety building until she realized her master hadn''t brought anything remotely close to the topic she had been anticipating in dread.


    "Did you eat?"


    Vivian, who had been standing not far behind Leonard in the dining room saw him looking at her with his hands holding a knife and a fork.


    "I will be eatingter-"


    "Jan," he called the housekeeper who was in the room too.


    "Yes, master Leonard," Jan appeared next to him.


    "Leave us alone," at Leonard''smand, the vampire bowed his head and stepped out of the dining room, cing down his knife on the table, he pulled the chair next to him and said, "Sit with me."


    Gnawing on her lower lip, she went around the table to sit on the chair he had pulled for her to sit in.


    "The maids aren''t supposed to sit with their masters for meals," she reminded him seeing him cut the cooked meat from his te, "People would talk badly about it."


    "It''s just us here and Jan knows well not to mention what happens in the mansion even to his previous master. You haven''t been eating well. Here," he brought the meat up to her mouth. He looked calm and peaceful as she stared into his eyes, "Open your mouth, Bambi," his voice sounded like honey and she opened her mouth as if under a spell.


    It felt good, the food that was ced in her mouth. The meat was cooked until it was tender, vours bursting on her tongue which was rare as servants never ate the same meal as their masters. The servants weren''t privileged enough to taste such delicacies. The leftovers were usually thrown away without giving the workers a bite from it, such was the difference set by the high-ss members of the society with the lowly beings.


    If it weren''t for Leonard, the only taste she got was while preparing food.


    With a serene expression on his face, he cut the meat again this time to ce it in his mouth in the same fork he had used to feed her.


    He looked in much better health and mood, and it made Vivian wonder if it was because the murders of his family had been executed. As he fed her alternately, taking a bite himself and then feeding her, she couldn''t erase the memory that had been etched into her mind. How could she when she had seen the person who was no less than a guardian to her was hanged to death.


    After the execution, Vivian had avoided Leonard, not wanting to be around him initially. She wanted to be angry but she couldn''t bring her anger on Leonard as she knew he was right where he stood and she was right where she stood. It was a tie. A ce where she could do nothing about and ept the fact that Paul nor his family would evere back.


    The pain was there and it only intensified when she remembered what happened to the culprits in Bonke. Like many who had been killed under the council orders, the bodies were never given a burial. Instead, they were taken to theke of bones and dumped amongst the other bodies that melted into fumes to form a dark grey-blue fog.


    Picking up the ss of water, he handed it to her when she coughed a little. These were the things that melted her heart. How could she be angry at someone for avenging their families gruesome death? She was sure Leonard had made his best efforts due to which the execution trials had been dyed.


    When he brought the fork up to her lips, her little heart squeezed in her chest. With his calm expression, it was hard for her to understand what he was thinking right now while he fed her with the same food he ate.


    It was as if his presence took away all her worries bringing in hope that had been lost. Innocent times like these filled her heart with joy and undoubtful happiness that stole her world.


    Leonard gave her a questioning look when he saw a smile appear on her which she tried to hide before shaking her head.


    She continued to chew her food in silence. Once the te was clean, Vivian took another sip of water from the ss to see Leonard pick his own ss which was filled with blood.


    "Leo?" she asked not looking at him, her eyes cast down on the ss which she held in both her hands.


    "Hmm? What is it?"


    "I wanted to go somewhere tomorrow," her voice was quiet but he heard her well.


    "Where do you want to go?" the calm Leonard suddenly turned sharp at her words though he didn''t show it at the surface and behaved coolly. The world that had brought him happiness had also brought in chaos; he didn''t trust people. He was d that he had ced the master-ve bond on his servants, even more, d to ce it on Vivian to know where she was but it was only for a certain distance.


    Vivian sensing the change in Leonard''s voice tightened her grip on the ss, she spoke, "It has been a long while since I visited Martha''s grave."


    "I will take you there," he stated right away to her request. He would be going out to the town which would be an opportune moment to take Vivian along with him.


    She felt him touch her hands, taking away the ss from her before holding her hand in his, "Do I scare you too much?" he murmured running his hand over the side of her face.


    She shook her head, her mind turning numb and dizzy at his actions and velvety voice. He had only touched her face with his hands yet her toes had already begun to curl. Her heart beginning to beat faster making her dizzy.


    "Calm down, Bambi," he pulled her to hug her in his arms, "Deep breaths," he rubbed her back.


    "I am fine," she responded back a little flustered. with the way his arms wounded around her body. Seconds turned to minutes but he didn''t let her go, "Leo?" she called his name to feel his arms only tighten around her.


    "Let''s go out sometime next week," he said pulling away to look at her. He had hardly fine anything to her and her face had already turned red.


    "To a tea party?" she hadn''t forgotten what had happened thest time she went to a tea party with him.


    "No. Somewhere much better. You wille with me, won''t you?" he asked her already knowing she would say yes to him. It was a habit incorporated between them, for Vivian to follow where Leonard went.


    "Yes," Leonard smiled at her response.

 Chapter 59 - Unspoken Words- Part 1

    The cold wind blew across the Meyers mansion, the moon hidden behind the grey clouds as both Leonard and Rhys sat in the study room. It was Rhys'' birthday and he wanted to celebrate it quietly than in pomp. The firece crackled in the corner of the room the woods burning bright red as they gave out light, casting shadows on the walls and floor of the dark room. Clouds growled in the sky, the wind picked up the wet leaves that were stuck on the ground. Silence filled the room.


    "I heard you visited Julliard," spoke the dark-haired man, ncing at his cousin who had leaned ck in a rxed posture with his eyes closed.


    "He needs to keep the damn bird away from me," murmured Leonard with no apparent hint of irritation in his voice.


    "Bird?" Rhys tilted his head in question before continuing to speak, "No it wasn''t Toby but sister Isabelle who had gone to purify the town."


    "I forgot I met her there."


    "Nichs isn''t happy that she''s been told to purify the grounds near theke. He would rather have it not done. I don''t know why he won''t tell it himself," said Rhys picking up the red bottle that contained alcohol in it. Pouring the half-filled sses on the small table, he ced it on the ground next to an alreadypleted bottle which was empty.


    "The council is involved in it and we both know how Nichs doesn''t involve himself anywhere directly with the council. More than six humans went missing in broad daylight which has caused a surge of anxiety among the townsfolk," Leonard answered, picking the ss to take a sip from it, "The men of the vige are agitated."


    Rhys scrunched his brows, "Did you file the report to the council?"


    Leonard shook his head in denial, "It was the region where Cavilry is assigned," his cousin nodded his head in understanding, "The vigers wanted answers. With no sightings of any ck witches, the man filed the report in the council for purification of the ground. People who reside there havee to believe that it is theke that is behind the missing people."


    "No wonder, the lord was on the conversion of theke to forbidden grounds which would avoid causing any more rifts...but then that doesn''t solve the problem,"mented Rhys.


    "It doesn''t," Leonard responded back.


    Coming back to the conversation, Rhys said, "You need to stop ming yourself over things you aren''t responsible for," seeing his cousin not speak a word on it, he exhaled.


    Like many others, Rhys wished he could turn back time, to the time where they could have saved people who were dear to them. Rhys had been the kind of man who normally didn''t associate himself with anyone, Julliard, on the other hand, warmed up easily. Both Charlotte and he were the most approachable ones while he and Leonard were difficult to get through. The only difference between Leonard and him was that he didn''t care too much while Leonard cared but never showed his emotions until it started spilling out.


    Leonard hadn''t opened up about his parent''s death.


    The night the tragic event took ce, Rhys was helping another rtive of theirs who had been wounded due to which he couldn''t witness Uncle Giles and Aunt Renae''s death. When Leonard came to find the cause of themotion, his father was already found dead but his mother, thought Rhys closing his eyes.


    To kill someone you love and adore with your hands, it was something Rhys couldn''t fathom himself. Not a word had been uttered or discussed and it was as if his cousin was trying to prolong and push the pain away which wasn''t healthy. Pain like that could turn toxic in time, unbearable until it would burst out. He knew his cousin didn''t like being probed with personal information and only listened to what everyone spoke which included the Lord who was so fond of him.


    Leonard didn''t bother to look at Rhys when he felt his gaze on him. Ignoring the eyes, he wondered what Julliard would have said if he were here with them.


    "Do you think souls exist?"


    "Are you asking because of what was proposed?" Leonard raised his brows at his cousin, "You shouldn''t take his words seriously, his sense of humour is as dry as the wind in Woville."


    They were talking about the time when the idea of cing Julliard''s body in theke was proposed. Theke of bones wasn''t just a name but took the word in a literal sense. It was a mass grave for the dead. For the beings who didn''t have and to bury in, nameless people without families, criminals who had created serious offence in the society. It was very rare for a pureblooded vampire to end up theke of bones. Theke of bones which was located far away from the towns was hidden behind the thick forest.


    It was a ce of tortured souls put together. Though in the years that hade by and gone, no one could prove what made the ce so eerie, if it was the smoke in the night or the haunting quietness that brought into the fearful minds of the humans.


    "I didn''t," Rhys stated uncrossing his legs and getting up from his plush chair, "But the idea did sound intriguing. Sometimes it''s better to have at least a figment of the person than have nothing at all but loss."


    "I would have never agreed to put any of them there," Leonard frowned as Rhys walked by him to push the woods further into the fire with his shoes. As much as like the others who wanted to keep a piece of everyone to see and remember by, Leo couldn''t bring himself to do demean them by putting them in theke of bones with the low-level creatures.


    "I know," Rhys responded back with a sigh.


    Getting up from his seat himself, Leonard walked to sand next to the closed window. Looking outside where the wind blew shaking the leaves and moving the branches, he saw lightning strike from the sky. It would soon begin to pour, he thought to himself.


    "How is she doing?" he heard his cousin ask knowing well he was asking about Vivian. Though Rhys never intervened in his personal matters, it didn''t settle well with him that his cousin showed an interest in her well being, "She was close to the housekeeper, wasn''t she? I thought she would leave the mansion after what was done to him and his family," at Rhys'' words, Leonard felt his hand twitch at the thought of her leaving the mansion. Leaving his side. Thinking about it, he looked at the clock on the wall to notice that he had stayed longer than he had expected.


    "She''s doing fine," keeping his words short, he turned to look at his cousin, "I should get going," the dark-haired man nodded his head.


    "Let me ask Harper to ready your carriage."


    On his way back to his mansion, Leonard couldn''t help but think about what Rhys said to him. It wasn''t that he hadn''t thought about it. Though he would never admit it out loud in words to anyone, the girl worried him to no end. She was someone he cared for immensely, someone he loved for a very long time and losing her from his side was not something he wanted.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t feel her pain but he had hoped she would understand why he did what he had to do.


    When he first found Paul was behind his parent''s death, it had left him shocked. So shocked that he had pushed the date of the housekeeper''s execution for more than four weeks of time so that he could find the loopholes, after all, he had grown up to know the man in a close distance. When a crime wasmitted in their society, death was something that was quickly bestowed. It was never dyed yet even after extending time no loopholes could be found.


    As much as it pained her, Leonard had to push aside his sentiments and do what was followed in the society and for his family. Letting go of murder in the society would do nothing but encourage the ones who were about tomit a crime close to it.


    With worry also came belief of understanding when it came to Vivian.


    Reaching the mansion, he walked through the dark deserted halls while counting his servants one by one to make sure they were in the mansion and not outside. The servants werepliant and fearful thanks to the Lord who killed one of his previous.


    Early in the night, Leonard found it hard to fall asleep. Just when he slipped into his dream, something from the recent past came to haunt him, waking him up in an instant from his sleep.


    Blood, there was blood everywhere. On the walls, the floors that had turned crimson red. On his hands, he closed his eyes with a sigh bringing his mother''s image of what he had seen in his dream. No, it wasn''t a dream. He was reliving it with every passing night. The memory of his beautiful mothering to attack him with her eyes that had gone ck and livid without any emotion. His hands covered in her blood after he had run his hand through her chest. The same chest that had kept him close when he was a child.


    The memory felt fresh like only a minute had passed.


    Taking the ss of water from the side table, he drank itpletely as if it would wash away the angst and the pain that he was hidden in his own chest. But that didn''t change the fact that he had killed her. He had killed his mother. As the thought repeated in his mind, unable to contain the anger, he threw the ss on the wall that broke into thousands of little pieces which reflected in the air for a spare moment when the lightning struck from the sky.


    Both his hands ran through his hair as he held his head while sitting on the edge of his bed.

 Chapter 60 - Unspoken Words- Part 2

    Running his hands through his thick blonde hair, Leonard got up from the bed and walked out of his bedroom. His feet padded quietly on the marble floor, taking him to the door which was made of darker woods, carved in simple designs from top to bottom.


    He opened the door which hadn''t been opened and used for several weeks now. He had asked the servants not to step into it. He didn''t want anything to be changed in his parent''s room. When he was a young boy, he often came here to talk to his parents but after he had moved to the Rune and Rufus'' mansion the visit had stopped. Thest time he had spent time in his parent''s room was when he had found his father''s body syed on the ground next to the bed with a pool of blood surrounding him.


    He bent down at the foot of the bed, his hand moving in the air as if his fatherid down there. Turning around, he sat with his back against the bed to support himself, stretching one leg long.


    "Leo," he heard his mother''s voice from his memories, "What is it?" her elegant voice was fresh even now, recollecting a memory from the time he was young. The young boy shook his head at his mother''s question, "Did you get into trouble again?"


    The boy stood still, his brows furrowed too deeply for his age. His mother waited for him to speak, knowing he was gathering his thoughts, "Is it true that Dana left?" at his question, the woman''s smile faltered slightly before raising her hand, silently asking him toe near her which he did. She brought him close to her, almost hugging him whilst keeping enough room so that she could look at her son.


    "Was she made to leave?" he questioned her, his eyes staring right into hers.


    His mother pursed her lips, knowing well a lie wasn''t something she wanted her son to grow up with, "Uncle Sulvian doesn''t believe she would fit in right in the mansion."


    "Why not? Is it because she didn''tply with Uncle Sullivan?"


    "Hmm, you could say that. We live in a time where there are lines that separate each of us. Few lines just happen to be longer and wider where people need to know not to cross it," she ran her hand gently through his hair, "It is a rule that a servant or a maid listens to his or her master. It is a rule that they shouldn''t cross the line but sometimes you can erase those lines. Do you know why Paul brings you a watermelon every time he goes to the market?"


    "Because he is supposed to?" this made his motherugh.


    "No, darling. He''s not supposed to bring things we haven''t asked for. He brings it because he knows you like it," she exined, "He cares for you because we didn''t create those lines among the people who live here. Living in harmony is necessary, else life will turn out to be very lonely. Unfortunately, some wee that kind of living and some don''t in our society."


    "What is right then?" he asked her curious for an answer.


    "Nothing at all. It depends on what you feel is right. Live for yourself, Leo, not for others opinions," she bent down to leave a kiss on his forehead.


    The colored memory turned grey and then to the color of the darkness of the room. Leonard touched his forehead, remembering the gentle kiss his mother had ced when he was young. Before the light began filling up the room, the door was closed with no trace of Leonard in the mansion.


    Vivian woke up a littlete that night. Having waited for Leonard to return back at the mansion, she had stayed up until Jan, the housekeeper had asked her to retire to bed as he would be there to server Leonard. Going to her master''s room, the bed was empty. If it weren''t for the disheveled covers on the bed, she would have guessed he hadn''te back sincest noon. Wondering where he went, she made his unkempt bed.


    With the master not in the house along with the housekeeper, it was a breath of fresh air for the maids and the other servants who were always under the watchful eye of the vampire housekeeper.


    Though the mansion was merry again after a very long time, it still felt empty and lonely to her. With not even Leonard around, the feeling of anxiousness rose in her chest. Doing her morning Chores, Vivian left for the market to buy groceries for the mansion along with another maid and the coachman. The grounds of the market was wetter than the othernds, bringing various people in and out of it with a lot of hustle that went by.


    Keeping her at the safe side of the streets, she shopped for the vegetables while the other maid left to buy other things. Picking up the watermelon, she swung it as if to feel its heaviness. Watermelons were rare in thend of Bonke which was brought from othernds.


    It was when she was trying the third melon did a boye running from the other side of the street, knocking off her bnce. The boy who was no lesser than eleven or twelve grabbed the fruit from her hand to trip not far from the shop. He fell down crashing into several baskets while getting yelled by people.


    The melon shopper walked around his shop to leave a punch on the boys face before taking the fruit which was going to be stolen.


    "Little rat!" she heard the shopkeeper curse the boy, "Trying to steal without money. You should be happy I''m not reporting you to the guards," he yelled keeping the fruit back in it''s ce.


    Knowing that it was normal for something like this to happen in the market ce as everyone were trying to strive, Vivian continued to shop before paying bronze coins to him.


    Turning around she noticed the boy who had tripped, hadn''t moved from his ce and instead sat right where he was. Feeling it to be a little out of ce, she decided to go check on the boy.


    "Little boy, are you alright?" she asked him to see him holding his leg with his eyes shut close. The market was a ce where no one bothered or worried about another who weren''t concerned. That is was why Vivian wasn''t surprised when no one came to aid the boy except to curse him. cing the gunny bag next to her securely so that it wouldn''t be stolen, she crouched in front of him. The boy was small and as he looked at her with bloodshot eyes in pain, he opened his mouth but no words came out. It was then did Vivian realize that he couldn''t speak, "Let me see," she said moving his hand away from his knee.


    Pushing up the torn dark pant, she found blood oozing out of his skin. Upon touching it the boy cringed in pain.


    "Vivian?! What are you doing?" The maid she hade with found her sitting on the ground, "Who is the boy? Master will be home soon. We need to head back."


    "The boy is hurt," Vivian frowned as she held her hand, covering his knee in an effort to stop the blood.


    "Someone he knows wille help him," said the maid, "We are already past the time. Master Leonard won''t be happy if he finds out we were outside longer than the time that has been allotted."


    "It won''t take long," Vivian murmured to receive a frustrated sigh from the maid.


    "I''ll go get some water. You''re going to get me into trouble," the maid disappeared in the crowd while Vivian held both her hands on the boy''s knee.


    After a while the maid returned back to Vivian holding a battered tumbler in her hand.


    Vivian didn''t know what happened but when she moved her bloodied hand away from the wound, it seemed like the blood had stopped bleeding but that wasn''t what surprised her. It was when she started pouring water to clean the wound did she see it.


    Confused she looked up at his knee and then the boy who looked at her with an equally surprised look. There was no wound present there at all.

 Chapter 61 - The Healer- Part 1

    Though she had washed the boy''s knee with the little amount of water, she didn''t forget the wetness on the palms of her hand which was caused by the blood when she had covered the wound.


    "Are you joking? There''s no wound there! I think it''s enough of you ying doctor. We need to leave now," the maid eximed in frustration, looking down at her with an impatient expression. Vivian didn''t understand what had just happened but she did stand up, giving the boy a look with her brows furrowed in confusion.


    Both the maids headed back to the carriage to load all the items they had bought from the market. When they left the market on their way back to the mansion, the coachman oversaw therge pit on the wet dark ground which was covered with dark water, camouging the presence of the pit. This resulted in the carriage wheel to get stuck in the pit which refused to be pulled out by the two horses.


    The Coachman putting in his effort pushed the wheel when the two brown horses tried moving forward which helped in the wheeling out of the pit. The wheel had been damaged though and there was no saying when the carriage might breakdown before they would reach the mansion. Having a spare wheel which was carried at the back of the carriage, the coachman got to rece it while the two maids got down from the carriage.


    As they waited for the carriage to be fixed, Vivian''s thoughts turned to the boy she met in the market. She had seen the boy fall, the blood that had gushed out from his skin yet when she had cleaned the wound, not a scratch was seen on his knee. She didn''t understand what happened. Was it the water? Or was it the boy himself who couldn''t speak? Questions circted in her mind as they waited in the deserted forest which wasn''t far from the market.


    Unable to contain the questions, she asked the maid who had apanied her who was busy looking at the tips of her braided hair, "Evangelin, where did you get the water from?"


    The maid looked up from her hair, "What water?"


    "The one you brought for the boy in the tumbler."


    "At the barrel outside the local inn," Vivian doubted it had anything to do with the water. The maid named, Evangelin came to stand next to her, "We are lucky the carriage broke down else we wouldn''t know what to answer with the close to twenty minutes of beingte. Did you know that the fair is going to be put up in the town soon? To think that we didn''t even hear about it because of where we work," she tched before closing her mouth shut when the coachman sent her a side look.


    Vivian didn''t find anything wrong with what the maid had to say but that didn''t mean talking about it openly was safe. To the coachman, it was as if Vivian would tattle tale on them as she appeared to be the one close to their master while to Vivian it was the coachman who would tattle tale on them as he looked at them with narrowed eyes.


    "Do you think we''ll be able to visit the fair?" Evangelin asked her.


    "I am not sure about it," Vivian responded to hear a sound carriage being pulled from a distance. The wheels rolled on the ground, hooves of the horse hitting the wet mud as they walked to only halt in front of them, "Mr. Wells," she greeted the curly haired vampire who stepped out of his carriage.


    Jerome who had been passing by the same route of the forest had asked his coachman to stop the carriage upon seeing Vivian standing by a carriage that was being repaired.


    "Did the wheel break?" he asked them to which their own coachman replied back with a yes sir, "Hmm. Benji, could you please help him with it," he turned around to speak to his coachman, "Seems like you have been standing here for quite some time now. We should be fortunate that it hasn''t started raining yet."


    "We are fortunate for it," Evangelin answered staring at Mr Wells as if stars were crossing across her eyes. Vivian couldn''t help but smile at it. Jerome Wells could be considered to be a fairly attractive man, not as good looking as the pure-blooded vampires but for a man who came from an average vampire family, his looks and attitude preceded it enormously making him look no less than a pure-blooded vampire.


    Mr Wells smiled at the maid, shifting his eyes on to Vivian, "How have you been?" he asked her.


    Thest time they had spoken to each other was the day before Paul was executed.


    "I have been doing well, thank you for asking," she bowed her head and she then asked, "Where you headed for work somewhere?"


    "I wouldn''t say it''s work. My brother hase from Valeria with the Lord to speak to the magistrate of the town that resides not far from the establishment. I haven''t seen him in some time and thought it was a good time to meet him."


    "Mr Wells, you have a brother?" Evangelin asked not able to keep her curiosity.


    "I do," the vampire smiled, "A younger one who works for the Valerian Lord."


    After a few minutes, the new wheel was fixed to the carriage which looked good to go. Thanking Mr Wells for his help, they left for the Carmichael mansion. By the time they reached the mansion as expected, Leonard was back with the housekeeper. Vivian and Evangelin weren''t questioned about their time but that didn''t mean the housekeeper didn''t interrogate the coachman on what took them so long to get back to the mansion. The coachman being a dutiful man didn''t miss to say that Mr Wells had helped them which Leonard heard but didn''tment or react to it.


    Back in the kitchen, Vivian couldn''t get her mind off the fact that something had gone amiss at the time they were in the market. As she diced the vegetables evenly, she wondered if it had something to do with her. She looked at her left hand, staring into it. She shook her head at the thought.


    Human or vampire, no one held powers such as that, except for the high priestess who used incantation spells. But she had seen the boy bleeding and that was where her doubtid. Something healing up so automatically had never happened before, not that she could remember.


    As if to test her reasoning and thoughts, being brave she took the knife she held, looking around the kitchen carefully to see if anybody was seeing her. Her eyes fell back on the knife, clutching it tightly in her hand as she brought the other hand close to it. Gulping she readied herself, the knife hadn''t touched her skin but she could already feel the pain of her skin being sliced.


    Not noticing that the housekeeper had only entered the kitchen when she was staring at her hand, she held her breath, bracing herself as she ran the sharp knife over her skin. Flinching in pain she dropped the knife.


    "Vivian!" came the sharp voice of the housekeeper, startling her, she looked up to see him standing at the entrance of the kitchen, "What are you trying to do?!"


    "Ah, I..." she trailed not sure how to answer his question. She hadn''t expected him toe by as he had only left the room but it looked like she was caught red-handed.


    "Follow me," the housekeeper waited for her to start walking and when she did, he left the room. She followed him with her wounded finger that was wrapped in her good hand. The housekeeper didn''t stop to talk to her and he instead continued to walk, taking her through the corridors away from the people who worked there. The maids whom they came across didn''t dare to look at them and instead, they continued to do what they were doing.


    On their way to wherever they were headed Vivian looked down her wrapped finger, unwrapping them to see the wound still in ce. She knew it. Somewhere deep down she had been wishful that in some way she was special but that wasn''t the case. Not only did she assume her theory of her being able to heal wounds but she had also cut her finger to be only caught by Jan.


    They came to stand in front none other than Leonard''s room, knocking the door twice they heard him respond.


    "What is it, Jan?" Leonard asked sitting at his desk with a pair of sses that rested on his nose. Realizing Vivian stood behind his housekeeper he looked up from the parchment of papers he held in his hand.


    "Master Leonard, I would like to inform you that the maid here was about to drop her blood in today''s meal. Vivian''s head snapped to look at the housekeeper. Was that what he thought? Leonard''s eyes fell on her. The housekeeper continued to speak, "As all the pureblooded families have been informed and have given the same orders to all the staff who work in the kitchen, adding blood of their own for their master or mistress''s meal is considered to be an offence. It is something uneptable to do and it seems like a ploy."


    "I didn''t-" Vivian began in her defence but Leonard cut her short.


    "Is that true? Did you try adding your blood in the meal?" he questioned, his brows so very slightly furrowed.


    "No, I didn''t!" she hurried with her answer.


    "Do you deny that you didn''t cut your finger out of purpose?" the lowly vampire turned his scrutinizing gaze at her.


    "It was by mistake," her words came out in a low volume.


    "Master, believe me when I say that this girl tried to soil the food which was meant for you. We never know what the blood might contain, there are substances that can be endured by humans when consumed but not by vampires," Jan spoke in an using tone.


    "I wouldn''t do that," how dare he use her of something without a base, "I was cutting vegetables. There''s no way I would have mixed it with the food."


    "We never know," the housekeeper''s bright red eyes gave her a look before he turned to his master, "Being raised by the human who brought in death, it''s never too much to be careful about people, master."


    "I think one should be careful of outsiders who don''t know anything about the mansion. Like I said I wasn''t nning to cut my hand to mix the blood in master Leonard''s meal and I am sure he would have noticed it," seemed like the housekeeper didn''t actually like her and it made her wonder. Was it only her or was he like this with every other servant of the Carmichael''s household?


    "Hence, the question of why-"


    "That''s enough. Jan, leave us alone. I have something to talk to Vivian," Leonard turned in his seat.


    "Yes, master," Jan bowed his head.


    "And close the door," when the door shut close, Vivian held her finger which continued to sting in pain while feeling Leonard''s eyes that stared at her, "Are you going to stand there all day? Sit down," not knowing where exactly to sit she looked for an empty ce, her eyes going to the chair she sat and then the bed, "On the bed," he directed her with a sigh as he got up to walk towards one of the cabs of his room.


    Picking up the first aid box, he made his way to sit next to her. Raising forward his hand he took her wounded hand to inspect the slice of her finger which looked rather deep, the smell of her blood wafting across his nose.


    It wasn''t the first time he had dressed her wound. When they were little children, Vivian was prone to falling down or hurting herself out of nowhere. The younger Leo had always tended to her wounds, he took it as his responsibility, after all, she was his Bambi. His to look after.


    That didn''t mean he could overlook what he heard from Jan.


    "Why did you cut yourself?" he asked bringing up her finger to ce it in his mouth. She winced in pain when his tongue grazed over the open wound.


    "It hurts," that didn''t stop him from sucking her fingers that only brought more pain, "Leo..."


    He pulled her finger which was clean from blood except for the slice of a line that was staining red again, "Answer me."


    "I wanted to check something."


    "Check what? If you would bleed?" he asked, his tone sarcastic. He knew she was clumsy but to cut her finger in an open front was definitely not a mistake but a purposeful wound. To add, Jan had seen her cutting and he doubted the man lied.


    She looked away from him when he pulled out the bandages from the box, "You wouldugh if I said it."


    "Have I ever?" he asked her, using the cotton to dab on her finger. No. Leo wasn''t the kind of man tough, he would rather mock her for thinking something so strange.


    Though he didn''t ask her again, it didn''t mean he wasn''t waiting for her to exin what she just did and she knew that. Seeing him apply some kind of antiseptic gel on her finger she saw his blonde hair fall across his eyes. His movements were gentle and careful on her.


    "Today when we went to the market, a boy fell down," she began her story and heard him hum to continue with her story, "The boy couldn''t speak and he was bleeding too much, in pain," Leo would have asked her to leave the boy be but he doubted she had it in her soul to leave someone helpless and turn her nose away from it. Not uttering a word, he looked at her to show that he was listening before he began covering her finger with the bandage,


    "I wanted to help him and asked Evangelin to get some water to wash it. There was too much blood and in that time I ced my hand on his knee but when the blood stains were washed, there was no wound there," this caught Leonard''s interest, "It was rather strange. I mean one minute he was bleeding and the next he wasn''t, so I..."


    "You thought you healed him," hepleted her sentence to see her nod her head sheepishly, "I must say your little demonstration on yourself doesn''t seem like you had anything to do with the healing."


    "I was wrong," Leonard finished aiding the wound she had caused on herself, she could feel the slight amount of disappointment sink in her chest as she admitted to him.


    That night, Leonard visited the church to meet Sister Isabelle who was lighting the candles one after the other.


    "To what do we owe the presence of our Duke at this hour of the night?" Sister Isabelle asked with her back still facing Leonard.


    Not beating around the bush, he asked, "What do you know about healers?" hearing this Sister Isabelle''s hand stopped before she turned to look at Leonard. She blew the candle out that was in her hand.


    "What do you want to know about them?" her intelligent eyes that once was bright now looked at him with dull eyes.


    "Everything."

 Chapter 62 - The Healer- Part 2

    Sister Isabelle had given more than her thirty years of life in service of the church and to the people of Bonke. Though it was a well-known fact by the higher up''s like the Council, the Lords and the Duke''s that most of the priest and priestess of the church were white witches, humans and the other lower beings were unaware of it. The white witches had their own abilities of merits but that didn''t mean the lower beings took their existence well. With the ck witches who were always involved in demeaning activities like abducting humans and sacrificing them for their rituals, humans feared and loathed them.


    The humans were no less when it came to showing the revenge on the ck witches by burning them in the middle of the town and it didn''t matter if a white witch was caught who had nothing ill to offer. For the humans, all the witches were bad and they didn''t hold back the hate they had against the witches.


    Humans were gullible, so gullible that they could be manipted with the wind of a word, thought Sister Isabelle about it, and then came the low vampires after the humans. They were easily driven but not the pureblooded vampires.


    Her green eyes gauged the boy who stood in front of her, his eyes dark due to the low amount of light present in the church. She had known Duke Leonard since he was a young boy, who now had grown tall, his intelligent eyes staring right into hers. She remembered his mothering to visit her as if it was only yesterday, concerned about her only son who had temperamental issues. She had seen boys fighting out their anger but the Duke...the Duke had the habit of keeping it in until it burst out. His features were like a prince, and she expected nothing less from the man who hailed from one of the known pureblooded families.


    But it was the elegance that caught her attention, she had seen the same from the current lord of Bonke. Of course, thought Sister Isabelle, he had been brought up by the Lord himself. There was no saying how the upbringing was. The Lord might have pretended well in front of his subjects but he couldn''t fool her, she knew exactly how he had acquired the position of Lord.


    "What do you know about the healers apart from them being rare?" Leonard asked her.


    "That they don''t exist anymore," Sister Isabelle answereding to sit on one of the empty benches. With the hour of the night, the church was deserted except for the white witch and the pureblooded vampire who leant his back against the side of the bench waiting for his question to be answered.


    "The council said they have tried searching for one in the past but never found one," at Leonard''s words the woman nodded her head.


    Sister Isabelle spoke, "They would have done that. It might be not right to say this but the council isn''t all pure. There are people who would infilterate subject and matter without anyone''s consious for their own benefit. I don''t think there are any healers left in any of thends. At least not for a century now. Many had concluded that it was the white witches blood that brought in the ability to heal wounds."


    "They aren''t," he stated thoughtfully. He did have his doubts on Vivian being one of them when she had told him the incident that urred with her in the market. Leonard knew Vivian since a young age but no one knew where she came from. Her life before the Carmichael''s mansion was a clean te, "Does that mean they are born without any lineage?"


    "Frankly, it would be hard to say, Duke Leonard," Sister Isabelle answered to his question, "


    When the healers did exist, the white witches had onlye to learn of them and had begun to collect minute details. My kind didn''t have the privilege to ask information as we are still an outcast in the society''s eyes. I don''t think there is a specific pattern though. Usually when a pair of vampires mates each other or witches or humans for that matter, they produce an offspring of their own. Surely there have been a few differentbinations but that didn''t change much. Healers as rare as they were, they were taken by the ck witches or the councilors in the past who cut them down to learn about their abilities. What people didn''t know back then was that the wounds inflicted on a healer couldn''t be healed and it took time."


    Thest sentence caught Leonard''s interest. If what Sister Isabelle said was true, there was a possibility that his Bambi was a healer and her life would be in danger if word got out about who she was now.


    "So a healer cannot heal himself but can heal others?" he reiterated to confirm her words.


    "That''s the irony, not only that but their life span begins to cut short. To use a little amount of their energy is fine but using too much reduces their years of life. If you think about it, it is quite sad," this wasn''t something he hade to hear.


    When Leonard went back to the mansion, his mood from curious had turned to a foul one.


    He paced back on forth in his room, words of the white witch looping in his mind. Undoubtedly, Vivian was a healer maybe not born as one but she had gained the ability to heal injured people.


    What she had done in the market was noble but that didn''t mean Leonard wanted her to do it again.


    That idiot, scolded Leonard in his mind, to prove her theory she had gone ahead and cut her finger.


    With the unstable world outside, he had to protect her and seeing her shorten her life due to her good heart wasn''t something Leonard was willing to do. He would rather have her not know about it, after all, didn''t they say ignorance was bliss.

 Chapter 63 - Housekeeper And The Maids- Part 1

    In the early wake of hours, the girl sat at the table with a boy not far next to her. The front of her beige dress had turned crimson, traces of blood on her mouth and chin due to coughing out the blood that had been served to her. A woman stood far from the table who looked utterly embarrassed looking down at her young daughter dread, and shame filling up her mind as the realization of what was going on hit her.


    "Emmanuel!" the woman''s voice screeched in angst, "Emmanuel! Come here quickly!" a man came hurriedly into the room.


    "What happened? Why are you shouting this early in the morning?" he asked her to see the woman nod her head towards the table. The man''s thin eyebrows furrowed deeply when he looked at the blood that was spilled everywhere in front of the girl.


    "Do you know what this means? It is as we feared. The girl isn''t a vampire anymore, she''s unable to digest it!" the woman spoke hurriedly looking behind her to make sure the maid who worked for them wasn''t nearby.


    "It might just be an allergy reaction. Make her drink again," the man spoke seriously to see the woman nod with a heavy sigh as she made her way to the table and picked the ss which was now half filled with the blood.


    The little girl shook her head, her once dark red eyes which slowly hade to turn lighter in color, "Please mama," the little girl pleaded to her mother. She didn''t like the taste of what the ss contained it made her throw up every time she tried swallowed it.


    "You need to drink the blood to grow strong," the woman said to see the girl shake her head and lean away from the ss but the woman was having none of it. She pulled the girl roughly by her arm and pushed the ss to the little girl''s lips. The love, once she had for her firstborn, hade to shrivel and disappear with the fact that their daughter might not be of their kind. They were the night creatures that took pride in being part of the pureblooded vampires. To know that their own child was turning to a lowly being that they despised was something they couldn''t digest.


    The girl tried drinking the blood, her tear filled eyes looking up at her mother to stop as the warm liquid tried making through her throat. Feeling the repulsive metallic taste the girl threw up for the second time in the morning.


    The man came to stand next to his wife, his expression grave, his lips set in a thin line. He said to his wife, "Make sure she drinks it and if she fails to drink, bring another ss until she stops vomiting. Let''s make sure she doesn''t turn to that low thing."


    Vivian woke up at the sound of the bird hitting its beak at the window pane of her room. Stretching her arms as sheid in her bed, she sat up to look outside her window where the bird had flown from there. Staring at the cloudy sky, she remembered seeing a girl in her dream who looked really sad. She tried recollecting what her dream about but as seconds passed by, the dream turned to a blur of nothingness until she couldn''t remember what had made the little girl in her dream so sad.


    Shivering in the morning cold, she pulled the sheet closer to her with both the hands to her chest, enveloping herself with the little heat the thin sheet could provide.


    When the time of work called, Vivian was up and running in the shed to water the animals. The maids usually took turns to switch between their role of assigned job and thankfully the housekeeper hadn''t spoken anything about it. After all, at the end of the day, it was about getting the job done.


    Speaking about the housekeeper, thought Vivian in her mind as she cleaned the dung away from the horses, the vampire had continued to behave with her as usual. Giving her work and enquiring if things were done. Looking down at her finger which was almost healed as more than a week had passed since she had cut herself with the knife out of curiosity.


    Though Jan spoke to her as he did to the rest, it didn''t mean she didn''t sense the hostility that came from him when it was only him and her in the room. In the beginning, she hade to believe it as a part of her imagination but after he had med her for soiling Leonard''s meal she couldn''t help but notice the subtle action of difference that came when it was her. There was a sharpness in the tone of his voice which made Vivian only that more meticulous when it came to what she did in the mansion.


    It wasn''t just the housekeeper. It was a in obvious matter that was known in and around by people who worked for the Carmichael mansion that Vivian was special to the Duke. It wasn''t easy being special to someone, not when it was the master of the house while one was still nothing but a servant by status. With being special came the unfriendliness of other maids and if it weren''t for the rule of not gossiping in the mansion, God forbid there would be a heap of rumours flying across thend they lived about the Duke and the maid''s rtionship.


    Not that there weren''t whispers about it which weren''t spoken out loud.


    Thanks to Vivian''s oblivious nature as she grew up, her life had mostly revolved around other people in the mansion than the talks of the servants. People like Martha, Paul, Leonard and his family was something that had taken her time without the need for unnecessary and unrequired subjects. But then people didn''t have an opportunity to talk about her and Leonard''s rtionship as the Duke had been away from the Carmichael''s mansion until a few months ago.


    Refilling the drum of water, Vivian stepped back from it to look up at the vast sky that stretched from one end to another, a few crows sat not far from the mansion, cawing to themselves. The clouds didn''t look heavy, not yet at least to notify the people of Bonke of the oing rain.


    Today was the day she had been anticipating for a week now. It was the day Leonard had told he would take her out, out to the town to watch a y in the theatre and her excitement bubbled up as time passed. She had already picked the dress to wore, it wasn''t much but a presentable one which was given by thete Mrs Carmichael to her during thest Christmas.


    Though Vivian would never say it out to Leonard she had been looking forward to spending time with him. In the ocean of pain that both lived, they were each other''s anchor of hope.


    Just as she was getting around the garden she caught sight of Leonard who was dressed in a suit, walking out of the mansion and into the carriage that was stationed in front of the mansion. The carriage started and left the mansion, disappearing from her vision.


    Wondering where he left to, Vivian wondered when he would return back before they would head out. The day moved as hours passed by and evening fell with Vivian waiting for Leonard to return without asking a word to the housekeeper of when their master would return back home.


    It was when the sky began turning inky hue did Viviane to realize that they wouldn''t be going anywhere out, yet a little hope resided in her heart until she heard Jan speak to one of the maids,


    "Master Leonard won''t be returning for the night. He''s attending a soiree that''s being held in the Rufus'' mansion and might return a littleter tomorrow morning," her heart sank hearing this information. There was a possibility that Leonard had forgotten what he had said a week ago and maybe reminding him was what she had to do but was it? She was aware that he had been busy with the council''s work and she reasoned with herself that Mr Rufus was a much important person in his life. She couldn''t deny the slight disappointment that came to settle down in her chest before sighing and telling herself that there was always tomorrow to look forward too.


    "What do we do with the wine that was brought in today?" asked the maid.


    "Put it away in the cab, there''s a..." their conversation fazed while she turned away from the wall where they didn''t notice her. Slowly going back to her room, she picked up the dress that had beenid down on the bed since that morning and folded it before putting it back inside.

 Chapter 64 - Housekeeper And The Maids- Part 2

    Vivian like the rest of them sat on the floor of the room where the servants usually sat to eat. The excitement that had built up sincest night had broken down like a balloon that contained water in it. Withck of appetite she had the food which was given to her, with her legs folded, she ate in silence like the rest. Even during the absence of Duke Leonard in the mansion, the mansion was always quiet as the housekeeper watched them like a hawk.


    Taking a bite from the porridge on her dull te, Vivian couldn''t hide the dismay that had been caused. She didn''t me Leonard for it, she never did me him for anything because she believed it was her fault for not checking in with him about his day. If she had she would have known about his prior ns that were already set for the day.


    Yet, after her reasoning, she couldn''t drive the feeling of not being important to him.


    All these years, Leonard had been nothing but a friend in Vivian''s eyes. Though they were closer than most of the normal people would be for a master and a maid, she hadn''t seen him in that light. Being oblivious, she hadn''t noticed his care before and now that she was aware of him, she couldn''t help but notice the little things about him. Shaking her head to herself for thinking so deeply about something so trivial she put ate her food unaware of the fact that two maids who had looked her way gave confused looks to each other.


    When Jan went out of the room, one of them asked,


    "Is everything alright with you, Vivian?"


    "Huh?" Vivian who had been staring at the floor broke her gaze away to see the maids look at her in concern, "What?"


    "It looked like you were murmuring to yourself which you always do. You know what they say about people talking to themselves," another girl, named Hana next to the maid who just asked her gave a smug look, "They call them mad."


    "The people who poke their nose are called mind your own work before you fall down," Vivian responded back instantly. Already not in a good mood, she didn''t hold back her words which only ruffled the other maid who had passed ament.


    "We were only pointing out what people would say out of concern," huffed Hana while dropping her hand to her te.


    "And I was doing the same," answered Vivian not looking up and continuing to eat. This was enough to rile Hana. Their voices were quite enough for anyone not to hear out of the room, especially when the housekeeper coulde pop back in the room but it had attracted other''s attention who sat near them.


    It wasn''t the first time the two girls had a rift in the conversation. Vivian who had been sheltered all this time by Martha and Paul had no one to defend her not that she got into unnecessary fights but there were maids who were jealous of the girl. Maids of her own age who hadeter to work for the Carmichael didn''t see why the girl received the extra attention from their handsome master when they were much better than Vivian.


    There had been instances where they hade to see the affection the Duke showered on her. Jealousy was an obvious affection that few of the maids shared against Vivian.


    "Do you think-" Hana was cut off my Mary who looked at both the girls.


    "We should carry on to eat our dinner before hees back," the timid maid looked back and forth before seeing the door of the kitchen.


    "No, she should hear this. Instead of being grateful she''s rude," Hana said not backing down, "Just because you are a pet that doesn''t mean you''re better than us. Not only that but she''s swindling over people. You think other''s don''t notice how you keep wandering around master like some annoying fly. Or should I say that there are some of us who think you might be involved in the death."


    "Hana stop!" Mary tried to intervene.


    "That is the truth, you told it yourself," hearing this Mary''s face turned bright red with embarrassment, "Didn''t you say you saw her tiptoeing towards the master and others room that night? What if it wasn''t the food but something else?"


    "Why don''t you try proving it then?" Vivian deadpanned looking up from her empty te which she had just emptied, "One should have proof before framing me which is baseless and maybe if you concentrated on your work than in other business, you would get better at what you do."


    Movari, another maid who sat on the other end of the room couldn''t help but smile at Vivian''s words as it hit a nerve on the redhead girl named Hana who looked spiteful.


    Hana opened her mouth but Vivian beat her to it, "Most of us are still grieving over the people we have lost who have been dear to us. I don''t think you have the right to ask where my loyalty lies and I don''t have to answer your questions, not to someone who has stayed here in the mansion for only a year."


    "You speak in such manner because of your good grace with the master. Just because he favours you now, don''t think he will always continue to do so. One day he''ll rece you as the rest do," Hana taunted her, "Where are you going?" she asked seeing Vivian get up.


    "For someone spineless who waits for the housekeeper to leave the room, I have nothing to say more," said Vivian who carried the empty te whilst Hana had more to say which she ignored tantly though there were a few things that did bother her which she didn''t show on her face. Cleaning the utensil, she walked out of the kitchen to see notice the housekeeper who was standing right behind the wall next to the door with his hands folded across his chest.


    Her footsteps came to halt.


    "I won''t apologize for what I spoke," she should have known that the housekeeper would have been there to listen to every word spoken by the servants. It was a strict rule not to speak of things that had nothing to do with work, there was a work decorum that had to be followed and she knew both she and Hana had misbehaved.


    "You shouldn''t go taking liberties in using your words," Jan who had been leaning against the wall pushed himself to face her, "Master Leonard is a good man but it doesn''t mean it holds the same for everyone. If you worked for another pureblooded family they wouldn''t overlook even if it was a little matter that was rted to the owner of the house," not saying anything more he stepped back into the kitchen.


    Vivian usually stayed away from difficult maids she worked with, servants who had nothing to offer but ill talk about others. It was something she had picked by Leonard''s teaching when she was young. When they were both young, Leonard had moulded her, telling her what was right and wrong which little Vivian had closed her eyes to believe in his words. That was the rtionship they had built together, the kind that had blind faith of trust; emotions that were intricately woven.


    At night she sighed as she got into bed. Leonard hadn''t returned home and she doubted he would that night but he did return.


    By the time Leonard arrived back at the mansion, it was midnight, he counted the servants making sure they were all in the mansion, especially making double sure when it came to a certain maid but he didn''t stop at that.


    The soiree for the vampires at the Rufus'' mansion was still going on when he had left the ce to get back to his mansion. His feet took it''s own mind as it walked through the empty dark hallways of the mansion. It had begun to rain again, the sound of thunder growling in the sky, asionally filling up the empty corridors.


    Walking past the doors, he stopped in front of her room. Turning the knob carefully without an extra sound and pushed the door open to see the girl sleeping in her bed. He closed the door behind him. Usually, he would have left after sensing her presence in front of her room but the alcohol he had consumed still buzzed in his body and the need to see her hade to be a wanting on his way back to the mansion.


    She had curled herself on the bed with the covers, one side of her face pressed against the pillow. The bed was smaller than the average but spacious enough yet her body moved to sleep on the far corner with her back touching the wall.


    Lighting struck from the sky before being apanied by the thunderous sound. He remembered the time when she had onlye to live in the Carmichael''s mansion of how scared she was at the sound of thunder as the rain of Bonke had always been harsh and continuous. She would always drag her cover along with her before entering the ss room where he spent his time as a boy.


    She was finally used to it, thought Leonard to himself as he raised his hand to brush the blonde piece of hair that was on her face.


    Getting on the bed when the thunder struck again, he came toy on the bed to face Vivian as she slept soundly.

 Chapter 65 - Stranger In The Crowd- Part 1

    Though he hadid down on the bed to sleep next to Vivian, he was yet to close his eyes as he stared at the sleeping face in front of him. Her eyes moved behind her closed eyelids as if she was dreaming about something which was hard to be pulled back into reality, it made him wonder what she would be dreaming right now.


    The wind that came along with picking up residues of rain with it made the weather in thends of Bonke only that much colder. Vivian hadpletely wrapped herself with the cover, protecting herself from the dropping temperature of the night, yet she slept through it while Leonard still wore the clothes he hade home with. He could hear her breath, the inhale and exhale of air which was soft on the pillow.


    Her cheeks were pale, unable to resist the urge of touching her, he ran his fingers across her face, waking her up from her sleep.


    Her sleep filled eyes fluttered half open to see Leonard lying next to her.


    "Leo?" she whispered his name in the night. Sleep began evaporating from her body as the realization hit her that the man was in her room, in her bed right now.


    Her heart rate picked up which he could hear even in the rain and the thunder, he ran his fingers through her hair gently to soothe the beating heart. They stared at each other, one that waszy and the other which had widened as Leonard''s hand shifted from her hair to her arm, moving it back and forth like a feather.


    "I thought you wouldn''t being," she said filling up thefortable silence between them.


    He took a deep breath before exhaling out, "Did you," he murmured, putting his hand around her waist he pulled her closer to him, "What happened?" she heard him ask her. She blushed keeping her eyes on his shirt buttons.


    What happened? Vivian could feel her heart beating faster than before, closing her eyes she tried to calm it down but how could she when he had pulled her so close to him that she was merely an inch or two away from him. Not to forget they had never slept on the same bed before. Sure they had fallen asleep next to each other when they were little children but they weren''t children anymore. Vivian had grown into a beautiful girl while Leonard had grown into a handsome man.


    "Nothing," she shook her head, a gasp escaping from her lips when his arm curled around her bringing her further close. He smelled nice, thought Vivian to herself, sweet like home making her feel warm from the inside.


    Feeling him kiss the top of her head, she looked up to see him to only feel a kiss on her cheek which was peppered towards her neck. A blissful sigh passed through her lips when his lips touched her neck. His teeth grazed on her delicate pale skin, biting it yfully and then sucking on it hard enough that would leave a bruise for a few days.


    "Leo, wait!" she spoke hurriedly, pushing his chest when she realized the front of her dress buttons hade undone which was his handiwork. Her face looked utterly flushed. Just as her hands reached the front of her dress, Leonard caught hold of her hand to stop her from doing what she was about to do. A little out of breath, she met his eyes that looked into hers with a frown that adorned his face right now, "Leo..."


    With her hands that were tightly grasped in his, she didn''t dare to move. She had read somewhere that when a prey was caught by the predator, staying still was wise by not instigating thetter.


    "What?" he asked, rubbing his thumb against her wrist soothingly.


    "I need to button my dress," she replied with her heart shuddering in her chest.


    He dropped her hand along with his below her chest but didn''t let it go, "I think it''s fine as it is."


    "P-please," she pleaded in that sweet voice of hers, intoxicating the night further. Her eyes sought his anxiously, shyness evident in them.


    Suddenly she felt herself roll quickly on her back on the bed with Leonard on top of her.


    "Are you afraid, Bambi?" he asked leaning forward, letting go one of her hand so that he could ce his hand on the side of her face, "See," he took her other hand to ce it on his chest where she felt his heart beat as fast as hers did, "Don''t be afraid," he whispered, "I won''t do anything you don''t like," he leaned even more closely as if he was about to kiss her and instinctively she raised her head to meet his lips but the lips never touched hers.


    He hovered above her lips, time to time getting close to only pull back while looking at her reactions which were a pure delight to him.


    In time Vivian realized what he was doing. It was as if she was a cat while he was the man dangling the mouse which she couldn''t have. He was teasing her as the anticipation of wanting to be kissed built up.


    Finally, after he was satisfied ying with her, he finally bent down to press his lips on hers. The pressure was carefully before he began moving his lips against hers, opening her like a present which was meant only for him. He slipped his tongue past her mouth which she shyly opened.


    Her head tilted up, opening up herself while she closed her eyes that it stole his heart. This was what made her so different from the women he knew. His Bambi was naturally innocent and not someone who yed coy, though she wouldn''t outright say what she wanted now, he could read her well.


    Her eagerness in the kisses, the look in her eyes said it all to him and he kissed her until she was left breathless under him.

 Chapter 66 - Stranger In The Crowd- Part 2

    Vivian was left breathless by the time Leonard had pulled away from her lips. Her heart thumping in her chest as he held her in his arms.


    "Did you have dinner?" she asked him to hear him hum for an answer. With the rain steadily pouring down from the sky, the sounds of thunder filled the silent room once in a while.


    Seeing Leonard not move or speak a word, she wondered if he fell asleep. Just when she was about to move away from him, he pulled her back into his arms, "Stay," he murmured above her head. Were they going to sleep in the same bed? Looking at the current it seemed like that was what Leo had in his mind, thought Vivian to herself. Partly she was embarrassed but on the other side, she was d he hadn''t left her to go back to his room, especially not when he had kissed her so passionately.


    The disappointment she had felt in the evening had washed away to be filled with contentedness. Remembering it she bit her lips.


    "Leo?" she called him.


    "Sleep, Bambi," he pulled her closer to kiss the top of her head and she did when he said, closing her eyes to let the darkness pull her for the second time.


    In the morning when Vivian woke up, her head was resting on top of Leonard''s chest while he slept on his back with one of his hand outstretched and the other that held her securely. She woke up as slow as she could, moving his hand away that rested on her waist. Taking a look at his fast asleep face which looked no less than a prince, she got out of bed making no noise. Her heart squeezed in her chest when she stopped by the bed after dressing herself for the day to look at a sleeping Leo.


    Last night something rare had happened. They had slept in the same bed, not to forget that it was in her room. She didn''t have the heart to leave his side, not knowing where he would be going once he would wake up while leaving her behind at the mansion.


    Leonard''s eyes opened once Vivian closed the door softly with a click of the knob.


    He had been awake for sometime now, far before even Vivian had woken up. Staring at the ceiling that was cracked with his arm ced behind his head, he could hear the birds chirp outside the mansion. Though yesterday hadn''t started that great, he could say it had ended well for him. More than well. When they were small she often fell asleep in the ss room. The first few weeks when they weren''t well acquainted he would leave her there before Paul would find her sleeping on the cold floor with her cover but she had slowly grown on him.


    His mother taught him to be good to both the humans as well as vampires but there were others who had taught him on what was better for a pureblooded vampire. His uncle Sullivan never appreciated the humans and being a young child, Leonard had looked up to his paternal uncle who liked spoiling him. Leonard couldn''t say he liked or hated the humans, it was just that he hated mingling with people who were not of his concern. He wondered how Vivian had managed to grow on him.


    He pushed himself up from the bed to sit at the edge as his feet touched the ground. Getting up, he headed to his own room.


    After the often encounters they had and the time he spent with her when they were little, he felt guilty to leave the girl in the cold ss room. He would pick her up to put her in the bed, in this same room. There was also the time when he heard someone walking he would drop her somewhere safe before going to his room.


    It was the little things, things that weren''t wise. She was clumsy back then, dropping any and everything that was around her. The memories made him smile, he couldn''t remember how many times he had covered up for her, to keep her away from being punished for her clumsiness.


    "Good morning, master Leonard," his housekeeper wished him, who had a tray in his hand ready to serve, "Would you like to drink something?"


    "No. Have breakfast prepared in half an hour and the carriage ready. I need to go visit the town where there''s been an abduction."


    "Another one?" the housekeeper asked surprise in his voice. It was the second time to happen in this week.


    "Yes, if you could get it done to the earliest," said Leonard to get an instant yes from Jan who disappeared to get the breakfast prepared.


    Most of the folks who thought it was the vampires and humans who didn''t get along needed to check the rtionship of the witches and humans.


    It was if they were ying back and forth with each other, each killing one another by taking turns. It hade to be the weeks routine. Either a human would be taken away to a ck witch''s hideout or the witches which included the innocent ones that were burnt alive in the middle of the town.


    A few of the human''s body parts were found across the forest, some that were washed away with the rain. The humans were scared and angry at the council for not doing anything about it. It wasn''t as easy as they thought it could be though. ck witches were extremely clever but there was something else that bothered him. Something else that had been weighing on his mind.


    Last week when he had been on a tour to the forest to inspect the bodies, he had found something else that seemed and looked inhuman. Humans that died were always dry in a rotting process but what he found at one particr ce was a slimy flesh which he was sure didn''t belong to a human.


    And if didn''t, the question was whom or what did it belong to?

 Chapter 67 - Stranger In The Crowd- Part 3

    Vivian couldn''t help herself but smile as she worked for the remainder of the day, a smile that was faint which only made her that much prettier.


    "If you keep smiling like that, the next thing you''ll hear is you have gone insane," she heard the maid named Movari speak behind her, who had caught her smiling when the maid was walking across the hall, "What''s got you in such a good mood?" asked Movari after looking around to make sure no one was there, after all talking to another maid in the hallways during was forbidden.


    "I had a good dream," Vivian whispered with a faint blush which she couldn''t keep away from her cheeks. Last night was something she hadn''t expected to happen. Not only had she got to see him before sleep but he had stayed with her until morning.


    After an errand, she had gone to her room to find an empty room


    Movari nodded her head, "I don''t remember when was thest time I had a good one. The only one I keep seeing is the damn housekeeper," she huffed making herugh.


    "I am sorry to hear that," she responded back with a smile.


    "Don''t be. I think it is very natural after all you are," Movari leaned forward, "...bathing him now," hearing this was enough to set her face ame with embarrassment.


    "W-what no," Vivianughed nervously trying to put off the topic, she really did dig her grave when she let the truth slip out of her lips. Movari was four years older to Vivian but she had also joined the Carmichael household after a few years of Vivian''s admission to the household.


    Movariughed before coughing very loudly and hurrying away when Jan appeared through the other side of the hallway with eyes that narrowed when the other maid scurried away leaving Vivian to continue her work.


    Vivian didn''t wait to make eye contact with the Jan, instead, she turned around to clean the stand on which the vase was kept. As we walked from one corner to the other, on the way she could feel his eyes on her which made her feel small. Recently it seemed like she was getting into ufortable situations with him and one or two maids in the mansion.


    She couldn''t forget what he had said to her yesterday as she left the kitchen after dinner. He had spoken to her nicely yet there was an undertone which made her feel wary about the vampire. Especially not to forget when he was the man who was personally assigned by the Lord himself. She didn''t deny that Leonard was closer to her than the rest of the servants but it was because they had almost grown up together. And when it came to working he never interfered in what she did, not unless she broke something, therefore, it would be wrong for anyone to say he was partial to her in that matter.


    With Leonard who had gone out to the town, the mansion felt a little empty and so did her chest.


    Once in a while, he would give her a quick kiss if he was on his way outside but it was a rare thing but the previous night things went in a different route.


    Not only had he kissed her but he had also managed to unbutton her dress which only made blood rush up her neck. Strangely theposed Leo she knew looked a little dazed as he had kissed her. Biting her lip she continued to clean the stand not wanting the housekeeper to pop out which he did after a minute.


    As the week passed by Leonard was busy with the council work and in between the week, he had traveled to Woville to meet the Lord there so that they could discuss matters that concerned the humans and the vampire''s conflicts there in ce of the Lord of Bonke as he had other things to take care of.


    The day when Vivian was about to leave to the local market, Leonard stopped her before she went out, "Vivian," he called her.


    "Is there something you would like me to fetch for you in the market?" she asked him.


    "Yes," he answered, buttoning up the cuff of his white shirt.


    "What would that be?" she asked him as the maid whom she was supposed to bow her head as she left to walk towards the carriage. With no one around them, he answered,


    "You."


    It took Vivian a second to sink what he just said and she couldn''t stop but look down at the floor before looking up as ck eyes stared at him, "Anything else than that master?" she asked hiding the blush from her face.


    "No," Leonard''s lips quirked up, "What time will you be back?" he asked her, even though he knew how long the shopping took ce.


    "In less than two hours. We just have a few items that need restocking in the storeroom for this month. It should take less time," Leonard nodded his head to it as if thinking about something which made her wonder what had got him distracted. His eyes quickly moved to hers then.


    "I have been busy these few days. Let''s go out once youe back from the market," he said suddenly taking her by surprise, "Okay?" he asked her.


    "Okay," she answered her with a smile to which he nodded with approval.


    "Go on then," he said smiling himself.


    Turning around, Vivian walked towards the carriage schooling her features, she got into the carriage.


    Reaching the local market which was as busy as thest time she had seen it, they walked to get the items which were needed. As she approached one of the shops, she caught sight of two men beating each other on the other side of the street. Not heeding attention to it, she went turned her head to speak to the shopkeeper so that she could hurry up and get back to the mansion.

 Chapter 68 - Stranger In The Crowd- Part 4

    Vivian was in the regr stands of the shops, keeping her words minimum with the shopkeeper when she felt someone tug her dress from behind. Startled she turned around to see the mute boy she had previously encountered in the market.


    "Hello," she turnedpletely to see him stare at her, "How is your leg?" she asked bending slightly to meet his height.


    The boy looked down at his leg and then at her, nodding his head.


    "It''s alright?" she asked him to see him nod again. Her brows furrowed remembering how his leg had healed miraculously in a span of few minutes. It was something that still lingered in the back of her mind, "I''m d to hear that. Hmm?" she saw the boy put his hand in his pocket for something before he pulled out to give her a bright yellow flower. It was a daffodil.


    "Is this for me?" the boy nodded to her question. Touched by his gesture, her hand reached to take it, "Thank you. It is lovely," the scratches on his hands arms didn''t go unnoticed by her when she took the flower from him.


    The scratches were light red marks on his tanned skin and she doubted it was from a cat. Did he perhaps receive it while picking out the flower? Daffodils weren''t freely avable in and around the town. Though it was a sweet gesture which she hadn''t expected, Vivian felt guilty if the boy did receive the red lines because of her. She wished she could make the scratch like marks disappear.


    She bent down to meet his eye, taking hold of his hands in hers to speak, "Thank you for the flower but I hope you don''t trouble yourself the next time to bring something to me as thanks," she raised her brows waiting for him to react. Seeing the boy nod once again but this time being slow she smiled.


    "Who''s this little boy?" the maid who had gone to buy other items came by to see Vivian sitting on her knees talking to a boy, "Someone you know?" she asked.


    Vivian smiled at the boy to say, "Something like that," she then said to the boy, "I need to head back now. Be careful," the boy nodded again, waving his hand he went on his way.


    "How rude. He didn''t even say a word," the maid murmured looking at him go.


    "He can''t speak," Vivian said as they picked what was provided in the gunny bag.


    "Oh," the maid gave a sad look which stayed for a while as they walked through the crowded streets of the market. People were always quick to judge others without any absolute reason, it was always like that, wasn''t it, thought Vivian to herself.


    She had tucked the flower which was given by the boy in her dress pocket as her hands were full. Carrying the bag was slightly tricky when it came to the market grounds as it was always wet, muddy covered with dirt. If she missed one step there was no telling how bad she would end falling either on her back or her face. This made her extremely careful when it came to taking steps one after another after all she was someone who held a talent when it came to slipping and falling down.


    With their carriage parked as usual outside the market area, it was a long walk for the maids. On their way when Vivian was carrying the bag, managing it in her arms a fat woman who was chasing her hen that was running away from her stumbled right in front of Vivian making her stumble and lose her footing.


    Right before she could fall, she felt arms catch her, steadying her with one hand and using the other hand to support the gunny bag she had been carrying.


    "Careful with your stepsdy," it was a man who had covered his face with a hood and once he had steadied her, he left without another word.


    In the beginning, Vivian felt something odd about that man as he had only whispered in the loud market which was hard for her to pick up until she realized whom the voice belonged too. Her head quickly snapped around to see where the man was but he had already disappeared in the throng of people.


    "Where are you going leaving the bag in the middle of the street?!" the maid asked when she saw Vivian drop the bag on the ground with her eyes that search for the hooded man.


    "The man who was here, did you see him?" she asked the girl, her voice frantic.


    "Which man are you talking about?" the maid asked confused. They were in a bustling street and people walked back and forth to remember who had passed by.


    "The man in the hood. Please bear with me!" Vivian sounded apologetic before shepletely let loose of her grip on the bag.


    "Wait!" she heard the maid shout but she was already long gone, searching for the man in the hood. Where did he go?! How could she have taken so much time to notice but then it couldn''t be and maybe it was only a mistake, thought Vivian to herself.


    The man sounded just like Paul.


    Her eyes searched everywhere but it wasn''t easy to spot people and she knew her search would be futile. Yet, there was a tiny hope to find out. It took her some time to realize that she had seen Paul die right in front of her eyes. Paul had been hung in front of the entire town for being found guilty of killing Mr and Mrs Carmichael with other few family members. How did she forget that?


    The memory was still fresh. Him walking on the dais. The noose being tightened around his neck before the handle was pulled. She closed her eyes feeling the pain that began sinking into her mind. Paul was dead. He had been executed and her mind had conjured the random man just because the man sounded the same as the previous housekeeper of the Carmichael''s.


    Stopping her footsteps she came to a halt as men and women passed by her, some scolding her for standing there idle and blocking the way. Sighing, she turned back and left.

 Chapter 69 - Little Things- Part 1

    "What happened?" asked the maid seeing Viviane back.


    "I thought I saw someone I know," she said turning again to look at the people but whoever had helped her from falling was long gone. Picking up the gunny bag and hoisting it up on her hip, she followed the maid back to the carriage.


    "Seriously, you gave me a fright back there. I thought someone stole something from you," she gave the girl an apologetic smile. Reaching the mansion after cing the bags in the store room the maid said, "By the way, this fell from your dress when you ran previously," the maid showed the flower in her hand.


    "Thank you," Vivian took it in her hand but the other maids who were around couldn''t help but ask.


    "Who is the flower from? Don''t tell me you found a suitor in the market."


    "Do you think we will be allowed to leave if we find suitors?"


    "It isn''t from a suitor," Vivian tried to clear the air of misunderstanding but her fellow maids had already drawn up the conclusion to the flower she held.


    "Of course. So Vivian who is the flower from? I once received a proposal which I now regret not epting it," the maids went on to discuss it, not in a low voice which attracted the housekeeper''s attention.


    "What''s going on in here?" Jan asked, his bright red eyes looking at the four maids in an using manner as if they were conspiring about something. The maids who had previously been curious about Vivian''s flower were no longer interested to hear the story and instead bowed their head, scattering away from each other to continue their work.


    Before the housekeeper had the opportunity to look at what Vivian held in her hand, she had safely put it back in her dress pocket.


    But just because Jan, the housekeeper didn''t see the matter which was unclear had begun to circte among the other maids as they did their chores. Altering the words to a rumor that the maids spoke as they had no more information to bite into.


    Leonard was only walking across the hall when he heard two maids whispering to each other about something, slight annoyance hovering over him. The maids didn''t know when to keep their mouth shut. He heard one of them speak who was nipping the leaves from the vase,


    "But wasn''t that what it was?"


    "You heard it wrong. I heard it was a very handsome man who gave her the flower," said the other.


    "How do you know that? You weren''t there to listen."


    "That''s what Hana said. Apparently, she also went in search of the man but he was long gone after giving her the flower," said the maid with the information that had been twisted into a whole new story. Not minding them for now, he walked but only for a few steps when heard the maid continue to speak, "Do you think Vivian will ept the man?"


    "I don''t know, I thought she was going to ept Mr. Wells proposal."


    "Yes, Mr. Wells, he''s a decent man."


    Hearing this Leonard''s hands balled into tight fists, knuckles turning white as he stormed from there. With every step he took as he went to find Vivian, anger began simmering up in his mind.


    He should have known. He should have known that something like this was bound to happen especially with the visits to the market where there were opportunities of meeting people. What he didn''t expect was Vivian epting the flower from another man who wasn''t him.


    He had thought he had made his feelings for her clear but it didn''t seem to be the case. Did she think the kisses and the affection he had shared with her to be a pass time that didn''t hold any sort of value?


    As peaceful and harmless Leonard appeared on the surface the same couldn''t be said about his emotions. Having one of the best mentors whom he had grown under, Leonard was not on the same level as the Lord himself but he was a man capable of many things which people weren''t aware of. For the maids to know about Jerome''s interest in Vivian, it only bubbled the anger like a volcano that was brewing slowly before the moltenva would be out burning everything and anything on its way.


    Making his way to the back of the mansion where Vivian was currently hanging the sheets that were washed and brought back. The cool wind blew, unable to pick anything from the ground as it was wet but to move the sheets that freely flowed in its direction. He could see her silhouette behind the white sheet. When she moved to the front he could see her hanging another sheet on the rope, stretching her arms while making sure the fabric didn''t cramp around each other.


    He stood there, watching her who was immersed in her work. Her hair was tied into a single braid that rested on her right side of the shoulder. Some of the hair hovered over her face due to the wind.


    With his temper that had soothed down by the wind by looking at her, he went to walk towards her.


    Vivian was busy wringing the clothes to squeeze out the water before hanging them on the rope when she heard someone call her name. Slightly furrowed eyes looked around to catch sight of Leonard standing not far from where she stood.


    "Leo..." What was he doing out here? thought Vivian to herself staring at him.


    The long strands of his hair hovered over his eyes but his eyes never wavered. Vivian couldn''t help but wonder at times as to why Leonard was attracted to her.


    In the world of vampires, most of the purebloods were often found choosing partners of their own caliber and status. A vampire would always choose a vampire and if one chose to spend time with the human it would be for temporary reasons unless a soul bond was ced. With the hate both the humans and vampires shared, the rtionship of different species was shunned.


    "Are you done with your work?" he walked to where she was, he lifted his hand to push back his hair behind before the blonde strands of his hair fell back on his forehead.


    "Jan asked me to water the nts in the ss room. I should be done for the evening."


    "That''s alright. Jan can have someone else to do that. Go get ready," Leonard looked around the sheets that swung on the ropes, "I will ask Jan to get the carriage ready to go out."


    Vivian looked at him a little lost, forgotten that they had made ns to go out today. Since she had left the market, she had been upied with the thoughts about the man she hade across.


    She felt a cold palm on her cheek which was none other than Leo''s.


    "You don''t want to?" she saw him frown.


    "What? No!" Vivian spoke hurriedly, "I mean I want to," she looked flustered, her cheeks turning a tint of pink.


    This brought a smile on his lips and he leaned forward to see her sway back slightly at his action. Vivian herself didn''t understand why she had moved back.


    Letting go of her cheek, he picked her hand to ce a kiss on the back of her hand, "See you soon," and he disappeared behind the white and ck sheets, heading inside the mansion.

 Chapter 70 - Little Things- Part 2

    Vivian was given one of the dresses which Mrs Carmichael used to keep for the female guests if they ever required it and each dress was beautiful than the next one. When the clothes were presented by the housekeeper himself as the guest rooms were usually locked unless it needed cleaning, she had been awestruck by seeing the dresses.


    Made of rich fabric and material, Vivian decided to go with the one which was beige in colour, it was one of the sober ones that would not stand out too much in the crowd that is if there were going to a soiree. Leonard hadn''t told her where they were going and it was still a mystery which only made the butterflies in her stomach double up.


    With her hair half tied into a bun and the other section of her hair free-flowing, she looked at the small mirror which was ced at the window that Martha had got her when she had reached the age of twelve as a present. Brushing her hair another time and settling one side of her open hair to the front she stepped away from the mirror.


    As she left her room, she couldn''t help but worry if she had taken more time in getting ready and had made Leo wait for her. On her way, the maids didn''t hide their surprise when they passed by her. It wasn''t every day a maid got to dress in rich clothes, forget wearing them, they weren''t even allowed to touch it such was the gap that was created between the servants and the high-ss society.


    Looking around with her head twisting left and right she searched for Leonard until she almost tripped if it weren''t for someone catching hold of her.


    "Pardon me," she apologized to the man. Her eyes travelled up from the grey suit, she came to realize it was none other Leonard''s friend, Maximillian Gibbs. The colour of his clothes matched his grey hair, his turquoise eyes staring at her with curiosity. She could swear he wasn''t here a second ago before she had tripped herself.


    "My my, don''t you look pretty," hemented taking a look at her from top to bottom which made her extremely ufortable after he let go of her.


    "Good evening, Mr Gibbs," Vivian bowed her, taking a couple of steps away from him to maintain a distance between them.


    There had been times when Vivian''s thoughts wandered on the choices of people Leonard mingled with. It wasn''t something she judged about but it was quite questionable that a quiet person like Leonard would have extreme characteristic friends who were close to him. First, there was the Lord, then there was this man who drove people away and she pegged that Maximillian might already know the effect he held on the people around him. His eyes were what caught people off guard.


    Was there a reason why his eye colour was different than the rest when he was a pureblooded vampire?


    Then she thought, you could never choose to pick people to be your friends, lovers, or blood family. Those were the things that just happened without a person''s control. The world she lived in, most of the pureblooded creatures were like the Lord and Mr Gibbs. Very few could be counted as good people when it came to the vampires and the good ones were always shunned.


    The more she thought about it, the more lost she looked in appearance as Mr Gibbs stared at her dauntingly.


    "Master Leonard must be here soon," she informed him to receive no particr response from him, "Would you like to take a seat in the drawing room and have something to drink?" one side of his lips quirked up as she said this.


    "Have you ever been sucked on..." Maximillian asked her and she gulped knowing he was hinting on her giving her blood but the man had asked the question in all ways as the question gave out many possibilities for an answer.


    "No."


    Maximillian Gibbs caught her gulping which only widened the smile on his lips like a devil that was waiting for its prey to trip into an agreement.


    "Allow me then. It would surely be a waste to not try your blood."


    "I don''t think I would suit your taste, Sir. Maybe if you tell me what you would like to drink we could arrange for it during your next visit," Vivian answered calming her nerves as she spoke to the pureblooded vampire.


    Maximillian stood there in ce, staring at her with the smile stered on his face before hearing Leonard''s voice not far behind them.


    "Vivian''s off-limits, Maximillian. You can have anyone in this mansion but her," Leonard came to stand next to her, keeping his eyes on Mr Gibbs until he received a confirmation of nod from the man.


    Leonard then turned to look at Vivian, his eyes falling towards her neck and face before he spoke to her, "Can you please fetch Jan for me?" nodding her head with a yes, she went to find the housekeeper.


    "I didn''t know you were getting her to Wilford''s mansion," said Maximillian looking at the girl disappear behind the white walls.


    "She isn''t."


    "No?" his friend asked surprised, "Why did you get her dolled up then?"


    "I won''t be attending the soiree taking ce at Wilford''s mansion today. I don''t like the man nor his doings," stated Leonard. It wasn''t that he minded people''spany but there was a limit where he could only handle that much amount of nonsense before he would do something irreversible.


    Duke Wilford was a man who was in charge of the ve establishment, an establishment where men, women and children were sold for vampires as well as humans if the money was paid well.


    Growing up in a society which weed very with open arms, he wasn''t against it. It was the hical events and actions that took ce in Wilford''s mansion which he didn''t like. The ves were put up as a disy of sexual objects for his guests but that was not all. There had been incidents which he found hical in his book and that was thest ce he would take Vivian too.


    As much as he desired her and wanted to have her, it didn''t mean he would sully her innocence in a ce which wasn''t right.


    "For a pureblooded, you turned out to be nice in a few things," Maxmillian smiled wickedly, "Not all but just a few things. Well, I thought you would be apanying me on my way there. Where are you nning to take the girl?"


    "Is that all you came here for?" Leonard didn''t bother to answer his friend''s question.


    "Yes. I will see you tomorrow then," Maximillian readied himself to leave before he was stopped by Leonard.


    "Max..." Leonard held a sullen expression on his face and he didn''t need to exin why to Maximillian.


    "I was joking at that time."


    "I hope it stays that way," Leonard''s tone was serious.


    "Of course," Maximillian smiled.


    As Maximillian stepped out of the mansion, he couldn''t help but smile, the wicked smile that usually adorned his thin lips like a serpent. Since a young age, he knew that Leonard had pinned his interest on the maid. Though the Duke rarely showed his feelings in front of others, he could tell that the girl meant a lot to him.


    It was good to test him once in a while, thought Maximillian getting on his horse. The first time he had tested Leonard when they were little boys it had resulted in both of them getting into a physical fight and Leonard had given him more bruises than he had received in his entire life.


    It was his temper, the me of anger which Leo had learnt to keep under wraps that had intrigued him. Most of the boys of his age were either pompous from where they came from in regard to their old bloodline or it was their cunningness that stood out and it was rare to find someone like Leonard in midst of them. But then, the Carmichael''s were that sort of people which also included the other rted families like the Easton and Meyers.


    The only difference being, Leonard''s cousin, Rhys put up a smile to get along with the society while Leonard was the kind of person who would outright say things if someone pushed him in the wrong direction.

 Chapter 71 - Little Things- Part 3

    Vivian sat next to Leonard in the carriage, her eyes once in a while darting towards Leonard who was looking outside the window in silence.


    "Leo?" she called him to see him turn towards her, "Where are we going?" she asked pushing the strand of her hair away from her eye.


    "Somewhere quiet," he answered, offering her a smile.


    "Okay," she didn''t receive the answer she was expecting but at least it was something. Where exactly was somewhere quiet?


    It wasn''t that she was expecting something but Leonard hadn''tmented anything about the way she looked. He had hardly even spoken to her, keeping his words to the minimum. It made her wonder if something had set his mood off, not that she could remember of. Maybe it was Mr. Gibbs remarks to her or after she had left in search of the housekeeper.


    When she had brought the housekeeper along with her Mr. Gibbs was gone. Leonard had taken Jan to the side, speaking about something to which the housekeeper had nodded his head obediently before leaving them alone in the hallway. They had waited for another half an hour before getting into the carriage with Janing back a big box that was ced at the back of the carriage securely.


    Feeling the sudden cold wind pass through the window, Vivian couldn''t help but feel goosebumps rise on her skin. Was it her imagination or did the temperature turn colder as they headed up the hill? The night wasn''t dark as the full moon shone brightly up in the sky but withck of stars around it.


    Looking out of the window which was next to her she felt something fall down. Once and then twice before realizing it was snow. It wasn''t Winter yet it was snowing at this time of the year in this part of thend which she found rather strange. Growls of thunder could be heard from up in the sky and howls of the wind that apanied on the ground.


    Once they had reached up, the coachman pulled the ck horses to a halt. Opening the door, Leonard got down from the carriage and then gave his hand for her to take as she got down from the ck carriage herself to step on the ground which had turnedpletely white due to snow.


    This time he didn''t let go of her hand and instead tugged her gently to follow him towards the entrance of the deserted mansion. Snowkes fell from the sky, one after another. Scarce amount of trees surrounded the lonely mansion which had no leaves in them. Not far away from the mansion was a watermill that made a distant sound every time it moved up and down with no water in it. If it weren''t for the snow covering thends and the top of the mansion, the ce would have looked undoubtedly barren and haunted.


    "Scared?" she heard Leonard ask who had turned to look at her. She shook her head immediately.


    "Whom does this ce belong too?" Vivian asked, walking between the two worn out pirs and pots that had nothing but dried mud in them without any hints of nts being there before.


    "Right now it belongs as a property of council and Lord Nichs. It is used to belong to the second Lord of Bonke before he perished."


    "Perished?" She asked looking at the old mansion that strangely looked much cleaner than what it appeared to be from the outside. With the way, Leonard said it, it seemed like there was a story behind it, "Did someone kill him?"


    Leonard smiled.


    As clumsy Vivian was when it came to handling things, there were times when she came straight to the point instead of beating around the bush. It was like a breath of fresh air in his world. And as much as he would have loved to tell her the story, he believed a few things to be better left unknown with ignorance than corrupt the mind with the way the world ran.


    Even if it meant hiding things with lies.


    In Leonard''s eyes, she was still young and innocent. There would be a day when she would enter the world as what it was and is, and he would be there to apany and guide her but that time wasn''t now. Not today at least.


    "He passed away out of age. Some people live a very short life. He was after all only a vampire," which was true. The second lord was a mere vampire, unlike the pureblooded ones whose life was limited.


    "Oh..."


    When Leonard mentioned about the ce being quiet, who knew ''somewhere quiet'' equaled a deserted mansion with no one but them there. The coachman walked in with the box which the housekeeper had previously loaded onto the carriage.


    "Let''s take a stroll, shall we?" Leonard walked her to the huge staircase, "The mansion is sometimes used by the council to hold meetings or parties once in a while. That is why you will find it clean inside no matter what time of day you arrive."


    What he said was true in regards to the mansion being kept clean as if people still upied and resided in here when in actuality it was abandoned for most of the time.


    "It is a very huge ce to live. How did the second Lord acquire it?" Decades ago for a mere vampire to live in such a mansion was unheard of, "I thought only pureblooded vampires were to ascend on the title of the lordship."


    "That is true but sometimes dirt slides into the mainstream which we only find out as time passes by," he touched the railings of the stairs as they went up and rubbed his fingers against each other. Vivian wondered what he meant by it, "Apparently when he entered the council, he had used the help of ck witches to change the color of his eyes to a darker shade to represent himself as one of the pureblooded family. He was said to be capable, at least that''s why the council offered him the title and the mansion but what most of them forget is that ck witches are never to be trusted. They will help you out of their own selfishness and once they have no further use for you, they''ll discard you. That''s the nature of the ck witches."


    Passing through one of therge windows on their way up the stairs, Vivian looked at the beautifulndscape outside which was covered in snow.


    "Careful with your steps," Leo warned her.


    Though the mansion now belonged to the council and lord as said by Leonard, she noticed nothing to be repaired. It seemed like the housekeepers came in only to clean and she doubted if any further changes had been done here after the second lord passed away. Few things that got to her notice were the broken vase which didn''t have any shards of ss on the floor but it was evidently broken like the rest of the vases she hade across in the wide hall. Then was the staircase which was weak in some areas which went to the point of showing the holes and hollows on the wooden boards.


    "This was the ce, Malcolm usually brought me to when it came to training me on physical fights and other...things," Leonard''s words trailed, he let go of her hand when they reached the end of the stairs. Bending down he tied his shoce that hade undone and then stood up.


    "What did you do for food?" She looked at the dark passageways before looking down from where they hade to see the coachman lighting up the hall with candles making the ce look much better than before.


    "Hunted livestock. Come with me, I want to show you something," he said, their hands grazing against each other.


    Walking through the empty and dark corridors, Vivian made sure to not fall behind at the thought of getting lost in this deserted mansion. She walked right behind Leonard such that she could smell his clean ocean like scenting from him. As if like a mouse she followed so close that at one time when he had paused her head had collided with his back.


    Keeping a little distance she walked straight until she couldn''t hear him anymore.


    Surrounded by the darkness she could hear herself breath in the silence filled space. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Leonard speak,


    "The door must be somewhere here..."

 Chapter 72 - Little Things- Part 4

    With a sound of a click, the door opened wide for Vivian to witness what Leonard had brought her here for. She couldn''t say if she had stepped into a dream as she didn''t believe what she saw with her two eyes.


    Her feet carried itself forward, stepping out in the moonlight where the snow didn''t fall from the sky but instead raised itself from the ground. Wonderstruck, she saw one of the translucent snowkes appear from the ground, lifting itself up. Slow and steadily, the snowke rose like the rest of them, the higher it went the darker it got until she couldn''t find where it had disappeared to.


    The entire wide patio they stood on had the same effect going on, hundreds of snowkes moving up and disappearing while the snowfall took ce normally around the mansion.


    "It''s beautiful," Vivian murmured, turning herself to look at Leonard who stood at the door.


    "I''m d to hear you liked it."


    "I love it!" she eximed to see him smile. After a while, her eyebrows contoured in thought before she spoke, "Is this the ck witches doing?" he did say the second Lord had the help of the ck witches. Maybe this ce was created before the witches decided to abandon the second lord of Bonke.


    "It is," he confirmed, "Hard to believe, isn''t it? For a kind that we despise to create something so out of this world," he caught one of the snowkes in his hand, turned it around to open his palm where the snowke turned slowly ck and in a blink of an eye it disappeared.


    "That''s what life teaches us," Vivian responded back with a smile, "To find good even in the bad ones. People are capable of a lot of things with the choices they make. Those choices turn good or bad," loose strands of her hair waved back and forth on the sides of her face which she didn''t bother to tuck back, "The second Lord must have been very creative to have something like this done in the mansion."


    "He didn''t," Vivian threw a questionable nce towards Leonard.


    Of course, thought Vivian to herself. It wouldn''t have been possible to build it during the second Lord''s time when there could be doubts of suspicion raised.


    "No one knows how it happened but I found reports in the council department which said that once he passed away, this ce created itself in a span of a night."


    "Just like that?"


    "Just like that," how strange thought Vivian as she pondered on it. What might have caused something like this to take ce? Bending down she couldn''t help but touch the ground which looked slightly illuminated and when she did sudden shes of a woman appeared in front of her eyes making her gasp in shock.


    "What''s the matter, Vivi?" Leonard came to her as she stood up clutching her hand close to her chest. She shook her head, managing a small smile to assure him she was alright.


    Taking her hand, he pulled her towards him, another arm of his to curl around her waist whilst he looked down at her.


    "Dance with me, Bambi."


    Raising her brows with a small smile lingering on her lips, she reminded him as they were out in the terrace of the mansion, "But there''s no music."


    Swaying her in his arms, Leonard answered, "Who says we don''t," he leaned down cing his head next to hers as they moved with the kes of snow uplifting themselves up from the ground, "There''s the wind that you can hear rushing through the trees as the leaves are rustling softly against each other. The watermill is set, beating the wood with its own rhythm," the words he whispered next to her ear did something to her heart.


    Leo could hardly control his feelings around her right now. The deserted mansion with no one but them here alone was what got his blood rushing in his veins. She looked absolutely delectable.


    His initial n had been to take her out to the theater, to watch a decent y that was being put up in the far town until he saw her dressed up. She had picked the simplest dress from the closet that was put up in the closet of the guest room. His mother had often picked out clothes and had ced it for his cousin sister Charlotte mostly. A week ago when Leonard had gone out to Isle city, apanying an old acquaintance of his who was rted to him from his mother''s side, he had bought two dresses, adding them to the collection, one of them which she wore right now.


    Letting go of her waist, he twirled her in his arms before swaying her back in his arms.


    Now that he had lost most of his family, Vivian was someone who belonged to the same past of his family which he unconsciously held on to, watching her like a hawk, not out of suspicion but concern. He wanted to protect her, keep her safe away from the world.


    Remembering what the maids were talking in the mansion made him angry.


    His arms tightened around her, alerting her to look up at him and it was as if she knew something was bothering him which he tried to conceal. Gradually the sway stopped and Vivian ced her hand on his arm.


    "You have something to tell," she looked into his dark red eyes which almost looked ck due to theck of sunlight.


    "Why do you say so?" she shrugged her shoulders slightly in response though she could point out why she felt as if he had something to say she didn''t. They stood quietly, Vivian waited for him to say something as the wind began to blow in and around the mansion. The howling wind that passed through the forest sounded no less than chilly as if t carried something sinister with it. At one point in time, she also nced to her left to look at the vast forest. And then suddenly out of nowhere, she heard him say,


    "Don''t receive things from others."


    "What?" she turned back.


    Exhaling softly, he repeated himself, "Don''t receive anything from others. Come let''s get back in."


    Seeing him turn around and walk back inside, Vivian hurriedly got back inside to follow him.


    "I didn''t," she said catching up to him.


    Due to the darkness, Vivian couldn''t see the frown that now marred on Leonard''s forehead as they walked back from where they hade.


    "Leo," she called him worried in the dark. After he had asked her not to take anything Jerome gave her, she had stopped not that there was an opportunity to give her anything as the atmosphere around the Carmichael mansion had been sullen, "Why did you say that?" Not receiving a reply from him, she couldn''t help but get through the entire week that had passed by.


    As the light came through the windows that were broken to fall on the ground and walls, Vivian followed Leonard unsure of what he meant. Not only had she any clue about it but it looked like he wasn''t in the mood to talk to her. Yet, Vivian couldn''t help but poke him with the question.


    "Leo," this time her footsteps paused making his stop. Leonard was controlling his cool since they hade back inside the mansion, being a vampire he had heard her without answering to her questions which he thought she should already know. It didn''t mean he was ignoring her.


    Running his hand through his hair, he turned to face her, "I heard you received a flower from a man."


    "I did but-"


    "That''s what I was talking about," he snapped.


    "Why are you angry?" she tried reasoning.


    "Because you took the fucking flower," she flinched when he banged his hand against the wall, "Are you nning to leave?" his tone serious.


    "What? When did I say that?!" she responded back.


    "Isn''t that what it means when you take a flower from a man," he huffed, "Have you been nning to leave the mansion? Who is the man?" his eyes narrowed as doubt crept into his mind.


    "That''s not how it is!" Vivian eximed. Where did that thought evene? "I didn''t get it from a man but a boy."


    "Boy?" his eyebrows furrowed. She nodded her head,


    "Yes. A small boy I met in the market. Why would you think I would leave? I wouldn''t be here if I..." she stopped, trailing her words in silence. Vivian didn''t know from where he heard for him to think she was going to leave the mansion.


    "What?" he asked her.


    "What?" she prompted back to see him take long smooth strides towards her.


    "Complete your sentence, Bambi," he whispered...

 Chapter 73 - Little Things- Part 5

    "I..." in the moonlight that shone on them, Vivian suddenly began feeling dizzy with Leonard''s closeness, "I...wouldn''t be here if I didn''t want to."


    He saw her blink, once and then twice.


    Leonard was expecting something else, but for now, he would settle with this.


    "Master Leonard?" came the voice of the coachman from the hall, his voice and he didn''t like the fact of his servant interrupting his time with Vivian.


    "Bambi," he said, "Promise me something."


    "You said promises are meant to be broken," she pipped in to see him give her a grave look. It was what he had said to her when she had tried to make him promise her when they were young. When he was supposed toe to the mansion to celebrate her birthday. He had returned a week after her birthday when innocent Vivian had waited for him the entire day with the hope of his arrival.


    "This one is not meant to be broken. No matter what," he spoke slowly so that she heard every word of his clearly without him needing to repeat, "Don''t leave my side."


    The words were simple yet they were heavy with hope and confidence which jolted her mind.


    "I wasn''t nning to."


    "Of course," his hands found the way to her face, "If it ever happens so, I will find you. I will find you and take you back with me," he whispered the words on her lips as they hovered over hers before touching it.


    His bold lips moved against her shy ones which took time to get to his momentum but not quite there. Twisting his fingers in her hair, he pulled her closer. Sucking her lips with his, he ran his other hand down her neck, travelling down the side of her breast making her gasp in surprise. Her hand was quick in its reflex to ce it on his chest.


    "Leo," she whispered his name intoxicated by his kiss, "Mm..." his tongue slipped into her mouth.


    Coarse tongues rubbed against each other letting each of them could taste the other''s sweetness on it. Her lips were sucked over and over again, his teeth nipping it not gently and leaving it sore. As their lips pulled back, a string glittered in the light and Vivian''s face turned red. Before she could wipe the saliva, the string broke.


    Her heart went still, eyes wide when his thumb wiped the side of her lips.


    "Master Leonard," came the annoying voice of the coachman to which Leonard finally responded,


    "Yes, we''ll be down. You can wait in the carriage, Nelson," he said while looking at Vivian whose cheeks had turned red, "Are you alright?" she heard him ask her.


    "Yes," she looked away from him, her voice shy.


    "Let''s go down then," he said looking unaffected by the kiss they had just shared. Climbing down the stairs, Leonard led the way back.


    She couldn''t help but feel her heart sink in her chest at his sudden withdrawal with her. Not a minute ago he had kissed her passionately and it appeared as if now that they were done kissing, nothing had happened at all. Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, she followed him down while making sure to keep her footing right so that she wouldn''t go tumbling down the flight of stairs.


    Turning around thest flight of stairs, Vivian noticed the dark hall that they had passed by wasn''t dark anymore and had candles lit around which brightened most part of the hall. This made it look less haunted and though there was light now the emptiness she felt was something that bothered deep in her mind.


    Remembering what she felt when she touched the floor of the terrace goosebumps raised on her skin. The chill was still there and she shivered, due to cold and sight. Rubbing her hands against her arms, she saw a table which was set in the middle of the room with food and tes on it.


    As if to gauge her reaction, Leonard turned to look over his shoulder to see the look of surprise on her face which then broke into a smile.


    "It''s a pic," Vivian murmured in awe.


    "It''s a private dinner, dear," he corrected her.


    She dly epted the seat which he had pulled for her at the table, looking down at the table and then at Leonard who had taken the napkin to open and ce it on hisp. Seeing him do it, she mirrored the same. Being a maid since she was a young girl, no one in particr, had taught her how to eat as the elites did. With what she remembered, she had spent most of her time eating in the kitchen on the floor with the rest of the servants. The other times when she was with Leonard, they would either be sitting in the ss room or outside the mansion on a tree where no one could find them.


    That didn''t mean Vivian didn''t know how to behave and blend like the rest of the elites. Somewhere deep down the etiquette were there which were never used. She was quick to pick and learn, after all, though she was taken in as a maid, she was taught by Leonard himself.


    To think that Leonard had picked a ce where there would be no one to judge who she was made her feel extremely warm and safe.


    She had been uncertain about their evening, the thought of what if''s had swarmed her mind when she had remembered what had happened at the Lord''s mansion. She wouldn''t cry about people embarrassing her in front of a crowd but it wasn''t something she willing to experience again.


    Hearing the cork of the wine bottle being opened, Vivian found Leonard pouring it into two sses. There were steak, chicken and a few vegetables on the table that gave out steam to indicate it was heated up a few minutes ago.


    To fill up the silence, Vivian decided to start a conversation, "How''s Charlotte doing? Thest time I saw her she had lost weight," which was true. Unlike the average vampires, the pure-blooded vampires looked much human yet holding the features of a vampire making them appear healthy whenpared to the pale low vampires.


    "She''s been doing better now. Aunt Prisci is finding her a match," Leonard replied calmly while serving the food on her te.


    "Ah..." she nodded her head. Both Vivian and Charlotte were of the same age and with them touching the time of age where they were supposed to get married, it wasn''t much of a surprise.


    "What about Mr Wells, I thought he would be well suited to be her match," Leonard proposed the idea to which Vivian couldn''t help but furrow her brows.


    "I thought pureblooded family sought only their kind for marriage alliance," shemented.


    "Hmm, that is true," he handed her the wine ss, "Jerome is a good man," hearing this Vivian couldn''t help but raise her brows which he caught before she could school her features, "Though hees from an average family I think he''s created a decent name for himself in the high society. Not to forget his connection to the West Lord. I would rather go with him than the ones who are nothing but after her family money."


    Leo was right, thought Vivian to herself. She knew Charlotte for a long time and the same could be told of Jerome, they would definitely be well suited.


    "Will Mrs Easton agree to it?" even with the aplishments, she knew there were families who didn''t deviate from their traditions.


    "She wouldn''t mind. Did you forget our families don''t follow the rules set by our ancestors?" he asked taking a bite from his te, "If we did, we wouldn''t be having dinner here right now," he smiled.


    It was a relief to hear that.


    Her throat feeling a little dry, she picked up the ss of wine which was next to her te. Though she had seen the way people ate, she had never put much thought into drinks. Unknown, that the wine was supposed to be taken in sips, she gulped it like it was lemonade.


    Leo didn''t stop her from downing the wine in one sip. He rather sat there quietly enjoying his meal and herpany, asking her,


    "Another ss?"


    "Yes, please," she handed her empty ss which he refilled and gave back to her.

 Chapter 74 - Solitary Whispers

    Instead of splitting up the chapters I have clubbed them to make a single long chapter. If there are going to objections about only a few chapters being uploaded, I would be happy to split them into parts so that you guys can enjoy a chapter a day ~Author-san


    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


    With thest drop of the wine that fell into his ss, Leonard kept aside the empty bottle which was mostly poured into Vivian''s ss.


    The wine was a gift from one of his fellow councillors, who had gifted him on thepletion of a certain job when he had travelled down to Mythweald. It was a wine made for vampires with a higher amount of intoxication if one consumed it as normal alcohol didn''t work for the pureblooded vampires. It wasn''t his intention to get her drunk to take advantage but there was something he wanted to confirm from his end.


    Vivian wasn''t an ordinary human, with the recent knowledge he had acquired from Sister Isabelle, he had concluded her to be a healer. Rarest of all kinds. But before drawing any conclusion he wanted to make sure what he found was true.


    And just as he thought, the wine had no effect on her.


    Leonard had limited himself to not more than a ss. Pureblooded vampire or not, the wine would hit straight to the mind if he took more than two sses, therefore, limiting only to one. Vivian looked calm and serene, her delicate fingers holding the knife and when she caught him staring at her, the knife slipped from her fingers making a sound of tter against the te.


    "Sorry," she murmured as the sound of the utensil took up the entire space of the room. In realization, she said, "What about Nelson?"


    "He''s having it in the carriage," In the cold? thought Vivian to herself. They were inside the mansion and yet it was cold. She wondered how the coachman was holding out in the air, "Don''t concern yourself with other things when I am with you, Bambi."


    "I didn''t say anything more..." she trailed to receive a pointed look from him.


    "I don''t like anyone else upying your mind," he said not adding the ''but me'' in his words. Taking thest bite from his te before cing down the knife and fork.


    Just because he was lenient and close with her, that didn''t mean it held the same for the rest of his staff who worked for him. Vivian was an exception. Leonard might have been raised in a family where his mother taught him to be kind to the people who were lower to him but he was also influenced by his Uncle, Sullivan Carmichael who held no regard to the humans or the lowly vampires.


    While he picked the napkin off hisp, dabbing it gently on his mouth, Vivian couldn''t help but look away from him to ce her gaze on the oversized window where they could see snow fall outside.


    "Does it always snow here?" she asked curiously. Surely they were still in Bonke as they hadn''t traveled that far but the weather here was questionable. It wasn''t even close to Winter to snow, "It started snowing after the second lord passed away," she saw him nod.


    This further piqued her curiosity for the mansion.


    "Can we take a stroll in the mansionter on?"


    "Anything you want," he offered her a sweet smile to which she responded back with a happy one, "There''s no hurry," hemented when he saw her trying toplete her meal quickly after seeing his empty te.


    As they took a walk around the mansion both Leonard and Vivian took hold of thenterns, carrying them as Vivian explored the mansion. All the doors were unlocked, leaving it open and free to open. It was a surprise that thieves didn''t know about this ce where they could reside in luxury. Apart from the terrace which was filled with the magic of its own, the rest of the mansion looked dull and dark. Portraits of the previous lord along with his family were still on the walls.


    Coming on the next painting which had only the second lord, a look of confoundedness passed her feature. Staring at it she bit her lip.


    Leonard who had been looking at the previous portrait turned to find Vivian staring at one of the paintings with a dumbfounded expression. Coming to stand next to her, he chuckled,


    "Interesting painting, isn''t it?"


    "Ah yes," she answered, bringing herntern closer to the portrait to have a much better look at it.


    All the painted portraits she hade across were the kinds where the lord was either standing in his majestic chair or standing high and mighty. One could hardly say that he was human but then it was the painter who had painted what he saw. They were family paintings, but never did she see a child in it. Maybe he didn''t have any offsprings of his own.


    The one she now stood in front of was entirely different than the others or rather she would say unique. It wasn''t a smiling or a proud lord in the portrait but a shocked mixed fear which looked quite out of ce.


    "The painter never reproduced this one in front of the lord but can you me the guy for doing what he was supposed to do. In fear of being beheaded, he hid this one where no one would find, right below in the dungeons where the paintings took ce which was essible only to the painter and the lord of course," Leonard exined to her as they moved ahead while she gave onest look at the painting, "The painting was brought out and hung here when they were cleaning the mansion after his death. It is something to think about."


    "He looks scared," shemented.


    "That he does."


    "What do you think made him react like that?"


    "Unfortunately, no one has ever found an answer to that painting. One of the council back then had been so intrigued about it that he had gone in search of the painter to only find out that he had killed himself," Leonard took her through the passage of walls that led down to the dungeon.


    "Why?" Vivian frowned in question.


    "Who knows. There have been a series of spection on what might have happened for him to react that way but in the end, it''s nothing but theories. Careful inside," he said leading her to a room which smelt strongly of paint, turpentine, and dust, "Wee to the painting room."


    She jumped in fright when a spider hung not far from her face. Breathing in and out to calm herself, she took a wooden stick thatid on the ground to move the cobwebs in her way.


    "This room hasn''t been cleaned," she stated in knowledge, with the amount of dust and cobwebs that were collected, she wondered who hadst stepped in here.


    "Can''tin about it. With the way it looks I doubt even a vampire would step in," she heard Leonard speak, turning back to where he currently stood, she caught sight of a skeleton that sat on the ground.


    "Why isn''t the person buried," she whispered to him as if the skeleton would hear her if she spoke a little louder.


    "It was written in the will of the Lord that nothing was to be touched. The council respects the dead," he said bending down to look at the skeleton, "Frankly I am not sure at all," he sighed, "Rules and edicts were different a few centuries ago unlike now which are more straightforward that can''t be bent."


    Nodding her head, Vivian stepped forward that she came to face another spider which was an inch away from her, this time giving her a fright before she fell t on her bottom.


    "Ow. There are too many spiders here," she eximed sitting on the dusty ground.


    "Are you okay?" Leonard offered her his hand.


    Vivian caught hold of his hand while unconsciously she ced her hand on the skeleton''s leg that was spread long making her scream suddenly. Fortunately, Leonard had already pulled her up and he had pulled her close to him in a protective stance.


    Not knowing what happened, he offered herfort, "Shh, you''re alright," he rubbed her head while looking around to see if there was anything suspicious but he could neither see or feel anything here.


    Did she see a bigger spider? He was well aware that she wasn''t fond of those little creatures when they were little it was the easiest way to scare her. As sadistic approach it was, it was one of the effective ways when he had to make her do things.


    Though right now he doubted it was the case, especially with the way she shivered in his arms.


    Stepping back into the hall which was burning with lit candles around them, Leonard didn''t let go of Vivian''s hand. She looked obviously shaken about something she had seen and though he wanted to inquire on it, he decided to give her some time.


    Letting go of her coat for a moment, he removed his jacket to put it over her shoulder before holding her hand again to walk outside the mansion. The carriage wasn''t parked far from the entrance, and Leonard didn''t bother to wait for his coachman to pull it over.


    Upon seeing the Duke and the girl approaching the carriage, the coachman was quick to jump on the ground to open the carriage door for the couple.


    The entire way back to the Carmichael mansion was filled with silence. Vivian had stopped shivering from whatever had triggered her. Leonard noticed her staring at the front of their seat unmovingly. She looked deeply lost in her thoughts.


    When they returned back to the mansion, Vivian couldn''t describe how safe she felt here. Away from the mansion where she had experienced something she felt she wasn''t supposed to. On her way to her room, maids gave her many looks, some that were nk while some that looked at her scornfully which she didn''t notice with her upied mind.


    Opening the door to her room, she turned the knob to lock it. Once she was done changing to her nightgown, she wiped her face with the container of water that was kept at the side of the room. As she pulled the cover of her bed, a firm knock was heard on her door. Opening it, it was none other than Leonard himself who hadn''t changed his clothes since the time they had returned. Leonard didn''t have to say for Vivian to know the reason he had arrived at her door at this hour of the night.


    "Were you about to sleep?" he asked, seeing the covers that looked untidy on the bed. She nodded her head.


    "I will have to wake up early for tomorrow''s work."


    "That won''t be required," he stateding into her room, "I need to go visit Lord Nichs at his mansion and would like it if you would apany me there."


    "I wouldn''t mind," she answered mustering a small smile.


    "You wouldn''t mind if I tucked you in, would you?" this made herugh.


    "I am not a child, Leo," she reminded him.


    "I am aware," he responded back, nheless helping her to bed, "I am sure we have established the fact of you not being a child more than once now," he gave her a look that reminded her of the time when they had kissed, "Comfortable?" he asked her.


    "More than anything," her reply brought in a sweet ache in his chest.


    "You''ll be much morefortable in the future," he said without hiding his thoughts that reced her worried thoughts in aplete embarrassment.


    "What?"


    "You don''t think you''ll be sleeping here forever now, do you? As much as I like the space here where I can reach you, I would rather have you sleeping in my bed," he stated as if he were talking about what she was supposed to wear.


    Leonard knew it would be selfish of him to ask her to move suddenly to his room when her feelings were only settling down for him. He had waited for a long time and if she needed a little more time, he would give it to her.


    He took a seat on the bed. His hand moved up to her head, brushing the errant strands away from her face gently as he stared at her ck eyes. Her eyes didn''t look dted in fear anymore and her heart beats were steady, beating in a rhythm he was used to hearing from her.


    And then he heard her ask, "Won''t you ask me what happened there?" embarrassed she tried changing the conversation.


    "I will wait until you''refortable to speak about it. There''s no rush," he assured her.


    "Why are you so nice...sometimes," she added to see one side of his lips curl.


    "Because it''s you."


    She turned to her side to see him without having the need to crane her neck. Vivian hadn''t thought about a few matters that deeply but as time had passed in the recent days, she hade to realize that Leo had always been special and she didn''t share the same bond with anyone else. The more she acknowledged the fact the more it made her heart flutter when he was around.


    His smooth blonde hair fell right over his dark blooded eyes looked gentle and patient as they gazed down at her. Done with brushing her hair away, he returned his hand to ce it back on hisp. Drops of rain began hitting on her window and the roof above in a pitter-patter fashion, camouging every other sound in the surrounding.


    "Can the new rules wash away the old ones?" she asked.


    "Some can and some can''t be changed. Is it with regard to the mansion? Skeleton?" very slowly she moved her head up and down. Pushing her hand on the hard mattress, Vivian sat up to face Leo with the coversing to fall on herp.


    "I think the skeleton needs to buried. The person''s soul...the soul has been tortured enough," Leonard raised his brows at her words.


    "Why would you say that?" he coaxed her for an answer.


    Vivian swallowed the saliva down her dry throat, gathering her thoughts before she opened her mouth to speak, "When I touched the skeleton, I, I saw something," she drew in a deep, her eyes shifting away from his, "There was blood, too much blood all across the floor a-and torn flesh..." she trailed unable to recollect her memory at the sight of it. She closed her eyes, "Even though it was for the briefest time, I couldn''t watch it," she shook her head. If she had previously thought she had witnessed gore and blood, what she had seen today was far worse.


    Why did she see it? Leonard had seen nothing yet she had seen something, like something that had been hidden and wasn''t to be known.


    When she looked up to meet his eyes, he softly sighed, "You''re special, Vivian. I don''t know how or why but you aren''t like the rest."


    "What do you mean?" she frowned.


    "Our world has many different kinds. Kinds we are familiar with and kinds that aren''t known bymon people. Humans, white witches, ck witches, vampires, pureblooded vampires," he began to which she interrupted.


    "I''m a white witch?" her words were filled with curiosity.


    Leonard shook his head, "No. You''re a different kind. A kind that is extinct. A healer."


    "A healer?"


    "Yes. I don''t have much information on it but as the name states, you can heal people. That''s your answer for the incident that took ce in the market ce, the wound you spoke about."


    "I don''t think it''s true," she shook her head.


    "You cannot heal yourself though. You can heal anyone but yourself, Vivian but the more you do it, the shorter your life will turn out to be. Consider it to be something where you''re giving your life to fix someone else''s," he exined to Vivian who looked confused right now as she tried to take in the revtion, "As healers belong to the rare kind, exposing your abilities would put you into trouble. Witches, councilmen, vampires, there''s no saying who will try to hunt you down. Please refrain from using it," though his reason was true, on the major side he didn''t want her life to be shortened. Hunt? thought Vivian as the blood drained out of her face, turning her pale, "The vision, it must have something to do with being a healer."


    "Okay," she nodded.


    How could she be something she never was? After all, she was a human all this time. Opening the palm of her hands, she looked down to see that nothing had changed.


    "I think I need to find where I came from," though she had murmured, Leonard had heard it clearly.


    "Let me help you with it then," and she gave him a small smile of agreement.


    "Come here," he said, opening his arms wide. Call it to be the way the mood of the night was as Vivian hesitate to get close to him, "You don''t have to worry about anything, Vivi. No matter how things turn out I will always stay by your side," with his arms around her she hugged him.


    "Thank you, Leo" came her small voice. It was still something to process about, maybe if she could find from where she came, it would answer the questions she had in mind. After a while, she then spoke, "I think something really bad happened in there," she whispered, talking about the mansion.


    "A lot of things happen which we don''t get to see. Let me try digging into it and see what I find," he offered, knowing she wouldn''t be able to rest with having this matter unresolved, "Sleep now," he kissed the top of her head.

 Chapter 75 - Breakfast At The Table

    It was still raining when Vivian woke up from her sleep in the morning, she rubbed her eye, her eyes heavy as she yawned. She had fallen asleeptest night with Leonard who had watched over her with no sign of his presence in the room right now.


    Pushing herself up from the bed, she sat there staring nkly at the wall in front of her. A small smile made to her lips, recollecting the new memories they had created together. To think that they had finally spent time together was what made her giddy with joy.


    Though there were a few things she hade to discover,st night was beautiful. Why wouldn''t it be, she had spent the entire time with Leonard. Talking to him, walking next to him as they discussed his work as she was always interested in his work.


    But Leonard never told her everything. He only told the ones he felt she could understand about him. It wasn''t that he lied to her. After all, hiding was different from lying. In Vivian''s eyes, his job was about travelling and meeting various people who resided in differentnds which he conveniently left out the information where he killed people torturously which was part of his job being in the council.


    The smile on Vivian''s lips fell when she remembered what she had seen in the painting room. Leo had told her that he would look into the matter but it wouldn''t be easy to get sensitive information which would be buried under other facts to erase whatid below.


    Worry formed on her forehead with her delicate brows furrowing in thought.


    All these years she had grown to know and be part of the human society, telling her suddenly that she belonged to a different kind made her look at her hands. Did she really have such kind of powers? It wasn''t hard to believe. Not after she had helped the boy in the market.


    Vivian wished she could prove it once more but that meant someone had to be hurt physically which she wasn''tfortable with. And then there was also the matter where Leonard had warned her not to use it as it would diminish her time to live. Deep down she secretly felt happy about it. To think that she was special and one of a kind.


    Looking outside her small window, she wondered what time it was. Morning, noon and evening almost looked same, and if one were to wake up from his slumber in any of these hours it would be hard to bet on the time of the day. In thend of Bonke, time was difficult to guess when it rained all the time with the dark clouds hanging up in the sky.


    With Leonard who had asked her to apany where Lord Nichs lived, she got ready and headed towards the kitchen so that she could eat before they left to the Rune mansion. On her way, she met the housekeeper who was reprimanding the maid named Hana who was looking down at the floor as he spoke to her,


    "How long do you think it was when Ist warned you?" she heard Jan speak to the maid. The maid opened her mouth but she didn''t speak at the fear of not knowing if she would be scolded for even uttering a word in front of him. Physically Jan, the housekeeper appeared lean and weak, if it weren''t for his bright red eyes one would consider him to be an easy target to be beaten up in the market alley but it was his sharp mouth that got people working in the Carmichael mansion, "Did you lose your tongue?" he asked her.


    "I-It was a week ago," Hana managed to speak. She was the same maid who usually took a jab at her due to which Vivian didn''t feel sorry for her.


    "Less than a week ago," the housekeeper corrected, "Doesn''t one of the rules here state that maids who are found gossiping unnecessary matters would face consequences. I think I have to fix this," he murmured thest part to himself.


    "Please forgive me!" the maid apologized but there was no room for mistakes.


    The housekeeper was well aware that his absence usually brought in whispers and tell-tales among the maids in the mansion which stopped at his presence. With the Duke and the maid going outst evening, words were bound to spill out by the lowly humans and it was something that wasn''t entertained here. In his eyes, it was better to pull the weed before it would harm others and right now the girl was the infectious weed.


    "As a punishment, you are to go to the Lord''s mansion and ''help'' him feed his wolves," said Jan thoughtfully.


    "Help?"


    "Yes, that would be all," the housekeeper turned to look at Vivian who had only walked past them, "Vivian."


    Vivian had tried to tiptoe discreetly to get away from the housekeeper''s hawk-like eyes but she seemed to have failed to be invisible. Not that she could when this was the only way inside the mansion to the kitchen and the other being the back door which was situated behind the mansion.


    "Yes," she answered.


    "Master Leonard has asked you to join him for breakfast in the dining room," he informed her.


    "Oh. Okay," bowing her head, she headed to where Leonard was who was already sitting at the table with a newspaper in his hand, "Good morning," she greeted him with a smile.


    At her voice, Leonard looked up and smiled, "Good morning. How was your sleep?" he asked.


    Not too long, the housekeeper appeared to serve them. Jan pulled out the seat in front of Leonard for her and Vivian wasn''t sure how to react to it. She had been to the dining room several times but not once in her entire life had she ever sat at this table. Servants were not allowed to sit with their masters, it was a protocol that each and every family followed. Thest time she sat at a gathering was at the Lord''s mansion which made her wonder if there was soiree being held for the elites again. At that thought, the feeling of uneasiness filled her chest.


    "Take a seat, Vivian," with awkward steps, she made walked around the table to sit on the chair as it was pushed gently towards the table.


    Before she sat, Vivian spared a quick nce at the housekeeper who looked devoid of any expression, looking nothing less to a statute.


    No matter how much she tried to hide her surprise, Leonard was aware, knowing well what was going through Vivian''s mind at that moment. She might have been a maid working for the Carmichael''s since a young age but he wasn''t nning on keeping her status in the lowest levels of the society. In his view, there was no point in wasting time when everything could be done right now.


    She was the one whom he wanted in his life and he would trade her for nothing. Not even a soul. To him, she was the anchor that kept him away from drowning. Away from the darkness of this world that hade to be with things he already knew of.


    "There''s no one here but us. Eat freely," hemented when Jan came to pour the blood from the cold sk.


    "Yes," she responded, taking the napkin thatid on her side to spread it across herp. Picking up the little tines of silverware, she began eating her breakfast in silence with Leonard who quietly had his food.


    It didn''t help that the housekeeper who was always ordering her to get the work done was now serving her breakfast with extreme politeness. Not knowing how to feel about it especially after he had indicated her a few nights ago of how she was taking liberties in her speech, she ate her food with utmost care.


    "Will we be going to the Lord''s mansion," she enquired to check if they were was any change in Leonard''s schedule.


    "We will. It will be a short visit. An hour to the maximum," he answered.


    "Okay. Thank you," she murmured when the housekeeper filled her ss of water when she hadn''t even asked for it.


    "Is this what you''re wearing?" at his question, Vivian looked down at her dress before looking back.


    "Would you want me to change?" she questioned him with another question. The dress that she wore right now wasn''t grand but it was a decent one which wasn''t torn or dull. It was one of her best dress that she owned but maybe not one of the best dress in Leonard''s eyes thought Vivian to herself.


    "No, I think it is fine," he didn''t add another word until Jan stepped back into the room, "Jan," the housekeeper stopped moving and ced his entire attention to what Leonard had to say.


    "Yes, master?"


    "Get the servants to clean the third room in the right wing of the mansion. Clean sheets and if necessary change the quilt to a newer one which hasn''t been used. Make sure the water works in the bath as it''s been more than a while someone has used it," he informed the housekeeper. It made Vivian wonder if a rtive of his was going to stay in the mansion for a while, "And move Vivian''s belongings to the room, every single item."


    "The third room?" the housekeeper verified as if he had heard it wrong.


    Vivian who had been wondering about the guest snapped her eyes at Leo.


    "Did I say the fourth room?" Leonard asked his housekeeper tilting his head in question.


    "No, Sir."


    "Why are my belongings going to be moved there?" Vivian asked, the answer appearing as she spoke her words to him with her breath held in.


    "Jan. Close the door," he ordered, cing his fork down he stood up from his seat, he walked around the table and at the same time, Vivian stood up from her seat. Once Jan had closed the door, Leonard picked Vivian''s hand to bring it forward. Both the housekeeper as well Vivian waited to see what Leonard was intending to do, "Stay still. This will hurt," he said, running his thumbnail across her palm to draw blood before pushing it in.


    No one was used to having their palms being dug with nails and neither was Vivian. She flinched in pain as Leonard pushed his nail into her skin deeper bringing out tears in her eyes. Once he pulled his hand away from her, she didn''t know if it was because of the absence of nail but suddenly it felt like a weight on her shoulder had disappeared.


    "From now, you are no more a maid of the Carmichael mansion," the housekeeper who previously looked devoid of any emotions couldn''t stop erasing the look of shock that appeared on his face now as Leonard spoke. Leonard had removed the master-ve bond between them, "You won''t be working here as a maid and instead will live a life far more respectedpared to it. You will live a which you deserve, Vivian," he said stepping closer to her. The mark that had formed behind her back during the bond slowly vanished beneath the dress she wore.


    In the beginning, when he had put the ve bond, she had been sad to think that he didn''t trust her either but the situation had been like that. He had lost his family due to a servant. He was offering her a life which many of her social standings wished for but never could be part of.


    "I..." Vivian tried digesting his words, "I don''t know what to say," she spoke frankly to see him smile. He pulled out the kerchief from his pocket to wrap it around her bloody hand and said,


    "You don''t have to..." he tied the white cloth securely that turned crimson absorbing the blood into it, "I know, Bambi."

 Chapter 76 - Rune’s Mansion- Part 1

    Once the carriage had started from the Carmichael''s mansion, Vivian couldn''t help but keep ncing to look at Leonard who finally turned to look at her.


    "What is it, Vivi?" he questioned, his hand reaching out to tuck the blonde piece of hair behind her ear. She shook her head in response, "If you keep looking like that at me it''s going to make me think that you are unhappy with the decision I took."


    "I am not. I am just a little surprised. Could I ask you something?" he nodded for her to continue, "Why now?"


    "Why I revoked the bond after all this time? Or why I am turning you to ady? Which one is it." Leonard knew her well, framing the questions which she couldn''t at the moment.


    "Why did you decide to remove the bond today?" she saw him lean back in his slightly.


    "It was after you slept did I decide to remove it. I know you have only started to experience things now and it will take time for your feelings topletely catch up to mine," his voice was gentle towards her, "It is only recently that you havee to realize what you feel. As I said, I would one day like you to share the same bed as mine but that doesn''t mean you will have to sleep in that cramped room. You deserve better and I don''t see why I shouldn''t spoil you with everything I am capable of," he said sincerely.


    "T-that doesn''t exactly answer my question," Vivian looked bashful before gathering her thoughts, "Is it because of the society?"


    "What about it?"


    She didn''t know how to put it without the wordsing out to be harsh, "That the people would shun us. A Duke and a maid having an affair..." she trailed hitting a nerve.


    "Vivian," he said her name and she readied herself to be scolded because that''s how his voice sounded, "It isn''t an affair. What I have with you is far from an affair and if it''s about the society I have no interest in what people think," he then asked, "Would you rather like to stay as a maid?"


    "I never told that," Vivian frowned. To be turned from a maid to ady in a span of a few minutes felt surreal to her as if she was still dreaming but she wasn''t.


    "Of course, you didn''t. Don''t worry about trifle matters, the only thing you should worry about is me," he said it in such a straightforward manner that Vivian felt her cheeks and body heat up.


    Now that Vivian was no more a maid, she had plenty of time on her hands which she could use to knit clothes and read if she was allowed to borrow books which she hadn''t got to before Leonard returned from his longtime stay in the Rufus'' mansion.


    The lower ss of the society who belonged to servants, they never had a privilege of education, to be schrs the only thing they were exposed to wasbour but not Vivian. She had learnt words during her childhood and after moving to the Carmichael''s family, it was Leonard who taught her to read and write further. Every time Leonard sat to write, little Vivian always went in search of him during which he would make her sit and read along with him.


    "Why are we going to the Lord''s mansion?" she asked curiously.


    "Lord Nichs asked me to meet him at his mansion saying he has important matters to discuss. Few things cannot be spoken in letters," he stated.


    "I know that," she bit her cheek after saying it.


    "Of course, you do," he then leaned in front of her face from his seat, watching her he slowly leaned more to kiss her on her lips. It was a light kiss. A kiss of assurance. Pulling back he said, "You don''t have to be anxious, Vivian. I am right here. I will always be where you are," his eyes looked into hers with promise.


    To his surprise, Vivian closed the gap to kiss his lips this time. Before she could pull away, Leonard didn''t give her a chance and pressed back his lips on hers. Applying pressure on it before he began gnawing on her lower lip, sucking and letting it go second after second while pulling her. The road the carriage was travelling wasparatively smooth to the ones they had crossed which made it less difficult for him to pull her on hisp.


    Wrapping one of his arms around her waist keeping her from falling off while the other grasped her chin so that he could angle her face the way he wanted. Just as they kissed, the carriage experienced a small bump making Vivian grab his shoulder and the brown coat he wore.


    "I got you, Vivi," curling his hand around the back of her neck, he continued to kiss her.


    When his tongue sought out for her, she could feel it''s coarse texture which was sweet on her own tongue. Vivian didn''t realize the way her tongue tried to seek his which made the man holding her smile into their kiss.


    Retreating from the kiss, her forehead rested on top of his, catching her breath with her eyes closed. Her hand that had held on to his shoulder quietly slid down to settle on herp. The weather in Bonke continued with its normal routine of rain. Muddy ground, dull and gloomy clouds that refused to go away from the sky. Reaching the Rune''s mansion where Lord Nichs resided, Vivian followed Leonard inside. It seemed like he was ustomed to the ce after all he did grow up around the fourth lord. The butler only bowed his head, his eyes merely looking at her as they passed by him.


    Vivian wasn''t sure if she was allowed to enter the room where the Lord sat with his feet up the couch, holding a ss in his hand.


    "Good morning, Vivian, I didn''t know you were visiting today," Lord Nichs moved his long legs off the couch to sit straight, waving his hand for her to take a seat.


    "Good morning, Lord Nichs. Sorry for intruding your day without prior notice," Lord Nichs smiled, his eyes turning small, his eyes turned to Leonard who took a seat next to Vivian when there were other seats avable to sit.


    "Please, don''t. Someone of Leonard is always wee here, especially when it''s a lovely girl like yourself," the Lord''s words were polite yet his eyes filled with untold mischief, "It seems like something''s changed," he observed Vivian.


    "What did you want to speak? I don''t appreciate Toby''s presence in my mansion," came the voice of Leonard sounding slightly irritated.


    "What can I say...He likes you," Lord Nichs smiled, "Did you know that Alexander has been sending scrolls in an effort to close down the ve''s establishment?"


    "I heard about it from Mathias. One of his maid who had been out in the town got abducted to be put back in the establishment without notice," answered Leonard. It wasn''t often for servants to be put back but it was possible.


    "Hmm," hummed the Lord, "Would you like something to drink, dear Vivian? Perhaps water?"


    "I am fine, thank you," she bowed her head, ''I would like some fresh air," she hinted to which Lord Nichs nodded his head.


    "Please go ahead. The butler will be right around the corner if you need something," Leonard didn''t like the idea of Vivian being away from him, not when they weren''t at the Carmichael''s mansion but he decided to stay quiet about it. As Nichs said, the butler will be around her if there was something she would need.


    Bowing her head once again, both the men saw her leave the room.


    "How didst night go? Everything as you wanted?" Lord Nichs asked when the door to the drawing room was shut close. The fire from the firece cast a shadow which made the lord look evil not that he wasn''t in Leonard''s eyes. He might have been generous to him but the same couldn''t be told when it came to the others and that was why he couldn''t help but let his thoughts wander over Vivian.


    "Yes, we went to the ss mansion," Leonard walked up to where the bottle of liquors was ced. Searching for the one he usually drank, he pulled it out from the lot.


    "You didn''t go to the theatre?" asked the Lord in surprise, "Why the sudden change?"


    "Your idea of taking a girl out is terrible," huffed Leonard with narrowed eyes. With one hand holding the ss and the other holding the round bottle, he used his teeth to pull out the top of it. After pouring the drink into the ss, he came to take a seat, "Vivian isn''t like the women you fuck. She''s important to me."


    "My my, your love for her is something I am intrigued about. She''s a simple girl Leo. You do it now or you do itter, it doesn''t make much sense," the Lord took a sip from his own drink, gauging Leonard who ignored his words as usual.


    "I hope you fall in love one day, Nick. A love that will need you to work hard for."


    "I don''t know if I should be worried or pity my future," chuckled Lord Nichs to see the Duke roll his eyes.


    "Why don''t you do both of them. The future isn''t that far," he murmured before downing his ss.


    Vivian who after stepped out of the drawing room walked down the corridor which led to a much brighter location than the dark corridors she hade from.


    Lord Nichs might have been close to Leonard but that didn''t mean she wasfortable sharing the same space. She had heard him kill a maid she had known just because the girl had decided to not work in the Carmichael''s mansion. To think a man who looked gentle and kind was capable of such drastic actions, she shook her head to rid her thoughts.


    Just like the Carmichael''s mansion, the Rune''s mansion was quiet and if she didn''t know better she would have considered no one to be here. Even the maids were hard to find. Walking through the mansion, she looked around the walls and decorative items ced at every wall and corners. Exploring the mansion which she had been on for more than twenty minutes now, she came to find paintings ced across the walls. There were paintings of the previous Lord whom she never got to see as he had passed away when she was young. Paintings of his and other family members. At the other side in the corner, far away from all the paintings there stood one painting which was isted from the rest.


    Taking a few more steps towards the painting, she came to see a beautiful woman in it. The woman had brown hair who smiled with a tender smile. A smile that very much resembled Lord Nichs only that it looked much genuine. She must be his mother, thought Vivian to herself. Unlike the rest who had their names bolted below the portraits, she had nothing written down. It made her wonder why.


    Stepping closer to it, she raised her hand, letting her fingertips touch the painting before she felt a sh of memory pass through her mind withughter along with it.


    "Mama!" for a second she pulled back her hand at the image of a girl running.


    Vivian gulped wondering what had just happened. Surely it wasn''t her imagination. Looking back up at the woman in the painting, she drew in a sharp breath before cing her full palm on it before she was taken to another sh of images.


    "Mama! Mama!" the girl went to pull her mother''s skirt.


    "What is it my child?" the elder woman asked who was in the kitchen.


    "Guilene took my rabbit doll," the little girlined.


    "I did not," came the voice of another girl, the girl looking a year or two older to the first one, "I have no interest in her doll."


    "It must be somewhere in your room, dear," the mother spoke to her youngest child who pouted.


    "I did! Mr Perkins is nowhere to be found. Guilene has kidnapped him!" it made her mother and rest of the staffugh, "I am serious!" the brown-haired girl looked upset.


    "Oh, Louise. Give me a minute and I will search Mr Perkins with you."


    Vivian who stood in front of the portrait ran her fingers gently across the coarse paint with her eyes closed as the scene shifted to a newer one.


    The mansion was surrounded by snow, snowkes falling down from the sky and inside the mansion were candles lit with gifts and celebration. A man sat in front of the piano, ying music as the family danced. Joy andughter filling up space. When the songpleted, the father of the girls pped, delivering praises for the man.


    "It was a wonderful piece, Wilhelhum. Wonderful!" the man stood up from the piano seat, "You should teach the girls. Louise has been asking me to let her learn it but the only teachers you will find here are the humans," he tched.


    "Is it true Louise?" the man named Wilhelhum asked the young girl who no doubt was the same woman in the painting as they almost looked the same age now, "Why would you find a teacher when I can teach you much better than the humans?" the man asked her. Louise was a beautiful girl, with other two girls who looked older to her, she was much attractive than her siblings.


    Louise shrugged her shoulders in response. Her response was a little shy as she spoke, "I wouldn''t mind where I learn it, Uncle Wilhelhum. I think the music it produces is very melodious and enchanting. Would you be willing to teach me?"


    "Anything for you, darling," he hugged the girl.


    "Did you hear that, Via, Guilene?"Louise''s voice was bright with happiness, "Uncle Wilhelhum said he would teach me the piano!"


    "Yes, we heard it," her older sibling answered dully, not bothering with her younger sister.


    "Of course, you did," Louise grinned as bright as the candle.

 Chapter 77 - Rune’s Mansion- Part 2

    Vivian opened her eyes after her dream-like state broke when her fingertips touched a coarse texture on the portrait. Staring at the woman in the painting, looking her in the eye she came to know that the young woman she had seen in the sh of memories was the same person named Louise, mother of the Lord. Something bothered her though, it was the man in the dream.


    Walking back towards the portraits she had walked by, she looked at the previous Lord of Bonke that read Wilhelhum Rune. Clearly, in what she saw the third Lord was Louise'' uncle and if she was Nichs'' mother due to the resemnce they shared how was the third Lord his father? Scrunching her brows she wondered why things weren''t adding up before it dawned on her. Was it possible that Wilhelhum had married Louise? Unlike the other paintings where the third Lord adorned on the walls, there was only one painting of thedy that was ced away from the rest next to the window. None of them had both of them together in it as a couple, it was something to ponder.


    Wondering if she could get answers to the questions she had on her mind, her hands very slowly raised up to the painting that had the third Lord, Lord Wilhelhum in it. A portrait which was probably created after his inheritance to the Lord''s title. Though Lord Nichs had said the butler would be around the corner if she needed anything, she didn''t find the old man anywhere near her, unless he was hiding in a ce where she couldn''t see him.


    She wanted to know what these visions she kept having by touching objects. Never had something like this happened before, not until yesterday at least. cing her hand on the portrait she felt nothing. Looked like not every object told the story and this made her wonder how she would know which one did.


    Moving to the next portrait she did the same but there was nothing there either. It was as empty as the one she had touched. Was that she couldn''t sense anymore and the ability was limited? A frown ced on her forehead as she walked away from all the portraits that were painted with dull yet rich colors. Even though the portraits were probably cleaned regrly, she could still feel the rough texture on the tips of her fingers.


    Crossing a series of windows, she stood by one of them to look at the vast stretch of thends that surrounded the Rune mansion. Though outside the mansion gates there were a lush amount of trees, inside the mansion held trees that held no leaves at all. Dried ground and dead trees were what it was decorated with. The clouds continued to rain, moving in the direction of the West to pass the cool wind across the othernds. The dress she wore didn''t suffice the cold weather, running her hands against her arms she saw Leonard''s carriage start and leave the mansion.


    "He will be back soon," her head snapped to look at Lord Nichs who walked to her, taking a stand in front of her to peek out of the window, "The magistrate needed him to get the scrolls signed so that it can be sent this week to the council for approval."


    "Okay," Vivian nodded her head, her back stiffer than usual.


    She had met and spoken to the Lord before but it was always in the presence of Leonard and now that he wasn''t here, she didn''t know what to do. If she could, she would have preferred to disappear but something told her she couldn''t even if she wanted to such was the presence of the Lord.


    "Did you tour around the mansion?" he asked politely.


    "Not much. I was still covering this side of the mansion," she then added careful with her words, "The portraits are lovely," he nodded his head with a smile.


    His eyes that were the same color as Leonard smiled, "It is, isn''t it. My father was a narcist when it came to these things. He enjoyed theplete attention of people while giving them the same. Walk with me, Vivian."


    As they walked down the corridor, shemented, "You haven''t grown new trees in the mansion," she expressed what she had seen outside the window.


    "I thought it would be good to have the old ones die and wither away before the new ones are nted. That way we wouldn''t have to worry about the old ones taking the nutrition away from the new nts," and it made Vivian wonder if he was talking about the nts or something else, "I heard what happened this morning. You must be happy and relieved to have the bond broken away," he stated, throwing a nce to her.


    Had Leo told him about him removing the master-ve bond from her?


    "Leonard didn''t tell me," he answered the question without needing to hear it, "The boy seldom speaks about matters that are of concern to him. You haven''t met, Toby, have you?" she saw him look ahead with a small smile that was always on his lips, "Toby," he raised his hand in the air.


    For a few seconds, Vivian didn''t know where this person named Toby was as she waited to hear footsteps arrive which never did. A few more secondster, she heard pping of wings when a bird flew in the air to perch on Nichs'' outstretched hand.


    "You have a pet," she whispered looking at the crow hop on his arm until it reached his shoulder.


    "Is it surprising?" he questioned while petting the bird''s head, "Not many know of him."


    She then realized what Lord Nichs and Leonard were speaking about before she came to stroll through the corridors of the mansion.


    "I have never seen anyone keep a crow for a pet," she answered truthfully to hear him chuckle, "Can I touch him?" she asked to see the smile on his lips broaden.


    "If he allows you too, then why not," Lord Nichs remarked to see her walk closer to him so that she could but she was shorter in height whenpared to the Lord who stood tall.


    Intrigued with the bird who hade to Lord Nichs with just a mention of his name, she raised both her hands while standing at the tip of her toes as she picked the bird. Being gentle, she brought it close to her when she saw another sh of an image appear in front of her eyes. Unable to hold on to it, her hands shook when Nichs took the bird from her own hands, letting the bird fly away.


    "Are you alright?" he asked, his intelligent eyes looking at her.


    "I-I am sorry," she apologized, a little breathless and lost.


    "Crows are not everyone''s favourite so don''t worry about it," he consoled her with the same constant smile to ease her, "I usually send Toby to keep an eye on people, not out of suspicion but also care. Leonard grew up here, so he is like a younger brother," Vivian tried to get rid of what she saw but it was hard to concentrate, especially with what she just saw that turned her blood cold, "I cannot help but feel it''s my duty to watch over him."


    "You don''t have any siblings of your own, milord?" Vivian rubbed her sweaty palms against her dress.


    "Fortunately, I don''t. It is good that Leonard brought you here today, I don''t often get to talk to you especially not when he''s there batting me away trying to keep you all to himself," at Lord Nichs'' words Vivian felt her face catch me, "Do you feel the same way about him?" he asked her without beating around the bush.


    "I..." she looked at the walls that looked more interesting to her than the conversation they had stepped into. She finally looked at the Lord, "I think it''s something between us, milord."


    "True, you don''t have to answer," Lord Nichs didn''t press the question further.


    Though what he said was true about Leonard being like a little brother to him, the Carmichael boy had literally grown up in front of him. He had taught him most of the things he knew, from knowledge to skills.


    The amount of interest had turned to affection towards Leonard as he spent time with the boy when he was young. His aloofness was something that attracted people, making them curious. After Leonard''s parents died, he hadn''t opened up about it and it wasn''t something Nichs would intrude on because he understood the loss. The kind of loss Leonard suffered in front of him.


    From the corner of his eyes, he looked at the girl who walked a little behind him.


    To think such a simple girl could catch the interest of Leonard was quite surprising to the Lord. After all, Leonard was a handsome man belonging to the highest ss of the society, a pure-blooded vampire. She hadn''t answered his questions but it looked like the girl held simr interest when it came to Leonard.


    Vivian could feel the Lord''s eyes on her as they walked through the corridors, her feet only getting stiffer as she felt smaller under his gaze. He didn''t ask her anything but she wished he would stop staring at her. Hoping Leo would return back quickly, she sighed softly.


    "Have you ever had the opportunity to paint, dear Vivian?" Lord Nichs asked her opening a particr on their way.


    "I, ah, no milord," she answered standing outside.


    "What are you doing standing there? Come on in," he invited her stepping into the wide room that held plenty of canvas with a stench of paints filling up the air.


    "I didn''t know you painted. These are beautiful," she murmured looking at a fresh piece of painting that was still in progress, "You are very talented, Lord Nichs," she said leaning forward to look at the different colours of paint that blended together to give a definite structure to thendscapes.


    Lord Nichs had walked to one corner of the room to push away few paintings. Paintings that weren''t wise to show her. Though he had an inkling that her reaction would be priceless, he would like her toe by the mansion again than Leo stop her froming here.


    "Unfortunately, Leonard never took interest in art," she heard Nichs speak, pushing the paint away from her dress which she didn''t notice before, "Teaching him Piano was much easier though," Vivian raised her brows softly, "You didn''t know he yed?" she shook her head.


    "I never saw him touch the piano. It was always Lady Charlotte ying it."


    "He must be shy," Lord Nichs chuckled, pushing his brown hair behind knowing it wasn''t true.


    The time when Leonard was being taught to learn the Piano, it was hard to get him to y. The educator who was skilled with the instrument couldn''t make Leo sit in front of the piano due to which Nichs had taken the small job only because of the fondness he had over the boy. Nichs hadn''t forced him but he always made sure to keep Leo around when and as he yed until one fine midnight he caught the boy ying the same piece of a song he had yed much better than he did.


    When the time arrived to leave the mansion along with Leonard, Lord Nichs said, "It was lovely having you here, Vivian. Do we visit again, it need not be necessary you havepany," he looked at Leonard to receive the expected annoyance pass by his handsome face.


    "I had a good time. Thank you for having me here," she bowed her head.


    "Anytime," the Lord responded back with his signature calm like smile.


    "I believe you won''t be joining us in the evening today," Lord Nichs spoke to Leonard.


    "I have other matters to attend. You can Rhys to join you men," Leonard suggested his cousin''s name.


    "Hmm, I doubt he will. He hates it more than you do."


    While both Leonard and Lord Nichs spoke to each other, Vivian decided it was time to get into the carriage. Before she could turn and step into the carriage which the coachman held the door open for her, she noticed something dark lurking behind the mansion which moved and she gulped. Even with the rain, she noticed it. Turning around she got into the carriage, remembering what she saw when she held the Lord''s pet crow in her hands.


    Momentarily, the memory of what she had seen had been pushed behind but it had resurfaced again.


    The images of gore, the sight of pain made her head spin. It was a boy, a boy with ck hair who was surrounded by blood and creatures like death she never wished to see who fed on flesh. It was a brief sh of an image which had been caught and stored into her mind.


    Before the carriage could start and leave the Rune mansion, Vivian looked at the Lord who looked back at her. His lips smiled at her but there was a question in his eyes as if he knew she had discovered something here today.

 Chapter 78 - Mine- Part 1

    During his absence in the Rune mansion, something had transpired between the Lord and Vivian. He had sensed tensioning off from Vivian who kept getting lost in her thoughts every time someone stopped talking to her as if she drifted back deep down.


    He spoke to Vivian but the state he found her back was the same. His red eyes made a quick workaround on her appearance and everything seemed to have appeared just the way he hadst seen her. Not a single scratch on her body was found and her breathing was steady which made him wonder what was the cause of her silence.


    Though she didn''t speak, her subtle movements were what Leonard noticed. He ced his hand on hers which had gripped the seat unconsciously.


    "Where are we going?" her heard ask as if she were driving away some of her thoughts and he humoured her with a response as if he didn''t notice and for letting it slide.


    "The theatre. They have put up a new y which might be of your taste," he answered her to see her tilt her head.


    "My taste?"


    "Mhm. Something that centres around romance, heart filled confessions," his words were dry, voice with least interest and it was evident to both of them that they were going there only for her. Romantic ys weren''t Leonard''s cup of tea and he rathered preferred other lines of ys. Especially the ones that were filled with blood, politics or lust that could be viewed only by few members of the society which was yed close to the time of midnight. Just because he hadn''t touched a woman before it didn''t mean he didn''t know what it was or how it worked. One day he would need to please the woman he loved and he researched enough to know how to get the girl with simple caress and touch of his hand.


    "Might you be knowing the story?" Vivian turned to sit facing Leo with eagerness.


    Unlike Leonard who had spent his time studying in the path to be a councilman since a young age, Vivian had spent less timepared to him and more time on novels that were avable. What Vivian didn''t know was that the Carmichael mansion didn''t have more than two books based on romance and it was Leonard who kept bringing new books there so that she could read it.


    "It''s about a peasant falling in love with a council man''s daughter who works for the family," he gave a brief line about it from what he heard from one of his colleague at the council. Apparently, the story was made for humans and not vampires due to which the theatre would most likely be empty until an other y would be put up for everyone''s liking.


    "And?" she waited for him to add more but instead he replied,


    "There would be no point in us going to the theatre if I narrated the entire story now, would it darling?" Vivian gave him a sheepish smile.


    "You are right. I should wait and watch it."


    "Right," he inteced his fingers from the back of her hand, "Vivi," Vivian who had been looking down at their fingers inteced looked up at him, "Did Nichs say something?" he enquired.


    "Nothing important. He said you learnt to y the piano. Why didn''t you y a piece of the song after you returned or in between during your visits?" she asked him curiously, "You don''t y it anymore?"


    He smiled, thinking about some of the memories with the way he learnt the piano from Nichs. The Lord might have shown preference to him and might have also baited him to learn the instrument but his teachings had always been patient just as he appeared. There were times when his keynotes took a different direction but like a doting elder brother, Lord Nichs taught him music without once losing his temper with him. To let out his bottled emotions on those white and ck keys.


    "I never found the time for it," he replied to her questioning gaze, "Every time I visited home mother and father were always with me wanting to know how I was even though they were the ones to send me away from home. And the spare few minutes I found I used it to see you," his honest words made her feel warm, letting her know how important she was from the beginning.


    "Don''t do that," she murmured.


    "Do what?" he frowned.


    "You speak so directly, Leo. It''s too..." she trailed to get the right word.


    "Too what?" he squeezed her hand making her heart skip a beat.


    Gulping, she opened her lips to speak, "It''s raw."


    "Do you find it hard to digest, Bambi?" he pulled her close to him.


    "W-we already kissed, Leo."


    "Kisses are not to be numbered," he breathed the words on her parted lips that looked eager to let him kiss. Awaiting his lips on hers she closed her eyes right before he kissed it, "I will kiss you as much as I want because you are mine," he tugged her lips with his teeth.


    Vivian could hardly believe that he was kissing her again. In her mind, she had thought Leonard had finished his kiss for the day. To think that he still wanted to kiss her made her heart flutter in her chest. By the time they had reached the theatre, Vivian''s chest heaved softly up and down. Eyes half closed and open her forehead rested on Leonard''s chest.


    Leonard hadn''t indicated the coachman to open the carriage door yet as he allowed Vivian to settle with her physical emotions. As much as he loved seeing her red and blushing, he didn''t want anyone seeing her in this state. She looked alluring in his eyes. Innocent yet the seductiveness oozing out of her without her knowledge.


    Once he felt her emotions were in ce, he tapped on the window for the coachman to open the door right away.


    By the time Vivian had put her foot down from the carriage, the words ''you are mine'' had hit straight into her heart like a cupid pushing the arrow which had already been there to make sure the arrow was going nowhere. His words had always been direct, so direct that most of the times shecked words for a response.


    "You will find a lot of humans today so it will be easier to blend for you without the need to worry," he said as they stepped into the narrow passage of the tall oval like building, "We wille here again next time but there will be more vampires. This should settle you in right," he murmured thest words.


    Vivian who came from the low ss had never stepped into the theatre. All she had done until now was read about it. No one had ever discussed the theatre with her and when she came to see the tall ceilings that almost felt like it reached the sky, she couldn''t help but look at it at awe. Like Leonard had previously informed, there was less crowd.


    They walked across seats, walking through stairs to reach a box like seating where one could view the stage easily.


    "These are reserved for the pureblooded vampires," Leonard stated, seeing her bend her neck down to look at the height they were in.


    "It''s too high. Why are they reserved only for the pureblooded vampires?" she turned back to see him who had taken a seat, going back a little she sat next to him which was quite close.


    "Because these seats cost money only a pureblooded vampire can afford. It would be worth ten maids entire years wage. Humans are too busy gathering money while the purebloods are busy spending it," he crossed his legs.


    Vivian took a look at the other seats and she noticed it apart from the box they were in, only another box was filled with another pair of a couple while the rest of the audience sat below.


    "You should be d to know me, Vivi," he reminded her subtly of his importance in her life. She might be a healer right now but she was always the girl who followed him when they were children like a moth to a me that was burning beautifully for him.


    Vivian puffed one side of her cheeks, "I know you have money and I don''t. I have nothing," she moved her gaze towards the stage.


    "I didn''t put it that way. I apologize."


    "But it is the same, isn''t it," her voice turned quiet when the music began to y in the background with a coupleing upon to stand on the stage. The y began, music surrounding the entire hall, resonating and touching the walls and people. And though Vivian concentrated on the y, her thoughts shifted to where she sat. Realizing how true Leonard''s words were. She had been turned to ady by him but she had been a mere maid. Now that the matter of their status had been brought up, insecurity began to seep into her mind,


    "Leo...will I be enough?"


    "You are already enough. More than what I will ever need for this entire lifetime," his lips found the back of her neck, dropping a lingering kiss, "I would have no one else but you."


    She turned her head to him, "I mean it, Bambi. You are mine as much as I am yours. Fall for me quickly so that I can steal you away quickly," what Leonard didn''t know was that he had already stolen her from herself.

 Chapter 79 - Mine- Part 2

    Vivian pped her hands in response when the y came to an end. Staring at the man who had yed the lead in the y who bowed at the audience thrice before disappearing behind the red curtain which was drawn to her disappointment. She didn''t find him to be attractive as a person but he had fascinated every woman in the room with his performance to Leonard''s dismay.


    Not long ago he had dered her to be his and here she was looking at the man with interest that slowly boiled the blood that flowed beneath his skin pale skin.


    "It was so beautiful," said Vivian, getting up from her seat. Stretching her legs that had begun to feel numb, she saw the men who had been ying music disperse from the sides, leaving the front of the stagepletely empty as the audience began to move out, "I knew there was something about the piper from the very beginning. I don''t think anyone would have guessed for him to have killed his sister," she gushed as they made their way out of the box.


    "The y was made to appease the audience. I should say it was quite sessful," Leonard responded back withck of enthusiasm which Vivianpensated with hers.


    "Did you already guess who the killer was?" Vivian picked the front of her dress to avoid stepping on it as she had almost tripped when they had arrived earlier.


    Leonard in the meantime took his overcoat from the man who handed it to him before descending down the stairs, "What''s so difficult to guess about it? The piper was a peasant who was brought in to another peasant''s home to only be abandoned and reced by a girl who could fetch the family money. That''s what one could guess but if you looked closer, the man was in love with the girl. A forbidden love which society doesn''t ept."


    "Really? Wow," Vivian breathed in surprise.


    "Yes," he answered, his eyes scanning the crowd before a bald man appeared in front of him.


    "Duke Carmichael," the bald man who was shorter than Vivian had to strain his head to look up at Leonard.


    "Mr. Helnor," Leonard exchanged a small nod with the man, "It is a surprise to see you here. Did you enjoy the y?" he asked politely.


    "Oh no, I do not enjoy the y. I think its quite a waste of my time," the bald man scrunched his brows, "I was hoping to meet you here as you weren''t avable at your mansion."


    "Was there an urgent matter you had to speak about?" hearing this the man who had not once turned to look at the person next to the Duke finally shifted his eyes on Vivian but to only nce back. With the y that was solely being yed only for the humans, there was hardly anyone in the corridor to eavesdrop on his conversation.


    "Maybe a little private," Mr. Helnor jerked his head to the corner.


    It was clear that the man didn''t want Vivian listening to what he had to say to Leonard and therefore she bowed her head to step away from them.


    Seeing the man begin to speak hurriedly in whispers, she turned her head away to look at the nd cream walls as she waited for them to finish speaking.


    Coming upon a door to her right, she caught hold of the view of the stage that she had seen from the box. It had looked so small but it was big. With Leonard being held up, she stepped into the wide hall. It looked beautiful, the whole theater was nothing less to breathtaking that Vivian wished she could sit here all day long. The ceilings were painted gold and big chandeliers decorating with them and she wondered if this was what Heaven felt like. She had seen the actor and actress act and y, dance and sing which made her want to do the same. Vivian had never been an unhappy child. She was a ray of light even after her parents had disowned her without her knowledge. Being loved by people around her so dearly, she was a light brighter than the sun itself.


    Stepping closer to the instruments she looked at the seats that were far away from the boxes. The distinguished difference between the lower and higher ss of society.


    Now that she had been turned to ady, she could do a lot of things she had only thought of until now. She could read more, learn subjects she didn''t have the opportunity before when she was a mere maid. Thinking about the numerous possibilities brought a smile on her lips.


    Suddenly Leonard leaned his head over her shoulder, cing it there for support, "What are you smiling at standing here alone? Hasn''t anyone pointed it out that men and women don''t take such behavior well? Not when the smile is so wide."


    "They have. Enough to call me a mad woman," Leonard chuckled at her words.


    "Hmm, you were always strange even when you were young. What were you thinking?"


    "Thinking about the future."


    Leonard didn''t put pressure on her shoulder as he rested his chin, "And what do you see in that future?"


    "A lot of things. What do you see in your future, Leo?"


    "I see a lot of things too. To be a great Duke, a man who can serve the council. To be able to let go of the regrets which have bound my heart. A future that has no conflicts between the night creatures, humans and the witches. To live in peace but most importantly, Vivi," Vivian shuddered when his arms went around her waist to bring her back to touch his chest, "I see you in it with me."


    "I see you too," she let him pull her closer.


    "I am d to hear that," he spoke softly to her, kissing her cheek with a smile on his lips before his eyes wavered to the curtains where a man had been standing there when he had entered the main hall of the seatings in search of Vivian.


    The man was none other than the person who had yed the lead role in the y who seemed to have been caught by Vivian''s presence. The man hadn''t picked up the courage to talk to her but if he had Leonard would have made sure to remove his existence from the Land of Bonke. Apetition was not what Leo needed right now, not after Vivian had finally begun opening up to him with her feelings.


    When they returned back to the mansion, Vivian out of habit went to the servant''s room while Leonard who was about to head up to his own room was interrupted by his paternal rtive''s presence.


    "Leonard, my son," Sullivan Carmichael appeared with the housekeeper who looked slightly pale. Luckily Vivian hadn''t apanied him and instead had gone to the servant''s room.


    "Uncle Sullivan! A pleasant surprise to see you here," Leonard turned around to step down from the flight of stairs, "Get the tea prepared," he ordered Jan to see Sullivan raise his hand instead.


    "That won''t be necessary. I came to see how my nephew was doing and you seem to be doing fine. I heard from the housekeeper you went out to the theatre."


    "Did you," Leonard responded, his eyes shifting from the housekeeper to his uncle calmly. He carefully tried to deviate the conversation, "I am sorry for keeping you waiting. If I knew you were visiting I would have canceled my ns," Sullivan tched instead.


    "You''re a young vampire and I shouldn''t interrupt your time with a woman you''re enjoying yourself with. I hope it isn''t thedy named Shirley. Humans are absolutely pathetic even with money," Uncle Sullivan said it in distaste, "It is better to suck her blood and bed her before throwing her away. But boy, what are you doing going to a human''s y when it should be the night you are supposed to live for," the man grinned.


    "A little change never hurt anyone," Leonard helped the man with his overcoat.


    "It never did. That doesn''t mean you change with the change, Leo," his uncle patted his back, "We are purebloods, we are to live the way we have been living. Anyways who was the girl?" the man asked intrigued, knowing his nephew didn''t take a lot of women outside.


    "She''s a very special girl," Leo smiled reassuring his uncle.


    "Is she now? Let''s hope that I get to meet her soon,"


    "Of course. You will be very delighted once you meet her," closing the door of the carriage his uncle got into, he waved seeing the carriage to be pulled away from the mansion. With the carriage now gone, he stood there at the entrance quietly staring in the direction of the gates that led to the outside world, "What did Uncle Sullivan ask?" he questioned the housekeeper who stood five steps away from him.


    "He asked about where you were before questioning whom you had gone out with," Jan answered the man who turned over his shoulder to look at him, "I said I didn''t know."


    "Hmm," Leonard responded, sigh passing out of his lips, "I had like you to keep up with that with him."


    "Yes, master," Jan bowed his head feeling much better with his master''s uncle gone. With the absence of Leonard in the mansion, Sullivan had questioned him about the servants, their work, guests who had visited and even for a vampire who worked for Lord Nichs previously, it felt as if he were walking on eggshells.


    The housekeeper was well aware when it came to the dynamics with the pureblooded vampires and humans. They never mixed well and if Mr. Carmichael were to know about the recent changes which hade as a shock the Jan, there was no saying how the man would take if he found out that he had turned a maid to ady in less than a few minutes. Right now he worked for Leonard Carmichael, and he was bound to protect the man''s life and honor as he wanted it to be. That is what his Lord wanted from him and he was as loyal one could find in the line of servants.


    "Did you get the room prepared with all the necessities?" he heard the Duke ask for the room which the girl would soon begin to use.


    "Everything has been cleaned and equipped. The Lady shouldn''t find any trouble," he informed his master.


    Leonard nodded his head, "Good," he murmured with not another word spoken, he went back inside. The housekeeper didn''t fall behind and followed him until the hallways before parting ways to go inside the kitchen to get the next meal prepared.

 Chapter 80 - Men Of Council- Part 1

    The building of the councillors stood tall and proud amidst the forest where it was built in istion. The white walls along with the pirs were wide, made of marble that looked no less to a human child''s imagination to be called as heaven which in reality was a ce where orders were passed down.


    The Council was situated close to Mythweald, Valeria and Bonke, the closest being Bonke which shared its weather of rain and dark clouds like today. Though not a drop of water had been spilt on the ground, the sky had turned grey at the time of noon to darken the atmosphere.


    In one of the corridors stood Lord Nichs talking to one of the councilmen with Leonard who stood next to him.


    "Rueben has been informed on the matter which only pressurizes us to bring the person who has been behind the attacks," the councilmen exined after the court council had been adjourned, "The rule already states-"


    Leonard interrupted the man, "The report has already been filed with the signed copies being served on what we found. I am sure if you took a look at it, you would see it isn''t the ck witches we have to worry about lest you think otherwise," the councilman shook his head.


    "Duke Leonard, the council needs the facts and yes, we haven''t seen something like this before but we don''t know the ck witches capabilities. Creatures evolve in t-"


    "Creatures do not the ck witches. We all have been educated enough to know that they don''t have the brains to go that far. Attacking humans or any other kind including their own at times for their benefit," Leonard''s voice was crisp, conveying the information he had gathered.


    The count of dead bodies had considerably increased, one being found mostly in the forest or the towns where the humans resided. Men had been sent to investigate who came to a dead end. Even under the watchful eyes of the guards who were appointed by the council, humans and witches were getting killed.


    "So we have heard,


    "Councilman Igor," Lord Nichs interjected after hearing both Leonard and the councilman speak, "If you were going to decide the case to be closed by concluding the ck witches behind it, you wouldn''t have asked me to put Leonard on the case. After all, he doesn''t work for your department. We might have not found the answers to it yet but certain things require time."


    "I do agree to that, Lord Nichs," before the councilman could continue to speak Leonard spoke,


    "Give us some time, councilman Igor."


    The man stared hard at the ground, sighing he pushed the ss up that rested on his nose, "I don''t think I would be able to reopen it right away but I will make sure to convey the matter to Reuben so that he knows about it."


    "Thank you," Leonard gave him a slight bow.


    "Excuse me now gentlemen. Evening to you," the councilman walked past them with a stick in his hand.


    "Afternoon to you," Lord Nichs murmured staring at the man''s back who disappeared around the corner. He then spoke to Leonard, "What are the chances of him talking about it to Reuben?"


    "None at all," deadpanned Leonard to see Nichs pull out the cigar from his pocket, "I heard from Helnor that Igor was pushing the case to be closed. I found a documentst night in his chamber with the parchments he happened to say was lost."


    "Funny. So he wants the matter gone,"mented Lord Nichs appearing to be interested though he was. Lighting the cigar, he took arge puff from it, "You do know that breaking into a councilmen''s home is an offence with a high degree of punishment. If one knew, they wouldn''t overlook the matter," smoke pushed through his lips before dispersing in the air.


    "If the councilmen knew not to lie, there wouldn''t be a need for me to break into his house. It isn''t my hobby."


    "But it is one of your many talents," the Lord chuckled softly.


    Leonard was one of the finest councilmen avable for their age. It was one of the reasons he was often sought out for jobs he didn''t usually didn''t work on.


    "I must have learned it from you," Leonard retorted to which Nichs nodded his head.


    "Yes. Learned from the best. Well, who knew," Lord Nichs softly eximed staring at someone behind Leonard and he turned around to see two men walking through the outside corridors of the building. One of the men was the Lord of the West, Lord Alexander Delcrov who looked slightly annoyed when his eyes fell on Lord Nichs.


    "Lord Alexander," Lord Nichs greeted the man.


    "Lord Nichs," the dark-haired man greeted back with the same tone, his pureblooded vampire eyes void of any emotions which he previously held from looking at the Lord of Bonke. A long chain hung around his neck with a pendant cross that had a ruby stone that settled on his chest, "Duke Leonard," Lord Alexander greeted Leo. Upon the mention of his name, the redhead man gave a look at him who hade along with Lord Delcrov, "Thank you for clearing the calls that were pulled in the previous session of the court. The vigers have stopped the ambush next to Mythweald for water."


    "I only did my job, milord," Leonard smiled politely.


    "Only if everyone did that," Lord Alexandermented for Lord Nichs to retort,


    "Everyone has their own priorities and need to what to be done, Lord Alexander. We pick the best out of the lot," this seemed to have angered Lord Alexander.


    Though Lord Nichs was a few years older to Lord Alexander, they were given the position of the lordships around the same time of unfortunate events. As polite and gentleman-like Lord Nichs appeared at the front, his methods of getting things done were harsh and inhuman, after all, he did hail from a pureblooded family. Not that Lord Alexander didn''t but his methods were much sensible considered to the approach the Lord of Bonke used.


    "For a pureblooded vampire, you have stooped too low that I can hardly consider you to be one," replied Lord Alexander keeping the same calmness as before.


    "I am a better version of the pureblood. You should try it," smiled Lord Nichs.


    Before they could keep going on with their husband and wife like banter, the head council, Reuben arrived.


    "It is good to see both the Lords here," Reuben walked towards them. The head council began speaking to the two Lords and Leonard couldn''t be more relieved to finally have the crosstalk to be stopped between Alexander and Nichs.


    "We haven''t met before, Duke Leonard. I am Elliot Wells," the redhead man took the opportunity to introduce himself. Thest name sounded familiar to him as they shook hands.


    He gauged the man''s features and said, "You must be rted to Jerome Wells."


    "I am. Jerome is my elder brother," the man offered him a pleasant smile, his bright red eyes stating that he was a regr vampire. He had heard about Elliot being the third inmand when it came to handling the job affairs of the West. For a vampire who came from a low family, the man must be capable to take such a position next to the Lord.


    "We live in a small world," remarked Leonard, keeping his words minimum as usual. Elliot''s smile widened and he continued to keep the conversation alive.


    "Did you know there are pieces of flesh that are being found in the town?" this seemed to catch Leonard''s attention, "Looks like you do. I heard from one of the ck witches that she encountered a creature that sheds skin like a snake. A skin that doesn''t belong to its own. You don''t talk much," he abruptly changed the talk.


    "Not talking unnecessarily is my forte," Leo gave the redheaded man a look who took no offence to his words, "You mentioned about the ck witch. Is she still around?" he saw Elliot shake his head.


    Elliot lowered his voice, "Unlike others, witches, in general, aren''t kept in prisons and are instead burnt on the spot. The information is always scarce."


    "How is it that Jerome didn''t join you in work?" Leonard enquired about Elliot''s brother.


    To this Elliot smiled, "He wants a life filled with peace and quiet, that''s what he always pursued. Not that I didn''t ask him,"pared to his brother Jerome who at least a little polite, Elliot Wells was livelier with his intrusive eyes who wanted to know matters around him, "Something seems to be keeping him at Bonke that he refuses to move. Hopefully, he does."


    "Let''s hope he does," agreed Leonard, the corner of his lips quirking up.


    Once Lord Alexander, the man named Elliot and the head council walked away to discuss other matters, Lord Nichs and Leonard made their way to where their carriage stood. As they walked Lord Nichs asked,


    "It seems that whatever is hunting the beings here is something we have never encountered. Maybe a visit to Valeria will do good," though Lord Nichs was with the head council, he had also managed to eavesdrop on Leonard''s conversation with Elliot.


    "I n to do that," he came to stand next to Nichs'' carriage with an impassive expression.


    "What is it?"


    "Uncle Sullivan visitedst week."


    "Doesn''t he always?"


    Leonard sighed, raising his hand to run it through his blonde hair, "He does but he doesn''t know about Vivian yet."


    "That sure is going to be a pickle if he finds her when you''re away. Do you want me to watch over her?" at Lord Nichs'' offer, Leo''s eyes narrowed suspiciously, "What''s the matter? I won''t kill her when you''re gone. Unless she does anything unnecessary, she is most wee at my mansion," the Lord added thest sentence with a smile.


    "I think she''s safer at my home than yours," Leonard''s lips set into a thin line as Nichsughed.


    "I was only joking. You are aware she will be the safest under my supervision. Bring her tomorrow,"


    The Lord was the kind of person to chaperone anyone, not a young girl who was a human especially. For him to offer such an arrangement only showed the amount of soft corner he had over the Duke.


    Lord Nichs got into his carriage, "Let me think about it," replied Leonard, not giving the Lord a definite answer for now.


    "Mhm. Leo..." spoke Lord Nichs, stopping Leonard who was about to walk to his carriage, "Did Vivian mention anything after she returned back from the Rune mansion?"


    "Nothing that I could remember. Why? Did you do something?" scowled Leonard with a displeased look, thinking the worst Nichs could have done to her.


    Lord Nichsughed, "I only introduced her to Toby," which was the truth.


    "The damn bird. I shall take my leave now," muttered Leonard.


    After the horses pulled the carriage away from the council, the smile that was on Lord Nichs'' lips slowly disappeared before a grave look took upon his features.

 Chapter 81 - Men Of Council- Part 2

    Reaching the Rune mansion, the old butler who had served Lord Nichs'' father came to take the overcoat that he had worn. Thends of Bonke was covered in mud which was wet and dirty, yet Lord Nichs'' shoes were clean as if they had only been bought from the Isle town which was the main hub of the market for the elite society of the pureblooded vampires.


    "Was your visit to the council sessful, milord?" the old butler asked with his coarse voice, following Nichs into the halls.


    The old butler had served most of his years at the Rune mansion, even before the current Lord had joined his father. Though he had spent most of his years to Wilhelhum, the current Lord was whom he favoured. His age was catching up and for an average vampire like him, time was cutting close. His bald head had very few strands of grey hair that werebed to the side. Bright red eyes which he possessed during young age had dulled out. There were times when he didn''t understand Lord Nichs'' motives but he helped in seeding whatever it was topletion.


    "It was. Lest I am hoping it was. The councilmen are very troublesome," Lord Nichs pulled out his white gloves, handing it to the side which the butler was quick to take.


    "They have always been in the past. It must be advantageous to have master Leonard on the council,"mented the butler following his Lord like a shadow.


    "Indeed it is. The case which was given to Leonard was moved to the home department as we haven''t found anything in there but today was a fortunate visit. Knowing Reuben he will be extending the time period. Did you know who visited today?" Lord Nichs hummed with a twinkle in his eyes.


    "No master Nichs," came the in answer of the old man who showed no excitement.


    "Lord Alexander," answered the Lord with a smile, "Could you please prepare a gift or two to him, it would be bad if we lost the opportunity to be friends. He is after important," the butler nodded his head in agreement.


    "You should refrain from creating trouble in othernds if you''re going to want to keep the image you have built. Suspicion of doubt is always around, milord," Nichs had reached his room. A chuckle escaped his lips, a chuckle that was dry with no humour in it.


    Sometimes no matter how much one hid their crimes, tracks usually followed them somehow and somewhere. Lord Nichs had his own, things that were hidden and unknown to all.


    "You don''t have to worry about it," he smiled at his butler, "Send me my lunch into my room. Younger the better, just likest time."


    "Yes, milord," the butler bowed his head and retreated.


    The brte haired Lord smiled softly before stepping into his room, beginning to unbutton his shirt he threw it on the bed. He had received the title of Lord in his early twenties of vampire age after his father passed away in an unfortunate ident. Like the rest of the events that had taken ce in the history of allnds of the four empires, this one had begun to be forgotten just like how one day the way Leonard''s parent''s death would be washed away from people''s minds.


    Lord Nichs was a smart man, smarter than most of the pureblooded vampires, so much that before he was even given the title of Lord, he had been offered to work under the head council, Reuben, due to the intelligence he possessed. Then intelligence wasn''t what he only carried, there were others who helped and apanied him.


    Out of the lot of purebloods, the only one he felt who levelled to him was the Lord of Valeria. Lord Alexander Delcrov who held a distaste against him. Unlike himself, who hid behind the beautiful mask he had built with years of experience, Lord Alexander didn''t bother to keep one. This often led to disagreements with certain councilmen.


    Lord Nichs going to his bath, stepped into the water, immersing himselfpletely after he had shed all his clothes. Lord Alexander wasn''t always unfriendly towards him, thought Lord Nichs with a chuckle. It was only that the recent activity done by Nichs had been found out by Alexander. Seven months ago when Nichs had been to Valeria, as dinner during a stroll at night, he had picked a towns boy who was barely eight to drink blood. Drinking the boy''s blood until there was not a drop more to be drawn out; eventually throwing the boy on the ground with disregard. It was a habit he had picked by living with his father.


    Lord Nichs might have everything now, a power that needed to be used tomand people, blood that was served to him of high quality but years ago it was never like that. Life was strange, thought the Lord as a maid was sent into the bath for him to drink blood from. The woman was docile, not a word spoken as she stripped herself naked, getting into the bath where heid with his back resting against the cold marble.


    Completing the bath, Lord Nichs stepped out of the bath with water dripping down his taut body such that every step on the ground covered with water to imprint his footsteps while leaving the bath with a light colour of pinkish red with the maid who sat still with eyes that no longer held a light.


    On thends of Bonke where the Carmichael mansion stood, Vivian waited for Leonard''s who was yet to return. She stood at her room''s balcony, waiting and watching the gates where the carriage would enter.


    Now that she wasn''t a maid anymore, she realized time was difficult to pass when there was nothing particr to do. As odd as it would sound, she missed cleaning the mansion, the stables, talking the animals and the maids. After her belongings had been moved to the guest room, the maids had turned hostile towards her immediately. The ones she talked to before only gave her a smile before moving forward to do their work which the housekeeper had given them.


    She missed it yet somewhere she enjoyed the new position in front of the servants who didn''t get along with her just because she was closer to Leonard. Now even a word against her would get them into trouble. Vivian had always grown up hoping to get along with everyone, to like and be liked by everyone but Leonard had taught her that she couldn''t expect it from everyone when one of his cousins had mistreated her during his absence after he had moved out.


    Her hands gripped the railings of the balcony as the wind blew across thends, rain which had temporarily stopped threatening to pour on the already wet and muddy ground.


    The rain didn''t wait for Leonard''s return and began pouring down, growls of thundering from the sky. With watering in her direction she stepped back into her new room which she was getting used to. With time in her hands, she had begun to knit a new sweater for Leo, this time it was the colour of white. The colour matched his skin and him, a man who was direct and pure in her eyes. It was only half done and she would need a few more days before it would beplete.


    Not wanting to sit cooped in the room, she went out of the room, her hands touching the top of the staircase railing as images began shing through her ck eyes.


    Blood. Blood was everywhere. Her staggered form broke the vase that was next to her.


    Even after she moved her hands away from the railing, the images continued to run through of the time when Leonard''s parents were killed. Her breathing got shallower when she saw Mrs Carmichael standing not far across her which felt real. Her hands were covered in blood, blood Vivian didn''t know if it was others or Mrs Carmichael''s.


    When Mrs Carmichael took a step, Vivian took one back.


    "M-Mrs Carmichael?" but the woman didn''t respond. Vivian had forgotten for an instant that Mrs Carmichael was only a fragment of memory right now. An evil memory which was repeating itself.


    Just before Mrs Carmichael could get to her, Leonard stepped between them by pushing his mother away. But the woman was long gone, her ck eyes stared at her son before shifting very slightly at Vivian before ready to attack her. At the same moment, Leonard attempted to stop her this time only for both the mother and the son to slowly slide down on the ground with Leonard hugging his mother.


    With shaken breath Vivian stood there looking at them, red liquid slowly inking the floor around them. Leonard had killed his mother. To stop her from doing any more damage than what had been done and caused.


    As the memory passed away, Vivian couldn''t help but let her body fall on the ground on her knees. Silent tears began pouring down her cheeks, one after another.


    Leonard had killed his own mother when Mrs Carmichael had tried to get to where she was.


    "Vivi?" Leonard who had only arrived back home hurried to sit next to her. Confused and worried in the state she was, "What happened? Did someone hurt you?"


    Vivian shook her head as more tears began pouring down her cheeks.


    "I-I am s-sorry!" she hupped, "I-"


    "Sshh," he cooed, taking her into his arms and finding a ss vase behind her on the ground to be broken, "If its the vase you''re worried about we can rece it with a new one, Vivi," he rubbed her head gently wondering what had caused the tears in her eyes.


    The gentler Leo''s words were towards her, the harder Vivian cried in his arms.

 Chapter 82 - Glass Of Blood

    Dried tears that left small hups behind settled down as time passed, leaving Vivian quiet in Leo''s arms.


    "I am sorry," came the whispered voice of Vivian.


    "What for?" asked Leonard, guessing so much that the vase wasn''t what had broken her down into tears. The way she clutched her hands to her chest made him doubt if she had hurt herself. Taking her hand in his, he ran his thumbs over her palms before looking up to see her eyes that looked.


    "I..." Vivian tried to tell him how sorry she was for what had urred that night but she couldn''t put it in right words. When it had happened, everything around her had been chaotic and her mind hadn''t grasped the way the situation had presented. Guilt ate her at the thought that Leo could have somehow saved his mother if she hadn''t decided to attack her. Now that her tears on her face had disappeared, she stared into the waiting eyes of Leonard, "I saw what happened," she saw him give her a confused look, eyes wavering away from his, she said, "Your mother...I saw you..."


    Leonard felt his hand freeze for a second when Vivian mentioned about the night he had been trying to forget for the past few months. As painful it was for Vivian to rewatch the scene, it was much worse for him to remember the way his parents died; especially his dear mother.


    His hands slipped away from Vivian''s.


    It had been some time since someone had brought up his parents in a conversation. He had bottled his emotions close somewhere far away that he never spoke about them.


    "What did you see?" he asked keeping his voice calm and helping her stand up. Everything, her mind whispered at his question.


    "Memories of what I already have seen," she answered, realizing she should have kept this one to herself. Vivian would be more than happy to listen to him but she doubted he would want to speak about that certain day. Silence awkwardness surrounded them, leaving Leonard deep in thought.


    When she heard Leo let out a sigh, her brows scrunched together in worry.


    "Vivian," hearing Leonard call her by her given name straightened her back, "Did you have lunch?" she blinked her eyes twice.


    "No, I was waiting for you," he nodded his head.


    "Ask Jan to prepare lunch for you."


    "What about you?" she asked him, "Did you eat?"


    "I don''t have the appetite for lunch. Go now. Staying hungry too long isn''t good for your body," he ced his hand on her back which slid away after a gentle push.


    Vivian saw him walk past her, heading to his room as she stood there for a minute. Her hand on the railing she turned to step down the carpet stairs, one after another. The meal that noon was lonely. Sitting in the wide dining room which was empty except for her and the housekeeper who had left on her word as she didn''t ask for anything more than what was served, she sat at the table eating quietly.


    The fork in her hand yed with the pea before it was picked and put into her mouth. The rain murmured down to the ground and walls, whispers of the leaves long lost as she stared outside the window from where she sat. The clouds had gotten darker, darkening the dining room as if a shadow of pain crept around it just like it had enveloped her heart. She hadn''t meant to cry, not so much at least in front of Leonard. The tears had fallen down like a broken unstoppable dam, the pain, and heartache still echoing in her mind.


    He had given his heart to her but matters would be easier to handle if he showed the wounds he suffered.


    Vivian hadn''t mentioned what she had seen at the Rune mansion, and if he hadn''t caught her at the time right after her visions she might have not mentioned about it. Not that she wanted to hide anything from him but she believed that a few things were better left forgotten and untouched. Things that were not meant for her and what she had found by ident.


    Only if she could heal the wounds he had hidden from her and the world, thought Vivian to herself. cing the fork beside the te, she wiped her lips with the cloth that rested on the table.


    Leo had told her she had the ability and power to heal physical wounds, it wasn''t the wounds that appeared outwardly that was painful but the ones that were caused within. And if she could help him in any way, she would do her best, knowing well that Leonard would do the same for her.


    She wanted to support him, be there for him and with that thought in her mind, she got up from her seat to take a ss from the table. Picking up the knife which was ced on the stand, she took it. Taking in a deep breath, "You can do this," she whispered to herself, running the sharp edge across her palm and letting the warm liquid fall down drop by drop into the crystal ss as it filled up.


    "What are you doing?"


    The sudden voice of Leonard who stood at the door startled her, making her hide her hand suddenly like a child who was caught stealing sweets from the kitchen, "Isn''t that what you have?" Vivian''s question was right in all forms as that was what she was used to seeing him drink during meals.


    "Don''t tell me that it''s for me," his voice sounded tired, making her feel as if he were disappointed by her action, "You need to stop cutting yourself, Vivian," he reprimanded her, "One wrong action and you''ll end up dead."


    "I''m still alive," she muttered, feeling slightly bad that he wasn''t happy about her offering her blood.


    "Stupid girl. Don''t do it again," he took her hand where the wound would take time to heal, drying the fresh blood while it turned thicker and harder.


    "Fine," she looked away from him. He took the jug of water, cing her hand on the used te and began pouring the water on her hand to clean it.


    "I don''t know what goes in that head of yours to cut yourself, not once but twice. Or have you done this before to do it without a second thought?" taking the clean napkin he ced it on her hand, pressing it making her wince in pain.


    She took her hand away from him, clutching it close to her chest, "I just wanted to do something nice for you. Why is it so bad?"


    "Didn''t I say Icked an appetite," his expression was dull as he looked at her hand, eyes moving to see the amount of blood that had been collected.


    She shook her head seeing the way his eyes darted from her to the ss thatid on the table, "Skipping meals isn''t good. It''s not just me but you need to eat too, Leo. Things have happened but you need to live and not shut yourself," this seemed to have hit the nail which made his eyes narrow at her.


    "Why?" his dull expression turned to life but not the kind she would have wanted. Anger began to simmer in those red eyes as they stared down at her, "Do you feel pity? Is this what this is about? Feeling bad for what I did?" a dryugh broke out of his lips, "Is it?" he questioned.


    Vivian could have denied, denied that it wasn''t pity but she ignored the little bells that warned her not to go through that road. Fortunate or unfortunately, as she grew up away from him, she never got to witness the temper like the others who lived with him. He had always been extremely calm and patient with her, there were times he showed his annoyance but she took it with joy.


    The expression on her face gave away what was in her mind and Leonard spoke, "I don''t need your pity. I won''t pass out if I miss a meal," he turned on his heel ready to leave the room.


    "Talk to me, Leo," she pleaded softly in a whisper to make him stop in his tracks.


    Leonard who had opened the door, turned to face at her swiftly, "What do you want me to talk about? About my dead parents?" he snapped making her flinch, "Of how you pity me for losing my family? Or is it how I killed my own mother?"


    "That''s not what I meant," she frowned, knowing Leo was only speaking such things out of anger. If this was how he was going to cope with his emotions by using anger as a shield, then she wouldn''t mind it.


    Vivian knew Leonard was hurting deep down but keeping everything locked in like that wasn''t healthy. They both had lost people whom they loved and care for, his being on a much greater pain than what she had gone through. The council had held Paul to be the culprit after long trails that took ce for extended weeks. Paul had been hung, and there was no way they could bring Mr and Mrs Carmichael back to life. She wanted Leo''s mind to be met with peace, to ovee the pain gradually but something said he still held on to it.


    "You shut yourself out. The more you shut yourself like that it will only hurt that much more. I don''t mean for you to forget and forgive for what has happened," Vivian''s voice was gentle. It didn''t seem like her words would convey everything she wanted to say but she tried, "You don''t have to carry the burden all by yourself. I am here if you need me, Leo."


    "I know," he replied, closing the door behind him when he stepped out of the dining room.


    Her eyes falling upon the ss filled with her blood, she murmured, "He didn''t take it. Tapping her foot for three seconds, she picked the ss and was out of the room, following down the halls so that she could catch up to him.


    "Leo!" she called loud enough to bring attention to herself.


    Maids who were working in the hall stopped to see the couple, even the housekeeper who hade to fetch and clean the dining room saw the girl chase after Master Leonard. The girl had finally been turned to ady yet her actions sometimes slipped to fall back as amoner.


    Leonard who turned to see what had got her running saw the ss of blood in her hand.


    "You forgot this," she said keeping a smile on her lips whilst her heart pumped loudly. She had an inkling that he might be holding thest thread with her before he would actually get mad at her, "It will go stale and would be a waste."


    "Should have thought before you poured it in there," he responded back haughtily.


    Her heart dropped slightly, "You want me to throw it away then?"


    "Do whatever suit''s you," at the same time the bell at the front door rang and the housekeeper went to get it.


    And as if his mood wasn''t enough to be spoiled in came the curly haired vampire gentleman, Jerome Wells with Jan following him behind. Dressed in light-coloured ck and shirt, the vampire looked close as good as any elite vampire would look to be.


    "Master Leonard, Mr Wells is here to see you," announced Jan with a bow.


    "Good afternoon, Duke Leonard. Good afternoon Vivian," Jerome wished both of them, his eyes lingering more on Vivian than Leonard which irked the blonde man.


    "Noon, Mr Wells," greeted Leonard. Vivian offered the man a smile and a bow, greeting him the same manner he had greeted them.


    As if noticing the stareing from Leonard, Jerome spoke, "You said you wanted to speak to me about something important," he reminded.


    "Let''s go to the drawing room," suggested Leonard to move the conversation to a private room.


    Vivian who had been standing there next to Leonard, turned to Jerome when he spoke to her, "Will Ms Vivian be joining us in the room?" he had never seen her so finely dressed as a maid always wore less attractive clothes due to the wages they received by their masters.


    Jerome Wells had been the only one to call her with a title of miss before her name, unknown that she had been moved up from the position of a maid to ady, he still referred her the way he always had since the first time they had begun to speak to each other.


    "I don''t think so..." drawled Vivian unsure of why Leonard had called Mr Wells home today. She never asked him matters regarding why people came and what was their reason for visiting him at the mansion.


    But Leonard surprised her by saying, "I think you it would be alright for you to join us, Vivian. Unless you don''t want to," she could? she asked herself mentally.


    "That''s lovely," chimed Jerome with a smile that could have melted the maid''s hearts but it didn''t melt Vivian''s heart. Not that she didn''t find the man attractive but she never felt the way she felt like when she saw Leo. As they walked with Leonard in the front, Jerome fell back slowly to walk next to Vivian, asking her, "What''s with the ss of blood? Is the Duke yet to have his meal?"


    Vivian remembered what Leo had said just before Jerome had appeared at the mansion,


    ''Do whatever suit''s you.''


    If that was really his answer then he wouldn''t mind what she was going to do next, "Would you like to have it, Mr Wells? It''s fresh," she smiled.


    "If you''re insisting, I don''t think I would mind," answered Jerome.


    Not after two seconds, Leonard had turned to snatch the ss from her hand, "This one is mine, Mr Wells. Jan will get you another ss. Jan," Leonard flicked his fingers.


    "You don''t have to do that. I had my meal before I left home. I was going to have only because Ms Vivian insisted," said Mr Wells as they stepped into the study room.


    Vivian didn''t miss the re Leonard sent her way when Jerome wasn''t looking. She looked away in another direction behaving as if she hadn''t noticed it.

 Chapter 83 - Marriage Proposal- Part 1

    Instead of taking a seat with Leonard and Jerome, Vivian walked around therge room with slow-paced steps. Taking the corners near the wall, she looked at the objects which she was very familiar to as she used to clean the room twice every week when she was a maid.


    She turned slightly behind to look over where both the men sat. Leonard in a plush seat she often saw him sit. His legs crossed and back leaned against the seat, one of his arms rested on the armrest.


    Suddenly she remembered a memory of the time when he had only arrived back in the mansion after his long stay. The time when he had removed her shoes from her feet to inspect something which she hadn''t asked him about. She felt her skin tingle as if his hand held her ankle, pulling it towards him gently. The grip was not painful yet firm in its hold.


    When her eyes met his red brooding ones, she couldn''t resist smiling at his previous action which only narrowed his eyes. Quickly looking away while hiding the smile, she looked at the little trinkets decorating the stand next to her.


    She heard Jerome speak, "What do I owe the invitation to the Carmichael mansion?"


    It made her wonder what Leonard wanted to speak with the vampire, unless, thought Vivian to herself, unless it was about the marriage to Lady Charlotte.


    But did they consult regarding this with Lady Charlotte?


    Thest time Vivian talked to Charlotte, she was in love with the man named Rory who was a humanMythweald interested in her? A person whom her father had chosen for her. Pureblooded parents never let their offsprings to marry someone out of their own kind. Not even a vampire, at least that was so with what she had heard. For the Easton''s to consider Jerome Wells only showed their broad-mindedness in epting people.


    If Charlotte hadn''t told her brother about it then there were fewer chances of Leonard knowing about it as he was working on the alliance of Easton''s with Jerome. Should she intervene? But what would she say? It was not her secret to tell but she didn''t understand why Charlotte hadn''t objected to the marriage. She must have stopped talking to the man named Rory, thought Vivian to herself, maybe if she could speak to Charlotte she could clear her doubts. After all, before the mishap took ce in this very mansion, she and the daughter of Easton shared a good friendship with each other.


    "Jerome, your capabilities on how sessful of an architect you are have made quite some rounds in the pure-blooded world," the sound of fire crackling in the firece apanied with what Leonard had to say regarding the man who sat in front of him, "My Uncle and Aunt, the Easton''s are looking for a suitor for their daughter, my cousin Charlotte. She''s a beautiful young woman and if you''re interested, my Aunt Prisci would be happy to make arrangements so that she cane down with the family to meet you officially."


    Vivian who had previously been looking at the trinkets, turnedpletely when Leonard praised Jerome about his work. Not once had she heard him praise anyone. Not one until now, for him to be doing it meant that the Easton''s meant a lot to him. They were his family.


    Jerome cleared his throat, unsure with the sudden proposal which he had least expected, "Duke Carmichael, as pleased as I am to hear that my work has been acknowledged by the high society, I don''t think I would be able to ept your generous offer."


    "You don''t have to give your answer right away. Please do take your time to reconsider the offer. You will only have to meet," Leonard tried to sway the vampire.


    "Pardon me but I don''t think I will agree to take any woman as a wife at the moment," Jerome hadn''tpleted his sentence. He paused for two seconds and said, "Unless it is the woman in this very room, I have no ims to marry another."


    Vivian was d to not be sitting with them as she could only see the back of Jerome''s head facing her, but then she didn''t miss the fury pass through Leo''s eyes.


    "We aren''t here to speak about Vivian''s hand in marriage but my cousin Charlotte''s," Leonard was firm with his words, his eyes zing as he looked the man in the eye.


    Jerome smiled at Leonard, "I am aware but it is she whom I n to make my wife," Leonard''s hand clutched into a tight fist that was resting on hisp.


    "Fortunately she isn''t avable, Mr Wells."


    "That is for Ms Vivian to decide," replied Jerome to Leo''s statement.


    Did they forget she was in the room? thought Vivian while drowning in water of embarrassment. Getting up from his seat, Jerome walked to where Vivian stood as if lightning had struck her and soon she would crumble into dust.


    "Ms Vivian, I don''t want your answer now but is there a slight or remote possibility that one day you might end up having feelings for me?" asked Jerome earnestly.


    Vivian wasn''t the kind hurt anyone''s feelings, at least not when the person had nothing but provided kindness and respect to her; Jerome was one of them.


    Like a child as if making sure that no one''s feelings were hurt, she looked at Leonard who looked calm. Her eyes shifted back to Jerome when he spoke to her,


    "You don''t have to be afraid. I will take your answer as it is without holding any ill emotions against you," he spoke to her gently which only made it harder for her. Vivian pressed her lips, opening it to speak while keeping caution to what she was about to speak that would affect both the men in the room.


    But instead of being subtle, she blurted out the words, "I like Leonard."


    "There you have the answer for your curious mind, Mr Wells," Leonard came to stand next to Vivian and kissing the side of her temple to both Vivian and Jerome''s surprise, "If your doubts have been cleared can we get back to the proposal?"


    Jerome being true to his word only smiled at Vivian who looked utterly embarrassed at the disy of affection Leonard had shown in front of him.


    "I will need time for it, Duke Leonard. It would be disrespectful if I meet your cousin when I still have feelings for another woman," he gave his honest reply to Leonard who gave a slight nod.


    "A week or two is the maximum I can hold my rtives. I hope to receive a positive answer," replied Leonard before they sat back again to finish the drink Jan had brought for their guest.


    After making small conversation with the vampire architect, Leonard asked Jan to see their guest off. It was good to maintain a good rtionship with the man from now especially if he was going to be his future brother-inw. Once Jerome waspletely off his grounds, Leo went in search of Vivian for the terrible trick she had pulled on him.


    Vivian had tiptoed outside the mansion admiring the wildflowers that had managed to grow in the garden when she yelped out of surprise suddenly finding the world upside down with her feet hanging in the air.


    "Leo! Put me down!" she banged his back with the small of her hands but it did nothing to him. He instead carried her on his shoulder inside the mansion, walking up the stairs which made her feel dizzy, "Leo, please!" she pleaded.


    "You need to be punished for what you did a while ago, Bambi," his response made her stomach churn.


    "But I did nothing wrong!" she cried out. A maid who was walking across the hall couldn''t help but gawk at her master and the former maid who was being carried in such fashion.


    "Let me help you jog your memory then," Leo kicked his bedroom door open and closed it with the same intensity before throwing Vivian on the bed, making her bounce softly.


    Before she could scramble off the bed, Leo hovered above her, pinning both her arms above her head with just one hand. She had tried rolling over but he had blocked any possible movements by cing both his legs on either side of her body.


    She didn''t struggle because she knew well that she was no match for his strength.

 Chapter 84 - Marriage Proposal- Part 2

    She tried to move her hands subtly out of his grip when he leaned closer to her to only feel her wrists to be held down on the soft mattress. Her breathing which was already uneven from hanging on Leonard''s shoulder turned into deeper breaths, feeling every little movement of the bed.


    When Vivian tried to move away her leg he came to settlefortably between the space of her legs.


    "How shall I punish you, my sweet Bambi," he whispered next to her ear, bringing a silver of emotions into her body as if it had been breathed alive by his mere words. With her wide eyes, she saw Leonard pull back so that he could look at her. The expression he wore on his face was serious, his eyes dark yet red.


    With slightly furrowed brows, she pleaded, "Leo, please..."


    "What do you want me to do?" he asked, his words being coy as he looked down at her. Eyes tracing every curve and dip on her skin, ck eyes blinked back at him. He wanted to touch her and he did what he felt like doing. He was never known to be patient, if he wanted her he would have her.


    From the open windows of the room, curtains flew softly, moving further inside as clouds growled in the sky as if instigating the mood of the couple in the room. It hadn''t rained since morning, gracing the people of Bonke with the weather without rain for now.


    "Let me go," she pleaded.


    "Anything but that," seeing that he wasn''t going to let her go, she put onest effort in freeing herself which resulted in her breasts moving to his eyes delight, "Move more and you will only end up enticing me that much more," his eyes followed from her chest up the column of her neck before settling back on her eyes which asionally darted to her lips. On his words, Vivian suddenly stopped moving and felt the blood rush up her neck to make way to her cheeks which tinted the pale cheeks to a shade of pink.


    "But I did nothing wrong. I did what you said, weren''t you the one-" she felt his finger on her lips to stop her from speaking, the pressure of it gentle.


    "Don''t try to weasel your way out of this by putting it on me," he pushed his finger into her mouth, cing it on top of her tongue from uttering a word, "Trying to use Jerome by giving him your blood, how dare you Vivian? To give something that solely belongs to me someone else," as he removed his finger out of her mouth, his tongue reced it. Lips moved against hers with such fierceness that felt like wooden logs that were blown to build more heat during the time of Winter.


    During the entire time, Leo didn''t release Vivian''s hands from his grasp and instead he enjoyed it there up above her head where he couldpletely see her without her pushing or hiding her face away with it.


    There was something about the way Leonard held her hands, dominating her with a kiss which she craved for more. She could taste him, the sweetness that came from his mouth every time their tongue rubbed against each other. It was so sweet that it made her head spin.


    His lips brushed against her lips before pressing it down her cheek, one kiss after another which reached to the side of her neck. When he licked her neck, Vivian gasped before a moan escaped her lips as his mouthtched on to her neck. He sucked on it, pulling and letting go of the tender skin, enjoying the moans that erupted from her delicate lips.


    "Ah!" she cried when he bit hard on her neck, hard enough to draw blood from it. Drops of blood began rolling down which hepped with his tongue in time. Sucking and licking while pressing her body with his to the mattress.


    Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Did that hurt?"


    Vivian shook her head softly with a dazed look. How could it hurt, when he asked her with so much concern and she wished she hadn''t at that moment.


    "Then that wouldn''t be considered to be punishment at all now, would it?" he stated, running his fingers over her lower lip.


    "Is it necessary?" asked Vivian her lips trembling when his finger traced her skin down her chin to her neck, running his thumb where he had bit her. To his delight a bruise had begun to form, marking her skin to a dark shade of red.


    She should have known offering her blood to a stranger especially to someone who was trying to gain her affections would not be something he would have wanted her to do. "Very," he whispered with a mischevious smile that made her heart flip in her chest. Leo didn''t need to know what effect he had on his girl, "Shall I reiterate what you did today that has got me upset?" he asked to see her gulp in anticipation, "Your blood is mine, Vivi. Everything that belongs to you is mine to take and keep. No one else. Not even the shadow, not your smile, not your tears, they are all mine. Yet you made an offer to a man whom you know loves you, where you trying to win his favour?" his question made her hold her breath.


    "Why would you say that?" she knew that he knew it wasn''t true, "I only..."


    "You only what? What were you trying to aplish by doing that?" he nudged her, running his finger close to her bosom which made her gasp.


    "Leo!" she looked embarrassed.


    "Tell me. You know me right, Bambi," that she did. Vivian knew he wouldn''t let her off until he would hear it in her own words.


    Her gaze wavered away from him to look at the left bedpost, "I wanted you to talk to me..."


    "I never stopped talking to you," she heard him reply, "Taunting the jealous side of me, you are quite brave. Brave but doing something you shouldn''t have. Would you be happy if I spent time with another woman, drinking another woman''s blood in front of you?"


    "That''s not fair, Leo! I didn''t-"


    "Hush now, darling," his voice rebuked no further argument, "The matter is still the same and doesn''t change what you aimed for. I need to make sure you don''t repeat it when I''m not around."


    When Leonard loosened his hold on her hands, for an instance Vivian thought all this while he was only joking with her but she was so wrong. Just as she began to rise, he stopped her.


    "We haven''t picked your punishment. What might it be hmm?" If she hadn''t regretted before for making him jealous, she did now. Who knew it was a high offence in Leonard''s dictionary, "I want to see you," he dered leaving Vivian dumbstruck.


    "W-what?"


    "I won''t do anything you don''t like," he whispered on her lips, "I wish to see you as you are, Vivi," he cleared to make sure she understood what he meant. He had said it was a punishment but there was a permission of request in the tone of his words. Taking her face in both his hands, he kissed her once more, this time being gentle and slow to persuade her into giving in to his words. Getting her in the zone where she would befortable. He sucked her bottom lips, twice being gentle and third time pulling it harder than the previous one making her gasp.


    Pushing her back on the bed, "May I?" it wasn''t a question with his fingers hovering over the top of her dress.


    Vivian was conflicted, conflicted with what she was supposed to say as words refused to form in her brain. They were scattered like flowers of spring with the demand of what Leo wanted to do.


    Wetting her lips that had dried, she said, "But we aren''t married. Only a married man and woman are supposed to see each other...like that..." she trailed shyly. This was Paul''s teaching to Vivian, thought Leonard. His old housekeeper had brought her up well.


    "We might not be married now but one day we will. I will make you my wife, Bambi. Just mine," the thought alone made her heart flutter like butterflies that had been released.

 Chapter 85 - Marriage Proposal- Part 3

    From the sky droplets of water started falling down, the ground taking it in and adding to the already wet and muddy soil. Soon and slowly it began to rain, thunderous growls echoing the whole of Bonke which was used to people who resided on thends.


    Vivian felt Leonard''s fingers y with the buttons that were at the top of her dress, rotating it as he stared into her eyes while waiting for her permission. She couldn''t believe how happy she was to hear from Leonard that he had nned to make her his wife one day. His wife, thought Vivian to herself. For someone who didn''t know herst name, she was happy, knowing she would acquire hisst name after they got married.


    Vivian Carmichael.


    She smiled, not realizing that the entire time Leonard had his eyes on her. Waiting for her patiently.


    "Vivi," Leo called her sweetly to bring her back to the world from her dreand.


    Breaking away from her thoughts, when Vivian realized what he was waiting for she felt her heart stutter. She was taught not to let a man touch her before marriage, not to let a man kiss her and she had happily done it with Leonard. Now that she thought about it, where Leo was concerned all the teachings she had taken from Paul and Martha went out of the window. Nothing else mattered in his presence.


    She felt him run his finger across her cheeks to gain her attention as she had begun to drift away with her thoughts. He gave her a sweet smile, the sweetest which wasn''t wide but a small one. The kind that had held whispers of promises.


    "I am going to unbutton the dress," he stated making her eyes go wide, "I won''t do anything more. Nothing you don''t like," he used the back of his hand to ce it under her chin so that he could tilt her head for a kiss.


    He heard her heartbeat slowlye back to normal as he kissed her lips. Leonard had been serious when he had spoken about her punishment. She had done the mistake of instigating him by using Jerome to get back at him and he wasn''t going to overlook at the matter. No matter how small it was, she had to learn not to do anything like that. Of course, he could use other methods but this would be the most effective one and it was a matter of time their rtionship moved forward. Vivian was his, therefore, he didn''t see why he had to wait to have her. The more he would prolong, it would only be that much harder to protect her from other men. It wasn''t that he wanted to take advantage of the situation but he wouldn''t let such opportunity slip past through his fingers.


    His talented fingers were quick to unbutton the first two buttons while they kissed which she was yet to realize. After thenguid kiss, he pulled away from her lips he made sure to tug the button with his finger to let her know where his fingers were.


    "Leo?" her voice was shy, her hands holding the sheets that were beneath her.


    "Hmm?" he responded back, keeping his eyes on her and not letting it go astray to make sure she wasfortable.


    "Are you going to remove all of it?" and as she said it, unable to hold his burning gaze her eyes moved away from him.


    "I would love to do that but for now let''s stick only to the dress, Bambi. I am d you''re wearing this one today," he murmured thest sentence with a hum of approval. Unlike the dresses, he had often seen her wear this one had a bow around her neck which he had pulled out in the beginning with only five buttons which red down her waist.


    Vivian didn''t know if it was his fingers or the air that passed from the windows that made her shiver as sheid on the bed with Leonard. As if noticing something he got out of the bed to close one of the windows which was right next to the bed.


    Once he was back he gave her his hand for her to take and she sat up.


    His long slender fingers made way to her shoulders before he pushed the dress off her shoulders. Helping her out of the dress heid her back on the bedfortably with her wearing nothing but a petticoat which she had worn inside the dress that went up to the length of her knee. He saw her gulp softly.


    "Do you trust me, Bambi?" she nodded her head at his question. Of course, she did, thought Leo to himself. As gullible he made her feel when she was with him, Vivian wasn''t that easy to be swayed in any other person''s direction. She was meant for him and him to her.


    "Why do you ask me questions to the answers you already know..." her voice trailed with her cheeks which were tainted with pink.


    "Because it''s good to hear the wordse out of your pretty lips. To know what you think and feel," she gasped when his lone index finger touched her lips fully before dragging them down to her neck.


    Leo couldn''t help but lick his lips at the sight of her naked body which was hidden beneath the white flimsy material that she wore. The petticoat rode low on her chest allowing him to see the top of her bosom. His brooding eyes continued to travel down to look at the nipples that had darkened in contrast to the white almost transparent cloth.


    Vivian who was unsure had initially looked away from Leonard but after two seconds it had gone back to look at Leonard who appeared to drink the sight of her. As if touching he was touching her bare skin with his eyes. With her hands back on the bed, she crossed her legs to shy open them and let him see whatid between them.


    As his eyes moved lower and lower, looking at the dip and curves that took was on her body, her toes curled, biting her lips. But his eyes never lingered down there more than necessary, his gaze moved down taking in her legs which extended to her feet which were stiff.


    "Are you embarrassed?" he asked straightforwardly. For someone who hadn''t been with another girl, Leo was too blunt and didn''t understand why she should be shy when they both liked each other.


    "Of course, I am!" she whispered wanting to hide under the bed but she doubted he would allow it. He would pull her out to bring her back to bed again, "I-I..." her eyes turned ssy. He had asked for her consent before taking off her clothes not that he had given her many options in the name of punishment but he had made sure to ask her. If she didn''t like it, she would have said no. Looking closer he noticed she wasn''t upset or sad, he waited for her to continue to speak, "I have never been like this in front of anyone. I would be embarrassed."


    So he was right, thought Leo. It wasn''t that she was hurt but that without the clothes she felt vulnerable in front of him.


    "I had be very troubled if you weren''t so," he tucked one of her errant piece of hair that hade out of her ited hair her ear gently, "I like it this way. The way you are, you are beautiful, Vivi."


    "Lies," she didn''t meet his eyes when heplimented her.


    "Why would you say that?"


    "I am a simple girl, Leo," as she said this her heart sunk in her chest.


    "And sometimes simple is all we need," his words touched her and she couldn''t stop but smile up at him, "I will take you just as you are," picking up her hand he kissed the back of her hand. Pressing his lips on her skin and letting it go, "Let''s get you back dressed, darling," he pulled her, taking away from the bed.


    That was all? She had been a little anxious and a little excited in the beginning thinking he would touch her, kiss her at ces he never had but he didn''t. As if reading the expression on her face, Leo spoke, "I promised that I would only see, didn''t I Bambi."


    While Leo helped her get dressed, it reminded Vivian of the time Martha used to dress her when she would take a trip to the local vige where Paul''s sister Grace lived. At the memory of it, sadness began to seep in. to think that things had changed so much in such a short span of time.


    Upon looking at her, Leonard asked her concerned, "Are you alright, Bambi?" she nodded her head. Once she waspletely dressed, he leaned forward to ce a kiss on her forehead.


    As the time of evening transitioned to night turning the sky pitch ck, Leo stayed with Vivian, spending his time with her before he would go to Valeria. He had thought to take her but he would have to leave her alone as the council didn''t approve involvingmoners when a job took ce. There was also another matter where he didn''t want her finding him with blood on his hands.


    Vivian might have had a slight inclination on what he worked but he didn''t want to expose her to that side of him. The side where he was a cold-blooded murder. Knowing about something and seeing it in person where two different things.


    It was a three-day trip and he would finish the work quickly before departing back to Bonke. After a lot of thought, he had decided to send her to the Rune''s mansion. Keeping her here when he wasn''t going to be around didn''t settle well with him.


    After him, the safest ce for Vivian to stay was at Lord Nichs'' mansion.

 Chapter 86 - Rune’s Mansion- Part 1

    Please find part 2 continuation of the chapter that has been published. Don''t forget to vote your power stones!


    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


    Seeing the carriage leave the mansion, Vivian hoped for Leonard''s quick return back to Bonke. Though the job would take no more than a day as she was told, the distance between Bonke and Valeria was a long one.


    Leonard had taken her to the Rune''s mansion the ce she hade to be wary of since herst visit. For some odd reason, it seemed that every time she visited Lord Nichs'' mansion there was something happening. First, it was thedy to pour food on her and the second time when she felt a flood of memories rushing through her by touching the crow.


    Vivian knew why he had asked Lord Nichs to give her home until he returned back. Though they both hade to love each other, their feelings growing strong with every passing day, she was still a guest who had no business of staying in the mansion during the absence of the owner of the house. Then there was Sullivan Carmichael, Leo''s paternal uncle who would not take her presence kindly. The future worried her, some nights keeping her awake at the thought of what might happen when he would find out about their rtionship.


    With the carriage that had disappeared behind the thicket of trees, she looked at the dead leafless trees which surrounded the mansion. Even with the amount of rain that graced thends, this side of the trees refused to live making it look dead. The dark cloudy sky didn''t let an inch of light pass through them making it gloomier than usual.


    "Did you want to go with him?" she heard Lord Nichs ask her, who stood a few steps away from her.


    She shook her head, smiling, "No. I would end up distracting him. It is better this way, he will be able toplete his work faster," she answered.


    Lord Nichs tilted his head, "That''s true. Let''s get inside before the rain begins to hit the ground," turning around with a soft sigh she stepped inside the mansion with Lord Nichs beside her, "Would you like something to eat?" he asked politely.


    "No, I am fine, thank you," at an opportune time her stomach growled and the Lord smiled.


    "I insist, please. Let''s head to the dining room," he led her to the dark dining room with a long rectangr table that was located to the side that had no chandeliers on the ceiling.


    As she grew up she hade to hear news about the state the fournds were in- Valeria which was in the West, Bonke which was in the East, the South Empire which was Mythweald and the North being Woville. The conflicts that often took ce between Valeria and Mythweald, humans and vampires weren''t in peace anywhere. One would always kill another. But the council were the ones who held them together with theirw and order. If it weren''t for them, thends would be in the chaos of blood and death.


    Lord Nichs pulled a chair for her to sit before pushing it forward. It seemed that rumours were really true about him being a gentleman. It didn''t stop her from being wary about the man after all the crow belonged to him.


    "Thank you," she murmured at his kind gesture. As if she wasn''t cautious enough, Lord Nichs decided to take a seat next to her which made her look at him nkly.


    "What is it?" he questioned with a small smile that yed on his lips, his eyes holding an untold twinkle.


    "The dining room is dark," shemented to see him nod.


    "That it is. Myte father wanted to build it that way, he hated the sight of light and prefered the darkness," he exined, bending over the table he picked an orange from a whole lot of fruits that were on the table, "Frankly, I don''t like it."


    "You don''t?"


    "No, dear. I don''t. I prefer to live in the light. The darkness isn''t something I amfortable with," his confession took her by surprise.


    To think that a great man like Lord Nichs had things he wasn''t at ease with but what Vivian didn''t know was that the man was cunning as a fox. The kind who twisted around situations to get what he wanted and right now he was only making her feel at ease so that he could get something out of her. Something he had been meaning to know since herst visit here.


    "You can always add a window or two. Mr. Wells is an excellent architect, you can ask him," she suggested. The butler who had not been intimated came in with food for Vivian like magic.


    "I could but I will have to think about it. I like things staying the way they are than with a lot of changes. Don''t you agree?" he asked whilst he peeled the orange that was in his hand, "A few things are better to be left untouched than meddle in," Vivian wasn''t an oblivious woman. Though she looked shy and naive, she wasn''t. There were times when she believed in her intuitions and right now she sensed his words to have a deeper meaning than what he tended.


    That didn''t stop her from asking her question, "What if it brings relief? You mentioned you didn''t like the darkness yet you live in it here. If you allow, you will have light. A much brighter ce," she smiled to see him smile back at her.


    "Maybe. Maybe even though I don''t like the darkness it must be what I thrive on," she heard him mutter which she didn''t catch on.


    "Huh?"


    "It was nothing," Lord Nichs smiled, his eyes turning small with his brown hairs looking dark, "We have excellent kitchen staff. I hope you find it to your taste."


    "Thank you, milord," she thanked him before beginning to eat.


    Lord Nichs was polite to her the entire time as she ate, making conversations with her while he didn''t have to. For a man of his status, he could have left her alone but instead he provided her with hispany. It was only because she was the woman whom Leonard care for did Lord Nichs make an effort to sit with her.


    When she finished her meal, Lord Nichs invited her for a game of chess in the drawing room.


    Vivian sat in front of Lord Nichs with full concentration with her back straight as she stared at him and the board between them. Waiting for him to make the move after she had moved her knight forward.


    "You seem to be well taught in the game of chess, Lady Vivian. Was it Leo who taught you?" Lord Nichs rubbed his chin while looking at the pieces, his eyes hardly moving around the board.


    "He did. He was a strict teacher when it came to the game," she said recollecting the fond memories she had with Leonard. He wasn''t lenient when it came to teaching her. During the time he had started to teach her, every wrong move had resulted in her forehead being flicked not so gently by him. At the end of the game, her forehead would be swollen along with the rim of her eyes turned red.


    "Fond memories?" she found Lord Nichs looking up from the chessboard her to which she slightly blushed. Not answering to it she waited for him to move his chess piece. By the end of the game, she couldn''t stop grinning like a child who had received her Christmas present as she had won with herst move. She had thought she would for sure lose.


    "Seems like I lost," Lord Nichs stared at the board with deep concentration as if he couldn''t believe it, "He taught you well."


    "Have you never lost a match in chess before, Lord Nichs," Vivian enquired the Lord who was still pondering on how he had lost.


    "Hmm, I haven''t. It is a first for me not even against Leonard," he murmured for her to raise her brows, "If I might ask when was thest time you yed the game with him?"


    .


    "Maybe a year ago," it was the time when Leonard had appeared at the Carmichael mansion suddenly without a word. With Mr and Mrs Carmichael not at home, Leonard had drawn out the board from his cupboard. Unfortunately, they never got to finish the game that day.


    "Is that so. Now that you''re ady, Leonard should take you to the soirees. It would be lovely to see you win against the gentleman of our kind but might I add this," he said, picking up the pieces and cing it neatly in the box to which Vivian helped him with, "The gentleman in our society don''t take losing that well. It is a matter of pride, you see. Don''t worry about me," he gave her a reassuring smile, "Let''s take that I lost it to a pretty girl purposely."


    "It might be a coincidence of luck, milord. Would you like to go for another round?" she asked him to hear him chuckle heartily.


    "I think I am good," he locked the board before picking it up in his arm, getting up he walked across the room to ce the board from where he had picked.


    With their game that hade to an end, Vivian didn''t know what to do next. Three days in the Rune''s mansion was going to be long, especially without Leonard not around, "So Vivian, since when have you been working at the Carmichael''s mansion?" she heard Nichs ask.


    "I think since I was six or seven," he hummed in response.


    "That''s very young. I didn''t know about you until I got my hands on one of your letters when it was sent to the Rufus'' mansion," he smiled making her smile back at him queasily, which letter was he talking about, thought Vivian to herself, "Don''t worry, I didn''t get to read it. Leonard is a private man and more private when ites to things that are dear to him."


    When she was about to get up, he signalled his hand for her to sit down, "Do you mind, mdy?" he asked lifting a bottle that was on ced on the shelf. She shook her head quickly to the question.


    It was only noon yet she felt somewhat tired. Coming to a strangers house to live all she wanted was to go to the room assigned to her so that she could rest but Lord Nichs had other ns.


    "Don''t you have any siblings my lord?" she asked, seeing him pour his ss to half full.


    "None that I know of," he answered as if giving it a serious thought which made her smile in the process, "How about you?"


    What about her? thought Vivian to herself, resonating the question which she had recently begun to ask herself since her hands had begun letting her see things.


    "You don''t know," Lord Nichs came to a conclusion.


    She was a maid, after all, it wasn''t umon for maids who were brought in the high society to work for families to not know who their family were. Identities like that disappeared without notice and then who cared about them? The servants were the lowly beings whose purpose was to serve their owners and masters they belonged to. It didn''t matter to others if they were abandoned or had been brought from the ve establishment.


    "The master-ve bond might be broken but you''ll have to register yourself if you want to be a properdy. You will have to visit the council and sign in a few forms for evaluation," stated the Lord.


    "Is that necessary?" she had never heard of such a thing before.


    "It is. It seems trivial but it''s for your own safety. My guess is it hasn''t crossed Leonard''s mind yet."


    "My own safety?"

 Chapter 87 - Rune’s Mansion-part 2

    Lord Nichs sauntered back to his seat with the ss of alcohol in his hand, "You don''t think people will question you from where you havee? You are safe here and with people who care about Leonard but that doesn''t mean you''re safe out alone. Some already know of your background since your first visit here, don''t you think there will people of the society ready to use you for things that are hical. What''s the proof that you aren''t a maid anymore? You might be a runaway servant who might be sold to another family which might I add not turn out to as civil as the Carmichael''s," his words made her feel worried.


    It wasn''t something she wanted to hear but everything he spoke was the truth.


    "Pardon me if my concern has upset you. I must be terrible host," he apologized, his eyes looking at her unblinkingly.


    "No, milord. I am d for you to bring up the matter," she brought back a smile on her lips which made the man in front of her stare at her. She would be sure to bring it to Leonard''s notice.


    Vivian didn''t worry about her status. It never did because it never hindered her rtionship with Leonard, Paul, Marth, Mrs Carmichael or Charlotte. Lord Nichs might have told it superficially about the matter of her being taken as a ve to another house but that didn''t mean she didn''t understand the depth of it. Both men and women were subjected to the same treatments. As he mentioned, the Carmichael''s were one of the respectable families of the pureblooded vampires who had treated the servants better than how the others treated.


    "Can I ask you something, milord?"


    "Please," he waited for her to ask the question.


    "Where did you find the bird?" she asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.


    "You mean my pet, Toby?"


    "Yes, him."


    Lord Nichs hummed, taking a sip from his ss before he answered her burning question, "When I was a young boy, I found Toby on the street. Bloody and almost dead, as if he would die at any moment. Taking it back home didn''t seem wise, sometimes you don''t know who might turn to be a meal," he chuckled. The dark humor as if barely touching her shadow from where she sat, "I took him to the nearby church but vampires weren''t allowed in there. The vige was an old orthodox where the humans lived. A breath of a vampire walking amongst them would lead to death. Gruesome one..."


    "I helped him heal instead," healed the crow? "When you''re a child of five, we do the most nonsensical things. I thought the bird could heal if I gave him my blood and funnily it worked."


    "Does it mean you can heal people?" Vivian wondered if Lord Nichs held simr abilities like her but the manughed.


    "I wish but the answer to it is no. I did try it out on someone but that didn''t work," he said, leaving the bit of information where he had let the person die during his experiment.


    "And that''s how I found Toby."


    The remainder of the day, Vivian strolled down the halls, much more easily than when she hade here without the butler who once in a while came to check up on her likest time. There wasn''t much to do in the mansion. Lord Nichs was his usual kind self, making her feel at home. The maids and the other servants behaved in the same way as they did in Carmichael mansion. There was nothing to look outside except for the dead looking trees.


    Sighing she stood at the window looking outside, wishing that she should have asked Leonard if she could apany him.


    Turning around with the fancy dress she wore, she walked down the corridors of the mansion. Passing through the same passages she had already walked by, she kept her hands to herself by not picking the courage to touch any object with the fear of seeing something she wasn''t supposed to see.


    As night fell by, candles were lit in the mansion to shed light on the darkness but it wasn''t enough. The mes wavered when the current of the wind passed by strongly, enough to make its way inside the deep dark corners of the mansion. Walking by one of the passage she heard the cawing of the birds, not one but many that were perched on the leafless trees. She wondered what had attracted their attention to sit there now.


    Sleep was hard toe by but it finally settled in with her eyes turning heavy when she went to sleep.


    "Good morning, Vivian," greeted Lord Nichs in the morning when she arrived at the dining room for breakfast, "Did you sleep well?"


    "Good morning, Lord Nichs," Vivian gave him a small bow before taking a seat at the table, "I did, thank you for asking. How about you?"


    "I don''t sleep that much. Sleep is hard toe by for a vampire like me," hemented, picking up the butter and bread, "Allow me," he ced the buttered bread on her empty te.


    "Everyone is entitled to sleep, milord until there''s something weighing in their mind," she responded back to see him smile.


    "If you say things like that to me, I might think you''re aiming for me, Ms Vivian. I don''t think Leonard would be happy about it," his eyes twinkled with mischief which got Vivian to shut up and have the rest of her breakfast in silence.


    It was a fact that vampires slept like humans maybe not much but enough to have rest. Lord Nichs had got her to stop talking about it and it made her think if there was something really weighing on his mind that he didn''t want to talk about. Her eyes that were strained on her te slowly moved to look at the Lord to see him busy with another bread until he felt her gaze to give her a smile.


    Looking down on her bread, she took a bite from it, "Do you have a library in the mansion? I didn''t find one yesterday," she said dabbing the corner of her mouth for possible butter that might have got on. The Lord who was ustomed to hiding his emotions behind the perfect mask he had built didn''t show his surprise from knowing the girl knew how to read. Most of the woman he hade across never took an interest in reading or writing, not the maids at least.


    "We do. Maybe once, we''re done with breakfast I could lead you there. What do you prefer to read?"


    "Stories..?" she replied unsurely and he nodded.


    "I am not sure if we have one but let''s go there and check," Lord Nichs didn''t bother to eat anything but he made sure to drink the ss that his butler had specially prepared for him.


    Unfortunately for Vivian, there were no story books that were stacked in the small library where she stood outside as Lord Nichs had told her to wait outside. The small narrow library was dark, if possible the darkest room in the mansion. Instead, the Lord had picked a book which she made her wish she hadn''t asked for.


    "I think I am fine, milord..." she said looking down at the dusty old book which was in regards to passing the council exam.


    "Oh, it will be fun," he sat down at the table with her, "It''s a memory game. Let''s pick the first few chapters. If you remember and answer it correctly I will fulfil a wish of yours. You have my word for it."


    "I don''t think I have any wish at the moment," she answered frankly. There was nothing that she wished for not the kind at least which could bring people back to life.


    "Are you sure?" the lord tilted his head, "Maybe something in the future when I might have to spare your life," she felt her heart fall at what he said out of the blue. She stared at him and he stared back, his lips still holding the small smile before heughed, "I was joking. Come let''s start with the first preface now."


    And so began Vivian reading the titles of the various edicts with the description on what was to be done and when it was implemented. There were more than two hundred of them, each varying from the other holding different significance. Lord Nichs had the tendency to ask questions every time she finished a few pages and he made sure that the answer was always right. It was as if the man had written the book himself!


    But Vivian had a good memory and she answered most of them. Three hours passed away like that and by the end of the hour, she had acquired a light headache. Excusing herself, she went back to the room toy down on the bed. She decided not to leave the room for the remainder of the day except for dinner.


    Another day passed by until the third night fell on the mansion with Vivian''s stay at the Rune''s mansion. Thunderstruck on the grounds loudly, the rain poured heavier than usual, raindrops being carried by the wind due to which all the windows had been closed to avoid rainwatering inside. Some of the candles had been blown out due to the windy and rainy weather. Vivian who had borrowed antern from the butler walked through the corridors, holding it up and high to lead the way.


    She was on her way when she felt something snap behind her. A strange noise of rustling that stoppeding from behind her when her footsteps halted to a stop. Turning around quickly she noticed there was nothing out of ce. Pressing her lips against each other, her eyes scanned the hall until the far end when a loud thunder struck making her jump. She sighed to herself. The weather seemed to be odd than the rest of the days. Too many shes of lightning and thunders that came down from the sky.


    Feeling as if she was only imagining things, Vivian turned in the direction to head to the room when she felt something move from the corner of her eyes. It made her heart leap in her chest yet she stood there still like a statue that had been frozen.


    There was something in the dark and she was sure of it because of the soft crackling like the sound that came from it. If she walked two steps close she would find out if someone in the mansion was joking with her, but she stayed there unmovingly. It felt like hours passed by with her holding thentern which faced the other side.


    Her heart rate quickened, gulping, instead of using the hand to get thentern to drive the darkness away, Vivian moved her free hand to reach towards the dark corner. Her fingers could feel the air around it, the closer she got the colder it felt.


    And then it happened. Memories that weren''t her''s flooding through her mind until she heard someone call,


    "Vivian?" It was Lord Nichs and she looked at him in horror.


    She took a step back with her eyes wide which was filled with fear at the sight of the man who now stood in front of her.


    Lord Nichs stared at her, lightning striking again as it lit the corridors before turning dark.


    "My..." he spoke, his words were calm like before except for the smile that didn''t look kind, "Seems like you have discovered something you shouldn''t have. What shall we do, dear?"


    At the same time, she saw the shadow she had touched in the darkness move towards him making her heart almost stop. An unknown creature in a hood she had never seen or heard of except for the shes that had appeared minutes ago came to stand tall behind Lord Nichs.


    ~ ~ ~


    Don''t forget to use your power stones on the book!

 Chapter 88 - Boon Or Bane- Part 1

    Rain continued to fall down from the sky, washing away the top of the soil and picking up the mud as it ran down the slope next to where the Rune mansion was located. Clouds continued to growl while the girl stood in one of the corridors with absolute horror-struck on her face.


    She looked terrified, terrified of the man who stood in front of her and the creature behind him.


    "I thought you were a normal girl, a human like any other but who knew that the boy had found a gem," Lord Nichsmented, his arms crossed across his chest, "It seems that you possess an ability. A rare one at that. Mind shedding light on it, hmm?" he asked her with him still smiling which unnerved her.


    The more seconds passed by the more her breathing got shallower and shorter as if death was standing close to her which would strike at any moment. She shouldn''t havee here. She should have stayed at the Carmichael mansion even if she had to answer people''s question and face them.


    The images she saw now...it was of the previous lord who was murdered to death gruesomely. Murdered by his own son, Nichs Rune. The creature that stood behind her, there wasn''t just one but two of them from what she had seen from the past memory. Lord Nichs was there too, standing by as the previous lord was butchered to death in his room.


    Her instincts had been right since she had met him. She had always found something odd about the Lord but had always pushed it aside. The man was more than what he let people believed him to be. She didn''t know what to say.


    Growing up with the Carmichael''s as Leonard was being mentored by Nichs, Vivian hade to learn that Lord Nichs had been assigned to take the position of the Lord after his father''s death. People told that his father was killed by wolves but that was not true. She had learned a secret that wasn''t hers.


    Was she supposed to lie or tell the truth?


    "I-I want some water," Lord Nichs raised his brow at the level of calmness she tried to maintain, though her eyes gave away as they were still wide from shock.


    "Let''s go to the study room," he said rebuking no argument from her side as he waited for her to start walking. Her footsteps were slow as they started as if they were tied to rocks. She didn''t dare to look at the creature first but as she passed by Lord Nichs she noticed it to have disappeared. Or maybe it was still around camouged in the darkness. She kept a good distance away from the Lord but when she realized that she didn''t know the way to his study room, looking his way she received a smile.


    After taking a few left and right, they reached the room with the narrowest possible passage that led to it.


    "Water," Lord Nichs offered her water from the jug while she sat at the desk, "More?" he asked politely as if he hadn''t threatened her with his presence.


    She shook her head, unable to get a word out of her mouth even though her throat wasn''t dry anymore. She then heard him speak,


    "They usually are very hard to notice especially with no light and the dark mansion. The creature that you saw," he said taking the ss away from her, "Do you feel like running away?" he asked it nonchntly.


    "I wouldn''t be able to get that far if I ran," she answered knowing far too well of her status and the kind she belonged to.


    "You''re right," he agreed, "With the wolves, ghouls and the guards. I wouldn''t be able to assure that you woulde out alive. I don''t mean to scare you," but he was scaring her, "You do know I will keep you here the whole night until you start talking."


    Vivian stared at him, her hands clutching the part of the skirt that was on herp.


    "Those things..." she started referring the creatures, "Are they your pets too?"


    "The ghouls? No, they aren''t my pets. Tell me, Vivian, do you see things?" he askeding straight to the point. Her body turned cold and her face paled. Instead of being furious his eyes lit up in fascination, "What did you see?" he asked curiously.


    "You killed your father," she whispered in the silence with only the sound of fire cracklinging from the other side of the study room. Red eyes narrowed at her, watching her with unmoved emotion.


    "My," Lord Nichs finally chuckled before his expression turned dark, "Should I kill you for what you have discovered?" There was no doubt that if the Lord wanted her dead by now she would have been lying cold on the ground but she was still alive and breathing which meant he was still testing her, "Or maybe spare it this time, after all, you did answer all my questions to the edicts. You know I won''t kill you," he gave her a smile.


    ''Why did you kill your father?''


    That was a question she wanted to ask but she didn''t dare to. He already knew that she had found out about the way the previous Lord had died to be false. Why would someone kill their own family? It was something she just didn''t understand.


    "Have you always been able to see?" he interrogated her.


    "No," she answered before realizing he was waiting for her to exin. She cleared her throat, "It''s been happening since we went to the snow castle...Just three-four times."


    "You touch a person and see their past?"


    Vivian thought about it carefully before she answered to his burning questions, "I don''t think it works on people. It''s mostly objects."


    "Hmm," he hummed in concentration, "You are a rare kind. A gift like yours could be utilized for great achievements if used well. Does Leonard know about it?" very slowly she nodded her head to a yes.


    Seeing him not ask any further questions she asked him, "Can I go back to the room, milord?"


    Lord Nichs observed the girl as if she had been brought in for one of his experiments he would like to test and try during his free time. For her to be able to see something by barely using the sense of touch, he was curious about her lineage. But then the gifts an individual possessed, it wasn''t in respect to the family one came from.


    He then realized something. Leonard had begun investigating on the second lord''s mansion since his return. The girl must have seen something there for him to look into the history of the deceased lord.


    In the pureblooded families, it wasn''t umon for a vampire to have superiors powers than the rest, a gift that could be a boon or a bane. Not everyone was gifted though, it was very few and if one did possess it they never spoke of it. He had never heard of anyone to have an ability such as this.


    "I hope you don''t utter the words of what you saw today, mdy," he warned her with a smile before giving her a nod indicating she could go back, "And don''t worry about the ghouls. They mean no harm, not unless I want them too," he smiled kindly.


    By the time Vivian got back to the room, she had begun packing the little number of things that she had brought to the Rune mansion. She couldn''t wait for Leonard to arrive the next morning. She was d that Lord Nichs hadn''t asked her further questions. She kept thentern close to her with her eyes wide open sitting on the bed with fear of the creatures, whom Lord Nichs called as ghouls would enter her room.


    Thinking about the tall, dark and ragged hooded creature she couldn''t believe she had slept thest two nights without knowing what was lurking in the mansion! Who would have guessed for something inhuman to non-vampire kind to be hiding in these dark corridors of the mansion.


    As hard as Vivian tried to stay awake, when thentern ran out of oil in it her eyes had begun to droop and she fell asleep to the luby of the clouds.

 Chapter 89 - Boon Or Bane- Part 2

    The room was quiet, silence surrounding Vivian as she slept on the bed. Curtains that were drawn shut didn''t stop the lightning to stoping through it, asionallying and going to bring light not only to the objects but also to the shadows.


    One such shadow that lurked in the room came forward, dragging its dark ragged cloak across the floor bringing the invitation of death along with it. With not a whisper of a voice in the room, it came to stand next to the bed where the girl was fast asleep. The hidden face looking down in her direction, seconds passing to minutes before it''s hand moved forward towards her slender neck.


    Boney, skeleton fingers hovered above her to wrap around her neck like a leech without waking her up.


    The creature then suddenly squeezed her neck, waking her up from her sleep out of shock andck of air to breath. She pushed the bony hand away, the cloak sleeves hiding her face as her neck was squeezed tighter making hersh out on the bed but her body was weak against the ghoul. Its fingers dug into her skin, bruising it.


    "It would better to have you dead than let the secret out," she heard Lord Nichs'' voice far across the room.


    Her hand reached up, asking to stop the ghoul but the lord had no such ns. Air began to disappear from her chest, her head going lighter and dizzy while she struggled to breathe. Suddenly Vivian woke up from her sleep to sit upright on the bed with a gasp, sweat covering her forehead as she heaved for air. Touching her neck and looking around the dark room for the sign of the ghoul she sighed.


    It was only a dream. She had dreamt of the ghoul trying to kill her in her sleep.


    Not getting enough sleep, in the morning Vivian woke up with a light amount of pain in her head. With clothes that were already packed, she got ready before getting down the stairs and relief flooded in when her eyes fell on blonde hairs.


    As if sensing her presence, Leonard who was talking to the Lord and his cousin Rhys who had arrived back with him turned to see her walking down the corridor.


    Not making her wait, he took four steps himself towards her, raising his hand such that when she came near him he circled it around her waist. Pulling her close, he kissed the top of her head which had her instantly blushing. Leonard had never been discreet when it came to the affections he held for Vivian. It was more of a sign for others to know that she was his beloved. Someone who was not to be hurt.


    Though the men in the room showed no notable difference when it came to their expressions, Vivian couldn''t help but feel embarrassed at Leo''s open disy of affection. Leo''s cousin, Rhys stood there with a dull face while Lord Nichs smiled at her when their eyes met. When it came to Leonard''s interest in Vivian, it was no secret in the close circle of Duke Carmichael that he had liked the girl for a long time.


    "How are you?" his voice turning gentler than the tone he had used with the men before she hade. His arm lingered longed around her waist before pulling away to see her, "Did you miss me?" he asked bringing blood rushing up through her neck which filled up her pale cheeks in colour.


    Leonard noticed the dark circles around her eyes as if she hadn''t been sleeping well.


    "I, yes," she whispered for only Leonard to hear but the other men heard it anyway with their pureblooded vampire hearing. She felt his thumb run below her eyes, "How was your journey? Was it sessful?" she asked him, hoping it was, as he had travelled far to Valeria.


    "Notpletely but yes. We found something there with the help of Lord Alexander. We should be able to solve the case soon," he replied unable to keep his gaze off her face.


    It hadn''t been hard only for Vivian but the three days Leonard had spent away from her had been hard. He had put her under the care of Nichs yet his heart felt unsettled with the distance of not knowing if he coulde to her if something were to happen. He considered Lord Nichs to be one of his close allies but the man had his own way of doing things so much that one couldn''t trust the person entirely without doubt.


    It was when Vivian''s eyes met Lord Nichs'' did he notice the way her sight moved away nervously. Something must have happened, thought Leonard to himself and when he turned to look at Lord Nichs with narrowed eyes the man smiled. A smile that said the Lord understood what he was thinking.


    "The weather looks good today, how about we have breakfast outside today?" Lord Nichs pped his hands together.


    The butler and the maids began to set up table and chairs in the back of the mansion where there were green leaves unlike the empty lifeless trees in the front of the mansion. Like Lord Nichs had said, the number of clouds on the sky had disappeared to bring in some light and heat. It wasn''t hot, Bonke was never hot in weather, the wind that breezed through felt light, losing some coolness that it carried from the previous night.


    Once the chairs were set, the servants brought food one by one which was made freshly in the kitchen.


    "When do you think we should report it at the council?" asked Rhys when they sat around the table, his ck hair which looked like a mess. Vivian couldn''t help herself but look at Leonard who had his blonde hair neatlybed, "I don''t think Igor will stay quiet."


    Leonard said, "Igor wants to handle the case himself. Though he asked Nichs for my help, it was merely because the head council asked to add me in the job. His pride has been wounded that someone who isn''t from his department has been assigned the case as they weren''t able to get any solid information. Rueben can only keep them at bay for so much longer before he gets questioned during the next court meeting."


    "Igor knew he wouldn''t be able to persuade you and asked Lord Nichs,"mented Rhys, not touching anything on the table when breakfast was served.


    "That''s because Leo wouldn''t agree if I didn''t intervene. What did you find about the ck witch?" Lord Nichs picked the teacup, pouring the tea from the kettle and adding two cubes of sugar in it. He then offered it to Vivian to which Leonard'' eyes narrowed. The man only made tea for women whom he had need for, people whom he could use and kill after his work was done.


    Lord Nichs had been too frivolous before he came to realize what Leonard observed. The boy observed and picked on things very quickly. Little behaviours which not everyone noticed. Even the details he himself as a Lord missed.


    "I am only offering her tea. No need to be jealous," Vivian heard the Lord speak to Leonard when she took the teacup but Leo took it from her. Taking a sip from it, he handed it back to her, "Yourck of trust in me freezes my heart, Leo."


    Leonard rolled his eyes before answering Lord Nichs'' previous question, "Two of them were caught hiding in the shelter that is not far from the border of Valeria but we found another trace. The trace led back to Bonke."


    "It''s no mystery. The ck witches have spread themselves well,"mented Lord Nichs.


    Leonard continued to speak, "We heard from the officials that a town in Mythweald went through a wipeout one night ago. No trace of any living and breathing found in and around the block."


    "Sacrifice?" asked Lord Nichs.


    "What else can it be. Witches have used humans for their sacrifice from time to time. This might only be a bigger one," Rhys added two cents of his thought to the conversation.


    "So what has been causing all this ruckus in the council?" asked Lord Nichs, leaning forward in his seat with his hand supporting his chin.


    "Switchers," Leo answered, "Thest time I met Elliot Wells, he spoke about simr pieces of flesh being found like snakes that shed their skin. A switcher is a kind who can shapeshift into another person. I don''t think copying someone is easy as the one we captured tried to turn to Rhys but that didn''t go well."


    "I have never heard of something like this. Makes one wonder how many more are there apart from our kind," Lord Nichs said rubbing his chin.


    Leonard then continued, "Our guess is they need time to study the individual before turning into one..."


    Vivian who sat among them quietly sipped her tea not having anything to say. She had only heard about ck witches and had been fortunate enough to note across one. In her mind they were like evil mythical creatures but who knew that they could sacrifice an entire town. To now think that there were other kinds, a kind that could copy her to transform into her was something she couldn''t imagine.


    Her eyes wandered over the tall mansion, moving from one window to another until it stopped to see a cloaked shadow looking down at them. More than the ck witches or switchers Leo had mentioned she had found the creature up in the mansion to be more terrifyingst night.

 Chapter 90 - Boon Or Bane- Part 3

    When Rhys left the mansion and Vivian went back to the room to see if she had left anything in there as they would be leaving the Rune mansion, Lord Nichs and Leonard stood outside the mansion talking.


    "You forgot to mention she held a rare ability to look at people''s past," by the tone of Lord Nichs, Leo could tell that he was intrigued by Vivian''s existence, "I believe you haven''t spoken about it to anyone, after all, it would only bring trouble."


    Leonard had kept the secret of finding Vivian''s ability to himself. With the current circumstances that were going on especially with the ck witches human sacrifices, there would be no doubt that people would question her lineage and the kind she came from. Her vision could gift her but it also put her into grave trouble stating that she was a ck witch and ck witches weren''t weed. A few years ago, Lord Alexander''s own mother wasn''t spared and was killed in the town at the conclusion of her being a witch. Humans and vampires were hostile to the witches.


    If word got out, he wouldn''t be able to protect her and men would stake her heart without bothering to know who she was.


    Leaving her at the Rune mansion or not, he knew that Nichs was bound to find about it one or the other time. Everything he had learned as he grew up was from Sir Malcolm and Nichs, there was nothing he wasn''t aware of.


    "I have been looking for her family," confessed Leonard as the carriage was brought to the front. The coachman got down to walk at the stable shed.


    "Worried that she''s a witch?" chuckled Nichs.


    "It wouldn''t matter to me if she was one," Leo retorted back with a shake of his head.


    "Of course. Why then, if it doesn''t matter?"


    "Because something tells there''s more to the story to what my old housekeeper said to me when I asked her."


    It was four years back, the time when he had onlye to a realization that there couldn''t be anyone but Vivian to be one of the most important women in his life after his mother. No one knew where Vivian came from, her past was an absolute mystery like most of the maids who were brought into a household when they were young.


    Though no one wanted to find out about it, Leonard had always been curious, wanting to know everything about her if it was possible. When he had asked Martha, the only words she had for him was,


    ''I don''t know, young master.''


    But then there was a w in it. He had heard from his mother once how Martha had said that Vivian was a far rtives child. He hadn''t gone to Valeria only to find out about the switchers but also to find out about Vivian''s family from where Martha lived. But there wasn''t much he could find about. That wasn''t the only loophole, the part was that Martha had no rtives anyone knew of in Valeria. If that was really true, had Martha randomly found Vivian when she was young? Or was that she was sold to someone which looked like an unlikely conclusion as the woman didn''t seem like that. Martha had passed away and the next person, Paul who if knew had been executed.


    "Why not go to the church?" the lord suggested, "Sister Isabelle might have an insight on her past. It is unfortunate though, isn''t it? To look at others past but not your own..."


    "Hmm. Don''t pureblooded vampires have abilities?" asked Leo looking at him who looked like he wanted to say something, "What is it? It''s not that I haven''t thought about it."


    "I have an inkling she isn''t a human. Pureblooded vampires have abilities, not humans. When was thest time we heard of a simple human to have the insight of someone''s pasts? A gift like that is hard toe by, she is of great value."


    "Greater than that. I met Sister Isabelle to speak about Vivian."


    "You already did?" Lord Nichs titled his head.


    "I did. Before she had visions," the brown-haired man smiled, his smile broadening wide, "She''s a healer."


    "My my!" eximed Nichs, "And here I thought they had got extinct. You should make her join the council," Leonard raised his brow at this, "She will turn out to be an excellent councilwoman if she made into it."


    "And put her under the radar?"


    "That too," Nichs smiled to receive a re from Leo who stood beside him, "Think about it, Leo. Do you know how many criminals can be caught by her help? She will be an asset," hearing the light footsteps that approached them.


    Leonard then asked, "What did you do that''s got her conscious of your presence? Don''t think I missed the way you have been treating her the way you treat other women," his words were filled with iciness in them.


    "I did nothing but ask her a few questions about her ability. I couldn''t help but feed my curiosity," the Lord smiled.


    "You curiosity is injurious to other people, milord," Leo sighed, turning to see Vivian walking through the mansion doors, "Thank you for looking after her."


    "Anytime," Lord Nichs then spoke to Vivian, "I hope youe to stay at the Rune mansion again. I enjoyed yourpany," Vivian bowed her head, uttering murmur of thanks for having her there before she got into the carriage.


    The journey back to the Carmichael mansion, Vivian fell asleep a little who was woken up by Leo when they finally reached back to the house. Going to her room, she began unpacking the clothes. cing them back in the drawers and closets when she heard a knock on her door which was already open.


    "You could leave it for the maids to do it," Leo stated stepping inside the room with a small wooden box in his hand. The little wooden box was carved fancily as if it held something precious inside it.


    "It will take only a few minutes of my time. Also, I have nothing much to do," she shrugged her shoulders, "What is that?" she asked looking at the box.


    "This," he opened the littletch like a lock to pull out ck cloth like material from it, cing the box down on the bed he handed it to her.


    "Gloves?" she asked taking them from him. Most of the elite women wore hand gloves but they were white, not ck in colour.


    "I believe you don''t have one with you."


    As he helped her wear them, she said, "These are ck."


    "That they are, better than the rest, Bambi. These will help you."


    "Help me?"


    "Yes," answered Leo once she had them wornfortably. For someone who had never worn gloves in her life before, she found it odd. Not to mention the colour, "You can wear them when you don''t want to touch and see things," it then dawned to her that he didn''t want her experiencing memories the way she previously before breaking down in front of him.


    "Thank you," she thanked looking up at him.


    They hadn''t spoken much since he came back to the Rune''s mansion. Now that they were back home and alone, Leonard finally pulled her into his arms to kiss her on her lips. He had missed her since he left her in the Rune mansion. These three days apart from her had been torturous. Having her in his arms calmed his mind. Vivian who was shorter to Leonard in terms of height tried to stand on the tip of her toes to reach which made him smile.


    Leaning down more with both his arms circled around her waist, her back arched slightly.


    Vivian didn''t know or understand why but somehow it felt as if she craved more of him. The more their tongue touched, seeking each other with anxiousness the more Vivian felt herself lose herself into the kiss.


    "Were you alright in the Rune mansion?" he asked her after pulling away from the kiss, "Nichs didn''t trouble you, right?" he asked making sure her stay had been afortable one.


    She shook her head immediately to receive a look from him, "He didn''t."


    "Really?"


    "Yes. I had good meals and was allowed to roam around the mansion," she replied to his burning question, "I won in chess."


    "You did?" he cocked his head to the side, "You must have gotten better then."

 Chapter 91 - Love Is Blind- Part 1

    Charlotte sat at the table with her parents, her hand had barely touched the food on her te. Days had frozen in her life, time didn''t stop for anyone and it left her in a ce she couldn''t go back or front.


    The atmosphere in their mansion had turned dark and dull. Among the other children in the family, Julliard and Charlotte had always been the livelier from the rest. Since her brother, Julliard had passed away everything had changed. Charlotte spoke less, having only a few words to share.


    It was hard to imagine that a person like Julliard who had meant no harm to anyone had died in the hands of a human. Going to bed brought nightmares, nightmares she had already experienced that took ce right in front of her eyes. It was the time of midnight, she hadn''t fallen asleep, worried about her future when she had heard someone bang the door for only her brother to open it with blood spouting out of his lips. Floor and walls painted red with streaks of blood while her brother sat upright against the wall. His eyes had turned ck and hollow, corner of his lips with blood with his chest having a hole in it.


    "David Harrison is an excellent man, Prisci. I don''t know why you don''t agree with the man. He''s a man of fine status in Mythweald, a pureblood just like us. He will make a decent husband to Charlotte."


    "She doesn''t see him in such prospect," her mother tried reasoning to her father at the dining table.


    "I cannot see Duke Harrison as my husband, papa..." Charlotte began to speak to receive a re from her father.


    "Once you marry him everything will fall into ce and I hope you start living our ways, Charlotte. I hope you have forgotten that lowly man," Charlotte felt her heart prick at the remainder of what had urred a few days ago. When her parents had brought the topic of her getting married to Duke Harrison, she had finally taken the courage to tell them about Rory, the man she was in love with to only be pped by her father on her face, "Humans have no ce in this family and I wouldn''t allow my daughter to marry that kind filth. Have you forgotten what humans are capable of? Julliard is dead because of them."


    Her father looked angrily at her, "I heard from your mother that your cousin, Leonard wanted to propose another prospect but I have told her to send in a word to him that we have already found the groom for you. You will be marrying, David Harrison by end of this month and that''s the end of it," her father stood up from his seat and her mother was soon to follow him, leaving her alone at the table.


    She had been confined inside her house since her revtion about her love for a human male. Not allowed to step outside the mansion even for the briefest period of time. No tea parties, no trip to her rtive''s house, nowhere at all. There was a constant caretaker that always followed her around even in the house and for a person like her who had lived her life to the fullest until now felt like she was being suffocated.


    It had been close to four weeks since she hadst seen Rory. Unable to take the grief of her brother''s death, Charlotte hadn''t gone to see him. How could she? She was lost and scared at the knowledge that someone whom she had known for years was responsible for her brother''s death. Men and women of her society had always warned them about human intentions, that how they would revolt one day no matter how much kindness one would show to them.


    She had known Rory for nine months now, meeting secretly with the excuse of going to her friend''s house or to the market. He was a farmer, a man who earned his bread from looking after the sheep and goats. Their status had a huge gap but that never mattered to her. She didn''t care how much property he owned or that he wasn''t a pureblooded vampire like herself. She could always turn him into one. She loved the man for who he was, giving her heart and soul to him since the first time he had spoken to her when she had gone chasing a rabbit in the forest.


    Thest time she had met up with him, he had been angry yet worried for her as he couldn''t get in contact with her. She hadn''t mentioned the marriage thinking it would only worry him but now that her parents had decided to give her future to Duke Harrison, Charlotte knew she had to do something about it. It seemed that talking to her parents would get her nowhere.


    There were hardly two weeks left for the month to end, she didn''t want to wait and watch herself marry a man who wasn''t Rory.


    She picked the ss of blood that had been poured for her, looking at the red liquid that had begun to thicken slightly due to the open atmosphere. She had to keep her strength and her mind straight if she was going to meet Rory secretly. Stepping out of the house tonight was difficult but she could do it tomorrow. Tomorrow evening there would be guests staying in their mansion who was important to her father. It was an opportune time.


    When the next evening arrived, one of the maids who often trailed not far behind her was tending to the guests as new nkets were being provided to them. Charlotte behaved, as usual, not trying to show any excitement and keeping her face passive in front of everyone. Smiling formally, she retired to her room.


    She waited until the time of midnight arrived. The time where everyone had gone to their respective rooms to sleep while leaving the mansion quiet as no one lived there. Most of the candles were either blown out or had been exhausted after melting down.


    With the curtains that were drawn and the door locked. She pulled out the empty trunk to ce it on the bed. Opening it, she began putting her clothes into it. Clothes she could use and would call less attention to her, but hailing from an elite family there was nothing old or faded for her to blend in the lower society. Adding all the necessities she could, she closed the trunk, picking it from the bed to ce it next to the window. She didn''t dare to open her door and stroll down to her parent''s room to check if there were asleep or awake. Taking the parchment from her desk, she took the quill and wrote a letter to her parents to not to worry about her and that she would return soon. Saying she needed some air.


    She knew her father would be furious at her but she didn''t know what else to do. It felt as if she hade to a dead end where there was no way out. Pushing the window open, warm air breezed in, ruffling her hair which had been tied in a knot. Picking up the trunk, she turned to look over her shoulders where her bed looked as if someone was sleeping beneath the nket as she had ced pillowed under it.


    With a sigh, she ced her feet on the window sill before jumping down from her room on the ground.


    Charlotte didn''t wait to look back and hurriedly walked away from her house, her feet carrying her quickly before anyone had the chance to look at her as she disappeared. The walk to the vige took her almost half an hour, under the starry night where the moon wasn''t there to shed its light. She wore a hooded cloak to cover her face though there was no one in sight. It was a vige that was popted by humans. Most of the southern empire of Mythweald consisted of humans with a human Lord who governed it.


    Walking to the hut like a house which was made of stones, twigs and bricks, she put her luggage down in front of the door. Taking a nce around, she knocked on the door with her heart thumping in her chest.

 Chapter 92 - Love Is Blind- Part 2

    After two more subtle knocks on the wooden surface, the door opened letting a man who looked down at the girl with sleep filled eyes before it dawned to him on who stood at his door. The man was lean yet muscr, with an average height his green eyes looked confused.


    "Charlotte?"


    "Rory!" she jumped to hug him, finding sce in his presence.


    "What are you doing here thiste at night?" he asked when she pulled back, taking her inside his little home until his eyes fell on the trunk that stood next to her, "Oh, Charlotte, please tell me you didn''t run away from your house," quickly picking up the luggage, he closed the door shut, "Didn''t I tell you to wait for my word?"


    "There wasn''t much time. Father has decided to give my hand to Duke Harrison," her brows furrowed seeing him light themp in the corner of the room, "I shall not marry anyone if it isn''t you."


    Rory was a simple man. Coming from a farmers family, he didn''t expect anything much from his life. Looking after his parents who had grown old along with his two younger siblings who had handed the flock of animals to look after, that was all he had known until he had met the young vampiress. They were opposites in every aspect, their lifestyle, nature, the kind they belonged to were all different yet they were attracted and smitten by each other.


    It wasn''t that he hadn''t tried avoiding her. She was the princess who lived in the garden of rose while he was the pauper who couldn''t offer even one stem of rose to her. Despite his efforts, there was nothing to do but fall in love with the kind his people disliked and hated. After all, love was blind.


    Her hair which was usually free-flowing stuck out of her braided hair, her clothes were simple something that was less catchy to the eyes. Walking towards her, he took her in arms to hug her.


    "When did they decide to marry you to him?" he asked in the light that barely was enough to fill the entire room though it was small.


    "In two weeks," she murmured softly not wanting to wake his younger siblings and parents who were fast asleep.


    He sighed, unsure of what to do, "I wish you waited before packing your trunks and ready to leave. I cannot leave so suddenly, Charlotte," she moved back to nod. She was aware that this would be his answer. He had his family to take care of here, abandoning them wasn''t what she wanted him to do.


    "I know," she nodded her head, a small sad smile resting on her lips, "I will be going to my cousin''s ce who lives in Bonke. If I stay here, there''s no saying they''ll get me engaged in less than a week. I am sorry I didn''t mean to burden you," though her heart ached, wanting him toe along with her, she knew it was selfish on her side to ask him that.


    Rory ced his hand on her face, feeling her cold skin as she had walked all the way to his home from her''s without a carriage. He looked into her eyes, seeing the unshed tears and worry that she hid beneath those beautiful red eyes of hers, "It''s not safe for you to travel at this hour of the night."


    She smiled, kissing the palm of his hand, "I''m a vampire, Rory. I think I will be fine," she assured, "The journey should not take more than three days. I will use the night coach which is safer."


    "I can''t let you go alone, Char. You might be a pureblood but for me, you are the woman I love. Staying for the night, isn''t feasible, is it?" he asked worry filling up his voice. She shook her head.


    "I don''t have much time before dawn breaks. I have made sure that the bed looks like someone is sleeping in but I am not sure for how long it will work before one of the maids or my motheres to find out with the letter that''s ced with it," she squeezed his hands, "It''s just a matter of a few days. My cousin will persuade my father. I know he will."


    "And what if your father doesn''t approve of it?" he asked the question that they couldn''t avoid.


    "Right now I am pinning my hopes on persuasion. I mean it, Rory. I cannot see myself to married to another man, to be someone''s wife while I hold someone else in heart. You are all I would need in this lifetime," leaning forward she kissed his lips, her lips lingering longer than usual. A kiss to show that they would meet again soon and to miss her until then, she picked her trunk ready to leave.


    The man stood there torn between wanting to go with her and yet wanting to stay to fulfil his responsibility of her being a dutiful son and brother.


    When she closed the door behind her, her hooded cloak back in ce, she began to walk towards the road where the night coach was used by the vampires at this ungodly hour of the night often passed by. Crickets chirped and owls hooted in the silence she was surrounded except for the heavy steps as she carried the trunk in her hand. She wasn''t sure when the coach would pass by, making her turn over her shoulder when she heard a noise.


    After a while, a pair of footsteps came running towards her. The moment she twirled around to see if someone had caught up with her, her fingers slipped from her hands as strong human arms engulfed her.


    "I cannot leave you like this," Rory heaved for air as he hugged her indicating he had run from his home to catch up to her.


    "But-"


    "Don''t worry. I will make sure to drop you safely and return back here after that. Allow me to see you safe," his forehead touched hers with eyes that were closed as he breathed in the air.


    "What about your family?" she asked worriedly.


    "They''ll be fine. I have spoken to ss about it," ss was Rory''s neighbour and also his friend, "He''ll look after them until I return back. Okay?" Charlotte wasn''t sure if it was a good idea but he had chased to find her and the little bag he carried behind his back told her that he would being with her.


    Giving it a lot of thought she finally nodded her head.


    "Okay," at her reply he kissed her forehead, taking her hand in his they walked.


    "How long does it take for the coach to arrive? I thought it would have passed by," he asked while Charlotte opened the pocket watch which was previously Julliard''s possession.


    It was true. The coach should havee by now yet it waste. Had it already left without her knowledge? Charlotte thought to herself in dread. It was close to four in the morning. Another hour or more, dawn would break and there would be no escape from her father''s bubbling furry if she were to be caught lurking in Mythweald, especially with Rory.


    They walked side the dusty path, hoping for the coach to arrive. Trees surrounded them. The night which was quiet and soulless, one couldn''t help but worry about their surroundings.


    After ten minutes, Charlotte felt her heart lift up out of relief when she heard the coach and the hooves of the horses approaching them from behind. Halting their footsteps, they waved at the ragged coachman who was riding it. The coachman pulled his horses at the sight of them.


    "Need a lift?" with a gruff voice and his front two teeth protruding out of his lips, the coachman asked them as he sized them up and down.


    A woman''s voice came from inside the coach, "Toner! I told we are not picking anyone else-"


    "Shuddap you woman!" the coachman shushed her before looking down at the couple, "You have money?" he asked raising his chin. Charlotte was quick to nod, pulling out the little pouch from her cloak which jingled with money, "Hop on then. We ain''t have time," he saw the couple get inside.


    The woman who had previously spoken to the coachman stared at both of them, her eyes drilling holes such that it made Charlotte and Rory ufortable yet Rory held her hand tightly for reassurance. Exchanging words were difficult in the presence of the intrusive woman.


    Charlotte who had been awake sincest morning hade to feel her eyes turn heavy. Her eyelids drooping to only open up which again went to close. When half an hour had passed, her head rested on Rory''s shoulder the coach experienced unsteadiness before the people inside it toppled with the sudden stop which was put on the horses.


    She woke up, her eyes wide at what had happened. Opening the carriage, the woman was the first one to step outside it.


    "Are you alright?" asked Rory to Charlotte, making sure she was alright first even though the metal bar of the door had grazed over his arm to draw blood out.


    "Yes, what happened?" she asked looking at the open door.


    "Must have been a pit hole. Let me see," he said, but she got out of the coach too to see the words to be true. One of the coach''s wheel had got stuck in the pit hole and it would need at least two men to move it back up.


    Charlotte couldn''t help but worry more now. Time was passing by quickly and now this had happened. Biting her lip, her red eyes searched for the coachman to ask him how much time it would take before they would start moving when she realized both the man and woman had disappeared and were nowhere to be seen.


    She reached out her hand to Rory when she felt a pang of metal hit across the back of her head making her stumble.


    "Charlotte!" she heard Rory scream her name midst the pain she felt.


    Her head fell in pain, unable to keep up the bnce on her two feet due to the resonating pain she tried to stand straight but then she felt another striking pain on her head leading her to fall down on the ground.


    She was a pureblooded vampire but not all of them had resistance to pain. She was a girl who had been bought up in an environment where there was no hate or pain, where she didn''t need to learn to resist the pain. Her sight felt blurry which constantly diminished in and out as sheid on the ground trying to get up but she couldn''t.


    The coachman was the one who had swung the rod across her Charlotte''s head with a sick smile on his face. The woman who had disappeared like her partner came to stand behind Rory without his knowledge as he stood in shock. Before able to contemte what had happened, the woman hit his head with another metal rod which she held in her hand.


    Unfortunately, unlike Charlotte, Rory was merely a human with less strength. The sight was of a fish when removed out of water. Both the strangers looked down at the couple who were trying to gain the strength to run away but they knew it was impossible for them to get up. Maybe the vampire would, so they gave another shot at her head which resulted in Charlotte spouting blood from her mouth.


    "R-Rory?!" she called out his name in panic, "Please don''t hurt him!" she cried, "Take whatever you want. Take all the money but please spare us!" she begged but her pleas fell on deaf ears.


    "We already got what we wanted," the woman smiled holding the bloodied metal rod, "Toner, finish him," she ordered the coachman.


    "No!" Charlotte cried hearing it. Rory who was struggling to reach to her raised his hand but before he could even reach his hand to her, a loud crack like sound echoed through the forest.


    Face covered with blood, Rory''s vacant and lifeless eyes stared back at her unmovingly. She couldn''t help but cry, sobbing and unable to hold back the grief of another person whom she cared to see him die in front of her eyes.


    "Shut her up," the man spoke angrily. The woman didn''t take much time and swung the metal a couple more times across her head until the girl finally stopped moving. Running the metal rod through her chest, the man then asked, "Which one are we taking?"


    "The man," the woman licked her lips.


    "What about the girl? Bury her?" the man asked, already on his work by pulling the dead human''s legs towards the carriage door.


    "Tch. Hang her on the tree here. This will take people''s focus away from us for now. Let all the vampires know how much humans hate the existence of vampires," the man cackled hearing this, "Let there be war."

 Chapter 93 - Gore Of The Dead- Part 1

    A woman in the vige woke up early in the morning before the rays of the sun touched her home. Bending down to fill the empty vessel with water from the canal of water, she sshed her face to get rid of the sleep. Feet dragging around the little house, she went to milk the cow that was tied to the pole. She heard the stray dog her son had got home barking not far from her home, it''s barking loud as it moved back and forth.


    "Bernard! Bernard!" she called her son who was still asleep on his bed inside the house, "You bring the dog and make me look after it," the woman huffed.


    "What''s got your dog howling this early in the morning?" her neighbor came out of the house, the woman squinted her eyes as she looked in the direction of the dog. She had nned to let the dog be until it would move away by itself or until her son would wake up but it didn''t seem like that was going to happen anytime soon. The sun hadn''t risen up in the sky and the dog was only creating a nuisance to their neighboring houses.


    Sighing she carried her heavy feet towards the trees where the dog continued to bark looking at something ahead of it. There was nothing around the trees that she found worth noticing making her think what had got the dog so loud this morning at a mere tree.


    By the time she reached the dog, she huffed for air, pulling the dog by the leash, she dragged it to only feel it resist.


    "Arhg! I will have to ask Bernard to take it away," she muttered underneath her breath, finally able to get the dog to move from its ce as it barked. Each bark echoing through the forest, she knew a lot of the vigers were going toin about it.


    It was when she looked up from the dog to the tree did the grip on her hand loosen and the dog went back to bark at the tree. The woman''s feet staggered back, her mouth agape, her eyes wide in horror. A loud shrill scream passed through the woman''s lips, louder than the barks of the dog to awaken the vigers who resided there in the vige. Unable to look at the sight any longer she felt the bile rise up from her stomach she fell down to vomit on the ground.


    Vigers who were asleep woke up to the woman''s scream, getting out of the beds, men and women stumbled out of their houses to see what or who had screamed. Some out of the concern and some out of mere curiosity.


    The vige folk came with their forks and weapons, running to the woman before their sight fell on the tree. Some of them covered their nose and mouth at the stench of the body that was stuck to the tree. It was the body of a young woman. Eyes that appeared soulless and ck, the body was torn open in the front to showcase the organs that hade to decay in time, the blood trail from the body moved down to paint the dried wooden area red in haphazard lines. The body had been pushed through the branch to make sure it was hung visibly like a person who would be hanged for the crimes only that here, the young woman had been innocent.


    Murmurs began, wondering what had happened at night when everyone had gone asleep.


    "Who''s the girl?"


    "What happened?" were the questions that were asked by the vigers and the only one knew about her. It was Rory''s friend ss who had seen the vampiress with Rory from time to time.


    Blood ran cold at the sight of what had been made of her. The girl was a pureblooded vampire, yet she had been killed and disyed like a showpiece to everyone to see. Worry began to stain his forehead. Rory had arrived at his doorst night, asking for a favor to look after his family until he would return as he had to go to Bonke, a ce where vampires resided mostly.


    Where was his friend though? Had he really gone to Bonke while leaving the girl?


    He looked at the young vampiress again as dread began to fill his blood. Simple minded ss didn''t understand what happened and therefore he decided to leave the vige that hour immediately in an effort to go to Bonke.


    In Easton''s mansion when breakfast was being served, both Mr. and Mrs. Easton sat at the table.


    "She''ste," Mr. Eastonmented, his narrow eyes staring at the clock on the wall. Their butler had begun to serve breakfast, pouring tea and blood in the cups.


    Mrs. Easton sighed softly, "Let her be. You''ve caused her enough grief already,"


    "I caused her grief?" Mr. Easton asked as if he couldn''t believe his wife had just told him that, "I am trying to make sure she gets the best of what she deserves. To let her live the way we have brought her up and you know that Prisci."


    "I do, dear but there''s a way to tell than jumping into the fire. She''s young and in love. She needs time," Mrs. Easton ced her hand on his arm infort to hear him hum, "Why not give her time?"


    "Fine. But I cannot push it further than a month," he replied back to receive a smile from his wife.


    "Let me go get her," Mrs. Easton stood up when their caretaker who was asked to look after their daughter came to the dining room with hurried footsteps, "What''s gotten you in such haste?"


    The caretaker said in a rushed voice, "Mrs. Easton, youngdy Charlotte isn''t in her bed,"


    "What do you mean?" Mr. Easton asked, getting up from the head chair which screeched on the floor making the caretaker gulp.


    "Sir...I searched the entire room a-and, the bed was made such that it looked she was sleeping in when it was just the-pillows in there."


    Before they could talk anymore, the doorbell of the mansion rang to indicate a visitor had arrived at their doorstep. When the door was opened, it revealed to be Duke Harrison who looked pale and dull. His thin brows were drawn together


    "Good day, Duke Harrison," Mr. Easton greeted the young vampire.


    "I had to talk to you about Charlotte..." Mr. Easton looked at his wife. Had their daughter told something to the Duke which had brought him here at this early hour of the day?


    "Charlotte isn''t here-" Mr. Easton began to be interrupted by Harrison.


    "Yes, about that. I think you muste with me," he said, his voice grave and serious which made the couple worry, "There is something you must both see. Please," there was urgency in his voice as he spoke to them.


    Duke Harrison took them to the close by vige, not saying a word about what he wanted to show or tell them, he took the Easton''s by the carriage he hade in. Stopping the carriage, he stepped down out of it uneasily at the thought of what might ur right now.


    When the Easton''s stepped out of the carriage, confusion marred Mrs. Easton''s forehead she looked at the Duke to see him looking elsewhere. Following his line of sight, her eyes fell on her beloved daughter who was hung on the tree. She felt her heart slip down from her chest and before she could lose bnce, Mr. Easton supported his wife. His face was as pale as his wife but moreposed at the sight of his dead daughter.


    "We are sorry for your loss, Mr. Easton. The magistrate was notified this morning about her and he, in turn, came to ry the message to what they found," said Duke Harrison as the couple stared in shock.

 Chapter 94 - Gore Of The Dead- Part 2

    Three chapters have been updated!


    ~ ~ ~ ~


    After the arrival of other council members who resided in Mythweald came to inspect the state the body was found in, the dead body of Charlotte was brought down to ce on the ground.


    Mrs Easton cried and grieved at her daughter''s death. The way she was found in, looked utterly painful. With her chest that was torn wide open on either side of her body, some amount of blood had dripped down to show the juicy organs inside but in time it hade to dry with the dry wind which blew in the wake of the morning.


    She touched her daughter''s face which was bruised when she went to cradle her daughter''s head, she came in contact with wet and sticky blood due to the back of the head being cracked open. Charlotte''s vacant eyes stared at the sky, her body cold and readying itself to be dposed.


    "My beautiful daughter," unlike her husband who was holding back his emotions, Mrs Easton couldn''t hide the devastation she felt and she sobbed no matter how gory her daughter looked right now.


    Vigers who had previously hovered over the scene had been rushed back to their houses by the councilmen to let them work on what had happened.


    "Why!" Mrs Easton lulled the girl back and forth, "My children..."


    Duke Harrison stood a few steps away from the scene talking to the two councilmen who hade to inspect the scene. His hair ruffled up due to the dry breezy air.


    "It doesn''t seem like a witch''s work. They never leave the bodies as they are known to take them so that they can utilize every part. The wounds the girl received was from objects not by mere strength of hands," one of the councilmen said, he shook his head, "What do you think, Frey?" he asked his partner who was a woman with short hair.


    "It''s hard to say this but," the councilwoman dropped her voice so that no one could hear her, "I don''t think it''s the witches or the vampires who had done it out of spite."


    "That''s ridiculous," Duke Harrison responded back, ncing towards the couple who were next to their dead daughter before looking back at the two council members, "The humans would never dare such a thing. They are aware of the consequences."


    "After talking to the vigers, I found out that two humans are missing from the lot, they haven''t seen them sincest night and in the morning. Isn''t that funny? This is Mythweald after all, a ce which was built for only humans."


    Duke Harrison like the Easton''s was in shock when he came upon the magistrate''s request to the vige quickly. The only word he had received was that a vampiress had been hung on the tree for people to see but he would have never guessed for the girl who was supposed to be his bride to be murdered so gruesomely.


    Whoever had killed her, looked like they killed her out of spite and anger. Her body appeared to be battered, wounds scarring her once lovely face who was always full of light.


    It wasn''t easy to kill a pureblooded vampire. As much as it was easy to kill a vampire and a human by running a stake through the heart, it took a lot to end a pureblooded vampire. One had to remove the core which was a stone present in every pureblooded vampire. It was what defined them, setting apart from all the other beings. The core was the most important part of the purebloods. If it was corrupted, it could drive one mad to the path of insanity.


    He had checked the surroundings to see no other trail apart from the humans which only concluded that a human had done it. Like many others who hade to look at the scene, he was upset. Upset for a vampiress to be killed who had done nothing.


    "What do we do, sir? Would you like us to file the report to the head council?" the councilman asked, waiting for the Duke''s orders as he was the one responsible to this side of thend.


    The Duke stayed quiet. His brows furrowed, he spoke after a few seconds, "No," both the council members looked at the man confused.


    "We won''t be filing the report?" Frey, the councilwoman asked.


    "The humans here have caused a grave mistake. We are going to find the people who did this to Ms Easton before filing in the report. If we do it right away, the councillors will step forward to take things under their hand which I don''t want," the councilwoman nodded her head who was a vampire herself, "Send word to Duke Carmichael about his immediate presence that has been requested in Mythweald. He would like to be informed," the councilwoman bowed her head and went to finish the work that had just been assigned to her, "Opus."


    "Yes, Duke Harrison," the councilman responded back.


    "Gather the vigers again. I would like to talk to each one of them personally this time," Opus, the councilman reluctantly agreed to the Duke''s request as he feared for the vigers.


    Though most of the vampires and humans despised each other; humans because they couldn''t achieve what the vampires had and vampires because they didn''t like the lowly beings who were inferior to them. Yet there were a few who sympathized with the other. He didn''t know why the humans would pick an unnecessary fight with the vampires by cing one of the purebloods body as a disy to spite them. They had sowed their mistakes and now they would repent for what they had done.


    "Yes, Duke Harrison," Opus exchanged bows with the Duke before walking away from the trees and towards the houses which were part of the human vige.


    Charlotte''s body was preserved in the cer room of Easton''s mansion where it was cooler in temperature. The white witches, who were disguised as priestess hade to bless the soul of the vampiress while also slowing down the dposition of the body.


    On the third day, Leonard arrived at his maternal aunt''s mansion. It didn''t take him long to know what was the pestering matter that needed his presence. With Vivian behind him, Leonard entered the cer where his aunt sat next to the coffin with her face which was covered with the handkerchief as she couldn''t believe what was done to her child. Mr Easton greeted Leonard with a nod, his eyes dull and dark circles around his eyes.


    When Leonard came to stand in front of the coffin where his cousinid with her eyes open, the emptiness evident to show the soul to have left her. His hands balled into a fist, turning white in a wave of uncontroble anger.


    Blood had turned ck, her body bare and open where he could see her spine and bones. It pained him to see his beloved cousin in this state. She was the kindest of them all, kinder than her brother who always smiled at everything. A smile that could brighten anyone''s day like the sun itself.


    He could still remember the time when his mother was reading her a book...


    He could hear young Charlotte ask, "What about the hunter? Does hee back again?"


    "Of course he does," young Leo answered her.


    "So what happens when he does?" his cousin asked.


    "What is the point of having aunt Renae read the book to you if you''re going to hear it in pieces?" Julliard asked his sister to only hear her exim,


    "I won''t be able to sleep if I don''t know now!"


    Charlotte was one of the rare personified light in their dark world and to think that she was no more made it hardly believable. Leonard moved closer to look at her. His hand reached to meet her head which had a crack on it, smoothing the hair strands that stuck unevenly.


    "Charlotte," he whispered his cousin''s name, hoping for time to turn back so that he could save her from whoever had done this to her. Anger boiled in his veins.


    If what Duke Harrison had told him was the truth, the humans would pay for it. The ones who had brought in such misery upon his family, they would pay the heavy price of killing someone whom he cared for so dearly.

 Chapter 95 - Gore Of The Dead- Part 3

    When Leonard had asked Vivian to pack her clothes quickly as they were leaving to the South Empire, Mythweald in a few minutes without any luggage to carry, she had been confused as to what was the pressing matter to which they were going.


    Though she could have thought about million other possibilities, finding her dear friend, Charlotte Easton was thest thing she could have ever imagined. Unlike the other family members who stood close to the coffin, Vivian didn''t dare to move her steps towards them. She wasn''t sure if it was because of the fear of breaking down into tears which had already filled up her eyes or if the usation that would be put on her as she was a human.


    Even though she wasn''t in the close range of the coffin, she could see Charlotte quite clearly. The pain was too much and so was the gore. The sight was ghastly that she couldn''t keep her eyes on her any longer. Leaving the room after the sight of Charlotte whoid in the coffin, Vivian turned around finding her way to the bathroom before she emptied the contents of her stomach.


    She puked, her throat contracting and unable to throw up anything more. Heaving for breath, tears began to fall on her cheeks. One drop after another, until it finally sank into her mind that Charlotte had died, she had been murdered to death and there was nothing but a corpse left in this world in her memory.


    Who would do that? Who could hurt her to such an extent, to tear her in a way that it felt torturous to even the living beings who were alive?


    She wiped her tears when a knock was heard on the door of the bathroom. Turning around she saw it was a maid of the Easton''s who carried the water of ss.


    "Thank you," Vivian mustered a small smile even in the time of the loss she felt, taking the ss and sipping the water she returned back the empty ss to the maid.


    She didn''t know what to do. How could she be of anyone''s help? But why was Charlotte attacked if she were here unless she had gone out to stroll during the time of the night? Questions only bombarded in her mind as she walked back to the cer.


    ording to what Leonard had said to her in the carriage, it was humans who were responsible for his cousin''s death and she didn''t know what to make out of it. For someone who lived in a vampire poptednd of Bonke, there was less of human and vampires conflicts. Her kind had never done anything like this. Though there were often brawls on the street, she didn''t know the situation on Mythweald as it had a higher count of humans and less of vampires who lived here.


    She looked down at her gloved hands, the ck smooth cloth which was clean and smooth.


    Could she heal someone who was dead? thought Vivian to herself.


    Taking an ounce of hope and courage along with her, she approached the coffin to only be stopped by Mr. Easton.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you,dy. I would rather not want you around here. Please," Mr. Easton kept his words as polite as he could seeing Vivian standing four steps away from his beautiful daughter.


    Leonard was upset with the death of his cousin, his anger simmering upon the humans for doing something so horrific that he could hardly think straight. Not wanting to create further problems, she bowed her head understandingly and left the room without another word.


    When she had left the room and had crossed the far corridor did the butler of the housee after her.


    "Mdy," the butler called for her and Vivian didn''t need to hear him for the second time as she turned at his first call. She gave him a confused look wondering why he was calling for her, "Mdy, if you coulde back to the cer."


    "But Mr. Easton would not be happy about it," replied Vivian to see the butler bow his head.


    "Master was the one who asked for your presence. If you could please follow me back," the butler said before walking back to see Vivian following him.


    When she got back to the cer, Mr and Mrs Easton looked at her, their eyes prying at her presence and it was obvious that Mr. Easton didn''t approve of her being here. She looked at Leonard hoping to know why she had been asked to return.


    "Can you check her," she heard Leo ask her, his words subtle but not giving away too much of information on her abilities. She had always stumbled across things unknowingly. This would be the first time she would be trying to feel and remember the memories. She nodded her head anyways at his request.


    Coming to stand next to Charlotte''s body, she could not smell the faint smell of the body being dposed which added to her difort. Trying not to focus on that, she removed both the ck gloves that she had worn on her hand.


    Taking a soft breath of air, she carefully ced her hand on the girl''s forehead. Waiting for almost a minute to feel nothing and she looked up to meet Leo''s eyes.


    "Take your time," he said standing next to her.


    Like her, Leonard was hoping to get a clue on what or who had done this to Charlotte. This time, she closed her eyes, running her hand subtly from Charlotte''s forehead to her neck. The skin beneath her fingertips feeling cold as snow until something moved in front of her closed eyes.


    Her sight flickered to Easton''s hall she had walked by beforeing down the cer room. It was Charlotte''s father, Mr Easton who looked at her furiously.


    "How dare you to even think that we would allow such a measly man into our house?! Have you forgotten that your brother was killed by a human!" he yelled at Charlotte.


    "But father, Rory isn''t like that-"


    "Silence! Another word and you will wish that you didn''t. From now you will not leave the house without a caretaker, nowhere alone."


    Moving her fingers up to her face, she touched her cheeks which had lost its colour. When it touched the eyes, she saw a man, lean in physique, eyes that were green that stare as if looking right at her. A man who kissed her with a smile on his face. Unfortunately, Vivian wasn''t able to get anything more than that. Was he thest person she met? Or was that another fragment of her memory?


    Opening her eyes slowly, her eyes didn''t meet Leo''s but insteadid on Charlotte.


    If she was a healer, was it possible to bring her back to life? Thought Vivian to herself. The question was if she could bring back something that was dead? Somewhere deep down she already knew the answer to it as the condition Charlotte appeared to be in far beyond of any repair.


    "Excuse us," she heard Leonard speak to the people in the room as he ced his hand on her shoulder wanting her to follow him outside.


    She followed him out of the cer room, walking out of the mansion so that no one could hear them. On her way she couldn''t help but worry, thinking about what he must be feeling at Charlotte''s death. He looked calm from the outside, pensive maybe but he was yet to speak about how he felt.


    And the man she had just seen must have been Rory.


    "What did you see in there?" Leonard stopped suddenly to ask her under the sun.


    Wetting her lips that had gone dry, she opened her mouth to speak, "Charlotte and Mr Easton had an argument," hearing this his brows furrowed.


    "Argument about what?"


    "Umm, that," she tried to get the words right, "Charlotte wanted to marry another man which Mr Easton didn''t approve of. He is a human."


    At the same time, Mrs Easton came out of the mansion looking for them, picking up the front of her dress as she descended down the stairs. Her forehead was marred with worry, her eyes filled with sorrow as she came to stand where they were.


    Leonard who was facing Vivian turned at the approaching footsteps to ask his aunt, "Charlotte wanted to marry a human?" at his words the vampiress nodded her head not wanting to hide anything from him.

 Chapter 96 - Funeral- Part 1

    "Why didn''t you tell me about this, Aunt Prisci?" asked Leonard to find his aunt sighing as she looked at the mansion that stood tall.


    Aunt Prisci spoke, "We didn''t find about it until we received your letter about Mr Wells thoughts. Charlotte spoke about the boy for the first time. I never knew anything about it, I doubt anyone did," the vampiress frowned her words soft and feeble due to the loss of her daughter, "Her father didn''t approve of it when she brought it up. He...he hasn''t seen the humans in the eye after what happened with Julliard and the others; he was trying to protect her," her words trailed which was filled with pain.


    Leonard quietly listened to his aunt speak and then asked, "Did she run away? Did she run away from the house?" not receiving an immediate answer he repeated his question.


    "Before Duke Harrison came to give us the news, our caretaker found her bed being made as if she were still sleeping. Some of her clothes are missing from the closet," Leonard closed his eyes at the unfortunate thought of it. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers. Knowing his cousin, he was sure that she had definitely nned to run away especially with the clothes missing and bed made to fool a person if one were to enter the room in the middle of the night to check on her. He then heard her say, "Maybe if we didn''t force her she would still be with us," Mrs Easton sniffed, dabbing the tears before they could fall from her eyes.


    "She would have," he answered bitterly, "Who is the boy?" he asked her and then asked Vivian, "Did you see him?"


    Vivian nodded her head, "I don''t know when does the memory belong to, to say if she met him..."


    His aunt spoke, "He lives not far from here. His name is Rory. The same vige where they found Charlotte. Duke Harrison said it must be the humans who did it to her."


    "We will find out only after we speak to the boy. Vivian, stay here. I will be back soon," though Vivian wanted to go along with Leonard she nodded her head.


    Reaching the vige, Leonard walked to the tree when Duke Harrison mentioned about finding the young vampiress hung on the tree. Surveying the area both the Dukes walked through the forest, looking for any possible hints that would have been missed by the vige guards and the councilman three days ago.


    Dried leaves crunched under his leathered boots. Twigs snapping as he walked in the forest, red eyes scanning meticulously to find nothing around the vige which only added fuel to his anger.


    It was when they walked away from the vige, Leonard continuing his walk did he find clothes and objects near a tree which would have belonged to a male. Going back to the vige along with it, Leonard asked about the whereabouts of the boy named Rory before heading to his house.


    Knocking on the door an old man opened it.


    "Could I speak to Rory?" Duke Harrison asked the old man as he squinted to look at the two vampires.


    "Ah-Rory. Rory isn''t here," the man shook his head.


    "Where can we find him?" Duke Harrison asked at the thought that he must have gone out somewhere and would return in some time.


    "I don''t know. When we woke up in the morning he wasn''t there here," the old man''s gaze fell on the clothes which Duke Harrison had and hemented, "What are you doing with his clothes?"


    "These are your son''s clothes?" Duke Harrison asked to confirm his words. Leo''s hands balled into fists as his temper came alive.


    "Yes," seeing his neighbor, he asked the man, "Where is your boy, Keh?"


    "Haven''t seen him for three days. Don''t know, just took off early in the morning three days ago," the gruff man answered, who had a mug of water in his hand, taking a sip to gargle and spit it in the corner, "Must have been upset seeing the dead body disyed for everyone as he left right away," he smirked before getting back inside.


    Leonard''s hands turned white as his fists clenched at the remark. He wanted to the beat up the man for passingment on Charlotte as the ''dead body''. Even though that was what was left he didn''t like hearing it.


    Taking a moment, both the high-ss vampires stepped inside the house of Rory and ss which wasn''t a lot of space but with a lot of items being stuffed which made it feel more cramped.


    After inspecting the house and the surrounding both Duke Harrison and Leonard walked away from the houses, where Duke Harrison spoke, "Doesn''t it seem suspicious to have the boy vanish the same morning when they found Charlotte here? Not to forget the other boy too with his clothes."


    Vivian had mentioned she wasn''t sure if she had seen Rory with Charlotte the time before she was murdered. It seemed that Charlotte did n to run away with the boy but in the end, she was killed with her body being stuck to the tree while the man named Rory was nowhere to be found in the area.


    Had she made a stop to meet him? It looked like they did, if not why would his clothes be lying in the middle of the forest. They had found blood on the clothes when he found them in the forest, the blood of a pureblooded vampire.


    He would have put it under investigation but there was too much anger which had been built up inside him. There was also the fact where he had found something unexpected in the houses. Charlotte had been killed, her body hung on the tree where the boy she loved had gone missing. Coincidentally, another a boy had gone missing as well from this same vige without a word.


    "It appears that she was killed by one or two humans who belong from this vige," said Leonard hinting the men who were not here.


    There was too much hate between humans and vampires in thend of Mythweald. Anger took ce, recing rational thinking with the series of the loss his family hade to experience.


    "What would you like to do, Duke Carmichael?" asked Duke Harrison, waiting for his word. On one side Charlotte was Leonard''s cousin while on the other, she was the bride to be of Duke Harrison even though he didn''t know she liked another man and had tried to elope with him.


    "Kill both their families," Leonard ordered the man who looked taken aback. Surely he wanted revenge but killing both families was too much, the most he had expected was to torture for answers, "Are you not capable to do it?" the blonde man asked, his eyes appearing to haveck of warmth in it as the sunlight fell on his handsome face.


    "Consider it to be done, in the night."


    But Leonard had other ns, "I want it in an hour," his words were firm, "Do it so that everyone can see it. To know what will happen if you kill a pureblooded vampire. It should set an example," vampires and humans here often killed each other. Humans being the ones who usually gathered to sabotage the life of the night creatures in thend of South.


    Vivian couldn''t help but wait outside for Leonard, her heart filled with anxiety as she tried to fathom the death of Charlotte. Charlotte had been a dear friend of hers, thest time she had arrived at the Carmichael''s mansion she wanted to talk to her but hadn''t mustered enough courage as the Carmichael''s and her brother had only passed away. She wished she could have spoken to her, to know if she was doing well. At least write a letter may be to ask if she was alright. A few tears began to gather in the corner of eyes, filling it up before she wiped them quickly even though there was no one to see her cry.


    Guilt began to seep into her mind for not reaching out to her.


    After Leo had left to the vige, Vivian didn''t want to step inside Easton''s mansion at the probability of being asked to stay outside.


    She didn''t know how long she sat outside waiting for Leonard when the carriage reappeared through the gates to stop in front of the mansion.


    Seeing her stand, Leo frowned, "For how long have you been sitting here?" he asked, cing his hand on her which felt warm and hot.


    "I thought sitting under the sun for some time would do me good," she gave the reason knowing that he would see through her words. He didn''tment on it and instead led her back inside where it took her a few seconds to blink away the darkness and adjust to theck of light inside the mansion, "Did you find Rory?" she asked him, holding in her breath and waiting for his reply.


    "Rory and another man are missing from the vige. They killed her," he answered, and her footsteps halted in confusion.


    "What?"


    That couldn''t be true. For a fact she knew from what Charlotte had told about the man, they were both in love. Why would he kill her?


    "We found some of his clothes with Charlotte''s blood on it. A report will be filed in the council to find the two men," Two? Thought Vivian to herself.


    The Easton''s had held back the funeral so that Leonard could see her. With Rhys and other family members who were already present, the Easton''s decided to hold the funeral for their daughter behind their mansion which was spacious. They didn''t want to bury her in the cemetery of vampires. There was no telling when the humans would destroy it.


    After the quiet funeral took ce, Leonard said his goodbyes taking Vivian along with him. To go to Bonke, they had to pass the vige which Leonard had visited with Duke Harrison. Vivian who had been looking outside the window, giving Leo his space, she caught sight of six people who were hung on the trees with ropes around their neck.


    Blood drained down her face, her hands suddenly turning cold at the unmerciful death that was undoubtedly passed by the Duke who resided here. Her head turned to look at Leo who was looking outside his side of the window with his legs that were crossed and his back rxed.


    Did he ask for it to be done?


    As if realizing the horror that she felt by looking at the hanging corpses, she heard Leo ask, "Are you afraid, Vivi?" he turned his gaze from the scenery to her.


    "Did you...?" she asked softly not daring toplete the sentence.


    "Am I responsible for hanging them?" he asked her. She saw him sigh, "People should know of what fear means when they hurt people whom I care for. To know the pain of someone losing someone dear. Blood will be avenged by blood. Nothing less or more."

 Chapter 97 - Funeral- Part 2

    *A few weeks ago*


    In the time of the ungodly hour of midnight when men, women, and children slept in their houses peacefully, the moon shone brightly in the sky, the golden tint of luminous spilling on thend of the South as a girl in a hood walked through the narrow path of the passages.


    Footsteps quiet as a cat, the girl drifted like a ghost, passing through a couple of houses and leaving them behind to walk to the edge of the forest where men stood talking to each other in a hushed tone. The group contained four males. An old man, two middle-aged men, and a young man.


    "You''rete, Ester," the old man who smoked the rolled leaves of tobo threw it on the ground, stamping on it to exhaust the little buds me. Though he was old with a head full of grey hair, his eyes didn''t lose the fire that had been ignited since a young age.


    "Always so impatient, Edward," the girl spoke with her velvet like voice which was nothing less to silk over the skin. Blonde long hairs peeked through the corners of her hood, her blue eyes were bright even with scarce light on her face.


    "Unlike you, we don''t have time to wait. Time has never been on our side. It was only given to the vampires and witches," Edward answered, the cold biting into his withered skin as they had been waiting here for more than an hour now.


    The girl who had arrived was a ck witch, a witch of deceitful character who was finding it hard to step into the Mythweald''s highest household so that she could infiltrate the people and other connections it had to give way to the ck witches into the town. Due to the hate, the vampires and humans held against the ck witches, the girl wanted to destroy it so that her fellow sisters and she could rule the fournds.


    Providing the greedy humans with temporary wealth, she had lured them in. Picking the humans who would be most suitable for the job, humans who hated vampires. They were the humans who had lost their family due to the vampire killings. Once the work was done, she would discard the humans aside.


    "Patience grasshopper," the girl chuckled, looking at the men who had gathered around to meet at her word, "Youck patience but your boy. Your boy is doing seemingly good I take? How has your time been with the vampiress?" she asked the young man who was a few years older to her age as she looked not a day older to sixteen.


    "It''s been well," the young man answered with little to no interest in her chitchat.


    The ck witch smiled schemingly, "Remember to be careful, Rory. We don''t want any mishaps to take ce. As gullible women are in the art of love you have to be careful as she isn''t a normal girl but a pureblooded vampire. She is the key piece of our n."


    The young man smiled, one of his brows raising, "You don''t have to worry about that. She is blindly in love with me, one word and she''lle with me. All I have to do is manoeuvre my way in there soon."


    "Excellent work. I have a few others already lined up who are going to corrupt the cores, all we need to do is find the right time when the pureblooded vampires gather along with the other vampires," the ck witch stated her n, not giving in full details but keeping it to the minimum, she pulled out little bottles from her stash and handed each of them with one which contained liquid like water which only looked thicker.


    "What''s this?" asked the old man, bringing up to his face so that he could look at it closer.


    "This gentleman is the liquid I spoke aboutst time we met. Add this to a vampire''s food so that they can consume it and you will what effect it brings up. They will kill each other until the council decides to put a leash on their neck. I cannot create them anymore as the ingredients have been exhausted and it will take more than three to four months to get them together. So use them wisely," she advised with a smile.


    "How many drops is required?" questioned the old man.


    "The entire bottle needs to be emptied. Unfortunately," the ck witch clicked her teeth together, "I haven''t perfected it yet. I need a dark witch''s blood to get it right for it to be enough with a single drop."


    "Dark Witch? Do you mean your kind?" another man who hade along asked to receive a smile from her.


    "If it was my kind I would havepleted the potion by now. There is a third kind of Witch apart from the ck and white, a witch who is much powerful than us and they aren''t easy to find. Remember to use it entirely," warned the ck witch, the smile falling off her lips as she red at them with her blue eyes, "Use the entire bottle, thest time I gave the person the bottle, she used half of it thinking that would be sufficient."


    Rory who was still looking down at the little bottler, asked, "What would happen if only half of its contents were used?"


    "It won''t work. It won''t have enough power to corrupt the heart of a vampire," the first time Ester had tried the liquid in Valeria, picking another pureblooded family. Sadly she never achieved the result. The maid she had threatened to get the work done had done a terrible job at it. Not only had she poured half of the liquid but had also wasted the rest by losing it in the process.


    It seemed that the family was unaffected. The Harlows.


    When the men left the ce to go back to their houses as if they were sleeping all this while, the ck witch stood under therge tree full of leaves. Her unmoving eyes on her beautiful face ready to fill the world in chaos so that they could take thends from the kind who wanted the ck witches dead.


    Rory waited for the vampiress toe to the vige, a few days passing by which made him agitated. He had lost his aunt to a vampire''s thirst for blood right in front of him. His family had gone through horrors because of the nightly creatures. He had befriended the pureblooded vampiress, making her fall in love with him so that he got annihte as many pureblooded vampires as he could. The girl was naive and innocent.


    "Rory!" he heard the girl from a far distance who smiled innocently.


    "Charlotte," when she hugged him with her arms around him, he did the same though with not the same sentiments, "I missed you," he said, putting up a smile as they pulled back.


    "I did too. I couldn''t wait to get back here to see you," she leaned closer to his hand which he had ced on her cheek.


    "Same," he answered.

 Chapter 98 - Funeral- Part 3

    When the door of his house knocked, Rory''s eyes flew open at who would be at the door at this hour of the night. With one of the sheep missing, he had gone searching untilte at night in the meadows which went in vain as he couldn''t find it after hours of searching.


    He wondered if Ester had arrived at the door. The ck witch was the only who came and went during the odd hours of the night; not revealing herselfpletely as she always had a hood to cover her face. Padding across the dusty ground, he unlocked the metaltch to find a hooded girl but not the one he was expecting.


    "Charlotte?" he asked baffled in surprise at her presence.


    "Rory!" she jumped to hug him, binding her arms around him. What was she doing here?


    "What are you doing here thiste at night?" he asked confused before his eyes fell on the trunk that stood upright next to her, "Oh, Charlotte, please tell me you didn''t run away from your house. Didn''t I tell you to wait for my word?"


    Pulling her inside along with the luggage, he shut the door close, taking to her to a corner, from afar, he could see his father wake up before lying back down at the sight of the vampiress. Rory made sure to have Charlotte face him. He then heard her speak,


    "There wasn''t much time. Father has decided to give my hand to Duke Harrison. I shall not marry anyone if it isn''t you," her words made his skin prickle.


    When he first met her, he had avoided her due to the dislike and hate he held against the vampire race. It was after meeting Ester did he decide to court the young vampiress. He had led her on to believe that he was in love as much as she was but it had only been a farce. The only reason he had picked her was that she was an easy target to fool. Catching a vampiress'' attention was hard, especially finding one alone.


    She looked dejected as he hadn''t replied to her confession. He didn''t know how long he would have to keep up with this act as it was tiring him.


    Charlotte had run from her house after her parents arrange to marry another man, a man of her status but that would only hamper their n which they had built for so long. He would not be able to step inside the vampire''s mansion if she was to stoping by, by getting married to another man. The n was to wait for their wedding day. To get her parents to approve of him so that he could pour the potion into the food they would consume before losing their sanity.


    When she left the house to go to Bonke, he closed the door shut to see his father standing in the dark.


    "What are you doing?" his old man asked.


    With furrowed brows, Rory asked, "What?"


    "I asked what are you doing, leaving that girl alone on her way. She is the key to the house, the easiest of them all. You have to protect your investment if you want to see the n Ester has sketched toe through," the old man coughed.


    "You''re suggesting me to go with her?" Rory raised his eyebrows in amusement but his father, Edward wasn''t one bit amused.


    He pulled out the stash that hung on the wall, throwing it to Rory, "You need to make sure she reaches Bonke safe. That''s your priority. If she''s gone we will be at a great loss. If she questions about your decision toe, tell her you will return back after seeing her to her rtives home."


    Rory sat with Charlotte in the coach, a woman who stared at them continuously, especially at Charlotte with eyes that looked scheming which he brushed off as most of the humans were nosy beings.


    He had never traveled out of Mythweald, keeping himself in thend of humans had always been the safest option and now because of the girl sitting next to him, he had to step into the vampirend. Not knowing how long the journey would take, he sat quietly in the moving coach.


    The sudden jerking and thud movement of the coach woke him from his sleep for the second time. The vampiress who was sleeping on his shoulder also woke up, almost hitting her head. The woman who was in the coach opened the door and stepped outside, leaving the couple alone.


    "Are you alright?" he asked Charlotte to see her nod.


    "Yes, what happened?" she asked looking at the open door while he nced over his arm which had begun to bleed.


    "Must have been a pit hole. Let me see," he said getting out of the coach as the vampiress followed right behind. His guess was right. The coach''s front wheel was stuck in the pit and to move it over, it would take at least two to three men.


    He sighed, irritation surfacing in his eyes but the darkness of the night hid it. It would take them hours to get the coach up and running, and there was no telling when the next coach would arrive so that they could get a lift to thend of East.


    Where did the coachman and the woman go? Thought Rory as he looked through the trees, taking a step back he turned to look at Charlotte when his eyes went wide.


    "Charlotte!" he screamed when the coachman swung the metal rod right at her head making her fall down due to the impact.


    It took two seconds to process what just happened and before he could do anything, he fell straight on the ground when another metal rod was struck across his head. Killing him the second time the rod impacted against his human head, cracking the skull.


    *Present*


    Leonard looked outside the window, trees passing by one after another as the carriage rode under the warm sun. It had been only a few minutes since they had left Easton''s mansion to pass the vige he had stepped into earlier.


    When Vivian, who had been looking on the other side of the road gasped softly, her heart picking up speed, Leonard didn''t need to look to know what she just saw. He had made sure to tell Duke Harrison how he wanted them dead and where to ce them.


    Her breathing quickened and he could smell fear in the air, "Are you afraid, Vivi?" he asked, turning his head to set his gaze on Vivian.


    "Did you...?" she knew the answer yet she wanted to confirm.


    "Am I responsible for hanging them?" he sighed. Vivian was a sweet girl and it wasn''t something he wanted her to see but the world was filled with filth. As much as he would love to protect her, the truth would always follow a person like a shadow, "People should know of what fear means when they hurt people whom I care for. To know the pain of someone losing someone dear. Blood will be avenged by blood. Nothing less or more."


    Before he and Duke Harrison had left the vige, Leonard had asked to look into the house. Hoping to get some possible clues though there was less hope on finding anything in the small house. But something tingled his senses.


    It was the way the old man who had been passive suddenly didn''t like the fact of them in his house. Agitation was evident in his physical form. With the family members out of the house and only Leo inside, he picked up the little bottle thatid under the bed, hidden in a corner which would have been missed if one didn''t look closely but then it was one of Leonard''s specialty to have a keen eye.


    Looking at the tiny ss bottle, he opened it carefully and brought it up to his nose so that he could inhale. When he did, his anger knew no bound, realizing what it was. He hade across this liquid previously in his own mansion, the day after his parents were killed.


    Going through the house and the next one, he finally stepped outside asking the guard to stay put and to make sure no one left the vige without prior permission. Three tiny bottles rested in his pocket.


    "What would you like to do, Duke Carmichael?" asked Duke Harrison, the man who looked after this part of Mythweald.


    "Kill both their families," replied Leonard.


    He didn''t care what the council would do after knowing his quick decision but there was no point dying the punishment which was unavoidable. This was about his family. The investigation could be der to verify the death penalty he had passed down on the humans responsible for killing his cousin.


    The question was where was the boy named Rory. There was also the matter of the little poison potions which he had collected from the two houses. How did the humans get their hands on it?

 Chapter 99 - Potions -Part 1

    Vivian didn''t know what to make of Leo''s words. Though the weather was warm her fingers felt cold at what she had just seen. He had admitted being the one responsible for those people''s death who was hung on the trees that they had just passed by, yet she found it hard in herself to believe it.


    As she had never seen Rory, she didn''t know if Leonard had killed him too but why? The man loved Charlotte. During Leonard and the other Duke''s conversation, she hade to hear that human were the ones who had killed Charlotte. She clutched her skirt at that thought, living in Bonke, a ce that was mostly habitat to the vampires, Mythweald had a major poption when it came to humans.


    Did the humans hate vampires that they would go to the extent of killing an innocent soul who knew nothing about hate that had grown over the years?


    She knew that Leonard was in pain, the loss was too much on his side. First, it was his parents and Julliard, and now it was Charlotte. The Easton''s had lost both their children tragically. That didn''t justify Leo''s actions in her eyes. To pass judgment so quickly, Leo would be no different than the brutes who killed his cousin.


    When the coffin was descending down the ground where the soil had been removed, Mrs. Easton has cried in his husband''s arms. She waster escorted away with Mr. Easton, leaving the rtives to stand. Leonard hadn''t spoken much. Asking her only if the question was pressing, he had finished his duty and now they were on their way to Bonke.


    Would he answer if she asked? But what if she didn''t like what he had to say?


    Finally, she decided to speak, "That was a lot of people. Were they all responsible for...what happened to Charlotte?"


    "A few," he responded to her burning question, "And the rest would be in the future," what did that mean?


    "Was that Rory''s family?" Vivian asked to confirm to see him nod. She couldn''t help but frown. Did that mean that he was nning to use Charlotte? Before any more questions could pop in her mind, Leonard asked her casually,


    "Did Charlotte ever mention about the boy and her rtionship with him?"


    "She did," she answered, her words carefully to see his eyes immediately narrow at her.


    "What?" it wasn''t a question he was asking, "You knew about it? Why didn''t you tell me when I spoke about Jerome marrying her?" tension began to form in the carriage as he waited for her answer.


    "I-I," Vivian tried to get the right words seeing his eyes re at her


    "You what? You knew about the man all this time and didn''t bother to tell me about it? Do you understand that if you did I would have looked into his background to make sure that she was safe?" Leo asked her frustratedly while running his hand through his treses.


    "It wasn''t my secret to tell. Charlotte didn''t want anyone knowing about it," Vivian replied back.


    "Vivi, one word that is all it would have taken!" she flinched at his tone, tsking, he turned his head away from her. Internally guilt began to eat her at the thought that maybe, maybe if she had mentioned about Charlotte''s rtionship with the boy then her death could have been prevented.


    The remainder of their ride, Leonard didn''t speak to Vivian due to his uncontroble anger as he thought he could have saved his cousin from such harsh death.


    Vivian drowned in self-guilt, the rim of her eyes turning red as she held back her tears. She hadn''t meant to keep it away from him. Gradually it would have slipped out of her mouth but she had promised to keep her mouth shut when Charlotte had told her her secret. Both of them with their head turned in the opposite direction stayed quiet until night came to fall upon the ground.


    The coachman pulled over the carriage at a local inn so that they could eat and rest for the night before continuing their journey back to the Eastnd.


    Though Leonard was angry with her for keeping away the secret from him, he booked a single room for both of them for the night. After having dinner, Vivian followed the inn wife and Leonard, her footsteps not too far or too close.


    Now that they were alone, she didn''t know what to do. Already drowned in guilt, she decided to apologize to him but he beat her to it.


    "I am sorry," he said, his jaw clutched tightly, "I didn''t mean to raise my voice at you. I was upset," he apologized.


    She nodded her head, "I am sorry too. If I knew it was going to end like this, I wouldn''t have kept it a secret."


    "Come here," he raised his hand. Walking softly towards him, she ced her hand in his and he pulled her to hug her, "I am sorry," he ced one hand on her head and the other around her waist.


    Leo had lost his cool when he had found from Vivian that she already knew about Charlotte in a rtionship with that bastard. He was angry because he could have stopped the unfortunate incident taking ce. He could have saved her from the misery she had gone through before dying. Avoided it but he could do nothing. He had lost so many people in such a short time for a pureblooded vampire that anger bubbled at his fate.


    There was no point being angry with Vivian, how could she even have a clue about it?


    Fate was being cruel with him, taking people whom he loved one by one as if wanting him to spend his life in solitary that it worried him now. Worried because of the girl who was in his arms. Vivian was important to him and if asked he would tell she was the only one he cared about.


    As much as he wished she would have told him there was nothing they could do. With prayers for the soul to rest, they had buried his cousin yet he couldn''t stop the imagesing in front of his eyes every time he closed them.


    Her vacant eyes and her body that was opened for the core of her heart to be removed, he pulled Vivian closer in his arms.


    To make sure of things, he pulled away from her to ask, "Is there anything else you would like to say to me?"


    Vivian bit her lip wondering about it. When they were young, she often made him her personal diary where she would go on and on about what she did from morning to what she heard people speak. As they grew up in distance, Vivian hade to learn to keep her thoughts to herself.


    She then realized there was something she had forgotten to mention. She moved her lips, "On your birthday night. I had gone to your room," she pushed away from the embarrassment as she confessed to him, "To ce the gift in your room but hearing someone enter, I thought it would be you and hid in the room."


    "When was that?" he asked.


    "At night," she reminded him, "I don''t think it was you because of the shadow and whoever it was smelt like food."


    "Someone from the kitchen," Leo concluded. Deep down Vivian still felt Paul was innocent but Leo''s guess couldn''t be wrong that it was someone from the kitchen. It was a high possibility but if it wasn''t Paul did it mean that the culprit was still in the Carmichael mansion? Worried she looked up at him. She then heard Leo speak, "I didn''t get to meet Rory. He must have escaped."


    "You didn''t?" she asked confused as she had thought that Rory had been killed and was one of the people who had been hung on the tree.


    He shook his head, "I didn''t. Apparently, he disappeared along with his friend. He must have known that we woulde back with our suspicion. The family was involved too," this time Vivian couldn''t hide her surprise, "I found bottles in the houses."


    Letting go of her hand, he walked to the stand to pick up his cloak, fishing the pockets he pulled the bottles with his hand to show her.


    "What are these?" she asked looking down at his hand.


    "These are the potions that the witches are using to corrupt the core that is present in a vampires heart. If a vampire consumes it, it will change the entire metabolism of the vampires to the point that they wouldn''t be able to function anymore. The way my mother died," Vivian nodded her head not wanting to delve into what happened that night. Thest time the matter hade up, Leo had shut himself. She wished he would talk to her, bare his pain and wounds so that she could shoulder them but he wasn''t ready or didn''t want to, "There are tens of vampires who have already been corrupted and once the corruption takes ce they cannot be turned back to their former self. Death is the only stop to it."


    "Can I see them?"


    "Of course," he said handing one of the little bottles to her.


    "Does it affect humans?" she inquired while looking at the bottle closely.


    "Only vampires and the pureblooded vampires. Humans don''t have a core so it wouldn''t make much difference if one consumed it."


    She ced her hand on the cap of the bottle and looked up at him. Seeing him nod, she opened it. Her nose tried to pick up the smell but the liquidcked any fragrance. Putting a little amount on her hand, she came to realize nothing was going to happen. She hadn''t learned how to pick up memories by her sense of touch and this was a disadvantage to her.


    Wondering if she should consume it to find anything, she twirled the bottle in her fingers.

 Chapter 100 - Potions- Part 2

    The water like a liquid in the little ss bottle shone under the smallmp where they stood. Leonard had said it didn''t affect humans, so would her consuming help them any close to the truth of who was creating such deadly potion against the entire race of vampires so that they could eradicate thempletely.


    All this time, she had only felt and seen the memories through her fingers. Never once had she seen a memory where she remembered who had cooked the food or where the food came from.


    She wished she could be helpful and of some use to Leo. Rather than stand and watch by the sidelines, she would love to help Leo so that they could catch Rory who had used and killed Charlotte like a doll that was of no more use.


    She then felt something off. Rory was in a rtionship with Charlotte for months, if he could he would have killed her a long time ago along with the help of his family but he didn''t.


    "Why do you think Rory didn''t act before and decided to act now?" she asked the question which she couldn''t keep to herself.


    "I think something happened when Charlotte left home to meet Rory. If she was nning to run away, she would have asked him. Seeing the bottles still unused, it seems like they were nning something simr to what happened after the night of my birthday," he answered, taking the bottle from her hand he closed the lid to keep the contents safe, "I know what you are thinking and there''s no need for it."


    "What?" she asked unsure of what he was speaking.


    She saw him walk back to where his coat was and dropped the bottles which clinked before settling in the pocket, "I know how your mind works. I don''t want you consuming it. It might not affect humans but there''s no guarantee on healers. With so little information on healers, I cannot have you taking things that we aren''t sure of how it''s going to affect you."


    "But I am still a human," she pointed out to see his eyebrows furrow.


    "You aren''t a mere human. Please keep in mind not to drink or eat without knowing if it''s safe or not. There is a reason why the head cook eats the food before serving it to his owner in the pureblooded family."


    "But it was never there before..."


    "Things change," his voice went low as he spoke those words. The thoughts in the mind drifting away from the present, he looked at her, "You are my family, Vivi. If I lose you, I lose everything," this made her heart skip a beat.


    The shadow of loneliness lingered behind his back which didn''t settle well with her. He was still mourning his cousin''s death. The pain which he didn''t want to show could be felt by her. Taking two steps to close the distance, she stood on her tiptoes to level herself. Using both her hands she ced it on either side of his face.


    Leaning forward she pressed her lips on his. It wasn''t a kiss of passion but a kiss of assurance, tender and gentler like the person she was.


    "You won''t lose me," she assured him pulling away from his lips while looking him in the eye.


    "I cannot help but worry, Vivi," his hand moved up to her neck, gliding it up a little so that he could run his thumb over her cheek, "I love you too much," Vivian''s eyes widened at his confession, "What''s the matter?" She shook her head but her expression had given her away.


    Hearing a wolf howl far away from the inn, both of them looked towards the window.


    "It''ste. You should get to bed," she nodded her head before his words yed back in her head.


    "You won''t be sleeping?" she asked him.


    "In some time," he gathered a smile on his lips which didn''t fully reach his eyes.


    Vivian didn''t question him further. Getting into bed, she pulled the quilt up to her nose. Peeking to her right she saw Leo sit in front of the burning firece with a book in his hand.


    No matter how many words of console she would use, there was nothing that could fill the emptiness that Leo felt. She doubted he could sleep and she doubted if she could too. When Mr and Mrs Carmichael had passed away, it was a shock for what had happened. But this thought Vivian to herself, this was something she wouldn''t have even dreamt about.


    She wondered how much pain Charlotte felt when she had been betrayed and killed by people she trusted. To trust the man she loved to only know that all this while he had been plotting her death.


    Pulling the quilt down, she turned for her back to face Leonard. Resting on her side, eyes began to fill with sadness. Charlotte was no more in this world. A streak of tear slipped through her eye for it to slide and disappear on the cushioned pillow.


    The night was a quiet one. The firece crackling softly with the burnt and fresh logs that were burning up as the sound of crickets filled outside. From a far distance, the sound of thunder could be heard but it didn''t rain around the inn.


    Leonard who had been holding the book and reading it turned to look over his shoulder where Vivian was fast asleep. Her steady breathing filling up the emptiness of the room and him. With the firece that hade close to fizzle out, he closed the book. Standing up he ced it on the chair he had upied to see a shadow lurk in the room.


    "You need to ask your master to stop sending you to check up on me," he muttered under his breath looking at the ghoule out. Leo who wasn''t in a good mood looked irritated, "I don''t like being bothered thiste at night."


    The dark creature came to stand in front of him as its hand moved to its cloak to pull out a roll of parchment. Unhesitantly, he took it from the ghoul and went to read what it had. Leo was no stranger to the ghouls, being so close to Nichs and living in the mansion, he had caught sight of it during the young age. If it weren''t the personification of death that could kill a person in a snap without leaving any trace behind, one could consider it to be a keeper.


    "I have something for him," he said walking to his cloak and taking the three bottles he handed it to the ghoul, "Disappear," he said not being any subtle of its presence. The ghoul didn''t wait and instead vanished into the shadows and out of the room. Though Leo had handed over the bottles to the ghoul as it was the fastest means of transportation, he had kept one bottle to himself.


    Climbing into the bed where Vivian slept, he moved the quilt and slid inside. Resting his head on the pillow he saw Vivian who previously had her eyes close open it to look at him. It seemed that she hadn''t fallen asleep. Did she see the ghouls?


    She looked calm, her eyes showing no fear.


    "What did it want?" She asked him.


    "It hade to ry a message. There''s a switcher, a shifter in the council."


    This alerted her, "What?" Vivian whispered in worry.


    "It''s okay. It''s not hard to find one. We have picked some of the traits they possess. All the councilmen and women will be undergoing interrogation first for formality."


    "Including you?"


    "Including me," he answered, "I didn''t know you were familiar with the ghouls."


    "I met them during my stay in the Rune''s mansion," she answered to hear him hum.


    "I wish you didn''t," he said and she gave him a questionable look, "Not everyone is familiar with them. People who have met the ghouls were usually the ones who died in the end."


    "But you are alive," she stated to see him smile.


    He didn''t like the distance. Putting his hand around her waist he pulled her close to him.


    "The ghouls have a soft spot for me," his words made her smile, nuzzling her head under his chin, she closed her eyes to listen to his heartbeat.

 Chapter 101 - Council Examination- Part 1

    As usual, the rain showed no mercy on thend of Bonke. The clouds growled and threatened each other in the sky, light spilling in a streak of lines from it.


    Vivian stood at the window, looking at the drops of water slide down the transparent ss which blurred the outside world. Drops after drops fell on and down the ss, able to see her reflection she peeked a little closer to see the ground plopping with water droplets causing a continuous ssh.


    "Vivi!"


    She turned around by the call of her name to find Charlotte standing a few steps away from her.


    "Charlotte?" Vivian looked confused. Charlotte was alive and here with her in the Carmichael mansion. She couldn''t help but smile back when the blonde vampiress smiled, "I-I thought you..." she trailed.


    "You thought what? That I wouldn''te to visit you?" Charlotte raised her brow yfully, "You told you would visit me. That you woulde to Mythweald so that we could attend the fair together like before. You know I shouldn''t be talking to you," she pouted.


    Vivian shook her head, "I wanted to but it''s been busy."


    "Busy to meet your friend?"


    "No. I apologize for not seeing you sooner. I thought you were angry with me. Angry for what happened to your brother," Vivian whispered.


    Charlotte''s smile turned to a sad one, "I am not angry at you. I know you had nothing to do with it. It was...too much loss and pain at that time," she linked her hand around Vivian''s, "I have someone I want you to meet."


    She looked at the vampiress before it dawned as to whom she would want her to meet, "Charlotte," Vivian began to receive a confused expression from the young girl.


    "What? You have issues with me marrying a human too?"


    "What? No!" Vivian responded back to Charlotte''s ridiculous question, "You know it''s not like that. He is- Charlotte?" Charlotte had moved back, coughing as she ced a hand on her chest and another on her chest.


    The young vampiress began to cough out blood, staining her hands, dress and the floor.


    "Vivi..." Charlotte raised her hand but soon her chest began to open up as more blood began to stter while some fell on Vivian''s face as she stood close to her. Before Charlotte''s heart could explode, she smiled at Vivian.


    Vivian screamed, waking herself up with a huge gasp. Leonard who hadn''t fallen asleep and had only closed his eyes, his eyes flew open at Vivian''s scream. He rubbed her back soothingly before Vivian buried herself in his chest.


    "It''s alright, Vivi," he gently calmed her down. cing his hand on her head, "It''s normal to have bad dreams at a time like this. It was just a dream," his words tried to soothe her beating heart which he could hear if he was outside the inn.


    "Why?" he heard her whisper, "Why kill someone who has nothing to do with the war of vampires and humans hate? She didn''t deserve it!"


    "She didn''t," agreed Leonard, his voice calm, "The innocents usually get caught in the fire. Humans and vampires have been at each other''s throats for decades."


    "Won''t it ever end?" she pulled back, her silent tears touching her warm cheeks.


    "Maybe one day," he smiled, hoping for the same. He wiped her tears with his thumbs, "Right now all we can do is catch the culprits who had done to her."


    "I want to help," Vivian decided to Leonard''s surprise. It wasn''t what he was expecting her to say. To Leonard, Vivian was the most important person in his whole world. Maybe the only person. He would ce her first regardless of what would happen to him. She was the only one who mattered.


    While Vivian waited for Leo''s answer, the Duke gave some thought on it.


    Having her around him wouldn''t be a bad idea. Though there were cons of her getting hurt if the situation did arise, he would always protect her.


    "Okay," he nodded his head to see her look a little taken aback as if she was expecting him to reject his offer.


    "Really?"


    "Yes. You can help me find the culprit," he answered, promise in his words and she hugged him.


    "Thank you, Leo!"


    After a few minutes where Vivian''s heartbeat was back to the normal pace, he said, "Get some sleep,"ying back on the bed, Leo held Vivi''s hand in his as she closed her eyes.


    Leo was aware of the fact that he couldn''t forever hide Vivian''s abilities. There would be a day when one or more would find out about her special skills. Abilities that no one possessed or had seen in years. But having her by his side would be easier. With the current her, she could be of great help in the council.


    After a day passed by after returning to Bonke, Vivian was walking through the corridors aimlessly. asionally sighing while her thoughts were scattered all over the ce. She didn''t dream about Charlotte after that night but that didn''t mean the image of her stopped haunting her mind. The body in the casket was something that would not wash away from people''s mind.


    "Lady Vivian," Jan came up to her, bowing his head which she hadn''t got used to yet, "Master Leonard asks for your presence in the study room," he informed her.


    When she went to the study room, she caught sight of Leo picking out books from the shelves as if he were cleaning them himself. There were four books thatid on top of the table as he shifted the loosely bound books.


    "You asked for me?" Vivian closed the door behind her.


    "Hmm," was his only response as his eyes read the book he held in his hand, "How good is your memory, Vivi?" asked Leo.


    "My memory? I think it''s alright."


    "Is it," he weighed her words as if he was deciding on something, "Sit down," he said and she took a seat, "I heard from Nick that you yed the game of book."


    How could she forget, it wasn''t what had wanted to do at that time but it had been more of a situation of something is better than nothing. The nothing being idle.


    "We went through the Edicts, why?" she asked, suspicious of where this conversation was heading too.


    "The council will give me the case just as I have asked Nichs about it so that I am the one who deals with the man. You cannot help me the way you are right now. The council wouldn''t allow a person who isn''t part of the council to take part in any kind of case. Not even one that involves catching a mouse," Leonard stated seriously, cing the book in front of her which read ''Edicate 02'' she looked up at him, "To be helpful and have yourself fully involved, you will have to pass the council examination."


    Her face went pale, "Exam?" she didn''t like the sound of them. One of her childhood memories was Leo giving back her paper with zero results which often resulted in reading more.


    "Yes, dear," he smiled knowing what was going through her mind, "You pass the exams, you are in. You don''t clear it, you cannot involve yourself. I cannot have you doing things alone when I am not around."


    "What do I need to clear the exam?"


    "The first round would be written. All you have to do is learn these four books thoroughly," Vivian''s brows raised slightly at the mention of the four books which she could see right in front of her. And dare say, they were thick big books, "Fortunately, the exam is around the corner and you have a good decent month to study them. Are you ready for it?" he asked her, his eyes boring down to hers.


    Could she do it? She didn''t know. Was there any choice? None that she could think of. If Leo was making her study in such a short span of time, it would mean he trusted she would be able to do it.


    "I will clear the exam," she said determinedly.


    "Good," he smiled before picking the book that was the topmost of the four, "Read the first hundred pages by evening. I will be back by evening so that we can discuss it."

 Chapter 102 - Council Examination- Part 2

    Vivian who sat in the study room stared at the writings of the pages, her eyes feeling blurry as she felt hours had passed by since she had sat to read the book. With her previous faint knowledge thanks to Lord Nichs, she had a brief idea on what the Edicts were about. Seeing the number ''02'' next to the name, she came to believe it must be the updated book.


    The Edicts were rules to follow by every citizen of the fournds- Valeria, Mythweald, Woville and Bonke. Rules that setws so that the council could keep the peace and harmony though she doubted it was working well. The rules were strict yet they were broken time and time.


    Leo wanting her in the council had made her feel ecstatic. He wanted her to work with him, to be part of his other world she wasn''t much aware of. In the world they lived in, humans weren''t preferred to work in the council as much as vampires were given position and female humans were thest ones who were taken in. She had heard it from Leo himself.


    With him being part of the council which was an integral part of thew, Vivian made sure to read the pages properly. She wanted to clear the exams for Charlotte. To find the man named Rory who was responsible for her death.


    She turned the page in the quiet room, cing the book from the table to herp to read. A few minutester, she put the book back on the table while leaning forward to read the next Edict which was on humans.


    Unlike the book, she was given to read by Lord Nichs where thews were in order, this book was sectioned withws with respect to kinds. The first pages were for the humans, the next for the vampires which were followed by the pureblooded vampires before ending with the white witches. The ck witches weren''t mentioned as they were considered to be ouws.


    She was still reading the Edicts on humans, Edict one hundred and seven which stated:


    ''No human will put a plea forward to the council if he or she is found to be guilty of offering blood to the night creature. The circumstance of ce and time with more than two witnesses to testify the statement of the victim needs to be brought in. If a falsified statement is passed, the human shall face a penalty.''


    Turning the pages, she wondered how much longer she would have to study about the humans before she would reach the one for vampires. She didn''t know when her eyes had closed as she slept with her head ced on the open book on the table.


    It was nine in the night when Leonard arrived back to the mansion. Letting Jan take his overcoat, he made his way straight to the study room to find Vivian sleeping soundly. The fire in the corner of the room burnt brightly meaning Jan had eithere here himself to add the logs or had sent one of the maids to make sure there were light and heat in the cold weather of Bonke.


    Her lips were slightly parted, air passing in and out of the delicate lips. She seemed far toofortable to be woken up. She hadn''t slept well as usual but he could tell she was trying to catch some sleep despite the things she had seen ande to know.


    Leonard had learnt about the world as he grew up under the shadow of Sir Malcolm Rufus and Lord Nichs. He had learnt about what death meant closely when Nichs had fed one of the vampires to his beloved wolfs. On contrary to him, Vivian hadn''t experienced it until his parent''s death. She had been strong though, strong enough to digest what was happening to her that constantly breaking down.


    As fragile and naive she appeared to be, that wasn''t the case.


    Leo had learnt and studied her. From her happiness to her fears and the way she was. He was the only one who knew her like the back of his hand.


    Vivian could be clumsy by breaking vases or other intricate objects but she had grown to be intuitive. Her thoughts were gathered. He leaned in to see what she was studying and saw it was the Edict number four. The book was his personal collection. He had written and bound it himself into sections. A book one wouldn''t find as there were personalized notes added into the book.


    Her hair covered her eyes. Pushing the hair away he saw her open her eyes drowsily.


    "You are back," she murmured, pulling herself back so that she could rest her back on the chair, "I fell asleep," she said in realization to see him nod.


    "So it seems. I will go to my room and join you in the dining room. You can close the books if you''re done for the day," he said which made her wonder if he had forgotten about asking her questions after she was done with the hundred pages of the book. As if reading her mind, he said, "I haven''t forgotten about it. It''s your first day. I will ask you questions tomorrow," he ced his hand on her head, gently as if patting he then left the room.


    Vivian looked at the pocket watch which she had ced on the table. It was past nine in the night. When did she fall asleep? Instead of closing the book, she began counting the pages backwards before bookmarking until where she had read with a pencil. Once she was done with the counting, she smiled brightly.


    "One hundred and eleven pages," she proudly said the number of pages she had gone through. Another round of revision tomorrow morning would do good to her.


    Closing and cing the book aside she walked out of the study room heading towards the dining room when she saw one of the former maid friends of her smile at her. She returned back the smile and went to sit in the dining room where Leonard came after two minutes.


    "Where did you go?" she asked as he took a seat at the table.


    "To my room?" he tilted his head before a small smile threatened to touch his lips, "Maximilian found bodies of humans in the vige. It was deranged vampires who had attacked the vige. Luckily he was there when it happened."


    "Deranged?" asked Vivian who wasn''t familiar with the term when it came to this situation.


    "Vampires who have their cores corrupted. Cores can be corrupted in two ways. One by consuming the potion which had been making rounds in all the fournds or it can happen when a human is undergoing a transformation. Transiting from human to turn to a half vampire."


    "The sess rate doesn''t sound good," stated Vivian as the smell of warm food entered the room.


    "It isn''t. It never has. The probability ratio isn''t low when ites to turning humans to as vampires. That''s how vampires have toe to exist. First was the existence of pureblooded vampires and then came the vampires and half-vampires."


    "How did the ck witchese into existence?" asked Vivian curious. She understood about the vampires but what about the ck witches?


    "There''s no record for it but a tale goes by folklore in Woville like this- A creature of the darkest dark during the night, soiled the innocent soul of the magical being. Creating an existence which is an abomination which can be never told," he said, taking the knife and fork in his hand, he cut it through the meat on his te, "The dark creature is none other than the pureblooded vampires and the magical being here I believe is referred to the white witches. Long ago, something happened which was not to happen by someone which we all have to face."


    Vivian nodded her head. She wondered if she could find more on it but at the same time, she knew it wouldn''t be possible. The folklore clearly said ''An abomination which can never be told''. It would mean that no one was allowed to speak out of shame of what their ancestors did.


    "It isn''t just the humans who cause problems but the vampires equally cause nuisance, which the council intervene to keep the peace. You will find that the council has many units and subunits. They work separately but in the end, it''s all about keeping thew and order," exined Leo. Vivian put her food in her mouth while her eyes were on Leo, making sure to listen to him, "The new joiners don''t get to pick their division. It is the responsibility of the higher-ups. They will test you with the paper and the second exam to see where you would be best suited. That is if you clear the exams."


    Swallowing her food quickly she asked, "Does that mean we might not work together?" a worried crease formed on her forehead. There would be no point joining the council if she wasn''t going to work under or with Leo so that she could catch hold of Rory and the ones who were behind making the potions."


    "Don''t worry about that. Your goal is to clear the exams. I will take care of the rest from there. But," he said pausing his hands on picking up the meat, "Keep in mind that the councillors are kind when ites to hiring women for the jobs. Especially humans. It won''t be an easy task so you''ll have to use everything you have learnt until now," he advised.


    Vivian nodded her head. Making a mental note as the rest of their dinner proceeded. She knew it wasn''t easy to be part of the council.


    For Leo who had excelled in almost all the areas, it would have been a piece of cake to pass the exams. One would think it was as easy to breathe but what they didn''t know was that it was difficult to breath when pushed into the water.


    When the maids came to pick their tes, Leo said, "I am d I got you to study with me when we were young."


    Leonard could still remember the time when she was shy yet she followed him like an annoying fly which he didn''t mind. Secretly he enjoyed the attention when they were children. Still did. He remembered the time she had drawn themb which had been the reason he had to leave the Carmichael mansion.


    Instead of learning to write sentences from the book he had given her, she had taken her time to draw on it. Vivian had been bright though. She had shown interest in books. More than his deceased cousin, Charlotte.


    "What are you drawing?" young Leo asked from where he sat.


    She continued scribbling on the te for a few seconds, bringing the te in front of her, she eximed with a smile, "Billy!" It was themb she loved to spend her time with.


    Her drawings were odd but then not everyone could be precise like him. There were circr drawings with four stick-like legs. The ears looked like the one''s cat did, "That looks..." he trailed trying to get the right word so that she could understand but not knowing what to say, he settled with, "That''s nice. Here give it to me," he said taking the te and chalk from her. Once he finished drawing with Vivian leaning close to it, Vivian said,


    "You draw Billy good, Leo."


    "Of course, I do. My previous governor taught me about arts and how important it is," he responded, raising his hand he flicked on her forehead.


    "Ah!" Vivian rubbed her forehead.


    "Stop drawing and start writing. I need to read myself," after ten minutes Paul came to fetch the children for lunch.


    Thinking about it now, it made him smile. They shared good memories with each other. He then heard Vivian speak, "I am too. Thank you for looking after me," her words polite and gentle.


    "I will always look after you, Vivi," he replied back.

 Chapter 103 - Council Examination- Part 3

    Vivian''s days went on to have her nose buried between the books. Knowing that females were rarely chosen to be part of the council, she studied harder. In the morning she would read the number of pages assigned by Leonard and in the evening Leo would sit with her, discussing the scenarios of what if''s along with the edicates she had learned.


    Sometimes at night, she would burn themp in her room so that she could revise again what she had learned that day. After finishing the book of edicates, she went on the study the structural anatomy of all the creatures which contained about the humans, vampires, pureblooded vampires, the witches along with the rogue vampires.


    As days passed by like pages, she finished all the four books having three more days before the exam would begin.


    During those days, Leo would often discuss the cases he had been through. Wanting her to solve it and nudging her in the right direction. Apart from gaining knowledge from the books, Leonard wanted her to be well versed with situations. He had made her study everything but that didn''t mean the first exam would be easy. The first entrance exam was always tricky, wanting to eliminate half of the candidates where almost eighty-two percent of the candidates who would have applied failed to clear it. The second exam was a ground test of practical survival were in the end only four to five would be admitted into the council before proceeding to admit them to proper departments.


    The day before the exam was going to take ce, Vivian was apanied by Timothy to the council. They had to get her name written down. Thinking it would be wise for no one to know that Leonard wasn''t connected to her, he decided for Sir Malcolm Rufus'' son to take her there.


    When Vivian got down from the carriage, she saw the tall white building that looked like heaven. Pirs that supported it on either side. The ce was surrounded by lush trees. On one far side, she could see empty carriages that were parked. Following close to Timothy, she didn''t move her eyes too far away while keeping her head up as she walked.


    But the councillors weren''t used to a woman who was a human who had entered freely into the building, to follow the pureblooded vampire. Vivian picked the atmosphere to be a little tense as she felt some of them looking her way, eyes that judged her clothes, kind and her presence inside which they didn''t appreciate. From where she continued to walk inside, she could only see men until her eyes fell on a single woman who looked hardly interested in her while continuing to stare at her.


    When they reached a teak double door, the guards who stood on either side opened it for them and they went inside to reach a little room which looked empty except for an old man who had a single eyess on his right eye.


    Vivian who had felt the unweeness from the people here didn''t find it surprising when the old man looked at her, his eyes giving her one look which she didn''t appreciate. He had a brighter shade of red eyes to denote him as an average vampire who belonged to the below level of pureblooded vampires. She could see his fangs slightly protruding out of his lips when he opened his mouth to address, "Mr Rufus."


    "Weasel. We need an application form for the exam," said Timothy.


    "The exams are for men and vampires," the man didn''t hold back his words, his eyes on Vivian.


    Before Timothy could respond to it, Vivian decided to speak, "There is now that states a woman can not apply to be part in it if she is capable to handle the jobs after the exams."


    "Don''t take it as an offence, mdy," the man smiled but it wasn''t out of kindness. It was an impolite smile that would belittle one, "But the exams isn''t a child''s test. Many havee and many have failed. Many have also died," his mouth didn''t open too wide to speak and it was as if that was all he could open as he said it.


    "Weasel," warned Timothy but both Vivian and the old vampire didn''t want to step back from their views.


    "That shall be decided after the exams are evaluated by the senior councils," she answered him back with a polite smile. A month ago she wouldn''t have known the historical working of the council but she had studied her heart out to make sure she would pass. The exam would be difficult but she had to pass if she wanted to be closer to Leo''s world than watching hime and go in the sidelines.


    The low vampire answered, "It is only kept in your best interest. Would be such a disgrace to have lost a beautiful woman like yourself for a mere job when you can sit in the house, safe and cook for the family."


    "I think it would be in the best interest of everyone if all of us did our jobs than be nosy at another''s, like yourself," she didn''t hold back as the vampire stared at her.


    "Don''t tell you weren''t warned, mdy."


    "That is very kind of you, Weasel. Now if you could get us the application," Timothy chuckled, trying to lighten the atmosphere. The old vampire turned around to go to get the application, "Don''t mind the man. He had a mouth of his own," he said to Vivian.


    "Seems like it," she answered, smiling at the end.


    The pureblooded vampire looked at the girl whose attention had been taken by statues of humans and vampires who were made of marble stones, centred in the side, red water fell through the hands. The girl was much like Duke Carmichael, not holding back her words and holding her ground firmly.


    When the man named ''Weasel'' came back, Vivian had expected to see a parchment or a book but instead, he brought a bowl which contained blue ink in it.


    cing it on the counter with a small tter where the liquid swirled inside the bowl, "Your hand, mdy," he asked bringing a knife which was sharp and lean to look at.


    Vivian didn''t hesitate to give her hand to the man, his bonnier hand taking it, he ran it across her hand where she flinched as drops of blood fell into the bowl, mixing along with the hue like liquid.


    He took a green stem like a stick, mixing the contents well as hue turned ck for three seconds before turning back to the colour of hue, "The admission has been done. I wish you luck in the exams, Mdy."


    "Very well then, let''s get going then," Timothy pped his hands together.


    As Vivian and Timothy began to walk back, an acquaintance of Timothy had stopped him to talk. Seeing that they needed privacy, Vivian excused herself telling she would be at the carriage. Her eyes, instead of looking at the people and feeling conscious of their presence, she looked up at the high ceiling, so high that she felt it touched the sky. Just before her eyes moved to look ahead, her shoulder hit another person making her almost trip and fall but the person had caught hold of her.


    "Ady should watch and walk," came a deep voice of a man and her eyes instantly flew up to gaze at dark red eyes. Deeper and darker than the purebloods she had across. The man wore a chain that hung around his neck, a cross resting on his chest which had stone as red as his eyes. His hair was midnight ck which was ruffled due to the wind.


    "Forgive me for my negligence," she bowed her head under his scrutinizing gaze. He stared right at her. As if searching for something in her eyes. As if smelling something, his eyes narrowed down to look at her.


    "Walking around with your blood to smell in a crowd of vampires is nothing less than an invitation," hemented, not waiting for another word, the tall man passed by her leaving her to stand there.


    "Don''t mind him," came a voice behind her.


    Vivian turned around to see another brte man who fished something in his pocket to pull a kerchief to offer her, "You can use this," the man wasn''t tall but taller than her. He was another pureblooded vampire.


    "It''s alright. I will be leaving soon," Vivian rejected his kindness and smiled, "But thank you," she said before ncing at the handsome man who had got inside through the entrance.


    "Lord Alexander can be like that at times. He is a little unfriendly in general. How rude of me!" he frowned worriedly and then bowed, "I am Lancelot Knight. And you are..."


    "Vivian," she smiled, he waited as if she would give out herst name but seeing that she didn''t he said,


    "I haven''t seen you here before."


    "I came here to apply for the admission exam," he nodded his head.


    "It''s already that time of the year, is it?" he asked thoughtfully, looking at her he smiled, "You must be very well versed to havee to take part in it. Often humans don''te to take up the exams when we go out to the towns and viges to spread the word of possible employment," he sighed to say, "Especially women. It is sad when we see that but it is good to see youe forward."


    "I did notice that there were hardly a few women," a few were an understatement thought Vivian as she spoke to him. She must have caught only two of them and that too there were vampires.


    "I got to get going for the council meeting. I hope you pass your exams," he smiled, giving her a bow, "It was lovely meeting you, Ms Vivian."


    "Likewise, Mr Knight," Vivian returned his gesture with a polite bow.


    Going to the carriage where the coachman wasn''t there. Not wanting to sit inside alone, she leaned against the carriage door to look at peoplee and go to the council from where she stood.


    She looked at the wound on her hand and pressed it against her dark skirt. Early in the morning, in a hurry, she had left her kerchief on her bed. She was lost in her thoughts when she heard a snap of a twig near her. Wondering if the coachman had arrived she pushed herself gently and looked to see that the coachman hadn''t arrived back but then there was no one there.

 Chapter 104 - Council Examination- Part 4

    Seeing that there was no around, Vivian wondered what was the snap sound of twigs she had just heard of. The weather around the council was one of a clear sky. The Sun now hovered above her, rays of light a little harsh as she had gotten used to the rain and clouds of thend of Bonke.


    If it weren''t for the trees around her, her skin would have felt the harsh heat of this part of thend. Just as was staring up at the trees she heard another snap sound which made her heart shudder and thump. It was a quiet ce so there was no possibility of her imagining things with her mind at ease which felt a little uneasy now.


    Chewing her lip, she moved back carefully, one foot at a time until her back hit a tree. Maybe it was the birds, thought Vivian to herself but she hadn''t heard even one bird sing since she had arrived here. The trees around almost felt deserted.


    Just as she turned, she felt her heart lip in her chest.


    "Oh, God!" she ced her hand on her beating heart which had suddenly started beating erratically by the sight of the person, "What are you doing here?" she asked.


    The lean, tall creature stood behind therge tree in a way which one from the council couldn''t see it. All this while, she hade to see and meet the ghoul during the dark hours of the night and that is why it came as a surprise that the ghoul hade in this bright time of the day.


    She couldn''t see the creature''s face due to the hood that was pulled over its face. Ragged ck clothes which didn''t make sense was what it wore, it''s legs hidden beneath its dirty robe.


    What did ite here for? Wondered Vivian. It didn''t move but stared at her continuously. Seeing Timothy''s figure who was talking to another man he hade across at the entrance, she moved her gaze back to the ghoul.


    "I will be going," she said as if it was necessary to tell or it would feel bad.


    The ghoul had other intentions as it brought its hand to her side to stop her from going.


    She blinked at it. Once. Twice. The third time her lips set itself into a thin line.


    It wasn''t that she wasn''t scared of the ghoul. The creature had scared her to her wit''s end and it still did. It was only that after seeing Leo scold it, she realized it was like a child.


    Thest time she had touched it one of them in the Rune''s mansion, she was scared to touch it again in the fear of what insight she might have. She didn''t know what it was. She didn''t ask for it though she did try to research in the book of the creatures of history when she was studying. If her guess was right, then it wasn''t one which had been recorded. Leo did tell her that very few had seen them to onlye in contact with death.


    "Do you speak?" she asked it to receive nothing in response. Ready to step forward it stopped her again making her sigh. With her not knowing what it wanted, she stared at it. The ghoul then very slowly went to drop its hand but instead picked up its robe and tore it effortlessly with its finger as if it were made of hot iron. It then offered it to her.


    The ghoul must have noticed the wound on her hand. It wasn''t a deep cut but it had brought out enough blood to pout into the vessel. Who knew that the councilors used blood as admission for exams.


    Raising her hand towards the boney creature''s extended hand with it''s cut robe, her hand hovered close to it and she then took it in her hand to feel things begin to move in front of her eyes. As if being teleported to another world of space and time. Suddenly surrounded by darkness, her head moved left and right trying to find a way out of where ever she was as suffocation began to fill up her lungs.


    Until now it had only been a sh of images running in front of her but now she felt confused. It felt real as if she had been living here all this time. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she saw a window that was darkened purposely but the person who had tired doing it hadn''t done a good job at it as a very scarce amount of light could be seen passing through it. With the sudden change in environment, Vivian had missed the sobs of a young boy in the room which took her a second more to notice it.


    With furrowed brows, she looked around to find a boy sitting in the corner of the room. She wondered what had happened and why was he sitting here. Going to the window she used her hand to wipe the ss which brought in light into the room. Just when she turned, her hand covered her mouth in shock. Blood was sttered all across the room if possible every inc had been touched and there was shredded flesh around the red floor. She looked in horror, blood running cold in her body along with her hands.


    It was as if every time she touched something and was pulled into memories, the amount of gore only increased so much that it made her head dizzy. She had seen the boy before.


    The boy was none other Nichs Rune. She wished she could help the boy out of this ce but there was nothing she could do. She was a passing entity in an event which had already taken ce in history.


    Vivian then came to witness something more bizarre as she felt the shadows that were cast in the room started to move slowly away from the boy as if even his shadow was being pulled away from him as the monstrous creatures began to form. Building and fusing into one another as the tall creatures got created for the very first time. The creatures stepped into the pool of blood as they began eating the flesh and licking the blood from the ground with their head close to the surface.


    She had seen this ce before, the blood and the way the eeriness made her shudder. Suddenly one of the ghouls turned to look in her direction and the memory broke to one of reality.


    When she returned back, the ghoul had left her to stand alone.


    "Ms. Vivian," she heard Timothy call for her.


    "Yes," she answered, picking up the front of her dress with her hand clutching the ragged piece of cloth in her hand, she walked back to the carriage. When she returned back to the mansion, Leonard wasn''t home. During the time of dinner, Vivian swirled the spoon in the bowl of soup. Leonard hadn''te home yet and it seemed that he was workingte tonight. cing the spoon without touching her food, she leaned back against the chair. Shecked appetite after what she saw and it didn''t help that Leonard wasn''t here yet.


    Going back to her room, she stood outside the balcony, gazing at the hue-grey clouds. The palm of her hand was bandaged with the ragged cloth. Jan had offered to change it but she had refused it immediately. Who knew that a creature that was born under horrid conditions knew wantfort was.


    Cool air gently swayed through the trees, moving from West to East. cing her hands on the rails she leaned forward and back, looking down at the garden before her back touched Leo''s front who ced both his hands on either side of her hands. He kissed her cheek.


    "Wee back home," Vivian greeted him with a sweet smile forming on her lips.


    "How did your admission go? All good?" he asked to which she nodded.


    "It went well."


    "That''s good to hear," she felt him slowly close up space in his arms as he wound it around her so that he could hold her in his arms, "I heard you didn''t eat," the housekeeper must have informed him.


    She turned around in his arms so that she could see him. Suddenly she felt him lift her and ce her on the railings which made her shriek out of surprise.


    "Leo!"


    "Hmm?" he questioned calmly. If she lost her bnce, she would be down on the ground with broken bones. His hands were firm on her waist and she was scared to move, "Trust me, Vivi," he whispered leaning towards her lips and kissing her to let go of her waist. Vivian grabbed the jacket he had not taken out, depending on it for her dear bnce while also depending on him.


    He licked her supple lips, a mischevious smile marking on his own lips as he gazed down at her.


    "Can''t I get down now?" she asked to hear him chuckle.


    "I like you here though," came his response to her plea. He seemed to be in a different mood today, much better than what she had noticed since they hade back from Mythweald.


    "Okay," she answered. With Leo here, there was nothing she had to worry about. Especially falling down. After a few moments passed, she asked, "Can I ask you something?"


    "What is it?"


    "It''s about Lord Nichs," he nodded her head for her to go on, "How was his rtionship with his father?"


    "Lord Wilhelhum? He doesn''t speak about him. Not his mother too. I don''t think any of us have heard him share about his parents until it is asked which doesn''t happen often. He didn''t like his father though," said Leonard thinking about it, "Though he has spoken a very few words about the deceased man I know that he didn''t like him because of what he did to his mother."


    "What did he do?"


    "Wilhelhum had raped Nichs'' mother."

 Chapter 105 - Written Papers- Part 1

    "Raped?" she whispered, as the wind picked its pace ruffling both their hair. Some strands of her hair stuck to her face.


    "It is a secret in the public but not in the family. Wilhelhum was Nichs'' mother, Louise''s paternal uncle. To hush the matter, her parents arranged for a wedding to take ce but she ran away, pregnant with Nichs," as Leonard exined, Vivian had already begun to formte her theory of what she had seen today.


    If her calction was right, Nichs would have lived with his mother after his mother had run away from her home. She doubted they hade back to the Rune mansion and maybe the blood she had seen with shredded pieces of flesh, it could be of his mother as he cried in the corner. It was hard for her to digest that a young boy was subjected to such great lengths of pain. Humans always cried, cried for the fact that vampires were much more superior while they were at the disadvantage when in truth it was the other way around.


    She felt Leo pick her hair and push it away as the wind swayed it in one direction. She now understood the previous scenes she had seen during the time of her stay in the Rune mansion. Lord Nichs had killed his father out of sheer hate for what he had done to his mother. For driving her away from her own and happiness.


    "What are you thinking?" asked Leonard, stepping closer to her as he made sure to keep her close to him. Her bottom sat on the railings, a little ufortable in the beginning but she had adjusted a little, worried that if she moved a lot there were chances of her falling down.


    "My life seems much easier than everybody now," she replied to see him cock his head to his side.


    "Is that what you think?"


    She nodded her head, a smileing up on her face, ying with the buttons of his jacket, "I have a roof above my head, food that I get to eat...you, take care of me," her words turned shy and she cleared her throat which made him smile.


    "And how do I take care of you?" he pressed her for an answer.


    Vivian chewed the bottom of her lips before letting it go. This was typical Leo right here who always wanted her to tell him things in proper words so that he could gain satisfaction in them.


    He knew the answers yet he always wanted to hear it from her mouth. Wanting to savor the feeling that she needed him.


    "You gave me the position of thedy from being a mere maid."


    "That would change anyways once we would marry," his blunt confession made her heart somersault within her chest, "What else?"


    "You take care of me?" she repeated, "Mm, you..."


    "I?" he asked her, his face leaning closer to her. He circled his hands around her waist, keeping her just where he needed her as he leaned down to kiss full on her lips.


    This time the kiss felt sweeter than before. Warmth began to spread across her body. From her lips to the tip of her toes which made her curl her toes. She felt his lips move against her soft ones, pressing and coaxing her as she fell under his spell in the cloudy night of Bonke. She felt him lick her lips before snaking in his tongue to taste the sweet cavern of her mouth.


    One of his hands moved up to hold the nape of her neck, bringing her closer than ever before and just as he pulled back, he spoke on her wet lips, "I haven''t taken care of you the way I have been wanting to, Bambi," she could see lust swirl behind those dark red eyes of his.


    She didn''t need to ask to know what he was hinting on, gulping her ck eyes stared back at him.


    "There is somece I would like you to go. The night theater which ys only for the pureblooded vampires and a few privileged humans," he said, cing both sides of her waist, he ced her back on the ground.


    "Night theater? Is it different from the rest?" she asked him curiously as they walked inside the room.


    "Very," he answered her honestly, "It is the theater so that men and women can enjoy each other''spany," the night theater was far from any normal theater which yed ys for the families during the day.


    "Okay," came her reply.


    "We could go attend the y when you''re done with your written exam," he ced his hand on the small of her back, "What''s that?" he asked noticing the ragged cloth around her hand, "Looks simr to the ghoul," he was always quick to finding and noticing things around him.


    "The ghoul was there at the council."


    "I didn''t know it was capable of emotions. They don''t speak much apart from following orders," hemented, taking off his jacket, he began to unbutton the sleeves of his shirt.


    Nichs must have sent it to search the switcher in the council. The matter hadn''t gone all and out to every councilor''s ear and had been kept confidential. If he didn''t know Nichs he would have been kept in the dark too but now that he knew he had to be wary in finding who had been either kidnapped or killed, thetter being a possibility.


    Far away from Bonke and the building of Council, three men shared their time together by burning cigars and taking smokes in the dark,


    A middle-aged vampire sat leisurely with his legs crossed one over the other. His pepper ck hairbed back with an eye patch over his left eye. He took a long drag from the cigar before blowing it through his lips.


    "Did you get the evidence on the white witch?" asked another middle-aged man. On the other side sat a young blonde man who was content enough not to smoke with the other two in the room.


    "Yes," the younger man replied, "Enough to burn the fair maiden who is trying to track our feet. Why are the witches so stupid?"


    "They will be stupid only for a while. Don''t drag it like a mouse and finish the case," his superior scolded him, "We don''t want history repeating itself. Vector''s stupidity andck of caution cost him his life."


    "But it wasn''t a fruitless mission, Abel," the young man responded back, "Thanks to his death, the humans had rioted against the white witch in Valeria in the middle of the street. It wasn''t a lost cause," he smiled.


    The man who had been quiet all this time spoke, "How''s the preparation for the exams? Anything we need to look for?"


    "It''s as good as a peach, general. By the way, I heard something very very interesting from Weasel," he said the young vampire leaning forward from his seat, "A human girl is taking part in the exams"


    "How foolish,"mented the general with tch in his tone, "Reuben should know the strength of each creature, thinking the weak can handle everything which a mere paper. This is why we have so many bodies to be fed on once the exams arepleted. The girl will be one of them."


    "That is true," the young vampire smiled as his eyes shone in the light of the room. When the day of the exam finally arrived, Vivian couldn''t help but be anxious about it. Getting ready, she stepped down the stairs to see Leo who hadn''t got ready. It looked like he wouldn''t be apanying her there.


    Stepping close to her, he asked, "How do you feel?" he fixed her cor.


    "Nervous."


    "That''s normal. Remember the things you have studied. It won''t be that hard. The first exam is always the easiest," he assured her. He leaned down to kiss her forehead, "All the best, Vivi."


    "Thank you," standing with him in silence as a minute passed by.


    "The exam won''t write itself until you leave," he joked to see her smile. Bowing her head she headed out and into the carriage, hoping her nervousness would cool down.

 Chapter 106 - Written Papers- Part 2

    Vivian stood at the far corner of the crowd of the hundred candidates who hade to take part in the annual examination of the council so that they could be part of thew. She looked at the crowd, a mix of human, vampires and pureblooded vampires hade to attend it in the hope to be able to work for them.


    If someone had asked her a year ago if she would be standing anywhere near the council she would have stared at them for their ridiculous question but now that she was here, she calmed down her nerves. There were no women, not even one single one of them which only added to her nervous wreck mind. It didn''t help when men stared at her with a sarcastic look of what she was doing here. The pureblooded vampires didn''t mingle with others as they considered themselves to be too high to talk to creatures who belonged to the lower status.


    A ruckus formed somewhere in the middle before a man was beating another one suddenly due to which guards had toe and take them away from the crowd.


    The exam was going to take ce in a building away from the council where she had previously stepped into. Looking at therge gates which were locked, Vivian who had her back leaned against the wall observing the men who hade. There was nothing else to do but wait before the gates would be opened.


    Finally, when the gates did move inwardly, the men began to flood inside slowly filling space where a man stood sporting a beard.


    "Wee, gentlemen. I am Lionel and will be the one invigtor your exam today," the man announced when everyone had quietened down. Vivian didn''t miss the fact the way the man disregarded the fact that she was also present among the group, flocking her to the male category, "This is the fifty-seventh year of the council exam. Divided into two categories where the first one will be the written exam. An exam to test your knowledge and how you would tackle in various work task if you were given one. During this time, no cheating shall be entertained, which I doubt can be done. You will be removed and disqualified for the next two years. The second exam is what you will get to know once and if you pass the exam. Please follow the guards and take the seats so that we can start the process."


    Vivian followed the men, stepping inside the vast room she took the closest empty seat she could find. Settling herself like the others she waited for the councillors to pass on the sheets of paper of question where answers had to be filled in. Taking her quill she had brought along with her, she took the paper which was sealed in an envelope.


    "Before anyone tears, the envelope," came the voice of the head invigtor, "Please remember that everyone question needs to be answered. Failed toplete the paper, your answers will be put into the trash of unwanted list. You will have three hours toplete the exam. Once done, ce it in your seats and leave the room to wait outside. The results will be ryed by the end of the day. You can now start," on his word, every person in the room began tearing the envelope to read the questions so that they could answer it quickly.


    Like the rest, Vivian tore the corner of the envelope to pull out a couple of papers out of it.


    Looking at the top, she first wrote her name as asked. Happy that they hadn''t asked for the gender or the species one belonged to, she started reading the questions which had enough space where one could write the expected answer.


    None of the questions was direct. It was tricky and twisted, making one think hard before writing down the answer. The edicates were the easiest to Vivian to write down when it came down to scenarios. With her sound memory and Leonard''s questions with revision time and time again during their meals, she was able to answer them quickly without wasting much time.


    It was after answering the eleventh page did the level of difficulty increase. Though she tried to read the questions more than once or twice, some didn''t make sense to her. Pressing her lips she decided to leave it empty for the time being and return back to it once she was done answering. The councilman had given them three hours of time but with the exam paper having more than two hundred plus questions, she didn''t know how one couldplete the paper on time.


    Few she answered while few she kept it on hold, hoping to find enough time to answer during thest hour. All the candidates wrote their answers carefully, some had not even bothered to lift their head up and instead, they went on to write.


    Moving to the twentieth page, Vivian found a strange page. It wasn''t that the question was odd but it was that there was no space to answer it. Where was one supposed to answer? She carefully sat back and wondered what it was about. Surely, the man had told toplete the paper or they would be immediately disqualified from the exam with rejection. If he really wanted it to be answered, where was one supposed to write?


    Her lips set in a thin line, she read the question once, then twice and a few more times yet there was something about it. It was a trick question. A question that couldn''t be ignored and had to be answered to acknowledge the presence of one''s mind, thought Vivian to herself but then where was the clue? She turned the page and read the other questions which followed a simr pattern. With only questions and no answers to be written.


    She looked around, her eyes very careful while scanning the room. It somewhat gave her relief when she caught sight of a few perplexed faces as they stared at the paper.


    That meant everyone had received the same question paper but they had to figure it out.


    Leonard had told her that the exams in the council were never repeated. It always changed its pattern trying to implement and improve its methods and also to have quality people to work with.


    Dread began to fill her. What if she was going to fail with not one or two but so many questions left nk? Two hours had already passed and she had barely finished anything. Turning the pages until the end, she read thest question before moving up. Eyes scanning the page from one question to another.


    It was after fifteen minutes of reading the paper did Vivian realize something was very much familiar from thest question to the one she was reading now. She flipped back the page and read through to finally realize something. These questions weren''t questions but aplete story of a probable case which was jumbled around to make it look like different scenarios. The answers were supposed to be written in the nks given previously.


    With only thirty more minutes that was left before the exam would bepleted, Vivian began to scribble her answers with what she had read through. Not letting a single question unanswered she finallypleted the paper at the end moment.


    Looking at everyone''s face, she could see the confused, some dejected and some who didn''t express about how they felt about the questions that were given to them. Soon the papers were given to evaluate and the candidates stood outside waiting for the result toe out. Vivian wondered if there were many councilmen to evaluate each and every paper as it didn''t seem to look like an easy task, especially when it was said that the result would be out by end of the day.


    The exam had taken ce before noon and now it was the time of evening. The sun was about to set, the sky sshed with beautiful pink, blue, red to have a serene atmosphere though one couldn''t guarantee it was the same for the people who waited outside.


    Finally, the man named, Lionel arrived with a sheet of paper in his hand. Looking at the size of it anxiety began to appear in the atmosphere, hoping and praying that they had made through the round.


    "I have the results in my hand. Names that will be called are the ones that have made it through, the rest are the rejected candidates," spoke the councilman who began to call the first name, then the second, stopping at the ninth name he stared before calling her name, "And Vivian. That is all."


    She had made it! She couldn''t wait to tell it to Leonard now.


    "This looks unfair!" voiced a man in anger, "I made sure to answer all of them."


    "Yeah! Yeah!" some of them joined at the disappointment that they were trying hard to digest that they had failed the exam.


    "I have studied more than the sybus that was asked, answering them and you say rejected?!"


    Lionel then spoke, "It isn''t my fault that you are a dumb idiot which I can clearly see. Just because you were asked to fulfil the task, it didn''t mean you had to write answers that were wrong. We wouldn''t want a man who in the future will take a decision because he needs toplete the case and move to the next one. We need someone who will do a thorough check before submitting any report than half bullshit which I am not interested in," said the councilman, leaving the candidates outside as he was done with his job.

 Chapter 107 - Time In The Theater- Part 1

    Vivian couldn''t believe she had made it through the first round of the written exam held by the council. She wanted to smile, smile so wide that ti could reach the end of her ears but she doubted it was a good thing to do. With hundreds of candidates who hade to take part in the examination, only nine had been selected while the rest rejected without any second thoughts for the preparation they had made the entire year.


    Her name being thest one to be called as well as that she was the only female in the crowd, people didn''t stop to re or look at her in resentment. She felt too small as if if she didn''t leave the ce she would be questioned and pounced for getting through and taking their possible position for the next exam.


    "Congrattions," she heard one of the peoplee to wish her on her passing result. The man wore round sses, his hair shabby and his clothes dull, "I am Jamien. One of the passed candidates," he introduced himself.


    "Thank you. Congrattions to you too," she replied back to feel the friendly greeting from the honey blonde man. Feeling the gaze of others who continued to throw hateful expression, Vivian looked away.


    "Don''t mind them," the man named Jamien pushed the sses up that hade to slide down the bridge of his nose, "Let me see you to your carriage. You have one, right?" he asked her.


    "You don''t have to do that," she waved her hands in front of him in denial to his polite gesture.


    "Please, I insist. Only the first half of the exam has beenpleted, we still have another before we see if we have made through it. I wouldn''t want ady to be left alone on her way out here," the man''s politeness didn''t exactly sit well with her.


    The books that he carried under his arm fell down on the ground, and Vivian couldn''t help but bend down with him to pick them up. Just as she handed over two of his books to him, her hand touched his fingers and like a zap of memory, she saw shes of women having their throat slit.


    She pulled back her hand quickly away from him. Her reaction was too obvious, the man tilted his head wondering what happened to her. Taking it as a sign of embarrassment from thedy which wasn''t so he asked her,


    "Are you alright?"


    Vivian quickly put up a smile on her lips, nodding her head she said, "Sorry, I-I am not used to...Thank you for your offer but I should be going," she bowed her head and turned around heading towards the carriage while leaving the man behind her.


    She didn''t wait to be congratted by others nor to be spoken, in a few minutes she had reached the carriage where the coachman was waiting for her. Getting into the carriage, the carriage was pulled away from the council, taking it back to the Carmichael''s mansion.


    The ck carriage arrived back at the Carmichael''s mansionte in the night where the viges that it hade to pass by on its way had fallen asleep in quietness. Vivian herself had fallen asleep on her way back and when the carriage stopped, her sleep broke for her to open her eyes drowsily.


    The coachman stepped down from his front seat, walking towards the door to open and let thedy out. Most of the lights in the mansion hade to dim down, the candles turned to melted wax on the surface and some still dripping out hot wax as it burned slowly.


    Jan, the housekeeper was quick to open the mansion doors, helping her take the cloak that she wore off from her.


    "Would you like me to prepare something for you to eat, Ms. Vivian?" asked Jan with his head slightly bowed.


    Vivian wondered if it was feasible to ask the maids to prepare for her now when it was the time of midnight. Being a former maid, she knew the pain of the servants on how they had to work hard or their monthly wages would be reduced from the lowly amount they received by their owners whom they worked for. The money was given in such fashion that it wasn''t too low but enough to pass through the day but not enough to leave the work. The higher society knew how to keep hold of their servants so that they would never lose the grip they had on their lowly servant''s lives.


    "I don''t think I will be able to digest cooked food at this hour. I will eat the fruits instead," said Vivian to the housekeeper who looked at her and she looked back at him wondering what he was thinking as he stared with the dull nk expression of his.


    At the same time, her stomach growled, making it evident that she was hungry. With the exam on her mind, she hadn''t found time to eat in the evening nor asking the coachman to make a stop.


    "Master Leonard wouldn''t be happy if he heard that you skipped your meals. I will prepare something very quickly. Please change yourself to somethingfortable and take a seat in the dining room," the vampire suggested, turning around he made way to the kitchen.


    Seemed like today was again one of those days where Leonard wouldn''t being home untilte in the morning. Once she had gone to her room and came down, she saw the housekeeper had prepared her hot food in less than a given time where a normal maid would take at least two hours. To think that the vampires had prepared her food, it made her a little more than speechless.


    Walking towards her usual spot where she sat, her chair was pulled back by the housekeeper for her to sit. As Jan began to serve the food for her, she couldn''t stop looking at him in suspicion. Since the time he hade to work in the Carmichael mansion both the housekeeper and she shared a hostile rtionship with each other.


    "You don''t have to look so surprised. It is my job to serve the master of this house. His interests are my priority and knowing that his interests lie in you I need to make sure you arefortable and looked after in this mansion," the housekeeper''s words were too blunt.


    How nice, thought Vivian to herself.


    One could easily say that he was a former servant of Lord Nichs'' mansion.


    "Have you been a vampire from your birth?" asked Vivian changing the conversation subtly.


    "No, mdy. I was turned from human to a half vampire," the housekeeper answered her, done with serving her the food, he took to stand on the other side of the room, "I was sold out to the Rune mansion and was then turned to a vampire. How did your exam go?" he asked her.


    "I passed," she couldn''t contain her happiness about it. She had wanted to tell it to Leo or someone she knew that she had passed the first test but with Leonard not in the mansion, she had stayed quiet.


    "That''s excellent news. Master Leonard will be ted to hear it. I have heard how the exams are never easy to pass by, manye and fail disastrously some even getting banned for a few years before they can appear to retake the exams."


    "Yes, there were hundreds of them but only nine were picked," she blew the hot food and put it in her mouth.


    "Wonderful isn''t it. With the amount of effort that was put in by you and master, it wouldn''t be hard to track. I have heard that the master is well versed in his teaching methods," that was true. Leonard had been her teacher since a young age and she had learned from the best, "Why such a long face if you have passed?" his voice didn''t seem curious at all yet he asked her anyway. It made her wonder if he was trying to strike a decent conversation with her instead of keeping the heavy atmosphere they usually shared between them.


    It wasn''t that she was sad but she had been in a pensive state since her return back from the council. She couldn''t shake the feeling of the man named Jamien when she had touched his hand identally.


    "I must be tired from the traveling and writing the papers. The papers were tricky," she answered for Jan to nod understandingly.


    She sighed internally. Why was it that she never touched and found happy memories? It was as if this gift that she had received was the kind that only felt pain and gore of death.

 Chapter 108 - Time In The Theater- Part 2

    Vivian was woken up by the dip of the bed next to her, making her eyes fly open in surprise in the dark to see Leonard who hade to lie down next to her. With her sleep filled eyes, she looked at me, a soft smile on her lips.


    "Go back to sleep, Vivi," she heard Leonard whisper to her gently.


    But Vivan didn''t want to go back to sleep. Now that he was back home, she wanted to talk to him, "What time is it?" she asked him sleepily.


    "Past five in the morning. Sleep, darling," he gently ran the back of his hand over her cheek.


    "But you are here," she spoke childlike making him chuckle.


    "That I am. I am not going anywhere. I will still be here when you wake up in the morning," he replied back. Vivian had been sleeping very soundly and it wasn''t that he wanted to wake her up or maybe his subconscious mind wanted to wake her up, to see those ck eyes that stared at him sweetly.


    "Hmm," she hummed, her eyes beginning to close back again to fall asleep. In sleep, she caught one of his hand to bring it to her chest as she drifted to the dreands.


    When morning arrived, Vivian felt an arm around her waist which was none other than Leonard''s. She did remember himing to bed early in the morning but she had wondered if it was part of her dream. Seemed that it wasn''t, thought Vivian to herself. Not turning around to cause many movements, she slowly turned her head to look at the blonde hair in front of her.


    Leo''s cheek was pressed against the pillow. It felt like this had happened before and then she realized it was the time when she was still a maid here. When Leonard hade to visit her room and had fallen asleep in the small bed. His longshes touched his cheek, his pink lips closed. Long strands of his blonde hair rested on the pillow haphazardly.


    She couldn''t believe a man like him had fallen in love with a girl like her. She was a simple looking woman, maybe a little pretty but not pretty enough topete with other women of society. She felt fortunate to be loved by him. Her chest felt full just by looking at him. It had been a few days since he had kissed her or hugged her fully.


    Sure he had kissed her forehead to wish her luck but she missed his lips on hers. Pressing it on her as he tasted her. She blushed by her own thoughts. Wanting to see if she could sneak in a kiss while he was still asleep, she leaned slow and steadily. Her lips aligned perfectly in front of him.


    Though she hadn''t kissed him yet or made her lips touch hers, she could feel a maic pull form between their lips and right now, her lips only drew closer to his. Right before she could close in the gap, the eye that was closed opened to look right into hers in such proximity that it made her head dizzy.


    In less than second, Vivian was rolled over with her back pressed against the mattress and both her hands that were pushed on either side of her head by his hands. Seconds turned to minutes but they didn''t speak. Staring at one another and waiting for the other to speak.


    "What were you doing?" he asked her, his morning voice deep and husky.


    "You were asleep," shemented to see him not respond immediately.


    "A mouse kept moving around me that I couldn''t ignore its advances," he held her wrists securely on the bed, "Were you about to kiss me, Bambi?" he asked, his words full of tease. Though Vivian wanted to respond to him with a smart answer, she could hardly think of one with the way he was looking at her.


    "I wanted to kiss you," she murmured, her eyes evading his. Feeling the grip tight, she looked back at him and the grip on her wrists loosened.


    "Is that so," he asked, his eyes freely roaming around her face while he sat with his legs on either side of her waist, not putting his weight on her he leaned forward. Vivian felt her heart hitch the way he was no with her, this predator like look in his eyes as if he were about to gobble her up.


    He leaned enough, such that this time it was him who had his lips hovering above hers. His long strands of hair fell on her forehead.


    She gulped, waiting for him to do whatever he wanted to do but the man was teasing her. Like he was the cat and she the mouse, dangling the little animal in front of the paws of the cat.


    "Shall I kiss you?" he whispered sweetly on her lips.


    Too shy to answer his question, she could do nothing but part her lips in anticipation. She saw him part his lips and she could feel her heartbeat this early in the morning like it had begun to exercise by the sight of the man in front of her. The closer he got to her, her eyes only began to close slowly on its own. She waited for the kiss, for his soft lips to touch hers but it never came. Confused she opened her eyes to see him staring at her, her heart dropped down.


    "Can I taste you, Vivi?" he changed his previous question and saw the look of confusion still lingering those hauntingly beautiful eyes when they changed to one of embarrassment.


    Vivian wasn''t naive to not understand what Leonard was talking about. His ruffled hair and unbuttoned shirt which showed the muscles beneath the shirt he wore made her toes curl. This feeling what she felt wasn''t foreign anymore. She hade to learn that it was always brought in the presence of Leo, his presence and words.


    He was never one to speak much, his words were reserved for a very few people. And for Vivian, his words had always been gathered and thoughtful. She was special after all. The woman he had fallen in love years ago and was going to make her his forever.


    It was funny how one couldn''t wait to seize the love while the other was ready to be seized.


    Leonard''s lips slowly pulled up and then said, "I won''t know unless you tell me. I need to know that this is what you want, Bambi," he let go of her wrist. Moving aside, he stepped out of the bed leaving her confused as to where her kiss had disappeared. She sat up on the bed quickly.


    Did he not want to kiss her? It couldn''t be that his feelings were transparent in front of her then why? Was it because she didn''t answer his question?


    "What happened?" she asked him perplexed.


    Leonard who was rolling up his sleeves looked over his shoulder to see Vivian with a lost expression as she waited for him to speak.


    "Hmm?"


    "Y-you, don''t want to kiss me..." the words came out of her mouth with a mix of a statement and question.


    Understanding what had happened with him teasing her, she looked at him anxious which only made him want to take her back to bed. Not to sleep but to do things they both would savor and enjoy.


    Walking to stand in front of her, he said, "Believe me, Bambi when I say I very much do but right now it''s better to hold it off," he touched her lips with his finger.

 Chapter 109 - Time In The Theater- Part 3

    When the door to her room shut close, Vivian''s back hit on the bed with a poof on her nket. She stared up at the ceiling which was painted white. Leonard had riled her up first and just before he could give her the treat he had taken it back to only deny her. Deep down in her mind, she felt agitated. She hade to be so used to Leonard kissing her that it turned nothing less to a drug.


    Moving out of the bed, she began making her bed without waiting for a maid toe and get it fixed. Pulling the nket, she muttered under breath, "Stupid, Leo!"


    When she turned around she caught sight of Jan who stood at her door.


    "Master Leonard is asking if you would be joining him for breakfast."


    She nodded her head, "Yes," did he hear her calling Leo stupid?


    "You can leave the bed, Ms Vivian. I will have the maid fix it. If you go to the dining room," he stood waiting at the door.


    "I will be there in a few minutes," she hadn''t washed her face nor her mouth yet. Her hair must be looking like a nest, she thought to her self and when she did look at the mirror that hung on the wall she couldn''t help but cringe at the way her hair stuck around like dry twigs.


    The housekeeper had already left her door and she made her way to the bathroom to wash her face, rinsing her mouth she dabbed her face with the towel which was ced by the side of the water. Going down the stairs and heading to the dining room, she saw Leonard who was already seated with a cup of tea in front of him. Picking up the saucer, he took the cup to let his lips touch the surface of it. When they made eye contact, Vivian looked away quickly for what he had done earlier. If he was going to y the game she was going to y it too.


    Taking a seat, she quietly had her breakfast as the maids and the housekeeper served the couple breakfast.


    "How did you exam go?" asked Leonard casually as he buttered the toast.


    Hearing this, Vivian forgot that she was trying to give Leo a cold shoulder and spoke with a wide smile, "I passed the exam!" she eximed to see him the proud smile on his lips which made her smile that much more.


    "Good work, Bambi."


    Leonard didn''t need to know it from her as he was already well informed about the candidates who had passed. He always kept his ear open when it came to the details that took ce in the council rooms and the buildings. Now that Vivian was concerned he had made sure to have an eye on her by sending his friend Maximillian Gibbs. A strange as the man was, he was one of the trusted pureblooded vampires in his circle he could rely on.


    It wasn''t that Leonard didn''t want to stay around Vivian but being with her there would be doubts of suspicion caused that she had passed the exam by mere influence of the higher ups which would only bring trouble in the future. After all, she was a woman and men in the council didn''t take the presence of a woman easily due to their ego.


    The written exam was never an easy fleet as many always failed such a simple task.


    He hadn''t found much about the second part of the exam. With just a few hints that as usual it would be conducted differently. If what he heard was right, and if it was about the hunt or survival, it wouldn''t be that difficult unless they would ask the participants to harm each other to finish the test. It worried him, yet it was something he believed that Vivian could achieve unlike the rest of the women. He had seen his deer grow from a young age, he had subtly raised her under his care. It was his duty to look after and care for her. At the same time, he would give her room to grow.


    As if in realization, she lowered down her excitement and took a bite from her bread.


    "I think we need to celebrate quite grandly that you have passed the exam. Don''t you think Jan?" he pulled his housekeeper into the conversation who was standing there in a halt position.


    The housekeeper bowed his head, "Yes, master," his master''s words were absolute to him. That''s how most of the servants were taught by their masters.


    "Shall we go out tonight?" Vivian couldn''t resist his charms when he was so openly asking her out for the night.


    "Where to?" she asked curiously, removing the crumb of bread that had stuck at the corner of her lips.


    "It will be a surprise. Something nice," the way he stressed on the word ''nice'' tingled her mind. Yet for a show, she narrowed her eyes before looking down at her te with a smile on her lips. Leonard called Jan to his side, whispering a few words as the housekeeper nodded his head to the orders given to him.


    Maximillian Gibbs had arrived home to discuss something with Leonard, with both of them going out for a walk, Vivian went to the study room of Leonard where she could read something from there. Though the written exam was done, she couldn''t help but want to read something to kill some time. She went through the bookshelves again, peeping through the ss case as she read the titles of the book.


    The fire crackled softly in the room, and silence followed her like footsteps behind her as her fingers stuck to the ss like she was tracing it. She remembered that she had to ask Leo about her ability to touch and read objects. He would know for sure where to go and find the answer.


    She wished she could understand the pattern of why and what was happening. Why was she one of the rare type to be able to do things not everyone could? There were a lot of questions that were yet to be answered. And then there were her parents whom she was yet to find and know about them.


    Her finger that had been tracing the ss suddenly pushed a particr ss case forward which moved back when she retraced her hand. She stared at the books that were in there. They looked like torn books that were ragged and overused to the point that if one would keep them out in the wind it would break into pieces due to the brittle material they were made of before withering away in the wind.


    Angling her head to the side to see what was written on one of the copies she realized it was the famous title that had been lost in the four empires- Curse of the humans. Intrigued by its presence she wished to read what it had that many schrs had tried to find it. The ce she now stood was in the corner most of the room, and if one did observe they would never know this side of the books.


    About to open the ss case, she used her nails to pull it open to hear Leo speak, "What are you looking for?"


    Vivian twirled around to see him standing at the door. She stepped back away from the ss case, "I was searching for a book to read," she said to see him nod, he smiled.


    "We have a chess match due, let''s have a board game," he offered her.


    "But I will lose," she frowned.


    "You won''t know until you y. Give me your best moves," he smirked making her puff her cheeks. He was on the game of teasing her again, "Come," she let her hand drop to her side, leaving the books where it stayed in the dust.


    Just as Leonard was about to close the door to his study room, his eyes fell on the ss case Vivian had been standing in front of. The books that lied in that ss wasn''t any ordinary books he had piled and saved. It was a memento of death, from the people he had killed.


    With Vivian''s touch, there was no saying what amount of gore she would be able to see. The dark side of him.

 Chapter 110 - Time In The Theater- Part 4

    She stared hard at the ck and white squares on the board where Leo had moved his bishop. Chewing her cheek, she looked up at him before whining, "Lord Nichs lied!"


    "There there, Vivi. Lord Nichs didn''t lie. I go easy on him when we y chess. I wouldn''t want him to think I am an expert so that he invites me to the soiree where men usually y with money and valuable items kept on the front to trade," he smiled at her cheekily.


    When Lord Nichs had told her the way Leo often lost to him in the game, she had been happy and out of the same hope that she could win, she had sat in front of the board to only be losing against him with a lot of loss.


    "And here I thought you got better," he teased, to see her mouth twist funnily.


    "The only practice I had was Paul and most of the times he didn''t y the game right. But Jerome often offered to y and help me practice...in the...when he was here," she ended her sentence when she saw his smile dim down at the mention of Jerome Wells. She moved her ck chess piece forward.


    "You must have spent quite some time with him for him to be so interested in wanting him to take you as his wife," hemented as he moved his white soldier in the front.


    As much as Leonard wanted to be angry and was jealous that he couldn''t or had lost his time with Vivian to be reced by Jerome, he could do nothing about it. With him being away from the Carmichael''s mansion, spending time with Vivian before was limited to only exchanging a sentence or two when he visited in the past.


    But that very limited amount of time which both of them had spent with each other was what kept the spark within them ignited for such a long time. Almost growing around each other, the connection they shared was different than the rest. It was a seed of love that had been sowed when they had met to blossom as time passed.


    He saw Vivian tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear, her small lean fingers running down her neck before she brought it to ce on herp. Her eyes fluttered to close and open once in a while, looking at the board in concentration when he knew that she was aware of him looking at her.


    A smile formed on her lips, "There!" she eximed to kill his pawn and push it aside, "I am getting better," she looked up to meet his eyes.


    "That you are," he answered, his gaze following the ck piece and knowing to wonder what she was doing. Vivian always liked to save both her king and queen, yet this time she had left it open for an easy attack, "Have you learned new tricks," she smiled at his question.


    Though Paul wasn''t good at the game and couldn''t be called as a beginner, she had learned a few things from Mr Wells. As good as a teacher Leo was, Jerome would often exin at the end of the game of how she could save her pieces even during the worst of times.


    "The ce we are going tonight is going toe a little more than a shock to you," she heard Leo inform her. She did hear from him that it was exclusive for the elites but now that he spoke about it again, she couldn''t think of a reason of why anything in the theatre woulde to her as a shock. Thest time she had been there, she had enjoyed every bit of the y and music they had orchestrated. It had been a wonderful experience to see something so out of the world. It was sad that the local vigers would never have the luck to have a glimpse of it while the rich men and women of the society enjoyed it.


    "I want you to keep an open mind," she nodded her head to his words.


    By the end of the game, Vivian had lost to Leo with her king having nowhere to go even though her queen was still on the board. As time passed from noon to evening to night, Vivian had gone back to her room to dress for the evening. Before she could wear the dress she had picked from the closet, a maid had arrived at her door with a gown and many otheryers in the hand telling, "Master Leonard would like you to wear this, mdy," another maid stood behind.


    Shy to strip her clothes in front of them, she had used the wooden divider that stood in the corner of her room which stopped them from seeing her naked. Wearing the underclothes, that consisted of the pannier she stepped out of the divider so that the maids could start dressing her.


    The maid pulled the threads of the corset and she had to wave her hand for the maid to stop pulling it. Any more and she would pass out due tock of air. Each cloth was worn one after another and thankfully it was thin which didn''t make her feel fluffed up. With the skirt in ce, one of the maids ced the stomacher which was a V-shaped triangr panel on the front of her open peach colour silk gown. The stomacher was embroidered with threads to form a flower-like design which was woven intricately.


    Hearing Vivian''s light footsteps, Leonard turned around to feel his pulse stop for a mere second as he saw the beautiful woman he had fallen in love with approach him.


    He could tell by the way she walked that she was conscious of the way she looked right now. Her lips had been painted to bring out colour of light red which was ready to be kissed.


    Vivian saw Leonard who was dressed in expensive cks and shirt where he wore a ck double-breasted jacket on it. She had always seen Leo with his hair falling on the front of his forehead, so used to it that she had never seen him like this now with his hairbed back. It made him look more matured and maybe a tad bit intimidating with his eyes nowpletely visible to her.


    When she came to stand in front of him, he picked her hand and leant down to kiss the back of her hand on the gloves. Secretly she wished she hadn''t worn the gloves, his gesture made her heart feel warm. As his lips had touched her hand, he had continued to keep eye contact with her.


    "Good evening, mdy," he pulled back to stand straight and tall in front of her.


    "Good evening, kind Sir," she greeted him with a smile.


    "Shall we go?" he asked to see her nod. Still holding her hands, he helped her get into the carriage before following to sit inside with her.


    At the arrival at the theatre, she could see some of the guests who were leaving the ce while there were some who had only arrived like themselves. Both Leo and Vivian stepped inside the theatre, making their way as a woman stood at the front of the desk asking to verify the guest invitation.


    When the couple in front of them passed by, the woman asked them, "Your invitation please," she asked politely with a sickly sweet smile which Vivian tried to ignore. The woman was a vampire, her bright red eyes stating that she belonged to a lower ss than the ones of pureblooded vampires. Leonard pulled a white rectangr card from his inner jacket and handed it to the woman, waiting for her to verify what she needed to.


    "Thank you," she returned the invitation back to him, "I hope you enjoy your time here," Vivian and the woman had the briefest eye contact before they passed the desk.


    On their way, Vivian could tell that most of them here belonged to the highest degree of ss in society. The way they looked, spoke, wore clothes of such fine silk, they stood apart from the general crowd. Some of them were loud while some kept to themselves.


    "Good day, Duke Carmichael," someone greeted Leonard to see it was none other than his friend Maximillian Gibbs with a brte who stuck close to his side.


    "I was hoping not to run into you today," spoke Leonard, his words friendly with a small smile.


    "You did anyway. I see you brought a future councilwoman here," said Maximilian, his odd blue eyes looking at the couple. He went to approach thedy, "Mdy," he kissed Vivian''s hand. Congrattions on the first test."


    "Good evening, Mr Gibbs. Thank you," she greeted him.


    "Your mentor must be really happy that you passed that he''s brought you to a ce like this," Maximillian smirked as he spoke to Vivian.


    ''This ce''? Leonard had asked her not to be too surprised and now Mr Gibbs was making it more suspicious. With everyone dressed to the top, she didn''t understand what was the big deal when it came to the time during the night here.


    Before Vivian could ask, Leo spoke, "Why don''t you humour yourdy, Max," tonight Leo wanted to keep his Vivi to himself and didn''t need anyone distracting them, not that they could.


    "Aye," the blue-eyed vampire smiled cheekily, bowing his head in a yful manner he walked away with the woman he had brought here.

 Chapter 111 - Time In The Theater- Part 5

    She saw Mr Gibbs and the woman who had been standing next to him, going in a different direction from the one they were previously walking. She felt Leo''srge hand be ced on her small back which broke her attention back to him. Looking at him she saw him looking at someone in deep concentration before his gaze broke away from the person.


    "Someone you know?" she asked him. He shook his head.


    "Unimportant person," he smiled and then led her up the stone stairs. With the ce made only for the elites, Vivian didn''t find it to be crowded. There were a few gentlemen and women who wereing behind them and some up in the front.


    She saw her dress and then the other women to realize her gown looked much for expensive than the rest she hade to see. Before getting inside the theatre she didn''t understand why women were staring at her if she was looking odd but it wasn''t the case. Her gown had been prepared by Leo himself, from the colour of the silk to the embroidery and theces that had to be apanied. Now that he had confessed his feelings to her, he took the opportunity to spoil the girl to his heart''s content.


    Some folks had never seen Leonard enter the theatre at this hour of the night, not to watch the night theatre at least which made them check the girl whom he apanied as they got in.


    "This is the assigned seat you requested for, Mr Carmichael," one of the men who hade to guide the way to the seating box pulled the curtain and unlocked the door, "Is there something you would like me to bring? Something to eat perhaps?"


    Leonard looked at Vivian, and her eyebrows rose slightly, "Ah water?" she asked.


    "Anything for you, Sir?" the man asked Leonard again.


    "Nothing for me. Bring the water immediately. We wouldn''t want to be disturbed when the y begins," Leonard was serious as he said the words and saw the man bow his head.


    "Of course. Let me bring it right away. Excuse me," seeing the man leave, Vivian stepped into the box where there was arge opening like windows where one could see the stage clearly. Arge seat with a resting back sat close to the windows. Vivian turned around to see Leo looking at her.


    "We can see everything from here," she said to see him nod.


    He couldn''t help but smile at her excitement. Would she still be this excited when the show would start? It was something he was looking forward too. There was a reason why he hadn''t touched her this morning. Why he hadn''t touched her yesterday or the day before it. He had to prepare her, prepare her to what she was about to see and what he would do to her.


    The night theatres were special due to which the rates never came down. Seats like the one he had booked for them for privacy would cost a mere human''s entire life in earning to bring a person here.


    But money was never a problem to Leonard. With his grandparents and parents who were wealthy the same had been passed down to him. Not to forget, being a Duke and also being part of the council investigation team, he was paid well due to his capabilities.


    The man who had guided them here returned back with a jug filled with water and ss along with it. Seeing him leave, Leo locked the door and took a seat next to Vivian who had settled herself therefortably while looking down at the empty seats now with no one there.


    Vivian wondered how much Leo would have paid for these seats. Than the previous one theyst time sat, this one seemed luxurious. The seats were plush and not hard on her bottom, there was a stand in the corner where the man had ced the water. Looking at the stage where the curtain was yet to be drawn for the actors toe out, she supported her chin with her hand while staring and waiting for it to start.


    Finally, when the red curtains were drawn on either side of the stage, Vivian saw the set up of a house. She realized she had failed to ask Leo what the story was about.


    The music began, so did the y. Too engrossed in it, she watched them act their scenes out. The story hade to the point that the woman was jealous of another girl whom the man had spoken. usations began to fly on the stage and it made Vivi sit straight in full attention to how the matter would be resolved.


    "You''re not listening, Gwh," the man came to stand behind the woman but she moved away from him. Shaking her head with eyes full of tears, she said,


    "I know my father doesn''t approve of me being with you that you are angry at me but I had no choice," it seemed like the woman was in too much of pain as she said not listening to her lover when he was only trying to make her understand. Vivian bit her lip wondering why the woman was not trying to understand him, "I don''t like seeing you with her, Ronald!"


    "For the tenth time, she was there by coincidence. I never knew she was going to be there at my arrival," the woman huffed, her beautiful face now smudged with tears.


    "I don''t believe you. I am tired of your lies. You want to spite me," she said ready to walk out but the man pulled her for a kiss by her hand. The woman struggled but he seemed to look too tired. Taking her towards the ouch he pushed her before kissing back.


    Vivian didn''t realize when the kiss of reconciliation had turned to one of a hot mess until the clothes the woman wore waspletely discarded off andid on the stage in the corner. She who had been biting her lip let go it with her lips slightly parted at what was taking ce in the y that she saw from her seat.


    Each kiss and trace of the woman''s kiss was shown as the man touched her.


    As the mantched his lips on the woman''s bosom, Vivian could feel her face to be lit on fire. Was this what Leo had meant? Shocked and surprised didn''t even cover the way embarrassment filled her pale cheeks. Terribly conscious of Leo sitting next to her with only an inch gap, she didn''t dare to turn and look at him. Her eyes stayed glued on the stage but not on the couple but then again it moved back to the actors due to mere curiosity.


    It wasn''t that it was dirty but something so intimate was being disyed on the stage that it was hard for her to keep the focus on, especially with her body starting to tingle and feel aware of the man who sat next to her.


    The man discarded his clothes as well, taking the woman in his arms and continuing to kiss her lips, neck and every possible ce he could ce his skin on.


    It was when the man went to ce his head between the woman''s legs did Vivian''s face lit up in a fire. The moans only got louder and louder in time. She wished she could hide somewhere anywhere far away from this ce. This was thest option she would have picked if she knew what she was going to watch today in the theatre.


    It was the first time to witness something so openly like this. She didn''t know how to react, and as embarressing, the scene was she couldn''t lie that there was just something so alluring on the stage that she continued to watch until the end of it.


    Taking a small peek at Leo''s face, she found him looking calm and unaffected by any of it. Just so that he wouldn''t catch her staring she went back to look at the y. Due to the y, her body felt hot, not to forget that Leo hadn''t kissed her in a while.


    Only if the ground could swallow her, thought Vivian to herself.


    How was she going to face Leonard?

 Chapter 112 - Touch Me - Part 1

    When the y ended, Vivian sat in her ce frozen as if she had turned into a wax statue and it was only when Leonard called her did the wax meltdown, bringing her back to the world.


    "Shall we?" he asked her, his red eyes stared into her ck ones. No hint of any emotion there while Vivian''s was swirling in a mixer of a tornado. Not able to get the words, she nodded her head. Opening thetch of the door, "Let''s go back," he said but then heard her speak.


    "Wait!"


    He turned around to look over his shoulder where she stood in ce with both her hands which held together in front of her chest. Turning to face herpletely, he waited for her to speak but she didn''t. Leonard could see that she was nervous. Nervous and shy. Dressed in the finest clothing he had ordered for, Vivian looked as beautiful as a doll coulde.


    "What is it, Vivi?" he asked her to see her blink two times as she gathered her thoughts which had been muddled, "Is everything alright?" to his question she shook her head. Leonard knew she held mixed emotions at the moment and like many other times, he wouldn''t help her here. He wanted her to take the step first and if she would fall, he was always there to catch her. She looked utterly lost like she didn''t know what to do.


    Vivian had thought he would kiss her, or hold her hand but he did none of it. He had also denied to kiss her in the morning.


    The hormones of a young girl raged through her blood now and she had no idea what to do about it.


    She had read but she never had someone teach her about things she felt now. The tightness in her stomach and the heat between her legs felt unreal. She didn''t know why she felt like this by just looking at a y. She should have felt embarrassed, dirty or ashamed but she didn''t. Not that she wasn''t embarrassed but it was a different kind of embarrassment. Everything she had learnt was from Leo until now, he had been her teacher all along when it came to learning something new.


    Leonard didn''t need to know what was going in her mind. He walked to where she stood as she looked up at him with her heart thumping in her chest.


    He raised his hand, ready to touch her face but at the same time, he stopped himself. With his hand hanging in mid-air he retreated it back.


    "Let''s go home," he said, giving her an apologetic smile which she didn''t understand. Nheless, she agreed to follow him as they left the private box area.


    Once they were in the carriage and away from the theatre, the horses pulled the carriage on the wend as it entered Bonke. The horse''s hooves touched and pushed the muddy ground with every run it made, heading towards the Carmichael''s mansion.


    The night was cold, yet Vivian felt hot. Her cheeks felt warm and her head dizzy as she stared into space. Her eyes not looking at anything, in particr, her thoughts drifted back to what she hade to see in the theatre. Her innocent eyes had been corrupted! How could Leonard be calm while she was in this state?


    She had stopped him back there before they moved out from their box seats but she didn''t know what to tell. What was she to tell? That she was an internal mess? That she wanted him to touch her? Mentally she shook her head at it, it wouldn''t be right. Women didn''t behave like that, said Vivian to herself. At least not the decent ones and Leo saw her to be a decent one.


    But if there was someone to be med, it was Leonard himself for taking her to a ce like that where men and women stripped down their clothes to pleasure themselves while also letting others watch and enjoy the scene. She could still hear the loud moans and gasps in her ears resonating even after half an hour had passed since they had left the theatre.


    She then heard Leonard speak to her, "You don''t have to be shy," she turned her head to look at him, "It''s a natural thing which you don''t have to be ashamed of," Vivian wasn''t sure if Leo was talking about the y scene or about her as if he knew what state she was in.


    "I don''t know," she lowered her eyes down to her hands which she had ced on herp. They had watched something so...sinful? maybe not sinful but something a normal human wouldn''t see.


    No wonder the night theatres were so high and expensive which was reserved for the elites.


    And as if she wasn''t embarrassed enough, Leo asked her, "How did you find it?"


    Hearing him question her, her eyes went wide. She parted her lips, not a wording out, her eyes went to meet his again which looked calm as before. Like he was asking her if she would like to take the horse for a ride.


    "You don''t have to be shy with me, Vivi," he coaxed her gently, trying to make herfortable so that she wouldn''t jump out of the carriage like the scared rabbit she looked like right now.


    "I feel confused," she murmured, her tongue peeking out to wet her dry lips before it went back to hiding, "Why did you take me there?" she asked him.


    "Why?" he asked her to which she nodded, "I need to know you are ready. To know that, you know and are aware of what happens between a man and a woman," Leonard knew that there was no one who would talk to Vivian about this. Of how a man and a woman''s rtionship worked. It wasn''t the best way to showcase it but it was the quickest.


    They had crossed a lot of lines to where they were now with their feelings and he needed to make sure that she was ready, and it looked like she finally was.


    With not much words to be shared after that, Vivian tried to decipher and dissect the words he spoke to her. He wanted her to know? She gulped softly thinking about it. Did that mean he wanted to touch her like that? But then again wasn''t her body also responding and waiting to be touched?


    Looking away and outside the window where darkness was spread across the forest and she could only see the silhouette shadows as they passed by one after another, chasing backwards. She bit her lower, gnawing at it as her skin began to tingle at the thought of Leo touching her the same way the man had touched the woman back on the stage.


    When the carriage reached the mansion and the coachman came to open the door, Vivian didn''t know what had possessed her but she jumped out of the carriage like an opportunity that she had found to finally hide in the room.


    But with her heavy dress that had beenyered and with the skirt that was present, she didn''t go that fast. She didn''t wait to see behind her when the housekeeper opened the door, she gave him a short bow before hurrying herself up the stairs to go to the guest room.


    She had to pull the front of her dress from keeping her from falling as the dress had half swept the floor as she walked.


    Turning and pushing the knob for the door to open, she stepped inside but saw a hand above her to push the door wide open.


    Just as she twirled around with her heart beating erratically in her little chest, wide eyes stared into Leonard which had for the first time in this evening lit like a burning fire that could burn her andbust her to dust. She took a step back when he approached her which only added fuel to the existing fire.


    His long arm suddenly reached out to catch hold of her, pressing her back against the cold wall he saw the pupils of her eyes dte. Her heart thudded and it wasn''t out of fear. Or maybe it was out of fear, fear of what he could do to her. The number of possibilities made her mind go dizzy for a mere second before she brought it back to reality.

 Chapter 113 - Touch Me- Part 2

    When Leonard had her back pushed against the wall of her room, a small gasp escaped her mouth. Somewhere at the back of her mind she knew he would have followed her to talk to her due to the quick dash she made after the carriage''s door was opened but this is not what she had in her mind.


    The night was cold, the whisper of the clouds that it woulde to rain soon yet the atmosphere in the room felt like it had turned to one of the hot noon weather of Mythweald. Apart from the sound of their breath and the rustling of trees far away from the mansion which was like the music of the night, they stared into each other''s eyes.


    "Don''t run away from me," said Leonard his voice collected yet his expression stated otherwise.


    "I wasn''t," she replied back but her answer didn''t suffice the slight annoyance that had surfaced when she stepped out and ran inside the mansion.


    "I won''t let you run away even if you wanted to. You know that right, Bambi," he whispered the endearing name he had given her since the time they were young and naive. Stepping closer to her, he ran his hand over her cheek, grazing it gently while he saw her eyes close, "Running away will only make me chase you that much over. Do you know how lovely you look tonight?" at his question, her eyes fluttered open.


    He leaned forward and ced his full lips on her lips. Kissing it once then twice, licking to feel the tender skin that felt like blood. Pulling back he touched her bottom lip with his finger to see the skin to have formed red from possible biting.


    When he parted his lips as he went to dive back into the kiss, he saw her part her lips so ready for him that made his cks tight out of the mere sight of her willingness.


    Pecking her lips, he pulled her to him so that the wall didn''t support her anymore. The door which was open, he slid it back such that it shut itself close so that no one woulde in. Pulling her towards the bed, he made her turn such that her back could face him.


    She felt him ce his hands on either side of her shoulders, leaning forward to whisper in her ear, "Can I love you a little more tonight, Vivi?"


    "L-little?"


    "Yes," he said next to her ear, his hand slid down from her shoulder touch her back, "Just a little for tonight. Is that okay?" She gulped as her fingertips turned cold out of nervousness.


    Taking her silence as a yes, she felt him begin to pull the strings of her gown which had been tied from behind. Onece was pulled after another and the more it was undone, the more it loosened. Slowly he turned her around when he was done removing thece, enough to remove the gown without much difficulty. Next came the stomacher and then the gown was pushed down with his lean fingers that dusting it off with ease from her shoulders.


    Helping her out of it. She stood at with the sheer petticoat and soon it came off too. He took her to bed.


    "Leo," she whispered shyly, "Won''t you-won''t you take your clothes off too?" she asked, seeing him chuckle she fluttered her eyes down.


    It wasn''t the first time he would be seeing her naked, it was the second time for him but thest her clothes hade off, Leonard was dressedpletely. Wondering if it was going to be the same this time, she had asked him.


    He moved the hair away from her forehead to ce his lips there before pulling away, "Won''t you help me?"


    "I can?" she chewed the side of her cheek.


    He raised his hands as if waiting for her which she took a cue by pushing the jacket first. Though she had bravely asked the question, her hands trembled while going to button his shirt. She was able to unbutton only two of them which took more than a minute before she felt her hands being held by his.


    Didn''t he want to take his shirt off? asked Vivian in her mind.


    "It might take the whole night if I let you undress me, Vivi," one side of his lips pulled up to a smile and she blushed. Holding her chin, he angled her face before sliding his tongue into her lips.


    She could feel his warm tongue push into her mouth, rubbing her tongue as she tasted him to feel her mind go numb. The more his tongue lingered in her mouth, that much more she could taste the sweetness of the win like the dewdrop in the morning grass.


    Laying her down with a pillow under her head he gazed down at her the way she looked at him now only fired his blood, pumping it faster. Vivian who looked at him in hazy eyes looked startled when he tore out his shirt without opening the buttons.


    "I don''t want some mere buttons getting in my way with you," he discarded the shirt from his body and threw it down the bed.


    Soon he kissed her lips, peppering them down to her neck which turned to wet kisses. He sucked and licked the skin on her neck, bite it which earned him a gasp before soothing it with the tongue. Her breathing quickened when his lips touched the swell of her breast.


    When he bit the skin there, she couldn''t help but clutch her hand at the sting that his teeth had caused. Giving little kisses, his lips touched the tip of her breasts which made her sink down further in her bed. But that didn''t stop Leonard from putting the dark bud in his mouth. Vivian closed her eyes at the feeling of his mouth on her breast.


    He heard her sudden intake of breath after he was done gently sucking and licking, he blew air on it to see it harden. He gave the same attention to another breast, sucking and licking it to hear her soft sighing out of her pink lips. Going down the valley of her breasts, he traced his lips down her stomach and to kiss her hip bones. His hand smoothly glided down her stomach, making way between her legs when she suddenly crossed both her legs.


    "You don''t want to?" he asked innocently. What was she supposed to say to something like that? His previously well keptbed hair had been ruffled back to his normal style and it only stole her heart away, "I will be gentle," he promised, his hand inched towards her wet core.


    Not even half of his finger had entered her that he heard her cry out. She was a virgin, a virgin who had never been touched so it was understandable that she would find it ufortable.


    "It hurts," sheined. Her eyebrows had furrowed in worry and the slight pain she felt. Moving back up, Leo went toy down next to her. He kissed her on lips once again taking his time for her to calm down.

 Chapter 114 - Touch Me- Part 3

    He then pulled away to say, "I know Bambi. You''re too tight. It will take time to get used to it," just as the words passed through his lips, Vivian''s cheeks set itself on fire all over again. He couldn''t help but chuckle at her pure untainted reaction.


    "Why do you say it like that!" she eximed looked away from him. Her neck was bare for him to kiss and he took the opportunity to kiss her there.


    "It''s too hard not want to tease you," kissing her shoulder he ran his finger up and down her stomach, tickling her in the process as she giggles erupted out of her lips.


    "Haha, stop it, Leo!"


    "Why? Doesn''t it feel good?" he teased her to see her shake her head but she continued tough until his hand slid down between her legs. The smile that had been etched on her face slowly started to calm down with her eyes on him and his on hers to gauge her expression. He saw her gulp as her throat bobbed up and down.


    Leonard knew that he wouldn''t be able to put his finger in immediately as she was still a virgin. A woman who hadn''t been touched by a man and wouldn''t be touched by anyone but him.


    He had intended to bring her in the mood by taking her to the night theatre but as she got into the scene and started to heat up with the way her heart started to thud back in the theatre, Leonard had started to get aroused by the atmosphere and having Vivian next to him within his reach.


    Yet he couldn''t do anything about it. This is where he wanted her. Comfortable without any prying eyes or ears on them. Just them alone with each other.


    Vivian heard Leonard speak, "I won''t put my finger inpletely. Just enough to make you feelfortable. It would be hard if I don''t prepare you beforehand."


    His finger yed around her wet sex, juice that had begun to overflow which made his manhood hard. Bringing the other hand to turn her head towards him, he leaned forward and kissed her lips before delving his index finger into the core which made her squirm. He made sure to not put it in but only try to test the entrance by pushing it a little forward and back until he could get only half of his finger in there. At the same time, Vivian''s ufortable whines had turned to small sighs as she got used to his finger.


    Testing out the depth as time progressed, he pushed his finger a little more which made her moan and cry with his finger that had begun to take its own momentum.


    In the beginning, when Leonard had tried to push his finger in, it had turned out to be painful. It stung and hurt which had only turned out to be ufortable but the second time was different.


    He had kissed her time and time again, cooing to her as he pushed his finger little by little as something down her core began to build up. It felt as if something was about toe out. Scared she tried to hold back every time Leo''s finger moved back and forth continuously in slow motion.


    "L-Leo!" she cried out softly for him while he was right next to her. Leo looked into her eyes, seeing her scared and worried, worried that for the first time she was feeling something so different that she couldn''t control her body, "I''m scared," she confessed and at that time, Leo wouldn''t have been able to exin how endearing she looked in his eyes right now.


    He soothed her by rubbing his thumb over her forehead.


    "It is okay, Bambi. You don''t have to hold back," he said to soothe her mind, "Rx yourself," he said as his other hand continued to move in and out very slowly until she cried out with her back arching from the bed and finally falling back down. She could feel the wetness that was pooled between her legs now, her heart humming along with her body out of the pure pleasure Leonard had given her. "What were you crying out for?" he asked her, lustcing his voice as he had seen here undone in front of his eyes.


    His words brought the expected reaction from her. She shook her head and then said, "I am sorry for crying out."


    He kissed the side of her head, "You don''t have to be embarrassed about it. I wouldn''t want you holding back what you feel with me rather I enjoy hearing you cry out my name. On the bed of course," he added as he grinned down at her.


    Getting closer to him, she hid in his chest. A yawn escaped her mouth but she tried hard to stay awake. With the y that took ce in the night, it was past midnight now.


    With sunlight that hit the curtains, trying to pass the rays through the white material, Vivian slept soundly in the bed. Her hand ced near to her face and eyes closed, she snored softly on the pillow. Hearing something move in the room, her eyes fluttered open drowsily. She wondered how long she had slept, turning to look at the clock on the wall she saw it pointing its hourly hand to the number three and she frowned. Did she sleep until noon?


    About to get up from the bed, she ced one foot on the cold ground when she saw a man sprawled on the floor. Going closer she saw blonde hair where Leoid lifeless with his eyes that had turned ck and hollow.


    Her hands shook in fear, goosebumps forming on her skin before she was woken up, "Vivian!" her eyes opened to find darkness.


    She blinked as she adjusted to theck of light in the room to catch Leo looking at her worried. Moving to the desk, he poured a ss of water and handed it to her, "Drink," taking it with both her hands she sipped the water, "What were you dreaming?" he asked her.


    Her eyes moved from her the bedpost to him who stood in front of her, "What''s the matter, Vivi?" she shook her head. Running his fingers through his thick blonde hair, he sighed. He sat on the bed, folding his right leg while keeping the left leg on the floor.


    cing the ss on herp which Leo took from her, she continued to stare at the bedpost, "Do you think what we dreames true?"


    "Not necessarily. Dreams are figments of your imagination which picks up one or two details in real life before fabricating a world which doesn''t exist," he exined to ease her mind as he could still hear her heart beating loudly in her chest.


    "But is there a possibility that it might happen?"


    "Rarely."


    Vivian clutched the sheets that hade to settle near herp. Her mind looping the scene of her dream over and over again, "If I tell you something, you promise not to be angry?" she asked him beforehand.


    "I won''t."


    "I have a feeling and...I know that it wasn''t Paul who was the one responsible for corrupting your mother''s heart that night. It feels like the culprit is somewhere nearby and close to us. Who is waiting for an opportunity to repeat what was done," she was more than worried now. It was highly unlikely for something like that to take ce but she couldn''t shake off the feeling of uncertainty that hung around her, "What if there''s someone here, the person who has been responsible for it?"


    Leo who had been listening to her speak, ponder over her words. He then replied, "That''s not possible. We had an investigation held, and Jan has gone through the servants with a series of test to make sure we didn''t have another worker who was under the influence of corrupting hearts of the pureblooded vampire."


    "Jan?"


    "Yes," how would Jan know about it though? Thought Vivian to herself, "Jan has some expertise when ites to handling matters with the servants. He has taken part in the council two or three times."


    "Jan, the housekeeper?" asked Vivian for confirmation to see him nod.


    "Yes, the vampire. There is a temporary service which the council allows the pass out of written exams to be used when we run short of people to work. Like some of them, he was given the opportunity to work under the terms of the council for a short duration of time," to think that Jan was her senior in the council exam, she began to see the housekeeper in a different light.

 Chapter 115 - Love Rival- Part 1

    Who knew that the housekeeper would have taken part in the council exam, thought Vivian to herself but then the exams weren''t limited to the kind of species one belonged or gender. Though one couldn''t guarantee that the lower and weaker beings would get an opportunity.


    Now that she hadpleted the first part of her exam which was on knowledge, the next final one would be difficult. Leonard had told her that it would be a practical exam. Most of the second part of the exams were practical exams where they would divide and split the members into teams to work together to see how one would analyze an existing scenario.


    Letting her rest back on the bed, Leonard stared at her while running his hand across her cheek, "I wonder if I did a mistake," she heard him speak while he looked at her forehead without meeting her eyes, "Mistake of letting you step into the council. It is a different world in there and you will have to be careful. Careful of what you notice and speak," she nodded her head.


    "Seems like a tricksters ce," she smiled, pulling up the nket up to her shoulder. Putting his hand around her, he pulled her to close to him.


    "I''m not joking. I don''t know what they have prepared for the next exam but be on your guard and trust no one. Not even me."


    "Why do you say that?"


    "Because...you need to rely on your judgment and the gut that tells you what needs to be done at a certain point of time. Not someone else''s," he advised her, "Go back to sleep now," he patted her head making her feel like a child.


    "Don''t pat my head," she murmured, grumbling yfully.


    "Why not?" he asked, he petted her head.


    Pulling back she craned her neck to look at him, "It makes me feel like a little child," sheined.


    "My bad," he smiled down at her sweetly, "I won''t do that again. Go back to sleep now," Leo couldn''t help but adore the girl in his arms. His happinessid right her with her.


    Though Vivian was asked to catch some sleep, she couldn''t help but worry about her dream. The uncertainty hung around her like the darkest cloud that was yet to pass or appear in thend of Bonke.


    The next week during the time of past noon, Vivian had to apany Leonard to one of his rtive''s house. The same house where his second cousin Christopher lived whom he had a few years ago broken fang which led him to trouble.


    Vivian was too young to remember a boy who had got hermb''s head cut off but both the men who sat in the drawing room remembered it quite clearly. How could they not? One was the reason why a fang was missing while the other because he was driven away from his own house.


    Leo had never taken her to any of his rtive''s house until now, not that they had got an opportunity to go as he was always busy. This being the first time, Vivian sat in the seat a little ufortable with the gaze that kept passing by her by the family in the room. She was the only human who sat amongst them. If it weren''t for Leo who sat next to her, a person would have seen her shape imprinted on the door with the speed she could run through the main door.


    "How has work beening along, Leonard? I heard that there has been quite some ruckus taking ce around thends you live," his uncle who was a bald man spoke to him.


    "It''s been resolved now. Maximillian found some of the dead beings in the vige," answered Leonard who sat next to Vivian ying the game of cards while Vivian only watched the game. The family was much more traditional than the rest that they believed that a woman taking part in it didn''t seem like what she was supposed to do. The only job of a woman in their eyes was to look after the family and bear children to continue the pureblooded line of the vampire family.


    "Humans and vampires," the old man tched, clicking his tongue as he said, "This is why the humans need to be shown where they belong. Your council thinks keeping harmony is important but what you don''t know it''s the survival of who is at the top of the food chain. The vampires are the one that prevails yet see what happens. Vampires are being ambushed, killed and strung on the tree," this pulled a chord in the family as Leonard''s uncle spoke, rting the incident with what happened to Charlotte.


    Leonard ced his cards down, showing the kings and the queen which apanied the cards he was holding, "The unfortunate vampires are no less when ites to causing disruption by killing and feeing on the vampires in broad daylight."


    "Unfortunate indeed," his uncle ced the cards on the table.


    His second cousin, Christopher, ced his own with a jack, a nine and a two numbered card, "They need to change the system, without the change everything is bound to fall and cause a domino effect," his cousin stated as the servant gathered all the cards to shuffled and y it for the next round, "It would be a folly for a pureblood to blindly believe in values of harmony with the food they are to consume. Look at what led to the beliefs uncle and aunt Carmichael believed to be the truth. And even Charlotte."


    Vivian could see that the family absolutely despised the existence of humans. Not to forget the way they saw her right now as if she was an insect that needed to be squashed. And even though Leo sat next to her, it was an unsettling feeling to be here.


    Leonard, on the other hand, couldn''t argue knowing that it wasn''t lies but the truth.


    Christopher then murmured under his breath, "If it weren''t for the girl, I would still have my fang with me," his voice wasced with anger and pain. Vivian pondered at his words before she came to realize whose house she hade to now. Her eyes slowly shifted on the brown-haired pureblooded vampire, whose eyes moved quickly on her to which she looked away.


    Mrs. Henz who was sitting between Vivian and her husband said, "Now now, Chris, that was a long time ago," though it looked that she wanted to brush away the topic her son had brought up, shemented, "But it is hard to believe that Leonard would go beating his own cousin for a meremb," she then said to Vivian, "I heard it was for some little girl who lived with them,"ughing in the end. Vivian went along with Mrs. Henz, smiling uneasily before looking at the cards that were being divided into two portions.


    She was that little girl and they didn''t know about it. ording to the Henz'' family, Vivian came from a rich background as she wore expensive clothes and was dolled into a finedy. No one knew that she was the little girl, the reason why their son nowcked one of his fangs.


    In the vampiremunity, having fangs was what stood them apart from the other lowly creatures they didn''t like associating themselves with. It was a matter of pride to have fangs and when one didn''t have it, it only showed how weak they were. It was a matter of shame due to which the pureblooded creatures were always subjected to removal or breaking of fangs in a public environment to show what they deserved.


    Though not much had changed in the years that had passed by, Christopher was bitter for what Leonard had subjected him for life. Of course, both the children were young. One being utterly stupid while the other being hot-headed, the night a few years ago had changed both of them. Christopher cowered himself, away from themunity as the society never spared him from the talk of how weak he was. Not to forget how they spoke about a younger boy beating him while he was older than Leonard. It had changed the arrogant boy to a weak vampire who couldn''t protect or feed himself fully with only one fang.


    Leonard, on the other hand, directed his anger in his work line, diffusing the temper without causing much damage. But what was broken couldn''t be fixed. Christopher had lost his fang which could never grow back and Leonard lost the ability to build memories in his own home when he was young.


    "How''s Sullivan? I haven''t heard from him in a long time," asked Mr. Henz, picking up the cards the servant had only distributed on the table. He flicked his fingers calling for the maid near them. Once she walked towards them, the young girl sat on hisp and bared her neck where Mr. Henz bit into her skin, drinking her blood.


    Vivian looked away from the scene, her gaze subtly moving to the water of ss that was ced on the table. She had forgotten this was how the pureblooded vampires lived. Taking fresh, avable blood from humans around them. They preferred to drink directly than store and use the blood in the ss.


    Once enough blood was taken, Mr. Henz let the girl get up from hisp who wobbled on her feet. The butler of the mansion came to catch hold of her and take her inside the mansion.


    "What''s the matter, Lady Vivian?" asked Mr. Henz who looked at her with a smile, licking his lips which had traces of blood on it, "Don''t tell it''s your first time seeing a vampire drink blood. You look like a doll," hearing this Leonard stiffened in his seat but not letting his expression take over his features, "Seeing Leonard who hasn''t turned you into one of us, I had be more than willing to turn you to a half-vampire. You should capture youth when it''s still ripe."


    "Thank you but I think I would pass your kind offer, Mr. Henz," Vivian bowed her head so that she wouldn''te off to be rude.


    "How sad," the bald manmented, looking down at his cards he smiled and then spoke, "I heard that Lady Jaqueline along with her husband has been trying to gain good word from you for one of their two daughters. You shouldn''t let it pass, Leonard. Not only are they well established with their family lineage but also they have money and status a man would be willing to use."


    Hearing this, Vivian''s heart sunk. Until now she had never heard of anyone trying to find suitors for Leonard but then he hade to an age where if he could, he could find a bride for himself by picking anyone from the pureblooded society. He had picked her yet she couldn''t feel like little turmoil that had begun to brew in her mind.


    "Your uncle is right, Leonard. They have everything and their daughter being pretty is a plus to it," Mrs. Henz nodded her head.


    "I thought of talking to Sullivan about it knowing he would approve of it," hearing this from his uncle, Leonard smiled, the smile not reaching up to his eyes but staying on his lips sweetly.


    "Sounds to me that you''re trying to bring their good word for me, uncle. Pardon me but I refuse to mix my blood with their family," under the table, Leonard caught Vivian''s hand that was on herp. Squeezing it gently, "I would rather like to have my decisions are taken by myself than have a second person involved when it concerns myself. And if you really are thinking about creating an alliance, you can have Christopher talk to their daughter. After all, he is the oldest when ites to use cousins."


    With the way Mr. Henz pursed his lips, it was evident that he wasn''t happy with the suggestion as well as the answer that was given by Leonard. After another two rounds of the card game, the men at the table dropped the cards and went to have their meal which had been prepared for them to eat. The meal wasn''t what she was used to. Vivian saw the maids offering their neck for the family, theirpliance and willingness scared her.


    After the meal, Vivian who hadn''t gone too far to roam in the mansion had decided to stick close to where she could see Leonard.


    As if her day couldn''t be damper than it was, a young brte woman arrived at the Henz'' mansion. When she entered the mansion, one could hear the clicks of her shoes on the floor. A figure that was curvy, eyes that were red and smile that could slip both a man as well as a woman''s heart. She wore her confidence like a piece of jewelry.


    Greeting everyone in the room, the woman went to hug Leonard, "Oh, Leo! It''s wonderful to see you here," she left a kiss on his cheek. The surprising element for Vivian was that Leonard didn''t cringe or make face and instead he smiled at her politely.

 Chapter 116 - Love Rival- Part 2

    Vivian looked at the brte woman who clung to Leonard like it was the most natural thing to do. She stood at the sideline as if she no longer existed, her eyes taking in the scene while Leonard smiled at the woman. Once the woman moved away, she spoke to him,


    "I haven''t seen you in a long time. How have you been?" she asked, her stature as much as Vivian.


    "I have been well, Eleanor. How have you been doing? I didn''t know you moved back here," he smiled down.


    The woman whom Leonard had referred to as Eleanor pouted her lips, "Of course, you didn''t! You even forgot about me and you didn''t remember to visit me once you came back from the Rune''s mansion," Vivian who stood afar from them felt like she had suddenlye to an outsider home where she knew no one here.


    Her heart clenched and squeezed with the way Leonard treated the other woman. She wouldn''t have thought about it if he were like that with everyone but Leonard rarely showed his emotions, much less shared them with another. His smiles were always reserved and with weeks and months that they had gotten closer, there were things that Vivian hade to notice and learned about him.. As bold as his words were, he kept his thoughts to himself unless someone provoked him. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she held back her thoughts before it would turn to a box full of doubts.


    "You forgot your promise, didn''t you," at the vampiress'' words, Leonardughed.


    "That was years ago, El. Didn''t you find a man yet? It was a childish joke," this piqued Vivian''s curiosity.


    "I know that," Eleanor rolled her eyes, "As if I would wait for a man who has no time for me," Mrs Henzughed along with the others.


    Mrs Henz then said, "You should cut him some ck. It is hard to think that both of you haven''t gotten together with the way you were when you were children. Isn''t it dear," she asked her husband, "Both of you should give it a thought."


    Vivian stared at Mrs Henz who had suggested for both Leonard and Eleanor to get together, hinting for them to get married. Taking a closer look at the vampiress she wondered if she was a close rtive or a daughter''s friend as she seemedpletely at ease around them. Not to forget that she had received a warm smile from Leonard. If she were a rtive, it wouldn''t be umon for the pureblooded vampires to marry as they preferred to keep their bloodline clean. Still unknown of the woman who had waltzed herself into the mansion and taking Leo''s attention she walked to where they were like she was unaffected.


    It seemed like Eleanor wanted to say something but Leonard spoke before that, "When we are children we tell a lot of things to each, auntie. We shouldn''t consider what was spoke or done when we were young but move with the current," he smiled, his words not only pushing away the possibility of a rtionship with Eleanor but also hinting the brawl he had with Christopher years ago.


    "Leo is right. We shouldn''t hold on to children''s words. Oh my, I didn''t know we had a guest. A human," the brte womanmented looking at Vivian. Both the woman skimmed and scanned each other.


    "Eleanor, meet Ms Vivian, she''s an acquaintance of Leonard," Mrs Henz introduced her and then she spoke to Vivian, "Ms Vivian, this is my daughter Eleanor."


    "Good afternoon. Your name sounds very familiar," the vampiress said as she recollected why it was so until it dawned at her, "Are you the one who passed the first council exam?" this received all attention towards Vivian.


    "Yes, that would be me," Vivian stered a smile on her face.


    Mr Henz, who had been least bothered with the chatter talk after ying the game of cards, his eyebrows rose in question, "Council exam?"


    "You don''t know about the guest Leo brought home?" asked Eleanor before continuing to speak, "Ms Vivian earned one-day fame because of clearing the exam that was set for the written council examination, I wanted to congratte you on that," she went to shake Vivian''s hand, the shake being a little more than firm as she was a vampiress.


    "That''s wonderful news," though Mrs Henz expressed her words to be full of enthusiasm, the expression on her face didn''tpletely match with what she was saying.


    Mr Henz instead didn''t hide his distaste by throwing the paper he previously held in his hand on the table, "That''s rubbish. What''s wrong with the council letting humans and now human females to take part in something they will not excel or are not going to be good at. Where''s thew of cing work in capable hands?" It was quite evident that Mr Henz opposed the idea of women working in the council. With his words which were previously spoken, she could tell that he was the kind of man and like many others who believed that a human female was suited to only cook and bed the man she was married to.


    "Pardon me Mr Henz but I am sure the council has framed the questions and is holding the exams only to bring the best candidates out."


    "You mighte from a reputed family, dear but the council is no ce for a little girl yourself," Vivian bit her tongue at his discouraging words, waiting for him to finish, "As much influence you add but out of the exam, and when I say this I speak behalf of everyone, that we would prefer a person who can handle the job."


    "I wouldn''t say I have the strength like the vampires but I can prove it to you in the future that a human can handle the work fine. And time will answer your doubts," Vivian replied to see him nod.


    "The second is tougher than the first. Don''t mind me, but I would rather see you fail and not be injured. There are some things only a man can handle and isn''t something a woman has to do. Don''t you think so, Leonard?" at Mr Henz'' question, Leonard hummed.


    Leonard initially had wanted the conversation to pass, not wanting to get into unnecessary light arguments which were of no use. Until and unless it was going to harm him or Vivian, he would let it slide, "Vivian has an exceptional potentialpared to other humans or women. It would be a terrible waste for her to not try out the exams. I believe she has every quality a councillor would possess or needs to possess. She still has another exam to clear before we know she will join the council for sure."


    "It appears that your views are very much like your father''s, Leonard. But see what happened when a person deviates from the usual traditions."


    "If a person has the ability to excel in a job one should not leave it for the name of society. What a shame it would be to not believe. Take in for Eleanor," Leonard looked at his second cousin who had been listening to their conversation, "No offence but she dropped her education when she could have achieved more than what she is now. She used to have such wonderful ability in the problem-solving techniques," the vampiress smiled unsurely if to take it as praise or an insult.


    "Eleanor preferred not to continue," Mrs Henz pipped in.


    "Of course, that was her choice. I am sure you wouldn''t say the same if she were in this girl''s position," Mr Henz stood up from his seat and then made his way towards an empty corridor before he disappeared around the corner of it. Leaving the conversation hanging, Vivian stood awkwardly not knowing if it was okay to move her head or sight.


    To diffuse the situation, Eleanor came to stand next to Vivian, "I think it''s wonderful that you were able to crack the first exam. I hope you clear the next one with ease," the vampiress smiled at her.


    "Thank you, Ms Eleanor," thanked Vivian with a bow to see Eleanor shake her head.


    "Just Eleanor is fine. Did anyone tour you around yet?" the vampiress asked and offering her, "We have a beautiful ss room than what Carmichael''s mansion has."

 Chapter 117 - Love Rival- Part 3

    Vivian found Eleanor to be nicer than her first impression on her. The vampiress toured her around the mansion though it was a lie when she had spoken about the ss room to be much more beautiful than the Carmichael mansion as, to begin with, there wasn''t one topare to.


    With Mr Henz who had spoken about his dislikes and strong thoughts of how he opposed a woman entering the council and how one would be a misfit, Eleanor, on the other hand, spoke about lighter matters like any other girl of her age would. The topics ranged from cooking to knitting and making tea.


    "You must feel very fortunate right now, isn''t it?" Eleanor asked as they yed with the rabbits which were bred in their backyard.


    Vivian smiled, petting the white rabbit which satfortably on herp, "Initially I was worried about passing the exam, after all, it was told that not everyone who tries it passes the exams. The number of sess ratio is very little..." she saw Eleanor shake her head while chuckling behind her hand.


    "That is not what I meant," seeing Vivian tilt her head in confusion, the vampiress cleared it by saying, "What I meant to say is, you must be feeling fortunate to have Leonard guide you. He is a very good teacher. I used to have a pile of questions when we were kids and he would always help me out during my studies. My governess was a meandy."


    Though Vivian was ustomed to Leonard''s first cousins like Charlotte, Julliard and Rhys from his maternal side, she had never heard him mention about his second cousins from his paternal side. She didn''t know about Christopher nor did she know about Eleanor. But remembering back the old days, she faintly did remember why Leonard was sent away from his own home. When he wasn''t around, she often searched for him, thinking if he was hiding behind his thick books in some corner of the mansion. It was only after days had passed did she start asking Paul where Leonard had gone.


    There were times when the issue of his temper was mentioned but it was hard for her to believe that the kind Leonard whom she hade to know had a thing called anger in him. Until now she had never seen him angry. The man was always quiet,pose and sometimes teasing in his remarks towards her which was enough to get her all flustered.


    "Yes, he''s a good teacher," Vivian didn''t let the vampiress dwell too much on the information. Not everyone knew about her being a former maid at the Carmichael mansion. Right now everyone only knew of her as an acquaintance to Leonard who was probably a rtive of Sir Malcolm Rufus, "Why didn''t you try to study forward for the council? Sorry for my intrusive question," she apologized but Eleanor shook her head.


    "I didn''t think that''s what I wanted before though now I wish I did," Eleanor stared into space, a sad dejected look on her face before she smiled brightly, "But this should be fine too. Do you have siblings, Vivian?"


    Siblings? wondered Vivian to herself. She didn''t know about it. Did she? Or did she not? It was something hard to exin when she had no clue about who her family was.


    During the time Leonard was in Valeria he had tried to find about Martha but there was nothing he could find. Martha had no rtives that they could backtrack whom she could have known. One thing she confirmed was that she was nowhere rted to Martha but then it came back to the question of who her family was again.


    Her life beforeing to the Carmichael''s mansion was a nk sheet. There was nothing in there to read or know about.


    "I don''t. It''s just me," Vivian answered the vampiress. Interested she asked, "Do you often go to meet the Duke?"


    "Unfortunately, no. I was in Woville for almost a year and only recently returned back home. My maternal grandmother lives there alone and she needed someone to watch over hernds and handle the matters there," from Eleanor''s words, Vivian could tell that she was a smart woman of trade.


    Maybe that is why she never saw her before, thought Vivian while walking beside her in the empty corridors of the mansion. She had seen Mr and Mrs Henz at the Carmichael''s mansion but not Christopher or Eleanor.


    "That''s an odd coloured glove you are wearing," Eleanormented ncing at Vivian''s hands which she had held together in front of her, "You should try white or skin coloured ones. They will look much feminine. What do you think about shopping with me?"


    "Ah, that''s alright. I don''t think I need it right away," Vivian tried to refuse but the vampiress was having none of it and instead went on to say, "I haven''t found the time to shoptely and I would love it if you could apany me there. It is always good to havepany, don''t you think so too?" unable to refuse she did nothing but smile, hoping the girl would understand it to be neither a yes or a no for now.


    Talking to Eleanor had been a pleasant experience in the dark mansion of the Henz. After the revtion of her taking part in the exams, Mr and Mrs Henz'' attitude seemed to have a stark and possible view of how ufortable and unweed they wanted Vivian to feel.


    When it came time to leave and head back to the mansion, the family came to see them off at the carriage but Christopher didn''t make an effort to appear and say goodbye.


    After Eleanor hugged Vivian, asking her to visit in the future, she hugged Leonard.


    Vivian didn''t know why but the hug seemed to appear like it was a sad one. As if the girl wanted to linger a little longer than the time that was avable. It seemed that after Charlotte, Eleanor was closer to Leonard or was it Eleanor and then Charlotte? It was hard to guess.


    "Visit us soon," Eleanor got a pat on her head in response by Leonard.


    "Sure. We shall take our leave now," Vivian bowed along with him and then got into the carriage.


    On their way back, Vivian couldn''t help but clear her doubt with Leo, asking him, "It was Christopher who killed Billy?" Leonard who had been setting his jacket looked up.


    "It was him," she bit her lip, pondering about it.


    "You need to visit them more. Eleanor misses you."


    "Sometimes it''s better to keep your rtives at a distance than keep them close and let them manipte you with your thoughts. Not that they could but sometimes it''s considered wise to keep them at an arm''s length," he paused for a second, "Let''s not visit them again."


    "Why would you say that?" asked Vivian, a small furrow formed between her brows. As if in self-realization she then said, "You don''t have to worry about me. I...I know that pureblooded vampires don''t take a human''s life that well. Don''t stop on my ord."


    "It''s not that. I went because it was needed to maintain the rtionship; for the namesake. Didn''t I tell you, Vivi. You are all the family I would ever need," his eyeszily looked into hers, anguid smile on his lips.


    Vivian shook her head yet smiled, leaning towards his shoulder she rested her head on his ck overcoated shoulder. Though it wasn''t something she wanted, she didn''t voice out the disapproval of him wanting to stay away from his rtives. Instead, her chest felt lighter by his words. Not because she wouldn''t be hearing any disapproving remarks from Mr Henz but because there was something she felt when it came to Eleanor.


    Though the vampiress was sweet and had been kind to her, there was just something she couldn''t put her finger on. She wondered if it was because of the jealousy that had brewed in the beginning as a misunderstanding. Or if it was due to Mrs Henz teasing both Leonard and her daughter together.


    Leonard had to carry Vivian out of the carriage as she had fallen fast asleep. Not having the heart to wake her up, he picked her with less possible movements and took her inside the mansion. On his way, the housekeeper and some of his maids couldn''t help but ogle at them as if something had happened to thedy in his arms as she looked unconscious.


    Tucking her in the bed, Vivian turned her body to hug her nket which Leonard had used to cover her body. Closing the door, he turned around to see Jan at his service.


    "Master Leonard," the housekeeper bowed at him, "Mr Carmichael hase to visit and is waiting in the study room."


    "Uncle Sullivan?"


    "Yes. He arrived a minute ago," his uncle sure had the worst timing to drop by the mansion to see how he was doing.


    "Get him some refreshments while I go change my clothes," the housekeeper bowed his head and went on his way to the kitchen. Once Leonard had changed his clothes, he went to the study room to meet his uncle who had taken a seat on one of the couches while having Jan, the housekeeper entertain him.


    Sullivan Carmichael was Leonard''s paternal uncle, his father''s younger brother who dotted on Leonard like his own son. And with the same privilege, Sullivan made sure to support his nephew like his own while also keeping unwanted people away from him.


    Up until now, Leonard had kept away the rtionship he and Vivian shared to be a secret. It wasn''t that he was ashamed about it but merely because he needed Vivian to first settle down with her feelings for him. To make sure that she saw that the only person she would ever need in her life was him and no one else.


    He wanted to monopolize her, keep her to himself entirely.

 Chapter 118 - Love Rival- Part 4

    Leonard walked down the stairs, making his way to his study room he opened the door to find his uncle sitting with his back facing him.


    Sullivan was his father''s younger brother. A man who looked no less than thirty in a human''s eyes while he was triple the age of what he seemed to appear to be. Compared to Leonard''s blonde hair which was smooth and clean that had a warm colour to it, Sullivan Carmichael had much more of dirty blonde hair which was mostlybed behind with a few strands of hair that came to fall on either side of the head.


    "I see you havepany," his unclemented without turning behind as his eyes were fixated on the parchment that he had picked out of boredom.


    "Good afternoon, uncle Sullivan. Yes, thedy fell asleep and I thought it would be better to let her rest," his reply being truthful to which his uncle smiled.


    "Well, I am d that you brought in ady for yourself. I was worried for some time that I rarely find you in a woman''spany," there was smugness on Sullivan''s lips.


    Leonard chuckled, taking the seat in front of him which he often sat in, he crossed his legs while leaning back, "Didn''t I tell youst time it was a special girl whom I have been courting," realization seemed to dawn on Sullivan''s face.


    "Aye, you did mention it. Are you still keeping her for yourself? You shouldn''t be this secretive about her, it will only get mine and other''s curiosity piqued to full attention."


    "I have nned to bring her to the ball so that I can introduce you to her. She''s a lovely creature," Sullivan seemed to have noticed the light amount of fondness that coated his nephew''s words. He didn''t get to see the girl''s face as they had disappeared behind the doors. When he had arrived at the Carmichael''s mansion, before getting down he had caught sight of Leonard carrying a woman who wore rich clothing, the shoe that was refined and he came to believe that it was a woman of high status whom his nephew was courting.


    "I hope she is to your status and level. You don''t deserve anything less than that but a woman of high calibre."


    "Of course, uncle," Leonard answered before he pulled his drawers one by one searching for the parchment which he finally found, "I prepared the documents you wanted to look at," he handed them to his uncle.


    Sullivan skimmed his eyes across the papers which he had asked Leonard to prepare for him. They were the documents in regards to selling his property as he was nning to move to Valeria.


    Though there were a few rtives who resided in Bonke, Sullivan found it best to move to anothernd. As much as the man hated and despised humans, he loved his elder brother dearly. It wasn''t a loss just for Leonard but also to Sullivan who had grown up around his brother and his family. He was a pureblooded vampire for whom family meant a lot.


    "Are you sure about it?" Leonard asked his uncle. He didn''t want him moving away as they shared a close rtionship though no one knew when or if it would break when his uncle would discover about his rtionship with a former maid.


    A maid came in to bring blood that was taken out freshly from the young women in the market who were used to sell blood due to their quality and taste.


    "I have already chosen the house which is at the outskirts of Valeria. Therefore it shouldn''t be a long journey from Bonke to there when you want to visit," said Sullivan. When the maid came to offer the ss, Sullivan didn''t bother to pick it but instead pulled the maid''s hand who flinched from his touch, "Haven''t you taught the maids here on what it means to work for their owners and masters?"


    The maid shook in fear but not letting a word of fear to drop out of her mouth. Almost every servant who was taken under a pureblooded vampire''s home, they were taught on how to blindly follow the words ofmand and orders which was passed down to them by their masters. Failing to do so had often led to severe punishments. Punishments that could be held both privately or publicly.


    Punishments were usually sexual, putting the servants to ''good use'' ording to the old vampires or drawing their blood out to the point where one would die to only bring them back and torture them all over again. The mostmon ones were letting the servants starve and let other witnesses so that there would be no repeat to it.


    Though Mrs Renae Carmichael didn''t follow the punishment severely, it didn''t mean that when Sullivan Carmichael arrived at the house he didn''t let go of the opportunity to treat the servants just as they were meant to be treated to show their ce. This kept the maids and other workers in check.


    The maid gulped, her eyes that had gone wide out of fear she trembled at the man''s grip on her hand. Leonard didn''t stop his uncle from taking the blood and instead gave a nk expression which seemed uninterested. Drinking from the cup he was offered.


    Bringing the wrist close to his mouth, the old vampire sunk his fangs into the maid''s wrist. Sucking the warm blood he enjoyed it before letting it go and licking his lips. He actioned for her to leave without licking the blood that was smeared across her skin around her wrist. Picking up the tray from the table, the maid swirled around and left the study in a hurry.


    "You should drink it this way, Leonard. Do you know what you''re missing? The fresh warm blood from the skin to your lips which hasn''t been touched by the air. The metallic taste which tingles one''s senses," his uncle praised, "You''re a pureblooded vampire, Leonard. It is your right to drink blood from the human and not what is offered in this measly cup."


    One side of Leonard''s lips curved while one of his eyebrows raised he stated, "That''s very rude, uncle. Telling that my services that are being offered to you aren''t up to your liking. But then if this is how you like, I am not going to stop you."


    "You''re indeed my dearest nephew," Sullivanughed licking every inch of the corner of his mouth which had blood on it before it died down for him to say, "If it is service you are talking about..."


    Leo waited for his uncle to finish his sentence, something pricking his mind to change the conversation as if he knew where this was going to go.


    "There was this girl who was very fond of you. I haven''t got to see her for a long time now," at the mention of Vivian, his ears perked, "I would like it if you could prepare her for me. For a wonderful night''s meal so that I can drink and enjoy her."


    With the words that flew from Sullivan''s lips, the same time Leonard responded, "That can''t be done."


    Sullivan''s eyes narrowed, his head tilting in question at his nephew''s quick denial, "Hmm? Why not? Does she not work here anymore?"


    "She doesn''t. And if she did, I wouldn''t allow that," his uncle''s eyes only narrowed further. Vivian wasn''t a maid anymore. She was his lover and a councilwoman in the making, "Pardon me. I will let you have anyone but her, she is someone I cannot give away for a sip to have or to bed."


    Leonard could see the gears in his uncle''s head turn around to think of what he just said. Though there was no reason to be worried about it for now at least, he didn''t want to give false hope to the man who sat in front of him. Vivian was off limits to everyone. Since a long time, she was his to protect. He could tell that his uncle was doing the math to realize who he had been speaking about all this time.


    "Why not? Don''t tell me you like her, Leo..."


    "I don''t like her. I love her," Leonard corrected him.


    Sullivan frowned, a deep crease forming on his forehead along with the distaste that had formed in his mouth at the information.

 Chapter 119 - Family- Part 1

    Leonard showed no further expression to his uncle by keeping his face passive as he usually did but the calm quiet demeanour that surrounded him gave away the seriousness of his mood.


    "Are you joking, Leonard?" Sullivanughed thinking if his nephew was trying to catch him off guard but Leonard sat there in his ce with a serious look on his face whichcked any possible humor on it, "You''re serious."


    "As serious it can be," Leonard confirmed.


    Leonard hadn''t nned to let the cat out of the bag but it seemed to be important to let uncle Sullivan know about him and Vivian. He didn''t like the way his uncle had not so subtly suggested of bedding Vivian and drinking her blood. He had lost his cool over it, at the thought of it. Leonard was possessive of his belongings and Vivian belonged to him. The very thought of her being touched by someone who wasn''t him or looking wrongly at her made his blood boil in his skin.


    "Have you forgotten she''s a human, the race who was responsible for the death of my brother and his wife, your parents. Have you forgotten about it? Not to forget the rtionship of a pureblooded vampire like yourself with a lowly human maid," the older vampire clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    "I haven''t," Leonard leaned forward to stand up from his sit, walking away from his uncle, "But Vivian has nothing to do with it. To hold an entire race responsible for the damage done by one or two seems quite ignorant to me. Vivian is who I have chosen. I won''t ask for your blessings to be with her but I do hope you''ll be able to ept her to be part of my life in the future."


    "That''s absurd, Leonard. The girl holds no value. Do you even know where shees from? That she will follow through the ways of a vampire?" questioned Sullivan who was finding it hard to digest that his only nephew had fallen in love as he imed with a human. Not any human but one of the lowest ss, "I thought we raised you for a much better life."


    "Believe me when I say this, Vivian is the best amongst the rest."


    Sullivan frowned further, getting up and going to where Leonard stood. cing a hand on his shoulder, he spoke, "I understand that you might be smitten by her but looks fade in time. So does one''s feelings along with it. If it is a girl you want to be with, there are plenty in the pureblooded society that you can choose from."


    Leonard chuckled softly, almost a dryugh as if he pitied his rtive for holding such nonsense thoughts that didn''t make sense in his eyes. He had already picked the woman to love and he had no intention of letting her go for the sake of society.


    "People won''t take it kindly," Uncle Sullivan shook his head.


    "I don''t need other''s opinions to live my life."


    "You''re being naive, Leo," It was understandable for Leonard that why his uncle opposed to his liking towards Vivian. Just because his mother didn''t differentiate between the humans and the night creatures, it didn''t mean his father and his uncle grew up the same way.


    They were born and brought up in a way to show that the humans were inferior and beneath their feet. That, that was where they belonged, "What about Mr. Wastell''s daughter? She is of your age. A fine woman belonging to one of the most respectable family. There''s Lady Gwenth. And if you don''t want to look that far, there''s your second cousin Eleanor. She''s a beautiful girl."


    "I agree with you," his temporary words made Sullivan sigh before he heard what Leonard had to say, "They are all beautiful whoe from elite families but might I remind you I don''t want a woman who knows nothing about life. I am not looking for a girl who is spoilt and knows nothing about how the world works. I don''t need someone who lives in the four walls to be a doll for her husband."


    Sullivan started tough hearing this. Theugh which sounded sarcastic itself, he raised his thin brows, ready with his snide remark in his mouth, "And what about the girl whom you speak? Not only is she a human but someone who works in the mansion as a maid. A woman who cleans other men and women''s clothes and also the same women who washes other people''s spit from the utensil."


    "Vivian is no more a maid of this mansion. She has been turned to ady now."


    "That changes nothing, Leonard," Sullivan looked at him with anger in his eyes which hadn''t been released yet. The hate and disgust for Vivian evident, "Remember this, no matter how much you try to wash the crow it will never turn white. It will still stay the same because that''s what it is. Simrly, the girl whom you are so fond of, she will never fit into ourmunity as she doesn''t belong there."


    "To fit into the society lies in how the society sees it," Leonard responded back with the same vigor.


    "What about the four walls you speak about? Does she even know to read a word from these papers," his uncle iled his arm at the desk were two books and the paper he had been givenid across the desk.


    "She does. In fact, you had be surprised to know that she recently took a test from the council and passed the first exam. As I said, you don''t have to agree with what I think is right but I will not have you talking about her lowly."


    Sullivan stared hard at Leonard unsure of what to say to him.


    Not in his far mind did it ever ur that his nephew would fall in love with a human who was far beyond their status. He had been there to watch over Leonard grow up, making sure he understood the differences the humans and their kind had. Of how capable they were in destroying them as good as the vampires were.


    Not only was he taken back by this information but to think the girl had passed the first exam was something he found hard to believe.


    "How can you guarantee that she didn''t use any tricks to pass the exams."


    "If you are hinting about the possible favors of mine or Lord Nichs'', no she took none. She went there as Malcolm''s far rtive. Malcolm has a cleaner and low reputationpared to mine," which was true. Sir Malcolm Rufus'' usually kept a low profile in the council, which made it easier for him to move around unlike Leonard who had quite a reputation due to which most of the councillor''s sought out to his help in the field of their work, "Give her a chance," he said without feeling the need to plead.


    Sullivan was a hard-headed man who disliked humans to the very core of his heart. Asking him suddenly to have in a change of his heart wasn''t something Leonard was expecting but he could try to sway the man.


    His uncle stood quietly, weighing the pros and cons to what Leonard said. Seconds turned to minutes until the older vampire finally spoke, "I don''t approve of her," Leo sighed knowing this was what the answer was going to be, "But..."


    "But I will wait for her to pass the second exam. If she passes the second exam, I will perhaps consider and give a thought if she is worthy to be your partner," Sullivan picked the papers from the desk and then said, "Thank you for drawing out the papers. I will see youter."


    "Let me see you off," Leonard offered his uncle, leading both of them outside the carriage and seeing the carriage take off and away from his mansion. Dipping both his hands in the pockets of his trouser he stood looking at the trees where the carriage had disappeared, "That went better than I thought," he murmured to no one in particr.


    Giving it onest look, Leonard turned around and got back inside the mansion.


    While Leonard had been professing his love, Vivian had fallen fast asleep in the guest room. Dreaming in her dreands.

 Chapter 120 - Family- Part 2

    Garbled sounds of thunder could be heard in the sky. A little girl slept in the closed cell which she had been locked in the empty room with not a bed or nket being provided for the cold night. Raindrops came through the little window which was barbed in wires that hade to turn red and orange due to rust. Screams were heard from the other side of the rooms which disturbed Vivian''s sleep, her eyes opening to the dim light in the room.


    Not remembering when she arrived here, she pushed the nket away from her body while dragging herself up so that she could sit at the edge of her bed.


    The bat clock which was nailed on the wall cried out as it came outside its wooden house before going back inside to tell the time. It was past six and by the way, the colour of the sky changed Vivian could tell that the night was approaching quickly as darkness began to fall on thends.


    Since the time she had discovered her ability of touch and visions, her dreams felt as if they belonged to someone''s memories. It worried her to a great deal. With only a few that were good and most of them filled with gore, she closed her eyes trying to recollect what she had just dreamt but the vision had already disappeared from her mind. Feeling as if it weren''t of any importance as she couldn''t remember it anymore she stared at the sky.


    She wondered if Leonard had brought her to the room so that she could sleep. Strange how she didn''t wake up, she must have been really exhausted with the travelling and also in the presence of his rtives. Compared to Henz'' family, the Rune''s mansion where Lord Nichs lived was much better even with the unknown ghouls that roamed the corridors in the dark. Both the humans as well as the vampires we''re close minded.


    She was aware that the future held obstacles which they would have to pass through. It wasn''t something unexpected as Vivian knew with the status Leonard and she held along with the kind they belonged to, people would have objections.


    They were dreams, dreams that were loosely based on the subconscious level of her mind yet she couldn''t deny the fact that one particr dream was hard to shake off her mind. The sight of dead Leonard had shaken her and every time he was away, she worried about it. It wasn''t that what she dreamt woulde to be true but the fear lingered in her heart as well as mind.


    Like Leonard who was attached to Vivian, Vivian was dependant on him emotionally. Their feelings were mutual and ran deeper than any other rtionship they had built in the past as they had only each other to trust.


    When the door to the room opened, she looked over her shoulder to find Leonard walking inside the room, "You can sleep more if you want to," she shook her head. There was a possibility that if she slept more she would have a headache by waking up in the middle of the night, "I will apany you during the night,"ing to stand in front of her where she sat on the bed, she closed her eyes like a cat when he touched her face. Rubbing his thumb over her cheek, a gesture which he usually expressed on her.


    "I will turn to a vampire if I sleep at odd times," she joked, and when he didn''t smile she asked, "What happened?"


    "Would you like to be turned into a vampire?" he asked her seriously and she gave it a thought.


    "I can''t?" his hand slipped away from her face and he came to sit next to her on the bed. His cks loosely hung as his feet stretched and crossed.


    Vivian waited for him to speak seeing as he was quiet. It wasn''t like she wasn''t aware of the consequences if a human was turned to a vampire. She knew the different oues of sess and failure rate, after all, she had studied about the different kinds for the council which had educated her thoroughly.


    Was he worried that the transformation wouldn''t be sessful? If a human couldn''t handle and ept the transformation, the core which would have been in the creation would get corrupted before the person turned devoid of any emotions like a wild animal who was considered unfit to live amongst the society and the council.


    She had heard of how Mr Rufus'' lover had passed away a few months ago.


    "I think you will pull it through. You aren''t an average human so you should be able to handle the transformation but is that what you want?" Leonard asked her, looking at the girl whom he loved dearly.


    Maybe Vivian had forgotten about their past conversations which had taken ce years ago when he came to visit his home but he remembered them well. There had been a point when Vivian had told him how she wanted to live her long human life without any regrets and not wanting to extend it. It was because she had met vampires and seen how empty and hollow they were, but all of them were the ones who had shared no soul bond with another person.


    "Do you want to give up being human? I am only asking this because I don''t want you to regret itter. Once you turn there might be no turning back to it unless someone has invented a cure for it," a smile made up her lips, turning herself so that she could face Leonard.


    Taking his hand which rested on the bed, she yed with his fingers by touching the tips of her fingers to touch his, "I want to live with you."


    "That you will."


    She shook her head, her blinking two times and said, "I want to spend my life with you, like this. Not as an old woman," she slightly pouted which was a rare thing to see for Leonard, "It would be unfair when you''re still handsome and young while I turn to have grey hair and wrinkled skin. It would make me feel insecure," her eyes moved to look him in the eye.


    A smirk appeared on his face, "I would have never pegged to think that you were the jealous kind."


    "One can''t help it when all the women keep staring at you," she looked away from him to see darkness which had made a home in the sky.


    "And no matter how many beautiful women look at me, I only have my eyes for you, Vivi," she didn''t respond to this. Hearing this, blood rushed up to her cheeks, "If we are going to turn you to a vampire eventually there''s no point waiting for it. When would you want me to turn you?" he asked her.


    Vivian wanted to live a full life with Leonard next to her. To spend theiring days together just like this but she hadn''t ever thought about a specific date or day. It was just there in her mind without a n.


    As if realizing what he just said, she asked him with surprise in her voice, "You will turn me?"


    Leonard narrowed his eyes, "You didn''t think I would let another woman or man touch you," and he was calling her to be jealous, thought Vivian to herself. Compared to both of them, she could tell that he was the one to feel more jealous, yet at the moment she secretly enjoyed his reaction.


    "I didn''t. What about now?" she questioned.


    After pondering for a few seconds, Leonard then said, "Take this night to think about it. If you still n to turn to a vampire by the time of morning tomorrow. I will turn you to a vampire myself but I need you to consider it before jumping into the excitement."


    It wasn''t that Leonard didn''t want her to turn into one of them. To have her as a vampire with extended years was something he himself was looking forward to. Her humans years wasn''t enough for him. If she picked to stay human, there woulde the day where he would have to see her wither away in front of his eyes which he didn''t want.


    She was excited to turn to a vampire but there was no telling if she would be excited about this after a few years. They were both young, but he had seen many vampires who were turned to lose interest in life quickly. Wishing how they could have picked to stay human. Though pureblooded vampires were the one who had the ability to turn the humans into vampires, they didn''t possess the ability to turn them into a pureblooded vampire like themselves.


    While pureblooded vampires were very much considered alive like the humans, with warmth in their skin and a beating heart. The same didn''t hold with the turned vampires. No matter how sessful the transformation was, one always felt the empty hollow as if a piece of their soul had been lost.


    As easy it was to sink one''s fangs into the skin, either to draw blood or diffuse their own venom into the person to turn into a vampire, the thought had to be carefully gauged with the positive and negatives that came along with it.


    Though Vivian already had a faint idea about it, he wanted her to give it some thought before deciding if she wanted to be turned.

 Chapter 121 - Church Work- Part 1

    When morning arrived, Vivian took a warm bath which was prepared for her. Applying more of thethered leaves which produced the soapy and foaming touch on her hands when she rubbed them with both her hands. Dressing with the help of a maid who arrived at the door like every other morning since her change in the status, she got ready.


    Leonard was reading the newsletter which was picked by the servant from the market, news which he was already well informed of when Vivian came into his view in the drawing room.


    Unlike many other times, he didn''t start the conversation as he wanted her to speak about the matter of decision he had left in her handsst evening.


    "I have decided what I want," he waited for her to go on and he heard her speak, "I want to be with you, Leo. As long as time permits, as long as I can elongate my years, I want to spend it with you. Thinking about the loneliness of not just mine but also yours when I am gone doesn''t sit well with me. I can''t let you go through the loss anymore. I love you, and I am ready to be turned into a vampire," by the end of her sentence, Leonard had got up, walking towards her he pulled her to kiss her on her lips.


    Their lips lingered on each other for a few seconds before they pulled apart. Leonard ced his forehead on hers, his eyes closed as he sucked in a deep breath and let it out. With her out loud confession, he could finally ce a bond on her to bind their souls until death would part them.


    A bond which was meant for lovers, the kind where one could ce it on their partner only if there was mutual love.


    Vivian felt Leonard hug her with his arms that had begun to tighten around her body but she didn''t mind it. For some like Leonard who never showed his feelings or emotions openly, Vivian basked in glory to know that she would be the only one to know this side of him. The warm Leo whom only she had privilege in knowing.


    She smiled until the housekeeper arrived at the door with their breakfast along with a maid who stood behind him. Ready to pull back she nudged his chest with both her hands that rested there but right when she did that, it only made the Duke pull her closer to him before he finally let her go.


    Though the housekeeper had nowe to get used to Leonard''s affection that spilt every time Vivian was around, it wasn''t the same for the maids who worked there which included the servant who hade to leave their breakfast in the room.


    Vivian, on the other hand, felt the embarrassment of Leonard''s open affection. Her face had turned bright red and she coughed, clearing her throat. Something today felt different to her, it was the atmosphere where Leonard looked rxed.


    Was it because of what she said? Scratching her neck, she sat down at the little table as tea was served to her.


    After their breakfast in the drawing room, Leonard took her to his room. Closing the door behind him, he locked it. He then went to the balcony door, locking it before he drew the blinds turning the room dark.


    As much as Vivian was looking forward to turning to a vampire, she felt nervous about it now. The procedure of turning into a vampire wasn''t aplicated one. Theplication took ce after the procedure waspleted to see if the body could take in and digest the venom which would be diffused into the veins of the receiver.


    It was necessary to demonstrate it in the dark as a newly turned vampire wouldn''t be able to bear the heat and light. It would take them a week before they would be able to adjust their new self to the existing environment.


    He ced his hands on her shoulder, "I need you to rx," he said, feeling her shoulder des under his hands, "It will be difficult for the venom to seep in if your muscles contract too tightly due to which it might cause other reactions which we don''t want."


    Vivian nodded her head, taking in a deep breath she saw him unbutton the first two buttons of her dress so that he could have easier ess to her neck with the cotton cloth which could create a hindrance. One hand of his moved from her shoulder to her neck, and the other was ced on her back to pull her gently forward.


    Bending towards her neck, he first kissed the spot where he would be biting her. At the touch of his lips, she flinched at first with the fear that he was going to bite her but she rxed when he dropped another kiss. Pressing his lips on her smooth-textured skin before dragging it up to the column of her neck.


    Once he brought it down, his fangs came out and he bit into her neck with a single movement. At the puncture of her skin, Vivian gave out a muffled cry where she tried to bite in the pain which began to flood into her body, starting from her neck to flow to the tips of her fingers to tips of her toes.


    His fangs felt like needles that were pushed into her with the pain that had only begun as he released the venom. As minutes passed, feeling it was enough to sustain and turn her into a vampire, he retraced his fangs while licking his teeth and lips from the blood that had seeped out of her tender skin.


    "I-is it over?" asked Vivian, her voice small when their eyes met.


    "Yes," he answered to see her look at me dazed as if she could hardly keep her eyes open. Her body lost bnce to fall into a state of unconsciousness in his arms.


    Leonard stayed the entire day in her room. Keeping an eye over her to make sure he was there when her transformation would beplete and she would be awake.


    Having the firece stocked, he sat on the wide chair with his back leaned against the chair. With papers, he had to file in the council which was on the death of the vampires which was caused by the humans he looked into it while he waited for Vivian to wake up from her sleep. The transition time varied from one person to another but it never took more than a day.


    Letting her sleep through the day, the next day arrived but even with twenty-four hours that had passed by there was no sign of Vivian waking up which Leonard found suspicious. When he went to push her hair away from her face he noticed her temperature which was unusually warmer than necessary. Having slight fever was eptable but as time progresses, her body temperature only increased to the point where he could feel the heat which worried him.


    With the thought about her well being, he sent one of his servant with a letter in hand to request sister Isabelle toe to the Carmichael''s mansion. After an hour passed, a knock was heard on the door where the housekeeper arrived to announce to Leonard,


    "Master Leonard, sister Isabelle is here to visit you," the housekeeper bowed, moving out of the way so that the woman who hade to see them walked inside the room.


    The woman''s eyes were gentle, her features soft that looked as harmless as a feather, "Leonard," she smiled. Her white robes swept across the clean floor like a phantom.


    Leonard went to greet the high priestess of the church, "Good evening, sister Isabelle."


    "You wrote you needed my guidance over something important. What is it?" as she asked, her eyes fell on Vivian whoid on the bed fast asleep, "She looks unwell. Who is she?" she inquired, walking to the unconscious girl in the bed.


    "Her name is Vivian. I was turning her to a vampire but something must have gone wrong in her transformation," he answered her.


    "Why would you conclude that? It looks like a recent transformation. Fever is verymon during the transition from human to a vampire."


    Leonard''s jaw was set firmly before he spoke, "It''s not the fever."


    Sister Isabelle, who was looking at Vivian turned to look at Leonard to ask him, "Is it the core?" he shook his head.


    "No, it''s not about the corruption of her heart but her blood that worries me. Her blood tastes the same as before. She''s still a human."

 Chapter 122 - Church Work- Part 2

    Sister Isabelle scrunched her shaped brows, her green eyes staring at Leonard with surprise at the information the Duke had ryed to her. She turned to look back at the girl who was fast asleep, her breathing a little shallow.


    "The transition failed?" she asked for confirmation.


    To her question, Leonard spoke, "Her body isn''t taking in the venom in and is trying to fight the transformation. I have tasted Vivian''s blood before and it still tastes the same," he cleared her confusion.


    "Maybe you aren''t able to find the difference," the woman wondered loudly.


    The hierarchy of the food chain when it came to the kinds that lived and dominated the fournds of the empire was a partial one. Humans thrived on nts and the animal stock while vampires fed on the human blood. Apart from these two, the higher species were the pureblooded vampires- vampires who could not only feed on the humans but also on the normal vampires. Though humans would never agree to it, the pureblooded vampires were superior to the other race.


    "I know what I drink, Sister Isabelle," his words were sharp at what she had deduced.


    Sister Isabelle didn''t poke the man with possible answers as she was well aware of his temper. Leonard''s mother was good friends with the priestess, making usual trips to the church to have a friendly talk when she passed by the church of the town.


    A few years ago when Leonard was young, the issue of his untamed temper was the discussion as he would always end up in brawls when by looks he looked calm as if nothing could ruffle him. The deceiving aura was something she appreciated as not everyone had the ability to carry it with ease. And even with years passed, she could sense that temper which still lingered beneath his skin. It was on a leash right now and it was wise to keep it that way that let hell loose.


    Pureblooded vampires didn''t turn every human to one of their kind unless there was some sort of use they could profit from. Seeing the girl, she wondered if the girl held any romantic interest of the Duke who had called her at this time of the hour with urgency.


    "May I?" she raised her hand towards the sleeping girl. Seeing him nod, she ced her hand on Vivian''s forehead to feel the skin burning up, "Her fever seems to be increasing in time. As you said, it is possible that her body isn''t taking in the transformation and has fought any possible transition which could have corrupted her heart if the process had begun."


    "Jan," Leonard called his housekeeper who immediately came to his side, "Get a bowl of cold water and a clean cloth."


    The housekeeper bowed his head, leaving the room the three people who were inside.


    "Hmm?" Sister Isabelle fell into deep thought, "She''s the young child I met when the previous lord, Lord Wilhelhum was being cremated."


    It seemed that there was more to the story as not everyone was meant to be remembered. People always remembered and made a note if the person intrigued them or if there was something odd about their behaviour. Sister Isabelle was a white witch who was part of the church, helping man and vampire kind when they sought out for her for guidance. She was a white witch with the ability to sense. It wasn''t as renowned as what Vivian hade to acquire but it was enough to give her a sense of emotions. Leonard said, "Tell me more," though his words were polite there was a demand hidden underneath it.


    Sister Isabelle pursed her lips. She had met young Vivian a few years, it wasn''t often that she met people like her but she had forgotten about it until today.


    "The girl is not who she appears to be, Duke Carmichael," Leonard raised his eyebrow, not dropping into what she could have found, he let herplete what she had to say, "I wouldn''t tell I ampletely sure about it but I believe that thest time I touched the girl to bless her, she had only been turned. Turned from vampire to a human."


    "That''s not possible," he responded back. Vivian had been human since he could remember but at the same time, there was a possible possibility in what the white witch had to say.


    The housekeeper arrived back in the room with the bowl of cold water and cloth as requested by his master. cing it on the side table, he moved a few steps behind before exiting from the room and closing the door behind him.


    "I will take care of it."


    When Leonard said that, Sister Isabelle didn''t know what he was talking about before it dawned in the next second that he wanted to be the one to tend to the girl and not her.


    She didn''t know if it was because he held a special ce towards the girl or it was just that he didn''t believe in her as to what she could if he let her take care of the girl. Like ck witches who weren''t trusted by everyone, there were some who didn''t trust the white witches. After all the witches were stemmed from the same branch of the tree. She came to believe it to be the first one as he took the cloth, dipping it in and squeezing it before cing it neatly on her forehead.


    "As easy it is to acknowledge that a human can turn to vampire, we haven''t seen or heard of vampires turning to humans. Never at all. As I said, I might be wrong and it is just my insight into what I have sensed."


    "Sister Isabelle," Leonard asked smoothening the cloth gently across Vivian''s forehead, "How many times has your insight turned wrong?"


    "Never until now," hearing the answer, questions began to rise in his mind about Vivian''s life before she arrived at the Carmichael''s residence. Until now they had thought of her to be human and they had search for the older housekeepers rtives so that he could track her family. If Sister Isabelle''s intuition was right then it seemed that he had been looking in the wrong direction in concern to Vivian''s lineage.


    He looked at sleeping Vivian, taking the cloth which had turned warm because of the heat that was being pulled out from her forehead, he dipped it back in the cold water.


    "It would be a piece of very surprising news that a vampire turned to a human."


    Leonard who put back the cloth on Vivian''s forehead stood up to ask the white witch, "Why didn''t you find more about it?"


    To this, she smiled, crinkles forming at the corner of her eyes, "It isn''t our job, Duke Carmichael but the councils. Our kind will help the one that asks for help but not by taking initiative by ourselves. After having one of my own sister killed for living with a vampire, I wouldn''t take the risk. You do remember the ident that took ce in Valeria?"


    He knew about it. Not when it took ce but as years passed by he hade to learn about the unfortunate ident that the previous Lord of Valeria''s wife had to suffer. She had been staked and burned in the middle of the street because of the humans.


    "Just between us, Duke Leonard, but it wasn''t the humans who were at fault for what happened," giving Vivian some quiet and time to rest, both Leonard and Sister Isabelle stepped out of the room, "The council had something to do with it."


    "That''s a strong usation you have, Sister Isabelle," hemented while leading her down the stairs.


    The white witch smiled again, her features serene and tranquil. Her footsteps paused, "Not the entire council but someone in there seemed to have a feud with her. Someone who wanted her dead. You must already know that the ce where you work isn''t clean but contaminated with people with different intentions on their mind. As the person in there," she said looking in the direction of where Vivian was resting now, "She''s been gifted. Let me know if you or she needs my help in exploring her abilities. I will send some of the medicines to help the body lower the temperature."


    It didn''te as a surprise that she had found out about Vivian being special in such a short time. With what he had observed she was a white witch who picked to keep a low profile, lower than most of the witches who worked in and around the church.

 Chapter 123 - Church Work- Part 3

    Returning back to where Vivianid asleep in the bed, Leonard removed the wet cloth and turned it around which was colderpared the other surface that had been lying on her warm forehead. He internally sighed when the temperature had considerably reduced than the previous time he had noticed.


    Taking the cloth and keeping on the side table, he sat on the bed holding one hand of Vivian. Running his finger across the back of her fingers gently he pondered over what Sister Isabelle had told him.


    Her body had rejected the venom he had tried diffusing into her body, fighting it out and nullifying the effect. If he hadn''t asked for Sister Isabelle''s thought, he would have considered that it was her ability to heal that was not epting the change. He had been worried after the process of biting her to only see her unconscious and with a fever.


    Vivian a vampire? The news hade more than a shock to him. His brows were slightly furrowed in concentration as he thought about it. His Bambi had never shown any sign of being a vampire, not since she had arrived at the mansion with Martha. But then no one knew about her life beforeing here. The person who had brought her here was no more. The next person, Paul who might have known had been executed in the public formitting the murders in his home.


    Thest time he had visited Valeria he had searched for her roots of where she hade from if her parents still were alive but Martha had no rtives and the search had hit the dead end.


    If Sister Isabelle''s intuition was right and Vivian was previously a vampire, he wondered what had gone wrong that could have turned his beloved to a human?


    The gears in his head began to turn and move for the questions while seeking for answers.


    If Vivian was a vampire, her parents would be one too as children were rarely put to transition for newborn vampires. An average family of vampires would either have let it be or raised the child as livestock to be taken blood from. Unlike the pureblooded vampires, the ones that belonged to the lower society of vampirescked morals.


    She would have been put under very but he scratched the possibility as she bared no brand on her skin. The ve establishment had its own brand of ink marked on ves to denote from where they came so that if one escaped, they could be brought back in.


    Thest window was that she belonged to a daughter of a pureblooded family.


    He didn''t know what was responsible for Vivian''s change from a vampire to a human yet but for Martha to bring a young girl here telling she was her rtive there was a high chance that Vivian belonged to a pureblooded family.


    The pureblooded vampires were the aristocrats of the society, most of them still believing in their pure lineage and traditions. It was one of the many reasons why some rtives were married to each other to keep the blood clean without having the need to sully with other beings. He had read somewhere on how thick blood brought in advantages when it came to the vampire body. The closest person he could rte to was Lord Nichs. His father had raped his mother who was his niece, which was the deed that brought in the Lord to this world.


    For the pureblooded vampires, their status and reputation meant a lot in society. A family who would have been ashamed to keep a human as their daughter and would have given away thought Leonard to himself.


    A memory came to pass through his mind, the night when he had found Vivian at the door in the middle of the night when they were young.


    Like many other nights, Leo liked to walk in the mansion when everyone fell asleep. He had stepped out of his room for a midnight walk when he caught sight of the little human walking the corridor. He had followed her wondering what she was up to until her small hands tried to reach for the main doors. Like a distracted child, her eyes had then fallen to the vase that stood next to the doors.


    "What are you doing?" his voice and presence had startled her to the point she had broken the vase which he had to hide as they were a gift from the previous Lord. When he questioned her on where she was going her answer had been simple.


    "Home," her hands had clutched her nightdress tightly in fright.


    Home? thought Leonard, "Where is it?" he continued to ask her to which the girl had no answer. He saw her lips tremble as she repeated, "Home," repeating the word like it was something precious which she wasn''t aware that it no longer was her home.


    "I don''t know where home is if you don''t tell me. Martha or Paul might know about it. Why don''t you go sleep and go home tomorrow?" he had asked her to see her shake her head. His little Bambi had cried looking at the doors and wanting to go back home before the housekeeper hade to pick her up in the arms.


    He hadn''t realized it back then as to what circumstances Vivian must have been torn away from her family. His jaw ticked at the thought of it. For the parents to abandon an innocent child who knew nothing of the world, his hands clenched together in anger. One thing he was sure was that Vivian came from Valeria and if he needed an answer he would have to backtrack the events with the pureblooded families and who had lost their daughter.


    Bending down to her, he pressed his lips gently on her forehead.


    It was past the time of night when Vivian''s eyes slowly opened after the long hours of sleep she had. Her eyelids felt heavy, her body sticky and hot. Turning her head to the side, she found a blonde head resting on the bed who was undoubtedly Leonard.


    Moving her hand towards him, she softly touched his head which woke him up, "Why are you sleeping ufortably here?" she asked him. She saw him stare at her for a few passing seconds.


    "Careful," he said when she tried to sit up on the bed. Her muscles felt sore, her movementsnguid. The next thing she did was to poke her fingertips on her canines which didn''t feel any different than what it was before. Was there a technique in bringing out the fangs? "What are you doing, Vivi?" he chuckled at her actions.


    "Finding my fangs of course," and she saw the chuckle slip down her face. A grave expression came to rece. As if in realization she took in a deep breath, "I-I....the transition wasn''t sessful?"


    He shook his head, "The transition didn''t take ce. Your body rejected the venom for transformation."


    "Oh," she frowned, her heart sunk down at the thought of it. Did it mean she wouldn''t be able to live next to Leonard''s side? That she would grow old and die while Leonard will continue to live for more years that was toe.


    He then smiled, cing his hand on her cheek, "Don''t look so down, Vivi. It will want me to eat you with such innocent expression," she blushed, "You caught a fever but it seems to have gone down now. Must be a reaction to the venom."


    "Why though?"


    She had been looking forward to it. Forward to living just like he was, to be in the same line of life and status. She had worked hard for the council exam not only because she wanted to find the man who had killed Charlotte but also because she wanted to feel fit to be with the man she had given her heart to. Knowing well how society would look at them, she wanted to be a suitable match for him.


    "We have a lot to talk," he got up from the bed and helped her out of it. Receiving a questionable look from her, he said, "Let''s get you out of these clothes and fed before that. You gave me a fright when you didn''t wake up than the intended time."


    "How long was I out?"


    "Close to two days," Two days? thought Vivian to herself, that was the longest she had ever slept.


    "Umm, Leo," Vivian stood that the bathroom door before getting in.


    Leonard cocked his head to the side, "What is it?"


    "I ah-can I wash. Alone," he wanted to help her but keeping her wishes, he reluctantly nodded his head.


    "I will ask Jan to get the food up here. Call me if you need anything."


    When Leonard finally exited the room, Vivian went inside the bathroom to stand in front of therge mirror that was nailed on the wall. She stared at herself with a grimace on how she looked. She must have rolled over the pillow over and over to form what had been created on her head now. Her eyes looked darker than before, almost hollow which scared her. One could say it was close to how the corrupted vampires looked.


    Thinking it was the after effects or no effects of the venom that had entered her body, he walked away from the mirror. Discarding her dress one after another, not noticing that she had been wearing a muchfortable nightdress than thest time she was in before being bitten.


    As she stepped out of the bath with a fresh dress and her skin feeling cooler, she saw Jan cing the food on the table while Leonard was waiting on the chair for her. Deep down she wondered if Jan would have muttered a curse for making him work at this hour of the day when one was supposed o be sleeping. When Jan bowed his head at her presence, she returned back the courtesy.


    The housekeeper then asked, "Would you like me to heat the blood, master?"


    "That won''t be necessary, Jan," the housekeeper nced at Vivian. Hearing the conversation the couple had in the drawing room, he had been waiting to see red eyes and fangs but she looked the same.


    Had the Duke not bit her right which was the reason why the priestess of the church hade to visit them?


    "There''s one more item I need you to fetch. Get the bottle that has been stacked in the cer with thebel ''Willow 1459'' on it," on Leonard''s order, the housekeeperplied and went out to the antique bottle which was requested by his master.

 Chapter 124 - Church Work- Part 4

    Leonard took to serving her the food when she sat down with him. Thest time when Vivian had consumed alcohol, there had been no change. It was as if the alcohol taken in by humans and average vampires had no effect on her. He had asked Jan to get him a bottle which was specially created for a pureblooded vampire with a high level of tolerance for alcohol.


    The soup Vivian consumed tasted bitter, making her wonder if something more than the usual had been added to it. Notining about it, she ate it as she was hungry. The housekeeper picked the empty tter and took it with him after cing the bottle of alcohol which had only half of the contents inside it.


    "I had one of the Sisters of the church visit you earlier this day. I needed to make sure you were alright," said Leonard while sprinkling the pepper on his te of meat, "The medicine she provided is bitter therefore I asked Jan to add it in the soup," there was the mystery to the different taste in the soup.


    Idly he picked the bottle in his other hand to read thebel of the bottle. The vintage bottle was old, older than he or his parents which would cost any pureblooded vampire a good piece of hisnd, "You''re celebrating my unsessful transformation to a vampire," she joked to see his lips pull to a smile.


    "My celebration is much more than that today and no this isn''t for me. It is for you to drink," he said, pulling the cork of the bottle and pouring the liquid which could be considered lesser than a gulp into the crystal ss.


    Feeling less tired after the bath and her mind fresh after a long sleep, her curiosity piqued at his offer for her to drink. It was amon fact that was known that when a man or a woman consumed the alcohol, they were bound to feel light headed and tipsy. The liquid that could bring out the truth or make the person an emotional mess until the time the content of it lingered in one''s body.


    "It will taste bitter but it leaves an after taste of sweetness. The best among what is present in the cer," he wanted to find the answer of who Vivian was. This was the easiest and fastest method to find out about her. He had let her take average alcoholst time, one that affected the humans as well as vampires but not pureblooded vampires.


    He handed her the ss in midair for her to take. Taking it from his hand, she wondered if she was supposed to take a sip from it, "Is it alright for a sick person to have it?"


    "Hmm. Don''t worry about it. This one won''t produce heat in the body, rather you might feel cold after drinking it," he exined to her.


    Dropping the fork she had been holding in her hand, she used it to hold the ss with both her hands. Bringing it close to her face, she smelt it first and then ced her lips tilting the ss slowly until the liquid slid over the ss and slipped into her mouth. Though it was less in content and barely to be called as a sip when the liquid glided down her throat soon it started sinking into her body cell which for an instant made her feel like her body lost its strength to stay still.


    Quickly she ced the ss on the table before looking up at Leonard who smirked at some internal victory of his.


    "Congrattions, Vivian. You aren''t a human but a pureblooded vampire," he said taking the ss and finishing thest two drops that had remained behind after Vivian had gulped from it.


    Vivian stared at him, processing what he just said with the twirl she had received after drinking the antique liquid, "What?"


    "I praise myself for finding answers and details about people. Getting to the bottom of anything but I could find nothing previously about your family. I finally figured why we couldn''t find your parents," his words brought in hope, the hope of wanting to meet her parents and if there was anyone else in the family who was waiting for her, "This bottle here affects only the pureblooded vampires. Not the humans, not the average vampires or the witches. Just the pureblooded vampires. The reason why the transition was a failure was that you are a pureblooded vampire. A former pureblooded vampire," he corrected to see the confusion on her face.


    "How''s that possible?" sheughed to say, "I have been a human all my life."


    "True. That''s what all of us have thought but we don''t know the part of you before you arrived here. It might take a while for us to know what caused the change in your genes from a pureblooded vampire to a human. I will take a look again when I go back to Valeria again. We should be able to find more about you and your family."


    Vivian took the time to digest what he just said. All she could hear was about her being a pureblooded vampire. The news was an unexpected one which had never once urred to her. How could it? She had been a human all this time, living as one and having no tendency of drinking blood at the sight of it.


    Though there was blood in front of her where Leonard was drinking from as part of his meal, she didn''t feel the need to drink it. She didn''t crave for it the way vampires did.


    A former pureblooded vampire?


    Unable to eat much, she asked him, "Does that mean my parents are pureblooded vampires?" seeing him nod, her heart shuddered at the thought of it.


    All this time she had lived as a peasant, a maid until recently when Leonard had decided to turn her to ady but to think that her parents were pureblooded vampires, a worried frown fell on her face. Most of the pureblooded vampires were of high and to find one in a lower ss was negligible.


    Leonard ced his hand over hers in assurance and she smiled softly.


    With having slept so much, Vivian stayed awake reading a book along with Leonard in his study room while having her feet scrunched up with Leonard behind her. Her back rested on his front while his hands circled around to hold the book so that both of them could look at it.


    Leonard knew Vivian wasn''t an idiot to not know why and how her parents would have lost contact with her. He hadn''t ced a soul bond on her yet but he could feel the sadness that hade to hover over her mood. The loneliness that she felt, he used it to his own advantage by giving her the support she needed so that she could rely on him.


    With her head rested on his chest, Vivian asked Leonard, "Why didn''t the sister of the church tell your mother about it?"


    "The witches have always been used along with the ck witches. Though I wouldn''t me my kind, there have been some rare cases of the white witch turning their back and involved in some hical work. They answer only if asked else they information dies within themselves."


    "Meaning if we didn''t try to transform me, we would have never known about it."


    "That''s right," he replied back.


    "What if they lost me by mistake, my parents I mean, and Martha found me. Out of pity, she must have brought me here," she suggested to hear him hum.


    "That can be a possibility," he responded, cing his chin on her shoulder to rest on. Though the truth seemed far from it, for now, he went along with it.


    "How do you think my parents are? Do you think I have siblings like a sister like Charlotte?" though Vivian was worried at the same time she wondered how her family was. How they would react upon hearing she had been trying to find them.


    Leonard in return this time didn''t know what to answer.


    He himself didn''t know what he would do once he found them for abandoning her at such a young age and at that thought his fingers tightened behind the book as he held it.

 Chapter 125 - Church Work- Part 5

    Sister Isabelle lit the candles in the church, going one by one where new candles had been reced to the melted ones. As it was the time of night, the church looked dark except for the ones that were close to the lit candles. Thunderstruck down thends like any other day in Bonke, growls of the thunder, whisper of the winds which gushed and rushes across thends through the trees and houses.


    A man who came from the side door with an umbre in his hand, he jittered his hand, folding the umbre as he let it lean on the wall where water hade to start to collect at the tip of it.


    "You have returned! How was your visit to Carmichael''s mansion, Sister Isabelle?" he asked walking towards her.


    "One of his guests fell sick and he needed assistance over it," she smiled looking at him, "You seem to have been fortunate to have taken the umbre along with you this time," the man had the habit of not taking the umbre with him which often led to himing back to the church drenched in the rain from head to his shoes.


    He ruffled his chestnut hair with his hand, sprinkling a little water that had managed to get on his head when he had previously tried opening the umbre, "Ah, yes. I have learnt to take one now. The rain in the Bonke is a never-ending routine. I sometimes wonder how thend thrives for crops and other food stock with this amount of rain that keeps pouring in. Surprising, isn''t it?" he looked in awe at therge window which was coloured in paints on the ss that touched the ceiling.


    "Thends have got used to it along with the people who live here," murmured the woman, her green eyes having a different shade of colour due to the luminance that the candle reflected on her face.


    "That sure is true. If I weren''t from here I would have died out of he utter gloominess thisnd holds within itself. Have you gotten used to it, Sister Isabelle? Let me take care of the rest," he took the candle from her and began to light the other end of the dais.


    "It''s been more than thirty years. I think this weather suits me much better than the one I came from," she smiled, her eyes shining with the way she said it making the man nod his head in agreement to what she said, "How did the exorcism go in the vige? I hope it well."


    "It very much did. I had to chase a ck witch who had taken home in the corner house of the vige which isn''t far from the river that flows by to connect to theke of Bones," he grimaced at the memory of encountering the ck witch before the time of Dusk, "How do you handle them? Their scaley skin makes my skin crawl," this brought in a bubble ofughter from the woman who had gone and sat at the front of the bench.


    Sister Isabelle responded back, "I think it would be easy to know if you were a white or a ck witch, Connor by the mere mention of scales and hairs of other people," white witches were not far apart from the humans except for the exception of holding and honing skills of magic that their ancestors had passed down to them. But when it came to the ck witches, they were as cunning as the vampires, maybe far worse than them.


    They used the humans by words and deception of looks to get their work done before the same humans would be used in their experiments of potion making.


    ck witches true appearance was hideous, with horns and uneven caked skin which looked like a driednd which had not been watered for weeks and months. They had a serpent-like tongue and voice which was hoarse but that''s not what they appeared to look like in the public. They relied on potions to make themselves beautiful and then trap men to do their bidding with their sweetened words.


    "True words, Sister."


    "What was the issue? Did you find why she was hiding in there? I thought the council and we made a check on it if they resided in any of the houses," she questioned as she remembered making rounds in the nearby viges for inspection. Though the white witches couldn''t be considered to be in the favours of the council, the church was part of the council''s work. Due to this, the white witches could do nothing butply with the orders of the council.


    "She must have sneaked in after all when I first went there there was her with the normal human self but when I started the incantation along with the holy water, she started to turn to her original self-"


    "Wait, did you say chase back?" Father Connorughed nervously to receive a sullen look from Sister Isabelle, "You didn''t catch her?"


    "We tried our best but she got away. The guardsmen never listen to what I say and like to do things differently," he scratched the back of his neck and then sighed, "I asked them to stay guard behind and front the house I was getting into but instead they got inside the house, talking to the members and I couldn''t capture her."


    Sister Isabelle looked outside the window when the lightning struck, to reflect the white light inside the church, "You need to learn to leave the guards out of your n when you go in the vige, Connor. Relying on others would do you no good. Depend on no one but yourself."


    "Yes, Sister Isabelle," the man answered, blowing the candle he had been holding, he came to sit a few spaces away from her but on the same bench, "You seem to look a little tensed. I will make sure we capture all the witches that lurk here."


    "That sounds consoling," it was good for now that the witch had been driven away from the vige. By father Connor''s words, she concluded that no human was abducted in the midst of her escape. Knowing about their nature, she was sure there wouldn''t be any ck witch entering the perimeter around the vige as they would feel the guards would be on alert along with a word being sent to the council.


    That wasn''t the concerning matter though. It was the young girl whom she had visited a few hours ago at the Carmichael''s mansion, "Do you remember the time when Mrs Carmichael came to visit with her sisters here. There was a child that brought along."


    "Child?"


    "The one that turned to a human," father Connor nodded his head in realization, "I went to visit her today." Sister Isabelle usually didn''t share matters like these that had sensitive information but Connor was a reliable man. Brought up by the previous reverend, he had served his entire life in the church.


    "She was the guest?"


    "Yes. Apparently, the duke tried to turn her but her body rejected the venom and she still is a human. I think I need to look into it as I failed to warn the boy before," she said looking far into space. Connor who had been looking at the candles flicker snapped his head at what Sister Isabelle said.


    "I thought you didn''t want to do anything with the vampires or the council," hemented with a concerned look on his face.


    "I didn''t before but I need to step into this one."


    A little regret lingered in her mind for not warning thetedy Carmichael of what she had felt when she hadst visited the church. When she had gone to bless the vampiress, she had felt something dark linger around her as if something ominous was working its way in which she couldn''t put her finger on. She often found the ominous presence but it passed away as the weather. But then that wasn''t the only reason why she had let it pass. Even if she foresaw the deathing, she had no right to deviate what was to happen by changing the course of action. Meddling in would only cause further imbnce and it wouldn''t affect just one person but a whole lot more than one could have a count on.


    Father Connor asked curiously, "How have you nned to help her?"


    "She will need help in honing her skills for who she really is," the man looked a little lost as he heard her speak. He didn''t know what more was there when it came to being a vampire. All the vampire had to do was sink their fangs and drink the blood from their victim.


    The night continued to rain heavily, water picking up the loose soil and dirt down the hills and slopes to join the river and swamps. The white witch didn''t sleep, instead, she went to the cer room where multiple herbs and potions were ced to serve as medicines for the local vigers. Her long straight midnight ck hair was let loose where it reached below her waist.


    A book was in her hand, opening a certain page which held the little portrait of a woman and boy in between the pages. She stared at the picture for a long time, remembering how she had got the picture and the ne with the cross that had a ruby stone that was worn in that picture by the female in it.


    Unconsciously, she touched her neck which trailed to the front of her chest as if missing the piece she once used to wear around her neck.

 Chapter 126 - Isle Valley

    Other books in the ''Lord''s Duke and the Ghost'':


    # Valerian Empire


    # Heidi and the Lord


    # Bambi and the Duke


    # Young master Damien''s pet


    # (Yet to be released book)


    . . .


    ~The chapter is long, hence the high SS. Read the Author''s note~


    The next two days, Leonard kept a close watch on Vivian''s health. Making sure she was sleeping enough and eating the right food. It made Vivian feel only that much aware and conscious as if she were a pregnant woman which made herugh.


    There was a month gap before the second exam would take ce, enough for her to rx and mentally prepare herself to whatever task or job was going to be given to her. Her fever had passed like any other time. It appeared that the venom was out of her system and there was no need for the medicines provided by the church.


    Having the sun out after such a long time, Vivian had decided to pluck the flowers from the garden. Though she had intended to pluck them out, she had let them be. The sunlight of Bonke wasn''t harsh, it felt nice and mellow on her skin. With Leonard who had gone out on an errand after pushing his work so that he could stay with her, she stepped out of the mansion and in the garden like area which resided in front of the mansion.


    Taking a deep breath of air where she was surrounded by the fragrant flowers, she let out a sigh. Not able to help herself, she touched her canines again to feel no fangs in there. Since she hade to know about her being pureblooded vampire before she turned to a human, her thoughts often drifted to what would have caused the change.


    Having read many books in the study room of the mansion she had nevere across a reversal process. A human after being turned to a vampire could not change back to a human again. The whole process was irreversible. This only made her wonder how a person who was of pureblooded vampire nature could turn to a human. Did it have something to do with a change in mutation? Only her parents could tell her, that is if they knew about it.


    Lost in her thoughts, Vivian was daydreaming under the sun when she heard a carriage pull into the vicinity of the mansion.


    The carriage was pulled by two horses that came to a halt with the coachman who pulled the reins of the horses. Not having this particr carriage seen before, she wondered whom it belonged to. Unsure if she was to go greet them, she stood in her ce while she saw the housekeeper arrive at the doorstep in a second. A woman stepped down with her flowing dress, brte wavy hair which was left open making it difficult for her to see who hade to visit.


    Seeing the side face of the woman, she realized it was Leonard''s second cousin, Eleanor Henz.


    Coming from one of the high-ss family of pureblooded vampires, she had acquired the best genes from her parents. Her features were pleasant on one''s eye and her presence of beauty which made people''s head turn to look at her more than once.


    Vivian who had spoken her previously walked towards, walking past the shrubs she greeted the vampiress who was going to enter the mansion, "Good morning, Lady Eleanor," at her voice, the woman turned around with raised eyebrows of who had called her.


    "Lady Vivian," Eleanor smiled, her eyes bright as her lips pulled up, "What pleasant surprise to find you here. Are you waiting for Leonard?"


    She hadn''t thought about it twice before approaching Eleanor that what she would answer for being out in the Carmichael''s mansion. Not many knew about her being a maid who once worked in this mansion- cleaning the floors, washing the clothes of the guests, cooking in the kitchen while also cleaning the utensils. The list went on but no one knew about it except for some close ones about her staying in the mansion with Leonard. Though they slept in separate rooms, a young woman staying in a man''s mansion didn''t appease to the society unless there was a reason for it.


    "Ah, yes," was the quick response she could think of, "Duke Leonard has gone out in some business."


    Eleanor looked at Vivian, her dark eyes scanning the human in front of her subtly as she said, "So I have heard. It''s a shame he isn''t home. I was hoping to meet him as I was passing by," the vampiress exined before looking at the housekeeper with less regard, "I won''t need your assistance on it. Lady Vivian is here now. What?" she asked, her tone changing when the housekeeper failed to respond immediately.


    He bowed at her, "Yes, madam Henz."


    "What did you want assistance about?" Vivian asked, her eyes moving from the woman to the housekeeper who had his eyes cast down on the ground.


    The vampiress then grinned,ing to link her hands with Vivian, she asked, "With the Winter ball approaching so quickly I needed help in picking my clothes for it. Unfortunately, my cousin seems to be busy. Would you like to apany me to the Isle Valley?"


    "Isle own?"


    "Yes, there''s only one Isle Valley," Eleanorughed, nudging her gently towards her carriage which was still halted in front of the Carmichael mansion. Isle Valley was a famous shop street for the high-ss society members when it came to shopping from clothes to shoes to jewelry which couldn''t be found anywhere else in the Bonke, "I already have my shoes but I need to buy my gown," Vivian couldn''t say no to her when the vampiress looked excited about having her as herpany for the day.


    Eleanor was the first one to get into the carriage and while handled her dress to get into the carriage without letting it crumple or get stuck to the door of the carriage, Vivian had turned around to look the housekeeper who had his head down but his eyes up which she didn''t know to categorize as funny or something to worry about.


    Not able to say that she would return back soon, she pursed her lips and followed Eleanor into the carriage.


    The Isle Valley was a grand town, shops that had dressed mannequins to showcase the sample gowns and dress. She didn''t get to see all of them closely but with what her eyes captured she could tell that she would not be able to afford a single piece cloth or even a kerchief with the money she had collected for herself which was very little.


    She had found out about her being a pureblooded vampire but it made her wonder if it mattered.


    She was a human right now, a human who couldn''t turn to a vampire and it made the matter that much less significant. The only considerable point was that she could meet her parents, know about them and see. She had plenty of questions for them which was looking for answers now. Vivian was a former pureblooded vampire but she still had the status of the maid turneddy. She had no money of her own. No inheritance that she could walk in these streets as if she had heaps of gold yet she walked with her head held high.


    When both Eleanor and Vivian were walking down the high-ss streets of Bonke, she came to witness things she had nevere across before.


    On one side there were rich men and women who wore expensive silk-like clothes as the strolled down with their chin up and eyes down as if they were the highest beings while on the other side, she caught sight of ves. It was the dark side of society she had stepped into. Men, women and even children were bound in chains like pets as their master or mistress'' pulled their cored chain as they walked on the side of the street.


    Having been sheltered all her life in the Carmichael mansion, and also protected by the Duke himself, she had nevere to witness this side of the life. She had only heard about the ve establishment but never had seen how the ves were treated. Though most of the ves were brought and made to work as the workers in the owner''s house which were a little better whenpared to the others ves who were cored and dragged like a pet in front of everyone.


    "Oh my, look at that! That''s what I have been waiting for," she heard Eleanor exim and pushing the store''s door open which jingled.


    Vivian walked into the store after the vampiress and gotten in. She found it strange how one could turn a human or another being for that matter to a mere pet. There was no freedom, their life was put in a box where one couldn''t stretch their arms. Seeing Eleanor look through the gowns which were offered in front of her in bulk, Vivian wondered how normal it was for the elite ss. This was what they grew up around, a ve was a ve to them and nothing more than that.


    "What do you think of this?" Eleanor picked the dress to ce it over her front, standing in front of the mirror while moving side to side as she swung the bright red dress, "I think it will match well with Leonard," this caught Vivian''s attention and as if realizing what the vampiress had told her, she corrected, "When we were young, Leo and I always matched our clothes. Actually, it was I who matched out clothes with him," sheughed at the fond memory.


    "Must have been good childhood memories," Vivianmented with a smile on her lips. Though she couldn''t recollect all of it, she herself had some childhood memories of her''s with Leo.


    "It was," the vampiress responded staring at herself in the mirror, "I missed thest two Winters ball but I have made sure to keep myself free this time."


    Vivian then suggested, "It looks beautiful. Maybe you should go try it on," Eleanor nodded before going to change herself into the gown.


    The storekeeper who was ady asked Vivian, "How about you, Miss? Wouldn''t you want to take a look at the gowns for yourself?"


    "I am fine, thank you," she replied politely, waiting for Eleanor to return back.


    Eleanor took her sweet time and Vivian didn''t know what to do but wait. She sat there as minutes passed to hear the door behind her jingle where another customer had entered the store. Not bothering to see who had entered she stared at the gown lost in her thoughts when she heard Leo''s voice right behind her.


    "Are you not going to look for gowns to wear?"


    Her head snapped, turning around she saw Leonard standing tall in front of her. What was he doing here?


    Unable to stop but ask, she asked him, "What are you doing here?" but Eleanor had returned wearing the red gown she had previously taken along with her.


    "Vivian, I think I will-Leo?"


    "Hey, El. You look beautiful," heplimented her to which his cousin blushed, "I was passing when I noticed your carriage parked. Are you buying clothes for the Winter Ball?"


    "Yes. I didn''t want to wear the one which I already have worn."


    Truth was that Leonard had arrived at the mansion a few minutes after both the women had left for the Isle valley to find out from his housekeeper that his second cousin had taken Vivian along with her to shop for the Winter Ball.


    Hearing it, he had gotten into the carriage to head here. He hadn''te here because he thought his cousin, Eleanor was going to harm Vivian but it was because there were other people who walked down the same streets whom he didn''t trust.


    Vivian might have appeared to lookdylike but there were some pureblooded vampires who would find her human self with her old habits or question her under who she was by the guards of the Isle Valley. Lower beings from the lower ss often sneaked into the town which was designed only for the high-ss society. The outlook of the society was such that they didn''t want peasants living, breathing or even seeing what was in there.


    "Let me go change and we can head back home," said Eleanor with a bright smile on her face she disappeared behind the wall.


    Once she was gone, Leonard then questioned, "Didn''t find anything suitable to your taste?" his eyes scanned over the number of gowns that had been stack one over the other. Having apanied Charlotte over different asions of buying clothes, he was quite familiar when it came to women''s clothing and dresses. He missed Charlotte dearly, remembering her annoying childlike character to get what she wanted but with no harm done to people around her.


    "I have enough dresses for now. I wouldn''t need it," she replied while he picked one gown before dropping it.


    "You will need one for Winter''s ball. One which is your own one," though she had heard a lot about the ball she had never been to one of them. Not everyone was invited to it. Another reason why she had no need to buy more dresses was that Leonard let her borrow the clothes which Mrs. Carmichael had stuffed in the closet for the guests, "Is this all that you have? What about the one in that box?" he asked the storekeeper, his eyes falling on the wooden box whichid in the corner.


    "That one is an old piece, Sir. It was sent this noon by the weaver to remodel it or use the material as seen fit. I don''t think you will like it," she answered to see the man firm on wanting to see what it had. Walking to fetch the box, the woman got back with the heavy box to ce it on the counter. Vivian noticed that as the woman said, it must have been old as the box had collected a good amount of dust above it. She blew at the top of the box, despite calling the dress to be old she tried getting the dust off the top so that she could open it without getting the dirt on the dress.


    Eleanor who hade out with the red gown wrapped around her arm, she saw Leonard looking for the dress while standing in front of the shopkeeper.


    Stepping close to where they were, she asked, "You''re looking for more gowns? Is this not good?" she saw the woman open the box where the dress was wrapped in a purple satin cloth.


    "Your gown is beautiful, Eleanor. Miss Vivian here told me she didn''t buy a dress yet for herself for the ball. It would be a shame to not buy when she''se all the way from the other town," he nced towards Vivian who had been put in a spot.


    "Did you change your mind, Vivian? Thest I asked her she said she wasn''t going. Don''t tell me that my cousin changed your mind," Eleanor smiled teasingly, causing Vivia tough. Vivian herself didn''t know that she was going until Leonard mentioned about buying her a dress for it.


    Thankfully, the store woman picked the gown thatid inside the box to let them see a ck dress which looked decent. It didn''t hold a candle to the red dress Eleanor had picked for herself but the ck one didn''t look bad.


    Maybe it called less attention to it that the bright red color which made Leonard say, "Pack this one."


    He didn''t give Vivian the choice for a yes or a no, or to let her try on if it suited her. All the three women in the room stared at Leonard for his quick decision.


    "Let Vivian tell if she likes it or not," Eleanormented touching the ck material which didn''t feel bad on her fingers. Did you like it? We can look for other ones," she turned to ask the human girl.


    Leonard stood behind Eleanor near the counter and when Vivian''s eyes met his, she didn''t know what to make of his serious expression. When she came out with Eleanor, she had no intention of buying anything, not only because she had no money but also as she had no use for more dresses. Refusing would earn a bad mood from Leo.


    "It''s a lovely gown," she smiled to see him tip his head up in satisfaction.


    "Let me get them packed," saying this, the woman went to the counter. Eleanor, who still eyed the ck dress asked the woman curious about the cost of the gown, "What is the price of the red gown?"


    "That would be twenty-seven coins of gold, mdy," there was a look of pure pride when the woman gave out the price of it. Vivian''s eyes widened as she heard it, twenty-seven gold coins for a dress? That was ridiculous at the same time one couldn''t bargain about it. This was the Isle town where men and women were bound to have money. She was d that the ck dress was old, at least the price of it would be lesspared to the other dresses that surrounded it.


    Eleanor who looked pleased "How about the ck one?"


    "That would be thirty-two gold coins."


    "Thirty-two? It''s an old dress," Eleanor argued to see the dress being ced in the box she had taken out from previously.


    "Precisely, mdy. It''s an old piece, two centuries old which is made of fine silk. Some clothes are older the better, just like the wine I say," sheughed, once she was done packing the red gown, she asked the Duke, "Would you like to pay it here, Sir?"


    "Hmm," he hummed, looking at Eleanor''s empty hands he said, "Send the bill of the ck dress to the Carmichael mansion and you can send the red one to Henz'' mansion," hearing this the vampiress'' face fell as if she had seen a ghost. It was as if her face fell and she didn''t understand why he was billing Ms. Vivian''s cost of dress and sending her''s to her home when he could bill both of them together.


    Vivian who had been seeing everything behind standing quietly saw the nervous smile and disappointment that Eleanor hid when Leo asked her what happened as she stood frozen.


    The coachman took the box of gowns which was packed, stepping out of the store Eleanor said, "Father said he wanted to talk to you about the mid-performance of the towns that had been surveyed in Bonke," Leonard didn''t answer to it first as if he were thinking about something before he said,


    "I take that you don''t have a carriage to return home," he spoke to Vivian not wanting to leave her alone here, "Take my carriage to return back..home. I will apany Eleanor to meet her father," and before they could part away someone greeted Leonard.


    "Duke Carmichael," she heard a familiar voice.


    Whoever it was had the ability to bring the displeased look on Leonard''s face, like a dark cloud that had appeared his eyebrows contoured together. Vivian turned her head to see the curly-haired man with a warm smile on his lips. It was Jerome Wells.

 Chapter 127 - Pool Of Blood- Part 1

    "Good afternoon,dies," Jerome bowed his head to show respect to the women.


    Vivian bowed her head, a smileing up her lips in exchange to his smile. It had been long since she hadst seen him. Thest time they met, it had been in the study room of the Carmichael mansion. The time when he had asked her openly, stating he liked her in front of Leonard. Thinking about it she dared not turn to look at Leonard where she knew he would have a sullen look on his face.


    The vampiress, on the other hand, didn''t spare more than a few seconds, not bowing her head she looked away as if the lower vampire with bright red eyes didn''t stand in front of them. Eleanor who was brought up in the pureblooded family of vampires had grown up with their values of her being in the higher status while the others who were there were lower than her and it included the vampires along with the humans.


    Jerome didn''t take the rude response as he was used to such reactions from the elite society. The man had worked hard by making a decent name for himself without having anyone''s help. Though he had earned a renowned name for himself in the high-ss society not everyone treated him rightly. After all, he was just a vampire who didn''t belong to their ss. He had been passing by the streets after talking to one of the deal vendors to get the wooden material for the doors when he had caught sight of Vivian standing with the Duke and another woman.


    "Good evening, Mr Wells. Did youe here to order the supply for the interior of the doors?" Jerome wondered how the Duke knew about it. Or was it the owner of the house he was working on who had a big mouth who had told half the town about his new house which was being built. He wondered if this was what they meant when one said- keep your friends close and your enemies closer.


    "Yes. The builder fell short of the wooden carvings and the chiseler broke in the beginning. I didn''t want him wasting his time and thought to get it myself," answering the Duke''s question, he turned to look at Vivian who looked prettier than thest time he had seen her, "How have you been, Lady Vivian?"


    "I have been doing well, Mr Wells. You seem to be busier these days," as Vivian spoke to Jerome, Leonard''s jaw ticked at there mere conversation.


    He didn''t like the man one bit. Though he had made it clear with him about how Vivian was his woman, it appeared that the lower vampire hadn''t got it into his head yet. But then there was also another reason for his dislike over the man. He had created a fair share of a name in the society by his talent but he had caught some rumours about how the man had used one of the pureblooded vampiress to receive favour before her untimely death which Leo found suspicious.


    "The magistrate wants to rebuild the town which is on the far East near the coast," said the vampire.


    "Rebuild? That''s a lot of work. How many houses are there? What about the families who live there, will they have a home to live in?"


    "You don''t have to worry about them," Jerome was touched by the thought of Vivian''s worry over people she didn''t know of, "The magistrate said the council agreed to give them a nearby shelter for that period of time but Duke Leonard didn''t approve of the papers filed."


    At the mention of Leo''s name both thedies turned their attention to him, "Because the whole ordeal is unfeasible," Leonard''s eyes lookedzily out of uninterest, "Instead of finishing one house at a time they want to work on every house which is in the town. It isn''t your work that I doubt, Mr Wells, but the intention of why they would want to rebuild everything."


    Jerome nodded his head, "That''s the dream of the magistrate. He sees the town differently with another future. I can only aid him with the opportunity he''s given me," which was true. Until now all the architectural assignments Jerome had received were small contracts of the mansions. This was a big deal as it wasn''t about just one or two houses but an entire town which he would be remodelling with his skills to the magistrate''s vision.


    "Congrattions on receiving the work, Mr Wells," Vivian congratted him as she hadn''t done it before.


    "Thank you. It has been less than two weeks since the work started. It might take seven to eight months before we get it ready," he said to her.


    Having enough with their chit-chat, Leonard interrupted them, "Excuse us, Eleanor and I shall take our leave. Vivian, you should get back home too," he said with the intention of sending Vivian home so that she wouldn''t spend more time with the man who was trying to court her.


    "Oh, you were leaving?" Jerome tilted his head in question to Vivian.


    Eleanor, on the other hand, came to realize that the man was wooing the human girl with pleasant conversations. Suddenly wanting to help, she jumped into the conversation.


    "It should be alright if Vivian wants to stay back here while we take our leave. Just because we are leaving, doesn''t mean she has to go too," Leonard''s hands balled into fists in anger at his cousin''s suggestion.


    "We found the gown for Lady Eleanor to wear in the Winter''s ball. I should head back too," she answered his question while lightly ignoring the vampiress suggestion.


    "How about yourself?" Jerome hinted about her shopping in the Isle Valley. Instead of letting Vivian reply, Leo took it to answer Jerome''s question, "She bought her dress."


    "I see," Jerome smiled before asking, "How about shoes for it?"


    "I don''t think she has the shoe to go along with the dress. You havee all the way here, why not buy the shoe for it, Vivian," Eleanor pipped in while nudging her cousin with her elbow subtly wanting to shush him.


    "I think that''s fine..." she waved her hand. She would rather use the shoes that were in the mansion than buy something expensive from here which would cost her a millennium if she had to return the money.


    Leonard who was angry at his cousin, looked at Vivian, "There''s no hurry to buy it now. Didn''t you say you were exhausted earlier in the shop? She should rather go home and rest," he said thest line to Jerome.


    "If that is so, allow me to take you home, Miss Vivian," Jerome offered to get a nod from Eleanor but it couldn''t be counted with the way Leonard looked at the man with irritated eyes which was slowly turning angry. Before there could be any more protest or sway of words, the ordinary vampire said, "Duke Carmichael will be apanying thedy. It would be rude to not see you home if you''re tired. Please," he pleaded politely, making it hard for Vivian to resist.


    "That''s very kind of you, Mr Wells. We won''t have to worry about Vivian''s trip back to her house. Thank you," Eleanorplimented to which he bowed his head in response.


    Vivian didn''t mind going back to the Carmichael mansion with Jerome but the way Leonard red at everyone including herself she didn''t know what to say but smile uneasily. Both Leonard and Vivian had kept their rtionship to be under the cover until she finished her council exam but it wasn''t a secret to Jerome.


    Jerome somehow caught on the tricky situation that was built here. When it had been just three of them, he remembered how he had imed Vivian in front of him without an ounce of shame. Calling her his woman yet here they were tight-lipped. Taking advantage of the situation he said, "The horse I brought along with me, isn''t tied too far from here. I hope you will be able to walk," he smiled when she nodded her head and as expected the Duke fumed standing with his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched tightly.


    Vivian turned to bow her head, in a sign to leave to both Eleanor and Leonard.


    "I hope to see you soon, Vivian. There''s a tea party next weekend at one of my friend''s ce. I will send you the invitation," the vampiress said with a smile on her lips.


    "Thank you for inviting me," Eleanor wasn''t Charlotte but she wasn''t that bad of a vampiress in Vivian''s eyes, "Have a good day, Duke Leonard," her eyes met the burning gaze of Leonard who looked quite mad at the moment. Nheless, he tried to keep his cool.


    "I hope you reach back home and rest for the day," and when he said that, Vivian didn''t know why her heart skipped a beat. Though he said that, she felt there was something she had to read under his tone of voice where he wanted to tell ''head back home instead of wandering''. Leonard exchanged a small bow and walked with Eleanor next to him. Vivian saw the vampiress talk enthusiastically about something while Leo didn''t bother to speak but only listen to her.


    She heard Jerome speak next to her, "Shall we, Ms Vivian?" as if broken from the trance she replied with a yes to see the man chuckle. When she gave him a questioning look she shook his head in response.


    Jerome had mentioned about his horse and not his carriage while speaking to poke fun at the Duke. Riding on the horse had the opportunity to have her much closer to him with her either sitting in the front or behind him than a carriage. It was the least he could do by getting back for taking away the affection of the woman whom he had harboured feelings of liking...or was it love?

 Chapter 128 - Pool Of Blood- Part 2

    As Jerome dropped Vivian back to the Carmichael mansion, he stood outside talking to her about the ball, "It was never there before, they brought in the tradition to celebrate the night creatures living using the sign of musicbined with the midnight when the second Lord was appointed as the Lord of Bonke. It was how the Winter''s ball came into existence, spreading it across the threends."


    "Three? There are fournds of the empire," Vivian questioned.


    "Mythweald never has or I doubt ever will celebrate what the vampires take joy in. Thend there hates the existence of the vampires, especially the pureblooded vampires. They believe that we are the abomination and who will be responsible for causing gue and death. You must already know about it after your visit to the South," his eyes softened looking at her expression change one for loss.


    "I am aware of it. Living there must be very difficult with so much amount of hate," shemented thinking about Charlotte. Though it had been a few weeks since Charlotte died, her life still existed in the memories of the people she had touched, "That amount of hate will burn the entirends."


    Jerome''s eyes widened at her words, words like these she wouldn''t have spoken before but it seemed that death had begun to change her. The pain was inevitable, and with pain came the need for change.


    "I would like to apud and congratte you for passing through the first exam, Ms Vivian but pardon me for saying this, I don''t think the council is where you belong."


    Vivian smiled, her eyes casting across the green garden which was waiting for the rain toe pouring down like the previous days, "I don''t think so either. I know not everything is clean which is white in colour," she referred to the council, "That the council doesn''t just have men like Leonard but other''s who I might have to be wary of. People I am yet toe across but there is something I need to do for my friend who had wished nothing but for my happiness."


    "The council is made of filth, blood and betrayal. It would be hard to trust anyone," he stated.


    "That I have been told. When timeses to not trust anyone but myself."


    "It''s good to know that the Duke has warned you about these little matters beforehand. He must love you a lot to allow you to do what you want," his words surprised Vivian. There was no hint of sarcasm or jealousy in it but just friendly words, "If it weren''t him it would have been easier to woo you, I don''t mean to press but if you ever need something please don''t hesitate to ask me for help."


    "Thank you for acknowledging it, Mr Wells. I will keep that in my mind," she bowed her head deep.


    "Jerome, please. We have known each other for a while now, if not for my feelings you should say yes to us being friends," he said yfully, humour evident in his eyes.


    She knew Leonard didn''t like Jerome for the sole reason as the vampire took an interest in her but then she believed that if it weren''t for the reason, Leonard would not spare the man a nce. People faded away in the Duke''s eyes unless they were important to him.


    "The woman who was with him," started Jerome, "Who was she? She seemed rather persistent in sending you away with me."


    "She is Duke Leonard''s second cousin," she replied. Her lips tugged at Jerome''s quick observation on Eleanor in such a short span of time. It wasn''t that she hadn''t noticed the vampiress subtle behaviour. As in and oblivious she looked Vivian hadn''t pointed it out and had only seen the scene unfold while she waited for her doubts to be cleared which were yet to be rified.


    Eleanor was a beautiful brte vampiress. Her eyes dark red and her lips full with a lean figure. Being the second cousin from Leonard''s paternal side, she looked rather close or someone who wanted to stay close to Leonard.


    With all these years that hade to pass one after another, she had never heard of her. Not from Charlotte not from Leonard himself. She behaved to be close when Leonard hardly spoke more than two words about her when Vivian had tried to pry for more without asking direct questions.


    Until she was introduced to be his second cousin, she or anyone for that matter would have considered her to be someone who adored Leonard more than a rtive would. She hadn''t minded going to the Isle Valley with her. Eleanor hadn''t done anything to but had spoken to her with nice words to her but she was a little wary of her presence. She didn''t miss the obvious way she tried to get Vivian with Mr Jerome while she hadn''t bothered to talk to him at the beginning of his polite greeting. Leonard had that effect on people, people who knew the kind and warm side of him. The way Eleanor''s face fell appeared in front of her eyes. The vampiress liked him different to what a blood rtive would, not to forget some families didn''t mind their children getting married to their rtive''s children.


    She wasn''t sure how the vampiress would have taken in the information of Leonard paying only for her dress. The man wasn''t aloof, it was just that he only cared in minimum quantity. Most of his affections had been upied by Vivian herself and she knew it for the fact he gazed and spoke to her.


    His words might have been passive to the others but to her, they were rich with emotions. If Leonard was the temper filled person, Vivian was the calmness to soothe it. If Vivian didn''t understand the way of life, Leonard was the light to guide her. Both of them were the pieces of puzzles that had been shaped and carved from the young age to fit and bnce each other perfectly.


    They had decided not to let anyone know about their rtionship before, not because of their wide differential status which didn''t matter anymore as Vivian came from one of the unknown pureblooded family but because the councillor''s and others would only take that it was her connection to the Duke and the Lord that had gotten her the position. Vivian wanted to feel worthy before the others woulde to know of her.


    "Vivian?"


    "Hmm," Vivian got away from her thoughts to see Jerome give her a worried look. Did he ask her something? "Pardon me for my absent mind."


    Jerome asked the question he previously failed to get an answer from, "Aren''t you worried about her?" Was she? she asked herself.


    She shook her head slowly while asking her the same question, "I don''t think I am," it might have sounded strange but that was the truth. She had been jealous when she first met the girl in the Henz''s mansion but she wasn''t anymore. Eleanor''s presence didn''t worry Vivian and if it was someone that had to be worried it wasn''t her but the vampiress who was trying to catch Leonard''s attention.


    Leo didn''t need words to tell what he needed to convey and if people understood it, it was good for them. With the simple gesture of not paying for Eleanor''s dress but only Vivian''s, he had shown in a way that Vivian mattered to him.


    "I should get going, Ms Vivian. I have a whole town to renovate," he wore the hat he had been holding under his arm, "Let''s hope to meet soon. Excuse my presence."


    "Thank you for seeing me home," she saw him step into the carriage and take his leave with the horses that had to turn around before leaving the mansion.


    Getting inside the mansion, she went up to her room. She had only meant to enjoy the air in the garden and not to step into the Isle valley today. As weary, she was about the vampiress she had enjoyed her time by talking about little things which women did. Looking for her gown had been a good time too and it made her wonder how it would have felt to have an actual friend to talk to. The people she knew and had been close to had been taken away from her leaving only Leonard. Not to forget the worry that hade to attach her. Leonard had nned to take her to the church in the morning but she wondered if they would be going today as Eleanor had taken him to her house in the name of her father.


    Pulling the gloves from both her hands, she looked at her hands. Would she able to know more if she were to touch Eleanor with these bare hands of hers? As if a devil who was whispering in her ears, she smiled at the thought of it.

 Chapter 129 - Pool Of Blood- Part 3

    She looked at the hole, her eyes squinting in deep concentration before pushing the thread in through the little metal space. Winter was approaching them, the time where Bonke would begin to slowly freeze with a gloomy like white paint sshed over the entirends which would be covered snow. She loved the snow. ying outside and twirling herself as she closed her eyes when no one was there to see her do what she did like a child.


    The snow wouldn''t fall for two months and there was time for it, yet people of thends began their preparation. Preparing themselves for the cold wind which could freeze one to death if one didn''t protect themselves with enough clothing. It didn''t affect vampires but only humans.


    Vivian wanted to gift him another sweater before Winter arrived so that he could wear it. He wore the one she gave for his birthday once in a while which warmed her heart. Weaving through the wool, she continued to put it through and pull when her concentration was taken away by a bird that chirped nearby for her to only prick the needle on one of her fingers.


    Seeing the small red dot on her finger, she put in her mouth to lick the blood away. Feeling the little metallic taste in her mouth her brows furrowed as she pulled her finger from her mouth to inspect the finger clean.


    Since she had found out about her being a former pureblooded vampire, it made her ask herself why the taste or sight of blood didn''t appeal to her. Thought she had been turned to a human was there no part of her that craved for blood like the rest of the vampire poption? At night when she went to sleep she tried to understand what might have caused it,ing up with various possibility which most of the times turned bizarre.


    "Vivi," she heard Leo call her from where he sat which was not far where she sat on the ground. Call it a habit but she didn''t find itfortable to sit on the chair and instead prefered to knit while sitting on the hard cold ground, "Have youe in contact with anythingtely? Your visions," he asked her and then continued to speak, "I haven''t spoken to Sister Isabelle about your abilities but she knows that you aren''t an ordinary girl. She should be able to help you with the questions and how to use your abilities."


    Vivian had been wearing her ck gloves regrly every time she left the mansion. Due to this, there was no opportunity of contacting the memories of others when she touched a person. She wasn''t able to wear them during her examination. It was strict rules set by the council on what was supposed to be worn and what not so that no one could cheat their way in, not that they could but it was set for precautionary measures.


    With her mind upied with other things, she had forgotten about the man she hade across right before she left the council. Not able to remember his name, she bit her lip, "I saw a man kill women."


    "What? When did this happen?" he enquired.


    "It was the day of examination. Sorry, I forgot about it," she apologized seeing the frown on his face appear. She had been seeing a lot of gore that this particr event had vanished temporarily from her mind, "He said his name but I am unable to remember it."


    "Who was he? Someone who works in the council?" She shook her head.


    "No. Not the council. He was one of the attendee like me who passed through the exam."


    "Is that so. With only nine of them who passed and leaving you out. There are only eight of them I need to look through the profiles. It shouldn''t be hard to get the name."


    The council was made of all sort of people. Men and women who used one another to get to the higher post. There were people who killed others to get what they wanted and that is how most of them secured their position in the council. If Vivian were to touch the council members, he wondered how many would turn out to have clean hands without any blood, and it included him. Leonard was no man with a saint profile, every mission and job he had taken was etched in blood of someone on his hands.


    Vivian hade in contact with him several times but not once did she have a vision of him doing what he did in the council. It was something to think about, thought Leonard to himself while he saw Vivian knit something she was working on. He wondered why that was so, was it because of her feelings for him that blinded her from seeing what was in front of her?


    He didn''t know what she would do once she would find out about the countless amount of men and families he had killed. Would she take it easy? To love a monster who had befriended death. He wanted her to know yet he didn''t at the same time.


    Vivian who sat on the floor stopped weaving through felt her stomach hurt. It had been causing her difort the whole day. Moving her eyes to Leonard who appeared to look as if in deep thought, she asked, "Why did Mr Henz ask for your presence?"


    "He didn''t. Eleanor wanted to try the cookies she prepared for the first time," he rolled his eyes. So she was right, thought Vivian, "She didn''t bother you a lot, did she?" he asked genuinely in concern. Vivian wondered what she was supposed to answer the question he had asked. If she would say no he would let it go but what if she said yes? While she was still contemting on what to answer, Leonard took her silence to be a yes, "What did she do?" his dark eyes began to narrow.


    "Nothing at all," at least not yet, retorted her mind, "When will we be going to meet Sister Isabelle?"


    "Maybe next week. I went to the church earlier to meet her as I had told we would be visiting but she wasn''t there. Father Connor said she left early this morning telling she had something to look at."


    "I see."


    "How was your ride back home?" he asked nonchntly as if hardly interested when it was the opposite of it. Leonard had returned back home two hours ago and they hadn''t discussed anything with the way the day had transpired.


    Trying to hold back her smile, she replied, "It was good," knowing Leo, she was sure he wanted to know more. Getting up from the floor, she picked the items before putting them in the drawers she had pulled out from. As she walked around the room, she felt Leo''s gaze on her back which made her movements a little awkward knowing he was looking at her.


    When she closed the drawer and turned around, Leonard pushed her back against the wood which slightly hurt as the wood had been carved to form designs. One hand of his outstretched to rest on the wall near her head and the other hade to settle on the side of her waist.


    His eyes burned to a darker colour as it bore into her eyes, "Don''t stall my question."


    "I didn''t," she gulped softly at the dryness of her throat. A little breathless and feeling the light amount of tingles dancing on her skin which could be soothed by a simple touch of his.


    Pushing her waist towards him so that her body touched his, he heard a small gasp escape through her delicate lips, her eyes slowly beginning to dte at their close proximity.


    "Can you tell me that you aren''t hiding anything and that was all you wanted to say," the hand that was resting on the wall moved to ce on her shoulder which slowly slid down tracing her spine until it reacher her lower back.


    Leonard didn''t like any man so much as to take her attention away from him. He knew he was a jealous man and he didn''t care about it. He was used to Vivian to have eyes only for him and with her being in the mansion, it was something he didn''t have to worry about. Would he be put under interrogation if he killed the man while making it look like an ident?


    "Jerome only saw me back home in his carriage."


    "Carriage?" she nodded her head.


    "I think he was only teasing you when he spoke about his horse," she couldn''t stop the smile that broke down on her lips which then drowned at his next words.


    "Was he now? Both of you must have had augh over it. How cruel of you," he pressed her body against his.


    "I didn''t do anything!"


    "I offer you the carriage and instead you pick him to ride with," he stated coolly, both of them staring at each other and not backing down.


    "It would have been rude to reject a ride from him when technically I would be riding alone. Eleanor suggested it and I didn''t see you object," which was true. Vivian knew Leo couldn''t object as it would only get his cousin''s attention even more especially after buying her the dress as a gift.


    Leonard did agree with her on that. It was better to have someone known to send her along with but it didn''t mean he would let go of the opportunity of wanting her where he wanted when there was an open window. He said,


    "Doesn''t stop the fact that I felt tormented by my thoughts," his hand moved down to settle on one side of her bottom, "I think it''s time I punished my Bambi for not being aware of what she did."

 Chapter 130 - Pool Of Blood- Part 4

    "P-punish?" she stuttered, "I didn''t do anything."


    He leaned forward, his lips touching the outer shell of her ear which brought little shocks of pleasure when he spoke next to it, "Maybe that''s the problem here," she flinched when his teeth nipped her ear lobe, "Let''s go a more private ce."


    He pulled back to see Vivian flushed, words noting out of her mouth. He slipped his hand on hers to catch hold of it, pulling her from the room and taking her up to his room where the door was initially closed. She followed him like any other time without a question, her heart beating and no words of refusal on her lips.


    Stepping inside the room, Leo still held her hand without letting it go as he turned the knob of his room to lock the door. When his hand loosened on her momentarily, she pulled her hand for it to be only caught by her wrist. He pulled her, crashing her front to his chest.


    "Where do you think you''re running away so quickly, Bambi?"


    His eyes were set aze, the need and want to consume her burning behind those red dark eyes of his, "Didn''t I say I had to punish you," his voice felt like warm velvet which grazed on her skin to the Winter that was approaching but she wondered if it really was warm or hot like an iron that would burn and melt her.


    "I haven''t readied my heart yet," out of nervousness the words spilt out of her mouth and when it was out she couldn''t wish more to run away at that moment.


    "You don''t have to fret about it. With what I have on my mind, I am sure your heart will catch up soon today without any further dy," she felt his thumb brush over the pulse of her wrist.


    Leonard didn''t feel her resistance, she looked nervous at his tease-filled serious words but there was no fear that he could sense or detect. She was shy, her eyes looking everywhere but him.


    Treading carefully towards her, he caught hold of her waist and leaned down to see her eyes beginning to drift close and he stopped. Looking at her anxiously waiting for the kiss he held back. As if realizing her reaction to his closeness she blushed wanting to step back which he restricted her from doing so as to both his arms had been wound around her waist.


    "Expecting a kiss while I said I am going to punish you," hemented to see her open her mouth and close in embarrassment and before she could get to speaking the actual words, her covered her mouth with his. His lips sucked on her lips, gnawing sweet and tenderly. The sound of lips smacking softly on her ears turned Vivian embarrassed.


    She gasped into his mouth when his hand trailed down her body to squeeze her bottom in his palm, feeling its fullness which hisrge hand had grabbed on to. It was when the cool air of the rain hit her skin on the chest did she notice the buttons of the front of her dress that hade undone by Leonard''s hand. He pushed the dress down which fell with a small poof around her feet, leaving her naked and bare for him.


    Her legs squeezed together, trying to hide whatid between them and her hands crossing against her chest which didn''t just cover her breasts but also emphasized them by making them seem much more in size as they appeared to look swell.


    Though Leonard had called it to be her punishment, he didn''t want her feeling ufortable with her nakedness. Apart from him, there would be no one else to see her like this and if they did, he would gauge their eyes out with his own fingers. Taking the ends of his shirt which he wore, he pulled it up and removed it from his body, to throw it on the ground.


    Seeing her too shy to move, he bent down and picked her up, walking towards his bed to plop her in the middle. The bed bounced as shended on it, adding more allure to the creature who sat there now with her ck eyes looking at him anxiously. It was the first time to have her like this in his room.


    Leonard had been to several night y to study the art and form of teasing a woman and how love was made that he didn''t need another woman to test his skills on. Some of the soiree''s that were held by the pureblooded vampires provided free entertainment in the form of making use of the ves they had which was in a more private setting. The man was confident with the touch he provided Vivian as her response was everything the beast inside him could crave for.


    While Leonard went to look for something through his drawers, Vivian looked at the four-bed post which stood tall and straight with little translucent curtains that hung loosely around them. Feeling the dip on the bed, her eyes snapped back to Leonard held a silk scarf in his hand.


    With his shirt gone, she looked at the smooth nes of his body which was made of muscles. Her eyes trailed down his chest to look at the dusty trail which started somewhere below his chest which disappeared under the trouser he wore.


    Her gaze broke when Leo spoke to her, "Bring your hands forward for me, Bambi," was he intending to tie her hand? she gulped while raising both her hands forward as he asked her to do. He wrapped the blue silk scarf around both her wrists, turning it around until the ends turned to smaller which he crossed over to tighten it firmly so that it wouldn''te loose.


    After checking the scarf had a grip around her wrists, he touched her shoulder which travelled up to hold the side of her face. Kissing her lips again he helped hery t on hisrge bed.


    The more they kissed the more her head felt fuzzy and mushed in a way where she started to feel light headed. She felt him take her tied hands to push it up where he tied the ends of the scarfs to the headboard. With both her arms up, her back arched slightly to raise itself from the bed to form a curve.


    She found him staring at her, starting from the tips of her fingers which travelled to her face, her lips looking pink in colour due to him kissing and sucking on it.


    It then travelled to her slender neck before his eyes fell on those two beautiful swells on her chest with its tips that had turned dark, tempting him to lean forward close his mouth around on it. His red eyes followed down to look at her stomach to which where he brought his finger to run very slowly that made her shiver and her toes curl immediately.


    At the mere contact, her stomach dipped to get away from his tantalizing touch but she had nowhere to run or hide.


    "Leo," she whined at the tickle and the brewing pleasure that began to form in the pit of her stomach.


    "You look quite edible tied up like this. Remember, Bambi. This is how I will punish you, or worse if necessary," his finger followed her smooth pale skin. Bending down without putting his weight on her, his lips touched her neck to bring a blissful sigh from her lips.


    He bit on her neck, showing no mercy as he used his teeth to nip and leave it over and over again until her pale skin turned red inplexion. With her hands tied, Vivian was under Leo''s mercy but the man showed none. He wanted to let her know what he meant by the word punishment in his books when it concerned her.


    He licked the skin, cooling the bruised area. Kissing and showering her with more kisses he came to sit between in front of her to push her legs apart which she tightly held with her heart beating loudly in her chest.


    "Nothing I haven''t seen before, Vivi. Let go," he stated to feel her legs resist him from pushing them apart, "There are more scarfs in the drawer for your legs if it''s needed. Personally, I think I would like the scarfs," he didn''t want to force her and therefore he gave her time, lightly warning her what he could do.


    Vivian was too shy to spread her legs apart, to show him her intimate areas though like he said he had seen it, it still was embarrassing for her. The way he looked at her now felt so different from what she was used to seeing. His eyes that were usually passive looked dark yet alive, his presence dominating with an edge that for some reason turned her on like never before.


    As her legs lost strength, he spread her legs apart for him to see whatid beneath so beautiful legs.


    He didn''t have to go too close to know how wet she had turned by his touch and words. He could smell her sex from where he sat, her heart thudding in her chest while she looked at him.


    Making sure she wasfortable, he dipped down his head, his mouthing in contact with the wetness making her gasp. It was a new feeling for Vivian which she couldn''t describe. As his mouth sucked on her skin down there, she felt her soul ready to leave and go to the forbiddennd which she feared she would begin to want to stay there longer. Her hands pulled on the scarf but it had been tied securely to make sure it wouldn''te off easily.


    Her breathing turned shallower when his tongue probed in and out of her sex, licking and swirling it around that had got her panting. Not soon, his finger reced his tongue, pushing it in and out to see her writhe under his skilled hands.


    Leonard saw the tiny little beads of sweat that formed on her skin which created a shiny appearance under the candlelight like the mermaid the folklore spoke of. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted to breath as she concentrated on the feeling of his fingers. When the movements of his hand turned faster, she cried out his name, her voice almost worried and scared at what was building up in her body. He had fingered her before and she had been worried that time too.


    But he wasn''t going to let her cum that easily this time. This was supposed to be a punishment, and with that thought, he slowed down the movement to see her eyes fly open to meet his eyes. This went on for more than fifteen minutes that Vivian''s body wanted to release the heat that had been built but to only be denied over and over again.


    Understanding the situation she was in and the ''punishment'' Leo was talking about, she realized he would only bring her to the brink to only deny it. And every time she was close, his hand would slow down giving her a few seconds, tormenting her body without letting her feel what she wanted.


    "Leo..." she whispered the insides of her squeezing every time his finger went in.


    "What is it Bambi?" he asked coyly as if he didn''t know what he was putting her through,ing to her side he kissed her neck while his hand was still working between her legs. A sigh left her lips, with every lick and kiss she melted in his hands.


    Breathless she pleaded, "I can''t anymore," she gasped when his finger went deeper, her toes digging into the bed. He removed his finger slowly, getting up to look at her with his haughty eyes.


    Leonard tsked, "My sweet Bambi, if I let you give you want you want so easily, there would be no point of punishment," he caught hold of one of her legs when she began to close for the need to friction. Going back to take a seat between her legs, he brought the finger he had used on her to put it in his mouth, licking it slowly to see her eyes widen.


    Vivian''s cheeks turned red seeing him lick his finger clean as if he had tried to swipe a cookie dough from a jar, reminiscing thest of the remains on his fingers. The way his tongue peeked out and licked his finger felt sensual and erotic, burning her gaze and sizzling the atmosphere around them.


    "You taste divine, Vivi."


    His finger went to swipe on the lips between her legs making her shudder, delving into the wet folds again, "Please Leo," she pleaded to see him not change his expression.


    "Please what Bambi?" she was shy to ask and he needed her to open up to him. Not just mentally but also physically, to not feel shy or embarrassed about what they did or would do in the future, "Tell me in words and depending on that I will think if we have to end or continue with your punishment."


    It wasn''t her fault that Jerome hade to offer her a ride, and not that she had sneaked behind Leo''s back without telling him anything. Vivian didn''t know how much longer she was going tost like this with him teasing her.


    "Don''t want to? Alright," he sighed looking at the headboard, for a moment Vivian thought he had finally decided to let her off but when his gaze returned back to her, he said, "I gave you an easy option, Vivi. All you needed to do was pick your words but now that you aren''t willing, let me do things my way," the serious tone in his voice got her startled and suddenly in an alert as to what he was going to do, "Let''s see how many times you sustain, shall we?" he smiled, the smile that was terrifyingly devilish.


    Before Vivian could fullyprehend what he meant, she felt his finger go deep, fingering her in and out with his hand moving in a quick and steady movement that had her writhing in pleasure, her abdomen tightened at the feeling that she had been denied previously to let go of herself in his hand beforeing over his hand. But Leonard didn''t stop there, and he continued teasing and torturing in delights she didn''t know where after minutes her body had begun to tire.


    "I-I can''t," she stuttered in a dazed state, her eyes dazed and her body spent aftering over and over that she didn''t know where she was anymore.


    Leo kissed her cheek, to whisper to her, "It''ll be thest one," he continued the relentless movement of his hand as she panted, her chest heaving up and down along with her breasts that called for his attention. As herst orgasm began to build, reaching to it''s peek, Leo, bent down and captured the dark and inviting nipples with his mouth. Tasting and sucking it where it didn''t take her long to hit her orgasm as she cried out his name with her back arching in the process.


    "No...more," she said turning to look at Leo. He pressed his lips on hers, and then said to her, "No more for now."


    Vivianid her head on Leonard''s bare chest, her head a little dizzy from all the attention Leonard had given her body a few minutes ago. She felt him run his hand through the back of her hair, weaving his fingers before running it back again.


    After what she had seen from the night y, she realized that Leo had not once asked her to help him with anything. Apart from kissing him, she had done nothing to please him. Thinking about it, she lifted her face to look at him who kissed her forehead.


    "Are you okay?" he asked while he tenderly held her in his arms.


    "Yes," she smiled to receive a spontaneous smile from him, "Leo?


    "Hmm?"


    "How do you know about it?"


    He stared at her first, wondering what she was talking to, "What we just did? I am a good observer," one side of his lips tugged, "Besides you, I haven''t touched another woman if that''s what you''re curious about. If I did it wouldn''t be the same, the person wouldn''t be you and it would be pointless."


    She didn''t know what to reply back and therefore she rested her head back down on his chest. It made her happy, his words, they were always frank, blunt without holding back anything when it came to speaking to her. Those friends were enough to soar her heart.


    It wasn''t that Vivian didn''t know or understand the lifestyle of the vampire or pureblooded vampires. Taking a woman wasmon but to think that he hadn''t touched anyone and had reserved himself just for her, it only showed how special she was in his life. The importance he gave her was everything she could ask for from him. A smile etched on her lips, at the simple thought of it.


    As two days passed by, Eleanor invited Vivian to her friend''s house as there was a tea party organized at the time of post morning. Though she wasn''t keen on going there, Eleanor had pestered over and over again always involving her mother to tell her how important it was to have a social life. It was after a lot of thought did she decide to go as there was something she had to find out by herself.


    She knew if she asked the vampiress with straight questions she wouldn''t be able to get any answers, not only that things could turn in a direction she didn''t want. The only unfortunate time was that Leonard had left to go to the council as there was jury meeting taking ce with a victim who had suffered abuse for twelve whole years. She didn''t find it coincidental that Eleanor had so conveniently picked today to have a tea party. She doubted it was coincidental.


    "How many cubes of sugar would you like to take in your tea, Lady Vivian?" asked Lady Sheryl who had organized the tea party.


    "One please," Vivian answered politely. Surprisingly, Lady Sheryl was a human friend of Eleanor Henz. Thedy had taken upon herself to serve the guests who had arrived instead of letting her maids do the work.


    "How about you, Lady Eleanor?"


    "Three, please. I like my tea sweet," Lady Eleanor took the tea made for her, sipping it she enjoyed the sweetness in her mouth.


    Vivian drank her tea too, taking a sip and cing it back on the table they sat with men and women who hade on the invitation of Lady Eleanor. At the table, she noticed that out of eight of them only three of them were humans while the rest of the male and female were vampires. If it weren''t for Lady Eleanor, there would hardly be any vampire sitting here as all of them hailed from pureblooded families. No one woulde at the mere invitation if a human unless they were very rich and had the ss which the vampires clearly saw that Lady Sheryl had money but no ss like the pureblooded vampires.


    "How did you spend your time in Hollifard, Lady Eleanor?" asked one of the men in interest who seemed to be caught by the beauty of Lady Eleanor, "I heard it gets rather hot at times."


    With Eleanor who had only got back, she had decided to gather her friends whom she knew, "It was absolutely wonderful. Though I have to say I didn''t go out much as I didn''t want my skin burning and crumbling to a fire."


    "You have been a delicate flower," the manughed and the others joined. Vivian only smiled, going along with it as she wondered again why did shee here.


    "I think one should always travel along to know and understand how the world works," she raised her hand.


    "What about you, Lady Sheryl, did you have the opportunity to leave Bonke?" asked the same man who was trying to be polite to everyone at the table.


    Lady Sheryl was meeker than the rest in the group. Her voice was shy but eager in her actions. In appearance, the woman had tan skin with olive green eyes, her ck hair was tied into tes which now rested on her shoulder. She answered the man''s question while tucking her hair behind her ear, "I haven''t. Bonke has been where I have been for years without stepping outside."


    "That must be really boring and sad," one of the vampiressesmented who sat on the other side of the table. Lady Sheryl looked embarrassed by herment but not retorting back.


    Another male vampire who had been sitting next to Lady Sheryl had been staring at Vivian for a while now. He was the same man whom she had bumped into during the council exam. During the introduction, Eleanor had made them meet, jogging his name in her memory- Jamien.


    She had politely smiled at the man before picking the seat away from him. The man was undoubtedly a suspicious person. Not because of her visions, because her visions could only be memories of what he might have seen someone else inflict but it was because he looked like an entirely different person. Thest time she had met him, the man wore shabby clothes as he belonged to a poor man''s family but here he was in crisp clothes which were confusing.


    Vivian was careful as she had spoken to every person, greeting them while feeling the way they judged her first for being human before the information was broken about her passing the exam in the council. Apparently, vampiress or any female for the matter usually didn''t opt to be part of the council as it wasn''t an easy task. Before that, they had no enough intelligence to crack the first and the second exam.


    Since the time they had sat down, she had felt the continuous subtle gaze of Vivian while she tried to concentrate on what others were speaking at the table. Now that he transformed himself from rags to riches, the man was handsome with his round sses andbed hair. Vivian didn''t know why he was staring at her but the more time passed the more ufortable she grew in her seat.


    Trying to ignore the stare, Vivian spoke to the people making light conversation and most of the times nodding her head.


    Just when everyone had finished their tea, Eleanor spoke to her, "You''re not wearing your gloves today," she smiled looking at Vivian''s hands, "You have pretty fingers."


    "Thank you, Lady Eleanor. The weather felt a little hot today," Vivian answered, cing her empty teacup on the table.


    One of Eleanor''s female friend looked at Vivian''s hands that rested on the table, "We aren''t wearing any either. I doubt anyone wears one for tea parties. Right, Lady Sheryl," the hostess nodded her head in agreement.


    "Of course, but Lady Vivian''s gloves were absolutely gorgeous," Eleanorplimented her with a smile before going back to reply to her friend who was talking about the gown she had bought from the Isle Valley.


    Vivian wondered if she had mistaken Eleanor''s intention. The vampiress had been polite with her words to her. Making sure she wasfortable around her friends and she would have let it go if it weren''t for the way she had observed her hands. She didn''t know why but the way she looked and spoke made her wary on her toes.


    "These are delicious, Lady Sheryl," Jamienplimented her as he took a bite from the cookies she had baked, "You should open a shop at the Isle Valley, I am sure it would bring a good profit and add it to your name."


    "Oh, please, Sir Jamien. These are just simple baked treats, I don''t think I would be able to bring revenue as high as the standard," she answered waving both her hands.


    Vivian who had taken one of the cookie from the te, ended up eating it wrongly as she had sucked in a breath for the cookie crumble to get stuck above in her throat causing her to cough as tears began to form in her eyes.


    "Lady Vivian, are you alright?"


    "Have some water," a ss of water was pushed to her and she gulped it until the irritation at the back of her throat stopped.


    "Pardon me," Vivian apologized for making everyone worry about her.


    "Human lives are so fragile," Eleanor''s friendmented as if there were no humans around them, "One minute they are fine and next second you don''t realize that one could have choked on a biscuit," Vivian''s hold on the ss tightened as she heard it.


    Her eyes narrowed.


    When they finally began to head out from Lady Sheryl''s garden, one conversation led to another speaking about the women and men who were currently courting each other in the society,


    "Did you know Mr Anox was trying to marry his fiance''s younger sister?"


    "I am sure all of them heard about it. It was quite a scandalous time when the news came out. How unfortunate for him," Eleanor tched, shaking her head as they stepped inside the mansion, making their way to the drawing room.


    "Haven''t you found anyone for yourself, Lady Vivian?" asked one of the polite male vampire.


    This seemed to have got some interest among the people as they waited for her to speak. The way Eleanor watched her, waiting for how she would reply to the question, Vivian decided to y along, "I would like to spend my time studying for the council and passing the exam before thinking about a man," some of the women gave her a dire look while Eleanor appreciated her.


    "That''s how a woman should be. Vivian is a live example of what we as a woman can do," that was a lot ofpliment for the day, thought Vivian to herself in her mind, "Isn''t that right, Lady Monica? It would be unfortunate for us to let go next year''s opportunity than talk about other''s rtionship," she asked the other vampiress who had previously taken a jab at her.


    Lady Monicaughed, "Rtionship and trust do look difficult inparison to the exams. Finding love is so hard. It would surely be unfortunate. "


    Timely, Vivian spoke, "It would be more unfortunate in a rtionship when you know you can''t find a man or a woman who is already married and is letting you do you. One should keep their dignity intact," this drained the blood from Lady Moncia''s face, "I mean to say, rtionships are so fragile these days. You never know when you''ll be hurt. It is best to stay away and out of it."


    Vivian had her own tricks under her non-existent sleeve. Previously, before they had sat at the table, Vivian had bumped and touched Lady Monica by mistake which had taken her to a memory of her conversation with a man arguing on how she deserved to be his wife than his actual wife. Lady Monica was the mistress in a married man''s life and it seemed that she had guessed right, hitting the hammer on the nail.


    "Wise words spoken, Lady Vivian," Jamien who stood with his back leaning against the wall raised his ss to her while the other began to agree, Lady Monica stared at Vivian as if she saw a ghost.

 Chapter 131 - Pool Of Blood- Part 5

    Vivian was washing her hands after the meal, taking the towel which the maid offered her, she murmured thanks, turning around to walk to have Jamien walking towards her.


    "I didn''t know you were a friend of Lady Eleanor," he came to stand in front of her. He looked taller than what she had first noticed. During their first encounter, Vivian hadn''t registered his appearance as he wasn''t someone she knew or wanted to know of. Her intention had only been to finish her exam and leave quickly that apart from his sses and shabby clothes, she had failed to notice his red eyes.


    "I didn''t know you would know anyone here at all," she remarked back to see him smile. Unlike his previous nervous self, he seemed confident with his eyes kept on her unmovingly. He smiled to her in response, pushing his sses up his nose bridge.


    "Apologies for my misleading appearance. Sometimes it is better to keep a low profile than be used of using the favors of your connection. Don''t you agree, Lady Vivian?" his unnerving smile made her nod in response.


    "Maybe."


    "But I must say, it was a surprise to find you here you were like a little bunny who ran awayst time. How did youe to acquaint with Lady Eleanor?"


    "Mutual friends," she answered him, nning to leave hispany and get back to the main hall, she took a step forward to hear him ask her curious,


    "Were the words spoken directed to Lady Monica?"


    There were a few days where she wondered if she had passed the exam by fluke before telling herself she had worked hard and had got the answers right. From a person who had passed through the exam like Jamien, she should have known he would be the first one to figure out the attack she ced on the vampiress who had badmouthed her.


    "I couldn''t not notice the change in herplexion. Both of you must have had some history," internally she sighed, the man had observed but to only think they had some kind of fued in the past.


    "Women are petty creatures," she smiled, not letting him take a dig on what might have happened. Out of spite, she had opened her mouth not realizing the suspicion that would have raised among the people.


    "That I have noticed," he smirked, with both of his hands in his trouser pockets. With his feet set in another direction, it seemed that he hadn''te this way to go to the bathroom and instead only to stroll through the corridors, "We didn''t get to speak before. How has your preparation been for the second exam? It''s surprising to see a woman such as yourself taking part in it."


    A small frown formed on her forehead, "What do you mean?" she hade to be tired with the way everyone kept saying the same thing about how surprising it was for them to see her writing the exam.


    As if sensing her judgy eyes, the man spoke wisely making sure not to offend her in any manner, "In the past few recent years, there haven''t been many female candidates who came forward to write the exam. As you know, most of them aren''t interested and would rather make a family and look after them. Your family must be very supportive for pushing you to take an exam not many would be willing to send their daughters."


    She didn''t know if she had a family but the only one she could call family was Leonard, "Yes," she answered her smile startling the man as if rays of the sun hade to pass through the window, "I must get going."


    "Hmm, Lady Sheryl wants to take her to the river which is behind the mansion that contains ducks and many other creatures that she has harboured," there was evident mockery in his tone, "She would feel bad if you didn''t stay for it," with those words he walked past her.


    As he passed with a smile still on his lips, at those spare few seconds, she wondered what would happen if she touched him now. But wouldn''t it be strange to touch a man out of nowhere which would only lead to misunderstandings. Since the time she arrived, she wanted to make contact with Eleanor but she was yet to find the right opportunity which she was trying to figure out on how to find an open window for it.


    Watching over her shoulders, she saw the man had already disappeared.


    It wasn''t just one person but two of them she had to keep eye on until she returned back to the Carmichael mansion.


    Walking back to where the group ofdies were present, she heard Lady Sheryl invite her to the back river of her mansion, "Lady Vivian, we''ll be going to look at the crossdders built to bridge the gap of the twonds that are present on the sides of the river. Join us," she proposed and Vivian smiled, giving her nod which made the human woman smile in delight.


    With everyone who had moved outside, walking towards the backside of the mansion, it wasn''t exactly backside when Lady Sheryl had mentioned about it. Apparently, no one had been there as the vampiressined about the path due to the wet muddy water which slipped beneath their feet. Vivian like the rest of the women lifted the front of her skirt and after ten minutes did shee to see an intrinsic bridge that was built with the use of long wooden branches or rather the two trees roots which were long. Due to the continuous rain of Bonke, the structure looked wet and green moss which had begun to form on it.


    The bridge wasn''t built too high as clear water stood still. Being built only recently the branches weren''t tested for a lot of them to walk on. Vivian who had been walking behind Lady Sheryl felt the sway of the bridge as they went to cross to the other side of thend when suddenly the surface they were walking on, the branches suddenly let loose to snap and break such that both Lady Sheryl and Vivian had no time toprehend what happened by getting thrown into the water below them.


    Vivian felt water rush, her vision blurring as she tried to stand in the water. When she finally got her footing, below the slippery stones, she saw Lady Sheryl who had fallen on the other side but was safe with no visible injury. She was drenched in water from head to toe, water dripping down her face as she wiped her face with the back of her hand.


    Murmurs up in the bridge could be heard, Vivian first looked up at them who stared at her as if something had happened. Confused she looked down to see the colourless water turn red around her which started to spread from where she stood.


    "I think it''s quite a befitting ce for them," she Lady Monicament which she covered with a cough.


    "We should leave them be for some time. Stupidity can be contagious," said another woman.


    In that spare moment, Vivian caught Eleanor''s satisfied smirk that fell on her lips at the plight she was in. One of the vampire men who had been polite from the very beginning decided to help the women in the water by taking off his coat and walking down the stream


    As the vampire walked towards Lady Sheryl as she was the closestpared to Vivian, she heard Eleanor''s surprise-filled voice as she looked at a distance, "Leonard!"


    Seeing hime in her view with him standing up and her in the water with her clothes wet along with herself, his eyes narrowed, "What''s going on in here?" he asked coldly.


    Leonard hade to pick her after noticing her absence in his home. He was so used to having her greet him every time he reached back home that he had decided to bring her back than wait for her. Like Vivian, he had seen his second cousin smiling about something when he had only arrived at the scene to see Vivian down there with possible injury as the water had turned red around her. Not waiting, he removed his coat in a swift movement throwing it on the ground before stepping down into the water which reached to his waist as he walked towards Vivian.


    Not wanting him getting wet in the water, Vivian had tried walking towards him but something caused pain in her left leg that she couldn''t move much. She felt her heart thud as he approached her, his expression colder than usual. Once he reached her, he picked her up with both his hands. One hand going to pick her legs while the other supported her back.


    Moving out of the water he ced her down where dried leaves had gathered on the ground. Though the others could only see his back, he didn''t care about their presence and pulled up her dress so that he could take a look at her leg which had clearly been cut deep. Taking his pocket kerchief, he tied it around the wound which wasn''t enough as blood continued to ooze out.


    Picking his coat which wasn''t far from his reach, he put it around Vivian before picking her up again.


    Being in the water Vivian hadn''t realized the pain but now it stung. Due to the amount of blood she was losing, her legs started to feel weak.


    "Leo-" Eleanor began to speak to be cut off by him sharply,


    "I would ask you to refrain yourself from calling Vivian outside from now. I did not expect this from you, Eleanor," his spoke bluntly to the vampiress who looked defeated by his words. Not giving Eleanor an opportunity to speak he carried Vivian away from there.

 Chapter 132 - Taste Of Blood- Part 1

    In one of the forests of Bonke, human bodies were dug from the ground which had been buried there. The magistrate peeked with his nose covered with his kerchief, a human himself who couldn''t bear the pungent stench of the rotten, mud-covered bodies that had wafted towards his nose. Fresh rain poured from the sky, cleaning the dirt that was on the surface of the ground yet it was enough to drive the smelling from the decayed bodies.


    The continuous rain and the gravel mud had camouged the bodies in the pit that must have been filled eventually. By the looks of it, it could be told that it was a recent killing. Throats were slit open, which allowed the mud and other particles to settle in the open wound which led to the little insects to settle in and around the body.


    Next to the magistrate stood Leonard with the town guard who held a wide ck umbre over his head. Unlike the older human, he didn''t feel the need to cover his nose as he was used to the foul smell. His sharp eyes looked at the bodies that were pulled out one after another to have a total of twenty-two people who were piled one over the other.


    "Why didn''t any of them report on the missing family members?" asked Leonard, seeing the council worker push the body with his hands as it had begun to slip down to fall back into the pit.


    The magistrate''s lips which were set firmly, twisted in some thought as he replied, "One of them said, they hade to report but there had been an attack by the ck witch."


    "That makes no sense," clipped Leonard. This was too many bodies which had been found in one site, "They couldeter. What about the guards? Haven''t we set forts as requested to have a watch to alert the vigers."


    "The bell didn''t work. The tower watchman said the bell had been broken but he did manage to get some sound out of it," when Leonard turned his gaze to the man where he had to look down due to the short height of the man, the magistratepleted his sentence by saying, "I was there to hear the bell."


    "At this rate of supervision, we will have to rece you for someone more efficient in the job, Mr. Perinagi," the Duke didn''t hold back in his thoughts, his words brutal making the man cower in worry, "Get it fixed."


    "Yes, Duke Carmichael," the magistrate bowed, making his appearance look smaller than before.


    Taking the umbre from the manLeonard''s friend Maximillian Gibbs who was beside him began to walk with him when they turned back to leave the men to handle the dead bodies and in the Magistrates care for a few minutes.


    Once they were far away, their footsteps halted to talk about it where Leonard spoke, "The number of dead bodies being raised here is more than the number of chickens grown in this vige."


    "I doubt they are only of this vige," the blue-eyed pureblooded vampire answered, both his eyes brows that were designed to be arched from birth. Rain pelted on top of their umbre, giving a churring sound which blocked their words from going further. With Vivian who had fallen sick, Leonard hadn''t stepped out of his house and made sure to tend to her by handing over the work to his friend Maximillian Gibbs, "I made a background survey of the nearby viges."


    "What did you find?"


    "There have been missing people there, missing for four to five days in approximation. The people must have been manipted by one person who had them dumped here in a single ce. It only appears to be people of the same town when it is actually the aggregated result."


    "The ck witch," stated Leonard for his friend to nod his head in agreement of the suspicion, "This isn'' the first murder in thest few months. There has been a pattern of nine weeks before a murder like this takes ce. Not just the humans but also the vampires have been getting used and dumped."


    "And here I thought the vampires were much betterpared to the humans in not falling for a trap set by the ck witches."


    Leonard hummed, turning his gaze back to the magistrate and then the bodies. Something told him that it was for something bigger than just causing havoc and using the humans and vampires for building potions.


    In the midst of the human and vampire war taking ce in the fournds of Mythweald, Valeria, Woville and Bonke, the ck witches were plotting over a possible ritual that was still getting prepared. He could hardly imagine what it could be and if his gut was right, they had to stop it quickly before the ck witches eradicated both the human and vampires existence.


    "They all have the same slit marks. Did you see the angle of it?" asked Maxmillian in interest.


    "They are all crossed from the upside," it was the first thing he had noticed when the first two bodies were dug out of the pit. Usually, a person would have the slit cut in a horizontal fashion but here they were cut out vertically. Not to forget the way the cut had been made looked as if the victims didn''t struggle even for a second. It was something to worry about, "Get the bodies to the council morguetry and file in the report," asked Leonard to his fellow councilman toplete the job, "And get the man out of the position."


    Maximillian raised his brow, "Not giving a chance?"


    "I can bet on the rain that the man hasn''t got the bell in the tower watch fixed yet even after days have passed since the ck witches came to attack the vige."


    "I have to go visit Lord Nichs before I head to the council. I will file the report once I reach. Where do you want to put it? The ck box?" The blue-eyed man asked him.


    "The white box."


    Maximillian asked surprised, "White?" the boxes were where reports were filed and put in for the councillors to sort onter. The white box was where lower importance of matter was put in while the ck box consisted of high important matters which were crucial and only the higher and older council members took a lot to asses the situation.


    "Yes," Leonard answered not borating why he had asked to switch the box when a sensitive matter like this was to go to the ck box.


    He hadn''t stayed in the council for long years like the others but Leo had the best mentor anyone could have. Right after stepping into the council duties, he had found out on how some of the reports always went missing from their assigned box, especially the ck box which needed reviews from the head council. The reports though pushed into the box in the hope to be read would at times not reach the necessary hands and would be destroyed with no evidence of particr evidence.


    He didn''t usually go to change his reports but his gut this time told him to switch the boxes. There were chances that if the file went to the ck box directly, there would be some sort of maniption in the data. Not wanting to take chance, he decided to push it to the white box where it would end up in the hands of less toxic people. In the name of the mistake, the report would directly go to the head council.


    Reaching back at the mansion when Leonard stepped down from the carriage, he saw the housekeeper rush to his side to take his coat,


    "Where is Vivian?" was the first question he asked to get back the response from his housekeeper, "Master, Lady Vivian has gone to a tea party invited by your second cousin Lady Eleanor."


    Hearing the information, he stopped in his tracks. Taking back the coat he asked the whereabouts of where the tea party was being held at.


    If it were Charlotte, Leonard would have understood but Eleanor didn''t know Vivian. She had only met her twice and to invite her to a tea party was out of character of his second cousin. Reaching the mansion of thedy who had held the tea party, he learnt that everyone had gone to look at the bridge which was recently built.


    What he didn''t expect when he neared the bridge was to his see Vivian drenched in water with blood that must have caused due to a wound. Her clothes stuck to her skin like a second skin, the piece of her dress showing off the milk skin that was beneath it. Having missed the scene where Vivian and Lady Sheryl had fallen due to the breakage of the roots, he found his cousin with other few of the vampires who stood on the other side of the bridge with smirks and giggles ying on their lips.


    Furious couldn''t even cover up how he felt right now. Once he had picked Vivian out of the water, having her wound that was deep, he noticed the sway of Vivian''s head who was losing a lot of blood.


    "Leo-" Eleanor tried to speak.


    "I would ask you to refrain yourself from calling Vivian outside from now. I did not expect this from you, Eleanor," he red at her like never before, his lips set in disappointment before he took Vivian in the carriage back to the Carmichael''s mansion.


    On their way, Leonard didn''t wait to reach the mansion and instead lifted up her dress to look at the wound, "Hush now," he said when she flinched as he removed the kerchief which he had tied around her leg. Bending down, he licked the wound to hear her hiss in pain, taking away the blood and cleaning it before pulling.


    Vivian didn''t dare to look at the wound, for now, feeling dizzy due to the loss of blood, she felt utterly weak. She wanted to go to sleep but the ride wasn''t the smooth nor was Leo letting her sleep with his mouth on her wound.


    She saw him look worried at her, "Only if you could heal yourself," she smiled hearing it but the man didn''t seem to be in the mood to smile. As if deep in thought, he looked down at her wound and then his hand to bite on it.


    "What are you doing?" she asked him a little more than confused.


    "I don''t know if it''ll work but it''s worth trying," he said, sucking on his own blood he leaned forward to let his blood be poured into her mouth for her to drink.

 Chapter 133 - Taste Of Blood- Part 2

    A trail of blood dripped down the corner of their lips as Leonard poured his blood in Vivian''s mouth through his mouth. Running his hand on her throat so that she could drink it, he felt her throat bob down slowly to gulp it in.


    During ancient times, the pureblooded vampire''s blood was considered to have healing properties, not enough to bring back someone to life. It usually worked in a few seconds and that was the easiest way to help Vivian with the way she was losing blood. Her eyes had begun to dull down as if in sleep, she was losing consciousness. Her leg must have hit a sharp stone which had gone through to tear the skin with the muscles. He tied the kerchief this time higher to the injury to stop the blood flow.


    There was still time for them to reach back the Carmichael mansion, holding her close to him he saw her eyes droop to shut close.


    The next time when Vivian opened her eyes, she flinched when she tried moving her leg which had been bandaged. Trying to recollect what happened, she remembered the rush of water that went through her ears, struggling to get her footing right which she slipped when one of her footnded on a mossy stone making her slip and pushing another stone which was there to cut through her leg. The curtains were closed, fire burning in the firece which made her wonder if it was the time of night already.


    Hearing the door open, she saw it to be the housekeeper who entered with wooden logs in his hand.


    Seeing thedy up, the housekeeper put the logs down next to the firece and went to pour a ss of water before giving it to her.


    Vivian took it, her eyes still dazed from sleep. It seemed that since two weeks she had been spending more of her time in the bed that outside.


    "What time is it?" she asked the housekeeper.


    "It is past four in the evening, mdy. Master Leonard must be here soon," as if at the mention of the name, Leonard stepped into the room, taking the ss from her, the housekeeper went to add the logs to keep the fire of the heat in the room. The weather had begun to change, from the rains that brought in the message of the oing winter which was going to freeze thends.


    Leonard came to her side of the bed, asking her, "Try not to move your leg. I have to suture the skin in the carriage so it might take a little longer time for it to heal," he did it himself? thought Vivian to herself, "You were losing a lot of blood and it didn''t stop initially. I didn''t want to wait long for the doctor toe and see you."


    "Okay," she answered, her tongue feeling a little lighter after drinking water. At the thought of her brows went to concentrate, "Did you make me drink your blood?"


    "Pureblooded vampires have healing blood. Did it taste bad?" he asked her knowing that her human self wouldn''t have beenfortable to take in the thick blood.


    "I uh," she trailed not knowing how to answer what she felt. She flinched when she tried to move her leg.


    "Stop moving, Vivi. The wound is fresh and it will take time for the stitch to mold in with the skin," he lightly scolded out of worry. What happened there?" he asked Vivian, his anger hadn''t faded at the scene of what he had seen.


    With the sudden fall and rush of water and Leonarding to pick her up in his arms, she could faintly remember him saying something to Eleanor before carrying her to the carriage. With the pain she had felt back there she wasn''t in the position to concentrate anywhere else.


    "I fell down."


    "I know that. How did you fall?" his gaze burned into hers.


    She shrugged her shoulder, her head shaking as she replied back with, "The bridge must have not been built strongly to hold so many people at a time. Lady Shirley will have to rework on the bridge again," she chuckled to see the man standing in front of her with an unamused expression.


    "It isn''t aughable matter, Vivian," the smile on her face died down. Leonard wasn''t in the mood to listen to her humour and it didn''t look like she could brighten up his mood. She must have caused him quite some worry, not to forget that she herself had gotten worried by looking at the blood around her.


    Remembering she wasn''t the only one who had fallen into the river, she asked, "What about Lady Shirley? Is she alright?"


    "She''s fine," his answer was vague. It wasn''t Lady Shirley but Vivian who had been injured at the part of the water where the other woman had fallen had been safe.


    He looked at her leg which looked fluff on one side as he had aided to her leg before and aftering back to the mansion. After making her drink his blood, he had pulled out her hairpins to push it through the skin to close the wound temporarily. Having done a decent job, he didn''t see the point to call the vige doctor and fixed her leg by himself washing it with diluted alcohol.


    He pondered over the scene he hade across where his second cousin stood with a smug like a smile on the bridge with her eyes looking down at Vivian who was looking around her surrounding. To think that instead of helping the women who had fallen into the water, she had stood there idle as if it was a y in the theatre, the thought infuriated Leonard to no end.


    Eleanor had been a sweet girl when they were young, possibly sweeter and nicer than Charlotte too and it turned out that she had changed in time.


    Not wanting to rest anymore, Vivian went to get up from the bed moving as she ced both her feet on the ground, Leonard came to her side to support her.


    She sat in the same position, staring at the wall to which Leonard didn''t question her. He knew exactly what she was thinking without her speaking about it. Looking at her sideways, he saw the colour that had returned back to her cheek, the reason being his blood running in her body now. He was d to have thought about it, as repulsive the taste was for a human, he had hoped to get some amount of it into her which he achieved sessfully. She finally asked, "Why did you feed me your blood?"


    The little sunrays that the clouds had le pass through had begun to fade. Birds chirping as they began to fly back to their nests. The sun setting to darken thends slowly.


    "Pureblooded vampires have medicinal elements to heal humans wounds."


    "They do?" seeing him nod in confirmation. How strange, thought Vivian to herself, "Wouldn''t that mean that part of my blood tried fighting whatever was responsible for turning me to a human then?"


    "It''s very much possible but whatever caused it must have been something really strong. It''s not easy to change a pureblooded vampires structure of DNA. It includes the corrupting of the core of the heart. The witch who produced it used something very rare and effective enough to break everyponent that is part of the core before dissolving into the system and diffusing the core into ckness."


    "Is it true that a pureblooded vampire''s heart core is like red candlelight?"


    "It is. It isn''t the heart but the core which keeps the pureblooded vampires from ageing quickly. Once the core loses its light, everything starts shutting down in the body. It washes the mind and unable to keep up with malfunctioning, the core finally corrupts to give out a new kind of a vampire. The corrupt hearted vampires who are useless and are killed before any form befalls."


    The housekeeper arrived back at the door, knocking it for attention to which the couple turned to look at him, "Master, Lady Eleanor is here to meet you," but before anyone could say anything more, Eleanor burst through the guestroom door who had been asked to stay in the drawing room until Leonard would be fetched. The housekeeper trusting not to react to her sudden appearance after instructing to stay, he bowed his head not making eye contact with anyone, he disappeared outside.


    Eleanor''s hair looked wild, her red eyes livid which didn''t bring out the emotions she held deep down. She hade to meet Leonard so that she could apologize to what mistake she had done but she hadn''t expected to find Vivian resting in one of the mansion room. She didn''t understand what the human girl was doing here.


    "Eleanor," Leonard wasn''t pleased with her presence not near him nor near Vivian. and his expression was as clear as the day of the South.


    "I think you mistook my actions, Leo. Please allow me to exin. I was too shocked when she fell and didn''t know what to do. At the same time, Lady Monica said something unnecessary which was funny but it was wrong of me to indulge in it instead of helping Vivian," she stated anxiously. Her eyes held visible tears which threatened to spill out of her eyes. Turning her gaze at Vivian who had only stood up from the bed she bent her head, "I am sorry for the inconvenience that has been caused and for noting sooner. Please forgive me for noting sooner."


    Leonard was ready to snap back with his words but Vivian held his hand, to receive a questionable look from him. She shook her head so that he wouldn''t be rash with his cousin.


    "Lady Eleanor, please raise your head," spoke Vivian with the same politeness before she hade to see the way Lady Eleanor had smiled at the plight after she fell into the water, "It was a mishap no one could prevent. The workers didn''t do their job well in building the bridge firmly."


    "B-but it was my fault," she cried remembering the way Leonard had used his sharp tongue and eyes that had been filled with anger, "If I didn''t invite you in such unfamiliar ce, you wouldn''t have hurt yourself."


    Vivian smiled, "Please don''t take the me upon yourself. It wasn''t your fault and I was d that you invited me so fondly," Leonard clutched his hands together before walking past Eleanor to exit the room.


    She saw Eleanor''s eyes follow Leonard who had turned slightly as he had walked by to turn back to look at her, "I am sorry," as if wanting to test her she said, "You have been hurt that you aren''t able to travel to your home. Should I perhaps contact your family for you so that they don''t worry?" asked Lady Eleanor.


    "That wouldn''t be required. The Duke has put in a good word so that they don''t worry. He asked me to rest the night today and go home tomorrow," Vivian cautiously put in the words to see Lady Eleanor''s face slip slightly before she nodded her head.


    "Of course. Rest is important. All that matters is that Lady Shirley and you are well now," Eleanor walked to her and took hold of Vivian''s arm so that she could help her sit on the bed, "Does it hurt?"


    "Just when I move it around a lot," Vivian answered to while making sure her dress didn''t put pressure on the wound. She was still in the dress which she had worn before leaving the mansion.


    And it was then that it happened, something Vivian had been trying to achieve since she had been invited to Lady Sheryl''s private mansion. In the intention to apologize more thoroughly, Lady Eleanor took hold of Vivian''s hands in hers.


    As Eleanor began to apologize, Vivian was taken back to the memories of years ago that had taken ce, transporting her to a room where two young children sat at one of the top of the room looking at the stars where the sky was clear.


    She identified the blonde boy to be none other than Leonard who must have been around the age they had met. Next to him sat a girl who must have been Eleanor. Unlike Vivian who was two years younger to Leo, Eleanor was the same age as her cousin pureblooded vampire. The children spoke something amongst them. With the door open from where she hade, Vivian walked closer to them to see the difference in their seating positions.


    Young Leonard sat in the front with a book in his hand and Eleanor sat a seat behind him. It was something that caught her eye.


    "Leo. Leo!" the little girl called him as his eyes had gone back to reading the book he had got along with him.


    "What is it, El?" his voice seemed bored but that didn''t deter the girl. With her knees brought close to her chest, she rested her head at the side so that she could look at him.


    Lifting her head, she turned herselfpletely so that she could look at the boy who was special to her, "Will you being to the Winter''s ball next week?" she asked hopefully. For a vampire of her age, the girl was as matured as Leo himself.


    "Yes," his answer was short.


    "Will you teach me to dance?"


    "Ask your brother Christopher. I am sure he would teach you well," his suggestion disheartened the girl, a defeated look forming on her face.


    "Okay..." she whispered, and then stood up to finally get the boy''s attention who gave her a look, "I don''t want Chris to teach me but you. You have taught me all this time, are you mad that I am his sister?" she cried, her hands clutching into two loose fists.


    The boy looked at her in a frown and then sighed, "Fine. I will teach you."


    Little Eleanor blinked at him, "Really?"


    "Really."


    Vivian was then transported to another memory, taking her to the Carmichael''s mansion where there was a party like gathering being held by Mr Carmichael. It was as if she existed here in this memory yet at the same time she didn''t. She was an invisible shadow that was part of the past.


    People passed through her, the greetings taking ce by the vampires and some of the humans who were invited. She saw Mr and Mrs Carmichael who looked just the same before they had died, smiling and talking to their guests and for a minute Vivian wished this was real. She wished she could make things right. To go back to the past and warn them, warn them on the plight that was going to fall in the future but those were only wishful thinking of hers.


    She then found Eleanor who stood next to a woman and man whom Vivian guessed to be her parents.


    Looking around she wondered where Leonard was, she searched for him in the crowd but was unable to find him in the hall. As she turned her head, she found Eleanor walking out of the hall and she quickly caught up with her. Little Eleanor walked through the corridors which Vivian hade to be familiar over the years of her stay in this particr mansion.


    Seeing the girl stop she looked ahead to see that she hade to stand in front of the door which led to the ss room. The door wasn''tpletely open, therefore hiding the girl from the other children that were inside who were having a merry time.


    When Vivian peeked in she saw Leo, Charlotte, Rhys, Julliard and herself in there. Leonard patted her head as if she were a cat over something Rhys said. Little Eleanor looked jealous over what happened. Leo had been hers all this while and some unknown girl had taken her position. Leo had always been quiet not showing his emotions but every time he spoke to her, there was a smile and a tease which the other children didn''t notice. Eleanor stood there for a long time, listening and looking at them as she stood alone at the door.


    When the children began to disperse, Vivian went to meet Billy, petting the sheep where Eleanor saw her from afar.


    Turning around, she went to seek her brother. Finding him, she tugged on his sleeve.


    "What is it, El?" he asked looking at his sister.


    "I heard Leo telling you were weakpared to him. Is it true?" she asked him with an oblivious look, knowing the dynamics of her brother and Leonard, she saw her brother look at her irritatedly at her.


    The boy then asked, "Where is Leo?" Eleanor led the way to only stop to look at the window outside where she could see the sheep, "El?" she heard her brother call.


    "He must be outside with the girl you said he is sometimes seen with. I heard they bought a sheep which means a lot to them," the little girl hinted, as if her work had been done, she retraced her steps back to where her parents were.


    After the fight took ce, Leo''s belongings had been packed on to the carriage.


    Vivian who had been around waiting for the scene to y out couldn''t believe that a girl of such small age could have such devious intentions but then pureblooded children were two steps aheadpared to the human children. She knew that Leonard and Christopher didn''t get along but the reason why Leonard was sent away from his own home was Eleanor.


    She had been the one to push her brother in hurting the sheep in an intent to hurt Vivian.

 Chapter 134 - Taste Of Blood- Part 3

    Vivian who stood outside at the Carmichael''s mansion saw the carriage leave as Leonard''s family members stood outside to see him go to the Rufus'' mansion.


    All the time little Eleanor stood quietly without a word of protest. She was sad about his departure and the fight her brother and he had got into but at the same time, she was happy, happy that Leonard wouldn''t be seeing the girl anymore. The way he had patted the girl had made her jealous, jealous of the existence of the girl as it was Eleanor''s ce and not some stranger who had only recently arrived at the mansion. Since she had heard and seen them speak, she hated the girl.


    Vivian saw little Eleanor turn her head slowly whilst everyone was murmuring about what just happened. She turned to look at the blonde girl who had her hands clutched tightly at one of the servant''s dress.


    The fragment of memory slowly began to dissolve to bring in colour and light of the room she was in. Voice of Eleanor who sat talking next to her drifted into her ear from what had previously been faded.


    "....bridge is going to be rebuilt and I asked my father to send in the workers so that it could be fixed and built rightly this time so that there are no such mishaps in the future. Vivian?" Lady Eleanor leaned a little to look at Vivian who had a nk face all this while when the vampiress was speaking to her.


    Vivian didn''t know how to respond right now. Though there was no blood and gore in the memory she had seen, the betrayal of trust was something hard to digest. Not to forget that she was the one who had inflicted the fight between Leonard and Christopher. For a young girl of that age to hold such contempt, she could hardly imagine what she would have stored for her in the future.


    It was apparent that Lady Eleanor didn''t see Leonard as just her second cousin but that she held romantic interest in him. Right now, just like before, Lady Eleanor saw Vivian to be a threat in her way of gaining Leonard''s affection. It worried her to what extent the woman could go toplete her goal. Thankfully right now, all she knew was that she was a guest who was taking shelter at the Carmichael''s residence.


    There could be a possibility that Lady Eleanor doubted the lie they told her and the rest of them, thought Vivian to herself but it was better to keep their rtionship in darkness. At least until the council exam was done.


    "Are you alright?" the woman asked concerned, making it hard for Vivian to believe what she had seen of the past and the present now.


    "Uh-I think I need to lie down for some time. I lost a lot of blood today," Vivian responded back as she ced her leg carefully on the bed. Lady Eleanor helped her with the nket, pulling and tucking in.


    "I am so sorry. I should probably go so that you can rest now. Let me go meet Leonard as he still seems angry. I am still sorry for not able to be quick in aiding you out of the water. I hope this doesn''t ruin our friendship," Lady Eleanor sounded apologetic, her eyes looking at Vivian anxiously as both of them held each other''s gazes.


    Putting up a smile, she said, "It wasn''t your fault, Lady Eleanor. Let''s not worry about it," listening to this the vampiress let out a sigh of relief.


    "Thank you, Vivian. I wille to see you soon," she said squeezing Vivian''s arm gently with a smile on her thin lips, she walked out of the room.


    When Lady Eleanor left the room, the smile that Vivian had put upon her face started to drag down as her thoughts drifted to think about what she saw. She had expected to see Eleanor''s emotions but never had she expected to see the vile side of the vampiress which was part of her childhood.


    Lady Eleanor loved Leonard, and her parents approved of him, at least Mrs Henz did.


    The fall from the bridge was an ident but she wasn''t sure if next time would be an ident when thedy would call her for another tea party, not that she was willing to go. She had gone to confirm her thoughts and now that it was, she didn''t see the need to associate herself with Lady Eleanor or anyone else which included the man named Jamien.


    She stared at the ceiling of the room, her eyes nk as time passed by. After spending a few more minutes on the bed doing nothing but think, Vivian decided to take a bath.


    Getting up from the bed, she dragged her feet around the room. There were times when she slightly flinched at the pull of her skin on her leg due to which she had to stop to take a deep breath. Picking the dress, she made way to the bathroom by pushing the door open and cing the fresh clothes on the hook stand. She took a look at her pale green dress that had turned pink in colour which was possibly due to the blood that had inked in the water.


    As the bath ran with considerably warm water, Vivian began to undress, removing the hooks of the dress one by one, she pushed her sleeves such that just when the dress fell down around her feet, Leonard arrived calling for her.


    "Vivi-" he stopped to see her naked body standing next to the tub, "Are you taking a bath?"


    "I smell...I thought it would be good to have a warm bath before I eat something," she said wanting to hide. Though Leonard had seen and touched her before, she couldn''t stop being shy with her nakedness in front of him and this time there was nowhere she could hide.


    "Let me help," he said, not waiting for her reply, he bent down to touch the water so that he could check it''s temperature, "It''s hot, Bambi. Did you n to burn your skin? Let''s reduce the temperature of it," he said not looking at her and unplugging the tub which started to drain the water slowly. Once he felt it was sufficient, he turned the tap for the cold water.


    In the mean-time, he rolled up his sleeves up to his elbow, the first three buttons of his shirt open which made Vivian wonder if this was how Eleanor had seen him before leaving the mansion. Did she leave the mansion?


    Leonard then asked for her hand so that she could step into the tub, helping her in and making her sit in afortable position.


    As if going to fetch something from the cupboards, he came back with thethering soap like bar and the scrub which was made of dried twigs. The wound was formed near her calf muscle which got wet again when she had stepped into the tub.


    "Don''t worry about it," she heard Leonard speak when she looked at the cloth that was wounded around her leg, "It''s not safe to get into a bath when you''re weak and have lost a lot of blood. Your body will be tired and if you slip into sleep there''s no telling of one drowning in the tub."


    "That happens?" she asked a little baffled at the information. The servants and other maids didn''t have such a facility that she could have learnt something like this to happen.


    "More often than you can count when ites to humans. The information is ridiculous but it is true," he stated, taking her hand in his, pouring water and using the dried twigs to scrub her skin gentler than the force she used. His movements on her were careful, making sure she wasn''t ufortable he didn''t stare at her but instead concentrated on her hand as he washed it until she heard him ask her, "What did Eleanor speak to you? She stayed with you for quite some time."


    She wet her lips which had dried, seeing him continue to work on her shoulder, "About that, I found something from her."


    He looked up to meet her eyes, "Apart from her apology?" he cocked his head in question, "You went through her memories?"


    "She held my hands and I couldn''t stop what I saw. It was her memories with you," at this information he narrowed his eyes.


    "Why?" He wasn''t asking why she had seen the memories but why and what he was doing there in the memories. She could see the bad after taste like response forming on his face.


    "I believe Eleanor is in love with you, Leo."


    "Is that so," he went back to washing her with water while moving his hand in a circr motion along with the scrub, "Lean a little forward for me, Bambi," he askeding to sit behind her and she did as asked to feel his hands on the back of her skin making her close her eyes at his touch.


    Seeing him not enquire her further on it, she wondered if he was angry over something. Though his touch was gentle, it appeared that his mood had slightly shifted turning the atmosphere heavy in silence. Once he was done washing her body, his hands moved to her wet hair, massaging her scalp first and then pouring water to rinse it thoroughly. Thankfully his hands hadn''t dwelled long on her womanly parts, respecting that she was injured.


    Before she could get up, she felt Leo press his lips on the side of her wet temple to leave a kiss there.

 Chapter 135 - Toxic Or Not

    ~High SS? This is a long long chapter hehe. The next chapter after this has been updated too~


    Taking her out of the bath first, Leonard covered her in the white towel which he had picked from the stand, wrapping it around her, he picked her up in his arms. Once they reached near to the bed, he let her down slow and carefully.


    All that time Vivian couldn''t stop staring at him, her heart thrumming, her cheeks feeling filled with a smile that she tried not to bring on her lips. The kiss he gave her in the bath was different than any other she had received until now. It was as if he had kissed her to reassure his feelings for her. When she had mentioned about Eleanor''s feelings for him, she wondered if he had sensed her insecurity which she herself didn''t notice. The kiss was so sweet that if she were standing her legs would have given up on her.


    Taking another towel from one of the cupboards, he wiped her wet hair which dripped out water continuously. Taking both the ends he rubbed it, using his hands as he moved it round and round until he came to the ends, rubbing it together with both his hands.


    Leonard was a straight man, at least whenpared to the whole lot poption of the pureblooded vampires. In his eyes, there was no one but Vivian and to think that, her heart felt full. When he ced her naked self on the soft bed, she hade to see the bandage which he removed to see the gash of wound that had taken ce on the side of her calf muscles. It wasn''t just the gash that took her attention from the man who stood near her but the way the wound was stitched. To think that he was the one who had done it, Vivian was in awe at his handwork where the torn skin must have been intricately sewed together.


    If she weren''t here for whatever reason that had turned her from a pureblooded vampire to a human then she wouldn''t be here with him. Though they might have crossed each other''s path it wouldn''t have been the same.


    And who knows, thought Vivian to herself, she might have harbored feelings like Lady Eleanor but the kind that wouldn''t have been harmful. For a stranger outside, Leonard would be seen as an aloof man, a man who showed no emotions and was a dull handsome with his keen sharp red eyes. He wasn''t like that with everyone, no with the people who he was closed to who could see his warm nature. A man who valued his family more than anything, a man of his own beliefs. And Eleanor hade to taste that kindness and care when she was young, depending on it that now she failed to see that they had grown and so did his feelings which weren''t for her.


    "You are very quiet," he stated as he wiped the sole of her feet. One leg at a time and when he was turning it to get the drops of water, Vivian pulled her leg but his grip around her ankle was firm, "There is nothing I haven''t see of you, Bambi. No need to be shy," she had been shy when her leg had been parted to the side, making her feel the cool breeze between her legs.


    Instead of being lenient, he pushed her leg further away and she had to turn her head, not meeting his eyes as his hand moved down from the back of her leg which started from her ankle to the bottom where she almost leaned back on the bed. Her breath hitched in her throat when his hand moved close to her core but he did nothing but dab it.


    Vivian felt embarrassed, not because of what he was doing but for what she felt. Now that he had touched her she couldn''t stop thinking the pleasure that her body felt and tingled at his touch. When her body began to shudder, her breath getting deeper and shallower, Leonard came to wipe her breasts, the tips of it looked dark and alluring, seeking his attention and he gave them a gentle squeeze to hear the sudden intake of her breath.


    "How naughty," he whispered next to her ear and her eyes snapped opened to look at him where his pupil had dted, his voice huskier than ever before, "I am helping you and here you are thinking naughty things," he bit her ear lobe which enhanced her sensitivity.


    "I am not!" she protested to see a small grin that made way to his lips, it was a smile between grin and smirk which made her heart skip a beat.


    "No?" he asked her as if he were clueless now, "Shall we see how naughty you are?" she gulped hearing this.


    His hand slid between her thighs, his finger brushing against the wet lips which she jerked behind.


    "Don''t," she whispered. He raised his brow at her.


    "Why not? Don''t you remember how good you feltst time?" it wasn''t that she didn''t remember how she felt, her body along with her soul had soared out of the bed but she hadn''t forgotten how adamant he had been in his ''punishment''. She doubted she had that energy right now, "Okay," he said to her relief. cing a kiss on her cheek he wiped it clean with the towel before helping her into the dress which he decided to pick himself from the cupboard without going to the bathroom to get what she had previously decided to wear.


    Not bothering with setting up the table, Leonard fed her on the bed. The housekeeper who had gotten used to the lovers of the mansion, stood behind Leonard as she was fed.


    After the meal, Leonard helped her back in the bed where he leaned against the headboard. Seeing that she was well fed and in peace, he decided to ask her, "What did you see in the memories?"


    Frankly, he wasn''t interested in it. He didn''t care if his second cousin held any sort of feelings for him or not. The only woman he wanted to gain affections from was in the room right now and he cared less of other people.


    "You said you would dance with her in Winter''s ball."


    "Did I?" he frowned trying to remember the incident which he couldn''t remember. People remembered only the things that were important to them, not the ones that weren''t important and clearly Eleanor wasn''t important to him.


    "I think it was before you met me so it was a long time ago. Then it shifted to the day you were sent away from her."


    "What was it about?" he asked.


    Vivian weighed on what and how exactly to tell him what she saw and understood. Taking a deep breath she told him what she saw without leaving a single detail out. She tried to make sure she didn''t turn it bias and make Eleanor seem like a viin but it portrayed her just as she was in reality.


    Leonard didn''tment on it the entire time and instead sat quietly listening to what Vivian had to say to him.


    "Sometimes I wonder, wondering if Billy wasn''t brought home maybe you would have stayed as there would nothing to leverage on. Nothing to kill or lose," even after years passed by the guilt was something Vivian couldn''t let go of, to think if it weren''t for her tears Leonard would never have gone at Christopher.


    "If Eleanor didn''t instigate Christopher a lot of things could have been solved. I wouldn''t have had to leave this mansion nor you here," he consoled her not wanting her to take up the me as there was nothing she could have done, "If she didn''t exist, maybe the course of life would have taken another turn. What else did you see, Vivi?"


    "That was all," she answered. There was a part of her who didn''t understand if she was sad or if she was d to not have a look further into her memories. As if remembering something, she suddenly said, "The man I met in the council who I looked into, he is an acquaintance of Eleanor."


    "What''s his name?"


    "Jamien Long."


    Leonard then said, "Get some rest, Vivi. You don''t have to worry about anything," he kissed her forehead.


    Unsure if he was going to go back to his room, she asked him, "Will you stay here?" He lifted the covers and got inside it with her, lying on the bed with her. Leonard waited for her to fall asleep where she fell asleep instantly after fifteen minutes of him getting into the bed with her. Moving his hand away, he got out of the bed, tucking Vivian before adding two logs of wood in the firece to keep the girl warm who slept on the bed.


    Shutting the door close behind him, he stepped down the stairs to meet the housekeeper who as if knowing the arrival of his master had taken a stand near the end of the stairs.


    "Did the coachman see her home?"


    "Yes, master. Just as you ordered," Jan, the housekeeper replied bowing his head who had done his job meticulously.


    On Leonard''s order, he had sent one of the mansion guards to make sure that Lady Eleanor reached home, though she had her own coachman and guard. The housekeeper wasn''t a blind man not to know what was happening in and around the mansion.


    Since he had met the second cousin of Duke Carmichael, he knew she was trouble but he was only a servant here whose opinions were to be kept to himself unless asked for.


    Working for the council in the criminal information department for a few months, he had learnt to pick the behaviours of men and women and thedy who had only left the mansion didn''t appear one with good intentions.


    He had never met thedy before but he had been reluctant in sending the human girl not once but twice with the vampiress. There was something about the way she spoke that made him wary about Lady Henz. When his master had arrived back home to only go ande back with the human girl, he hadn''t expected to see blood on her and on his shirt which wasn''t there when he left the mansion. Without a question, he had followed the Duke''s orders in getting the first aid that was required to clean the wound.


    Jan being aware of Leonard''s anger which he had previously seen and heard before working for him as he used to work at the Rune''s mansion, he knew not to ask a question or stay around when thedy was being aided. The reason the guard was sent along with Lady Eleanor wasn''t that he was concerned about her well being as thedy might have taken it to be but it was so that she didn''t hover over the mansion.


    "Good," the Duke answered and asking him, "Get me a ss of the Willow with the rabbit blood."


    Leonard hadn''t shown it in front of Vivian but internally he was furious. Furious over Eleanor''s action to what she had done. He had not once shown his interest in her, not when they were young and not now either.


    Vivian might have thought about it as a mishap but he doubted it was. If she had been cunning enough to the point to use her own brother to do her work out of mere jealousy when she was young, Leo doubted the little girl had changed. It was only a matter of time before she would try something more as she already doubted Vivian''s closeness to Leonard. Surely, she didn''t remember that Vivian was the same person as in Eleanor''s memories, the girl was a maid and not someone who came from a high-end family.


    It was only a matter of a few days before Vivian''s rtionship with him would be out in the open, for him to im in front of everyone. A few days more before the second exam took ce but what Leo didn''t know was that life didn''t go how one expected it to go in.


    The woman he loved wasn''t the kind to hold things in her heart. She had always been open for him to read, wanting to be read by him as she went on to tell what she did when she was young. And though she didn''t say it, he had seen the uncertainty and worry that had lingered in her in the depths of her eyes at the thought of Eleanor loving him. No matter how good a person''s heart was jealousy was an emotion which couldn''t be evaded. A simple kiss of reassurance had faded away all the darkness away from her.


    When the housekeeper returned back with the ss of wine which looked thick as it had been mixed with the rabbit''s blood which was killed five minutes ago after Leo''s request, Leonard asked casually with his back rested in the chair of his study room, "Have you ever loved anyone, Jan?"


    The housekeeper who stood a little behind him with both his hands holding together in the front looked surprised at his master''s question, "Me, master?"


    "I don''t see anyone else here," Leo took a sip, his tongue feeling the fine liquid in his mouth, "You have lived for a fair amount of years.


    "No, master. I didn''t get to experience that kind of emotion yet. I have heard it is painful," a chuckle escaped from Leo''s lips hearing what his housekeeper had to say about it.


    "Surely it is a bittersweet feeling," hemented,pleting the entire drink in one go that caught the housekeeper''s attention, "Sweet and addicting, yet so toxic at the same time which will corrode to the depths of your heart."


    "Are you speaking about Lady Eleanor? Pardon me," the housekeeper bowed his head in apology for asking something he shouldn''t have.


    "I wonder if I am," answered Leo, reminiscing the after taste of the blood wine he had taken in. Love took different forms, converting itself in time from good to bad or bad to good, he thought to himself while staring into nothingness.


    If Eleanor loved him, it was time he confronted about it to clear the matter so that he could still keep the rtionship they had of second cousins. That was if she would make the decision to step back and not interfere with what Vivian and he shared.


    Leonard was a kind man but one''s kindness could only be stretched so far before he would hand over the invitation of death if she did something to Vivian.


    That was the kind of love and affection he had for Vivian. Though Vivian had beente in catching up with her feelings, he had spent years before in holding on and hiding his love for her watching her grow up in his eyes.


    Leonard loved Vivian to his heart''s content, his love full that it overflowed at times. With important members of the family gone, she was the only one who mattered to him that his focus was solely on her. Like today''s incident that took ce, he expected her to be home to have her around but the thought of her not where he was tickled his mind. Enough that got him starting the carriage to head to Lady Shirley''s home.


    He wouldn''t voice it out loud but he didn''t like men being anywhere close to her physically or mentally. He showered her with love, taking care of her subtly without her knowledge so that if one day if it ever arrived that she decided to leave his side, it would be unbearable to live without him. He monopolized her time and feelings; somewhere in his mind he knew it was wrong yet he told himself with the reason of him not doing it as he had allowed her to take part in the council which would be with him.


    Love was toxic, but if taken right, the toxicity would never be known not felt making the other drown in it for to nevere back again.


    Leonard stood up from his seat, taking the coat which hung on the nearby stand, "I will be going out for some time. Look after her until I return," with that he left the mansion.


    Instead of using the carriage, Leonard had taken his white horse Rosie along with him. Riding it in the cold wind of Bonke, galloping of the hooves which touched the ground under the starless night. Coming upon the dark rusted gates where one of the gates was open wide, he pulled the reins of the horse and got down from it to tie it to the open side of the gate.


    He stood looking at the hundreds of gravestones as he stood in front of the cemetery. Walking inside towards his parents grave with only crickets being hispanions as they chirped in and around the graveyard. His footsteps were light on the ground, leaves that had dried and pushed by the wind crumpled and crunched under his shoes as he made way to his parent''s gravestones.


    He came to stand in front of the stones his parents, Giles and Renae Carmichael''s names written on them. Unlike the first few days when they had been murdered, the number of times he visited hade down. The thought of them not existing which hade to sink in his mind.


    Once he had finished spending a good amount of time there, he moved on to his cousin''s tombstone. Julliard Easton.


    From a very young age, Julliard and Leonard had been inseparable. They had spent time a lot of time creating unknown mischief from the point of stealing alcohol bottles from the cer to taking a walk in the viges in the middle of the night. Before Leonard hade to realize his feelings for Vivian, it was Julliard who had pointed out the obvious emotions of his.


    It was when they were at the age of fourteen or was it fifteen? wondered Leonard to himself, during the one time when all the rtives had been called to the Carmichael''s mansion and so was he. He had stayed for a good three days in his own home as a guest which had annoyed him, nheless, he had taken the opportunity to be around and spend a good time with his family. During those days, Vivian had been extremely busy due to the number of guests that needed to be looked after and made sure they were all well. It was another reason for his annoyance.


    Leonard being the only child of the Carmichael''s was used to the love and attention his family showed on him, not that he asked for it but he was used to it. So was Vivian''s undivided attention to him since they were young. The first day he had let it go, the second day he had tried not to speak about it as every time he met her in the corridors the girl would run away with another work.


    "Vivi," he remembered calling her for her to answer.


    "Master Leo," she smiled at him, "What can I help you with?" but before he could say anything, Martha had called for her from another corridor.


    "Vivian, did you get sheets from outside?" as if in realization her eyes went wide and she looked in the direction where Martha''s voice hade from. Looking back at Leonard whose face was contracted with unshed irritation, she said, "Excuse me," bowing her head she ran away from there. It wasn''t that it happened just once, but more than four times before he had gone and dented his wall in his room with his bare fist.


    He remembered Julliard asking him why he was in such a bad mood but giving the reason of it being the silly maid wasn''t something he woulde out and say. Regardless of him not saying it, Julliard had guessed what was up with his cousin and had suggested yfully to do something to get her attention.


    This had led to Leonard pushing the frame on his wall and pouring the drink he had in his hand immediately on the floor. The same day he had found out from Paul that how Vivian was given work to clean the floor and any other mishaps that took ce. As expected, Vivian had arrived with a bucket of water and a cloth. Julliard seeing this couldn''t help but chuckle as he left the room for the human girl and his cousin.


    "I wish you were here," spoke Leonard looking down at the graveyard, "It''s just as you said...I am sorry for not visiting you soon. I was ashamed, ashamed to think that I let you down by letting Charlotte die when I had promised to look after her in your absence," the guilt was there, lingering in his mind but he had learnt to tell himself on how it wasn''t his fault.


    No one anticipated death least not in such fashion. The betrayal of trust had been heavy when he found out about her death while solving what had happened. Though it would take time for Vivian to join the council, Leonard had already begun his search. Searching for the man named Rory but there was no evidence of trail that was left behind.


    Most of the work they had been receiving had been going to dead ends which were frustrating to a lot of the council members. With the way it looked, Leonard doubted that each of them might be connected somehow yet it looked disconnected. There was only death taking ce in the fournds of the empire, mass death urring and worrying the people about it.


    "I hope to see you soon," he whispered, his eyes still staring at the gravestone and he walked back to where he had tied his horse. Owls hooted in the trees, the wind blowing as it picked up the possible leaves which hadn''t been stuck to the ground.


    Knowing that Vivian was soundly sleeping he made way to the Rune mansion. At his horse'' arrival, the butler opened the doors taking him to the Lord who hadn''t slept yet though it waste in the midnight.


    "You smell of death," Lord Nichs smiled, his eyes staring at Leonard.


    "I visited the cemetery on my way here," as if in understanding the man nodded his head but said, "I wasn''t talking about it. You appear angry. Are things not well in paradise?" he teased yfully.


    "It''s more than well, Nick."


    "I thought you had a brawl. I hear it is verymon amongst couple to have fights over little matters. I was only stating the information I hear," Nichs chuckled when he received an annoyed look from Leonard, "If I might add, it feels very much simr to the time you went to visit your home a few years ago. I haven''t seen you irritated since then. Care for a meal?"


    "I finished dinner. Why haven''t you eaten yet?" enquired Leo to hear the man hum.


    As if in deep concentration, Nichs answered, "It is lonely to eat alone in the dining room. I have to say I was used to having my meals alone but to get used to having meals with the people and again ending up alone is not a very nice feeling."


    "What about your butler? You can ask him to apany you if you''re that lonely."


    "I would if my butler was a beautiful young girl like Vivian," Leo red at him to which Nichs raised his hands in surrender, "So much of contained anger. You need to fix it before the council finds out how you dispose of that unruly anger of yours."


    "I don''t dispose of my anger but merely do my job. That''s what they expect me to do and stop bringing Vivian into your equation of desire, Nick."


    "Why not? She''s a lovelydy," Leo knew that Nichs was only poking fun at him and decided not to bother with it, "When ites to her, you go quiet. Did you know that?" Nichs tilted his head.


    "Did you get the report for what happened?"


    The smile on Nichs'' lips faded out, "I did. The ghouls are informative but not as much as you. They can only tell what they see. What did you find out? And is it me or are there a lot of bodies being dug only around Mythweald and Bonke?"


    "I noticed it too," Leo confirmed Lord Nichs'' suspicion, "The ck witches are on the move. Everything is interconnected. Mass bodies of death. The potion. The Witches but who don''t fit are the switchers. There might be a possibility that they are helping the witches and in turn, getting their help. Or..." Nichs waited for Leonard to finish, "They might be witches but the higher part of the witchers just like how we have vampires and pureblooded vampires. The potion which was sent over to the test out, they found it to be herbs which rarely grow in the ends of the mountain which passes by Valeria to go to Mythweald."


    "How rare?" Nichs asked with a keen expression. Seeing Leonard raise his four fingers, he asked, "four years?"


    Leonard shook his head, "Four decades. But there''s another herb which they are still trying to find out and the tests are still under process."


    "I see," as if something dawned, Nichs remarked, "So that''s what was burnt in there. The witches who are involved must be in quite some mood to conduct the mass murderings in the rage of revolt."


    "You didn''t say what''s gotten you in such foul mood."


    "There''s a man named Jamien Long. Vivian envisioned him killing women by slitting their throats."


    With a frown, Lord Nichs asked, "Do you think he''s the one who killed the vigers?"


    "No. If it were so she would have seen the man kill other men not just women. Apparently, the man appeared at the exam as a farmers boy for her to meet him again today as a member of high society."


    "How suspicious. Where did she meet him today?"


    "My second cousin, Eleanor invited her to a tea party at a woman''s house named Lady Shirley."


    Lord Nichs nodded listening to him and as a few seconds passed by, he opened his mouth to speak, his brown hair setting hinge of red at the ends from the firece which reflected on him, "If I didn''t know the ability of Vivian by hand I would have to set an interrogation with your cousin before asking the council to look at our examinee but let''s skip that part," a sweet smile formed on Nichs'' lips to have Leonard narrow his eyes.


    "I didn''t tell you about it so that you kill him off, Nick."


    "You didn''t but a man like that will only cause problems in the future and it will add more to the council''s te. Though I wouldn''t mind seeing the council struggle a little more before this white knight in shining armoures to rescue," Leonard rolled his eyes.


    "Your name hase up during rare asions amongst the time of backdoors and most of them don''t speak up front. There are some who are waiting to drag your name out and I don''t think I have to know them," Leonard warned Nichs over the matter in concern. As much as Nichs was cunning there was a side of him which only Leo had seen during rare times. Lord Nichs was the man who didn''t show his true self to people around him.


    A smile formed on the Lord''s face at Leonard''s concerning words, "Here I thought the day would nevere to hear you confess so openly that you care. No matter how much the old councillors might try to dig the past, they cannot point out their fingers with no evidence of what happens or happened. The ghouls are not the kind to show themselves to anyone. Not unless I want to."


    "They appeared in front of Vivian," pointed out the blonde man.


    "That was out of chance here. Your woman can be nosy, touching everything and anything that shees across. It is good that you got her the gloves. Once she enters the council it would be hard on her if she finds a murderer in every member of the council. Though it is intriguing that she hasn''t read anything from you yet. Doesn''t it worry you?" asked Nichs, his eyes holding high interest in that matter. Being one of Leo''s mentor and having taken part in the job given by the council, Leonard had his fair share of kill and deaths that had taken ce in his hands.


    "Do you think it is because she loves and adores you to the point that her sight has turned blind to see the possible actions of yours as errors?" Lord Nichs said in wonderment.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t think about it before but Leo had prepared himself if that time were ever toe in the future.


    "I am not talking about the time in the mansion but the day she went to apply for the council exam. One of your ghouls was there when she finished applying for the exam."


    Nichs'' eyebrows scrunched together, "Hmm? I don''t remember sending them over anytime around that time. The ghouls usually roam on thends unless I have something for them to do."


    "Do they have emotions?" Leonard asked him straightforwardly.


    "None that I can remember of. Don''t tell me one of them likes Vivian," Nichs gave a heartyugh, his head rolling back as heughed but Leonard wasn''t unamused by it.


    "The ghoul gave a piece of its robe to her to tie the wound that formed on her hand because of the registration. Not that I mind the ghouls but it''s rather strange behaviour," Leonardmented, turning over his shoulder to see the clouds that had turned heavily dark turning the sky ck and inky hue when the shes of lightning moved inside them.


    "Looks like she''s more special than what we concluded her to be. My own ghouls didn''t offer their robe like a cloth when I was nearly stabbed to death," Nichs'' voice turned dull as if he were bummed to hear that his ghouls cared less of him and more about the human girl, "Have you taken her to Sister Isabelle yet?"


    "I will be taking her in two or three days. She''s hurt her leg and needs to heal," receiving a questionable look from Nichs he exined, "She fell down from Lady Shirley'' new built bridge."


    "How unfortunate. I hope she recovers soon. The dainty creature is an interesting one, you need to learn to guard your treasures well Leo. Apart from stealing, there are many who might want to harm or sabotage one''s possession," as if sensing something, Lord Nichs poked question at Leo, "Have they already? My! To think you would be this popr."


    Leonard didn''t bother to humour the Lord of Bonke, taking his pocket watch from the coat he wore he saw it bete, "I will take my leave before it starts pouring."


    "Yes, that would be wise. Do you want to take the carriage?" Lord Nichs asked to which Leonard refused.


    "I have Rosie. Good night, Nick," he wished the man, turning around and leaving when Lord Nichs was only wishing him a night.


    "Always in a hurry to get back home to her. Precious darling of his," he smiled, walking towards the window, Lord Nichs stared outside. Seeing Leo gallop out of the mansion like a shooting star in the dark night, he wondered himself why his ghoul would react to her in such manner. The ghouls were beings who were created out of him, from him, therefore, one of them reacting to another person with care was something to ponder on.


    As if on cue, the ghouls that were lurking in the shadows appeared behind him. Sensing their presence he turned around to face them,


    "Doing things on your own record, do you want me to feed you to the wolves?" he asked to hear the garbled voiceing out of one of the ghouls that stood in the right, "You...you seem to like her presence that you have been following her," more garbled voice came from the ghoul to which Nichs stood in silence. The ghouls were created in the midst of blood and death, pain and sorrow that itcked any kind of emotion. They only knew how to behave on his orders- to get information and kill people when needed without getting his hands dirty. That was how he had killed many people who had crossed him that people who once supported his father in the past tried to find his dirty tracks which couldn''t be pointed.


    "The girl seems to be prone to getting hurt. Keep a close eye on her," he instructed. The Ghoul responded with its garbled voice again, "Try not to be too attached to her, Everest," he said using the ghoul''s name, "Leonard doesn''t like anyone hovering over her. Also..." he trailed, "There''s a man you need to find information on. Jamien Long. Find him."


    ~Scroll to read the next chapter~

 Chapter 136 - Poor Vlass- Part 1

    Vivian stood in front of the Church as she looked through the long, in wooden doors. Leonard who had entered the church turned around to see her standing there and she hurried inside to walk beside him.


    The coloured windows that were located on the walls shone no light as the weather was a dark and a gloomy one. Crows cawed outside the church like an ominous presence as they perched themselves on the trees. Inside the Church, there was no one to be seen except for them, as they walked forward to stand in front of the angel-like statue.


    It was a deserted Church where Vivian hadn''te before. She used to go to the Church which was in Paul''s vige, which was a small one where men, women and children were often seen but here even though it was a big one there was no one who came to take the blessings at this hour of the day. Hearing the bell that rung from the top of the building, it brought some kind of sce to her mind and heart.


    As Leonard stood there, without praying Vivian had sat on her knees to send her prayer to God, hoping everything to settle down and hoping there would be no obstacles in both hers and Leonard''s future together.


    Most of the humans always had thought that vampires couldn''t enter the church which was a Holy ce of God, stating how the power of holy water could burn and harm the night creature. Though it wasn''t true, it wasn''t entirely false either.


    Pureblooded vampires being the first generation of vampires, they held more resistance when it came to dealing with the orthodox method the humans used to keep them away. It didn''t harm them but it wasn''t a walk in the meadow either but when the same came to the lower vampires, they were shunned from the holy ces. A drop of the holiness could create blister on their skin due to which the safest haven was the church against the lower breed of vampires.


    When Vivian opened her eyes after her short prayer she saw Leonard talking to a woman a few feet away from where she stood. As if feeling her eyes, the woman broke her gaze to look at her with a smile.


    "Vivian, this is Sister Isabelle," Leonard introduced the Church priestess to her. Her green eyes were the most attractive feature on her face with her ck hair which parted from the middle of her head as the straight hair flowed down to touch close to her waist. By what she heard from Leo, Sister Isabelle was a white witch.


    Vivian who was about to bow her head saw her smile and give her hand for her to shake. In response, she gave her hand and both the women shook their hand.


    Vivian felt her vision fluctuate as if a memory was right there waiting for her to see but something stopped her from looking any further as if it were being blocked purposely. She stared into Lady Isabelle''s eyes who smiled,


    "It is good to see you finally, Vivian. After thest time you visited here I thought we wouldn''t be seeing each other again," said thedy who still held her hand in her grasp. It looked like the white witch was staring into the depths of her mind instead of her doing it, making her wonder if Sister Isabelle held simr ability like hers, "You have a wonderful gift but it appears that you don''t feel that way," the woman noted finally letting go of her hand.


    The white witch seemed well acquainted by her name but it was the first meet for her, Vivian took time to respond as she said, "The memories are never one of happiness. What I touch leads to the one that has death contained in them. They are painful and dark."


    Sister Isabelle made her take a seat on the benches while Leonard decided to give them some space as he took a walk inside.


    "I sense that, my child. Though Leonard has already filled in with all the information, I would like you to tell me since when you started seeing them. The visions on when was the first and thest time you saw one."


    "The first time I started seeing was when we went to the snow mansion."


    "The second lord of Bonke'' mansion?" Sister Isabelle asked in deep interest.


    "Yes."


    "And when was thest time?" she enquired to see the girl shift from her shift a little.


    "It was when Lady Eleanor arrived to meet me. She''s Duke Carmichael''s second cousin," at the exnation, the woman couldn''t help but smile. Sister Isabelle then said,


    "Vivian, I take it that you know about your actual nature."


    "Nature? Do you mean about me being once a pureblooded vampire?" the woman nodded her head.


    "That''s right. I made a short trip to Valeria when Leonard came to visit me regarding the abilities you havee to possess. Not all but some of the rare types of pureblooded vampires are told to inherit abilities due to mutation change in their genes. They are the affected mutated pureblooded vampires thate to have special powers or abilities. Some can be useless, some very powerful. Not everyonees to learn about them having it, some are wasted naturally because of the mere ignorance. There was a time decades ago when war was fought between the humans and the pureblooded vampires. They used the knowledge which is lost to all kind of beings who walk on thesends of ours," exined Sister Isabelle, "How do you think the pureblooded vampires are in the second highest hierarchy of the chain? Mutation of the pureblooded vampires usually happens due to different effects, parents or external factors."


    Vivian took in the information as the Sister exined to her about it, "That should mean mine has been created due to external factors," she saw the woman nod in agreement. The external factor had also caused her transition from her pureblooded self to a human, "Why is it that I am able to see only some of the memories? Sometimes I touch to find nothing in there."


    "That''s a difficult question to answer. We could probably draw the theory that some objects hold a greater value than what it is known to be. For example, you might touch this bench and feel nothing," the white witch ran her hand on the smooth wooden tform of the seat, "But there are some ces in this church if it''s strong enough that is, you will find the reading you are looking for. As sad as it is, the ones that are inked and marked with pain and suffering are the ones that stand out or are easier to pick on than the happy memories."


    Vivian asked, "Is there no way to control it then?"


    "There is. Psychic abilities are very rare, especially the kind that you have where you can tap into a person without their knowledge and see if you ask me I would say it''s a wonderful gift. And I am sure you will like it too no matter how much pain you go through with it. Right now what you see are the random memories that lie at the top of a person''s head. I can help you pick memories like picking a book from the stack of books in the library, in time you will learn to pick what you want and what you don''t," this made Vivian excited as she heard the white witch speak about her helping her, "But," this got both Vivian and Leonard''s attention, Leonard who was walking towards them after a round or two came to sit one bench behind them, "Oh, don''t look worried," she chuckled seeing Vivian frown as she anticipated for the worst news, "I would ask you to keep your second gift to yourself. Healing others might give you immense pleasure in the words of humanity but the more you expose yourself, the harder it will get to stay away from the evil that lurks in the council."


    "What did you find in Valeria?" Vivian asked her curiously as she had mentioned about her taking a trip after Leonard had visited her.


    "Something I believe Leonard has already found," Leo who had been looking at the other side of the Church, moved his eyes without moving his face, "The herbs and shrubs have been destroyed but there''s another nt that is being used that none of them knows of. It goes by the name Spitfire."


    Spitfire?


    "A strange name,"mented Leonard who leaned his back against the bench to sitfortably, "Where do you find it?"


    "We don''t know yet. I asked one of source one the person has no information on where it could be found. Spitfire is the nt that is used and is an important element in the potion of what you have acquired during your time in Mythweald."


    "Are you saying the potion is useless without that nt?"


    "How do I put it, Duke Leonard," Sister Isabelle had a grave look as she tried to answer his question without trying to offend and fall into the criminal category, "One of my sister white witch took samples of the nt before it was burnt out by your councilmen a few days ago. She took enough to create a whole bottle which was tested on a criminal vampire."


    Doing anything as sort of that was considered to be uwful and if Sister Isabelle wasn''t helping them she would be subjected under interrogation by the council before being burnt alive.


    Seeing Leonard not react to it she continued to speak, "As expected it didn''t work. The man is still alive but was sent to the Lord of Valeria to see fit with the crimes hemitted. So yes, the potion is nothing without the Spitfire churned into it but then without using the other elements this one is useless to it. All of them work together to stop a pureblooded vampire''s core. It would be hard for any of you to find it and unless you don''t both vampires and humans are in the path of ending their race."


    "Vivian is the key to it," Leo responded to her statement which turned the white witch''s gaze on Vivian.


    "Is she now," hummed the older woman, "I wouldn''t doubt it if it happened though. With her gift of touch and sight, she will be one of the known councillors that is if she passes the exam. Personally, I would rather not want you to take part in it, Vivian. The world of the council is too deep that once you get in, you will find nothing but dirt in there. Don''t take me wrong, I do believe if it''s anyone it would be you to find answers because of your talent."


    "I will be careful," assured Vivian for Sister Isabelle to nod her head.


    Sister Isabelle knew well about the council as she had faced the betrayal in the past. The vige and the town folks trusted them but the truth was that they were not to be entirely trusted.


    The white witch asked Leonard, "What happened about the switcher?"


    "He''s still in there."


    Curious, Vivian asked her, "If pureblooded vampires are ced in the second hierarchy, whoes in the first ce?" it was something that had caught her attention.


    Instead of Sister Isabelle, Leonard was the one to answer Vivian''s question, "Hybrids. Am I right?" he asked the witch for her to stare at him for a second more before she nodded her head.


    "There are hybrids, hybrids of witches, pureblooded vampires conceived from thick blood."


    "Lord Nichs?" blurted out Vivian for the witch to smile.


    "You have been well informed. Vivian, you''re ability is so rare that you can use it to your whole advantage but know where and when to use. It will lead you to the ce where you want to go," listening to this, Vivian wondered if there was any deeper meaning to what the white witch said, "We can start honing and testing your skills from tomorrow. You have two weeks before the second exam takes ce. It should be enough time to get you started."


    "Thank you very much, Sister Isabelle," Vivian bowed her head with a lot of respect at the woman for having taken her time to see her and for the promise of help they received.


    "I forgot to ask, how is your leg?" the woman leaned to her side to look at the leg which was hidden behind her dress, "I hope you''re doing better."


    "It has gotten better."


    "That''s good to hear. The Duke did an excellent job by stitching your wound himself than wait for the doctor. You would have only lost more amount of blood before nearing death," saying this she stood up and so did the couple who hade to meet her, "I will see you tomorrow, Vivian. I need a few minutes of yours Leonard," taking it as a cue, Vivian bowed her head again before walking towards the front of the church and heading out where it had only begun to drizzle lightly.


    It had been a while since Vivian had found the opportunity to drench in the air. Thest time must have been when she had hurried out and behind the mansion to pull out the clothes that had been hung to dry. After she was turned to ady did shee to realize why Charlotteined about the life of being an elite. There were a lot of things expected by an elite from how to sit to how to talk and behave. The housekeeper always rectified the minimum mistakes which she tried to avoid but then Vivian was a fast learner.


    Taking one step after another, Vivian looked up at the sky where she could see water dropletsing steadfast at her from the sky like millions of meteor crossing in the sky. Closing her eyes, she opened it with a smile until she heard Leonard interrupt her joy.


    "Vivian."


    Twirling around she found a grumpy man who wasn''t happy with her standing in the drizzle that was slowly approaching to rain with heavier droplets of water. His smooth blonde hair which had been fluffed before had begun to stick to each other until water droplets dripped down from the ends of his hair.


    Vivian couldn''t stop the smile that formed on her lips, which dragged long and wide. Leo was never fond of the rain and now that she thought about it she found it strange. For someone who had grown and belonged to thend of Bonke disliked being drenched in the rain yet, she who came from thend where the sun shone loved the drops of rain on her skin.


    Soon it started to pour but they stood there, the rain making them disappear behind the countless number of raindrops that fell from heaven. He pulled her in his arms without any hesitation, "You''re going to get the bandage wet. What are you smiling at, Bambi?"


    She shook her head with the continued smile, "You look handsome drenched in the rain."


    "Do I now," she didn''t nod or answer to confirm further of what she thought of him. Behind the dull background and weather, his red eyes stood out. Leaning forward, he captured her lips with his and she kissed him back with the same vigour.


    The church being away from the vige, most of the vige folks had taken shelter in their homes. Both Sister Isabelle and father Connor who hade out to bid them bye saw the couple kissing in the rain.


    "Huh? Isn''t that the Duke?" reacted father Connor looking at them standing in the rain, "Must be really nice to be young."


    Sister Isabelle stared at the couple, her eyes green eyes gentle and a small smile on her lips, "You aren''t that old father Connor. You can quit church and live a life of love."


    "I don''t know the works of men, the only job I am good at is exorcising which I sometimes failed to do it right," admitted the man with an embarrassed smile, "They should go to their mansion. He seems to like her a lot. Miss Vivian that is. Have you ever loved someone, Sister Isabelle?" the woman took a deep breath before exhaling out the cold air.


    "I did."


    "Why did you leave him?" the man next to her tilted his head while holding his hand above his head as the wind was bringing drops of water to where they stood.


    "I was forced to leave him."


    "Why not go to him? You''re a renowned priestess of the church. It is one of the high value in society."


    "He doesn''t live anymore," she replied to him calmly. A murmur of sorry escaped Father Connor''s mouth, "Circumstances sometimes don''t allow us to stay and live together for a long time," she looked ahead at the couple who had their forehead pressed against each other.


    Sister Isabelle missed the man she had fallen in love with and even after his death, she continued to love him. She had known their story would end up somewhere in tragedy where they wouldn''t be able to live the love they dreamed of yet she was happy to have spent the years with the man who had died for her sake.


    Maybe if she were careful she could have prevented the unfortunate event so that she could have him alive where they could live to see the dreams they have dreamt of. She looked at the Duke and the girl named Vivian who walked to their carriage, disappearing behind the middle of the rain.


    What she said to the girl was the truth. If there was anyone it was her who could shed light but she could only that it wouldn''t burn Vivian the way it did to her.


    At the Carmichael''s mansion, a man came to knock upon the door when both Leonard and Vivian weren''t in the mansion. The housekeeper opened the door slightly, only his face peeking out as he stared at the stranger who hade to stand in front of the door.


    "Is Lady Charlotte in here?" asked the man for the housekeeper to narrow his eyes in suspicion.


    "No."


    The man had travelled a long distance from Mythweald to Bonke, his long journey had been dire that he had bruises and marks around his face and the rest of the body. When ss had left Mythweald, he had expected to reach Bonke in three days, worse to be four days but the human hadn''t considered the possible idents that could take ce during his travel here.


    Not only had been robbed but also captured by the ck witches which took him a while to escape to only end up in another witch''s hold before running from there.


    Finally after a lot of searches did hee to learn where he could find his friend in the name of the girl but it seemed that it hadn''t got any reaction by the housekeeper. Before he could drag himself out of the mansion, the housekeeper opened the door wide.


    "Which Lady Charlotte are you asking for?" ss looked at the housekeeper as if he had grown another head. Hadn''t he asked if she was there?


    "Lady Charlotte Easton," he answered the housekeeper''s question who seemed to havee out from hiding behind the door.


    "She will be back in a while. Why don''t youe to sit inside until she and the master arrives?" if ss didn''t know the truth that Charlotte has passed away by confirming it with his own two eyes, he would have taken the polite words of the vampire and stepped in but that wasn''t the situation. He was sure he got to the right mansion of Duke Carmichael but the invitation didn''t seem one of being kind but rather he found it suspicious.


    He took a step back, keeping it casual as he said, "It''s okay. I shall see thedy tomorrow as I am in a hurry right now," but what ss didn''t know was that the vampire who was a housekeeper was a smart one.


    "It wouldn''t take to long," said the housekeeper stepping forward to see the human take a step back.


    "It is really alright. I will be back here tomorrow," the vampire saw through the lie and just when the man turned ready to leave, he didn''t make it far to two steps before he was pulled by the arm and his head was smashed to the nearest pir in force to make him loose conscious.


    The next time ss woke up after a few minutes of getting back to his conscious state, he was tied to a chair, bound to it by thick ropes which stopped any movements of his legs or hands. He struggled, pushing and pulling but nothing seemed to work except for the ropes biting into his skin to form red marks. The more his chair rattled, the more it made sounds on the muddy ground of the room where he was held.


    He couldn''t believe his luck. He must have had the worst luck, thought ss to himself.


    Since he had stepped out in search of his friend hoping to meet and see what happened as only the vampiress'' body was found hanging in the tree. Somewhere he felt it wasn''t his vigers but the vampires doing to instigate a possible feud in thends of Mythweald as it was already sensitive with the brawl taking ce before he had left.


    But after leaving his town he had only got into trouble. First, it was the robbery when he got into the local carriage. Women had no shame for stealing the little goods from a poor man like him!


    After he was thrown out of the carriage came the two witches who had bound him in a worse condition than he was in now. He had been kept for days like an animal waiting to be butchered. When he finally did manage to escape, a beautiful ck witch captured him right away and he could only say he was lucky to have run away when she had forgotten to lock the cage.


    Feeling the bite of the rope which had begun to sting, he looked around before he called out to whoever could hear him, "Help! Help me, please! Help!" as he shouted the door to the room immediately opened for the housekeeper to step in with a dull expression.

 Chapter 137 - Poor Vlass- Part 2

    At his cry for help which he should have learnt by now was futile especially after being captured by the witches not once by twice that shouting for help without knowing where he was was utterly useless. The room he was put in was a closed one with no windows except for one door which had been opened by the man who had got him tied in such state.


    It was the housekeeper who had opened the lock and entered the room at his plea for help which he came to realize was one of the worst decision he had taken.


    He hade here in search of his friend Rory to see if he was still alive. Before the night of the death of the vampiress, Rory had knocked on his door stating to look after his family to which he had agreed but he knew he was going to make him look after them for a lifetime. ss who had been away from his vige of Mythweald had not known and received the news of the death of the humans that took ce on the word of Duke Carmichael which also included his family that consisted of his father and mother.


    When the ck witch named Ester had involved some of the men to do her work, ss had been kept in dark as he was a man of good notion. And though his friend and his father had been working on eradicating the pureblooded vampires so that they could have only humans walk on thesends, ss had been left ignorant on the matter.


    The poor human man had been unfortunate since he saw the vampiress body hang in the tree like an ill omen which hadtched on to him where he couldn''t get it off his back no matter how hard he tried to dust it off. He wanted to pull his eyes out over his bad luck but even to do that his hands were tied. Apart from scars that he had received before entering the Carmichael''s mansion, he now sported a brand new wound at the side of his head which made him feel slightly dizzy.


    "I don''t know why I''m tied but I have done nothing to deserve it! Please let me go so that I can go back home!" at his loud voice, the housekeeper closed the door with a loud thud.


    "Stop screaming. I can hear you well," the housekeeper answered his voice dull enough to make the room even more gloomy as if he would slowlye to suck his soul along with the blood. He could see the bright red eyes that looked bloodier in the candlelight. It seemed that today was the day of his death.


    Unlike his friend Rory who had befriended the vampiress before creating a rtionship with the pureblooded vampire, he had always steered clear of the night creatures. He was a better-looking manpared to Rory but he had never tried courting the beautiful vampiredies and it could have been due to the childhood trauma he had faced when a rogue vampire had attacked him during the broad daylight.


    Trying to calm down his nerves, he took a deep breath before speaking, "Dear kind, Sir-" he started to be interrupted by the housekeeper in the middle of his sentence.


    "I''m the housekeeper of this mansion. The Duke is on his way here."


    The Duke? Ah, yes, he realized his head still thumping in pain, it was Lady Charlotte''s cousin, Duke Leonard Carmichael. Maybe he could try negotiating with him than with this fool who had greeted and forced him inside by banging his head to the pir. Maybe it was a bad idea to pick the Lady''s name but how would anyone know who Rory was? Men of lower ss had no name or identity and they were as good as dead as they didn''t exist in the world of the high society of either vampires or humans. No would have known of who Rory was and the easiest option was to use thedy''s name but it seemed like that n had gone down the swap as he was now tied to the chair like a criminal waiting to be questioned.


    Gritting his teeth, he turned his head not wanting to talk to the housekeeper anymore.


    "Can I get some water?" asked ss trying to be polite.


    Jan, who had elegantly got the human tied up stared at him. From what he could see the man had scars around his face and arms. It wasn''t his intention to hit him but the man had left him with no choice. With the nearby carriage which he had seen entering the gates of the mansion, he had noticed that it wasn''t Master Leonard''s carriage. Making a quick decision of taking him as a prisoner, he had rammed the human''s head against the white pir which was being cleaned at the moment as it had been stained with spots of blood. It was one of the men who worked under Duke Leonard who hade to give him a sealed box which had to be kept under his watch until it was sent to Lord Nichs'' mansion.


    Who looked like a country bumpkin who had lost his way but the name of Lady Charlotte from his mouth had tingled his sense wondering if his master would like to have a chat with him but the action of the man told him he wouldn''t have beenpliant with nice talk.


    As if feeling the presence of Master Leonard, he opened the door which had been previously closed.


    ss who had asked for a ss of water due to thirst was going to ask again when he saw the housekeeper open the door. Letting out a sigh he felt he was finally going to fetch him the water but he never stepped out and instead, he stepped aside for a blonde man with dark red eyes to enter the room. Behind the man, he noticed a woman who was a human by her pitch ck eyes. It was the only way one could differentiate between a human, a vampire and a pureblooded vampire. Switching his gaze back to the pureblooded vampire who stared down at him with possible contained anger, he wondered what he had done apart from picking up Lady Charlotte''s name.


    Vivian and Leonard had only entered the mansion when she had heard the housekeeper mention about a man being kept hostage in the basement of the mansion. If it was before, Leonard would have dealt it alone but this time it was different as Vivian had already involved herself in the matter. Like him, she wanted to find answers.


    "Who are you?" the man questioned in poise, he voices calm like the sea before the tornado was going to hit in waves.


    In a heartbeat, ss started, "Duke Carmichael, I am ss Denis. Ie from a small vige of Mythweald. I was asked to look after my friends family who is also a neighbour of mine but-"


    "Your friend?" asked Leonard.


    "Rory, Sir," at the mention of Lady Charlotte''s love interest who had betrayed her, Leonard''s hands tightened into fists, his jaw ticked. Taking a couple of steps towards the man, he caught hold of the man''s face where the man began to yelp in pain as Leonard''s finger had begun to crush his jaw until Vivian ced her hand on Leonard.


    "Leo, stop. Stop!" she said to let the man named ss go.


    "The fucking bastard, what is wrong with thisnd?" whined the man in pain while he leaned forward.


    "Master would you like me to finish the man?" asked Jan promptly to get shocked looks from Vivian and the man who was tied to the chair.


    And before Vivian could protest, Leonard spoke, "His family was involved in the potion being spread out. Tell me why I should spare his life when he''s trying to kill people whom I have cared for?"


    "But you don''t know for sure," Vivian argued, the man looked at Vivian like she was an angel sent from heaven to rescue his misery but this only made the Duke mad when he saw the look of adoration form in the human man''s eyes.


    "Let me slit his throat myself," Leo stated to which Vivian came to stand in between the pureblooded vampire and the human as she faced Leo.


    Vivian who knew the hot blood which lurked beneath Leonard''s skin. The anger which was quick to burn everything and anything in his way. As sad and in loss, she was for what happened to Charlotte she didn''t believe the man to be a convict to what happened. Maybe it was due to the way he looked so battered that she pitied the man wanting to give him a chance before Leonard took his anger out in haste. From Leo''s standpoint, she understood his anger which was justified and valid.


    Charlotte was their darling sister, his cousin whom he adored and cared for. To see her in a sight where no one deserved, with her body cut out open and the hollowness that her eyes had held before they had buried her, it was painful to think about. At the same time killing a man without hearing his part would be unfair. She wanted the man to be given a chance before he decided to kill him off.


    "On your word, master Leonard," came the voice behind them where Jan stood in a ready form.


    "Please, Leo," she waited for him as he stared at her before giving a nod.


    Though not happy about it, he reluctantly replied, "Fine. Five minutes," he added, making her feel as if he had stepped into his councilman''s shoes.


    Turning around, Vivian started to interview the man with her first question, "Mr ss, what do you know about Rory?"

 Chapter 138 - Poor Vlass- Part 3

    "Mr ss, what do you know about Rory?" asked Vivian to the battered looking man who was tied to the chair with ropes, his bruised face looking relieved after Leonard had moved a little away from him to lean his back against the wall.


    "Answer all of them truthful or you''ll have your head snapped like a carrot before you even know it," the Duke warned him.


    Leonard had given her five minutes and she knew five minutes wasn''t enough to get anything out of the man but it was enough to prove if he was innocent or not.


    With respect, she had addressed him which made the man look at her in awe for a second before he started to speak. It was because no women of the high society had given him the respect he or any lower being for the matter had been given. Women of the elite society, human or vampire, they treated the lower men and women as people who belonged below their feet, "Rory is my neighbour. I have known him since a young age, Lady..."


    Feeling as if the man was fishing for her name, Leonardpleted the man''s words, "Lady Carmichael," ss'' eyes widened at the realization that she was Duke Carmichael''s woman. At the same point, Vivian felt her heart shudder by the way Leonard had introduced her in the room.


    All this while she had been only Vivian as she had no name she knew of. She was the human girl and now Leonard had not only elevated her status before she hade to know about herself being a pureblooded vampire but also had shared his name without any hesitation.


    "Lady Carmichael, Rory has been missing since the vampiress died. I am only here to search for him. If I were really someone with an ill intention of what happened to Lady Charlotte, I wouldn''t havee to offer my neck to be butchered for free."


    "If you knew Lady Charlotte was dead why to bring up her name and ask for her?" interjected Leonard.


    "Duke Carmichael, I doubt one would know if I said if Rory was here. The day before the tragic death was witnessed, Rory hade to my door. Though I cannot say the time of when he arrived, I can tell you this much that it waste in the midnight when not even owls hooted."


    "What did hee for?" asked Vivian, wondering what Rory might have had to tell his neighbour.


    ss didn''t have to remember as to what Rory hade for as he had yed the scene in his head several times already, "He wanted me to look after his parents for six days," Leonard stared at the man, still yet to be convinced that he had nothing to do with the death of his cousin Charlotte.


    "Six days?" inquired Leonard to get the man nodding his head over it, "Isn''t that a specific number. It could be a week," he suggested.


    "It was six," ss confirmed. With the number of theories he hade up with what could have happened, the line between the truth and proposition of theories hade to mesh together, "I am sure of it. He seemed to be a little rattled or worried and when I asked him where he was going in the middle of the night when the whole vige was asleep, he...he said he had to run away with the vampiress as they were going to get her married to another man."


    "What else did he say?" Vivian asked, taking the turn to question the man, "You said he was worried, was that all that he spoke of when it came to Lady Charlotte?"


    "Hmm. I believe that is all it was."


    Moving to the next question as time ticked, she asked him, "How would you describe the nature of their rtionship, Mr. ss? Was Rory kind to her?"


    "Of course, he was! He adored the woman, he even made her meet me."


    "What about his parents?"


    "That I am unsure of. Ah- no. His father knew about it! Yes, his father knew about it. I remember this one asion where I overheard his father speak to him, asking him to hurry to get the girl. Thest time before he left he had been worried as he couldn''t contact the girl," ss looked at the housekeeper for a mere two seconds, as the words of him wanting to kill him came into the picture, "Rory has been missing and I don''t know where he is now. I don''t know if he has been killed, or has been taken as a hostage by one the lurking witches."


    "What else?" demanded Leonard who was still unsatisfied with the exnation ss game him.


    "Ah, he said something about going to Bonke. Toe here which was why I made my way here," the man answered feeling nervous as the interrogation proceeded. Vivian frowned thinking about what he said. He said he had left Mythweald the day he had found Charlotte''s body and travelling here to Bonke didn''t take a month time and a half time. While her mind was still processing it, Leonard was quick to ask him on the same.


    "From where did you receive the bruises?"


    ss red at the housekeeper who stood in the corner with a stoic face, "Your housekeeper! Where is the politeness in seeing a guest? Thisnd is nothing but shame, your-"


    "Careful. Don''t forget that you''re in ournd where we are the ones who take care of things here. You should be careful of what you speak. Thedy in the room won''t stop me snap your head in a flick if you don''t behave," Leonard warned, his threat being genuinely true as he would execute without another thought, "I was asking about the other bruises. They appear to be old," he noted, Leo''s eyes scanning over the man and even though it wasn''t a bright room where light couldn''t slip in from outside, he could see them quite clearly.


    Vivian who had let Leonard take the lead in questioning the man saw his head hung in defeat before he opened his mouth to speak, "I-I only wanted to look for Rory. I have known him for years now and I do value the man as he, well his family have supported mine when our farms had been infected with the insects which almost ate and destroyed the crops. I owed it to them, and also because he was a friend. Before I decided my journey toe here, I was robbed and kidnapped by the ck witches. There is a lot of the disgusting lot of them you will find between Mythweald and Bonke..." ss went on to continue what happened to him, making Vivian sympathize the man''s condition for going through it before he came here.


    "I am sorry to hear that, Mr ss," she apologized looking at his long face. Vivian who had been standing there took a step close to the man and sat down to see the man give her a startled look at what she was doing.


    "Pardon me," she said softly while lifting both her hands and touching his hand which hung at the end of the armrests. She could already feel the curious eyes of the housekeeper who was wondering what happened while the re the man in front of her must have been getting by Leonard as she touched him now.


    Her fingertips held his hand and she tried to read, to see if she could get anything but she found nothing. It was empty. She didn''t if she had to feel disappointed or worried now. With nothing to look at, there was no way to see if this man who sat here was telling the truth. He could be a fraud who was trying to get their trust. Letting go of his hand after two minutes, she stood up to meet Leo''s eyes before shaking her head to tell she found nothing.


    "I thought maybe he could havee here to aid. Rory, I mean as Lady Charlotte had proposed toe here hoping you would keep her here until her parents agreed to her marriage to him," Vivian knew that could be a possible thought of Charlotte. The man further went on to exin, "I don''t know what happened the next morning. With the vigers out in the open and then some of the guards, there wasn''t I could inquire about what could have happened."


    "Rory killed Charlotte," stated Leonard, his voice hard which held bitterness in it.


    "What?" ss looked with a shocked expression, "That can''t be true."


    "Did you know that your father and your neighbours were involved in killing her?" before the man could deny the usations which were put across him, Leo continued to speak, "Have you heard something called as the corruption of heart?"


    "What does that have to do with Rory or thedy. Thedy died in a bizarre way-" Vivian and the others flinched in the room when they heard a bang against the wall.


    "Doesn''t have anything to do?" asked Leonard grudgingly, with the closed room his voice thundered, "My sister fell in love with the man whom she trusted would protect her and love her. The same man who you call your friend and came looking for at my doorstep. You said you saw her, Charlotte, would have told it has nothing to do when she clearly came to meet him but only she died while he has gone missing. Her chest was torn apart, her the core of her heart torn from its ce. For a man who belongs to the same flock, give me a reason," he turned to look at Vivian, anger already spilling from his eyes, "Sometimes people decide to ignore when the truth is right in front of them. Tell me he won''te to hurt you if he found the truth."


    Vivian didn''t understand what Leo was speaking of, what did he mean by hurt her?


    Leonard turned his gaze to the human who was bound to the chair, "Every pureblooded vampire has a core which sets them apart from other vampires. Your family and his have been nning to kill the pureblooded vampires one by one by using a potion that is being passed around in thends. This potion is used to kill pureblooded vampires. How would you feel if your family was butchered and was hung on the tree in such a state. What would you do?"


    Vivian''s eyes quickly snapped at Leo. As if knowing where this conversation was going to go and what he meant by ss hurting her, her hands and mind froze.


    "Despite your false usation, my family is innocent, Duke Carmichael. They haven''t harmed anyone and if someone did hurt them in such a way," paused the man with brows scrunched, he said, "I will make sure to pay back in the same way," with this the man had signed his death sentence.


    "That''s what I expected," Leo smiled calmly and in a sh, he was next to the man where he had snapped his head with his bare hands, leaving the man dead in the chair. Vivian who stood there, looked at him as if she saw a ghost. The man named ss looked lifeless, his neck tilted to the side with his eyes open. Though Leonard hadmitted murders in the past, she had never seen him kill someone in front of her.


    "Why did you kill him?!" she asked him not able to believe what he had done, "He could have been innocent!"


    Leo red at her but she kept her stand as he said, "He could be a liar too. I gave you more than five minutes, Vivian but there was no solid proof to prove that he wasn''t involved. Men wille and go with intentions you will fail to realize at first. This is the way the council works and if it''s hard to understand then I would ask you to step down from the exam. There''s no ce there if you''re going to be soft-hearted."

 Chapter 139 - Error’s Of The Past- Part 1

    Leonard turned around, leaving the room while Vivian who was too shocked to move a finger stared at the man named ss who was dead in the chair. His once lively eyes now were dull as they stared down at the ground as his head was tilted to the downside.


    To think that he was alive a minute ago and his life ended with one snap of head by Leonard, a cold sweat broke down, her feet staggered one step back in horror of what she saw.


    Why? she asked herself. They hadn''t gone to the bottom of it if the man was innocent or not. From Leo''s words, he had said her life mattered but what about the man? Questioning him and cornering him for an answer of his family, wasn''t it bound that he would defend his family?


    And as harsh and the truthful words Leonard had spoken, she couldn''t stop sympathizing and having tears brim up to her eyes. To kill a man with little to no remorse, how could the man who cared and loved her turn out to be something so cold that she found it hard to fathom the action that took ce.


    Not able to stand the sight of the dead man who was being untied by the housekeeper, Vivian stepped out of the basement room to go to her room. Once the door was closed, she flopped herself on the bed, the pillow resting beneath her face as she stared at the cloudy sky. Though the velocity of the wind was high, the clouds didn''t move from their ce and they shook with their threatening growls waiting for the right opportune moment to begin pouring the rain on thends.


    She was angry on Leonard, angry for not waiting and for ending the man''s life without giving the poor man the time to exin his plight. The more she pondered on it the more she came to realize that no matter if the man was innocent or not, he would still be killed in the end.


    One could be because of his capture by the ck witches which happened not once but twice. The ck witches were often told in the books that she had studied on how they charmed and turned a man''s mind to do their bidding. Another was the reason Leo and the man, ss had given on the word of revenge. Touching him had given her nothing, there were no memories she could find.


    At first, her thought was because he might have been a good man but now if she thought about it every time she touched Leonard, there was nothing in there when he had seen death in front of his eyes. With the way he snapped ss'' head she was sure it wasn''t his first or second time. The amount of blood could be numerous which were unknown to her.


    Was this how the entire council worked? The only reason she had decided to join was to find Rory.


    Anxiousness filled her heart which was mixed with anger and sadness that Vivian refused to go out of her room. She was upset with what Leonard had done. An hour passed to two and the clock turned to nine past one when she heard a knock on the door. Pulling herself up she sat up to see it was the housekeeper who appeared behind the door.


    "Mdy, it''s time for dinner," the housekeeper informed her but she had no appetite for it.


    "Please ask Leonard to excuse me today. I am not hungry," she said to the housekeeper who didn''t wait to ask why and only bowed his head, leaving the room closed.


    The housekeeper went down to the dining room where Leonard had already taken a seat. Seeing Jan appear with no sight of Vivian behind him nor her footsteps heard, he looked at the man who came to inform him, "Master Leonard. Lady Vivian asked you to excuse her as shecks an appetite," Leonard only nodded his head and picked the food to eat.


    He didn''t regret what he did to the human back in the basement by killing him in front of her. Leonard was someone who killed people in different ways by pulling out their heart or slicing them up in a form of torture. Snapping the man was the holiest death he had given the man so that it wouldn''t disturb her mind or the image that she held for so long of him.


    Vivian was too forgiving in nature. For someone whom he had looked after like a shadow, and who didn''t know how the people out there could be, she was too trusting to think people would or wouldn''t change. He was like that, with simr thoughts when he had entered but one mistake of his had taught him the error he had caused. To believe you can sympathize is a folly of mankind. Good people could change to worse and worse people never changed to be good.


    As harsh as the decision he had taken looked in Vivian''s eyes she would one day see to why it was done in a certain way and how the council functioned without leaving tracks and cleaning up the mess they got into. It would take her time toe around and with that thought, he had his food.


    After Jan had left, Vivian touched her wet hair which had been drenched in the rain along with Leonard. She hadn''t changed her clothes and it seemed toe to be a habit of not changing her clothes right away after returning back to the mansion. Touching her leg, she felt the bump, flinching when her finger pressed on the wound which was sewed by Leonard.


    It was the first time in a long while did they fight like this silently. Disagreement on both the sides of how things could have been done differently.


    That night Vivian used the wet cloth to wipe herself instead of getting into the tub at the thought of she would need Leo''s help to step out of the tub if she got in. Wiping herself with the warm water, she rubbed her hair to remove any wetness it could pick to wear her night clothes and get into bed.


    That night she twisted and turned in the bed as she couldn''t fall asleep. Feeling thirsty, she lifted her head to look at the desk where the empty jugid on the surface. Picking it, she headed to the kitchen to fill the water from the little tank like a vessel. Once she was done, she heard the murmur of thundering in full force as lightning struck close but that didn''t make her eyes closed or flinch at it. Her head turned to look at the ss room, step by step she walked on the cold floor to see the door slightly parted. Before she could push it wide open to see the beautiful sky with the dark inky hue and grey colour clouds, she caught sight of Leonard whoid on the floor with his one hand behind his head to look at the ss ceiling.


    When they were children and when Leonard was still in the Carmichael''s mansion, both of them often spent time here at the time of midnight. One day after another to the point where it had be a habit for Vivian to sit alone after Leo had gone away.


    She made sure not to make her presence known but Leonard was no tumbling fool to not listen to the soft footsteps that had padded towards the door of the ss room. Still being mad at him, she took a step back before returning back to her room.


    When the morning arrived, Vivian had woken up early so that she wouldn''t have to see Leonard for the time being until she felt his reason was right but the Duke was smarter than her. Having known and studied her for so long, he exactly knew how her mind worked. As Vivian had entered the dining room with her stomach grumbling for some food as she had skipped eating dinner the previous night, she saw Leonard who was present in the room as he had woken up early like herself.


    She saw him reading the newsletter which was sold by the townsfolk men.


    On the other hand apart from the couple who weren''t talking to each other, Jan, the housekeeper had a long night himself. Not that he had a brawl with a woman but because he had spent his night with the dead body of the human whom master Leonard had killed.


    Taking the body and digging it in the broad light when one or more members of the vige walked by or through the forest wasn''t a good method to hide the body and it wasn''t like the Duke was fond of burying the dead in his backyard. Though he had to say Lord Nichs was much flexible when it came to burying the dead not that one could find the bodies after the wolves ate them. Lord Nichs wouldn''t mind feeding the man to his wolves but with the wolves regrly fed, he doubted the human could be eaten right away without the leftovers being kept aside.


    He had gone to the forest when there was no one, dragging the body to the middle of the forest until he reached the Bonke. Pushing a body as the waves of fog started was not a feasible idea as the body could always merge up which could catch the attention of the officials. Taking the man to the cliff of high height, he pushed the dead man to see him fly down in such speed until the body disappeared in the middle of the forbiddenke.


    The Bonke was ake where most of the bodies were buried, due to the unusual way of fog with cloud-like appearance some people didn''t dare to step close to it. Jan had thrown plenty of bodies in there, due to which he had to watch his back to make sure no souls woulde back to haunt him if he lurked too close to the shore of it. Some curious minds who lingered and stepped close never returned back as theke swallowed them to keep the body part of its existence as it fed on them to collect the remaining essence of the soul if it were present in the bodies.


    But that hadn''t been the highlight of the housekeepers night.


    After getting down from the cliff and the only way to go back was to walk past the shore, he caught the shadow of the previous lord, Lord Wilhelhum whose body was thrown here years ago.


    ording to the details recorded in the council registry, Lord Wilhelhum had been buried in the reputed cemetery for the pureblooded vampire where now Mr and Mrs Carmichael was buried but that wasn''t the truth. Though everyone had witnessed the burial, the body had been taken out and thrown into the Bonke which was were nameless men and some of the criminals had been thrown into which only made theke that much ominous. It was on Lord Nichs'' order that Jan himself had dug the grave years ago to pull the decaying body and to throw it down the cliff. With the body being thrown here, Lord Wilhelhum''s grave had nothing but an empty box.


    The shadow of Lord Wilhelhum stood close to the shore staring at him, red eyes that looked angry and staring at him usingly. He was a vampire but a lower vampire which made him slightly worried as to how to react to the shadow like a ghost of the previous Lord who was looking at him. It was only after a few seconds had passed did Jan realize that it wasn''t him but something behind him which the ghost was staring at.


    "Jan," the housekeeper heard the Duke call for him which interrupted his thoughts, "There''s a parchment scroll lying on the top of my desk. Bring it here."


    Vivian hadn''t expected for Leonard to be at the table this early in the morning. Not wanting her emotions to be obvious, she took a seat right in front of him.


    Not having a word to speak early in the morning, Vivian stuck to looking at her te which was served by the maid in the room. Murmuring thanks she began to eat and Leonard joined her in having his breakfast with her.


    She sneaked a nce at Leo who was running his knife across the meat on his te, as she lowered her eyes down, Leonard''s gaze moved up to look at her. The housekeeper who had returned back with the scroll found the cat and mouse gaze taking ce between the couple. Both of them refusing to talk to another.


    The Duke must have been angry to have her touch the man needlessly as it had brought no closure to what they were trying to find. Leonard Carmichael was a pureblooded vampire who was possessive of his woman. The irritation wasn''t subtle when Vivian had approached to touch the man. The man had a point and he knew it because he was there when a certain incident in the past had taken ce when Master Leonard was working with Lord Nichs on a job where the Lord had been supervising him.


    Men, women, children came in all forms and no matter how good they appeared, they were bound to change with the word of revenge. The Lady, on the other hand, Lady Vivian who was a human appeared to be having something more than a normal human would. Though he never knew what special powers she had, but if the Duke had asked her to take up the council exam, she must be special, thought the housekeeper to himself.


    He doubted that the human girl would have ever seen the Duke kill anyone in front of her eyes. It must have been quite a shock to her to digest that the man she loved was a merciless killer. Thedy had her breakfast quickly and before she could bolt out of the dining room, Master Leonard''s voiced stopped her when he spoke to him,


    "Get the carriage ready for the Lady. She will be going to the church to meet Sister Isabelle," and though Master Leonard''s words were directed to him in speech, it was intended for Lady Vivian to hear.


    When Vivian arrived at the church, she sat at the same bench she had sat previously before Father Conner, the second priest of the church called her to follow him taking her to the door which he hade out from. The door led to a stone like passage which needed thentern which Father Connor picked up from the wall.


    "Good morning, Vivian," greeted Sister Isabelle.


    "Good morning, Sister Isabelle," Vivian greeted the woman back as she was asked to sit on the high wooden stool. Father Connor who hade to lead her the way to Sister Isabelle stepped out of the room leaving the twodies alone.


    While the white witch was going through some of the sheets of paper which she had been spread out on the table, Vivian took the chance to let her eyes wander around the little room which was lit up with the help of candles making the room look like a cave. A lot of books where lines which led to little bottles which looked very much simr to what Leonard had shown her a few days ago.


    Having not met a white witch or a ck witch in particr before she didn''t know what to make of the little bottles.


    "Do the bottles contain potion?" asked a curious Vivian who still continued to look at the bottles.


    Sister Isabelle who was looking through the sheets of paper moved her gaze to look up at Vivian who looked at the room curiously, "White witches don''t create potion but medicine, dear."


    "Pardon me," Vivian quickly apologized to see the woman smile, though her features seemed a little dark with her ck hair and green eyes, her smile was brighter than the sun she hade across in the South empire.


    "That''s okay. You didn''t know about it. Not manye in contact with the witches so a normal boy or a girl wouldn''t know the difference. It is usually the unfortunate thate across the ck witches and the elite whoe across us, white witches," exined Sister Isabelle, getting up from the chair, she ran her finger to hover above the bottles before picking a bottle that had water like liquid inside it. Pulling it out, she poured it on her hand and gave it to Vivian so that she could do the same.


    "What is this?"


    "Holy water," replied the sister.


    "Why ce it in the bottle? I thought they are freely essible in front of the church and in here too," questioned Vivian a little confused as to why she would save the holy water in a closed container like it was something precious.


    "True but sometimes not holy things that appear to be holy is what they are meant to be. Sometimes the best things can be contaminated with one single drop of poison."


    "Doesn''t that oppose the whole purpose of having Holy water then?"


    "Not necessarily. Holy water is still holy water but it won''t have the same power which it used to because of the poison. It would lower its power but would still continue the little act it''s supposed to perform," Vivian handed back the little bottle to her as Sister Isabelle continued to answer to her question, "This one is special because it was created by me. There are some liquids that will take years to harness and tame the way you want it to behave as. This one was done by me when I used to live in anothernd. I only retrieved it back a few days ago when I left for Valeria."


    The woman then asked her, "I take that you have two abilities which might have been the cause of your mutation in the genes for whatever reason it is. There''s nothing I can tell when ites to your healing abilities. The Duke must have already warned you of not using it a lot as it reduces your life span. The more you use the more it will shorten, bringing closer to death."


    "I am aware."


    "That''s good. You don''t have to be righteous to people because some people are meant to die. It''s destiny," said the Sister, cing her hands in an open position so that Vivian could ce her hand there, "Tell me if you can read me, Vivian."


    Not knowing how to start, she said, "I don''t know how to read. It has always taken ce unintentionally," even the time when Lady Eleanor hade to visit her, it wasn''t her who had initiated or thought to touch her but when the vampiress had picked her hands she had been zapped into the memories.


    "That is why you are here. To learn how to tap into a person''s memories that is if there''s any. Some people''s memories float much easier than others. Some objects are marked with memories while the rest are left empty. It could also depend on how strong the emotion is, maybe that is why all the memories you have seen are of gore. Or some are just good at hiding them."


    "Then that''s the reason why I cannot read some things or people," she concluded as the candle flickered in the corner of the room.


    "It''s a theory but we''ll be able to find out once you start making use of it. Shall we?" she nodded at the question. Vivian who had already once touched Sister Isabelle''s hand tried to see if she could get something but every time she tried her eyes opened with the disappointment of finding nothing, "Nothing?" Vivian shook her head, "That''s alright," letting go of her hand, she saw Sister Isabelle ce an object in front of her. It was a simple looking stone, making her wonder why the woman had ced it at the top of the table, "Try with the stone?"


    Moving her hands towards the stone, she touched it to hear a scream and she suddenly retraced her hand away from it to hold her hand to her chest.


    "This stone was picked when a man was beating his wife, and this was one of the stone," exined Sister Isabelle before cing another stone in front of her, "How about now?" Sister Isabelle''s intriguing green eyes looked at her, waiting for Vivian to tell what she saw.


    Apprehensively, Vivian touched it, her fingers feeling the up and down ridges of the stone to see nothing in there.


    "Where did you pick this one?" asked Vivian as it didn''t seem like it had anything in there.


    "If I told you, it wouldn''t be a test anymore. You need to be able to find more than pain. You need to bnce what you have with not just pain but also the happy memories. Take it home with you. See what you find in there. I can only guide you, Vivian. The path is yours to take and explore."


    Reaching back at the mansion, she saw Leonard who had taken a seat in the drawing room which came before the stairs. Excited about what she had found, she opened her mouth as he raised his head to look at her but immediately closed her mouth shut.


    Both being stubborn, she went head holding the stone in her hand. Leonard''s temper had cooled down, yet Vivian was upset with him. She wanted to heed to the words spoken by Sister Isabelle but this was something she had got to see in person.


    It was after the meal when she was going back to her room when she was stopped by the housekeeper who hade to hand over the milk which he had heated for her to drink.


    "How is your leg, mdy?" he asked.


    "It is healing," she looked at him suspiciously at why he was asking her after dinner.


    "Would you want me to send someone to bandage it?"


    "No, I did it myself. Thank you for asking," and before she could leave, the housekeeper said,


    "It isn''t my ce to tell, but there was a time when Master Leonard was like you. Because of him, a family died in vain when no number of casualties were to be taken. Excuse me," he said leaving her a little taken back with the information he just gave out to her.


    The housekeeper took the tray back to the kitchen, keeping it on the b he went to the study room where Leonard sat behind the desk. At his arrival at the door, he heard his master speak,


    "Try to not speak additional things, Jan," of course the Duke had a lot of pride to tell what had happened in the past but the couple were behaving like children, "Get a maid to assist her if she needs anything."


    "Yes, Master Leonard," as the housekeeper turned heading towards the door, the corner of his lips lifted. They were quietly fighting yet looking after each other from afar.


    When the next morning arrived, Vivian went to visit the Church again so that she could continue taking Sister Isabelle''s help. The whole night she had caught on to the stone, looking at it, ying it on the little side table but she found nothing. She didn''t feel a flicker from it. She wanted to speak to Leonard, tell him about what she had spoken with the white witch but they still hadn''t talked to each other after what Leonard had done to the man.


    Somewhere deep down she wished Leonard had apanied her today to the church today but with the cold fight, she doubted he woulde as he had sent one of the mansion guards along with her who now waited outside the church.


    "Vivian."


    "Yes, Sister Isabelle?"


    "I need you to concentrate here than on Duke Leonard who isn''t here," Vivian blushed at Sister Isabelle''s words, "Young love like yours reminds me of my own. It''s bittersweet but I need you here. I am sure he must have his own reasons for what might be bothering you right now," this startled her wondering how she knew something was wrong when she hadn''t uttered a word about what had transpired between her and Leonard, "Don''t look surprised. Like you, I am gifted with a few things which are why I have been stationed and locked in this church for some years now. I cannot see the way you do but I can sense enough to turmoil and where the reason ising from. I have seen the boy grow to a man and I can tell you he doesn''t do things without a reason. Sometimes, there are things which are hard to understand when our loved ones do something which we feel is out of character. I wouldn''t tell he''s always right but you will need to see the reasoning."


    "Why are you locked here?"


    "Hmm...I wonder with why''s myself," Sister Isabelle was evasive with her answer, realizing that she might not want to talk about it, Vivian said,


    "I didn''t find anything in the stone."


    "Is that so?" she nodded at the white witch''s question, "Hmm, you will have to find it out yourself. What do you feel when you touched the other stone?" Sister Isabelle ced the stone which she had ced first yesterday.


    Vivian ced the second stone which she felt empty on the table. So all she had to do was feel exactly how it felt every time she touched an object or a person who emitted emotions. She had never tried concentrating on how it felt as her concentration was mostly focussed on the memories which she saw instead of understanding how she was transported to the past.


    When she touched the stone, it felt as if a gust of wind blew across her, the feeling of her heart sinking as she sinked into the memories with her skin tingling like static energy that took ce. The scream got louder as the picture came in front of her eyes and she pulled back her hand toe back to where she was.


    She touched again to get nothing in there. With older woman not giving up, they sat for two hours in a row without a break in between.


    "Focus on how you feel," she heard the witch tell to her. Biting her cheek, she took a deep breath and touched this time. One second passed, two and two passed to five when she heard something in there. It was very low to pick on but she was sure there was something she heard. A murmur? No, thought Vivian to herself, it was theughter of children.


    Though she didn''t get to see what or who the children were, theughter was audible in her ears.


    "It wasn''t that hard now was it?" Sister Isabelle gave her a warm smile.


    "Do you think I can get my own memories if I tried?" she was hoping to get a yes but seeing the pressed smile that appeared on the woman she smiled back.


    "If you were to find them what will you?"


    The first thing Vivian would want is to hug and cry in her mother''s arms. All this time she had thought about herself to be an orphan but to think that her parents were somewhere in Valeria. Though it hurt to think that they might have abandoned her, at the end of everything they were her parents and she wanted to see them. Meet and know them.


    "Hope is good, child," Sister Isabelle who had got up patted Vivian''s head, "I have heard from Leonard but I would not want you to get your hopes up. It is always good to have the lowest expectation," the white witch''s voice spoke soothingly to her. Vivian wondered on how wonderful it would be if her mother was like this woman who still had her hand patting her head like she was a child, "You know if things were different, I would have introduced you to my son even if both you and the Duke are in a rtionship. A lovely girl like yourself is hard to find. It would be nice to have a daughter-inw like yourself."


    Hearing this Vivian blushed, her cheeks turning red, she looked away to distract from Sister Isabelle''s words. Confused she asked, "You have a son?" were the nuns of the church allowed to...


    "My!" Sister Isabelle brought her hand to her face and giggled like she had been caught, "Let''s keep that secret now."

 Chapter 140 - Errors Of The Past- Part 2

    Please read the book ''Valerian Empire'' and ''Heidi and the Lord'' before you read this one. As they are the first books thate in the series. ''Bambi and the Duke'' is a prequel where the information of other characters are provided in the other two books. Not reading them will make you miss a lot of things.


    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


    Not knowing how to react Sister Isabelle''s lightugh like a young girl who had been caught to a lie that was told, Vivian smiled back unsurely.


    Being her curious self, she asked the white witch, "Why aren''t you with your family?"


    The smile on Sister Isabelle''s face didn''t die down but the light in her green eyes turned dull with darkness. As if pondering on how to answer her, she said, "You''re a curious child. As thest test of the physic ability, I will let you read me but let me warn you, it won''t be easy. If you''re able to pick my memories I will conclude that you''re ready to hone your skill by yourself where you won''t need my assistance."


    This made Vivian wonder what secrets might the white witch have that she didn''t want anyone to know. Previously, when she was asking about the work that was required to be part of the Church Sister Isabelle had enlightened her to tell that her work mostly involved in healing people and whispering words of encouragement for a person to live through the days. Also that the council sent her with some needed information which she provided in the period of weeks.


    Sister Isabelle had spoken about matching her with her son but where was he? She had never heard of Sisters or Father''s of the church involve themselves in a rtionship.


    "With the pace, you''re picking up, it shouldn''t be hard for you to touch and learn, though I would advise you to wear your gloves at all time. Some memories aren''t the kind you would want to know or indulge in. That''s why in the past, the ones who possess physic abilities never touched a thing. They preferred to ignore the knowledge that came by their way at the fear of knowing somethings that weren''t meant for them. Too much knowledge will turn the person insane as the view of the world in his eyes would be different from one who is ignorant."


    This made Vivian wonder if the white witch was warning her about the council.


    When she got back to the Carmichael mansion, she took sight of the carriage that had arrived and stationed itself in the shed. Picking up her dress, she bent down to ce one foot on the pedestal before dropping the other on the ground.


    Just as she wondered who the visitor was as the carriage looked old, the continuous exposure of rain on the iron had turned the wheels rusty. In time she came to see a middle-aged man step out with the Duke where they both shook hands, exchanging words and the man stepped down the three steps. Seeing Vivian the man bowed and so did she.


    Before the middle-aged man stepped into the carriage, he turned over his shoulder to say, "I hope to see you there on theing Friday," Leonard tipped his chin up with a polite smile where the smile drew down when the carriage exited out of the mansion.


    Vivian wondered as to why the man hade and what was on Friday. Was there a soiree that was set up that the man had personallye to invite him?


    Vivian who was still not speaking to Leonard, looked at him to see him continue to look in the direction of the carriage which the middle-aged man had got into. His blonde hair was dishevelled, a mess that looked as if it weren''t tamed since she had left this morning to the Church. The coachman who was holding the umbre for her due to the drops of rain that were being graced from the heaven folded it when she stepped inside the wide ceiling, protecting thedy from the raindrops.


    Leo''s loose beige like shirt stood in contrast to his handsome face, the neck which was shaped in V that crisscrossed with thece-like ties which hadn''t been tied and was let to hand one being short and the other a little longer than the other. The shirt was paired with tight fitted cks and shoes that he wore in the mansion. With what she had known, the man enjoyed having as many pair of shoes as possible in his cupboard that made Vivian doubt that he could wear the shoe straight for three weeks before he would have to repeat any of them.


    Before she could look away from him, their eyes met like fate that had designed to meet each other even if they took different paths like they were meant to be each other in happiness or disaster.


    His red eyes held grave intensity in them as they stared at each other but their eye contact didn''t go far long when one of the maids had stepped out to pick the leaves she was asked which she had forgotten to do on the housekeeper''s order. Seeing the couple who stood out there in silence, who stood apart in distance staring at each other, the maid made a one-eighty degree turn before heading back inside. Leonard was the first one to break away his gaze. Turning his head along with his body while putting his hands in his trousers pocket, he got inside to leave her alone.


    Seeing him finally out of sight, she let out the air she had been holding. Her eyes slowly falling down from where he had stood, she heard the loud thunder that came in the direction of thend that was in the far South. The rain was only going to pour heavily, thought Vivian to herself.


    She wondered how long both Leo and she would be like this, not talking to each other with each other holding their ground with what they felt was right and wrong. It wasn''t that she didn''t see where Leonard wasing from. For someone whose family had been killed out of pure betrayal and his cousin sister and brother getting caught in the crossfire, the man had lost his reasoning that if he found the nt to be decaying, he wouldn''t just cut that part of but would pull the entire nt out and throw it away.


    With both the housekeeper and Sister Isabelle having words to speak about Leonard by taking his side, it made her wonder if it was the way that she thought was at wrong. All she had to do was ask Leonard on what happened to get the answer but she was upset, upset with the fact he had killed a man when he appeared to be innocent and harmless. Though people imed to do a lot of things, it wasn''t necessary that they would. They could always be reasoned with the truth to show them why something had to be done.


    After leaving the basement two days ago, she had gone back there to see an empty chair lying in the corner of the cold room. The housekeeper being one of the most trusted servants here, the body must have been disposed of by him where no one could find.


    Stepping inside the warmer space of the mansion, Vivian pulled her gloves from her hand.


    The night wasn''t a pleasant one.


    The rain poured more than anytime before, clouds rumbling, water streams filling up to the brim that it spilt out from the space it was given. The current was too strong as it pulled out the silt and mud of the ground as the water gushed down. Lightning struck repeatedly, the thunder so loud that the sses and objects around shook an vibrated.


    Far from the Carmichael mansion in one of the ends of the towns, a few cloaked figures stood as rain pelted on them. They were a number of four of them where three were women and one was a man. They were a flock of beautiful people. Every feature that was attractive in their own until a woman with blue eyes opened her mouth for the long snake-like a tongue to slither out and in. One of the women stood under a wide tree, arge leaf ced so that the smoke she had been preparing wouldn''t be extinguished. She murmured words that none could have heard of, only her lips moving as the rain numbed any other sound except for what the weather had to present in thend of Bonke.


    "Jamien," the woman with blue eyes spoke to the man who stood little behind her where they looked at the vige in front of them. Looking up at the sky where the raindrops fell, she said, "It is time to mark. Take Lairona with you," some drops of water dropped on her face before she dropped down her head. Looking over her shoulder behind she saw the woman take with a log of wood in her hand.


    The man named Jamien and Lairona walked passed her with a wooden log in their hand. The wooden log had been chiselled to a fine point so that it could be used for markings on the ground. With the vigers asleep inside their little houses, there was little to no possibility of being caught around by anyone. The rain dulled everything around them.


    The woman continued to look ahead of her. They hadn''t expected it to rain this heavily, not so much that the ground couldn''t be rinsed with the way the rain was pouring down. Her skin started to turn dark in colouration, the pigmentation very much different to her beautiful pale skin that had little freckles at the sides of her nose. Scales began to appear to rece the smooth skin until the person looked like a hideous creature. Though the colour of the eyes remained blue with hints of ck specs in it, the woman''s feature had changed. Her nose was long and pointed. When she opened her mouth it wasn''t just the slither of the long but also the decayed teeth which were extremely ugly looking.


    A ck witch''s face couldn''t hold on to the human form for too long and they had to get back to their natural form for a few hours before they could switch back. But the mask always cracked during their stressful times.


    The ck witch looked at the two witches who had gone to mark around the vige to create the necessary steps before they could begin with the massacre. Though she didn''t need people to work along with, there had been a few things in which she needed the other witches to help her with. Another reason apart from help being that she didn''t want to dirty her hands. Since the decades had passed by she had kept herself hidden from any and everything, away from the eyes of people and lived like a shadow. The amount of blood her hands had shed were countless and this night would be added to the number. She was working on mastering the massacre but the massacre never took ce correctly. There was always something that stopped it from sessfully working through.


    It took more than half an hour for thend to be marked sharply with the log of woods. The rain slowed subsided, the depth in which the logs had been pushed and pulled, water came to settle, connecting and interconnecting the many lines and circle which was drawn in and around the small vige. Drops of water which hade to fall on the roofs plopped drop by drop, merging back into the ground where the ground hade to turn muddy.


    The ck witch who had been with the pot of smoke walked around the vige, continuing her murmurs of curse words to make one round around the vige with the pot which emitted smoke out of it.


    When the rest of the witches finished doing thest parts that were necessary for human sacrifice, the man named Jamien asked, "Is it time?"


    "Not yet," murmured the woman with blue eyes, with the rain that had stopped there was nothing but silence filling up their eyes. Though there were families who were in the houses, thend looked deserted. A few more minutes passed when the clouds that were heavy slowly began to move away in the sky, bringing out the moon behind it as the light spilt on the ground with its reflection that was mirrored in the water that hade to umte on the patchy ground, "Now," and upon her word, the ck witches scattered to step inside the circle. The pulled out the knives that were hidden in their clothes, opening the door of the houses in the vige for men and women to scream as their throats were slit one by one while the woman who had ordered stood outside the circle. As the number of death slowly came to an end, the woman nced at the moon.


    She didn''t dare to step inside the circle and whispered words of curses which began to illuminate the lines and the wide circle that was drawn around the vige. The man named Jamien was quick to jump out of the circle leaving the other two ck witches trapped inside.


    When they tried to get out, something unseen stopped them as if there was a wall while they banged their hands on it.


    "You need to stop ying with human women''s so long. The next time I won''t be nice enough to dy it," upon hearing the ck witch speak, the man responded back with,


    "What can I say, I enjoy their screams," heughed licking the blood from his scythe, "Doesn''t it entice you, Ester?"


    "They are lovely," she responded to see the other two witches begin to dissipate in thin air, "Take half of the bodies and scatter them near theke."


    "Theke?" the man looked intrigued by her choice of leaving the dead bodies.


    "You should know well why, Jamien. I thought you would be smarter to figure out after passing the exam," there was a sickly sweet smile on her lips. The man didn''t look pleased with her words. Coming from the pureblooded vampires and also being older than the ck witch who looked barely sixteen to seventeen, he didn''t like the way she spoke to him yet he put up a smile on his face, "Did you get anything about the second exam? The insolent fool who got into the council doesn''t know what to do," she said walking towards the dust of the dead ck witches that was smudging with the muddy ground.


    "I heard he almost exposed himself in the meeting," sniggered the man for the error that would have costed the n. He saw her pick the dust and collect it in a sk to only close it up.


    She stood back up, "If he continues it I will have to ask one of them to discard him,"mented the ck witch her bright blue eyes staring into his red ones, "I will see you soon."


    "Of course," answered Jamien to see her walked towards the forest and disappearing in the dark woods.


    Turning to look back at the houses, he walked along to see the sight of bodies that were either lying on the bed or on the ground with blood sttered all across the houses. It was the perfect massacre and he enjoyed it. Being the pureblooded vampire he couldn''t kill as he pleased, going to one of the women whom he found to be pretty he picked her up to drink blood from her. Just as his lips touched the blood, he spat it out immediately and threw the body back on the ground.


    "It tastes like piss! Damn that witch," he muttered wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve before getting to work.


    When the morning arrived, sunlight hitting thend after long hours of rain which wasn''t enough to dry the water that was on the ground but enough to warm a person''s body but with one of the viges being ambushed, there was nothing to warm as the bodiesid cold.


    Soon the news spread across thend about another vige being attacked by the witches which alerted the council on the matter. The council meeting was immediately held by the head council Rueben, calling out the four Lords of the Bonke and the four Dukes from each of thend of West, East, South and North.


    Leonard who was called out suddenly had left early in the morning with Vivian who had woken up and stepped into the dining room with him being absent.


    Picking up the newsletter of thend that had arrived after Leonard had left, she went to read the words ''Mass Murder!'' in big words. Scrunching her brows she sat down at the table to find out that the people of a certain vige in Bonke had been killed overnight yesterday and that the council was yet to find on who and what happened.


    "Master Leonard was summoned to discuss on it," the housekeeper said as he poured tea for her.


    "Did you hear anything more?" she asked to see him shake his head.


    "Master asked you to get the bandage fixed. He told to inform you that he might arrive back home a littlete tonight and to not go to the Church for today. He also told to ask me anything so that I can be of full use to you," informed Jan while cing the bread to the side of her te, "Would you like the butter, Ms?"


    "Yes, please," she responded not touching her bread yet with deep thought before asking the housekeeper, "How far is the vige that was massacred?"


    "Not far. If you take the carriage it would hardly take one less than forty minutes by road," he answered her politely before realizing what her intention might be. Dread filled his face, with a furrow forming between his brows when Vivian turnedpletely to look at him to ask something the Duke wouldn''t be happy to hear about.

 Chapter 141 - Blood Tea

    Hearing that the vige was close by Vivian decided to ask the housekeeper, "Can you take me there, Jan?" her question was enough to fill the housekeeper with dread, his face slightly turning pale, "You did say the Duke said I could ask you for anything for the day," her smile was so infectious that the housekeeper for the first time found it hard to answer back to her but he was well aware with the game of maniption.


    "I''m sorry, mdy but I cannot fulfil your request on it. I would suggest you go with Master himself once he returns back home."


    Jan, the vampire, housekeeper of the Carmichael mansion stood firm with his words. For a moment he thought he would have agreed before realizing how wrong it might go to take thedy to a ce where the massacre had taken ce. Having the human around him often and tending to her requests it seemed that she had managed to get under his skin, his eyes narrowed at that thought of his. Not only would she be in trouble but it would also put him in front of the ire of the Duke which he had no intention to experience.


    Vivian continued to look at the man, hoping he would change his words but he didn''t, instead, he turned his head away to talk to the maid to heat the milk for her while also going to ask to prepare warm bowl of water to be readied in the room so that the wound could be re-dressed. Sighing, she turned around to continue eating her breakfast, taking one bite and chewing on the soft bread which must have been prepared early in the morning.


    Taking the newsletter she went to read more on what was written ''...bodies have been found in the vige where no one has been left alive. Whoever who has killed them must have been bloodthirsty to not leave even young children alive. Throats have been shed across...The morning of Bonke has brought another chill news to find some bodies that lead to theke. We are yet to know what the Council is going to do with this information..." the written words went on, making her question why anyone wouldmit mass murder. Reading about the throat shed tingled her mind but it never connected to her previous sight.


    She wished she could go meet Sister Isabelle and ask her what was happening as it felt like she would have some insight on it but now that she was stuck in the mansion, there was little to nothing that could be done. Also, it didn''t seem like Jan could be swayed by persuasion.


    The more she thought about the death that took ce, the more curious she turned to what might have caused to lead to such mass murder. In the past, the mass murders took ce due to the gue which made men sick and deficient, the disease that couldn''t be easily prevented but that took ce three decades ago. Another reason was when deranged vampires who hadn''t be turned well had attacked the people causing a lot of problems and rift between the already delicate matter when it came to the human and vampire rtionship.


    From what she hade to hear from Leonard and also the newsletter which she read, the number of dead bodies that had begun to rise in the fournds. Though this was the actual massacre that took ce with such a high number of death, it was hard to not think with what if''s they were done by the same group of people. But what was the need to have so many bodies? She wasn''t part of the council yet to work along with Leonard but she wanted to involve herself and checking the vige didn''t seem like a bad idea.


    She couldn''t help but try, therefore when she was done having her breakfast, she wiped her mouth with the napkin, dabbing it gently and cing it down, "He only told to not go to the church for today. Did Leonard tell I wasn''t supposed to go out?"


    "No, mdy. I don''t remember him telling that to me," answered the housekeeper cautiously.


    "Then isn''t it safe to say I can step out of the mansion anywhere I want with a guard next to me?" she tried to haggle her way.


    "Please wait for Master Leonard," he bowed his head and left the dining room. As the maid began to clean the table, Vivian excused herself and walked out of the room. The need to follow Jan until she received a yes was too high but she bit back her curiosity.


    Walking around the mansion at noon she was walking past the main door when she heard someone knock on the main door of the mansion. With her standing not far from the door and no maids around, she decided to open it herself. But when she did, she wished she hadn''t done it as there stood Leonard''s uncle, Sullivan Carmichael.


    To say he didn''t look particrly pleased with her presence in front of him could be considered to be an understatement.


    "Mr Sullivan, good afternoon to you," Vivian bowed her head politely for him to gauge her up and down.


    Thest time she had met Mr Sullivan was when she was a maid and thest time they had spoken it hadn''t been a pleasant conversation. She was a lowly maid who was told not to speak so freely about the young master of the house like she was his friend when she had to know the difference between their status. She had been more than hurt that day when Sullivan had scolded her in front of other few maids and Paul.


    Unlike his older brother, Giles Carmichael who was Leonard''s father, he had little to no regard when it came to the low people of the society. Humans were nothing by ves to the vampires in his eyes and Vivian was well aware of it.


    Vivian who didn''t know about the talk that transpired about her between Leonard and his uncle didn''t know how to react in front of Mr Sullivan now. She should have known that one of these days she would be meeting the man as he was one of the direct rtives of Leonard.


    The man scanned her with his dark red eyes which were very much simr to Leo''s as if testing and seeing the girl if she was worth his nephew''s time. Sullivan didn''t find anything appealing when he made a quick look over at her. Leonard could do so much better, with his looks, status and personality he couldnd plenty woman who would willingly fall into his arms. Maybe she looked better with her clothes changed from a servants dress to a properdy but she was an average girl with decent looks and his nephew Leonard could do so much better but the time they spoke, it seemed that he was serious about her and wasn''t looking for another woman.


    "Where is Leonard?" his question was to the point as if he didn''t want to waste his precious time talking to a measly human girl.


    Noting that the man didn''t greet her and went straight to ask about Leonard, she replied back, "He was summoned to the council early in the morning because of the ambush that took ce in one of the viges."


    "That was why I came here," flipping the watch which he took out from his pocket cloak he flipped it back close to slip it inside the pocket, "Will you be standing here and not let me in," his sharp eyes stared down at her and Vivian quickly moved back and away to make way for him. She scolded herself mentally for not realizing the little mistake she had done by making him stand outside the mansion like an outsider.


    Sullivan walked through the main door, his long strides quick as they mad way to the drawing room and he plopped himself in time for Jan to arrive at the door with his eyes that slightly widened at the sight of the man and the Lady standing in front of the pureblooded vampire. Like Vivian, Jan didn''t know about Master Leonard confessing his love for the girl to his uncle which turned him worried but kept his face passive of any emotions. Sending her to the vige didn''t sound that bad anymore, thought the housekeeper before he came to ask the man,


    "Good afternoon, Mr Carmichael. Master Leonard isn''t here right now and will be arrivingter tonight," said the lowly vampire with his eyes which were cast down to not meet the eyes of the pureblooded vampire directly.


    "So I have heard," Sullivan looked at Vivian who stood with her hands held together.


    "Would you like to have something to drink?" asked Jan.


    Sullivan hummed in response. As if in some thought, he didn''t reply looking at the window which showed the clouds that weren''t dark due to the rain that had poured down the previous night, "I would like blood tea," when Jan bowed his head in response to his demand, the man surprised both the housekeeper and Vivian by telling, "I would like her to bring it," his gaze moved from the window to stop at Vivian, "Prepare it yourself," she?


    Jan was about to speak but Vivian interrupted the housekeeper to happily oblige to Sullivan''s words.


    "Excuse me," Vivian went to the kitchen leaving Jan to entertain Sullivan Carmichael.


    Blood tea was a tea consumed by pureblooded vampires. The tea powder which was used by the humans wasn''t the same one which was added to make this special tea. Seeds called the ''Entimone'' was used which grew in the West region of Woville which when consumed inrge quantities could behave like an aphrodisiac. This tea was mostly prepared by the house butlers as they were skilled in using the rightposition and thickness of blood of the rabbits.


    When she was young she had seen Martha prepare it for Mr and Mrs Carmichael and their guests who visited them but she didn''t know it was the blood of rabbits that were used here. Having loved the innocent creatures for long it had broken her heart when she had eagerly decided to make one for Leo to find out that the rabbits went missing because of this reason. Nheless, she did it as she lived in the mansion of pureblooded vampires. She knew Sullivan Carmichael was testing her and for some reason, this gave her a fair notion that maybe he had found out about Leo and her rtionship.


    Having already prepared it once, she gathered the necessary ingredients that were needed and started to prepare the blood tea.


    Taking the hot tea cup, she took it to the drawing room where Leo''s uncle sat with one leg on top of another who hadn''t bothered to exchange any words with the housekeeper. Giving it to him, she saw him take a sip from it, his mouth hovering over the teacup before putting it down, "Leonard informed me about your exam. The first might have been easy but the second isn''t. The second is always hard to track and if you fail you don''t just fail but also might lose your life," he warned her withoutmenting on her tea-making skills.


    She wasn''t sure if he was trying to warn her or scare her now. Realizing that he hadn''tmented on her attire of proper clothes which she wore now, she wondered if he knew about her and Leonard. Since the time he had arrived here, she couldn''t stop thinking and worrying of how he might scold her likest time.


    Sullivan looked at the human girl from his teacup as he sipped his blood tea. He hated humans, for the way they loved, for their weakness mentally and physically making him mock at their existence. His nephew had picked her to be his partner which he didn''t understand in what way.


    "Sitting here and doing nothing is not going to make you the one who is eligible to be part of the council," Vivian who had been looking at his shoe which were made of leather looked up when he spoke, his eyes narrowed at her he ced the teacup in a tter on the table. Taking the kerchief from his side pocket he wiped his lips and opened his pocket watch for the second time. Getting up from the couch, he faced the housekeeper, "We will be going out," at his words her head snapped to look at him.


    He hadn''t mentioned about Leonard and her but was he going to kill her off somewhere?


    "Get thedy''s cloak," he ordered the housekeeper who had to bow and oblige in response. The old pureblooded vampires didn''t take the words of the servants too kindly. Once he returned back, Vivian wore her overcoat which was gifted by Leonard.


    "Excuse my foolish behaviour but where might you be going, Sir Sullivan? I had like to mention it to the young master when he arrives back home," he asked using Leonard as an excuse but it was true.


    "Hmm, tell him we went to visit the dead mannd. The vige which had a massacre," as Sullivan said this, the housekeeper worried for what Leonard might say to it. It was obvious that the older vampire wasn''t fond of humans especially not Vivian as he had decided to take her along to the site where the dead bodies must have scattered which no one would dare to go. It was a crime site and he wasn''t sure if Vivian could go. Having no say of refusal all he could do was bow at the man, "If you said he will be homete, I think I should be able to send back her before the time of his arrival."


    Sullivan didn''t wait to check or ask Vivian if she was ready to leave as he turned and headed to his carriage.


    Just as Vivian was going to hurry herself to follow the pureblooded vampire''s footsteps, she heard Jan say, "Please be careful, mdy."


    "Yes, Jan," she smiled widely before toning it down when he sighed.


    All this while she wanted to go and see what happened so that she could find some kind of reading before the council woulde and remove the evidence. To think that Leonard''s uncle had offered to take her there, she was more than happy to apany him.

 Chapter 142 - Girl With The Gloves- Part 1

    As Jan looked at the carriage leave the mansion, his mind feeling unsettled due to the fact of knowing that Mr Sullivan Carmichael despised humans to the very core of his heart. It made it suspicious of why he would take Vivian who had nothing to do with the ident of the massacre that took ce in the far vige of Bonke.


    Mass murders weren''t umon to hear at least for people like him who picked words and information from the market when he went to pick up groceries and other necessary supplies for the mansion. There had been a lot of death urrence taking ce which most of the time weren''t written in the newsletter as the bodies would be cleared by the council''s words before it fell to the public eye.


    When one of the councilmen hade to ry the information of what happened, Leonard had already gotten ready as he had received the news from Lord Nichs. Before he had left, Jan had seen him step into thedy''s room ande out after a minute to order him to inform her that she didn''t have to go and visit Sister Isabelle. With the amount of death that took ce, the Duke must have been worried not to have the Lady outside the mansion when he wasn''t around and if something were to happen, it would be hard for him to get back due to the distance.


    He only hoped the older pureblooded vampire would keep his word in bringing back thedy unharmed.


    In the carriage that rode to the ambushed vige, the four horses pulled the fancy carriage which belonged to Sullivan Carmichael. Sullivan who hadn''t spoken much to her while in the mansion, sat with his arms crossed while his face was turned away from hers to look outside the window with least interest. Vivian had been excited when Leo''s uncle had told Jan that she would be going with him and though his words couldn''t rebuke any murmur of disagreement, she had willinglye along with him.


    And now that she was here, using the same space of air as him, she wondered why he had decided to bring her along with him. Knowing the hate and the condescending attitude he had against the humans she couldn''t help now but question his motive. The housekeeper had told that the journey to the vige wouldn''t take more than twenty to thirty minutes but sitting with Sullivan Carmichael, the few minutes that had passed seemed like an eternity.


    Looking outside from her side of the window, she tried distracting the heavy atmosphere inside the carriage by looking at the trees where she came to see trees that turned green from white due to the...snow?


    Leaning closer towards the window, she saw that it was snow that was beginning to cover thend of Bonke along with the trees as if Christmas was already here until she realized this part of the Bonke was where the snow mansion was. From where she sat, when she looked up at the hills, she could slightly see the mansion where she had once been to with Leonard.


    "You might be surprised but this is where the second Lord of Bonke once resided. Shame that the man didn''t live up to his subjects expectation. It has a beautiful mansion up there as you can see," stated Sullivan looking in the direction of her window which Vivian had been staring at.


    "It''s a beautiful mansion," agreed Vivian for the man to raise one of his eyebrows. The snow mansion was a restricted area that didn''t allow mere humans inside, taking a guess he believed that his nephew must have taken her there. He saw her turn to look at him and ask, "Mr Carmichael, may I ask you how the second Lord passed away?"


    When she had asked Leonard about it, he had answered her that it was old age but she knew there was something that Leonard held back. A little piece of information which he must have found out by himself or from someone which was not to be spoken of. The pureblooded vampire here was older so he must be surely have something he would have heard or known, thought Vivian.


    Sullivan stared at the human girl, his red eyes gauging her before he decided to reply to her question, "Old age," were his crisp words for her, wondering if that was what she was going to get she sighed internally but to hear the man continue, "That''s what everyone tells. That he died of old age."


    "But he didn''t, did he?" asked a curious Vivian.


    "The ones who went to collect his body didn''t believe it was due to old age. I was one of them before I resigned my post," he worked for the council? This was something new to her but it would mean he was admitted to the council at a young age at that time, "I didn''t work for the council. My father had connections and my brother, Giles had only entered the council after the exam. I didn''t pass through the second exam and after several attempts, I decided to pick another career. There were a lot of deaths taking ce in thends, the chaos between humans and vampires waging war as the Lord of Bonke had fallen down and was received by death. It was by pure luck I was sent there in ce of my brother to fetch the body."


    "What happened to him?"


    Sullivan rolled his eyes at her, "How would I know. I wasn''t there during the time of his death but it looked nothing to be close to a man who died out of old age. For a vampire, he wasn''t that old. All I can say is it didn''t look like a natural death," pondering over his words and seeing that he didn''t want to talk about it, she didn''t push her luck more.


    As the carriage continued to pull towards the unholy site, something about Sullivan''s conversation dawned in her mind as if she just realized what he had said while exining about the second Lord. The man had entered to take part in the council examination several times to only fail in the second part of the exam. Was the exam hard for a pureblooded vampire like him? Then it must be true that very few get selected after the exams are concluded.


    She shouldn''t feel like this yet she felt proud that she had passed her first exam. Maybe if she passed the second exam, her value as a person could elevate in Leonard''s eyes. Though the man held contempt towards humanity, he was still Leonard''s family, his blood uncle who cared for him. Vivian was a pureblooded vampire but only Leonard and Sister Isabelle knew the truth but there was no way she could prove it to anyone else.


    The first time Leonard had tried turning her had made her stick to the bed unconscious for two straight days. There was no saying if the effect would be the same or different if she tried to turn herself. There was also part of Vivian that was worried about taking in the venom into her body at the fear of corrupting her core if it still existed after she turned to a human.


    Thend started to look less white and more green until they were far away from the ce that snowed. The reins of the horses were pulled after a few minutes for the carriage toe to a halt. The coachman hopped on the ground toe and open the door for Mr Sullivan to step out of it where the Lady followed him.


    The coachman had stopped the carriage far away from the vige where it would take a minute to walk to get there as some of the houses looked as if they had only finished burning with the smoke which thickly moved up to thin and disappear in the air.


    The vige looked quiet, like a natural cmity that had been struck, to which the vigers had departed from there but in this case, the vigers had not got the opportunity to even endure before death had arrived and struck at them.


    Seeing the smoke appear from the bottom and disappear as it moved up, Vivian wondered if the ce had been set on fire as nothing about fire had been mentioned in the newsletter. Vivian almost had to watch over her footing when she nearly tripped over a rock which she had missed while looking at the houses. Sullivan Carmichael didn''t wait for her or show any concern when she missed her footing and instead he walked ahead of her.


    Looking down at her feet where the ck gravel of mud hade to settle around the soles of her shows, she stood up straight to walk towards a log whichid on the ground, one of its end resting in a puddle of water.


    Seeing Mr Carmichael disappear in one of the alleys before she could catch up, she decided to remove the mud from the top of her shoe. Taking her feet there, she moved the sole back and forth to remove the mud. Just as she did, she saw a line of water that continued to follow in a certain path. The weather here seemed to be much colder than where she lived. As if the snow was present but not visible to the eyes. Not heeding much thought on it, she caught up to where Sullivan was to only receive a bad stench of smell that surrounded the houses when she entered a certain perimeter.


    Vivian raised her hand, covering her nose and mouth with the back of her long overcoat sleeves. Taking one step after another while avoiding puddles of water that came in her path she came to stop in front of the houses where the doors were open. It was no surprise that there was no one in sight who would havee to stumble upon this ce to only scurry away from the vige. It was often told that ces that had the mass urrence of death were filled with negativity where the souls of the dead would only curse upon the souls of the living.


    Pushing the door which was half open, she looked at the bodies thatid on the ground distortedly. The house she stepped into, a womanid sprawled on the ground a few feet away from her with her front resting on the ground and her face turned in the door direction. A childid dead next to her and a man who was half on the bed with his legs dangling on the ground. The sight was enough to tell how brutal and cruelly they were murdered not sparing even the child.


    Something told Vivian that whoever killed them or the rest of the vige was a killer who was well trained as the objects in the houses didn''t look scattered nor was blood sttered across every inch of the room. The only blood that could be seen was around the bodies.


    Vivian had wanted toe here to see if she could find anything but now that she hade at the scene, she looked at the bodies with her brows that had drawn together in concentration. The only dead body Vivian had touched was Charlotte''s a person whom she knew personally, to touch another being felt odd but not giving much thought on it she went to bend down when she heard Sullivan appear behind her.


    "What are you doing?" in the eerie silence his voice startled her making her retrace her hand back, "Don''t touch the bodies," he said walking inside the room, "The council would want to look at the bodies when they arrive here for inspection. Don''t contaminate the body," he narrowed his eyes.


    "Why hasn''t any authoritiese here yet?" she asked looking at the female who had her eyes open with her mouth slightly parted. Wasn''t it necessary to guard a ce which had been subjected to mass murder or was it that the officials didn''t care about it as it was a no man''snd?


    "Entering a deadnd needs permission," they did? That was something she didn''t know but then if it was so, what were they doing here? A little rmed she looked at the older pureblooded vampire to hear him speak, "We aren''t part of the council so it is fine to look at things."


    Contaminate? Apart from them, the rest of the people in the vicinity were dead. There was nothing to contaminate, especially with her ck gloves still on her hands.


    As if not believing what she might do, Sullivan said, "Come with me and stick close. We aren''t sure if the person who was responsible to do this might appear or not," seeing him wait for her, she stood up, giving a look at the woman her eyes hauntingly beautiful. To have someone kill so ruthlessly, thought Vivian to herself while leaving the house and the bodies behind her.


    When both Vivian and Sullivan left the shabby house, the woman whoid on the ground motionless, her blue eyes blinked.

 Chapter 143 - Girl With The Gloves- Part 2

    Fate was such an odd thing in the world of humans and vampires. Vivian followed Sullivan out of the house she had entered at the simple thought of not wanting to irk the pureblooded man as he was trying to behave civilly with her though he did look down at her once in every five minutes.


    Vivian had wanted toe to look at the scene for the pure purpose of finding out how the shes on the women''s necks looked like as she remembered the slitting of the throats which she hade to witness through Jamien''s memories. Forgotten that she had worn her gloves over her hands, she had gone to touch it to only be stopped by the older pureblooded Carmichael man. Maybe, if she had removed her glove from one of her hand and had tried to make a quicker contact on the woman whoid down on the ground with beautiful striking blue eyes, she would have solved the mystery of the death that took ce here and everywhere around thends that was being caused by one single ck witch who was using other ck witches help across thend.


    But that never came to happen and even if Vivian did turn around from following the man to return back to the bodies, she wouldn''t have found a woman lying on the ground anymore but instead would only discover emptiness there.


    The young ck witch in appearance, who went by the name Ester stood hiding behind one of the trees as she looked at the two people who now roamed through the alleys by going to one house to another. After picking the residue of the ck witches who she had sacrificed toplete the ritual which was still iplete without giving her any powers. She hade to pick the body of one of the young child in the vige where she had put in the sack whichid next to her feet. The ck witch had been nning for the ritual to seed for a long time but it seemed that even this time the ritual turned to failure. Having read the movements of the council, she knew they wouldn''t be here but what she didn''t expect was strangers who woulde to take a stroll. It was a pureblooded vampire and a human girl, tsking she took the sack to put over her shoulders and leave.


    Vivian who followed Sullivan in silence wondered why he had brought her here along with him. Was it to show the bodies so that he could scare her of what the council world had or was it so that it could prepare her before the second exam took ce? The answerid within Mr. Carmichael as she didn''t dare to ask him about it.


    The man wouldn''t have known about her abilities as it was something confidential. As they made rounds checking the bodies over bodies which had been shed and killed dead for the entire atmosphere to be filled in the stench of rotten bodies and dried blood which hade to corrupt the clean atmosphere that was left after the rain.


    With the pureblooded vampire who looked inside the house, Vivian stood out with the back of her sleeve still covering her nose, she heard a faint sounding off from a distance away from the vige. Not heeding to what Sullivan had instructed and asked her to do, she walked away from the man and towards the sound which became more audible in one of the ends of the houses. Wondering if it was the scavenger birds that hade to feed on the bodies due to the smell of death, she pushed the door of the house to catch sight of a figure in front of her which had a ck cloak worn. Hearing her footsteps, the person ced a wooden carved box that was being examined.


    Before she could dwell on the thought of who it was, the person turned around with wide eyes as if surprised and Vivian gasped softly due to the sudden turn.


    "Sister Isabelle!" Vivian eximed for the woman who had a passive expression in the beginning due to the shock which Vivian noted to break into a small smile.


    "Good afternoon, Vivian," Sister Isabelle smiled looking at her, stopping whatever she had previously doing at the old desk of the house, "I wasn''t expecting you here," said the white witch, letting go of the box she had picked.


    "Me neither."


    "You ingrateful-" Sullivan who hadn''t found the human standing at the door when he had turned around hade in search of her to hear her gasp in shock making him think that she was in danger. Seeing Sister Isabelle standing inside, he stopped his speech as if contemting who the woman was and what she was doing here he spoke, "What''s a white witch doing here? Is it the council that sent you?"


    It seemed to Vivian that Mr Carmicael here wasn''t acquainted with the white witch. It shouldn''t havee to be much of a surprise as some of the pureblooded vampires were orthodox enough to not want to enter the church. The woman didn''t hold back to introduce herself, "I am Sister Isabelle from the Convent Church. I came to inspect just as you have to see if there is anything I could find before the evidence would be damaged by them," unlike the pureblooded vampire, the white witch stood in ease as she spoke to him.


    Sullivan didn''t hide his distaste at the sight of the witch''s presence, "For a white witch to enter the dead man''snd without any given notice is suspicious," he tsked in the end as if mocking her existence to be categorized with the humans.


    "The council woulde to call us in the end and it would be better to finish looking through the scene than wait until for their call. I have other matters to attend to," answered Sister Isabelle and from where Vivian stood, she could tell that the woman weighed the pureblooded vampire with her eyes.


    Now that Vivian thought about it, why did Sullivane to look at the sight if he weren''t part of the council? People who didn''t belong to the council were usually not allowed to walk around the crime scene and for the man toe here, Vivian stared at the man with curious eyes.


    As if the deadnd didn''t have enough crowd, they came to hear the faint sound of carriage which got louder as it approached the quiet vige. The three of them stepped out, walking to the end of the alley to see two pair of carriage arrive at the site. Vivian was familiar with one of the two that had stopped in front of them. She who had stood behind the older pureblooded vampire with the two elders in front of her peeked to see the coachmen''s open the door for five men to step out.


    The first man to step out of the carriage was the councilor whom she had been fortunate enough to see during her time in the first examination. His tall, lean stature stood straight with the authentic clothes that he wore. A small eyepiece ss adorned the front of his eye. He was the man who had invigted their time during the exam.


    Leonard was the second one to step out and he greeted his uncle with a respectful bow, his eyes then meeting Sister Isabelle a little confused to her presence he bowed which the woman returned with grace. As the men of the councillor''s who hade to look at the sight greeted Sullivan Carmichael, Leonard caught sight of someone standing behind his uncle.


    His eyes finally catching the blonder hair and short height, his eyes narrowed to a considerable good amount to see Vivian who was looking the other way without meeting his eyes.


    His jaw tightly clenched, and eyes set firmly at her wondering what she was doing here. He heard Lionel, the high councillor with the eyepiece speak to his uncle,


    "Thank you for your generous help, Mr Sullivan. We are d for your assistance," though Sullivan didn''t directly work for the council his skills in picking up the essence from dead bodies which were useful for the councillor''s who worked in studying the constitution and cause of death as what met the naked eye couldn''t be enough of a conclusion.


    "I absolutely find it a pleasure to help you. Also helping the council is a duty we all have to pick and incorporate," the smile which Sullivan disyed seemed to bring a one-eighty degree turn in his mood to what he posed before the councillors had arrived. There was light in his dark red eyes and a smile like a snake which made Vivian wary of the man. It was no hidden secret that the man preferred thepany of the pureblooded vampires than the lowly human and the witch''s presence around him. Sullivan then said, "I was expecting you not an hour early but it is good to see that the council are quick in their meeting and decisions."


    Lionel didn''t miss the other two females who hade to apany the pureblooded vampire. As though his tongue tasted something sour, he frowned, "Who is this youngdy you brought along with you and also Sister Isabelle. As much as we appreciate the work we would request you to wait for our guidance beforeing to look at the dead man''snd," the councilman dragged his words to move the line of his sight towards Vivian who had nowe to stand alert with everyone''s eyes on her.


    The way Sullivan Carmichael held a distaste for the lowly beings, it was clear that he and his other fellow councilmen shared ufortable and untrusted feelings when it came to the witch. It seemed that the hate between the humans, vampires and the witches ran deeper than what it appeared to be. No one trusted anyone and people were being cautious.


    Sister Isabelle bowed her head, saying, "Apologies, Sir Lionel. I had been out to buy some medicinal herbs in the mountains and I returned back to hear the unfortunate news of what happened here. I had to see what happened and what caused the ill fate of the people who lived here," raising her head her eyes met back Lionel''s. The man gave a hmph sound, a small to it.


    "Please don''t step on to thesends unless the order has been passed by the council in written words, Sister Isabelle," the being the eldest councilmen in the group, Lionel was in charge of this. A direct superior and reporte of Leonard.


    "I will keep that in my mind," Sister Isabelle bowed her head.


    Seeing that the councilman finished speaking to the white witch, Sullivan took the opportunity to step into the conversation, "This is Vivian, she has applied for this year''s council exam. I thought it would be good to have her tour and understand how and what the councillors were required to do. Excuse her intrusion," hearing her name, Vivian had been alerted and she bowed her head to avoid any disrespect.


    If the elder councilman with the circr ss was displeased with the white witch''s presence who was a good woman with a good reputation around thend where they lived, she didn''t know what retort she would be receiving from the man on her being here.


    "Hmm," Vivian found Lionel give her an overall look simr to how Sullivan had looked at her earlier when he hade to visit Leonard, "Congrattions on passing the first exam."


    "Thank you, councillor Lionel," Vivian thanked him, keeping a faint smile that didn''t feel too much nor have a nk face. Lionel moved away to walk along with Sullivan and have Leonard next to him, who had unwillingly moved his feet away from where Vivian stood. Even Sister Isabelle who had been standing with them, gave them a smile too explore the sight.


    "Is it just Vivian? Nost name to carry forward?" asked one of the men who had was a fellow councilman who hade along with them. The man was of average height, his smooth copper brown hair falling on his forehead, his eager brown eyes waiting for her to reply. He was a human who had joined the council a year ago, his spirit still high with youth, unlike the ones that hade to rust in time.


    "It is rude to ask ady her name without giving yours, Heuren," another man jabbed Heuren''s side while he tried to whisper which wasn''t whisper enough to everyone around them.


    "Pardon me, for myck of tact!" Heuren apologized giving Vivian a deep bow, "My name is Heuren Bilgun. May I ask what your name is, fairdy."


    The council though filled from the brightest mind to the most cunning one, it was wholly dominated by the male poption and if needed to be more statistical by average and pureblooded vampires. There were hardly two to four females who worked in the council and everyone were vampires. With Vivian who had cleared the first part of the exam, it was a treat to the human, Heuren who had only found out of her existence a few minutes ago. As average as she looked to some in the world, Vivian had her own charms which she emitted without realizing it caught the opposite sex''s attention. While Vivian had been hiding behind Sullivan from Leonard''s dark eyes which had been moved from shock to re, the human who worked alongside Leonard had caught sight of the girl as if she were a shy creature who didn''t want to be seen.


    "It is just Vivian, Sir. I have nost name," Vivian introduced herself. Though Leonard hadst time given her hisst name calling her ''Vivian Carmichael'', Vivian doubted it would be wise to tell them to only pique their curiosity on why a Carmichael was a human.


    "Oh. That''s fine, thest name doesn''t have much value than the first names," Heuren responded before putting up a bright smile, "d to make acquaintance with you," the man next to him coughed who stepped forward to introduce himself.


    "Lady Vivian, I am Datan Valentine. Congrattions, on passing the council exam. The second one will be easy too," he encouraged her, his red eyes told her that he was an average vampire. Datan fell shorted than Heuren as if passing by her height with just an inch.


    "Thank you, Mr. Valentine," Hearing Lionel call, both of them gave her a short bow with Heuren''s lips which had been pulled wide before leaving her standing there.


    Vivian released the breath she had been holding back. With no one staring or ring at her. Like Sister Isabelle who didn''t follow the men''s trail who hade to look at the deadnd''s man, she decided to take a trip around again. This time not having Sullivan breathing down her neck so that she didn''t ''contaminate'' anything, she gave a look in the direction where she could hear the men''s audible voice before walking ahead of her.


    The ground was muddy, the soil which had been hit by the force ofst night''s rain causing the soil to turn wet. Every time she took a step front or back, her shoe went in and out of the ground. If one weren''t careful, the feet along with the shoe could easily slip and fall.


    She hade here so far in the day, not seeing anything would be such a shame, in that thought, she pulled the right-hand glove and the next was the left-hand glove. Covering her face again with the back of her hand, she began to pass the houses. The pungent smell of the dead hade to turn viler as time began to pass with the bodies slowly working on dposing on their own.


    Vivian could hardly stand around, forcing herself to take a step forward something came to her notice. With this amount of smell, it could hit anyone in the face unless one knew how to not breathe in the foul stench. When Vivian had heard a noise and had gone to find Sister Isabelle, the stench was still there and she had to cover her face before letting go of it. There were asional times when Leonard''s uncle, Sullivan Carmichael had also covered his nose but she had not once seen the white witch flinch at the smell the wafted across the vige or the houses.


    Did it have something to do with being a white witch? Thought Vivian to herself. With the voices almost turning faint, she knew it wasn''t wise to fall astray as even though thisnd was of no use right now it was always good to be cautious.


    Her left foot came in contact with a stone, kicking to fall into the thin stream like water with a plop that was flowing in a certain direction. Her mind tickled when she saw it. It was odd to her because she knew that the rain was harshst night and for these distinctive lines to still exist without being washed away, something felt very odd about it.


    There was something about the water line, just like the one she hade across earlier. Wondering where it went, she began following the water trail. After a minute''s walk, it seemed like the trail intersected with another line but Vivian didn''t stop there. She continued to walk. Following the line until she reached the end of it but the line connected to another one again. The line she seemed to have walking had moved from one corner to another corner. While the councilmen were busy looking into the bodies and trying to figure out what happened with the ck witches being the highlight, Vivian fed her curiosity.


    As if in realization, this time she walked with the outer line to meet the log she had seen before. This particr line seemed to be in circr nature as she came to the same point where she had initially started. When she walked around she saw two more lines which went away from each other such that the lines touched fiver times.


    "It''s a pattern," Vivian whispered to herself.


    Not able to stop her curiosity she walked hastily with her eyes following the path through the two intersections which happened to meet more lines in the middle of the circle. Like an adrenaline rush, the pattern started to piece out in her mind. It was a pattern in a star-like formation. She had read in the book of ''Untouched Dark Magic'' where the ck witches often used different geometrical shapes which channelled in the necessary energy required to draw and start a ritual of mass sacrifice.


    There was no doubt that this was the doing of the ck witches but what kind of ritual were the witches performing?


    If her calctions were right the number of mass murder that was taking ce, it was for a certain goal which was yet to be achieved by whoever was nning on it. The newsletter had spoken about the murder but it had failed to give full information which would again stir up the vige and town folks rumours. When Sullivan had been looking at the bodies with his ''clean'' hands, she had heard him murmur and mutter while looking at the bodies that some had died without being touched while the rest had been killed by slicing their throats.


    Wanting to find Sister Isabelle so that she could give the information and discuss with her as she doubted the councilmen would take advice from a woman like her who was yet to be qualified to be a councilwoman.


    Before she could go searching for the white witch, she came to discern that she hadn''t found her when she was following the path of the water line.


    Had she already left? she asked herself.


    "Lady Vivian," one of the men called her. Looking over her shoulder she saw it was the man named Hueren who came to walk towards her, "What are you doing alone here?"


    But Vivian had her own question for him, "Excuse me but do you where Sister Isabelle is? I seem to be having trouble finding her," she gave him an apologetic smile for cutting through his question.


    "Ah, Sister Isabelle? I don''t reckon I know but we can find her together," the human councilman proposed the idea and to his delight, she nodded her head in agreement. They began searching for her but apparently, it seemed that the woman had left already. With a slight amount of dejection, she sighed internally, "Are you alright, mdy, would you want me to go fetch you water? There must be some in the carriage."


    "I am fine, thank you," she gave him a polite smile and the man beamed like a candle which could be blown away if Leonard stepped into the picture to see Vivian being wooed.


    Councilman Heuren Bilgan looked at the tired expression of the fairdy and spoke, "It is verymon to feel nauseated in the presence of so many dead bodies. The first time always gives you a headache in the dead man''snd," Vivian only smiled as she contemted if it was right to tell everyone present here about what she had found out.


    Remembering something Leonard had told her during their stay in the inn when they had gone to pay and give theirst respects to Charlotte Easton, she held back her tongue. There was a spy in the council and they were still trying to find the imposter.


    Even if she didn''t say it now, the news would still reach the head council and the others which made it only pointless to keep to herself. Weighing her options she stood quite.


    "Where do youe from, Lady Vivian?" Heuren asked interested to know about her. The woman was beautiful, her characteristics delicate and gentle which made him feel like he wanted to be her knight in shining armour.


    Vivian looked up to meet his eye which stared right into hers, "I-uh, I am from Valeria, Mr Bilgan."


    "Is that so. I thought you must be an acquaintance of senior Carmichael as he introduced you. I have visited Valeria many times, we must have moved in the same circle if you know men like Sullivan Carmichael," Hueren spoke the pureblooded man''s name in a whisper as if if he were to be caught speaking of his name he would be punished for it.


    Not wanting to seem rude to the man even though he was a stranger she had only met here, she asked him, "Do you work with the Duke?" the man''s eyes brightened up.


    "I do. Duke Leonard is the one who leads our team of three," he replied to her question.


    "What about Sir Lionel?"


    "Oh, Sir Lionel doesn''t take part during the job. He is in the process of turning to one of the high elders due to his credibility. He usually works on themission and assessing of the tasks. You must be wondering why he is here today," he smiled when he saw her give a questionable look in the direction of the faint voices they could hear. The man''s smile was infectious that she smiled herself. He then went to whisper lowly, "If you have been reading about the recent news that has been circting, you will find a lot of killings. The death has seemingly increased and it all leads to the same kills."


    "Same kills?" she asked.


    "Aye. Meaning by the same person."


    "Can one person kill so many of them?" Hueren frowned at that, pressing his lips before he spoke,


    "There have been tracks, footprints that were acquired in some of the locations. We don''t know why it''s happening though. Mass death at a time hasn''t been heard in a while," Vivian didn''t give out any information and only nodded to what the councilman had to say about the matter.


    "Hueren," Leonard arrived at where the pair stood.


    "Duke Leonard. Are you acquainted with Lady Vivian? She''s the one who cleared the exam," Leonard stared at his fellow councilman for a brief minute before looking at Vivian.


    "Good afternoon, Duke Leonard," she bowed her head to hide the smile that hade to form on her lips.


    "Good afternoon," his voice seemed a little hard yet quiet.


    Hueren leaned towards Vivian, "If you aren''t ustomed to the Duke don''t mind hisck of words."


    "I will keep that in my mind," she responded back, "Duke Leonard, might you know where Sister Isabelle is? We haven''t been able to find her," a small frown appeared on his forehead.


    "She said she was going to find you fifteen minutes ago."


    "She must have perhaps gotten busy whileing to search for Lady Vivian," Hueren stated but Leonard found it odd that she hadn''t gotten back to Vivian. Sister Isabelle wasn''t the kind to go astray. His eyes then fell on Vivian''s hands where the gloves hade off.


    "Did you find?" he asked directly while ignoring Hueren''s confused look at the question which was directed to Vivian.


    "I didn''t touch anything," he gave a curt nod to her. Knowing Vivian, she would have jumped in the opportunity to find what had happened. Out of nowhere, Vivian then suddenly turned back in a certain direction.


    "Give me a moment please," she bowed at both the men and ran in the direction she had turned.


    Picking up the front of her dress Vivian ran to the house she had been told off by Sullivan Carmichael. She didn''t know why she hadn''t thought about it before as she hurried. Two pairs of boots followed her closely.


    The room. The room they had been and the room she had found Sister Isabelle standing there and looking at something.


    Was it too coincidental that she happened to find her in the same room?


    Having been a little familiar due to the earlier exploration, she found the house and pushed the door open to notice that the woman whoid on the floor was missing now. But there was something else thatid on the floor. Something gooey and lumpy meat which had melted due to extreme exposure to heat.


    She couldn''t stop herself from scrunching her eyebrows at the sight of it. Having never seen something like this, it raised the bile in her stomach making her almost vomit which she tried to hold back as she covered her nose.


    Her eyes falling on the wooden box which she had seen Sister Isabelle drop when she hade to see who it was, she walked towards it while keeping her distance from whatever was on the ground. Not waiting, she ced her hand on the box to feel a memory which she tried to read but it was hard to pick up on as it was hazy and blur.


    Not taking note of Leonard and Hueren who had arrived in the room, she took a deep breath, trying to rx she finally felt herself seep into memories which weren''t clear but enough to clear her doubt. Her heart pounded in her chest. Opening the carved wooden box, she found it to be empty.


    Turning around slowly her eyes met Leonard''s, he asked, "That wasn''t Sister Isabelle, was she?"


    Vivian shook her head. That wasn''t Sister Isabelle.

 Chapter 144 - Girl With The Gloves- Part 3

    Heuren who had pleasantly introduced the fair maiden to his superior had suddenly turned confused when he heard her excuse herself to see her run away from there. Seeing the Duke follow her he had trailed behind them to see the fleshy gooey mass which he saw lying on the floor.


    He heard Duke Leonard ask Lady Vivian when she had turned to look at him, "That wasn''t Sister Isabelle, was she?" to this, thedy shook her head which further confused him.


    Being a follower of God, Hueren often visited the church which Sister Isabelle was part of. He had seen and spoke to the white witch sever times which was why he understand why they had doubt on she wasn''t Sister Isabelle. Unless...his face snapped to ask the Duke,


    "Switcher?" he looked baffled as he asked this.


    "Get Lionel here immediately," Leonard ordered his subordinate who stared at the mass of flesh, taking a step back he hurried to fetch the experienced councilman while giving the couple time to talk. With Hueren gone and would return back soon, there wasn''t much time to discuss before the other councilmen woulde to question, Leonard took a couple of steps forward to look down the floor.


    "Is this Sister Isabelle''s..." trailed Vivian.


    "The switcher impersonated her and shed her persona which the person picked up. What did you see?"


    "I..." she tried to gather her thoughts as the whatever images that hade in front of her eyes hadn''t been clear enough but she felt herself gulp. As if someone had pped her across her face and the impact was still ringing through her cheek and mind. A drop of tear slid down her eye as she thought about it.


    When Leonard'' eyes moved up, concern fell over his face at seeing the single drop of tear that fell down on her cheek, "Vivi?" he stepped closer to her to make sure she was alright. Hearing the footsteps that came to approach them, Vivian wiped the tears. blinking her eyes several times and taking two steps back such that when the men arrived at the little house, there was a good amount of distance between them.


    The councilmen''s eyes widened in shock to see the disintegrated fluid of body which had its own smell from the dead.


    "What happened here?!" asked Lionel looking at Heuren first who hade to call him urgently asking him to follow him and then at Leonard.


    "Councilman Lionel, this is a switcher''s shredded body after use," hearing this the man with the monocle narrowed his eyes.


    "I can see that. Where is Sister Isabelle? Get her here to verify this," before further orders could be given, the man himself looked at the cloth as if he had seen someone wearing it. His narrowed eyes widened again, "There was a switcher among us!" his voice was hard, disappointed that he hadn''t realized it until now, "How did you find out?" he asked looking at them, his eyes falling back at Heuren where the human''s gaze fell on Vivian.


    "You girl," called Lionel, "Do you know what happened?"


    Not waiting for Vivian to take the arrow, Leonard stepped in to answer, "We were trying to find Sister Isabelle as Lady Vivian wanted to speak to her."


    "I can''t believe the switcher was so close yet none of us doubted the person''s identity. At this rate, we can trust none here and only rely on proof," as Lionel said this, Vivian remembered what Leonard had said to her before taking up the first exam of the council. He had asked her to trust no one but herself. The pureblooded vampire, Lionel looked frustrated to think that the switcher had slipped through and under their nose while fooling them sessfully. Rubbing his temple for some time as if in deep thought he dropped his hand, "Wasn''t it reported that the switcher sheds the skin in istion which was where most of the masses of clumps-" he looked at the ground, "-were found in the forest."


    Leonard answered the councilman''s question, "It is true. The switchers do shed their skin in istion and away from the eyes but there has been a recent record that was found that the skin was found behind the tower clock. There must be a time limit for them to adorn the face of a person before they go back to the way they are."


    The councilman with monocle sighed, looking at everyone in the room, he said to Sullivan, "This is why we don''t bring outsiders to the dead man''snd or any other tasks which the council are working on," Vivian knew that he was talking about her as the man came to meet her gaze, "It must have been a wonderful time to have to spend here but it would be best for ady like yourself to go back home. Let the men handle it from here," with the tone of his voice, Vivian noted that he was one of the men who looked down on females taking part in the job. Her hands clenched together, biting back any remark which would cause a problem.


    "I apologize for the inconvenience caused, Lionel," Sullivan bowed his head in apology, "Let me take thedy back home," he smiled, a cunning smile forming on his lips.


    "That''s alright. Women are easily curious and want to know and think they can solve. Mdy, I would ask you toplete and pass the exam. You can then partake in these jobs if you''re still eligible," remarked Lionel.


    "Let us take our leave," Sullivan bowed at them. Sullivan and Lionel both belonged to the pureblooded vampires but to be a councilman earned a great deal of respect among the creatures.


    Hueren looked at Lionel as if he were an enemy who was sending away the woman whom he was yet to be acquainted with. He had never liked Lionel due to his pureblooded pompous attitude. He wanted to object but the boy was a mere human being who had been admitted to the council a year ago due to which hecked the experience the other had.


    But when he heard his senior speak, it was a sign of hope that came to form in his mind.


    "If it weren''t for the Lady we wouldn''t have known that Sister Isabelle''s switcher could be found here. I must say we should give her credit for noticing something strange which the rest failed to see," reasoned Leonard who was holding the box which Vivian had picked previously, "Isn''t that right, Heuren?" the human nodded his head, agreeing to what his senior said.


    "Is that so?" Lionel rubbed his chin which had a small patch of beard. Turning to look at Vivian, he said, "If it is true then maybe the girl with the gloves can stay but Sullivan, I would like you to leave as it''s only for the councilmen. The girl is a witness and I will have to interrogate what she has to speak before sending her home."


    Sullivan didn''t disagree to it. He gave a bow a sharp bow and left them be.


    "Datan," hearing the man''s name, he went out to make sure that Sullivan was getting on the carriage while also keeping a lookout around the house and the area. Did you converse with the woman before we arrived here?"


    "Our words were minimum. She looked surprised when I saw her," Lionel''s eyes furrowed at her short answer, it made him wonder if he should send her back home right away as well. People with no use of help was only going to be a burden and a hindrance.


    "Of course, she would be. For her to take the appearance of a white witch without much effort, she should have already known that the council would take time to get here before they would survey thends. She wasn''t expecting anyone to be there and it must havee to be more than surprise."


    "But," this caught Lionel''s attention. Everyone in the room hanging on her words which were going to be uttered.


    "But what?" asked the man with a monocle, the eye scrunching in question.


    "When I came here to see who it was, I remember seeing her look at the wooden box and when noticed my presence, she ced the box down," before he could ask her what it contained she said, "There''s nothing in there. It must have been there but whatever it was, it isn''t there anymore."


    Lionel dropped the arrogance he previously carried as he tried to get the information on what the human knew. The mass death was not a meager issue that could be solved easily as the councilmen were working on getting the matter handled but death was everywhere. They needed all the clue possible to solve what, why and who was causing it.


    "She didn''t take it with her?" asked Lionel.


    "The person who posed as Sister Isabelle didn''t touch it after we entered the room."


    "What makes you think there was something in that measly looking box?" Vivian didn''t know how to answer it. She couldn''t tell what she saw, she couldn''t tell the councilman that she was physic with the ability to read memories from objects and people. Though it had been hardly a few hours of time she had spent with the white witch, she had tried to understand and learn to control what she could and shouldn''t read.


    "Because there are two other things you need to know, councilman Lionel," she took a stance as she turned to look around the room, "Senior Mr. Carmichael and I had already passed through this particr room before the switcher arrived. Thest time I saw, there were three bodies in this house."


    Leonard then stated, "There is only one now," Vivian nodded her head.


    "There were a child and a woman," she confirmed.


    Hueren then asked, "Why would a switcher want two bodies? Dead ones are of no use unless they are going to mimic them. Do you think it''s the work of the switcher? It''s hard to piece to why a switcher would want to kill so many of them."


    "It isn''t a switcher''s job," interveined Leonard, slipping the box of wood in his cloak, "Mass murders have nothing to do with switchers but the ck witches. Deaths, when added together, creates energy which is harnessed by them, "Our best guess is that the switcher and the witches are working together. As it would be quite a coincidence for a switcher to pick a white witch''s appearance out of everything."


    "You said two things. What is the second one?" Lionel reminded her of what she said a few minutes ago. Vivian felt somewhat proud when the experienced man who had previously wanted to send her home due to herck of knowledge as well as for being a female now was wanting answers from her.


    Vivian said, "If you look into the houses. There''s nothing but dead bodies and the smell. There are bodies which had been shed but at the same time, there are bodies which haven''t been touched. As if they died out of illness without any assault," she exined it while stepping out of the house. One because she couldn''t take the sight or smell of the bodies and the melted body thatid amass. Two because she wanted to show them something that couldn''t be seen while standing inside the house, "As Duke Carmichael stated, the switcher might have known about something and there''s a possibility that he or she came to retrieve something from here. There are some books that have been recorded with readings whiche to ovep with each other to tell how mass murder or the massacre has been tried to achieve superior power for the ck witches."


    "But anybody can kill anyone. There have been murders taking ce everywhere," Hueren put his doubtful thought across them, "They could harness the energy from anywhere."


    "Unless what the witch is trying to achieve isn''t working. To kill a lot of people without touching will take a lot of effort if it is done by the voodoo magic. There must be something like a web of to be able to perform such a deed,"mented Leonard with a grave expression that adorned his handsome face.


    "It''s a pattern," Vivian answered him, "One of the old newsletters speaks of how there was a murder being attempted in a house by the ck witches who had never entered the house."


    "Pattern?" asked Lionel intrigued.


    "Here. If you follow the water line, you wille to see this where a circle has been drawn with inlines that intersect each other," Vivian responded back to look down at the ground with the water that ran in the stream. If one didn''t look down it might have looked like a normal thing to happen after a rainy day. Also because the stream didn''t run at the center but near the edge of the houses. Seeing the confused expression, she went to one corner of the narrow path and picked up the stick. She drew what she knew and had seen, "This is what we are standing at," she pointed one side of the circle star she had drawn, "It''s a designed pattern to pull and destruct anything that lies within it. With a few right spells by the ck witch and some of the necessary criteria which ask for blood, the moon the witches tried to bring themselves back in power but my guess is they haven''t been able to do it. They must be missing a link to finish the spell."


    "Hmph," grunted Lionel unhappy with what he heard yet d to have made the human stay back, "For a woman of your capability I must say I am impressed,"plimented the pureblooded councilman, one of his eyes holding on to the monocle like a shield, "Datan. Go find what is this pentagram which Lady Vivian speaks of. Find it in the rusted libraries of the town and the parchment makers."


    "Yes, Sir," the councilman obliged.


    Seeing that they had covered most of the ground, Heuren asked Lionel, "Would we be required to stay here?" the human councilman had been standing in the corner and listening to thedy''s theory in an awestruck face. Most of the women he had met and was attracted to were always delicate and fragile, so was this woman but she showed strength and intelligence which had a charm of its own.


    Looking at the dainty woman who looked much rxed than when Lionel had put her in the spot Hueren decided to propose for everyone to get back to the council or to their home.


    "It won''t be necessary. The guards must be on their way to pick up the bodies," Lionel replied back and then turned to speak to Vivian, "Thank you for your cooperation, Lady Vivian."


    "It was my pleasure," Vivian bowed her head.


    Before Hueren could propose to ask Vivian to see her home as she had no ride to go back in as the carriage she hade in was not there, Leonard spoke,


    "Councilman Lionel. I will be going to the local first vige which has an old store of books. There must be something that can be found there."


    "Yes. The three of you," he first said and then corrected himself, "Four," he said including Vivian, "Keep what you have learned today to yourself. I wouldn''t like the matter to be leaked."


    "Yes, Sir."


    "Yes."


    "Yes, councilman Lionel," came the unified voice.


    "Good. How do you n to go home," Lionel directed the question to Vivian who was looking at the clear sky.


    Hueren was about to propose to take Vivian home when Leonard cut him in, "I will see, Lady Vivian back home," and the human looked at his senior as if his fellow senior had thrown an arrow into his chest by taking away his opportunity to impress the beautifuldy.


    When Jan heard the sound of carriage appear from the other side of the mansion where the entrance was, he hurried out of the kitchen so that he could open the front doors of the mansion. He hoped it was Lady Vivian and Sir Sullivan Carmichael as they had left for the dead man''snd.


    He didn''t want to send thedy but he didn''t dare oppose what senior Carmichael had to say as he was only a lowly vampire who worked for the Duke now. He knew why his master was worried and with that sole reason, he had wanted his woman to stay inside the four walls of the mansion where she could be kept safe but no one had expected for the vulture toe to take her out. And now that it was done, he worried for her.


    Opening the door, he caught sight of the Duke who stepped out of the carriage, giving his hand for thedy, Vivian stepped out.


    For a moment he thought they had made up but neither of them spoke to each other. Lady Vivian was the first one to enter inside the mansion and she didn''t murmur her thanks which she used to every time he greeted her after she was home.


    The Duke held a sullen look and he dared not ask about how the council meeting or his day went. His nose picked the faint smell of the dead which came from both of them.


    Vivian was too shocked to get her head working at the moment. Though she had held up her ground during the questions which the councilman Lionel had for her, she felt that both her mind and body were exhausted.


    Removing her clothes mindlessly, she went to take a bath. Turning on the tap to the tub, she let it fill in before getting into it. After leaving the vige of the dead, she had stared into space.


    She wanted to cry but not a drop of tear spilled out of her eyes. Why was she not able to cry? she asked herself. Had she cried in the past so much that there was none left? But the truth was that the truth hurt her that she couldn''t digest what she came to know. The pain was something that she could notprehend and her mind was taking time to digest what she saw in the house when she touched the wooden box. Remembering what she saw, she connected the dots slow and steadily that a chill ran down her spine.


    Leaning back, she slowly submerged herself entirely in the water while holding back her breath as she looked up at the ceiling of the bathroom which looked blurred.


    When she couldn''t take it anymore, she moved and sat up gasping for air. Water sshed out as she heaved for air. Holding the sides of the tub with both her hands, she pushed herself. Wearing her clothes which she had brought along with her, she stepped out to see Leonard who was sitting at the edge of the bed waiting for her.

 Chapter 145 - Loss Of Life- Part 1

    Releasing 3 CHAPTERS. Please scroll further to read the next chapters~ Author-san


    Leonard saw Vivian step out of the bathroom with clothes that she had changed to wear which was suitable in the mansion. The dress that she wore was the colour of beige, enhancing the colour of her pink skin on her face as she had spent time in the warm water. He had changed the clothes himself but with Vivian who took more time than necessary in the bathroom which he wasn''t sure as by the time he hade to visit her she had already got inside to take bath, he had decided to wait for her until she returned back.


    On their way back she had looked dazed, as if too tired with the day that had transpired.


    Before heading to her room, he had gone to look for the housekeeper, his ire to high and ready to burst when the housekeeper apologized with his head down saying he couldn''t refuse his uncle as the man had ordered Vivian toe along with him.


    What he didn''t understand was why would uncle Sullivan take her along when she had nothing to do with the matter. He couldn''t help but think that it was one of his uncle''s n of wanting to keep Vivian away from him. After all, he had said that she would be no ordinary human once she wouldplete and pass the exam.


    With them still not on talking terms with each other, he decided to break the ice between them.


    "Lionel is a difficult man to work with for vampires. Harsher to humans. Don''t mind his way of speech," he said to ease the tension between them that had built up for three to four days now, "You were of good help today. Most of us would have taken another day or two, or maybe never if it rained again."


    "He despised my presence," Vivianmented with a small smile that failed to reach up to her eyes.


    "He did," Leonard wasn''t the kind of man to sugarcoat things for her but then there was nothing to hide. For a councilman like Lionel who was of high experience, the man didn''t see a point of a stranger walking around the site where the death took ce who was of no use. Though uncle Sullivan was the one who dragged her there, he doubted Vivian had resisted his words, "What were you doing at the dead man''s vige?" he asked her.


    Vivian who had been rubbing her wet hair gently paused for a mere second before continuing to rub the ends and cing the dampened towel on the back of the chair, "I wanted to go and see it," her voice was quiet and soft on Leo''s ears and it seemed that his notion was right.


    "Why?"


    She turned around to face him, his eyes staring at her where he sat while she stood not moving from her ce. It made her wonder if she had disappointed him in going to a ce where she wasn''t supposed to as he had wanted her to stay put at home.


    "I read the newsletter of the town, stating how there were bodies discovered with vertical shes on the women''s throats," she said it in one single breath.


    "You thought it was that examinee. Jamien was it?" questioned Leo to which she nodded in response, "Did you find anything?" he asked taking her by a pinch of surprise. With the way, he had red at her when he had first found there standing behind his uncle, she was sure she would take his anger upon her once they would get back to the mansion but she was wrong.


    Leonard wasn''t a temperful man but that didn''t mean he didn''t know when to control and pull the leash of me before he would hurt the one he loved. She was the woman who was going to step into the world of the council, keeping her away and asking her to not be curious would be wrong of him to do. As he was the one who had wanted her to be part of the world he belonged to.


    And no matter how much loved and how much he knew on the dangerous world, he couldn''t stop but want her to share the same sky as he did. He was a selfish man. To have her under the same sky would fill up his empty world and she would be the light to his darkness.


    Getting back herposure, Vivian answered to his question, "I couldn''t. I was going to touch one of the female''s body to see if there was a sh on her throat but uncle Sullivan was adamant on I not to touch anything in the words of corrupting evidence," she gritted her teeth in the end as she said it. They had made rounds together but when she had finally taken the courage to touch something dead, Sullivan hade to drag her off as if she were a child.


    "He had a point. The bodies are sent to examine after the inspection, even the councilmen don''t touch anything without wearing specialized gloves that don''t let your fingerprints mark the bodies or mix your sweat with the possible outer fluid of the dead. You will end up falling into one of the possible suspicions if that happens," so that was why thought Vivian in her mind, "The guards are usually there to guard the perimeter so that no one walks or passes through it not that anyone will but it is always good to have precautionary measures. It seems like this time the magistrate forgot to send the guardsmen which I doubt as he never fails to send his men."


    "Do you think they were killed before we arrived?"


    "It might be so," she saw Leonard ponder, pushing himself up from the bed he walked towards her, "It''s an old saying to scare the living away from the dead. ''Death upon thend, death upon the people. Death will pass on to everything that it touches. Ones that haven''t been dead will be fetched back until there is no breath''."


    "Does it have a deeper meaning than what it tends to mean on the surface?"


    "It is a rumoured folklore which has only been passed down through the centuries but," his word caught her whole attention, unconsciously she leaned forward to listen to what he had to say about it, "If you look at thest line of the folklore ''Ones that haven''t been dead will be fetched back until there is no breath'', the lore was made for the witches, for the loss of death that was created. The lore might speak of the witches whoe to look at thends they have destroyed to make sure there''s none alive. If the guards were assigned, there might be a chance that the witches killed them while surveying for any possible living person."


    Vivian wasn''t sure how to react to that information. She had reached the point where she couldn''t take in any more details or news before her mind would copse. It hade as an utter shock when she had found out about Sister Isabelle not being her but to find out that the switcher had taken her form to retrieve something that was in the box.


    Though blurry and hazy, it didn''t take her much time to piece out the memories. Her heart sunk as if an anchor had been tied around it and thrown in the sea in a depthless pit which didn''t have a surface.


    "What did you see there, Vivi?" her eyes flickered twice, moving up to meet his gaze which was patiently waiting for her to answer his question.


    "The switcher knew my name," Leo''s face hardened at this revtion.


    She hadn''t observed it before as she wasn''t familiar with a switcher but there was a light sheen of sweat like a glistening shine on the skin of the switchers she hade across. And she was sure every time she had met it was the same switcher.


    '' "Sister Isabelle!" Vivian had eximed looking at the white witch.


    "Good afternoon, Vivian," the switcher had dropped the box with a slight amount of confusion on his face, "I wasn''t expecting you here."''


    Leonard asked her, "What did you see, Vivi?"


    "The switcher, he, I have met him more than twice," she told him biting her lips. Leonard frowned, waiting for her toplete what she was saying. Her eyes brimming up with tears, "The man, he and I spoke. Here in this very mansion."


    As if in realization, Leonard himself felt a prick in his heart as he confirmed, "He was impersonating Paul," Vivian didn''t nod her head nor deny at his statement, "When was the memory part of?" he asked her.


    "During the time of your birthday. The day..." she didn''t continue to say as no one wanted to remember what had taken ce that day or night. No one would have known or have realized about it. At that time, they didn''t know about the existence of a switcher. As if going back to the memory she saw herself digging next to the pir to make way for the creepers that had twirled around the white cylindrical walls, "I was cleaning the walls that had picked up mud when the man came to advise me on what to do. He looked at the mansion as if he hadn''t seen it before, mentioning about cleaning the windows even though they were cleaned the previous week. I thought I saw him in the market ce but took it to be my imagination as I had seen Paul die in front of me."


    She took a deep breath in an effort to not let her emotions guide but her lips trembled. Drops of tears fell down her cheeks, as if a lid that had been opened, the tears spilt on her pale cheeks. She hupped, "Paul h-he was framed. It was the switcher who took his form. You said y-you and the councilmen looked into it. But he died. Paul and his family were innocent," when Leonard took a step forward she shook her head. Wiping the tears with the back of her hand, she looked away with her eyes closed.


    She knew there was nothing that they could have done. No one could have known about the switchers taking forms and using innocent men and women to do their work. How could one doubt if the person was real or not? She had spent the entire day with Paul, asking him about what to do but not once had she found it suspicious enough to feel that he wasn''t Paul.


    When Leo raised his hand to reach out tofort her, he heard her say, "I...need time."


    The hand that had lifted up to touch her folded back to form into a tight fist and let it fall to his side.


    He would have allowed to give her the time she needed but they couldn''t keep taking time off every time something happened between them.


    She might have asked for time and he knew somewhere deep down where she wanted to me him, me him for not listening to what she had said on Paul''s innocence. The guilt of killing a caretaker of his who had been loyal until the end would slowly seep into his mind, the guilt of not able to save people around him, the guilt mixing in his blood as he remembered the smile he had offered Vivian before he was hung to death.


    "I am sorry," he apologized, every word he spoke was genuine and tainted with guilt.


    She shook her head, "Don''t," when she opened her water filled eyes, she noticed the sadness in his eyes, "Why is this happening with us? Why are losing so many people around us," thest words were swallowed by her hups.


    Despite her being upset and asking for the time, Leonard stepped into her space and continued to apologize, "I am sorry, Vivi," putting his arms around her, he hugged her and not a secondter she broke down. Tears, silent cries and hups that took time to calm her down as he ran his hand over her head.

 Chapter 146 - Loss Of Life- Part 2

    Moments passed before Vivian had calmed herself. Leonard pulled his kerchief to wipe her tears and handing it to her so that she could blow her nose.


    "Do you want to rest?" he asked, seeing the rims of her eyes that had turned red.


    "I won''t be able to sleep," she whispered.


    "It''s okay. I will be here," he assured her, "As long as you want me here," and even after that, thought Leo to himself.


    "The switcher, he came to retrieve the potion from the box in the vige."


    "Potion?" his eyes started to narrow at the mention of the potion.


    "The person you mentioned about infiltrating the council, that was the person we met today in the dead man''s vige. Paul, Sister Isabelle and another councilman. Unfortunately, I couldn''t see who he is impersonating in the council," when Leonard had found out about Sister Isabelle being impersonated, he had guessed it to be so as a councilman''s attendance to a certain ce wasn''t fixed. They were sent only after the discussional meeting and today it happened to finish in less than a few minutes, "The witch and that person are working together."


    "Just one witch?" Vivian nodded to her head, "Did you see her?"


    "I couldn''t," she wiped her tears which was stuck to hershes. Sniffing, her eyebrows contoured together, "It was really hard to read from the box. I tried my best but it was as if only those fragments were left on it."


    "I know you did your best," he patted her head, "You did wonderful today, Bambi and I am very proud of you for standing your ground and noticing things which rest of us failed. With your help, we''ll be able to save a lot more lives," which was true. People like Paul could be saved than being framed for something they were not responsible for. Before he could say what he wanted to say, Vivian spoke first,


    "I understand why you did what you had to do," her ck eyes peered up at him. Though she wasn''t in the same wavelength as him, she understood his actions.


    After putting Vivian to sleep at night by spending time next to her in silence, he had gone to walk towards the balcony of the room.


    Leonard knew Vivian couldn''t stay mad at him for long. The fact that their cold fight had gone and stretched for three days must have been a record as it was the longest time they had gone not speaking to each other. Vivian was the kind of person who couldn''t stay angry long and it was always Leonard who got angry, not her. She was the calmer person while he was the boy who crashed every and anything out of pure rage.


    He remembered her crying, asking him to look at Paul''s crime which he had done without fail but everything had pointed out to his previous housekeeper. There was not a hint that could have proved the innocence of the man. Leo himself wanted it to be untrue when he had heard about it but the heat at that time had been too much to handle. To lose someone in front of your eyes was one thing, to kill the person yourself was another.


    For a man of his calibre, it wouldn''t have been much but he was still a person who had emotions behind the handsome passiveness face of his. And though sleep wasn''t necessary for a vampire, one needed rest but it had been a while since he had slept well.


    Some of the nights were a repetition of days and nights he had already lived through. It was as if the nail that was stuck to his heart refused to leave and was only hammered more with every passing time until he could let it go only if he epted it to be part of him.


    He had killed ss and Paul''s family for making sure the future wouldn''t hold any harm on either him, Vivian or anyone he held dear though right now there wasn''t many he cared for.


    When he first had entered the council, his first job assignment had been important like any other councilmen. Needing to make sure there was justice being served. But in return to justice, there was only more bloodshed. He had learned the hard way of a councilman. He had killed the person but one of the rtives had killed his fellow councilman out of pure revenge. Lionel being the direct authoritative who was his head, had to step in and kill the entire family to make sure no errors could be left out from the past.


    Leonard carried the guilt for sometime before discarding it. In years of experience, one would only try to seek out for light than live in darkness.


    Before Vivian had fallen asleep, she had told him, "That''s thest potion that is left of in the possession of the witch which was given to the switcher. I think the switcher might use it on one of the pureblooded vampires who work for the council."


    But he doubted it would be used on a single pureblooded family. If the humans could be gathered to only create a mass murder, there was possible that the ck witch who was the owner of the potion bottles was trying to create a mass murder by baiting the pureblooded vampires in a mass killing, thought Leonard to himself.


    With all the potion which was given to the Lord, he had kept one with him to learn about its properties. The potion that was given to Lord Nichs had been handed over to the councilb department which was destroyed. It seemed that the one he had in his possession and the one the switcher had was thest one left before the witch would have to wait for years before creating one as the herbs and other nts that were used to create were destroyed.


    He wondered who that councilman could be who the switcher had taken a form of.


    Not knowing when she had fallen asleep, Vivian sat up on the bed to find the bed empty. Her eyes trailed around the room until it went to find the shadow of silhouette which had formed on the floor due to the person standing out in the balcony.


    Vivian had been upset when she had found out about what she saw. She wondered how many times, thew had punished the innocent who wasn''t involved in the matter.


    Pushing out the covers from herp, her feet stepped on the ice cold marble floor. Padding slowly to see Leonard who stood there. From where she stood, she could see the wind blowing his blonde hair.


    As if sensing her presence, he turned to speak to her, "Get back to sleep. You have a good amount of hours before the sun rises today."


    "Why aren''t you sleeping?" she inquired. It wasn''t one or two time but several time where she had noticed him awake and not in the same bed she would have seen him sharing with her. Did he have trouble sleeping? She wouldn''t be surprised if it was so. With things being so dire since weeks and months, one could hardly have a peaceful sleep.


    Vivian didn''t know how he did it but once she had stepped in his line of sight and near him, he had pulled her by her waist effortlessly as if he was sweeping a feather from the surface. She didn''tin. She had missed the safe haven like feeling by being near him like this. With not speaking to him for thest three days, she had missed him immensely.


    He pulled her even close so that he could hug her in his arms. To feel her, to not only reassure her but also him that she was here with him right now.


    "Vivi, allow me to drink from you," he whispered above her shoulder where he had ced his chin staring at the abyss. As she didn''t respond, it made Leo wonder if she was still sleepy or if she was being apprehensive of giving her blood to him.


    Vivian didn''t answer him but she pulled away herself from his arm, staring into his eyes as she moved her hair away which was hovering over her neck. She made way for his sight so that he could now view her lean slender neck which was smooth under the moonlight which rarely shone down thends of Bonke.


    Unlike the previous times, Vivian didn''t shy away from what he needed from her. Her readiness only softened his wild mind that hade to prowl during this hour of the night with her being presented for him to have.


    Leonard pulled her waist to press to the front of his body to earn a gasp of surprise escape her lips.


    With one of her arm which was stuck between her and his body while the other rested on his chest. If she hadn''t ced it there, she wouldn''t have known that his heart was beating as fast as hers. His red eyes looked dark.


    Leaning forward and letting her lean back slightly, he brought out his fangs which traced the column of her neck before biting into her tender skin to feel her flinch in his arms.


    The prick on her neck waspensated with Leonard''s warm mouth that sucked on her skin which made her shiver in pleasure and in cold. Though it wasn''t the time to feel like this, she couldn''t help but feel the need for his closeness form at the bottom of her stomach. She moved back her neck so that he could have easier ess, secretly wanting him to explore more which he obliged without having the need to be told verbally.


    Her eyes were closed as he drank blood from her neck. Sigh escaping her lips as the pair of lips that was on her neck sucked the skin to bring in more blood into the pureblooded vampire''s mouth.


    Suddenly she felt her legs dangling in the air as Leonard had put his arm around her leg to pick her off the ground to take her inside. But he didn''t stop at the sight of her bed. Walking across the room, he opened the door and took her to his room. Leo didn''t like spending his time here in the guest room and it was only for her sake had he not asked yet to sleep in his own bed.


    Right now, he wanted her in his bed than a bed which was used by the others in the past. To have one''s woman in their own bed was what was right in Leo''s eyes.


    Kicking the door of his room open, he closed it with his leg before taking her to his bed and almost throwing her at the centre of it. Vivian''s body bounced and as she tried to get back herposure Leonard was on top with his mouth back totching on her neck to drink more blood from her.


    "Ah!" Vivian''s voice escaped her delicate lips when Leo bit into her skin this time without using his fangs. His coarse tonguepped on the little wound that hade to bruise. Not leaving it with just one, he bit into another side of her neck until her neck had started to form small patches of blue and green on her skin surrounding her neck.


    Feeling him kiss below the shell of her ear, she felt him pull back such that she saw the trail of blood that had dripped down from one side of his lips. His eyes looked alive like it wanted to devour her right away sending a shiver down her spine. His hair had been ruffled due to the wind which only drew out the wilderness from his soul.


    The way he looked now, it made her think if it was the trouble in his mind that had been agitated to the point that he looked as if he would tear her out. She didn''t know if it would be out of killing her or out of touching her.


    Wanting to temper it down, she ced her hand gently on his cheek. Running her thumb the way he often did to her she felt him lean into her touch.

 Chapter 147 - Chastity- Part 1

    Seeing the wilderness in his eyes soften at her touch, Vivian felt her chest lighten at the sight of him. It was as if she were taming a lion that was ready to pounce on her a few moments ago. Though she was wrong. When he opened his eyes, the intensity in his eyes had not vanished but had doubled thanks to her tender touch.


    Facing her hand to him, he kissed her wrist as he let his lips linger on her skin there for a while. ying with her fingers using his own hand, he tested the strength. Vivian''s breathing quickened when he looked at her without a single emotion except for his eyes that burned into hers.


    "Move in here with me, Bambi," he whispered stealing the remaining air she had been trying to save for her lungs, "Here, in my room. With me," he made sure to convey his intention.


    All this time they had spent their time in their rooms or it was Leonard who would stay in the guest room with her before leaving the bed for herself. To think of spending all the remainder of the night with each other in a single room and single bed, she didn''t know how to respond to his request.


    "It is too soon," she said getting up from the bed as she felt shy by just thinking about it.


    They hadn''t done much as they didn''t share the same room but then their rooms were never too far from each other. The thought excited her yet scared her deliciously at the same time. Before she could run away from him, Leonard caught hold of her hand to pull her back to his front. Circling his arm around her waist.


    "Than it being soon I would say it''s ratherte. Hasn''t your heart settled in yet?" he asked seriously. Vivian turned around to look at him where she sat a little ufortable with the nkets and pillow thatid below them. Noticing her squirming he let her go for a brief moment before pulling her back as if a carnivore ying with it''s food out of boredom, "Tell me."


    "Tell you what?" asked Vivian coyly as she tried to subtly move out of his arms so that she could run and hide in her room.


    "You don''t have to be shy about it. We haven''t done things what two people in love do, and I wish to do more," he whispered thest words in her ear which heated her body just the way he wanted it to be.


    "Leo..." she trailed, her eyes casting down somewhere on the floor.


    His demeanour changed to one of a sullen look but he didn''t give up on not wanting to move her here permanently, "You don''t want to?"


    "I do but...."


    "But what?" came out the clipped tone like a child from Leonard''s lips and she frowned, chewing on her bottom lip on not knowing how to put it across, "We cannot share the room," her words were firm but so was Leo''s resolution.


    He had dyed the time of wanting her but he wasn''t sure how long he would be able to keep himself from not taking her willing or unwillingly, thetter which was an impossible scenario.


    "Don''t you love me?"


    "I do," she answered to his burning question.


    "Are you scared?" he tried to bring out all the possible reasons why she was being hesitant right now. He had seen her naked, Bathed her in the tub with his own two hands and though he wanted to touch her more intimately at that point of time, he had put on the leash to the inner beast that had begun to prowl restlessly within him.


    Seeing her shake her head even to that question, a frown began to settle on his forehead. He had tired with all possible questions as to why she would refuse but they were none from what he asked her. Letting his arms release her from his hold, he moved away from her. Getting up to walk towards the cupboards where he pulled out a shirt which he wore when he had to go out of the mansion.


    "Where are you going?" Vivian asked innocently, a little anxiousnesscing in her voice.


    Leonard began to unbutton his shirt and then threw it on the floor, "I am going out for a walk," came the clipped answer as he wore the shirt. Folding his sleeves he walked around the room when she jumped on to her feet. It wasn''t that she didn''t want to spend her nights and day with them but she had been brought up by humans. Humans that belonged to the lower status in the society whenpared to the pureblooded vampires like him.


    "Don''t go," Leo wanted to stop what he was doing at her words as it sounded small.


    He gave her a smile and it only broke her heart further, "Don''t worry, Vivi. I will be back soon. If you''re alright with it you should rest here as the bed is much morefortable than where you sleep in. But if you aren''t, it''s okay," he said taking the cloack that was hung on the stand.


    Vivian didn''t know how the atmosphere had moved from sweet to one of the cold winters in Bonke. She hadn''t meant to turn his mood away but had it upset him that he was going for a walk in the middle of the night?


    How could he leave her here alone!


    "Leo, don''t go..." she said following him close to the door to which he turned and patted her head as if she were a child, "I am not a child!" what was with him patting her.


    "You will always be a child," a chuckle escaped his mouth. Though he had smiled it seemed that he was still going to go out of the mansion.


    "Won''t you ask why?" she stood in ce with her hands holding each other in front of her chest.


    "Are you trying to seduce me, Vivi?"


    His tant question made her stagger from her stiff stance, "What? No! Why would you think that?" and he sighed.


    "How unfortunate. If that is so, I have no reason to stay here for the night. I shall return back in the morning," he was stopped with Vivian holding the ends of his shirt which he hadn''t tucked in.


    "Why are you being like this?" she asked, her heart in turmoil, "You bring me to the edge of the cliff to only let go. Do you like to see me like this?" her hand tightened on the end of his shirt to only loosen when he turned to face her.


    "Don''t start something if you won''t be able to finish it," his words were calm yet sharp with a warning asking her to not test his waters by speaking the first thing that came to her mind, "I can''t help myself with you. I see you and I want to torture you more, but it would be rude to do it now."


    Torture her? Vivian didn''t understand what he said.


    "Don''t think I have forgotten how much of a child you were by doing what you did because you failed to see what and why I did. I must punish you for it. Much more severely than what I have implemented on youst time," this was enough to make her mouth turn dry and her heart shudder in her tiny little chest.


    She shook her head to rid the thoughts that had begun to form, "You killed him without mercy," she used him.


    "I did what was necessary."


    "You could have given him a much better way to die than take away his life before he realized. You cannot kill any and everyone you feel is a threat," this brought a sour look on Leo''s face. Vivian didn''t regret what she said and it had taken a lot of courage to speak what she felt was right.


    "I can and I will, Vivian. There is no between, no room for mistakes. And if you''re talking about death, he got the easiest and honourable death one could wish for," Leonard had killed men and women in far worse way Vivian couldn''t imagine and think of. If it weren''t for her presence, he would have torn the man''s head just because of the mention of the man who killed Charlotte.


    Both of them stared hard, Vivian staring at him harder until Leo decided to break his gaze away from her to leave. Being adamant, she held on to his shirt without letting it go. Her anger quickly dissipating after seeing him ready to leave.


    "Why are you angry?"


    "I am not."


    "But you''re leaving," she pointed the obvious. Taking a few seconds, she said, "It is easy to be told than being done. Won''t you hear me out?"


    "I am listening." Leonard turned and folded his arms across his chest. He didn''t want to leave but if he wanted to bring her to where he stood, he had to use underhanded tricks to get her to speak to him.


    "It isn''t that I don''t want to share your bed," she started, her cheeks turned pink but the darkness hid it well as her back faced the firece, "A man and a woman sharing the same bedroom before marriage isn''t right."


    She saw him stare at her with no words to offer. As if going through what she just said, his eyes narrowed at her, "How rude is that. Do you mean to say that the kisses we shared and the moments in the bed where I touched every inch of your body," Vivian felt her breath quicken at the mere mention of his words making her nerves weak and liquidating into motlen fire. He took one step after another while she took her footsteps back, "Touching and kissing. Sucking and pulling. Or does it not fall into that teaching what Martha and Paul taught you?"


    "It was Grace," corrected Vivan. Grace was Paul''s sister, "B-but no this is different..." Leonard stopped in his tracks. Taking a look at her before he grabbed her by her hand and pulling her out of the room. Startled she asked, "Where are you taking me?"


    "You will see," he answered.


    "My shoes!" she protested but Leo didn''t stop.


    Taking her to the stable, Leonard went to release one of his horse''s rein which had been tied to the pole. Soon he hopped on the horse and gave her his hand so that she would take it. Pursuing her lips, she finally gave her hand to have him pull her up on the horse so that she could sit in front of him.


    "You''re a pushy man," she mumbled under her breath and heughed.


    The ride was a slow one as Leonard took his time in taking her where ever they were going. Being the time of midnight, the chirping of the crickets could be heard quite clearly as they made their way down the deserted path with forest trees that were aligned on either side of the muddy road. She looked up at the moon that looked high and beautiful in the sky, stars came in and out along with it as the wind blew the clouds.


    Both Vivian and Leonard came across a vige which was fast asleep. The hooves of the horse made sounds on the ground as they walked through the path and little road to finally stop in front of an old church which she had beening to. Getting down from the horse, Leo helped her get down and took her hand in his as they entered the church wherenterns burnt brightly just outside either side of the doors.


    "It is quite early for both of you to confess your sins," Sister Isabelle held antern in her hand with a small smile on her lips. Seeing Vivian''s cautious expression she apologized, "I heard what happened at noon. Sorry for the inconvenience caused. Is there a reason that you have arrived here at this hour of the night?"


    "Yes," answered Leonard. Sister Isabelle leaned closer, waiting for him to speak while Vivian did the same, except that her hand was tightly held in his, "We would like to marry each other right now."

 Chapter 148 - Chastity- Part 2

    Vivian looked at Leonard with her face covered in shock. They were going to get married? She had only ryed him on what she had been told to hold on to her chastity. Forgotten how impulsive he could be at times in solving matters, she hadn''t thought that he would approach the church in the middle of the night to fix the issue.


    "I believe marriage is something where both the parties should agree to it,"mented Sister Isabelle giving a nce to Vivian''s baffled look.


    Leonard turned his face to ask Vivian, "Don''t you want to marry me, Vivi?" When they had left the mansion,ing to the church had never urred to her and nor was her getting married. It was too sudden for her to understand what Leo had proposed. Her first thought was that he was joking but he wasn''t.


    Like many other girls of her age, she had dreamed of her wedding day. Walking down the aisle with Paul as she didn''t know she had a family. Wearing a white rented used gown with a veil over her head and a set of white roses in her hand. It wasn''t a big wedding like the ones the high society held but a simple one where she could spend and share happiness with the people who were close to her.


    She felt her hand being tugged gently, breaking her thoughts and bringing attention to the man in front of her.


    "For the years I have known you, I have loved you all. From my heart to every fiber in my soul. I do not ask anything from you except for yourself, Vivian. Just you and nothing more or less from it. If you allow me, I will make you the happiest bride. That happiest person and in return I will bow down to all your wishes. I will protect you from every darkness that might ur. Allow me to carry your pain," a drop of tear fell down on her cheek as Leonard spoke to her, cing his heart at her feet with sincere words. His warm hand wiped the tear from her cheek, "I will love you more and promise to look after you until and after death. Marry me, Bambi," thest words melted her heart further.


    Vivian stared into his eyes, the dark red color blurring as tears hindered her gaze.


    Father Connor who had been fast asleep had woken up at the murmur of the voices in the Church room. With the night clothes and antern which he picked from his room that had been burning in low me, he walked to the door, peeking out with his head toe in time to hear the confession of the Duke to Lady Vivian. Holding his breath he looked at the human girl to see what and how she would respond but suddenly the girl burst into tears, making him confused.


    Hurrying himself to stand next to Sister Isabelle, the man leaned to ask in a whisper so that he wouldn''t attract any attention to them nor break the moment that had been overwhelming.


    "Sister Isabelle," Father Connor who was more than ten years younger to the white witch asked her to only be shushed away. Blinking he looked at the couple to see the Duke pull Lady Vivian in his arms.


    Vivian who had fallen out of words, felt tears fall down one after another which refused to stop. Her heart felt so full that it was bursting out of happiness yet she didn''t understand why she was crying.


    "Such a cry baby," he scolded to her gently, a smile on his lips as if knowing why she was crying and not needing the confirmation through words on what her answer was. But he wanted to hear them.


    "I am sorry," she mumbled in his chest, the warmth of him calming her down as it reminded her of what home felt like even if they were not there in the mansion.


    "What are you asking sorry?"


    "I don''t have anything to give you," she said pulling back to look at him. It seemed that since the past twenty-four hours she had done nothing but cry.


    "I don''t need anything from you. Just you would do," he said, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I mean it," he said when she gave the look of a lost puppy. Giving her a reassuring smile, Leonard turned to look at the Sister who was smiling at them. As if she were reminiscing something of her own past which had brought a smile on her lips.


    He waited for the white witch''s word, and the small smile finally broke into a wide one as she said, "Alright, you children with love. Come here. I hope you''ll be holding a grand wedding after this, Duke Leonard. It would be a shame not see you both wed in the right clothes and blessing from others."


    "There will be one in the future, a grand one. I wouldn''t want to miss Vivian in a white gown being the most beautiful bride," he said with promise and hope as he looked at Vivian, "Can you wait for that?" he asked her. He hadn''t considered about what Vivian wanted but now that Sister Isabelle mentioned about it he asked for her opinion.


    He saw her shake her head immediately as if she had already decided what she wanted, "I don''t need a big wedding," and she wasn''t saying for the sake of being modest.


    Having brought up in a simple household, she had learnt to keep her dreams as minimalistic and realistic at the same time. She knew building castle in thin air was foolishness and though now opportunity presented itself, she didn''t know who she could call as her own to invite them for her wedding. Sadness crept back inside thinking about the man she believed to walk her down the aisle wasn''t there.


    Not knowing of her own family who hadn''te to search for her, Vivian had no other family and if there was it was only the person who stood in front of her, holding her hands.


    "You deserve the world, Vivi and I will make sure you have it. Maybe not now, but I would like to hold a grand wedding for both of us. Even if the only people to be there would be you, me and the priest," his words were firm, "Sister," he said not wanting to prolong the inevitable any more.


    Standing in front of Sister Isabelle as they held each other''s hand, Sister Isabelle began to murmur something under her breath. Praying for the couples longevity with a smile as she looked at the human girl who looked anxious until she saw her lover give her a reassuring smile. Seeing that Leonard had given a remarkable vow to the girl and the girl who had epted him wholeheartedly, she went to the final words of the wedding,


    "Leonard, do you take Vivian to be your wife?"


    "Yes," answered Leonard to have Vivian''s heart skip a beat. Father Connor stood next to Sister Isabelle his hand still holding thentern as he stared at the trio who were performing and taking part in the wedding ceremony.


    "And Vivian, do you take Leonard to be your husband?"


    Vivian looked at Leo, nodding her head, she answered softly, "Yes."


    "By the holiness of God and his blessings, I now pronounce you husband and wife," Leonard pulled her close to share a simple kiss between them. As passionate as he was in the bedroom and the four walls of his mansion, his affection was private only for Vivian and not for others to see, "Congrattions to both of you," she wished them.


    When the couple left the church, father Connor who had been holding his breath finally asked he white witch, "Is the marriageplete without the ring as they didn''t exchange any," he noted.


    "Sometimes you don''t need rings as proof," a faint smile adorned her lips. As she looked at the doors, she saw something move in the shadow of darkness. She stared at it long and hard until whatever she was suspicious of wasn''t there anymore.


    "What''s the matter, Sister Isabelle?" Father Connor looked at the corner of the church which was near the doors, wondering what she was looking at.


    "Nothing," she replied back to pick thentern she had brought along with her, "It is ratherte. We should head back to our rooms," she informed him.


    "Let me lock the doors. The rain might slip water back in," he spoke worried as he was the one to clean the water every time it got in. Giving onest look towards the doors, Sister Isabelle decided to retire to her bed.


    When both Leonard and Vivian returned back to the mansion, the doors were opened by Jan who appeared a little more than worried as by the time he hade at the doors, he had seen them leaving without a word. He noticed the way the master''s cloak was wrapped around Lady Vivian who wore her house clothes while the master appeared more groomedpared to her.


    Bowing his head he saw the footsteps disappear from his sight as the Duke took hold of the Lady''s hand in his, taking up to their rooms. But something told him they weren''t going to spend the night alone. Not today at least.


    Vivian followed Leonard, her cheeks shy and her footsteps meek. She was still trying o wrap her mind that they had married each other when he took her to his room. She heard him close the door.


    She stared into his eyes that looked as wild as before they had left the mansion to the church.

 Chapter 149 - Crackling Fire

    You can nowment on each paragraph! Long click on the paragraphs or click on the little numbers to share your view on scenes ;)


    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


    Vivian held her breath as seconds ticked by, her heart humming and thrumming as she stood under Leo''s burning gaze. After entering back to his room, he had let go of her hand, the warmth dissipating from her palm of her hand letting the surface turn cold.


    Seeing him look down at his hand, to remove the ring which he often wore on his index ring which was a family heirloom that she had seen Mr. and Mrs. Carmcihael wear; he took it off. The next second he picked up her hand and slipped the ring on to her ring finger.


    "Now it feelsplete," Leo beamed at her with a boyish smile making him look of his age as he rarely smiled keeping up with a stoic face since a young age. She saw him loosen the buttons of his shirt, remembering that she was wearing his cloak she removed it quickly. Not knowing where to ce it she looked left and right as the stand to hang the cloak was on the other side of the room.


    Leo had given a heartfelt confession at the church before Sister Isabelle had announced them to be husband and wife with a quick ceremony. He seemed calm as if things nothing had changed while she came to realize that she was his wife. And as the thought passed through her mind, she felt her heart melt.


    She was Leonard''s wife. Thinking about it she felt a warm fuzziness fill up her chest.


    "Give it to me," Leonard offered, taking the cloak from her hand he turned his back to walk to the stand and hang the cloak there before turning back to her, "You look like a scared mouse," he stated, going to unbutton the cuffs around his wrist and folding the sleeves which gave his appearance a more rxed feeling as he was at the mansion now.


    "Leo..."


    "Yes?" he tilted his head in question of what she wanted to say. Seeing her pause as if she were wondering what and how to speak, he instead spoke to her, "Was it too sudden?" She shook her head. They both loved each other so she didn''t see why they couldn''t marry now. It didn''t matter if it was no orter as it would still be the same. "I promise to keep you happy, Vivi. You are my wife now," he said making up for theck of her words right now.


    "I will try my best too," her earnest response made him smile, the smile that was reserved only for her.


    Her bare feet padded on the cold floor as she walked towards him, going to stand in front of him with both her hands holding each other. Raising herself on her toes she pressed her lips on his. Letting it linger for the briefest moment but the Duke took the opportunity to encircle her in his arms to bring her close to prolong the kiss.


    For a person who had loved the girl forever since they were young, Leonard wanted to possess everything about her. Though he had touched her before now it felt different as there was a ring of her being his wife in the air. The proof being his ring that rested on her finger. His hands ran through her clothed body, feeling every curve while wanting her closer and wanting to be one with her body and soul.


    How long had he waited to call her as his own? Too long. She was his person finally. It might have appeared to be hasty to marry her in the middle of the night but he didn''t see the point in dying it any further. He wanted her and there was nothing more he could ask for in this world. His heart and mind felt settled, a calmness washing over him at the thought of Vivian being hiswfully wedded wife.


    He sensed the anxiousness she felt as they kissed as if she were afraid that everything right now was a dream. A lie and a figment of her imagination which would disappear when the morning would arrive.


    She kissed him back with the same ferocity, her hands went to lock around his neck as her hands formed into loose fists. Her lips moved against his, feeling him tug on her upper lip which was sweet torture as he drew it out with his teeth with a flicker of pain before caressing back with his warm tongue tenderly. Licking the seam of her lips, he slipped into the sweet cavern of her mouth. One of his hand had made through the back of her hair while the other rested on the top of her hip to bring her close to him as they kissed. Tongue shed each other with need, and Leo''s mouth had suddenly turned to an Oasis of water to Vivian who was like a thirsty traveller who had been stranded in a dessert. She was the gasoline and he was the fire that burnt the remnant of her soul, imprinting himself on her.


    Not breaking the contact, Leonard manoeuvred her towards his bed. He sucked and nibbled her lips, pulling away from the embrace she saw him take a step back away from her.


    Leonard pulled his shirt over his head swiftly which was followed with him taking off his pant and other clothing off of him.


    At the sight of him, she felt her heart beat loud enough that she could hear it in her own ears. She looked away from his naked body where she had seen the taut muscles. Though she had been bare in front of him before, it was the first time for Vivian to see himpletely without clothes. Not able to keep up with her shyness she had turned away to look at something less appealing when she felt Leo ce his finger below her chin to gain her attention back to him.


    "Look at me," hemanded her so that she wouldn''t avert her eyes.


    Leo didn''t mind her bashfulness when she tried to hide the blush when he had stripped himself naked for her to view. He surprised her by picking up her hand and cing it on his chest to see her ck eyes widen slightly. It might have been the first time for her to be seeing him like this but he didn''t want her to feel embarrassed about it. They were going to do more embarrassing things in the future than her innocent mind could have conjured which only made him hard at the thought it.


    She was the apple that he had eyed for so long he could remember. A delicious apple that was hanging from the highest branch of the tallest tree and he had swatted away any possible picker who would have eaten this fruit of his. Now that he had picked it for himself, he wanted to sink his teeth and taste it.


    Vivian could feel his firm muscles underneath the touch of her hands, blood rose up from her neck to settle down in her cheeks, "I-isn''t it too early?" she asked him meekly as his eyes held her in ce so that she wouldn''t look away.


    "Indeed. It is too early to sleep right now," she gave him a yful and an using look to say,


    "This is why you married me," he chuckled, nodding his head.


    "That is right. You were the one to bring up the wedding. I only obliged to your wishes. Isn''t that right, darling?" his tone turned to one which was serious. Leo knew she was nervous and if he gave her more than a year, she would still continue to be nervous and try to wiggle out of his arms to run away from him, "Let me take these off for you," he said looking down at the dress she wore and made her turn so that her back faced him.


    cing his hands on her waist he brought her close to lean forward and catch the little piece of metal with his teeth to unzip her dress. The zipper made a pur like sound as it went down till her lower back. Pushing the parted material away as he stood back up he helped her slide it down to fall down around her feet.


    The fire continued to crackle in the firece when Vivian felt him pull her almost naked back towards his bare front to feel the warmth as she stood there wearing only her underwear. She could feel his hardness on her buttock cheeks that had settled itself in between snuggly making her breathy. She felt him sway their bodies gently which provided the necessary friction to the need that hade to brew between them.


    Running his hands up and down her waist his lips attached to her shoulder, peppering kisses all over the skin and up to the back of her neck one kiss after another. Vivian sighed blissfully in his arms until she cried out of the dull pain which was caused due to Leonard biting her earlobe. He bit and suck her earlobe. First tenderly, and as she fell into a state of euphoria, a sting of pain brought her back to reality.


    "It hurts," she whined softly.


    "It was meant to hurt," he nibbled her ear to go back to kissing the nape of her neck.


    When he turned her around she looked up at him with those innocent ck eyes of her as if waiting for his word on what to do. Wanting to tease her, he cocked his head, "It''s okay to look down, Bambi. You need to familiarize yourself with it as you''ll be seeing it often," at his words, Vivian felt as if the temperature of the room had skyrocketed.


    She gulped as he waited for her instead. Waiting to see if she would obey his words, "Give me your hand," he spoke to her sweetly and when she did, he guided it down to his chest and then to his stomach. Moving it further down she touched his manhood which felt warm and hard in her hand, "Don''t be scared."


    "I am not," she replied back while keeping her ground to not be intimidated. She took the courage to look down at the pulsing length in her hand.


    "Stroke it," he guided her to move his hands on top of hers.


    Vivian was thankful to have him say what was to be done as it gave a push of motivation to her due to her beating heart that about to jump and run away. Feeling him move his hand up and down, she followed it on cue, his hand slowly letting go of her hand as she continued her hand movements. Remembering what she had seen in the night theatre when Leo had taken her there, she decided to increase her speed.


    Peeking up she saw his head which was thrown back with his eyes closed to only be opened timely to look at her and she couldn''t look away. His lips parted, a sigh escaping his lips which fueled her enthusiasm in pleasing him after seeing the pleasurable look on his face.


    Her hand suddenly stopped when Leo caught hold of her wrist to stop her from moving any further, "Is it not right?" she asked him worried that she had done something wrong.


    "You did more than well," he kissed her cheek and then pulled her to him as his hardened length pressed on her stomach. He trailed his finger across her lips, staring and taking in her features when he pushed a finger into her mouth while giving her a heated look. Wanting to do what she had seen the actress did to the actor on the stage that day, she tried to speak.


    She mumbled something, making him cock his head in question as he pulled out his finger that had pressed down on her tongue.


    "I want to do it too," hearing this Leo''s eyebrow arched in question.


    "Do what, Bambi?"


    "Umm, that-me, the same thing you did..." she trailed. He wanted to bully her but this being her first time, he decided to let her off. Seeing her this flustered only aroused him that much more. As if already knowing what she wanted to do, he asked her, "Are you sure? You don''t have to do it right now," he tucked the piece of hair that came to hinder her eye.


    "I can''t?" she asked him to have her face caressed.


    "It isn''t about you can or can''t. You don''t have to feel the need to do it right now to make me feel good, because I feel plenty good pleasuring you," Leo saw her stare at nothing in particr and his eyes softened, "Let''s keep it for another time," he took her to the bed, kissing her on the lips but to his surprise, Vivian pushed him down on the bed with her meek hands so that she could touch him. Seeing him raise his brow at her action, she smiled back at him shyly.


    Like an eager kitten, she hovered over him and he let her to what she felt like so that he wouldn''t scare her away. At least for now.


    Vivian ran her hand across his chest and then his shoulder, bending forward she pushed the blonde hair away from his forehead with her hand to leave a gentle kiss on his forehead. Her lips lingered more in time with her eyes closed before she pulled away to look at him, who had adoration and love in his eyes for her.


    "Don''t kiss me so sweetly, Bambi. I might not be able to hold back myself with you," he stated to see her smile. Her fingers trailed the muscles on his body as she was sitting on top of him being careful. She felt the hard muscles and his beating heart when she moved her hands down. Bending down she left a trail of kisses from his neck to his chest. Running her hand down the contours, she nibbled on his chest, sucking it until it turned red in colour.


    Mimicking what Leonard had done to her, she did the same by leaving kisses on his skin only difference being while Leo was harsh, Vivian''s bites were little nibbles which were quite endearing in Leo''s eyes. Not able to resist further, he caught hold of her arms and turned them upside down such that Vivian had her back against the bed while Leonard was on top of her. Tracing both her hands with his, he linked the fingers together on either side to leave a toe-curling kiss.


    Kissing her until she was left breathless, he moved down to tend to the two mounds on her chest which sought attention that had turned dark. Lowering down his mouth, he caught it in his mouth to suck on them before moving down to discard the underwear she wore by hooking his fingers either side of it.


    Vivian''s toes continued to toe curl further when he slid down thest piece of clothing from her body leaving her bare and open to his touch. As her eyes met him, she received a smile until a gasp bubbled out of her throat with her back arching from the bed as he had pushed his finger between her legs.


    It being her first time, he made sure to prepare her well so that he could push himself inter. There were some gasps she tried to hold in and not too happy with it, Leo had pushed his finger further in to get the reaction he wanted from her. Her eyes fogged with a mist of desire, her lips parted and her hands tried to hold in the pleasure which was churning at the pit of her stomach. Feeling heady with the blood in her veins singing of desire, she sunk herself in the feeling of what Leo provided her.


    Leo dropped a couple of more kisses on her neck and then lifted his head to look into her eyes to make sure she was feeling the same way he was. Her eyes were dted in lust. He saw her blink as if it would disappear the headiness she felt.


    As he stared into her eyes, he saw it flicker with a hint of red which made him frown. At first, he thought it was the light in the room but he had good sight, better than most of the pureblooded vampires. While she was trying toe back, Leonard looked into her eyes which flickered with red colour. It wasn''t dark but a bright red one which appeared and disappeared. He wondered if it was her pureblooded genes that were trying to surface in while trying to fight the human traits of hers.


    After getting back her vision she saw Leonard staring into her eyes as if looking into something with a frown on his face. Noticing her, he gave her a smile and she smiled back to touch his face as if treasuring him in this time of space which she was scared would disappear if she went to sleep and woke up again. The sides of the ring she wore on her ring finger shone due to the lighting off from the firece.


    "Vivi, I love you," confessed Leo to her. Her eyes softened, a smile on her lips as she looked at him.


    "I love you too, Leo," Vivian responded, a kiss falling right on her forehead as she had kissed him.


    Coming to position himself between her legs, Vivian drew in a breath and felt his caress her thigh, "Don''t be scared. It is only the beginning that hurts. It will feel much better after it," he promised with a gentle voice, coaxing her to rx. Letting her one leg rest on the bed, he picked her other leg to ce it on his shoulder so that she wouldn''t close it when the time came. Holding it firmly with one hand, he used the other to rub his manhood against her entrance to see her initially flinch as if expecting pain.


    When Leo had touched her sex between her legs with his manhood she had expected to hurt but the pain never came as he rubbed it up and down. For some reason, it felt so much better than his finger. Rubbing it against her sex was like two stones flicking together to create a spark of fire and when the spark grew into the hot fire, she felt a searing pain making her cry out.


    "Ahhh!!" tears came to settle in the corner of her eyes. Her insides felt as if it were torn, a sensation of burn as Leo waited for her to adjust with his size.


    Wanting to ease her pain, Leo gently picked the leg that was resting on his shoulder andid it down on the bed to lower himself so that his face was in front of hers. He smoothened her hair strands that had stuck out wildly, caressing her neck he hoped the pain would fade away.


    "Shh. Breath, sweetheart," he cooed to her while licking the tears from both her eyes with his tongue. As her anxious eyes sought out for him, both her arms reached out for him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Tilting her face and letting him kiss her as she tried to forget the pain, "Wrap your legs," at his words, Vivian did as he asked by wrapping her legs around his waist.


    Giving her enough time to grasp he slowly began to move inside her. Beads of sweat perspired off their skin with their heavy heartbeats shing against one another. The sheen of sweat glistened in the light, their breathing mingling as moans and sighs of pleasure was what heard in the quiet room. Her hands twisted on the sheets thatid beneath them, with every push her back arched more and more did he enter deeper, pushing himself to want to consume her and posses everything she had to offer him.


    As they continued to move, Vivian could feel her leave her inhibitions and embrace the feeling Leo was giving to her. Gasps and cries filled the room by her and she could tell Leonard enjoyed every bit of her response. Soon she felt something build up and at the same time, she caught sight of Leonard''s face contoured with emotions she couldn''t grasp which appeared sensual with every movement of his. Reaching the height of the pleasurable peak she cried out his name,


    "Leo....!"


    Her lips parted with her head thrown back as she felt him spill into her. Her legs went limp and so did her entire body so that her back finally touched the bed. Her chest heaved up and down, her breathingboured with the amount of pleasure her body had received which hummed its own song. During the time they were connected, with Leonard pushing her to a new edge she had felt her soul leave her body which only returned back when she felt his hand being ced gently on her cheek.


    "Are you okay?" Leo asked her, making sure she was alright and wasn''t in pain. He himself had lost his breath as he had tried to tame and hold back himself at the fear of breaking her. Pulling himself carefully, he saw her flinch and then open her eyes again before he went toy down next to her. If it weren''t for her pleasurable cries that had turned him on where she had called out his name with every thrust he had made, he would have been worried.


    "Yes," she gave him a breathtaking smile. He pulled her in his arms, hugging her close to hear her whisper, "Thank you, Leo," not wanting to tease her when he knew about it, he replied with, "I know," as he ran his hand through the top of her head.


    They didn''t speak further and stayed in each other''s embrace. Basking in the aftermath of the lovemaking, subtle smiles on their lips while the humming of the fire could be heard before it fizzled out.


    Vivian didn''t realize when her eyes drooped to fall asleep but when it fluttered open, the curtains were draped on the windows without being pulled out. It was one of the gracious days for thend of Bonke who were able to experience the sunny day for the second day in a row. Before she could turn around she felt Leo''s arm around her waist with her back facing and his breathing on her hair which moved a few strands of her hair every time he exhaled.


    The embrace was warm and she couldn''t stop herself from pushing herself back to feel his arm tighten around her waist even more. A smile crept up her face, lightning-like Christmas had arrived already.


    She didn''t move yet she could feel as if Leo was still inside her, filling her up as he did a few hours ago. The movements were still fresh from their lovemaking. A blush came to join on her face, and she lowered her eyes to think about what they did, what had happened in the middle of the night. She had cried his name as he had pushed himself in and out of her in a continuous rhythm.


    With the clock hung on the other side of the wall in the room it was hard to say what time it was. Her bare back felt good on his bare chest. Carefully she turned around so that she could look at Leo''s sleeping face.


    The side of his face was pressed against the ck pillow, his eyshes dusting against his cheek with his eyes closed. He looked peaceful as he slept, his dreams must have pulled him deep as she could see the light movements of his eyes behind his eyelids. The tranquillity on his face was something she wished she could provide him every morning from now.


    She continued to stare at his handsomeness, not able to believe that he was her husband now and his wife. How did she end upnding such a loving man who was not only sweet to her but also caring, smart and a good looking man? Her stars must have been blessed thought Vivian to herself. He was the kind of man who wouldn''t spare a look at anyone and here he was who had given his entire life in her hands. To love and live with him.


    "Staring is rude."


    Suddenly out of nowhere, she felt herself being pulled towards him. Had he been awake all this time?


    "You''re awake," she whispered.


    "I have been for a while now," he answered to kiss the top of her head, she nuzzled subtly as she was still embarrassed with what they had done, "How are you doing?" he asked concerned to pull back and look at her, "Is it ufortable?" he continued with his question.


    "Ah, I am fine," she smiled back with an awkward smile while looking at his chest which slowly trailed up to meet his eyes.


    "I am d to hear that," he yed with her back by running his finger in zig-zag haphazard lines. Vivian waited for him as if she were waiting for him to say or do more and her reaction was cute enough to bring a bubble of chuckle through his lips, "What is it?"


    "What?" she furrowed her brows.


    "If you keep looking at me like the way you are doing right now, I will have to continue with what we did. Don''t tempt me, my vixen. You''re so adorable that I might eat you up again."


    "Don''t eat me!" Leoughed at the quick response he received and she smiled to see him smile this early during the day when they had only woken up from sleep. As silence fell over them, Vivian fell into thoughts before she asked with a quiet voice, "Did you...enjoy it too?" she felt bad that she couldn''t return the amount of adoration he showed to her. She had offered to do things she had seen but he had refused it telling they could do it some other time. It would be selfish of her to not please him.


    "I did. Why the doubt?" he asked her intrigued before it dawned on him on what she was thinking and talking about. Picking up her hand which rested between their chest, he kissed the back of her fingers, "I am more than satisfied with having you in my arms. There are days and weeks and years toe where we can take out time in loving each other," he assured her.


    "I didn''t do anything," she said as if disappointed by herck of action.


    "Hmm," he hummed looking at her as if looking like an animal with her ears drooped in worry, "How do you n to please me?" he asked her calmly with a poker face but the girl''s face lit into fire.


    But she didn''t step back and said, "Licking you," Leo kept a straight face while he looked down at his Bambi to kiss her nose. With a grin on his face, he replied back,


    "Sure. You can lick me next time."

 Chapter 150 - My Wife- Part 1

    With Vivian''s clothes that were lying in the guest room which she had been given since turning from a maid to ady, Leonard had asked a maid to fetch her clothes to his room while asking Vivian to go ahead and use his bath.


    Leonard being the male heir to the Carmichael''s lineage and being the sole son of Mr and Mrs Carmcihael, his room was fancierpared to the rest of the other rooms. And this included his bath which was connected to the room. Vivian who had been naked as she sat up on the bed, she had taken all the covers in her hand to wrap it around her body. Too shy to step in the light in her naked self in front of him, she had taken the opportunity to get in the bath when Leonard went to the door after wearing his pants and a shirt whichid on the chair which he didn''t bother to button.


    She had been herest time to help Leonard bath him but she had kept her eyes to herself without looking anywhere down. Walking further towards the bathing tub which was long and wide, she dragged the ck sheets of cover on the floor with her. With a mirror that hung on the wall, taking up the entire space she saw the girl look back at her who was in the ck covers. Taking a few steps she saw the red and blue marks that were etched on her pale skin as if she were bitten by bugs but it wasn''t the bugs but Leo''s doing. Bringing her hand up to trace her skin near her neck, she ran her fingers across it to feel no pain there. It wasn''t just one or two but more than seven of them as she turned around to see her front and back.


    The thoughts of Leo sucking and biting flood through her mind. Every touch of his had brought her alive, igniting her within over and over until there was nothing but ashes left after the burning woods. Turning on the tap, she sat the edge of the bathing tub while feeling a slight difort between her legs which had a dull pain, leaving memories of what Leonard being there.


    Lowering hershes she stared at the tub that filled itself with water slowly. She ran her hand over the surface of the water, ying with it when Leonard came into the room to which she lifted her face to look at him.


    She saw the taunt muscles which covered his chest, the firmness reminding of her running her hands back and forth. He came to turn off the tap when it filled the tub to half the amount of water.


    "Are you going to enter the tub with the cover?" Leo teased her with a serious face and she smiled, getting up carefully. Before she could remove it from her body in her pace, he hade forward to help her unwrap herself.


    Vivian wasn''t sure if she was to be happy that he didn''t stare at her oddly after what they had done or she had to be anxious that if he found her unappealing as he had seen all of her now. With mixed emotions, she got into the tub where Leonard undressed himself to get into the tub himself to take a seat behind her.


    She sat in ce when she felt his hand wrap around her waist so that he could pull her back to him such that her back leaned against his front. A blush formed on her cheeks, with no words spoke she felt him massage her hand which she had folded on herp.


    Leonard leaned next to her ear, cing a small kiss on her neck he asked, "Why so shy?" his voice was sensual and warm in her ear which made her heart skip a beat. Had he noticed? she wondered to herself. Of course, he would have, the marks were dark on her skin, "I won''t know if you won''t tell me, my beautiful bride."


    "It''s nothing," she shook her head to see him tilt his head.


    "Sure?" he confirmed.


    "Yes," Vivian answered him softly to feel a kiss on her shoulder.


    "Do you know how beautiful you look, Vivi? The afterglow of our lovemaking has turned you more beautiful than before," his hand ran through from her neck which traveled to the side of her body curve, "Absolutely breathtaking," he whispered, inhaling the scent of her hair. His hand moved to her thigh to push it away from her other leg and it traced from the inside to only miss touching her core of the sex. This made her feel breathy and she unconsciously opened her legs to make him smile at her eagerness for him, to leave her panting and needy.


    As if realizing what she had done, Vivia quickly closed her legs and this time so embarrassed she wanted to drown herself in the bathtub.


    "I am sorry," she apologized for her behavior, "Ah!" she cried when he bit her shoulder.


    "Don''t apologize for such things. It makes me happy to know that you want me again after what we did even though I can say that you are in pain. If we do it again I might only make you sorer," he hummed but he felt her body shiver at his words and a small grin formed on his lips, "Don''t be so eager, Bambi. I might break you," he whispered.


    Vivian didn''t know why but his words did something her. Each whisper and touch of his coaxed fire into her, as breathing and turning her alive. She was embarrassed to find out that with just one night with him in the bed, she had turned to a wanton woman who wanted to be touched by him. Too ashamed to speak and ask her needs to be fulfilled she gulped her thoughts to look at the water and below it where her legs and his were settled down next to each other.


    But Leonard had always been intuned to how she felt. Even the slight change in her breathing and movements told him what she was feeling.


    This reminded him of the time when he had gone to the vige fair with her despite him having a fever. It wasn''t umon for pureblooded vampires to catch and fall sick just that it wasn''t often as how the humans fell ill. Little Vivi had been eager to go to the vige fair and thought it wasn''t a grand one like the one that took ce twice every year, it was a decent one and something the little human had been excited about after hearing from Paul''s sister.


    Back then the little human was a part of an amusement that had stuck to him and had eventually grown on him to pull out the affections and emotions which she hadn''t felt yet. With not having a pet of his own as he was told that keeping animals fondly which were bound to die would cause nothing but pain, he hadn''t brought a pet home. But how could one not pick and care for a pet when it followed him so fondly all over the mansion during day and night.


    She had been his pet since the very beginning, Leonard told to himself. It was just that it took him time to realize that he had grown too attached to her in time which had turned the tables around.


    Feeling her breathing turn shallow, Leonard''s hand that was on her stomach, gently moved in circles so that she could calm down from the ache she was feeling between her legs. She had been tight when he had entered her and if he touched her now, she would only continue to be sore without having enough time to gain energy. He kissed her neck, one kiss trailing down another, running his nose up against the side of her neck.


    "There''s nothing to be embarrassed about. I have seen and touched every part of you. Don''t shy away from me," he said holding her close to make sure she didn''t sit away from him.


    Vivian nodded her head. She had been bold with her words in the bedroom but now that everything hade to sink in her head along with the way her body was reacting, she didn''t dare to turn her head so that she could meet his eyes. She closed her eyes, scolding herself for behaving so wantonly.


    "Vivi," she heard him call behind her and she opened her eyes right away at his calls, "I need to know when and what you''re feeling."


    Feeling?


    "I need to know everything. If you''re feeling any pain in your body or if you''re sad about something," he took the mug that was on the stool next to the tub, taking water from the front he tilted her head backwards and pouring it on her head, "There might be times where we might not share things because of the uncertainty but I would like you to be as transparent as possible with me, Vivi," Leo was content with the way she was but there was also possibility of change as until now she was in a close premise with not much exposure of people. Once she would pass through the exam and that is if she did, she would meet a lot of people. And as she would meet she woulde to hear a lot of things about him,


    "Promise me you will tell me everything, no matter how small the matter is. No matter how negligible, I had like you to share everything about yourself," he gently massaged her head with his fingers as he poured water on to her head.


    "I thought it was bothersome," Vivian confessed, her eyes were closed as she felt his fingers on her scalp, massaging it in a way that made her feel rxed and sleepy.


    She didn''t recollect every memory of theirs when they were young but she had heard from Paul and Martha on how she would report to Leo with every single detail. Be it getting scolded from one of the servants for not the following work or mistakenly eavesdropping by being in the wrong ce where the guests were doing something she wasn''t supposed to see which included from drinking blood to doing adult activities.


    Once she had seen an older maid break a frame in one of the passageway and Vivian being an innocent child had gone and told it like it was nothing but that had resulted in the maid being punished by Sullivan who had heard it from Leonard. Leonard had tattled taled because he had seen the maid being rude to Vivian once.


    Though Leonard would y a string of wool with Vivian as if she were a cat who had to catch the thread, he didn''t like anyone else bullying or hurting her. She was his and he did as he pleased but no else could hold the same feelings for her.


    His thoughts went back to the time when her eyes had specs of red in them. Could it possible that there was still a chance for her to change back from her human state to the pureblooded state?


    With the work that he had been receiving along with what they were going together, Leonard hadn''t found time to look into her family whom he believed resided in Valeria as Martha would often travel back and forth between the west and the eastnd. He tried recollecting the people he had met in Valeria and in Bonke and there was none he could remember to point his guess on.


    What Leonard didn''t know was that though he wanted to find her parents so that she could reunite with them, out of several people whom he had killed during his job at the council, he had killed Vivian Harlow''s parents.

 Chapter 151 - My Wife- Part 2

    Somewhere it was twisted on how some of the pureblooded vampire children were the devil in disguise since they were little. Like how Eleanor, Leonard''s second cousin had ill intentions on hurting Vivian when she had been jealous to the point she had used her brother that had costed a fang, the same way Leonard was no less when it came to dealing with things.


    Leonard was a quiet person who held in emotions except for the rare temper that came out when he was angered. Being disciple to the Lord of Bonke, he held simr characteristics when it came to the art of maniption but the only difference was that Leonard didn''t use it extensively as Lord Nichs did.


    "What are you doing here?" little Leo asked the girl toe and stand next to her where she had crouched on the ground with her head slumped between her knees. He had been walking to one of the spare room to visit his tutor who hade to teach him about the council when he had found her in the garden.


    "It flew away," little Vivian mumbled, sighing as if the world hade to an end she got up to look in a certain direction and he followed her line of sight but there was nothing eye-catching. Vivian turned to see him holding a book, "Are you going to study?" she asked him in a small voice.


    "Un," he nodded his head in response still trying to look for what she had been looking at, "What''s got you upset, Bambi?" he turned his sight to her.


    "Hmm? Ah, the butterfly!" she replied, turning her head to see if it was still around, "I followed it from back to the front but I couldn''t catch it. It was right here," she pouted.


    "Don''t you have flowers to pick orplete the errands which Martha has given you?" he asked her. She was so childish that he couldn''t help but worry about her stupidity and waste of time. Worse than his cousin sister, Charlotte and he thought she was bad. Leonard was the child prodigy, for his age and kind he held better knowledge and perception around him, therefore, making the others stupid around him.


    A wide grin formed on her lips, happiness as if bouncing of her she said, "I finished all of them," so she had decided to chase a butterfly?


    "Did you learn to write the new words I gave you yesterday?" he asked in a nonchnt tone.


    At the same time, Paul who had been walking by the corridors where the garden was adjacent to it, he slowed down his footsteps to see Leonard and Vivian outside talking to each other.


    Though at that time Leonard hadn''t realized wanting to keep her, his behaviour over her had made Paul worry over them. Surely, the young master didn''t speak to Vivian so openly when they were in front of others, also because Vivian would have hidden somewhere away from the main family and guests. Paul knew the closeness the two children shared between them and it was something he worried about their future. He also knew Mrs Carmichael noticing them together but thedy was kind enough not to keep her son away from befriending the lowly human who was only a maid.


    At Leo''s question, Vivian looked away as if wanting to search for the butterfly, "I don''t know," Leo frowned.


    "What do you mean, you don''t know?" the young boy narrowed his eyes. Apparently, the young master had been trying to teach Vivian what he knew, pouring his knowledge into her which was too much for the young human who had only begun to learn. It looked as if he was ready to give her an earful when both Leonard and Paul who was hidden from their sight heard her,


    "You weren''t there. I can''t do it without you," she looked up with her innocent ck eyes and the boy''s eyes widened beforeposing it back. He turned his head, making the girl confused. He had turned to hide the blush that had formed due to her unexpected words.


    "You must be really stupid to not know how to do it without me. I won''t be here all the time," he cleared his throat and gave her a look to see her y with the grass beneath them with her bare feet. Leonard doubted if she even touched the books. The amount of distraction she was attacked with was something he found to be very intriguing, "I will help you catch the butterfly," at his words, her eyes came lit up in excitement.


    "Really, Leo?" she beamed in question.


    "Yes. That will be tomorrow but in return, you need to finish what I gave you to write without my help. At least try," he wasn''t going to offer his time without getting anything in return. She might have a low attention span for her age but somewhere he found potential in her which no one knew woulde handy in studying and preparing for something much bigger than for pure knowledge.


    "You will help me catch the butterfly?" she asked in conformation to see him nod, "I will finish it soon!" not waiting for his response, she dashed back inside the mansion to her room. Leo stood there watching her run with her little feet, wondering how simple his Bambi was.


    Paul who had been watching them silently saw the little boy smile which took him by surprise. Who knew that the young master had it in him to smile like that. He looked much more alive than a handsome doll made of stone.


    The servant came from a low background, a poor family whom he had to look after and support. Knowing the harsh reality which both the children wasn''t aware of, he wondered if he should overlook the matter but they seemed attached to each other. And if time went by, at this rate, he knew how difficult of heartbreak it might be when they grew into adults.


    The man meant well for both of them and with that reason, he decided to keep them apart for a day or two as a test. As expected little Vivian had diligently finished her homework that night by taking possible help from Mrs Carmichael. Leonard had told her to not take his help but he never told not take others help.


    The next morning Paul baited Vivian of meeting Thomas her new friend who was his nephew. Forgetting about the butterfly, the human had gotten ready to leave the mansion along with Paul who was going to meet his sister.


    Leonard wouldn''t have told it openly to her or anyone but he unconsciously he was looking forward to catching the butterfly for the girl. When he went to meet Vivian at the servant''s headquarters, he came to find her dressed and ready to go out with Paul.


    This idiot, thought Leo in his mind for forgetting his words on them catching the butterfly. It wasn''t that he was interested in catching one, but doing it for her somewhere brought him sce.


    "Where are you going?" he asked in an uninterested voice at her door.


    "Paul said, we going to meet Grace and Thomas. Will youe?" she asked him eagerly.


    "No," came the quick and sharp response. He was irked. He hadpleted all his work for today by staying up at night so that he could chase away his tutor for the day for the sole reason he could have free time but here she was ready to leave him.


    "Okay," she said consciously to feel the shift in the atmosphere.


    Okay? thought Leonard in response.


    Before she could leave, Leonard said, "The people in the vige have ghosts hidden in there," this caught her attention, fearing to linger on her face.


    "G-ghost?"


    "Don''t you remember what happenedst time when the boy went missing," the truth was that it was the witch''s doing for abducting the neighbourhood boy from the vige but the girl wouldn''t know about witches and therefore he twisted it to ghosts, "The ghosts are looking for children to eat them up," at the news Vivian bit her lip not knowing what to say.


    Seeing Paul walk towards Vivian''s room, Leonard decided to stay quiet and give her some time to sink what he said hoping this would deter her n for the day.


    "Paul, there are ghosts?" she asked the servant to receive a confused look.


    "Ghost? Where Vivi?" the man asked at her innocent question.


    "In Thomas''s home!"


    Paulughed, looking down at Vivian who had to crane her neck up to look at the tall man, "No, Vivi. They aren''t any and if there are I will be sure to keep them away from you," Vivian nodded her head with a smile.


    She looked at Leonard as if wanting to assure that she would be safe, "Paul is with me. I will be safe, Leo," the servant looked at his young master wondering what conversation they were having before he had arrived at the little girl''s room.


    Leonard didn''t bother to respond to her words while he internally scolded her.


    "I will be waiting outside, Vivi," Paul informed her while giving a look at Leonard as if figuring out something. Paul had to go visit the market therefore, Mr Carmichael had given his approval in taking the carriage which was old and rusty that was used for the servants during rare asions.


    Vivian climbed on to her bed to get the paper where she had drawn for Grace and Thomas. To show them what she had done and how much she had improved in her drawing which in truth wasn''t much. But then it wasn''t the talent but the effort she put into it which made them praise her.


    With Paul out of sight, Leonard walked out with Vivian once she was done with grabbing everything she was taking along with her. As they walked, Leo spoke,


    "What happened to you catching butterflies?" he asked her.


    "We will catch themter," so she had decided to put that Thomas first and him second, thought Leo to himself.


    Coming out of the servant''s rooms and away from it, they walked heading towards the main door with no one but Martha in sight who was cleaning the stair holdings. Leonard then spoke to Vivian, "We actually keep butterflies in the vase here," he made up a white lie to see her snap her head.


    "Eh? But the butterflies will die," she said to see him shrug.


    "Go look at that blue one," he jerked his head towards the blue vase that was not far from where they were walking, "Go on," he said calmly to her.


    Having calcted her reaction, he saw her bounce on her feet to go to the vase and take a peek but she was short. Going to pick the vase, she was about to look when she shrieked and dropped the vase from her hand.


    "Vivian!" Martha looked at the little girl in absolute horror.


    Vivian looked scared, running behind Leo to see the cream coloured lizard crawl on the floor which hade out of the broken vase. Leonard already knew the residence of a lizard that stayed in the vase as he was the one to put it there but he would have never thought for it toe in handy.


    "What did you do? You can''t go breaking every vase in the mansion!" the housekeeper scolded her in a strict and unapproving voice. She looked around to see there wasn''t anyone in sight, "Didn''t I tell you to stay away from the vases?"


    "B-but Leo said-"


    "Vivian," Martha used the voice as if one would use on their own child for misbehaving and listening to them, "You cannot call young master by his name. It''s master Leonard," she tried to correct the girl, "What is it?"


    "Master Leonard," muttered Vivian looking down with her hands folded in front of her while she stood behind him.


    "Ah, the vase," the woman looked down worried. It wasn''t once or twice but she hade to notice that the girl was terrible when it came to holding on to delicate things in her hand. It was as if her hands were made of butter to drop everything. Due to this, she had avoided giving any delicate work, after all, she was a child but she couldn''t justify it to the owners. Every item in the house was one of value which would cost the wage of the servant. Already tired with work that she had been doing, she said, "As punishment, you won''t be going with Paul."


    Vivian looked up suddenly with a sad face, not only had she been scolded but also been denied to go out.


    "I won''t do it..." came the small voice but Martha didn''t listen to it no matter how cute the girl was. If the housekeeper didn''t rectify it right now, the little girl would only continue to repeat her mistakes.


    Martha had a stern look on her face, "I will go to tell Paul. Go to your room, Vivian..."

 Chapter 152 - My Wife- Part 3

    Martha walked towards the double main doors where Paul was waiting outside. Hearing what Martha had to say, Paul frowned slightly and nodding his head at the elderly woman''s decision. The vase had barely finished a month in the mansion and it was broken. Taking a peek at the broken vases, his eyes widened at the many pieces thatid on the white floor. His gaze moved to find the two children who stood there with Vivian who had her head down while Leonard spoke to her as if he were consoling her. As if feeling his gaze, Leonard turned his eyes to look at Paul, and though he was a young boy, his dark red eyes which spoke about his lineage the servant felt as if he were being judged.


    The young master stared at Paul wanting him away so that he could keep the girl here, "Don''t worry, Bambi," he consoled her after seeing tears in her eyes as she had made Martha angry, "I will speak to Martha," having his goal achieved, his heart felt as if it had settled down.


    Leonard now poured water on to Vivian''s pale skin. ck spots hade to settle on the sides of her back, running his hand on her back and sides he let her lean on him so that he could wash her front.


    Vivian breathed in steadily, her heart calm and quiet along with their silence in the bathtub. Having spent time in each other''s nakedness, she felt less shy under his touch as she got used to him. Leo brought the dried twigs scrub, to dip it in the water before he began to wash her chest region in a circr motion. Washing her breasts and going down to her stomach, he let go of the scrub to use his hands gently to clean her folds between her legs. Probing it carefully so that she wouldn''t be ufortable, he cleaned to feel it''s softness.


    A small gasp left her lips and the sound was a treat to his ears making him want to hear it more. Being selfish, he pushed his finger to feel her clench on him along with her hand that gripped his thigh underwater.


    Her feet stretched in the water, pressing the side of the bathtub they were in with her head thrown back when he pushed his finger deeper.


    Seeing that she wasn''t in pain, he moved his finger in and out to feel the warmth which was of the same temperature as the water. Leonardtched on to her neck, biting and sucking on it to double her pleasure.


    "More?" he asked looking at her from the side who had her eyes closed. Not receiving a response, he pulled away his finger to have her eyes open at the loss of him between her legs.


    Vivian might have been vocal in a few things but there were still a few things she couldn''t outright tell him. She wanted to but she didn''t tell him thinking of how he might perceive to see her.


    "What did I tell about you being open with how you felt?" he wanted her to tell this too? Turning her face away from him, she looked at their feet that touched each other while her sense of pleasure was still high and at the edge. He knew the answer yet he wanted to hear it from her lips. Seeing her reluctance, Leo decided to wait as he could still hear her heartbeat continuously.


    After a few passing seconds, Vivian spoke, "More," her voice came out shy.


    "More what, Vivi?" he tested her and blood rushed up her face wishing how she could have answered him when he first asked instead of making him want her to answer in whole sentences.


    "T-touch me more," she felt a shiver run down her spine when she heard him hum in appreciation.


    "Of course, my darling wife," he pushed his finger back in to swirl it around this time, moving it in and out as the bathroom filled itself with Vivian trembling in his arms until she reached her peak and slumped on his chest, "How sweet are you," he murmured kissing her temple.


    "You bully..." she said tiredly with her body slumped against his chest. A smile rose up to his lips.


    Once they had moved out of the bathing room, Leonard carried her to the b to sit her there as he dried her and himself. Going down to the dining room, Vivian was the first one to sit at the table where she usually sat at. Leonard who often took a seat in front of her in the opposite today sat next to her.


    Jan, the housekeeper had seen the couple arriving homete, having no idea where they had been and seeing it was none of his business he served them lunch but it was hard to not notice something being different between the couple. It wasn''t until he had gone to the master''s room to clean things up did he catch sight of blood on the bedsheet.


    While Leonard and Vivian had their meal peacefully, the front door of the mansion rang loudly. Hearing the door open, Vivian was drinking the orange juice which had been given to her when the Lord arrived with a basket full of fruits in his hand that was tied with ribbons.


    "Good morning, love birds," Lord Nichs greeted them with a knowing smile on his face. He handed the basket to the housekeeper. The couple looked at the man sceptically, figuring out why he was here, "How rude to not invite me during your important time. Leonard, I understand but Vivian," the Lord looked at her, "I wasn''t expecting you to leave me out on your grand day," he looked at her pensively.


    "I am surprised you didn''te bursting through right after hearing it," Leonard instead taunted the man to receive a wider smile.


    The brown haired lord walked to the table to pick up a fruit which was cut and ced on the table.


    "I thought both of you could use some privacy. Naughty children getting things ahead without anyone''s notice," Lord Nichs crunched on the fruit before putting another one in his mouth. Before Leonard couldment on it, the Lord spoke, "Don''t worry it wasn''t Toby," Toby was Lord Nichs'' pet bird who often flew around to fetch information.


    "That''s good. One of these days, the bird might die after I shoot it myself," Leonard stated. Vivian who had finished her meal went to reach out for the napkin when Lord Nichs who sat nearby picked to hand it to her.


    "How cruel, you shouldn''t utter such words. Especially when it''s your first day of marriage," he chuckled. Jan, who had been picking up the dishes off the table ended up ttering it with another dish to which he bowed before leaving the dining room so that he coulde back and clear the rest of the table clean.


    "If you know so much, you should also know inviting yourself without an invitation is rude," Leonard retorted back.


    Lord Nichs nodded his head, "But I don''t think I need an invitation when it is my dear brother''s after wedding greetings," he raised his hand as if to insinuate his words. His words showed the connection both Leonard and Nichs held for each other. Receiving a raised eyebrow look from Leonard, the Lord corrected, "Not brother but my lovely sister Vivian''s wedding. Right?" he asked her.


    Vivian was surprised with the sudden shift in the rtionship between her and Lord Nichs but she was happy to hear him call her sister. Until now, she had never been someone''s sister and to think he had called her that made her happy.


    Seeing her reaction, Leonardmented, "Don''t fall for his words, Vivi," nevertheless she smiled.


    "I am very serious. Vivian, didn''t I give you my word that you coulde to visit me anytime."


    "You tell that to everyone," Leonard rolled his eyes.


    "I don''t," Lord Nichs behaved as if he were used of something he hadn''t done when he actually had, "Vivian, from now I take upon you as my sister. I give you my word that you can alwayse to me for aid at any point and I shall not refuse it," Leonard looked at him with narrowed eyes as if the Lord was scheming something while Vivian had her eyes slightly widened, "You have my word."


    "Thank you, Lord Nichs," and she heard him tch.


    "From now on you can address me as Nichs or Nick. Now that I think about it, I don''t have a sister," as if the thought only dawned on him but then he didn''t have a brother either. There was once a boy who came at the doorstep, iming to be his father''s son and that was years ago when he had only arrived at the Rune''s mansion. It could also be true as his father had the habit of whoring around the entirend of Bonke. Compared to his father Wilhelhum, Nichs had earned a much better name among his public people which only made everyone love him that much more as the previous Lord wasn''t the man anyone would want to call as heir Lord.


    "Yes, brother Nichs," Vivian smiled widely. For someone who had no siblings, she was happy to call Lord Nichs as her brother.


    All this while the only rtionship she had built was one of a servant, lover and a friend but never had she received other affections or names that could be called as a rtionship.


    "Don''t go building rtionship with my wife," Vivian felt Leonard put his hand around her shoulder possessively. Though the Lord had meant no harm, Leo didn''t like her building a new rtionship with anyone but him. And it didn''t matter if it were of romantic interest or not. He hade to believe that his woman was the kind of person who had the ability to turn a man''s affection from one to another, and with the slight fear in his heart, he wanted to prevent it before anything went to bud and blossom in the future.


    Vivian blushed at the open jealousy Leo disyed and she had smiled awkwardly when her eyes met the Lord''s eyes.


    She wondered how Lord Nichs found out about their marriage. She doubted that Sister Isabelle or Father Conner would have told anyone as it was a private wedding that had taken ce in the midnight suddenly. If it weren''t for the crow...then it must have been ghoul, thought Vivian to herself. She had seen something lurking in the shadow but had taken it as the light that created the shadow of the trees and other objects.


    If she had figured it out, Leo must have realized it too. She wondered why Lord Nichs'' ghoul was doing in the church with them. Oddly, she missed the ghoul. At first, she had been frightened to see the strange creature but one of them had been kind enough to help her fix her wound when she had been to the council.


    "Where are they?" she asked out of context to see Lord Nichs and Leonard give her questioning looks, "The ghouls."


    Nichs'' smile faltered as he stared at her for a few seconds, "I have sent both of them away from Bonke for the day. One has been sent to the council and the other to follow someone. I don''t know how to put it right but I think one of my ghouls is attached to you," Leonard frowned hearing this.


    "What do you mean attached?" asked Leo.


    "The ghoul named Everest seems to follow where she goes even after I ordered him to go to the council three days ago," sighed Nichs looking out the window, "At first I thought it was just a one-time thing but seems like he likes to follow her around like a shadow." Vivian didn''t know how to react to hearing Lord Nichs speak about the ghoul that had been following her. And who knew that the ghoul had a name, "I did give him the job to follow her in the beginning but I have errands for him to run which he isn''t listening to. I don''t know if it has something to do with the way I asked him that he still follows my previous order," so this was why Lord Nichs was here, thought Vivian to herself. It wasn''t just to congratte them but to also check if his ghoul hade here to be around Vivian.


    "Did hee to speak to you, Vivian?" asked Leonard intrigued that the ghoul wasn''t listening to Nichs. It seemed out of character for a creature that had never reacted to anything but to kill had started to follow her.


    Vivian shook her head, "I didn''t after the council registration for the exam."


    "That''s alright. Leonard will have less to worry about you once you join the council...or maybe, I shall gift him to you if you pass the exam," said Lord Nichs smiling at her.

 Chapter 153 - Gossip-mongers

    After Lord Nichs, Leonard and Vivian had left the mansion, leaving alone the servants behind with the housekeeper as usual. The maid named Mary who had been serving the food before Lord Nichs had arrived now stared at the gates as the carriage had just exited the tall and wide gates of the Carmichael''s mansion.


    Like the rest of the maids, she had been eagerly curious with the way the previous maid had turned to ady. Ady of high standing which a servant like her or any other could only dream of.


    A servants life was something simr to stagnant water which would not move to another source and would only evaporate in time with no mark of importance. The society they lived in wasn''t an easy one. It belonged to the higher society who called them as elites which were majorlyprised of pureblooded vampires and rich humans. A servant had no value, and only some had the opportunity to turn to a housekeeper or butler and the families usually picked the vampires as they would be able to serve the families for a long duration unless there was another reason.


    Mrs. Carmichael who looked after the matters of the mansion was a woman who strangely favored the humans and waspassionate enough to leave the housework to Martha who was a human.


    Hearing someone clear the throat behind her, she swirled around to widen her eyes at the half-vampire who stood with a dire look of expression on his face, looking not one bit pleased with her wasting her time.


    "Is there something very interesting that you see happening out there?" he asked her with a dull voice.


    Having gotten used to the new housekeeper, in these few months she hade to know not tough or speak in front of the man. Even sneezing in front of him seemed to get on his nerves due to which the people who before used to ck now worked diligently as if their life depended on it.


    After the death of Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, the lives of the servants had changed. The littlepassion that was shown was stolen away because of the housekeeper named Paul who had made their lives as difficult as the other servants who served in the other pureblooded families.


    There were some who wanted to leave after the gore that took ce with one of the maids when she had requested to leave the mansion but that hadn''t ended well. The Lord had killed her as an example of what could happen if anyone showed defiance and this had inflicted fear. Some were forced to work in the mansion, some had no other choice but to work so that they could feed their family while the rest had nowhere else to go.


    At the housekeeper''s sharp re the maid shook her head.


    "Go gather another maid ande up to the guest room. We need to move Lady Vivian''s belongings," move? thought the maid but didn''t stay there long to avoid another stern gaze from the man.


    The maid going down found another maid named Movari who spoke very less. Though she wasn''t too fond of the other girl, she seemed to be the only avable person who stood idly in the kitchen.


    Like the other servants in the mansion, Movari wasn''t an enthusiast when it came to things happening around in the mansion. Especially not the gossips that took ce behind the walls and in the corners of the mansion corridors where they felt they were safe from prying ears of the housekeeper.


    Her friend Hana who had been working with her for four years had disappeared. One night she had spoken to her and the next morning, she had gotten into trouble with the housekeeper after which she never saw Hana again. Hana and the current Lady, that was Vivian had never been on friendly terms, always having friction between them. At that thought, she wondered if the former maid ha tattled tailed on Hana due to which her friend was no more here. It had been no secret that when the Duke had returned back home, he had been around Vivian more than anyone else.


    The girl, Vivian had grown up here in this very mansion, she had seen her spend time with their master as if they were lovers. Though not everyone dared to point it out, whispers always went around behind their back. She herself had seen how either she or the Duke would go to each other''s room at night. If the word about what they did in the mansion was to leak out, it would be one of the most scandalous news in the entire of Bonke. And another secret which no one uttered was that most of them knew Hana had been sent out to be punished for her behavior.


    "Ahem," Mary cleared her throat to see Movari look up with her droopy eyes at her, "The housekeeper wants you toe up to the guestroom. There needs to be shifting."


    Movari who had been leaning against the wall of the kitchen, stood up to start walking making Mary sigh. Even servants threw her attitude as if the servants had their own subdivision. Catching up with the girl, Mary went up the stairs to meet Jan at Vivian''s room.


    When the maids arrived, Jan spoke, "Pick up all the clothes from the closet and bring them to the Master Leonard''s room," Mary''s eyes widened and before she could stop the words spilled out of her mouth, "To ce in Master Leonard''s room?" her mouth was agape.


    "Have you turned deaf or did I not speak clearly?" the housekeeper asked her to have her bow in apology, "Get to work. We need to get it done before they arrive back," when Leonard was leaving the mansion to the Rune mansion along with Vivian and Lord Nichs, he had asked Jan to move everything from the guest room Vivian had been using to his room.


    When Jan left to go to the Duke''s room, leaving them to assort the clothes from the drawers and cupboard, Mary turned to look at the door with no sight of the vampire she turned to face Movari, "What happened?" she whispered in a hushed tone, "Why is she being moved to the Duke''s room?" she asked in a tone of disbelief.


    The other maid who usually didn''t bother with the rumors of the mansion for once seemed taken aback herself with the development. It must have been around two months since Vivian had been turned to the status of ady who had turned to the envy of every maid working in the mansion. Maids like her only dreamed of it, looking at the otherdies and letting their dreams slide down as they meant nothing in this world of the high aristocratic society.


    "Who knows," Movari responded, keeping her speech small and this time not because she wasn''t interested in it but because she didn''t want to fall into trouble like the other maids who didn''t follow the golden rule of not gossiping about the owners of the mansion.


    "Do you think they did it?" Mary probed with curious eyes, "After all they spend time in each other''s room. They must have done it and now the Duke can''t help himself. Lucky she is," she coughed when she heard footsteps approach.


    Taking Vivian''s clothes, they started cing it in Master Leonard''s room where the housekeeper had space by cleaning one of the empty cupboards which weren''t used. Once everything was moved, the maids were sent back and Mary being the kind of person who spread out the news with matters unable to be kept quiet let the others know that had got the servants talking.


    Two servants who were in the shed out of the mansion where they could speak freely without having to worry about the housekeeper, one of the maid spoke as she gave a wash to the horse that had been tied to the pole, "I wish I knew the Duke since I was a child."


    "Don''t even tell me. I have the same thoughts about it. I heard there were new clothes that had been brought by master for her. Her stars must be very fortunate," another maidmented, standing with one hand on her hip with a look of astonishment, "This girl sure is something."


    The male servant who was the one to look after the horses heard the two girls speak and came around to put his own thoughts, "No need to be jealous, Patricia. I am here if you need me," he sent a wink at the girl who envied the Lady''s stars.


    "But don''t you think he''s too wrapped around her finger? What do you think she must have done?" ignoring the man the maid named Patricia turned to her fellow female maid, "The Duke doesn''t even spare a look at any other female. I heard that this one day where Hana had bent down more than necessary to show her bosom but he hadn''t even given her a look."


    The man interrupted her, "Vivian isn''t a bad looker. Didn''t you girls say that Mr. Wells was eyeing herst time?"


    "Keep this to yourself," the other maid came close while looking around to make sure no one was there apart from them to speak, "Two weeks ago I saw her speaking to herself as usual but this time it felt different. As if she were a witch. She isn''t a bad looker but she isn''t beautiful. Lady Shirley is so much more beautiful with a good social standing."


    "Are you saying she is a witch?" the maid named Patrica asked.


    "That''s horseshit," the manughed at the ridiculousness of these two maids. The woman who had implied Vivian to be inhuman looked at the man with a serious face, she said, "I am not lying. I saw it with my own two eyes the way she held this box and then started speaking as if she were possessed. What if the person who was responsible for the deaths that took ce here wasn''t Paul but her fault?"


    Patricia nodded her head, "I can''t believe it but it might be possible. How else would she be able to reach that level of status in such a short span? Master Leonard wasn''t here for a few years. Mrs. Carmichael was nice to us but being nice and letting their only son get with a human is another thing," the male servant who had been standing amongst them took it into consideration as if it were and could be true.


    The servants looked at each other''s face, wondering to themselves if they had acquired a witch in the house.


    One word followed another that along with Vivian who would be sleeping in the same room as Duke Leonard, the spection of her being a witch who was controlling and killing the people went around by the maids.


    Post noon, the housekeeper had finished taking a walk around the mansion to inspect if everything was ording to the ordance of the mansion. Walking through one of the passageways where no one walked much now as the wing was almost closed to the guests with the older family items being stored. Instead of having an attic the Carmichael''s had built rooms to keep their ancestral objects and pictures that couldn''t fit in to be ced outside in disy.


    As he walked past the doors, he stopped and stood there, as if he heard someone speak but there was no one in there speaking. He stood there with his face slightly turned to look at the window which was built from inside. It was as if he was training his ear to pick up something. With no except him and the other servants, the mansion was quiet and deserted.


    Suddenly he took a step forward and leaned in to observe the ss. Looking close at the window where the curtains were closed from the inside his eyes narrowed before he lifted his hand to swipe the surface of the ss with his index finger.


    There stood the minute particles of dust that was on his finger which he had picked from the ss. He had ordered the maid responsible in cleaning this part of the floor yet it seemed that she had only neglected her duties. Standing straight, his feet made down and about looking for the irresponsible maid. Not finding her in the mansion, he remembered seeing her in the garden and with that he went out to see the girl humming to herself and cutting out the weeds that had grown in midst of the nts.


    Just when she turned, she jumped back as if she had seen a ghost with the water sk falling on one of the delicate nts which he had only nted.


    "I am sorry!" the maid squeaked and took the water sk in her hand. Looking at him in terror.


    Anger bubbled up on his passive face which he tried to simmer down. Most of the maids in this mansion were a bunch of idiots with an empty head. Vivian was much better but unfortunately for him, he couldn''t give her any work as she had been turned to ady now. And some of the maid''s had gone andined about how terrified they were to work under him. And though the Duke hated the humans, he wanted peace and quiet here which wouldn''t indirectly make his woman ufortable due to the heavy atmosphere.


    The more the housekeeper continued with his internal thoughts, the more he stared at the maid in front of him who shook with nervousness. Jan''s eyes moved from the nt that had been destroyed back to the maid, "Follow me," he said, turning his back and walking back inside the mansion.


    The maid had to be quick to follow him so that she wouldn''t be scolded for her slowness and inability to catch up. Hurrying she followed him.


    He took her to the wing of storage, walking up to the door and windows where he had previously been, "What is this?" he asked her. The maid gave him a perplexed look. He ran his finger in the corner of the window an showed her the dust she had forgotten to remove.


    "Do you want to die?" he towered over her small frame to have the girl faint and fall on the ground at his scary demeanor.

 Chapter 154 - What Was Lost- Part 1

    She stood behind the dark bark of the tree which camouged her presence with the cloak that she wore, with the hood in ce. Her green eyes stared at the vige, the busy bustling crowd walking everywhere in and around. It was only a few weeks ago did shee to see the changes that had taken ce to the vige yet the nauseous feeling of the past still lingered in her mind and in front of her eyes.


    Somethings changed outwardly while some stayed the same just as it was. To think that this ce once used to be her home. She smiled at the irony her life had pushed her into.


    Taking a deep breath, she took her feet forward into the vige which was the main heart of Valeria, the Westnd of the four empires. The houses still resided the same way she hadst seen them, they had turned rustier in appearance. As she entered the vige with people passing by her from back and front in the streets, she had her hood ced over her head to cover her face. She doubted anyone would recognize her but it was always good to be under the precautionary measure. Thest time her irresponsible action had costed lives and the thought turned her mood dark.


    The sunny morning of Valeria was warm on her skin. She had spent her good years here and though what happened didn''t sit well with her, there was nothing she could do. It was as if her fate had already written itself and this was what to happen. It was as she had told Father Connor. She had sensed danger, a dark omen hovering over the Carmichael''s but she had done nothing to it. Sometimes you had to wait and see everything roll as hindering the course of life would only involve other people who were not meant to take part in it.


    It had been years, thought Sister Isabelle but the memory was still fresh and the pain could still be felt which hurt her heart. Walking towards the main centre of the vige it was as if memory came to sh through her mind on what happened.


    "Mama," she could hear her child''s voice.


    Unlike this sunny day, that day it had been particrly cloudy but it never rained, not a drop of water had been shed until she was gone.


    The friend she thought had turned out to be an enemy as she had tried to expose the secrets of the council. There were some who were causing trouble and when she had tried to bring them to light it had led to where she was now. She could still the fire on her skin and bones as the vigers burnt her in the name of being a ck witch in front of her son.


    Sister Isabelle wasn''t a mere white witch but she was a smart woman who had been cautious from the beginning. Her only fault was that she had trusted someone she didn''t know entirely.


    "Mama! No, stop!" she heard her son cry out for her as the vigers burnt her, setting her body on fire.


    The body she had now wasn''t hers but was borrowed. Having learnt best in her young years, she had separated her soul from her body before her entire body had turned to ashes. Making use of another body she had diffused her soul to it which she doubted wouldst long. A soul without the original body was of no use and no matter how much magic she would use, it would soone to deteriorate. Looking down at her hand, she saw the skin that hade to peel off as if she had an irrecoverable disease which wasn''t a lie.


    Before her body would give up and entirely perish, she had to get those documents which had been misced a few years ago. Those were important parchments of papers she had acquired which had to be given to the head council.


    Walking across the bustling streets she came to walk in the much more quieter part of the vige which was deserted. There had been mass murders taking ce by the ck witches but she was certain it wasn''t everyone''s doing but one certain witch whom she had once locked horns with in the past. Upsetting side of the story was that Sister Isabelle couldn''t recollect the ck witch''s name nor the councilman whom she had called as her friend. Both the name and appearance on how they looked were lost with her death.


    With her soul being transferred to another body, some of her memories were a blur and some as if missed which made it difficult for her to move around. Due to this, she preferred to stay in the church all this time but she couldn''t stay there anymore without resolving what she had taken up before.


    As if God had graced her, she caught sight of the tall man who walked with a red-haired man next to him into the vige. She watched them closely, looking at the taller man with pitch ck hair and piercing red eyes she saw him say something to the man next to him. A smile came to form on her lips, who knew she would be getting to see him this close.


    Her boy had received his father''s features. Strong jawline, straight nose, prominent cheekbones with a dark aura. She couldn''t stopparing her son to her husband who had died a few days after she had passed away before her soul went to harvest itself taking form and then using the dead entities to look alive again.


    Isabelle missed him. Having lost her life in front of her, she could see in what way it had affected her son. He was wary of humans, and the hate he felt for what they did to her must have still been running thick in his veins which she hoped could pass. People around one changed in time and only time could heal that part. Her Alexander had turned to hard man, his features daunting to an outsider but she knew her boy well. After all, she had birthed him. From far away, she noticed the chain of hers which now hung around his neck.


    It was a cross of fate and luck that contained red stone in the middle which was called charm stone. A chain that had been passed from three generations within her family. Charmstones were rare stones that couldn''t be found anywhere, they were made by the witches in the past which now had been stopped. The stones had been made in bulk before which were stolen by the humans or the vampires who forcibly took them away from the witches. Each charm was different from another and only a witch or an expertise shopkeeper could tell the value of it.


    The cross that held the red charmstone was rare as the rest and unlike any other, as it was not only used for fate and luck but also a sign of promised rtionship. The charmstone usually went in the possession of females and sensing that he hadn''t taken it off would mean that he was yet to find the woman who would apany him for the rest of his life. She was d to see that even after years, her son had taken such good care of it and in her memory wore it around her neck. She was aware that he had buried her ashes in the Delcrov''s mansion, she wished she could tell him about her existence but it was too soon reveal. And no matter how much she missed him, his life was not out of danger.


    Isabelle knew that like Lord Rune, even her son was under observation by the council. Though Nichs was under the radar for different reasons, her son was on the list as he was the offspring of a pureblooded vampire and a white witch.


    It was evident that her son was more than a pureblooded vampire, though in appearance he appeared to be one of the night creatures, in reality only she or he would no his true nature. A dark witch, whose blood had been mixed with both pureblooded vampire and a white witch''s blood. Dark witches were rare, a higher superiority on their own. And if one ced the dark witch in the current food chain that they had drawn upon, the dark witch could be set to be ced in the peek.


    All these years she had avoideding here but she had toe here to check if the massacre was going to take here too. Most of the information which the council received was confidential but the white witch had somehow managed to get them to protect what was dear to her from a far distance.


    Now that she hade so close, she wanted to talk to her son, to hear his voice and maybe run her hand on his head out of motherly affection. Changing her appearance to one of a measly beggar, she walked in the direction where the two men were walking towards her.


    "I don''t know about you, but Oliver has run through her background to make sure she is reliable and she holds decent merit to stay in the mansion," she heard Alexander speak to the red-headed man.


    "Oliver knows nothing when ites to woman. I just find it hard to think...." their voice drowned as they passed by. Happy to have seen and heard her son speak and their eyes merely catching each other gaze, she decided to take a look around the vige for any possible markings.


    Alexander who was hade to take ''fresh air'' ording to Elliot which was actually to pick up women to drink on. He had been talking to Elliot when they passed a woman with shabby clothes with a cloak and a hood covering her face. One side of her face was entirely covered by the hood that she wore while the other half didn''t hinder her eyesight. After a few steps, he stopped to turn and look at the woman who walked farther away from them before disappearing within one of the many alleys.


    "What happened? Someone, you know?" Elliot tilted his head in question.


    "Hmm. It felt as if I have known her," said Alexander staring for a few seconds before turning around.


    Isabelle walked around the vige, walking around the perimeter and inside all the pathways to see no markings being made. It seemed that the witches hadn''te here to cause the mass murder which was a relief. Most of the times one could sense the presence of ck witches, the trace they would leave behind them by which the white witches always strayed away from their path to avoid unnecessarily getting trapped in the council''s ploy in catching the ck witches.


    After the transfer of her soul, Isabelle had tried to recollect memories of her which had taken more than four to five years. By that time, the time had passed and the man she loved had perished before she could figure out she had a family back here.


    Exposing her identity of being Lady Delcorv wasn''t a feasible option in her eyes as it would put her son, Alexander in focus. Look at what had happened to her? For the mere word of witch associating with her, the people who once looked up at her whom she cared and took care of had burnt her alive as spections had arisen of her not being a white witch but a ck witch.


    The public was easy to sway. They would move with the wind blindly following its path without any question. All one had to do was present them with lies and that was all.


    She wasn''t angry but she couldn''t deny that it had upset her once she gained a part of her memories while the rest still were missing. Isabelle had grown to know the hate they had to bare because of their other sisters on the other side of the coin.


    The wind blew across thend and Isabelle had to pull her hood in the front to make sure it didn''t blow off away to reveal her face. Hungry she went to a fruit vendor who was selling a variety of fruits in the market ce. At the same time, two children came to the vendor, begging for two fruits out of hunger who had no money to spare.


    The fruit vendor was well equipped with the orphaned children who often came to his store with no penny to offer him.


    "Move out of here! You won''t be getting anything from me," the man spoke gruffly without sparing a look at them as he picked the apples which Isabelle had asked for so that she could carry them on her way back to Bonke which would suffice in the long journey, "What do they take me for? I will run into a loss," the vendor muttered under his breath when the children moved to walk to the next food stalls.


    Once she had brought the apples, Isabelle walked to where the children were, touching their shoulder to gain their attention and when they did, she had handed them two apples each and disappeared in the local carriage.

 Chapter 155 - What Was Lost- Part 2

    Leonard and Nichs hade to the study room in the Carmichael''s mansion while Vivian had gone up the stairs so that she could get ready as Nichs had promised her to tour her with books which was much better than what Leonard had. With him giving his word of her being his sister, to emphasise he meant it, he had promised her to take her to his prized library which had made Leonard raise his eyebrow.


    "You don''t allow anyone into that library of yours and you promised to take her there?" Leonard looked at the Lord of Bonke suspiciously, "Tell me you don''t like her anything more than a brother would."


    "You wound me, Leo," Nichs faked a gasp, turning his expression to a wide grin, he yed with the ss that he held in hand. On his instance, Leonard had opened the bottle of ''Willow 1492'' as a sign of celebration, "I find her intriguing but not enough to take her to my bed. If that is what worries you I have no such intention. I meant it by heart when I decided to take her as my sister. My, but I do wonder. If my eyes were set in such ways, poor Leo would have been left heartbroken."


    "Right," Leonard replied back in a dull voice.


    "You don''t believe me? You are aware that I have stolen more women who were married than the ones who were single, aye?" Lord Nichs stated, taking a sip from his ss, he said, "I am a charming man, a lord who is hard to resist."


    A smile came to form on Leonard''s lips, he then said, "I have to say I am sometimes amazed at the amount of narcist confidence you have for yourself. You could try all your charms on Bambi and she would still be immune to it."


    "And just who was talking about confidence," smirked Nichs at the confidence he had over his woman or should he say wife now. But then it could be true. Leonard and Vivian knew each other since they were children which made their bond much special than what others shared. If he weren'' wrong, he could tell that they were like transparent mirrors trying to reflect each other, "I saw that you haven''t given her a soul bond yet," it was no mystery to anyone close to Leo that he wouldn''t be cing a temporary bond but a soul bond to bind the girl to his life and in death.


    "I should," Leo hummed as he arranged his books in order as he hadn''t found before to do it. Most of the things in the mansion was cleaned and maintained by the servants but there were some things which Leonard didn''t like touching, especially things in the study.


    Vivian had gone through too much in the past few hours and days that he didn''t want to hurry her with the soul bond. They had been busy that he didn''t want to rush such a precious moment with her. He would bind her maybe tonight, or tomorrow and maybe the day after it but before that he wanted both of them to enjoy what they had now. Enjoy their day as newlyweds than dumping everything on a particr day.


    Right now she was his beautiful, cute wife who was shy at the thought of having him as her husband. She didn''t voice it out loud but he could read it in her eyes and her movements which he found rather quite endearing. He wondered if she realized how happy it had made himst night by taking her as his wife when she had agreed to marry him.


    "I don''t why you both refuse to acknowledge your rtionship in public. She''s already shown enough capability by not only passing the first exam but also showcasing enough presence and intelligence yesterday. I heard it all from Toby," Lord Nichs nodded his head.


    "Have you ever wondered that it might have not been a coincidence that my family was poisoned her in thend of Bonke before anyone else'' could. When we get into the council which is already corrupt and while trying to eradicate and fight against those corrupt people, we end up creating foes that not only puts us into danger but also our family."


    "Until when have you nned to keep it a secret? One or the other day, they will find out about she being your wife," Nichs downed his ss of wine, cing the empty ss on her table he looked at Leonard who was shuffling the books which looked uneven in the arrangement as they weren''t assorted in size.


    Finishing his book arrangement, Leo then turned to answer, "Only until the second exam gets over. The man named Jamien, he''s worked with the ck witch," Nichs tilted his head up as if thinking something before he spoke,


    "Funny that is. I had the ghoul follow him but he didn''t seem to be doing anything in particr. What did you find out yesterday? Unfortunately, no matter how much Toby sits close by I will only find out what the rest have heard without the intrinsic details."


    Leonard padded towards the plush seat and sat down, "There have been bodies piling up in theke of bones."


    "Rise in the level of theke?" Leo nodded his head, "How many people have you been killing?" Nichs teased the younger pureblood to receive a small re, "I should have tutored you on how to take jokes. There had been some bodies that were lying yesterday. The ghouls feed on the dead and often go to theke of bones to eat, I received the news before the wake of dawn and had it cleared by pushing all of them in there."


    "Why?" asked Leonard confused. He hadn''t heard about the bodies near thekes else there would have been a survey taken in there.


    "The bodies were beyond repair and the way it was put up was in a pattern as if taunting the dead souls of theke. I asked the ghouls to take care of it after I made a walk around. Having so many bodies scattered around will only instil fear. I believe they were the bodies from the vige which had been massacred," answered Lord Nichs in a matter of a fact tone which he had done even in the past.


    Nichs didn''t want the councillor looking at that particr area as it wasn''t something he would suggest. Theke of bones had the souls of people, some known and unknown. The day before yesterday when he had been given the report by one of his ghoul on the bodies being found, he had first looked into the vige beforeing to theke of bones to get the dead beings buried in the there.


    He was surprised to see his dead father''s spirit that stood far which was faint, looking at the tree as he stood waiting for the ghouls to do their job. It was a rare sight to have the spirits surface out as they were dead beings and mostly made of smoke and fog. His thoughts went to the day he had killed Wilhelhum, seeing the terror which is basked himself in.


    "No! No! Please don''t kill me! You are my son!" his father cried as he dragged his body from the floor to the bed so that he could support himself as blood seeped out of his chest. For a pureblooded vampire, Nichs found the man to be pathetic. How long had he waited to avenge his mother''s death? For what she had to go through because of his lustful desire.


    He had the ghouls tear his body out, ripping his heart and crushing the core to have his lifeless body finally lying on the bed. After having the body buried in the cemetery, he had got it removed and throw here as this was where his rightful ce was.


    But to think that the man stared at the tree with so much amount of contempt made him somewhat smile as if the dead''s reaction brought him sce. The tree was where he had put his mother''s ashes below it. It wasn''tmon practice to bury the remnants of the dead under a tree in their society and was strictly forbidden but some did it anyway. It was forbidden because of some said this let the soul wander amongst the living without giving the peace which was needed to move to the afterlife.


    His mother, his sweet mother had given up her life for his sake, time and time hiding until she was killed by the people whom he had hunted and killed after a few years. Revenge was always sweet when it came in the form to torture someone.


    He heard Leonard speak, "The council didn''t go to look at theke of bones and I doubt anyone notices the rise in the smoke," it was true. No one took interest in the dead not unless they were crazy. Being the keen observers from the beginning and Nichs who usually came to spend time with the tree, he hade to see the rise and low of the smokes in time. Enough that it had turned to be one of his favourite spots when it came to disposing of the dead bodies.


    Hearing the knock on the door, they saw Vivian who had dressed herself to a much suitable attire than what she had previously worn.


    Leonard stared at her, his eyes not able to move away from her presence as she stood there with a small smile and hint of shyness. She wore a dress that was light blue in colour which went along with white texture and a ribbon-like whitece that went around her waist to be tied behind delicately. Her hair was tied up with few pieces of the strand that were purposely pulled out at the sides of her face. Her lips looked pink and kissable. For some reason, she looked much prettier than yesterday.


    Standing up and walking to her, he leaned forward unable to resist her so that he could leave a kiss on her lips.


    Though it had only been a few hours since they had slept in each other''s arms, he wanted to take her back and made love to her all over again, "Let me go get my coat," he said pulling back to see the faint blush that made to her cheeks.


    Having him kiss in front of someone, that someone being Lord Nichs she nodded her head, "Yes," she breathed the word.


    "You guys make me miss my non-existent lover, Vivian," she heard Lord Nichsment once Leonard went out of the study room.


    Not wanting him to dwell in her love life, Vivian subtly moved the conversation to him, "Don''t you have anyone you like?"


    "Me?" Lord Nichs hummed as if giving it a lot of thought, "I like a lot of them," a smile cracked up Vivian''s lips.


    "What if you had to pick just one of them?"


    "I don''t think I share such feelings. Not the kind you and Leo share," Vivian wondered how that was possible. Lord Nichs was not only a handsome man but also intelligent and smart. He was the Lord of Bonke who could have anyone yet no one had caught his eye, thought Vivian to herself. Was he the kind of man who didn''t believe in love? Vivian hadn''t found enough time to know about him closely, therefore, concluding his nature would be rude. She had heard about his past from Leo, not to forget the ghouls and the room where he was in when he was young. Her heart ached for him.


    "Maybe she isn''t born yet," Vivian gave him hope. What would life be without someone not there to share with? She couldn''t think of her life without Leo, without him her life would have been nothing but grey and empty, a void which she wouldn''t be able to fillpletely.


    "That might be so. Until then I shall have my fair share of fun," he winked.


    Reaching the Rune''s mansion, as promised, Lord Nichs took her to his secret library which ording to Leonard he didn''t let anyone in there. The library wasn''t big but a narrow dark one. Not more than five could be in this ce as it would only cramp the space and be difficult to move around. The three sides of the walls were stacked with books, twonterns hanging to give enough light for one to read through and search a book. To allow her, she felt somewhat special. Though Lord Nichs didn''t let her touch one section of the books which was locked in a ss case, her eyes being curious drifted to it until Lord Nichs asked her,


    "Wondering why those are locked?" Vivian didn''t nod her head and saw Leonard standing at the entrance of the library where he was leaning against the wall by his side.


    "Leo has something like that too," at Vivian''s words Leonard didn''t respond but he couldn''t help but think that she had noticed it.


    ~read thement I have left in thement section~

 Chapter 156 - What Was Lost- Part 3

    "Of course, you would have. It is something I have learned and picked from him," to this she furrowed her eyebrows wondering what they meant. Before Nichs could say anything, Leonard interrupted the Lord with a sharp glint of the eye that was meant for Nichs.


    Leonard said, "I have a habit of picking a souvenir like memory after every mission."


    "Memory?" asked Vivian. Leonard turned his body so that he could lean his back on the wall with his hands in his pocket. She stared at Leonard waiting for him to answer as he didn''t reply to her question right away.


    "Every time I finish a job from the council, I pick a book from the ce. The books normally have a drop of blood on them," he paused waiting for Vivian to understand what he meant. Lord Nichs who was standing behind grinned like a devil as if the dirty secrets of Leonard was getting split which his newlywed wife wasn''t aware of.


    More than pondering over what Leonard meant Vivian found it odd that he would pick something like that as a habit in picking up books.


    To the Lord''s surprise, while he waited for Vivian to ask why he would kill people, he heard the human ask, "Why to lock them?"


    "Because they have blood," was the simple reply she received from Leonard, "It''s an odd habit. If one were to find a book that had blood etched on it, fresh or old ones, questions are bound to be asked on what they are doing and any murder that takes ce wille upon the holder of the book," Vivian nodded her head and then turned to look at Nichs.


    "You do it for the same reason?" to her question, Lord Nichs smiled.


    "I was following your husband''s footprints wondering why he does what he does but the mystery is yet to be solved. And yes, they are locked for the same reason. Would like to see them?" Nichs offered her which she eagerly nodded to.


    Leonard didn''t want her touching the books. The future was inevitable where she would one day see the side of him which would be worse than what he had done to the human who hade in search of the man Rory. But right now, he didn''t want her seeing that side of him, his jaw was set firmly as he watched Nichs unlock the ss case to pick out a book. When his eyes fell on her gloved hand, he let out an internal sigh.


    Vivian went through the book which Lord Nichs had picked out for her and all she could say was they weren''t interesting enough to be ced in the ss case. Closing the book and turning it around while Leonard and Nichs spoke to each other, she saw the edge that had been inked in red. The colour wasn''t dark but it wasn''t bright either to indicate the death of whoever it was had taken ce probably a few days ago.


    With Nichs'' help, she picked the books that she found would be helpful in her studies in bing a better councilwoman that is if she would pass the exam. Unfortunately, though, Lord Nichs didn''t allow anyone to take his prized books out of the mansion. When she had asked him, his words were,


    "I am a little odd when ites to sharing and seeing my books leave the mansion. You cane here anytime and spend time with the books here as long as you want."


    Lord Nichs had asked them to stay for dinner, wanting to extend their time with him in his quiet mansion where there was no guest apart from Leo and herself. The time she spent at the Rune''s mansion was more than pleasant. The small taunting and teasing between Lord Nichs and Leonard were nice to look at as Vivian turned to be a spectator.


    Before the time of dinner, Lord Nichs butler came in to give him a letter which was neatly enveloped in a cover with a red wax stamp on it.


    "Isn''t that a Winter Ball''s seal?" asked Leonard who sat next to her.


    "It is but it is too early to be receiving the invitation letter," Nichs pulled open the envelope, unfolding the card that was in to read it aloud, "Dear Lord Nichs, we are here to tell you that the Winter''s ball will be taking ce earlier than the expected date. Kindly, grace us with your presence to bring out the heritage of the pureblooded vampires and the high society. Well, that''s a short invitation," the Lord turned around the card to check if anything more was written.


    "Where is it held?" Leonard asked him.


    "Valeria. It''s at the Delcrov'' mansion," Lord Nichs answered which perked Vivian''s ears. Valeria. Wasn''t it the ce Martha frequented when she was still alive? The thought of her meeting her parents and if there was any other rtive brought hope to her, "For a stone made man like him, I am surprised he wants to entertain the guests,"mented Nichs.


    Before they could leave the mansion after dinner, Lord Nichs pulled Vivian aside which caused an unhappy expression on Leo''s face but not saying anything, he waited for her in the carriage, This is for you," Nichs pulled up a brown package from his coat to give it to her, "It is a wedding present. I hope you like it."


    "Thank you for the gift," Vivian bowed her head to show the respect she held for the man.


    "It is good to have him rely on someone emotionally, that he puts his emotions where you are. In his state, one would easily corrupt their soul without the need for a potion. Sometimes situations are enough to corrupt the heart until there is nothing but darkness left behind," he said, a small smile still on his lips which made her wonder how he carried himself in such graceful manner. He was the epitome of elegance in the pureblooded society and no one could match his vigour, "I am only his mentor but you are his wife now. Take good care of him, I leave him in your hands."


    Vivian nodded her head, "I will," she smiled back to see him return his acknowledgement with a wider smile.


    Stepping inside the carriage with a serious expression on her face while she holding on to the wrapped package in her hands she sat next to Leo. It was a gift she had received from Lord Nichs before she had got in.


    When the carriage left, Leonard only eyed the package before asking Vivian, "What did he say?" Vivian was unpacking the gift she had received to see what was in it.


    "Nothing much," she smiled to Leo''s inquiring eyes.


    Like a dutiful elder brother, Nichs had imparted his words to her, weing her to the family, though both Leonard and he came from different families they were bonded and tied deeper than blood.


    "Ah, it''s a book!" she eximed to see a fawn that was drawn on top of its cover. On top of the book was written ''Bambi'' which made her smile. Had Leo told Nichs about the story of Bambi and how the name came to be given by Leo to her?


    "Tch, Nichs. Rhys told him about the time Julliard and I decided to give you as a present to Charlotte," Leo took the book from her hand, to open and turn the pages as his eyes skimmed a few paragraphs from the book. As if reminiscing something from the past and then gave it to her, "But still not a bad gift."


    "The ink feels fresh," she said, bringing the book close to her face and smelling the pages which made a scrunch her face, "I must thank Lord Nichs properly."


    "I think two words sufficed which you might have," Leonard put his arm around her shoulder to bring her close, "Is there any ce you would like to visit, Vivi? Somewhere you would like to go?" he asked her. He had asked her nonchntly but he wanted to give her the opportunity to do something she would possibly want to do as they were out and away from the mansion.


    Holding the book thatid on herp, she gave some thought and then spoke, "Two ces," she said, her eyes holding hope along with uncertainty if he would be willing to go.


    "Anywhere you want," he assured, caressing the side of her head.


    "Grace and Paul''s home," since they had been taken by the council guards and had been executed the house had been locked down and the keys were given to the magistrate to look after. Due to this she couldn''t go and look in there, to remember and miss the people who had been killed wrongly.


    "Okay."


    Leonard didn''t question why she wanted to go take a look. The guilt of killing the innocents was heavy which weighed behind Leo''s mind but there was nothing one could do. The switcher had intelligently picked the person who would be easy to me and move on to whatever they wanted to do.


    It wasn''t that Vivian wanted to hurt him but it was the first ce that hade to her mind when he had asked her. Somewhere Leo knew that it might have been to the graves where they were buried so that she could spend some time there. It wasn''t that she didn''t go to visit them. After the execution, Leo had caught Vivian going to their graves to pay her respect. But he never objected her from going, he was angry yet he didn''t speak a word on it and right now he was d he hadn''t.


    Leonard spoke to the magistrate and picked up the key of the house where Vivian unlocked it. The house looked a little shabbier, a few things lying on the ground as if there had been forced entry before this ced was locked down.


    Removing her gloves, she took a look around. It wasn''t just her but also Leo who often came along with her as she used to drag him here when they were little children. Though in the mansion, Vivian followed Leo like the little kitten she used to be when they were out it would be Leo keeping a close on her as if someone would steal his favourite toy.


    With Vivian who had no family of her own, Paul often brought the girl where the young master tagged along. She had spent her nights here, ying and talking, helping Paul''s sister in the kitchen with little errands until she could cook a good meal for everyone. Running her hands on the uneven walls she looked at the home while Leonard took a few steps of his home to remember his time spent here with the family he had executed.


    She had started to learn to pick up happy memories after a great deal of concentration. Though it wasn''t as clear as the ones that came to her freely, it was scarce but enough to bring a warm smile on her lips.


    Seeing Vivian walk around the room ande to him, he asked, "The cemetery?" he asked her.


    "Will youe with me?" she asked him, doubtful if he would apany her as since they had died not once did he go there.


    "Anywhere you call me to," his reply melted her heart and she caught hold of his hand, standing on the tips of her toes she left a kiss on his cheek.


    "Thank you, Leo," she knew how he felt and it wasn''t that she wanted to hurt him but she wanted him to face his emotions which he was trying to work alone. She was here with him, and if he ever needed a shoulder she would happily give it to him. She was his wife and it wasn''t because it was her duty but because of the mere reason that she loved him dearly enough that she wanted to be there for him at any point in time.


    Taking the carriage to the cemetery, Vivian and Leonard stepped into the local cemetery of the vige which was where the town and vige folks were buried.


    With the family being med for conspiring against the pureblooded family and killing some of them, their graves were ced at the far end of the graveyard where unnecessary weeds and shrubs had grown at the back end with dirty water running behind it. It was a sad sight.


    For a family that had loved both the children, had seen both of them grow with each other''s fondness had been executed in front of their eyes. Unable to stay there long, Leonard excused himself to tell he would be waiting for her at the carriage.


    Seeing Leonard''s sorrowful back, she turned to look at the graves of the family. It was not only hard on her but also on Leo who had been the one to get the execution to not just one but the entire family. The smile Paul had offered her at the end time of his life was etched in her mind that maybe would never disappear.


    "I hope youe to forgive for what he did," spoke Vivian to the dead family with a soft and low voice so that no one could hear her. She knew deep down in her heart that even if Paul and Martha weren''t here today, their spirits would stille to resonate and tell her that they had forgiven the ''young master'' as they used to address him. She had brought him here so that he could face them but it seemed that it was too soon to do that, "We got married, Grace," she said looking at Paul''s sister''s grave that sat in the front while Paul''s was ced on the other end and almost corner to the dirty water that passed by from the vige.


    "We got married yesterday at the church. It was different than I imagined..." she trailed, picking the twigs and dried flowers mud that hade to form on them, "It was good though. Leo asked me to be his wife and I couldn''t refuse. I am his wife now. I wish all of you were there," her hand didn''t stop moving and she smiled, "And I was hoping during the ceremony that took ce that you, Paul, Martha, Thomas and even Mrs Carmichael and Mr Carmichael with others were present to witness it. It was beautiful. My favourite day," she whispered as tears formed in her eyes that refused to shed.


    Before the tears had the opportunity to fall down, she quickly wiped them away, "I have a family now. And one day," Vivian turned around to make sure Leonard wasn''t there eavesdropping or hoping that he wasn''t, "We''ll have children, maybe not a lot but two or three," she sighed.


    At times Vivian wished she knew that she had the ability to feel, to see things so that she could have avoided the ill fate three of the close families she had known that let them die. But there was nothing one could do. Vivian knew Leonard had made his effort in looking through the evidence but there was nothing that could have proven his innocence.


    Patting the stone as if she was saying her bye, she got up and went to meet Leonard who stood outside the graveyard looking far away at a mountain that resided close to the vige.

 Chapter 157 - Blood, Lust And Tears- Part 1

    The night was eerily quiet.


    Vivian didn''t know if it was because the weather that wasing to freeze thends of Bonke or it was because of the emptiness that hade to fill them after they had visited the deceased. Like the way they had made a trip to Paul and his families grave, Leonard had taken her to where his parents were buried. Being a man of few words Leo stood there holding Vivian''s hand in his, letting the silence encapste them while letting the silent words transfer to the dead.


    Jan had almost got all her clothes and other necessities to Leo''s room after they had left the mansion, giving the servants enough time to shift and arrange in their absence. Though the maids who were asked to help were in question wondering to themselves if this was going to turn to one of the scandalous of the town where the Duke was seeing a former maid turned to ady, the couldn''t find out more on what had caused the sudden change as the housekeeper was a stern man who would have only red at them. The rumours soon flew around the mansion and amongst the servants whispering to themselves with their own spection and theories.


    Vivian sat in front of the mirror, brushing her hair and taming it down before she ted them from the back loosely. She hadn''t given it much thought in the morning as she had been in a hurry to get dressed to go to the Rune''s mansion but now that she sat there with enough time to spend, her eyes popped looking at the discolouration spots on her skin. It had turned dark. Leonard had bitten her over and over to the point where there were marks all over her neck and shoulder when she pulled her dress sleeve to look at it.


    She looked at the door waiting for Leo toe. A councilman had arrived to speak about work which was holding him back while she waited for him in the room. On their way back home and during the time of dinner, he had been quiet. His words short to her words which she didn''t mind as she was used to it.


    While cing the brush back on the dressing table, she caught sight of something in the drawer. Curious she opened to see a red ribbon that had been tucked and folded carefully in one side. She furrowed her eyebrows wondering what a ribbon was doing her and what did Leo keep it for her. So far she remembered, she hadn''t seen him tie anyce like a ribbon around his cor when he was young. Perhaps it was something when he was younger?


    She wondered if it would give out some of his own memories and with that thought, she picked the smooth satin ribbon, running her fingers when a smile came to form on her lips after a few minutes. Who knew it was of that time, thought Vivian to herself. With a smile on her face, she looked back at the door again.


    Unsure if she was to stay awake or get into bed, she walked back and forth in the room beforeing to a halt. Deciding to take a peek on what was taking long, she stepped out of the room and went down to the stairs where the doors were closed and locked which meant the guest who had arrived her had gone back to where he was needed to go. She wondered how long it had been since the man had gone as he had arrived at their doorstep when they were having their meal. After the meal, she had gone to take a bath to wait for Leo in the room. Padding her feet on the carpet that had been put on the floor, she walked towards the lower rooms to see Leo not there.


    Wondering if he was in the study room, she turned the knob and stepped inside to see him standing at the window with a ss of alcohol that rested on the raised tform. Upon feeling her presence, his face lightly turned in her direction to not reveal his face.


    "Leo?" she called him and when he turned around her heart broke into pieces.


    He looked broken and crushed, his eyes red as his droopy eyes stared at her. Her hand clutched at her sides to see him in this state. It was the first time she had evere to witness him like this. He took the ss that was resting to down the remaining liquid down his throat before cing it back with a small tter.


    It must have been some time since the councilman must have left for the intoxication to work on Leonard, thought Vivian to herself. When she took a step closer to him she stopped right away seeing him raise his hand and her heart clenched at the distance that he was trying to keep her from him.


    "Why aren''t you angry at me, Vivi?" he questioned her with remorseful eyes.


    "Because it wasn''t your fault," she answered to hear a dark chuckle erupt through his lips. He tilted his head.


    "How can you say that I not only killed the man who practically raised you but also his family. You were angry that I killed ss, that man who whom had met for the first time. So why won''t you get angry?" there was a slight slur which wasn''t visible enough for Vivian to detect how much alcohol he would have consumed, "I killed the family who had faith in me. I also let my family die right in front of me, killing my mother. One day...one day I might kill you too," his words broke her heart further.


    There was mncholy and despair as he said, unsure as if the decision he had taken now weighed at his shoulders.


    "It will never. I have faith in you," she said taking a step forward but for the first time he took a step back to keep the distance between them, turning around he picked the bottle that had been on the other end. Pulling out the cork, he took a swig from it, "None of us knew," she spoke to him softly.


    "No. We didn''t but I had no faith and now I feel I didn''t do enough. Not enough to save any of them," Leonard took a couple more gulps before cing the bottle to walk towards the firece. Vivian followed his trail, she heard him continue, "You believed in Paul when I didn''t."


    It was true. She believed him but if it wasn''t the switcher then wouldn''t it have been her naiveness that had led her to believe in the previous housekeeper''s innocence? Her judgement was purely clouded with the rtionship she had built between her and Paul and his family.


    Standing where she was, she saw the light fall on Leo''s face that looked sad. There was loneliness in there, pain that he had stubbed at the back of his mind finally surfacing which he hadn''t spoken about to anyone. Vivian was close to Leonard but it was Julliard who read Leo and heard what his cousin had to say to him. With Julliard gone, Leo had shut everything around with no outlet to release and let go of the pain.


    "We didn''t know, Leo. My judgement was given emotionally while you tried to be rational. I was angry at you, angry for not sparing other''s lives but..." Vivian paused trying to find the right words so that it wouldn''t hurt him more, "You know the world better than I do. And I know you tried your best to prove his innocence. Whoever masked himself as Paul was good enough to fool all of us. He had even fooled us with Sister Isabelle. You did what you felt was right," subtly moving close to him, she didn''t break her gaze away from him and gently ced her hand on his arm, "Sometimes we try to do what we find is best..." pausing a few seconds, she took a deep breath before speaking, "You had to do that to your mother because her heart was corrupted, and I was there," though it wasn''t something she liked to say as it only emphasized that he had killed his mother quicker because of the danger that presented at Vivian.


    "How can I be angry at you for something you didn''t know of? Which we both knew nothing of," a tear fell down from Leo''s eyes and turned his face away from her to look at the fire, "Leo," she called his name gently, to see him break internally taking in the guilt like a nail that was tearing his insides hurt her more to see him in this state.


    "Aren''t you worried, Vivian? For the future as to what may happen?" he asked her seriously.


    To this, Vivian shook her head, "No. It doesn''t scare me and it shouldn''t scare you either. I know and believe you will do what is right," Leo turned back his gaze at her, "You''re my husband now," she said it with a cheerful smile on her face hoping it would make him feel better.


    "Yes," he responded, taking her in his arms, hugging her with one of his hand cradling her head, he held his dear one close to him.


    Vivian hugged him back, her arms tightening around him to onlyfort him but also to let him know that she would love him no matter what. Knowing he wasn''t the kind of man to take a hasty decision without a proper reason.


    Tonight for the first time it felt as if she had seen a side of Leo which she doubted he would have let anyone see. His worry, he had entrusted it to her which meant a lot to her. It showed how much they had progressed in their rtionship where he was letting her in.


    Since they had found out about the switcher impersonating Paul, Leo''s mood had dropped. A mncholy settling around him which she hadn''t been able to drive away. It was evident that now they had found out the truth, he med himself for killing the innocent lives, for taking them away forcibly. Like Vivian, he had known Paul for a long time. Paul was a good man, and so was the rest of his family. She knew if Paul was alive he would have smiled at her, telling it was alright and at this thought, she hugged Leo tighter.


    Maybe she would never know the amount of pain, guilt and sadness he would have to carry on his shoulder but Vivian wanted to be his pir-like he was hers.


    And maybe this was one of the rare time where Leonard had opened up to her about his internal turmoil and would not happen again as he was someone who dealt with the pain himself.


    This brought her to the memory of what she just felt beforeing to down to find him. The ribbon was the same one which he had used to tie around her neck when both he and his cousin had decided to gift her as a present. But the memory was more than what had happened in there. The ribbon had moved around. First to Vivian, then to Charlotte which went back to Leo''s hand. Like many other times, Leo got into trouble but this one was when she had touched him for the very first when he had bruised his face.


    "What? Never seen bruises before?" he had asked her, his voice daunting for her age but she instead of feeling frightened she had asked him,


    "It hurts?"


    He gave her a confused look, "A little bit," and she had ced her warm sleeve on his face which had led to him swatting her hand away embarrassed. Though she didn''t remember it, she was d for once to be able to see things that she would have never remembered.

 Chapter 158 - Blood, Lust And Tears- Part 2

    They sat in front of the firece of Leonard''s room or was she supposed to call it their room? wondered Vivian to herself. By the time she had returned back to the mansion, all are clothes and other belongings has disappeared from the room she was residing in since the past few days. The drawers were empty and so was the cupboards, making her worry until Jan hade to note her on the small change that had taken ce while they were out.


    The chair that they sat on was a single seating one but it had enough to space to have another person that Vivian sat with her backid against Leo''s chest as they read a book in hand. They had done it before and this was just turning to a sweet habit. The fire and light were warm in the cold weather where it was heading towards Winter.


    Vivian was sad, yet at the same time, she was happy to have Leo open up to her. With having shared what he felt, he had gone back to his usual quiet self while she apanied him on his path of silence like a shadow. She knew he had been in pain for a long time, holding in his feelings and bottling it up which opened up after going to Paul''s grave.


    When Leonard went to turn the page, Vivian stopped him, "I didn''t finish it yet," her voice was as soft as the crackling of the fire.


    "What were you thinking instead of concentrating here?" he nuzzled his nose behind her ear before leaving a small kiss, "Do you want to sleep?" he asked her and she shook her head immediately.


    "No!"


    "Okay, but if you are, we can head to bed and finish this tomorrow. The book isn''t leaving anymore nor am I or you," his arms tightened around her waist and she pushed her back, letting him hold her because it felt good to have him hug her. These innocent moments were what filled up her heart. To spend the time like this with him with no restriction. Turning herself so that her legs hanged beside, she faced him.


    Running her hand through his blonde tresses which always looked kept and in ce. As far as she could remember, his hair had stayed the same and he asked him,


    "You never thought to cut your hair?" it was a simple question but for Leonard her every word meant a lot.


    "Why? You don''t like it?" he asked her casually with raised brows to see her smile and shake her head.


    "I never said I didn''t. It was just a question," she ced her head on his head to feel him ce his chin on her head, not putting much weight.


    Leonard ced the book aside so that he could hold her better as they sat in front of the firece with the cold approaching Winter. The doors to the patio had been shut close as it had her shivering out of the cold. Looking down at her, he noticed her concentrating on something to realize after a few seconds that it was his heartbeat that she was listening to.


    "Leo?" she called his name, "Why didn''t you ce a soul bond on me?" she lifted herself up to look into his eyes.


    Vivian had read about the bonds, the soul bonds, master and temporary bonds and now that they had got married she wondered why he hadn''t ced one on her.


    He tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, asking, "Does that bother you?"


    "A little," hearing her answer he smiled.


    "Good. It should," he responded, "I had be disappointed if didn''t bother you. What would you like to do, Vivi? Are you ready to call yourself to be my wife? Because I don''t mind," he stated staring into her midnight ck eyes to see nothing but ckness in there where the red specs weren''t in there, "You wanted toplete the exam on your own merit and I want to protect you because the tasks that take ce during the exam, I won''t be there to look after what happens."


    It was verymon for the examinees to pull down another person during the task to have a better opportunity of being picked by the council examiners. People were vile and would get to any extent to pass the test.


    "You want to keep me safe," he could hear the smile in her voice, "Thenter?" it seemed that she was looking forward to it as if it were a candy treat she had only dreamed of.


    "Believe me, Bambi. I want nothing more to leave a soul bond on you but let''s wait a little bit longer. Just a little longer which is less than two weeks for the exam to get over. If I bite you now, I am not sure how that''s going to work out for us," said Leonard bringing her head back to his chest so that she wouldn''t strain her neck.


    "Will it work if I try?"


    "You mean you bite me?"


    "Yes," Vivian replied.


    "Maybe if you were a vampire, it would have. A human cannot leave a soul bond, it would be nothing less to you biting me," he chuckled. His mood had considerably lightened since thest one hour.


    Leonard hadn''t able to look at his previous housekeeper''s grave at the thought of what he had done. Believing in something you did was right and finding outter that the reason was right yet wrong at the same time was something he wasn''t able to digest. For a man with a pride like Leo, he was ashamed. Ashamed that he had let people down. But what had happened was done and there was nothing he could do to fix it. It would take him time to let the guilt disappear and it would in time but right now it weighed in his mind.


    How many people did Vivian and he lose? So many, in such unexpected circumstances that now he worried for the girl in his arms. He loved her too much and as thentern that lit brightly in the midst of darkness, he didn''t want to let off thentern.


    His parents, both his cousins, Paul, and his family. They had lost them all and now they had nothing but memories to hold on to.


    "If you want we can miss Winter''s ball that''s in a few days. It has a lot of high society members who are a prude," said Leonard wondering if she would befortable, "There are chances of finding your parents there so maybe..." his words trailed when he heard Vivian''s steady breathing, her fists held loosely on herp with her eyes closed. She had fallen asleep.


    Picking her, he took her to bed and tucked her in carefully. In sleep, Vivian turned to her side, pulling the nket and snuggling against the pillow which he used. Bending down he kissed her forehead softly so that it wouldn''t wake her up. He wanted to join her but there were things he had to do. Amends. And maybe until he didn''t fix it, he wouldn''t be able to settle his heart.


    Putting one more log of wood so that it wouldn''t be cold for her to sleep, Leonard picked up his coat and closed the room. Taking his horse along with him, he went to the cemetery he had earlier been to but had never stayed longer than five minutes.


    Walking to the graves at the far corner, Leonard looked at the headstone which only had names written on top of it. If it weren''t for taking ount Vivian''s feelings he would have thrown the bodies in theke of bones and he was d he had loved her enough to consider she would want to visit them, despite knowing the man had killed his parents. Only that now he knew Paul had been innocent and had stayed true to the family.


    Even during hisst hours he had uttered nothing ill about Leonard or his parents and maybe that is why it hurt now. Who knew kindness could hurt. It seemed that Paul had been a good man, enough to know that Leonard had been in pain too as he had lost his family. He ced the roses he had picked from his garden beforeing here, cing one on each he turned his face away before looking back at them.


    Seconds turned to minutes. Wind blowing through the graveyard, a calm eerie night where the vigers had left the cemetery alone due to the folklore of ghostsing alive at the stroke of midnight leaving the ce deserted.


    Leonard opened his mouth to speak, hoping the man whom he had executed was somewhere and somehow listening to what he was saying, "Forgive me for what I have done, Paul. I should have known better. Seen it better to know you would never betray our family. I am sorry for bringing down something like this upon yourself when you deserved nothing close to what was done to you and your family," the truth was no one could have changed the fate of their death as it was already written by the switchers when they had taken Paul''s form, "I don''t ask you to forgive me but enough to lend an ear to what I have to say to you. In the hope that one day you forgive my actions as I was only protecting what was mine," he apologized, his eyes were cast down a grave expression marking his features as he spoke every word clearly.


    The wind continued to blow, quivering the flowers which were ced on the graves but not enough to move them away.


    More time passed as he stood there in silence, letting his mind speak to the graves when he heard the crickets stop chirping. Finding it odd, he looked around, his eyes catching the sight of the bell that rang once to denote the hour that had been passed. When he looked back he saw a misty white ghost-like Paul standing there and he wondered if it was his imagination or if something like this actually existed and he could see the deceased man.


    Paul looked as good as he was before he had been taken in by the council guards. There was no bruise on his face, not a cut nor a drop of blood on his face. He looked healthy. Leonard''s eyes that had slightly widened stared at the man, not blinking his eyes at the thought that this person in front of him who had appeared would disappear if he did.


    Leonard didn''t speak, nor did Paul. They continued to stare where the deceased man gave Leonard a gentle expression which had a smile on his face. An apologetic one as if he had wronged his master.


    When the Duke opened his mouth, Paul shook his head as if already knowing what he was going to say. He gave him a hopeful smile then and when a strong wind blew he blinked and the next moment the ghost or the imagination of his broke to see no one there.


    "Vivian must have already told you about us. I hope you give us your blessings, if not for me for her. I know you looked after her like your guardian. Both you and Martha did a wonderful job of raising her for the fine woman she has turned out to be. I will cherish and love her for all the time I have and see no harmes to her. You have my word."


    He spent a few more minutes there and then turned to leave the cemetery, still wondering if what he had seen was part of his imagination or reality. Before he left the local graveyard, Leo turned back to look around, taking a decision on wanting to move the graves in a better environment than what they were in.

 Chapter 159 - To Be Slave- Part 1

    Vivian walked between Nichs and Leonard on the clean pavements of the sidewalk of the Isle Valley. A smile on her face, she walked with a straight backbone, believing herself that she was born this way without the maid''s status in her name.


    They had head out early in the morning, therefore, there were fewer people on the streets to look at the woman who walked between the Lord and one of the Duke of Bonke. Vivian was a new face, not being a frequent visitor of the valley, the store owners and the people who were there wondered who thedy was to be walking between two esteemed men of theirnds.


    "Tell us again why did you tag along?" asked Leonard as they walked on the quiet street where it had been not more than two hours since the sun had grace on thends on this fine day where they hade to shop for the Winter''s ball.


    "I haven''t picked my own clothes and shopping alone is never fun. Don''t you agree with me, Vivian?" Lord Nichs asked her knowing well the girl would never refuse as Leonard did.


    "You are right," Vivian agreed, "You are my brother now, we should spend time like this," she smiled to have one of them smiling while the other turn unhappy.


    "You need not worry about him, Bambi. The man has enough ymates to go around with. Why did youe, Nick?" asked Leonard a little annoyed that the man was interrupting their new married life where he wanted to spend time with his wife.


    Nichs coughed, a fake cough where he ced his hand on his chest, "You always doubt my intentions, Leo."


    "Because they tend to be vile," the young Dukemented as they passed the store of clothes where he had bought Vivian her ck dress in the presence of his cousin sister Eleanor. Vivian had her gown ready for the Winter''s ball but she didn''t have the right shoes for it. He knew if he asked her she would right away refuse at the thought of him spending his money unnecessarily but what was his was hers now and what was hers was his to take and care of. With him needing clothes himself he had decided to take her out but Nichs had dropped like the ghost he was wanting to take up their time.


    "I have fallen short of suits myself. Can''t a man ask for thepany?" asked Lord Nichs.


    Vivian frowned and turned to scold her husband, "Leo!"


    "What?" Leonard questioned her to turn away his face as if he were pouting like a child.


    An onlooker who was using his pipe to smoke coughed to take away the pipe and bowed at the men''s presence. Vivian asked Nichs, "Is it only suit? Leonard needs them too, we can go get them together. Having more than one opinion will get you the best one," the Lord nodded to agree with what she said.


    "That''s true. How about you, Vivian? I know this excellent store that has one of the finest gowns for pureblooded vampires. The store owner is very picky with his customers but with my word, he''ll readily hand you out the best ones," Lord Nichs suggested at the thought that she might havee here to buy her gown for the Winter''s ball.


    She smiled at Nichs'' kind words, "Leo bought me the dress a few days ago. It''s a lovely one."


    "Did he now," the man grinned to see Leonard who was quiet walking next to Vivian without anyment.


    "Yes," she answered him.


    "The shoe store is here," Leonard halted in front of a store which was built simr to the ss room as even the door was made of ss so was its walls, "Let''s get your shoes first," with that the party stepped inside the shoe shop.


    When she entered the shoe shop, she saw a line of boxes that were arranged on the walls and some were ced on racks on the other side of the room like books in a library. The boxes weren''t ced symmetrically but they were arranged neat enough for the owner to pull out one of them if it was needed. Unlike the dresses which were put on the mannequins, here there wasn''t even one that was put out for disy. It was strange, making her think about how anyone woulde to look at the shoes if there wasn''t one to look at as a sample piece. Having seen some other shoe shops, she had found two or three shoes being put up so that the customers could have an idea on what the store had to offer and if it would fit in the taste.


    For Leonard who always had picked the best among the best, this shop must be one of reputation, thought Vivian to herself.


    "Lord Nichs, Duke Leonard!" a man popped out of one of those racks, his red eyes bright. Stepping away from the racks, he came to make his way where they were so that he could assist them, "How can I be of your service?" he looked at them eager to please before his eyes fell on the human who stood behind them who was looking around the boxes.


    The man was and of average height, he looked weak as if he would perish any minute but his eyes said otherwise. "Good morning, Trevor. How have you been? It''s been a while," Lord Nichs smiled kindly at the weak man.


    "I just saw you yesterday, milord," the shopkeeper named Trevor smiled, "Did youe to buy more shoes? Is it for Master Leonard? Or is it for thedy there?" Vivian who had been looking at the racks and boxes brought her gaze to her front where the shopkeeper stared at her keenly. She offered him a smile when their eyes met, "I see it is for her."


    "It is Trevor," Leonard confirmed the shopkeeper to have him bob his head up and down in understanding. Gauging the girl and knowing well on how to please his customers, the man didn''t pick on if the girl looked human or was a vampire. Serving men and women his handmade shoes were what was important.


    "Madame," he asked for Vivian''s attention with his heavy ent even though she was listening to them, "Please allow me to see your feet," her feet? thought Vivian to herself. Of course, she was here to buy shoes, she would need to give her measurements. The local vigers didn''t have the luxury to look at their specified size of shoes and had to try every possible one''s until one of them fit them close enough but when it came to the high society, shoe sizes mattered for the perfect fit.


    Taking out both her boots, she removed the socks that she wore with them. A little embarrassed to show her feet, she lifted her skirt waiting for the man to scale it with equipment. But instead of getting a scale, the man leaned over as he stared her feet for a long time. It took her time to realize that the man was mentally calcting and finding out her size before he spoke, "Please take a seat while I go search for the right shoe. Are you looking for anything in particr?" he asked her.


    "It''s for the Winter''s ball," she said loud enough for the man to hear who had disappeared behind his racks where one could see the box being pulled before being pushed back in its ce.


    "Ah, the Winter''s Ball! What a night those are, I have only heard of them. Any particr colour you have on your mind, mdy?" he asked her.


    Vivian wondered what might go well with the gown, "What would go well with ck, Sir?" she asked him to have his hand stop for two seconds. His hand hadn''t stopped because he was thinking about the suggestion but because she had used ''Sir'' to address him. There was hardly anyone who was polite in the elite society as the society always looked down upon him and to have her call him with such respect. The man decided to pick her the best out of what he had, something that would satisfy her.


    Pulling three boxes from different sides of the rack, he came forward to leave his counter. Bending down he opened the box to pull one pair of shoe out which was a ck in colour. It was one with a slightly raised heel which would make her look an inch taller than her usual height.


    "May I?" he asked the girl so that he could help her wear them. She nodded her head. Helping her wear them, she stood up with the front of her skirt being held with her hands. She liked the pattern but it seemed that more than her the shopkeeper didn''t look happy, "Let''s try another one," he suggested having her sit back again as he removed and made her wear another pair which was ck again but this time it was t.


    As the shopkeeper helped the girl with her shoes, Nichs went to Leonard who had been looking at one of the shoes which was being worked on by the owner, "Your wife is being doted by another man. Are you not jealous?" Lord Nichs poked fun at Leonard who dropped the shoe back on the counter.


    "He''s happy with the way she addressed him. There''s nothing to be jealous about it," Leo turned to look over his shoulder with Vivian who sat quietly while listening to the shopkeeper who was exining about his shoemaking skills and why it was important to pick what kind one wanted to suit the personality.


    Leonard wasn''t a petty man to be jealous about little things. In truth, he was a jealous man but he knew the shopkeeper had no intentions as such with his beloved girl. The shopkeeper''s entire demeanour changed when Vivian had added the word ''Sir''. It might have been an unconscious word used by her but it had left an impression on the lowly vampire enough to now show her that he was a capable man.


    Vivian sat there trying three more shoes and though she liked it, the shopkeeper gave an unsatisfied look as if he were the one buying the shoes. A few more minutes passed that Nichs took an unwilling Leo out of the store saying they would be in the dress shop named ''Ventroquilor'' leaving her here.


    After some time passed, the scrawny looking vampire appeared back in front of her muttering something under his breath telling this must be it, "Let''s try these," he opened the shoe box to give her a look of a ck shoe which was not an inch but had almost more than two inches heel with ankle straps that went around the ankle as well as the top of her feet to have a snug feet.


    "It is a new design," stated the shopkeeper as he pulled them out of the box delicately as if he were handling a newborn baby. After helping her wear them, his eyes lit up in final satisfaction, "Do you like them, mdy?" he leaned to his side, waiting for her to answer.


    Vivian stood up very carefully, her back feeling even straighter than before, hoping she wouldn''t fall she took a step forward which didn''t feel as wobbly as she had imagined it to be. They did look good on her feet, "I will take these," she smiled to see him nod.


    "Let me pack them for you," he replied back in pure delight. When Vivian was paying the man with the coins Leonard had given her so that she could spend it on herself, she thanked him to see him staring at her before he smiled back, "You''re wee, mdy. I hope you visit this man''s store again," he bowed his head and she returned the courtesy by lowering her head. She appreciated his help in waiting on for her, bringing her shoes and opening boxes to make sure she liked what was going to buy.


    Taking the box along with her, she stepped out, searching for the store which Lord Nichs had mentioned. She had spent quite some time in there to see the sun to have risen up in the sky along with the clouds that tried to hide the rays. Isle Valley was one of the fewer parts of thends which were highly developed with tall buildings even though they did look ragged in some of the corners.


    If one were to step into this part of thend at night, they would see illuminating lightsing from the windows which gave the valley an orange colour of hue to itself. With the shops adorning the front of the valley, some of them weren''t aware of the dark side of the valley which not everyone dared or weren''t aware of stepped into. They were shady with shadier business and if something half decent walked the deserted alleys of the Isle Valley which was situated at the back of the town, there was no saying they would be returned back unless there was a cor that stated the owner so that the person wouldn''t be sold.


    Vivian had been sidetracked when she found a vampiress pulling a young man by his cor as he crawled on the ground. It wasn''t the first time she had seen something but something like this disturbed her mind greatly. Her brows furrowed in a deep concentration of why people would enve another being. It wasn''t just one she had spotted but there were a couple more whom she had seen treating the humans or lowly vampires lowly as if they were mere pets.


    One of the girls was cored with her master pulling her, she cried, showing resistance and defiance who was kicked for her to fall down. The life here looked good at the surface but the truth was that it wasn''t all glitter. This part of the society showed no shame to unt their assets. Having known about the ve establishment and other parts of society during her studies. Vivian knew there were a few things she couldn''t do or change but she couldn''t help herself to protect the young girl who seemed to be in pain.


    "Mdy."


    Vivian called the vampiress who had kicked the girl to her stomach and the woman turned with one of her brows raised as to who he had dared to interfere between her pet and her.

 Chapter 160 - To Be Slave- Part 2

    The vampiress shot Vivian a look of disgust. To see a human who was below her kind who had tried to interrupt when she was teaching her pet to behave.


    "What?" the vampiress snapped her words. The woman was taller than Vivian by two or more inches making her look down at her. The young girl who was on the ground looked no more than sixteen as she cowered behind the mistress. It made Vivian frown internally. To take a hide behind the person who had kicked and insulted the girl in the public.


    The alley was a quieter one away from the view of the public as not many woulde to walk by this part of the Isle town. Vivian was yet to realize that she had stepped on to unterritorized ce as she had her focus on the pet like a girl who looked battered and covered in dirt.


    She had seen the pureblooded vampires who had bounded people from the ve establishment as their personal pets but Vivian found the whole idea derogatory. Taking away a person''s pride and identity along with free will wasn''t something she supported no matter what kind of society they lived in.


    Vivian gave a warm smile of her own which confused the vampiress as she felt that Vivian hade to stop her from degrading her pet girl. Not all had the audacity to stop any of the pet owners as pets were of high value who were owned by them, "It is a very beautiful dress that you are wearing, mdy," Vivian remarked looking at the woman whose looked turned on from confusion to slight understanding, "If you don''t mind sharing me with the details, I wanted to know where you bought it from," and as she asked she kept her words to be polite.


    As she had grown up around vampires, Vivian could tell that the vampiress was young and was in the process of reaching her peek of teenage years before it would halt for some time. The dress that she wore was an eye catcher as it didn''t look like the ones she had oftene across. The ring on her fingers was an indication that she hailed from a rich family and her behaviour emphasized that she was a spoilt vampiress like many others.


    It was rare and hard to find a girl who was as sweet as Charlotte. Most of them were too prideful and never had heard of the word being humble. They lived lives like one of a princess, learnt to be in the higher society and not to mingle or breathe the air of who belonged to the lower society. Vivian knew that if she didn''t interrupt, the vampiress would have continued to kick the girl whoid on the ground. The best she could do was to deviate her mind so that it could buy some time before they would go on their way.


    The vampiress stared at Vivian, her eyes still narrowed she opened her mouth to speak, "It isn''t something a person like you could afford," there was an air of unnecessary superiority when she spoke.


    Her words didn''t dither Vivian as she continued with her smile, "Of course, mdy but might you point me in the direction where I can go look at it? Maybe once I have enough money I shall go and buy one day," the vampiress harumphed, her mind now focussed on the lower being in front of her which loosened the hold on the pet''s cored chain which she had held tightly.


    "Keep wishing and collecting money but you still wouldn''t be able to get one. You are insisting so let me tell you," the vampiress raised her chin and jerked her head, "You will find it in ''Ventroquilor''. Have you heard of it?" she asked her.


    ying along with the vampiress, Vivian decided to feign ignorance and shook her head. Though Vivian had turned to ady, her clothes weren''t up to the par to the night creature. Not because she couldn''t afford one but because Vivian wanted to wear clothes that were simple and less eye-catching. Having been used to simple dresses that were made of cotton and having to bargain for clothes of a cheaper price, it was something that still stuck to her. The value of money to not spend but save for the future.


    "I am sorry," she apologized for the vampiress to roll her eyes, "I haven''t visited all the shops here."


    "Truly you haven''t. You wouldn''t have," the vampiress spoke in a matter-of-fact, "A woman of your status wouldn''t be able to go that far into the valley. You know what let me take you there," the vampiress suggested to Vivian''s delight.


    "You will? Thank you, mdy," Vivian bowed her head and as she lifted her head, she saw the girl who was on the ground. The wounds on her face seemed to a fresh one, there was a cut on her lips with blood that had been etched in the corner. Face still red which indicated that before Vivian had caught the act of the pet abuse, the vampiress must have pped the young girl.


    The vampiress had decided to help Vivian not out of kind heart but because she knew the owner of the store Ventroquilor would never take her in. To have her stop when she was teaching this little pet in her hand, it would be a pleasant view.


    "Follow me," the vampiress dragged the chain in her hand and started to walk with the girl who continued to crawl on her hands and legs.


    A look of pity formed on Vivian''s face to see the girl to be treated in such fashion. Gritting her teeth, she followed the woman as they entered the actual bustling streets of the Isle town. It beingmon, people who passed by didn''t bother to look at them and continued on their way. They crossed a good number of shops before they came to stand in front of a big store that read ''Ventroquilor'' that had some of the dresses disyed outside. It was true. Vivian had nevere to this part of the town as it was located deep and not at the front side.


    "Here, it is," the vampiress gave her a wide smile. Her eyes crinkling at the anticipation of what was going to fall on the human who had thought to step into the store.


    "Grace!" a man''s voice came through and Vivian saw the vampiress frown as both she and Vivian turned to look at a tall man who was dressed in an elite suit walking up to them.


    SLAP!


    Vivian''s eyes widened to see a handprint on the vampiress face which was left by the man. The man grabbed the chain from her hand and pulled the girl who had been crawling up on her feet. He looked at the girl''s face.


    "Damien!"


    "Fuck off, Grace," the man named Damien red at the vampiress, "Don''t touch my pet," he was as tall as Lord Nichs in height. The strands of his hair pitch ck and eyes red with a sharp jaw. Vivian noticed the way the girl who had previously taken a shield behind Grace now stood behind the man with her hands and legs quivering out of fear.


    The man''s eyes shifted to look at Vivian with rage and Vivian quickly spoke at the thought that he might think he was this vampiress'' friend, "I was looking for direction," she turned to look at the shop.


    "You cannot p me in public! I am your sister," the vampiress gritted her teeth.


    "Pull shit like this again and I will do more than a p. Keep your hands off her. She is my pet and not yours," the man red down at her.


    "She'' is a bi-"


    A p was heard, "What a lovely day to be out in the sun!" Lord Nichs exited the store along with Leonard. Leonard came to stand next to Vivian to ask them,


    "Good morning, Lord Nichs. Duke Leonard," the man bowed his head. The girl named Grace having not able to conjure the right words decided to give them a bow to not look disrespectful in front of the high figures of hernd.


    "Good morning, Damien," Leonard greeted the man. Damien was part of the council who belonged to another section of work whenpared to Leonard.


    Ignoring the people there, Leo went to ask Vivian softly, "Was it difficult to get here?"


    "No, Lady Grace showed me the way. She was kind enough toe along with me," answered Vivian feeling happy that the girl who had been cored was no more being dragged around by making her crawl on the dirty ground.


    "How lovely, Lady Grace, thank you for gracing your presence to our lovely Vivian to show her where we were," hearing what Lord Nichs had to say about this human whom she had nned tough at, her brows furrowed nheless she smiled. The girl had asked for the address but who knew that she was acquainted with the Lord. And did he address her as ''lovely''? The vampiress could only re internally at Vivian, "Ah, and who is this amongst us? It''s too early for you to be walking on the streets, isn''t it?" Nichs smiled in question.


    "My stupid sister took my pet away when I wasn''t home. Had to take her back," and though the man named Damien called the cored girl as his pet, Vivian noticed the way he kept her safe behind her back and away from the prying eyes, "Do you have any suggestion on how to fix her so that she knows how to not touch one''s possession?" Grace wanted to speak something but Leonard beat her to it.


    With an uninterested voice, he suggested, "You can send her to Lord Nichs'' mansion, he has plenty of ways to straighten up a child."


    Grace huffed, "There is nothing wrong in ying with her a little." By the looks of it, one could tell that both Grace and Damien weren''t rted to each other by blood.


    "Tch, you should listen to your brother, little girl," Nichs smiled, "Get your own toys than y with other toys. Now then, let''s carry on with our lovely day, shall we? Damien, I have something to ask you, maybe we can setup up sometime in the evening."


    The girl named Grace had excused herself. Vivian''s eyes followed the girl who took shelter behind the man named Damien. Now that his sister who had treated the girl poorly was gone, she appeared to look rxed but the anxiety was still visible in her eyes. Her curiosity bringing the best out of her, she wanted to console and ask the girl if she needed to sit down somewhere and drink water and when she took a step forward the man named Damien came to stand between them like a wall.


    "She needs water," spoke Vivian withplete straightforwardness. The man turned to give the girl a look.


    "I will give her. I will be taking my leave," the man said taking the girl with him. She didn''t fail to notice that unlike the vampiress he pulled the girl by her arm and not by her chain.


    "What''s the matter, Vivi?" asked Leonard touching her shoulder.


    "People are cruel," she answered to receive a chuckle from the Lord, whomented, "That''s how the world runs, Vivian. If all your fingers were of equal length, it would be difficult to function."


    In response to it, she spoke, "But one would get used to length one day, or maybe, maybe we would have a differernt length of joints to amodate its purpose."


    "Touch! You are a remarkable woman," Nichsmented.


    Leonard who had been looking at the couple, who only disappeared from his sight a second ago turned to look at the shop ''Ventroquilor'' and say, "The world is like this. No matter how much people might whine or praise it, it is how the food chain functions. Curiosity is good but don''t go too far with it. Like here, Damien is very possessive of that pet girl. Don''t step into matters which doesn''t concern you."


    "She''s a person," frowned Vivian.


    "She is but she is his pet. Someone who is bought. Don''t worry he will treat her well," he assured her but his words were empty. Who knew what the man would do to the girl and it was none of his business. As though believing in Leo''s words, she nodded her head.


    Both Leonard and Lord Nichs shared a look and then saw Vivian who was in her thoughts.


    "I need your opinion on the shirt, it''s red but Nichs said he would rather see me in white," Leonard tried to deviate her mind as they walked to the store and stepped inside.


    The owner of the shop was the kind of person who only served the pureblooded vampires. Being a pureblooded vampire himself, he didn''t believe that the clothes he created were worth spending it on a human who would eventually age and die. But as Vivian hade with two highly reputed vampires, the man could do nothing but oblige to the human''s presence.

 Chapter 161 - To Be Slave- Part 3

    Vivian couldn''t stop gawking at the clothes in this particr store. Every one of the clothes was made up of expensive fabric and mostly silk that felt soft on the skin. Having heard about the dressmaker before, she avoided touching any of the clothes and kept her hand to herself. The white was indeed something that suited Leonard. Though she would have gone with red too, remembering what Eleanor had said about her matching outfits with Leo, she decided to pick the white silk shirt for him which was what Nichs had suggested.


    Lord Nichs himself took his time in running his hands across the clothes, making the workers in there work doubt the time as he shifted from one shirt to another unless it was something that caught his eye. Every once in a while the female workers would eye both the men making Vivian think that if they were to ask them for blood the women would happily bring their neck forward as an offer to take.


    There was one very pretty worker who eyed Leonard, asking him what else he was looking for and assisting him. Vivian stood with her arms crossed silently looking at them. The girl was pretty, her hair tied up in a bun and her cheeks rosier than her own, she couldn''t deny she was quite a looker who might have been hired to bring in more male customers into the shop. She was well spoken, her eyes hazel in colour.


    The most amount of stares she had seen directed towards Leonard had always been around the rare soiree which she was mostly oblivious too. Even the time when they hadst time walked down the valley she hadn''t noticed. A feeling of jealousy rose in her chest when the female worker touched Leo''s shoulder to grasp the length and the coats fitting. She tried to look away, looking at Nichs who had been swarmed with three female as they tried to please him.


    Internally she sighed when the emotion began to churn in her chest. As if brewing the feeling of anxiety which she hadn''t felt before. Vivian hadn''t felt it much before because of the fact that Leonard had always been in her sight, always around her and filling up space. Thest time she had been unsure of what rtionship both Leonard and his second cousin shared.


    She knew Leonard loved her, yet why was it that another woman''s attention directed toward him didn''t settle well with her? They were married and she was his wife and he, her husband. Leonard was a handsome man, anyone could tell from a far distance without looking into his eyes that he belonged to the elite society.


    The more she saw the woman smile and interact with the aloof Leo, the more her heart sank. Her face dulled down and she turned her face away from him to put her concentration on the clothes that were ced in the open. Simr to how the shop kept female workers to get the male customers attention, there were a few male workers who used their sweet tongue to get thedies to buy things from the store.


    "Excuse me, mdy. Is there something you would like to see?" asked a male worker who had seen thedy dilly dally around the dresses.


    Vivian who had been keenly looking at the designs turned to her right to find a good looking vampire talking to her, with his attention ced on her, "Ah, no thank you. I was just...seeing," she exined to see him smile.


    "Pardon me but I overheard that you bought a dress for Winter''s ball. I am sure you would like to keep another option if you were to change your mind," the male worker might have been right but Vivian didn''t want to buy another one as the gown she had decided to wear was something Leonard had given her, "You can continue to look while the masters are busy."


    "Okay," instead of standing in one corner of the store, it would be better to look and pass her time and with the thought, she followed him to the opposite side of the store.


    The male worker was a lowly vampire, who had nothing but sweet words at the tip of his tongue. He praised the clothes and thepatibility on her skin. Pulling one dress after another, until one particr one made her heart skip a beat. The gown was gold and white in colour, abination which wasn''t umon but it stood out among the rest of the collection which she had seen. The man seeing Vivian''s reaction smiled.


    "Beautiful, isn''t it?" he asked looking at her. He pushed the gown closer to where she sat so that she could touch it, "I have an excellent inseam skirt and stockings which will go well with it. Give me a minute," he said to go get what he was talking about.


    Leonard had been getting his clothes fitted with the coat which he would be wearing for the Winter''s ball. When he turned around, Vivian was not where shest stood to look at the clothes instead his line of sight followed the voices where he came to look at one of the male workers of the shop who was talking his wife showing skirts. He pulled out a skimpy looking cloth that looked like stockings that were usually worn by women inside the gowns.


    As the men hadn''te into the store with Vivian the first time today, it was taken by everyone that thedy was an acquaintance but nothing more than that as she hadn''te to the store to buy anything in particr on her mind. At one point his eyes narrowed when Vivianughed softly, hiding it with a cough for something the man said, his eyes looking at his woman lovingly.


    Vivian was a lovely creature who appeared to look like someone who needed to be protected but the way things were going, he didn''t like the interaction between them.


    "Would you like to try the bow, Sir?" the girl who was attending him asked showing the bows as she held it in her hand.


    "Hmm," responded Leonard with no actual words. The girl''s smile faltered, unsure if the Duke had listened to what she had asked or not.


    "Let me get you some more that we have," she said with a bright voice, but Leo didn''t heed any attention to her as he had his eyes trained on the couple who were on the other side of the room. Not saying anything, he was quiet keeping his jealousy tame.


    The male worker who had been talking to thedy tried to get in her good favours. Like many servants in and about thends, the lowly beings always tried to get on the good side of the high elites in the hope of getting a better position and life. Seeing that thedy hadn''t arrived with the Lord and Duke earlier, he believed that the woman wasn''t taken due to the fact that Vivian wore her ck gloves on her hands which hid the family heirloom ring which Leonard had given her. And even if the woman was taken or married, it didn''t matter as he would be able to milk her with his charms and be her side lover.


    Bringing the gown to her, he ced it at the top of her, to tell, "You should try this, mdy. It would be a shame for a dress like this to not be worn like ady as beautiful as you. Why not look at the mirror?" he suggested looking at the wall of mirror.


    Vivian stepped forward and went to stand in front of the mirror but the male attendant instead of handing her the dress, he stood behind her andter ced the dress on her front as if a lover would which made her ufortable. Not taking more than a second to look at the mirror she turned away to maintain a good amount of distance.


    "It is a beautiful gown," she praised the dress knowing well some of the eyes that were trained on them in the room, not wanting to offend the dressmaker she praised it but also added, "I think it would suit a vampiress much better than a human as myself."


    "You look nothing less than one," the attendant seemed persistent in pleasing her which had turned out to be a little troublesome with the way he had put across his actions, "I am sure Mr Kaguya would be pleased and would tell the same. Why not try it out? You can ask the Lord and Duke for their opinion."


    Wear them now? Vivian shook her head, "I am fine, thank you," she replied back, keeping a polite smile on her face.


    One of the female attendants who had been standing nearby found Vivian to be rather pretty than the vampiress who all had the same red eyes with different shades of colour and pale skin. Being a lowly vampire, she was used to looking at the red eyes than when she saw Vivian the girl appeared different than the rest. She had been looking at her co-worker trying hard to impress thedy but in her personal opinion, the gown that was made for vampiress would suit thedy here just fine.


    "Mdy, you should try it," the female attendant piped in, "It won''t cost you money and you might not know how it would have looked on you," Vivian gave it some thought and then sighed.


    Both the men were busy and she doubted it would hamper their time of day and with that thought in mind, she took the gown along with the skirt and stockings that came with it. Most of the low-end stores had a wooden partition to part the room so that it could be used as a change of dressing area. This store being one which was fully furnished, there was a small room of its own with mirrors being ced on all the three sides leaving the door mirrorless.


    Closing the door and making sure it wouldn''t open, Vivian began to remove the clothes that she wore until she was only in her underwear. With a seat that was there, she sat down and wore the stockings, following it with the skirt and then with the gown which momentarily she had to struggle to find the sleeves.


    When she had been looking at the gown she hadn''t realized it but her chest showed more skin to emphasize and push her breasts out which made it look fuller in a very sexual way. Now she understood why it wouldn''t suit a human, it was very rare for a human to wear something so confident that would ooze with sex appeal.


    The gown showed a lot of skin and Vivian was used to wearing dresses that usually covered her skin. It wasn''t that she wasn''tfortable wearing them but she wasn''t used to it. Adjusting the dress as she wiggled into it and pulling the bottom on her skirt and smoothening the inlines so that it would sit right, she started pulling the strings from her back which wasn''t as many as she was used to. Like the front that showed her chest and the cleavage, her back was bare which plunged deep for her smooth white skin to be seen.


    Just as she struggled with the strings, one of the female attendants came to check on her, "Miss, would you like any help?"


    Vivian replied back with, "I am fine, thank you," she wouldn''t want any of them seeing her like this. Though she didn''t get the strings tight, she looked at herself in the mirror where thentern was ced above for light making her glow along with the golden gown.


    The door and the curtains suddenly moved away to reveal Leonard standing there looking at her. Vivian twirled around to look at the sudden intrusion for her heart to settle down to only rise up when she saw his eyes look ssy and nk.


    "Leo?" she whispered to step back further into the room when he stepped forward and closed the door, shutting the curtain close to see her stand there with both her hand in front of her chest.


    Leonard had one minute been looking at the ties and bow and the next second when he looked for Vivian she had gone to the dressing room.


    Not too subtle with his intentions to not be known by the staff there, he had gone to find her to only find her looking like an enchanting vixen who had stolen his heart but was also bent on stealing his soul without returning it back which he didn''t mind. But the issue was that this enchantress was going to steal many other hearts which he wasn''t too happy about. It brought a damper on his mood as he continued to gaze down at her.


    Vivian looked absolutely stunning and the dress, oh sweet Lord, thought Leo to himself. It hugged her body tightly, bringing out the shape and curve to be seen which was usually hidden with ayer of clothes. Her neck looked leaner, and the cor bones visible. His eyes trailed down to look at her swollen breasts that had begun to make his cks tighter.


    "How is it?" she asked him an innocent question waiting for his opinion but everything right now had heightened Leo''s senses to reply back to her question which very slowly sank into Vivian on why he wasn''t speaking and looked at her star struck.


    "It''s okay," he responded withck of emotion which made her heart sink. He wasn''t used to seeing her like this and it was somewhat understandable thought Vivian to herself.


    Seeing him not speak, she said, "Are you done? Give me a few minutes to change my clothes," she went to pull the string behind her but her hand was quickly caught in Leo''s hand. A gasp escaped her lips when he turned and pushed her so that both were facing one of the mirrors.


    "My sweet, Bambi," he whispered in her voice sensually that made her body shudder deliciously, "We might not appear as husband and wife in public...but have you forgotten you are my wife?"

 Chapter 162 - Winter’s Ball- Part 1

    Feeling Leo press her between her and the mirror, Vivian felt her body heat up. She wanted to close her eyes but with the way he was looking at her through the mirror made it hard for her to do nothing but look back at him as if she were under a spell which was set for eternity.


    When Leo''s hand moved to her back to feel the roundness of the back of her lower cheek, her lips parted slightly with her pulse beating in every breath of hers. Her hand came to ce on the mirror when she felt him push her hair out of the way which she had opened aftering to the dressing room to see how the dress suited her.


    A shiver of desire ran down her spine when his finger trailed down at the expanse of her bareback. His nail dug deeper into her skin, "Did you forget?"


    "I didn''t," she whispered in a rushed tone.


    "Is that so? I saw the male flirting with you while you smiled back at him. Were you not?" his hand ran around her waist while the other squeezed her butt cheek.


    "I didn''t mean it to be that way. I was only being polite," she answered when she was turned around to face him.


    Leonard ran his finger across her cheek, caressing her as she leaned for his touch craving it more and her eyes opened with her lips still parted his thumb ran down her lower lip before dipping it down to stop her from speaking, "You don''t have to be polite to every single person walking on thesends. If I didn''t know you better I would have taken that you were only trying to make me jealous," his eyes held such fire that had the ability to burn her, "He had his hand on you, touching something that is mine. How do you want me to react?" he left the question of the decision in her hand.


    Vivian would have yfully told to kill the man but Leonard wasn''t necessarily a yful man. At times her words were taken of great importance that if she uttered those words he would kill the man. When he moved his thumb out of her mouth, she said, "It must have been a mistake. He was only helping me," she said not wanting to cost the male attendant''s life with her careless words.


    She heard him hum in response, he had been looking down at her lips but hearing her words, his eyes slowly trailed up to straight into those ck haunting eyes of hers, "Don''t cover the man for what he has done. Do you think he was a gentleman trying to help a human girl? So much of naiveness," he murmured, keeping her in ce with her back now against the mirror he continued to speak, "A man like him, touching so closely, hovering around you only means that he wants to take you to bed. He wants to tear out these clothes that you are wearing, to run his hands and fuck you," his sudden use of the crude word startled her.


    "I didn''t mean to," she apologized quickly not wanting to hear him continue with what he had to say about another man. It made her more ufortable than when the attendant had stood behind her, Leo''s words sometimes were brash and unfiltered which went straight to her heart. It could either make her heart flutter or break her heart into a million little pieces which she had experienced in the past and didn''t want to feel it that way before it would be mended back into a whole belonging. In her defence, she had stepped away from the man and had tried to politely to tell him off, "I didn''t."


    "I know you didn''t mean to, my sweet Bambi. You didn''t mean and I am only telling what other men think about doing when they see a woman like you," not letting go of her yet, he continued to speak, "You look truly mesmerizing in this dress. I can''t resist taking a bite from you."


    Vivian was quick to panic and she pushed his chest away, "Leo! Not here, please," she whispered. When she went to push him further, he caught both her hands in one hand, "Please," she said but Leo had lost all his reasoning.


    "Have I mentioned this to you, Vivi. The more you plead and look at me like that. It only turns me on," he spoke to her with a calm voice which scared a little yet excited her at the same time. This Leo right now scared her with the way he looked at her, it was as if she was a prey that was going to be slowly tortured and eaten alive. His nose ran up against the column of her neck, leaving little bite and kiss marks. It wasn''t that Vivian didn''t want him to touch her but this ce, they were outside the mansion in a store for heaven''s sake! Though not everyone had a good hearing she would be absolutely embarrassed if Lord Nichs or any other worker of the store would be standing out of the room. Leo was the kind of man who didn''t care about such trivial matters but Vivian did and it only made her more flustered.


    Before she could ask him to let her go so that she could change her clothes, she heard him speak, "Won''t you allow me to touch you? I need assurance that you are mine," his nk face turned to one which he usually used against her when he wanted something from her or wanted something to be done by her so that she would listen to him.


    She looked too alluring that he couldn''t resist himself from not wanting to have her here.


    Vivian''s eyes widened at his words and unsure if she would be able to speak she shook her head which looked as if her body was craving for his touch but her mind was denying from the possible pleasure which was going to be given to her.


    "People are going to question us."


    "Let them. Once they get to know, word will spread and you will only increase my worry for you when you are away and not somewhere where my eyes can find you," he pushed the me on her, guilting her so that she would give in.


    "They won''t if you leave the dressing room now," Vivian''s were soft which was losing its resolution as she spoke.


    "Are you afraid what people will think?" at his question she nodded her head with worry marring her forehead, "It''s okay. Even the man who was touching you so frivolously should know who you belong to and not touch which is not meant for the other."


    He yed with the side of her hair, twirling and testing it between his fingers as he waited for her. With the way, he looked down at her with a heated expression, her resolve was falling and building. He gave her a smile which dissolved every possible wall she had built to not be affected by his charm. It wasn''t sweet and it wasn''t polite, it was evil yet filled with mischief which made her gulp.


    "I am tasting you," he stated not giving her an option to refuse. She didn''t blink but she heard the sudden tear of fabric from the front of the dress that she wore and her eyes almost fell off her face, "It is a beautiful dress but really hard to take out," with those words he descended his lips down on hers, crashing them to press his lips on to hers with such possessiveness that Vivian didn''t believe existed.


    His tongue slipped into her mouth, hesitantly she opened her mouth for him letting him dominate her mouth as he took control of the pace of the kiss. Their tongues rubbed against each other, dancing in their own rhythm. His lips were rough as they sucked on her making her cry, "You will let the boy know what we are doing if you are so loud. I should perhaps have you in front of that lowly boy to show him who you belong to. To run my lips like this," he dragged his lips and bit into the top of her breast.


    Vivian unable to move her hands tried to free herself which didn''t sit well with Leo. Unhappy that she wanted to escape he bit harder on her tender to elicit another cry from those delicate pink lips of hers, "Ah!"


    She felt his wet coarse tongue run over the reddened skin which had been bitten, "You tore the dress," she spoke worriedly.


    "You should worry about yourself and not the dress," he tore the dress further to reveal her breastspletely.


    "Don''t!" she whisper-yelled at him in horror. Though personally, she didn''t know how much the gown cost she knew it wasn''t something came by cheaply.


    She brought her hands to cover herself chest. Since they had got married, Leonard had started to love her more than before. The way he talked to her, the way he took care of her and the look in his eyes that said how much he wanted to have her though he never spoke a word about it.


    For Leonard, it was not about assurance but the need to have her right now and he wouldn''t let anyone keep her away from him. The leash around him which he had withheld for so long now hade loose and when he knew she was his, he didn''t see the point to hold back how much he wanted to love and worship her.


    cing his hands around her neck he brought her face for a kiss while she still tried to cover her hand with the torn dress which couldn''t be mended. He licked her upper lip yfully. He wanted to consume every being of her. The way she looked at him, like a pet that wanted to be taken home, fed and patted, he gritted his teeth wanting to bite into her making his eyes look feral.


    Vivian didn''t know what had gotten into Leonard but his teasing had gone too far and he was turning his words into reality. God only knew what the store members would think about them and the torn dress, embarrassment fell on her face. Being like this with him in a small cosy room where he could do as he pleased as no one would dare to enter and interrupt what the Duke was doing, a small silver of shiver ran across her body which Leonard noticed.


    His eyes looked hooded with passion and she doubted that her words would deter him. They were married but there were times when she questioned herself why this man loved her so. To be loved and needed in such passion without taking in regard to any other person, she wondered if it was because he was Leonard Carmichael or because it was how he felt for her. It scared her, yet at the same time, it made her chest feel full of fluff which she couldn''t deny. How could she? Before she even knew about her lineage of being a pureblooded vampire, the man had dotted her from the beginning.


    She felt special until her thoughts came back to the present when Leonard squeezed her breast when her hands had lowered down. A sigh of a moan escaped through her mouth.


    "So soft," he whispered as his fingers rubbed and pinched the darkened tips of her breasts, "Didn''t you say you wanted to do something for me? That you felt bad," he asked her and in a haze, Vivian who had her eyes closed, opened her eyes to look into his. As his words sank in, her cheeks turned redder by the second.


    "I-I did b-but..." she was unable to finish her sentence.


    "It is just you and me here. You don''t have to worry about others," he kissed her cheek, "Won''t you help me, Bambi?" He waited for her response by only ying with her breasts, once in a while tugging and using his mouth to nip the tips.


    Doing things behind closed doors was different from doing things like these in public where one could hear. Vivian gulped her throat turning dry without needing to look down at his lower half of the body which was pressed to her body. He pulled back from her, his back hitting the other side of the mirror as he leaned back with his eyes not breaking connection from hers.


    She looked at the curtains, seeing if it were closed and the door which Leo had closed behind him previously. Unlike her, Leo was well contained except for his wild eyes that gave her a peak of what he wanted from her. He didn''t make a move and stood still. He didn''t say anything at that time, waiting for her and surprising him as well herself, Vivian shyly let go of her hands to put it down and take a step close to him.

 Chapter 163 - Winter’s Ball- Part 2

    Vivian unzipped his pant and unsure of what to do next, it felt as if she was under pressure suddenly and wanted to cry. As if feeling her worry, Leonard used his hand to pull out his hardened member out of his cks.


    "It might be easier if you sit down," he guided her, making sure she didn''t misunderstand to kneel on the floor, he made her sit on the seat where her dress that she had worn was crumpled, "Don''t be embarrassed. You have done it before," he urged her with patient voice and she took hold of his member that was in front.


    His member was hard yet soft in her hands as she used both her hands to hold it. It was warm, very warm. Moving her hand as she didst time, she moved it back and forth to hear a hum of approvale from the back of his throat. This went on for a minute until she bent down to lick the tip of it like a cream that was on her finger. One lick and then she licked another time to hear take a sharp intake of breath.


    Having no experience she looked up at him with those eyes which asked if she was doing it right though something told her that she was, "You''re doing well," he used words of encouragement to fuel her motivation. She did simr to what the woman had done in the night theatre as that was the only reference she had. She was embarrassed yet she wanted to please Leo the way he pleased her, to take that power in her hands where she knew she affected him the way he affected her.


    Once she was done licking in and around, running the tip of her tongue at the length of his side she finally put it in her mouth. Leo ced his hand on her head, running it gently while making sure he didn''t ram his thick member into her mouth at the worry of choking her. Though he would love to do that, he didn''t want it to be something she would remember in theing future. His Bambi was a fawn who had only grown, as eager he was to show what the world was he had to take baby steps with her in these matters.


    Wanting to guide her further, he spoke, "You need to move your head just like your hand," he chuckled and saw her cheeks turn red before he hissed when her head began to move, "Careful, Bambi, not with the teeth. Suck it," he patted her head gently.


    Leo''s words weren''t helping but turning her shyer as his words were bold and open which she was used to when it came to sexual things. But she did her best to please the man she loved, using all her concentration she bobbed her head back and forth in the same rhythm to feel his hand stopped on her head and hearing him sigh in bliss. The more she did, the more she noticed his member turn hotter until her head was pushed back, "Pull back, Vivi," he advised her but Vivian was in her own world wanting to disobey him and take her own kind of revenge not knowing that Leo had told it for her sake.


    To tell that he wasn''t turned on with the sight of his woman giving him a treat of her own would be a pure lie. She had her eyes closed, not listening to what he said as she moved her head giving him a blow job. With her being seatedfortably, it gave her the advantage where her knees didn''t have to be pressed down in the floor. Her breasts were open and to his eyes to look at. The tips had hardened toplete attention.


    "Vivi," he gently called her but she seemed to ignore him. It was when he saw her tongue peek out of her delicate lips, the pink tongue licked the tip of his member making him almost lose control and he weaved his fingers through the back of her hair to pull it back. He would have enjoyed the feel of her wet hot mouth around his organ sucking it until his climax reached, making her gulp every part of him but he could tell she wasn''t ready.


    His Bambi was a shy creature but he hade to notice the way her guard fell down as she tried to embrace this side of her where he could see the eagerness in her eyes which she wouldn''t speak in words.


    He gripped her hair which wasn''t painful but enough to have her attention on him. Bringing her up as she stood on her two feet, she heard him speak, "What were you nning, my vixen?" he looked at her with a heated look in his eyes. Parting his lips, he kissed her on the mouth before picking the dress from the bottom such that her legs were in view.


    Slipping his hand into her underwear he felt her sex which was wet and already covered in her juice, "What turned you on?" he asked.


    "Do you have to ask everything?"


    "Why does it turn you shy? Or does it turn you hot?" he said teasing her more as it only made her feel that much more conscious, "Tell me, Bambi. I didn''t even speak what I have at the back of my mind," Vivian gave him a look which said he was joking, "I want to touch my beautiful, what is so wrong in that?" he pushed his finger to see her gasp at the sudden intrusion.


    "No," her toes curled on the ground and if she could she would move away and hide from him but in this close space of the room, there was no escape. Thest time she had been utterly dead for crying out his name in the bed but this wasn''t a ce where she wanted to let people hear her cry out his name.


    "Still thinking about others," he was unpleased with it and moved his finger before ripping apart the underwear that she wore, "Don''t think about others when I am with you. Is it that attendant or another one you are worried about?"


    "What about the women who were touching you?" she blurted out to look away.


    "It''s good to see you jealous, my sweet sweet Bambi. They were taking the measurements. There''s a difference in making one stand behind and putting on the dress and in taking measurements,"?his monopolization on her was something that had to bemended, "Let''s see how much you can hold in your cries today."


    He lifted her up and hiked up to hoist her around his waist, "Wrap your legs," he ordered. He pushed himself into her to have her circle her arms around his neck as a cry of pleasure passed through her lips, "My like this everyone will hear how naughty you are," he teased her.


    Vivian buried her face on his shoulder, biting him feeling his hiss, "Naughty girl," he pushed himself, moving inside her as her cries were turned to muffles in his arms. She clenched around his already hardened member until the groans that filled up the small room quietened when Leo released his orgasm after Vivian.


    He held her in his arms while she refused to pull back for what they had done. She wanted to dig her grave here if it were possible. They might have been quiet or tried to be quiet but people outside weren''t deaf or blind to know what would have transpired in the room.


    "I hate you," she muttered and Leo smiled knowing she didn''t mean it.


    "I know," his voice was filled with tenderness for her that she couldn''t be angry.


    Vivian wasn''t as vocal and as affectionate when it came to professing her love for Leonard but she loved him more than she would be able to express. His whisper filled sweet words melted her heart and pulled the strings of her heart one after another, tugging on it every time bullied her. He let her stay there and he would have continued to carry her if she hadn''t decided to let go of her arms around him.


    He had not only torn the dress of the store but he had also managed to tear the underwear that she had worn.


    "Do you want me to help you with changing?" he asked her and she was quick to refuse his offer.


    "That''s okay. I will do it," she said meeting his eyes.


    "Hmm. I will be outside. You can hand me the dress before getting into your usual one," he said and pushed the curtains and opened the door to step out. After Vivian had handed the dress and wore her previous clothes with which she hade to the shop. Tying her hair, she stepped out and went straight to where Leo was without letting her eyes wander left nor right. She knew that if she were to let her eyes wander, she would meet the judgy eyes of the attendants who had previously not thrown her any attention.


    Before leaving the store, her eyes had the owners who looked at Leo with a sour look. It wasn''t because of what they had done in the dressing room but because he had torn his beautiful dress which was nheless paid for with twice the price which it was being sold for.


    When they stepped out Vivian wondered where Lord Nichs until she saw him talking to a woman on the other side of the street. Internally she hoped that he wasn''t there in the store when Leo hade to the dressing room. She caught sight of Nichs who bent to pick thedy''s hand and kiss the back of her hand which didn''t seem casual at all before he made his way to where they were.


    "I brought the clothes I wanted for Winter''s Ball. Thank you for apanying me," he thanked Vivian and bowed his head, "I shall see you two love birds at the ball," Vivian bowed her head to see him walk away from them. She was d that Nichs didn''t ask why and what had taken them this long time in the dressing because he would have already known when Leonard had made his way to where she was.


    "What else did we have to buy?" Leonard asked her if there was something that she had missed.


    She shook her head, "That is all. It was just my shoes."


    "Did you like them?" he asked her as he hadn''t got the chance to see what she had picked. She seemed content with what she had picked therefore he didn''t continue to ask on it. As if in deep concentration he thought about something making Vivian wonder what happened.


    "Is there something you have to buy?" she asked him.


    "I do. Let us go to the carriage though," they walked to where their carriage had been parked and she noticed the number of people on the streets and the carriages moving had increased since thest time she had been out here. Reaching the carriage Leonard asked her to wait here for him, telling her he would be back in five minutes. She wasn''t exactly happy with him wanting to keep her safe like this but her legs hurt and she wanted to sit somewhere without wanting to move right now.


    As promised Leonard came back to her and they headed back to the Carmichael''s mansion.


    During the time of the evening, councilmen Maximillian Gibbs and another man had arrived at the door to talk to Leonard on the work. With the rain that had stopped momentarily giving way to Winter, she got to see the beautiful colours of the sky which were blue, pink, purple, orange and many more in colour from therge window she stood at. It was a breathtaking view with birds seen flying in the sky to go back to their nests and the way they chirped up in the sky. Holding the window sill, she stared into space, the window blowing softly without hurting a leaf as it passed by.


    Somewhere deep down, Vivian was anxious. The feeling of the pit of emptiness she felt at the thought of how she might end up meeting her parents if they were there in the Winter''s ball. Leonard had told her that almost all the pureblooded vampires were usually invited therefore it would be hard to miss them.


    She shouldn''t be feeling the emptiness but she felt it anyways making her queasy as she thought about it.


    Her mind had always wondered if it was worth finding them. It was the practical side of her mind which often wondered on what would or could happen. It was taken that she was disowned else why would Martha stay tight-lipped all these years taking the secret to her grave? All these years passed and not once had anyonee to look for her and that was something that pained her.


    Something had gone wrong with her genes and the blood that was meant to be pureblood had turned to one of a human. It was told that it was rare but no matter how rare who abandoned their own child? Had it been so shameful for them?


    Sorrow filled her mind at the thought of how unwanted she was to her family.


    Hearing something behind her, Vivian turned around to see no maid who had walked by as the ce she stood was one of the longest corridors in the mansion. Her eyes then snapped to look at the corners of the walls were thenterns and candles were yet to be lit to see a shadow lurking behind it.

 Chapter 164 - Winter’s Ball- Part 3

    Vivian saw the shadow that was behind the wall. It wasn''t that it moved but that was the only wall that had a bigger shadow that fell on the ground that the rest of them. It was the ghoul who was hiding behind the wall.


    Remembering how Nichs had told them that one of his ghoul named ''Everest'' had been not listening to him, she turned around to look at the ghoul that was still behind the wall which hadn''t stepped out into herplete view. The Lord had been worried as it was out of character for the creature of the dead to behaving like this and this made her wonder if the ghoul hade to see her without letting its master know, or was it another ghoul? When she had asked Nichs on the name of the other ghoul he had called it ''Narcissus''.


    The ghoul was to listen to Nichs''mands and words as they were part of him. They were born from his pain and anguish after his mother''s death.


    "Everest?" she called the ghoul''s name but the creature didn''t step out. Maybe it was the other ghoul, thinking about it, she called it with its name, "Narcissus," but there was no response.


    While she stared at the shadow, one of the maids who had been walking by saw thedy talk to the wall where there was no one. The maid took it as the rumours rted to the former maid to be true. She must be a witch and to steer clear of the path, she took a sharp turn and saw herself out of there. Nobody wanted to talk or see the ck witches who brought ill fate and luck to the others.


    Vivian had seen a maid appear from the corner of her eyes but when she looked in the direction the maid had disappeared. Not giving it a thought, she went to look back at the ghoul. Pressing her lips for a long time, she opened her mouth, "There''s no one now. You can step out...Everest," finally the dark shadowed creature moved from behind the wall toe out and stand tall.


    So it was the ghoul named Everest. She had been standing here for more than half an hour, making her wonder how long it had been since the ghoul had appeared, waiting for her to notice it''s presence. Both the ghouls were tall in stature. Tall and lean with the ragged cloak which they adorned on themselves. The cloak was a shade of brown, a colour that reminded of an iron which was rusted in time. The ends of the cloak were torn and as the ghoul moved to stand closer to her it was as if it didn''t have legs.


    "Do you have legs?" she asked it curious to hear a garbled voice from it. It was the first time for it to be interacting or rather giving her a response to her question. Not that she had asked anything to it before. She looked down at the cloak that covered the floor that it stood and she wondered if it had replied with a yes or a no. Looking back up at its hooded face, she tilted her head, "Does your master know you are here?" the creature was quiet this time.


    As if a child who had been caught lurking for a midnight snack at night, it turned it''s body the other way slightly.


    "I take it that he doesn''t know. He''s worried," she added thest line to see it turn back towards her.


    Not knowing what it was doing here and with themunication which would go nowhere, she leaned back thoughtfully wondering what to say to it. She looked to her side to look at the setting sky which was slowly turning blue and dark with its horizon lighter in colour. Seconds started to pass between them in silence and Vivian came to not mind the ghoul''s presence with her. She had been scared of the dark shadow but since it hade to show her concern, her guard around it had been lowered.


    Vivian had no friends here. The people she hade to befriend had all turned dead and it was something that made her smile unhappily. Paul, Martha, Charlotte everyone had passed away leaving only Leonard who she treasured dearly. The maids she once used to speak to avoided talking to her as it wasn''t in their ce to talk to ady of her status. She had no people to share with and she wondered if the ghoul had turned to be her friend as it didn''t speak garbling to her but just looking at her and giving herpany in this empty side of the corridor of the mansion.


    When the sky turned dark and Leo who had been upied by the councilmen, Vivian''s thoughts drifted back to the Winter''s ball. To the West part of thend where she would know her parents. Enveloped back in sadness she stared at the starry sky which urred only in this part of the season before it would start to snow and then go back to raining the rest part of the year.


    Lost in her thoughts she felt someone''s hand on her head and when she turned, a small gasp of surprise came out of her lips. It was the ghoul who hade to ce it''s cold hand on her head as if wanting to console her.


    "Are you trying to console me?" she asked the ghoul to receive gibberish response making herugh, "You do know I don''t understand what you say. I wish I could know why you follow me," she murmured thest part under her breath.


    She would the ghoul pat her head as it moved lightly before stepping back from her, "I didn''t know ghouls had the ability to read and convey emotions. I saw you what you did a few years ago," her voice dropped a few octave low, "To Lord Wilhelhum."


    The ghoul appeared angry as a series of angry growls were heard. She wondered if the ghouls were the alter ego of the Lord, no one knew about these ghouls so all she could do was build her own theory and spection on what they were.


    Lord Nichs was always soposed, and she could tell that for his age not many were like that. He always had a gentle smile on his lips. Now that she thought about it, he never showed another emotion apart from it. It was as if he were trained to be that way. One of the major reason was due to this mother''s death. The boy was forced to grow up, leaving his childhood behind and maybe this ghoul was that side of him. The ghouls of death were the personalized weapons of the lord who were used to kill people on his whim.


    The ghoul''s close proximity had scared her. To have something that killed people readily, it was onlymon to react to that and though the ghoul didn''t show much emotion, she hoped it didn''t take her reaction too badly.


    "I wish I could talk to you, you either learn mynguage or I learn what you speak. Can you say my name?" she asked Everest the ghoul who gave her garbled words. She concentrated on what it said but it wasn''t anywhere close to her name. The ghoul turned away and stand next to the wall, "That''s okay. I am sure we can work on it," she assured the ghoul to receive another set of garbled words. Taking it as a yes, she smiled.


    Her smile then faltered, having no one to talk to right now, she spoke to it, "I haven''t met them at all not that I could remember them. I was really small when I was brought here," she exined while the ghoul patiently heard her speak, "I am scared. Scared that when I meet them, they will shun me. Deny that I am their daughter and fail to recognize me. Do you think it is wise to go search for someone who hasn''te to search for you?" it wasn''t a question to the ghoul but more of a statement.


    Her eyes cast down on the dark floor and she heard the carriages and hooves of the horsese from the front of the mansion to indicate that the guests who hade were leaving now.


    "Thank you foring, Everest. I will see you around," she offered the ghoul a smile, bowing her head and she went to meet Leonard.


    During the time of night, Vivian had a dream where she walked in an empty mansion. The ce was deserted with no person in sight. Looking around, she decided to walk forward as no matter how much she tried to wake herself up thinking it was a dream, she couldn''t snap out of it. It seemed that she was wearing the night dress she had worn before getting to sleep with Leo but Leo wasn''t here.


    For some odd reason, this ce felt familiar as if she had previously walked through these corridors and past the rooms. It was after she came to the main hall did shee to realize that this was the snow mansion. Why was she here?


    Not knowing, her bare feet padded across the chilled floor as she walked aimlessly. The snow mansion was something that she hadn''t thought about in a while not at least since she had heard about it from Leo''s uncle, Sullivan.


    She spent time walking around but no matter how much time passed by she never came to wake up from her sleep which started to worry her. Having an interest in the strangest things, she had gone through a book called dream patterns and ording to it the time spent in the dream world was too long when in reality it was very less. As she walked in the above part of the stairs she felt something pass by one of the rooms that got her heart beating.


    Vivian had never been fond of ghosts. She could get through the thunder and lightning in darkness but the ghosts were something she was scared of since an early age of time. Taking a deep breath she turned her face to see empty rooms where the doors where opened. Had it been opened when Leo and she hade here? No, she thought to herself. The mansion was much much darker than how bright it looked right now.


    Wondering if she should ignore it, she stood there beforeing to realize that if it were a ghost it would catch up with her. There was no point avoiding something that was going to happen and the only thing here that could happen was she dying and waking up from her sleep. Chewing on her lips, she took the courage to go explore. If she was here, there must be something that was leading her somewhere where she was ought to go.


    Walking towards the rooms, she entered in and out, taking it turns as she held her breath every time she stepped inside the empty hollow rooms and stepped out of it.


    It was when she was stepping out of thest second room after turning around did shee to face a woman who stood down the stairs staring at nothing in particr as if she were a statue. Why did she seem familiar? Vivian asked herself. Vivian stood above rooted in her spot while the woman whom Vivian believed to be a ghost stood there without a single movement until her eyes that had been staring into space suddenly looked up to where Vivian stood to make her heart slip.


    The ghost, whoever she was stared at Vivian before she disapparated and stood on the beginning of the stairs. The woman apparated and disapparated again who moves a couple of steps up again. Every time the ghost did that it moved closer to where Vivian stood and it took no more than five seconds for it to stand in front of her before showing its rotted face and giving out a shrill scream whilst making her scream out of fear.


    She got up from her sleep with eyes wide open.


    "Vivi?" Leo asked her concerned as she had previously experienced bad nightmares before. Vivian hugged Leo, closing her eyes and hoping to forget what she had seen in her dream as it felt vivid and real even after waking up, "What did you dream?" he asked running his hand on her back. Leonard had been sleeping when he had picked Vivian''s heart begin to beat loudly as if she were running. It had him woken up and he had got up to see if she was alright before she had let out a scream.


    "It was a ghost," she muttered not wanting to let go of him. When they were children Leo was the one to chase away her fears of the ghost, he was the knight who shooed them away so that she could sleep peacefully.

 Chapter 165 - Playing House- Part 1

    The Carmichael''s carriage traveled from thend of rain to thend of sun, from East to West, heading towards Valeria where both Vivian and Leonard were going to attend the Winter''s ball. After the long journey, the carriage stopped in front of a decentlyrge house which belonged to Maximilian Gibbs who was a dear friend of Leonard.


    Vivian walked through the doors of the house, finding it rather warm and cozy as it didn''t leave much room to be empty. With well-furnished furniture and a few decorative items, it felt enough to be called home. Unlike the mansion she hade to be used to, there was only one maid a woman in her prime forties who was a human, looking after the Gibbs'' house.


    "You don''t have to exert yourself, Mrs rk," Vivian could hear Leonard speak to the maid who had offered to take the luggage, "My coachman will take our suitcases to the rooms."


    "Okay, okay. Let me show the rooms. It has been long since Mr. Gibbs came to stay though he does visit us once in a while," said the woman to lead them to the room where they would be staying in. With the Winter''s ball which was being hosted in Lord Alexander Delcrov''s mansion, Leo had thought it to be wise toe one day before the grand day.


    "He did tell me that," Leonard replied looking at the walls which hand frames being hung, upying almost every inch of space of the passage.


    "Sure he did. I do receive a letter every once a week. He''s an adorable child," she spoke fondly of the entric man she hade to know. Maximillian Gibbs was one of the very few men Leonard associated himself with. The man with his shocking blue eyes was someone she had been wary of not because he was a bad man but he was strange. He would be looking dull looking at an inanimate object but when his eyes would meet a person''s it would turn to a smile which made many people ufortable under his intimidating self. Maximilian was a rare case of a pureblooded vampire to have eyes that weren''t red which only made him odder than the rest of the folks.


    She walked behind them, taking her time to look at the house and in one particr frame she found Leonard there who must have been ten to eleven years old at that time.


    With the coachman and the maid who had left the room so that they could rest, she removed the overcoat that she had worn and hung it on the stand while also taking Leonard''s coat who had taken out his.


    "It is a beautiful house," shemented,ing to sit on the bed which was made of soft matress that dipped down due to her weight.


    "You like it?" Leo was unbuttoning the cuff of his sleeves as he asked her. It was a casual journey from onend to another with only Vivian who was riding along with him but Leonard had been brought up to wear his clothes to the clock as if he were attending a gathering. Now that they were in a closed room, he decided to change himself into casual wear, "I take that you aren''t fond of mansions then," his eyes were trained on her as he said it.


    "It''s not that," she smiled leaning back and then forward so that she ced her hands on her knees and support her face with it.


    "Bored?" he guessed and he returned back a smile seeing the reluctance on her face as she didn''t respond back. Vivian was looking at the small firece which was in the corner of the room, staring at the logs which hadn''t been lit as the surface on which theyid was clean to the spot, "We can always move."


    "Hmm?" Vivian''s eyebrows scrunched up together taking a second more before she came to realize with what he meant.


    "Where would you like to go?" he asked.


    He was being serious? thought Vivian to herself. It wasn''t that she didn''t like living in the mansion but just that it was too big with only two of them along with the servants. Sometimes that space reminded her of the emptiness but she had never thought to move away from there at least not until Leonard hade back after staying at the Rune and Rufus'' mansion.


    Before Leonard hade back to stay she did think about leaving the mansion, specifically to work in Jerome Wells mansion as he had asked her, proposing the deal where she could look after his mansion being a housekeeper directly. For a normal servant, it would take years of experience and time before she or he would be assigned as the housekeeper but only some were given such privilege. To make it more unfair, families usually hired male as the housekeeper instead of females. To have been offered such position, she had been ecstatic before. Utterly happy at the thought that she would be looking after a mansion just like Martha did in the Carmichael''s mansion but things had changed after Leo''s return.


    Seeing him shook her resolve of being the housekeeper and she prolonged the time, wanting to spend time with the young master.


    "I am happy where I am right now," she answered when he came to walk to the bed, taking a seat next to her but to onlyy down on his back, "Lay down with me, Vivi," he said waiting for her to apany him in the leisure hours of the day as they had nothing else to do. Giving him a smile, sheid next to him on the bed both of them staring at the ceiling of the bed where the silk-like curtains started from the center to be taken and twirled around the corners of the bed.


    "What did you dream of?" he surprised her with the question, "You must have had some thoughts about your future on what you wanted to do. How you wanted to spend your time unless you nned to be my personal maid," he grinned erupting a giggle out of her lips.


    "But there were so many other maids in the mansion, older than me," she teased him to hear him hum a response.


    She turned to her side so that she could see him better, "Because you know me better than the most. Maybe not as good as Paul and Martha but you had some redeeming points when it came to them. How can a young master not want to have pretty maid as his personal maid where he can do what he wants with her," Vivian puffed her cheeks at his words.


    "You have a bad mind," she retorted to look at him raise his brow.


    "What''s bad in making you study harder than before?"


    "Study?"


    "My, what dirty thoughts you have, Bambi?" he teased her to see her blush.


    "Trickster," she mumbled under her breath. It only recently did shee to realize how corrupt his mind was when it came to her. He often liked to tease her, either it was by words or through actions leaving her breathless countless number of times.


    "Tell me. How did you see your future?" he asked wanting to know what she had thought in the past.


    "Just normal, general thing how the rest of the girls want," her evasiveness on the matter only made him that much curious that he now wanted to find out. Vivian was sure it was something he wouldn''t like hearing but his eyes held that spark which said he wouldn''t be let her go unless she revealed about it, "I wanted to be a librarian in the local vige," she said shyly but Leo didn''tment on it and waited knowing there was more, "They have a lot of books which is often circted across the fournds. They need people who know how to read."


    "Of course," he responded back. It was good to hear that his Bambi actually had better ns by leaving the mansion for reasons of wanting to have a better life for her. Vivian had been a bright girl since she was young, learning quickly which made him make her study that much harder.


    "I did go to apply to it but I heard Martha say that I wasn''t allowed to leave the mansion until Mr. Carmichael approved of it."


    "Father didn''t?" it was an obvious answer as to when Leonard hade back Vivian was still there breaking vases of the mansion.


    She shook her head. Loyal servants were hard to find, servants usually had to be brought from the market or the ve establishment so that they would obey the owner''s orders. Most of them were bound to not leave the mansion to work elsewhere unless a written parchment was received by the owner.


    "So I thought to be a housekeeper as requested by Jerome Wells," she said in the flow, ying with the button of his shirt and pausing her fingers, "He said he would like to turn me to ady."


    "What else did he say?" Leonard asked in a casual tone.


    Giving him a troubled look she said, "You already know," and seeing him not ask on the matter she decided to shift the topic, "Are everyone invited? For the ball I mean."


    "Almost all the pureblooded vampires but a few elite humans or smart people who are of good trade. With the ball being here in Valeria, it is more of apulsion for the pureblooded vampires to make their presence," he answered to look at the anxious state she was in, "What''s the matter, Vivi?" he ced his palm on her cheek, "You have been very quiet all the way here. What''s bothering you?"


    She shook her head, her smileing to form half way before it quivered and fell down.


    "Don''t trouble yourself by thinking so far into the future. Live with me in the present. If you do, you will see me in every step you take if not next to you then behind you," he pushed the baby hair away from her face that had been stuck to her face thanks to the wind.


    "Your words are few but you weave it well," sheplimented him.


    "Until I am here with you have nothing to worry, allow me to carry the pain, the anxiousness that you are feeling right now."


    She bit her bottom lip, emotions bubbling and she closed her eyes, "I am scared, Leo," something felt cold on her cheek when he ran his hand as if to rub something away.


    "What is it that scares you?"


    "I don''t know," was her immediate reply, her eyes still shut with hershes that had turned wet. Leonard hadn''t mentioned about it but for four days she had been quiet, often getting lost in her thoughts and her nights weren''t peaceful. She had been having bizarre dreams, once it was the ghost then it was something that she had relieved to feel the past which had blood but it was another dream which she refused to speak about that made him wonder why was it hard for her to speak about it.


    She had hugged him, her heart beating against his chest with such rapidness that had got him worried.


    "You don''t know or you don''t want to talk about it?" he asked her as theyid next to each other on the soft mattress alone in each other''spany.


    He saw her open her eyes, her eyshes having drops of water in them which she had to blink away, "I need to know Vivi so that I can help you. It doesn''t feel right to see the person you love cry, the feeling of helplessness isn''t something one would like to go through. Tell me, please. It would also lighten my chest," she took a deep breath.


    "My emotions feel all over the ce," she confessed, she took a deep breath to stop herself from crying more as she didn''t understand what exactly was upsetting her. Leonard suddenly frowned and he ced his hand on her stomach, "What happened?" she asked confused until realization dawned on her and she blushed profusely with her wet eyes looking at him. He was checking to see if she was pregnant.


    "Emotions," he helped her continue looking back up at her.


    Vivian''s heart murmured to itself, her thoughts even more scrambled with the thought of a child of theirs. It hadn''t crossed her mind but Leo''s sudden inspection now deviated her mind before getting back to what they were speaking about.


    "What if they don''t ept me?"


    "They don''t have to. You need to know that if they abandoned you they might not ept unless there is something they can benefit from you," Leo''s firm words were like a mirror breaking into pieces to show the reality of emptiness thatid behind the mirror, "You need to remember that you are worth more than anything in this world. And no matter what others say, it doesn''t matter. Do you think I would a girl randomly to be my wife?" he attempted to try to cheer her up.


    "No," came her soft voice.


    "You are a very valuable person and if they failed to see it, it wasn''t your fault but theirs," both of them knew the truth that it was her parent''s shame that had driven her out of her house when she was a child.


    "Yes," she nodded her head to hear him ask her, "Is there something you''re hiding from me?" she saw him stare into her eyes waiting for her to answer.


    Leonard loved Vivian to the point where he could know and understand her emotions well. His ears had been tuned to listen every beat and skip of her heart. Though meeting her family was something that worried her he doubted that it was her major concern. Her hugs sometimes felt as if she was too scared to let go.


    Her eyes looked slightly dted and her breathing quickened as if she was remembering something. He saw her lift herself up and sit on the bed which he followed to do the same. Waiting for her, she finally spoke,


    "I have been having bad dreams."

 Chapter 166 - Playing House- Part 2

    Vivian should have known that when it came to her nothing went unnoticed by Leo. His eyes picked up every little detail but then it wasn''t just about her. He was more attuned to his surroundings than her or the rest of the people she hade across.


    She hadn''t meant to make him worry. The dreams were more than one could say ufortable, where it was hard to let go. She tried not to think about it but the more one tried to escape the faster it caught up with the conscious until you didn''t confront it and let yourself merge with it.


    "The one with the ghosts?" she heard Leonard ask her, his head tilted to the side.


    Yes, she thought to herself but that wasn''t all to her dream. There was more than the ghost, "You can share anything with me," he assured her and she nodded to acknowledge the fact that he would always be there to listen to her.


    Her night would usually be her waking up from her sleep which he had noticed but had not spoken about it. Despite her difficult dreams, Leonard had given her enough time not wanting to push her so that she would herselfe to him if it was too much but she was overdue in telling him what was upying her mind. On why she kept looking far away and a sadness that hade to hinder behind her eyes which peeked out once in a while.


    "It was the snow mansion. I saw ady, ady in a white dress who keeps roaming in the deserted mansion," he nodded his head to tell he was listening to her, "I think I have dreamt about her now for four times."


    "What do you do in the mansion?" he inquired about her dream.


    Vivian bit the inside of her cheek, looking at him listen to her keenly with undivided attention. It was at that time did shee to realize how fortunate and lucky she was to have herself married to a man like him. The truth was that at times it worried her that she didn''t love him as much as he did. His love was raw and unconditional for which not only filled herself till the top with love but which overflowed and maybe that was why her feelings felt little whenpared to him.


    She must have been truly blessed, thought Vivian to herself.


    "I walk inside the mansion. Every time I dream of it, it feels far too real to call it as just a dream. I know it''s a dream but I cannot wake myself up from it no matter how hard I try and it is only at the end when I am scared and my heart starts beating do Ie to wake up," she stared down at her hands that she had ced on herp, "It feels like this, the space and time very much simr to it. The dream ends with thedy wanting to haunt me."


    "Have you met her before?" asked Leo for her to shake her head.


    "I don''t think I have but her face does feel oddly familiar like I have seen her once," she answered for him to pat her head.


    "Not all dreamse true, Vivi. It need not be true. Dreams are just figment of your imagination which it conjures itself by taking various elements," Vivian hope it was true, "I might dream of a well but it would have nothing to do with me," believing that that was all that had been weighing in her mind he offered her a smile and this time she made sure to smile back assuredly. Though this was one part of what bothered her, there was another part of her dream which she couldn''te to tell him. If what he said was true there was nothing to worry about but if it wasn''t and was a sign about something then...she thought to herself and didn''t go to think further down the road.


    "How long has Mrs. rk been working here?" she asked him to change the subject again.


    "Since I have known Maximillian. She was a young woman when I first met her but a human will always age," Leonard like Vivian walked on eggshells when he came to think about Vivian''s human life. With turning her into a half-vampire being not an option, there was nothing more he could see in keeping her alive.


    If he left as it was she would grow old and wither away in front of his eyes while he would still be a young man to continue to live on his life. Another option was to leave a soul bond on her which wouldn''t make a difference in her case but once she would pass away his soul would start to die and it wouldn''t be long before his body would be taken to the grave.


    "She is friendly," Vivianmented on the maid of the house. The tears that had sprinkled over hershes had dried up.


    "That she is," saying this he ced his hand on the bed and leaned forward to kiss on her forehead, "If you ever want to move, tell me. We can buy a house which suits your taste."


    "Mhmm," she hummed in agreement, which she doubted she ever would. The Carmichael''s mansion was where she had grown up with Leonard. They shared a lot of memories with each other and the others they had grown around with. It was the first time for them, to be sitting like this in leisure like they hade out for a short vacation with the house just for them to upy where there wouldn''t be maids or other servants walking down the hallway or people who woulde to meet Leonard, "What would you like eat for dinner?" she asked him.


    He gave her a curious look as she got down from the bed and tying up her hair which had loosened to tie it into a bun, "Anything my wife prepares for me," he answered her and this time Vivian went to him and leaned down to kiss him on his lips which she shied from, "This feels like old times."


    "Old times? But I never cooked for you," she said earning herself a tilted smile from him. She had helped in cooking meals with the other maids before but never had she been able to cook aplete meal for him. She doubted that the cake she had prepared for him could be considered a meal.


    "The time when Charlotte and you would y house with each other, turning us to husband and children," Vivian gave him a look of ''really?'' as if she didn''t believe him. She was too young to remember every little detail, "Yes, it was quite ridiculous yet sweet now if I think about it."


    "You were my husband back then too?" Vivian teased him, putting two pins into her hair bun so that it wouldn''te loose. She opened the door of the room where Leonard stood on his feet to follow her.


    "Charlotte was too noisy to be her husband and I didn''t want Julliard or Rhys taking the role. Of course, Julliard didn''t want to pair up with his sister and would instead push me and Rhys," he stated the obvious. She couldn''t stop the smile and bubble ofughter that burst through her lips, "Don''tugh," he sulked.


    "Jealous. You must have been an adorable child," shemented, her voice filled with affection for him.


    "Think what you may," he said making it only more obvious that he had been jealous since he was young.


    "That''s very cute," she continued to tease him. It was very rare that she ever found something to tease him with as he was careful when he spoke to her or anyone for that matter.


    Mrs. rk was in the kitchen cleaning the utensils when both Vivian and Leonard appeared there for her to stop and ask, "Is there anything you would like to have? I can prepare a quick meal which shouldn''t take more than an hour," Vivian smiled at the offer.


    "Mrs. rk, would you mind if I used the kitchen?" asked Vivian politely for her permission. She was aware that some of the house staff didn''t like it when a stranger or any other person tool hold of the kitchen management.


    "Of course not, but may I ask why?" the woman looked at them confused.


    Leonard piped in, "Vivian here would like to try to cook something. She doesn''t get to cook at her house because of her family status," the woman wasn''t sure but she nodded her head anyways. What could go wrong after all? Just a few burnt dishes and spoilt food after the young miss would be done testing with her skill of cooking.


    "Yes, a young girl ought to know how to cook. Denying the art of cooking is such a shame in your families, young master," Mrs. rk washed her hand with the water that was ced near the sink, "I did send Master Leonard''s coachman to run an errand to bring the few vegetables and meat which we don''t have. Is there something you have on your mind that you would like to prepare?" the woman asked the young girl who was a human.


    "Let me see," at Vivian''s vague response, Mrs. rk decided that today she would have to put extra effort in scrubbing off the burnt utensils and feed the dogs that often came by at the time of morning so that she could feed them with it.


    Vivian could see the worry and distress that formed on Mrs. rk''s face as Vivian began to pick random vegetables that wereid in a corner where the meal was yet to be prepared. Like the woman had stated, some of the items were missing if one wanted to prepare a grand meal but that was alright, thought Vivian to herself.


    While his wife was walking around the kitchen getting everything she needed with the help of the maid who looked worried wondering if she was going to set the kitchen on fire, he took himself to the other side so that he could watch her prepare dinner for them. He enjoyed seeing her work as the wife of a simple man, making him wonder if he should make her cook for him once in a while having the servants away.


    She moved around gracefully, picking up the utensil and chopping the vegetables which initially Mrs. rk had gone on and on about being careful with her hand with every chop making her giggle to only be scolded by the elderly woman.


    "Don''tugh, mdy. You need to focus when you are cutting them else you''ll end up with sliced fingers," thest thing Mrs. rk wanted was chopped finger and her neck on the table as she didn''t want the young master furious with her. Though right now it seemed that he was having fun seeing the girl cook. He looked at her calmly his eyes catching every movement of hers which gave an impression to the elder woman that the young master was interested in the young girl.


    Noticing the fast movements of her hands and the ingredients she picked, smelling them and adding them to the utensil one by one as logs of fire heated the vessel. Vivian might have not cooked for him but that didn''t mean she had never tried cooking. When she was over at Paul''s sister''s house, Vivian would always help Grace taking hold and testing what tasted good and better. Over time she had grown to be a fine cook.


    The elder woman who first had been worried turned from surprised to suspicious. Was young master Leonard joking when he said thedy didn''t get to cook because of her status? Because of the way she saw it, the girl had finished one dish after another where after an hour she had got four dishes prepared.


    With the main coursepleted, Mrs. rk thought that was all but Vivian instead picked three eggs, cracking them open in a bowl before she started beating them while adding milk little by little making her wonder what she was preparing now. Adding a few other elements to it, she put it to be baked inside the steamed utensil in the meantime cleaning the bs and getting back the kitchen the way it was.


    After some time, Vivian went to pull out the batter which turned firm yet soft, steamsing off from above that she ced it in the cold water for it to cool down, "Let''s keep it here and change the water every few minutes so that it can be cooled off," hearing this, Mrs. rk who was bbergasted asked her,


    "Mdy, where did you learn to cook like that?" She had picked the simplest items from the kitchen to prepare a meal which smelled delicious from where she stood.


    "Ah, that," Vivian hadn''t expected to receive a reaction like that for her cooking. Even Leonard beamed from where he stood and she could tell that he was impressed with what she had prepared which made her happy, "The housekeeper-I mean my housekeeper he taught me how to use minimum food while we cook. He was an excellent cook," Vivian praised Paul, "He told me that a way to man''s heart is his stomach."


    "That is right, dear. It is always the food that will bring two individuals closer," the elderly woman agreed to nod her head. She then turned to look at Leonard, "Young master Leonard, you lied."


    "I did?" Leo cocked his head to the side making the woman frown, "Frankly I am surprised myself that she cooked so much. You turned to a fine wife," he directed hisst sentence to Vivian to have his wife blush at hispliment.


    Mrs. rk picked up thepliment before she froze. Wife? For a good three seconds, she processed his words and her eyes widened. She caught Leonard looking at Vivian with a smile on his face and she looked at the girl before saying,


    "Young master Leonard you are married?!" to this Leo ced his finger on his lips knowing Mrs. rk could be trusted with this small secret of theirs.

 Chapter 167 - Full House- Part 1

    After breaking the news to the housemaid, Vivian stared at the elderly woman who looked at her with shocked eyes moving back and forth between the couple before bowing her head, "Congrattions Master Leonard and Lady Vivian," she congratted them.


    "We haven''t broken the news to anyone yet, therefore, it would be appreciated if you keep it hush for some time, Mrs. rks," the woman nodded her head a little confused as to why they one would keep their marriage a secret.


    "Yes, master Leonard," she epted his request.


    Leonard who hade to know the woman knew that she wasn''t the kind to go around telling people, not because she was a maid but for a certain incident that had taken ce in the past. It was when he was sixteen and hade here with Maximillian during Spring. Being young boys, they had gone out in the town when a fight broke down, one which was of misunderstanding with a local boy. Though Maximillian had let it go, the local boy who was of hot blood he had a brawl with had followed him home and had tried to harm them in the name of revenge. One thing had led to another and in an ident that could not be avoided the boy hit his head against the wall, snapping his head and falling dead on the ground.


    He could still remember the memory very clearly as if it had happened yesterday. The boy had not only snapped his head when Maximillian had pushed him away but the impact on the wall was too much that led to a lot of blood flow which had trickled down on the floor. The scent of blood arousing the hunger in both the pureblooded vampires.


    Mrs. rk who was sleeping had woken up due to the disturbance and by the time she came out to see what was going on the local boyid dead on the floor. None of them wanted the brawl to end like this but the ident had taken ce anyways leading to the boy''s death. If one took the matter and reported to what happened, the me woulde upon the vampire and not the human. Thews could be bent for humans as they were fragile but the same didn''t hold for the night creatures.


    Young or not, Maximillian would have been put under trial where either his fangs would be broken so that he would carry the shame of being a weak pureblooded vampire or he would be punished in the cell which wasn''t a ce one would like to be in.


    Servants who were part of the old pureblooded vampire families were extremely loyal to their owners. Especially the ones whose family had served the family generation after generations.


    She was a human, yet she had asked the young master Gibb''s not to worry. She had taken the body to the forest where she had buried the boy far off the town so that no one could find out about it. The walls and floors had been cleaned spotless. Not needed to be told, the guards fo the vige hade around when the boy was told to be missing where the finger was pointed to the pureblooded vampires. Thanks to the housemaid, they couldn''t gather the evidence against Maximillian.


    That night Vivian and Leonard sat at the round table where the maid served the food which was prepared by Vivian.


    When the next day arrived, noon passing to evening, Vivian who was yet to get ready and getting her clothes set on the bed saw Leonard step out of the shower that had her lower jaw fall down on the ground. He had cut the sides of his blonde hair which he had sported since he was young. He had shorted them at the sides and the middle to give it a much handsome feel that made her heart skip a beat.


    Gulping, she pulled herself together and hurried into the bath. By the time she came out with a towel wrapped around her body which covered her body from below her shoulders, she saw Leo wearing the white shirt, buttoning up his cuff sleeves before he weaved his hand through his blond hair.


    "Do you want me to ask Martha to help you with the dress?" Vivian''s eyes snapped at the name and Leo realized what he had done, correcting himself, he said, "Mrs. rks I mean."


    "Yes," she needed someone to help her with the hooks and string. Though Leonard could help her she didn''t want him messing with her clothes after what he had done at the Isle Valley.


    Taking the housemaid''s help, Vivian got ready in the ck gown like dress which Leonard had picked out for her. The most painful part of the dressing was when her back was pulled tightly as she held on to the bedpost which she was sure was going to leave marks on her back. Thanking the woman for her help, she did her hair and applied the powder around her face and neck, applying a hint of pink gel to make her lips look pinker.


    Leonard knocked on the door, entering the room he saw her sitting in front of the dressing table who turned to look at him with eyes that looked like the night sky filled with stars. She looked beautiful. Every time they were out her hair was usually somehow tied so that it wouldn''t move around but this time she had decided to let her hair cascade down her back where she hadbed it neatly to ce it on her left shoulder.


    Vivian saw him carrying a blue velveteen box in his hand. He had worn his ck coat over the white shirt discarding the bow which was previously around his neck. As if noticing her gaze, he said, "It felt too tight."


    "I am ready," she informed him.


    "You''re missing onest thing," saying that he opened the box in his hand to pull out a chain with a dark blue stone pendant. Putting it around her neck and hooking it close, "Now it looksplete," he said looking at her through the mirror. When Leonard had gone out with Vivian to the Isle Valley, he had visited the jewelry store to get the chain which he had ordered after buying her dress a few weeks ago.


    As the carriage pulled over in front of the entrance of the mansion, Vivian stepped out cing her right hand in Leo''s hand to look at Lord Alexander Delcrov''s mansion. The Delcrov''s mansion was as big as the Rune''s mansion. In terms of size ofnd and the height, it held which was surrounded by trees. Lanterns were lit in and around to brighten the mansion like Christmas. Like Leonard and Vivian, there were many other guests who had been invited which had filled up space near the stable and outside the mansion where the carriages had been parked.


    It being her first time, she saw women around her who adorned rich clothes wit pearls and jewelry around their neck and ears. If that weren''t enough, they had bracelets around their wrist along with rings on their fingers. Compared to them Vivian looked rightly dressed making her not under or overdressed for the Winter''s ball. Having already met the Lord by chance when she had gone to the council she was wary to meet him. The man had spoken to her irritated which she had heard from another councilman on not to heed the Lord''s words as they were same for everyone.


    Entering the mansion, they were led to the main hall which was big enough to amodate all the guests without the need to be shifted and adjusted to make room. She clutched on to Leo''s hand which brought his attention to her.


    Stopping at a certain ce, he said, "Breath, Bambi," he rubbed her back gently, where some of the guests noticed the couple''s interaction. There were too many eyes on her since they had entered the room which she had tried to ignore. Taking in a series of small breath, she smiled to let him know she was fine.


    The crowd being curious wondered who the Duke had brought along with him as a lot of them hadn''t seen this human before. Vivian looked to be one of the most beautiful women in this room which was enough to bring her attention from both males and females. Thetter holding the feeling of envy on who was with the Duke. In her exquisite dress and the sparkling stone that hung around her neck, she was worth looking more than twice.


    "I think the ne is bringing a lot of attention," she murmured under her breath. Leonard had kept a straight face until a small smile cracked on his lips after hearing her murmur due to the eyes that followed them.


    "I think it is the owner of the stone who is bringing a lot of attention than the stone itself," he replied back, "Come, let''s go greet the Lord," he said leading them to the tall, dark-haired man who was flocked around by three men.


    On their way, Vivian caught sight of someone. It was Lady Eleanor who had locked eyes with her giving her a smile but Vivian knew her better. Since she hade to know about the things she had done when they were young, Eleanor was someone she had decided to stay away from. Not showing it up in her face, she returned the smile back with the same vigor as if she were ignorant about her ill intentions.


    As if one wasn''t enoughpetition, to her surprise she saw Lady Shirley not far from Lord Alexander. For her to be here only showed the extensive connections she and her mother had built with the higher society when they were only humans.


    Walking up to where they were, Leonard greeted the Lord, "Good evening, Lord Alexander," Vivian bowed her head in greeting.


    The Lord returned the courtesy by greeting him, "Good evening, Duke Leonard. Thank you for making your presence here," when the Lord''s eyes fell on the girl who stood next to the Duke. Not waiting for Leonard to introduce her Vivian spoke,


    "I am Vivian, milord. It is a pleasure to meet you," they had met each other, more precisely bumped into each other but it seemed that he didn''t remember about their encounter. As if something rang in his memory he said,


    "You''re the girl who cleared the first exam," looked like a female clearing the council exam was a big deal that even the lord remembered her with it. He didn''t congratte her but asked her, "What would you like to specialize in once you clear the second exam?" he asked, his intimidating features weighing on her like a rock that was about to drop on her head.


    She had put her heart into clearing the exam and it was decided that she would be working with Leonard because of her abilities but she had forgotten in which department he worked for. Thinking through her words, she answered carefully, "I have a keen interest in wanting to solve the murders and death that takes ce," her words caught quite some attention by the other men who had been standing around the lord previously, "I like picking up details and I believe I would do well there."


    "The same line as the Duke. It would be good to have a female councilwoman," Lord Alexander''s words were short but they weren''t spiteful or degrading like the rest of the people she hade across when they hade to hear about her wanting to work for the council.


    "Congrattions, mdy," one of the men wished her.


    "Yes, it isn''t an easy fleet. But I havee to hear that the second exam isn''t going to be that easy," another one spoke, his grey hair showing his age and his ck eyes stating he was a human.


    "The second exam is never easy," the first men spoke, "Lionel has always upped the bar with difficulty. And every time so many die, there is so many death with only one or two examinees pass out," Vivian was d for the words of encouragement but now as they spoke she started to worry. Was it that bad? And death was too much when she heard about it for the first time she had thought people to be joking but it didn''t seem like a joke anymore.


    "Oh, well it is all part of the fun," fun? thought Vivian to herself, the first man continued to speak, "I heard that you have been able to crack the case which Igor was finding hard," heughed.


    "Yes, we have been able to get around things," Leonard''s words were as crisp as Lord Alexander and if she didn''t know better, Vivian would have guessed Lord of Valeria to be his mentor and not the Lord of Bonke. As Leonard was speaking to the others about another case they had received, she noted a red-headed man who stood not far away who appeared to be the most cheerful person in the hall. For some reason, this man felt familiar and she continued to stare at him while trying to figure out she felt so.


    Not realizing her gaze being too strong, his eyes snapped to look at her before a wide smile formed on his lips. Walking towards her, he bowed,


    "Lady Vivian. I am Elliot Wells," he introduced himself. Ah, she thought to herself. He was Jerome''s rumoured brother. She returned his bow with one of her own, "It is good to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you from Jerome," he said not being subtle about his older brother''s interest in her.


    Vivian''s smile turned awkward, "Is that so. I hope they were good," she replied and at the same time, she wondered if Leonard''s ears had perked up at the mention of Jerome.


    "Oh, they are," the red-headed manughed before coughing, "Duke Leonard. It is good to see you."


    Vivian was waiting for Leonard to retort something to the man as there were rare times when he would get possessive but he surprised her when he bowed his head in gratitude, "Mr Wells, thank you for your previous assistance."


    "No problem at all," Elliot replied before his eyes spotted someone behind them.

 Chapter 168 - Full House- Part 2

    "Elliot," she heard the voice of Jerome Wells behind her which made her turn to see the man whose eyes moved from his brother to her, giving her a warm smile. He wore a dark blue suit, his ck wavy hair holding the same texture as his brother except for the hair color.


    "Good evening, Vivian," his gaze had always been kind not because it was her but to everyone around him. Since Mr. Carmichael''s death, Jerome hadn''t visited the Carmichael''s mansion as often he did in the past. The housework which was given was a summer house that had been work in progress and had now been paused.


    "Good evening, Jerome," she greeted him and the man greeted everyone around being his polite self.


    Taking a deep breath internally she didn''t let her eyes wander far this time as she didn''t want inviting anyone more whom she knew to talk to her. It was as if everyone she knew were under the same roof today. She should have known though thating here didn''t just bring the opportunity to see her parents but also others whom she knew and some whom she wasn''t eager to meet and exchange pleasantries. With so many people, she tried to rx her self while keeping a calm and peacefulposure while giving herself a mental pep talk.


    Having so many people around, Vivian had to greet people whom she had no clue and hadn''t met before. Leonard being one of the most capable men in the council, he was quite popr where people didn''t miss to stop and talk to him, spending their time asking how he arrived and where he was staying apart from work-rted issues.


    But Vivian was no less whenpared to him. Being one of the topics in the council as she was one of the few females who had attempted and possibly the first human girl to pass the first exam, some of the council folk already knew her name.


    Two of the councilmen who belonged to the same wing, Datan and Heuren wanted to talk to Leonard, excusing themselves while leaving her in Jerome''spany.


    "You look very pretty today, Vivian," Jeromeplimented her, his voice not too high for anyone to pick but enough for her to hear.


    "You don''t look bad yourself, Jerome. You didn''te to visit now, we still have a chess match which has been long overdue. Had Leonard not spoken about the house on how he wants to proceed with it?" she asked, her eyes going to see Leonard who was still talking to his fellow councilmen about something which must have been important as his face held a grave expression.


    Jerome smiled down at her, his eyes were not able to keep away from the beautifuldy who stood next to him, "My apologies for not visiting. I have been meeting with the Duke outside. It seemed rather befitting to discuss at theyout where one cannot see how they would like it built," the truth was that even though Vivian had picked Leonard to be her partner, the vampire still couldn''t get past his fondness for her.


    He had caught her first glimpse today when she had entered the hall like many others his eyes had followed her around the room, like a beautiful angel that had descended down here she had a smile adorned on her face. It wasn''t her unbridled smiled but a smile nheless which could capture one''s attention.


    He had loved her since the first time they had met at the Carmichael''s mansion, her spirit was free and untainted but he could see now that there was something that lingered around her, something that had changed and though he couldn''t point it out, he could tell her soul wasn''t the same as before. Still, his feelings remained the same. Love wasn''t something that came easy to him, he was a handsome man who had received his fair share of attention from women but it was the maid whom he had been attracted to. Jerome was the kind of man who would continue to love the girl despite her not returning back his feelings without keeping any ill intentions for what he loved.


    To maintain distance, he had begun to meet the Duke outside and not in the mansion to avoid himself from being more than attached to the girl. Maybe if Leonard wasn''t there in the picture, there would have been a high possibility of Vivian being sweat off her feet by him but the thought couldn''t be lingered on with. He wasn''t blind to see that Leonard loved the woman which Vivian had epted with an open heart.


    "How long are you going to be here in Valeria?" he asked her.


    "Just until tomorrow morning."


    "That''s short. There are a few wonderful ces to look around," Jerome smiled at an old woman, bowing his head who was walking by them, "You can ask Leonard to take you. It would be a change of pace before you get busy with the council work."


    "How about you? Are you nning to stay here?" she asked him curiously. One of the servants who was walking by with the drinks in the hand stopped by to offer them, handing one to her and one to the vampire.


    The servant after taking a round of serving the drinks to the other guests until the tray he held was empty he made his way back in the way he hade to step out of the hall where ady stood with her arms crossed, her feet tapping underneath her gown. Seeing the servante out of the hall she asked him, "What happened? Did you give it to her?"


    "Yes, mdy. Just as you asked," the servant replied back who looked left and right to make sure no one heard him, also making sure no one had found him to be suspicious.


    "The one with the red?" the woman made sure to see if the lowly human had done as she asked to see him nod, "Good," pulling out her pouch which she had carried along with her, she opened to pick a gold coin.


    The servant eyed it greedily but to his dismay, thedy put it back in her little pouch, jingling it before pulling another coin which was silver in colour.


    The silver coin might not have been equivalent to the gold coin but it was more than the bronze and the nickel which the servants were used to and some who didn''t even have enough to save them. About to hand it over to the man, she almost ced it in his hand before pulling back her hand to gain his attention, "Keep this to yourself."


    "Yes, mdy. My lips are sealed," the servant bowed his head low enough to make thedy nod in satisfaction.


    Lady Shirley looked pleased, waving her hand as if she was done with his presence, she went back inside the hall where everyone was busy talking or dancing in the middle of the room where the musician had situated themselves close by the wall. When she hade to the Winter''s ball like she had been excited like other time she hade to take part in this asion which was held by the pureblooded families of the oldest lineage.


    Her charms and efforts over Duke Leonard might have not worked but that didn''t mean she couldn''t look at the other blooming prospects. There were plenty of bachelors, who would willingly take her as their wife but it was just that she had been evasive with each of them in the past due to her eyes set on Leonard Carmichael. Ball and other social gatherings meant she had a chance to show herself off on how singly avable she was, a girl of beauty who came from a good background.


    Lady Shirley might have thought it to be so and it might have been true a few months ago when she was being pursued by most of the men who had great wealth in terms of cash andnds. The problem was that when men came to court her, she had been absolutely rude to them and delusional at the same time to think her looks and affection for Leonard was enough to woo and make him fall in love with her.


    She hadn''t expected to see the wretched maid to be here not with the Duke at least. Her blood had boiled looking at the woman and why did she look like that? She was a maid and maids were meant to look ugly! Shirley couldn''t understand what had happened, the girl was an average looker but why was she dolled up? Her clothes looked expensive, one which must have been of vintage and the ne, Shirley''s eyes had gone wide in shock to see something so delicate and out of the price to be worn by a lower human.


    Just because she wasn''t aiming for Leonard anymore that didn''t mean she didn''t spite the maid for the embarrassment that she had caused in the soiree. She hadn''t known that it was the maid who had woven the sweater and unknowingly she had made use of it, calling it as her own to impress the man she was trying to catch the attention of.


    The maid had the audacity to tattle-tale on her and Shirley wanted to even the score now.


    The drink that she had sent through the maid wasn''t something a human would be able to withhold consciousnesses. Shirley had smartly mixed the contents which would have seemed like a normal squeezed juice. With the knowledge, she hade to learn that mixing many alcohols could give one another strong feel, kicking the conscious to another state. She could hardly wait for Vivian to drink.


    "I might stay here for a month or more," Jerome answered to her question which surprised her, "I know it is long but my brother lives here and he wanted me to stay with him for some time," she nodded her head understandingly.


    "You should spend more time with him," saying this, she looked at Jerome''s brother, Elliot who was flocked around by many women who were waiting for his attention. Compared to the two brothers Elliot was the extrovert while Jerome didn''t go out of his way unless it was necessary.


    "You can stay here for some time too," Jerome''s words brought her gaze back to him, "You can ask him to go ahead while you spend some time here. I can show you around, some of the tourist''s spots which might be to your liking if he''s busy that is," her lips parted but she didn''t know how to respond to his suggestion.


    Vivian had never been the kind of person to hurt someone''s feelings purposely. She always took an atmost effort in making sure her actions didn''t cause anyone hurt or pain and maybe that was one of the many qualities of her which attracted men like Jerome.


    Seeing the distressed looked Jerome smiled, "It''s okay to refuse, Ms Vivian," he addressed her the way he used to before she was turned to Lady Vivian.


    "I apologize for before if my words lead you on to something," her brows furrowed as she said it to him. The music was loud enough to drown a whisper of talk as they conversed with each other. Jerome shook his head.


    "Please don''t say that. You will shame me if you apologize," he then looked down at her hand where she held the red drink in her hand.


    "You need to make sure it''s drinkable by humans. Some drinks are not meant for humans and can be very toxic," he spoke concerned to which Vivian smiled who had already taken a sip from the ss. The drink was too sweet and coarse on her tongue making it feel nice in her mouth as she took another sip.


    Apart from Leonard, no one knew that she couldn''t be intoxicated and she was d that the alcohol would never affect her but this one seemed like a normal juice. Taking a few more gulps, she then heard Jerome turn to look at herpletely, "I heard something from one of the councilmen who heard about the examination that''s going to take ce next week. The task," he said informing it like secret know one was supposed to know of. Vivian leaned forward as the task wasn''t something which would be told before the examination took ce.


    "A skeleton was supposedly found in the area which was ced there for a long time without anyone moving it as they say that dead things are sometimes better to be left where they are but there''s also a saying of the restless soul wandering in search of revenge or peace due to which they are burnt and buried. I heard from the councilman that the task it to find out what happened there," she tried to wrap her head around with the confidential information which Jerome gave her.


    "It''s a groundwork," Vivian responded.


    "Looks like it. I heard the previous exams were difficult while this one is supposedly easier," curious to learn more about it, she asked him,


    "Do you know where it is?"


    "It''s in Bonke," it was? how lucky was she to not have to go to anothernd which she wasn''t versed with, "It''s the mansion up on the hill. The snow mansion," her face turned pale at this information.


    ~Don''t forget to use your power stones for the book~

 Chapter 169 - Full House- Part 3

    If she had taken another sip from the ss when Jerome had told her about the second exam having to do in the snow mansion, it was for sure that she would have ended up coughing due to the liquid going in the wrong pipe.


    "It would be best to do some research beforehand so that you are well prepared," Jerome finished thest contents of his drink before giving his empty ss to another servant who was passing by them.


    Vivian looked at him with dread, why did it have to be at the snow mansion? She couldn''t help wondering about the coincidence of her dream urring along with the council exam task which she was going to take part in. Did it have something to do with it? Remembering the woman who looked decayed every time she came close to her brought in chills over her body.


    Jerome had mentioned about the skeleton was it the same skeleton she and Leo had found? It must be, she thought to herself.


    "How do you like the Winter''s ball so far?" he questioned, snapping her out of her thoughts.


    "It looks grand. It is my first time to be attending it," which was true. All these years, she had only heard of Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael visiting it. Life here was different from what she came from, she had grown up thinking of herself to be someone who was from a poor family who had abandoned her, which wasn''t entirely false, "There''s a wide gap between the higher society and the local folks who fight for a living. One from the other side of the world won''t even dream to enter and see this side of the world."


    "Life is about bnce, Ms. Vivian, like night and day, and rich and poor. Nothing is ever equal if you observe you will find a w in everything," hemented. Giving her ss away the vampire said, "Looks like you can handle your ss fine," he looked impressed with her. Vivian might have not noticed but the faint smell of alcohol had wafted over Jerome''s nose.


    Vivian smiled at thepliment. She could drink all she wanted but it would never affect her, it was her healing ability which didn''t allow her body to be intoxicated.


    Turning her gaze to where Leonard had been standing she saw him missing from the spot. Her eyes moved from one person to another until it reached to the blonde man with a ss of alcohol in his own hand but the liquid in it hadn''t been sipped yet. Leonard had just held it in his hand for show.


    From Vivian stood she admired the man, her eyes capturing every movement of his which was very subtlepared to the others who stood next to him who spoke animatedly. He nodded to his head, speaking something which she couldn''t hear from where she stood. His hair made him look so different and it made her wonder how could a simple change in a person''s hairstyle make so much difference. Leo was handsome but this was a whole different level of handsomeness and maybe sexy too? Blushing at her own thought, she looked away before looking back at him.


    His sharp jaw which she hade to touch many times now, the soft hair which hindered his gaze slightly like before. A sigh escaped from her lips which the man next to her caught,


    "Everything alright?" Jerome asked her concerned before giving her an apologetic smile, "I am sorry if I am boring you," heughed and she quickly shook her head.


    "I''m sorry. You aren''t. It is nice to have yourpany. I enjoy it very much," she cleared his words to see him nod.


    "That''s good to hear," Both Jerome and Vivian stood there quiet for a few seconds before Jerome turned to offer his hand in front of her,"Would you like to dance?" he asked, his bright red eyes looking at her gently.


    "Yes," Vivian didn''t see any harm in dancing with Jerome as he was a gentleman. Though he could have left her to be standing alone while going to greet the other people in this hall to socialize with them, he had been considerate enough to stand by her and offer her hispany. She was thankful for it.


    The music that was yed was melodious that traveled across the hall which had baited some of the guests to be brought to the center of the floor so that they could dance with each other. It was sweet yet there was just something about the tune which made one think of sorrow. The loneliness in the music had the ability to prick a person''s heart out of pain and yet it was sweet.


    With Jerome''s lead, Vivian walked to the center of the floor and ced one hand of her''s on the man''s shoulder. Vivian hadn''t received any special dance sses like the other elites but she had learned it from Thomas, Paul''s nephew which wasn''t refined but enough to know when to step forward and back.


    "Have you danced with the Duke before?" Jerome asked her and she shook her head, "I must be lucky to have your first dance then. I will take what is there," he winked, making her smile awkwardly.


    Wondering if his feelings for her was still there in hope, Vivian tried to put her point across so that he would be able to move forward, "I am sorry for not returning back your feelings, Jerome."


    "I know, Ms Vivian. Don''t fret about it," he assured her with a smile, "A man needs to know when to give up else the feelings of love will turn into something simr to poison," hearing him using the word love she looked more distressed, "You don''t have to feel bad for me. If you continue to look so worried the Duke will use me of causing trouble. I have loved you and I do not regret it," he said when she came close, "The time we spent at the Carmichael''s mansion is something I would cherish for life due to which I do not regret it for a minute. Since I have known you, it has been wonderful. Let this dance be memorable one now," saying this, he let her hand go before catching it back as she was turned around in his arms.


    Vivian was very grateful to the way Jerome thought about both of them, respecting each other''s feelings that made her chest lighter.


    "Thank you," she whispered.


    "Anytime but do remember if you ever need my help, I will be here," his words were pleasant and polite without a word causing which could cause her difort. Before the dance came to an end, something ck caught Vivian''s eyes on the floor and she was rather surprised to see a ck cat walking around which people either ignored or didn''t it.


    When the song came to an end, a man came forward to ask Vivian for a dance. A few inches above her height, the man had ck hair, a person whom she had met before. It was true what she had thought earlier, she had met a lot of people whom she knew.


    "Lady Vivian, it is good to make your acquaintance again. I hope you remember me," the man smiled as he took her hand in his.


    She did remember the man, he was the one she had met at the council''s building after she had crashed against Lord Alexander. But his name, she tried remembering it which she couldn''t recollect, "I apologize, Sir."


    The man smiled, "It is Lancelot Knight," ah, she thought in her mind. She did forget his name.


    "Pardon my memory, Mr. Knight," she said. Though she wore her gloves her hand felt a little slippery which was in his hand. Not pointing it out, she danced with the man. She was d that he didn''t talk to her much and she only hoped for the song toe to an end soon and it wasn''t because his hand was a little sweaty but because she didn''t know the man to converse with him.


    As if he had heard her thoughts, she heard him say, "You are the murmur in the council, mdy," she didn''t have to guess why she was popr as she had alreadye to know that her being a human female who had cleared the exam, some were waiting for to fail while the others were watching to see if she would be able to pass. From far away, stood Lady Shirley, waiting for the alcohol to kick in the girl''s system but she looked fine. Thankful that the song came to an end, the man bowed his head but he had also gone to kiss the back of her hand to appreciate her for dancing with him.


    Exiting from the dance floor herself, she felt eyes following her when she decided to meet each and everyone''s with a smile on her lips. Most of them were polite enough to nod at her. She wanted to go to where Leonard was but before she could reach him, his second cousin stepped in-between in the way.


    Having danced with the councilman, Vivian pulled out her gloves feeling the material that had turned wet. Her hands felt good to be free and in open.


    "Good evening, Vivian," Eleanor greeted hering forward she hugged leaving an airy kiss on both sides of her cheek. Responding with the same gesture Vivian kept a smile on her face which didn''t falter for even one second. Eleanor was wearing the gown which she had bought along with her when they had gone to the town. Her features were sharper than the other women in the hall, her beauty, and elegance remarkable for a person of her age, "I wasn''t expecting you here," of course she didn''t, thought Vivian to herself in her mind.


    The gown which her second cousin had bought the girl wasn''t as good as the one she wore but neither did he nor this girl who now stood in front of her had mentioned abouting to the ball. She had expected the girl to stay in Bonke but she should have known she would leech on to Leonard toe here.


    Not liking the fact that this eyesore hade to the ball but also apanied the person she loved, she smiled at her sweetly. The alcohol might not have intoxicated her but it had loosened her mood from being too cautious.


    "Why not?" Vivian tilted her head, lowering her smile, "Do you think I am not fit to suit this gathering?"


    Eleanor hadn''t expected the measly human to question her question in this manner. Men and women around might have been talking to each other, but when two extremely good looking women came together with an atmosphere that sizzled through, they couldn''t help but eavesdrop. The vampiressughed it off, making it seem like they were good friends who were teasing each other, "Why would I ever think that. I know you hail from a reputed family if it weren''t so Leonard wouldn''t have brought you along here. Isn''t it?"


    "You are right," Vivian hummed.


    "You look lovely, Vivian. Even with a gown which was picked from a storage room," the vampiressmented to point out how old the dress was.


    "With a bag of more than thirty gold coins, I wouldn''t expect anything less. I have to say though you look lovely yourself where you were able to acquire the gown for a lesser price," Vivian subtly hinted how cheap Eleanor''s dress was whenpared to her. With these words, she had also dered that she didn''te from an established family.


    "Well, you have heard of what they say, less is more," Eleanor returned back her own words while also biting her tongue to hold back the words which would cause the image she had built all these years to go to waste. Thest time she had spoken to the human she had been a sweet little girl due which had made her overlook the fact that she might have not seemed to be the person she posed to be, "Men sure are flocking around you asking for your attention. You must be used to it," the vampiress sweetened her words.


    "You are making me conscious. I hold no candle to your beauty but hasn''t anyone asked you for dance yet?" Vivian asked feigning innocence.


    "I''m saving myself for someone than dance with every man whoes across to ask me," the sarcastic remark had caught in the wind which had got the onlookers attention, wondering and waiting how the human would counter. Poor girl, some of them pitied her for locking horns with the vampiress. The Winter''s ball was organized for the pureblooded vampires, therefore, the night creatures could only look at her in pity. Vampires were much intelligent and capable in regards to a human.


    But the human girl smiled, "Do not worry, Eleanor. I will be sure to save at least one of them for you. It would be very rude of me to if I didn''t do it for you. Excuse me, before I take that someone you are waiting for away from you," Vivian smiled at the vampiress after having a good jab, feeling somewhat satisfied. It was often told not to go to the level of people who didn''t matter and to ignore them, it was what Paul taught her but Grace had taught her otherwise.

 Chapter 170 - Who Is It?- Part 1

    Leonard had been talking to one of the Duke of Woville who had traveled down all the way down to meet him as he wanted some information of a case that he had closed a few months ago. He had been talking when from the corner of his eyes he saw Vivian dancing with Jerome Wells at the dance floor. He hadn''t given much mind to it but the irritation of another man''s hand on his wife didn''t exactly sit well with him. When the song hade to an end, another man had gone to his wife right away before she could leave the floor. It was one of the councilmen named, Lancelot Knight whom he had only exchanged greetings but had never worked with him closely.


    He would once in a while nod his head, giving his ear to the man next to him while his eyes were angled a few degrees away from the man''s face where he could see Vivian.


    After his second cousin, Eleanor had stopped her, he had kept a close eye. Excusing himself he walked towards them as they were bringing quite some attention towards them from some of the guests. By the time he had arrived, Eleanor''s cheeks were flushed red, her eyes wide where she looked like she wanted to speak something but she never opened her mouth.


    Vivian, on the other hand, smiled like a child when Leonard raised his eyebrow in question at why his second cousin looked mad at her.


    "Eleanor," he greeted her, breaking her trance of furry which reced her face back to the sweet demeanor.


    "Leo," Vivian who had noticed the subtleness before now could see that the vampiress did hold close affection with him and it wasn''t just her demeanor but also her voice and stance that changed in his presence to make it more appealing. She had made herself pretty, waiting to fish forpliments from him but they never came. Instead, Leonard asked for her brother,


    "I see Christopher hasn''t made his presence this year."


    "He is too ashamed to show his face. You did break his fang, Leo, what were you expecting," after what Leonard had heard from Vivian he felt bad for the grown man but he wasn''t guilty about it which made the vampiress speak further on, changing her words on his mood, "He did deserve it though. For a young boy to kill a petmb," she shook her head making the couple stare at her.


    "True. It is always better to nip the bud which is poisonous else it''ll grow to only harm the entire nt," Leonard''s words which held hidden meaning could be picked only Vivian whereas Eleanor nodded her head in agreement, "I see that you haven''t danced yet," this brightened the vampiress'' eyes."


    "You haven''t either," Eleanor responded back, containing her eagerness and expecting him to ask ay moment as it was amon courtesy to ask ady to dance if she hadn''t yet. But even the vampiress who was in love with her second cousin hadn''t learned how Leonard was.


    "I haven''t," he answered with a straight face. Eleanor ready to be asked for the dance, prepared herself when Leonard said, "I hope your special onees to ask you for the dance," he said indicating that he had overheard the two girls speak to each other back and forth. Offering her a smile, he turned to Vivian, "Would you like to dance, mdy?" he raised his hand for Vivian to take in front of everyone.


    Earlier when Jerome had asked her for a dance, the man had been quiet not raising his voice but just for them but Leonard was in no way nning to be subtle about it. He had openly asked Vivian for dance such that everyone around them had heard him ask her which included the ones who had been engrossed in their chat.


    His eyes were set on her''s, the smile that he had given his cousin was not there but there was something in the way he looked at Vivian now, waiting to conquer her. Without a thought, she ced her hand in his which he sped in his hand firmly.


    At that time, everyone and everything began to meltdown in the room and it was as if they were in an empty hall. Just the two of them where the music drifted at a distance. As they took the floor, Leonard ced the other hand of his boldly on her lower back, bringing her close as she stared into his eyes. They hadn''t dered their rtionship publicly but that didn''t mean he couldn''t shower the person with his unheld attentions.


    It was often for a pureblooded man or a woman to keep a person as apany when taken to a soiree or an event like this. Leonard wanted to cherish his time with her, every second was important when it concerned her and that had enraptured Vivian like a moth to a me which had voluntarilye to burn in his passionate love.


    Vivian had ced her hand not his shoulder but on his chest, a smitten smile on her face which was as radiant as the sun itself. With both their eyes locked they danced to the music in the hall. Vivian loved every second of it, it wasn''t because of the setting they were in but because it was Leonard who was with her now.


    Until he had caught hold of her hand, she didn''t know she had been cold. An emptiness waiting to be filled. It wasn''t that she was lonely but Leonard made her happy and content in this life which maybe she wouldn''t be able to feel the same if she were with another person.


    They both walked the same path, the pain, the love, every emotion sharing with each other, were in someway one was light and the other was dark,plementing each other''s personality.


    In his arms, Vivian swayed gently, turning and to be being pulled back into his arms. As they danced with each other, many could see the chemistry they shared. It wasn''t just because both of them were good looking but that the Duke had not taken a female to the dance floor so willingly before. But who could me him when his newlywed wife had such an effect on him. For Leonard, it was one of his dreame true where he had now had her for himself. He had loved her for so long and now it was time to cherish her until hisst breath.


    "Did I forget to tell you that you look beautiful?" he asked her when she came too close to him, her cheeks tinted to a warm color of pink which wasn''t noticeable as she was a few inches away from him.


    They were supposed to keep it hush but this was nowhere to keeping their feelings disguised. She was sure now that at least half the folks here now had a doubt about something brewing when it had already been brewed. Hiding like this had it''s own perks, as it made her feel like they were doing something they were not supposed to do.


    Leonard didn''t give away a lot ofpliments and if he did and speak to her, his words were straightforward and these days it seemed that it was unrefined, attacking her poor heart and body. Leonard''s hand felt warm and she clutched on to it tightly.


    Elliot who stood somewhere near the wall with a ss in his hand saw the woman whom Alexander had recently picked to take care of one of the towns in Valeria. The woman had a petite figure, her red eyes sharp with a serious expression on her face, she picked the food which was offered.


    When their eyes met her face turned sour, by the looks Elliot could tell that if it was possible the blonde woman would have turned around to go in another direction but she had already begun to walk, where she had to cross him.


    Putting up a charming smile, he greeted the woman, "Sylvia," and her face slightly crunched when he called her making him amused.


    "Ms. Clopton," the blonde woman corrected him.


    "We should be on a first-name basis and not thest name. You can call me Elliot or EL," said Elliot, pleased to see that she had stopped walking to talk to him.


    "I hear you opposed to me being recruited, Mr. Wells. Were my qualifications not enough? Or was it because I am a female," her eyes looked bored at him, not wanting to heed too much attention to the vampire as his intentions were very confusing since she had first met him.


    She hade to hear from another man named Oliver who worked for the Lord stating on how ipetent she was to take the job but when she met him, he had been nice to her.


    "You must have heard it wrong," he denied what she heard, his eyes turning small as his smile grew. Men like these were not to be trusted, thought Sylvia to herself. When she ced the te she had been carrying on the table next to him, she saw him go to take a piece of the meat on it when the fork she had been holding went too close next to his hand to dig into the table. If it weren''t for the music in the hall, the little action would have gone noticed by people around them, "So protective," he murmured, his eyes slightly wide at her action for him stealing her food.


    "If you need food, get it yourself, Mr Wells," she said, picking the te and leaving him to stand staring at her with a small smile.


    Back in the floor, Vivian and Leonard continued to dance where some of them who hadn''t joined the floor yet came to give thempany.


    "How is Jerome holding up?" Leonard asked Vivian.


    "Fine, why do you ask?" she asked with furrowed brows wondering if something had happened to the man.


    "Just curious," he answered, twirling her again before she was pulled back to him. As she moved, she saw many familiar faces and she caught sight of Lord Nichs. When did he arrive? There were Lord Alexander and some of the known councilmen whose faces she remembered. Lady Eleanor hadn''te to the floor and from where she was, she could see the vampiress fume in furry for Leonard not asking her but Vivian for the dance when Vivian had already danced with two other men.


    It was when both Leonard and Vivian switched ces did she see that Lady Shirley had been asked to dance by one of the men, whom she didn''t know. There were a couple of times when caught the young miss staring at her. Once, twice, thrice and she kept looking at her with a concentrated look which made her wonder why she was being red at. It wasn''t that she didn''t know as Leonard had embarrassed her in front of everyone when thest time they were at the same soiree but right now felt a little too much.


    Vivian usually stayed away from trouble, making sure she didn''t wrong anyone and didn''t get caught in the crossfire but every time she tried to move away, she had turned a stranger to a foe. When she sighed, Leonard gave her a questioning look which she smiled before shaking her head to let him know it was nothing.


    Just as everyone who was having their own joy of time, the lights in the mansion blew out, whispering a blow at every single candle that was lit to turn the entire ce dark without light in the hall. The only light that was there were the ones that came from the corridors where the moonlight emitted its light through the windows and the main doors. The music stopped and the murmurs of what just happened filled up the room with a loud chatter after a deadly silence.


    A woman out of fright of the dark, cried out which startled some of them. Unable to see in the dark, the folks ended up walking in a direction while bumping into each other such that, while Vivian had let go of her hands on Leonard, a person bumped into her making her lose her bnce. With the heels that she wore she was?about to fall to the side when one of the guests caught hold of her even in the dark, "Thank you," she said, feeling her heart almost slip out of her chest.


    Getting back her bnce as she had stepped on to her dress, the person holding her hand when she saw memory which had passed by a few days ago appear in front of her eyes even in the dark. As if she were the person who held the memories, she saw herself and the others in it talking to her in the dead man''snd. But that wasn''t all. While the person helped her stand, she caught sight of a witch who looked angry and in rage.


    Everything happened so fast that by the time Vivian came back to the present, the light was back with the candles which had magically lit themselves up with the music to start and the people to continue after two seconds as if nothing had happened.

 Chapter 171 - Who Is It?- Part 2

    It took her some time process what she had seen and when it finally sunk in her mind, her eyes scanned the floor before snapping her around to see the others who were on the floor with her.


    Seeing her search for someone, Leonard asked her, "What happened, Vivi?"


    "He''s here," she whispered, her eyes still searching for the man who had helped her. It scared and worried her to think that a switcher hade to aid her during her fall. For that person to help, he must have been one of the people who was dancing here but now that her eyes raked around, she didn''t know whom to point at.


    Leonard who heard this quickly understood who this ''he'' was and he took her along with him, moving to where Lord Alexander was dancing with a woman, "Excuse me, Lord Alexander. A word," Alexander turned his face, giving a nod and excusing himself from thedy he was dancing with.


    "What is it?" Lord Alexander''s dark brows brooded as he asked the Duke.


    "Somewhere private," Leonard suggested by this time Nichs who had been humouring two women with his charming snake-like personality noticed Leonard and Vivian talking to the Lord of Valeria and slipped out of thepany he had to follow them who had stepped out of the hall to momentarily speak.


    Catching them standing in the corridors, Lord Nichs asked, "What''s the matter, Leo?"


    "Let''s move to my study room," Lord Alexander proposed before looking at the Lord of Bonke pensively, "Would you want him toe too?" he asked Leonard for which Vivian was the one to answer him,


    "Yes. It would be good if Lord Nichs joined us," Leonard gave Lord Alexander a nod of approval. Not waiting, he turned around to lead them the way to his study room.


    Vivian followed the Lord along with the Leonard and Nichs who was walking behind her. The Delcrov mansion was much brighter and nicer whilepared to the other Lord''s mansion. Lord Nichs'' mansion was dark, the walls being painted dark and the some of the passageways and corridors lean and narrow,pared to that this mansion appeared to be spacious.


    Opening the door to the study room, Vivian stepped in to feel the warm air which was filled due to the firece that was burning with its zeal. Not taking a seat and believing the matter had been urgent and important, Lord Alexander asked, "You can be assured this room is safe. You can speak what you wanted to ask me."


    To Vivian, the lord of Valeria appeared to be an intimidating man. For some odd reason, his presence felt too strongpared to the other two men which made her wonder why it was so. He was a pureblooded vampire but Vivian could tell from where she was that there was something more to the surface than what the eye met.


    Leonard took the opportunity to speak, "Pardon us, Lord Alexander but might you be having a guest list of who hase?"


    "Yes, there is one," Lord Alexander replied.


    During times where a grand ball took ce, maintaining a guest look was important as there was always a possibility for the lower beings who didn''t belong here to take part in events which were meant for the high society. The high society didn''t take a lower being to mingle in the same crowd as they did.


    As if on cue, the butler knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal an extremely lean man with hollowed cheek and a scar on the face. His eyes were dull and out of colour. If Vivian had met the man in one of the lonely corridors of the mansion she was sure to assume him to be a ghost such was his appearance, "Martin, do you have the guest list?" the Lord inquired.


    "Yes, milord. I have it with me," the butler answered, stepping inside the study room he fished something in his trouser pocket to pull out several sheets of paper, handing it to Alexander which the Lord gave it to Leonard.


    "Has the switchere here?" Lord Nichs took a wild guess and saw Vivian nod her head, her eyes which were slightly wide, "How interesting, should we go ask for a lockdown in the gates to make sure he doesn''t escape?"


    "What''s a switcher doing here?" Lord Alexander asked with narrowed eyes.


    "He''se to enjoy the ball?" asked Lord Nichs to receive a re from the other lord, "My, can''t take a joke yet," he murmured before clearing his throat.


    Lord Alexander ignored Nichs'' teasefull remark and asked the Duke, "How do you know it is a switcher? Locking down and making them undergo test will only make the switcher escape. And he might have left already," he waited as the council was yet to give away the details about the switcher. It had been only weeks since the information about the new creature had been revealed. Being of a highly confidential matter, the information wasn''t shared with everyone even if they were in the higher-ups. Most of them didn''t even know that a new creature had shown up as it would only alert the person who had impersonated to another.


    The Lord of Valeria had received a few words but not everything that he could understand. Leonard was already working on the case along with his team and his head Lionel where Lord Nichs had been informed as he was the Lord of Bonke and also because of his charming serene personality, he shared a great rapport with most of the councilmen except for a few old ones who had been loyal to his father Wilhelhum.


    Until now there were only four of them who knew about Vivian''s abilities- Leonard, Nichs, Sister Isabelle and the ghoul if it was considered that is. A lot of secrets had been kept safe and they intended to keep that way but right now didn''t seem like they could.


    The Lord who had been waiting for Leonard to answer, his eyes moved to fall on the human girl, "You don''t seem normal," he said.


    Vivian didn''t know why she said it but the words that came out of her mouth, she regretted it right away once it was out, "You too, milord," internally she closed her eyes scolding herself for being so on alert and worried. To her surprise, Lord Alexander cracked a small smile.


    Most of the women had the habit of pleasing the men who belonged to the higher society. Especially if the man was a Duke, Lord, or anyone who was in a good position in the council it was equal to say that marrying a man of such status would lead them to the path of heaven on these verynds. This girl didn''t hold back her words.


    As if his memory serving him, he remembered her walking right into him in the council to apologize to him. In this room, only two of them knew about each other. Having their own best curiosity both the Lords had tried to understand another knowing there was more to the surface to what met the eye.


    Seeing the girl look at the butler who was still in the room, Lord Alexander said, "Don''t worry about Martin. He is one of my most trusted servant who has served thest two generations. Feel free to talk. If you won''t I won''t be able to understand what is going on. Take a seat, everyone. It looks like there''s a lot to discuss but," Lord Alexander turned to talk to his butler, "Keep an eye on the hall. We might have an intruder," the butler obliging to his master''s words turned back and exited the room.


    As they sat, the Lord didn''t fail to notice the ring in the girl''s hand. Also that both the Duke and the human sat next to each other on the couch while the Lord of Bonke chose to sit on a single seat.


    "What do we have?" asked Lord Alexander as he took a seat himself, crossing his legs he leaned back in his seat waiting for one of them to start.


    Knowing the Lord was someone trustable and wouldn''t leak any information, Leonard was the one to speak, "Vivian is a foreteller of the past," he said leaving out her ability to heal.


    "Foreteller? Isn''t that what witches do?" he asked staring at the girl, her ck eyes looking back at him. For a human, she sure was courageous enough to be able to keep an eye contact which didn''t stray away. Most of the women couldn''t hold on to this gaze as they felt it too overpowering.


    When Leo heard the word witch, he frowned, "Vivian isn''t a witch," with the assumptions of being a witch came a lot of troubles which he didn''t want on his wife. That was the reason why even the white witches who meant no harm and only goodwill often hid in the eyes of the society.


    "I wouldn''t harm your wife in the name of a witch, Duke Leonard," answered Lord Alexander cooly which immediately got the attention of Leonard whose eyes fell on Vivian and saw her hands were she wasn''t wearing the gloves anymore.


    During that time Lord Nichs looked in another direction as if he hadn''t heard a word of what they were speaking.


    "She isn''t a witch, milord," Leonard went to exin, "Vivian was a former pureblooded vampire," this caught the Valerian Lord''s interest and he leaned a little forward to know more about it, "We don''t know what caused her pureblooded self to turn to human but there must have been some changes that took ce due to which she has acquired the ability."


    "It is a theory," Lord Alexander went to confirm. His red eyes continuing to stare in interest.


    "Yes, right now it is just a theory."


    "Where are you from, Lady Vivian?" the Lord of Valeria continued to ask her questions. It made her think on how fast the man was in picking up things which weren''t even spoken of, was it just him testing out his thoughts on her to get answers or was it the straight questions he needed answers for.


    "I am from Valeria, milord," Alexander cocked his head, wondering how he hadn''t seen her before with her parents if she were from Valeria. It wasn''t umon for him to not know about every pureblooded vampire but connecting the dots he spoke,


    "They disowned you," his words were nothing less than a knife into her anxious heart but she didn''t show it on her face. She smiled at him, her eyes a little sorrowful which was hidden in the luminescent light of the firece.


    "I think they did," the Lord hadn''t meant to hurt her but just wanted to confirm things on his end. He nodded his head.


    "Some don''t know to be parents and adapt to changes. It is better to not to have people like those to be called parents," responded back Lord Alexander before continuing to ask her, "When did you change?"


    Leonard squeezed Vivian''s hand that she had ced on the couch next to him, "It must be around the age of six or seven?" she looked at Leonard who spoke for her.


    "Vivian was brought in by one of my previous house staff when she was the age of seven. The maid told us that she was a niece of a far rtive and my parents my mother didn''t question on it. She was a human when she arrived at Carmichael''s mansion. She must have turned around that time for her parents to push her out," he answered the Lord''s question, "We are trying to find her parents."


    Lord Alexander didn''t respond to it. He didn''t see the point of waiting and searching for someone who had disowned their own child due to a transformation which was understandable in their point of view as the pureblooded standards were too much. It wasn''t his issue, therefore he went to ask, "What do you see in the past, Lady Vivian? If you could borate on how it works, it would shed some light on the matter," for a mere second his eyes looked at Lord Nichs who seemed to be reading the titles of the books in his shelf near him.


    Vivian opened her mouth, with her eyes looking down on the carpet, "I see a lot of blood."


    "What kind?"


    "When I touch something where there has been pain and death, it is easier to pick up those memories. It is easier to read the ones that have gore than the ones which are filled with happiness. In the beginning, they were idental. Most of them were idental like the one today too. I am...working on learning how to pick the memories without iting to me but going to it and fetching it. One of the white witches is helping me."


    Lord Alexander stayed silent for some time before getting up and going to sit next to Vivian. Leonard suddenly looked at the lord of Valeria with narrowed eyes.


    Raising both his hands in front of her, he tested her, "Try reading me."

 Chapter 172 - Who Is It?- Part 3

    Vivian saw Lord Alexander''s hand which was stretched in front of her, looking up at him and then his hands knowing he wanted to confirm if what she imed was to be true or not. cing the gloves to rest on herp which was still a little wet, she wiped her hands on her ck gown and finally took hold of his hand which didn''t take long for her to pick one of his memory of pain.


    With her eyes closed, she felt herself transport, her vision which had been dark filling up with colour as the memory of Lord Alexander from his past turned vivid.


    She stood in a cemetery, surrounded by a lot of tombstones which werepactly put next to each other with not much space for the other. It was the time of midnight as the moon was up in the sky which had no stars to twinkle.


    She turned around, wearing the Winter ball''s gown as she tried to see and understand where she was but she had never been to this side of where she was. Guessing it was one of the towns in Valeria, she wondered what was this memory about.


    Having the ability to pick up the sad, dullest and painful ones out of a whole lot of emotions she wondered what she was supposed to look for. Starting to walk, she heard the hoots of the owls that had perched themselves in the trees that surrounded the cemetery and the crickets that chirped. Suddenly when a man walked past her from behind, she felt her heart leap for a moment making her clutch her chest.


    The man wore an old cap under the long ck and grey hair which went to touch his shoulder at the back. With an old patchy coat to protect him from cold, she saw the old man make rounds around the cemetery before leaving it. It must have been a local cemetery she was at, thought Vivian to herself as she read a name on the nearest grave to her, ''Rachel Rein, beloved daughter and sister. Date: 1712-1716''. How unfortunate she thought that a girl lived for only for four years before perishing from thesends.


    The memories were very much simr to the time of dreams. Though she would have spent here hours, it would have been only a few minutes. Seeing the man who hade to put around go, she turned her head when she came to see something in the dark rustle and then jumped a ck cat from the bush.


    The cat walked around the graves, moving past one after another until it came to stand in front of her legs to look up to her which made her heart thud in her chest. C-could it see her? For a second or two, she had felt the air slip out of her body as it continued to look at her. This cat looked very much simr to the cat she hade to see in the hall when she was dancing on the floor.


    Its eyes trained on hers, it mewed when she heard another rustle this time where a little boy came out with a shovel in his hand. His eyes were dark red in colour, his eyes holding great mncholy which seemed like it wouldst for another decade. Vivian had to move away from where she stood when the boy came too close and as if sensing something he looked around, waiting and watching if someone was there but there was no one in sight. This boy here was none other than Lord Alexander and his pet cat.


    And this particr reaction from the cat as well as the boy made her wonder if she was not just visiting memories but the past of people, which scared and excited her at the same time. Wondering if she should test it out, she bent down when the boy was reading the names of the grave while touching the headstone around.


    Her hand went to pat the cat but before she could get too close the cat let out a light gurgled growl that had her retract her hand to her side quickly. The boy as if finding out something touched the stone which she had previously read, running his hand across it fervently. In the beginning, Vivian was confused to see the boy behave like that.


    "What are you doing?" she whispered when he stood up and began to remove the mud around it. Worry began to form on her forehead if someone were to catch him digging up a grave he would be scolded and questioned about his motives. Once the dead was buried it was often told by the locals to not bring it out again and let them rest as it was considered to be an ill omen. The boy didn''t seem worried about being stopped by anyone but the same couldn''t be told for Vivian. Every one in a while she would look left and right, back and front to see him remove the mud until a small box was found.


    Piqued by what it was as a body was always put in a coffin and had bones in it, she took a closer look but she couldn''t guess what it held. The cat in the meantime stood next to its master waiting for him to fill up the entire grave he had dug back to how it was. He took the box along with him, carrying it carefully.


    Vivian followed him. Following a good distance until she came upon the mansion where he entered the gates and went straight to the garden. On her way to following him, she saw the butler named Martin appear to take the shovel from the boy.


    "Would you like me to help you, master Alexander?" the butler asked.


    "No," the little boy with ck hair and red eyes, cracked the box where a bunch of ck dust was settled inside it. Thankfully the night wasn''t windy or it would have swept out the contents inside the box but the heavens didn''t want it. At least that is how it looked.


    Getting down on his knees where there was a barren patch which had not been upied with any other nt, the boy dug out the ground and poured the ck dusty powder in there, cing a nt on top of it which was a single-stemmed blue rose.


    The boy turned to look at the butler who said, "It looks fine, milord. I am sure it will grow into a beautiful shrub in time just like your mother," the butler offered his condolence.


    The boy hardly had any words to offer, picking up his cat in his arms, he stood up staring at the nt, "Yes," he replied.


    Was that his mother''s ashes? Vivian asked herself but before she could give in a lot of thought the scene began to dissolve and melt in front of her eyes bringing in darkness for her to open her eyes to see Lord Alexander staring at her. There was a pinch of curiosity that lingered in his dark red eyes, waiting for her to tell what she had seen.


    "That was almost five minutes, Vivian," Lord Nichsmented who had in midst of her ''seeing'' had stood up to take one round in the room.


    Vivian who was still reeling in with what she saw, let go of his hand took it back to ce it on her hand where the gloves were. She was d that the man in front of her didn''t hurry to give him the details and instead gave her time to speak.


    When her lips parted, she said, "Both of you lords are very much simr to each other. You have walked a parallel path but are different at the same time. ck and white like they say."


    "Ah, so you have heard?" asked Nichs with a light tone to ease the tension, "They say Lord Alexander is the ck prince and I am the white prince, isn''t that nice?"


    "The local folks have got it wrong," Leonardmented as it wasn''t Lord Alexander who was the ck prince but Lord Nichs if only the public knew what and how Lord Nichs was.


    Lord Alexander asked her, "What did you see?". Vivian wasn''t sure how to go about it. She had seen Nichs'' side of the story and now that she had seen part of Lord Alexander''s past she didn''t know what to make of it. Were all the Lord holding something dark that made them to Lords now? She hadn''t shared their secrets. She must have spoken surficial but not exining every little thing she had seen and felt to Leonard when it came to Lord Nichs.


    Trying to find the best way to put it across, she said, "You have a beautiful garden, milord. Some of the nts have been nourished well, and some, they have rebirthed," it didn''t take the Valerian Lord more than a second to guess what she said.


    "Death has its own beauty," he answered, his eyes still curious he stood up and went back to sit in his seat, "I am guessing that you haven''t been able to find the culprit as you came to ask me for the guest list. What did you see when you touched the switcher?"


    "The switcher is working along with a ck witch. The one who has been responsible for the mass death in the viges and also for the corruption of the hearts I believe. I couldn''t get much but that he was walking in the council corridors and the witch she seemed extremely angry about something," Vivian''s brows drew together in deep concentration as she tried to recollect the quick shes, "It is hard to read the switcher. Thest time when he used the box I couldn''t get anything much as everything was a blur."


    "Vivi, do you know why the witch might have been angry?" at Leonard''s question Vivian shook her headfirst but then said, "I think it had something to do with the potions. The potion bottles you showed me."


    "She must have found out that I took it from the people of Mythweald and that is why the pair decided to meet in the deadnd so that the switcher could take thest possible bottle from her," Vivian nodded her head as Leo tried to decipher her thought. After spending a lot of time with the box she had found in the deadnd where the impersonated Sister Isabelle had been holding the box in her hand, Vivian had found out that the box held thest potion which the ck witch had given to make good use of it.


    Lord Nichs, who had picked a book from the table, ced it down back and said, "Why do you think the switcher was here? Doesn''t he have people to kill for the mass suicide and-"


    "Wait!" Vivian felt her blood drain. Turning towards Lord Alexander, she said, "Please ask the guests to consume nothing further that what they have." Lord Alexander was on his feet and he dashed out of the room with Lord Nichs hot on the trail.


    What if the reason the switcher hade here was to corrupt hearts? Didn''t it make sense though? There were a lot more of pureblooded vampires who have gathered here than any time in the year. It was the easiest target.


    Seeing Leonard stand up, she asked, "Where are you going?"


    "I will be taking a quick look outside," Leonard wanted to check if there were markings around the mansion which made sense as a lot of death could channel enough negative energy due to the mass sacrifice to achieve whatever the ck witch was trying to do.


    "I wille with you," Vivian decided and went out with Leonard to make a round or two around the mansion while searching for the markings. Finding none, they got back in time to find a vampire who was dead and was being taken into the carriage. The vampire''s eyes had turnedpletely ck with no trace of red in it. Were theyte? Had there been more victims to it? Thinking about it frantically she saw Lord Alexander speaking to some of the councilmen who hade to visit. In that time, she tried to look at each and every face of the person.


    Who was it? she asked herself while ncing one after to see who the switcher might be. It was highly unlikely that the person would leave right after the party as it would bring out suspicion. Which would mean that the switcher was still here amongst them but how was anyone supposed to find out? If it was possible the person would have taken another impersonation to derail them.


    Vivian and Leonard stayed back as the guests began to disperse at the end where they were provided with freshly made food in the end. The previous food, as well as the drinks, were kept aside by not being touched so that they could serve the guests on time. Not many were aware of what had happened and they just came to believe the man must have gone insane and ignored the little mishap.


    By the time the mansion was empty Vivian had begun to fall asleep, her eyes drowsing down to droop as she sat on one of the window sills in the study room where her head rested on the pillow which Leonard had used to keep it there so that she wouldn''t be ufortable.


    "Are you sure the reports are right that the nt can''t be grown?" asked Lord Alexander to Leonard standing on the other side of the room, "What if she''s ced the nt elsewhere?"


    "Spitgrass can''t handle all weather conditions. They were avable only there and now that they are burnt to the ends of the roots, the ck witch won''t be able to produce another potion until she has a nt which I doubt with the anger Vivian spoke of," exined Leonard, his eyes ncing to look at Vivian who was sound asleep with his coat on her.


    "It is good news then. What she has, it is a wonderful ability and it will take her to ces," but Lord Alexander didn''t stop there, "But be careful. With every giftes a curse."

 Chapter 173 - Ghost-Part 1

    As Vivian fell asleep soundly, the Lord of Valeria asked Leonard who was watching the girl who was asleep, "What were you looking for outside the mansion?" Leonard tore away his eyes from her, "When Vivian spoke about the corruption of heart and the witch being involved, I thought there might be a mass murder being nned," Lord Alexander hummed.


    "Seems very much valid but the ck witches can''t mark anything from this mansion to the next ten to twenty radius. If one were to try they will only begin to burn. I believe you have heard of my mother," Leonard gave a small nod to it. He had heard about how Lord Alexander''s mother was a witch herself. But he only knew what people said without knowing the actual story from the man himself.


    Alexander didn''t bother to clear the airs around his mother nor go to exin about his past, instead, he said, "My mother didn''t want any of her other side of the sisters toe and trouble her family. To keep us safe she had set up magic which wouldst until the end of time. ck witches cannot step into the territory nor hover around."


    "If you don''t mind me asking, what did you mean when you said the gift can be a curse?" Leonard wanted to know if it was just the Lord''s mere words or if there was something more he knew of.


    The Lord pursed his lips, "Duke Leonard, a pureblooded vampire doesn''t receive gifts out of the blue. It is caused due to a certain reason and I can tell that you don''t believe it has anything to do with the genes that have been passed. If it was from her early childhood at the age of one maybe we could argue it but her parents disowned herter on which means something happened that her parents never went to investigate. Instead, they pushed her away. Gifts what we have, are some times either caused by pain, loss or an external factor mutation change in the body. It is why not everyone receives the gift, or to put it in a better way...every pureblooded vampire must be gifted which is dormant and hidden somewhere deep inside which doesn''t show up. The girl wille to see a lot of things in the future, things that might be good while some will not be pleasant. Haven''t you heard the saying ignorance is bliss? To know too much about everything will cause pain."


    The Duke agreed to it silently. He knew this but wasn''t aware of this was what he was talking about.


    "You possess such gift too," Leonard stated and Lord Alexander smiled. Vivian had called the Lord of Valeria different so it was obvious he wasn''t just a simple pureblooded vampire lord. Like Nichs, he believed the man had secrets up his sleeves.


    "I do but I haven''t dived into it yet. Unlike your mentor, I prefer to keep it untouched," Lord Alexander said as if he knew about Nichs'' secrets.


    Leonard''s eyes darted to see Vivian who snuggled closer to the pillow in her sleep. It was wonderment in how she had slept, did she have a bad dream yesterday which he wasn''t aware of?


    "Take care of her, if some of the council memberse to know of her and her another ability which you haven''t mentioned though I am curious, they would use her as a test subject to learn more. As much as I hate that man, I am sure the Lord will look out for both of you because I can see you are close to him."


    One side of Leo''s lips pulled up to smile, "True. It is good to have someone like him around," Nichs could be a pain at times due to his extreme curiosity of wanting to find everything around and no matter how he was in handling Leo during his young years, the man had looked out for him even when his first mission in the council hadn''t gone well.


    Vivian''s eyelids opened to see the Lord and Leo speaking to each other. She wondered when she had fallen asleep, thest she remembered was her leaning against the wall but not with a cushioned pillow next to her. She didn''t have to guess who had put it here. With all the guests around, she couldn''t find who the switcher was, for him to move so quickly with the potion she let out a sigh. d that she had thought quickly else there was no need to guess what would happen. Bloodshed was all she could think of.


    Waking up while wiping her mouth for possible drool with the back of her hand, she stood up to have the attention of both the men. At the same time, Lord Nichs stepped back into the room after he had seen off every guest with a smile as his calctive eyes searched for the impersonator.


    "Good morning, sleeping beauty. Did you sleep well?" Lord Nichs''ment received him a small nod and he turned to look at the Lord of Valeria, "It is going to be harder to find the culprit when we don''t know their drawbacks. Everyone seemed utterly the same. Red, blue, green, brown, ck eyes with different hair structure."


    "What was the memory this time, Vivi?" Leonard walked to her asking the question, bringing a ss of water on the way and handing it to her. She took it shyly from him. She was capable of doing things but with two other men, they would think something else.


    "Usually, I can see who it is, even the owner of the memory, I can see them but with the switcher, it doesn''t allow me. When I touch the switcher it is as if I am the person," they frowned hearing this, "Maybe once I am in the council, I will be able to find something more."


    When they were going to leave the mansion, Lord Nichs wanted to talk something with Leonard leaving Lord Alexander and Vivian when the man spoke to her,


    "I had something to ask you, Lady Vivian," she had been looking at the horses when he spoke to her.


    "What is it, milord?" she asked.


    "Could you tell what exactly you saw in the memory when you tapped into my mind?" he was looking forward at the garden, following his line of sight she saw it was the blue rose of a shrub that had grown wide with many more roses. How strange she thought to herself, she had seen his memory as if she were part of it and to see the single stem of rose to have grown so big felt as time had passed way too quickly.


    Her eyes moved to look at Lord Nichs and Leonard who were speaking about something, feeling it was safe enough to speak as she felt it was a memory she wasn''t supposed to share with anyone else, she said, "You dug the grave of Rachel Rein," and just as she said this a question arose in her mind and she asked him, "Was your mother''sst name Rein?" it was because Lord Alexander''sst name was Delcrov and not Rein.


    "No."


    No? If it were so why was she buried under the wrongst name? Not able to understand she looked at the Lord with a question on her face, "It wasn''t my mother''s name. My mother was burnt in the name of her being a ck witch, at that time the situation in thesends it wasn''t safe for the white witches. Folks despised them as much they have them now, but more than that they believed them to be an abomination to the world. They didn''t agree that she was allowed to have a grave of her own, after all, that was left of her was only burnt ashes in the middle of the town. Before my father heard of what happened, her grave was done in the local cemetery just for the sake as she was the Lord''s wife."


    Vivian frowned at what he said, "They didn''t let the priest pray with you and your family?" she asked him, feeling heaviness in her stomach.


    "Humans and vampires, anyone for that matter, the public will blindly follow in the crowd. They wanted to wash away but the local guards stepped in and buried it under another name so that no other viger woulde and dig it out," she felt sorry for the lord. How could they do it? It was not only cruel but also hical in her eyes.


    "I am sorry to hear it," she apologized, pursing her lips she then said, "I saw you dig the grave with a cat."


    "Areo," he said the cat''s name, "It is a gift from my mother. He''s very special," Vivian could guess with the way the cat had stuck to stick next to him when he had been digging the ground and following him back home when he was young in her memory, "I sensed something around us that day. When I reached the spot to dig. Were you standing there?" he asked her.


    For a second, she didn''t understand what he just said. It took her a few more seconds before it sank and her heart almost stopped at his question. Very slowly she gave him a nod.


    "Did you know that?"


    "I thought I was only visiting the memories all this time," she confessed trying to wrap her head around what just happened.


    "Maybe you were, maybe you weren''t. Or it might be that you are able to step into the past but make sure to learn to control this power that you have acquired. It might be a progressive gift that is getting stronger and maybe one day you might be able to make your presence known in the past where people can see but that is why you will have to be careful. Imagine seeing more than one of you at the same time. You will only turn to be a switcher. Either killing your present or your past," he warned her.


    Taking in his advice her eyes lowered back to look at the hooves of the horses. When all the guests left, Lord Alexander stood outside the mansion staring at the sky. His butler, Martin who had served his families for years now came to stand behind him.


    Lord Alexander asked his butler, "What do you think of the girl?"


    The butler didn''t furrow his brows nor did he give away any other expression, "Do you n to take her as your wife, milord?"


    "No, Martin. I do not see her as my potential wife," Alexander answered.


    The old man spent a few more seconds and then said, "She seemed like a normal human to me," the pureblooded vampire hummed at it. She looked like a human but her ability surpassed any of the existing pureblooded vampires.


    "She isn''t an ordinary girl. She might also be the key to finding out answers," the old man finally looked at his master who was still staring up at the sky.


    "You think she''s the key?" the butler asked a little taken aback.


    "Maybe."


    Back at the Gibbs house, Vivian and Leonard were weed back by Mrs rk who had woken up at the knock of the door. Not asking and speaking much, the woman let the couple to retire to bed after locking up the door and going back to sleep herself. Getting into the room, Leonard had gone to change his clothes while Vivian had sat in front of the dressing table in a daze. So many things had happened in one night, thought Vivian to herself. Only if they could catch the switcher, there would be fewer things to worry about.


    Her mind had been distributed in so many things.


    There was the second examination which worried her as Jerome had informed her that it was going to be held in the snow mansion, the same ce where she had been dreaming abouttely. Then there was the switcher who was causing problems in the pureblooded world, the witch was someone she didn''t concern herself with for now as she had no potion to create. Vivian came to the conclusion that the ck witch might end up keeping herself low as there was no more nt to create it. The next was her parents, and that was something that concerned and worried her.


    With days that hade by she had let the hope diminish little by little to the point where now it felt that looking at them from afar would be the best option. And it wasn''t that she had missed them all these years, after all, she never knew about them. She had grown around Paul, Grace, Martha, Thomas, Leonard that it never came to her notice.


    To think that her life was hard would be a folly, to say the least. She had seen others life to be much harder and all she could tell is that God might have pitied her a little more than the rest to give her a life which she now had.


    By the time Leonard had finished changing his clothes, he saw Vivian who hadn''t moved from the position he had seen her before going to the bath. She sat staring at her reflection in the mirror. Walking towards her, he ced his hands on her shoulders which brought her out of her thoughts.


    "Are you nning to sleep like this because you look pretty, Bambi?" his voice was serious but there was tease underneath those words.


    "I can?"


    "Sure, why not. But it won''t befortable with all thoseyers," he said running his hand around her neck and massaging he back with his fingers, "It will be ufortable for you and with the looks of your back," he said looking at the strings that had been pulled too tightly he could tell it had left red lines beneath the dress she wore, "Do you want me to help you with the ne?" but before she could answer his hands already began to y with the little hook of the ne, removing it he ced it on the dressing table.


    These were the moments when Vivian felt she was pampered. Before she was only a pampered person but now in her mind it went as a pampered wife, not knowing if it was a good or a bad thing. Maybe she could cook him breakfast tomorrow and with that thought, she started changing her clothes.


    ~Don''t forget to use your power stones on the book~

 Chapter 174 - Ghost- Part 2

    ~Posting 2 chapters, please scroll over~


    They had gotten to be bedte but Vivian had woken up early, stepping into the kitchen before Mrs rk had the opportunity to return back from an errand to stop her as she wasn''t anybody but the wife of a Duke, Vivian started whisking the eggs she had broken in the container. By the time Mrs rk had returned back home, Vivian was done preparing breakfast while also preparing tea such that the entire kitchen and the rooms around it smelt of mouthwatering food.


    "You didn''t have to do it, Lady Vivian. I am here to look after the meals, cleaning with other things so that your stay isfortable here," Mrs rk gave her a troubled look.


    Vivian waved her hands, "Please don''t tell it like that. I am happy to be cooking. I won''t get to do it once we get back home," the housemaid continued to frown, "I am hoping you haven''t eaten anything yet. I made breakfast and tea for you too," the housemaid gave her a deep bow.


    "Thank you, mdy. I am fortunate to be eating what you have made. I shall remember this for long as I live, of your kindness," Mrs rks did make a big deal out of her cooking in the kitchen. It was due to the fact that pureblooded vampires or the humans who came from high society never did anything remotely close for the servant. Even if one came from the low ss and into the elite ss, they often forgot and tried to blend in like the rest as if that was how they were brought up since a very beginning by putting the servants down.


    Taking the tray of food in her hand, Vivian made way to the room where Leonard had woken up. He was sitting against the headboard, his shirt which was V in the neck shape, his cut short hair which was ruffled making him look cute in her eyes.


    "You left me alone in the bed," he used her, eyeing the food which she was carrying he looked up, "Mrs rks would have taken care of it, you didn''t have to trouble yourself."


    Vivian ced the tray of food on the side table and sat on the bed. Leonard leaned forward and she did too for their lips to touch, pressing them together and pulling them away from each other, "I thought you liked my cooking," she said taking the te and putting the food on it which she had freshly made."


    "Never said I didn''t. If I knew you were cooking I would have asked you to wake me up," Vivian gave Leo a look, and she asked,


    "You would help me cook?"


    "I like watching you cook," hearing this Vivianughed. Deciding that they would be sharing the te, she brought the food up to his lips where he stared at her. Didn''t he want her feeding him? She had never done it before, not that she could remember at the top of her head but seeing him not open his mouth she wondered if he wanted to eat it himself. Just when she was about to lower her hand, he opened his mouth and she pushed the spoon gently into his mouth.


    Taking another spoonful, she took a bite and then back to feeding him, "Aren''t I loved," he murmured making her smile.


    "Can I ask you something?" she asked Leonard, "What is the fondest memory you have of us?"


    "That''s a hard question. There are too many with you," Vivian beamed waiting for an answer, "It must be the time when you hid behind Paul. It isn''t just us in it but those were the times that you had me intrigued. How about you?" he asked her the same question.


    Vivian twisted her lips and scrunched her eyes thoughtfully before saying, "It was when you got hurt," if it weren''t for her ability she wouldn''t have known about it. He gave her a confused look as to which one she was speaking of, "I think it was the time you didn''t get to go to the fair when you got into a brawl with Christopher," as if the memory dawned on him he chuckled.


    "Those were some really good times," he agreed. How could he forget them, Vivian was the most adorable child for her age. For someone who was shy and always hid behind Paul as if that would help, he had seen her follow him like a little cat all around the house. Most of the times he would be up in the ss room or in somewhere behind a book reading for her to find him and take a seat next to him in silence. She had grown on him, this cute little thing to have grown to such a beautiful person, Leo sighed making Vivian confused.


    "What happened?" he shook his head. He wanted to have her now but it was too early especially when she had prepared him breakfast to eat. For now, he settled with her feeding him.


    When the time came to leave Gibb''s house, Mrs rks wished them a safe journey, asking them to visit her again when they had time so that she could be their caretaker again. The journey took an hour longer as some of the roads had begun to freeze with the early snowfall. By the time they entered thends of Bonke, the entire ground and ce had turned white due to the snow covering it.


    Winter had finallye and so did the day of the second exam.


    Letters were sent for the candidates to arrive at thend of Bonke at a certain vige where they would gather everyone before starting the exam. Vivian had arrived at the spot half an hour earlier than the time to see three of the candidates who had arrived earlier just like her for not wanting to miss anything. Having worn simple clothes, that weren''t eye-catching with an overcoat on top of it and her regr ck gloves, she stood in a corner waiting for the councilmen to arrive so that they could start the exam. The more time passed the more the anxiety began to build, jittering her nerves as she tapped her feet on the snowy ground which none could see as it was hidden beneath her skirt. The man named Jamien arrived too, wearing simple clothes like herself so that it wouldn''t stand out as he came from a high family.


    After some time of waiting for the councilmen, the four carriages arrived where the coachmen got down to open the door for them.


    Four councilmen stepped out and one of them included Lionel. One of them wore an eyepatch on their eyes, his eyes ck and his hair peppered ck and white. Two other men were younger than Lionel and the eye-patched man.


    Lionel seemed to be the one in charge again as he was the first one to speak to the nine examinees who hade to take the test, "Good afternoon, examinees," he greeted them, looking at each and every one of them. When his eyes fell on her, being the only female candidate it didn''t linger long and gave the same attention as the rest which made her rx, "I have with me today three other councilmen who will be invigting during your task or exam. We have Hueren, Oliver and Creed," Lionel raised his hand towards the eye-patched man who smiled at them encouragingly but there was something about him which made people give an unsettling feeling in their chest and Vivian was no exception to it.


    She was d to see Heuren here, he was the friendliest among the four councilmen and when everyone was looking the other way, they exchanged a friendly smile before he had to put up a straight face.


    Lionel spoke, "Please step into the carriage so that we can start the procedure," everyone began to step into the carriage the councilmen had arrived in, Vivian stepped into the first one where she had to share it with Jamien, the councilman named Creed and another human candidate.


    Being already informed of where it was going to take ce, it didn''te as a surprise to her nor did the mansion''s presence intimidate her. She had visited it twice in real but more than six to seven times in her dreams that now that she had people with her, her heart didn''t thud at the fear of meeting who or what was inside. The watermill near the mansion kept moving up and down, every time the wheel moved, it pped with a sound moving up while taking in the water.


    Once everyone stepped out of the carriage, some of them couldn''t stop murmuring to where they hade, "For people who aren''t aware, this is the snow mansion," Lionel addressed the crowd, informing any illiterates if there was one present among the examinee who didn''t know where they were, "This is the second Lord''s mansion. Now for the task," everyone leaned forward knowing it wouldn''t be told twice so making sure they got every word right.


    The councilman named Creed stepped forward as if stating he would like to speak about it, "The task is very simple," the man had a deep voice which resonated in their ears where they were surrounded by silence, "We have ced clues all around the mansion, what you need to find is, there''s a dead body thatys in this very ce. Find it and try to tell us why or who killed it."


    One of the examinee hearing this said, "We are going to be working like the council?" Creed smiled, his eyes turning small where it felt like it was barely open.


    "That''s right," the councilman confirmed, "Bring us the artefacts and tell us with why was the person killed or if it was a natural death. If you get it right you pass," he then raised his hand which was covered in gloves, "The first exam was written and we had a time limit of three hours?" he turned to look at one of his councilmen who nodded, "Yes, but this is the second exam. We will give you three days, of course not all of us will be here as we have other better work to do than y caretaker. There will be only one councilman each day, both Heuren and Oliver will take a day each respectively. Remember in this time, you are allowed to do anything you want," his words were vague but none of them seemed to ask what he was exactly talking about, "But make sure to not get caught as it will only deduct your marks and possibility in being part of the council," the man smiled.


    Lionel picked out his pocket watch from his coat and saw the clock tick. Waiting for the minute and hour hand to meet together, he said, "Your time starts now," the nine examinees entered the house with Vivian and Jamien being thest one as they didn''t run and rush to get an answer.


    She was already familiar with this ce, therefore she wondered which turn to take. If it was a new ce, maybe she would have rushed to get a look around and start searching for this possible ''body'' that was ced somewhere here.


    But how borate was the term body here? she asked herself as she let everyone run in search of this evidence which one could get from the body itself. With what she had learnt from Jerome it was possible that this body wasn''t a fleshy one, one with the meat but could be the skeleton that she and Leo had stumbled upon.


    Of course, one''s thought would be to go find a lying dead body but why would the council kill a person and ce it here as a test, unless it was made of some dummy filled with magic with the help of witches.


    "We''ll being back day after tomorrow," Lionel informed Heuren who nodded and bowed his dead until he saw the boots of the high councilmen disappear from his sight.


    When the carriage disappeared behind the white snowndscape, the young councilman stared at the mansion which had been deserted for years now. Though he was part of the council, he hadn''t known about the task until it was told to the other candidates. He had heard a lot about this mansion and no matter how each version of the story varied from another, it was never a good one to hear about.


    His examination had been held in the vige but now that he was here, he was d, thanking his lucky stars that he didn''t have to go through such a fleet not that this would be easy.


    "Wait a minute," he murmured to himself, turning back to look at the carriage which had long disappeared from his sight. Councilman Creed had told that they would be taking one day each of to supervise but there just two and there were a total of three days.


    Did that mean that on the third day there would be no one to supervise these candidates?

 Chapter 175 - Ghost- Part 3

    The mansion was filled with the sound of footsteps across the floor and also above her. She was still standing in the hall thinking about it when the councilman named Heuren arrived to stand next to her side, "Lady Vivian, won''t you go search for the clues?" he inquired.


    "Ah, yes," she smiled and took the nearest room to see if there was something different than thest time she had visited.


    The councilman saw the beautiful woman disappear into the room, he stood at the door to stare at her. Heuren was happy to volunteer when his superior Lionel had asked him to apany him to the second examination. He was delighted because he knew he would be meeting the eligible Lady Vivian there. Their previous encounter had left a deep impression of her on him. She was not only graceful but also smart with brains to have been able to connect the dots and answer every single question Lionel had thrown at her.


    He was at a good position now as he was a councilman who worked for one of the niche department though he doubted a woman would call his killing abilities niche. But he was confident that Vivian wouldn''t mind it. Maybe once the exam would get over, he could ask her for a walk in the town or in the meadow which wasn''t far from here. And if everything went well, he could ask her hand in marriage. Nodding to himself as he had an internal monologue with himself, Heuren only came to realize that the fair maiden had exited the room and from his sight.


    Vivian already knew where the skeleton was, would it be easier if she went directly to touch and see what it had before she woulde to report on the matter. But then, she thought to herself, it would only bring in suspicion on her as to how she knew about it. Taking her own time, she walked to one room after another. When she reached the next room she saw one of the men in there, opening every cupboard and drawer nosily to close it with a thud which made her close her eyes. Looking in the other direction she stared at the drawers to hear the man speak in a tone of arrogance,


    "What is the council thinking by allowing a woman take part in the examination as if she would clear the exam. A woman is supposed to cook and clean the house and if need satisfy the man in the bed than roam out here shamelessly alone," Vivian''s face snapped to look at him. The man hade across many to know how one would react, especially if she was here it would mean he would have quite a temper character as this was no ce for a sweet girl. They had three days, with nine males and one woman, surely he could have his amusement. Ready to hear her retort, he waited for her to throw words of whish.


    Vivian walked forward to him, her steps firm and sturdy with every movement forward to him. Stopping a few away from him, she asked, "Are you done?" there was a bored tone in her voice. The man blinked at her, "I want to take a look at the cupboard or are you going nning to steal and take it home that you are hovering here," someone at the entrance of the room cleared their throat.


    It was the councilman, who stared at both of them, "If I find someone fighting, you shall be immediately disqualified. Hence, refrain yourself from rebuking any possible physical or verbal argument unless it has something to do with the task," he stood there for a long time that Vivian saw herself out as she felt there were other rooms to explore than being stuck with a brainless idiot.


    The time passed by quickly with everyone trying to find that it was already night. The sky had turned dark, the weather had turned extremely chilly. Luckily for Vivian, she had worn a thick woollen coat before leaving the Carmichael mansion.


    Everyone had been so enthusiast about finding the body that when their stomach began to grumble did the real probleme up. There was nothing to eat in the mansion. It was an empty, deserted and abandoned ce which hadn''t been used in many years.


    Some went outside whilee stayed in the mansion too intent to find this body for some reason which none could find. In all the previous hours, Vivian had avoided stepping towards the stairs. She was utterly scared where her dream woulde true and therefore had stuck walking around the same rooms visiting over and over until she heard one of the men tell how they were going out to see if they could get anything to eat from the forest.


    But Vivian wondered what would be there outside in this cold winter-like weather. With the snow mansion which was located away from the viges and ced on top of the mountain like a ce, the entire ce would be frozen where there would be nothing avable to be called as food.


    When there was no one around, the councilman called Vivian to the side making sure no one was there he gave her a bag of something, "Take it," he said and quickly left before anyone could see them chatting together.


    Opening the little bag, she found an apple and an orange inside it. Thankful for the dinner, she went to the corner of the room before munching and throwing away the skin. It wasn''t sufficient but it was enough to sustain for a few more hours. If one were to go travel to the vige nearby, it would take about half a day of work both to and fro to the snow mansion.


    As the night passed by, some took refuge to sleep as there was still two days for the exam toplete while most of them stayed awake still looking through things before they gave up and took themselves to bed. As funny as it was, Vivian had taken herself to sleep in one of the closest. It wasn''t that there weren''t any beds but it was because she didn''t feel itfortable to be sleeping out in the open. And her reason was quite justified when the morning arrived.


    Heuren the councilman was happy yet sad a the same time for leaving the mansion and letting the other councilman named Oliver to take his ce on the second day.


    The man was happy because the snow mansion gave him shivers. It wasn''t just because it had been deserted for many years but also because of the haunted story he had heard when he was still studying for his exams. And he was sad because he would be leaving Lady Vivian here by herself in the midst of the other men. When he had gone to make sure if she was alright, thedy had gone missing. He had spent the entire night and morning toter find her walking through one of the passageways by which time he had dark-eyed circles.


    Vivian had received another fruit before Heuren had left and she couldn''t tell how thankful she was for it. This made her think if it was because she was a woman that he had shown his concern for her.


    The second day, Vivian decided to take a step on the stair before stepping down again. This went up for an hour in the morning until the man named Jamien came to ask her, "Are you scared of the stairs, mdy?"


    "You could tell that," she answered staring at the stairs which she had previously tried climbing.


    "How unfortunate," the man sang, walking up the few flights of stairs she had gathered courage for, he said, "Let me walk with you. If you won''t even look at the first floor it would be equal to telling you have given up. I also see that you haven''t gone out to eat but there were some seeds and orange peel I found not far from the trees behind," he chimed in, his bright red eyes staring at her knowing that she had acquired the fruits, not by herself.


    Vivian didn''t confirm his words and behaved as if she didn''t know what he was talking about. Confessing that the councilman had been partial to her would onlynd the councilman in trouble which she didn''t want.


    Not responding to him, she took a deep breath and decided to walk up the stairs to see the man follow on her trail.


    "See? It wasn''t that bad. All you needed was motivation," he said smiling at her, "I apologise if you''re still angry for what happened at the soiree we met," he was talking about the time she had fallen in the river to hurt her leg.


    She gave him a firm smile, "What makes you think that? I wouldn''t expect a man like yourself stepping in either. Please don''t worry about it."


    "I will be seeing you around. All the best," he gave her a smile which had turned to be ufortable every time she saw it. It wasn''t just about the incident that took ce in the soiree but the vision she had of him, where he had cut one neck after another was what hade to bother her.


    Being civil both of them bowed their head, where he took a left and she took the right from the staircase beforeing to realize this was not where she was intending to go. Now that she had, she walked a few steps before stopping to see down the stairs just simr to how her dream was. She stood there for a long time, not touching anything even though she had her gloves on looking down and waiting to see if she would see something odd but nothing ever happened. It was just that after so many repeated dreams of the same ghost over and over she didn''t know to do about it. Maybe it was only her figment of imagination as she was stressed, thought Vivian to herself.


    Going to look at other rooms, she inspected every one of them closely until she came to stand near the ce where Leonard had brought her but where was the door? she tired looking at through the walls but there was no door. Had it been camouged that now she couldn''t find a way to it? Leonard had told her that he and Nichs had spent quite some time here when he was young. The reason Leo could find it easily must have been because they had spent more than one or two night.


    "Stupid woman. What is she doing trying to touch the wall," one of the menmented before disappearing into another room.


    Vivian rolled her eyes. It was her hands and her space. She could do what she pleased! Not finding it, she moved forward to the other rooms. Before that, she hadn''t seen the walls where the pictures were hung. Sure she had seen some of them with Leon but there were some that were hidden from the naked eye. While exiting a particr room at the time night where the sun that was hidden had set itself did Viviane to stand in front of a portrait which was actually very smallpared to the others that had been hung making Vivian''s mouth go dry at the person in it.


    So much for the figment of her imagination, she said to herself dully as creepiness surrounding her began to make her cold. It was the ghost she had been seeing. If this person existed before and if her dream had some sort of meaning...then did that mean, there was a ghost haunting this mansion?


    At her conclusion, she gulped as dread came to settle in the pit of her stomach making her feel unwell.


    She felt her head spin, holding on to the wall to steady herself she took a deep breath, "Breath in and out, in and out," she told herself.


    She needed to sit down but she didn''t want to sit here! Not now at least, if the person''s frame was here there was no telling if the woman''s bedroom was the one she stood at or the one behind her.


    "Oh God," she prayed.


    All her life she had been scared of ghosts and she had hoped to never meet one. Hurrying down the stairs, she went out of the mansion, almost running to the water mill, she sat down.


    Once she was done calming herself down she tried to think through on what was happening and why she was here. Thest time when they had arrived, both Leonard and she had found the skeleton from where her visions hade alive. This ce must hold secrets which either didn''t want anyone finding or wanted to let out the truth on what might have happened in the past. It was a mere skeleton and maybe the council couldn''t deduce what was there here.


    This was the reason why the council had put the new candidates hoping there could be a new approach in finding out the whys.


    But the question was what happened?

 Chapter 176 - Behind The Floor- Part 1

    When Leonard had given out the information on the second Lord''s death, he had told it to be a natural death but at that time it had seemed that he had hidden something from her. Was it a confidential matter which was not to be told to anyone?


    The council had cleverly put the new examines to take up the test and try to solve the case which they couldn''t. Without giving out more than necessary details, the exam was given to solve where all the nine of them had started to work on without knowing where to start. As she pondered on it, she heard amotion start outside and she hurried there to see what had happened.


    She heard the councilman ask an examine, "When was thest time you saw him?"


    "I think it was this early in the morning before the dawn broke, though my memory isn''t quick as I had gone to sleepte myself," the lowly vampire answered.


    "Did anyone see him?" asked the councilman to which everyone shook their head. Vivian looked around the people who had gathered outside, counting the heads to realize one of them to be missing, "These things are verymon during the task if you aren''t careful, you will be killed or eaten alive by the animals that surround this mansion," animals? was there one here? "But you need to be careful of your fellowpetition, you never know when one might use a knife to cut through your throat," the councilman smirked making a few of themfortable while the others taking it as a leverage as it was told that they could do anything until and unless they weren''t caught.


    By the time evening came by, another two people went missing leaving only six of the examines in the mansion and a councilman who was hardly interested in keeping a watch over them.


    With only fruits to suffice her stomach, Vivian heard her stomach growl and rumble with the need for food. She wanted to eat and if she didn''t soon, there was a possibility of her fainting due to the headache that hade to form around her temples due to no proper her meal. She couldn''t stay inside the mansion and at some point, she would have to go hunt for food.


    It didn''t help that people had started to go missing. Did the wolves in the forest eat them? Or was it the people here or the councilman who had taken a seat in one of the rooms. But then, thought Vivian to herself, what if it was the ghost? This ghost that was haunting the house didn''t seem to care about the time or ce. Vivian had gone to make a trip to the cer below but the skeleton that once used to be there wasn''t there anymore.


    Two days was going to pass by soon and none of them could figure out what they were supposed to look for.


    She bit her lip, thinking about it hard while stepping out of the mansion with antern in her hand. She knew it wasn''t a good idea to be roaming at this hour though it was evening and turning to be night. Making sure she didn''t stray too far, she walked around the mansion. She could have waited for tomorrow but she had no time. Time was running and if she didn''t crack the case, she would never be able to step into the council until the next year.


    Every step she took on the snow-covered ground left footprints of her boots. With only thentern as a source of light, she carried in front of her while making a round or two around the mansion to see if there was something odd she could find. Finding a nt that grew behind the mansion, she got closer to realize that the flowers'' petal could be eaten which had a lone white petal among the red flower. Picking many of them, she ate them one after another. The ce where she had cedntern had dipped down a little due to the base heat. Picking it up, her neck craned to see outside the walls of the mansion where the harsh wind blew due to the dire weather.


    Coming back with thentern swinging in her hand back and forth next to her, she tried to think where the skeleton might be present. The councilman had clearly spoken of a body meaning there had to be one here unless it wasn''t the kind of body they were all searching for.


    Holding on to her coat to protect her from the icy wind, she got back inside. The mansion was dark if it weren''t for thentern that she held in her hand. The councilman named, Oliver sat on a wooden chair with his feet up on another which were crossed with a hat covering his face.


    "There is an option where you can get back home if you don''t want to stay here any longer. That is one of the reasons why I am here," he said under his hat and Vivian paused her footsteps to look at him, "Aren''t you scared,dy?" he brought his feet down and his hat moved to sit on hisp.


    "Is there something I should be scared of which the rest aren''t aware of?" she asked him, her eyes unwavering gaze on him which made the man smile.


    The councilman whispered, "Don''t you know?"


    "I don''t enlighten me please," she challenged the man for his eyes to narrow down to observe the human girl who was young and looked inexperienced while looking pretty.


    The councilman wasn''t a human-like Hueren but a vampire. Looking at his eyes she guessed him to be a low-level vampire who didn''t have the blood of a pureblood as his eyes were bright in color. Darker the color, that much strong was the presence of the strong lineage blood for a vampire.


    "Men here are going missing. One after another and if you take another look, you will notice the headcount to have reduced to five now. She looked at him slightly rmed. Did another person go out and note back?


    "Shouldn''t you go look for him? Isn''t that another reason as to why you have been assigned here?" she asked the man who had crouched his back in the chair, his hands linked forward which was supported on his knees.


    "It isn''t my duty to find them, I am here to merely invigte and see if there''s any mishap under my eyes. We usually don''t have invigtors looking after the examinees. It is only because there''s a female they have sent us here," he gave the reason but something told Vivian that there was something else. The councilmen hardly cared for the women and she had heard on and on, on how women were never weed, "With the way everything is progressing, I can tell that there won''t be a passing candidate in this batch," his smile showed the fangs that protruded out of his mouth.


    Not having else to exchange with the dusk that had fallen upon the sky, she took thentern along with her to look at the rooms above and below.


    The mansion had a study room like the rest of the mansions she hade upon until now. The door was wide open which she had closed earlier during the time of day meaning it had been entered after she had left by the other people who were partaking in the examination.


    There were some parchments of papers that were scattered and whoever hadst visited hadn''t bothered to ce it back in its ce. Putting down thentern, Vivian began to pick up the papers one after another when she read a few newsletters that were dated a few years ago. cing it on the table and bringing thentern close to read it, she read ''Lord Bonke''s wife dies out of fever''. Scattering through more of them, she found another one that was dated to the year when the Lord had died, ''Lord catches an irrecoverable disease. Not ready to meet the public''.


    Frowning as she read them, Vivian didn''t realize that not far from where she stood, someone else stood behind her, watching her every movement.


    The lord didn''t want to meet anyone? Was he bedridden at that time?


    Ready to keep them on the table with the stone stop to avoid them from being moved, she reached her hand forward for thentern to free fall from the table and in a nick of time with her heart stumbling out she caught hold of it, "Ouch!" she cried to put it back on the table to feel the palms of her hands burn.


    This was going to leave a burn tomorrow morning, she thought to look down before cing back the papers and some of them which had scattered down again. Picking all of them, her head came to touch the tabletop which she avoided in time to see something inside the table. It was hidden unless someone bent down and looked over to see another secretivepartment. Looking at the papers she had just found, she ced it on the table before running her hands on the bottom of the table in the dark.


    Trying to find it to open, she foundtch which she couldn''t open. Staring at it hard, she tried to see a parchment of paper which looked like a newsletter that was hidden in it. Getting up she searched for something sharp to use and found a stick that was in the drawer. Squinting her eyes and bending down towards the ground to level her eye so that she could see, she used the stick to push the paper from the desk. Carefully moving it, the paper finally fell through and she stuffed it in her dress taking thentern to see Jamien who was being talked by the councilman with a disinterested look.


    Thinking it would be best to find an isted ce to read, she took it to a room which must have been the kitchen, walking further she stepped into the storage room which was the darkest out of the rest of the mansion with no window and only one way out which had no doors.


    Getting the paper towards thentern she read the contents inside it. The headline read ''Rumored mistress of the Lord gone missing''. Going to read on, ''Lord of Bonke ims to not know where his mistress is as she has gone missing for more than a week with no hint. Spections are that she was a witch who must have been burnt amongst the other ck witches in the local vige. The Lord kept the woman next to him after getting married but why didn''t he know? The Lord was told to be a human who used the magic of hers and now faces he shame which he is not ready to take...'' it went on to be written.


    Vivian remembered Leo telling her on how the second Lord had fooled everyone especially the councilmen, tricking them to show that he was a pureblooded vampire when he was a normal human. On how the rumors were spread that after a ck witch who had helped him tricked him, the charm had broken turning his pureblooded vampire state to the human self. Did something happen to the ck witch? To hide a paper-like this in secret so that no one could find or have found before, was it meant to be kept hidden or a secret thatid in this piece of information. She read the paper three more times. Biting her lip, she opened the little window of thentern which was used to light themp. She folded the paper to push it inside where the old newsletter burnt brightly until only ashes were left at the bottom of thentern.


    If it were a secret, then, for now, it was best to die down until she found the bottom of what had happened here.


    She had one more day and one more night before the council woulde to regard if the examines had passed which clearly none had passed as they hadn''t found the body yet.


    The light in thentern had begun to dim down, its light holding less vigor of brightness in it, wavering with every second as Vivian''s eyes closed before she woke herself up in a daze of sleep and then slept again. The next time she woke up it was because of the shrill sound of a woman''s cry. The cry woke up every single remaining person in the mansion.


    Having surrounded by darkness, she quickly hurried herself to the hall where three of the men, one which included Jamien and one who hadmented on her on the first day and another who was a human stood along with her.


    "What happened?" Jamien asked the vampire who hadmented on her who looked with fearful eyes.


    "T-there outside," he pointed outside the mansion.


    Jamien stepped outside and so did the human where Vivian followed to see what had got the man so spooked. Walking out they saw nothing but it was when she turned to look back at the mansion did she see the councilman to be hammered to the wall with a hole in his chest as he was sprawled out dead.


    There was messy writing at the bottom of the body that read ''I know what you did.''

 Chapter 177 - Behind The Floor- Part 2

    Vivian covered her mouth out of shock to see the councilman named Oliver who had been stuck on the wall with his legs and hands spread apart. His expression looked shocked and vacant. Due to theck of light, it took them a while to see the man had no eyes. It was empty sockets that stared back at them. His heart was thrown below his feet where the small amount of ice had be to form on top of it.


    The three of them gulped and the vampire who was outside had followed shortly after they had found the man there. Scared and out of his wits, he spoke, "This isn''t funny anymore! Who out of you three are killing the people here? You," the vampire looked at Jamien, "You have hardly stayed around the mansion and have been outside. Did you kill him? Or was it you two," his red eyes looked livid towards Vivian and the human.


    "Three?" asked Vivian with furrowed brows. Thest time they had been told there were five of them, where was the fifth person? As if reading the atmosphere, the human spoke the unspoken words,


    "Where is the fifth person? Did any of you see him?" Vivian shook her head.


    "I have been minding my work if that is what you mean to say that use me of murder. Don''t forget I can snap your neck like a twig. Mind you if you speak another word," Jamien threatened the man who gritted his teeth.


    "Where is he then?" the lowly vampire asked.


    "As if I know. Maybe you were the one who had the people knocked out while behaving innocent and frail," the vampire turned angry by this and ran towards Jamien to take a swing but Jamien instead dropped a punch on his face which pushed the man, who slid back on the ground. The lowly vampire groaned in pain, "I wasn''t joking when I said I can snap your neck in two."


    The vampire stood up, taking offense and his ego hurt, he cracked his knuckles.


    "Everyone please stop fighting!" the human shouted next to Vivian, "We have lost many men and we have lost the councilman. Fighting is not going to solve anything!"


    "Shutup human!" the lowly vampire growled at the human male, "Can''t you see that this is all part of the test? Every year people die and it isn''t something new."


    Before something more could brew amongst these three men where the low vampire was trying to pick a fight after seeing the dead councilmen, Vivian spoke, "You might be right on the dying but I doubt that you heard that any councilmen were killed in the past."


    "What do you say about the fifth man then? Where did he go?" the lowly vampires crossed his arms against his chest and waited for her to reply.


    "Isn''t that obvious? He went for a fucking walk in the forest?" the human retorted back at the stupidity of the low vampire. The vampireunched himself on the human but the man was smart enough to step a few steps away which made the vampire fall straight hitting his face to the ground.


    The human dusted his sleeves as if the vampire was a dog who had shed his fur on him in the air. He then spoke, "If you are done entertaining us, Mr Idiotic Stupidson. I propose to look for the missing men."


    "And do what?" the pureblooded vampire asked in a bored tone, "There''s a day more for the exam to end and I doubt any of us have even got close to finding the body yet. I would like to put my time in better use than spend it on men I care less for."


    "Who do you think wrote those words?" Vivian asked Jamien and the human man, who together turned to look at the wall where the walls were dripping with red colour.


    "It must be a silly prank," hearing this from Jamien, Vivian''s brows furrowed. Did he believe that she would believe such a thing? Feeling her gaze on her, he chuckled, "What? Don''t tell me, Lady Vivian, that you n to search for the bodies."


    She pursed her lips wondering what to do. No, she didn''t n to search for the bodies but she did mean to search for thest missing person. Right now they had no guide to check what was going on not that it mattered previously. Even with four people who had gone missing, the councilman had only sat in the corner of the old mansion and had spent his time in leisure while sleeping most of the times. Now they were left with a pureblooded vampire whom she had visions of killing women, another one was a lowly vampire who didn''t like her presence but also was rude to others. He seemed to be the most shook out of the four of them. Then there was the human man who seemed calm and collected, who even cared to propose to look for others. Lastly, it was her.


    She had heard men kill each other out of spite and in the effort toe up in the council exams but this what she saw here. She doubted the councilman would be promoted if the exam was going to go through. The question was why was he killed? And the writing there was odd enough to tell that it was someone insane''s work.


    Looking at the men she tried to guess who could be insane enough to write it on the wall while also hang the councilman like a disy animal.


    But why him? Was it someone else? She looked at the mansion, her eyes moving one after another the other windows which were dark and old as the rest of the mansion. She said, "Going out at this hour or any hour might not be safe. Our headcount is only decreasing as time passes by. It would be better to stay inside here than roam out which might be unsafe," though she said this, in her heart something told it wasn''t what was outside but what was inside that she had to be worried about.


    The death reminded her of the ghoul and she wondered if it had followed her here but with two days that were going toplete, there was no sign of it. Maybe Lord Nichs had given it a job and therefore it couldn''te here now. Worry marked her forehead.


    "I am Ezekiel," the human introduced himself.


    "Vivian," she said her name.


    "It is nice to make your acquaintance," he bowed his head and continued, "Let''s head back. We are going to be alone for the next day as the councilman Creed said, the allotments were for two days by one man each," Vivian nodded her head. When the elder councilman had spoken about it, she had picked it immediately.


    Getting back inside every one scattered not wanting to stick close but find their clues as it was still important to pass the exam. No one could leave the mountain where the Snow mansion was situated as one would have to cross the forest before reaching the path were humans moved. And God knew without a carriage if it was safe enough to pass through as the men who had gone had never returned back.


    Having burnt the piece of the clue, she looked around the mansion if she could find anything more. Instead of going anywhere else, Vivian came back to the study room where the room was now as she had left. Taking twonterns she burned them brightly for the entire room to light up, it was enough for her to move around and look through the books than have just onentern in her hand.


    As no one was around she looked down at her gloved hand. All she had to do was remove the gloves from her hands and concentrate on finding and picking up the memories of what might have urred in these closed walls.


    Taking in a deep breath and letting out the air she saw the foggy like airing out of her mouth. Pulling out her gloves, she put it in her coat. The weather was cold and it wasn''t something she wanted to part ways with for a few minutes but the death of the councilman had shaken all of them.


    Were they going to let the man hang like that until the other men came? What if she would fall prey like the rest, would she die here? Leonard had been less worried as he sent her in the carriage, not saying too many words, he had kissed her, pressing her lips with his and wishing her the best. The man she had married had confidence in her that she woulde out in passing colours. All she had to do was prove to him that he was right.


    Removing the thin chain that she wore around her neck, she opened it to put the ring which Leonard had given her. Putting it back on, she looked at the little racks of books that were lined. Picking the one which was in the far corner, she raised her hand to hear a ruffle of paper behind her. Turning around she saw there was no one in there with her. The windows had been locked and this worried her.


    Already too scared with the name of ghosts and now that people had gone missing or had been killed to be specific, she could only imagine what this abandoned mansion had. No, she didn''t need to know that because she already knew who the ghost was. It was enough to clue and link things. All she had to do was find the skeleton which she hadst time touched and understand what had happened so that she could go back home.


    Her hands hovered over the books and soon the papers began to ruffle making sounds which had her heart thudding in her ears. It''s okay, she told herself, nothing was going to happen to her. She had done nothing to be afraid of but then she doubted if ghosts would understand her reasoning that she had been a good girl her entire life.


    She ced her hand directly on the books where she first heard a crack sound and soon the entire shelf broke down to her horror. Oh no! she internally panicked. She had only meant to touch them but instead, she broke the entire shelf where the ss case broke to pieces on the floor.


    Jamien and the other two men came to the room to see the broken shelf thatid on her feet, "Please don''t burn the mansion," Ezekiel said looking at the sses.


    "I am sorry," she apologized. She hadn''t meant to create a mess out of it by bringing attention to herself.


    Jamien like the other time didn''t bother to talk to her, he looked around her surroundings and then turned his back. The lowly vampire whose name she hade to learn to be Fitot grumbled and cursed her for scaring his wits due to the sound like thunder crash in the mansion.


    Ezekiel who had stayed behind said, "You don''t have to clean it up. It is a task, mishaps are bound to happen but be careful. We need to find the evidence too," she nodded her head, "What were you looking for?" he asked her curious, stepping inside the study room and looking at the books and desk that the room held.


    "I was going to pick a diary," she said quickly. Thankfully before she had gone to touch the case with the full force she had read the name on the dairy ''Journal''.


    "Dairy?" asked the man curious. He bent down to push away the pieces of the ss and went through some of the books before picking a red book, "Was this the one?" he handed it to her.


    She gave him a look of puzzlement. Wasn''t he interested in looking at it? If it were the vampire named Fitot, she was sure he would have fled with the book in hope of finding something but this man seemed hardly interested. Noticing her stare, the man spoke, "I already went through it," she nodded her head. So that was why he didn''t want to take a look at it, "There isn''t much written in there. Just about how wonderful the lord''s youth was and how many people he killed," he summarized to save her time.


    "He killed people and no one did anything?" she asked Ezekiel who went through the other books. Knocking on them which were sturdy, "How did you break that case?" he asked in wonderment.


    "He must have hidden his journal and it must havee out in light only after his death," he guessed, "It has words written about his mistress where he had quite an affair until she left him," this was a new version to the mansion, Vivian thought to herself.


    Curious, she questioned him, "Why did she leave him?"


    "Because he took a new woman as his wife while ignoring the mistress? Who knows? The tales are too tall," hemented which she agreed.


    The rumors of the snow mansion and the stories that had spun around were so much that no one could tell which was the truth.


    The night passed and morning arrived like a dread. The four of them had stayed awake with not a wink of sleep as it was better to stay awake than be the target to be killed next in line.


    "Let''s bury the man," Jamien proposed to her surprise and for a minute she felt as if the man had a good heart.


    In Vivian''s point of view, Fitot wasn''t interested but he must have felt it be a better idea to bury the dead than leave it hanging like a scarecrow outside the mansion. Standing afar, she saw the men who had buried the ground deep as the snow went way down before meeting the soiled ground. Once the body was covered, a stone was ced not to mark the man''s death so that one could go back and visit him but so that they would know where to point when the councilmen would arrive tomorrow.

 Chapter 178 - Behind The Floor- Part 3

    The morning passed as same as the other two days, moving from noon to the evening where the sky started to turn dark and yet they had found nothing but was it really true? What if each of them had found their own clues who hadn''t shared about it and had stayed quiet?


    After a few hours, Vivian stood facing a wall as she chewed the inside of her cheek. She had tried reading the objects in the mansion with her bare hands but she had found nothing. And even if she did find there was something blocking her view. Therefore she now stood in front of one of the infamous portrait of the lord which had been brought out and hung on the wall after his death. It was the painting of the Lord who had a shocked expression on his face. Had he seen the ghost? There were so many questions but not one had been answered.


    A few more hours and the exam would be over, yet she could find nothing except for the piece of newsletter she had found. She stood in the corridor, her eyes scanning the picture as her hands tingled beside her with cold.


    "It is an interesting picture isn''t it," she heard someone speak, turning to the side she saw it was the pureblooded vampire, Jamien who had his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets as he walked towards her. Stopping, he looked at the portrait, "Such fear in his eyes, what do you think must have happened?"


    "He was scared of something," she answered staring at the portrait on the wall.


    "How can the Lord of Bonke be scared of anything. No matter him being a human, he showed the devil side of him," Jamien chuckled, pushing the sses up his nose and said, "I think he just came to realize his guilt over what he did. It is no secret that he killed his mistress because no one ever found her body," he said in a matter of fact tone.


    True, thought Vivian. It wasn''t a secret with the second Lord being a human. The man was known for wrongdoings like cheating the council and his public. The third Lord of Bonke wasn''t too far in the footsteps of the second Lord. It was hard to tell who surpassed whom in their work in life with the ill things they had done.


    When she had touched the skeleton she had heard a woman scream, the first time her ability had surfaced in this very mansion.


    "The body of the mistress, we are to find that. Simple isn''t it?" he had a smile on his face like it was the easiest thing to find when none of them had been sessful in finding it.


    Vivian then asked, "Who do you think wrote it?"


    "The writing?" she gave a nod, "The question isn''t who wrote it, the question is who was it for," this made her frown, "There were so many of us here, but since the first day we have been reduced to half the count with no bodies. This is thest few hours of the exam. Did you do something that you weren''t supposed to do?" he asked her, his red eyes staring down at her with curiosity.


    "I can say the same to you," she responded back to have him smile more.


    "It seems that we all are guilty of doing something we weren''t supposed to do, don''t you think so? Maybe that is why the men went missing. Now don''t go touching everything, who knows what you might break next. Be careful, mdy. The house is warm and cozy but the walls here aren''t so," she wondered what he meant by that, walking past her, she saw him disappear while leaving her with the frame alone.


    Taking in a deep breath, very carefully she ced her bare hand on the frame where she didn''t need to think to close her eyes as the memories began to flood into her taking her to another time.


    As if the inky liquid which was mixed in the water after being poured, the scene turned to one where she was in a rusty house with a young man who was packing a white canvas which was covered,


    <i>"What are you covering, dear? Is that the portrait of the Lord?" the woman asked who must have been his wife. The man nodded his head. Looking at the room which smelt like paint and turpentine, Vivian came to assume that he was a painter.</i>


    <i>"It is a valuable one but better not be given to anyone right now. Not the Lord himself," the man opened the portrait to show his wife whoughed looking at it. Vivian took a few steps to peep, to find that it was the frame she was currently touching and running her hands in the mansion.</i>


    <i>"This is something. Why does he look so scared?" asked his wife.</i>


    <i>The man shrugged his shoulders, taking the portrait back to cover it up with the sack, "I have never seen him like that ever. It is a priceless piece which can be sold onter," the man said to have his wife nodding at him.</i>


    Vivian took her hand back from the portrait. The memories were of the painter and not the Lord or his wife or his mistress. Most of the paintings she had touched, all of them belonged to the painter''s memories and it was useless to dwell there.


    Taking herself away from the paintings, she was walking by a certain room when she heard a tter as if something had fallen down. In the three days, Vivian hade to spend time here, one thing that she realized and told herself was that if the ghost existed then it woulde for her no matter where she was. Pushing the door wide open she stepped inside the window which was open kept creaking constantly as the wind blew.


    Walking towards the window she looked at the whitendscape that was presented in front of her. The snowy area reached too far from her sight. Her eyes moving across the forest and then the trees near the mansion before falling on the water mill and the well next to eat. The sound that it produced like a knock every three seconds felt like a luby in her ears. With no sleep for more than twenty-eight hours, she stared at the well for a while before something in the corner of her eyes moved. Looking to her right she saw Fitot who was struggling. At first, she didn''t understand if he was going through some fits but it was after a few seconds did she see the woman, the ghost with her decayed face who had caught the man''s neck to hold him mid-air.


    Blood ran cold through her veins. The lowly vampire didn''t stay alive for too long as a stake was pushed through his chest and his body being thrown on the cold icy ground. At the same time, the ghost looked up at the window of the mansion where Vivian stood and this got her heart pumping at a rate like never before.


    Eyes widening, she quickly stepped back before stepping out of the room. Running down the stairs, she met Ezekiel who was reading a paper in his hand. Seeing her in such a rush, he asked, "Everything alright, Lady Vivian?"


    "She killed him!" she whispered a little out of breath. Running out of the house, she had the human on her trail following her where both of them saw the body being dragged into the forest but they Ezekiel couldn''t see who it was.


    Jamein stepped out of the house, "What''s going on?"


    "There''s a ghost in the mansion who is killing everyone," and as she said this, she wished she had put it out in a better way as the men stared at her without speaking a word. Closing her eyes, she opened it to look at Jamien, "You told the mistress could have been killed what if she''s haunting the mansion?"


    For one second, Vivian was worried that they would think her to be a crazy woman but Jamien seemed more open to the idea while Ezikiel stared at the ground. His eyes moved to the forest and then back to her when he caught sight of something up in the mansion, "I don''t believe in ghosts but thest time I checked we had only one female here walking the grounds," Vivian''s head whipped around to look up at the mansion where a woman stood there unmovingly next to the window.


    "She appears to be very familiar. Where did I see her?" hummed Jamien rxed, "Ah! The picture!" the pureblooded vampire said in realization. The woman in the white dress looked as dead she was supposed to look. The next second when Vivian blinked the ghost had vanished.


    Ezekiel blinked his eyes, snapping his head left and right while searching for the ghost, "Where did she go?" he asked.


    "To decide which one to kill among us?" Vivian asked unsurely.


    "Sense of humor is an important ability during times like these," said Ezekiel, "I don''t think the council added the ghost into the exam when they thought about searching for the body. I think it is best for now that we find where the body is together," when Jamien chuckled, the man asked, "Do you have any other way to stay alive from the ghost?"


    "Of course, not," the pureblooded vampire smiled to show his pearly white teeth, "So what''s the n?"


    "We can share what we have found until now and piece the information to see if we can find anything?" suggested Vivian. She looked at both the men waiting for them to agree and let a sigh of relief when they gave her a nod.


    "Sure."


    "Okay."


    "I found nothing," Jamien piped in and then looked at them waiting for the next one to speak, "What? Haha, alright," he said at the narrowed eyes at him.


    Taking the initiative, Vivian spoke on what they already knew, "We know there''s a ghost in the mansion and a possible one who was a mistress of the second Lord."


    "And that her body was not found," the pureblooded vampire chimed in.


    "Yes," said Vivian, "The body must be somewhere here, hidden which we need to find."


    Ezekiel who was looking at the mansion for the possible ghost to appear spoke, "I looked at the entire mansion, there''s nothing in there. Do you think it is somewhere in the forest and that is why the ones who entered never returned back?" he asked.


    "That might be a possible answer. Should we go look at the woods?" asked Jamien. Vivian wasn''t sure about the woods. It seemed unsafe to go to a ce where people had only disappeared, "What is the matter, mdy? Are you scared?"


    "Let me get myntern," she answered. With that, the three of them stepped into the dark forest on the snowy ground, The night was cold. the snow surrounding the entire region had dropped the temperature considerably low. With Vivian and Ezekiel carrying thentern, Jamien didn''t feel the need and went ahead to look for the bodies. The forest was a vast one and with much less time not only because the night hade which would eventually turn to the morning but also because none of them knew who would be the next victim to go missing.


    The ground was covered by snow considerably which made walking difficult on it. As they walked forward covering a certain distance, Jamien called over to them, "I don''t find anything in here. Maybe we should head back," Vivian looked at the ground with thentern which she held ahead of her.


    Ezekiel spoke, his voice sounding distant as he was several steps away from them, "I don''t find anything in here either. If the body is here but perhaps we should dig in," that was a ridiculous idea, thought Vivian to herself. It wasn''t a small patch ofnd to dig and find if something was in here. When she looked towards Ezekiel, the look on his face was one of greed which felt as if he had something up his sleeve but he covered it immediately. Did he find the body? Or was it that he had figured out something.


    They hade so far into the woods now that the mansion was nowhere to be seen. Apart from the soft rustling of the leaves and some birds like crows and owls cawing and hooting there was no other sound to apany them. She didn''t mind them but every time the owl hooted, the sound echoed through the forest which made it that scarier.


    Forgetting she had removed her gloves earlier, Vivian ced her hand on the bark of the tree not knowing the blood that had been sttered in it for her to only start hearing things at the back of her mind and seeing it too,


    <i>"D-Don''t kill me! I am another examinee!" the man struggled as Jamien held his throat. The pureblooded vampire stared at the human whose legs were dangling in the air.</i>


    <i>"That is the whole purpose now, isn''t it. I cannot go without blood and seeing there''s nothing in here, I will need to take it from somewhere. Thank you for the meal," said Jamien before sinking his teeth into the man''s neck and sucking the blood out until there was no more left.</i>


    Pulling her hand away from the tree with an utterly calm expression, she looked down at her hand where with the light from thentern spilt on her hand. Blood. Wiping it back on the free she behaved as if nothing had happened while internally her mind had begun to panic.?It wasn''t the ghost but this man who had killed the humans as well as the vampires. Though she doubted he killed the councilman.?Vampires could feed on both humans as well as lowly vampires as a resource for food.


    The human looked as if he was plotting on something while the pureblooded vampire, he was the man who had killed plenty of women before. With the ghost in the picture, she had forgotten about Jamien being another suspect.


    At the end of the day, everyone wanted to survive and pass the exam.

 Chapter 179 - No One Knows- Part 1

    Vivian didn''t look at either of them. She was scared for her life. The little glimpses she hade to see made her worry about what was going to happen to her. One man had killed and another was being suspicious which she hadn''t realized before.


    They hade too deep into the forest to point out what was going on but what use would it be but dig ones grave if she opened her mouth about what she knew. Where was Everest, Vivian thought to herself. This was the first time she had hoped for the ghoul''s assistance but the ghoul wasn''t hers. Nichs had told he would gift her the ghoul but he must have been joking as a ghoul wasn''t something one would give or receive as a gift.


    She tried to rethink what was going on again as her head began to spin with the overload of information she had discovered bying here. There were two major things to worry about. One was the ghost and the other was the pureblooded vampire who had killed the other examinees.


    "Lady Vivian, shall we head back?" Ezekiel walked up to where she was, his boots sinking softly on the iced floor one after another, "Did you find anything?" the look on his face came to tell her that he knew a woman of her calibre who was a simple human female, didn''t have the ability and knack to find things and that she was only wasting her time.


    Jamien at that time turned in a certain direction as if trying to hear something as he had a look of concentration on his face, "Hmm, I hear something. Let me go find out, both of you can go back to the mansion."


    Ezekiel looked at the pureblooded vampire before giving him a nod, "Let''s go," he said to Vivian. Staying here was not going to help her with anything and it was better to go back to the mansion than roam in a forest she was unfamiliar with.


    When both the humans went back on their way to the mansion, Jamien looked ahead of him. He hadn''t lied when he had said that he had heard something in the forest. The men he had drunk blood from were killed to the point there was no recovering the bodies as they were hidden ice down deep. Was it an animal in the forest that he couldn''t catch hold of? Having dealt with creatures before, Jamien was quite courageous in stepping further into the forest.


    He heard the sound of a woman crying. It was a meek one which stood starkpared to the sounds of nature which was previously being heard.


    Narrowing his eyes, he went in search of the voice. The councilman who had died was a lowly vampire therefore whoever had killed him must have been an easy person. Jamien was the only pureblooded vampire here. Though he hadn''t told it to anyone before by keeping the colours of his eyes bright and making it appear as if he were a low vampire too, he now searched in the dark for the sound of the crying. Suddenly a crow cawed, startling the man.


    The bodies he had drunk blood from, they were far away from where he stood where no one could find. As if someone passed behind him, he turned around to see nothing but trees at the back which made it difficult to look at the mansion. But the man didn''t get to stray too far as what was following him had stuck close by after having him isted.


    A voice whispered in the air, "I know what you did," it was a woman''s voice, where one could call it to be seductive.


    Jamien''s neck snapped around front and back, left and right but the failed to look up where the woman stood with her white flowing dress. Spots of ck were covered on her clothes. She stood there looking at him, a face that was decayed in the years of time that hade to pass by.


    "For a ghost, you aren''t very clever," Jamien spoke arrogance holding his voice for the ghost to let out a ring ofughter that echoed through the trees before it fell into silence.


    "I know what you did..." came the voice again, "I know...you killed people. Women and men. Your heart is truly corrupted just like he was," the voice turned angry beforeing to stand right in front of him which made him stagger back a few steps away, "Abaonded lonely child who wants to get back to what his family did. You want to avenge the entire kind. Killing people one by one, angry at your mother for leaving you.?I shall help you rinse your sins," the ghost spoke as if she were under a spell, not looking at him but her eyes hollow and empty.


    For the first time Jamien looked scared, his eyes wide as he moved back, scrambling himself on the ground.


    "Get away from me!" he pulled out the pistol from his pocket and pulled the trigger for the gunshot to resonate across thend but nothing happened to the ghost. As solid as it looked the ghost was unaffected by it.


    Coming close to him, it whispered, "I know what you did...Jamien."


    Vivian and Ezekiel who had reached the end of the forest where they could clearly see the mansion, they heard the sound of gunshote from the forest which made them look back. Did the pureblood vampire carry a gun with him? "Do you think he is in trouble?" she asked the man who had his eyes trained in the path they had juste.


    "We cannot say anything right now. Were we allowed to carry guns?" he didn''t ask her in particr which came more of a generalized question, "Stay here, Lady Vivian. Let me go find the vampire," he said leaving her in front of the mansion. Vivian clutched thentern with both her hands, the light hade to diminish slowly as it had been burning for quite some time now.


    Scared to step back inside the mansion, Vivian walked back and forth for a while before the frosting bite of air bit into her skin which she could hardly withstand. Time passed but there was no news of Ezekiel nor Jamien. She waited for a little more time before she saw the moon that had been up now had changed to move to the side indicating the time of midnight which had started.


    <i>''I know what you did''</i>


    The writing on the wall felt as if it was written for all of them. Every one of them had hidden secrets but how could she know about it? Even if she was the witch who had helped the second Lord of Bonke, the question was how would she know everything about them.


    She thought about the balcony which she had been to with Leonard that had disappeared in thin air every time she tried searching for it. All the time she had tried to find it was only at the time of day and she wondered why she never searched for it at the time of night. It was too dark to search and open in the night which made it usible to find it during the time of the day.


    As Vivian thought about it, a thought came to fall upon her mind. The council wasn''t a simple one and with the mix kind of creatures in she doubted one would set a simple exam without a foul y. It was told that every year there was at least one examinee who died. What if...what if there was never a body, she asked herself. They had given only two days of the councilmen which would mean they expected it to be over in two days. The isted mansion which was far off from the other towns, one wouldn''t step out at the thought of wasting time. And then they had some vampires and one pureblooded vampire who could feed on the humans or kill them.


    What if that was the bodies? asked Vivian to herself. After all, there were nine of them and every one of them had searched the mansion for every possible clue to find nothing in here.


    Vampires couldn''t hold on to their thirst, not too long at least and needed to consume blood, there should have been at least who started it and there was Jamien himself who had killed a human and maybe more than one.?Wanting to find Ezekiel, Vivian headed back into the forest than get inside the mansion. Her footsteps on the snow were as quiet as a cat without a single sound but when she neared the human ready to call, she saw the blood that was sttered across his face under the moonlight.


    Hiding behind a tree quickly she covered her mouth so that her breathing in this cold weather didn''t alert the man. Thankfully thentern had lost it light which didn''t bring her to his notice. Peeking slowly, she saw him drag one of the examinees by his legs so that he could push him into the little ditch and cover it with snow.?Unfortunately for Vivian at the same time, her nose itched, tickling and tingling her that she tried to hold it back but to her dismay, it came snubbed which was enough for the man to pick up.


    "Lady Vivian?"


    Ezekiel called for her but Vivian didn''t answer him. Not moving and having her back stuck against the back of the tree she held her breath not wanting to sneeze again. She couldn''t believe that she had been stuck to a group of murders for the exam. No, not just murders but also a ghost in the mansion. Unsure what to worry about the most right now, she closed her eyes as her feet moved to the other side when she heard him call this time informally,


    "Vivian. I know you are here. Come out," he said which made her hide further and if it were possible she would have merged herself with the bark of the tree. Seeing him walk in the other direction, Vivian sprinted from there in the opposite direction, her feet carrying herself quickly before she came to hear footsteps behind. Not far she saw the man running towards her with his blood-smeared face.


    When it came to running, Vivian wasn''t bad butpared to the man it was quite less, that the man was almost a few steps away when she entered the mansion and locked the doors as quick as she could for it be crashed with a loud sound. Stepping away from it, she saw the door thunderously being pushed. It rattled loudly as the man who was outside tried opening it after a few seconds it stopped. Going closer to the door, she tried to hear for any possible sound but she heard nothing. Going to peek through the window, a frown fell on her face to see him not there.


    Vivian looked around before realizing that there was another door from behind and maybe if she went there to close it now, she would only end up meeting him which she wasn''t wrong as the footsteps from behind could be heard approaching in the direction she was in. As she went up the stairs she fell down as the man had stopped her by going further and had pulled her leg making her stumble down. Her body passed through the steps with bumps and she fell sprawled across the floor.


    "Where are you running to?" Ezekiel asked her, walking up to her he stared down at her. Her forehead hurt where blood had begun to ooze out due to the fall, touching it with her hand she saw blood on her hand, "You have a pretty face that it makes me feel bad to put a scar in there but soon it won''t matter.?I thought to let you live but now that you have seen me with them," he meant the dead bodies, "I cannot let that happen can I?"


    "Why?"


    "Why I killed them?" he asked her, "Don''t tell me you haven''t figured it out yet, oh no, you figured it now," he tched, "I understood it on day one that what bodies were being spoken of. Cruel don''t you think? To turn the examines into one of the bodies. Sadly, when I took out one of them another one caught on to it where it ended up in a trail of death. I was going to frame it on the pureblooded vampire but then the councilman died changing everything thanks to the bitch in this house. I should be careful," he whispered.


    Yet Vivian didn''t understand who had killed whom. She saw him ying the little knife which was covered in blood. Jamien had killed a few of them, and Ezekiel imed to have killed more than one. But then there was also the man named Fitot who was neither killed by Jamien nor Ezekiel as she had seen him being strangled to death by the ghost.


    The man being too confident turned around, "Once I am done with you I will be the only standing candidate to be recruited to the council. Do you know how important it is for me to get into the council? It is a dream which not everyone gets into," he turned back to see empty space as Vivian had run from there.

 Chapter 180 - No One Knows- Part 2

    Vivian stepped into another room, hiding behind the door whilst holding on to a stone-like statue in her hand. When he entered the room she didn''t wait and instead struck it on his head as hard as she could. But the man was strong, Ezekiel, caught hold of her wrist and pushed her head against the wall making her vision blind due to the impact,


    "Fuckingdy," he grumbled under his breath, "You have the nerve to hit me!" he pulled and pushed again. Vivian pushed her hand against the wall, her hand swung the sharp object piercing through his face bringing out a scream of pain, "Argh!"


    Trying to run past him didn''t work as Ezekiel caught her and pushed her against the floor, his hands on her throat, squeezing it to choke her. She struggled by scratching and kicking him but it was to no avail as her body had begun to lose strength. The man''s hands tightened around her throat, reducing the space along with the air which had her eyes turn watery.


    It was as if a fish that had been pulled out of the water which was trying to survive without water, moving to it''sst breath when the man''s hand loosened.


    Vivian choked for air, coughing and feeling the pain on her neck as a tear slipped down the corner of her eye. She wheezed, scrambling away by pushing her legs and going back from the man who hovered over her motionlessly with his mouth parted open and his eyes wide. The room was considerably dark but not dark enough for her to not see the man''s chest where five sticks came to emerge through the chest.


    As the sticks moved forward she came to realize they were fingers and not sticks, blood came to ink through the shirt and she heard Ezekiel gasp as a hole formed in his chest. When he fell down on the floor she saw the rusty ragged robes on the floor, moving up her eyes she saw the ghoul holding Ezekiel''s heart in its hand.


    She stared at the ghoul and then the man whoid dead in front of her. Not far behind stood the ghost of the woman making her heart slip again. Had shee to kill her?


    The ghoul came forward, one hand holding the heart and the other offering its hand for her to take. Was the ghoul not able to sense the ghost behind? Taking its hand, she stood up, avoiding to look at its hand she felt it tug towards the direction of the door where the ghost started to float away.


    Stopped the ghoul to tug, Everest stared at her before tugging again. Had the ghoul kept her alive to sacrifice it to the ghost? With her muscles aching due to the repeated fall andck of sleep, dark circles forming around her eyes with her forehead smeared with blood she walked to follow the ghoul as it led her across the corridors. The ghost had disappeared from sight leaving only the ghoul with Vivian.


    "Where are we going, Everest?" she asked it to receive no response until they came to stand somewhere in the dark. Hearing the click sound, a door opened. Stepping out she saw it was the balcony she had wanted to see since she had arrived here with the others.


    She saw the snowkes move in an upward direction until it disappeared up in the sky where one could see, "Do you know her?" she asked the ghoul who didn''t answer her. The ghost had left her, making her wonder if it was scared of the other. She doubted any of the people whom she had spent time with had found this beautiful ce.?Walking forward she stood to feel the snowkes that surrounded her. She turned back to look at the ghoul who stood at the door lifeless. There was no one in the mansion now, and except for Ezekiel, one man whom she had seen to be buried and the councilman, everyone else had disappeared from her sight.


    She looked at the surface which felt nothing less than a snowy ground only that this one was smoothened.


    "No," she whispered to herself in self-realization. When the ghost woman had appeared in her dream, she knew she had seen her somewhere but couldn''t point out when and where. The skeleton wasn''t her first memory, it was this floor when she hade with Leo. She had seen the woman here.


    Bending down to the floor, she touched the cold surface where the snowkes were getting created and rising to move up. She saw the woman again but this time her face wasn''t decayed nor was her eyes hollow with emptiness.


    <i>The woman cried eyes?filled up in tears as she looked up at a man who stood in the hallways of the same mansion, only that there were light and objects to decorate items not making it look abandoned. She cried, sobbing with a broken face, "How can say that? Don''t I matter to you anymore? Am I not enough?"?</i>


    <i>The man gave a look of indifference to her, turning his face away he sighed, "What we had was an arrangement."</i>


    <i>"You told you loved me," her voice was hurt and her face evident of how broken she felt.</i>


    <i>"I never loved you. I am suitable to marry a human than a witch. You should know it better than anyone. You have hidden here as my mistress in this mansion. Having mistress is a shame already," the woman wiped her tears to ask,</i>


    <i>"You mean to throw me out," she asked disbelief on her face.</i>


    <i>"Don''t worry dear, I won''t throw you. I will keep you here," the man smiled, pping both his hands a guardsman appeared, "Bury her in the balcony up there," the man ordered and even Vivian who was standing and looking at the scene unfold felt shocked by it.</i>


    <i>"No!" the woman screamed as she was being taken by the guard.?</i>


    Vivian moved her hand away not wanting to watch further knowing well what had happened. For her to be able to read those memories only meant one thing. Below this floorid the body of the woman who was buried either alive or dead.?Rumors told there was a ck witch and she was a mistress but the truth was she was a white witch and not a ck witch. Her soul must have been tortured to where it had apparated to a ghost form, thought Vivian to herself.


    With the night that had passed, the sky started to brighten up and Vivian went to the corner to let her back lean against as she sat down. The kes of snow disappeared when the skypletely brightened up. She stared up the sky where the clouds still continued to hover in the sky.


    Her body ached, the pain dull as sheid there unmovingly. She didn''t know what time it was and how long she sat there to notice the ghoul had disappeared. They had left Jamien in the forest but he must have died too as he never returned back and Ezekiel wasn''t the one to kill him. Was it the ghost woman then? That was the only possible exnation she could get to.


    Had the ghost been here all these years, haunting, but doing what? Ah, she thought, the body was buried but it hadn''t met its peace. The body needed to buried in a better ce to let the soul rest. Maybe once the councilmen would arrive here she could ask them, but what would he tell? To dig the floor here to find the body? But that would make them question her further. A few things were left unexined while some felt like it made sense at least it is what she concluded it to be. The ghost hadn''t touched her or had stopped at the arrival of the ghoul.


    Vivian didn''t know what Fitot had done, and who killed the councilman but she guessed it to be the ghost as the eyes were very much simr to how she had at the aftermath of her death. Why? Maybe no one would know. But one thing she knew was that thedy had been wronged. She had helped the man and in return had been defamed, called a ck witch and even after knowing she doubted she could do anything to clear the name.


    She closed her eyes as the temperature in the atmosphere began to rise.


    When the councilmen arrived, the three of them came earlier than the given time as they had been informed about their other councilman, Oliver who hadn''t gone back home. The men after reaching the mansion, their eyes first fell on the wall where dried bloodlines were present.?Reading what was written below, they stepped inside the mansion.


    "It is very quiet and there''s blood," Heurenmented entering the mansion and seeing at the side where there was blood on the sidewall.


    "Looks like everyone is dead," Creed spoke, his deep voice resonating the walls, "Where is Oliver?" he asked for the councilman who was to guard the ce.


    Lionel who hade with them observed the scene where there was not a single soul in sight. If they were dead it meant everyone had failed the exam. The examines were asked to find a body where there was no body in the first ce. The councilmen were sure that when the examines woulde t realize they would hunt each other to turn them into a body. His fellow, councilman, Creed had told them to do anything they could unless they were caught red-handed. A person could go to any extent if there was a need to fulfill something to get something in return.


    But the purpose of the second exam was too test their mind and the value this time, which everyone had failed at least in his eyes as he saw no one. A person had to learn to protect oneself and also know not to take a life of another.


    "Search for any alive person," said Lionel as he observed the ce. It wasn''t the first time to have died in the second exam and rather it wasmon but all the nine? It should be the first, he thought to himself.


    Hearing something in one of the rooms, he stepped in, following the sound which came from the cupboard. Opening it a man screamed, who was one of the examine, to be more specific the fifth person who had gone missing before Vivian had found the councilman.


    "Councilman Lionel!" the relief in the man''s voice was evident as day as he got out of the cramped ce.


    Lionel stared at the man. So there was a man who had survived, "What are you doing hiding here?"


    The examine turned his head around before speaking, "There was a man with this knife," the elder councilman stared at him, giving a look as to a grown man was scared for the knife, "No no! You don''t get it, he had blood on the knife but that wasn''t all. There was a ghost following him!"


    Lionel stared at the man with his monocle ss as if the human had grown two heads. But what Lionel didn''t know was that what the man was stating was all true.


    The man who was another lowly vampire who went by the name Axel had on the second day had gone out to the forest in search of food at the hour of night when he had caught sight of the human Ezekiel carrying a knife in his hand which was dripping with blood. Axel had guessed that the human had killed a fellow examinee. He had followed him stealthily to see that the human behaved as if nothing had happened. He had followed the human out of vague curiosity when he caught sight of the female examinee who walked behind the man not too far.


    Had she been wearing a white coloured dress previously? he couldn''t recollect it as he could only see the back. His first thought was that both the humans were going to a room to spend the lonely night together but when the woman had turned around did he see the decayed face and the hands which looked dposed. Being a lowly vampire he had been utterly terrified to see the empty eyes with no eyeballs realizing it wasn''t the female examinee but a spirit in the mansion. To make it worse, he had stood right in front of the frame where the very same woman had been painted.


    The next second, the vampire had sprinted in the opposite direction as his life depended on it. He had heard enough about this ce to know that there was a ghost who resided and killed men especially.


    Picking up the room which was downstairs he opened the cupboard and got inside adjusting himself in while spending the whole of the third day there until the time when Lionel had just opened the cupboard. Only he knew how suffocating it had turned out to be sitting in this ce where once in a while he had to open the cupboard, cracking it open to only hear strange noisesing which made him close it back.


    "Beleive me, councilman Lionel," he said, leaning forward as he looked at the elder man. For a vampire, the person had big wide eyes which only humans possessed where he made a guess that he was a turned vampire.


    "What about the others? Where are they?" at Lionel''s question as to the councilman headed out of the room, the man followed him closely.


    "I don''t know, sire. I was in the cupboard all along after the four men went missing," the vampire said with his hands folded close to his chest. As Lionel interrogated on what happened, Hueren had gone in search of the other examinees, especially looking for thedy. When he reached the balcony which was open, he ran finding her at the far corner with her eyes closed.


    "Lady Vivian?" Hueren touched Vivian''s shoulder where her eyes had closed due to exhaustion. Thedy looked hurt with her forehead which had a cut but that wasn''t what bothered him. It was something else that caught his attention, "Are you alright, Lady Vivian?" he asked her worried-looking into her sleepy eyes.


    "Yes," she answered with no enthusiasm, her voice was utterly tired and all she wanted a bed. A bed would be enough even soft surface where she could lie down, "Is it over?" she asked him.


    "Ah, yes. Will you be able to walk or I could-" he was going to say he could carry her or give her a helping hand but she stood up. The girl''s feet weren''t steady but she managed to walk making him wonder what had gone down here. Going down, they met up with the councillors who were with another candidate.


    When Vivian''s eyes fell on the other examinee, a look of surprise passed through her face,


    "Ask thedy, I am sure she would know!" the man said making her wary of what was going to be asked from her.


    Ignoring the man, Lionel asked Hueren, "Is it just here?"


    "Yes, Sir," answered Hueren. Lionel nodded and then Creed spoke, the man with a single ck eye patch on his face.


    "I found the pureblooded vampire dead on the floor. Could you care to exin and put some light on what happened here, mdy," he asked Vivian, his eyes straining on hers and weight too heavy for her. There was a smile on his face but there was something deadly and daunting about this middleaged man, "Hueren, if you could fetch a ss of water," he ordered his subordinate who bowed and ran out, "Axel ims there was a ghost and one of the humans killed another examinee. And also if you can tell where is councilman Oliver."


    By the time Hueren had arrived, Vivian had given bits and pieces of what had happened while leaving out the ghost woman in here. There were a few things Vivian believed to not tell and this was something she was supposed to stay quiet about, at least until she reached to where Leo. She had also left the part where the ghoul hade to rescue and kill the human. In her words, she had hit his head but didn''t know how he had been killed which remained a mystery to them as her hands were clean with no blood except for her own. Hueren had gone with Axel to look at the headstone where they had found the body of the councilman. Not able to stare at the body for too long due to its condition, they had gone back to report what they found, confirming that the man had been killed. When it was asked to Vivian, she shook her head feigning ignorance,


    she had answered, "I don''t know," but the other examinee continued to im how it was the ghostdy who had killed him.


    To the older councilmen, Lionel, the matter didn''te as a shock. The examinees were put under istion with no food or water, away from civilization where one would have to walk all the way while under the test of having to find a body which didn''t exist. It was a test to see who would survive and who was worthy to be part of the council as the council didn''t recruit people out of the blue. They needed people who were sane enough and this particr exam was designed by Lionel himself. Out of fluke, one man had stayed alive and an unexpected expected examinee the girl had survived.


    "Sir, there was a ghost, you have to make an inspection in here. Thatdy on the portrait-" the lowly vampire spoke to be scolded by councilman Lionel.


    "That''s enough. One more word and I will put you in the care of the mental sickness," he gave him a re.

 Chapter 181 - No One Knows- Part 3

    When the time came to leave the snow mansion, Lionel and Creed told they would be speaking to Lord Nichs to what had urred here as he was the head of thend and everything had to pass through him before any decision was taken.


    The lowly vampire decided to take a ride with Hueren at the fear that another word to the councilman Lionel would be like stepping into death. Already taken a seat inside the carriage as he wanted to leave this haunted mansion where the ghostdy lived. He didn''t even want to look at it at the fear of having to catch the sight of the empty-eyed women. This was a forbidden ce and no matter if the councilmen didn''t believe him, he knew what he saw.


    "Where do you live, Lady Vivian?" asked Hueren at the intention of wanting to drop the fair maiden to her home so that he could take better care of her for the future possibility where he could extend and ask for her hand, "Let me drop you there once we drop Axel," the vampire nodded his head. The sooner he reached home, the sooner he would like to lock the door and note out until he felt it was safe.


    "Carmichael''s mansion," Vivian answered without batting her eysh. The lowly vampire who had been tapping his feet, waiting for them to leave was looking outside the window when heard thedy mention ''Carmichael''s mansion'', wasn''t that one of the Duke''s home.


    "Would you like to meet him?" asked Hueren, having nothing much to talk after the long three days, she gave him a nod, "Of course, let me take you there and then to your home," he insisted.


    Seeing that the councilman didn''t ask for his address, the vampire shamelessly gave away his address, "I live in Viscount which is in Wovile," even Vivian who had been upied by her thoughts looked up at the vampire along with the coachman who was about to start the carriage and the councilman.


    No speaking another word, the carriage started to leave the snow mansion with the dead bodies piled across thends which would be eventually searched and pulled out for burial after the older councilmen would finish discussing it with the Lord.


    When one of the towns appeared, the carriage stopped and the door opened, "Kind Sir, take this," Heuren said pulling a pouch which jingled with coins inside it. Pulling out a gold coin and another one, he handed it to vampire, "There''s a local carriage which leaves at night and one in the morning. I am sure if you take it you will be reaching Wovile soon. We will be soon contacting you with the address you have provided to tell when toe to the council," the man nodded his head and stepped out of the carriage.


    The carriage started again this time headed towards the Carmichael''s mansion. Vivian had tried to sleep on her way back from the town where they had left the man named Axel and wanted to take a small nap now that they were done with the whole ordeal of the exam but she had stayed awake.


    "Did you find the others?" she asked Hueren who had been looking at her before moving away his eyes from her as he didn''t want to be caught staring which would be considered rude with the way she looked now.


    "Councilman found the pureblooded vampire, Jamien?" he asked unsure if that was the name and Vivian gave a nod to confirm he was right about the name, "We could only retrieve the human and the pureblooded vampire, might you know what happened to the pureblooded vampire?" he asked her.


    The councilman here had missed parts of her exnation when he had gone to fetch water for her. Giving the same version of the story she had given the elder councilmen, she said, "It was just the three of us left, we didn''t know about Axel and we went to the forest to see if we could find something. After the death of the councilman...but, Jamien insisted on staying and we left."


    "I am sorry if it makes you ufortable," he apologized, bending his head to bow, "Their death is very odd because of both Jamien and Oliver have the same pattern," he pointed his eyes to tell the hollowness he had found where there were no eyes in there, "But the human, it is very strange. I am happy that you are safe. I was very worried," managing to smile she thanked for his concern.


    The carriage went through the gates of the Carmichael''s mansion and the coachman pulled the reins of the horses.


    Jan being the housekeeper of the mansion was the one to open the door after hearing the carriage sound. Waiting at the entrance he saw the councilman named Heuren who worked for his master step out of the carriage. Thest time the man hade here was to report on his duties where master Leonard had enquired about how the exam was going which the man had said to be well.


    But when thedy stepped out of the carriage looking the way she was, his mouth fell open which he quickly closed. Lady Vivian didn''t look the way she had left and it was quite evident with the way she looked right now. Her face had scratches and bruise on her head which looked dark red now, his eyes following a little down he bowed his head to have his Master step out.


    Vivian stepping out the carriage managed to stand on her feet which weren''t as difficult as she had felt while walking down the stairs as she had got to rest in the carriage. But the sides of her body hurt. Ezekiel had thrown her across the ground and the wall which must have bruised her right side and her head. Theck of sleep and the number of times her head had been pushed against the wall, it felt dizzy.


    It took her a while to take a step forward from where she stood. The councilman stood by to make sure she didn''t fall it felt as if her body was subtly swaying. Hearing the footsteps that sounded distant, Vivian''s eyes followed the expensive boots of a man which trailed up from the pants to the shirt and finally to look into Leo''s dark red eyes. His brows were furrowed and he stepped forward just as she did where her body decided to lose strength for Leo to catch hold of her in his arms in time.


    With the examination done, there was no more need to hide their rtionship. And though it hadn''t bothered her before when she freely showcased her feelings it felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest as if she would fly any moment.?Though her body was tired and hardly could stand with her two feet, she whispered to him, "I am home," Leo''s hand went around, one to hold her wait and the other that rested on the back of her hand, holding her close and securely.


    "Wee back home, Vivi," he replied back to her to which she smiled, her eyelids feeling heavy. Her mind rxing in the arms of her lover she felt her worry, anxiety and every other thing that had been hovering over her mind dissipate before she fell asleep right in his arms.


    Feeling Vivian''s body fallx against him, Leo picked her up in his arms, gazing down to catch her fallen unconscious where her head rested on his firm chest.


    The councilmen like the rest who had been kept under dark about Leonard and Vivian''s rtionship looked at his superior with his eyes that were going to fall off from his face due to shock. Did Lady Vivian fall asleep in his superior''s arms?


    "Heuren," Leonard called for his subordinate''s attention, "Thank you for bringing her home safe," thanked the Duke, "I will see youter in the evening or tomorrow morning. You can take the rest of the day off," he informed the human who had his brows scrunched up together.


    To clear his doubts, Heuren asked, "Won''t Lady''s Vivian be worried if she doesn''t get back home? Would you want me to inform them about it?"


    The councilman might be an excellent human and his subordinate but Leonard wasn''t blind to not notice the way his wife''s presence had affected him, "Thank you for the concern, Heuren but I think my wife is already home. See you soon," Heuren gawked at the Duke. Wife?! When did Duke Carmcicahel get married? Wait he said wife, did that mean Lady Vivian was long taken and that was whom he was talking about?


    Very few had heard about Vivian which might have been through Lord Nichs who had always teased him about how in love the Duke was but the name had nevere up. Most of them were under the spection that maybe the man wasn''t someone to show affections due to his aloofness around strangers and the crowd gathering.


    He still remembered the one time when the Duke had spoken,


    <i>"We hear she is very pretty, who is she?" asked one of the men during a gathering that was kept for the departments.?</i>


    <i>"The Duke must have chosen himself the prettiest girl. Is she really pretty?" asked another one.</i>


    <i>Duke Leonard who was hovered around by a lot of men who were drunk and waiting for him to speak. With a sigh, he answered them, "She''s beautiful," this had gained a lot of hoots.</i>


    <i>"Why don''t you bring her along? We have to see the woman who has stolen your heart," a vampiress spoke who was serving them drinks.?</i>


    <i>"She doesn''t know. She might even reject me if she has someone on your mind," Lord Carmichael answered.</i>


    <i>Heuren who hadn''t known about it had then said, "We will be sure to cheer for both of you."</i>


    But who had known that this was how he would have to cheer his senior. Internally tears flowed down his eyes at his short-lived dream. Bowing his head, he gave a look at the sleeping maiden and then took his leave. Leonard carried Vivian in his arms, keeping her close to him as he headed to his room with every step on the stairs.


    Taking her to the bed, heid her down.


    "Would you need anything from me, master Leonard?" the housekeeper arrived at the room who had after closing the main doors had followed the Duke with a good distance between them.


    "No. If there are any visitors tell them I won''t be taking any visitors and will be meeting them after my time''s avability."


    "Yes, master Leonard," Jan bowed his head. The housekeeper closed the door.


    Leonard stared at Vivian, her clothes weren''t tattered which was a relief and a sign that none of the men had touched her wrongly. He had been worried and had let his concern heard by Lionel who was the one in charge of the examination this year. Vivian being the only female, she needed safety and that was one of the reasons why the councilmen had stayed around to observe and to make sure no harm befell on the woman though the third day she was on her own.


    Going to the bathroom, he bought a bowl of water and soaked cloth to wipe the little mud that was on her hands and feet. Cleaning it one by one, he came to her face where he pulled out another cloth to soak and wipe the smudgy blood that was on her forehead. A cut had formed which hade to heal as the skin had wrinkled in the cut area. Wiping her face with warm water, his eyes then fell over her neck making his blood boil.


    There were finger marks on both sides of her neck as if it had been squeezed to the point where she couldn''t have breathed. Someone had tried to kill her and the thought boiled his blood. The coloration on her skin was too evident where one didn''t have toe too close to check it.


    "What happened there?" Leonard whispered, moving her hair away from her face and bending forward to press his lips gently on her forehead.


    In the Rune''s mansion, Nichs sat in his study already working on the paperwork which woulde to him in a few hours after what he hade to hear about from his ghoul Everest who now stood in one corner of the room. Once Everest had left Vivian''s side, the ghoul had gone to its master to report on what it saw and did.?The ghoul had been not listening to him, doing things on its own ord which for once he didn''t mind but he couldn''t let it off easily. Unhappy with its behavior he had made it stay in the mansion and until his word it would go nowhere, threatening if it left to nevere back which was enough to keep it here now. To think that one of his ghouls was childlike while the other was an absolute killer.


    Things at the snow mansion had taken a different turn and before he could do anything, he had to wait and see what the council had to say about it which he knew they woulde to meet and discuss with him.


    A ghost in the snow mansion? How intriguing, thought Nichs to himself as he wrote down the terms on the parchment. It seemed that both the second and third lord had blood on their hands, and he wasn''t that different, making him wonder if the first Lord of Bonke had killed anyone too.


    Though the council would have no clue on what happened, it would be left as a mystery incident in the public''s eye but there would be people who would want to dig and find what and how things had turned to have a record on the examination procedure.?Death was inevitable and it seemed that his ghoul had killed a man this time not on his word but on its own instinct. A hole in the chest on the dead body when the living had no blood on their hands, it would no doubt raise questions in the uing meeting of the council.


    He lifted his face to look at the ghoul which stood quietly.

 Chapter 182 - Past

    The little girlughed, herughter resonating and ringing around the house which was quiet where she was being chased by her little brother. Her small feet ran past the main hall, stepping out of the house with her bare feet to feel the hot ground burning which made her run back inside.


    "Miss Vivian please refrain from going out of the house. It isn''t safe to be out," the housekeeper who had been asked to supervise the children spoke to the little vampiress. The girl looked up with her dark red eyes which were darker than the others in the household.


    "It is hot!" her small voiceined looking back outside the house.


    "It is the time of noon, miss. The ground is bound to be hot because of the sun," the housekeeper was a young woman who was in her early twenties.


    The little girl stared at the ground, her eyes then looking up at the woman to ask, "Why?"


    "Why?" the servant leaned forward in question as to what was the question the young miss wanted to ask. This child was adorable which made one not angry at her silly questions. She was young and curious wanting to find about why things went the way it was. Not yesterday did she ask her why she drank milk from the cow and not the cat which was hard to exin for the illiterate woman.


    "Why hot?" the curious girl turned around, with her hand folded behind her back she waited for an exnation.


    Trying to see how to make a child understand the housekeeper spoke how she would have spoken to any other child be it human or a one that was a vampire, "The sun sometimes gets very angry here at the time of noon as everyone is busy and is not giving himpany. He is feeling very lonely."


    The girl gave it a thought, asking, "I give himpany!" she dered with a smile that softened the woman''s heart, hoping if she had a child she would like to have one like this one who was not only adorable but also kind. When the womanughed the little one looked confused at the same time her brother came to have found her.


    "You don''t have to do that, miss Vivian."


    "But he lonely..."


    Crouching down to meet the girl''s height, the housekeeper said, "You see, the matter is that he is unable to meet the moon who appears only at the time of night and by the time moones up the sun is gone," she exined, "They only meet at the time of dawn and dusk, and then they part ways. Don''t be sad, miss. Come, I have prepared your favorite dish," hearing this the girl''s mood suddenly brightened up.


    "Gregorie,e," Vivian caught her brother''s hand. When the cuckoo came out of the clock, singing its song, the housekeeper began to set the table for the hour of the lunch for the two children where their parents had gone out leaving them in her care.


    The housekeeper was a human but like many in Valeria, she served the pureblooded Harlow''s family. Taking the blood which she had torn out from the rabbits, she ced it on the table in clean sses for the children to drink when she heard a knock on the main door, "Have your food, children, I will be back soon," wiping her hands on her skirt apron, she unlocked the door to find a man standing with his back against the door, "Sir Abel," she bowed her head seeing Mrs. Hsrlow''s brother, "Mr and Mrs Harlow aren''t here and have gone out on council work," she informed the man.


    He gave her a look of surprise, "Did they now?" she nodded her head.


    "Yes, Sir," she confirmed stepping back for him to get inside the mansion.


    "What about the children?"


    "They are in having their food," walking inside to the dining room he received a warm wee from the children who looked very eager and excited. The housekeeper stood at the corner, her heart feeling tensed and she went inside to work in the kitchen leaving the children with their uncle. As time went by, she went in and out every few minutes by taking the dishes and also asking the man if he would like to join the children which he shook his head at.


    The man dotted on the children as he didn''t have one of his own.


    The housekeeper went inside the kitchen again, turning to see no one was there, she pulled a little tiny bottle from her sleeve which she had hidden very discreetly since three days waiting for the right opportunity to use it. The little bottle was apensation gift which she had received from a ck witch who had helped her with money so that she could pay her debt. Her mother had left her and her father, turning her father to a gambler where the money she earned here wasn''t enough to live a respectful life even in the lower society. She was given a job where she had to do in return she had received a bag full of gold. Once she was done with this she would leave the household and taker her father along to lead a new life in a differentnd away from this.


    Fumbling with the little bottle which was clear as water, she wondered what this was. With the blood being supervised by Mrs Harlow who took care of feeding her children as the blood was bought from humans freshly she hadn''t got the opportunity to give it to Mr or Mrs Harlow. Every time she had tried to open the bottle Mrs Harlow would appear.


    <i>"You need to mix it with the blood else it''s going to go waste. This is a special liquid which you might find only after years so you have only one chance. Make sure you mix it with the blood and then give it to the adults there."?</i>


    <i>The housekeeper had then questioned, "What about the children?"?</i>


    <i>"Give it to the adults," the blue-eyed witch loomed over her, "If you make a mistake don''t think I will let you off. I will make your life more regrettable. And make sure every single drop is used by one person, pick whomever you want but only one person can consume it and everything needs to be taken in,"</i>?<i>the person had threatened her.?</i>


    The housekeeper who had worked for the pureblooded family didn''t have much consideration except for the children who were innocent. Vampires treated humans like food but the pureblooded vampires, they treated the humans as ves and in their eyes, the humans didn''t deserve to live like others. They were insulted, shamed and ridiculed bringing hate and dislike for the night creatures.


    But what the housekeeper didn''t know was that it was a heart corrupting potion which once consumed, a person would lose his sanity, he would lose his reasoning to what was right and wrong, killing anything and everything around and it didn''t matter if they were little children or if it was the maid herself.


    The man hadn''t taken any food, offering a ss of blood would be polite and dutiful which she could make use of now. Taking the blood from the tightly fitted container, she poured it into a crystal ss. Taking the little bottle quickly and uncorking it, she poured the contents of the liquid from it to?the ss, stirring it well and then taking it out where she saw the little girl who was offering her blood of ss to her uncle.


    "Here," she offered her own ss, her blonde hair falling in waves which reached her back resembling like a doll.


    "Sir Abel, I have bought you drink and added the cont which Mr Harlow bought from the market. It will help in cooling the outside heat," the housekeeper brought the ss forward. What she didn''t expect was for the little girl to take it.


    "Can I drink?" she asked with such innocence that none could refuse.


    "Miss Vivian you can drink yours and let your uncle have this. He did travel from afar," somewhere now the housekeeper had begun to panic, her mind ringing with alerts as to not wanting to have the girl to drink, "Let me make you another one with the cont," she gave the little girl a smile to sway her but to her terror the man said,


    "That''s alright. Let her have this and you can make me a new one," the man took the ss from the housekeeper and handed it to his niece, "Here you go, Vivian."


    The little girl looked at the ss and then at her uncle, asking, "Really?"


    "Yes, you can have it. Go make me a new one," Abel ordered the housemaid who stood still, her hands and feet turning cold in terror. Oh Lord, she prayed, she didn''t mean for the child to have but the man. What was she going to do?! How could she divert this fate which the child would have to bear, fretted the housemaid but there was nothing she could do. Not following the orders of the purebloods would result in harsh punishments which no one wanted and not along with the ire.


    With blood running cold, the housemaid saw the little girl take the ss out of curiosity as she had told she had used cont to keep the body cold her lips touched the ss. Tilting the ss, she took gulps of it as much as her little mouth could take in. As seconds passed by, the maid didn''t know what to do. The ck witch had given her the potion but she had never been given the details of what it could do. She had guessed that it would bring instant death but if the girl drank until thest drop there was no telling what was going to happen.


    When the doorbell rang, it made it that difficult until the man stood up to say, "Let me go see who it is. Must be my sister and Emanuel who had returned home," he went to get the door.


    The girl was on herst sip when the housekeeper stopped her timely, "Miss Vivian!" it came out as a whisper and the little boy just stared at them who had been sitting in the chair quietly.


    "Mm?" the girl asked with her red eyes and blood around her lips.


    "If you drink everything right now you will not have your food. How about you finish your food first. Then you can have more of it," little Vivian nodded her head, a smile on her face where she started to have her food.


    When the Harlow''s stepped in, it was as if nothing had happened with their daughter as their children seemed to be having their lunch like they were supposed. That night, the housekeeper had packed her things and had run from there. Taking her drunk father in the carriage they were travelling in the local transport when they were attacked by a group of rowdy vampires who wanted to feed on the humans.


    The next morning when the family woke up, the maid had gone missing. Not paying much thought and only reporting it to the magistrate of how they had lost the maid, their lives had gone about until a weekter the little girl started to change gically.


    Mr Harlow had been reading the newsletter at the table when he saw his daughter not touching the food that was ced on the table. His eyes furrowed and then turning to shock when his eyes met his daughter''s, "ine. ELAINE!"


    "What''s the matter, Emanuel?" Mrs Harlow askeding out of the kitchen.


    "Vivian," he nodded his head towards the little girl, getting up from the chair and keeping the newspaper away, he asked, "Why is one of her eye ck and one red?"

 Chapter 183 - Heal- Part 1

    Vivian stood in the snow mansion, the event repeating back the way it happened with her neck being squeezed where she could hardly breathe. The man squeezed her neck, pressuring it to the point where her vision turned blur and the oxygen began to cut off, depleting its content in her lungs where she couldn''t breathe. Her hands tried to w, her fingers trying to push him away but there was no more energy left.


    Finally pushing him away, she ran towards the door. Pulling it open she stepped into a forest where the river flowed down and when she turned back to look at the room she was in, it wasn''t there anymore. Surrounded by trees all around she heard birds chirping above with joy. Walking towards the river she saw the clear water where fishes jumped up and down. Her hair looked messy and the way she looked right now, she looked as if she had contracted a disease which was incurable. Getting closer, she touched the water to bring the water to her face so that she could clean her face.


    Dropping her hand back to the water surface, she dipped her hand where a hand suddenly merged from the bottom to pull her into the river with a ssh. Before Vivian could get out of it, a hand-pulled her leg down making her movements futile where she couldn''t resurface back.


    She struggled, her hands and legs hitting in the water to let free and out but whoever had caught hold of her leg wasn''t letting go. Looking down in the water on who it was she gasped, which made water go into her mouth and throat. It was a ghost-like person who wasn''t translucent but enough to know that whoever it was had gripped her leg. As she started choking, Vivian''s eyes opened wide in the bed to look at the ceiling of the bed.


    Turning to her side she saw Leonard who had a hand supporting his chin where he had closed his eyes. As if sensing her being awake, his eyes opened and he quickly went to sit on the bed next to her.


    "You don''t have to sit up,y down," he said to which she went toy back on the bed as she felt pain around the side her ribs, "Don''t worry you didn''t break anything. It''s a swelling that has formed a small sprain. A good rest should make it better," he went on to speak, "You must be hungry, let me go fetch Jan so that he can prepare something edible which you consume now. I did ask him to keep things ready as it''s been fourteen hours since you fell asleep. Let me-" Vivian ced her hand on him so that he would stop talking.


    "Are you alright?" she asked him. She didn''t remember when was thest time Leonard had been this talkative to anyone. Him speaking so fast made her worry as to what was wrong.?Leo who had stopped talking stared at her, his face falling forward next to her pillow, "Leo? I am fine now," she could sense the worry and anxiety now that he must have felt after seeing her today.


    They had been apart for three days and the distance had made them miss each other terribly. They were used to each other''spany which kept both of them awake at the time of night, though Vivian was awake on the second and third night because of deaths and the ghost mostly.


    "I know," she heard him whisper, "You had me worried there, Vivi."


    "I am sorry," she apologized and she felt him move his head as if shaking his head.


    Pulling back, she could see his eyes that had dulled and worry marking his forehead, "What are you asking sorry for?"


    "I can tell that you look worse than I am now," she tried to joke but that didn''t go well.


    His hand found hers and he held it with both his hands, sping in it, "Do you know how you came to me?" it wasn''t a question, therefore, she didn''t go to answer to it, "You looked weak, weaker than any day I have seen. Blood on your forehead and...and the marks," Marks? What was he talking about? He gritted his teeth, "Your neck. It has fingerprints on either side of it. What happened there, Vivi?"


    With Leonard who was not entertaining any guests, he had locked the door and the windows to give her the peace and quiet she needed. Over the time of his work in the council, this was the first time he had seen something like take ce. Yes, there were deaths and he had been worried due to which he had asked the councilman Lionel to send one of the men as a guard so that he wouldn''t have to worry too much.


    He was confident that Vivian would stay alive but there were some things one couldn''t stop from happening. Through Toby, Nichs'' pet bird he had received the parchment which had written words from the <i>two</i> witness and the only alive examinees on what had happened. Reading through the report which was actually given by the two councilmen after they had dropped by the Rune''s mansion to discuss it. Nichs had sent the letter on what he heard knowing well that Leonard wouldn''t be leaving the mansion or talking to anyone out of the mansion for a day at least.


    He had read it but he wanted to know from Vivian on what happened in those three days. Leo, knowing how his subordinate felt about her had taken advantage of it and had nominated his name to be part of the examination knowing well that he would look out for her during his absence. And though not everything was written down in the parchment, he understood that the ghoul hade to the rescue when one of the men had tried to attack her making his furious. The sad part was that if the man was still alive, he would have tortured to the point he would beg to be killed. To touch something so precious of his like this, his eyes darkened looking at her neck but the man was lucky to have died in the snow mansion else he would have torn the man''s body limb by limb.


    "You can tell itter," he said not wanting to strain her. Right now what was important was that she was one of the people to be alive and she was with him, "Sleep some more," he gently spoke to her, his hand brushing her head.


    "Okay," she listened to him, closing her eyes and letting herself drift to sleep. This time she dreamed something much calmer where she was sitting in the mansion talking to Charlotte who was alive and part of her fragmented dream.


    The next time when she woke, it was because of the smell of food which she hadn''t been able to smell in thest three days. Seeing Jan ce the food close, she saw Leonarde to her, helping her sit up as she leaned against the headboard of the bed. Taking the little table, Leo ced it on herp while giving her a smile which she returned back.


    "Jan, prepared a lot of things for you to eat. You can pick anything you want, anything you will be able to digest," her husband informed her. Feeling happy for the thoughtfulness which might or might now have stemmed from the housekeeper himself, Vivian thanked him for the man to bow, asking her to get well soon before he left the room.


    With her stomach that hadcked food, she couldn''t eat a lot and therefore after five or six bites she had given Leo a look for him to understand that she couldn''t eat any further. Having drunk water, Leonard had let her rest back again with him sitting next to her and reading a book.


    For Leo, Vivian was the only important person in his life and he would do anything to protect and save her. He loved her too much that at times his love turned to a desire to monopolize her, wanting to bully her but he didn''t like anyone else doing it. Anyone making her cry since their early childhood didn''t settle well with him. How many maids had been scolded for that? Anyone who would pointlessly scold her had got a scolding back in return for hurting something which was his.


    To see her in that state, he had lost his mind while keeping a calm face in the front.


    With a day that passed by, Vivian felt much better with the rest she had taken and the care Leonard had shown by having all the meals with her and rarely leaving her side so that she wouldn''t be bored alone. In a state of exhaustion, she had asked Hueren to drop her here and had fallen unconscious after seeing Leo.


    Sitting in the dining room after a day of being cooped in the bedroom, she asked Leo, "Did I pass the exam?"


    When the fourth day had arrived, the councilmen had asked her questions, speaking about what happened but they hadn''t been clear if she or the other man who now had gone to Wovile had been passed or not.


    "It might take a day more for the result toe out through letter. Nichs will be sure to send it as the names reach him if the information of the examination is put out by councilman Lionel. They must be investigating the scene before they shut down the little case as it was part of the exam," he exined for her to nod.


    She had white bandages wrapped around her neck to hide the finger markings so that it wouldn''t call attention to while walking in the mansion or if someone were to arrive at the doorstep. Taking the teacup in her hand, she sipped from it quietly.


    Thinking about the scene she wondered if they got all the bodies now.?When the doorbell rang, the housekeeper went ahead to open the door and weed someone in. In came the Lord of Bonke with a small bouquet of flower and fruits on the other hand which he gave it to the housekeeper.


    "I see that you have hurt yourself quite badly. How are you feeling, Vivian? I bought you some excellent quality fruits which will get you back the lost energy," Lord Nichs chimed in, his eyes falling on the bandaged neck for a mere second before falling back to her eyes with a smile on his face.


    "I am doing better," Vivian smiled brightly, having Leo''s eyes on her which had been making sure she was alright and wasn''t hurting anywhere.


    "That is good news but I have better news than that. The council has closed the investigation on what happened and they won''t be on Everest'' tail. But that''s not all, they have posted out the result stating that this year''s second examination has two pass-outs," Nichs ryed the news and Leonard hugged her from the side while kissing her temple.


    For some time, Vivian was shocked and then her head snapped to look at Leo, "I passed..."


    Leo looked at her proudly, "Of course, you did. Congrattions, Bambi," he wished her.


    "Congrattions, Vivian and wee to the council," Nichs wished her, "What do you want as a congrattory gift from this brother of yours?" he asked generously.


    "That''s okay. I don''t need anything," Vivian replied for the man to frown.


    "Don''t be so modest. You can ask me anything right now and I will grant you the wish. Yes! I did give you my word that I will give you Everest. He has been very naughtytely so it might take some time before you tame him," the Lord said thoughtfully.


    Leonard who had been observing her, said, "Vivian has something on her mind. What is it?"


    Truly, she couldn''t hide things for a long when it came to him, thought Vivian to herself.


    "I can ask anything?" she confirmed.


    "Mhm, anything," answered the Lord.


    Taking a deep breath, Vivian then said, "I need you to bury someone," both the men''s eyebrows shot up in question.


    "Bury?"


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 Chapter 184 - Heal- Part 2

    Leonard''s eyes narrowed, his expression turning dire after he heard the request from Vivian, "Whom do you want to bury?" he asked her. Was there someone who was bothering to the extent where it didn''te to his notice.


    "Notpletely in the council and already wanting someone dead?" grinned Nichs at the possibility of killing someone which would kill his endless time.


    "No no," she shook her head, "I don''t want to kill anyone," she cleared their thoughts to receive confused expression again, "I don''t want the ghoul," she didn''t believe it would be right to take something which wasn''t hers. As much as she didn''t mind the awkward silence both the ghoul and her shared, Vivian didn''t believe in receiving the ghoul as her congrattory gift.


    Leonard reframed his question, "What do you want to bury?"


    Vivian wasn''t the kind to murder someone and have their body hidden in a faraway ce, "Did you know it wasn''t a ck witch but a white witch who had helped the lord in changing his appearance to one of the pureblooded vampires? And that he didn''t die out of natural death," that day when she had questioned Leo about it, he had smiled and brushed it away like it was out of old age but she hade to understand that it wasn''t so.


    Lord Nichs took a seat so that he could hear what the girl had discovered in those three days of staying in the snow mansion. He had always been intrigued and fascinated with the snow mansion, especially the balcony that had the snowkes. There was something in the mansion, something that had lurked and he had sensed it but not enough to see what the ce held. After knowing the abilities of Vivian he had whispered a word to the council where they could hold the examination knowing she would find something about the ce. Also aware that if Leonard heard about it, he wouldn''t be happy that Nichs had schemed the exam to get information for his own benefits.


    The snow mansion was a restricted area not just by the council but also the vigers strayed away from. During the initial years, it was told that the nts had died that was located in and around the mansion. A gue had fallen on thend that there were whispers were the second lord had started going insane.


    In time, most of the habitants had moved away to steer clear of the mansion which gave an ominous presence until the second Lord finally passed away.


    Lord Nichs spoke, "Did you see the ghost of the woman? I heard from Lionel how the other alive examinee kept repeating about a ghost in the mansion which no one had seen in these years."


    "I saw her," Vivian answered to which the lord cocked his head to the side.


    "Why didn''t you tell them you saw her?" at his question Vivian stayed quiet for some time. Thinking about the woman in white who had firste in her dreams just before the exam and thening to stand in front of her.


    "I didn''t think she would want anyone to know what happened," replied Vivian, getting up from her seat where she had finished her meal, she went to stand near the tall window which stood proud behind the gloomy weather of Bonke readying itself for the snow which was yet to flow, "If she wanted everyone to know she would havee out a long time ago, and with that thought I didn''t tell them. Also because they would think I was crazy."


    "That''s understandable," responded back the lord.


    "Did she do something to you?" Vivian shook her head at Leo''s question.


    "She didn''t. Frankly, I am not sure if she would or wouldn''t hurt me," knowing both the men, especially Leo would want to know what had gone down, she went to exin, "The first day everything went well. The second-day examinees began to disappear, I found out that Jamien had been drinking and killing the man there. But he didn''t kill all of them. Ezekiel had killed men too but the woman, the mistress of the second lord was the one to kill Jamein and the councilman. I don''t know why, and I don''t know if she killed anyone more than that."


    Seeing that it wasn''t Jamien who would have not gone to kill her by squeezing her neck and would have instead gone to the direct kill, Leonard asked her, "Why did Ezekiel want to kill you?"


    "I saw him dragging one of the bodies in the forest. The councilman, Creed had told us that we could cheat if it was needed but we were not to be caught. He said it was a dream for him to get into the council and he didn''t want a witness to his crime," she turned around to look at Leonard, "The council doesn''t seem like a nice ce with such twisted intention to pass."


    "There are twisted intentions everywhere, Bambi. All one can do is not step into traps and be smart enough to move around," Maybe, thought Vivian in her mind, "If it weren''t for Everest I wouldn''t be alive here. Do you remember the painting, Leo?" she asked him.


    The infamously famous painting of the second Lord with the shocked and fear expression. She said, "When I touched the floor where it kes go up into the sky, I saw her. I saw her time with the Lord and she was a beautiful woman who loved him. But he fell out of love for her and decided to marry another woman but before that..." Vivian trailed her words, "He killed her," she looked out the window, the clouds hovering over thesends.


    "She''s buried in the balcony," murmured Leo.


    "Yes. I was too scared to go see the rest because a few things are too painful. How can someone whom you loved so much cause you so much pain that the person can go to the point of killing the person and burying her in the same mansion to hurt her more," she felt a hand on her shoulder where Leo hade to her, "I think she returned for him and killed him. He must have known, isn''t it?" she asked Leo, staring into his eyes where he came to see her eyes start to have specs of red in them which seemed toe out when her emotions were all over the ce.


    "I got the skeleton rid of there," she heard Lord Nichs say, "There''s no record where it tells the man died out of the unnatural cause of death but I believe Leo has something else otherwise," he gave a look to the Duke. Since Leonard hade to stay at the Rune and Rufus'' mansion, Nichs had noticed the curiosity which didn''t appear on the boy''s face but it was hidden. The boy had the habit of reading and finding the deepest darkest things in the council that the Lord didn''t know if it had annoyed or intrigued him. That was one of the ways how he hade to learn about the ghouls.


    Nichs was right. Leonard was one of the people who knew about snow mansion. After he hade to hear about the tale and the painting that stayed on the wall, he had found it suspicious and had tried to find out what must have caused for one to have such expression. He knew it was a woman who hade for the lord, to steal the man''s life but he hadn''t known it was a white witch.


    He said, "Most of the reports spoke about the ck witch, after all, they deal with the change in appearance and their magic lies on the hical side of the living world. I knew she came back to kill him but I didn''t know she was a white witch nor that she was still there. It is said that a ck witch is revengeful but it is the white witch you need to be wary of because their vengeance runs deeper than the rest. It wasn''t gued or illness but every and anything that was part of that mansion died and withered in time."


    "If it was the death of the lord that''s already done. Why kill someone else. Pure joy maybe?" asked Lord Nichs as Vivian had said about how the councilman, Jamien and another man, the lowly vampire who went by the name Fitot were killed.


    "Actually, about that," said Vivian to gain both of their attention wondering what else they hadn''t heard yet, "There was something written down under the body where the councilman was killed. Saying ''I know what you did''."


    "I did hear something written on the wall but didn''t know it was near the body," Lord Nichs never got that information from the councilmen because they hadn''t known about the councilman''s body being hung on the wall, not above the writing at least as when Vivian was exining she had spoken about the wall outside but nothing specific which might have been missed but the councilmen weren''t stupid.


    Were they still hiding something which people weren''t aware of? Vivian couldn''t help thinking about it. Was there something more to whatever was going around?


    "Hmm, councilman Oliver must have done something, isn''t it. Might you know what it was?" At Leo''s question to her, she shook her head. He then asked her, "Did you do something, Vivi?" she frowned.


    "Why do you ask?"


    Leonard''s eyebrows that had been drawn together in concentration thought for a while, "A ghost won''t avenge for no reason, there''s always a pattern even in a living person which we follow. We might not know what urred with Oliver but we can find out from you. Anything you were not supposed to do?"


    Vivian gave it a hard thought before she remembered, "I found a newsletter."


    "What did it contain?" he asked her.


    "Just the information about her being missing and the rumours of what happened to her. I burnt it," she bit her lips.


    "Why would you burn it?"


    "Because it was hidden from the rest of the papers. I think it was the Lord who ced it there and it was something kept as a...memory," Vivian had done it right before she had heard the hustle that took ce with the hanging councilman. She had done it so to remove evidence of what had happened. The ghost, she had never appeared in front of others but in those three days, she had appeared to kill people, "For someone who didn''t want toe in front of others, I doubt the ghost or the Lord would want a matter like this to be shed light on. I don''t know why I did. Maybe because I thought it would be evidence for others to figure out where to find the body?"


    In her defence, the councilman had told to cheat if it was necessary. And now that shepared it with others her crime looked to be the least. She didn''t kill anyone.


    "Vivi, you removed the evidence of her which was printed at that year and time. Of course, she would want someone to find it and put light on it. You are lucky she didn''t kill you," Leo sighed with worry. Vivian looked down ashamed that she had done it. It was just that at that time it seemed the right thing to do, "But you might be right about her not wanting to be in the light else I would have found her a few years ago. Nick too."


    "Well, I am d that I didn''t get to meet her. Ghosts give me the creep," Nichs smiled and the couple couldn''t help but give each other a look, "What? Why are you both looking like that?" for someone who was the owner of the two ghouls, it was hard to believe.


    After rying the message about the ghost, Vivian wondered what the councilmen were hiding.


    <i>''I know what you did.''</i>


    Did the ghost know something Oliver was doing which the people weren''t aware of?

 Chapter 185 - How It Works- Part 1

    After the council that had survey the area and had pulled out all the bodies to put them in the graves, closing the case and giving out the result of the pass outs who was Vivian and the vampire named Axel, Nichs had gone to the sight after two weeks to clean the mess the second Lord had left them in. With his ghouls who lurked in the shadows, the men began to dig the ce in the balcony at the time of evening.


    Vivian who had been part of this by witnessing what had happened in the past wished toe along and both she and Leonard came at the sight too, standing in the corner as they saw the men dig through until they stopped when they found the skeleton thatid underneath this floor all these years. It was no surprise now that why there were snowkes in this particr part of the mansion. The ghost had done it out of happiness after killing the man.


    Walking forward, she saw the skeleton being pulled out of the floor and being put in the open. The flesh and the mass had disappeared leaving only the skeleton and the clothes she had worn that day before the time of her death. Leonard had held her closer when the body was being taken down where it would undergo a ritual before being buried so that the ghost could rest in peace.


    "Where are the rest of the bodies? The ones they found here," inquired Vivian.


    "In the local cemetery. It is hard to believe that Jamien was killed by the ghost. I was hoping to get more information regarding your visions," Leonard wasn''t happy with that, "Maybepared to you their crimes were much more worthy in her eyes and before she could target you, everything hade to an end. I missed you so much," he kissed the side of her temple.


    "I missed you more," she whispered, a little shy to tell it out loud. During her time here, to spend the worst times she had remembered her time with Leonard here as if he were sharing the same space as her.?Time had been hard in those three days.


    Finally, the day came where Vivian was officially going to join the council. Leonard had to be there early and therefore he had left at the time of dawn. When Vivian reached in her carriage, she stepped out with a crisp looking dress which was worn mostly by women during formal asions. Her hair was braided on either side to tie up her hairpletely with just two pieces of strands on either side of her face setting lose.


    For the council, it was like any other day with work, assignments and meetings which were to be attended to resolve issues across the fournds of different towns that were handed by the Dukes and the magistrate. When a female entered the ck doors of the white building, the workers couldn''t stop but spare a look or two to see the person who had been weed into the council. She was one of the people to have avoided death during the examination, therefore, she had earned more murmur in her name with people looking at her.


    It was still hard to believe that she had not only been epted but would also be working with Leonard. Sooner they would start working the sooner she would find the person who had killed Charlotte.


    Walking through the bustling crowd of people who had made their way by stopping to look at her, she saw Lionel who had just exited the room with Leonard walking next to him.


    Seeing Vivian, Leonard didn''t hold himself back. His steps went quicker to meet hers and he asked, "How was your ride here?"


    "It was good. Am I on time?" she saw him nod.


    "Let me take you to head council. He said he wanted to meet you," he informed her. Exchanging a look with his superior he led the way to where the head council was.


    Leo and Vivian''s conversation was short but for the councilmen around them, they had a look where ost of their mouth was wide open in shock. Leonard was a man who usually didn''t spare a look to strangers, to think that the man was talking to a woman who barely entered the council for a few minutes, they were taken aback.


    "Why does he want to meet me?" asked Vivian as she followed him through the single door. The walls were thick and made of a block of square stones on both sides.


    Leonard turned to look at her, "It must be to talk to you about the snow mansion," hearing this she pursed her lips. It had been a week since she had heard the case to be closed. What more did he want to know? "He is a good man, you don''t have to worry about him. I am here with you," he assured her like many other times of having her back and she knew he would catch her if she were to fall anywhere.


    "Okay."


    "If you aren''t confident to answer the questions he asks you don''t have to. Leave them as it is," he said and after reaching with many narrowed passages they reach a dark matted wooden door where a guardsman stood to open the door for them to get in.


    When Vivian entered the room, she was weed with the brightness that she had to squint her eyes away from the windows.


    "Wee, Lady Vivian Carmichael," she heard a man greet her and as her eyes focussed on the blurry man before her vision came to see a man, his ck hairbed behind and his height falling short by two or three inches from Leonard. Red eyes looked at her which held a certain calmness in them.


    He offered her a smile which looked harmless. He offered his hand for her to shake and in those spare seconds when her hand touched his, she could sense something like the electricity of memories which was threatening to break through but their hands pulled back, "It is good to meet you finally. I have heard so much about you from not one or two but many. I hope you bring great morals and hope for the females who are looking forward to entering here next year and the years that are toe. Please take a seat," he said motioning his hand.


    This man really dide off to be different than the rest of the councilmen she had met here. He was the head after all yet he didn''te off to be intimidating or rude like the rest who believed they were superior to the rest. After meeting many vampires of different kinds and status, she noticed him be a person of the lower kind. He wasn''t a pureblooded vampire like the most of them who had enrolled to work.


    "I am Reuben Marais, the current head council which you must be aware of," Vivian gave a nod to indicate that she was listening to him, "Would you like something to drink?"


    "I am fine, thank you," she answered him, having Leonard next to her was a relief and then it hit her head. The head council had not called her Vivian but Vivian Carmichael, had he been informed?


    "Firstly, I would like to congratte you on your passing marks on how you survived the exam. Though the exam wasn''t to test on the survival," he said, his voice calm and collected. It was something very simr to the way Lord Nichs was but not charming enough to hold a candle to the Lord. He pulled out the reports and turned the pages, "So many waste of lives that it is a pity that some of them didn''t get a chance to perform and live their dream, don''t you think so?" he asked her.


    "Life is what we make of, Sir," Vivian replied back for the man to nod nonchntly.


    "True, very true," he agreed. Reading the reports, he said, "It says here that you were one amongst the survivor. The other being a man who apparently hid in a cab for two days. Frankly, I wouldn''t consider him to be part of the council but he used his mind or should I say in this case believed his imagination and protected himself. But I have to say, it is a quality to stay alive after everything that is presented to us. What is your take on it?"


    Vivian didn''t know why, but it felt like she was under interrogative interview where she was being tested.


    She took a good few seconds, thinking before she spoke, "If you have given him the opportunity already to work it only means that you considered all the possibility and then gave him a position which would suit him the best here. After all, there is various fieldwork when ites to the council and not something that always needs valor of justification. One needs to know to save their lives while being put under certain situation," her answerid on the diplomatic side which made the man nod, he leaned back, his mouth slightly twisting and he hummed.


    "I heard from Lionel and Leonard that you want to work in their department, is that true?" he inquired.


    Leonard who was seated next to Vivian didn''t chip in to answer her as it was something Vivian would have to do it herself. Now that she was part of the council, she wasn''t a little girl anymore after all she had finished her second exam and she would be subjected to the eyes of others who woulde to weigh her importance in not just the council''s work but to see how well suited she was when it came to her own skill and ability.


    After Vivian had surveyed the dead man''snd where the death had taken ce, Leo had spoken about having Vivian in their team to Lionel. His superior was a man who was hard to sway. Most of the teams who worked in the council had at least six to seven people but theirs was limited to four which included Lionel himself.?If it weren''t for Lionel seeing how well versed Vivian was when it came to her keen eye that with which they were able to tie the loose ends, he would have objected right away. But he didn''t and instead had said he would give her a shot that is if she were to pass the exam.


    But Leo hadn''t stopped there. He had gone to mention with the head council, dropping in the good word about this certain female examinee before the head council heard who she was.


    When the examinees passed out, different departmental seniors in work liked to grab the person into their teams to increase the productivity and Vivian was special here, not only was she a female who was pretty but also with her abilities if one knew that is, there were chances of men jumping to take her into their team. The more solved cases, the more was the credibility. More the credibility, there were higher chances of being promoted to the next level.


    "Yes, I think I would do well in it," Vivian answered confidently.


    "That''s good. I hope you bring a lot ofurels to the team," his eyes looked at her curiously but he didn''t bring out his curiosity and instead spoke, "I have already brought in some of the documents prepared for you," documents? thought Vivian to herself, "Now do remember this is from the council so it might not be a lot but you being one of the few women who will be working here, I hope you find it up to your satisfaction," with that the head council handed her a parchment which she unrolled to read what it was about.


    <i>''Vivian Carmichael, on passing out of the exam with a high score and taking into the ount of the Edict 133 the council has decided to provide you with the following things.</i>


    <i>A mansion in the Mainline street, a carriage with two horses. A maid which can be reced if needed from the ves Establishment. Plumbing and other architecture are not included. Also, bear in mind that if a maid is picked, the behavior is purely on you and the council isn''t and shall not take its consequences of your choice.''</i>


    She was going to get all this for passing the exam? Once she finished it, she looked up with a nk expression. A mansion?


    "As I said, we aren''t generous but we need to set an example so that women cane forward to join us. Men only getnd or two and nothing else," said Reuben taking the parchment back, "Do you have any concern with it?"


    "About the mansion," she raised the concern.


    Thinking she wasn''t satisfied with the location of the mansion, Reuben responded, "Mainline is a decent street though it is not located to the heart of Bonke, you will be able to see that as years are toe by the value of it will increase. I mean," the man deviated from the topic, "My wife thought it wasn''t much of value when I boughtnd next to the edge of the border of Mythweald but now the money is too high. Sometimes you just have to trust your partner''s decision, what do you say, Leonard?"


    "I think it is still a bad decision to buy something so soon where there is no habitat. You will be the first target to be taken by the witches so maybe in forty-fifty years you can upy it," Leonard''s straight forward answer made Vivian look at him. The councilman in front of them was a man of the highest post. It seemed that Leonard showed indifference when it came to his behavior with any person.


    "Actually I don''t want the mansion," Vivian''s words made the head councilman frown, "It isn''t that it isn''t good," she said not wanting him to think that she was being rude by not taking it, "I will take the horses and the carriage but nothing more than that. I have everything else that I need," the man continued to frown, his eyes held on to hers.


    "Are you sure about it?" he asked her. Vivian nodded her head.


    "Yes," she offered him a smile.


    "Okay, if you say so. I think that is all we have for now. Leonard can take you to the cubicle where you get to know the others before you start your work from today," he smiled back at her, one which was of a businessman. Both Leonard and Vivian stood up bowing their head out of respect, they walked towards the door.


    Before Vivian could step out of the door, the head council called her for her to stop,


    "Lady Vivian."


    She turned around, "Yes?"


    "Did you see the ghost in the snow mansion?"


    "No," her words were soft as she answered him.


    When Vivian and Leonard left the room of the head council room, the man was in histe thirties, stood quietly with his lips set firmly in a thin line. Being the head council, the man received all the reports but some reports never made to his hands and it wasn''t that he wasn''t aware. The man kept a keen eye on what went through in his supervision but sometimes there were reports which even though reached his hands, they were manipted with the facts.


    And one of the reports was what he had missed a few years ago.


    With what he hade to hear by the councilman, Lionel, he had spoken about the writing on the wall which one of the examinees must have written to scare the other but he doubted it was so.


    <i>''I know what you did.''</i>


    The few words held a heavyweight as it wasn''t just the examinees but they had also lost one of their councilmen. Whoever had killed could have killed the first councilman who had been on guard but it was the second day the death had taken ce when there was a change in the supervisor for the day.


    Something told him there was more to what was written there. That there was something going on or something that had happened which he was yet to discover. Going back to sit behind the desk, he pulled the parchment which he had previously handed to the girl to ce it back in the drawer. As he went to close it, his fingers touched the above surface opening the little box he had hidden. Picking it out, he opened to look at the little objects beneath which a photoid of a woman.

 Chapter 186 - How It Works- Part 2

    Rueben stared at the picture of the woman who was in the box. Though it had been twenty years since he had legally wedded his wife to live a calm peaceful one, the one thatid in the box was the one who had stolen his heart long ago.


    Picking up the picture, he bought it close to look at her. Her hair was inky ck along to apany the color of her eyes. Her expression was one which was serious like many other times he had seen her during the time he had known her but there was a faint smile which the painter had captured where one would think that the painter had added to it as a touch of his own to bring out the beauty of the person.


    Turning the picture to look behind the name on it read ''<i>Isabelle Genevieve</i>''.


    Isabelle, he thought to himself. She was a white witch, a woman who was strong just like the man she had married. He had loved her in those years when he had only turned to a half-vampire and she was still an alone witch, traveling the fournds to not be caught by the humans as at that time, a word of the witch was vtile like a fire who would be set on fire on the doubt of being one.


    The picture he had was of that time, maybe a month old after they had met. He had been out and hungry, wanting to kill any living thing from which he could quench his thirst to only stumble upon this woman. It was the time of night when he had pounced on her,


    <i>"What do you think you''re doing? Don''t you know a witch holds poison in her blood," it had made the young Reuben who was still new to the way of vampire to look at her cautiously, "One bite and you will die out of mere corruption," seeing him not retrieve his hands where he had her pinned against the ground, she said, "Go on...Take a bite and see it for yourself."</i>


    A smile came to form on his lips at that particr memory of his with her. She had always been quiet with her eyes stern. Most of the white witches he hade across were gentle in nature but she wasn''t so, her thoughts were strong and the way she lived was wild until she fell in love with Zachary Delcrov.


    cing the picture back in the box, he pushed it to its secretpartment. It had been years since she had passed away yet the memories of her was clear as yesterday. If it weren''t for her will he wouldn''t have turned to a head council and he would have continued to be a rogue vampire who would by now been ripped apart for breakingws of the council. How ironic, he thought to himself.


    To think she was no more now brought in a faint difort in his chest. She was his dear friend, a woman of the time and he wished she was still alive. With that thought in his mind, he closed the drawer shut to start signing the papers thatid on the desk which needed to be assessed.


    Vivian followed Leonard through another side of the council, walking through the corridors which were sectioned and each time she moved forward she caught sight of some of the people who were in there while some caught her eye while her eyes went to move on without stopping by.


    After walking for a few more steps, Leonard opened the door and she stepped in to see the two men whom she had already met before.


    Hueren and Dutan who were looking at a chart which was spread wide on the table had their back set straight at the presence of Leonard who had entered the room with Vivian behind him.


    "Lady Vivian, congrattions on joining us," Dutan weed her with a bow.


    Hueren who had been standing and staring at her realized he had to wish her to else it would seem impolite. Bowing his own head, he greeted her, "Lady Vivian."


    "Thank you," Vivian took the greeting.


    If it were before, the human, Heuren would have been happy but this time there was awkwardness in the air which was emitted from him. Lady Vivian wasn''t single nor was she an anybody but she was his superior''s wife whom he had been trying to court every time they had met which was twice until now.


    Finding it out and dropping it out of nowhere hade as a shock to him. Maybe if someone said a dog could talk would have been much easier to digest than this news to him. He then saw her smile, a huge wide smile that was stered on her face.


    "You seem to be in a very good mood, Lady Vivian," Dutanmented.


    Vivian beamed with happiness, to speak, "I am happy to have finally made it here," it was nice to have a touch of female in the team, thought Dutan to himself while Hueren couldn''t stop his internal tears like a child, unable to believe he had lost his opportunity with thedy like herself.


    Dutan was d to finally be able to have someone normal in this team apart from him. Lionel was a man who easy to set off when something went wrong and he had the habit to be rude as possible with his words. With them being on his team it made it even worse. Then there was the Duke who rarely spoke unless they were working. The man usually kept to himself without mingling much with others. There were only a few handpicked people if one wanted to know whom Leonard spoke to. Then there was Hueren who had surpassed a cat''s curiosity and often got into trouble by wandering around the wrong departments where he was not supposed to be. This often led to more scoldings by Lionel who would punish just one but the entire team.


    Leonard left Vivian''s side and went to take a seat at his desk.


    "After having such difficult tasks to bepleted in the second exam it is amon feeling of aplishment. We should be dder that you made it alive. I heard what happened," he stated and before they would dive into the serious matter, he shifted the subject immediately, "Did you receive the mansion and the carriage?"


    This got Hueren''s ears perked up, "Mansion? Isn''t it thends?" he asked his fellow councilman.


    Dutan shook his head, a smile upon his face while he had his eyebrows raised, "No, I overheard Lionel speak with Reuben about how they were going to offer Lady Vivian with a mansion and other things as a future example."


    "Fu-ahem! I wished I was a woman now!" there was a disappointment in his voice as he said it.


    Dutan chuckled, "Yes, I think most of us would wish it after hearing what is being offered by the main council. Did you like it?" he asked Vivian.


    "I didn''t take it," her simple answer made Hueren whip his head, his eyes full of admiration for her noble heart until she said, "There''s already the Carmichael''s mansion. I don''t need another one where no one would live. Not right now at least," Dutan, in the beginning, blinked his eyes and his eyes then widened to look at Hueren who gave him a sad look before looking at his senior who had his eyes glued to the book he was holding in his hands.


    "Pardon me, mdy," Was it that Lady Vivian and Duke Leonard were having a rtionship without anyone''s notice? But then Heuren seemed to know about it.


    Vivian who came into the impression that the councilman was wondering why she had given up the mansion after all mansion wasn''t something a person acquired so easily, "I thought it would be easier to maintain a little house once Leo and I have children so that we can give the mansion to them maybe. A quiet life would nice to look forward after years ahead," Leo who had been reading the book happened to stop looking at the words in the book to have his ears perked up. To think that she had thought about it so far ahead brought him immense joy though right now he didn''t show it.


    Dutan smiled understanding what the Lady said and then gave a look of pity to Heuren who had taken a seat in the corner of the room as if to mope. He then turned to look back at his senior, "I didn''t know you were married. Congrattions on the wedding," he wished him to get a small nod from Leonard who went back to reading his book, "I gave the reports to Lord Nichs as you asked but he is yet to bring them back with the signatures. Would you want me to go collect it?"


    "That won''t be necessary. He said he would be dropping by the time of evening. You can collect it from him and put it in the box," suggested Leonard, "Did you find about the potion maker?"


    Heuren came to answer it, "Not yet. Her trail has been close but every time we think to have found her, she disappears."


    "Vivian," at the mention of her full name, Vivian turned around standing straight to hear about her duties she would be working on, "To brief you about what we do. We usually work on the cmity deaths that take ce which isn''t natural. We try to find the cause of death and report it back with the right conclusion of what might have happened on the scene. Apart from it we also work on holding the criminals who break thews against the council."


    "Against the council?" she asked him.


    "If one were to share a particr piece of evidence which was obtained by the council to be given away to another team or a third party which would cause harm to the welfare of people, we are the team who step in and clean the evidence," he put the book down and stood up from his seat, "Also there are times when a certain department might request your assistance which is usually sent down by either the Lord of thends or the head council."


    Dutan added to the conversation, "Right now, we are under the assistance as we are much more suitable for the work. The one which you came to see that day at thend of the dead man."


    "To make it short most of our work involves in overtaking another''s work as they were incapable of finding what had urred. Me being one of the Duke of Bonke I have other responsibilities which I hand down to these men which saves time," Vivian felt as if she had been ced under the right team and was d that this is where Leo worked. Everything sounded so exciting that she could hardly wait to get to work. Charlotte''s death was still in question and had been taken in by Leo but it was something they would have to work side by side with the current job that they had.


    Taking out his watch from his pocket, Leo informed the two of his fellow councilman who was in the room, "I have a jury meeting to attend. See if you can go to the room and get the paper out as we discussed," he ordered Heuren whose face suddenly turned serious. The man nodded, "Dutan you can collect the taxation fee which hasn''t be given by the families who live next to the Isle town."


    "I think everyone has already given out their tax," Leonard gave his junior a look to say,


    "Not everyone. Do you want me to pull out the reports and show who you might be missing? Make sure you run through the checks and then proceed to go to the town which is in the radius of five kilometres."


    "Yes, Sir!"?Dutan had held his breath when Leonard had given him a look.


    Vivian who saw them get ready to leave the room, asked Leonard, "What will I be doing?"


    "You?" she diligently nodded to his question.


    "You can read the documents we have here, the trails which we have found to catch up," Leonard pointed the little stack of papers that was on the other side of the table, "Finish it quickly and you can do some research after that."


    Her eyes followed the direction of his hand and then to meet his eyes again, she said, "I will finish it in a day."


    Leo turned to look at the table, "Not that table. The table next to it," he said holding in his smile when her eyes widened with the amount of more than twenty files being stacked on the table which held information about the case they were working on. Before he left it felt like Leo wanted to tell her something but he held back his words, she was a councilwoman now and hence he trusted her with things. Giving her a nod he left the room for herself with the two men following him.

 Chapter 187 - How It Works- Part 3

    Hearing the click sound of the door, Vivian was left in a room full of papers and files whichid on the desk. The ce where Leo had sat in seemed to be his usual seat as the table was clean with the papers being stacked in a symmetrical order. But when she looked the rest of it, it appeared as if they were just thrown randomly while being pulled due to which the desk Hueren had been sitting in looked as if it would fall anytime now.


    Taking in a deep breath she sighed before she started to get the papers stacked in the right manner which would be easy to pull and put back. Once it was done, she decided to get the other stack of files sorted which Leonard had asked her to read.


    Knowing him, she knew he held high expectations for her and she didn''t want to disappoint but the way untidiness of the room was something she couldn''t overlook. It took her less than fifteen minutes to get it done and she sat down on the chair for her to get up suddenly when the door opened for the older councilman to step inside the room.


    Lionel gave her look, "Why are you sitting there idle? Have you not been given any work?" he asked her as his eyes went to scan the difference in the room.


    "I have been asked to read the files here," he gave her a curt nod. Going to a desk which she hadn''t touched she heard him say,


    "You didn''t touch my desk. Is it filled with termites that you didn''t?" he turned to ask before looking forward to searching something he hade to the room for. Vivian wasn''t sure if he was asking out of disappointment or out of appreciation for notying her hands on his desk. With the board name whichid on the top to read his name, she had decided to let go of it not knowing what the man would say if he got to know she had touched his belongings but now she didn''t know.


    "Help me look for this parchment. The damn guard had to remind about it now right before the jury decides to finalize the term," he muttered under his breath, "It is a parchment which has a red seal on it. One of the council. I must have ced it somewhere here," he said removing file after file.


    Vivian didn''t mind helping him. Starting to look for the file which he had mentioned, she moved the files. Maybe he did want his desk to be cleaned like the rest she had done and maybe if the men here had learned something about being tidy there wouldn''t be so much hassle in finding a file. To think that a higher councilman would keep his desk in such state, she wondered what else she was going to find out in this esteemed ce which people literally wouldn''t mind killing others to get a position here.


    It was understandable now as the councilors provided the examinees who passed out withnd and other good credibility depending on which level they would be moving forward to.


    She could have found the file using her hands but pulling out her gloves in front of him, she didn''t know if it would be right. It took a few more minutes before she pulled a file that was stuck in between two others, "Is this the one?" she asked him.


    "Finally. Yes, thank you for it.?You can continue with your work now," and he waltzed out of the room.


    "No problem," she whispered to no one in the room. The room was sufficient enough to hold ten people but there were only five desks, four desks which were allotted to the team and the other one which was piled up with files. With little windows on the wall where one could see the light pass through.


    By the time Hueren came back after an hour, the room was different from how he had left. His desk looked clean so did the others. His eyes then went to fall upon the woman who had fallen asleep with her head against the surface of the desk.


    How brave was she, he thought to himself, to fall asleep in the room in the Duke''s chair when his senior had specifically asked her to read the files. Reading the file would be the most boring job but it was where one could start to look at what they were working on to get a fair idea on what was going on. She looked to be in peace as she slept soundly with her arms to support her head from the hardwood.


    Looking around the room reminded him of the story of snow white and the seven dwarfs which were lore in the human world. Lady Vivian was the snow-white but there were only four dwarfs here. Hearing the approaching footsteps outside, he quickly jumped into his seat, pulling out a book from his table to read when the door opened with Leonard being followed by Dutan who was speaking about the taxation.


    "...I asked them about it but they have been denying about it," Dutan said entering the room.


    "Get the magistrate in the meeting. He will have the record which has gone missing on who didn''t give the monthly record-" finding Vivian sleeping on his desk with her eyes closed and breathing even, he paused before quietening his voice, "Ask him to meet me. I will have a talk with him."


    Walking to where Vivian was, his eyes continued to stare down at her as the other two councilmen waited to see what their senior was going to do. Leonard usually didn''t mind letting his men ck once in a while but when a job was given, especially to a newbie, the man was intolerable to it. But they had already expected a different reaction, thedy was his wife.


    Leonard removed the coat he had been wearing and put it around her shoulder so that she wouldn''t feel cold as the council chambers were built underground. When he turned around he came to see two dumbfounded expressions on his two juniors.


    "What?" he asked in a bored tone, "Heuren," the Duke called for the human to lean forward to ask what had happened. Sure he was trying to court his wife and had been standing near her a few moments ago but that didn''t mean it would result in death, would it?


    "Yes, Duke Leonard," at Heuren''s reply, Dutan wondered if Heuren hadmitted a mistake to which he was addressing their senior with the acquired status.


    "Are you learning to be a lizard?" the seriousness in his voice made the man blink twice, "Why are you holding your book the other way round," asked Leonard. The human looked down at his hands where he was holding the book upside down which he had picked from the table in a hurry after hearing the sound of footsteps.


    Tilting around the book, Hueren bought his book up so that he could hide behind it.


    Leonard went and sat in the seat of Lionel. Heuren was hiding behind his book while Dutan was still digesting the fact that the Duke had married and not a word about it hade out in the society. It must have been a quiet wedding he thought looking at the man and then the sleeping woman who had his senior''s coat around her.


    All this time the man never entertained a woman, he would speak to them if they were to approach him out of politeness but never had the man tried to humor a woman in the eyes of the council which was why the ordeal of him married felt odd now. Having met the Lady already, the woman was someone to look up to. Not only had she passed through the exam but also had managed to capture the Duke''s heart, what an incredible woman thought Dutan to himself.


    When Vivian woke up, the room was back to being empty as the men had to run errands and had to discuss the treaties that were taking ce in the different parts of the town in the name of peace. In the meantime, she made an effort to look up at the files which she had been asked to read. Apparently, the situation was so that until and unless she didn''t understand the case she wouldn''t be allowed to do groundwork and would instead stay here working with the documents that needed to be sealed along with the little minute work which every department of the council was to take part in, which would often go to the gamma of a team.


    There were two cases which Leonard and his team were working on- one which was the switchers that had been handed over by the other men of the council as it wasn''t solvable by them. The second one was the deaths that often took ce near or around the vige. The death was by humans, vampires, and the ck witches.


    Picking up another file which had a line of parchments put inside it, she picked one and started to read the shabby handwriting.?By the time of the evening, Vivian stood next to Leonard waiting for the carriage. Though they hadn''t uttered a word about themselves, the word was quick to pass on on how the Duke was looking after his junior female in his team.


    "Duke Leonard!" a young man called from a far distance, his hand raised wanting him to stop him from getting on the carriage, "Head council Rueben was looking for you. He said he needs to go over the reports which were filed this noon."


    But Leonard wasn''t in the mood to stay in the council and wanted to head home, "Tell him I am going home," the young man gave him a troubled look.


    "Please, Duke Carmichael," the man pleaded, "It shouldn''t take more than five to ten minutes."


    "And how do you know that?" Leonard cocked his head, "If you are aware why not look at the reports yourself," seeing the Duke turn towards the carriage door, the man replied,


    "I was only estimating that it might. Pardon me," the young man bowed his head, not raising it and staying that way until Leonard finally spoke.


    "Fine. Tell him I will be there," the man''s shoulder realized, nodding his head he went back in the way he hade, "Will you be alright here?" he asked not able to let go of his old habit of worrying about her.


    "I will be fine," she gave him an assuring smile to see him walk away from her and the carriage.


    She stood there waiting for him wondering how long it would take for him to return when she heard a rustle behind her. Turning behind her eyes roamed across the woods to see nothing there. Looking up at the trees, her eyes caught a nest which had been built above her. Taking a step back she tried to have a better look before she felt something move at the corner of her eyes. Her neck moved left to right to scan the tall lean trees where the ground was covered with the golden dried fallen leaves.


    "I will be taking a little walk," Vivian informed the coachman for him to bow. Taking herself into the woody forest which surrounded the council building, she stepped on the grounds of the dried leaves that had withered and fallen down.


    Though the building was set around the forest which held more than three hundred people inside, there was hardly any who could be found outside here. Somewhere at the far corner, she could see the ragged cloth that flew behind a tree. Thest time she had met Everest here and she wondered what he was doing here today.


    Her boots padded on the ground, approaching the ghoul which stood mightly in front of a tree.


    Coming closer did she realize that the ghoul wasn''t alone but with its hand wrapped around a woman''s neck which she had failed to notice in the beginning.

 Chapter 188 - Death Is Everywhere- Part 1

    Thest thing she expected to see was the ghoul Everest holding an unknown woman''s neck. The ghoul had its hand wrapped around her neck firmly in a death grip where whoever it was was struggling to get out of the hold but the ghoul was too strong.


    "Everest," she whispered its name for the ghoul to look up at her.


    The woman had tears in her eyes, blood blocking her head with her red vampire eyes turning redder. Even for a vampire, the ghoul was no match as it didn''t exactly reside in this part of the realm. It was born out of pain and chaos of a little boy with blood surrounding it which it had consumed. Seeing the woman fight back, it reminded her of the time when she had been in the snow mansion. shes of what happened that day running in front of her eyes which made her throat hurt by jut remembering.


    She didn''t know why the ghoul was trying to suffocate the woman in hand but she looked innocent and Vivian didn''t want any innocent''s blood spilt in front of her.


    "Stop suffocating her," she said taking a step forward for it to let out a threatening growl to not get closer. No this wasn''t Everest, this was Narcissus his brother. But before she could tell anything more, the ghoul''s hand moved from the stranger''s neck to the top of the head and her eyes widened, "Stop it-" to pull it apart from the body where blood gushed out from the neck. The body fell down on the ground but the head was still held by the ghoul.


    Unable to see the gore, she turned away for her to vomit the bile that hade to rise in her throat from the pit of her stomach at the sight of it. She coughed, wiping her mouth with her sleeve and unable to see the ghoul nor the dead person who had been beheaded. For the ghoul to tear away a vampire''s body in such ease only showed the strength it carried within its self.


    Holding the bark of the tree, she stared at the carriage which was waiting for her and also Leonard''s return. Turning around wasn''t a sane idea as she vomited more to hold her stomach which was now empty.


    Covering her face with her hand, she sat for a long time. Hearing the rustle again, she went to see the ghoul had disappeared and so had the headless woman with her head separated. Her eyes knitted together and her head snapped left and right but there was no trace of it. Strangely there was no blood on the leaves nor the ground which made her confused. She had seen the blood falling on the ground but where did it go?


    A small gasp escaped her mouth when someone ced a hand on her shoulder.


    "What are you doing here?" Leonard hade to fetch her when the coachman had ryed the message of her going for a little walk.


    "I..." his eyes fell on the ground where she had puked and it turned him worried.


    Stepping closer to her, he ced his hand over her head, "You''re burning," how had he not noticed it? She had been so happy and excited that he had failed to notice her rising temperature, "Let'' get you some rest, Bambi. Are you able to walk?" he asked her. She nodded her head.


    As they began to walk she was still confused with everything, she asked him, "I have a favour to ask of you."


    In a heartbeat, Leo responded back, "Anything," his eyes didn''t look away for even a moment as he waited for her to speak.


    "Can you take me to the Rune''s mansion?" she asked. Not exactly wanting to take her there when she was sick he pursed his lips but gave her nod.


    "Okay," he replied back. Reaching the carriage he asked the coachman to take them to the Rune''s mansion. Vivian hadn''t noticed her fever but as time passed by in travelling to the Rune mansion, her head started to feel heavy and her eyes wavering that sheid her head on Leo''s shoulder.


    Leo gently moved his hand on her shoulder. Looking down in his arms he saw her closed eyes, her face turning a little sour making him worry if she was in pain. Her hand had clutched his shirt tightly, "Tell me what you''re feeling, Vivi," he asked her soothingly while keeping her close.


    "My head hurts. A lot, like I haven''t slept in a long time. Do you think something is wrong with me?" she asked him.


    "Why do you ask that?"


    "I don''t know," she said, and he knew that she knew what she was talking about and instead of pestering her to speak, he gave her time, "I don''t like this..." her voice whispered above the moving wheels of the carriage and the knocking hooves of the horses on the ground as the carriage rode towards the Lord of Bonke''s mansion.


    "I don''t want this ability," Vivian whispered with her headid on Leo''s chest. She didn''t like it, more than the memories of happiness she had only picked up pain and death. The amount of death that she saw was making her stomach twist. She wasn''t even sure if what she was her imagination or it was something that took ce before her eyes.


    Her gloves were in ce so there was no chance of her having seen in it the past. Was her mind ying with her? In the beginning, she had thought it to be a gift but now it seemed like a curse which she didn''t deserve to see. Which sane person would like to see the body being tor, blood gushing out and the stench of death all over the ce.


    Once they reached the Rune''s mansion, the butler came to greet them and Leonard sent a quick for him to fetch the priestess from the Church near his town. Vivian wasn''t a mere human but pureblooded vampire who had been turned to a human. A mere doctor wouldn''t help and he wasn''t going to take chance by dying whatever was toe. His best shot was taking Sister Isabelle''s help.


    Vivian who had stepped down the carriage looked up to see the Rune''s mansion with blurry eyes. She had been alright until the time of evening but out of the blue, she had fallen sick. Wondering if it was because she had puked that she felt weak, she felt Leo guide her inside the mansion.


    Nichs who had already been informed by his pet bird, Toby about the arrival of Leonard he came to meet them at the entrance.


    "Could you excuse your butler for some time so that he can fetch Sister Isabelle here," Nichs nodded his head, giving his butler a look so that he could go right away while Leonard helped Vivian take a seat in the dining room as it was the closest.


    "What happened? It looks like she has a fever," Nichs asked, flicking his finger at the passing maid he asked her to ready the bed the guest room if the couple would stay the night. Reaching for the jug of water, Leonard poured the water into a ss to give it to Vivian. Taking the ss of water, Vivian sipped the water which took time to soothe her dry throat, the acidic taste reducing in her mouth.


    "I am okay," she whispered but all the three of them knew she was far from being okay. She looked tired and weak, her eyes not holding that bright light which she usually had.


    Pulling the chair, Leonard sat in front of Vivi to ask, "Would you like something to eat for your stomach? Porridge might help," she shook her head. She doubted she could eat anything at the moment, not for two hours or more.


    Nichs leaned against the wall looking at the human who sat quietly on one of the dining chairs. The lord was going to head out on work and after hearing the caws of his bird he had stayed back to see what was the matter. She was sick yet she refused to take rest now. Her eyes that were staring at the table slowly shifted one after another object before it came to meet his. It seemed that the girl had something to ask.


    "I have something to ask you, Lord Nichs," both the men didn''t fail to notice the title she had used, her voice feeble but firm at the same time.


    "Please," smiled Nichs waiting to see what it was that she wanted to know.


    She clutched the ss she held on herp, the ss wasn''t empty which shook the water inside it slightly on herp, "Where is Narcissus now?"


    "In Valeria," he answered.


    "W-when did he go there?" she asked him.


    "Two days ago. I needed to check on the Lord of Valeria on what he was doing as he was on something, that being your lineage. Seems like you caught his eye, your ability," he cleared his gaze moving to Leonard with a smile and then back to her," at Lord Nichs information, Vivian looked surprised. Lord Alexander was helping her find her parents? "I wasn''t able to find it so I doubt he''ll be able to find it either. Why were you asking about Narcissus? If Everest were to hear-" and as if on cue they sensed the ghoul who had been lurking in the shadows at the corner of the dining room.


    Lord Nichs dining room could be considered the darkest of all ces, therefore, it was one of the favourite ces for the ghouls to be in.


    "Don''t sulk, Everest," Nichs teased looking at the ghoul for them to hear a garbled voicee out of it, "I was only joking," he chuckled looking at the ghoul as well as the couple who stared at him.


    Leonard had asked her to stay near the carriage but he knew it was too much to expect with Vivian''s curiosity. Rueben hadn''t called him for the taxation but to talk about the witch trial that they had been following. Oddly the head council trusted to hear the information from him and not his superior Lionel.


    Vivian bit her lip, "He hasn''t returned back since then?"


    "Not that I know of. Compared to that one, Narcissus is very obedient and efficient. He wouldn''t fall astray."


    Then was she hallucinating? asked Vivian to herself. Reality, past and her thoughts were giving her a headache now, "Did you see something?" Vivian met Leo''s eyes and at times she often wondered how he knew what was running on her mind.


    Her brows knitted together in thought and after a while, she said, "I think I need to sleep..."


    Once Vivian had gone to rest, Leonard stood outside the room with Nichs. With his teeth clenched, Leo asked, "What did you do you this time?" There were frequently times when the Lord went on a killing spree with people who would have got under his nerves and sometimes out of joy.


    "Hey, hey! I did nothing," the Lord raised both his hands, "Narcissus is really away and I haven''t asked him to hunt anyone."


    "She was fine when I left her to meet Rueben but when I returned back she had fallen sick and wanted to meet you," exined Leonard with a low voice so that their voice wouldn''t wake her, "She must have seen your ghoul," he concluded.


    "But he isn''t here. I doubt he would do anything out of line," pondered Nichs. Leonard worried about her. Something or the other kept happening. Either she fell sick or she had fallen into the river to hurt herself, "She''s here," they heard the main door open.


    The woman stepped inside the mansion, being led by the butler who had fetched her from the church.


    ~Mass release: If the book falls in top #3 power ranking I will give you 5 chapters as a mass release. Top #2 I will give you 10 chapter release. The rank must stay until the Sunday result~

 Chapter 189 - Death Is Everywhere- Part 2

    "Thank you foring, Sister Isabelle," Leonard bowed with gratitude.


    A white witch usually avoided stepping into another''s household at the fear of being killed be it a human or a vampire or a pureblooded vampires house, nothing was ever safe. A few years ago, like many other creatures, the white witches were used asboratory rats to dissect and understand theirposition which now was recorded in the books. With what he knew, Sister Isabelle never met anyone outside the church and she stuck inside unless she had to go alone somewhere. For her toe more than once on such short notice brought immense respect to the woman.


    Sister Isabelle returned the bow and looked at Nichs who stood quietly next to him with a smile.


    "Good evening, Sister," the Lord of Bonke greeted for the woman to give a nod.


    Seeing the room by which they stood, the woman asked, "Is she in there?" it hade to be obvious that the Duke had called her as something must have happened to the girl. Moving the door, she saw Vivian who was sitting at the edge of the bed.


    Unable to take the nap she had told she would, Vivian had decided to go back to Leo to ask him to take her back home when she the priestess enter the room, "Sorry for the inconvenience," Vivian whispered for the woman to smile.


    "You look pale,"mented the woman, walking to where she was and sitting down on the bed, she ced her hand, "A fever. Hmm," her hands felt colder than usual as if it were dipped in the snow and then ced on her warm head, "Did you work too hard on your first day of the council?" Sister Isabelle took Vivian''s hands in hers, running her fingers across her palm and then looking up, "Have you been taking care of your health? It doesn''t seem like she''s pregnant, Duke," she informed Leonard who had followed her with Nichs behind him.


    Pregnant? Vivian blushed looking at the woman who chuckled.


    "You have turned more beautiful than thest time I saw you at the wedding. It looks like your husband is following his vows diligently," but then Leo had been doing it before he had spoken his vows in front of the church for her, "I don''t think there''s anything wrong. You must have stressed yourself too much, a good rest will do you good."


    "I don''t think my sleep will fix it."


    Sister Isabelle raised her brows, her enchanting eyes staring at the girl to ask, "Why do you feel that?"


    Vivian shrugged her shoulders simrly to when Leonard had asked her, "My ability, how do I know what I can do with it? To how much extent it can stretch the horizons of the world and know what it exactly does?" her ability made her worry, the memory of what she had seen in the evening fading away like a bad dream which had never urred, "How do I believe what I see is the truth and not my hallucination which has never urred?" she asked, "What I saw today didn''t happen...One minute it was there and the next minute gone..."


    Sister Isabelle let out a troubled sigh. She wished she could help the girl but this one was a special case. There had been seers before, some still exited but were in a hiding but there were the ones who were called as the fortune-tellers. The ability to sense the future and kind the lost kind but this girl thought Sister Isabelle, she could see the past but not the future.


    The white witch spoke,?"Unfortunately I have no one I can send you to get the information from. There have been seers before, but seers are-"


    "Different," Vivianpleted her words. She nodded her head. Like Leonard who often carried a book along with him to read, she had picked up his habits when it came to reading. She had read books after books which were avable to the guests which was why her ability to read was quick.


    Lord Nichs now curious about what Vivian saw, questioned her, "What was Narcissus doing?"


    "He killed a woman, tore her head apart," no wonder she had puked thought Leonard, "Has he killed someone like that before?" she questioned the Lord back. Now, this was a hard question, he thought, he went to reply back to her query,


    "Narcissus has killed a lot of people. In and around, so it would be hard to say if killed the person whom you saw in your vision," Nichs wasn''t ashamed with it as all his kill had been for a justified reason and only a few which were done on whim. He felt the white witches gaze on him but he didn''t go to look at her, keeping his eyes on the human girl.


    "She was a vampire, red eyes, brown hair until her shoulder," Nichs gave it some thought as if he were trying to remember it until he stopped moving, "Yes, there was a vampiress with short brown hair but..." he gave her a smile, "You saw something that happened in the past."


    She was d to hear that she hadn''t been imagining things to be called as an insane person, "I didn''t touch anything though."


    Sister Isabelle then chipped in her thoughts, "Maybe it was one of the rarest moments. Can you believe if I say sometimes the events leave memories in the air which cannot be seen or touched like a ghost that haunts around some ces where it ured? It is rare and spoken which one would have seen it to only call it as a hallucination. Leo and Nichs must have had it too. Ites and then leaves. Some with significance and some without any reason."


    And even with the reasons being provided, they were nothing but theories like the rest of it. Leonard didn''t understand why she would fall sick in a span of a few minutes.?Was her pureblooded self fighting to get back?


    "Is there a way to get her back to her previous self?" asked Leonard, "What if it''s her body trying to reset back to how it was?"


    "We don''t know yet, Duke Leonard. Giving out answers right now would mean bringing back the hope which was lost and that wouldn''t be right," Sister Isabelle answered to his burning question and then continued to speak, "Her abilities didn''t push through until a few months so it might or might not be the case."


    "But there''s a possibility," Leo pressed his words for the white witch to not answer.?In some pain and this dull day, the information made Vivian happy. Happy to hear that she might turn back to her previous self.


    Lord Nichs pped his hands together, "That''s wonderful news!" but Leo shook his head.


    "Not yet. There seems to be a barrier which is not letting her go back. And until we don''t find the cause of it from her parents, we won''t know how to break that barrier," and it was the truth what Leo spoke.


    The pureblooded vampire creatures were the strongest as the heart that guarded their essence was designed differently unlike the weaklings of a human heart or the imitation which the lowly vampires had like the pureblooded vampires but without the core.?A pureblooded vampire''s heart and blood could not be sullied not unless something vile was used like the ck witch''s potion that was used to corrupt hearts.


    And as the thought crossed his mind, something came to sink into his mind very very slowly that it took time to wrap around his head.


    He looked at Vivian, her ck eyes staring back into hers. What if someone had tried to corrupt her heart? It seemed like a usible?presumption. The specs of red didn''te to be seen every time but when he did see he didn''t miss the dark red in color in those ck eyes of hers.


    He heard Sister Isabelle ask Vivian, "You must have been missing sleep. It is not because you are a human but you are more than that right now which you will have to take care of. Precious abilities of high valuee with high-risk factor on your body. Your healing ability will allow you to heal but it will cut down your life span. We don''t know what this ability can or cannot but taking care of yourself cautiously would be a good idea."


    "Yes, sister Isabelle," Vivian gave a smile.


    "Good. Do you want me to send medication?" asked the white witch.


    "No, I will be fine."


    "Okay. Come visit me tomorrow if possible. I miss having yourpany at the Church," Sister Isabelle squeezed her hand and stood up.?Vivian felt fortunate to be cared for by so many of them in this room. She wanted to talk to sister Isabelle about her dreams as everything felt all over the ce. Maybe once she would have a discussion she would feel more at ease. The dreams, the visions it was making her head go round.


    Leonard went to see the white witch to the carriage while Nichs stayed in the room to give Vivianpany.


    "Sorry for intruding your work time," she apologized to Nichs who had been leaning against the wall not far from the firece.


    "You shouldn''t worry about such trivial things, Vivian. You are wee here anytime," he answered her, her eyes shifted to look at her palm.


    Pushing himself against the wall, Nichs walked towards the balcony doors and pushed it open to invite the night wind inside the room, "Worrying has never solved anything. If you want to solve it then get to working on it.?Else there''s no point," she heard him give away the advice, "You will only make him worry that much."


    Vivian nodded her head, "May I ask you something?" she asked.


    "Why I killed the woman?" asked Lord Nichs as if knowing she had been itching to ask him the question, "It was years ago. A few years after I started to live with the third Lord in this mansion. Though my mother was found dead with only remnants of her bones on the floor, the man didn''t mourn for her loss. Not one day and instead I found woman after woman who came to visit him. To please him and one of them turned out to be this councilwoman who had been the one to poison his mind against not only my mother but also me."


    Vivian listened to him patiently, "Most of the people will do anything to get into power, to be in the high position of the society to earn and live the life of pride but only some understand the blood and pain that is associated with it. When I found out about her, I didn''t have to send Narcissus at her. My ghouls are part of me or rather derived from me making it easier for them to feel the emotions of what I feel. I was a child back then and my emotions knew no bound. They were vtile," the man smiled, his eyes holding the calmness which she didn''t understand.


    <i>"Nick! You cannot go killing people randomly!" Malcolm scolded the little boy who stood in front of him where the elder man sat behind the desk in his room.</i>


    <i>"I didn''t do anything," came the reply which seemed deader than the woman who had been found in the forest. The boy had been taken in by the Lord but he spent his time getting taught in the Rufus'' mansion.?</i>


    <i>"Exin the dead body of the woman which was ced at the entrance of the council?"</i>


    <i>"Narcissus killed her not me."?</i>


    <i>The man in front of him ran his hand through his hair in slight frustration, taking a deep breath and letting it out. The man hadn''t met the ghouls because the ghouls didn''t appear in the thin air at the boy''smand. He was still learning to control them. No one knew about who Narcissus was nor who Everest was. It seemed more of imaginary friends the little boy had built in his head after his mother''s death</i><i>, "I get that you are angry and your anger is justified but there''s a way to take revenge," this got the boy''s attention and?young Nichs'' eyes moved to stare at the man, "Let me tell you something," the man went to educate the naive boy.</i>


    <i>"Like many other things, killing is a form of art. You don''t kill a body and let it out in the open unless you want to warn someone or intimidate a group. When you kill someone you make sure not to leave any trace, the murder needs to be perfect," exined Malcolm, "If you kill someone kill as if they are killed by another person or one day you will be caught and be dead just like the ones you have killed. Your displeasure against the woman has been quite evident and if it weren''t for you being little, the council would be on you since they found the body</i><i>," the boy hearing this gave it some good thought.?</i>


    <i>"No one should know," murmured the boy, his eyes holding the gloominess of what he had passed through.?</i>


    <i>The older man gave him a nod, "That''s right. You need to be stealthy when ites to these kinds of things," the man wished the boy would do something about his mood. It was as depressing as the rain the Bonke. He had been like this since he had gone to retrieve the boy along with Lord Wilhelhum after receiving the news of his heir to the family.?</i>


    <i>When the next morning arrived, Malcolm was wearing his coat with the help of his servant when he could hear the bustling noiseing out of the room. Ready to leave, he stepped out and walked to through the corridors when he saw Nichs who had his back faced towards him, making an effort to talk to the maid who appeared to look nervous. As if thankful that he hade, she greeted him with a bow and escaping from there.</i>


    <i>Confused with her reaction, he saw the little boy turn who his ck hairbed neatly and a smile up on his lips. Voice filled with light, he was greeted, "Good morning, Mr. Rufus," his little lecture ad turned the boy''s in a different direction.?</i>


    <i>He could see why the maid had been nervous. There was a creepiness that lingered behind that smile which felt nerve-wracking.?</i>

 Chapter 190 - Lonely Days Of The Ghoul ’Everest’ -Part 1

    Like Sister Isabelle had stated, it seemed that she had felt under the weather because of stress as after taking a good nap and getting her mind to ease, Vivian had slept well the next day to the hour where Leonard had given her an off from work as she continued to sleep.


    Standing at the balcony, she leaned forward to look at the scenery in front of her. The calm and quiet atmosphere that she lived away from the vige and the other ces where harm could befall her. This might be the safest ce, thought Vivian to herself. Some of the servants of the mansion were scattered around outside doing their respective jobs.


    Leonard had left her with a note asking her to rest and if she needed to go anywhere she could use the carriage as the coachman would be at her service along with the rest of the staff. It was the first time he had told something like this to her without worrying if she would be alright or not. With an entire day in front of her and to spare to however she would like, she heard the birds chirp sweetly, singing their own melody of songs when one of the birds suddenly fell down from the tree and on the grass on the ground.


    Frowning, she got inside the room and out, heading down the stairs to check if the bird was alright. Going outside she saw the little white and brown bird that had fallen down, scuffling on the green grass with its wings opening and closing until it came to a halt where it didn''t move anymore. The bird had died and she stood close to it, wanting to bury the bird she took a step before she caught sight of the ghoul that had been lurking behind the trees which made her stop in her tracks.


    Suddenly she felt frightened at the presence of the ghoul.


    The ghoul hadn''t changed its behavior but Vivian had never understood its basic nature to kill without any word of sympathy. They were the creatures of the dark she should have known and not as friendly as they seemed to be. Not waiting for thr ghoul, she picked the dead bird carefully in her hands, taking it to the garden and burying by asking the servant the dig a little grave so that she could ce the bird there.


    Everest the ghoul wasn''t a creature who understood the speech of everyone where it could converse back.?The creature that had been born due to the pain which couldn''t have been digested by the young boy, he and his brother had stepped in.


    For some odd reason, it hade to see the young woman, not because of love as the creature didn''t have the ability to feel those emotions but it hade anyways. Usually, she would greet it but today she didn''t. Her eyes were like the rest of its victims but it hadn''t been ordered to kill her which made it confused as to why she looked at it that way before turning her back making it stop moving as it stood behind the tree.


    The ghouls who could be called as the bringer of death survived on meat like the rest of the carnivores but the meat belonged to the dead beings. Hungry at the time of the morning as it hadn''t got to eat anything, it had been lurking around the Carmichael''s mansion.


    It''s owner, Nichs had only asked the ghoul to look after her once but the ghoul had decided to take care of her. In its eyes, the human girl was like a little animal which was very much simr to a human who would look at his pet bird or animal that needed taking care of. Talking about the bird, the ghoul looked at the top of the tree where few of the birds continued to chirp forgetting its family member who had been killed by the ghoul, Everest. It needed food and it had killed the bird to suffice its hunger but the girl had taken away its food to bury it underground.


    It let out a garbled voice out of his mouth. It turned back to look at the tree again. After the ghoul had left from standing, the tree it had been standing behind had plucked out feathers of the bird that was next to the roots of the tree with the birds that were nowhere in sight on the branches. But instead of the birds sat a dark creature hidden behind plenty of branches and trees.


    The ghoul sat in a ce where no one would be able to see it, having its own time of day and no care in the world. The ghoul never slept. There was nothing to work on a time to time job but it''s work mostly involved killing people without much of effort. But it did need food like the other creatures. And the food came after killing the people.


    Looking down at the humans who were at work, it''s mouth watered to have more but its master wouldn''t be happy if he came to know where the ghoul was right now.


    Their master was the only man whom they could talk to, their garbled words which could be understood by Nichs as they were part of him. Their work was as random as a bird flying in the sky. There was no time or ce. If a body had to be hunted, the ghoul would fly there to kill the person on behalf of their master''s words before roaming thends like nomads.


    The first few days when the ghouls were created they didn''t have a mind and were as good as the dead living in the realm of life where they were not meant to be. Being part of Nichs they could sense his pain, his anger, his revenge that would boil to the point where the ghouls would often go rampage to kill people.


    It was one of the reasons why Malcolm was worried about the young boy Nichs years ago. Though he knew Nichs was the one who killed the people there was no evidence as to how he could do it. After all, how could a young boy rip bodies like a piece of a doll that was torn? As the years went by, Nichs was able to control the ghouls with his thoughts and the ghouls grew with him to understand what to do and how to follow his words that his single word made them fly back to him.


    Yet, the ghoul Everest had grown on a softer sidepared to the other ghoul. The spark of emotion had been ignited, a spark of fire that was enough to set the forest on fire. Its ear being one of the sharpest, it heard a sound at the shed and to see what it was, it went there. The shed had the four-legged creatures with hooves that made sounds through its nose when the ghoul walked through to hear the sounds of whisperinging from behind the hay of grass that was stacked in the shed. The ghoul peeked very carefully, its leg floating in the air along with its robes. A woman and a man stood there talking to each other, with their hands on each other as they had their head pressed which the ghoul didn''t understand what they were doing. Its head tilted in wonderment as it had often seen people doing this.


    Moving away from the shed and getting inside the mansion, it roamed before it stopped after finding thedy in the study room who was reading a book. It stood watching her in the corner of the shadows where the light didn''t reach it nor where she could see.


    Though the ghoul wasn''t well versed with emotion and it aimlessly had been following the girl whom his master had asked to protect, it could sense the rejection and the fear of hers that came off when it had appeared in front of her. Almost all the people it had met, they had shown fear which wasprehensible as everyone it had appeared in front was for the reason to rip their body and kill them before digging them unless it was allowed to eat.


    But it hadn''t expected it from the girl, the rejection made the ghoul confused. In this scenario where the ghoul was the pet and the owner had rejected to acknowledge it.


    Vivian who was reading the borrowed books from Lord Nichs turned the page to read the next paragraph when she felt the wind blowing in the room. The door and the windows were closed so there was no reason for the wind to blow which she felt to be suspicious.


    Her eyes moving across the room, it fell at the corner where it was dark with the light of the firece not enough to reach.


    "Is that you, Everest?" she looked at the shadows where nothing came to appear in front of her eyes. Worried, she closed the book. She might have been in the mansion with the servants walking somewhere in the mansion, working their daily duties but that didn''t mean she could be safe if some ill omen or a ghost that wasing to pass through this room.


    Hoping it was the ghoul, she called its name once more, "Everest. Pleasee out if you are there," she spoke softly to it and finally, the ghoul came out. Vivian closed her eyes thanking the Gods and sending her prayers, "What were you doing there? Hiding in the dark?" it was just her in the room and it didn''t have to hide.


    When Vivian had stepped back earlier, it had been a sudden reaction which she hadn''t meant to be. She had been scared but not scared for her to be around the ghoul. If she knew one thing, it was that the ghoul wouldn''t hurt her. It had earned enough trust by saving her life in the snow mansion.


    Seeing that it didn''t move and tried stepping away with its head down, she frowned. Who knew this ghoul would be like this, the kind that killed was now keeping its distance from her. Or was something wrong with her?


    "I won''t hurt you," she said to it, bringing her hand forward she tried to touch the ghoul. How ironic for a human to be speaking to the creature of death like this, she thought to herself. When she touched the ghoul, she read the recent event that took ce through its eyes which was her reaction to it outside the mansion. Pulling back her hand, she bowed her head to say,


    "Forgive me for being rude to you. I didn''t mean to offend you, Mr Everest," standing back straight she then asked, "Would you care for a cup of tea?" she gave the ghoul a smile.

 Chapter 191 - Lonely Days Of The Ghoul ’Everest’ -Part 2

    Jan knocked on the door of the study room where Lady Vivian had taken herself to immerse herself in books thest time he had seen her. A few moments ago, she had called him, asking him to get her a ss full of fresh blood and two cups of teas.


    The housekeeper had been confused as to why thedy would be asking not for one but for two cups. Was she preparing blood tea for master Leonard? But he was out for work and he probably wouldn''t be home untilter in the evening not in the next hour at least. A blood tea was the kind of tea that couldn''t be stored and had to be taken in immediately or it would only rot and give out a bad taste and foul smell.


    Thedy opened the door but notpletely, "I will take it from here," her words were polite just like it used to be a few weeks ago. After thedy had been married to the Duke, the housekeeper had started to be extra careful with the human girl as she wasn''t a mere woman anymore, nor a guest in this household. She was the master''s wife and by now everyone in the mansion had got the word about it. Everyone had been shocked at the sudden news.


    No shock was an understatement. The couple had gone ahead and married each other and if it weren''t for his previous master, then maybe he wouldn''t have found out at all. After all, they were always together or kissing each other in the room or in the dining room as if the others didn''t exist in the Duke''s eyes, which might have been true.


    Thedy closed the door quickly before he could take a peek inside the study room but he was met with the wooden door in front of his eyes. Giving it a look he turned back and walked on his way back to do his work.


    Vivian stood with the tray which she had received from the housekeeper, standing at the door while hearing the faint footsteps of the housekeeper disappear.


    Turning around she looked at the ghoul whom she had made to sit on the chair which looked as confused as ever as it didn''t know what to do.?As if it were her friend and as an apology for hurting its feelings which it wasn''t hurt, Vivian had asked if it would like to drink tea with her.


    Taking the tray to keep it in front of it, she said, "You must be hungry. I apologize for taking away your food earlier. I hope you like the blood tea I make. Mr Sullivan didn''t have anyints so you must like it," she picked the container that had blood in it and it poured it into one cup. Next, she picked the milk and poured it into the cup which had blood, stirring it and pouring the milk little by little until the liquid thickened.


    Once she was done with it, she pushed the cup towards the ghoul where it sat quietly quite out of ce, "You need to pick it up and drink," and when she said it, she heard it speak in its usually garbled voice which she couldn''t understand. Picking up the cup herself she handed it to the ghoul, "Take it," and it took it from her obediently but without bringing it to its mouth as it didn''t know how and what to do with it.


    Pouring herself the milk along with the tea into her cup, Vivian stirred it before bringing the cup of tea to her lips and looking at the ghoul who was looking at her intently. As if imitating her, the ghoul brought the teacup to its mouth and tilted the cup when it saw her do it.


    Holding back the smile that was threatening to break on her lips, she held it back and continued to drink her tea even though she had finished drinking it after seven sips so that the ghoul wouldn''t stop. Surprisingly, the ghoul brought the teacup in front of her face and she ced her cup down on the table.


    "You want more?" she asked for it to push it''s cup further towards her, "Of course. Let me prepare it quickly."


    When the door opened, in came Leonard who hade back home earlier than his usual days as there wasn''t anything much to do at the council. Especially with Vivian back at home, he couldn''t concentrate at his work. She had fallen sick therefore the worry still lingered in his mind. But when he came back home with the housekeeper telling thedy was having tea in his study room, the sight in front of him wasn''t what he was expecting.


    At the table sat Vivian along with the ghoul, who undoubtedly was Everest not just sitting but sitting with a teacup in its hand. He didn''t know what to make of the scene. Closing the door behind him, he walked to where she was,


    "I didn''t know you were holding a tea party," hemented looking at his wife and then the ghoul who seemed to keep the cup on the table, "Please have the tea, it would be rude to leave it halfway," he spoke to the ghoul who happened to pick the cup and gulp it in one go making him roll his eyes.


    Coming towards her, he bent down and nted a kiss on her cheek where Vivian said, "I wasn''t expecting you toe home early,"?he wasn''t expecting her to be having tea with the ghoul but he decided to keep thement to himself.


    "I finished my work early and decided to drop by before I leave to meet the magistrate. It is good to see you have made a good friend to have...blood tea," he smelled the blood in the air, "Is there more of it?" he asked her.


    "Let me prepare one quickly," and she stopped seeing she had asked for only two cups before.


    "You can pour it in your cup if you are done drinking," Leo suggested to pull a chair and sit next to her. And as Vivian began to prepare the blood for Leonard, she saw another teacup being pushed towards her as if wanting more, "This is not how you drink tea," reprimanded Leo at the ghoul.


    "Don''t scold him, Leo. It is absolutely fine to drink more than two cups. There''s still a little left for another cup," she said to the ghoul.


    "When did you be so buddy buddy with him, you should talk to Narcissus. I wonder if he would even look at someone apart from killing,"mented Leonard before giving a look at the ghoul who sat in a very awkward manner.


    "I took away his meal. I thought it would be right to treat him to some blood tea," she answered, clinking the tea to the edge of the cup after she was done stirring, she gave it to Leonard and started to make the blood tea for the ghoul.


    Taking a sip, Leo murmured, "How kind of you," and she smiled.


    Leonard didn''t mind the ghoul''spany but it was odd to have it around. It must be the first time for him to be seeing it sit on a chair and to drink tea. His wife sure was something, making friends with the dead creature and inviting it for a tea party.


    Finishing the tea, he thanked his wife and got to work while she sat there talking to the ghoul as if she understood every word of it. As polite as she was, he didn''t know what to do with her sometimes. Her broadminded mind was sometimes bizarre. If it were someone else they would have run in the opposite direction after looking at the ghoul with just one nce but instead, here they were...thought Leo to himself.


    Maybe it was for the fact that this ghoul was sweet to her. Helping her with the wound, killing a man for her it was the qualities of being a worthy friend.


    He looked at his wife, a small smile forming on his lips. After what happened to Paul, she had stopped talking to the staff. He had noticed the way her words were kept to be minimum as of she were scared that one of them would betray her or him. Though the ghoul couldn''t be considered as a person to call it as a friend, it was providing her with thepany of one which settled his mind that she wasn''t going out to mingle with others.


    It wasn''t that Leonard had ever restricted her but he had only guarded her by speaking a word or two tell her to know who were friends and who were there only to acquaint themselves with her so that they could get closer to him.


    Vivian was smart enough to know that the world she had stepped into wasn''t the ce where one could make friends easily. People spoke well in the front but it wasn''t the same behind their back. They would manipte and try to be in each other''s good graces for their own benefit and no one else''. Such was the high society life.


    Last night before she had gone to sleep her eyes were ck but the red specs often got his notice, making him wonder about the theory he just found.


    It was possible for Vivian to have consumed the liquid and maybe the potion was a prototype made by the ck witch which wasn''tpletely sessful? It had been a few years since Vivian hade to live at the Carmichael''s mansion. Who would have given it to her? Especially to a child.


    It didn''t seem like it was her parents as they had abandoned her so who could it be?


    Getting up from the chair of his desk, he left the room with its door closed and went up to his room. Reaching, he went to his dressing drawer underneath which he had to unlock to pull the little bottle which belonged to the ck witch.


    Out of all the bottles he had received, he had kept one of them to himself while handing over the rest to Nichs who had in return given it directly to the head council where the liquid was thrown out after certain inspections being made so that it wouldn''t be misused.


    With the ingrdients being burnt to the root which would not grow for further creation of the potion, the bottle he held in his hand was thest potion that was to be left in the entire fournds.


    Somewhere deep down Vivian was still a pureblooded vampire. It wasn''t that Leo wasn''t satisfied with how Vivian was right now. He was more than happy but after she had fallen ill yesterday, it reminded him of the fixed days of her life with him.


    She was the love of his life and he would do anything to keep her safe and alive next to him. Leaving a soul bond might extend her longevity but it wasn''t the same as living a full life. She was precious to him.?With her healing ability, there was a chance that if she consumed this potion it would have no effect on her.


    But...thought Leo to himself, if Vivian''s core still existed where her heart hadn''t beenpletely turned to one of human''s there was a high chance that the potion could affect her heart.


    What he couldn''t guess was if it would have a positive effect by turning her back to the pureblooded vampire she was or a negative effect that could lead her to her death. Putting the potion back from where he had taken, he locked the drawer and then his room, heading down to where his Bambi was talking with the ghoul.

 Chapter 192 - Court Room- Part 1

    In the tall building of the council which was surrounded by trees,?she followed the tall lean man. Her footsteps quick as her feet walked to keep up with the elder councilman, her hands holding a file which she was asked to carry along with her. The corridor was filled with other councilmen who were standing at the sideline while waiting for the main door of a particr room to be opened.


    Vivian had been reading the files which Leonard had asked her toplete while the three councilmen- Leonard, Heuren, and Dutan had left the building to attend a parallel case which had been given to them. While she was at her given task, Lionel had entered the room to find Dutan gone who usually wrote down the notes for him during a meeting.


    <i>"Grab your quill and parchment with the file, ande with me."</i>


    That was all he had told and she had jumped on her feet to take what he had asked before hurrying herself out so that she wouldn''t be lost in the building.


    It had been more than two weeks since she had started toe to the council so that she could learn about how the team she had been assigned to would be working along with their past and present cases assigned. The ground floor was made out of the basic design and there was much space given in there with its white walls which greeted the workers and visitors but when one got past these simple walls to walk further, the paths to different departments and floors were confusing. It made Vivian wonder who had given the architecture and had built this odd ce. There were several doors after the white built architecture where it led to different paths and corridors. Last week when she had stepped out of the department she had roamed around for more than thirty minutes while trying to find her way back as every time she tried to walk and find the way she ended up at the same spot. Thankfully, Heuren hade in search of her and brought her back while giving out the little pointers one needed when using these confusing paths.


    The main door opened where everyone had gathered and Lionel stepped inside, followed by Vivian and the others.


    "You can sit here," spoke Lionel as he moved around the high chair and sat as the men and one woman began to take their seats in front of him. Vivian who had been carrying the files took the seat next to him which was positioned at a height lower than his chair.


    She faced the crowd of councilmen who appeared to be a mix old and young people but most of them were vampires with very few humans. Some of them saw her while some didn''t bother that a woman had for the first time entered the jurisdiction which was held three times in a week to make sure the decorum of thends were upheld with thews and the edicts that were to be followed by the civilians.


    It being the first time for her, Vivian didn''t know why she had been asked toe here or what she was supposed to do. Nheless, she sat straight in her chair without hunching her back.


    As days hade to pass by, she had been growing with knowledge which increased her confidence in her surroundings. To have made through the second exam which hade with a twist of unexpectedness, she had earned name with it initially apart from being one of the rare female associate councilwomen. To add more to it, word hade to spread around the corners of her being the wife of Duke Leonard, weighing the responsibility of carrying the Carmichael name with her now.


    Though most of them had their suspicion both Leonard nor Vivian confirmed it when they were outside. Vivian''s hands which were covered in the ck gloves pulled the quill and opened the nk parchment from the file.


    "Bring the first offender in," Lionel''s voice boomed across the room, getting the attention of the spectators who would be forming as the witness, they waited as the doors opened with the guardsing out with a man who looked left and right, anxiety clear on his face. Another man was brought in along with him with another two guards on either side of the person, "Name," Lionel asked.


    From where she sat, Vivian could see that both of them had cuts and bruises covering their face and body. Funnily, both the men sported a ck eye which was dark where the eye had turned small and red, making them squint.


    "Gilbert Monar," answered the nearest man who had a scuff around his jaws which looked ragged.


    "ude Yarger," the other man answered who was bigger in size. The man was bulky looking with muscles, his brown eyes staring at Lionel passively.


    She heard papers being turned above her as Lionel was going searching for their names and reading the short report which was filed by the guards of the vige after sending both the men to the cell rooms where people who didn''t follow thew were held before they would be assessed and put under either the cell which was closer to the council or be let off depending on the level of their crimes.


    Lionel''s eyebrows raised, reading the paper files through his monocle, "A brawl in the street leading to a woman''s neck being broken," said the older councilman who sat in the high seat, "Is the woman here?"


    "Yes, Sir," one of the councilman replied to get up and help the woman who sat next to him. The woman had a dull-white bandage wrapped around her neck, her moment very slow that Lionel motioned his hand for her to sit down. Bringing her in front of the room would be too much of a hassle as it would only consume his time, "Have you no shame? Behaving like children. <i>Disgusting</i>," he spat the words looking at the two full-grown men.


    Vivian flinched the way Lionel spoke to the men who suddenly jumped in to defend their case.


    The man named Gilbert started, "This man has been causing me loss since he opened his shop. I told him not to open it next to mine! That was what agreed on but <i>nooo </i>he<i>?</i>had to open his shop as revenge," the man ranted


    "I had nowhere else to open. I have nond," the bulky man responded back to it.


    "This fucker hasnd which he stole from me!"pared to the bulky man, this one looked like a mouse in front of him but his voice touched the ceiling, "Didn''t you?! When I was drunk you stole the keys too."


    "That is because you are a dumb fucker who is careless. If I didn''t, it would have been stolen," the bulky man answered, turning to look up at Lionel he said, "I was only borrowing the keys and there-"


    "You stole my keys and took away my money!" the smaller man jumped on him like he was a monkey while the other man pushed him away, "You were a damn peasant! Working for me! If you have money where did ite from? It is my blood and sweat, you thief!"


    "I earned it from my work, get off me," in the midst of their banter Lionel pinched the bridge of his nose. Vivian stared at the two men who were going back and forth at each other verbally before fists started to fly in the air at each other and the guards had to pull them apart so that they wouldn''t cause moremotion.


    Once the courtroom turned quiet with one man staring and the other ring who was the shorter one, Lionel spoke to the guards, "Put them in the cell here. Three days in here should set their sights right," the shorter man''s head snapped to look at the councilman.


    "Why am I being put in the cell? He was the one who stole money from me. Give him a week!" the vige man said pointing his finger at the bulkier man.


    <i></i>Giving the man a nk look, the councilman said, "Put him there for a week," he tipped his head at the shorter man which made Gilbert''s eyes almost bulge out. Before the man had the opportunity to respond about the unfairness, Lionel continued, "Keep causing a ruckus here and you will only increase your time to a year," this got the man to shut his mouth instantly without any furtherints.


    "Taking into ount what happened here and the damage that was caused to a fellow civilian who was not part of it. Both the offenders owe a sum of ten silver coins to thedy for the damage being caused. Mr. Monar shall spend one week in the cell and Mr. Yarger will be put for three days," he closed the case. The men were taken out by the guards of the council and Vivian who had been following them with her line of sight heard Lionel speak to her,


    "You will be the transcript for the Vivian. This is a mild case which doesn''t need diary entry but write down on what you see and hear at the end of what has been concluded of that case. These scripts will be used as references."


    The next case was brought in and the one after that wherein Vivian sat for almost two hours but she didn''t find the job to be tedious. Some of them were quarrels which were brought to the council to get justice. Some held grave importance, feuds between the higher-ups and the lower being who were poor, a few which involved the council for not letting their proposal pass for theirnds being taken away or belongings that were taken for not paying the money on time.


    Vivian made note of every case that was discussed before the judgment was passed. With thest one dismissed everyone were speaking with a bustle of a noisy whisper when Lionel said,


    "You can bring the next one in," his voice was loud and clear as the room went silent.?The double doors on the backside of the room opened for two guards toe with a man who was bound in chains and shackles.?Behind him followed a man who must have been a councilman, his sandy blonde hair which wasbed to the side in a poised manner. But it wasn''t the man at the back but the one in the front that caught everyone''s eyes.


    The man who was bound in chains had a wild appearance, his eyes were as good as considered to be ck, his hair which must have been covered with rain and dirt stuck to his head. There was some sort of wilderness in him and if Vivian didn''t know better she would have guessed the man to be possessed. But the eyes were a give away to tell that the man must have gone under an unsessful transformation from human to vampire. He was as good to be called as the vampire whose heart had been corrupted as his body couldn''t ept the change.


    The man growled looking at the crowd that had been gathered in the room, "ARRGHH!" some of them who were close by looked at the man as if he were a piece of an experimental mouse, keeping themselves wary of the man who wasn''t sane anymore.


    With what Vivian had read, there wasn''t much difference when it came to a corrupted vampire and a human who had been changed. Once a certain stage was reached, there was no turning back for them. They were as good as dead as they would bring nothing but destruction around them due to theck of mind which would have been far gone.


    "You cut the line, Abel," Lionel spoke not happy that the person, in turn, hadn''t been sent in but that his councilman had put his case forward than wait for his turn.


    "Pardon me, high councilman," the sandy blonde man bowed his head, "High councilman Creed wanted me to finish it as this man as you can see can be a threat for the people around."


    "The wrong transformation is handled by the transformation team. Take the man there for the execution," Vivian''s mouth went dry to hear this. She had seen corrupted heart vampires but this was the first time meeting a wrong transformation.


    The unsessful cases were unfortunate in more than one ways. Not only did they lose their mind but once it was heard that it hadn''t gone well, the person would immediately be taken away from his family to enter the direct execution which would involve less time as there was nothing to argue and discuss further.


    "The man hasn''t turned right," the man named Abel spoke to Lionel.


    "I can see that."


    "You see, he keeps fluctuating more often on the human side. High councilman Creed wanted to make sure you were informed about it," Vivian felt a strange familiarity when she looked at the councilman.


    "ARRG!" the man growled, his voice louder than before which shook the room.


    He crouched his back looking at the people as if they were the prey, making some of them stand up from their seat and shift. Suddenly, he jumped forward which the guards weren''t expecting as he had looked dull and out of energy, the chain they were holding slipping through their hands which made the chained man move forward to attack anything and everything, Vivian who was sitting there felt her heart jump out of her throat when he came right in front of her barring his fangs at her.


    Barely a few inches away from her, she raised her hands to shield herself when the guardsman pulled the chain trying to get the man away from her. At the same time, the man''s fangs retracted back and his eyes turned brown, his expression turningx. His eyes met hers and there was a feeling of helplessness in there as he said, "Save me," and he fell on his knees, sitting on the ground with his head down. One of the guardsmen went to pull the man, but the man turned rogue again and in a blink of an eye, the guardsman''s arm was torn away before working on ripping the head which spilled out blood.


    Before moremotion could be caused, Lionel had stepped forward to pull the man''s heart out. Throwing it on the ground, he took the kerchief from his pocket, saying, "Next time you get a case like this, kill them before submitting the body than create unnecessary dirt," Lionel then looked at Vivian who looked baffled, "Write this one down too."

 Chapter 193 - Court Room- Part 2

    Vivian stared at the body thatid on the ground which now was being carried by the two guardsmen who had brought him in. The man named Abel, a fellow councilman just bowed his head with a smile on his lips before his eyes fell on her, meeting her eyes before the gaze broke away for him to turn around and take the body along with him and the guards.


    <i>"Help me.</i>"


    The man''s plea rang in her head which brought in a cold chill down her spine. She had always believed that the council was the most level headed people, nice and someone who helped others but this. Vivian had no words. Her superior had killed the man once he had gone rampage without blinking his eyes. Servants came in to, cleaning the blood and removing the evidence of what had been done making her wonder how many other people had died in this courtroom where everyone appeared as if no one had been killed in front of their eyes.


    Death was plenty enough for the men here to be used and in time Vivian would see a lot of things beforeing to realize that the council wasn''t about prestige andw but a lot more than that.


    cing the tip of the quill on the parchment, she began to write down on what she saw, drafting it as diplomatic as she could. Once the courtroom was done, she stepped out and walked away from the room, walking but not to the department.


    Needing to use the bathroom, she walked in and turned on the faucet of the sink to wash her face. She sshed once and twice, the cold water trying to wash away her face but not the death she saw. Looking up at the mirror which was hung in the barely lit room where the window was up high near to the ceiling, she stared at her reflection.


    The men here were brutes who had no ounce of humanity or sympathy for the suffering. If one were to die, they would kill the person in the name of safety. Their methods were quick but she wasn''t sure if it could be called efficient. She could now see the resemnce of work with Leo and Lionel who was his superior.


    The man had looked weak and in pain when his eyes had turned brown in color indicating he had turned human for that minute. She had sensed pain there, and she empathized with the man the way he must have been turned to only be killed andbeled as a rogue vampire who was another abomination to the society.


    Her thought went to the time when Leonard had gone to turn her into a vampire. It made her think. If she had turned to an unsessful attempt she would have met the same fate despite being Leonard''s wife. She had seen how Mrs. Carmichael had been killed in front of her own two eyes.?When it came to the well being of society, the councilmen pushed aside rtionship. If that day, Leo had let his mother alive but putting a restraint on her, the end result would have still been the same. She would have been killed and put to death.


    A small sense of anxiety began to form in her chest at the words of the dead man. She couldn''t help him that gnawed at the back of her mind. The councilman who had bought the rogue had spoken about fluctuations but no time was given to discuss. It was as if he had brought the deranged vampire knowing well how it would go down and had ced the death of the man in head council Lionel''s hand.


    And why did the man feel so familiar? she asked herself looking at the mirror.


    Looking at the reflection of her in the mirror, she moved her face to the side, pushing the high cored neck to see the fingerprinted marks gone now. The man, Ezekiel had squeezed her neck to kill her to the point that it had left the mark for more than a week. She closed her eyes, her browsing to furrow when she remembered the way she felt with no air to breathe.


    Suddenly she noticed something very strange in her eyes where one of her eyes had turned to form red in color and the moment she blinked it was gone.


    Moving closer to the mirror, she opened her eyes wide to see her left eye which now was ck in color. She knew she wasn''t imagining it but what happened? Pulling herself back she gave herself another look.


    She was supposed to go meet Sister Isabelle but she not wanting to miss the council work she hade here every day. If anyone knew, it would be the white witch who was knowledgable. With her red eyes that appeared and gone like a candle that was lit and blown out, she wondered if her pureblooded traits wereing out.


    Only if she could remember how and when she turned to a human but unfortunately, though she could try reading others like the healing ability of hers, she couldn''t read her memories. Sister Isabelle had said it would need a lot of focus but there was no guarantee that it would work. But, she thought to herself, there was a possible way to check if her vampire trait wasing through after being suppressed for all these years.


    Taking out her pocket watch from her dress, she looked at the time. It was noon, and time for lunch, walking out of the bathroom, she made her way to the room where food was often served to the fellow councilman for free.


    "Lady Vivian, what a surprise to see you here," turning to look over her shoulders she saw it was Lancelot Knight who was with her passed out examinee, Axel.


    Vivian bowed her head to greet both of them, "Good afternoon, gentleman."


    "Good afternoon. Excuse me," the lowly vampire grumbled under his breath catching her attention to which Lancelot responded once the man had gone to stand in the queue to get his share of the meal.


    "Don''t mind, Axel," she heard Lancelot say and she turned back to look at him who gave her a warm smile, "Is it true that there was a ghost in there?" It seemed that Axel had been going up and about speaking about the ghost, trying to still prove that what he saw real.


    "I didn''t see any ghost in there," Vivian kept a straight face and her voice calm, to make it believable she gave him a frown for the man to bring his hand up and chuckle behind it.


    I know it''s absurd but he''s been very bent on exining about his encounter and time in the snow mansion that I was asked to apany him to bury the whole ordeal behind as it wouldn''t reflect well on the council," she nodded her head, giving another nce towards the man who now took a seat at a far table, "He was quite upset that you didn''t give your input on the matter," there was a smile on his face but the way he looked at her, it was as if he was trying to derive something out from the subject.


    "I don''t think one can give an input when the person hasn''te across it. Ghosts don''t exist, Mr Knight," she responded back with a polite smile on her lips.


    "They don''t. They are absurd make believe stories to scare humans. How has your time in the council been passing by?" his eyes then fell on her hand which was holding the written parchments, "You must be very busy. Lionel is a strict man, so is the Duke. I heard some interesting things. Whispers, is that true?" he asked his eyes moving from the parchment to her gloved hands.


    The man was asking her about her rtionship with Leonard and though they were married it was none of his business, "I know not which whispers you speak of," she tilted her as if not understanding what he was talking about. It was a situation where both of them knew what one was asking and how the other was being ignorant.


    Lancelot smiled at her, "That how you got lostst time in the building," he chuckled again seeing her embarrassed face, "It happens to everyone. The first few months are about making sure you don''t get <i>lost</i> as it is very easy for one to get lost in their path," Vivian wondered if there was a hidden undertone meaning with the way he stressed on the word lost. It seemed like it was not only about the information about her and Leonard but the man had also got to know about the little mishap of getting lost in the building made by her.


    "I hope I learn the path fast if that is so," she answered back, looking at the men who were eating, some hurriedly and some in leisure, "I will get used to it as I walk back and forth like everyone here."


    "Hmm," the man hummed. Looking around her and seeing that she wasn''t with anyone, he offered her, "Would you like toe and join us? I am sure you will also clear the misunderstanding of the man there," he meant Axel who had already begun eating.


    The first time she had met him, the man had seemed nice but his intrusive questions made her hold her guard as she observed every movement of his from the way his hands were in the pocket and the time his eyes scanned her hands and face.


    Politely she refused, "I was just here to grab a cup of blood tea for head councilman Lionel," she answered, "I was with him at the court. It is an interesting ce," subtly she tried to push the topic in a different direction.


    "Indeed it is. It might be the only happening room in this entire building apart from the cell rooms which is located away from the building of course," Vivian''s thoughts went to the time when she hade to the cell room to meet and speak to Paul. The man had been battered and beaten to the point that he was left unconscious. Her heart ached at the loss of him. The councilmen here used their brute and status to end things. It happened once but until she worked here she wouldn''t let an innocent soul like that be lost in thebel of thief, culprit or murderer. She wasn''t fond of her gift as it brought only the memories of pain but if she looked at the bright side, she could make others life better. Give them the help they would need.


    Vivian then heard him speak, "I didn''t know head council Lionel drank blood tea," he didn''t? asked Vivian the question in her mind.


    "I don''t know that. He asked me to get one," she replied back, "If you''ll excuse me," she bowed her head and went to the counter to get the blood tea with the eyes of Lancelot on her back.


    Vivian didn''t stay a minute longer in the room and once she received it, she took it out with her to the department to see that Leonard was back with the others.


    "How was the court council?" asked Leonard upon seeing her and his eyes falling on the cup of blood tea she had but he didn''t question her. Vivian was a person who did things one didn''t understand but Leo being so close to her, there were times where he didn''t need an exnation as he already what was going on. It made him wonder if she had noticed the flicker of her eyes that turned from ck to red to ck again.


    "Interesting," she replied back, "Did you arrive now?"


    Coming to walk towards her, he took the file from her, opening to read as he said, "Half an hour ago," moving the parchments, he looked up at her, "Are you doing fine?" he asked her. It wasn''t usual for the court council to be having extreme cases but by her notes he could see what had happened.


    Vivian nodded her head, giving him a smile and then asked, "Did you have your lunch? I am hungry," with the court council and her eyes upying her mind, the thought of food hadn''t crossed her mind.


    "Mdy-" Hueren went to reply but Leonard interrupted with,


    "No, I haven''t eaten yet. Would you like to go out?" she shrugged, not minding where they ate.


    "Sure. Let me get my coat," she went to pick it from the stand that was lying in the corner of the room. Leonard informed his fellow councilman,


    "We''ll be going out and head home from there," and the couple walked out of the room.


    Hueren who was staring at the door, snapped his head to look at Dutan and say, "Didn''t we just have a heavy meal at Mrs Fnch''s mansion?" the human councilman was sure that his senior had been given more food which he couldn''t refuse.


    Dutan chuckled, "It doesn''t matter to him. Thedy is hungry."


    ~Mass release: If the book falls in top #3 power ranking I will give you 5 chapters as a mass release. Top #2 I will give you 10 chapter release. The rank must stay until the Sunday result~

 Chapter 194 - It Could Have Been...perfect World? - Part 1

    Leonard had already eaten enough food and he had hoped for Vivian to have her lunch in the council but she had missed it. It being already past the lunch hour, they walked down the outer corridors of the council building where only a few insight walked with most of them being visitors.


    Reaching a nearby inn which served food in the local town, Vivian sat down with Leonard in front of her while her back faced the wall. To have him sitting in a local inn, it was the first time for her. The local inn wasn''t a fancily and wouldn''t guess that a man like Leonard would even enter this small ce. She had missed him since the time he had left the building to go look at the matter he and the others were called for.


    "What happened?" he asked her seeing her stare at him and she shook her head with a smile, "I missed you too," he said bringing a wider smile on her face.


    "Were you able to resolve the matter?" she asked him when a man came and ced therge mugs on the table with a thud sshing the water inside it on the table, "How often do youe here?" she asked him with another question.


    "Just two or three times a month. Heuren likes toe here to treat us when he loses a certain bet with either me or Dutan," he answered, taking the kerchief and giving it to her.


    "Hmm?" she hadn''t spilt anything as the food was yet toe.


    "Put this on yourp. Take it," taking it from him, she spread it wide. Looking around the shabbing looking in, she saw that apart from her and Leo, there were two other men who were seated who were from the council as she remembered seeing one of the men in the courtroom who had been sitting directly in front of her line of sight. The only people looking after the inn were two men and a woman who was walking in and out of a backdoor where the food was being prepared.


    The rest of the folks were from the vige who were loud and unpoised, brash with their talk and chatter. Some of them showing how manly they were. As her eyes roamed around the room she caught a man staring at her to which she immediately avoided eye contact. Leonard wasn''t sitting right in front of her but closer to her in the round table.


    When he was done looking at the papers which Vivian had brought along with her, he lifted his face to find the man whom Vivian had tried avoiding gaze with staring at her. As if feeling Leo''s brooding eyes, the man''s eyes met Leo''s and suddenly dropped to realize who hade to the inn.


    Vivian who had been looking at the ss of water near to her heard Leo speak to her, "Lift your chin up," he said and when she did he continued, "Don''t be scared about what is in front of you, Bambi."


    Vivian gave him a quizzical look.


    "You don''t have to hide because someone is staring at you. You havee here with the right to eat just like the others, the food which you will pay. If someone is staring at you stare back to the point where their eyes cower to look down."


    "I don''t think I have the ability to do that," she answered him with a slight whisper.


    "True. But it can always be developed with practice. From this point onwards, you will see and meet a lot of people who will try to stub you if you don''t hold your ground," she pondered at his words to ask.


    Leonard was a jealous man but he wasn''t an irrational one. He was proud to have Vivian as his wife and since they had got married he had taken the advice which the Lord had imparted on him. It was when Nichs hade to congratte them,


    "Women are like flowers, Leo," said Nichs to him, "You need to let them breathe and grow with a lot of space. That doesn''t mean you don''t look out for the pests that mighte to harm them but if you don''t allow them space they need you will nevere to see the flower bloomingpletely for yourself."


    After what Nichs said, Leonard had given some serious thought over it. With her now out in the open he couldn''t forever keeper her from the bad eyes. To have her safe, she would have to learn to fly and know what to do. That had been one of the many reasons why he hadn''t hovered over her during the Winter''s Ball which was held at the Delcrov''s mansion.


    "I will be right here having your back, Bambi. So you have nothing to worry but look straight without a single ounce of fear. I love you and will continue to do so so fear nothing as I will be there with every step you take into this world you have entered while protecting you with everything I have," he took her hand in his, not caring about the ce and time, he lifted her hand and kissed on the back of her fingers. Gently pressing them and Vivian had given her his entire attention but the stares both of them now received due to Leo''s clear and loud voice made her shy and embarrassed in the room.


    The men around them hooted and cheered, the two women who hade with their husbands gushed looking at the couple. Even the man who had been staring at her previously seemed to be smiling at them after hearing what Leo spoke.


    "Who knew that the Duke would be this romantic, is she his lover?" asked one of the men in the local inn and another man replied back with, "They must be, look at the way they are sitting so close. He also kissed thedy''s hand," a lot of murmurs began to fill the room about them and it was as if for the first time they hade out to be a couple even though it had been quite a few days since they had been married now.


    "I will do my best!" Vivian went to reply back for him to give her a nod of approval.


    "I know."


    After finishing the meal, they went back to the carriage. Vivian was readying to get inside when Leonard asked her, "Did someone ask you to bring the blood tea? Or was it for yourself?" his words were casual as he inquired about it.


    Leo noticed, thought Vivian to herself, "It was for me," seeing him notment on it and give his hand for her to take, she ced her hand in his and her foot on the pedestal before getting inside the carriage.


    When they were in, he asked her, "Were you nning to turn to a vampire by drinking blood?"


    "One can turn like that?" she asked him to see him roll his eyes at her. Her gaze then turned serious "Leo."


    "Hmm?"


    "Did you notice something strange about me? I know I am a package full of an oddity but is there something you have seen which I am not aware of," her brows drew together waiting for him to answer.


    Raising his hand, he pointed out his eyes, "Your eyes have been flickering for a while now. Did you see it today?" she nodded her head.


    "I didn''t see it before. My left eyepletely turned red and then in second it was gone," this got Leonard''s attention who had been thinking about her flickering eyes.


    "Just left eye?" he asked her.


    "Ungh, just left eyes," she turned her body to face himpletely, "Just like my ck eyes now. Fully red," this might be the first time, thought Leo in his mind. The number of times her eyes had flickered, it was the first time he heard that her eyes hadpletely turned red, "Do you think I am changing back?"


    "I don''t think it is so," he said in a grave tone, "If you were to be changed, the transformation should have been enough to trigger and flip the switch of the pureblooded vampire traits in you but your body rejected it. You drank my bloodst time when you were half unconscious, do you think you can drink it this time?"


    Being around vampires, the smell of blood didn''t feel repulsive but she had never thought to drink it. Blood wasn''t something that the humans consumed but it was a source to live for the vampires and the pureblooded vampires.


    Her lips pursed together in thought as to what to do. This was much better than sneaking around and drinking blood from somewhere unknown.


    "Okay," she gave a nod to his question. While vampires could consume blood only from the humans, the pureblooded vampire could take it from the humans, vampires and considerably by their own kind which was often told that the pureblooded vampire''s blood was sweeterpared to the rest of the race.


    Taking his hand up in the air, Vivian saw him run his finger across his wrist such that a thin red line formed before blood started to ooze out, "All yours," he said, bringing it towards her.


    Taking a deep breath, she caught hold of his hand and leaned forward to touch her lips on his skin before enclosing the little wound with her mouth. When the iron taste of blood touched her tongue Vivian flinched and then pulled back.


    She shook her head.


    "No..."


    "It''s okay if you aren''t going to be a vampire or a pureblooded vampire," he assured her, "I fell for the human girl so it doesn''t matter if you live to stay as a human forever," he took his hand up to his mouth and ran his tongue across the would, licking it clean and putting it back to his side.


    "But I won''t stay...." he words drained into an unheard murmur which Leo couldn''t catch.


    "Won''t stay? Are you nning to escape from me?" he stared at her in question.


    "In this state, I won''t stay alive forever," he finally heard her say, his eyes softened. It was a concern which even Leo had looming above his head. It wasn''t that he was unhappy about her being human but the thought of her limited time in this life of hers worried him, "Shall we ask the white witch if she can help you with some potion that will help to extend your life?"


    She shook her head, "The witches potion doesn''t work all the time."


    "Why do you say that?"


    "A lot of books says that. No matter how old the witch is, there is always a possibility of making things worse. There was also this saying-"


    "If it isn''t broken don''t fix it," Leopleted her sentence. He held Vivian''s hand on their way back to the mansion, letting her borrow his shoulder so that she could rest as the carriage rode on the muddy path.


    It didn''t seem like she was turning to a vampire but her eyes were behaving strangely. Both of them knew that her eyes fluctuating colour wasn''t good news.


    "I was hoping that you would find my blood enticing," she heard Leonard speak next to her which brought a smile on her face, "It would be nice if you could find only my blood to be special."


    "Your wished are strange Mr Carmichael," she murmured.


    "Why so?"


    "Who hoped for things like that? And I am a human, you can have my blood to be enticing than yours," wrapping her arms around his left arm, she hugged it.


    "That I already do," but he didn''t stop there, "I find your eyes enticing, the way you look at me with that unbridled smile when you''re very happy and contain it but share it with me and the rest of the world. It''s worth dying for," turning his head he kissed the top of her head.


    A goofy smile came to settle on her lips at hisment on her. Leonard had been herpanion from early days and there was nothing more she could expect of him or from her life right now. She hoped things would stay like this, hoping nothing would ruin what they had.


    Her mind went back to the council court, "If a person has gone through the transformation with the vampire venom to turn to a half-vampire, and it doesn''t go well," she paused, "But his eyes fluctuates. Does it hold any difference?" she asked him.


    "Difference in how he was turned or his probability of being sane?"


    "Both," lifting her head she turned to look at him, "Is there no way to bring back what''s lost?" she couldn''t help herself at the way the man had asked her with helpless eyes which made her feel guilty though she had nothing do with it.


    "There''s no cure, Vivi. Once you start corrupting you turn to a threat because your mind starts ying tricks. First,es the hallucinations then you lose reasons the inner rage starts to surface to be consumed and burn everything around you until you are not yourself," Leo exined it to her, "The councilmen have researched and put them under a series of experiments but I heard nothing good came out of it. It is a lost cause," his voice fell quiet at the end of the sentence.


    "Do you think I can try helping?" this received her a scowl from him, "Maybe not," she adjusted herself on the carriage seat.


    "You don''t need to help people. Most of them already know what they are getting into when they go for the transformation."


    "What if they are forced and aren''t aware of it?"


    "Then call it to be their fate," the words were spoken sharply, "You helping them equals you shortening your already short days with me. Is that what you aim for?"


    "No," she muttered.


    "It would have been fine if your ability was limitless but it isn''t. You cannot save a drowning man when you can''t save yourself in the water."


    "Yes," Vivian could tell that Leonard was upset with her thoughts of wanting and needing to help another person at the cost of her life. It wasn''t that she wanted to lose her years.


    Leonard let out a sigh as he looked out of the window, "There are a few things in this world you cannot do anything but watch as it passes by. Even if it is me dying, you are not to use them," he spoke sternly.


    "But what will I do without you?" her words were enough to dissipate his scowl and melt his heart.


    "Fool. If I die, you will follow me closely," he said still looking outside the window. Lifting his face up where he had been supporting with his hand, he met her confused eyes, "Let me fix it," with that he pulled her close and kissed her on her lips.


    Unbuttoning the top of her cored dress, his fangs came out and he didn''t wait but bite into her neck. Not prepared Vivian flinched in his arms, her eyes closing to feel his mouth on her neck where his fangs had pierced into her tender skin. Unlike before he didn''t suck her blood, but her body started to feel warm before he retracted back his fangs. Giving it a few licks to close the two small puncture he pulled back to look at the design that hade to form around her neck.


    Leonard being the possessive man he was, there were a few things he wouldn''t hold back in showing off that Vivian was his wife and mate for life.


    Vivian blinked at him a couple of times, surprise clear on her face to ask, "Soulbond?"


    "You are mine and I am yours in every form, we don''t have to live apart from each other in worry," he said cing his hand on the side of her cheek. Leaning forward he kissed her forehead. Vivian who had read and heard about soul bond looked at him in awe before her hands flung around his neck to hug him.


    Soul bonds were precious and not every or anyone could leave it on a person. It was a symbol that showed how they would part from the world together, one following after another. It was one of the practices of the pureblooded world when they found the ''one'' to spend and share their life with.


    "Nothing to worry at all now," she heard him murmur in his warm embrace.


    Things had fallen well for them. It made her wonder, how things would have been if she had still been a pureblooded vampire living in Valeria...

 Chapter 195 - It Could Have Been...perfect World? - Part 2

    In Valeria, in the town of Merida, the girl?stared into her reflection, her red eyes looking back into her which was as red as the blood she had drunk for her breakfast. Her longshes fluttered as she turned her head left and right to make sure she had applied the right amount of powder which she had bought not in the Isle valley but a local vige with her mother.


    Taking the little box thatid on the surface of the dressing table, she turned the little top to look at the red gel that was in it. Using her pinky finger, she rubbed it on the gel and then to swipe it across her lips.


    "Vivian! Are you ready yet?" she could hear her mother call for her outside the room, "What is she doing?" her door flew open and in came Mrs. Harlow, her hair which was cut short to her shoulder was tied up fancily, her dress sweeping across the clean floor toe to stand behind her daughter, "Was that what you bought this week?" her mother eyed her and the box she held in her hand.


    Her mother had opposed in buying something so ridiculous which wasn''t from Isle town or one of the expensive stores where the pureblooded family often shopped. Vivian being the carefree girl had asked to stop the carriage and get the little box from what she had overheard from one of the women speaking to another during thest soiree.


    "What do you think, mother?" Vivian asked, her eyes full of light and her skin glowing with the results out of happiness.


    "Hmph! It is okay. But don''t go buying cheap things again, you never know what humans use to make them," her mother harrumphed, "We''ll be in the carriage, hurry before you dy us from the venue. I heard Mrs Bruxely sent out invitations to all the pureblooded families across the fournds. Do you know what it means?" her mother asked while walking up to the mirror and pulling the skin near her eyes. Vivian didn''t have to answer it as she already knew or was rather used to having her mother go on and on about it, "It means my daughter will have suitors lined up!" her mother was excited about it.


    She was used to it. Both her mother''s excitement as well as the suitors who often came to visit her and whom she met. It wasn''t that she didn''t sail in the boat of her mother''s excitement but she was hoping to fall in love with a man and then marry the person. The Harlow''s weren''t of high-status pureblooded vampires but were at the lower level when considered in terms of only the pureblooded vampires.


    Her mother hoped to send her off to the highest pureblooded family which would not only benefit her daughter but also the Harlow family in name and status.


    "They are always lined up," muttered Vivian under her breath to have her mother narrow down her eyes at her with a displeased look.


    "You are of age now, Vivian. You can''t keep thinking like a silly child of where the knight wille to sweep your feet off the ground. They happen only in ys and books. Don''t forget that papa and mama are depending on you," she felt her shoulder being patted. Her mother looking at the time eximed, "Oh, we are already runningte! Hurry child. Quick, I shall be out."


    "Yes, mother," Vivian replied seeing her mother whirl out of her room.?Puffing her cheek, she looked at the girl who was staring back through the mirror.


    Once the Harlow''s reached the Bruxely''s mansion which stood tall and wide, she saw some of the guests who had just arrived like them, "See, we aren''tte. You fret for no reason, mother," her brother Gregorie said pulling up his cors which felt tight around his neck, "And is it necessary to drag me along? I understand about Vivi but I still have my years toe," his words were loud enough to be heard by the other men and women around them making Mrs Harlow send out a quiet re at him.


    "Behave, Gregorie," she then gave out a smile for the guests who smiled back at them, "And don''t stick so close to your sister. She needs to have some time with the men," Vivian could only roll her eyes internally as her mother gave both her and her brother a look.


    The siblings were tight knitted who shared every little thing with each other. Every time Vivian didn''t know how to handle a man''s attention on her or if she felt to be too overbearing, Gregorie would usuallye and whisk her out of the situation which often made their mother angry.


    Vivian was a beautiful vampiress but apart from being a pureblooded vampire, she had the look of a human who looked pure and sweet, unlike another vampiress who were prude, therefore making it hard for the men to resist her presence.


    "Why haven''t you tied your hair? Look at that all over the ce now," her motherined when the wind blew for Vivian''s blonde hair to hinder her face. She gave her mother a smile like a child to say,


    "I was going to tie them but you said to hurry up," she gave a little pout while her mother looked frustrated.


    Before her mother could say anything more carriage''s arrived and they were already inside the mansion making the woman keep quiet.?The mansion was wide and it''s ceilings tall where they passed through the dome-like structure above them to show the amount of space that it held just at the passage entrance. Two servants stood to help the guests with their coats. Her father and brother fell behind and though Vivian wanted to wait for her brother to catch up so that her mother wouldn''t send her to the first eligible man, her mother caught hold of her arm and dragged her to the other side of the wall.


    "Mama!" she eximed at the pressure on her hands, "What are you doing like a thief?" she asked jokingly before closing her mouth.


    "Look there," her mother tipped her chin to her right. Following her sight, she saw the curly ck-haired man who stood in the hallway with a small ss in his hand which was blood.


    "Who is he?"


    Her mother pulled her to have their back turned towards the guest, she whispered, "That''s Jerome Wells, one of the renowned architects who resides in Bonke. He is a vampire but he is very capable that this mansion is one of his very own creations," Vivian turned to look at the man who appeared to be a kind man, "Isn''t it wonderful?" she heard her mother asked as she stared at the man and then back at her mother, "Weren''t you the one who said you wanted a self-built man? There he is! Now don''t miss the opportunity and hang around your brother," her mother gave her a look and then went to gree another woman as they chattered their way walking through the corridors.


    Vivian gave her mother''s back a hard look and then to see that her brother had disappeared somewhere with her father. Sighing, she walked inside alone. The mansion sure was differentpared to the rest of the ones she had seen until now. Though her family hadn''t been invited to the highest of the high ss, she hade to see a fair share of how the elites of the pureblooded were.


    When she came to the end of the hallway, she turned around to see some of the guestsing inside, some speaking in the hallways while she stood alone. The ce where she stood now led to an open garden which was built around the mansion than having an outdoor garden. How interesting, thought Vivian o herself.


    "Aren''t you going to step outside for some air?"


    Her head snapped to look at the man who was responsible for building the way this mansion was designed.


    Vivian hadn''t expected him toe to talk to her.?Most of the pureblooded vampires or vampires in this case usually sought out for people of their kind or the people who were above them so that they could broaden theirwork and advance in their lifestyle. It was one of the reasons soirees like this took ce.


    How long had she been standing blocking the way that he had to call her to gain her attention? asked Vivian to herself, I can see another woman but he didn''t talk to her. She stared at him while the man who stood in front of her offered her a smile making her confused.


    "Apologies for my rudeness. I am-"


    "I know Jerome Wells," she blurted out his name and then looked at him embarrassed.


    Jerome chuckled, "I see that you know me. I don''t think we have met before," she shook her head not wanting to use a speech at the thought that she might blurt out something unnecessary, "That''s what I thought. May I know your name, mdy?" he asked in all politeness.


    "Vivian Harlow," she bowed her head and felt him pick her hand and kiss the back of her hand.


    "It''s a nice name," at hispliment she murmured thanks before an awkward silence fell between them.


    From the window where she could see, she caught sight of her mother who looked extremely pleased as their eyes met before she went on to continue talking with the other guests. To fill the awkward silence she asked him, "How did you travel here?"


    "I used the carriage. Do you live in Valeria?" he asked her and she nodded her head.


    "I have never travelled the other threends."


    Jerome looked taken aback by it, "Never? You must visit Wovile. It has some beautiful sights to see but I am not from Wovile. Ie from Bonke."


    "Is there no nice ce in Bonke?" she wondered why he didn''t praise thend he came from.


    "It rains day and night. For ady whoes from thend of sun, you might not like it," she could agree to that. Vivian liked the sun and the rain but too much rain would be depressing, she thought in her mind, "Would you like to grab a cup of tea outside?" he asked her.


    When Vivian stared at him, he smiled, "It isn''tpulsory."


    "Okay," <i>there was no harm in a cup of tea</i>, said Vivian, most of the men she had met had been nothing but pompous. Compared to them, Jerome appeared to be somewhat normal in her eyes. Stepping out of the mansion and into the garden like the ce which was spacious for all the guests to move around and upy, they went to the table where the teapots were ced.


    Jerome was the one to pick the teacup and give it to Vivian to hold. The kettle being close to her, she went to reach for it when a honey bee came in the way and out of fright, she moved her hand in the other direction which pushed the kettle forward that slid out of the table.


    Her eyes widened and she went to catch it before someone else caught it for her. With her body bent along with the person who had caught the kettle, she stared at the pair of dark eyes which stared back at her. She noticed the blonde hair that fell on the man''s forehead, his lips holding a tint of pink in them and his expressionx.


    "Pardon me," she bowed her head quickly. Before she could pull back, from the corner of her eyes she saw the honey beee straight at her due to which her head hit his chin making the man grimace at the sudden collision, "I am so sorry!" she apologized.

 Chapter 196 - It Could Have Been...perfect World? -Part 3

    It wasn''t just the man grimacing but Vivian too for such a simple scene to be caused by the bee.


    If her mother saw what happened, she was sure she would be scolded once she would get home, "Are you alright, Leonard?" asked a woman who hade along with the man who Vivian had just collided with. The man rubbed his chin and then narrowed his eyes at Vivian for causing trouble.


    Taking two steps back this time, Vivian bowed her head again for her sudden behaviour. The damn bee! scolded Vivian in her head. If she could she would roast all of the bees so that they wouldn''t attack her every time one came near her.


    "I apologize for..." <i>for hitting your head? no no that would sound bad</i>, thought Vivian in her head, "What just happened," she kept her voice low not wanting to attract any attention to her but the people around had already noticed and so did her family.


    Her younger brother, Gregorie covered hisugh with a cough and picked up the ss of water before the girl next to him who had been talking to him on his mother''s words would pick it for him.


    The man just gave her a nod and then turned to speak to the woman as the vampiress who was along with him red at her. The person whom she knocked head with had no problem so she didn''t know what was the vampiress'' problem. Not holding back she stared at the woman with a nk expression which she often used to annoy her mother. Knowing well, her expression got the reaction she had expected.


    "What are you staring at?" asked the vampiress, her re ring up even more and this time Vivian gave her a confused look.


    "What?"


    "What are you staring at for after knocking his head," the woman moved from standing in front of the man so that she could face Vivian. Strangely this woman was a few inches taller than her.


    "Eleanor," the man whom the vampiress had called Leonard warned her to not start a ruckus.


    The bee had got her into trouble and what happened between her and the man was a simple knock of heads. It was as if she had stolen the man from her, was that what it was? she looked at the woman and then the man who now stared at her like the rest.


    Not holding back, Vivian asked, "And what were you doing?"


    "What was I doing?" the woman raised one of her eyebrows.


    "You were looking at me," dered Vivian for the woman to huff.


    The other vampiress sized her up and down wondering who had the audacity to backtalk to her the way this little vampiress was doing, "I wasn''t."


    "Then how can you tell that I was staring, hmm?" Vivian held back the grin that was threatening on her lips, not knowing how long she would be able to at the amount of annoyance the woman was holding out for her.


    "This little-"


    "Ladiesdies!" Jerome who had been standing a little behind Vivian stepped forward in the intention to diffuse the tension but instead it only fueled the other woman named Eleanor.


    "Even the lowly vampire has the nerve to stop. What family do you belong to?" Eleanor asked haughtily.


    Vivian wasn''t happy with the way the vampiress belittled Jerome or her. She disliked the men and women who often picked on others status to only look down at them. Her parents were the same but she had turned out to be the odd one and would usually scold her younger brother if she saw him walking on their parent''s footsteps.


    "Why?" asked Vivian keeping the teacup on the table so that she wouldn''t put it down, "Are you nning to be a maid there?" this brought in the anger out of Eleanor, making her step forward.


    "How dare you speak to me in such tone," red the woman


    "Oh, I will dare you," Vivian knew that she was going to be more than scolded once she reached back home. Forget reaching home, she would get more than an earful once she would sit in the carriage with her parent or worse she would be disowned for behaving udylike. But then, thought Vivian to herself, it wasn''t just her was being udylike there was one right in front of her.


    "You not only hit a gentleman''s head but also try to insult me," Eleanor gritted her teeth, her eyes ring up as she spoke and if looks could kill Vivian would have been set on fire but this woman was no witch. Maybe she was, Vivian continued to talk in her mind, <i>worse than a witch hmm</i>.


    "Excuse me, but I have already apologized and he doesn''t seem to have a problem with it," the man stared at the girl who was speaking so directly with his second cousin. As beautiful as his cousin, Eleanor was with a sweet smile when her mood turned sour she intimidated woman around her but this young vampiress seemed to have no trouble holding her ground as she spoke her mind.


    She had a dainty looking face, her skin pale and smooth like a porcin doll with her blonde hair that was left open which looked unkempt making her resemble like a bird with its feathers sticking around its face. With the way she was dressed, it didn''t seem like she was from a low family but one who came from a decent family. Her eyes though red looked alive as she questioned his second cousin for remarking and getting upset when Eleanor who had left ament about his low status.


    Her lips looked supple and pink, a thought crossing his mind on if it was as soft as it appeared to be making him want to run his tongue or better his own lips on them. Leonard shook his head to rid of his thoughts. The girl was a stranger, a woman he didn''t know of and he wasn''t the kind of man who slept with a woman casually.


    Unlike many other vampiress this one seemed a tad different, maybe a little wild than the rest. Her response to Eleanor in a lighter situation where he wasn''t involved could have been hrious but he being part of it, "That''s enough, Eleanor. Thedy has apologized. No need to create a scene," his curt words made his second cousin unhappy. Not looking at Eleanor, he looked at thedy whom he had no name of, "Please be careful with what you hold and knock mdy," he bowed to receive a quick bow from her as well.


    Vivian saw the man and the woman walk across thewn to hear Jerome speak, "You speak very well, Lady Vivian. Here I thought you are a quiet person," listening to this Vivian blushed, where her cheeks had turned red before his words.


    "Haha..." sheughed while scolding herself, the bee and the woman with the handsome man, "Let''s have that tea," she said to take the kettle which the man had ced on the table. Leonard was it, thought Vivian to herself. She turned over her shoulder after she was done with the tea to look at the man who was now talking to the man who owned this mansion.


    She sipped her tea, nodding her head to what Mr Wells had to say before her eyes went to search the man again in the crowd. He had looked like any other handsome man in the room and Vivian had met plenty of them as her mother loved to have the men lined up, somewhere she met in soiree while some who came to their house to take her out. It was easy to avoid men in soiree but the tough ones were the one who stuck along with her for almost a whole day.


    "Mr. Wells," she asked him who stood with her under the apple orchard, "Are you a poor man?" her directness made him cough. Lowering the teacup he was having tea from he first stared at her and then said,


    "Why the question? Do you think I am a poor man?" he asked her and the continued to speak, "Though I don''t think you care much for it," he smiled down at her, "Is this about what thedy said? You shouldn''t worry about it."


    "But you aren''t poor," a frown settled on her face.


    "I am not?" he tilted his head.


    "Hmm, you built this beautiful mansion. You must be earning more than what father earns," the man burst out tough loudly while covering it with the back of his hand and Vivian gave him a confused look as to what was funny. Did she say something wrong?


    "Mdy, have you been told that your speech is <i>unique</i>," Mr. Wells asked her.


    Vivian gave out a wide smile, she nodded, "Many times. How do you know? We haven''t met before," she questioned him.


    "You are a lovely woman, Lady Vivian," heplimented her. The unexpectedpliment made her look away from him and she turned bashful, "And I am yet to receive my payment for his mansion which I will be getting after this soiree. Maybe then I will less poor."


    "I see. It is a beautiful mansion you built," sheplimented back at him.


    He bowed at her, "It is good to hear that you liked it."


    "You said you live in Bonke, how long are you here then?" a small sh came to pass in front of her eyes as if she had already asked this question to him but this was her first time meeting Mr. Wells.


    "Yes, that''s right but I have my brother here. Younger brother Elliot Wells who works for the Lord of Valeria, I will be staying here for a month before I returned back home. I wanted to go see some tourists locations before I go back, would you like to apany me as going alone might be lonely,"?Vivian didn''t know why she felt it be so familiar. As if this scene where they stood and were speaking, the way she held her cup close and the look in Mr. Wells eyes which held a faint amount of hope in them, it made her question if this had urred in one of many dreams.


    Finding her a little out as she was staring at the tree, Mr. Wells called her name, "Lady Vivian?"


    "Yes. Pardon me," she apologized, "I feel a little unwell. Do you mind if I go inside and rest?" she asked him feeling it would be rude to leave him upright.


    "Would you want me to help you walk inside?" he asked her politely.


    She shook her head immediately, "Ah, no. I will be fine," giving him a small smile she bowed her head and left his side to get back inside the mansion while not making eye contact with her mother right now. The temperature inside the mansion was cooler and she looked around before going up the stairs. Staying down where there was a possibility of running over the men she had already met and the promiscuous people of the society she didn''t want to meet. Running a little on the stairs, she walked when she reached the end of the stairs.


    When she looked at the floor, her eyes took in the expansive painting which was hung on the wall. They were strange pantings. One that looked like a woman peeking out of the window in a lonely dark mansion. Another one was of a church and a carriage that stood next to it on a rainy day. Getting a step closer she found two little figures in the painting who were hugging each other?


    "How interesting," she murmured observing each and every painting. The one good thing about soirees was that she was allowed to explore the houses and mansion when everyone were upied with their mindless chatter. All the houses were beautiful one after another, that she couldn''t help herself but allow to explore the space.


    She walked further in, the noise of the crowd diminishing it as she left it behind not knowing what waited for her on the other side of the hallway. A smile came to form on her lips when she three full racks of book. Happily walking towards the bookshelves she went to read one title after another. Finding a book which was put the other way round she went to pull it out from the rest when someone else pulled the book on the other side for her to see Leonard.


    Both of them, caught in each other gazed stared at one another. He was a good looking man but there was this air of aloofness around him which set him apart from the rest. His features serene like a prince one would read about in storybooks. Vivan felt her heart skip a beat when she saw a faint smile on his lips and she quickly cleared her throat and stepped aside so that she could hide behind all the books from him.


    cing her hand on her chest she wondered why he smiled at her. Wasn''t it a few moments ago he had stared at hard?

 Chapter 197 - It Could Have Been...perfect World? -Part 4

    After hiding away from Leonard, Vivian suddenly asked herself why she was hiding from him? She had done nothing wrong and therefore she turned back again to look at the space which the empty book had created to find him not standing there anymore.?Did he leave? she wondered, standing on her tiptoes topensate with her height as she looked through space. For some odd reason, her heart sank down to see him gone.


    "Whom are you looking for?"


    The sudden voice startled her to no end and her feet where she had been standing on her tiptoes missed the bnce and she ced her hand on the rack for it to sway back. Her eyes went as wide as one could to see it move, her heart slipping out if her ribcage for what was toe which was for the rack to knock the other two shelves behind it.


    The man suddenly moved to hold the shelf from following. Some loose books moved from its position but Leonard had stopped them from falling and causing a bigger mess which would cost the staff or the owner an entire day of work.


    "So troublesome. Do you often go knocking out random things on your way?" she heard him ask her.


    "I was surprised," she confessed to see him give her a nod as if he believed what she said. He positioned back the rack the way it was.


    "Sorry for startling you," he apologized, his voice firm and holding a little depth in it, "Are you going to read this?" he waved the book he had previously pulled out.


    "No," she answered, her eyes taking in his appearance and then turning to look at the books. She didn''t understand why she was feeling shy in front of him. Was it because she had knocked his chin down in the garden, "I am sorry for what happened earlier," she said lifting her hand and pointing behind her.


    "Don''t bother," feeling the need to exin, she then said,


    "If it wasn''t for the bee nothing would have happened," this caught his attention and he turned to face her, "You see I don''t like bees. They might be tiny and look harmless but their stong hurts even for a vampiress like myself."


    "They must find you very sweet," with the way Leonard said it in a straight face, Vivian didn''t understand the underlying meaning.


    Walking a little closer to him while also keep a good distance as they were strangers, she replied, "I am not. It is just that most of the time I spend in the garden plucking out flowers."


    "The flowers are the bees food. How rude," he gave her a slight nce as he sat at the edge of the window where one could sitfortably, "Did you know if it weren''t for the bees, there would be no life on thesends," she nodded her head.


    "I have heard," she grinned, eyeing the book which he held which wasn''t clear enough from where she stood.


    Leonard ced the book aside, "What do you pluck the flowers for?" he asked her curious while expecting for some silly response but when she answered he rather seemed quite surprised.


    "I use them to create medicines that can be consumed by humans. I have learned some of the basic techniques and am still learning," she smiled feeling pleased by his reaction.


    "And how effective are these medicines that you create?"


    "They are okay. One of the recent ones helped in a person''s stomach ache."


    "That''s good to hear. Where is your store? I would like to take a look at it," now that he mentioned Vivian gave him a queasy look, "You don''t have one?"


    "I am not allowed to have one. You see the medicines are not tested out and then sold in bulk. I need to test trial it on the vigers on their consent if it will help them," she exined to him, "My parents don''t approve of it."


    "I don''t think anyone would approve of it at the fear of having you kill someone," not knowing what to say about it she stood there idle and then went to sit next to him, "Where''s yourpanion?" she heard him ask when she was reading the cover of the book ''Master of the thrones''.


    "Hmm? Oh, no! He isn''t mypanion. Just someone I met," she cleared the information he had understood earlier, "Where is yourdy?"


    "She is my second cousin. She went to speak to the Mrs of the house," he stated before silence went to fall on them again.


    They were strangers yet they were sharing a window at a ce they or she wasn''t familiar with. How strange, thought Vivian to herself. She tapped her feet on the ground for some time. She had sat down to talk but now there was nothing to talk about. Neither did he nor did she talk which prolonged the silence further.


    Hearing a bird sing next to the open window, Vivian''s head snapped to look at the little nest. Leonard who was sitting beside her saw her eagerly looking at the birds chirping and fluttering on the branches of the tree cheerfully.


    She looked like a child now, a soft smile on her lips and her hair blowing behind her face.


    "You must have been in quite a hurry today while leaving home," hemented looking at hershes flicker up and down when she blinked. In his eyes, she was quite an odd piece who didn''t fit into this society. Like a butterfly, there were wings of words which she spoke that needed to fly freely.


    "Yes. How do you know?" she asked as she continued to look at the birds. A piece of her hair kept moving in front of her eyes which hindered her sight but she made no move to push it away from her sight.


    "Just a wild guess," he murmured under his breath. They were just little birds so he didn''t know what was interesting about it that she didn''t turn to see him and reply, "By the way, I am Leonard Carmichael," he introduced himself. Realizing she had directlye and sat next to him she turned around.


    "Vivian Harlow. It is nice to ma-" her open hair right in front of her face and before she could lift her hand, the man moved her hair out of her face, "Nice to make your acquaintance..." his touch burned her skin as if her skin had only alive from his touch, she moved back with her eyes cast down. She had been wooed and taken out by many men, but no one had ever touched her.


    Her breath hitched in her throat. She quickly stood up. Tucking both sides of her ear behind her, "It was lovely meeting you. I think I should go now," she said. She hadn''t even turnedpletely when she heard him speak,


    "Running away," her eyes met him which stared right into her soul as if he could see and feel every part of her that scared her.


    "What?" Leonard stood up, leaving the book at the window to walk towards her.


    "Did I scare you, Lady Vivian?" he spoke to her, keeping her in ce and letting her out of his sight.?With the way her heart kept flipping and thudding in her chest, Vivian could tell that he could hear the sound of her heart too, "Off you are running like a rabbit."


    "I wandered away for more time than necessary,"


    "And where did you wander?" he asked as if to tease her. She gulped at his question and his eyes didn''t fail to notice that little movement of hers.


    "Here of course. Oh! I think my mother is called me," her voice came out louder than she expected, turning away quickly she went to leave to have her arm being caught in his hand. Her body came close to crash against him with his handheld tightly around her. His hand loosened but the grip stayed the same.


    Vivian could feel the man''s minty breath which was cool as she peered up at his eyes. He really did have dark eyes, darker than the others she had seen. It was told that darker the red, that much superior they were when it came to the pureblooded vampires.


    He might have been handsome and higher in statuspared to her in the society but that didn''t mean his sudden actions didn''t worry her. Why sane man held a woman''s hand at the first meet? How shameful! Thought Vivian in her mind not knowing that Leonard was a straightforward man.


    Strangely the girl had caught his eye and had intrigued him in her cute manner that he couldn''t help but want to keep her longer than have her run away like the rabbit she was.


    "Mr Carmichael?" she called to his attention to have him hover above her. Now that they were this close and alone did she notice how tall he was. She had to crane her neck to look up at him with her back bent to look at him.


    "What are you doing this weekend on Sunday?" he asked her out of the blue.


    "I will have to check my calendar and for that, you will have to let go of my hand-"


    "Free it," his words left no room for argument.


    "I might even be dying by then to see something far."


    Her retort made him stare at her, tilting his head, he said, "It is three days away. I heard there''s a church which was demolished years ago to have nothing but ruins left there now."


    "You want me to take you there?"


    "Yes."


    "Okay," her quick answer pleased him. Leonard was an only son and he had the habit of having everything brought right in front of him to choose. Vivian being the rare animal who was passing by, the lion couldn''t stop but hunt it.


    Leonard finally let go of her hand making sure she wasn''t agreeing for the sake of his question right now, "Do you know the tower bell thates in the next vige? The one that is painted ck," he asked her, "I will be waiting for you down there at the hour of four."


    "Four in the morning?" her eyes widened in question.


    "I didn''t know you wake up that early."


    Ah, he meant four in the evening but then how long would they be out? "I am not sure if I will be able toe at that time."


    "Try for me," he said in such serious tone that she couldn''t refuse but agree for the time being.


    Vivian hurried from there, feeling his footsteps not too far behind from her. Holding the front of her dress so that she wouldn''t go tumbling down the stairs. Reaching thest step of the stairs, Vivian turned to look behind and then up to see him standing there and watching her with his hands rested on the grill.


    Tucking back her hair behind her ear as her heart skipped a beat with his smile, she bowed her head politely and then went out of the garden again. The days passed and Vivian couldn''t stop the thoughts that were upied by the man she had met in the soiree. So much that she had also dreamt of him but not remembering what he was doing there.


    But by the time Sunday arrived, the word she had given to him had fled right out of her mind.


    She had been busy working and helping her mother and as after a very long time, there was rain in Valeria she had stayed inside the house than go to the vige to see if someone would benefit with the medicine she made. She stared at the rain outside with her reflection reflecting back from the windowpane when she noticed the clock that cuckooed behind her.


    Why did it feel like she had forgotten something?


    She tried remembering what it could be but found it hard to remember before sighing. Maybe it was nothing important if she wasn''t able to remember. She could recollect every other detail but there were just some things that flew right out of her mind until she spent an entire day wondering what it was.


    Minutes passed by until the hour hand was getting closer to five. Biting her inner cheek, she was humming a song when her brother Gregorie came to knock on her door.


    "Sister Vivian, did you see my pocket watch?" he asked her.


    "I don''t think so. Where did youst see it?"


    Her brother scratched the back of his neck, "I frankly don''t remember. I must have misced it as usual."


    "Watch!" Vivian stood up from her bed, "The tower bell next to the clock," she started worrying and grabbed the first overcoat that reached her hand. She then took her spare boots which she often used when she had to step out of the house without her parent''s knowledge.


    "Where are you going?!" asked Gregorie seeing his sister pull up the window of her room.


    Vivian tied her coat and then turned to look at him with one foot on the window sill, "Cover-up for me while I am gone. I will be home quick."


    "Sister wait!-" but Vivian had already jumped out of the window.

 Chapter 198 - Case Files- Part 1

    Making sure no one saw her, she ran out of the house and into the vige with her boots touching the wet ground with the water which had seeped into the soil.


    How could she have forgotten about it! She had remembered it until morning and now she waste. She wondered if the man was still there waiting for her. It was raining and the water droplets came to settle on her face as she continued to run as she had never before. Reaching the tower bell took her almost fifteen minutes.


    She looked at the tower bell and under which she found no one there. She didn''t know if she had to be relieved or feel sad that she had missed the man. Of course, he wouldn''t have waited for her in the rain. She couldn''t believe she had missed him but did he evene? It was raining and surely he must have already thought that she wouldn''t turn up in this weather.


    The raindrops continued to drench her in the rain, water sliding down her face.


    She sighed.


    Somewhere deep down in her heart she wanted to see him. Meet the man again. Her legs feeling tired with running from her home to the tower bell, she walked towards the tower wall. cing her hand and searching for him in the slightest of the slight hope that he would still show up.


    Going to sit on the bench which was attached to the wall, she let her legs rest there for a while as the rain continued to pour down.


    Closing her eyes, she consumed the sound of rain and the silence that it brought along with it. Suddenly the water droplets stopped falling on her as if the rain had stopped. Opening her eyes, she saw a pair of shoes which were covered in dirt at the top of it. Following the shoe up to see who it was she saw it was Mr Carmichael who held an umbre with him.


    While she waspletely drenched in the rain he was still fresh and dry except for the quarter part of his legs from below.


    "You are here," she said as she looked up at him.


    "I never went away," though his words were serious with his aloof expression looking at her, there was some kind of warmth in them which was enough to warm her up in this chill rain that she had been drenched in, "What were you going to do if I didn''te? nning to spend the night out here?" he asked her as he held the umbre for both of them but more on her side.


    "I forgot and when I realized I came here immediately. I thought I missed you," that wasn''t what it meant but it came out differently as she said that.


    "Did you?" it was a simple question of yes or no but she took seconds to reply to it.


    "Yes."


    "Good," he seemed satisfied with her response, "I will forgive you with that. Come let''s get you warm before you catch a cold," he offered his hand for her to take and she ced her cold ones to feel the same coldness on his which spoke the truth of how long he had stood here waiting for her.


    Stepping under the umbre but not too close to him at the thought of getting him drenched, she stood a few inches away. Out of nowhere, her nose tingled and she sneezed. He took out the coat he wore and put it around her, "Better..."


    "Vivi? Vivi?" she heard someone call for her when Vivian woke up from her sleep, "We are back home," said Leonard reaching shaking her shoulder as she had fallen asleep on her way back from the council.?It took Vivian sometime to realize that she had slept long and her dream had been so deep that she felt it be vivid.


    Getting back inside the mansion, Vivian changed her clothes in front of the mirror. Pushing her dress to the corner with her feet. She walked closer to the mirror and leaned forward to look at herself. It felt as if she was still sleepy and was taking time toe out of her dream. Gazing at her own eyes which were ck in colour she blinked to see if it changed colour but it remained the same.


    She then noticed something on her neck. The dream had upied most of her mind that she had forgotten about the soulbond making her heart flip in her chest. The mark wasn''t just a bite though. It had an intrinsic design like roots that moved upwards her neck.


    Now both she and him were bound to each for life. There was no turning back. If she died soon her would follow and if he died she would no matter them belonging to two different kinds such was the link of the soul bond.


    When they were getting into bed. Vivian settled in first and soon Leonard followed as he got inside the nket. Pulling her close, he couldn''t resist himself from kissing his wife, "You have been in a daze since you woke up. What''s running in that mind of yours?" he asked her, running his hand on her back.


    "Is there a tower in the Valerian Empire?" asked Vivian.


    "There is, why do you ask?" he asked her.


    "I had a very strange dream," he nodded for her to continue, "Have you ever thought of how life would be if I never came to turn to be a human? If I was still a pureblooded vampire living in thend of Valeria."


    Leonard didn''t look at her but sorted her baby hair that was on the line of her head, "Many times than I can count."


    "What did you think about it? If we ever met how it would be," she asked him interested to know what he thought.


    "Hmm, actually I have dreamt about it too," his eyes moved from her forehead to her eyes that was waiting for him to tell eagerly, "In an alternate universe, you and I meet at a Soiree."


    "Really?" she asked him, in her dream they had met at a soiree too.


    "You didn''t like the bees I believe," he said as if trying to remember like a distant memory, "Yes, bees because you knock the kettle right down. Even my subconscious knows how good you are in dropping and breaking things," he smiled.


    Vivian was in awe that her dream was simr to what he had dreamt, Curious she asked him, "Did I drop it?" he hummed for an answer.


    "My clumsy wife," he said it with a lot of love, "You were very adorable just like you are now. Endearing and adorable. How about your dream?" he questioned her.


    "Would you believe if I said I had a simr dream like yours?" he raised his brow.


    "Is that so?" she nodded her head.


    "I forgot that you asked me to meet you at the tower bell. So strange," she murmured in the end. Leonard didn''tment on it but pondered over it for a while. Looking at the small smile that had made up to her lips as she ying with the button of his shirt.


    "How mean of you to make me wait in the rain," he tutted while smiling down at her. It was a dream she couldn''t help what happened in there. But how strange for them to have exactly the same dreams which were dreamt in a different time.


    The dream made her wonder if life would have been good like that where she was still a pureblooded vampire who had a carefree life with a family. Family, thinking about it she tried to recollect her families face but now that time had passed by, she couldn''t remember how her mother or father looked like. In her dream, she had a brother. What was his name again? Something that started with the alphabet V, no no it was G. Greg something.


    Greg Harlow, was it? Maybe, she said to herself.


    And it being a dream, Leonard had missed the details which included her possiblest name while Vivian had the dream fresh in her mind with some names she had picked.?It took Vivian sometime before she came to fall asleep in Leonard''s arms in peace with the snow beginning to fall from the sky.


    The next day, thend of Bonke had a lightyer of snow-covered on its ground. Vivian stepped who had been reading files for two weeks was finally allowed to join the others to survey the sight of the crime which made her excited. Finally, she would be doing something other than reading the already solved cases.


    Walking to the vige where they had been called by the vige''s magistrate, the four of them- Leonard, Vivian, Hueren and Dutan made their way, leaving footprints behind them. A murder had taken ce in one of the houses and this didn''t involve the vampires but just the humans. The magistrate unable to solve what had happened had approached the council to help the vige.


    The people of the vige looked scared for some odd reason as they peeked from the windows or from the corners to see the four people walk through the narrow alley.


    "Is it me or is it just quieter than the norm," asked Heuren as they walk down the little passage.


    "It is quiet," agreed Leonard, his eyes moving to pick the way some of the vige folks peeked out, "It is why we are here. Have there been any recent attacks in here, Heuren?" he asked his fellow councilman.


    Heuren, looked down at his little notes which he carried along with him on what background check he had made after collecting the necessary information, "The vige hasn''t experienced any recent witch attacks. Not in thest two months at least. I heard that most of them never evene out of the house and stay in," he exined, "It is strange."


    Passing by the window, Vivian saw a head peep out from the curtain, it was a woman who stared at her. There was something very peculiar the way the woman looked at her which made her feel as if she had stepped into a vige which didn''t want them here.


    Keeping her voice quiet, she asked, "Is someone threatening to keep them from speaking?" some faces that stared at them stood at their door without stepping forward.


    Before Vivian''s question could be answered, the magistrate came to greet them, "Duke Leonard! It is good to have you here, finally," it appeared that out of the whole vige the magistrate who was a scrawny looking man with a mustache on his face, it looked like he was the only one with life in this vige.


    "Your vige looks dead, Mr. Fleek," said Leonard directly without holding back what he had to say. Vivian stared at Leonard from behind wondering how others worked with him. A little out of tact without sugar-coating things, his words were often blunt when spoken.


    "It has been like this for some time now. Come this way please," the man guided them around the deserted town, "There has been an increase in death since a past few weeks."


    "Did you report it to the council?" asked Lenoard walking next to Mr. Fleek.


    Mr. Fleek nodded his head, his hands holding each other close to him as he showed his hand towards the house in front of them, "I did, but we got the report canceled," after entering the council and studying a few more things in there, she found out that a report could be rejected if it didn''t hold any value to it.


    "Duke Leonard," interrupted Heuren who stood behind them, "The death has been caused due to the unknown anomaly. Some of the doctors came here to check but were sent away, while the ones who visited came after the death."


    When Leonard gave the magistrate a look, the man quickly went to reply back, "There was a gue sire. An infection that broke down and infected some of the men and their families but it went away within two weeks, therefore, the council rejected it from being passed to the higher council."


    Vivian''s gaze moved from the house to the ones around it as she looked upon the onlookers who were staring at them. She felt a tinge of ufortableness as their eyes fell on her back. Thankfully they stepped inside the house that stopped their sight from moving anywhere more on them.


    The house was a shabby looking one but it was neat with minimal necessities being given to it.


    "Where is the body?"


    "It is behind," the magistrate answered.


    Vivian followed the rest of the party to the back of the house. It reminded her of the time when she had stepped on to the dead man''snd. They came upon the body which looked like nothing she had seen before.?In a span of one year, Vivian had seen many dead bodies so many that she could begin to exin the different types in how they could be found.


    The body sat upright with its eyes open along with its mouth wide open. The oddest of the odd thing was that the body looked as if it had been sucked dry out of the air and water. If one would go close to touch it, she could bet that it would break like a twig and dust down to crumble. No wonder the body didn''t smell but what turned the body like this? The wasn''t a normal death but something had caused for the body to have such a reaction.


    "He looks toasted in this cold weather," Dutanmented looking at the body.


    Leonard stepped forward were a good amount of the snowkes hade to settle on the dead body. He sat down, crouching his body to stare the dead man in front of him. Observing the eyes which were ck in color. His tongue seemed to be intact in his mouth. Though the body looked delicate which would blow away in a strong gusty wind, Leo picked its hand thatid on one side of the body to check the nails that had turned ck.


    Dropping the hand, Leo spoke, "Mr. Fleek, it looks like you have a ck witch living in this vige of yours."

 Chapter 199 - Case Files- Part 2

    "ck witch?"


    Mr. Fleek gave the Duke a confused look, "We don''t have any ck witches here. This vige has been clean out of it as if we hang the mistletoe leaves in the four directions," the man exined seeing the Duke stand up who seemed hardly interested in what he was telling.


    "Dutan. Heuren," Leonard called two of his men who came to attention at their name, "Go check everyone who resides in this vige for a ck witch''s presence," he ordered them. Both the men quickly moved out already on their given task. He then called her, "Vivian, go check the house," his words held the same velocity as it had done with his other two fellow councilmen.


    Leaving the dried dead body behind with Leo and the magistrate, Vivian stepped back inside the house. Looking through the items and things to see that they hadn''t been deranged and rather they looked neat. Too neat. Removing her ck gloves, she wondered where to ce her hand on. She started with the walls, gliding it across the uneven surface while concentrating on her mind to see if there could be any flicker.


    During her spare time, she hade to use it to test and learn a random object''s depth which wasn''t always sessful. Like how sister Isabelle had said, she would need to concentrate and work on her abilities to be able to look into a person or an object by her mere touch.


    Female councilwoman weren''t often taken to the surveying sight of the crime scene as they weren''t as well versed in terms of agility and strengthpared to the councilmen. Even because not all the teams gave actual work to a woman. Lionel who supervised the team had seen Vivian during the time of the dead man''snd when she had gone to visit with Sullivan and maybe that was one of the reasons along with Leo being there that she was allowed to take part in the fieldwork.


    She traced her fingers over the objects, one after another in a slow-motion but wasn''t able to pick anything that was useful.


    By the time she had run her hands along the door, she saw Leonard walk back inside the house along with Mr. Fleek. When Leo nced at her, Vivian shook her head to tell she found nothing in here. The objects had no memory, not even one of them. Her brows furrowing together, she looked from the window to see the vige outside, a house opposite to it where she felt someone looking at them like the rest and as her gaze moved it fell on a man who stared at her without any expression. A woman came to his side and took him inside his house.


    "Mr. Fleek," addressed Vivian to the magistrate looked taken aback that a woman hade to apany the work which he wasn''t used to and was interrogating him, "Why are the vige folks scared?" scared wasn''t the right word, thought Vivian rather their expressions looked dead and their face paler than the normal people.


    Mr. Fleek who was unsure of whether the girl was capable of handling matters looked towards the Duke to hear him speak, "You can answer her questions, Mr. Fleek," Leonard didn''t turn to see the man''s reaction who looked apprehensive yet turned to answer Vivian''s question,


    "You see Ms..." the man trailed searching for her name.


    "Councilwoman Vivian," she filled his curiosity with nothing to give. When she told that, a sense of pride filled within her to think that she had earned the title by herself and thankful for Leonard not stepping in to help her apart from the studies she had to go through. Giving a quick look towards Leonard who had his back facing her she looked back at the man who started to speak,


    "Councilwoman Vivian. A few months ago, a woman and a man came in here in a carriage iming to be wanderers from thend of Mythweald. They spent days here. In the beginning, everything seemed fine and after their stay came to an end, they left but some of the men and women started to go missing as if they had cursed the vige with the gue itself," the man exined, his hands twisting around each other with a deep frown on his face, "But some men found them in a ditch."


    "The people who went missing?" she asked him.


    "No. The couple who hade into the vige, they were found dead but their body, I don''t know how to describe it-"


    "Slimy?" Leonard asked who had picked up a book that had been lying on the little table.


    "Yes! Yes! It looked like melted wax and for an instance when I was called I thought they were wax models because we have houses that manufacture wax and on requests, dolls are created," wax dolls? thought Vivian, it was the first time she hade to hear of it. But slimy bodies meant only one thing. The couple were switchers. She gave Leonard a silent look of adoration at how fast he had thought about it. Not only that but he had asked Dutan and Heuren to quickly look and inspect the vige folks to see if there was a ck witch hiding in this vige, "I reported it to the council at that time and they came to see it then."


    But that didn''t exin why the vigers were scared. As if feeling the girls eyes in the room, Mr. Fleek started to talk again, "Unfortunately, the council didn''t provide me with enough information. They even left the carriage behind with a body in it and might I say it was in a <i>really</i> bad condition. The council asked the body to be buried as leaving it out in the open would not be nice," he sighed loudly.


    Not finding the answer to her question, Vivian took another approach to ask him, "Is it often quiet here, Mr. Fleek. The vigers have been doing nothing but stare at us as if we might attack them."


    "There are scared, mdy," the man spoke in a low volume which made the house that much quieter which had been standing in silence, "When the men found the bodies it was just theirs but also the lost ones. Nobody believes anyone and they prefer to keep their work to themselves at the fear of what a stranger might bring along. We don''t entertain any guests here," she nodded her head.


    Currently, they were the intruders.


    Hearing some sort ofmotion that was heard outside, the three of them got out of the house to see what was causing it.


    "NO! My son! Give him back!" Vivian heard a woman''s voice.


    A middle-aged woman iled her hands as the two guards of the vige held her back while Dutan carried an unconscious man on his back.


    "What happened to him?" questioned Leonard. The man appeared to be convulsing like spasms. Walking closer he saw the man to have gone unconscious who was still convulsing.


    Dutan answered, "I found him at the back of one of the house, he was tied to the chair when I found him like this. Should I call in the doctor?" The question felt as if it were asked for formality as the crowd hade out to see what was going on.


    Leonard gave a look at the man and then said, "Take him to the council. It doesn''t look like he''s sick due to the gue. We will need to see him, Mr. Flee. Maybe we might get to know as to what is wrong with him," he informed the magistrate who had been staring at the man. Mr. Fleek gave him a doubtful nod, "Dutan and Heuren will stay here tonight to guard the vige and make sure nothing ill happens."


    "What about this man?" asked the magistrate.


    "I believe the gue you are speaking of hasn''t gone away and we will need to send him to the council doctors to see what is going on so that the gue can be prevented before it spreads to the other vigers. Once we get him better he will be sent back home," Leonard''s words were spoken sincerely.


    "And the one behind?" the man looked over his shoulder at the house they came out from.


    "Keep him there," this made everyone look at the Duke in unasked question.


    "T-there?"ughed the magistrate but receiving a nk expression from Leonard he shut his mouth. Clearing his throat the scrawny man then said a little worried, "Duke Leonard leaving the man like that might scare the others and they are already scared enough. Wouldn''t it be better"


    "That''s good. It would be better for everyone to stick to the houses until we solve what caused the man to be the way he is now," responded back Leonard, "Did you search for the witch?" he asked his fellow councilman who shook their head.


    "Found nothing," Dutan answered still carrying the man, taking his leave to walk to the carriage so that he could put the person in there.


    Leonard spoke to the magistrate who was a human, "Make sure no one goes near the body, Mr. Fleek and keeps it as it is. There are chances that if you touch it, the body might break and crumble into dust. Best is to leave it as it is as we do the other surveys on finding what caused his death. There are chances that the man here who Dutan took might have a simr result to what the man dead has gone through."


    "I understand," the magistrate answered, going to the vigers who had turned to form a crowd. He went to talk to them, warning them to stay inside their houses and not to go too far while also asking them to not go to that particr house where the bodyid dead.


    Vivian could see the confused and fearful look from some of the vigers while some had a very pale feature with no actual life in the way they looked at their vige magistrate. Seeing Dutan who had gone to put the body in the carriage, she asked Leonard, "Is it safe?"


    Thinking Vivian was speaking about the body, he gave her a nod, "The council doctors are specialized and we will need some help too. What is it?" he asked her when she shook her head.


    "Not that. For Dutan and Heuren to stay here when there''s a gue. It looks worse than a gue," she was worried for their lives as the night the councilman Oliver had stayed in the snow mansion to have a watch hadn''t gone well, she apprehended that they might receive the same ill fate which she didn''t want to.


    "The vige needs more than guards right now. Dutan and Hueren are excellent at their jobs, and I think Heuren has a pinch of good luck than the rest of us when ites to dodging death. They will be fine," he assured her before giving an overlook around the vige. They walked around to see if there was anything out of the norm and once they were done with it, they got back to wish the magistrate that they would be back tomorrow while leaving the two councilmen behind.


    Vivian and Leonard rode in the carriage along with the man who was unconscious sitting next to Leonard while Vivian sat in the opposite seat looking at him.


    "He looks sick," shemented staring at the man whose lips had turned dark in colour, his face pale enough to state the obviousment she had passed, "Why did you say there way a ck witch in there? They didn''t find anyone there," she was curious since he had stated it back in the vige, "And why did you tie his hands and legs?" she looked down at the ropes that were turned around the man''s hand.


    When they had left the vige, the man had only been sleeping unconscious with light convulsions of spasms taking ce. But after five minutes of the ride, Leonard had asked the coachman to stop and had taken the rope from the back of the carriage to tie his hands and legs tightly.


    Leonard who was looking at the man next to him spoke, "Look at his hands."


    Hands?


    Scooting closer to the man in the moving carriage while also maintaining a distance as he wobbled back and forth with the bumpy rode, she looked down at his hands searching for any wounds or cut marks but there was nothing there. She was going to ask him a question when her eye caught the man''s nails.


    There were dark and almost looked as if decayed.


    Looking up at, she asked, "Why are his nails decayed?" but as she asked, she answered her own question with, "Isn''t it always the ck witches nails that are decayed?"

 Chapter 200 - Case Files- Part 3

    Leonard smiled for her to be catching up quickly, "Do you think he''s the ck witch?" she asked him curiosity peeking to its height.


    "What do you think?" he questioned her question with his own.


    Vivian gave it some thought. It was obvious by looking at the man''s hand that they didn''t look human. They gave a look of rotten look and if a person was sick or had hurt his hands, nothing could make it look like the way it was looking now.


    But witches never got caught. No so easily and in an avable manner to the councilmen. Frankly, she didn''t know what to make of it as it seemed tricky.


    Leonard then spoke, "The dead man we found had simr nails. It is possible that something went down here. The gue which the magistrate was talking about."


    "But why would humans be affected to have their nails turn out simr to the witches?" she asked him. Leonard had tied an innocent man who had fallen sick but he wouldn''t treat a sick man like that.


    Not unless, she thought to herself before answering, "Are they turning to ck witches?" she asked surprise evident in her voice.


    "There have been spections of witches trying to turn the humans into one of them. Simr to how the vampires try to turn humans to half vampires," Leonard''s gaze retreated to fall on to Vivian, "It''s whispers of words that reach in the ck market. The man you met at the Isle Valley, Damien. He looks through the ck market to get delicate information. But then most of the witches experiments are failed one. They use humans as a test subject before doing their trial and error until it only concludes to a failure. Just like this one here," he jerked his head towards the man sitting next to him.


    "Does that mean they can''t return back to their actual form?" she felt bad for the man and his mother who had previously screamed to give her son back to her.


    "Transitions aren''t as easy as most of theme to show it. There is ny per cent of failure and ten per cent of the sess in it. And we don''t know how the witch who resides in there right now that is if she or he is still there has tried to convert them. While vampires make use of fangs, witches will probably use their potion-making skills and they are made of who knows what ingredients which are inhuman," she stared at the man, feeling sorry as she knew well as to what his future fate might turn out to be. There was only the tunnel of death to walk into. Leonard then continued, "His transition has already begun and it might take minutes or hours before he turns to aplete false?ck witch or dies to the failure simr to what you saw back there."


    "Can''t the doctors in the council help him?" Now that Vivian was on a case, she didn''t want the man to die without helping him. She could try using her ability but her husband would rage, thinking that in her mind she heard him reply,


    "That is why we are taking him. If the doctors can fix him. If not, he will die in a quick execution simr to how a ck witch would be killed," Vivian knew that. To kill a ck witch or a white witch, one had to draw their blood out and set them on fire until their bones turned to dust.


    Leonard nced at Vivian who now had turned her face to look outside the little window as trees passed them one after another haphazardly. He didn''t need to know what was going in that mind of hers.


    Knowing the loss of pain which they had both felt, he said, "I will put in an extra word to help him as much as the people can," her head turned and she smiled.


    "I know," she whispered, a small smileing up her lips.


    She knew from her heart that Leonard would put in his effort in helping the man out. With the way he spoke, there was a chance of the witch to not be there anymore with the thought of being caught but there was also a faint chance that the ck witch was still there.


    By the looks of the way the dead body had sat, it seemed as if he was tired before his life had left his body. The witch must have left the man out of his sight for the man toe out of his house. Leonard had not asked her to touch the body as it would be further inspected by another team in the evening before taking in the reports. Touching a body especially like that one that looked delicate, one had to make sure not to move to close as it looked as if one blow of strong breeze was enough to wither the body in the wind.


    Going back to see the tied man, she saw hisplexion to have changed from being pale to darken. Was he really transitioning to a ck witch? She had never seen a human transform into a half-vampire but to think that a ck witch was trying to create his or her own people she continued to look at him curiously.


    Reaching the council, the guards came to pick the body and take it to another building which wasn''t the main building but the one which held the cells where the prisoners were kept. Vivian wanting to see the man until his cell went along with Leonard trailing behind the guards and entering the cell building which wasn''t as well maintained as the main one. It could be considered that it was actually maintained worse as it didn''t matter how and where the prisoners were kept locked up.


    Walking through the carved big stones, Vivian came to see some of the men and two-three woman who had been locked up here. Some stood too close to the bar while some sat in the corner. She was already here once and knowing the feeling reminded her of Paul when she hade to visit him and his family.


    Leonard turned over his shoulder to see if she was doing alright and then turned front as they approached an empty room which was again another open grilled cell room. There was a table like a tform which had straps at the sides of it. There were some tools next to it, tools that didn''t look decent making one wary as it contained a saw, hammer, and objects as such.


    A man stood in the room, a headband around his forehead which had a metal and a round ss fixed at the side. His eye were red, fangs that protruded out of his mouth as he stood there waiting for them with a fixed smile.


    "Duke Leonard, what have you bought me?" the man asked eagerness coating every word of his as he eyed the man who was put on the table. He looked like a doctor. The councilman doctor looked at Vivian, his head cocking to the side with a smile up his face, "Who is this?" he asked in the same eagerness.


    "My wife," gave the short reply which washed away the smile on the doctor''s face, "Check him now. Tell me what you see."


    "Now?" asked the doctor raising his brows. Usually, when a subject was brought in they were given a time of at four to five days but right now seemed too soon to tell. Before he could ask for more days of time, Leonard pulled out a pouch which didn''t jingle as he threw it towards the doctor for the man to catch it. Vivian noticed that the pouch when caught didn''t jingle which meant it wasn''t money in there. The doctor opened the pouch to see what was in there and his eyes widened along with a wide smile, "You know your audience well, Duke Leonard. Let me see the man."


    Leonard took the wall which was closer to the man who was being strapped on the table.


    Vivian being new to this room stood at the entrance near the bars where she could see the doctor as well as the man who was going to be checked for varying anomalies of what was causing his changes. She saw the doctor open the man''s eyes and mouth, checking his cavity before going to check his pulse. As it was an inspection the man''s clothes were removed and Vivian found wondered if she should go and stand on the other side to avoid looking what was being done yet her curious mind wanted to see what the doctor was going to do to him and what was going to be concluded.


    They already knew that it was the witch''s doing and she came to realize that Leonard never gave out the details of what was found. If he gave out the information of what he knew, maybe it would be easier as well as faster for the doctor to give out the report.


    "Darkened nails which look rotten," said the vampire doctor by picking up the man''s hand and inspecting it while running his thumb over the nails before a nail clipped out as if he had put force, "Such fragile creatures humans are. But why does it look like this hmm," the man took the nail towards his desk, cing the nail under a device to look at it.


    "What do you see, Murk?" Leonard asked from where he stood with his back which was leaned against the wall with one of his feetying t on the surface of the wall.


    "They look very dirty. I must say a very unhygienic man but then it looks rotten just like a ck witch''s nail. Ah," the doctor said lifting up his head from the device and looking at the Duke for confirmation as he said, "He is under a witch''s transformation," there was a glint of excitement in the man''s eyes as if he had won a prize which hade in the form of a test subject.


    Vivian didn''t feel it be safe to leave the human they had brought from the vige here to be ced under this vampire doctor. The man gave out looks that showed how entric he was when it came to his work. She had heard from Leonard on their way back that it was a rumor that the witch could or was trying to turn humans into one of them but now that it was out here, she could notice that the vampire doctor couldn''t wait to dissect the man to see what he was made of and how he was turning out to be.


    For the doctor to confirm he must be used to working with Leo''s methods, thought Vivian to herself.


    "Yes, he is under transformation," at Leo''s reply the doctor looked at the man who had turned darker than what he hadst seen. The natural skin of a ck witch was ky, made of dark scales which looked dry.


    The doctor said, "I shall cut him and see," this was what Vivian was worried about.


    "No," replied Leonard to have the doctor snap his head with a frown, "I need you to fix him, not break him, Murk," Murk looked unhappy about it but he nodded his head.


    "Alright," the doctor answered before beginning his work on the man. A lot needles were put into the man''s body until the point where Vivian could see only long needles being stuck to the man''s chest which had previously been dipped in a dark green liquid.


    As the operation took ce, Vivian had taken another side of the wall where the doctor had been kind enough to ask his assistant to bring a stool for thedy. If she weren''t Leo''s wife, Vivian knew she wouldn''t have got such treatment o nicety.


    She watched the man being tested out with different liquids which reminded her of witchcraft. No, it wasn''t the witchcraft though, said Vivian to herself. The bottles which he used were very much simr to what she hade to see in the church room of Sister Isabelle. They were little bottles that were lined in a box simr to how a thread with various color was kept when it came to stitching a cloth.


    The bottles were unique because of their shapes, some with colored bottles and some that had different colored liquids in colorless bottles. After her visit to the church, she had tried to find those little bottles but they were nowhere to be found also that each of the bottles was designed in such a way that one could read it''s description written outside.


    As the operation proceeded, the man began to convulse again this time his body moving up and down on the table and the assistants had to restrict back the man''s movements.


    Leonard pushed himself from the wall and came to stand next to the doctor, "What''s happening?"


    "Ah. I think one of the bottles triggered his transformation," the doctor answered, with a deep frown he looked down but Leonard who had not taken away his eyes from the human even for a moment asked,


    "What did you give him?" asked Leonard.


    "It is a holy grail from the old witches. They are made of white witches bones," Vivian who was there saw the bottle Murk held in his hand which had a white liquid that looked quite simr to milk in texture.


    She heard Leo say, "It didn''t trigger him.?It''s trying to reverse it back," and he was right. As dark as the skin had turned, with the formation of scaly surface, it had started to reduce until where the man had turned back pale in color. This also changed the color of his nails before the nail which the doctor had pulled out from his finger started to bleed.


    Seeing the blood drop on the floor, the assistant quickly came to the side and wrapped his finger with a bandage around it.


    Murk, the doctor didn''t look happy as it seemed that he was hoping for the man''s condition to turn worse so that he could learn about the witch''s transformation. But under Leonard''s watchful eye and with the pouch he had been offered, the doctor had to oblige and perform his work ''ethically''.

 Chapter 201 - Box Of Potions- Part 1

    "Huh, he did turn to a human," harrumphed the doctor, with a little tch, he said, "Let me release him," Leonard raised his hand wanting him to stop unbelting the man from the table.


    "Keep him here."


    Now that the man had turned sessfully back to a human with all the signs of being under a witch''s transformation gone, the doctor had no more interest in this one.


    Murk asked, "What do I do with him? He is of no use to me," Leonard sent a small re making the average vampire shut up instantly, "Murk," the doctor straightened his back, leaning closer towards the Duke to listen better to what the senior councilman had to say.


    "There are chances of him resurfacing and I need him under your observation. You have taken his blood samples," the doctor nodded his head, "Run the tests and see what was put inside his body to turn him.?If something happens to him, I will have your neck put under the sawing machine. I need the man in once piece no matter what. ," Murk gave the Duke a shocked expression.


    Murk gave a nervousugh, saying, "Duke Leonard, I will look after him well. Just like my pet hamster but then if something happens to him as you said about this resurfacing. You cannot put it on me," he said waiting for the Duke to respond who was staring at the test subject.?Murk was older than Leo in decades yet the man was somehow scared of Leonard which made Vivian wonder why.


    "Aren''t you the renowned doctor Murk. Fix him if something goes wrong. I wille back to look at the testster," the way Leonard said it gravely, Vivian felt her heart flip in her chest.


    But before they could leave, they heard footsteps approach in the cell rooms to indicate that a new cellmate was being added in the building for breaking thew. Turning back, Vivian was about to peek when the councilman named Creed appeared next to her inside the room.


    His ck eye-patch was in pace to cover one of his eyes, his body built quite well for his age as he looked somewhere in his mid-forties. Thest time Vivian hadn''t noticed he was tall during the time of their examination but now she could tell that he was a tall man. Unlike Lionel who always had his eyes narrowed at every and anyone which sometimes had included his rank of councilman, this one appeared to be held with much knowledge with enough maturity.


    His red eye which was in view looked at the man down on the table and then went to meet Leonard''s eyes to greet him, "Good day, Duke Leonard. I see you finished your field trip."


    Leonard offered the elder man with a slight bow of his head which didn''t go deep but only sending a small gesture, to greet him, "It went well councilman Creed."


    "That''s good to hear," Creed responded with a smile on his lips, his eyes crinkling at the side ends. When his eyes fell on the box of bottles where the doctor was holding one of the bottles in his hand, hemented, "Murk is using the gift well."


    The doctor bowed his head deep which could havepensated Leo''sck of bow in it, "This lowly vampire is thankful for your gift," he said lifting his head.


    "It is good to see it put in use. It would be such a waste to not let someone as wise as yourself to make use of it," Creed responded back with a happy smile. And as the man turned around he caught sight of Vivian who gave a bow to him. The man having nothing to say to her, returned her bow with a smile and then left the cell room which had fallen a little tense since the elder councilman''s short visit.


    "We''ll be leaving as well," Leonard informed, leaving the doctors side to walk towards the grilled door.


    "Where will you be going?" Murk had thought he would stay a little longer.


    "Do I need to give you my schedule? She''s my wife, not you, Murk," came the clipped tone and the doctor smiled this time a little smug. The Duke didn''t have to proim it over and over again that she was his wife. Not like he was trying to steal her, "Get your test results ready. I will need them."


    Vivian had spent a short time in here looking at the doctor working but she was intrigued with the changes of what she had seen that somewhere she wanted to stay behind and see how the tests where being performed. Nheless, when Leo readied himself to leave she did the same and followed him out of the building.


    On her way back, she didn''t make eye contact with the cell members and kept her eyes ahead of her while making sure to walk right at the center of the passage. Once they were out, Vivian asked,


    "The bottle which the doctor had with him. The white one. Can''t it be used on the vampires who are undergoing corruption?" she had been curious to ask this since she had seen the human from the vige change back to his human self.


    "It doesn''t work," he replied back.


    "Why not?"


    "The potion is made from the white witches bones. You negate a positive and negative urrence as they are starkly different from ck witches. Their essence can be used to heal. It is one of the many reasons why the white witches have gone to hiding now. A decade or two ago white witches were hunted unlike now where the rule has been made after one of the renounced witches. You must already know that they were used by the councilmen themselves to find and understand what they could do. That is one of the many ways how Creed came in the possession of the box which he handed down to the council which went to Murk," exined Leonard.


    "A new edict was found stating no one was allowed to take a white witch for experiments or anything remotely close. But then there are people who will still continue to do behind our back. We have put most of the white witches in the church in the hope that not only will they get employment but also that we can have a headcount to make sure everyone is alive and no one breaks thew."


    Vivian tried to understand what he conveyed to her as they walked through the trees, "Who was the owner of it?"


    "Owner?"


    "Yes," she answered him, "The owner of the box which councilman Creed came to get hold of it."


    "I don''t know about that, Vivi. I heard from one of the councilmen that he found it before the Edict for the safety of the white witches were made," he replied back. Vivian saw that they were not heading towards the building but near the shed were some of the carriages were stationed.


    "Are we going home?" she asked Leonard. He had told the doctor vampire that he would return in the evening but if they went home how would he return back home? Was he nning to send her back while he would stay here? Ready to voice her choice of wanting to stay here with him she opened her mouth before she heard Leo speak to someone behind them,


    "Did you bring it?"


    Vivian''s face snapped around to see who Leo was speaking to when her eyes fell on to the electric blue eyes man. It was Maximillian Gibbs.


    "Here it is. This is something very odd. Is it for Murk?" Maxmillian asked and then greeted thedy, "Good evening, Lady Vivian. How is the council treating you so far?"


    Vivian wondered how it was going. Apart from having to see a dead body, a deranged vampire going berserk and killed in front of her, a doctor who was crazy, she went to answer him, "It''s been going well."


    "Everyone says the same. I was hoping for another answer," Maximillian replied back to get a small re to be sent by his friend Leonard, "Really it is hard to know that Nichs was your mentor. He being one also didn''t put a lid to that temper of yours," he smiled.


    Rolling his eyes, Leonard asked, "How many sticks are these?"


    "Five. Finding them in the market is very hard. You should have asked Damien. He has better connections than I," the man gave a wide smile which let out the fangs to be protruded out of his lips. Vivian wondered what they were as Leonard took hold of the sticks which the blue-eyed man had taken out from his pocket.


    "Damien has been working near the city. Told he had something to take care of," since the man had taken the ve into his mansion, the man was more than necessary on edge, "Lionel isn''t here yet but if he doese let him know that I have stationed Dutan and Heuren at the vige."


    "Oh? Why is that?" Maximilian raised his perfectly shaped thick eyebrow in question, "ck witch? I would like to go there."


    "They have eradicated the ck witches that are in the vicinity. Thest order passed wasn''t full proofed or rather was fool proofed allowing the ck witches to pass through again and infiltrate," answered Leonard, his lips set into a thin unpleased line.


    "You think it is the switcher?" his friend asked but Leo shook his head.


    "Hmm. It must be someone from the council. A switcher who is currently following and working with the ck witch."


    "That''s gotta suck,"ughed Maximillian, "Well, I would like to stay ande along but work calls. I will see youter. Miss," he bowed again and then headed towards the mansion building.


    With Maximillian away from their sight. Vivian saw Leo looking at the sticks, she asked him, "Why hasn''t anyone done anything of the switcher?" Clearly, it was a big deal now that the infiltration had taken there was no saying how thew could be misused and by whom.


    "It will cause more than amotion in there. An imbnce in the hierarchy that currently exists which could overthrow all the possiblews that have been followed until now. As much as we call ourselves councilmen''s, the nature of stupidity will always continue," frowned Leonard, putting the sticks in his coat he started to walk and she followed to walk next to him, "We don''t know who is the one posing to be whom and if the switcher feels we are on his tracks, there are possibilities that he will kill the next person and get back here. The councilmen''s have their respective jobs which are stationed and changed every now and then so doing a headcount isn''t exactly going to help."


    He saw Vivian eye his coat where he had ced the sticks, "This is for Nichs."


    "What are they?" They looked like any ordinary sticks but after hearing from Maximillian that they were rare and hard to find, like many other things she was curious about it.


    "You would really like to know?" he asked in confirmation to get a quick nod, "They are rare because they are grown around the cemetery."


    Cemetery? "Graveyard?" she asked him.


    "Yes, same. If you pick your usual nts, they make use of normal soil along with animal manure and other little things which you will often see. But these, these make use of the dead to grow. Two years ago it was found that a man was going to the graves, disturbing the dead to which the vigers protested about what was going on until it was finally put under the category of not to be grown."


    "What''s wrong with it being grown?"


    "These sticks are highly nutritious when ites in healing but in Nick''s case it is a snack for the ghouls," Vivian passed him an incredulous look making himugh, "Yeah, they are like sweet treats to them. I need Nick''s ghoul to check something for me but the man is too stingy when ites to loaning his ghouls."


    Thinking about it, Vivian suggested, "I can speak to Everest if you need help."


    "I don''t know what to make of your and the ghoul''s...friendship."


    She smiled hearing this, "Are you jealous, Leo?"


    "It''s a messed up soul, there''s nothing to be jealous of."


    "True," she sang, "Maybe the next time he visits me, I will ask him for your favour. You give him the sticks directly."


    Leonard and Vivian had made a trip back to the cell room where the man had been held. Seeing that he hadpletely returned back to normal, they left the council to head back to the Carmichael mansion.


    But what the doctor and the others failed to notice was that by the end of the day, the nails on the man''s feet had started to discolour where his shoes had been put back in ce, from a perfect white to a shade of yellow which by the time of midnight had begun to turn green.


    During the time the viger whose nails had begun to discolour to green, at the same time a man entered the cell building where the criminals were kept in the cells who had fallen asleep. The man walked towards the doctor''s cell room and picked out the key from his pocket which he had borrowed or rather had stolen so that he could enter this ce which was not allowed to be entered by anyone.


    The man stepping inside stealthily closed the bars and went to walk towards the man who looked peacefully asleep.


    "Some of the witches sure know how to up their game," he murmured to no one in the room, talking to himself, he stared at the man for a long time and then went to take a look a the box of potions that had been given to the doctor, "So many treasures if one knew how to use it."


    The man read through the reports which the doctor had written down as observations. It seemed like another failure from the witches but it was good to see that they weren''t seeding. As much as he was helping the ck witches in a certain way to get the humans under control, he wasn''t going to let some measly ck witches take over their race.


    The body still looked like one of a human but the discolouration had already started to spread from the bottom which like the infection was conquering every part internally. The man left without noticing it either.


    By the time the morning arrived, the doctor entered the cell room to see a body which he hadn''t leftst evening. The man''s body looked dry and sucked out of air and water as if it had been preserved using salt for years now. Theplexion wasn''t far from the ck witches which had meant that the man''s body had again tried to transform over the night which had been unsessful.


    He looked in horror-struck at his face. Not because the body had been turned to a half-witch but because he remembered what the Duke had said to him before leaving the cell roomst time. He didn''t want to have his head through to be crushed and be killed. Wanting to see what could have happened, he started to operate on the body but when he went to remove the boot so that he could remove the rest of clothes, the feet broke away from the body like an iced snowman.


    After having that little mishap, he forbid his assistants to close to the body.


    Murk walked back and forth in the room, his steps being counted by his assistants to see their superior in a fix while also seeing the body thatid on the table. What happened in the medical cell room was extremely confidential. Like this room, there were four more, two in the upper ground and one in the basement which was a ce where no one even himself was allowed to enter.


    When the pair of Carmichael''s back, Murk put on his best face and ready to exin to the Duke on how he had broken the man''s leg when he had not meant it to happen.


    Seeing the body, thedy was the first one to speak, "It is the same."


    "Murk," upon the Duke calling his name, the vampire doctor quickly went to his side with his head slightly bowed at the misfortune that took ce, "Did you give him anything after we left?"


    "Nothing, Sir. Not a drop of water either."


    "He turned to a human but turned back again. Any answers to why it might have happened?" asked Leonard with a deep frown. He had expected the white witch''s bone potion would have made a difference but apparently, it had no effect or had only prolonged the time of being a human before turning back its course to where it was previously headed.


    "I made thest few tests before leaving and he seemed absolutely fine, Duke Leonard. In perfect pink health with no signs of turning again," Murkh answered confused himself as to what had happened, "And about the half leg," Leo nced at the feet with the shoe whichid on the floor rather broken.


    Leo said, "It is an unsessful transition. The body will crumble to dust soon. Make another report and send it over to the Lord of Bonke."


    "Yes, Sir. What do I do with the body?" Vivian who had been staring at the man whom she had seen very much alive but now in the process of dposition heard Leo say,


    "You can clean him up. There''s no use of him unless you have the ability to revive him?" the doctor shook his head. Leonard gave it some thought, thinking if they could get anything from it before turning to ask Vivian, "Do you want to check him?"

 Chapter 202 - Box Of Potions- Part 2

    Vivian wasn''t sure about cing her hands on something so fragile right now. Yesterday when Leonard had been inspecting the body, she had wanted to touch and see if there was anything that she could learn from it as the objects in the house wasn''t much of help. It was as if she had been touching nothing to get no memories, like a ck blinded light which gave out nothing.


    "The body will be taken out. There shouldn''t be much problem," she heard Leo speak next to her when her eyes were on the turned man.


    Murk, the doctor wondered why the duke had asked thedy to check when he had done the job already and if they hadn''t noticed and heard what he had said, touching the body had with a little amount of force had got him the leg of the man with his boot which now smelled. Did they not believe in his work? With a hint of arrogance, he watched thedy step forward to the table where the man had been tied.


    Vivian wasn''t fond of dead bodies, and if one asked her when she was a child on what she was looking forward to, dead bodies would be thest thing that would have popped in her head. But then this was the line of work she had chosen.


    Though she hade here to look for the man who was responsible for killed Charlotte, they couldn''t ignore the daily jobs that were handed down by the council. There were towns and viges that needed attention and help. She was happy to help and this being her first job, it saddened her to see the death of an innocent. She had hoped for him to get back on his feet and maybe also let them know what he knew after he would gain his conscious but that wasn''t going to happen now.


    Standing in front of the dead man, Vivian pulled out her gloves without anyone''s notice as they stood behind her. She didn''t want anyone knowing of her ability.


    They lived in a world who was ustomed to the existence of vampires, humans and the witches with other subcategories but the world was yet to know and learn about others. It was very much simr to how this man had turned to a half unsessful ck witch. The look the doctor had given when they had brought in the body it was obvious that he wanted to dissect every part so that he could learn without holding a conscious mind that he was a living person and not just a test subject.


    She understood Leo''s concern over her well being and the need to protect her. Once people would find about it there was no saying what would happen to her. Sure they would tell that nothing would happen and it was a simple procedure but nothing was ever simple.?Even for an egg to hatch, it took the right temperature and the chemicals inside it.


    Her heart felt heavy as she breathed in, cing her hand very careful over the man but hearing a crack sound she moved her hand up quickly. The body was much more fragile than it looked. Maybe as time passed by, the body turned thinner and whiskier than a bag of dust. It made her wonder what state the body at the vige could be in. It was getting covered in snow but the councilmen had blocked any more snow toe and settle down on the body.


    "The body is very fragile,"mented the vampire doctor, doctor Murk who stood behind with a lopsided grin. He was one of the niche doctors the council possessed and he was proud to say he knew almost everything in and out no matter how crazy he looked and could be. It was one of the very many reasons that councilmen came to his help but his favourite customer was Leonard Carmichael. The Duke always brought the most strange and enjoyable test subjects who could dream of getting his hands on.


    Moving her hands away, Vivian saw the little dent that had formed where she had ced her hand. It was true. The body was very delicate and a little more pressure the man would no longer have a chest but what about the bones?


    "Doctor Murk, would you need the bodyter?" she slightly turned her head to the right but not enough to look at the vampire doctor and instead kept her eyes from the transitioning dposed body thatid in front of her.


    Murk came to where she stood and gave the dead body an overall look, "Hmm, I don''t think I will need him. I wanted to operate on him earlier but now it''s impossible. I won''t learn anything except theposition of the dust particles here," he waved the boot with the uneven half leg he held in his hand, "He is all yours, except for the bit of hair," getting the permission, she sighed.


    "Alright," she replied back.?The doctor gave her a look as to what she could possibly do with the rest of the dust when he as a doctor couldn''t make use of.


    Readying herself this time, she ced her hand on the man''s chest again this time not worrying about the way the cracks could be heard as she pushed down his chest with both of her hands until a deep hollow like cavity formed in the dead man''s chest.


    Leonard had by thene to stand to see her hand submerge and cover in the dust which was once parts of the dead man''s chest.


    Vivian didn''t bother to close her eyes. As she guessed, the bone was still in here. The skin had first begun to crumble but it seemed that the bones were tender and would take time before turning just like the outeryers of the body. Feeling the spine of bones beneath her fingers and palms of her hand, she felt something hazye in front of her vision.


    The images weren''t easy to see and it felt very much familiar to the time when she had tried to read Sister Isabelle''s hand. It made her wonder if that was the reason why she couldn''t read anything in the vige yesterday when she had run her hands to almost everything without able to pick a single hint of flicker that could make her halt and read what might have happened.


    But now that the body right here had started to form into dust, it was obvious that the man there had a simr effect when getting turned to a ck witch. If the man hadn''te out where the vigers could see, the incident would have nevere to light. It wasn''t just one but the ck witch had targeted this man too. How unfortunate, thought Vivian in her mind.


    It wasn''t easy but she heard the voice of a woman, concentrating more as she stared into the man''s empty eyes, she heard,


    "Aren''t you a good man. The more the merrier."


    But that was all she could hear. It appeared that when it involved witches, her ability fell short. Lifting her hand away from the man, she dusted the dust off her skirt and spoke, "I am done."


    "Murk, we''ll be leaving. Get everything tidied and send in the report to Rueben and Lionel," Leonard informed the man. On their way out Vivian said,


    "She''s turning everyone in there!"


    "Everyone? What did you see?" his eyebrows drew closer in question.


    "Yes, I think the ck witch is turning everyone to one of hers. I couldn''t get much of it from this man, except that she ns to have more than one or two," said Vivian as they went to where their carriage had been stationed, "Do you think that is why they are behaving strangely?"


    "That can''t be it. If it was so then there wouldn''t be failed experiments."


    Vivian shook her head, "But even human transitioning to vampires go wrong with corruption. What if they aren''t able to digest and are giving this kind of reaction instead. For the body to shut down," she saw him give some thought on what she said.


    "It might be. But it would be hard to say that if everyone is in the procession or have already finished turning into a ck witch."


    Stopping at the door of the carriage, she asked him, "What if they have?"


    "Then we burn the entire vige along with the ck witches."


    Reaching the vige, both Leonard and Vivian were greeted by the magistrate and also the two councilmen who had stayed the night here until now.?The vige appeared to be quiet as yesterday.


    "Anything that took ce?" Leonard asked his fellow councilmen.


    Dutan was the one to speak, "Nothing. It has been like this without a change. How is the man?" he asked.


    Leonard let out a soft sigh pass through his lips, "He''s dead."


    "Dead?" asked the magistrate, "But he was all fine. The council doctors must have injected something for him to die. They all die," hemented.


    The man''s mother, who had cried the previous came to them after hearing the sound of carriage. Waiting for them to return her son back to her where they had forcibly taken him away, "Magistrate. Councilman, where is my son?" she came with half short of breath as she had run from the inside of her house to talk to them.


    With ack of tact, the magistrate answered, "He''s dead. Now you can go back," the woman looked at them in shock and horror.


    "No," she first whispered and then began wailing out loudly which made most of them around ufortable.


    "If this is how you handle your the public we will have to appoint a new one, Mr. Fleek," stated Leonard with a grave voice and a re to the man who cowered at the threat passed. It was no secret that Leonard Carmichael had the power to dethrone a man''s job if it was needed. Not just because he was a reputed well-known man but his jobs had always held a sess rate of ny-eight per cent in the council work. Not to forget his closeness to the Lord of Bonke, "We are sorry to say that he passed awayst night."


    "No!" she screamed, falling down on the ground on her knees she cried, her shoulders shaking


    "Vivian, could you take thedy back to her house?" Leo asked her. Giving a quick nod, she hurried to the woman''s side to console her.?Leonard saw Vivian speak to the woman with a gentle voice, her hand ced on the woman''s back as she got the elder woman to stand up and walk her to her house. Mr. Fleek didn''t dare to open his mouth in the fear that he would lose his job if he spoke another word out of line, "What about the man behind the house?" he asked Dutan as they made their way there.


    "He looks the same as yesterday, no change," answered Dutan keeping up with his senior''s steps, "Do you think we should move his body if it''s going to give the same result as the man you took?"


    "That would be wise. It looks apparent that the ones who were turned cannot be turned back again to their human self. If you find any oddity, kill them right away,"ing upon to stand in front of the dead corpse which was turning white due to the deposition of the snowkes that had made its way to settle on he then said, "I want you to test every living soul here of the vige if they are witch or not."


    Dutan looked taken aback, "E-every one of them?"


    "That''s right, you can start with the magistrate here," Leonard turned to look at the magistrate who gave them a look of bewilderment.


    "Duke Carmichael, I am no ck witch," the man tried tough it off but seeing the serious look on the councilmen''s face who stared at him, he defended himself, "I am only a mere human."


    "We never said you aren''t but you must have heard the saying, precaution is better than cure. So let''s have everyone checked. Dutan," Leo ordered his subordinate to start his work.


    In one of the houses of the vige, Vivian consoled the elderly woman who had lost her son. Tears that had streamed down her chubby cheeks had been wiped away with an old faded handkerchief.


    "I grew him up by myself. M-my child," the woman cried sitting on the wooden chair with both her feet up at the edge of the chair. She had her hand ced on her forehead, "How did he die? I cooked him a meal and then..." the woman''s voice trailed.


    "The council is very sorry for your loss. We did everything we could and thought he had gotten better but when we returned back in the morning, he had...he had passed away," Vivian squeezed the woman''s shoulder whose shoulders began to shake again as she wept in her hands.


    "W-will I be able to see him?"


    "I am sorry," she replied back. What was she going to say? that her son had crumbled into dust? Or she was partly responsible that her son now had a cavity in his chest as she had pushed her hands into it??Having already read about how and what to do in these kinds of conditions, "The council willpensate you for the loss that you have acquired during the time the person has been under our care. You have nothing to worry about."


    The woman rose her head from her hands, her red-rimmed eyes turning to look at Vivian, "I have nothing to worry? He would have been fine here, I would have helped him."


    "You wouldn''t have been able to help him, mdy," she saw the woman stand up from her chair, walking to the side of the little room.


    Sniffing loudly, the woman said, "I would have fixed him,"?the word fix felt odd to Vivian and she furrowed her brows when she felt a sudden sense of alertness ring in the back of her head.?The woman turned around to face Vivian whose face had turned dark and full of scales,


    "Shall I fix you?"

 Chapter 203 - Box Of Potions- Part 3

    The human woman who seemed perfectly a moment ago while she was crying had turned to a ck witch. Her smooth skin turned dry and cracked which appeared to look scaly. Long tongue peeked out like a snake which slithered out and back inside.


    She wasn''t the main witch who was responsible for turning the humans as she had cried for her son but it could be false information. What if this woman was the actual witch because as she stood there like a statue, the witch turned not only by her skin but also be apparent to a young woman with an evil smile. The ck witch


    When she tried to scream for help, she couldn''t hear her own voice. She screamed again but it seemed like something was blocking her vocals due to which no sound came out of her mouth now. Why wasn''t she able to speak?!


    Panic started to rise in Vivian''s mind at in inability and the situation she was put in. The only exit was where the ck witch stood and if she had to get out she had to get the ck witch out of her way which she wasn''t sure how well it was going to go. She tried to rack her brain on what one was to do in these kinds of situations. Remembering what she read about ck witches,


    <i>''Chapter four: How to handle a ck witch.?</i><i>A normal stake through the heart should reduce their movements though it wouldn''t kill them.''</i>


    When the witch came to her, Vivian did what she could by picking one of the utensils that was near her to hit it on her head.


    <i>''Remember that normal objects might hurt the ck witches by hitting them unless there''s an impact which might make the ck witch rage.''</i>


    Okay, maybe that wasn''t what she was supposed to do, thought Vivian to herself when the witch red at her. Stake! Stake, stake, where was it? her eyes quickly scanned but there was no stake or any wooden object she could make use of in a span of two seconds she felt her head being crashed against the wall where the witch started to whisper something in her ear.


    Finding whatever her hand could at that moment, she picked up the hammer which she had been lucky to find.?Holding it in a different angle she hit the witch once on her head and the second time when she put more force, the edge of the hammerunched on the ck witch''s jaw which disced it to its right making it look like she was already a skeleton.


    While the ck witch fretted to have her jaw dislocated, it gave enough time for Vivian to reach the door. Twisting and turning it in a hurry, she was about to sprint through the open door when she was pulled back by the ck witch, "How dare you to try to disfigure me!" the ck witch''s voice was coarse and furious. Not waiting, putting the force in her hands, Vivian pushed the wooden hammer up and behind her, hitting the person''s face and making her yelp.


    Maybe the old books had to be updated, thought Vivian to herself. Little things like this bought her time and when she stepped out of the house sessfully, her voice went to the highest scream which got everyone''s attention.


    Leonard was the first one toe to her where she sat on the snow ground huffing and heaving for air, "Heuren, check the house and for the woman," he ordered his fellow councilman while checking Vivian for any signs where she was hurt.


    Feeling Leo embrace her in his arms, she whispered, "I am okay. I am okay," she patted his back to feel the tight hold of his on her.


    "You gave me a fright, Vivi," he said with a sigh, pulling back he looked at her, "What happened? Is it the woman?" he asked.


    "She''s a witch."


    "Should have known with the melodramatic scene and how quick she was to get back to the house," helping her get up, they saw Heurene out of the house, "She escaped?"


    "Ah, you will have toe to look a this," Heuren scratched his head awkwardly, his eyes going back and forth from Leonard to Vivian and then back to Leonard. Vivian wondered if the witch had escaped from the house but then there was no other opening or window where one could escape. Going inside by following Leonard and Heuren leading them in, she had Dutan following behind her to see what had happened.


    When came inside, her face turned one not out of shock but it made her brows. The ck witchid t down on the ground with the edge of the hammer which Vivian had pushed into her eye socket that was stuck in there. The body had turned one simr to the two men who had passed away due to the failed transition. Did she kill the ck witch with a mere hammer? A crackling sound came from the body and soon they saw the body start to smoke up and start to dissipate until it suddenly fizzled to leave a ck burnt mark as an outline on the ground.


    "I think Lady Vivian killed the ck witch," said Dutan behind her as he peeked at the mark.


    But Vivian interrupted him, "She''s not the only one. There are more than one here, some who had turned and some who are in the process of turning."


    "That''s not good news at all," whistled Hueren, he sat down to look at the body that had ashed out. Swiping his finger on the surface, he bought his finger to smell it, "Ye, it is a positive original ck witch."


    "Did you check the magistrate?" Leonard asked for confirmation.


    "He''s clean," Dutan answered standing in an alert mode.


    Heuren cleaned his fingers by wiping the dust on her trouser, turning to look at Leonard he asked, "How do we know who is turned and not turned? Everyone looks human and they have been doing their chores of work with what we observed."


    It was a difficult task to know who was human and inhuman. Vivian herself had not realized the woman to be a ck witch when she had ced her hand on the woman''s back. Was it that she couldn''t read the memories of ck witches or was it just difficult as they were made up of magic and another natural source of energy who were dynamicallyposed of different elements. She stood there a little shocked that she had killed the ck witch so easily. Of course, the ck witches didn''t hold strength like the vampires and instead relied on their potions and spells.


    "There is one way, but it is as unorthodox as the ck witches. We have the head of the serpent killed. All we need to do is cleanse the city from the other witches who have evolved. It is only time where the turned humans will revolt with the basic nature of the ck witches," said Leonard looking down at the ck witch, "I need you to draw something out of the vige, all of you except Vivian. Vivian can stay inside the parameter and let us know if something is wrong at that time. Converse with the magistrate or see if you can find anyone who hasn''t been turned yet out of this ce for evacuation."


    "What is this mark about?" asked Dutan and Vivian was curious too to hear about it.


    "Does anyone remember the mark that we stepped on in the dead man''s vige? The recent one," all of them nodded upon Leo''s question, "Does anyone know how the lines and the circles went by?" for this question, Dutan shook his head while Hueren behaved as if he was trying hard to remember what it was when he actually hadn''t bothered to remember and memorise it at that time. Usually, another team came in to make thest details to close the case after the report submission but Leonard''s superior had asked them not to bring up the marks which were done in the vige which the other team had missed.


    Unfortunately, due to this, even Leonard didn''t remember all the lines but only a few of them.


    They then heard Vivian say, "I remember it," she volunteered to have everyone''s eyes on her.?Though it wasn''t something Vivian had thought woulde handy but out of curiosity she had gone around and around the vige while trying to confirm her suspicion that it wasn''t just any random lines, "Let me see," she said looking around to find the little coal of wood that had been overused. Picking it up, she drew it on the floor with what she remembered and when she was done she looked up at them.


    "Wow, Lady Vivian. I am impressed that you remember it,"?Hueren looked in awe as it wasn''t just a simple circle that had intersecting lines but there were few lines which hest time I hadn''t even realized were there. Vivian grinned feeling proud that sometimes her memory and waste of time on random things was helpful now.


    "Good job, Vivi," Leo praised her which brought a glow on her face which didn''t go unnoticed by the men in the room.


    "I shall go find the magistrate," she proposed to get a nod by him.


    "Senior Leonard, your wife is very admirable," Dutanplimented seeing thedy who had left the house, "Not only did she kill the ck witch but she also helped up with your proposed idea. How do we start?" and Leonard began to exin what to do around and where to start with the lines.


    There were chances that the ck witches if turned had already gone to the other side where there was no point of return and soon they would attack them and sabotage the other nearby viges until they found out that the mother ck witch had been killed. But he had to agree with Dutan said, Vivian might have not meant to find and kill the ck witch right away as no one knew about it but she had managed to protect herself which he was pleased to know of. It was obvious that she would.


    This was nothingpared to the second exam she had taken that had put her into a hard test where there were people wanting to kill the other. Here it was just one ck witch and it was very rare for a ck witch to be smart. Maybe the only ck witch who was smart was the woman who had tried to give away the potion to corrupt the hearts.


    Vivian went in search of the magistrate who was sitting in his little house securely with the doors and windows locked. She had to knock the door a couple of times before finally able to draw him out.


    "Mr. Fleek," she greeted the man with a cheerful voice which got the man instantly suspicious.


    "Did they find another ck witch?" he asked, lines beginning to form on his middle-aged face and his moustache slightly moving out of state and worry of what bad news thedy hade to give him.


    "I was asked to be in your care as it was the safest," she answered. If she told it the other way round she knew the man would take offence that a woman, especially a human was going to look after him so that he wouldn''t be put in harm as when she had first met them, she had noticed the disapproving looks he gave her until Leonard had introduced her, "But I need to walk around the vige as the other councilmen are easy. Would you please apany me as I have a few questions to ask," she kept her speech polite and persuasive.


    The magistrate responded with, "Alright," fetching his coat, he got out of the house, a skeptical look on his face with every step he took with her. It was evident that the man was scared of the ck witches and more scared that he would turn out to be one of them as the collection of dead men.


    Trying to find the conversation, she started, "Mr. Fleek," which got the man to turn to her, "You spoke about the gue which took ce a few months ago. About the people of this vige that went missing. Could you perhaps borate on what happened?"


    "I already told you what happened," he responded back wondering why he was being questioned about it again. This part of the council team must have been famous but there were rude as they came by. The senior man here, the Duke had been sharp enough to dere him to be a possible suspect of being a ck witch when he hadn''t even stepped out of his house a lot.


    Though he was a magistrate of this particr vige, he had no interest in what one did that he would never take rounds in walking especially after the gue that still lingered in this vige. He cared less of what happened to the vige folks but only cared about his well being. If it weren''t for the dead man to step out of the house, he wouldn''t have bothered about a missing man in the vige he was assigned to.


    "Could you describe how the couple looked? The ones you found in the ditchter," Vivian was patient as he enquired the information out of him.


    "The couple? Let me see. The woman was as old as you, maybe a year or two older but the man, the man was really old and he was very strange looking," Mr. Fleek scrunched his face in a sort of disgust as he remembered and then continued to say, "They were an odd couple. I don''t think they were father and daughter duo because they didn''t resemble like any rtives."


    Since Vivian hade here again, her thoughts had gone back to the switchers. He had toldst time that the switchers had been found dead and near to the vige with their bodies slimy which would either mean that they had died out of some sort of disease or...they had turned to someone else and were still living here. What other reason could there be for the people to go missing?

 Chapter 204 - Death Of Ms. Easton- Part 1

    The more Vivian thought about it, the more muddled it turned out to be that she couldn''t stop thinking about the switchers. She wasn''t able to read the ck witches but she could read the humans and switchers. With that thought in her mind, she asked the magistrate, "Could you take me to where they have been buried?"


    "The couple?"


    "Yes, the ones who hade here," she said hoping she could pick something from them," but to her utter disappointment, the man said shaking his head,


    "We don''t have them here," as if something that was stuck to his teeth, his face flinched as his tongue went to reach the far ends of his mouth, "When the council hade here they took the body along with them. After all, they didn''t belong to this particr vige," he said turning to see where the men had gone as they were not in view anymore.


    The existence of the switchers was still being learned when this incident must have taken ce but no one had given each other details, "Might you know who was handling the case when it happened?"


    "Hmm," the man tried to remember but then shook his head, "I don''t think I remember, they were all new faces who came in here and I just wanted those things off my vige. You should have seen those slimy bodies, mdy. They weren''t pretty," he said with a grimace filled look. The man seemed to not have bothered himself with any details that concerned with the people who had died in or around the vige.


    But when switchers left a body and adopted to another person, they weren''t usually left slimy but almost dissolved into a mass of melted flesh. This made her wonder if the switchers had a time limit when it came to their life span.


    Thinking about it, she looked at the vige that was quiet except for a few of the people who was walking through the streets and the other ends of the vige. There were some whose eyes she caught looking at her before they would look away.


    The ck witch had tried to aim to get as many people as she could so that they could be part of her coven but how was one to know who were turned? Since the time of yesterday everyone had been giving them looks so would that mean everyone were witches? It was going to be a few more hours before they would be able to burn the transformed witches.


    One would think it was easy now as they had cut the main snakes head but with one gone, there would arise a few more to take its ce.


    Suddenly remembering there was another person who had tagged along with the couple, she halted her footsteps and asked, "The dead man. Where have you buried him? The man who was with the couple," she waited for him to speak.


    "We buried him here in our local cemetery," the man tipped his in the other direction to show where the cemetery was, "We buried him with the rest of the vigers."


    "Under what name?" she asked him. The man was a stranger with no name and she wanted to know under what he was buried. Seeing the man start to thinking, she hoped he would remember this one little thing.


    "Adam. He''s under the name Adam in there," taking that little information, Vivian went in search of Leonard who was stillpleting the circle around the vige with a pile of coal he had found. Going to him, Vivian spoke,


    "I need to borrow the guards," he nodded and then turned to one of the guards who was helping him.?Vivian took the vige guardsman to the cemetery to where the man had been buried under the headstone name of Adam. She couldn''t get her hands on the switchers but there was a possibility to know what happened or who those switchers were if she was able to read them. She wanted to check the man because it could link them to the actual switcher who was working in the council right now.


    With that thought, she looked at the guardsmen begin to dig the grave with a shovel in his hand. First came the snow-coveredyer around the headstone. As it was Bonke where the rain had seeped into the ground over and over again after the snow had arrived the mud and soil had turned hard. It took more than half an hour for the man topletely dig out the ground until he hit a strong object on the ground.


    As it was a local vige with a decent amount of poption, they had a local cemetery where one could bury their family members but it wasn''t all wee to the outsiders. As the guardsman pulled the long brownish-ck sack out from the ground, she saw that the person had not been put in a coffin.


    "Could you open it please," Vivian requested the buff man who waited for her order on what to do next. Bending down, he pulled out the sack to reveal a corpse which had dried worse than what he hade to see in since thest one day. The body hadn''t undergoneplete dposition and it was still in the process. Thanks to the mud that it had been surrounded, the body didn''t stink. She remembered Mr. Fleek telling them on how the body was in the carriage for far too long which meant it had dried up in the weather condition.


    "Do you want me to put it back?" asked the guardsman thinking she had only wanted to see the body.


    Two women who had been walking by stared at Vivian and then the dead corpse with a look that held something sinister on their face before the expression slipped out of their face as if it was never there.


    "Could you fetch me a bucket of water? I need to possibly clean to see his vitals," her speech was polite and even though the guardsman didn''t know what thedy''s actual intension were, he bowed his head and obliged to her words, leaving her with the corpse with a doubtful look.


    "I will be fine," she assured him with a smile.


    Seeing him gone, Vivian sat down to look at the dead man who was with the switchers as told by Mr. Fleek. The man was lean in structure, his clothes still intact on his body but they looked torn and dirty. His dried self reminded her of someone but she couldn''t point a finger on it was.


    Looking up to see no one around her to watch her, she readied her hands and ced it on the man''s withered hand for emotions toe at her rushing along with memories.


    She stood in the forest, a forest that was as dark as the night with no moonlight that spread on it. The wind blew too strong that she had to bring her hands up to stop the wind going into her eye. She walked through the paths, her legs taking her aimlessly as she tried to see why and what had brought her here. If this belonged to the dead man''s memory, she could tell there was somece where he was in this forest and her guess was right. She saw him standing with his back to her and an older man who stood almost adjacent to him.


    Her feet stepped on the branch making enough sound for the older man who was talking to the man to look in her direction where she suddenly hid behind therge tree. After what had happened with young Lord Alexander and his cat, she didn''t want to risk being seen that was if they could see her.


    "How kind of you to bring yourself here," Vivian heard one of the men speak whom she guessed to be the older man as he held a deeper voice with a quiver as he spoke to someone. She peeked out to see a third person who hade to join them. It was a woman in the hood, "Meet my son Rory," the older man introduced the younger man whose face she still couldn''t see.


    "My, such a young handsome man you have here. I am sure he will do a good job with what I have for him," said the woman. The wind was enough to gust back the hood that she wore that Vivian saw the woman''s face. A shocked gasp escaping her lips when she came to realize it was the woman she had met in the dead man''snd. She remembered her because of her striking blue eyes.


    Her guess about the involvement of the ck witch along with the switchers had been right but there was one thing she had been wrong about. When the two bodies went missing, her thought was that either the switcher or the ck witch had stolen them but the truth was that one of the bodies was of the ck witch so she had stolen only one dead body.


    "Father said you wanted my help. What is it about?" asked the young man where Vivian was still trying to get a good peek from where stood.


    "Your father told me the hate you hold against the vampires or more precisely the pureblooded vampires. I heard how they killed one of your beloved girl on the street market," the ck witch smiled, her smile sinister as she looked at the man coyly, "I have the right task for you."


    "And what is that?"


    "Try to find a pureblooded vampiress of thisnd and try to seduce her," the young man huffed, he took a step forward for Vivian to see the same man she hade to see in Charlotte''s memories before they had buried her. This was Rory, Charlotte''s Rory. Anger began to bubble up inside her at what he had done to the poor vampiress who had trusted him with her heart and soul.


    "Do you think I have been bitten by a mad dog?" Rory asked crossing his arm to find the witch smiling up at him.


    The ck witch looked at him sweetly to say, "I don''t know about mad dogs but if you want the rest of your family members to be ughtered the way your woman was by the vampires, then I think you should consider what I am proposing," she paused for a second to see him listening to her, "I have a potion I have made by myself. It consists of a lot of things which is harmful to the very nature of the pureblooded vampires. Each and every element in it will help in stopping that heart of theirs if they consume it. It is still under preparation and I will give hand it over to your father when it has beenpleted. What you need to do is, find a pretty princess who can fall for this handsome face of yours. The rest I will tell you how to proceed with the n."


    "What is it? Like a poison? It will only kill one person which is pointless," Rory didn''t sound pleased with the idea.


    The woman clicked her tongue, moving her finger back and forth in a sideways motion, "This isn''t a mere poison. Don''t you know how the pureblooded vampire''s heart work? Let me educate you, boy," she said. She appeared to look way younger than Rory in age but in truth, she was much older than his father, "A pureblooded vampire''s heart is different when ites to you or me. Once he or she will drink this, it will cause corruption which will not just kill them in the process but will also kill the ones around them."


    "Will this work?" asked the old man unsure as pureblooded vampires were stronger than any other walking creatures on thesends.


    "Oh, it will. Thest time I made it, it was a sample and unfortunately, it needed to be consumed until the veryst drop. Sadly I couldn''t find out what happened, maybe the person died who had consumed but this time I am making sure that it doesn''t have to be so. Most than one drop and it should be enough to drive the person crazy and start killing," sheughed.


    "Alright, I will do it," answered Rory before the scene shifted to the night when Rory and Charlotte were eloping from Mythweald together. Vivian stood to see four people standing near the carriage where a scrawny looking man who had his teeth forward and was short in stature take a rod to hit her dear friend, Charlotte''s head. Vivian screamed to stop but no one could hear her.


    Vivian ran to where Charlotteid with her head spasming before another hit came on her head for her eyes to start closing. A pureblooded vampire was strong but not enough to not feel the pain unless they were built for such an environment. The person whom she had thought all this time to have killed Charlotte also fell down on the ground in less than two hits and he died.


    Tears streamed down Vivi''s eyes where she had to see a ghastly death of Charlotte.


    She saw her struggle, her hand trying to reach the man whom she had fallen in love with. Blood oozed out of her head and thought Vivian had ced her hand on the ground, the warm blood that hade to flow out of Charlotte''s head, it never touched her.

 Chapter 205 - Death Of Ms. Easton- Part 2

    The scene started to dissipate like vapor as that was all Rory had seen until thest of his death from Charlotte. It was the little residue that was left as she saw the smoke like scene start to disappear from her sight and she turned her head away not wanting to see how the switcher tore Charlotte''s chest.


    Tears fell down on the dead man, Rory.


    She tried to hold back her tears but unable to do it, her shoulders shook as her hands went to move away from the body to cover her face and the tears that fell. But her sobs erupted out of her lips. She had seen Charlotte''s vision where the man had stood right in front of her. He had yed with the others to kill her but he wasn''t the one to kill Charlotte.


    Wiping her tears, she ced back her hands on the body wanting to find out about the switchers. She had picked up his memories but the next level was to pick the memories of the object, and this time the object was the man''s dead body.?Heaving for breath as her eyes blurred her vision with tears, she closed her eyes for the tears to fall down on her face.


    It was hard to concentrate with her emotions all over the ce. She cried some more before trying to tell her that she had to do this before the guard woulde with the magistrate where she was. Taking a deep breath, she stopped her crying. Letting calmness seep into her skin, she finally was greeted with the switchers who had killed Charlotte and Vivian assumed that they had killed Rory as they were thest person who was seen with them.


    "What are we going to do this one?" asked the man with a gruff voice as he looked down at Rory whoid dead inside the carriage, "I told you to kill him after I had transformed into him. You little cunt taking the man''s life even after I warned," he gritted his teeth to see the woman, who was another switcher smiling at him.


    "Buck it up," the womanughed loudly, her eyes falling on the man, "I cannot have you looking like him, who will only catch eyes as we travel. What did I say about keeping a low status, you bald man," she turned to look at herpanion, sizing him up and down.


    "I finally caught some decent folks-" started the man to be snapped by the woman.


    "We don''t have much time! Do you think we have time to look pretty! I could have turned into that vampiress," the woman spat on the ground, "We have done well by deviating our trails on to the vampires. Let''s throw him on our way to the next vige after we find bodies we can use."


    The memory was a long one as Vivian had to travel with them to the vige where she was right now. Both her present and pasting to the same point. She saw the switchers converse and speak with the other vigers, trying to appear as friendly folks before it shifted to the time where they left the vige.


    "Get the man here," said the woman to see the man drag a man from the ground during the time of dark. Looking at the man''s face, the woman stared at the shorter man, "What did I say about looks, you are going to get us caught!" she gritted her teeth furiously.


    "Pssh, there''s nothing wrong with it. And it is only in your head. You should be worried about why we aren''t able to turn into any of them," the man said in a hushed whisper, "What is this? The third body we have carried from there."


    "I told you to ask him why we aren''t able to turn," the womanined.


    The short man who was holding the unconscious man''s leg dropped down with a huff, "You said not to!"


    "You little fool! Like you ever listen to me," she scoffed, "He has been around here for years now. If we found out why he has been able to sustain it wouldn''t be a problem. At this rate, we might be as good as stuck in this body and perish."


    "Whatever, I am going to start," the man said eagerly not able to contain that he would be getting a younger body who looked directly smart. It was then Vivian saw the man and the woman both transform into a mirror image of the unconscious body thatid on the ground. But as they tried to do it, the process reversed back and they went back to the way they initially looked, "It isn''t working," he looked at the woman with panic.


    "''Course it won''t. Our bodies-ugh," the woman fell down as if she were experiencing some intense pain her stomach, "S-something is wrong," she notified the man but the same started to happen with the man as he sumbed on the ground. Gasping for air, both of them crawled on the ground. Wheezing for air their body started to shimmer under the moonlit sky which moved away from them. They continued to crawl,


    "W-what''s happen-nining?!" the man asked, "Is it already t-time?" he asked looking at his hand. It was as if he were a wax doll who was kept next to the fire to melt as his skin started to melt. The man and woman crawled on the ground until they both fell into the ditch with their legs and hands tangled around dead.


    It was as if time had halted for Vivian to take in what she had seen, trying to make her understand of the past truth which had been hidden from everyone.?They had assumed Rory to be the one to kill Charlotte and though he had intended to kill her, it was the switchers who had killed not only Charlotte but also Rory.


    In Vivian''s eyes, Rory was lower than a scum who deserved to die and rot in the open without receiving the cremation on time. If he hadn''t met Charlotte, the vampiress would still be here alive in this world who had been full ofughter.


    But the switchers didn''t care who they killed. They didn''t seem to be involved in what the ck witch was working on but they had killed an innocent soul who had nothing to do with them.


    A tear slipped out of her right eye as she looked at the corpse in front of her. The emotion of anger weighed around her head for what he had done to her dear friend who had been full of life and joy. Charlotte had nothing to do with what might have happened to his lover. Not only had he deceived her but he had also got her killed. If the vampiress didn''t know him, she would have still been alive.


    She still remembered the time when she had caught Charlotte with a love letter with a wide smile on her lips. She had been excited to read and share that she had found the man she wanted to live with. If only she could reverse time, go back there and somehow change the course which would evade death of the unfortunate souls but there was nothing anyone could do.


    She wiped her teary eyes with the back of her hand.


    By the time the guard had arrived back with a bucket of water in his hand as requested by the councilwoman, the graveyard had been closed and Vivian was trying to ce the headstone. The guardsman went to her aid, "Let me do it, mdy," he looked at the grave which was closed and then heard thedy speak,


    "There was nothing I could find in there. Seems like a normal human who was made to rot in this weather," Vivian said when she found the guardsman looking around the grave as she had neatly filled it back in without his help, "Did you have to cement it?" she asked a little worry forming on her face.


    "That won''t be needed. The rain the snow together will push it back. Here, let me cover it," he took the shovel she held in one of her hand and started to push the snow from the other side whichid around it until the surface looked even and neat as the others, "The man was found like this. He didn''t change a little," the guardsman gave his two cents of thoughts as he pushed the shovel on the ground to make it look morepact.


    "I heard that he was found in the carriage," Vivian responded back with what she had learned from the vige magistrate.


    "Aye, that''s true. Unfortunate soul to be hit by the gue first," the man shook his head. Vivian went to the bucket of water e had got, cleaning her hands by pouring the water on to her hands. Once she was done, she wiped her hands against her skirt.


    "Thank you for your assistance," she said seeing the man carry back the shovel as well as the bucket of water with him. Vivian who started to follow him, turned back to look at the graveyard which was written as Adam on the headstone shabbily.


    When the time of night prevailed, Vivian roamed in the vige. Avoiding the darker alleys and sticking to the ones where the light fell. Thest thing they needed for another person to be turned. Heuren though forgetful about a few things, he knew the spells the ck witches used to as it was something he was expertise in. Spells weren''t often fruitful when it wasn''t done by the witches but pentagrams and other such designs when drawn could pull in the necessary energy to do the job done. They needed the light of the moon, therefore when the moon hade to settle up and high in the sky, Vivian rubbed her hands together due to the cold weather and the snow they were covered in.


    Her hands hurt along with the shoulders which made her think if it was because of the time she had spent in the local cemetery. Stretching her back, she carried thentern as she walked through the alley to see the doors shut off the houses as it was getting close to midnight.


    On the other side, she saw Dutan who was carrying antern simr to hers as he made rounds. The circles and lines had been marked. The moon was out. All now that was required was the incantation to draw the ck witches who had been turned out of the house and then burning them so that they wouldn''t have to go to every house to see who had been turned and who hadn''t. Doing that would only alert the other turned witches which weren''t what they were aiming for.


    Vivian was walking at the end of the alley when she heard gurgled voices from the home as if someone was calling for help. Worried, she went back to the ce where she had walked by to have her neck suddenly being clutched by someone, she tried to move. Taking thentern to raise it, it hit on the person making the person release the hold on her. Stepping away she saw it was a man whose face had been set ame due to the kerosene oil and fire.


    She moved back when she heard whispers in the air. Her head snapped to find more than five people who stood blocking her way on one corner end. Turning to walk to the other exit she found a few more who hade out.


    Unsure if the incantation had started she called out, "Heuren?"


    "Yes! I am doing it!" he screamed from the other side which fell faintly on he ears.


    But it wasn''t just her but everyone who had been out to be surrounded by the ck witches who had been turned. Leonard, Dutan had been apanied by the witches while the guards stood protecting the magistrate who looked with livid eyes.


    "How much longer, Heuren?" Leonard asked before hitting one of the ck witches who hade straight at him. The ck witch fell down which triggered the others. One followed another until both Dutan and Leonard started to throw the ck witches.


    "I am having a hard time deciphering this little line. Can you wait," said Hueren searching his little book of notes which he had personalized it by himself.


    Did Heuren think that they had enough time with the ck witches that wereing out one after another? Vivian didn''t know why but it felt that almost the entire vige had been turned like an infectious disease that had spread until the existence of the ck witch. With nontern in her hand, her hands were empty. She turned around and round to see the back witchesing closer.


    But before they could get much closer the ck witches stopped getting closer and stopped as if something was holding them back. Their scaly appearance looking at her. Wondering if Heuren''s spell was working from his spellbook. She had something to do before it and she escaped from the little gaps to meet Leo on her way who stopped her.


    "Where are you going?" asked Leo with his furrowed brows.

 Chapter 206 - Death Of Ms. Easton- Part 3

    "Where are you going?" he questioned her, his forehead marred with worry.


    The cries of the ck witches were mournfull which none of them could bear and their faces flinched at the noise that started to echo around the vige.


    "There''s a body that needs to be burnt," she said staring into his eyes.


    Leonard stared back into her eyes, looking at her determinedly, "Whose is it?" he asked. Most of them here were the turned ck witches, therefore, he didn''t know who was this special person whom Vivian had saved.


    "Rory," her voice was barely audible with the shrill voices of the ck witches but Leo heard it well.


    The name bought a sudden sourness on Leo''s face, which turned angery, "He is here?"


    She shook her head, "He''s dead," this brought a frown on to his face. She could understand the disappointment that passed across his features. After finding what happened with Charlotte both Leonard and Vivian had wanted to find the man who was responsible for her death. The main intention of Vivian was to find the man and punish him just the way Leonard would knowing well he wouldn''t leave a stone unturned when it came to doing that. But who knew that right after her exam she would find him. Not alive but dead as the withered leaves that had fallen.


    Vivian wasn''t the kind of girl to hate anything as everything in her life had been filled with love. The hatred she felt for the man was far worse than she could fathom. And with the same thought, she came to believe that a man like him didn''t belong in the cemetery where people came in search of peace.


    The world they lived in, a person who didn''t deserve respect and a peaceful soul was not allowed to live among the dead in the ground. Instead, the body was either burnt or thrown into theke of bones where one would forever wander if the soul still did exist.


    With that belief, Vivian during the time when she was at grave had pulled the body away from the cemetery to ce it behind a tree and had covered the graveyard where right now there was nothing but emptiness.?She wanted the man to be burnt along with the witches, knowing he had no right and ce to be there. The man didn''t deserve it.


    If someone looked into her, one would notice the hurt and anguish she felt after seeing Charlotte die so gruesomely that it made her stomach twist.


    "Where is he?"


    Vivian took him near the graveyard and around the trees to show the rotten man who had been dead for many weeks now. If they waited for the councilman, it would lead to another investigation which both Leonard and Vivian were aware of. Leonard had killed his family due to the involvement but would one exin how they knew that he was responsible for the cause of whatever took ce.


    Simr to why they consumed the cow''s milk, somethings, were hard to exin. And that was the reason why those things were better to be left unknown by others.


    Vivian hadn''t realized how much hate Leo would have held for the man, he caught hold of dead man''s neck. Lifting him like a piece of a ragged doll which were made of sticks.


    "Did he kill her?"


    "No," she answered him to see him turn to look at her, "It was the switchers. They killed them."


    "Switchers? You''re saying those sleezy things killed Charlotte by disying her in-" his anger seemed to have returned as he threw the man on the ground, temper oozing out that he punched the bark of the tree for few of the dried and loose leave to fall down on the snowy ground. Vivian closed her eyes instantly at the sound of his hand touching the tree.


    Leonard heard the entire story from Vivian while the ritual which Hueren was holding had only begun.?His hands twisted and formed in fists which wanted to beat someone and the person he wanted to take out his anger had been long dead. The switchers had died and so did the man named Rory.


    Turning around he went to the body and continued to punch the man over and over again as the sounds of bones breaking surrounded them.


    Vivian didn''t stop Leo. She stood there watching him take his anger and frustration out of the dead body knowing well it would still feel empty after doing it. How could you punish someone when you didn''t do it yourself and the person was no more?


    What was the point? Thought Vivian before the thought came to her, there wasn''t much they could do. Like many of their loved ones, Charlotte had passed away. Their chest was filled with grief with no outlet. To think they couldn''t avenge the death of the vampiress, there was nothing they could do but live with what had happened. It wasn''t anyone of their fault but things had led one after another.?After a few minutes, Leonard''s hand had begun to scrape due to the bones that had broken and had begun to slide and scratch his skin.


    Vivian went to his side, cing her hand on his arm, "That''s enough," her voice was soft and above a whisper as she spoke to him gently knowing how vtile his mood could turn due to the loss, "He isn''t worth your hands or the drop of your blood," and she was somewhere right in figuring it out his emotions.


    Leo''s face had turned sullen and the rim of his eyes red. He was angry just like her, the only difference being he showed it while she kept it within herself, "We lost so many lives, Vivi. People who had nothing to do with it but who got involved in it anyways. How many did we lose?" she knew that wasn''t what he wanted to know but she stayed quiet for some time as the cries of the ck witches could be heard.


    Taking a deep breath, she said, "There are times we cannot steer things how we want. We think we are closer to the truth while the truth is an entirely different meaning here," taking his hand in hers, she saw the blood that had smeared across both his knuckles.


    Aftering back from the funeral, Vivian had often wondered what would it be if Mr. Easton had opened his arms for the man whom Charlotte loved. There was only more death in that path. They had already seen the reality of what happened when Mr. Easton refused, so what could have deviated the path?


    "Then how do we avenge for the deaths? I might not be able to live with myself," the words pricked her chest. Neither could she but what else was there?


    "Maybe we save as many lives as we can, keep them safe in the hope that no one else will have to lose what we have lost," she pulled the kerchief from the pocket of her skirt and started to tie around his hands, "I have only one," she murmured after tying the kerchief on his hand. Suddenly another appeared in front of her face.


    "I have one," she nodded her head. Sure she had given the words of self-assurance to Leo but she was still weak with what she experienced. Just as she was rotating the white cloth and turning it around three drops of water fell on his hand, "Come here," Leo took his hand away from her to bring her to hug him.


    "Everything will be alright," he gently smoothened the back of her hair with one of his hand. She nodded her head without speaking a word as her lips trembled. She gulped the pain that had brewed in her chest, "It''s okay," he whispered to her, "I won''t let anything happen to you or anyone whom we hold dear to our hearts."


    "Yes," she responded back, pulling back to see him give her an encouraging smile. He wiped her tears with both his thumbs.


    "Come. Let''s burn this man the death he deserves," Leo held her hand as he got up.


    Picking the man by his leg, he was dragged where neither the magistrate, the guardsmen or any other living soul who wasn''t a turned ck witch didn''t notice them. The ck witches had already started to set themselves on fire without the need of spark thanks to Hueren and the magic markings around the vige. Having the nearest witch who was still burning, they put the man next to it, which didn''t take long for the body to be set on fire.


    Standing next to Leo, Vivian saw the man burn dead. Waiting until thest residue to be burnt to a pile of ashes. Something came to her mind as the fire fizzled out, "Why was it easy to kill the witch, the one main one in the house?"


    "Few witches are weak, as much as brain they try to make use of, their bodies are weak and are protected by spells. Transferring energies can reduce a ck witch''s resistance to death," he answered her question, making her realize that it could be true. The time when she had been caught by the witch, she couldn''t get a word of voice out of her mouth and maybe the ck witch had cast a curse which had made her weak at that point of time.


    Leonard put an arm around Vivian''s shoulder and brought her close, kissing the side of her temple.


    "Are you alright?" she heard him ask her.


    Vivian nodded her head, taking her turn to ask him, "Are you?"


    "In good time," he replied back meeting her eyes and then turning to look at the ashes that were left out of the body, "Our work is done here. Let''s get back home now."


    Like many other cases which Leonard''s team had worked on, the one with the ck witch''s involvement had turned out to be sessful. And though many congratted Leonard and Heuren for their work in the council meeting, it was something that thedy in their team had done was more than remarkable.


    No one knew her ability which only made it easy in solving the case and the future case she would work on while it made it that much harder to hide the things she found out. Some were nice but most of the things were hard to digest. But the truth was always hard to digest.


    The next cases that were taken upon them were easier and simple one''s, some which were very simr when it came to burning the witches. Vivian came to learn the bad and the good side of the people who existed in thesends. Some needed assistance were they had to travel across thends.?A few weeks passed to have two months move from the time they had solved the case of Charlotte Easton.


    In the church of Bonke, Vivian one day made a visit to confess the turmoil she felt in her heart. Leonard had apanied her. Sitting in one of the benches ends, he looked at his wife who stood in the confession box.


    It didn''t make sense to him as to why one would have a box for privacy when he could hear what Sister Isabelle and Vivian were speaking. He wore a cored white ck shirt which stood stark contrast to his blonde hairs which stood out on his face. With his legs crossed and his hand crossed over his chest, his back leaned against the wooden bench to sitfortably.


    "Forgive me, sister, for I have sinned," he heard Vivian''s wind chime-like voice drift in the confession box.


    Leonard had grown up around blood thanks to Nichs Rune but the same couldn''t be told for Vivian. Maybe if he and others hadn''t sheltered her with abundant love she would have noticed it but then she wasn''t living in that part of the world until his family came into the picture. Her life was a tender one and now that the strong breezed trying to pluck the petals ou of the weather, she was trying to hold in the feelings.


    In the past few days that had gone by, she had been quiet. Though she smiled when he was around it wasn''t the same when he wasn''t around. Her first task would be remembered until the end of the time and for her sake, he had picked simpler ones sending her along with Heuren while he looked into the muchrger one.


    It wasn''t that he thought that she wasn''t capable.


    Vivian was far more than capable but she needed to ease into the work before she started an actual one. It might have sounded and looked selfish but for him, she was his world and there was nothing more important than her but to protect her.


    He wanted to give her time and thinking it might be easier to feel light by talking to someone other than him, he had subtly suggested her to go to the church.

 Chapter 207 - White Witch- Part 1

    "What is it about?" he heard Sister Isabelle ask her. Vivian didn''t answer for the first few seconds and he noticed that Sister Isabelle didn''t hurry her to ask what it was. Instead, the woman gave her enough time to gather the words she hade here.


    "I don''t know," Vivian whispered from the box. Her eyes trained on the wooden nks which covered her from the world right now.


    "That''s alright. A lot of things we don''t know why we feel heavy and guilty about. Do you feel guilty, Vivian?" Sister Isabelle asked her from the other side, "Talk to me child. Anything and everything, you have my ear and I shall not judge for what you tell," coaxed the woman.


    "I...I feel everything that''s happened is wrong," Vivian stated, her fingers ying together along with each other in a very slow movement on herp, "I wish I could help more but it feels like the more I step and involve myself, the more I end it piles to guilt."


    "Do you want to leave the council? It is alright if you want to."


    "No. I don''t n to quit working in the council," she admitted to herself and to Sister Isabelle, "I am scared sometimes."


    "About what you see? Your ability?" asked Sister Isabelle, "Is that what you came to confess for?" thedy gave her time to reply back to her and Vivian took more than a minute this time, wondering how to put in words.


    "I am thankful for what I have received, by this, I can help people who are in need. The innocent but the ability doesn''t stop there. It scares me because I see things sometimes. Things that have not taken ce or things that fall into parallel to what has happened," Vivian paused, looking away from where she had previously been seeing, she continued, "Like what happened with the woman in the snow mansion."


    The matter was a confidential one with what happened but having sister Isabelle around for so long, it didn''t feel like she had to hide it not because she was the one taking her confession.


    "Before I went to give my second exam, I saw thedy over and over again until I actually saw and met her in the mansion. I know you might think it to be a figment of my imagination but when Leo and I went there, we never went to a certain part of the mansion that was where the woman once used to reside the most," as she said this she heard Sister Isabelle speak from the other side.


    "Nothing if a figment of imagination, Vivi," the woman spoke to her as if a mother would with her child to tell she believed her.


    "There have been a few dreams, especially one which has been bothering metely," said Vivian clutching her hands together, "I see Leonard there with blood on his chest, too much blood to know that it is his and not someone else''s," she knew Leo was out there listening to every word she spoke right now and she didn''t want to hide it. Sometimes, it was easier to speak to a stranger than someone who was directly involved in the matter, "It is always the same and I cannot help but worry for what our future holds," she confessed what was actually bothering her.


    Leonard who had been sitting there listening to her and the sister had closed his eyes until he heard what Vivian dreamt of. These few days he had thought it was her first assignment that had upied her mind but it seemed that it was her dreams or premonitions about him in it that had put her in such an anxious state.


    Sister Isabelle said,?"Subconsuoious details can lead to a lot of meanings but they need not fall right into what we think of believe it to be true. What did you see when regarding the mistress of the second lord of Bonke?" so Sister Isabelle knew about the woman too, thought Vivian to herself.


    "I saw here close to me in anger. Angry and screaming," she replied back to her question on the ghost dreams.


    "And was that how she was when you met her?"


    "No..."


    "Dreams even though they are recurring, it is something our mind likes to y like a memory in a loop due to a lot of factors. You never had these dreams before and it is only recently I believe that you started seeing them, yes?"


    "Yes."


    "Then there is nothing to worry about. It might be just your mind that has been trying to take a lot of things in," Sister Isabelle tried to make her understand, an evident smile in her voice, "Leo, is a special and lucky mand and so are you to have each other to be loved so dearly that you would start to worry about the other. It is very natural that our mind will project our worries and the state of mind through our dreams."


    "There is nothing else," answered Vivian and finally when she stepped out of the confession box she saw Leo waiting for her who from sitting on the bench was now standing in the front, who was lighting the candles one by one.


    Vivian didn''t know what Leo would ask or say to her but when he saw her, he ced the candle on the stand and raised his hand for her to take. At the same time, Sister Isabelle stepped out of the box too.


    "How do you feel now?" he pushed the strand of her hair behind her ear while staring into the depth of her eyes which seemed much clearer than the fog that had been hovering over previously.


    "Better," she gave him a smile.


    "That''s good to hear. Better is always good," he murmured, leaning forward he kissed her forehead. Pulling away, he ruffled the hair that had settled there lightly to hide it with a smile, "You know, Vivi, I am not going anywhere. Did you forget what the soul bond is about?"


    She shook her head, "I didn''t but you matter to me more than I."


    "And I have the same words for you. I will not leave you alone in this terrifying world," he said pulling her close in his arms, "I didn''t leave you when had a spider terrify you. I will be there to remove not one but hundreds and thousands of them for you. So please don''t worry about it."


    "I will try," she closed her eyes feeling safe in his embrace.


    "Of course you will," he smiled. He saw Sister Isabelle smile but when it faltered he noticed there was something wrong. Nheless, he held the one person who was dear to him closely. He didn''t have to question what was wrong as he had a fair idea on what it was about from what Vivian spoke of.


    Not wanting to delve in it, he said, "Shall we go?"


    Pulling back he heard her ask, "What about you?" he cocked his head to the side.


    "What about me?"


    "Don''t you have anything to confess?" he gave her a boyish smile.


    "If there is anyone I would want to confess, it would be only you, Bambi. No one else."


    Sister Isabelle cleared her throat, "That itself can be considered as a confession."


    When the couple left, Sister Isabelle continued with what Leo had started by lighting the candles which began to burn brightly at the touch of the me. Father Connor who had gone out for a small errand of Sister Isabelle arrived back to see the couple to have left.


    "Did you sprinkle it everywhere?" she asked without stopping what she was doing.


    Father Connor came around, holding an empty bucket which was previously full, "Yes, Sister Isabelle. I made sure to put the remnants in the river. Every tank and every canal of stored water. Didn''t leave single house untouched. Do you think it will work?"


    "It will," she answered.


    She had spent the whole day in preparing the rituals and another day in praying with the water she had collected which would act stronger than the holy water itself but this holy water wasn''t to affect the vampires. They were for the ck witches and the new foreign creature called the switchers. Once one of them would consume it would create the right reaction by driving them away from the humans and when that would happen she would be able to kill them one by one without anyone''s notice.?If blood had been spilt before here, with the involvement of the ck witch and white witch, she could tell that there was more toe.


    "Will you be creating more of them?" asked the man cing the bucket at the side of the wall.


    "I will have to once we are done here. I think it is time we moved from this ce, Connor."


    "Will the council allow us?" Father asked in doubt. The council kept a close watch on the white witches which was as close as one would with the ck witches. Connor was an ordinary human who hade to serve God but being Sister Isabelle''s apprentice for so long now, he wanted to follow where she went.


    "They won''t," she smiled cing the candle back and turning to look at his confused face, "They don''t need to know, Connor."


    "But they will kill you if they find you disobeying their orders."


    "True. But I don''t have enough time either. My time here hase close to an end and it is only a matter of a few days before I leave," Sister Isabelle hummed, she offered him a smile which the man didn''t take well.


    "Why would you say that? I would be lost without your guidance," he argued pressing his lips in a thin line. He had known her since he had joined the service of the church. Though most of the times she kept her thoughts to herself, as a white witch the woman was admirable for helping many people who sometimes weren''t of the samend or kind, "Have you caught consumption for the witches that cannot be cured?"


    The white witch didn''t answer to his query and walked towards the water offering, sprinkling them on her hands. She had taken Father Connor under her wing but the man not once doubted her capabilities. There had been times when she had to leave thends and he had stood by guarding the church and holding the council of with lies so that they wouldn''t know she had left thends. Some councilmen were good but there were some who didn''t take anyone''s existence but theirs into ount.


    "You have outdone yourself, Connor," she looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes twinkling softly, "You will be fine. And once I am done cleansing this vige, I shall start moving up and West, I will need you to stay here to guard."


    "But-"


    "We need to eliminate as many enemies as we can before a war starts. And they," she paused, withoutpleting the sentence she smiled, "Come help me with the herbs. It will save me time."


    On the arrival of night, Sister Isabelle took hold of herntern and stepped out of the Church through the backdoor alone. The me of thentern burnt intermediately, it''s me enclosed in the ss case as she walked away from the church and closer to the forest which came after the town.


    Like many other nights, thend of Bonke wasn''t fortunate to have a stary night with the moon emitting the light down. She walked into the forest, her footsteps slowing down when she edged closer and away from the vige.?She heard the whispers of the leaves which was brought by the wind.


    She turned the knob of the light to lowered down the me until it waspletely extinguished.

 Chapter 208 - White Witch- Part 2

    Hearing a snap of twig not too far from where she stood,?Isabelle didn''t turn her head but stood where she had stopped. Bending down, she ced thentern that she had turned off, allowing the darkness to engulf her surroundings.


    She didn''t move for a very long time until she heard someone running towards her. The ck witch had turned herself to her natural appearance from the human skin she had adorned to the scaly hard skin which would scare a human. It bared its mouth at her but Isabelle moved her hands and legs with agile to kick the ck witch''s stomach and then throw the person across a tree next to her. With a bump, the ck witch fell down but things like this were measly things that didn''t hurt the ck witch.


    The scaly woman got on her feet, standing up and throwing something in the air which was directed to Isabelle. Murmuring a few curse words, the person came to attack again with full force and Isabelle had to push the person away to start her incantation but something happened that the white witch started to cough.


    With a sudden pain in her chest, she coughed first to clear her throat but as it continued she covered her mouth to feel the wetness on her hand as well as the iron taste in her mouth. Even though it was dark, she could see the blood that she had coughed out. It seemed that she had lesser time than she had thought, thought Isabelle in her mind. She heard the ck witch snicker in front of her.


    "So weak for a white witch. Has the church rusted your powers and your nature," the ck witch tsked as her tongue slithered in and out of her mouth. The ck witch assumed that it was her spells that had caused the white witch to spout blood out not knowing the real reason while not knowing who she truly was.


    By her words, Isabelle wondered how many other ck witches resided here who knew about a white witch guarding the Church. For the holy water to take into effect, it would take time and the reaction varied from one witch to another. The holy water had been created to the point where even the white witch could be effected from it.


    There was no point wasting the time here as she could hear other russels that were approaching the forest which meant more ck witches were going toe here. When the ck witch came at her, Isabelle?quickly pulled the knife from her dress to run right through the ck witch who hade to show itself after the holy water she had asked to sprinkle around the vige. She ran her knife through the ck witch''s neck already experienced with the hunting of their kind, she twisted and pushed the knife at the right area before slitting it in an open wound where ck blood sprouted out of her neck.


    Not soon, another two ck witches appeared and Isabelle took them away from the vige as she was chased by them. ck witches enjoyed the chase as much as any rabid animal did until they were caught in her trap. She killed one of them easily while the other took her time by ying with her who was chatty.


    "Why is a white witch disrupting the lives in the town? Does the council know about your little deed?" asked the ck witch circling her with a coy smile. The ck witch was too adamant to lose it''s skin that it kept its human form as it spoke to her.


    "Does the council know that there are ck witches who have decided to take the towns and viges as home?" the white witch questioned back with a serene and kept face.


    "There are some who do," replied back the ck witch and as shocking as the news reached her ears, Isabelle continued to keep her face the same way as it was before without a hint of surprise crossing her features.


    It looked like nothing had changed since her time in Valeria. She had tried hard to fight back the internal hidden monarchy but while doing that she had lost some of her close people. There were times when she wondered if the people whom she had tried to oppose had something to do with her death.


    "Might you tell me before dying who they are?" Isabelle gave a sweet smile which in a different scenario would have appeared to be sweet and harmless. Her hand gripped on the knife she was holding.


    "You''re much more confident than the other white witches but what makes you think you can kill me?" the ck witch asked smiling back at her, her steps coquettish as she walked while keeping a good distance between them, "What is your name? I will be sure to spread a good word about your bravery against a ck witch. It might even run down history," the ck witch''s eyes fell on her fellow sister whoid there sprawled and dead on the ground.


    "I don''t think it''s worth your time knowing about me. How many others have taken home here? I wasn''t expecting to have more two but it looks like I have more as time goes by," both the witches ran at each other their knives shing against each other before jumping back and away at the way the sparks flew, "Rather than praise for my bravery I would like to have the honor of knowing who is your older sister, sister," her legs felt weak and her chest still hurting as she kept up with the ck witch''s continuous assaults on wanting to kill her.


    "My elder sister? Why do you ask? We don''t speak of her name," the ck witch looked at Isabelle who tried to move away as if she wanted to escape from her, "She''s very special, more special than us or your kind."


    "What makes you say that?"


    "Ah! For a white witch, you are sure talkative. She is the daughter of the darkness that we alle from. The head of the origin of the ck witches, a low white witch with no power who is weak has no right to learn the name but then you should know. I can smell from the blood that you have coughed that you are going to die soon. The stench of your death is so strong that I can smell it from here," snickered the ck witch, crouching a little and then pulling back up t stand straight, "Her name was Sabbi."


    Sabbi? Isabelle had nevere across this name before. Who was the person?


    "What do you mean <i>was</i>?" asked Isabelle.


    "She goes by another face and name now. We don''t know, we are not to know," the ck witch cackled like it was a secret that was kept to be hidden, "Now that I have given you the opportunity to know who our big sister is, I think it is time for you to leave. You will leave anyways so why not right?"


    The ck witch attacked her with curses and spells that were spurted out of her mouth which Isabelle had to shield herself from. Some were physical where the ck witch''s nail scrapped her skin on her arm.


    "For an old woman, you aren''t bad,"mented the hideous witch who had slowly started to transform but toe back to its human form. The features kept fluctuating back and forth until there was an unevenness in the way the ck witch looked with patches. The creature crawled up the tree and to stand on a thick branch to look down at her.


    "Thank you," Isabelle took thepliment before giving one of her own, "For a young low-grade ck witch, you aren''t back yourself," the ck witch sent a small re towards her.


    "What is your name??It has been extremely difficult to get hands-on your white witches. I will have a pleasure knowing whom I killed and will be making use of in my potions. There was once this white witch sister of yours who had tried to be brave," said the ck witch walking on the branch which led to another tree branch. She walked straight before turning around to go back in the way she hade, "Do you know what happened to her?"


    "Please enlighten me," smiled Isabelle, she looked down at her arm to see the red line of blood that had trickled down to her fingers. She looked at the child of ck witch taking her time as if she were elongating her time span by sparing and providing her with an extra few seconds before she would kill Isabe off.


    "I am surprised you haven''t heard about it."


    "Maybe because the white witches don''t talk often. Not like the way the back witch''s gossip," stated the white witch for the ck witch tough again.


    "You are very entertaining. Unfortunately, it won''t be very entertaining when I pull out your tongue and cut it for my use. The white witch was told to be very meddlesome. She tried to get into the council''s business wanting to do good. It is funny that she evensted that long. But then I heard that she had this list of names. The names of the older ck witches who have taken residence across the fournds," the ck witch stopped with her walking back and forth on the branch to face Isabelle, "She was the second Lord''s wife. Valeria''s lord but after her death, no one could find where that list went. One even went close to looking at the mansion but they couldn''t get anything."


    Isabelle''s eyes turned away from the ck witch to think about it before she saw the person jump down on the ground, "You are a meddlesome person like many other white witches my sister and I have killed but maybe not that meddlesome," she said putting one step forward and getting closer to her, "So pray tell me your name," she shook her head sweetly as her appearance turned back to one who looked like a human without a hint of her showcasing that she was a ck witch.


    "Why don''t you try finding it out before one of us dies," challenged the older woman out of the two, her smileding back up on her lips.


    "Sure," the ck witch smiled and then pounced on her, to push her own knife into the white witch''s body which both of them struggled. After fightining off each other, the ck witch stole and threw Isabelle''s knife away in the dark with a small nk on the ground. Happy to see that there was no way she could protect herself, the ck witch spoke "I think it is time for you to die now," with this she came near but to her surprise, the older woman was fast. Maybe the fastest she had met until now among all the other witches she hade across.


    Isablle pulled the ck witch by her arm and then threw her right on the ground with the head falling first on the surface which impacted the witch''s vision for to seconds. The white witch spelt out a few curses of her own in time where the ck witch couldn''t move more than an inch.


    Isabelle pulled out another knife from her dress, "Such an illiterate child," the white witch tuted, "Do you think I would have only one knife without having another spare?" she smiled down at the person whose facial along with the body hade to turn to its natural scaly form. "You wanted to know my name," Isabelle came to hover and sit on the ck witch.


    "My name is Isabelle Genevive. Wife of the the second Lord of Valeria," this earned her a very satisfing expression from the ck witch who looked as if she had seen a monster like never before.


    "Y-you are, y-you are supposed to be d-d-"


    "Dead?" chuckled Isabelle, "Guess who came back to even the score," with that she stabbed the ck witch''s throat and then moved her hand in the opposite direction for the blood to spurt out like a bubbling mud in a swamp.


    Getting up and away from the body, she looked down at the dead witch her gaze moving around the forest to find the other two bodies who weren''t far. She coughed again, her chest feeling tight as if the air that was previously there had started to reduce. She coughed blood again on her hand, wiping it away on her kerchief she decided to burn the bodies before one woulde to question what happened here.


    Once she had taken the three dead bodies away from the forest and from the vige where no one could suspect, she lit them up to see their bodies burn brightly in front of her. Leaving the scene after they had turned to ashes, she went back to the church to create more of the holy water which would be needed for the other viges.

 Chapter 209 - Lost Letters- Part 1

    Vivian puffed both the pillows together, putting it back at the headrest, she pulled and sweeped the covers with her hands so that the bed looked neat. Taking a look around the empty room, she sat at the edge of the bed. Eyes falling on the drawer that was next to the bed, she leaned forward to pull and open it.


    This drawer seemed to be like a treasure box of the past memories as this was were Vivian had pulled out the little ribbon which he once had tied around her neck. Touching the neck exactly didn''t give her the needed memory but the memory of the time the man, Ezekiel had tried to strangle her with his bare hands.


    Moving her hand away from her neck, she pulled the entire drawer managing it both her hands to support the weight she put it on the bed. Inside was the ribbon that was the first thing that she saw. There were envelopes, several numbers of envelopes that were almost brown in colour. Wondering who it might be from she picked it up which was bundled with the help of a thread.


    Turning them, she found out that it was none other but her own letters that had been tied around and when she looked at the hollowness the drawer she had pulled out, below was more letters that had been stacked which made her curious herself on what she had written. Looking at the dates she could tell it was four years old one.


    With the door locked there was no one to disturb her and with that thought, she untwined the thread which held all the letters together. Taking hold of the first one, she picked the letter inside it and started to read the contents that it held inside of it.


    <i>''To dear Leo,</i>


    <i>I asked Paul today if I could visit you at the mansion that you live but he said I would need special permission for it. I couldn''t ask Mrs Carmichael because she has been busy with the guests. It has been a while since you visited us here. I was hoping to see you.</i>


    <i>Yours,</i>


    <i>Vivian.''</i>


    The letter was short, noted Vivian. She had sent plenty of letters over the years he was there to make up to the loss of time. Though Leonard had moved for those years, not able to spend the same quality time he once used to, Vivian had tried to keep them tied together. For any person, it would have looked silly. After all, she was a maid that time and he was the royal young master who excelled in almost everything which included his temper with what hadnded him at the Rufus and the Rune''s mansion.


    For a servant to write letters was unheard of. If Sullivan Carmichael had found about it, the letters would have not only been burnt but Vivian would have been banned from being near an ink quill or parchment of papers to send to Leonard.


    Paul had encouraged the little girl to write but he never had an intention to pass those letters to the young master. The first time week when Leo had left, Vivian had gone searching the entire mansion not realizing that the boy wasn''t going toe back anytime soon. His absence had left her in tears which was very much simr to how it had been when it came to her separation with her parents. Paul had urged her to write to divert her mind, hoping the little one would forget about it as days passed by.


    When she was almost done writing, Mrs Carmichael had found the little one writing. She took the letter and sent it to the Rune''s mansion and if it were anyone else, the letter might have been thrown away but instead, it went to Nichs Rune''s hand which he found quite endearing. Leo was still adjusting at that moment and wasn''t in terms with the young Lord of Bonke who was giving him a difficult time just like he did. To warm him up and have a link back to home, he gave the letter every time it arrived.


    Young Leo was bound to write back to the young human girl. Aware that the girl was affected by his absence he had written back to her which continued for years until they met again. Mrs Carmichael was aware of this little exchange but she never came in between to it wanting and hoping that one day the girl woulde to tame her son''s temper which was vtile at times.


    Vivian right now went to open the next letter which was dated a few days after the letter which she had just opened. Opening it, she read,


    <i>''To young master Leo,</i>


    <i>Having not received back a reply from you from days, I am hoping everything is well on your side. It is alright if I don''t get permission. I shall wait for your visit to the mansion. Please don''t be careful about the weather. I caught a cold and a fever which is taking time to subside. I hope you are well, young master Leo.</i>


    <i>Your''s faithful,</i>


    <i>Vivian.''</i>


    The letter read and Vivian noticed the difference in the first and the second letter which she held in her hands. In the first letter it was informal addressing while this one, it addressed Leonard as ''young master Leo''.


    Somewhere in the back of her memories, she remembered the faint memory of the way she had written. It was five years ago but they had spent most of their time writing to each other with the distance, making up for the lost time and space. She had been worried at that time. Worried that she had offended him in some sort of way where she didn''t know what wrong she had done. To fix her mistakes, she had given him the status for a maid like her had to address him. But the letter and its writing had done the trick. Leonard had arrived the next day right after receiving the letter from her.


    She still didn''t know if it was the way she had addressed him or if it was her fever that had raged the next day half out of worry and anxiousness that had brought him to the mansion.


    To an outsider, it would have appeared that Leonard hade to meet his parents but in truth, he had met them already a week before it and had onlye to see Vivian.


    A smile came up her lips thinking about. These memories of theirs were sweet. Sweet and bitter now with the things going on. As d as she was that they had crossed the first hurdle together. It didn''t remove the danger that had already settled and made a home around them. The time was dark and one could only hope that it would get better in theing years.


    They had solved Charlotte''s case but they couldn''t find the sce with the people who were responsible already dead. Were was redemption there? Emotions were snuffed, pain pushed away like it was a passing wind. They didn''t know how many other switchers still existed in thesends. Two had died out of time limit but there was the main one who resided in the council which none could figure yet. Whom to trust and whom to not? It was a hard thing to do, thought Vivian to herself.


    There was a ck witch who had used the help of the pureblooded vampire, Jamien but Jamien was dead and there was nothing they could deduce on. It was obvious that the switcher who was in the council was working with the ck witch but how were they to know?


    Vivian remembered the time of the memory where Rory and the woman were speaking to each other. She had spoken about already trying on a family. Was that the Carmichael''s family? It only made sense. The Carmichael''s and Easton''s families had been sacrificed in the name of hate that brewed between the creatures.


    She wanted to go to Valeria but now that she was in the council, moving made it difficult and she couldn''t. Every day there was a job. Every day there was an issue that needed to be solved from day to night and with extended hours if it was required. The responsibility never stopped and the mind stayed upied.


    Picking up all the envelops, she tied them back to ce it in the drawer neatly as it was when she found a little box in the corner of the drawer. A little confused she looked at it before picking it up and pushing the drawer back in its ce.


    It was a music box. Very much simr to what she had. Curious to know how it was tuned, she opened it which clinked to a piece of music which made her smile. The music box which she had herself was one which Leonard had gifted her. She turned the little knob at the side to hear the same music that yed from it bringing a wider smile to settle on her lips.


    It tinkled until she kept turning it around. The door to the room opened and in came Leonard to see her with the music box.


    "I didn''t know there were two of them," said Vivian shifting her body to the left to face him. The music continued to y in the background again as she had turned the knob.


    "I bought it a few months after I left this ce," Leo eyed the little music box as he removed his coat and uncuffed his sleeves to fold it up to his elbow.


    Leonard who had been out with Sir Malcolm Rufus had apanied the man due to a vige dispute that had arisen in regards to thendowners where a nearby fair was held. Leo had visited the fairs only with Vivian in the words of her getting lost if he wasn''t around. Remembering the gift he had fixed and given her, he had searched for the exact music fervently. His actions didn''t make sense and instead, he had argued to himself that it was because he didn''t have a music box.


    "This music must be really popr to be sold," murmured Vivian to keep back the music box back in the drawer. Unable to contain the happiness, she said, "I saw my letters in there," her eyes meeting his smiling ones.


    "They were far too precious to be thrown away," he stated. Vivian felt it be true, she had stored all Leo''s letters in a box which now was hidden safely behind one of the cupboard doors, "How about mine?" she heard him ask her.


    "They are somewhere safe but those are theter year ones. I think Paul must have kept it somewhere or thrown it away after I was done reading it," as Vivian was young and a maid, receiving letters from the young master of the house wouldn''t look good on him. After Paul passed away, Vivian had been one of the maids who had taken upon clearing his room and she had hoped to find the lost letters but had found not a single one in there.


    It saddened her.


    "That''s alright. I am here right now, so you don''t have to worry about those lost letters," Leo leaned forward, his head angling down at her face as his lips hovered, "Talking about thest few letters I must say there were a few things that didn''t settle well with me," Vivian raised her brows in question on what it was.


    "What was it about?"


    "Just a little girl whom I thought was recing my ce in your life with someone else," his expression was serene and though they were married, the time he had received the letter had turned his mood sour and rotten.


    "Eh? But I never did, which letter was that?" she saw him pull back from the kiss she was anticipating from him.

 Chapter 210 - Lost Letters- Part 2

    [<strong><strong>Important Note. Please read</strong>1</strong>:


    This book is ending on Oct 1st and the next book in the series ''Young master Damien''s pet'', chapters have been started to be uploaded. I would love it if you guys would add the story and start supporting the book with your continued read. You can vote for the new book from Oct 1st until then continue to shower your power stones to this book.


    Due to the end of BAD by almost this month-end, there will be NO privilege. I will be removing it which would mean you will get all the chapters from privilege to be unlocked as your regr chapters. To know when it will be released, go to ''About this book'', in the info tab you will be able to see ''Purchase privilege to get...'' click on it and you will be able to see the time left for it to expire.


    The SS for this chapter HAS BEEN set before so even if I add one whole extra chapter to the existing content, it would still have the previous Spirit stone that was set. I know some of you don''t read the author''s note. Hence I am writing here tomunicate with you guys. Also because the author''s note cannot fit in this much content.


    WN is going tobine the ranking of books, therefore, getting into top 20 is going to be difficult from this point. Don''t forget to log in to the app every day to vote for the book, it only takes a couple of taps. We are currently in rank #23


    I will be writing another book too- ''The graveyard shift'' which you can add to your library. Be ready to binge read BAD soon.


    Thank you for hearing me out~]


    Leonard moved away from Vivian, his hand reaching down to the lower cupboard where he pulled it. Running his fingers over some of them while looking at their dates, Vivian wondered if he was taking out the proof of what he had just said now.


    "Here it is," he said, picking up the bundle of the letters, he untied them and picked one out of it. Opening the envelope, he didn''t hand it over to her but instead he read it out loud, "To dear Leonard," he started to turn to speak to her, "I noticed you often switching my name to Leo and Leonard and back to Leo. What was that about?" he asked her.


    Vivian gave an awkward smile to him, "Well, that was just something to switch up so that they didn''t look mundane," sheughed to let out a sigh of breath when he turned his eyes back at the letter. The reason wasn''t to switch anything up but because there were times when she came to realize their difference in status. Unlike other maids, Vivian had been educated by Leo himself which sheter carried on to learn during his absence to make him proud. His praise was rare, and being the only true friend who was close to her age, the need to get his praises was everything for little Vivi.


    At times it didn''t matter that she addressed him Leo but sometimes it would go to read as ''young master Leo'' which was quite obvious to Leonard that something was running in her head.


    She heard him continue to read the letter.


    "<i>I hope you are doing well since yourst visit. Paul said spring is here but I don''t see any flowers blooming due to the dampened weather</i>," to read the letter by herself was one thing but having him read it out loud caused a faint blush on her cheeks, "<i>But I noticed there has been less rainparing to the other weeks and month. As we servants are given a day off every six months, and I hadn''t used it for anything. Mr Killian who is the tailor of the family wanted assistance in buying the woollen threads with other needles and object that I decided to volunteer my time on it. He will be teaching me on how to knit and design clothes and maybe I can turn to a tailor assistant in the future. Won''t that be nice?</i> <i>I am hoping to help him this weekend. Mr Killian has been nice enough to offer me work today. He said I have potential and I can make some good penny. I shall write to you again by the end of this week to let you know what happened. Sending a lot of faith, Vivian</i>," concluded Leonard.


    "I don''t think there''s anything in there that states of recing you," said Vivian clearing her throat.


    "Is that so? You nned to leave the Carmichael''s household to work for the man. Don''t tell me it isn''t what you wanted in the future," Leo''s eyes slightly narrowed down to hers as he picked the very next letter from where he had picked, "I was nning toe to meet you but by the time I had reached and received the letter a week had already passed and I had another letter waiting from you," he said waving another letter in his hand.


    Vivian already knew the contents of it as she still remembered the disappointment she had felt. As if skipping most of the contents in the letter which he opened, Leo read only a part of it, "<i>Unfortunately I couldn''t work for the man as he said he found another assistant and he will be moving to the next city which would be difficult tomute back and forth</i>."


    "It wasn''t that I nned to leave the mansion back then but I thought it would be wonderful to have a work which would be better than being a maid," Vivian sighed. Though her feelings hadn''t blossomed for Leonard at that point of time and was rather a bud, the bud had grown far too attached to him. She wished to be at his level. Leonard was the person whom she looked up to since her childhood, it wasn''t Paul it wasn''t Martha but Leonard who she wanted approval from, "It was only that time did Ie to realize and understand how different our lives were. When I couldn''t meet you at the time I wanted to."


    "Nichs wasn''t weing any strangers when you spoke about meeting me and we were going to travel to Wovile which made it difficult to reply," replied Leonard, his eyes tender on her face as he saw her looking forward. She nodded her head ever so lightly.


    "I know. I received your letter from Wovile. Your letter made me happy, happy that you thought of me during your journey," a smile came upon her lips, "I wanted to be up to your status to match it but then an assistant tailor wasn''t much of status, was it?"


    He shook his head but a smile ying on his lips, "But it is good to know you aimed to be something more than just a maid. To be ambitious is good though," he frowned, "If you put my education to use would be much apudable than where it wouldn''t be needed."


    "I thought of being a governess at one point in time but I doubt I was eligible to it," she admitted it to him, "It was when Jerome offered me work at his mansion did I think about moving."


    "I am d you didn''t and I came before it. Howe I didn''t hear about it in thest letters of yours?"


    Vivian gave him a wide smile, "I wanted to surprise you with the news," and now that she thought about it, she was happy that he came before she decided to move. Moving from one household to another wasn''t easy though. They always needed approvals from the owners as they pretty much owned the servants. And even if Vivian was brought in by Martha due to her work and experience one wouldn''t let go of the servant.


    "Your surprise would have made me really furious," he said giving her a pointed look before cing the letter back in the brown envelope and putting it back in the drawer to push itpletely, "Do you know how worried I was when I heard about that tailor?"


    "I can imagine it now," she felt him pick her hands which rested on the bed.


    "You were this little butterfly which I was trying hard not wanting to scare away yet to keep an eye while you fluttered around. No man likes to share his woman, Vivian. Not in the slightest idea as it would only drive them mad," her heart made a somersault in her chest as he said those to her, "You have been one of my most precious things to hold very dear to my heart. Maybe the only thing."


    "I was always here," she whispered as the air started to slip out of her chest. She closed her eyes when he kissed her lips into a toe-curling one which was sweeter than the berries he and she had plucked when they were young secretly.


    "You were here but I was here to watch you grown. We spent our time writing letters to each other since we were children like lovers in love which was innocent. But when a manes off to be at an age where he realizes the love he feels, the person would like to keep their lover close by. To see and perceive what is in front of you. To run their hands over the covers and the ridges," his hand ran down from her cheek to her neck as he pulled her for another kiss, "It sometimes gets unbearable and when you find letters like those, you don''t know how much I wanted toe back here and punish you for unknowingly straying away from me."


    "I would have never strayed away from you, Leo. I would have possibly be a tailor ande to meet you where ever you were as an excuse," Vivian smiled, saying it between the kisses on her lips and cheeks which went down to kiss her neck.


    "True that was one of the possibilities or the other being I would have to corner the deer until you realized the situation we were already caught up in," he bit into her skin making her flinch in the pain and pleasure bite which was kissed down to soothe her skin.


    Making her backy t down on the bed, Leonard started to pull out thece of her dress one after another before he pushed it down. Discarding his own clothes, he kissed back her lips as their bodies entangled around each other yfully. It had been a while since they had gone to bed together like this, spending their time loving each other as Vivian had more than often fallen asleep once her head hit the pillow.


    Leo kissed her neck, peppering little kisses which tickled her bringing out a bubble ofughter through her lips, "It tickles," sheined to have him bite right at the little soul bond that he had created a few weeks ago, "Ah!"


    He pulled back to ask, "Did that hurt?" she shook her head.


    "Not much," she whispered as they stared into each other''s eyes.


    "I love you, Vivi," he said before iming her body and she cried in pleasure with every move that hit the sweet spots from inside. She clutched on to him, her hands wound around his neck and her head buried in between his neck and shoulders.


    "Leo!" she cried out his name when he came, her eyes dizzying out before she came back to him but Leo wasn''t done loving her. Like a predator who wasn''t done with its meal, Leo began to prowl over her body until the time of midnight leaving Vivian with incoherent words from her mouth.


    Vivian''s naked body was pressed against Leonard''s naked body with only a nket that covered both of them on the bed. The night was cold due to the snow falling from the sky onto thends of Bonke and the firece lit brighter in the room to keep them warm. In sleep, she sought his body for the warmth, snuggling her face in his chest. With a contented sigh escaping from her lips that he could hear she continued to sleep while he ran his hand gently down her hair which spilt on the pillow and the bed.


    After confessing in the church, Vivian had been doing much better in the state of mind. Her smile was unbridled and her thoughts yful like it used to be before. He had hidden away the letters by keeping them safe and he didn''t mind Vivian finding those letters which he felt precious enough to save them. She was his wife so it didn''t matter where she went searching whatever belongings of his.


    His letters, thought Leonard to himself. It was possible that his letters were burnt as anyone else finding it, especially that someone being his uncle Sullivan at that point of time wouldn''t have gone down well with it. That''s why it was understandable that his letters weren''t saved and one side he was happy about it. God only knew what would happen if it fell in wrong hands at that time.


    "Leo..." he heard Vivian utter his name in her sleep. Pulling the nket over her and him, he pulled her closer into his arms.


    "Don''t worry, Bambi. Whatever troubles you, we''ll find a solution and fix it. You don''t have to fight it alone," he whispered ever so softly.


    Sister Isabelle had told her not to worry about her dreams as they didn''t hold any grave significance but that didn''t stop him from thinking about it. The woman had been nice enough to ease his wife''s heart but the look on her face before they left the church told him something else.


    Please read the above section of the chapter of author''s note.

 Chapter 211 - Case Files- Part 1

    Sitting in the room, Vivian read the case file which had been given to the team in the time of the morning. Leonard and the others were out and attending the meeting with the head council which she couldn''t join yet. To attend the meeting held by the head council, one needed credibility level as well as experience of time which she didn''t have right now. She had solved part of the first case she had taken but the light hadn''t been shed on what actually happened.


    It made Vivian wonder if this was going to happen for the rest of the cases too. Putting her head down on the desk, she exhaled loudly. She thought to herself, at this rate her credibility would go in a snail''s pace.


    Therefore the only work she could do at this moment was to read through what they had received.


    She read the file in her hand which spoke of a boy who had killed his entire family five days ago. He had taken the lives of his two sisters and parents with his bare hands which sounded odd to her. The boy was of the age of twelve, therefore, his father must have been able to fight him off but with the death, she noted that it wasn''t what had happened. The team who had initially taken up the case had investigated the boy along with the bodies. The im was that the boy was the one who had killed his family but in truth, there had been not a single wound that was found on any of the victims. Then wouldn''t that make the boy the victim for being framed by the others for a murder which was caused in an unexpected manner?


    She turned the file that had other parchments attached to it which spoke on the terms and survey done in the house and the words of the vigers. As she was reading the door to the room opened,


    "Lady Vivian, councilman Lionel is waiting for you to join at the court," one of the councilmen informed her after standing at the door without entering the room.


    Vivian picked up her quill and her parchment book which she had made by herself instead of letting the sheets fall all over the ce. She hurried herself to where the council court was. After her first few times in the court, she hade to dislike the court proceedings as the punishments for the criminals and the victims suffering was far too worse than a normal being who didn''t take part in this wouldn''t know something cruel and maniptive existed in this world. Each case was different from another but the punishments were always the same. Either it was death, money to be spared or beatings in the cell rooms until a person was brought to his or her senses.


    Vivian who was on her way met with another councilman Creed Ogen whom she was familiar with. She bowed her head in greeting, "Good afternoon, councilman Creed," her eyes falling another whom she had met a couple of times before she greeted, "Councilman Lancelot."


    "Is everything alright? You appear to be in a hurry," Lancelotmented, pushing his sses back up to the bridge of his nose while also slightly raising his brow as he did that.


    "I have been called by Councilman Lionel," the man responded with an ''Ah'' look.


    "You must hurry along then. He doesn''t take tardiness well," Lancelot smiled. Councilman Creed only gave her a smile before she walked away from them.


    Reaching the courtroom, she saw Lionel who had taken his seat at the high chair. Her chair being empty which she usually took next to the elder man, she went there and opened her parchments. Readying her quill to write she felt her heartbeat. She had almost half run and half walked on her way here. Councilman Lionel had asked her to join him at the proceedings but she had forgotten due to her involvement in reading the case history of what the team had received.


    Thankful that didn''t give her any strange looks. The towns minimal disputes were brought forward and then started the back and forth talk for an hour. It was after that hour did she see the double doors on the right side of the room open and in came the two guards with a young boy between them. Bringing him forward in front of everyone, Lionel spoke for the room to go silent.


    "Samuel Matthews," Lionel spoke the boy while his head was bent down to read the papers which held the names of the criminal or victim who was to be tested and verified. Vivian noted that it was the same boy whose case file she had been reading a few minutes earlier.


    The boy looked scared, his eyes seeking everything around as if he wasn''t sure what was going on. For the boy to be young and a look of anxious filled in it, she felt for the boy, empathizing his current situation for the council to be making unruly usations when they had no proofs. But then that was why he was being put under trial so that someone in his support could take his side. As she saw now there was no one who was fighting for the boy''s innocence. There was no one in the crowd whom she could point out as one of his family members. It reminded her of the time of what might have happened when Paul was subjected to the same treatment.


    "It states here that you killed your sisters and your parents. Why did you do it?" asked Lionel straightforwardly already deciding that he was the cause for his families death.


    "I-I, Sir, have nothing to do with it. I didn''t kill them, I would never kill them. My parents," the boy started to cry with his hands holding his face, "I didn''t kill them," came the muffled voice.


    "You were the only one with them when five of you went to the forest, aye?" asked Lionel reading the report and then looking up to look at the boy, "What happened?"


    Vivian didn''t have to know what had happened as she had already read his statements but the statements were a little awry, making the two things different. What was written and what was spoken were slightly different.


    "We didn''t go to the forest, they were already dead when I returned back home. My parents wanted to go to the forest but we never went there. Please believe me that I had nothing to do. I wasn''t allowed to go see my parents!" the young boy cried.


    "The reason here states that your brother-inw fears that you would only dig their graves as you threatened the guards if they didn''t allow you to see them,"pared to the crying boy, Lionel stated with a calm face hisposure rock like where the tears didn''t move him.


    "No, those are lies! I didn''t say that!" the boy turned frantically searching someone from the crowd and them screaming, "Brother please believe me I had nothing to do with what happened! I didn''t say it! Please believe me!" he cried to get a beating from the guard for causing amotion in the room. Vivian couldn''t believe the way the guardsmen were treating the boy. He was a young boy who seemed to be put under the wrong usation.


    She caught sight of a man who was well dressedpared to the boy who imed to be his brother which was strange. The report said that he had only two other siblings who were his sisters but there was no mention of a brother in there.


    "Mr Senielton," Lionel called a man forward so that he could question the man in front of the court.


    The man made his way up to the front of the court, standing to face the councilman. There was a stark difference when the boy and the man stood next to each other. She came to assume that he was either well off from the rest of the poor family he came from without any contact or he was one of the sister''s husband.


    "Mr Senielton, how long has it been since you married Ms Jane?" asked the councilman as he read through the reports.


    "It has been two weeks since our wedding," the man answered, keeping his eyes in the front without sparing a look at his younger brother-inw who was giving him a pleading look. Murmurs took ce in the court with how unfortunate it was for the bride and groom to be pulled apart with the tragedy that took ce.


    "I am sorry to hear it," and though Lionel uttered those words of apology, he sounded not one bit sorry and it felt more of versed words that would be thrown at people in these kinds of situations, "It looks here that youe from a middle society. What were the circumstances in which you got married to her?" came the question and at the same point, Vivian wondered why these details about this brother-inw were not given in the report that was handed to their team. It felt suspicious.


    Curious to hear the story from the man who stood in front of them, she heard the man reply, "Ms Jane was a beautiful woman. If you ask by the vige men you will hear nothing but praise. She was a beautiful woman by heart too and well-liked. There were many eligible bachelors who wanted her hand in marriage."


    "Could you iterate on what you saw?"


    Mr?Senielton stood quiet for a few seconds. As if he was trying to recollect something very painful over the loss that had urred, especially with his wife''s death, he pressed his lips, "We, our family wanted to go to the forest for a pic. With mine and Mr Hectate''s work, we hadn''t been able to visit each other after the wedding. Jane wanted to meet her parents and I decided to drop her off there-"


    "Drop her? You didn''t spend your time there," questioned Lionel.


    "I did. I first dropped her at the time of night. I had an errand-"


    "What kind of errand?" asked the councilman.


    "I work in the gas shop which hadn''t been put under dposition as some of one of my main workers had taken the week off. His wife was pregnant and she was going to give birth that week ording to the oracle. When I returned back...when I returned back everything was over. My wife was on the floor and my inws dead with her. I tried to wake her up but-" he paused for a good two seconds and then continued, "I saw this boy in there hovered over my sister-inw with his hands around her neck. There were no marks," he said hurriedly which got everyone frowning in the room, "If you look at his back, there''s a sealing mark. A mark which once was used to worship the devils. Check it," the man said for the very first time looking at the boy who shook his head in denial.


    The boy screamed and thrashed to only get his legs beaten up making him fall down on the ground. One of the guards pushed the boys head to the ground while the other pulled the boy''s shirt up. From where Vivian sat, she couldn''t see anything until the young boy was turned around to have his back exposed to Lionel and her. It was a crescent moon-like mark which had two lines that were drawn on it.


    "You can have it looked up and you will find it. I don''t know why he would do it, they were his family," the man turned to look at his young brother-inw, "Why would you do that Samuel?" the boy shook his head in denial.


    "No brother, I didn''t," the boy pleaded, "Please don''t say that!"


    "Your parents and your sisters loved you. I took you in my brother yet this is how you repay your family for looking after you?" the man looked at the boy angry for the very first time as he said it, he turned his head away from the boy, "Don''t call me brother and shame me further to what you have done. God will not let you unpunished for the sins you have caused. Going to the devil for help!"


    "No, brother no! It wasn''t me who killed them. I didn''t do anything. I would never," the boy cried with tears streaming down his face.


    After hearing both of them and looking through the file he had received, Lionel readied himself to pass the judgement.


    Something hit her head at that time. The case was a recent one where further investigation was needed due to which it was sent to her team but then why was the used being trialled this soon. Usually, the trials took ce after the investigation unless it needed some light which was of some grave importance.


    If it were a simple case where the boy had murdered his family, why were the files pushed directly to Lionel for the court proceedings?

 Chapter 212 - Case Files- Part 2

    Turning her head, upright, she looked at Lionel who was staring at the boy with his monocle. Feeling her gaze, the elder man''s eyes turned down to look at her, "What is it?"


    Vivian quickly said, "His case needs to be investigated," she kept her voice low.


    "You aren''t the one judging her in my seat, Lady Vivian," the councilman gave her a sharp look and despite receiving an unpleased looked from her superior she spoke,


    "No. His case was given to us. Our team received it. You cannot put him under the cell room," at the same time she had voiced her thoughts, the same time Leonard entered the door from her left-hand side. The man didn''t bow at anyone in the room. Not even his superior which made Vivian look up to him wondering why his mood looked a little irritated as he tried to keep it under the lid.


    Lionel who had just processed Vivian''s words, turned back to sit straight to find Leonard standing in front of the used and the witness, "Councilman Leonard," greeted his superior with a slight surprise in his voice on why he was here.


    "Council Lionel. I would ask you to withhold your judgment on the boy or anyone else. It is a case that we only received. We would like to take a look at it before you pass the verdict on what has to be done," Leonard didn''t look one bit apologetic for abruptly stopping the proceedings and instead stood tall and rather daunting. He hadn''t bothered to tone down his words or voice as he had asked. It wasn''t a request.


    Vivian with her breath stopped, she turned to look back at Lionel who sat quietly with some amount of murmurs going around the room. After a good minute had passed, the councilman spoke loud making her almost flinch in her seat, "Call the man who was responsible for this days court files! Why are they being mixed up when the investigation hasn''t beenpleted?"


    "Sir councilman Lionel, a blonde-haired middle-aged man came forward. It was the man she hade to see often now in this building.


    "Was it you Abel who sent the files in here today?" Lionel red down at the man named Abel.


    "Of course, not. I didn''t handle this day''s file and am d it isn''t as I wouldn''t want to face your wrath," he bowed his head deeply, "I just came here to look at the proceedings today," Lionel was angry for the little mishap and though it was a small mistake, it was something he didn''t want to look over, "Though I have to say that a mark like that isn''t something that should be looked over. Perhaps you can keep the boy in the cell-"


    "That won''t be needed," Leonard''s words were firm which didn''t want to rebuke any argument from the older man who looked at him with a small smile, "Until the used is proven for the murder until then he shall live where he lives."


    "For a young boy who has no parents, do you think it is safe for one who is of his age to be alone?" asked the councilman named Abel.


    "Mr Senielton," Lionel interrupted them to look at the man who stood behind Leonard.


    "Yes, Sir," the man waited for what the councilman was about to say to him, stepping to the side so that the councilman could look at him without any hindrance.


    The councilman who sat on the high seat spoke to him, "As you are the only family of the boy, the council would like to ask you to look after him while the investigation is still under procession," the man wasn''t pleased to hear that his wife''s killer was going to stay with him at his home.


    And with that the man didn''t hide his displeasure with the court''s words, "He killed my wife," Lionel nodded.


    "That we aren''t a hundred percent sure. Unless we are sure that this is what happened, the court cannot adjourn the case. It shouldn''t take more than two days for the matter to be resolved as the case has been given to an exemry team who will be handling the boy. Rest be assured if it is the devil''s witchery you speak of, we will make sure to protect your home and you from it," concluded Lionel as he exined it to the man.


    With the slight turn of events with Vivian who had spoken her mind and with Leonard who had arrived in time to take the case which had been assigned to them, the young boy looked a little relieved but the mark of worries on his forehead told that he knew that his brother-inw wasn''t happy with him staying there.


    Noticing the boy who looked at Lionel, he spoke, "Excuse me Sir, I don''t mind staying in these cell rooms that you speak of," it broke Vivian''s heart to think that a young boy who had not only lost his family and had been excused of killing them had to not only go through it but also the hate of his sister''s husband who was the only rtive.


    Something told Vivian that the man, who was his brother-inw had something to do with the death. The displeasure was written all over his face.


    "No," Lionel refused the boy''s request, "You will be staying at your closest family which is him. We will see in two days on how things turn out to be. Case dismissed," spoke Lionel loudly for the boy and the man to be taken from the back door.


    Leonard took his leave while the court''s proceedings continued until the time of noon. Picking up her book and her quill she stepped out of her seat when she heard Lionel speak to her, "Good work on the case," and he left the room.?It was one of the very first few things that the man had appreciated and it brought a smile up to her face.


    Stepping out of the room, Vivian saw Leonard who was standing outside, looking at the forests with his hands resting on the built wall, "Leo," she greeted him for him to take her in his arms and leave a kiss right on her cheek.


    "Are you done with the work?" he asked nonchntly. She, who was still reeling from the public disy of affection which he had done outside the court looked as if a deer who had been caught.


    "Ah, yes. It was just until noon," she replied back, a little shy as she caught a few of the spectators looking at the couple.


    By now it was no secret for anyone in the council to know that they were a couple. Though some of them wanted to know if they were married as Vivian wore her gloves over the ring Leonard had given her, the couple had done nothing but shown affection to each other.


    "Would you like to have lunch outside or in here?" he asked her, taking the file from her he saw the notes she had made earlier during Lionel''s question and the answers given by the used and the witness.


    "Outside?" asked Vivian for him to nod. The food ce in the council felt a little hard to breathe with many council members who were usually present. Going outside not only disappeared the eyes that followed them but also gave them time for each other. They went to the local inn where they had started to frequent enough for the owner to know their meal and to give them better seats as they were her regr customers.


    Once they had settled in the seats, Vivian picked up the ss of water that had been ced, sipping from it to see Leo drop something in his ss.


    "What''s that?" she asked him curiously.


    "This, it is a clearing medicine which will remove all the unwanted residues and impurities if someone has tried to put something special in anything we consume," he answered her question keeping it vague. So it was something that was used to avoid the hearts corruption, thought Vivian to herself, "It was created by doctor Murkh. Though he went through my parent''s body it was only after I handed the potion to Nichs did one of the bottles go to him to create an antitode which now is being given to some of us."


    "How many are some?"


    "Our team, Nichs, Rueben, and Murkh himself," he stopped when the owner of the inn came to ce the food at their table, once she was gone, Leo continued, "It is a test and Murkh isn''t sure if it will help hundred percent but we have no test subject as the pureblooded vampires but only animals."


    "It is good to know he created an antitode to help the corruption of the heart," she answered, taking the spoon from the bowl which was already in it, she twirled it around the soup before bringing it up to her lips.


    When their lunch came to an end where Leo paid the woman with bronze coins, they stepped out of the local inn and walked towards the carriage to get back to work. Vivian stepped inside and Leo followed to take a seat next to her, "Vivi."


    "Hmm?"


    "Did you not read the report that was sent to our office room?" he asked her. It was something he had been meaning to ask her.


    "I did," she replied looking at the coachman who closed the door and went to hop in the front seat.


    "Why didn''t you stop the proceeding then? Lionel was going to pass the judgment to put the boy in the cell room."


    "I wanted to know the story that the boy and the man were iterating. The report which Lionel found was something more than what we received," she confessed. A crease came to settle on his forehead which she was used to seeing.


    "What do you mean?"


    Vivian began to exin, "The report we received spoke about the boy being responsible for his families death but there was no pic mentioned in there, nor about his brother-inw who refused to take him in. We were given only half the report while there was more in the other report. I wanted to hear both their stories to verify. I did tell Lionel after that, that we only received the case and it needed further investigation because it was onlyter did Ie to realize that the case was still under our hands which couldn''t be pushed to the court."


    "I see. Lionel wouldn''t have stopped the proceeding on your request," he murmured, "Unless pointed out in the hall in front of everyone and fought for. The man has enough work that he would like to dust everything quickly at times while missing sensitive information. What is it?" he asked seeing her open her mouth to speak something.


    "The councilman in there who spoke today. The man whom you spoke to apart from Lionel, blonde hair, small eyes-"


    "Abel."


    "Yes, Abel!" she had forgotten his name as she hadn''t spoken to him before. She had mostly spotted the man during the court proceedings and sometimes in the hallways while passing by which wasn''t very often since she had joined the council, "He, well, who is he?" she asked him because earlier that day she had noticed the way both the men had looked at each other. It was odd and something she wouldn''t be exined, making her doubt that there was a story behind it.


    "He works in a lower department under councilman Morpheus. He specializes in catching the witches and the ones who hone dark magic," he exined, taking her hand and wrapping it with his own hand, "Abel might smile and might appear helpful but it isn''t what it appears to be," Vivian waited for him to continue, "Almost a year ago, his sister and his brother-inw used to work for the council. They hail from the pureblooded family but as you know, even the pureblooded vampires have their own levels or hierarchy."


    She nodded her head.


    "They worked under the same department as Abel. Nichs had been searching for a certain set of ck witches who were involved in the past massacre that had taken ce in Bonke. The order had been passed through by the head council and they had sessfully caught hold of the ck witches. But instead of handing over them to Nichs, the ck witches were sent to the Duke to start another ritual."


    Vivian looked taken aback from this information, "Why would they do that?"


    "Money, status. They wanted to be posted to anothernd which was Wovile, never got to the reason why but I know Abel was involved in it. Letting go of criminals while also knowing what affect it might cause is something the council doesn''t allow. Because of them and the Duke there, the witches escaped but they didn''t spare the Duke''s life there. Later on, we caught most of them, but in the past few weeks I havee to believe that one of the ck witches who was part of the coven is the blue-eyed ck witch you spoke of."

 Chapter 213 - Case Files- Part 3

    "She was one of the people who was to be caught?" Vivian couldn''t believe what she heard.


    Leo nodded his head, "There were four witches in total and by what we have gathered, the one whom we couldn''t catch is the one causing the current massacre and also working with the switcher." As Vivian gave some thought on it, her eyes flickered to look at him.


    The blue-eyed ck witch had been the one to be brewing the potions to corrupt hearts, was it possible that she had targeted Leonard''s family out of spite? "What happened to the other three ck witches?"


    "We hunted them down after finding out the mishap caused by the Harlows. The ck witches were unlike any other we have met in the past and it seems like they were sisters. When you work for the council in a department that involves taking lives, you should also prepare yourself for the possibility of bacsh," his words confirmed her doubt and she squeezed her hand which was in his. For an odd reason, the name felt as if she hade across it before.


    "I hope you punished them for letting the witches out of the council''s sight," shemented, a small bump shook the carriage as they went on their path back to the council. Due to two people''s mistake, a lot of them were suffering on their behalf. It was a domino effect where the ck witch had escaped to spread chaos in the world. So many deaths took ce, families were lost, good people turned bad for the sole reason of revenge.


    "The Duke was dead by the time we reached him and we caught one of the witches who had taken home in his mansion. The other two we found them in the mountains of Mehu of Wovile. Unfortunately, we couldn''t find the fourth witch," she nodded her head to his exnation, "Stay close to me, Bambi and don''t stray away too far," his words were sudden.


    "I won''t be going anywhere," she assured him. Every now and then Leo would worry and ask her to stay where his eyes could find her.


    "I say it because I know witches are full of vengeance. They killed my family but now that you aren''t my wife the woman might not stop at it. Don''t believe anyone in the council, even if the person isn''t a switcher, men and women of bad intentions reside in there," he warned her.


    Then something came on to her mind, "If the husband and wife were involved and the man named Abel was involved. Why wasn''t he caught and is free?" she was confused as to why he would be let off.


    "Because we don''t have the leads for it. The work was given to an entire team but it was the Harlow''s who was responsible to handle and hand them down to the council. I know for a fact that the man was involved in the matter but I couldn''t get anything after the case was closed. Getting information on the closed case is difficult here in the council as they are all locked down in themon departmental room where no one except the head council is allowed to enter," she nodded her head over it.


    "Has no one ever tried breaking in there?" she was intrigued to know more about this ce where they ced the old case files.


    "They haven''t but do you?" he raised his eyebrow at her questioningly.


    "I don''t n to. I might get caught in the first few seconds," she admitted with a grin on her face making him smile.


    "True. Who knows what''s in there. You will probably leave it dismantled in a span of five minutes," he chuckled at the end of it.


    "But why would one store things which have already been read and done with? How is it to be private when the matter has already been passed through by the public?" she turned her body to face him, one leg up in the seat which was folded while the other rested down on the surface below.


    "That''s a good question for which I have no answer. Though I can tell you this much that though the council ims to have all the old files stored in there as storage I think there are books in there which are not to be seen or read by the general public. The storage is only a camouge for the people to perceive it to be without knowing what actually is in there."


    "And only the head council is allowed?"


    "Yes."


    "No one else apart from him?"


    "That''s correct," he answered her question instantly.


    "Then wouldn''t it be easy to learn what is in there from him? I am sure if you ask him nicely he will tell you," at Vivian''s response, Leonard smiled.


    "Sure, he will tell. Why don''t you try asking him over tea?" it took Vivian a while to realize that Leo was being sarcastic and she puffed her cheeks.


    "What are we going to do with the case?"


    "About the boy?" asked Leo for her to nod, "What is your take on the case."


    "My take?"


    "Not what you wrote down for Lionel but what you felt. What do you think? Is the boy innocent as hees to appear or is it his brother-inw who had something to do with the death?" Leo gave her the options to choose from.


    "The boy must be innocent," imed Vivian.


    Leonard titled his head and asked, "Why do you think so? Is it because he is young? Don''t go on the age and appearance, Bambi. Not everything you see is the truth and not every end is a wall. Sometimes you need to look beyond the wall to find the truth."


    "Did you read the entire case file," she saw him nod his head. Wow, thought Vivian to herself, he had read the file and also had found out about the boy being interrogated in the court quick enough to stop the boy from going to the cell room. She asked him, "Who do you think is the culprit?"


    "Let us hold on to that question," said Leo to lean forward and knock on the ss where the coachman sat, "Take us to town Kingston stone," the coachman diverted the path to pull his horses and have them take a left which was a diversion from where the council was.


    It seemed that they were going to the town where the boy Samuel lived previously with his family. Reaching the town which Vivian had previously visited plenty of times as this was the town that held most of the fair, it currently looked dull and out of color with a gloomy atmosphere hanging in the air. There were townfolks who walked on the streets like any other normal town. She walked next to Leo, her footsteps falling a little short to which she had to keep up with him.


    Talking to one of the guards of the town, they were taken to the house which was once upied but now was empty. Stepping inside the house they noticed how vacant it was as all the objects apparently had been burnt by the son-inw of the owner of this house at the name of how the boy had cursed the family and didn''t want the curse to fall onto him.


    "There''s nothing in here," she stated after she had run her hand over the inside of the walls.


    "Hmm," hummed Leonard looking around the small house which didn''t have anything to look at which made Vivian wonder what he was looking at, "Did the man mention an address to where he lived?"


    She shook her head, "I think Lionel must have had the file with the address. The one which we received didn''t have anything rted to him. Maybe the guard might know?"


    And the guard indeed knew where the man lived as he was the one to have brought things in and out of this vige to the other higher houses that were situated away from this town. But before they could go to his house, Leonard and Vivian stayed longer in the town to find out about more about the family. It seemed that they were already questioned by another councilman who previously received the case before handing it down to Lionel''s team.


    ording to the neighbours they appeared to be in shock from the loss of the family, pitying both the boy as well as the son-inw who had married the girl of the house for just a week. The family was well behaved and well mannered who had been living there for more than five decades. And with what they heard from some of them, apparently, the girl whom the mister was married to was incredibly beautiful. There was no act of violence and everyone had been living without any problem which only made them wonder what had caused the families death.


    They hadn''t got the opportunity to look at the bodies yet but ording to the report, it stated that there wasn''t a scratch of a mark which looked like an assault.


    "Thank you for guiding us," Leonard shook his hand with the guard while also slipping a coin of silver on to the other man''s hand as thanks, "Let''s go look at the bodies."


    "There are bodies?" she asked surprised, "The boy cried about not being able to see his parents and his siblings funeral. Was no funeral held?" she was more than confused. In the council, she remembered the boy crying out to his brother-inw stating how he wasn''t allowed to see them buried and Lionel had used him that hisst standing rtive who was none other than his brother-inw had told during the report that he would dig up the graves.


    "Hmm, ording to thest report page it said that the body was still here in the councilb. Looks like there has been mismatched information in the two reports."


    When they reached theb, Vivian didn''t bother to wear her gloves on her hand and decided to keep it bare. The vampire doctor was very pleased to see them, bowing his head he lifted his head when his eyes caught sight of the little ring on thedy to confirm the faint rumours that had been going around in the council about Duke Leonard being wedded to the humandy who stood here with her ck eyes staring at him.


    "Mrs Carmichael, excuse me for not greeting you in a better way earlier," he apologized, his narrowed eyes staring at her.


    Vivian gave him a smile unsure of how to respond. Thankfully Leonard spoke, "Which are the bodies of the case ''73432''," he asked directly not wasting his time.


    "Jealous Duke," murmured Murkh with a knowing smile that looked creepy in her eyes, "It isn''t these. Theses are the fresh batch cases. Please follow me," the vampire doctor took them away from the room. Vivian gave a nce at the bodies that were burnt from the head to toe, making the bodies look almost like a skeleton except for the ck skin.


    "When were the bodies brought in?" asked Leo as they followed Murkh who took them one level below from the underground. As they entered, Vivian was about to cover her nose looking at the number of bodies that were ced in a ss filled with liquid. It was something she had never seen before. There were several tanks like the ss where each of them had one body inside it, in an upright position.


    "Five days ago, councilman Leonard. I think they were ced out far too long before they were brought to me. When I questioned the councilman about it he said it was only ''yesterday'' everyone had died. One cannot fool a doctor," Murkh raised both his arms to emphasize his point, "Funnily there''s nothing wrong on the outside but everything wrong in the inside."


    "What to do you mean?" Leonard questioned the doctor who had gone to push a button next to the tank which belonged to a beautiful woman.

 Chapter 214 - Case Files- Part 4

    "Let me show you," said Murkh as the water began to drain down the cylinder slow and steadily with the woman who once floated in it stood in there. Her brown hair which had been spread out in the liquid previously came to stick on her back and some covering her face. She undoubtedly was one of the most beautiful women she hade across in her life.


    The cylinder began to move as if it were sliding down when Vivian asked, "Why are they ced in here like this?" thest time few times they hade to visit the doctor, the body had been ced in the room without being put in these cylinders.


    "This mdy is one of my very first creations to keep the bodies in the same conditions without letting it rot," Murkh said is it proudly, his left hand waving at the cylindrical tanks around them. If it wasn''t for the bodies being ced in bubbling liquid in an upright way, the ce would be nothing less to a cemetery, "The liquid has added preservatives which will keep the body in the same condition before it was put inside the tank. It will never rot," he assured her, "Sometimes, the cases that aren''t solved and the bodies are leftover for my use."


    "They aren''t buried?" Vivian wasn''t sure on how to feel about it.


    "Murkh needs experimental bodies to create the necessary resistance medicine and not allb rats work," Leo addeding to stand in front of the cylindrical tank that moved toy down. With a stiff noise, the door opened so that one could touch the body and inspect it.


    The vampire doctor went ahead and moved the body as if it were made out of twigs in ease, "Do you see this, Duke Leonard?" he put the girl on her side, her naked body exposed to them.


    Taking a step closer, Leo ced his hand on her shoulder, his expression nk, "She feels like a doll."


    At hisment, Vivian bit the inside of her cheek. She was a beautiful woman but he didn''t have to put it that way, she thought to herself, wondering why she envied the dead woman. As Leo moved the woman back and forth as one would with an empty box, she realized that when he had called the person in her to be like a doll it wasn''t in reference to the way she looked but the way she felt. The bones inside her had been loosened like coins in there that rattled softly inside her, making her feel like an empty shell.


    "Is it just her?" inquired Leonard. Murkh shook his head to say,


    "I sent the rest to be buried as they were same, I just kept her here so that I could study. I was told the case would be closed."


    Leonard shared a look with Vivian which she understood as she had the same thought. With the way, the case was sent directly to the court so that it could be dealt andpleted it seemed that someone was waiting to close the matter by also telling it wouldn''t be investigated any further. The boy was surely innocent which made the brother-inw as the first suspect.


    Vivian wondered why the man would kill the family when he had married his wife voluntarily. He came from a considerably better background to what his wife''s family came from.


    "The case has been reopened. What did you find in her?"


    "Nothing," Murkh shook his head with disappointment, "I cut open her," he came back to the body and showed the line of stitched marks on the back of her body which was delicately sewed back together, "Her body seems like any other human but it is only when you handled it like this, does one find something wrong."


    Curious Vivian ced her hand on the subject when she felt a spark erupt up her hand which made her retrace back her hand immediately. Was is static energy? asked Vivian to herself. Thinking it was just a basic charge from her hands, she went to ce back her hand on the woman but she felt the same again as if she were unable to keep her hands on it. The more she tried to touch, that much more the shock was produced that made her arms feel weak.


    "Cut her open again and see what you find," Leonard ordered the man.


    When they came out of the cell rooms and its building, Vivian said, "It was the first time I felt anyone''s body to be this light."


    "Same. There is a possibility that what the man said was true," Leonard responded back by taking out his kerchief and wiping his hands on it, "He spoke about the devil?" That he did, thought Vivian to herself, "It isn''tmon but there have one or two cases thate to the councilors hand when ites to dealing with the devils."


    "I thought they were only stories," shemented, keeping up with his footsteps which were longpared to her shorter ones.


    "Summoning devils are an unorthodox form of witchcraft and they aren''t much different to what ck witches do. While the witches can make use of spells, humans can use a certain set of curses which are effective with the right sacrifices."


    "Sacrifices?"


    "Yes. They can vary from a small offering of blood to the deaths of animals or their own kind," exined Leonard before asking her, "Did you see any odd behavior from the man?"


    "Nothing I can think of. He seemed to be absolutely normal. Only that he couldn''t stand the boy''s presence because he believed that the boy was the one who killed his parents and his wife. And the mark was on the boy, on his back."


    "What kind? The reports have missed a lot of details as if wanting to take back the case from our hands which would have caused due to untimely closure of not finding answers."


    Recollecting the mark on the boy''s mark, she said, "It was like a crescent moon with two lines," pausing her steps, she picked the stick thatid on the ground so that she could draw what she saw on the boy''s back, "It looked like this. Do you know what it is?" she asked Leonard was staring down at what she had drawn.


    "I don''t but Heuren will know about it," and with this information, they went back to their departmental room where Hueren and Dutan had been sitting, one ying with a crystal ball while thetter reading the same file which Vivian had read in the morning on the case they were on.


    With the pace, Leonard had pushed opened the door wide with the back of it hitting the wall with a loud bang, Hueren''s hands fumbled around the crystal to catch hold of it before it fell on the ground to break into pieces.


    "Heuren," Leonard called his junior. Going to his desk, Leonard pulled a nk parchment and borrowed the quill thatid at the side. As he drew something on it, Heuren ced the crystal ball safely in his pocket stood to see what the Duke was drawing, "Have you seen this before?" asked the senior man as the junior turned around the parchment to see what is drawn in there.


    Hueren nodded his head very slowly while making sure it was what he thought it was to be, "It is a mark used for sealing ritual. Very old and you may not find it in the books or in any library. Even the mouth of the word you won''t find."


    "Tell me more about it," asked Leonard for Hueren to turn the parchment the other side which hadn''t been used. Taking back the quill, he drew some stick people with hands and legs.


    "A centuries, no-no a few decades ago there used to be a tribe who used to sacrifice to get better luck. They thought offering blood would make their wishese true and some warranted that it did but now it is only a myth. The mark is called a sealing emblem because the moon represents the time of sacrifice where it can be performed only during the time of a crescent moon. And these two lines," Heuren tapped his quill on the two lines on the half-moon where a drop of ink fell out, "One represents opening the portal to the devil so that the transaction can be done, while the second one is where it shows that you are closing the gate. It is a belief that if you didn''t mark it with the second one, the devil woulde to take your soul away."


    After what Heuren had to say about the mark, she asked, "Is the mark formed on the person who starts the ritual?" she felt her hold her breath.


    "Not at all, Lady Vivian. The marks are done on the sacrificer. By the way, why do you ask about it?" Hueren asked clueless as he hadn''t gone through the file which Dutan currently held in his hands.


    Dutan hadn''t bothered to get up from his seat and he had instead been listening to them keenly from where he sat,?"Is it the case we received? I heard rumors about it on my way back here," Vivian turned around to hear what those rumors were, "Your behavior at the council was irresponsible for barging in through a court proceeding which was in session. Not only that but after a lot of them saw a mark, they happened to say that you were interfering with God''s work and helping the devil."


    "The councilmen think a lot of things, don''t heed to it," Leo said directing his words to Vivian as her face turned one to be of worry, "They might have written the exams, but that doesn''t guarantee that they are sane minded. Some cheat and some pass through luck, very much simr to how the man named Axel passed through the second exam by only hiding in the cupboard," Leo filled both his men with what he found out and it seemed to be the same drill. Most of the times, Leonard spent his time to get the information before handing it down his subordinates.


    "Thanks to Heuren, we won''t have to do extensive research, though," said Leonard with his back resting at the edge of the table as he looked at the other three members, "I would still want Dutan and Vivian to go verify about it. The murder and the mark stemmed from the town, so that must be a good ce to start searching. You won''t get the information readily as the spells for humans to use has been banned. Be discreet as you find it," in normal circumstances, Leo would have taken Vivian along with him but doing it would only show the partially in his team that would make him appear poorly. Another part also told him that she needed space away from him. Having each other around, she would not be able to do things while she had him to rely on.


    He wasn''t ecstatic about it but in the future, there would be times when she would have to take decisions independently if their team was asked to help other teams by being split apart. Not that he would allow it but it was always good to be prepared.


    "Hueren and I will be visiting the boy and the boy''s guardian to see what is with the mark," Leonard confirmed their work which the younger human councilman didn''t look eager to work on.


    As much as Hueren enjoyed reading the facts and abilities with the curses and other odd details rted to te witchcraft, the man didn''t show the same enthusiasm when it came to getting involved in it. At least not after thest time, where they had been surrounded by a vige full of half turned witches who wanted to tear him into pieces.


    Thinking about it, he could still feel the shivers run down his spine.


    Vivian had wanted to tag with the Leo and it was something she had gotten used to now, the change of ns made her give Leo an anxious look. The Duke noticing this went to her, bending down and kissing her lips before hugging her in his arms without bothering the other two men who at first ogled their eyes and then coughed looking the other way.


    "What''s the matter?" he asked her to see her shake her head.


    "Nothing. Will you be alright?" she asked him, making him chuckle.


    "Yes. Take care on your way to the town. I will meet youter," he said giving her another kiss, while the other two men had busied themselves behind parchments of paper, discussing in a hushed tone about the file as Hueren didn''t read the file.


    "Okay, see you back at the mansion," she smiled, nodding her head. Dutan and Vivian stepped out of the room to head to the town.


    Reaching the town while getting down from the carriage, they decided to walk to the far end of the houses without realizing that an ominous presence was following them since they had entered the town.


    ------------


    Book 4: ''Young master Damien''s pet''


    "Who touched you?" he asked, his eyes brooding down at her and when she didn''t answer, his voice thundered in the room, "WHO?"


    The butler who stood near the wall spoke shakily, "Sir it was Mr. Reverale," Damien''s face turned sour, his jaw ticking in anger he turned his face to the side where the butler stood behind.


    "Bring the man here."


    "N-now?" stuttered the butler. It was the time of night.


    Damien who hadn''t broken his eyes contact with the girl in front of him pushed his hand against the wall which previously rested beside his beautiful girl''s head. Turning his body, he first looked at his butler who had his head bowed. With great courage, the butler came to meet his master''s eyes, "Do you have any other better time? Or should it be after I wring your neck?" Damien asked calmly tilting his head. Not a secondter, the butler ran out of the room to return back with Mr. Reverale after twenty minutes.


    "Damien, are we having ate tea party?" Mr. Reverale came to greet but the master of the house had other ns. Spotting the knife that was stuck to the apple on the table, he reached for it to pull it out.


    Just as Mr. Reverale went to exchange a handshake with him, Damien took hold of his hand to ce it on the table. In one swift movement as if he were chopping onions, he chopped the four fingers of the man off his hand making him yelp and cry in pain.


    "No one touches what is mine. I am sure this will remind you the next time you even think about touching her," sighed Damien as if he were tired of telling people to keep their dirty hands off his belongings.

 Chapter 215 - The Truth- Part 1

    Dutan and Vivian stood at the front of a door where Dutan had knocked. The sky had turned dark and possibly gloomier. Snow covering every inch of the ground turning it white and cold. It wasn''t the time of night but the weather turned to a dull onepared to the earlier time when both Leo and she hade out for lunch.


    Some of the houses had started to lightntern outside the houses and the torch was burnt at the polemps that were ced around the town. The polemp had a top te which avoided the snow from getting in and extinguishing the fire that was lit.


    They had picked to go to thest house as that was where the path led to the next town which Leonard and Heuren had gone to talk to the boy and the man.


    When the door opened, "Dutan greeted the elderly woman with a bright smile, "Good evening, mdy."


    "Good evening," the woman looked at them skeptically, "What do you want?"


    "Sorry for interrupting your day but we were wondering if you knew the family who recently passed away," Dutan iterated, waiting for the woman to respond who shook her head.


    "No. I don''t step out of the house," and before he could ask anything more, the door was shut right at his face.


    "This happens more than you can count," Dutanughed trying to keep the atmosphere light and then said to Vivian, "Let''s look at the next one," Vivian agreed and they headed to the house adjacent to it. Knocking on the door, they waited until the door opened.


    "Good evening, mdy. We are from the council-" just as he started the door was closed shut again.


    Vivian said, "I think the townfolks have been questioned many times right now that they don''t want to talk about it."


    "I guess. That can tell why the case was pushed to us after a week. The folks here don''t want to talk and rather keep their work to themselves. Well, there are many other houses," saying that they went to the other houses, finally, a young man opened the door after they visited a few more houses to not get any answer.


    Hearing Dutan''s revised greetings, Vivian could tell that the man had immense patience. If it were her, her enthusiasm in knocking the door and repeating the same lines would have felt tiring. The man let them in asking them to take a seat in his humble house while asking his wife to prepare the tea for the guests.


    "The townsfolks appear to mind their work more than others I havee across," Dutanmented who had settled on one of the wooden chairs.


    "Please don''t mind them," the man answered taking the wall as his support as he looked at the pair of the councilors. Unable to hold back, he said, "I didn''t know they had a female as a councilor. Things must be changing for the better," Vivian gave him a smile.


    "We have some councilwoman, Sir," Dutan addressed hisment.


    "Of course, you do but I don''t think any of us have seen a councilwomane to check the status. We receive visits once in a while but they are all men," the young man replied, turning his back behind, he peeked to see the status of the tea he had asked from his wife, "I believe you havee here to ask about Walter''s family? Thest time we had a visit from the councilmen they were absolutely rude which has left a bad taste in our mouth. But we have given all the information we knew about them."


    "Might you know what caused their death? The boy has been used," Vivian wanted to know about the man''s perspective.


    The man pursed his lips in a pensive look, to say, "They were a loving family. No fights, no arguments a very peaceful family. It was quite upsetting when we heard what happened to them. It is one thing to be seeing the people alive and another to see them covered in blood the next day. Everything was perfectly normal so we don''t know what happened."


    His wife stepped outside of the kitchen to bring the tea in a tray, handing them one after another.


    "Thank you," Vivian murmured as she took the teacup from the woman.


    She heard the man continue to speak, "It was shocking," he shook his head, "The boy...why would he even do it is beyond our understanding," it seemed like no one suspected the man who had been married to one of Walter''s family, thought Vivian to herself.


    Curious, Vivian asked with her hand holding the hot cup of tea carefully, "The boy is too young. The usations are fresh but aren''t determined with conclusions that he was the one to have murdered him. He was their son, their brother and it seems far to nonunderstandable that he would do something when there is no benefit."


    "That might be true, mdy," the woman spoke with the tray close to her chest, "But there is no one else to suspect. They had no fight and hadn''t crossed anyone."


    "What about Walter''s son-inw?" asked Dutan, who brought the teacup to his lips but never drank a sip from it. He put it away from his lips waiting for them to answer.


    "Henry is a very respectable man, there is no reason why he wouldmit a lowly sin like that. He even took May as his wife after one meeting. I have to say May turned very beautiful at the time of their wedding."


    "That''s what marriage does when you marry right. Happiness has its effects on the face," the man replied back to his wife who ced her hand on his shoulder.


    His wife agreed to him, "Yes, dear," she then looked at Dutan, "He is a good man. And he wasn''t even in there when it happened. The poor man lost his wife this early in marriage. He must be an unfortunate man," she shook her head.


    "So the Walters had a good rtionship with their son-inw," Dutan confirmed to have the couple nodding.


    "Very good. Henry was the one who paid for the weddings without letting Walter''s pay a penny. Some lucky events tend to lead in a downfall," the woman answered. Vivian hadn''t minded the tea and instead had drunk the tea she was given until the veryst drop in the cup which had Dutan slightly worried.


    "I see that you haven''t touched your tea," the womanmented with a slight frown when she nced at Dutan''s teacup that was in the same state as she had given it to him, "Would you like to drink something else?"


    At the pressure of the eyes and a curious one next to him, he gave the couple a smile, "I just feel a little unwell. My stomach has been acting since morning. Please excuse my impoliteness for the hospitability you have shown."


    While the young man didn''t mind it, his wife stared at Dutan for a few passing seconds and then stated, "I have just the right medicine for a bad stomach. Let me give it to you," not heeding to Dutan''s protest where his smile turned wry with worry. The woman was back after two minutes with an aluminum ss, "Drink this. You will feel all better," she assured him.


    Unable to say no again, with great difficulty, he brought the ss to his lips and took a few sips under the eyes of the woman who finally smiled, "Your stomach will get better in no time now."


    Murmuring thanks, Dutan pulled out the parchment of paper which Leonard had previously drawn in the department room, "Do you any chance known what this means?" he asked them. The man stared at the parchment but the woman''s expression turned grave.


    "That''s a ritual mark to call upon the devil to grant a wish, Sir," the wife spoke with knitted brows, "It is a lost ritual."


    "Lost ritual?" asked Vivian. The ways she spoke it was as if the town had been passed down with things that weren''t known by many.


    The manughed nervously while wanting to keep his wife quiet over the matter but the woman ignored her husband''s warning looks, "Not many are aware of this, but this town was built on the death of both ck and white witches. They were killed by themselves and the people who then resided around the town had picked a thing or two, where the curses and spells along with rituals were passed down the families but now no one practices it. Not us too."


    "Do you think the boy used it?" asked Dutan for the woman to shake her head.


    "I doubt so, and though many say that it was the boy I don''t think he did it," wasn''t it a while ago she had been nodding her to her husband''s words on how Henry, Walter''s son-inw had nothing to do with it.


    "The mark that you have shown here, it is used to grant wishes from the devil. But then..." she trailed leaving them intrigued and hanging in the air before continuing, "It is usually ced on someone you''re sacrificing."


    "Oh?"


    This was news to them. Vivian was d to hear that the boy was innocent. Now the question was who did that to the boy.


    "But at this time, I doubt anyone can even summon a devil. I saw it when I was a young girl. My grandmother used to store these but after she passed they were all burnt. We are humans but if step out of line, we knew it wouldn''t go well with the council that every house in thest two generations had cleared every information they had with them so that during inspections in the past nothing would be held against them," exined the woman to continue, "I believe it was during my mother''s time as that was when the great white witch was burnt and there were a couple more witches who were killed."


    Dutan nodded his head, "In the past, white witches were killed very simrly to how the ck witches are hunted down now. The council wanted to make sure that the humans were safe and there were no more illegal activities taking ce."


    Keeping the ss down, Dutan and Vivian thanked for their cooperation, leaving the house. Once they were far away, Vivian said, "Don''t sacrifices mean that the person or the animal dies?" the boy was clearly alive and breathing. They saw a carriage appear from the other side which they were familiar with. The carriage pulled over where Leonard and Heuren stepped down.


    Before Dutan could report them on what they found, Leonard spoke, "We brought Henry along with us," Vivian turned towards the carriage where the door was left open, "We found the boy battered from head to toe."


    "He beat him?" Vivian felt sorry for the boy.?It was barely a few hours and the man had beaten his brother-inw, she asked, "Where is the boy?"


    "He''s in there. He''ll be kept in the cell room until the council decides on what and where he will be sent. Henry must be upset with what happened and battered the boy too much. We''ll meet you at the council building."


    Heading back to the council, Vivian stepped down to first see Heuren pull the man who had his hands tied in chains. Then stepped down Leonard down who carried the boy in his arms who was unconscious. The word battered didn''te close to how the boy looked right now.


    "It was only a few hours," she whispered looking at the boy. The boy was innocent and he had done nothing but plead at the court. His brother-inw Henry''s action didn''t justify his wife''s loss by beating the boy. She pitied the boy.


    "Cruel, isn''t it," asked Leo where Vivian had fallen short of words. She raised her hand wanting to heal him,?"I will put him in the cell room," he didn''t give room for her to heal the boy as it was something he would never want her to do. Like Vivian, he pitied the boy but not enough that he was ready to trade Vivian''s life span with a stranger they hardly knew.


    Retrieving her hand to her hold it in front of her chest, she nodded her head.

 Chapter 216 - The Truth- Part 2

    Seeing Leonard leave for the council room, Vivian stood in her ce staring at nothing in particr as she thought about what the woman said earlier about the markings. The lost materials must have been a threat for the council as it was already hard to handle the ck witches if there were was one more who would be ready to create havoc there was no telling how much trouble thends might have been in.


    Night pulled itself fast on the sky as it turned dark, snowkes falling from the sky one after another. Out stretching her arms, she waited for a snowke fall to fall on her palm. Catching it, she closed her fist and then opened to see it vanish as it dissolved itself to the state of water which felt colder on her hand than the ke.


    Like many other times, Vivian had often wondered how life could have turned out. If her parents hadn''t abandoned her but kept her by their side as their human daughter. It was obvious that they would have been ashamed and maybe even treated her poorly for being the ck sheep of the family. Everything turned out for the best in the end to the point where she had almoste in terms that it didn''t matter to know about her neglectful parents. Yet, there was a small part of her who wished she could know who they were.


    She saw a few of the councilmen who exited from the main building, retiring for the day. With no court meetings as well as no council judgments, there was nothing much to do by sitting around here.


    With the case that had been handed to them, it seemed apparent that the little boy was innocent and though the man might have no hand in the murderings of the Walter''s, he had broken thew by beating the boy as an outlet to his loss and anger. He would be punished for it.


    After having Dutan and Hueren who had put the man in one of the cell rooms, they had gone to back to the council building for another councilman, Abel toe out and go to the cell room. Her brows furrowed at the sight of the man. He was the man whom Leonard didn''t get along with. To think that his rted family had sided with the ck witches, she shook her head. No matter where the ck witches came from, it was taken that they were not only deceitful but also creatures who were ever to be trusted. There was a reason why no one mingled with them. They brought nothing but bad luck around them and others who associated themselves with them.


    Councilman Abel had pushed forth the case today hoping it to end but thankfully Leonard had arrived on time to stop the judgment.


    Curious, on seeing him disappear in the ce where experiments and ouws were held, she followed his trail. Leonard was speaking to the vampire doctor when Vivian stealthily crossed the room, to catch up with the councilman who went to see Henry who had been imprisoned.


    Coming to stand at the end of the wall while not revealing herself, she heard the councilman speak,


    "What did I say about keeping yourself low? One advice and you couldn''t follow but beat the boy," she heard Abel speak, carefully she sneaked a nce where she saw the councilman standing in front of the bars speaking to the man who stood with his hands holding the rusted iron rods.


    "I was only talking to the boy and his words made me rage. That piece of little shit needs to be hanged for putting me through this. Take me out of here!" Mr Senielton eximed, his voice a little uneven due to the ce he now stood in.


    "Tch, that''s not how it works," responded back the councilman, "I removed the evidence from the reports which were rewritten so that the team who is handling it wouldn''t pick on your trail yet you got yourself in trouble. Do you know how much hassle I and others had to go through? Did you find the parchment books on the spells?" asked Abel, waiting for the man to give him the good news.


    "The family must have buried it somewhere or burnt it. I got some of my men to look and find the entire house but I couldn''t find it. I need to get out of this ce to search it myself," said Henry clutching the bars of iron which separated him from the outside free world now.


    "We gave you one week, Mr?Senielton," said Abel taking a step back to fetch something from his pocket which was a cigar, "One whole week by pushing the case before it reached to the next team by sacrificing my own team''s efforts. The higher man isn''t pleased that you couldn''t get the information we asked for," the councilman lit his cigar with a matchbox that he held in his hand before extinguishing it, "Do you know what that means?" he asked through his teeth, "You have been incapable in upholding your words. You married the woman to get information but why I do I feel that you left your initial responsibility. Love was it?" mocked the councilman.


    Mr?Senielton didn''t speak a word but stared at the man who smoked from the cigar, "She was my wife," said the prisoner, "I know the boy has something to do with it."


    "Please, Henry. You''re making me doubt my decision in picking you toplete a mere task of fetching the parchment filled with spells. You sound absolutely ridiculous right now," Abel spat the smoke, taking a puff from it, he looked to his right, his eyes staring at the wall where Vivian stood behind it, "The boy has nothing to do, a child cannote to harm the family so easily. Someone slit their throats and it was done by a professional. Unless you want to tell me that the boy was brought up to fulfill such demands."


    Abel then sighed, "I cannot do much from my end," he threw the cigar on the ground with his feet trampling it.


    "No, you cannot do that to me!"


    "You brought it on yourself, Mr Senielton and?please be mindful of what you speak here and how much you scream. The guards here don''t take rudeness well and will have you silence for life."


    Hearing this, Vivian decided not to stay around any longer and at the same time, Abel''s eyes fell on the wall again, this time he walked towards it. Reaching the wall he stared at the space where Vivian once stood as she had already walked out of the building.


    Vivian hurried, walking out of the cell room to meet Leonard who looked surprised at her, "Where were you?" he asked her.


    "We need to find something," she said in a rushed whisper while walking next to him. Turning around she made sure no one was following them or could hear them speak, "It''s the case."


    "What about it?" he asked.


    "I think the council members are involved in it. They are looking for a parchment that has spells in it. Spells that a human can use and the same spells that will increase the probability of sess when used by a ck witch. Earlier when Dutan and I went to the town. We met a couple. But did you know that the same town was once where witches of both kinds were killed, it was a burial ground on which the town now lives? The woman said that some of the families whose ancestors lived had passed down the spells and I am guessing Walter''s family had these spells."


    "Is it Mr?Senielton who killed them?"


    Vivian shook her head, "I don''t know about it but he married the woman to get those papers but on the way, he fell in love with his wife," it would be hard not to fall in love with someone so beautiful, thought Vivian to herself, "Abel, he''s in on it to."


    "That isn''t surprising. Where did you find this out?"


    "...in the cell room..." she trailed her words, "And it must not be just him as he referred to someone else as if he were working for someone," it was obvious that there were some people in this council who were involved in illegal activities and without letting ite out in front of anyone''s notice they were trying to get hold of things which was burnt.


    "I will have Heuren and Dutan keep a close eye on him and see what he is up to. Don''t worry about the boy. I will make sure he will be sent to a better household who will be treated right," Leo assured her. Once today''s matter woulde to light, the boy would be sent to a safer home than to live with his brother-inw.


    When the time of morning arrived, there was a lot of bustle around the council room. Leonard''s didn''t have toe in to visit the council but as the matter of the boy was still hanging in the air where he was innocent and needed home, they arrived to find Maxmillian standing near the cell room.


    "Why is there a crowd here?" asked Leonard looking around them to see some of the councilmen and a woman hovering around speaking to each other.


    "One of the prisoners died," replied the blue-eyed man. Prisoners dying in the cell room wasn''t umon to which Leo found it strange that for the first time they were worried that someone had passed away in there.


    "Suicide?"


    Maybe the man had killed himself over his reputation, thought Vivian to herself.


    "No," answered Maximillian and under Leo''s questionable gaze, he went on to speak, "You should go take a look yourself. It is quite interesting. Let me apany you," with furrowed brows, Leonard walked inside and towards the cell room where Heuren had locked the man yesterday. On his way, he met Lionel who stood at the front of the bar where the strong stench of blood wafted up to his nose.


    Vivian followed behind Leonard, his frame hiding the scene in front of her when he stood blocking her view at the cell. She could smell the faint scent of the blooding from the cell and when Leonard was called by Lionel to speak he moved aside letting her eyes finally see the blood that covered every inch of the three walls of the cell room. There was blood covered on the ground with only bones remaining which was coated maroon in color. No wonder there were people hovering around the cell room. She doubted anything like this had ever taken ce in the history of the council cell.


    She heard Maximilian whisper next to her, "Would make one think if a regr human has this much amount of blood."


    True. The cell room was small but to have every part of it covered in blood, it would mean the body had burst within itself, to explode in a state that they now saw the current room to be in. Not even the iron rods had been spared by the blood.


    From her left side, she heard Lionel speak, "I got the local priest here to check but the man had no clue what went down here."


    "You need a white witch to look into it. A normal priest won''t help," Leo retorted back at his senior''s negligence. Witches were not entertained in the council and it was something she had learned after she had joined the council. The people in here though took the white witches help, they didn''t trust them enough to be asked toe anywhere close in the surroundings. It was a rule that was set years ago which hadn''t been changed yet.


    Seeing that no one knew what happened. Vivian decided to go see the boy. Leonard turned his head to see Vivian leave and when his eyes met Maximillian''s the man gave him a crooked smile to leave the scene to follow the woman.

 Chapter 217 - The Truth- Part 3

    Walking down the stairs to get to the lower ground, Vivian made her way to see where the boy had been put up. Though the little boy wasn''t a prisoner, he was made to stay here by the council providing him with a roof over his head until the judgment was passed. But the boy''s only livingst rtive had passed away in an unknown mysterious death that there was no knowing what happened to him. With the way, Mr?Senielton had used of the boy to be partaking in something awful and inhuman, she wanted to talk to the boy which she hadn''t gotten the opportunity to do so.


    Yesterday she had found the boy to be alone and wrongly used but today with the turn of events her judgement wavered in her mind. The couple she had met had spoken how some of the families still prayed to the dark, worshipping evil and it was possible that the Walter''s had done it too but they boy was young and what reason would one have to take their own families lives? And he was barely twelve or thirteen.


    She heard a pair of footsteps behind her, turning her head she saw it was Maximillian who had followed her.


    "Going to meet the boy?" he asked catching up with her.


    "Do you know where he is?" Leonard had dropped the boy in here but she didn''t know which cell room it was. Coming to see the end of the wall on the floor, she heard Maximillian speak,


    "The boy must be ced in the dungeon ground."


    "But that''s where the bodies are preserved," said Vivian to see the man smile, his bright blue eyes peering down at her.


    "Indeed that is where the bodies are ced but there are also two spare rooms which have been built. Let me go fetch the keys and meet you down there," he said turning around to go back up leaving her alone. Vivian looked at both the cells on her left and right side that had prisoners put inside them. The room was dark, darker than the rest of them with no windows. One of the details she noticed here was that difficult and the A-listed prisoners were put far away from the exit with no windows or light with only the fire torch that lit on the walls. On the other end of the long corridors, one would find the windows built for people who hadmitted low crimes which included from robbery to the one''s causing nuisance to people.


    Going down the underground basement, Vivian stood in front of the locked grill door where one needed ess to enter inside.


    Hearing the footsteps, she saw Maximillian who was closely followed by the vampire doctor, "Here are the keys," said Maximillian jingling the keys up in the air.


    "Master Gibbs, you cannot steal things which aren''t yours! Haven''t I taught you-" Murkh was cut off by the blue-eyed pureblooded vampire who offered him a sweet smile.


    "You taught me well, Murkh. I am merely implementing what I was taught."


    "You do not steal from your teacher!" Murkh gave a troubled look. Maximillian Gibbs was taught by the doctor? No wonder both of them appeared to be oddpared to the rest of the people she had met, thought Vivian to herself. Murkh had passed down his peculiar characteristics to Maximilian who had turned out stranger than his mentor, "As proud as I am that you stole my keys and I am extremely proud that you took it without my notice until I found out, you could have directly asked me for it," the doctor went on toin when the gate to the floor was unlocked by the other vampire.


    "What is the fun of asking you when I can whisk them away. Here," he raised his hand which had the keys for Murkh to take it away. Vivian followed Maximillian who took her to the corner of the whole ground where it had two doors. For a second, the man gave a look at both the doors before jerking his head to the left door, "He''s in this one. If you will do the honours, doctor," he stepped away for Murkh toe forward and open the lock of the room. Pushing the door wide open, Vivian caught glimpse of the sleeping boy on the small bed of the small room.


    Very slowly, Vivian approached the boy. Both Murkh and Maximillian stood at the door until Murkh went to do something else as he had to look at a body which he was testing as the next subject.


    When Vivian came to stand next to the bed, she heard Maximillian warn her, "You should be careful what you touch, Lady Vivian. Not everything is harmless. You saw what happened up there," she could see the boy who had his eyes closed who seemed to be in a deep sleep.


    "What do you think happened up there, Mr. Gibbs?" she had wanted to know but he was as clueless as any of them who now gathered around the cell room.


    "It is hard to say."


    Continuing to stare the boy who''s back was turned to face them, she crouched down before sitting on her knees. Raising her hand, which wavered just like her mind with questions, she pushed the boy''s shirt to take a look at the mark she had seen in the courtroom. The devil''s mark which was a crescent-shaped semi-circle that had two lines marked at the lower ends marked on the boy''s back.


    Wanting to sate her mind with the questions that had bubbled for some time now, her fingers touched the mark, running them along the curve until she came to the two lines were one of them had a subtle bump. Her brows knit together and she ran her finger over it again while also making sure she didn''t wake the boy up.


    Maximillian who had been standing at the door, leaning the side of his body saw the girl stand up and step out of the room, hearing her ask Murkh a wet cloth with which she came back. While on her way back to the room, the pureblooded vampire nced at the boy whoid still in the bed which was odd considering he didn''t hear the inhaled and exhale of air nor the beating of the heart.


    Walking to the bed, the man gave the boy a suspicious look before turning the little human''s shoulder to sleep t on his back when he noticed the decayed face which had turned dark.


    "Lady Vivian, this boy is dead or should I say has been dead for some good time," he dered when Vivian came to stand next to him, who gasped softly as her eyes fell on the little boy.


    Vivian looked at the boy wide-eyed. Her lips that were parted, no words came out of it.


    "He doesn''t appear to be dead since for a few hours but rather in terms of days," she heard Maximilian speak beside her. He went to look at the eyes that were closed, pulling the eyelids to have a look and then the face.


    "Can you please fetch Leo for me, Mr Gibbs?" she requested.


    "I will ask Murkh to get him. I cannot leave you with a dead body alone. Especially not after what happened up there. Give me a few seconds, " he gave her a bright smile to disappear out of the room.


    A shudder threatened down her body when she looked down his neck to find the veins that had popped out, making it more prominent on the skin. He was really dead as when she ced her full open hand on his chest, she couldn''t feel the beating of his heart in there. First, it was Mr?Senielton who died in a bizarre mysterious way no one could guess and now the boy had died. What was happened in here? Had it something to do with cell rooms or these buildings that were haunted? Her belief in the existence of ghosts and spirits only deepened at the thought of the possibilities.


    But why kill the boy? It was something she didn''t understand and the only way she could find out was to read him.


    Not waiting, she held the dead boy''s hand in hers which took time for her to read before she was teleported in time to look at the boy where she could hear the boy''s cries.?As the smoke cleared her vision, she saw the boy whose hand she currently held was tied at the stone bed with a few people surrounding it.


    "Stop crying already, my child," the woman who stood at his head cooed at him, "You''re going to be just fine, "Come now turn your back so that we can start the ritual," said the woman. It was a quiet forest which was away from the town they lived in and as Vivian saw the boy turn around, a man passed right next to her whom Vivian identified him to be the father. His two sisters stood at his side but there was something that bothered Vivian when she looked at the older sister.


    "Ariel,e here. I need you to cross the mark as the ritual is going to affect you," said the woman. Picking up a sharp knife, she carved something on the boy''s back making him screech out in pain, "One more word of cry and I will seal your lips for good. Now shut up. Don''t forget that what you are doing now is for your sister and for our sake and your sake."


    "M-mother, it hurts. Pl-please s-stop," the boy cried, pleading for his mother to stop carving his back with the ritual they were doing.


    "This is your punishment for costing us today''s customer. We had the man but you had to spoil it," his father ced a hot pot which had hot coals burning inside it. Snow bed covered the ground of the rest, making it known that it was a recent event that had taken ce and not something too far in the past. The wind was cold and stronger than the days she lived in, air breezing through and whispering which moved past the trees in the forest.


    The four elders who surrounded the boy began whispering spells while the boy cried silently before a piercing pain made through the boy''s lips. The mother of the boy, picked up a rock thatid next to her feet to smash it right over his head once and twice and several times until the boy stopped moving.


    "What else is in there? I don''t see any changes as of yet," the mother wiped her face which had bloodstains, "Do you feel anything? Oh, wait-" she stopped talking. Vivian''s eyes fell on the elder daughter whose face had begun to change as if she were shapeshifting and taking a better form with her features turning delicate. The three of the family members looked at the girl in awe until she hadpletely morphed into a newer look.


    "You look beautiful, sister!" the other girl came to gush at her as she stared at her older sister.


    "This is perfect!" pped the mother with glee, "Now all you have to do is find the right man and remove us from the debt. With the rest of the ritual, we don''t have to worry about anything. Think about the right man, dear," advised the mother as the scene began to shift to another one. This time she was inside a house where the lights had been blown out.


    At first, she saw nothing, it was a quiet peaceful house where Vivian''s first guess was that the family who resided in here were sleeping. Hearing a utensil drop on the ground with a loud tter, her eyes moved in the direction of the sound to see the mother of the boy on the ground. The woman gasped for air, her hands reaching the ground to escape when the boy appeared behind her with a knife in his hand.


    It made Vivian confused, then to realize it wasn''t the boy in living but the boy hade back to kill his entire family. She saw him follow his mother, his mother begging for mercy but with the way he looked down at her, sadness in his eyes there was nothing in there for his mother who had killed him herself for the sake of money.


    Going to her, the boy sliced his mother''s neck like he had killed the rest of the family while saving his mother to be thest one before the scene started to smoke and bring back Vivian to her present. With her hand still holding the boy''s hand, she immediately retreated it back in fear that the ghost might still be in there.


    Her heartbeat increased, the sound reaching her ears. Her eyes continued to look at the boy with closed eyes, his body leaving out a faint odour of death which increased in time to indicate that death had visited him much longer than today.

 Chapter 218 - Past Link- Part 1

    "You don''t have to look through them if you don''t want to," she heard Leo speak behind her.


    It was true, she didn''t have to look at the person''s memories if she didn''t want to. It was never apulsion but the curiosity and the need of the mind to know the truth always pushed it, making her hands raise and touch so that she could learn the past memories.


    She shook her head. No, she had to do this. The boy had been alive until yesterday but that might be because the spirit continued to live in the boy. Looking at his decaying body where Leonard came forward to pull up the boy''s shirt when she saw the discolouration that was creeping down from his face towards his neck and chest. Below his abdomen, the body looked fine but in a matter of time, the decay would spread like an infection until the entire body would look rotten.


    This was why she had enrolled herself in the council so that she could solve the untold mysteries. If she looked away the innocent souls wouldn''t be rescued but now that she was in the situation, there was very little she could do. Somewhere easy to identify and bring justice but cases like these, there was hardly anything she could do.


    The wet cloth she had borrowed from Murkhid on the ground. Taking it, she gulped before getting closer to the boy. Carefully she turned the boy around to have his back exposed to her again.


    Leonard who had been standing close to her didn''t question what she was doing and instead watched her take the cloth she held in her hand to wipe it around the mark or the scar that was etched on the boy''s back. Maximillian who had been curious himself about what the woman found out, came to look at the boy. When she was done cleaning the entire mark, the only design that was left on the boy was the crescent moon and one single line instead of two.


    "There''s only one line," said Leonard whose eyes were strained on the boy''s back before shifting to look at Vivian who looked dazed.


    Vivian nced down at the cloth which she had used to wipe, the beige colour had turned slightly red and she took that it wasn''t mud but the blood that had been used to draw an extra line. She tried to figure out before she came to speak what she found, "The Walter''s killed the boy. When we went and met the couplest evening, they mentioned about the elder daughter to have looked prettier than she was before.?They...used him as a sacrifice to turn their daughter pretty enough to gain Mr?Senielton or any other man''s attention," Dutan had only arrived at the room after being interviewed pointlessly by the vampire doctor before he was let inside, "The family must have been and debt, their daughters average to look at."


    "In return, the boy killed the people who killed him," Leomented and Vivia gave him a nod.


    "He was alive after all, until yesterday..." she trailed.


    But there was something Leonard didn''t understand, "What about?Mr?Senielton? Did he kill him too?"


    "I couldn''t reach the memories after that but," she paused trying to wrap her head around the situation, "I think the boy was responsible to it," it was the only usible answer as a body couldn''t explode like that out of nowhere.


    Dutan was soon followed by Heuren who came to look at the boy to exim, "The boy is dead?!?Oh, God!" his eyes fell on the single line on the scar that had been carved.


    "Yes, apparently he is. Since for some time now," answered Leonard, he then turned back his gaze to Vivian, "Why do you think he killed his brother-inw? He did beat him but do you think it warranted death as a punishment?"


    "Yes," she answered, her hand moving the boy back on his back, she ran her hand on the boy''s head where the hair had stuck to his forehead, "I think, and it is only my assumption here but that both the parties tried to scam each other, they were using each other to get profit from the other. I was going through one of the books I borrowed from the local vige library. It says that some of the spirits or ghosts have the habit of wandering even after venging death to stay around until they finish punishing next few then depart to the next world. Very much simr to what happened in the snow mansion."


    If the four men''s thoughts had drifted on her words, the word on snow mansion brought everyone''s attention back to her with a questionable, curious look on their faces. They waited for her to speak, wondering with intrigue on what was being linked in here.


    "During the second exam that took ce, a lot of them died but not everyone was killed by the two candidates, there were some who were killed by the woman who was the mistress of the second lord. When she killed councilman Oliver that night, she had written down there on the wall ''I know what you did,'' and I doubt it was written for just one but many others like she could see what they had done and was punishing them for it."


    Leonard then stated, "Heuren came out clean."


    "The ghost must have gone through you too for letting you walk out of there alive," whispered Dutan to Heuren. Heuren was as scared as Vivian when it came to the talk of ghosts and to think that he had crossed path with the ghost, a shiver ran down his spine.


    Standing up, she felt her thighs feel a little sore from squatting in front of this whole time. She then said, "That''s right. She left him unharmed while she killed two or more of them when I was at the snow mansion. Isn''t it strange that Abel wanted to push the case to be closed so that he could get information which heter couldn''t get his hands on?" she asked.


    "If it is the grave sins she took into consideration, thedy must have found a dirty little secret from our fellow councilman. And he was the only one who was disyed in front of everyone while the rest were taken into the forest," said Leonard looking at his men.


    Though Maximillian wasn''t part of their team, the man usually gave in useful intel on the others in the council due to his peculiar hobby of having to observe and know most of the things everyone did. He offered, "Let me go find what the man was up to. Something shoulde out with the digging."


    "That would be helpful," agreed Leo.


    "What about the case? Are we going to close it?" asked Dutan wondering what was going to happen next as both the man as well as the boy were dead. There was no point in holding a court proceeding when both the parties were not going to participate in it.


    "Lionel will possibly close it as there''s nothing more to look into it," said Leonard before continuing to speak, "If Oliver was involved something bad, which was in his personal life then the case will be closed easily but if it is something else we''ll be able to find it only in time after we get to the bottom of it."


    "What about his body?" asked Vivian. If she could get her hands on the body surely they could simplify the task.


    Dutan was the one to answer it, "Unfortunately the body was burnt,dy Vivian after the case was dismissed."


    "Burnt?" Vivian frowned at this information. She turned to Leonard for the exnation which he didn''t mind,


    "There are a fewws that are set for the councilmen and councilwomen, if one is found dead in strange and unexined circumstances the body is burnt after the case verdict. Right now, we cannot retrieve the body back. We will have to go in our usual route of finding it piece by piece," Leo informed his teammates who nodded their head ready for the next mission which was an undercover one like many which their superior, Lionel wasn''t aware of, "Let''s go see what Lionel has to say."


    "What about the boy?" asked Maximillian and before anyone could voice their opinion on the matter, Vivian spoke hurriedly,


    "We bury him right. In the grave with the peace offering," she looked at them, her eyesing to settle down atst on Leo who gave her a nod.


    "He will have a burial in the cemetery," he assured her like many other times making her chest light. Her expression showing how thankful she was, "I have something for you to do before the judgement is passed, Vivi."


    "Yes," she responded in full alert.


    Hours passed by and even though the council elders would usually get the best expertise in the field, there was no exnation about what happened in the cell room where Mr?Senielton was locked up. Witchcraft couldn''t be the answer as they had marked the council in and around where white and ck witches couldn''t tress pass close to the grounds. Some came to believe it was an ill omen while some said he was under transformation as soon that noon parchments were found which was on the transfiguration of a human to something ungodly and inhuman which no one had seen.


    When asked about the boy, it was told that he was sent to the next rtive who had lived in Mythweald. Lionel had narrowed his eyes at the information as the older man hadn''t forgotten how the deceased had used of the little boy of being involved in a devil''s y. But then Lionel couldn''t point a finger on the little boy as it wasn''t just parchments of illegal activities that were found but also voodoo dolls which indicated that the man had killed Walter''s family as there were four dolls made from twigs.


    What had happened was that Leo had asked Vivian to go to couple''s house to get some of the markings which weren''t high curse spells but enough to put one in trouble. Everest being the dutiful ghoul had slipped into the?Senielton''s house and had ced the evidence right before the councilmen hade to inspect the man''s activities.


    The body was slipped out of the undergroundb without anyone''s notice and was taken to the next cemetery.


    Vivian stood near the grave wearing a ck dress with Leonard next to her who was in a ck suit and ck shirt. With the final rights being performed and done, the snow continued to fall from the sky to cover the newly ced tombstone.


    In one of the East side of Bonke, in a mansion, Abel stood at the door where he hade to ry the news of the verdict of the case being dismissed.


    "...Lionel closed the case just as we wanted," said Abel with a dull look on his face which wasn''t smiling like many other times.


    "Lionel closed the case because there was nothing more one could do," came a voice from the dark where a man''s feet could be seen crossed as he sat on an armchair, "I heard they found out some parchments with the markings. Did you fail to ask him about it?" came the deep voice who wasn''t pleased with the turn of events. It wasn''t a question.


    Abel didn''t respond to it, knowing an extra word from his mouth when not being asked would only displease the man he had been working for.


    "I expected more from you, Abel or are you turning old that you aren''t able to continue with the job I give you. I can always have you reced if that is what your efforts mean," came the light threat where fear crossed Abel''s red eyes upon hearing it, "Do you know why I have kept you around for so long now?" the man asked in the dark, his face noting close to the light that fell up to his thighs, "It is because you have not only been loyal but have worked well over the years for me in fetching little information but this," the man paused.


    "I am sorry for having a slip," Abel bowed low, his head not lifting up.


    "If the world worked with sorries life would be so much simpler. The information I asked had the spell curses, the same which that little witch cunt once held before we killed her. But even that is lost and there have been no whereabouts on it. It not only contains the high ranked ck witches names but spells that a human or a vampire can make use of. On thest letter, Oliver said he had delicate information but the boy is dead and what use are the dead?" the man tched as if he had a bitter taste in his mouth as he spoke about the councilman who died.


    Not because he felt sorry for the way he had died but because he had lost information which could have got him closer to the parchment of papers.

 Chapter 219 - Past Link- Part 2

    "You have been a loyal man, Abel but that doesn''t make the loss we have been experiencing to be less," said the man, his hand peeked out in the light to lift the ss of blood that was on the table to disappear when he brought it to his lips which moulded into the darkness.


    Abel didn''t speak a word but stood quietly listening to what the man had to say. It was clear that he was upset for the little mishaps but there was nothing he could have done at that point. Not to forget, the first parchments being lost was not his fault but another councilman who was killed a few years ago after the death of the white witch who was also the wife of the second Lord of Valeria.


    "Lancelot said he met with Esterst evening. She conveys her regards to you," Abel said bowing his head again and then looking up to hear no murmur of words being spoken to him.


    "The young ck witch," hummed the man, "What did you find out about her?"


    "She has been trying to kill some of the pureblooded members in society. There''s no telling when she''ll have our own man infiltrate this ce," Abel spoke his thoughts out. They had only found out about her existence of what she was trying to achieve but then they had simr goals and interest. As much as the woman showcased that she was trying to poison and corrupt the nightly creatures, it felt that she had more than one motive under her cloak.


    The man didn''t speak for several seconds, cing the ss which he had previously picked, he kept it on the table which was empty, "Kill her then. We do not want another liability case where we already know what she''s going to do. Witches have been of a grave problem for our kind. They not only meddle within other lives but also ours which is very problematic, don''t you think so, Abel?"


    "Yes, Sire."


    "The previous white witch hailed from a reputed family. Married into our kind, best friends with the current head council but instead of keeping it there she dug where she had no business. It is good that she was executed meticulously," the man finally got up from his chair, his eye patching in view his expression calm as his lone red eye peered into space in front of him.


    "With her trying to expose us it was going toe at her one day," said Abel as he had been present at that period of time. It took ce two decades ago.


    Creed walked to the rabbits that he had caged in the room. They looked scared, scurrying to a corner at his presence, "A prey should be aware of what they are in the presence of a predator. If you try to ignore it, the food cycle will trample you. I befriended her to get the first parchments which are aplete set of inscriptions. It is told to be passed down from the old ancestors. Instead of doing that, she wanted to expose what we were doing," said Creed, opening the cage to pull out a rabbit. He tore the rabbit''s neck and drank the blood from it as if what he drank wasn''t sufficient enough."


    He then continued, "Make sure you kill the woman once you feel she is of no use. Keeping scraps will only burden us."


    "Yes, Sir. That is why I discarded mine," Abel smiled for Creed to look up at him from the rabbit he drank from.


    "I would expect nothing less from you,"mented Creed, "For a person to have his own sibling killed to save his neck, I must say I was impressed?but be careful Abel to not pull a trick like that with me. I won''t show you mercy if I sense you stepping out of the line," Creed gave him a pleasant smile, "You can go now."


    In one part of the council building, Vivian and Heuren stood behind the tall walls during the time of noon where they saw two guards walking back and forth guarding a big door.


    "Is this the forbidden door?" asked Vivian in a whisper to have the man nodding.


    "That''s right," Heuren whispered back in the same octave, "Getting past those doors are really difficult," he jerked his head for her to follow him and they disappeared from the floor to step into the lower one, "I have tried to get past it several times but not once have I been sessful. And even if you befriend them, they are only going to put you in the cell room."


    "They can do that?" Vivian asked slightly taken aback. She thought councilmen and women didn''t have to go to the cell room.


    He chuckled, "It very much happens because I say it out of my very experience. I have been put in the cell room twice now and I cannot say how furious Lionel was when he found out," she could imagine it, "Lady Vivian you don''t have to go through those doors-"


    "But that''s the only ce where we can find Oliver''s belongings," she said diminishing her voice when a pair of councilmen entered in their line of sight.


    "Which we don''t have to. We''ll be approaching the regr ways of our job which might take time but we''ll eventually get there," he tried to assure her as it seemed that thedy here had pulled him with her, sneaking away from his superior so that she could get some information privately from him on those doors.


    It had been more than three weeks but there was nothing they had found. Even Maximilian who had offered to help them hade back yesterday to tell them the man was clean and there were no dirty tracks he could point. But there was something he had mentioned before he had left their department.


    <i>"It is as if someone cleaned up his traces because his records are cleaner which includes one of the cases that disappeared from the list," conveyed the blue-eyed pureblooded vampire, his eyes lookingzily.?</i>


    <i>"It must be put in the forbidden room of previous case files," stated Leo who looked grim, "Thank you for looking at it," he thanked the man for Maximillian to bow his head.</i>


    <i>"Anytime," he replied back with the corners of his lips being pulled up for a wide smile but before he left he found Vivian standing close to the door and he whispered to her, "Go find the files. Your answers might be in there," but Leonard had heard it quite clearly.</i>


    <i>"The room is a ce which is locked for everyone except for the head council. There is no need for it," Leo''s words didn''t allow room for argument but Maximilian gave her a grin and then took his leave.?</i>


    Thinking about what Maximillian had adviced she had seriously tried considering it. It would not only save them time but they could solve it before moving on the switcher''s issue.


    They were only walking when Vivian started to experience sudden pain in her chest. Her expression first flinched and she thought it was a mild difort but the pain didn''t subdue. Ignoring it, for the time being, she walked along with Heuren to ask, "Why were you put in the cell room twice?" she asked him curiously, it seemed that it was true that Hueren was that one person in the team who liked to annoy Lionel more than anyone. Sometimes it was his questions which didn''t make sense or sometimes he would get warned for notpleting his paperwork which he hated to do.


    "I was found snooping in one of the departmentsst year when I had just joined the team," answered Heuren a little bashful at the memory, "It was on the third week of my time here. Newbies make mistakes," he shrugged his shoulders and to agree with him she said yes.


    "Couldn''t agree more with you on that," Vivian had lost her way in the council when she stepped on another floor and in a different corridor toote to realize until she found Maximillian walking in the same corridor.


    Reaching the department door, Vivian had only pushed the door to be interrogated by Leonard, "Where were you both?" his eyes were sharp on them.


    "We went down to eat."


    "We went out to get some air."


    Came the two different responses. Dutan looked up from the parchment he was currently writing to submit in the court proceeding, looking at the pair before putting back his eyes where he continued to write. As much as he was interested to look what his senior was going to say, he had a file report in less than, he looked at his pocket watch which he had ced on the table, ten minutes from now!


    Vivian then rified, "What Heuren meant is that we ate and then went to get some fresh air."


    "Is that so," Leo''s eyes narrowed at both of them. Heuren quickly nodded his head, "Heuren, if you help Vivian in crossing the forbidden door, I will personally make sure that your days in the cell room is hell enough that you wouldn''t have imagined it to be. Or rather," the blonde man drawled his voice, "I will make you clean the cemetery of all the graves in this part of thend," if the previous warning didn''t work for Heuren, mentioning him about him spending time with ghosts had got the point across.


    "Yes, Senior Leonard. I will make sure that doesn''t happen," Heuren replied back, bowing his head he went to take the seat behind his desk.


    Vivian pursed her lips. Leonard was sharp enough to catch hold of the story they hade that he had warned Huren directly. She saw Leo go pick up his coat, wearing it,


    "Where are you going?" she asked him.


    Leonard who was straightening the cor of the coat spoke, "I need to go see Sister Isabelle. One of the men reported back to the?higher elder councilmen that she hasn''t been seen in the church for more than four days now."


    "Maybe she went to travel somewhere," said Vivian for him to shake his head.


    "White witches who are stationed at the Church are not allowed to step out of the city. The rules have been stated strictly. If a white witch does that, it only means trouble calls. Don''t wait for me, Vivi. Go home after an hour," he advised her.


    But she had work to do. With her nning to enter the forbidden door, she had forgotten toplete the given tasks in hand, "What about work?"


    "You can take it home. No need to stay herete," his eyes narrowed at first and when it turned back to normal, he leaned over to kiss her lips, "Be good," he whispered on her lips.


    "Yes," Vivian smiled, her eye twinkling until she realized Heuren and Dutan were in the room too. By now everyone had gotten used to Leo''s disy of affection where the love dropped in the department or in the corridors of the building.


    Giving the two men a pointed look which was opposite to what he offered to Vivian, Leonard left the room. Vivian wondered if Sister Isabelle was in some sort of danger due to which she wasn''t in the Church for four days.


    When an hour passed, Vivian had forgotten about the forbidden door of files and decided to take her work, carrying it in a bag as she headed out of the room. Just when she was descending down the stairs, she came to meet the man named Abel. Wary of him, she tried to move past him but to her dismay, the man stopped her.


    "Councilwoman Vivian Carmichael."


    He greeted her which made her hurried footsteps stop so that she could look at him.


    ------


    Book 4: Young master Damien''s pet


    "Who touched you?" he asked, his eyes brooding down at her and when she didn''t answer, his voice thundered in the room, "WHO?"


    The butler who stood near the wall spoke shakily, "Sir it was Mr. Reverale," Damien''s face turned sour, his jaw ticking in anger he turned his face to the side where the butler stood behind.


    "Bring the man here."


    "N-now?" stuttered the butler. It was the time of night.


    Damien who hadn''t broken his eyes contact with the girl in front of him pushed his hand against the wall which previously rested beside his beautiful girl''s head. Turning his body, he first looked at his butler who had his head bowed. With great courage, the butler came to meet his master''s eyes, "Do you have any other better time? Or should it be after I wring your neck?" Damien asked calmly tilting his head. Not a secondter, the butler ran out of the room to return back with Mr. Reverale after twenty minutes.


    "Damien, are we having ate tea party?" Mr. Reverale came to greet but the master of the house had other ns. Spotting the knife that was stuck to the apple on the table, he reached for it to pull it out.


    Just as Mr. Reverale went to exchange a handshake with him, Damien took hold of his hand to ce it on the table. In one swift movement as if he were chopping onions, he chopped the four fingers of the man off his hand making him yelp and cry in pain.


    "No one touches what is mine. I am sure this will remind you the next time you even think about touching her," sighed Damien as if he were tired of telling people to keep their dirty hands off his belongings.

 Chapter 220 - Past Links- Part 3

    She didn''t know why he had gone to use her entire name when just councilwoman Vivian would have been sufficient.


    The man offered her a smile, "Are you done with your work for the day?" he asked.


    "I will be taking it home today, councilman Abel," her nerves had begun to jitter, making her chest ache slightly out of nervousness as she felt ufortable to stand in the presence of this man, "How about you?" she said trying to keep her calm.


    "I have a lot of work pending at my desk. I thought it would be pleasing to have a walk and have a little chitchat with others before I go back to it," said Abel with a small smile that didn''t reach up to his eyes, "I don''t know why but I feel we have met before," hemented and if truth to be told, Vivian felt the same way. Every time she had seen him in the beginning, it had always made her wonder as to where she had seen him before and she doubted they had met before. With him always in the council and her only entering the council weeks ago, it wasn''t possible, "Have youe to the council before this year?" she heard him ask her.


    "No," her answer was firm.


    A man who had a hand in letting go of the ck witches when they were captured, Vivian told herself to be careful about him. If it weren''t for his family''s involvement in it, the ck witch who had gone to poison many minds wouldn''t be alive today and so many lives could have been spared.


    "Hmm, I think I know," his eyes sparkled, "My sister had a very simr nose like you, her features close to yours but not the same," it made the man wonder about it. His calctive red eyes staring at her.


    Vivian wasn''t sure how to respond back to it. How could she take it as apliment by beingpared to his traitor sister, "Pardon me but I am running a littlete," she bowed her head hoping he wouldn''t wish to converse with her anymore.


    "Is it a new case?" when Abel nced at her hand that held files she had been meaning to carry back home, her fingers clutched on it tightly, "Let me take a look and give you the pointers. You will have less work that way once you reach home," he offered, his eyes continuing to stare at them. When his hand almost reached it, she pulled it away from his reach.


    "I wouldn''t want to trouble you, councilman Abel. It would be very rude of me to be burdening you with it but if I do have questions I will be sure toe to you," she put up a bright smile upon her face. She saw him purse his lips before smiling back at her.


    "Sure. My department is on the second floor that is the fourth room in the right," he guided her. Giving him a short bow, she left for the man to continue looking at her.


    Until now, Abel Harlow hadn''t realized why the girl who was married to Duke Carmichael appeared to be someone he had met before. But as they spoke, he came to realize that she did resemble his deceased sister. The same sister he had sacrificed to save his neck when he had helped the ck witches escape.


    He had no shame for what he had done nor did he feel guilty over it. If he had to do it again, he would do it without a doubt in his mind.


    When the time hade the Harlow''s had sent their own daughter away to God knows where due to the shame it would cause them in the society though it was understandable his niece was their blood child. With putting the entire me on the Harlow''s, the council had asked the Carmichael boy and the Lord of Bonke who at that time was in charge of the case.


    They had been killed by them, thest three of the Harlows as who knew the girl would have already been dead as there was no trace of her. He had visited the ve establishment but she wasn''t in there and after a year he had given up.


    Vivian didn''t turn around to see if the man was still standing there, instead, she walked to the carriage which Leonard had left her which would take her back home. Getting inside, when the door of the carriage closed, she looked through the window at the building and that Abel who had previously been standing there wasn''t there anymore. Leaning back against the seat, she wondered over his words and the man whom she hade to know from Leonard.


    He had eyed on her files as if wanting to know what they were currently working on. With what she knew, the cases and the evidence a team received was confidential. Maybe that is why they were gathered all together and ced in the room. The council had been running for decades, and for every case, that was solved or unsolved along with the belongings of the councilmen or councilwomen after they had passed away, she could hardly imagine how much of data and how vast the room could be. Surely, it wouldn''t be the size of an average library.


    She felt her chest pain again as if several little needles were trying to prick her every time she went to inhale making her exhale quickly. At first, her thought was that she had skipped her meal but she hadn''t. She remembered eating her lunch which made her wonder why was her chest causing her certain uneasiness. When something began to rise in her throat, she quickly tapped on the front window to get the coachman''s attention.


    "Please stop the carriage!" she said a little out of air. The coachman gave her a confused look but nheless he pulled the reins of the horses and before he could step down to open the door, Vivian had already unlocked the door and had run a certain distance to finally stop at a tree.


    She bent down and emptied the contents of her stomach of what she had eaten. A minute passed by and when she returned back she asked,


    "Do you have water to drink?"


    "Ah, it''s already used- I mean I have touched it," he said unsure if that was alright with thedy after all he was a peasant and she was the master''s wife.


    She raised her hand, her speech a little errant as she could still feel the bile that had rose from her stomach to her throat. The coachman quickly went to the side of the saddlebag he ced below his foot stand to pull out the water bottle to hand it to her. Vivian quickly unturned the little knob and gulped the water quickly.


    "Are you alright, mdy?" asked the coachman worried that thedy had suddenly fallen ill. Was it that...he wondered if thedy was pregnant and he tried to look closer at her when her eyes looked up to meet his red eyes stared and he had to blink to get his vision right to see ck eyes there.


    Vivian nodded her head, "Yes. Thank you for the water," she responded and got back inside the carriage.


    Though she had vomited, the uneasiness in her stomach continued to proceed that made the journey back to the mansion to be an ufortable one.


    By the time, Leonard arrived back to the mansion he found Vivian resting on a chair out in in the patio with her legs spread straight as she stared at the sky where the snowkes fell from the sky. She had covered herself in a nket, wearing gloves in her hands and socks on her feet.


    As if sensing his presence, she turned around to see him.


    "Leo," her voice appeared to be dull making him worry if something had happened.


    Going to where she was seated, he crouched down to level himself as he stared into her eyes. He ced the back of his hand on her cheek, "You will fall sick if you sit here any further."


    "But I am covered with a nket. Won''t youe join me?" she asked him scooting away to make a ce for him.


    "I think I would need more than that to fit in," he chuckled, looking at her eyes he noticed that she looked tired, "How about a bath instead?" he asked her. Taking her smile to be a yes, he scooped her in his arms, walking back inside the room.


    During the time of night, Leonard made love to Vivian in the bed, exploring every inch of her as his fingers lit her skin on fire, letting both of them get lost until they fell asleep?within each other''s arms.


    Her eyes flickered behind her eyelids as she stepped into her dreams.


    Vivian felt her chest tighten as she stared at the sight in front of her. Leo sat the foot of the bed, blood spread out around him which soaked his trousers wet. How many times had shee to see this dream that every time it ended the same way that now she hade to memorize it even during the hours she was awake.


    When he dropped his hand from his chest, a hole could be seen. After a few seconds passed by, his eyes fell distant and vacant.


    Her heart broke at the sight, her throat clogging up where she couldn''t bring out the words to call him. Hearing something drip down from her hand, she looked down to see her hands covered in blood until the length of her wrist. Looking front at the mirror, she caught sight of her eyes that were red.


    With a soft gasp, Vivian woke up from her sleep where the night dominated the sky.


    "Bad dream?"


    She had woken up Leo along with her. She nodded her head. Getting closer to him, she pressed his lips as if they were sharing thest kiss. After confessing in the church, Leo hade to know the trouble Vivian was having when it came to her sleep. And though Sister Isabelle had said there was nothing to worry, he knew deep down there was a reason why his beloved kept dreaming the same dreams.


    Once she pulled back, a little reluctantly, she informed him, "I fell sick when I was returning back home."


    "So I noticed," Leo ran his thumb below her under the eye, "What happened?" he ced his hand on her stomach, feeling the smooth skin while also shifting her mood as she giggled.


    "Do you think I am pregnant?" her question was filled with hope and anxiousness.


    "You are too young to bore children, my dear Vivi. Do you want to have children now?" he asked her, his eyes took in her expression.


    In turn, she answered his question with another question, "Don''t you want any?" They had never discussed children until now but now that it hade up, Vivian wanted his views on it too.


    "Of course, I do. More than anything in this world. To build a family with you, to live long..." his voice trailed to quietness, "I want to spend every possible time we have together. What did you see in your dream today, Vivi?" he came directly to the point. She was hoping somewhere he wouldn''t.


    "It was the same dream."


    "What did you see? You look more anxious than the previous days, how did you see me die?" he asked her casually.


    Thinking about it was difficult and talking about it painful. She had seen her eyes flicker from ck to red to ck again, and she was sure that Leo had noticed it too. They didn''t know if her pureblooded self wasing forth but she was scared.


    She shook her head in response not wanting to speak about it, "Sharing your trouble will ease your chest and mind, Bambi. I am your husband. If I can''t shoulder so much I would feel ashamed of myself for not being able to do anything," she heard him speak.


    "There was blood on my hands," her voice was feeble but the room was quiet enough for him to hear what she was saying, "Blood that was yours but I was a vampire"


    A few seconds silence passed between them before Leonard spoke, "I won''t die that easily, Vivi. And if that is what is written in fate, let us try to change it together than you worry yourself alone."


    "I am scared," she whispered as he took her back into his arms.


    "I know," he hugged her, kissing the top of her head. To lighten the mood he then said, "For someone who is scared to kill a fly, your imagination does run wild," he chuckled, a small smileing to settle on her lips, "Everything will be okay," he assured her as she got closer to his chest to listen to his heartbeat.


    "Everything will be okay," she repeated his words.

 Chapter 221 - It Is Time

    Isabelle walked through the deserted forest, her steps on snow leaving imprints behind her as she walked forward. Thentern she had been carrying had exhausted and it being of no use, she had thrown it away on her way here.


    She hade far from thend of Bonke. Away and closer to where she once called thesends to be home. Her time was close, years that she had spent after being burnt, it was time for her spirit to depart as the body she was in was giving up on her.


    Isabelle heard the owl hoot above her as she made her way through the thicket of the forest. Snow continued to fall from the sky, someing to settle above on the hooded hood she had pulled to cover herself.


    Her dagger was covered in an inky ck liquid which now had dried and was hidden in its sheath. She had lured and killed as many ck witches as she could who hade to reside along with the citizens of the viges and town. If it was a few years ago, her body wouldn''t have felt this exerted but she wasn''t the same as before. Bringing her hand up, she saw the way her right hand hade to discolour. The rate of decay was moving in a quick direction and before she would breathe herst breath she wanted to kill as many ck witches she could by dragging them along with her. That was the least she could do.


    It wasn''t only humanity but also the night creatures along with her fellow sisters who were being put in danger. The witch who went by the name ''Ester'' she had heard that she would be able to catch her here.


    She wished she could have unveiled more of what was going on in the council but she had left it in the hands of the youngsters. There were the Duke and his wife, his wife especially. She believed them to discover what was going and had insteade on this little journey of hers on her own while leaving Connor in charge of the Church duties.


    It had been more than a week since she had left and by now the officials would have already smelt her absence and would have started a search of where she was.?For the council, it didn''t matter how much you worked and helped them. In the end, the white witches were nothing bu mere tools in solving some cases and aiding the folks. Due to this, the trust never came to form between the councilmen and the white witches.


    But that was least of her worries.


    She had hoped one day to meet her son Alexander who was now the Lord of Valeria. To sit down and talk to him, but she had no time for it. He was still in the process of making peace with the way he had seen her being burnt in the middle of the vige. To lose her again, she shook her head, she wouldn''t want to put him through it again. He would finally be able to look forward and he had a life now, she hoped one day he would find the woman he would love and share his burden with. Just like how his father had.


    Isabelle continued to walk forward, the little sides of her ck hairing to settle on her face which she pushed back with her hand which had begun to dpose. On the other hand, she held papers.


    Some of them were her own personalized parchments which she had written down the names of the witches she was yet to find. While there were some which had the curses and potion making which had been passed down through her ancestors. It was a hidden rare treasure where most of the ck witches, white witches, vampires and also humans were looking for.


    She carried it along with her as leaving it in the church was unsafe. Though there were a few things she had left behind in the room she had been upying all these years, this was the only one that was worthy to be brought along in this journey of hers. Rolling it back, she ced it in her cloak and at the same time, she heard something distinguishable behind her.


    Isabelle knew someone had been following her for a few minutes now since she had entered the forest.


    With a smile that came to fall on her lips, she stopped her footsteps and spoke,?"For a witch, you aren''t stealth at all," she chuckled to hear the footsteps turn more prominent.


    "For a white witch, you aren''t so bad. Though I was expecting for someone younger," the ck witch finally made her appearance, her bright blue eyes clear in the air.?Isabelle turned around to meet the ck witch''s false form who was a beautiful young girl with blonde hair which was apanied with ample bosom.


    Ester, the ck witch didn''t leave the opportunity to attach the white witch and threw her knife which was coated with venom. But the white witch held the knife in time right at her face, "Looks can be deceiving, don''t you agree," and she used the same knife to throw it against the ck witch who wasn''t as quick as the white witch.


    Dodging with the nick of time, the ck witch stared at the white witch, her eyes looking very curiously at the woman.


    "Impressive. You have been killing my sisters," Ester stated, an unamused smile on her thin lips, "Not that I care. Weaklings should always fall down first so that they can make way to the higher being," she pointed out to herself, "I have to thank you for it."


    "I am d to be of your help...Ester," Isabelle spoke the woman''s name to see it narrow.


    "You know about me," the ck witchughed softly before her expression turned serious, "If you know my name, there must be a reason for it unless I am in that little strike list of yours."


    "My, how did you guess. Help me out and strike it so that I can go on my way," Isabelle''s words were polite but her intentions weren''t and both the woman pulled out their daggers. Suddenly the quiet forest was filled with sparksing off from their daggers being shes and rubbed against each other.


    The ck witch used both her hands while the white witch used only her left hand to fight her off.?Ester didn''t know why the woman in front of her was much more agile than her even though it was clear by looks that she was younger who should have more energy to fight.


    Isabelle made sure to keep a long-distance as they fought, keeping a good range before striking back as it helped her get back her stance which was at times slipping due to the snow that was unevenly spread across the floor of the forest.


    Just when the ck witch came close with her dagger, Isabelle raised her leg and kicked from the back making the younger witch slide far down on the snow before getting up and attacking her.


    "Give up," Ester gritted her teeth slightly vexed that she was taking this long to take an old haggard woman who was using only one of her hand ot fight which was insulting her now, "Ah!" she shed her dagger straight on to Isabelle''s already weakened arm to draw blood out, "Actually you aren''t that difficult to read."


    "I am d to hear that you''re finally catching up. It was turning to be really mundane now," Isabelle''s smile irked the ck witch until her appearance broke down. From eh beautiful woman, the skin tore out to bring forth the ck scales which were dry and her tongue slithering out of her unchapped lips.


    "How dare you, mock me!" Ester cried, her blue eyes still radiant as they continued to fight, "I will make sure to burn you!"


    "I would like to see that," challenged Isabelle before she came to ask, "What is your motive with the massacres?" this seemed to bring a satisfied smile on Ester as if she hade to realize something very intricate.


    "Wait a minute! You are that white witch we burnt," Isabelle frowned hearing this. It was the vigers who had burnt her but not heeding any expression on her face, Isabelle decided to hear out what this ck witch had to say, "How are you even alive?" sheughed loudly, the echo of herughter surrounding the forest and them.


    "You know about me," murmured Isabelle for the ck witch to cackle.


    "Who doesn''t know you. But I have to say I am shocked. Tell me how you escaped your death and I will spare your life," offered Ester, her blue eyes more vivid than before at the thought of immortality for the ck witch. But Isabelle didn''t utter a word and stared at the mad ck witch who looked a little more than ecstatic at the news of what she just found. About her being alive, "You won''t say, will you? Such honour," the ck witch tch-ed, clicking her tongue unhappily.


    "Are you trying to gather the red moon source? But you don''t have all the ingredients now, do you?"


    "How do you know?" Ester narrowed her eyes before going for another swing of the dagger and every time Isabelle dodged the poison metal.


    "You think you are the only old one here on thesends?" smirked Isabelle, sheathing back her dagger she walked behind the trees while keeping a good distance from the ck witch who seemed to be interested in her talk than her intention to kill now.


    "I don''t know what you are speaking of," Ester this time spoke very carefully but then there was no need to be careful as she was going to kill this woman here today. How could she not bestow death when a white witch came looking particrly to court death by her.


    "I am sure you know what I am exactly speaking of. Trying to perfect what the white witches once tried. How unoriginal,"mented Isabelle, her cloak that hade off now had begun to collect the snow behind in its hood. To jog her memory, the white witch spoke, "Centuries ago, white witches tried to resurrect power as they were shunned away from their ownnds. It was about the red moon, sourcing it with a few sacrifices very simr to the massacre which you have been demonstrating but haven''t been able to perfect. But when a certain witch found the other sacrifices that came along with the power, the idea was dropped along with the lost ritual to gain power back again against the ones who had wronged them."


    "So tell me, dear," the white witch probed the ck witch who was walking in the same direction as her but in a circle which made it looked like they were on two different sides, "Are you trying to find the other sources as you haven''t been able to get any of ritual right but had been under failure?"


    "Hmph!" the ck witch harrumphed, "Unlike the white witches, I am no coward to stop at the mere word of sacrifice. I will win back what was once ours before the night creatures drove me and my sisters away."


    "But do you have everything that you need to perform it?" enquired Isabelle.


    "You have it. In that parchment that you have been secretly carrying all this while," Ester pointed out with a grin, "But I doubt if that is all that is there. You don''t appear to be an idiot to carry a treasure without protecting it. Unless...unless you have portioned those parchments somewhere else so that we don''t find it."


    "How intelligent. Then you should find all of them which I doubt you can," challenged Isabelle and suddenly daggers started to sh one after another, sparks flying in the air until Ester sessfully ran her dagger deep into Isabelle''s chest making her fall on the snowy ground.


    "For a woman of your age, you should know when to shut up," said Ester, before she forcefully searched the other woman''s coat and pulled the parchments to tuck it in her pocket, "I don''t know how you escaped deathst time but I don''t think you will revive back," said Ester ncing at Isabelle''s hand which had turn rotten, "I will be gracious enough to leave you here because I doubt you can even move a muscle more," she chuckled and left the forest, leaving behind Isabelle where the poison was moving through her veins and blood.


    In the ck witch''s eyes, it was her poison that had got Isabelle''s hand rotten and so was her body giving up but what the ck witch didn''t know was that Isabelle had already started to die before her dagger had sliced through the white witch''s skin.


    The ck witch was right, she had only half the parchments while the other half was where it was meant to be with the rightful owner, her son. She doubted her son knew what the parchments she left for him meant but in a few years when Ester would start her move again, he would be wise enough to figure it out. With the council''s on high alert and the need to eradicate any and every ck witch, the woman would not be showing herself and her guess was that she would go under hiding.


    She felt fortunate to have spent herst few days like this, she was the wife of Zachary Delcrov and she felt she had done justice to both the title as the Lord''s wife and also being a white witch. No matter what the humans did, it was her duty to protect them.


    Isabelle felt her body weaken as time continued to pass. Her journey was slowlying to an end and it would be only a matter of time before she would cease to exist. She saw snow fall down from the sky, a keing to settle on her cold forehead.


    She had lived long and she felt tired. Not the physical tiredness but mentally tired.


    All she wanted to do was close her eyes and she did that.

 Chapter 222 - Friend Or Foe- Part 1

    She stood in front of the mirror, looking at her side as she tied the delicate ribbon at her back with both her hands. Picking up the cloak that was on the stand she was about to wear it when Leo stepped in, taking the cloak from her and helping her into it.


    "Were you able to find the whereabouts of Sister Isabelle?" she asked once she had got both her arms into the two sleeves. Initially, she had nned to go visit the church but she hadn''t expected her stomach to act which had shifted her concentration to herself from Sister Isabelle making her go home straight.


    "Nothing as of now. Father Connor wanted to tell something but there were other officials who hade to station at the Church and the vige around," other officials? Vivian gave Leo a questionable look. They were supposed to be the only ones who were sent for the noon patrol, "Councilman Creed''s men hade to take a look at the Church."


    Feeling Leo pull her by her cloak, she felt him tighten thece around her waist to keep her warm as the weather particrly today was dire than the rest of the days, "Why are the two teams being involved for one missing white witch?"


    "It is something to reckon now, isn''t it," hummed Leonard, they stepped out of the room descended down the stairs to be greeted by Jan who had a couple of letters that he had received for the Duke, "Keep them in my study," Leo ordered the housekeeper as he didn''t have time to read it. There were other pressing matters this morning, where one of them was Sister Isabelle who had disappeared without a word to the council which wasn''t good.


    When the white witches were allowed to roam through the fournds, the edict of having toply with the council''s rules was forced to make sure no simr mishap took ce as the ck witches. Years ago, white witches had performed the rituals very much simr to how the ck witches were currently working on. Though they had stopped the ritual aeons ago, it had instilled fear in the humans and also the vampires.


    In Leo''s knowledge, it wasn''t the first time for Sister Isabelle to leave thesends but she had always returned after two or three days. Right now more than a week had passed and there was no indication as to where she was and if she was going to return any time soon.


    His team closely worked with the elder white witch and there could be a possibility that the higher elders in the council didn''t believe they would be strict enough to pass down the punishment for the white witch''s deed.


    "Are they still at the Church?" Vivian held his hand and got inside the carriage. Taking a seat while moving to the other end, she waited for Leo to get in and the said, "Will we be going there?"


    To her burning questions, Leonard nodded his head, "I need o find what father Connor was trying to say. Creed''s team is looking over the ce like a hawk," he admitted which brought in enough suspicion that something was going on or was being waited before something happened.


    "Is Abel in there?" asked Vivian for him to shake his head. Of course, he wasn''t there, thought Vivian to herself as she had seen him at the council building yesterday before leaving to the mansion.


    "There are other three men of his. Capable and yet stupid enough to hover around. You have a task, Vivi," Leo informed her. She waited for him to speak, interested to hear what this task was about, "I will divert them but what I need you to do is to go to Sister Isabelle''s attic."


    "Do I need to fetch something from there?" she asked him curiously.


    "I need you to see what has happened. If something happened that is. We cannot trust anyone right now as matters have already started to spiral out. Even if the white witch left the Church without a word, she would have left something behind, if not for us but for you, Vivi. You are the girl who can read objects, I am sure she would have left something for you to read," Leonard informed her. His eyes narrowed as something went at the back of his head, "Though it is her belongings, now that she has left the Church unattended for days, there is a possibility for the council members to take everything that is there under their name. This would make it difficult for us to get our hands on anything once it is under their acquisition."


    "You mean the forbidden room," she noted for him to nce at her.


    "Yes, the forbidden room."


    "Is it really true that only head council Rueben is allowed to go in there?" she inquired wanting to know if there was a way she could get a peek at the room.


    "Reuben and some of the elders in the council who have lived far more longer than the rest of us," so there were people who entered the forbidden room and it wasn''t selected only to the head council.?Reaching the Church, the carriage Vivian was riding in came to a halt and they stepped out to see another carriage which was closely stationed right beside the church.


    Walking through the double wooden doors of the church, Vivian caught sight of father Connor who had only stepped out of the confession box with a young girl who bowed at him before walking past them.?Upon seeing them, the color on Father Connor''s face came to appear slightly as he exchanged a curt bow with them before being approached by one of the councilmen who were in the church.


    Vivian recognized the man as she hade to meet the man in more than one asion.


    "Duke Leonard, what a pleasure to see you here again," Lancelot Knight, one of the councilmen whom Vivian had previously conversed greeted her husband with a leisure smile.


    Not heeding to the small talk of the men, Vivian took in the condition of the church where it appeared to be quiet and peaceful. There were no visitors apart from them who hade here to continue the inquiry of the white witch who hade missing.


    The council coulde up with many possibilities. Aside from the white witch plotting against society, there was also a probability of something that could have happened to Sister Isabelle but then she doubted that was the case. With what Vivian hade to know about the white witch, she was a strong woman who was intelligent enough to stay away from trouble unless she nned to invite it in.


    While Leonard spoke to Lancelot Knight, whose eyes once in a while drifted to look at Vivian when she moved away from the men to go greet Father Connor, she spoke,


    "How have you been, Father Connor?" she kept her tone light as if Sister Isabelle hadn''t gone missing, "The snow must have filled up the thermal chimney," shemented for him to nod carefully.


    "It has been giving a lot of trouble. The snow has been blocking the top chimney which I have to keep getting on and removing it. If I don''t it will clog the smoke and the visitors of the church will have to experience," worried marred his forehead as he spoke about the inconvenience caused by the weather.


    Vivian gave it some thought until she turned to find one of the councilmen who hade along with Mr. Knight to be standing near the first row of the benches doing nothing particr, "I am sure the councilmen would love to help you with it," she spoke loud enough to gain the attention of the man along with Leo and Lancelot, "Father Connor is having trouble with the chimney, could you be kind enough and give it a look as it might save him some time and effort," her speech was polite and soft on people''s ears that the man though not keen on helping couldn''t refuse her and insteadplied with the request.


    "Where is the chimney?" the councilman asked Father Connor.


    Father Connor looked skeptical about it but then said, "Follow me," he said and Vivian went behind them while leaving Leo with Lancelot. She who was already well aware with the church''s architecture, she decided to follow halfway before deviating her path back to Sister Isabelle''s room which was built secluded and away from the visitors prying eyes.


    Reaching the room as she made sure the other councilmen didn''t catch sight of her, she entered the room and closed the door behind her. The room looked almost empty except for a few things. Thest time she had been here to test and advance her ability of sight, there were little bottles in the far corner of the room along with candles that were lit to drive away from the darkness. But right now there were hardly five to six bottles that she noticed. The candle hadn''t melted until it''sst full potential and it seemed that it had been blown away in the middle of it being burnt.


    Most of the objects were missing too and it made her wonder if the council had already taken away her belongings as Leo had stated they would do.


    Running her hands across the walls and the little desk, she concentrated to get something out of it but it was of no use. The white witch had been powerful enough to hide whatever was in here which was until she came across the old papers which were covered in dust.?To Vivian''s surprise, the papers were untouched, it made her question if the councilmen hade in here or not now. Maybe they hadn''t yet and the bottles were thrown away or hidden somewhere safe?


    With that thought, Vivian first went running her hand through the little bottles. These bottles were very simr to what Murkh possessed in hisb room. So simr that they looked almost identical. For someone like her, who had been a former maid going through the items what the market ce had to offer, she had nevere across these.


    Opening the cork of the bottle she brought it close to her nose to smell it to scrunch her nose due to the pungent smell it held within itself. She turned around the bottle to see a littlebel where Sister Isabelle must have written the name ''Fluer Delcrovent'' in cursive handwriting. Not knowing what it was, she ced it back before picking it up again. Bringing her hand up and forward, she poured the cold liquid on her hand which emitted white smoke which was very simr to the smokey fog that one saw in theke of bones.


    The smoke fleeted from her skin up in the atmosphere to disappear in the air and as the smoke started to float around her, she closed her eyes upon hearing the voices in her head. They were the voices of Sister Isabelle and Father Connor. It took her vision some time to drift to the past when she finally started to see the time when this potion was created,


    "Will this work?" came the question from Father Connor who stood behind Sister Isabelle. They were somewhere deep in the forest, away from prying and questioning eyes as the white witch brewed something dark in her pot.


    The white witch pulled out a bottle from a little bag which clinked around to indicate the presence of more bottles in there, "It should work fine," she turned the cap and poured a drop into the pot for sudden smoke to pop out of the pot, "Just make sure to keep the perimeter clean without any wandering eyes. It would be troublesome if someone is loitering around the forest at this hour," Vivian who was listening to them speak looked at the sky to see the sky to be somewhere dark which was only turning darker as time passed meaning it was past the time of evening.


    "Why not let the council know on it? I am sure they will be happy to know that you are creating a potion to repel the presence of the ck witches," stated Father Connor who stared at the crow that had perched on one of the branches of the tree looking down at them, "Isn''t that Lord Nichs'' bird?"


    "It is," confirmed Isabelle without looking away from the pot she was brewing, "The boy has an annoying habit of sending his bird everywhere but that is alright," she smiled, "I am sure he knows to keep a secret."


    "Why though?" asked the man, his brows which had drawn together to knit in confusion, "You will earn-"


    "The council doesn''t build its values with the trust of merits, father Connor," Isabelle interjected him, "Witches like me, have no ce there and trust is thest standing word with them," Vivian wondered what that meant, "Even if we eradicate thest of the ck witch, they will still hold the past against us for what my ancestors have caused," she smiled, "The night creatures especially, they didn''t take their annihtion that well."


    Father Connor who had made a whole circle of round around the forest came to squat down in front of her, to say, "I am happy that we weren''t born during that time. The war must have been quite a sight, isn''t it?" he asked her.


    War? Vivian stepped closer to them to make sure what she heard was right.


    "We have to fix what we can. The white witches halted their ns which angered the ck witches and they turned vile taking a portion of what the white witches had started," did that mean the white witches were at fault for the hate and the power in these fournds? "Connor, I need you to fetch the dust wand which is on my desk. I will need it toplete thisst bit."


    "Of course, let me go immediately," the man didn''t mind the little errand and turned his back before he ran back in the direction of the church.


    Sister Isabelle who was turning the spat which she had been twisting around the pot then spoke, "Now that we are alone, we can speak, Vivian," Vivian''s eyes widened.

 Chapter 223 - Friend Or Foe- Part 2

    For a few seconds, Vivian felt she had misheard what Sister Isabelle said but she was the only person here as Father Connor had left to go to the church.?With a shaky voice, Vivian uttered, "Sister Isabelle? I need to talk to you. Where are you?"


    "Don''t look so shocked, Vivian," the white witch smiled as she brewed the pot in front of her. If you are here, reading the past memory then it should mean I am not in the church anymore which also means I am gone and havee to cease to exist."


    A deep frown came to settle between Vivian''s eyebrows wondering what was going on, "I am leaving you this particr memory in the hope that you find the answers you are currently looking for. I chased away father Connor because he isn''t fully aware of your ability. I wouldn''t want him thinking I have turned insane by talking to myself."


    It finally dawned on Vivian that this was a message which Sister Isabelle wanted to give her but did she say cease?


    "Don''t look so shocked, dear," the white witch''s words made Vivian feel as if she could see her right this moment while in truth she couldn''t and she was merely talking in hope that the information would reach her, "I needed to make sure you got this message as nothing is safe," the crow that had previously perched itself on the branch of the tree flew away, "Come closer," the older woman advised and Vivian went closer to look at the slimy broth in the pot that bubbled one after another, steaming off as it was boiled under the wooden sticks of the cold atmosphere.


    Sister Isabelle then said, "There has been an increase in the count of the ck witch. I know you stopped most of the transformation but there have been some errant cases which have failed toe to the notice of the council. I am not sure if it is from the same case that you worked but the main witch, the one who has bee pulling the strings she has been trying to recreate the ritual which my ancestors had once tried. You might ask what it is, centuries ago, there were some white witches who shared simr thoughts as the ck witches today. After being shunned by the people for their witchcraft, a revolt started a war between the witches and the rest of the world. The only difference right now is that the white witches stepped back while the ck witches have continued to revolt."


    "This ritual needs a lot of things. More than what the ingredients that are used to create the potion for corrupting the hearts and I doubt she whoever it is, is able to gather all of it right now. She will probably go under hiding with the number of witches I have killed and set on fire. It is a signal for the councilmen that the witches are in high density and she will want to live for now," the woman exined before tapping the utensil with the spoon she had been twirling with, "My potions are important therefore I have left them in hands of the switcher."


    Vivian''s eye widened at this new information. Did she say switcher?! She wanted to argue but how could when it was only one-waymunication where she was on the listening end.


    The switcher? Vivian began to walk back and forth at the thought of why Sister Isabelle would do something like this. She was a smart woman, why would she hand over the potions to the switcher and worse why didn''t she tell she knew a switcher. Wait a minute, she halted her footsteps from going back and forth. Was this the switcher from the council?


    "Don''t panic, Vivian. I know what you are thinking but hear me out," came the quiet, whisper-like voice of the white witch whose voice didn''t rise or fall at Vivian''s panic-stricken face, "I am sure you are aware that in every kind of creature who roam on thesends, it is not required that everyone falls under the same category. There are good and bad people which I know you believe too," Vivian couldn''t believe that Sister Isabelle was taking a switcher''s side but as good as the point was she hade to hate the existence of the kind who could morph into any shape and person. After it was the reason why so many whom she cared for in the world had died.


    One switcher who had started the chain reaction and it had killed so many innocent souls. She didn''t know if she would evere to like them.


    "I am well aware that a lot of death has taken ce in the past but this person, the switcher he can be trusted. His name is Lancelot Knight," blood drained down Vivian''s face, she should have known yet she had no clue about him being a switcher, "There was something I was looking for when I came across him-" and as if the spell broke away, Vivian was suddenly transported back into the present reality.


    The door to the room had opened, breaking her concentration had been lost along with the liquid she had poured on to her hand which had evaporated leaving the little bottle empty as if there had been nothing but the air inside it.


    In came Leonard and right behind him was Lancelot, panic struck Vivian''s mind again that she hurriedly pulled Leonard behind her making him confused as to what was going on.


    She red at Lancelot to see him smile,


    "You found out," hemented, his eyes calmly looking at her.


    "What''s going on?" asked Leonard who tried to grasp the situation


    "He is a switcher," Vivian gritted her teeth to have Leonard under high alert and this time it was Leonard who put Vivian behind in a protective stance.


    "My my, I am not going to pounce on anyone. I think you should help and make your husband understand the situation before ring down at me. I haven''t done anything," Lancelot raised his hands in a surrender position, "Hear the story from your wife," said the man a little rmed when Leonard pulled out a silver pistol from this cloak which he had started to carry very recently, "I haven''t done anything," he iterated carefully where the couple stared at him with an using look which was filled with no mercy.


    "How do we believe your word? You could have turned to Sister Isabelle and made me want to believe that it was she who spoke when it could be you all along," said Vivian as she tried to calcte the moves of the switcher.


    "I have no intention to harm you. I have no n as such, I am here only to help," the switcher offered, keeping his voice sincere but the couple didn''t buy it.


    Leonard who had ced a protective arm in front of Vivian gave the man''s words some thought, said, "Prove it."


    "Proof?" the switcher raised his eyebrow in question, "What kind of proof do you want?"


    "Anything that will make us believe that you have no intentions to plot against us. What were you doing hiding the fact?" interrogated Leonard, his eyes zing with hate and suspicion in them.


    "I can exin," the switcher who went by the name Lancelot said but before he could say anything more the man whom Vivian had previously sent with Father Connor arrived at the door along with the priest.


    "What is going on in here? I thought you took the survey here already and there''s nothing more in here," said the other councilman with a gruff voice where he took in everyone''s expression.


    Father Connor seemed to look at everyone too, not that he minded the extra presence in the white witch''s room but because he could sense the heavy atmosphere here. Something was brewing in here but he didn''t know what. Did he want to know? The answer to it was no. He remembered the words Sister Isabelle had said to him before she had left the Church a week ago.


    ''Stay away from the council. The far and out you stay from their business the better it is. You will live that much longer'', those had been her parting words for him.


    Father Connor took in her golden words. In the least amount of time that had passed, he had seen the ck witches appear and disappear from sight after being burnt, not to forget the vampires who roamed around thends where it was never safe for a human-like him. And it didn''t matter if he was a priest or not, he would be killed regardless of his service to the people here.


    "If the room has no further investigation, I would like to lock it up," said Father Connor and it was Vivian who responded to him.


    "Yes, please. Let us step out of the room, it is getting a little stuffy in here," she said trying to ease the tension which she could still feel as she herself was burning with questions for the man. Giving him the priest a smile, she was the first one to step out and thest one was father Connor who spent in locking the room so that no one woulde to enter this particr room now.


    "Is it another form or is it your own body?" asked Vivian with a hushed whisper where the other councilman couldn''t hear her question to the switcher who walked beside her.


    "It is a form I acquired after killing this one," the switcher answered with an unapologetic tone. He seemed as if too tired to answer her questions. Vivian''s eyes widened and she knew Leonard was close and eavesdropping on their conversation as they were yet to know what was this man''s purpose. As they had father Connor as well as another councilman with them, they couldn''t openly go to use one after another as to what this switcher was doing in the council.


    "Hector, go inform Creed that the white witch has run away. We didn''t find any breakthrough in the church to assume she was taken away forcibly somewhere we don''t know," said the switcher to his fellow teammate. Lancelot must have been in a higher position for the other man to nod and obey his orders, "I will go speak to the townsfolk and see if I find out anything. I do have a helping hand today," the switcher smiled giving a look at both Vivian and Leonard.


    "Okay. I will see you in the council department," responded the man, giving a slight bow to the people in the church, he walked towards the double doors and exited the church.


    "Father Connor, how is the chimney?" asked Vivian.


    "He did a good job. Had the man climb the roof at the top," it seemed like father Connor wanted to snicker but it would have been rude on his part, therefore at the end, he cleared his throat, "Would you like to see the woods?"


    Vivian bit the inside of her cheek, giving a look at both Leonard and Lancelot, she finally gave a firm nod, "Yes, please."


    "Come with me, mdy. I thought you were going to be there but then you disappeared..." the priest''s voice trailed as both he and Vivian walked towards the other door in the corner and disappeared behind it, leaving the two men at the front of the church.


    Leonard''s gaze fell on the switcher, his eyes hardening at the mere sight and thought that this was one was switcher. Until now he had never across one, he had heard the rumours about the switcher roaming and taking in someone''s form in the council but no one ever knew as to who it was. It was too hard to guess and too critical to leak information that would disrupt the bnce that was upheld inside the council all these years.


    "Speak before I run the bullets in your head," threatened Leonard, his eyes had turned dark with hate.


    "You will need silver bullets to kill a switcher, Duke Leonard," the switcher smiled but Leo was in no mood for humour.


    "Don''t worry about it. Every one fo them in here is made of silver bullets that have been made under and in the presence of the holy water," Leo informed the switcher to see the smile falter on the man''s lips when he gave out the information about the bullets, "Not smiling anymore?" mocked Leo for the man to grin.


    "I would if you didn''t have the gun. Like I said, Duke Leonard. I only mean to help-"


    "By killing people? Poisoning the hearts?"


    Lancelot shut his mouth, twisting it before he opened to speak again, "I had nothing to do with the corruption of the hearts."


    "If not you, who was it then?" Leo''s cool was going to blow off and he had to try hard to not go rampant right now. His parents had been killed, his cousins and other people all because of the switchers, forgiveness right now didn''t run through him and was a word that didn''te by cheap.


    "It was another switcher who doesn''t live anymore," answered the switcher keeping his eyes on the Duke and his hand which held the pistol with silver bullets. One silver bullet in the head and he would be dead, knowing the reputation the Duke held when it came to his temper, the switcher didn''t want to test the waters, "I haven''t killed any innocent beings. This man here," he patted his own chest to emphasize the councilman''s body he had acquired, "He wasn''t a good man."


    "You are no one to decide if someone is good enough to live or not," Leonard''s clipped words came through his gritted mouth.


    "True. Very true but believe me when I say this, he really wasn''t worthy. Would you still redeem him to be worthy if I said he plotted to kill your said wife?" if it was possible Leonard''s eyes darkened further and they narrowed considerably to thin slits. The cork of the pistol moved and the switcher quickly spoke, "That is just an assumption. No need to pull the cork," he raised his hand, "Switchers like us have limited years to live. Very short and it can be considered as good as a dog or a cat. Maybe thirty-five. If one is lucky maybe forty but there''s a trick to it too. We all want immortal lives. Let me correct it, we crave for immortality like the rest of you."


    "Did you find it?"


    "Unfortunately no," the switcher''s tongue clicked in distaste, "I did try moving from one body to another but you need to jump quickly for it, find quality bodies and it is very rare to find quality bodies. You might think you found a quality one but sometimes they are easy to rot."


    Leonard looked at the man, his eyes that had narrowed staring at the man without blinking his eyes, "How old are you?"


    "Me?" smiled the man, "I am forty-two years old. One of the oldest among the switchers," dered the man, "I didn''t meet the switcher as the person died before I could meet but I have met the person who ordered to pick your family and tear it apart."


    Seconds passed by and when no words came out of the man''s mouth, Leonard pulled the cork of the pistol again this time making the man fret, "What are you doing?!"

 Chapter 224 - Friend Or Foe- Part 3

    "My patience is running thin and if you don''t give out the whole story in one ago I will have no use for you," Leonard didn''t bother to hide his hate towards the switcher.


    "Ha ha," the switcher kept a safe distance from Leonard, looking towards the exit for the sake of precaution if his dash was required.


    "Start speaking. Who are you?" questioned Leonard, the gun up in his hand which he didn''t bother to put down. Red eyes met another pair of red eyes, but the colour wasn''t dark as the original pureblooded vampire.


    "My name is Hobart. I am a switcher, who traversed from thend of North down here," introduced the man who before went by the name Lancelot, "Many switchers originated from thend of Woville which is very simr to how the white witches and the ck witches came to exist."


    "How many of you are there?"


    "Not many, hardly countable in a person''s hands. Maybe four to five how I know," answered the switcher before going back to exin, "I entered the council with no intention to cause harm but retrieve information of what had happened in the past."


    "What was it about?"


    "It was about an event that took ce two decades ago. I was close to death when the witch found me and tended out to me," Leonard couldn''t stop his brows from furrowing deeply. Sister Isabelle knew about this man? "Don''t look so surprised. The woman has a good heart and precedes her reputation. I was meant to kill her but instead got saved by her. And as heartless our kind our to keep ourselves alive and healthy, even I have morals to not kill the person who saves you. Unlike the other witch who has left a pile of bodies as she has tried to achieve sess in her rituals and curses."


    Leonard then questioned the switcher, his wrist falling ck which held the gun, "Why to kill a mere white witch? What did Sister Isabelle have to do with what is going on?"


    "Everything. She is the key to a lot of things, have you heard of the time when the great white witches tried to resurrect the power in the past?" Leonard nodded his head in acknowledgement. It was thest revolt that was caused by the white witches. One of the reasons why the people didn''t trust the white witch as much as they didn''t believe the ck witches.


    "That was centuries ago," the Duke stated for the switcher to nod back.


    "True and most of them were considered either killed or dead after the event. But there was this one witch who survived for years. It was Sister Isabelle," confessed the switcher, a small relief passing by his face when Leonard''s wrist turnedx who gave thought to what he had to say.


    Leonard tried to wrap his head around this newfound information. It appeared that Sister Isabelle was more than what she had shown them to be and this switcher though whom he didn''t trust, it seemed that he knew about her more than they did.


    Hobart, the switcher continued to speak after his eyes nced to look at the doors of the church, "What I might say mighte out as shock and will need to be something kept just amongst us. The white witch is the former wife of the second Lord of the Valeria," Vivian who had left Father Connor inside the church kitchen where he was brewing milk for the next meal, she had only appeared to hear the switcher say, "She was the white witch who was burnt in the vige."


    "That''s not possible,"mented Leonard with a frown, "The second Lord''s wife was burnt and killed. There have been reports and files of the closure that took ce."


    "True," Hobart nodded his head, "The witch was burnt and killed but she resurrected herself back from the dead."


    "That''s possible?" asked Vivian with an unbelievable look. She had known sister Isabelle since her time here in Bonke and to think that she had been dead for some time now, she wondered if it was simr to the case they had solved a few days ago on the human boy who had been put under trial.


    "It isn''t impossible but at the same time, I haven''t heard anyone who performed a resurrection of a person," answered Hobart, "She didn''t give out details on how it is performed and it must have died with her."


    "Died?" Leonard questioned with a tilt.


    "She had very little time when I met and if she has gone missing-" hearing the door open from the one where Vivian hade, they saw Father Connor arrive.


    "Sister Isabelle didn''t have much time," confirmed father Connor to receive a look from the switcher as if he weren''t aware that the priest would know about the priestess as he hadn''t uttered a word during the interrogation that took ce yesterday. The man wanting to be helpful to Leonard and Vivian said, "She didn''t tell me what it was but she hasn''t been doing well for some time now."


    Not wanting just the side of the story from the switcher, Leonard asked Father Connor, "What did she tell you?"


    "Sister Isabelle was drawing out the ck witches who have been living in the viges, the concentration of their presence has increased since the rise of the massacre. She has been trying to kill as many as she could and had left on the same note," answered father Connor as much as he knew. His eyes looked sceptically at the switcher who had been standing a few feet away from him.


    "A resurrection isn''t as same as birth, the body is weaker which is more of an assumed form from the remnants of the soul and what remains," added Hobart, his red eyes staring at Vivian as she came to walk and sit next to Leonard, "What did you see, mdy?" he asked her.


    Vivian''s mouth pressed together wondering what and how she was supposed to answer his question. In her vision, Sister Isabelle words seemed that the man could be trusted and was on their side but what was he doing here in the council? And what help was he providing them or Sister Isabelle? For him to ask her that question only meant that he knew about her ability. It was a secret where no one knew of. For the white witch to tell him must mean that she had trusted him.


    But right now trust was difficult to spare on a person. How could they when the switchers had caused nothing but loss and death. Pain was the only emotion that was imparted by the mention of the switchers.


    Not answering to the switcher''s question, she turned to look at Leo and say, "Sister Isabelle, she spoke about him. She told if I came to see this memory, it would mean...it would mean she is dead," she looked down at Leo''s hand which hade to squeeze her hand, "She didn''t look good," though the memory she hade to read wasn''t a long one, she had noticed the tiredness that surrounded the white witch,?"Why would she not tell us about it?"


    "I wasn''t meant to know but she asked me for a favour," said the switcher catching their attention.


    "What favour?"


    Father Connor didn''t know about it and neither did Leo or Vivian as they had never known about the white witch''s true origin. Until now she was a normal white witch for them who had been helping them but who knew that she was someone who had been dead since a few years ago. The news itself was a shock to everyone which included the man who had been helping since the time of the church.


    "Her own case," the man grinned, his eyes gleaming with the curiosity which he was still trying to find, "The case was closed when she died in the name of outraged humans who had killed her but in truth no one went to investigate the case further as that was what appeared in the front. But the truth is that it was someone from the council who had got her killed."


    "What?" came a shocked response of Father Connor.


    "That''s right," replied the switcher back before turning his eyes back to the pureblooded vampire Duke, "Unfortunately, the resurrection wasn''t as sessful as she would have expected. She was brought back to life but her memories have been very hazy where she didn''t remember more than half the things she has done."


    "Does Lord Alexander know about her?" it was a question that was biting Vivian. Sister Isabelle had been a lovely woman and when she saw the switcher shake his head it made her wonder why she hadn''t let her own son know about her existence to why she didn''t reunite with him. But as she thought about it, she came to realize that the first instance thedy of Valeria had been killed in the name of witchcraft. The vigers knew about her but they had actedte when Lord Alexander was five years old? It did look suspicious now.


    "Who killed her?" came the inevitable question from Leonard for the switcher to shrug his shoulders.


    "I don''t know. Men in the council are very tight-lipped but I did find a few interesting facts in there. The files in the forbidden room. The reason the files aren''t shared because none of them wants the cases to be reponed. As tedious as it is, the condition a few years ago and the condition now can draw out different conclusions and answers which might not be the same as what was found at the first try," stated Hobart. Pulling out the kerchief from his pocket, he wiped his face as if he had begun to sweat, also wiping his hands he put the kerchief back in his trouser pocket. Vivian then came to realize that during the Winter''s ball, Lancelot or the switcher his hands had sweat almost drenching her gloves which was why she had pulled away the gloves she had been wearing.


    "What were you doing at the ball?" asked Vivian.


    "I had onlye to visit the ball and to have some good time before you pulled me into the radar. There are people in the council who have caught the whiff of my presence in there after that little incident. It makes it extremely difficult to move especially when my body is giving out too."


    "Giving out?" Leonard wondered what that meant.


    "Like Sister Isabelle, my time ising too close. I have lived to the maximum but I am not sure until when I can sustain in this body that I had morphed into," Hobart answered, "I was only there to find out what had happened a few years ago."


    "What about the ck witch?" Vivian had found glimpses of his interaction between the ck witch and him. If he was really helping Isabelle, what was he doing involving himself in the ck witch''s matters?


    The switcher didn''t hide to say, "Initially she gave me a job. It was to kill the white witches as she found out that there was one who was trying to interfere in her work but it was when I came across Sister Isabelle did I find that it was her whom the ck witch was trying to hunt. That day, I took the form of the white witch."


    "You had the potion. Whom did you turn?" used Vivian not holding back her usation.


    The switcher smiled, "I was very surprised when I found out that you caught up to me. It was a secret none was to know," he dipped his hand into his right pocket and pulled out the little bottle, "Is this what you are asking for? I was given this in the intention that it would be used but I never used it. Please," he said handing over the little bottle to Leonard.


    "Won''t the ck witch suspect your actions?" asked Leonard as he took hold of the little bottle.


    "She already has," the switcher replied, "But there is nothing for her to do but hide right now."


    "What do you mean?" Leo''s eyes narrowed.


    "Well you see, I was the only point of contact until now between the ck witch and between the councilmen. I would ask you to take a look at councilman Abel Harlow on what he does, he seems to be involved with the ck witch as I report him back with the information what the ck witch used to give me all this time. I say it because I have been the only one to go meet her."


    "Now that we know about the ck witch it shouldn''t be difficult to catch her," proposed Vivian for Leonard to shake his head.


    "I doubt it will be easy. Even if we do go and start the hunt, finding her right now won''t be easy and we will only have more cases on our tail because Abel won''t make it easy for us. We will first have to pull out his deeds in front of the council before jumping on to the ck witch," said Leonard and then turned to speak to the switcher, "We will need your active involvement from now."


    "That is what I nned. I did swear to assist the white witch in finding out on who had set her death," answered the switcher, "Ester, the ck witch goes by that name. She is least of your worries right now. She might have already sensed my betrayal and has gone under hiding. You councilmen burnt the only herbs that was going to help her corrupt the rest of the hearts but now that it is out of the picture, it will be a while before shees back."


    "What are we going to do now?" asked Vivian looking at Leo.


    "We try to find what Abel is up to. Do you remember Oliver''s death? The one with the writing," asked Leo reminding her of the time they had discussed the time of her night in the snow mansion. She nodded her head, "I think everything is linked with each other. If we are able to find one thread from that piece of information, we''ll be able to get all the answers."


    He then said something she hadn''t expected him to say, "Let''s take a look at the forbidden room."

 Chapter 225 - The White Witch- Part 1

    Vivian walked through the council corridors, her hands holding the parchments from the court session she had apanied Lionel a few minutes ago. Apanying him and making notes of the cases had turned out to a side job apart from her regr job which was going to be used to increase her credibility. The reason why Lionel gave her extra was that a basic councilman or councilwoman was not allowed to work on all cases and one needed to belong to a certain level to work on the case. Not all work was for everyone in the council no matter which team they belonged to.


    On her way, she caught the switcher whom she hade to notice even more since the two days ago revtion on his and Sister Isabelle''s agreement of work together.


    There was Abel Harlow with him, his presence making her ufortable as she passed the two men and continued to walk to her department. Entering the room, she ced the parchment notes on Leonard''s desk and went to take a seat behind her own desk.


    She frowned when she came to look at a letter thatid on her desk which was addressed to her.


    ''<i>To Vivian Carmichael</i>'' read the envelope. Curious, she tore out of the paper and pulled the parchment to read what and who had sent it. It was a thank you letter which was sent by one of the townsfolk as she had helped in the water issue which many families where facing an issue with a week ago. Smiling, she put it back on her desk.


    "Lady Vivian!" Hueren greeted Vivian once he stepped inside the room. Snow-covered his cloak and the top of his head to indicate the weather that was present outside now. Thend of Bonke was going through the season of Winter, and from many, she hade to hear that this was one of the harshest winters they hade across in years.


    "How was your survey?" she inquired to see Dutan enter who was shortly followed by Leonard.


    "We got thrown stones at us," Hueren gave a dire answer, his lips set in a thin line of disappointment. Some of the vigers don''t take the presence of either vampires well or the presence of councilmen due to their previous encounters.


    That wasn''t good news, thought Vivian to herself. When things like that happened, it was difficult to get any information out to solve cases.?Vivian turned to look at Leonard who appeared in a bad mood which he tried to keep it in after his visit to the vige where they had gone to speak about the next case which was put under the trial jurisdiction where Lionel had given them two days toplete it. Like her, they were buried in the current case while also looking over the steps of Abel to find out what he was up to.


    Leonard had spoken about going to the forbidden room but not everyone was allowed in there. By his own words, she hade to hear that it was the head council and some of the elder councilmen who were allowed to go in there. It made her question if there was someone in the older elder council who was involved in the death of the white witch, Isabelle.


    One of the thing which she still didn''t understand was why she didn''t get in contact with Lord Alexander who was her own son. She could still remember the memory she had gone through his pain and loss when she had been to Valeria during the winter''s ball. There was too much pain in there and if she had let him know, he would have felt better to be able to get the closure which was why she didn''t understand why Sister Isabelle never put in an effort to let him know that she was still alive.


    Once the door was closed with only the four of them in the room, Vivian asked Leonard, "Why do you think one would pretend to be dead?"


    "Isabelle was a powerful witch of her time," answered her husband knowing whom she was speaking about, "Much more powerful after her time passed. If there have been councilmen who wanted her dead, it would mean she tried to do something they weren''t pleased about but this might be personal matters which we are looking for. Else the head council would have known."


    Sister Isabelle had gone missing and the case though not entirely closed, it was taken that she was dead as even her body was not found anywhere in the fournds. It saddened her mind to think that she wasn''t there anymore, as if she were a figment of their imagination.


    "Why the head council?" Dutan was curious.


    Leonard removed the cloak and flopped it on the stand before letting his back rest on his desk, "I heard it from Lord Nichs. The man has been keeping tabs over the important figures. He said that the white witch and the half-blooded vampire were good friends. If the man held some sort of suspicion over her death, I doubt he would have not dived into it. But it was the viger''s fury that had got her killed in everyone''s eyes, therefore it never came as a murder set up. After all, there have been plenty of witches who have died from the ire of the public."


    "What do you think she did that got her killed, senior?" Hueren was the one to ask the question, everyone leaning forward to know what else Leonard had found out in thest two days.


    "I found some backtrace that led to an older councilman who isn''t alive anymore."


    At Leo''s words, everyone gave looked at each other, "What happened to him?" asked Vivian.


    "He was killed. But then again, his report isn''t avable as the rest of them. The man was involved with Abel as his apprentice a few years ago. That leads us back to the same circle point where we need to find what the man has been up to all these years. We already are aware that he had something to do with the ck witches being released with his other family members but we couldn''t kill him as he values andurels that he has brought the council has been small but enough to recognize and not to be killed with the moto of killing the entire family to stop the revenge," exined Leonard, his hands clutched the back of the desk together, "The council couldn''t do anything about it but if he readily used his own family to save his neck, there is no reason for him to not tie the noose around his mentor''s neck."


    "A person who doesn''t care for his own family will not care for others," Dutan shook his head in disappointment.


    "How about I go and read his memories?" offered Vivian, "It will be much faster than going through files."


    "It will get you under immediate suspicion. With what the switcher said, Abel has been getting the information of the ck witch but we cannot say that there isn''t another head above him where he is reporting."


    "So the plot thickens," muttered Hueren to receive a look from Dutan, "What?"


    "There are many men whom Abel talks and helps in the cases. How do we found out about it? Not to reword but Vivian might be our best go," said Dutan supporting Vivian''s words but Leonard didn''t agree to that approach. Leonard didn''t want her involved directly and though he had been using her help in the little cases, this wasn''t a regr case. It was a case they were digging which had been buried for more than two or three decades. And the results of an old case were never the same.


    "I will be alright, Leo," Vivian stood up from her own seat and walked around her desk to go to him, "The longer we push, the more difficult it might turn out to be. And didn''t you say it isn''t easy to get inside the forbidden room? This might be the easiest and it isn''t that I have never spoken to the man."


    Vivian looked into his eyes, her ck ones staring right into his red eyes that stared at her without flickering away for even a second.


    To state her point, Vivian continued to speak further, "A few days ago he offered me his help," both Heuren and Dutan had a worried look hanging on their face while Leonard''s face stayed neutral without any expressioning to pass by as he heard his wife out, "It was for any case. I can take my work and ask him if he might be willing to help."


    Once she was done speaking, Leonard said, "No person gives away his or her time without any particr reason, Vivi. It is always with motive."


    "I know that," she nodded her head.


    "And you want to bait yourself further?" he raised his brow unamused with her thought process right now.


    "Not bait but won''t it be much easier with me going to him than he waits for me to step into whatever trap he has on his mind?" This was something everyone in the room agreed upon, "Just one try," Leonard pondered over her words as the room hung itself in silence until he came to speak,


    "Alright," he finally agreed for her to smile.


    "I will make sure to get his secrets out," she wound her hands around Leo''s neck, leaning over his body where Leonard put his hands around to hug her.


    "But I agree on the condition that whatever work you have, you do it before the time of the evening, not more than the time of five in the evening. Agree?" he asked her where Vivian was still in his arms.


    "Okay. Five in the evening."


    And with that being discussed, Vivian made her to the floor where Abel''s office was set up. Unlike the floor where Leo''s team were located, this ce looked rather dark with lesser light being burnt. It was the time of day and if one did step out of the building or saw outside the window, one would not know if it was day or night. The corridors were built tight, the walls on either side of her made ofrge rocky stones as she walked through beforeing across a man who looked pale under the scarce light. The man who didn''t bother to look at her in the beginning, Vivian felt his eyes just before they passed each other which raised the hair at the back of her neck.


    Taking a look at the doors, she finally came to stand in front of the door that read ''Abel Harlow''. Abel wasn''t one of the head council yet he was reputed enough to receive a chamber for himself which intrigued Vivian, making her wonder how he was able to secure the position he was in.


    She usually met him in the courtroom where she took down the case files, seeing him bring the used or a victim of cases he directed to the court. Raising her hand, she knocked on the dull-looking door were at the side antern was lit, burning itself in a low me.


    One knock and that was all it took for the door to be opened as he had already been informed of her arrival.


    "Come in, councilwoman Vivian. I hope you didn''t find it hard to find the direction in here," he said pushing the door wide at first and then closing it once she was inside. The room was tidy with minimalistic items being kept. A desk with papers, a table at the far end of the room and a chair next to it with a firece where the logs of woods burned itself, failing to warm the room as it still remained cold. Antern sat at the top of the desk, "Would you like to drink something?" she heard him ask her as her eyes went to look at the room.


    "No, I am fine," turning her head she met his red eyes that looked dark due to the scare amount of light in the room. There was no time for tea, thought Vivian to herself. She didn''t like hispany and the only reason she was here was to find out about his connection with the ck witch as well as the white witch, sister Isabelle.


    All she needed was a lead and then she would be out of here. Though they were inside the council, keeping away from anything she would by mistake consume and cause a reaction, Vivian had declined to even drink water which was ced on the table for her.


    "Please take a seat. I am d that you came for my assistance. Which case is it?"?Vivian who sat down on the chair in front of him slid the parchments of papers on the desk to give it to him which was a non-existent case she had created with Leo and the others in a span of an hour.?He went through the parchment, his eyes reading the lines before they lifted up to look at her, his eyes pausing to speak to her, "When was this case given?" he asked her.


    She could tell that he suspected something about it to be odd.


    "I received it from councilman Lionel this morning. He wants me to work on the case alone without taking anyone''s help in the team," she answered keeping away the others from being questioned. Lionel already had a reputation when it came to being strict and bearing on not only his subordinates but also others who worked along with him. So it was an easy lie which wouldn''t cause further questions.


    "I have to say Lionel hasn''t changed much since his time of work here. He has often chased his team members to other teams due to his attitude. Have you never thought to work in another department?" Abel asked her, his eyes slightly narrowed as he questioned. He didn''t give her time to reply and instead went on to answer for her, "You have your husband working there," he hummed, "Even he refused to help you out with it?"


    "Leonard can be strict. He must have taken on by councilman Lionel," she answered him with a smile before he asked the unexpected question,


    "Where do youe from, Lady Vivian?"

 Chapter 226 - The White Witch- Part 2

    Vivian hadn''t expected for Abel to ask this question. She should have known the man would pry about her. Though he didn''t know about her, everyone knew her to be the wife of Leonard Carmichael and the human who had passed the second exam during the gruesome exam which had left many examinees dead by the end of the test.


    "I am from Bonke," she answered. The man must have been curious about her origins as she was one of the rare human women who had passed the exam. It was obvious that one would be curious to know and find out more about her, to see if she was hiding something that was not to be known. After all, how could one exin her still being alive after even the vampires and pureblooded vampires had died during the whole ordeal?


    "Where in Bonke?" he questioned her, taking the tea which he had poured for himself earlier, Abel took a sip from it, "Are you sure you don''t want to drink tea?"


    "I am fine, councilman, Abel. Ie from thend that is behind the Isle Valley, the one next to the river that flows down," she answered his question and to make it even while trying to subtly shift the conversation, she asked him, "How about you?"


    She looked at the pureblooded vampire, ce his teacup down with a small clink as it made a contact with the saucer, "I am from Valeria, Lady Vivian. It is a small world, therefore, I am just surprised that we never met before. I must have missed you seeing how the Duke has hidden you all these years away from the news of him being engaged to you," the man gave her a smile and the smile would and could have been considered to be a decent one if his eyes on her weren''t so stagnant where it didn''t move away from her. It made her only feel more ufortable and making her know why she had avoided looking anywhere near him until today when he was in the same space as her. It was as if he were waiting for something to happen which jittered her nerves that she constantly cooled down so that the same wouldn''t reflect on her face.


    The story that was pushed in the public was that Leonard had been engaged to her for some time now which was spread by Lord Nichs'' word of mouth which made many not ask them but to rely on the passing rumours. But then rumours always died down quickly due to the heavy work each person was given to keep themselves upied.


    "I am here now," she smiled back at his words. It was evident that in Able''s view Vivian was a naive human who didn''t know about the politics that went around between the people here. Or who in sane mind would go to the enemy''s territory for help. To Abel, she was a stupid woman from whom he would be able to take up information on what the team was working on and before he could do it, Vivian was to be able to get her own information and escape from the ce as she was feeling slightly ustrophobic in this room right now.


    Getting back to what she hade, she asked, "Do you know how to identify the murder case in here?"


    The man picked up the parchments of papers she had given him and he looked into it, reading through to speak, "Well, you have the sister and brother pair in here, it seems more of a family issue where one has killed another. Other family members," he turned the pages murmuring something, "There are his children. You will need to go talk to them before working into further equations that you have in here. Would you want me to send one of my men in there? It will make your interrogation move smoothly as people are not so easy to speak with a woman," this struck a nerve at Vivian and her hand clenched softly which was on herp.


    "I will be good with just your direction. Wouldn''t want councilman Lionel to know about it as he wouldn''t take it too well," she replied back to see the man nod his head.


    "True. He wouldn''t like that," he responded back. Minutes passed by as he spoke to her on how to approach the current case with what to do and what not to. There were times when Vivian had to rack her brain toe up with more lies which only made the case that much interesting not just to the man who was sitting in front of her but also to herself wondering what kind of case she was solving in her head.


    As time passed, Vivian couldn''t help but wonder on when she would find the right opportunity to read the man like a book. After all, that was the main intention of her visiting him here. It wasn''t as easy as she had thought it to be. Grabbing the man''s hand forcibly wasn''t an option nor was asking him to read his hand.


    Her time here wasing close to an end and there wasn''t much time left before she would have to leave the room without achieving anything. And going empty hands wasn''t what she was looking forward to. When Vivian''s eyes fell on the teapot, she decided to look at it longer to hear Abel ask,


    "What is the matter?"


    "Ah, I am sorry," she apologized, "It is a pretty teapot. Where did you buy it from?" she asked with a smile upon her lips.


    "It was a gift from my sister. She used to love collecting antique items and ended up gifting one which I have continued to treasure," Abel took the teapot in his hand and then moved it front for Vivian to have a look.


    Initially, Vivian had decided to make him ask for her to have tea again but she had already refused and she wasn''t keen on drinking the tea after she would pour it on her hand so that she could make a contact. Now that he had mentioned about his sister, Vivian decided to pry a little over the same matter.


    "She has very good taste in it. It is lovely," sheplimented for him to agree quickly. She had heard from Leonard on how his sister and his brother-inw had been involved in letting the ck witches escape where even he had a part in it. She found it rather strange that he was left unharmed while the rest of the family were killed.


    "That she does," the man kept his words short on the matter which was brought to Vivian''s attention.


    "Thank you for your help, councilman Abel. I will sure to help you if you ever need assistance where I can help you," she answered, getting up from the seat, she stood up, taking the parchments of paper which he handed her as she racked her brains quickly on what to do.


    "I look forward to it. You know, Lady Vivian, I once had a niece who shared the same name as you," he said to her surprise.


    How coincidental, thought Vivian in her mind, "What do you mean by ''once''? Aren''t you on speaking terms with-" Vivian tilted her head as she stepped away from the chair but just as she did her innate nature of dropping things around her hadn''t improved and as she had moved, her hand pushed the teapot from the table which fell down but that wasn''t all. Her luck was bad but good at the same time where she went to catch hold of the pot but instead ended up burning her hand over the split hot water on her hand.


    Not want to scream out of the burn on her skin, she closed her eyes as she held her breath while calming down her heart. She could feel the sting heat on her hand.


    "Are you alright?" Abel came around the desk quickly to help her on her feet, and it was then that the moment she had been looking for knocked her with his own hand.


    When the councilman caught hold of her hand, her hand making contact with his own hand and even though she could still feel the burn, she pushed the feeling away to wee the rapid flowing memories that came flooding down into her mind. Vivian had been trying to specialize and advance the ability she had acquired, and as Sister Isabelle had once said in the beginning she had learned to pick memories as if they were books on a library shelf.


    She had practised enough that she could see the memories like in terms of years that had been ordered in sequence. Her time wasn''t infinite here and though she wished to read each and every one of them, right now she had to pick the memories wisely. Thankfully the only advantage here was that the memories used the simr concept of a dream where the long time spent in the memories was indirectly proportional to the time spent in reality.


    Touching the memory from the man''s past, Vivian entered his time and space...


    It was a house that she felt was familiar and for some odd reason, she didn''t understand why it felt so. She looked around the little hallway before she came to walk through the next room. It might have been an important memory to the man but she doubted it would help her in any ways with the reason she hade to him here today.


    Deciding to leave this one, she started to withdraw her touch from his mind when she heard a woman speak to Abel,


    <i>"What did the council say?"?Vivian''s head snapped around to look at a woman with blonde hair, her cheekbones high and eyebrows that were as thin as hers. There was a resemnce to Abel, making her think that this must be his sister.?</i>


    <i>"They don''t want to sign the parchments over thends. It was rejected. Lord Zachary has been keeping a close eye on thends as some of them have been hoarded wrongly</i><i>," replied Abel and the woman gave out a displeased look.?</i>


    <i>"And you must have not bothered pushing it through again. Emmanuel was hoping for you to get it signed so that we can rebuild the estate here in the vige," replied the woman, "How difficult is it, Abel?" she asked, her gaze stern with her lips set in a thin line, "Emmanuel even got you a job there," there was a hint of arrogance as she spoke down to Abel and the man did nothing but stand in there quietly for a few moments.</i>


    As if to fill up the silence she heard a burst ofughter from a young child which was followed by another child''s incoherent words. <i></i>


    <i>"Mama!" came the voice right behind the woman who had been blocking the view of the door. It was when she moved did Vivian look shocked and utterly taken aback like never before. </i>


    <i>A little girl came around to walk up to the woman, her blonde hair which she shared with her mother and uncle left open which wasbed to perfection. Red eyes stared at the councilman as she eximed, "Uncle Abel!"?</i>


    <i>The woman then spoke, "Vivian, why does your hair look like you were crawling under the bed again?"?</i>


    <i>"ine-"</i>


    <i>"She''s a pureblooded vampire and needs to know what to do and what not to," Vivian who stood there looking at the little girl, she felt her eyes fill up with unshed tears and a lump formed at the back of her throat. </i>


    She wanted to stay longer to read but her time was up and she could only let go of the memories she had touched of Abel. The scene dissolved like a white fog that surrounded her to bring her back to reality.


    Abel misreading the tears in her eyes, thinking it was due to the hot tea said, "Let''s take you to Murkh," but she quickly shook her head.


    "I am fine. Thank you for your help," she bowed her head and exited the room.

 Chapter 227 - Forgotten Past- Part 1

    Vivian couldn''t think straight as she left the room of the councilman or was she supposed to take it as her blood uncle who was her mother''s brother. Her head felt heavy, a headache forming and instead of going back to the department where Leonard and the others where there, she went to the bathroom which was allocated for women.


    With hardly a few women working in the council, the room was empty as tears began spilling down her eyes. She didn''t know what to make out of it. Walking to the nearby sink, she ced both her hands on either side of it as her head fell forward. She consumed with shock with what she just found out.


    She had never been keen on finding out about her family that was until she found out that she belonged to a pureblooded vampires family. It had raised the hope in her mind about her family''s existence on how they were and if there were more people she could learn about to call as her own family. How could she not recognize her own young self, as they were both a spitting image of each other?


    Tears fell on the dry ck stone sink which hadn''t been used in a while that day. Her chest tightened as she reminisced what she saw in the memories of Abel, her uncle. She covered her face with her hand, her body falling almost ck as she slid down to squat on the floor. More tears came to fall wetting her cheeks and dress.


    She cried as everything started to connect one by one. Though she didn''t want to believe, it was hard not to ept the facts all over the ce. The first thought when she had realized, her thought had instantly gone to her parents. Abel''s sister and brother-inw. A cold sweat had broken down before her emotions started to collide inside her mind.


    She was a Harlow or was a Harlow. She was part of the family she had found to be disgusted with what they had done.


    Due to their one mistake, so many lives had been pulled down. If her parents and uncle hadn''t let the witches off the hook, Mr. and Mrs. Carmcihael would have been alive today and there wouldn''t be this much bitterness filled in Leo''s heart to the people around him. Her own parents had done something unforgivable due to which there was nowhere she could vent out the loss she felt right now. How could she when they had been killed only to be served as a sign of justice for what happened?


    "What do I do?" she whispered to herself unable toprehend the situation she had found herself in. It wasn''t her fault, it never was but what was she going to do from here?


    The very parents she had been searching all this time had turned out to be the same people who had?betrayed the council by freeing the ck witches. But that wasn''t what it was, it was the fact that Leonard and the Lord of Bonke had killed her parents.?She had been so eager, eager to find her parents to know more about them so that she could understand why they had given her up when she was a young girl. Was it for the reason that they were ashamed of her being a human? More tears spilled down from her eyes until everything turned blurry.


    She huped as she further broke down.


    She stared into space as the same thought went to pass around her head over and over until her chest started to hurt again along with her stomach. The pain started to increase and it was as if her heart was trying to keep up with the internal, mental pain she felt wanting to cope up but the pain was too much.


    If Vivian hadn''t heard the entire story from Leo, she woul have mistaken the entire motive and killing that took ce. And though she wanted to understand, emotionally she felt hurt for Leo being the one kill her parents. They had done wrong but they were still her parents, the same parent''s who had abandoned her when she was a little girl.


    Standing up, she looked into the mirror to see a blurry reflection of herself. Her parents were killed. She had heard another child''s voice apart from her when she had been in there listening to the sibling''s conversation. For one thing, she knew Abel was single and childless which would only mean that she did have a sibling.?They had betrayed the council and if that was so...she closed her eyes as more tears fell on her face.?In his field of work, Leonard had been taught to kill every single one of them and with what she had heard before, there was a possibility that he had killed the sibling she had.


    But did he kill everyone? All this while she had only heard on how they were involved in the matter of the ck witches being released. Wiping her face quickly, she made her way out of the bathroom and towards the department. Opening the door she saw Leonard raise his head from what he was doing before worry came to mar his face.


    "What did Abel do?" anger came to contour his face, his eyes darkening as she stared up at him. Though Vivian had wiped the tears from her face, the little specs of water droplets that had touched her eyshes still remained to darken her already ck eyes.


    Hueren and Dutan who were present in the room stared at the couple, their eyester to fall on thedy who had only arrived at the door. She had been gone for an hour to meet councilman Abel


    "My parents..." her voice was small as she uttered those two words.


    Leonard''s eyebrows drew together before he gave a look to the two men to hear their chairs squeak and scrape across the floor before they stepped out of the room to give the couple the needed privacy.


    "I found out about my parents-" and as she said the tears she had tried holding back broke the wall to stter back on her cheeks that had turned pink in color.


    "Shh," he tried to quieten her sobs that broke through her delicate lips, "Calm down, Vivi," he took her hand but Vivian quickly went to hide her face in his chest, every single sobing out of her mouth breaking his own heart.


    As Vivian cried in his chest, Leonard smoothened the back of her hair in an attempt to calm her down but her sobs and hups didn''t stop. It didn''t take the smart Leonard to connect what had happened. She had worded the cause of her tears to be about her parents. She had found out who were her parents and with Abel being the person to have them being given as a memory to her touch...Leo wasn''t sure if his conclusion to the matter was right but if it was, he didn''t know what to say.


    "Please tell me you killed only them," he heard her say. Vivian moved away from his embrace, wiping her eye with the back of her sleeve which had turned wet, she looked up at him. She saw his face harden at what she said as if her words had confirmed his thoughts. Letting go of his hands slowly, she turned away from him, scared to know what more was there to know, "Life is so strange, isn''t it? The parents whom I have been searching turned out to be dead. Who were also responsible for Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael''s death."


    "I am sorry, Vivi," he apologized for the loss she felt. After all, he was the person who had personally seen to it that they were killed gruesomely for what they had done and he didn''t regret it. As Vivian said, they were the reason why there was chaos in the fournds right now and who knew how much chaos was going to be spread because of their single action.


    Vivian shook her head, her eyes not meeting his, "I saw my mother in there," she confessed, her heart feeling heavy as she remembered what she had seen, "I never...expected to find it out like this. If I knew this was what I was going to find by digging the past, I would never think of finding them. They are responsible for what is going on but-but why is it that I can feel the pain over what has happened," she asked Leo when he came to stand in front of her.


    He wiped her tear-streaked eyes, "There''s nothing wrong with what you feel. They were your parents," he said gingerly, not happy with the sudden revtion of what he found but who knew that those people could turn out to be his beloved''s parents? It was something far from unexpected that was undigestable news.


    "I don''t even remember them," she whispered to feel his hand being ced on her cheek, raising her face so that Leo could look into her eyes and speak.


    "You were far too young when Martha brought you to the Carmichael''s house. Human or not, it isn''t easy to remember the young times, even adults forget memories in time," he consoled her, "Come sit here," he pulled the chair and made her sit, fetching the jug on the table, he poured water into the ss before handing it over to her, "Drink it."


    Vivian took a few sips before cing it on the table, her breathing getting back to normal as she had finished sobbing, her eyes staring back into space like the weather after a heavy rain which was filled with silence.


    "I did not kill anyone that day except for them. For what they did," he conveyed her the news where hope came to fill up her eyes and she looked up at him, "But I don''t think they had another child."


    "Just me?" she asked, trying to remember if what she heard was right there. She was positive that she hadn''t misheard it. She was sure she had heard a child''s cry which didn''te from her.


    "Did you see someone else?" questioned Leonard.


    "I heard a child. Very young maybe a baby," she answered before continuing to say, "I think it was a few years before I was sent away. D-do you think he'' still alive?" she didn''t want to keep high hopes over it but she couldn''t help but cling to the little family that could be remaining who wasn''t involved in the whole ordeal of the ck witches.


    "I can run through some of the reports on them and get the information by tomorrow. Can you wait until then?" he asked her to see her quickly nod.


    "Yes," she sniffed, receiving the kerchief from him, she wiped her eyes first then went to blow her nose. Feeling the difort back in her chest, she couldn''t help but cringe.


    Leonard who had been looking at her intently saw the expression pass across her features, "What''s the matter? Are you feeling sick?" he asked.


    "I am okay," Vivian picked the ss that she had ced, drinking the remaining water that was in there before the pain only heightened.


    "You need to rest. Don''t, Vivi," his words were gentle but firm as he spoke. Previously there was sister Isabelle to help them but right now, he couldn''t take her to a normal doctor, not even one who specialized with a pureblooded vampire. Vivian was a human but she had been showcasing rare traits of a vampire once in a while which had got him worried. If word got out in the open, it wouldn''t just her being called as a witch but there would beplications where she would be subjected to body tests.


    And if there was one thing people had to be aware here was that the experimental tests were never sixty percent sessful.

 Chapter 228 - Forgotten Past- Part 2

    Leonard saw Vivian stare into space as seconds turned to minutes with her eyes turning hollow and vacant due to the sudden truth she hade to realize. Out of everything they had gone through this was something he regretted yet didn''t regret at the same time. The regret was due to the reason he had killed Vivian''s family. Who knew out of all the people he had killed until now her parents had made it into the list.


    "Do you want more water to have?" he asked her for her to shake her head. Getting out of the room, he saw Dutan who was waiting outside with Hueren for him and Vivian to finish speaking.


    "Is Lady Vivian alright?" asked Heuren with slight worry.


    "She''s tired at the moment. I will be taking her back home. Hueren, assist Lionel today with the work he has given Vivi and Dutan. You can finish filing the reports here and report back to me in the evening on what we have found. I will keep you men posted if anythinges up," ordered Leonard, his voice low for another man who would be passing by their corridor.


    "What about Abel? "What if he asks about what was found?" Dutan asked as they had sent thedy for that very purpose and instead of finding the information regarding the man, Lady Vivian had returned back with the rim of her eyes turning red and she had spoken something about her parents and the next instant they were out of the room.


    "He will be dealt withter. Find councilman Lancelot, he will fill you in with the details on what to do next. And if he asks, tell him the n wasn''t sessful," answered Leonard, his lips setting into thin unhappy line. He didn''t know if Vivian noticed it but every time she went to touch and read the memories, she turned physically weak before she could recover back again.


    With Sister Isabelle gone, there was no one they could consult and get answers from over what was going on with Vivian. It was understood that her healing ability would result in her already existed lifespan to be reduced but they didn''t know if the ability to foresee had any negative effects on her body.


    "We will take care of everything here," Dutan assured his senior with a firm nod.


    Leonard took back Vivian home. It felt as if she had suddenly turned childlike, looking lost and out of space where she hardly spoke. And Leonard didn''t force her to speak, instead, he gave her all the time she needed to heal her mind over the loss.


    He had lost his parents in front of him but for Vivian it was different. She had lost the opportunity to see and interact with them. And though she had no contact with no memory except for what she saw today, the pain would be different from what he felt. Taking her to the room, he helped her out of the clothes. Urging her inside the bathtub, he ran the warm water into it as it took its time to fill up. The doors to the patio and the windows had been locked due to the cold blistering weather. It wasn''t only cold but the velocity of the wind had increased making the world outside the mansion hazy and white which wasn''t agreeable weather to be out.


    Weather like this could affect a vampire and a pureblooded vampire a little but for humans, one would surely freeze to death if stayed for more than an hour.


    Leo ced his hand into the tub, the water slowly rising in it where he checked its temperature to make sure it didn''t burn Vivian''s skin but only warmed her.


    "Do you want me to increase the temperature of the water?" he asked her gently which would take a few more minutes as more logs of wood would be needed to be put under the heating water that was on the other end.


    "Will you sit with me?" came her soft voice, her eyes waiting for him to agree.


    "You want me to?" he was unsure with how things had turned out but for Vivian who had grown to know the man, she couldn''t me him for something he had no control of. It wasn''t his fault and it wasn''t hers either. It was their fault but the situation that had been put across all of them.


    She nodded her head, "Please."


    "Give me a moment."


    Leonard sat behind Vivian as he usually did in the bathtub, her back away from his chest as he poured water on top of her head. His movements gentle on her as if she were a ss doll who would crack at the slightest pressure of his touch. Cleaning her hair, he washed her hair and she hadn''t moved an inch from her ce. She had stayed quiet all the while and it was close to two hours since she had spoken out her thoughts where he had let her by herself.


    Vivian who had been feeling nk and out of space felt her return back to the room when Leo put his hands around her to hug her.


    "I will be okay," she said to assure him she was doing alright.


    "I am sorry you had to find it out like this. I would have never guessed for them to be your parents, you''re nothing like your family, Vivi," Leo''s consoling methods were differentpared to others were his words usually turned out to be blunt where he didn''t hold back what he thought about a few things, "What are you mourning for? Is it because you didn''t get to meet the said family or is it that I killed them unknowingly as they deserved it. Or is it that you know you deserve it and it makes you feel guilty to be feeling this way?"


    Vivian didn''t answer him but turned around to face him, her body slightly turning around so that she could face and talk to him but not a word came out of her mouth.


    What was she supposed to say? Her mind felt muddled over everything and there was nothing that could make things better or make her feel better. But Leo was right about the options he had given her. Deep down she felt guilty for feeling this way about her dead parents.


    She felt like a bad daughter to continue to believe they deserved the death and death was never given easily to people whomitted grave crimes. One mistake and it had costed their lives including others. The pain was there, and she only could hope for things to get better in time.


    "W-where are they?" she asked him, her eyes ssy with unshed tears. Her head ached due to the number of tears that she had shed in such a short time.


    "Lake of bones," he uttered for her to nod as if she understood.


    "I am sorry, Vivi. If I knew they were your parents-"


    "No," she whispered, "No. You did what was right. What you had to do and they deserved it," Leo didn''tment on it, "But is it okay, to make a trip there?" she asked him.


    "It will always be okay to make a trip there. Maybe once the weather dies down, we can go visit theke of bones. Is that okay?" he asked her.


    "Yes."


    "Good. Come now. The water has turned cold and will make you fall sick if we sit here any more than the given time," he helped her up and out of the tub. Bringing the towel that was ced in a stack, he used it first to wipe her without bothering to dry himself. Vivian had always been his top priority.


    Wrapping it around her, he fetched another towel to tie it around his waist and then to put another around his neck.


    "I can do it," she said when Leo pulled her nightdress.


    But he wasn''t having any of it, "Let me help you, Bambi. I want to help my wife and pamper her. Won''t you allow me?" there was earnestness in his voice as he asked her.


    "I am not a child," she argued, her mood finally shifting to Leo''s relief.


    "I never said you were one. You are my woman which I am well aware of," his words were calm and collected, the tone gentle like it had always been when he spoke to her. He doubted if there was any time where he had raised his voice as she had never done anything out of line and had always followed his words which were always in terms of her happiness, "I am your husband, Vivi and you are mywfully wedded wife. I will share every burden you have to lighten your shoulders. Everything that hurts you will hurt me twice the amount if I sit here and watch while you are in pain. I apologize for what had happened in the past, hush now," he shushed her when she opened her mouth to speak, "The things that have happened was not how it was meant to be. You weren''t supposed to have your heart changed to a human nor were you supposed toe here to live in this mansion at a young age. You were supposed to grow to this age with your parents, to know their love and love them back without having to feel what you are feeling right now. Nor was I supposed to lose my parents in such fashion. Maybe if things had never changed the way it had in the past, we would have met in a different circumstance. I could have spotted you out in the market or we could have met...over a tea party."


    He was referring to the dream they both had shared. The dream which was only a dream. Leo pulled away the towel that was wrapped around Vivian, wiping the little droplets of water that had settled on her shoulders, her neck, and her chest, "We could have met in the tea party where you would have head-butted with me, dropping things just like you do now," a small smile came to form on his mention over her clumsiness, "Life would have been wonderful like that but this isn''t bad, Bambi. With all the odds we are still here together, and to top everything you are here with me, as mine while we fight everything together. Facing things and taking life step by step since I have known the little girl who had blown her sleeve for a boy who was hurt."


    "I cherish them, Vivi. Every single one of them so don''t think that you aren''t a good daughter or a good person. You are the most wonderful and lovely person I have evere across. Your heart is so beautiful that one cannot stop to look at it," leaning forward, Leo pressed his lips softly on her forehead. His lips lingering as she closed her eyes to feel the warmth they held.


    Vivian felt fortunate, her eyes blinking back the tears that had resurfaced over his words. She was lucky to have a man like him who understood her with few words when she spoke to him. He had consoled her in his own way, making her chest less heavy without feeling the guilt that had built up over the few minutes and hours after what she found out.


    But it also made her wonder if things would still be the same between them. Their dream though different with an alternate reality, she wondered if they would have continued to feel the same way they did right now. The way both of them understood each other was for the reason that they had spent so much time speaking to each other. It wasn''t that they had spent every hour of their waking together as Leo had been away but they had kept in contact through the help of secret letters which was passed from the butler Paul to the Rune mansion where Nichs received it.

 Chapter 229 - What’s Going On? - Part 1

    "Let me dress you up. The weather is cold and I don''t want you falling sick. Your health is something we both need to look after," said Leo before helping her into the nightdress. Getting into the bed, he helped her fall asleep with his hand brushing through her hair and scalp lightly until her eyes which were already heavy had begun to droop down.


    When she finally fell asleep, Leo was yet to close his eyes. He had sessfully put his beloved to sleep but there were things that upied in his mind. His thought going back to the time he had killed her parents. He didn''t forget that night, every single scene and word which was spoken was etched into his mind.


    The fear in their eyes shed in front of him. Simr to the person whoid in his arms in the bed, he didn''t feel the guilt. Leonard had been brought up with moral virtues by his parents on what was right and wrong. To follow the path where the sun shone.


    In the morning when Vivian woke up, she found the bed to be empty. Hearing the clinks of teacups, she turned her body, pushing herself up to see Leo who was preparing something at the table. From the bed, she could smell the bread which had been toasted in the heat with something else that lingered in the air that could have watered anyone''s mouth.


    But shecked any appetite. If possible she could have stayed in the bed all day long but where would that get anyone anywhere?


    ncing at the clock that ticked with the bird that had not cuckooed even once, it made her feel if she had slept deeply for her to not hear it in her sleep.


    "I made tea," announced Leo, holding the two teacups, he brought it to her.


    Receiving it from him, Vivian looked down at the cup as it smelt different, "This isn''t tea," shemented seeing the green leaves that looked bright which had settled below in the cup.


    "Sister Isabelle had given it to me once. It helps with the headache and will relieve the difort that you are feeling in your chest," Vivian''s eyes widened and she discreetly looked at him as he took a seat next to her, "You didn''t think I didn''t notice it."


    "I didn''t," she answered, bringing up the cup to take a sip before scrunching her face, "It tastes horrible," looking at his cup she saw he had finished the entire cup in one gulp, "You didn''t wake me. What about work?"


    "It is not necessary for us to go to the council every single day. Work can be done at home too and I am your senior. And right now your senior believes you need sufficient rest and break."


    "Others are going to feel you being partial," she stated. Taking a whole gulp to finish the entire tea she felt him take it from her.


    "So what if they did? You are the only person who matters to me while the rest I have no need to concern with," he direct answer made her smile, "Lancelot said he would be keeping an eye on Abel for a while."


    At the mention of her uncle''s name, Vivian slightly shifted in her seat.


    "Do you want to-"


    "No," came out the quick reply from Vivian, "I...I am not ready for it yet. I need time to think."


    "Of course. Take all the time you need," that was before he would kill Abel for his wrongdoings, thought Leo to himself.


    Vivian rewrote her reports that were sent by Hueren after his attendance with Lionel. With the way it looked, it seemed that Hueren couldn''t keep up with Lionel''s tempo as he had scribbled words where some sentences hardly made sense to the point that she had to take Leo''s help in understanding it.


    She tried to upy her mind with work, burying herself to the point where she had finished the reports and has started to draft for the case they were working. Discussing it with Leo but the memories in her mind lurked at the back of her head that refused to leave her alone. During the time of noon, Vivian looked out at the window to see the snow that had been blistering down from the sky stopped in calmness, covering the ground to a heavenly sight with no sight of a person or animal. Even the birds who sometimes sung during the time of rain couldn''t be heard or seen as they had perched themselves in their nests securely.


    Turning her head on the other side of the study room, Vivian saw Leo who had his eyes cast down on the parchment that was on the table. As if feeling her eyes on him, his eyes moved to catch her looking at him.


    "I want to go to theke of Bones," she bit the inside of her lip. She knew Leo would not refuse it and she needed to do this to get things off her chest.


    "What time do you want to leave?"


    "Now," she answered.


    Leonard pushed the parchment back in the drawer, "I don''t mind taking you there, Vivi but you will find nothing. Everything in there is a mass of fog and smoke which belongs to several bodies that have been pushed and dumped."


    "I know," her voice went soft as she realized what he meant.


    Undoubtedly, he would take her there but there was nothing she would be able to see. Theke of bones as the name went was made of dead bodies. It wasn''t a cemetery where she would be able to find one grave where she could talk to. If she were to speak, it would be to a whole mass of bodies who weren''t alive.


    "I will get the carriage ready," he informed her before going out of the room to speak to Jan.


    Reaching theke of bones, theke didn''t look the same as when she hadst seen it. The continuous snow made it look like theke didn''t exist anymore but the corners where theke stopped there was a slight tinge of hue which emitted out to make one know where theke started.


    "Do you want some space?" asked Leo and Vivian shook her head. She didn''t have anything to speak to her dead out loud, not when there were other spirits who could eavesdrop to what she would speak, "Alright," he stood next to her as she stared at theke that was in front of her.


    Vivian wondered if she told anything to them if it would matter. She wasn''t a little girl anymore but a fully grown woman for them to realize who she was. She was sad, unhappy to think about how fate had yed with both her and Leo and there was nothing they could do to change their fates. The thread of death that connected their families was the sam thread, sharing each other''s fates.


    After having spent some time at theke of bones, the difort in her chest began to grow again. The weather had turned to gain momentum again, the wind beginning to howl through thend as it passed through several trees to reach them. The wind blowing as it picked up the surface of the snowkes that rested on thends turning the sight where they were whiter in appearance as minutes began to pass by.


    Getting back at the carriage, Leonard held Vivian when she swayed a little before she could get into the carriage.


    "I feel weak," she whispered to him, her breath getting tighter along with her throat. The back of her head hurt and it reminded her of the time when the man in the snow mansion had tried to squeeze her throat.


    "Hang in there. We''ll get back home soon," he assured her as he held her, helping her to get inside the carriage he ordered the coachman to hurry. Leo wasn''t sure what was wrong as her temperature felt fine. He had made sure that she had eaten her food without skipping meals while also making her get enough sleep.


    He wondered if theke of bones had affected her.


    Theke of the bones was a ce where not everyone wandered to. There was a reason why it was feared. The locals didn''t know the reason why the council had prohibited the folks from going near it. People who went near and close to it never returned back. In the years it turned such that the ce was considered to be haunted due to the aura that felt overbearing when a person went close to it.


    Before the carriage could reach the mansion, Vivian had started to gasp for air.


    "I can''t breath," she said, her head hurting furthermore and the air that she took in turning lesser with every passing second. She tried to take a deep breath but that only added the stress to her body.


    They had to stop the carriage, and Vivian stepped down and away from the carriage where Leonard was hot on her tail, following her until she came to stop in the middle of the trees.


    "What is happening? Speak to me, Vivi," Leo was vexed at the thought that something was going on with her. Her lips had started to lose colour and so did his face as he saw his beloved''s knees give away and fall down on the snowy ground.


    He quickly went to her side worried to his very soul.


    "I am okay," she whispered though she wasn''t doing alright. Leo could tell that she looked far from being okay.


    "Is your heart hurting?" at the question, Vivian who had one of her hand on her chest and the other on the cold ground where her hand was clutching tightly she nodded her head.


    Without a second thought, he raised his hand and was about to bite when Vivian ced her cold hand on his arm, "We have already gone through this. Don''t waste your blood," her voice came out hoarse as she spoke. She had drunk his bloodst time and she doubted there could be any different this time if she drank it again as nothing had changed. She still had the ability to heal.


    "When it is you nothing is waste," Leo bit into his wrist, drawing the blood out that trickled down, inking red on the white snowy ground, "Drink it," he said offering his hand for her.


    She stared at him and then his hand where the blood dripped down one after another without stop. with the clean atmosphere that they were surrounded in, she could smell the faint smell of the blood wafting to her nose. With trembling hands, she took hold of his hand and closed the space between her lips and his skin until the taste of blood burst through on her tongue and she drank it.


    Leo looked close at her as she drank the blood. At first, her movements were feeble and shaky. It was like she didn''t know if it was right or wrong but three secondster, her lips hadpletely closed in on his wrist, sucking the blood with her eyes closed. The movements fastened and he let her drink as if he were seeing a person who had been left to starve for days or weeks and was suddenly given food.


    Herplexion started to return back, the pink colour hinting her cheeks and her health. Leonard hadn''t taken her bloodtely considering her health which sometimes had fallen weak. Drawing blood from her would only push her current difficult health to an edge which he didn''t want taking a risk from. Instead, he took a bite and not more than it.?With several minutes that passed, he could feel his arm turning weak as Vivian sucked his blood out from his wrist.


    Her mouth slowly began to fallx around his skin, moving her head away he saw blood smeared across her lips. Listening closely to her breathing as well as her heartbeat, the worry on his forehead had slowlye to diminish.


    When she opened her eyes, Vivian felt much better and it took her a while for her to understand what had just happened. Like a hungry woman, she had taken his blood more than one would drink a ss of water, her eyes that hadn''t fully opened and which was cast down slowly moved up to look at Leo.


    She saw him stare at her, his eyes looking at her intently, "Are you feeling better?" he asked.


    "Yes," she answered, feeling the iron taste in her mouth.


    "You can drink more if you want," he offered and she quickly shook her head.


    "No," she didn''t know what to think of it. She had taken his blood. At first, the taste had been strange but it had turned better with every suckle that at a point she couldn''t stop herself from drinking his blood.


    Leo came closer to her and wiped the blood from his lips, to put his finger in his mouth, "Much better," he stated, taking away the evidence of her drinking blood from her lips.

 Chapter 230 - What’s Going On? -Part 2

    Next book in the series, book #4: Young master Damien''s pet


    She gulped the remaining taste that was in her mouth, "Shall we go?" he asked her. Standing up, he gave his hand for her to take and when she took it, she was d as she felt a sudden head rush as she stood up. It took her a couple of seconds to get her footing right before following Leo with her hand in his.


    The coachman had been waiting for them and upon their arrival, he quickly went around to open the carriage door to hear the duke say, "How long is the distance from here to the mansion?" It was the oddest question to the coachman as they had travelled across this path several times in all these years. And for the master to ask it, he found it to be rather odd. Nheless, the coachman bowed his head as he went to answer,


    "It shouldn''t take more than ten minutes from here to get back to the mansion, master Leonard," with thedy who stepped in, the man nodded his head.


    "Make sure you go carefully this time," Leo ordered his coachman and got in. The coachman didn''t question with what or why''s and instead, he continued to bow his head. Closing the door, he hopped on the front seat and rode the carriage towards the mansion.


    When the couple reached the mansion, Leo was the first one to step out who was followed by Vivian.


    Vivian who had been hurting before felt better than what she had been feeling. Her chest felt lighter which made her wonder what had just happened. Not to forget the taste of blood that her tongue remembered which had begun to crave. They were greeted by Jan the housekeeper who opened the doors for them, greeting the master first and then thedy with a deep bow.


    "Jan," Leo gained the housekeeper''s reaction, "Prepare the blood tea and bring it up to our room right away."


    "Yes, master Leonard," the housekeeper obliged, turning himself quickly from the couple, he headed to the kitchen.


    "I will go and wash myself up," Vivian informed him to receive a nod.


    "I will be there soon," he said to see her walk up the stairs. Leo''s eyes didn''t leave her until she disappeared behind therge walls.


    Jan was quick in his tea skills as it didn''t take him more than three minutes to prepare the blood tea which he was expertise with. Bringing the tray which held the cup he offered it to the Duke but instead of taking the teacup, he saw the man take hold of the tray.


    "Thank you, Jan. If you could also prepare a meal and bring it up after half an hour..."


    "Yes, master Leonard."


    Leonard followed the trail of Vivian, walking up the fleet of stairs before he walked towards his room with the tray in his hand. When he opened the door, he noticed Vivian who had been standing in front of the mirror. Her head snapped to look at him as if consumed with shock and disbelief.


    "Leo," she whispered. Her once ck eyes that he hade to be used to now stared at him with red eyes.?It was as dark as the blood which would have dried in the open air. Holding the colour which many pureblooded vampires shared with each other.


    While Vivian who had onlye to realize and notice the change, Leonard had noticed it after she was done drinking his blood. The colour of her eyes had changed once she had opened them.


    "I-I...I turned to a vampire," she uttered the words not believing her own ears as she said them.


    "I noticed. How do you feel?" he asked her, walking up to her, he handed the teacup to her. How was he so calm when she was fretting about what just happened to her.


    She felt no different therefore she had no clue that she had turned to a pureblooded vampire or less a vampire. How did it happen? What happened?! At first, she had been having chest cramps and she could barely remember her stumbling through the forest next to where the carriage had been stopped until her lips moved away from Leo''s wrist. The pain had been unbearable and excruciatingly slow that had begun to creep up and across her chest, branching the pain like roots that had made it difficult for her to breath.


    "Calm down, Vivian," he said feeling the spike in her heartbeat which had begun to pick its pace out of anxiety. She might have shown the traits of a pureblooded vampire but there was no saying if she was hundred percent vampire right now. A vampire''s heart was stronger than a human but they were yet to find how she felt and what had triggered, "We can speak about itter. Try drinking the blood tea," he suggested.


    Vivian did what he asked her to, raising the cup she took a sip for her eyebrows that had been knitted closely to loosen up.


    "How does it taste?" she saw Leo wait for her to answer after she had gulped from the first sip. His eyes stared at her, waiting patiently.


    "Sweet," she said.


    "You can drink the entire cup," for some reason now, she felt as if she were being tested and it made her feel odd.


    "Won''t you have some?" she asked thoughtfully. She had drunk his blood and she was sure it wasn''t little.


    Leonard didn''t mind and caught hold of her hand, bringing the cup to him to take a sip from it, "There. You can have the rest." For a vampire or a pureblooded vampire, their thirst was well taught to be regted when they were young due to which it was rare for one to go rampant on humans for blood.


    Vivian had not turned to a mere vampire but a pureblooded vampire, yet the sight of blood didn''t entice her, neither did the smell. Something was wrong and he was sure that her transition wasn''tpleted or she had just transitioned wrongly. But she had been giving out signs of her lineage.


    Once she had emptied the teacup until thest drop in there, she asked, "What''s going on with me?"


    "I think your body is trying to go back to the original state now. I don''t think there has been any necessary trigger that would have started the process. How has your health been these days, Vivi?" he asked her.


    "Same," she whispered the answer.


    "Same?" he tilted his head, "Same as in good health without any disruption or same as to what had today?"


    "I have been having a little difort for a few days now, but it wasn''t this bad," she didn''t know if he was going to scold her for not telling it to him, "Am I vampire now?" she asked slowly.


    "The taste of blood didn''t repulse you and your eyes are deep, dark red in colour. So I guess you are," he smiled to ease the worry that hade to form on her forehead. Hearing his words, Vivian felt relief wash over her body.


    She went back to look at the mirror, to see her iris staring back at her reflection. She couldn''t believe that she had finally be turned back to her original self, "Vivi," she heard Leo call her who had taken a step towards her. Turning back to face him, she waited for him to speak.


    "All this while you have searched for memories of others but this time I need you to look within yourself."


    "Within myself?"


    "Yes," he responded back, taking her hand in his, he took her to the bed and made her sit. He pulled a chair and ced it in front of her, "I need you to search your memories, Vivi."


    "I never was able to find it until now," she admitted at his suggestion. Like any time she had been curious to find out if she could see her parents but she didn''t know how she could because it always felt like a dead end. She had hoped to see her parents, hoped to hear them or why and when they had sent her away from the household but there was nothing in there.


    "That must have been a while ago," he ran his thumb at the top of her hand. Gently caressing it, "Start with me."


    Vivian blinked, realizing what he meant. All this time she had touched objects and people, some of their memories had passed through them to her in ease like water being slid down on a windowpane while some were frozen. Until now she couldn''t figure out why she wasn''t able to read Leo. Maybe it was because she had never tried for it wholeheartedly. His feelings for her weren''t opaque and was rather transparent.


    "I don''t know if it is a good idea," she didn''t want her stumbling across his memories where he had killed people mercilessly. Her parents being one of them.


    "You are stronger than before. Don''t think about it. Pick the other memories you want to read," he said sensing her reluctance, "As Sister Isabelle said some of us are hard to read. But your ability has gotten better, I can sense the confidence when you start to touch the objects to read what has urred. I trust you to not stumble where you don''t want to," he tightened his hand on hers, waiting for her to read.


    "I have never tried it on you," she looked into his eyes, unsure of what they were going to do.


    "I know. That is one of the reasons why you need to start with me before you go to your own memories. It is a good ce to start," he encouraged, "There is something I want to confirm but you will have to find it yourself."


    Vivian looked down at Leo''s hands, feeling the heat that emanated from his skin. With a deep breath, she took the sep to probe into his mind where the memoriesid hidden to another person. Simr to Abel, Vivian could see the different windows of memories that came in front of her, waiting to be touched and seen.


    Having never peeked into his memories before, Vivian picked the ones that were of their childhood when they were young. She saw the anger that had often surged and coursed through his veins when he was young, being one of the reasons why he was sent away from the Carmichael mansion so that he could take them. It was a fight between him and Christopher over something the other boy had said and done, irking the Duke which led to him beating the older boy.


    It was the very next day when little Vivian had ced her hand on his cheek in an effort to reduce the pain on his bruised cheek.


    Pulling away from his memories, she said, "You were an adorable young man when we were young. Getting angry for little things."


    One side of Leo''s lips curled, "I am d to hear that. If you have been able to break my memory barriers, you should be able to find some in your too now," and with that, he released her hands gently.


    Taking her hands back, she held them together. She closed her eyes like many times she had done before for better concentration and as she tried it, it felt as if the ground was whisked away from below her feet. Smoke and fog began to surround her. Unfortunately for her, the way she had picked others memories, she couldn''t do the same with her as she travelled back to the lost and forgotten memories of her, which she could have barely remembered for her age.


    And when the fog disappeared around her she saw had happened a few years ago. The reason why she was abandoned and the time when she was finally sent away with a maid.

 Chapter 231 - Crime-Part 1

    Vivian saw her mother for the second time in the memories, her faceing to be familiar in her mind until she came to realize something very important that had taken ce a few days ago. It wasn''t her second time seeing her mother and finding her in Abel''s memories wasn''t a first. The first time was in her very own dream which she had failed to see and understand. Like phantom of ghosts, they hade and gone while she had no inkling of who they were.


    She had acquired her mother''s blonde hair, their height almost the same which was average for a woman who was human but for a vampire, they fell a little short.


    "Mama," her mouth uttered the words that had been waiting to call her mother since the time she had wanted to find them but the woman was only a fragment of her lost memories who couldn''t hear her daughter''s words.


    "ine!" a man came through the doors of a room where her mother stood outside. It was her father, "Did you make sure to let the maid know what to do? We don''t want negligence in her work where she might go spout it somewhere else."


    Her mother ced her hand on his arm, "Martha can be trusted, Emmanuel. She needs the money and I have given her more than she had expected. Our secret will be safe."


    "Hmm," her father responded back, "Where is she?" At first, Vivian''s thought was that he asked for the servant.


    "In her room. Locked just as I left her this night. Abel wanted to keep her here," ine, her mother added to receive a re from her father.


    "His habit of not minding his business hasn''t left him yet. Poking his nose where it doesn''t belong. It is better if we have them leave thends this very hour," walking through the corridors, they came to stop and stand in front of a door. The woman quickly bent down to jingle the keys, opening the door. Vivian who had been listening to them speak while following them couldn''t see what was inside the room but by their speech, it didn''t take a genius to guess who was in there, "I don''t want another ck dot etched in our reputation," Vivian saw the little girl who was sitting on the bed, "I can''t believe this happened, ine tell me this is my child and not some humans," her father gritted his teeth, his gaze on her hateful which was filled with disgust.


    Her mother let out a frustrated sigh as if she were tired and didn''t want to deal with it right now, "I have told you she is our child! I didn''t go behind your back."


    "Then exin to me what happened to her?! She is supposed to be a pureblooded vampire, not a weakling human!" the man shouted which led to her parents arguing with each other.


    "I don''t have the knowledge for it what went wrong," her mother shouted back, the girl who was none other than herself flinched at the loud voices as the fought verbally, finally vexed her father said,


    "Get Martha here," he rubbed his temples, a headache forming in his head.


    Vivian saw her former young self sitting on the bed. The little girl didn''t know what was going on and stayed put, her eyes asionally looking at her father.?Her mother came back with Martha who looked much younger than thest time she had seen as this was around twelve years ago. Now that she saw her, she missed the woman more. She had missed the quiet scoldings, the lessons she gave out to her as she grew up including the love and care which her family had failed to give her.


    A smile came to hold on her lips, a mixture of sadness and happiness that was etched on her face.


    "Mr. Harlow, you called for me?" the servant bowed her head, not meeting his eyes and keeping her eyes cast down.


    "Take her to Bonke and once you reach there don''t let anyone hear even a whisper of who she is and where she hase from. We won''t be contacting you from now and you shouldn''t either. No matter what the situation, I don''t want a word from you," ordered the man who was her father.


    It seemed that the maid wanted to say something when her eye fell on the little girl but she chose to ask, "What if she asks for you?"


    "Tell her we are dead, makeup stories. And if she cries don''t bother to bring her here. We have enough problems of our own. And in terms of luggage, you have nothing to worry. You can buy them on your way. She is not more a Harlow. She won''t need the clothes that she had worn until now," Vivian''s heart broke hearing this and if it were made of ss one would have been able to hear the crack that was felt over her father''s thoughts for her.


    She didn''t understand what was her fault over these things. What was her mistake that she had been punished and pushed away by her very own family? Not wanting to read more, she let her soul and mind start to detach itself from this memory of hers and she flipped the memory to the one which looked to be the least interesting one.


    It was her time spent with her uncle in the dining room, and there sat not only her but her brother who looked younger. She had a younger brother? As soon as joy came to appear in her chest with the same intensity, anxiety rose. Where was he though?


    And then came the time where she saw the maid who looked somewhat distraught after she had given blood to drink for her uncle. Like a domino, one thing started to make sense with another before she pulled back herself to the present.?Opening her eyes, she looked straight into Leo''s eyes that had been waiting for her to open her eyes.


    "My heart was corrupted," she said, her eyes a little void and out of emotions after what she just went through, "You knew it," she stated seeing the unchanged expression on him.


    "I had my doubts," he replied to see her shake her head.


    "Everything is twisted, Leo. Everything around me was," she exhaled the air out, "How many other cases have been registered before your parents?"


    "None at all. It seems like you were the first one to be corrupted," it seemed to be so, thought Vivian to herself. She didn''t know if she was supposed to consider herself to be fortunate or to be followed by the ill omens.


    "It was either be killed by my uncle or be killed myself. If the ck witch was the one who tried to corrupt the hearts, it would mean she had tried to corrupt my uncle before. Or maybe chosen but instead of him, I drank it," she gave out a dryugh, her shoulders slumping, "Ester didn''t choose your family randomly, would that mean there was something she wanted to get rid of? It is possible, right? And why didn''t my heart corruptpletely?"


    "Maybe the potion she made before was still under testing and wasn''t fully developed. So now we know that it had nothing to do with your genes but it was a mutation change. Only that instead of having your heart corrupted, it turned off the vampire characteristics until now," he deduced from her memories but he did find it suspicious that the ck witch had picked her family as an experiment, "How are you feeling physically?" he asked her.


    "Much better than when we were in the carriage."


    "Good. I will ask Jan to double the drink and meat so that it can suffice the hunger. We wouldn''t want you going rampage over thirst."


    "What about you?" she asked him.


    "What about me?"


    "I took a lot of blood from you," she stared down at his wrist where the bite marks had been healed.


    "That is nothing. I have gone up to the point where my blood was squeezed out before I was fed again," he got up smiling to see the shock of horror on her face.


    "What?"


    "I was put under dire tests before I took my examination at the council. Nichs has his odd ways when ites to preparing someone as if one were going to war," she could hardly imagine the state Leo would have been put through. Hearing a knock on the door, both Leo and Vivi turned to look at the wooden door, "Come in, Jan."


    Vivian wasn''t sure if she wanted to show her promotion from being human to a pureblooded vampire. She turned her face away.


    "Master Leo, would you like to have the meal in the dining room or here?" inquired the housekeeper.


    "Dining room would be fine," Vivian''s eyes widened at the option. But then she realized if she was going to work in the council, she would have to show up there. She couldn''t work from home by creating reports when her attendance was required there. People would find out about her change and then let out a sigh of internal relief.


    She, Leo and Nichs knew about the failure of the transition but the rest had no idea about it. They weren''t aware than she couldn''t transition. If one would ask, all they had to say was that Leo had turned her. It was as simple as that.


    "And master, the councilman are waiting in the drawing-room," Councillors?


    "You can ask them to join us at the table," said Leo, dismissing the housekeeper, he raised his hand for Vivian to take, "You worry for nothing," he said, taking her hand and pulling her to him he spoke to her seriously, "You aren''t a human anymore so your movements might be stronger, swifter and sharper. Pureblooded vampires and the others are taught to manage and handle to blend in. You being new to this, you have to be a little careful when you swing your hand to drop another vase in here or outside," he was teasing her!


    No, thought Vivian. He was trying to cheer up, worried that her touch of memories had turned her sad.


    Closing the distance between them, she put her hands around him to hug him, "Thank you," she whispered while standing on her tiptoes.


    "What am I being thanked for?" she heard him ask.


    "For taking care of me. For loving me endlessly. For-ah!" she yelped when he bit into her neck making her hand which was on the chest turn to a tight fist. When he finished licking her neck, he pulled back with a smile, "What was that for?"


    "You don''t have to thank me, Bambi. I will always be there for you," he said, his eyes fell on her neck where her skin had been pierced, "I wonder if your transition haspleted or still under progress. Your body didn''t go under a drive and your wound...it is still taking time to heal," he ran his finger over her neck.


    "I didn''t faint likest time," she said remembering what happened when he had tried to turn her.


    "Yes, you didn''t but we can''t overlook the fact that you fell sick before turning into back to your original form. Be careful as what you answer in the dining room. Lionel might be my direct superior but if he finds that a whiff that you weren''t turned like the others, there''s no saying what steps he might take."


    She gave him a nod that she would be careful.


    When they reached the dining room, Leonard called Jan, whispering something in his ear for the housekeeper to give a nod. Jan walked to each of the windows, pulling the curtains and letting the light in but it wasn''t as bright as the world outside.


    As expected Lionel was seated at the table and with him, the Lord of Bonke, Nichs, the head council Reuben and the other councilman Creed were seated too. She had hoped for Dutan and Hueren to be here and not the rest. She felt slightly intimidated at the presence of such high men in the room.


    "Good afternoon gentlemen," Leo greeted everyone in the room. She took a seat next to the head of the table where Leo sat, "What brings you here?" he asked, his eyes ncing at the people who were seated.


    Vivian felt the eyes of the men on her, especially Creed''s eyes which lingered longer as if questioning her presence but that wasn''t why he stared at her longer. Everyone in the room could sense the change in her, the smell of a human was missing around her. Even Jan, the housekeeper had identified the change of scent in the air. It was the smell of vampires.


    Though a vampire couldn''t see a person in darkness, Vivian''s eyes had turned sharp. Her eyes had been ck until now, therefore, the dull lighting in the dining room didn''t give away the fact that she wasn''t an ordinary vampire but a pureblooded vampire. Also that there were other pressing matters for the council to deal with.

 Chapter 232 - Crime- Part 2

    ~The book has been updated until chapter 262~


    Rueben was the one to speak in the room, "Apologies for breaking in your peaceful noon, Duke Leonard. We hope we aren''t interrupting anything."


    "Don''t worry, head council Rueben. If we were busy I would havepleted it before greeting you here," answered Leonard with a straight face but Lionel his superior cleared his throat and Lord Nichs couldn''t stop the smile that had been pulled from the corner of his lips.


    "Hmm," Rueben nodded his head, a smile on his own lips like Nichs. Young vampires were always full of life not that theirs was any less. Leonard was famous for his bold words that most of them hade to get used to it. Vivian couldn''t stop the blush that came on her cheeks which was sshed to warmth, "I see that you have turned your wife finally. It is always good toplete the process. The sooner the better," and though his words were polite along with the rest of them, there was something daunting that wafted in the air from them. As if they were not just looking at her but scanning her to see if the transition had gone right.


    "Wee to the vampire life, Vivi," Nichs weed her but she could sense the doubt in his eyes. Though his eyes weren''t as bearing as the other elder men, she knew what he might be thinking. She and Leo had already tried to change herself before which had resulted in her falling sick and going back to being a human. Worried Leo had never tried it again as her body had evidently rejected the venom for the transition to take ce.


    "Thank you, Lord Nichs," she bowed her head.


    "If you need any help I can always assist, Lady Carmichael," stated the head council to her surprise as he had been nice enough to offer his knowledge on what a half-blooded vampire could go through. By what she had heard, the head councilman was a half-blooded vampire who had been turned.


    "I will be sure to take your advice if I ever may need it," she bowed her head again.


    As if having to speak, Creed opened his mouth, one of his eyes which was open and not under eyes patch looking at her with a smile bringing the wrinkles on the side of his eyes, "It is good to have a vampire amongst us. Human life would never have suited you as you''re married to a pureblooded vampire. Lives like that are tragic," hemented. In the beginning, Vivian hadn''t noticed it before because of the smile the man held every time he spoke. It was a gentle smile which was very simr to Lord Nichs but something felt off as he smiled like a saint. Nichs might have done some uwful things in his past but something told her this man wasn''t right.


    Lancelot also the switcher who had taken up the body hadn''t given them enough details. There was something hidden which he hadn''t shared.


    "Leonard," Lionel who was his direct superior spoke to him, "This is about the switcher. He has killed another man of ours this morning," Vivian couldn''t believe it.


    Leonard narrowed his eyes, "Who is it?"


    This time it was Nichs who answered, "It is Maximillian Gibbs."


    Maximillian? Vivian''s eyes turned to look at Leo. His face was void of any expression. Maximillian was a dear friend of Leo''s. After Julliard and Nichs, it was the blue-eyed pureblooded vampire whom Leo was close to in friends.


    Nichs continued to speak, "They found him dead in the morning near the cell. His heart along with the core was pulled out. We asked his Vermous about his current case as to what he was doing in the cell. He had gone to speak to the prisoner."


    "Did you inquire with the prisoner?" Leo''s voice was as calm as the sea. No anger or pain in them which worried Vivian.


    "Nothing. The man is a human who was caught for thieving and smuggling the goods from the ck market with the potion a ck witch made," replied Nichs.


    Reuben cleared his throat before he spoke, "Leonard, the case has been in your and Lionel''s capable hands and knowing how close you were with Mr Gibbs. We thought it would be wise to have the discussion here than in the council where some words might escape and reach the ears of the switcher."


    The food was prepared as usual with excellent taste but the men barely touched the food and neither did Vivian as she had lost her appetite after the news they had received. Leo as if noticing Vivian''s food intake poured a ss of blood and ced it on her side without a word. She took the ss without any resistance and drank it like one would drink water sip by sip.


    The men discussed on the switcher where Vivian hadn''t known before that Mr Creed was aware about the existence of the switcher. Maybe Rueben trusted him enough to involve him in the matter.


    Once the elder men left the mansion, Lord Nichs who had stayed behind with Vivian as Leonard had gone to pick the parchments he had received from his subordinates from his study room.


    "Who do you think killed him?" asked Vivian in a hushed whisper.


    "I can hardly point anyone right now. I left the ghouls around the building but they never got to notice what happened to Gibbs. You don''t think it is the switcher," it wasn''t a question but a statement to her.


    She shook her head, "Why would the switcher kill another man when he already has a body?"


    "True. It would make no sense, what is your take in it?"


    "Mine?"


    "Yes, what do you think happened," Nichs'' eyes stared into hers, waiting for her toe up with her own theory.


    "It isn''t a switcher but a councilman who killed him. There''s someone who is pulling the strings," she said to see Leo appear behind her.


    "So it appears," murmured Lord Nichs, his eyes holding less light than when the councilmen were present.


    "I aming with you," dered Vivian when the housekeeper helped Leo with his coat at the door, "I want to see him too," she said unsure if Leo was going to let here along with him as she could see the hint of doubt that hade to create in his mind. She could see it in his eyes. He was worried about her. The council wasn''t a safe ce which both knew and if someone caught a hint of her transition as they weren''t sure if it was permanent, he wanted to keep her where she could be safe, "Mr. Gibbs was a wonderful man and I would like to see what happened to him."


    "I doubt you or I will be allowed to go near him right now. He died this morning which and we were notifiedte about it," Leo answered to her request, "The case would be under another team which would mean we cannot see him right now."


    "I might not be able to get to see him but I can see what happened around," her eyes were hopeful.


    "Jan get her coat. The one with the fur," Leo ordered the housekeeper while his eyes were on his wife.


    When they reached the council, the ce had been cleaned where the body didn''ty outside as the councilmen had told them. On her way with Leo and Nichs, Vivian could hardly find any drop of blood on the ground. The crime scene had been cleaned spotless as if nothing had ever happened.


    "They cleaned it," Leo muttered under his breath.


    "Vivian. Your hunch might be right," said Nichs who stood on the other side of Leo, "Someone got it cleaned but I also think someone has their own hunch on your abilities."


    Leo''s eyes narrowed at this possible information. It could be true. There was no saying who was keeping an eye on them, "We need to find Lancelot, he should know what is up. I will go speak to Lionel, and Vivian you can go with Nichs to the department."


    "I am on babysitting duties?" Nichs joked.


    Reaching the department room, Vivian met with Hueren and Dutan to hear the news from them on Mr. Gibbs.


    "We couldn''t sende speak because Lionel ced a ton of his work on us. We have been working on his tasks and other responsibilities. Dutan also went to supervise in the court council," Hueren filled them in. Both the men stared at her eyes only for a spare second, noticing the change that had taken ce since theyst saw her.


    Nichs who had been looking around the room said, "It won''t be a surprise as the matter right now has turned very dire. Councilmen have never been killed this way and this is bringing doubt and questions in the mind of the others as to what is going on. The elder councilmen think that it is the switcher''s work which includes Lionel. But Vivian and you know it isn''t. What are you going to do about it?" he asked the trio.


    "Where is Lancelot?" asked Vivian turning to the two seniors of hers.


    "We need to go find him, Lady Vivian. It has been a few hours since west saw him actually," answered Duran to be questioned by Nichs,


    "And might I ask how long were those few hours?"


    Dutan gave it some thought, to say, "I believe it was before they found the body of Mr. Gibbs."


    "He''s gone missing," Vivian''s lips set itself into a thin line. This wasn''t god, she thought to herself, not good at all, "What do we do?" she turned to ask Nichs as he was older and wiser than the rest in the room.


    "Why not start with your ability, Vivi. Go to the man''s room. There must be a clue of what happened," Nichs saw a shadow appear behind the cupboard which none of them noticed, "I have a meeting to attend with the rest of the councilmen, "I hope you find what you''re looking for," he gave them a small nod before stepping out of the door which closed itself back again.


    "Where is the Duke, mydy?" asked Dutan.


    "He''s gone to see Lionel," she replied. Leo had gone to see Lionel but she knew that he would try to have a glimpse of Maximillian. On their way here, Leo had asked about his friend and the detailed state he was found it. She hadn''t found the opportunity to spend and know the man but with the little amount of time she had known from Leo, though he came to be strange and odd, he was a good friend.


    She went to the desk, facing the wall as she tried to think about what they could do. Like Leo said before, the case had been given to another team and whoever had it had wiped everything she could possibly try her hands on. It made her think if it was possible for someone to know about her ability to touch. If they did know, there was no saying when she would be turned to an experimental mouse in theb.


    "Might you know where Lionel is?" she asked them.


    "Probably the council meeting, the same one which Lord Nichs has gone to attend," answered Heuren who heard some sound from outside and looked out of the window, "They are cing the guards now. The matter has turned dire as the Lord said."


    Leo wouldn''t be back for an hour or more like the rest of them. Deciding to search for the switcher, Vivian said, "It might take some time before the council meeting is adjourned. There are going to upied along with the others. We need to find Lancelot and see where he is."


    Dutan nodded his head, "I will go find him in his floor and see if I can find anything in there," Hueren who had stepped away from the window said,


    "Is there somewhere you would want to apany you to?"


    "I would like to take a round around the council buildings," the man nodded his head.

 Chapter 233 - Crime- Part 3

    She walked ahead of Heuren, his footsteps following her with a good distance away from her as they walked around the buildings of the council as if they were taking a walk in the meadow. Truthfully, what Vivian wanted to do was to go meet her uncle Abel to ask him about her brother whom she hade to see and meet in her memories. And though she wanted to meet him and ask why he had done it, she didn''t know how to start. Her mind was upied with a lot of things and with her recent transformation which Heuren kept ncing every once in a while as if she would spring out on him and drink his blood, she closed her eyes at the thought of it. The man was after all a human unlike her right now.


    "I don''t think we will find anything in here, Lady Vivian. By the time our ears reached the news to what happened, the scene had been cleaned spotless," she heard Heuren say behind her.


    Her footsteps had left trails on the snow and while she was looking at the high walls that contained the entire council, her left foot suddenly went inside the snowy ground as it hadn''t been pushed andpacted by the workers.


    Heuren came to her aid quickly, "Are you alright?" she nodded her head while her shoe had gone in. Pulling her leg away from the hollow that had formed, she ced it away from it, "Careful. It has snowed quite a lot since yesterday. Duke Leonard told us that you fell sick, but we didn''t know he had nned to turn you."


    "It was a surprise," she answered him, looking at the bottom of the ground to see the depth to have only snow without a trace of the ground.


    "A good surprise. Your eyes are darker just like the pureblooded vampires," he mentioned for her heart to flip in her chest. One of the ways one could differentiate an average vampire from a pureblooded vampire was the eyes. It was a dead giveaway, "I guess the color takes time to cool down as your transformation was a recent one from ck to red," he then changed back the conversation, "How is the Duke?"


    "He hasn''t spoken anything about it yet," Leo had upied himself with the work and even though it wasn''t his case to look at, the man who had been murdered was one of his close friends.


    It worried her. Not a word had been spoken and not a single expression of pain hade to pass over his face.


    Vivian didn''t know why someone would kill Mr. Gibbs for no reason, there had to be a reason. A motive which was hidden to the public eye. The first time the death had taken ce, she couldn''t get back in there to see what and how things happened but this was possible. Mr Gibbs had died this morning meaning the body was still in theb of Murk and so was his belongings in his office desk which wouldn''t have been cleared. Or at least she hoped so.


    After one whole turn around, they came to stand between the cell and the actual council building, wondering what to do next when Vivian felt the soft snow under her boots. Something came to her mind and she looked left and right.


    Hueren wondered what was wrong as he saw thedy look around.


    "Did you know where the body was found?" he heard her ask.


    "I didn''t see where but I heard it was somewhere where we are standing now," the man informed her to see her walk around and clear the snow back and forth with her boot.


    "Found it!" she eximed, bending down, she scooped the snow from the ground, "Let''s go stand on the other side," carrying the snow, she made sure no one had caught them doing something strange.


    Snow? thought Heuren, looking at thedy.


    "The team who is handling his case wasn''t efficient when it came to cleaning or they just followed the orders without realizing what was meant to be done," said Vivian before opening her hands and showing the red liquid that had soaked into the snow.


    "That''s blood," he frowned looking at the snow she had picked up.


    Vivian nodded her head, "Yes. It is blood but it is the blood of Mr. Gibbs. Whoever killed ordered the team to clean it up," knowing that they didn''t have enough time before remaining lues could be sweeped out, she asked the man, "Could you go find out which team is handling the case and where the order came out from? Even if it is in the thought to not start havoc and in here, it is clear in Edict 58 that no body shall be cleared before six hours unless it has not been attended."


    Heuren himself like the rest had forgotten such basic detail which they had read and forgotten after the exam. Remembering only the bigger ones they usually dealt with.


    "If we can spot out who ordered it, we can trace back to see who was responsible for the death of Mr Gibbs."


    "Please be careful," he said before leaving her standing below a tree where she continued to hold the snow in her hand. Her hands had begun to snow, the ice turning her skin cold and freezing it.


    She had taken her gloves out before she had scooped this ice she held. The form of water was tricky and needed a lot of concentration when it was in this delicate state. To make it difficult, the snow had turned out to be a ce where men had walked over it to push it down before which was mixed with memories that led from everywhere. It was amon ground.


    All she had to do was concentrate on the blood that had stuck to the ice while leaving out the rest. The more she tried to take in the memories the faster the ice turned to water. Water dripping down from her palm down to her elbows as it had slid down.


    Suddenly she felt a shock as if someone had thrown the ball of snow at her but it was nowhere gentle. The memory was broken and wasn''t clear enough to deduce what had happened. She could sense the struggle and the pain in the chest making her wince as if it was happening to her. The fingers felt cold, the voice muffled like an unconscious mind trying to perceive and understand what was being spoken.


    She finally heard a voice, "You are a pitiful man, Mr. Gibbs. To die in a ce like this in my hands," it was a whisper of voice.


    "You are the pitiful one here," Maximillian''s voice rang with a chuckle and then it was nk. The snow in her hand had melted away and she returned back to the present.?Someone did kill him and with the robes of clothes, it seemed that it was definitely a person from the council.


    The elder council members had med thest death to be on the switcherst time, keeping the matter hushed which had been closed in others councilmen''s eyes and this one, Mr. Gibb''s death was being med again on the switcher.


    But the switcher had nothing to do with it. Or did he? He had told them that he was helping Sister Isabelle with something. Going back inside the council, Vivian went in search of his desk. As the man had died, it was possible that the rest of his team would be attending the meeting today for interrogation leaving the rooms empty for this hour.


    Making her way up there she came to halt when she saw men crowded in the passageway.


    "Lady Vivian," came the hushed whispered call from Dutan behind her.


    "Dutan. Did you find anything about him?"


    He shook his head in disappointment, "I couldn''t find him anywhere. I asked for him but his fellow teammate said he hasn''t seen him either. Wouldn''t that mean the switcher lied to us?"


    Vivian didn''t want to believe that the switcher had betrayed them but switchers had nevere to be trustful. What was the difference now?


    ncing at the men behind her, he said, "I don''t think you go in there right now. It would only raise unneeded suspicion," he was right. Two men who were walking by offered them a bow which the pair returned back with the same politeness, "Let''s go wait in our department room for the Duke to return to know what the council has spoken."


    When Leonard returned back, he came with Lionel.


    "What did the head council say?" asked Dutan turning himself towards Lionel and the rest did the same. Lionel looked rather dull and tired as if the death in the morning that had taken ce had added his work for the day. Leonard who had followed him in looked serious.


    "It isn''t good news," replied Lionel, shaking his head, "They have spoken about the switcher who lies amongst us. The one who had killed the first council a few months ago who now lurks so ever freely," Both Vivian and Hueren looked at each other, their eyes meeting for a mere second which went back to give the attention to the elder man who seemed least happy in the room. Vivian hadn''t expected for the head council to reveal it to everyone but the matter had gone off hand. The man had been reported of the switcher and the ck witch''s involvement in the mass murders that had been urring along with the corruption of the hearts. The matter couldn''t be hushed anymore as men of the council would have already started to doubt on the happenings here, "We need to find this switcher as soon as possible. The sooner the better so that we don''t have another death again."


    "Isn''t the other team going to look for it?" Hueren raised the question.


    Lionel stared hard, his monocle that was settled on side of his eyes looking at Hueren, speaking, "They will be working on Gibbs case but that doesn''t stop us from having our homework done beforehand. Get back to work," he said, turning around and walking out of the room.


    When a good ten seconds passed after the man had left, Vivian said, "We didn''t tell him about Lancelot. Do you think we should?"


    "Lancelot doesn''t want anyone to be involved. His terms of help were to keep his identity safe and sound because there were things he was helping the white witch with which was meant to be kept as a secret," said Leo before turning his head back and saying, "Lock the door. We need a n," he said going to Dutan''s desk which was cleaned the previous evening where he had kept the books aside to make room for him to ce his parchments.


    He pulled the map that was on the wall, tearing the above ends and turning it around so that they could have a clean pale surface, "Hueren and Dutan, what did you find?" Vivian who had gone to lock and secure the door came back to stand next to Leo where he held a quill in his hand.


    Dutan was the one to reply, "There wasn''t any odd activity that took ce in the council. It has been going as before. We met with Lancelot and he asked us to look for the year 1732, stating something about the white witch where she had been killed."


    "He''s still looking for the answers of what happened to Sister Isabelle," the other councilman added.


    "That''s because Sister Isabelle has been trying to find the answers. Vivi, did you ever get to read anything from her?" asked Leo for her to shake her head.


    "It was only the beginning that she had asked me to crack the memories so that I could reach through but she was too strong for me to read," and she understood now why. The woman wasn''t an ordinary white witch but one of the wisest and strongest white witches of their time and she was no more,


    "Why didn''t she try searching for it before?" doubted Vivian with her question.

 Chapter 234 - The Findings- Part 1

    "Her death was caused by the vigers of the next town where the Delcrov mansion is situated. They were in outrage after finding most of the children were killed and cut into pieces to only be thrown back in themon well," Leo iterated the past.


    "But she was the second Lord''s wife. Why doubt her?" asked Dutan, "Doesn''t it sound shady."


    "What isn''t shady here," scoffed Hueren for Leo to continue with his words,


    "My guess is that someone from here in this council was responsible for her death. Someone who instigated the rage in the vigers by abducting and killing the children before framing her. It wouldn''t have been hard to do it as those years weren''t the time for witches not even now. Where the fuck is Lancelot?"


    Heuren who had previously gone in search of the man answered to Leo''s question, "He has gone missing, senior," at Leo''s narrowed eyes he added, "I searched everywhere and even dropped by the department but he isn''t there. No clue."


    "Something isn''t right. Heuren I need you to go search for him again. This time more ardently because he is the one who heard what Sister Isabelle spoke of," Leo demanded from his junior, receiving a swift nod, he turned back his eyes on therge paper on the table, "In the recentings we have had three deaths, one which was caused by the switcher who killed the real Lancelot Knight to take up his body. The other two falls under suspicious activities," Leo drew an ''X'' on the paper. Writing down Maximillian, Lancelot and the older councilman who was part of the elder council meeting had been killed, "What else did we miss. Lady Isabelle. The white witch," he wrote down her name, adding the year of her death.


    "If she''s refused toe to the council to show her face which would only reveal her existence which she had been hiding, it would mean the man is still here and it isn''t someone new. Whom we are looking for is someone who joined before this year," Leo circled the year.


    "You need to add Abel in there," came Vivian''s voice. Everything was connected in here like the spider''s web that moved from one strand to another to form one single web of the crimes that had urred since thest few years.


    Leonard didn''t hesitate but wrote down her uncle''s name and after a few spaces, the ck witch was added along with him. And then he added his family, the Carmichaels.


    Like a story, the Duke said, "What we have is, in this year the white witch had been killed by one of the councilman who still works here. For her to send the switcher to dig would mean that she didn''t know herself as to who had framed her. The switcher was sent by her but," he paused to draw the line between the switcher and the white witch and the ck witch, "The man was working for the ck witch before that. For whatever change of heart he had he decided to switch teams."


    "The ck witch wouldn''t have sent him alone here unprotected. Surely, he would have someone to look after," stated Vivian before she came to ask, "Didn''t Oliver belong to the same team as Lancelot?"


    "Why do you ask about him?" Leo wanted to know like the rest of the two who waited for her to exin herself.


    "We all knew that he had done something because of the snow mansion. For some reason, the ghost knew that all of us who were taking part in the exam had done something we were not supposed to do," said Vivian, taking the quill from Leo''s hand, she added the ghost of the snow mansion who didn''t haunt there anymore, "She didn''t kill everyone in there but she did kill people whom she believed to have done a mistake which was grave. As we already assumed, Oliver had done something which was either personal or on the word of someone. The switcher killed Lancelot and there must have been the reason why he picked Mr. Knight."


    "It could also have been due to bodypatibility. He said some bodies don''t sustain long and they degrade faster," Leo pointed out but she shook her head.


    "No."


    "What are you getting it, Vivi?" he asked her.


    "There''s someone whom I have my suspicion on but I cannot say I am a hundred percent sure. Lancelot and Oliver belong to one team. Even though Abel isn''t part of the same team," she drew the lines up towards the ''X'' that had been marked as unknown, "They all report to one man. Creed."


    "Councilman Creed?" asked Hueren baffled, "He has a clean record. I don''t think he has anything to with it."


    "It is always the cleanest man that has dirt hidden,"mented Vivian dropping the quill on the desk.


    "Even if he is the one who has been pulling strings how do we make sure it is him?" asked Dutan the main question which Vivian had begun to think herself, wondering as to what could be done.


    "Like the rest he knows about the switcher but he must have known long back that is if he has bee working with the ck witch. Why else would she send an intel?" questioned Vivian for Leonard to exhale loudly.


    Everyone in the room fell silent, thinking and trying toe up with something that could pull everything into the light.


    "We won''t be able to find anything from Maximilian nor from Oliver''s as both their belongings have been pushed to the locked room," that was quick, thought Vivian to herself. They really were trying to close the case as fast as they could, "If Creed is the one pulling out the strings, I will go see if I can dig into his the cases he has handled with the help of Nichs. He must have some case files which was recorded by the previous father. And maybe it is time for you to enter the forbidden room where the case files are."


    Hearing this Vivian''s ears perked up instantly. Finally, Leo had agreed to it, "But you cannot get past those doors easily. Stepping in and out of it is not only hard but difficult with the guards guarding the doors."


    "We can distract the guards," proposed Hueren.


    "It is easy to tell for a mouse to talk about tying a bell around the cat'' neck but it isn''t impossible. Vivian and Dutan, you can enter the room while making use of Hueren as a distraction," the human councilman wasn''t sure if he was to take it as ne of his skill or now, "There is a possibility that the guards might not move if he faints but you''ll have a window of less than a minute before the guards in there are switched to two other ones."


    "How do we get in there? It is a long passageway," Vivian was concerned as she had already lurked in those hallways when she had tried to take a sneak at how the doors looked like with Hueren. To an outsider, the doors would have looked to be like a way to another simple room but only a councilor knew that it was a storage room which was used by the men here from the time since the council began.


    Leonard smiled hearing the question which his wife put up, "There''s a window in there. You jump of course. You might get caught and that is why you need the slight distraction before you make through to the doors," he said giving a look at Hueren who felt as if he was really turning to the sheep which the butcher man was going to cut his head off, "It has never been more than a minute if checked upon you will find it is around fifty-three seconds. As you already must be aware, the guards change every two hours. Which would mean you cannote out before time. Once you enter, all of you will have to time to make sure to step out of the room on time. If you miss the seconds back and forth, consider yourself to be put under trial."


    No one was happy to hear thest line. As exciting and thrilling the work ahead of them was, none of them wanted to go through the trial in the courtroom as it wouldn''t be a simple interrogation. Stepping into the storage room was one of the rules set by the council and what they were going to do was breaking the oldw where people of their caliber had never thought to enter. But then never did anyone have the need to go in there the way they had to right now.


    Leo would have gone with Vivian but he had other things to look after and he believed that his subordinates would be able toplete the work without much hassle. And if they did get caught, it would not be just them but him and also Lionel who would be put under the questioning of what the two people were doing in there.


    "Keep the time both of you," he ordered both Hueren and Dutan with a serious face. Thest thing he wanted was Vivian getting caught.


    Up until now, no one had questioned the colour of her eyes. As it was quitemon for the original colour of the eyes to bepletely reced by the vampire traits, she had a buffer of two to three days and it was the time after that that clouded his mind.


    Except for Nichs, he doubted that anyone had even given much thought on Vivian. There were other critical matters that concerned the councilmen which made it easy for them. He could go speak to Murk about it. The vampire doctor would have solutions and if he didn''t, the worst case was that he would leave thends here and move somewhere else with her. Just like they had nned about it before.


    "I will see you threeter. Use the opportunity now. Everyone is busy and the guards are distracted," his eyes lingered on Vivian for a long time to say, "Take care of yourself. Creed or whoever it is has killed a councilman in the early hours of the day. Not anywhere but here in the presence of the council. Stay alive, I will see you soon," he spoke to Vivian.


    Once Leonard departed from the room, the three of them did the same. Locking the door behind them, Hueren stayed in the building while Vivian and Dutan stepped outside to make another turn around therge building until they came to stand at the window which was wide and open.


    "The guards don''t leave until the next seven minutes," said Dutan looking down at his pocket watch.


    Vivian could feel her hands turning mmy with sweat. She had turned to a vampire but the fear of being caught was coursing through her veins. As Leo said, it was easy to say but difficult to do. She looked to her left and right, making sure no one was around.


    Right now they had to be meticulous. Enough to not be seen by the guards or anyone else. It wasn''t that they would be put under death row but the questions that would be asked to them wouldn''t stop, not to forget her recent change to a pureblooded vampire. If a person caught the whiff of it, they would be in trouble and even Lord Nichs wouldn''t be able to help them out of it.


    "Lady Vivian," called Dutan with a whisper to her attention who looked down at the watch, "It is almost time. I will help you to get in first. To our fortune, the door is straight ahead which has walls on either side to obstruct the view of others. It should give us enough to get in. Be ready."

 Chapter 235 - The Findings- Part 2

    Next book in the series, book #4: Young master Damien''s pet


    And when the pocket watch made a ticking sound, Dutan went to the window, taking a quick peek before bending down for Vivian to step on him and get inside as the window wasn''t of her height and would need her a tform before getting in.


    Vivian stepped on his back by cing one of her foot, cing her hand on the window sill she jumped in like a cat before hurrying herself to hide behind the wall. She went to the door, turning to see Dutan who jumped in following her. The time was quite less and he used a pin around the door lock. Vivian could hear the footsteps that had begun to approach them, her heart starting to beat quickly at the thought that the guards woulde any moment.


    Finally, after he had turned and twirled it, he pulled the pin out to push the handle of the door down. Stepping inside the ce with Vivian following him closely. The door closed shut with a soft click and the ce where they stood was surrounded with darkness but on the other side of the wall,nterns were lit softly in a low me. Seeing the little stair that led downward,?Vivian walked towards thenterns to pick two of the litnterns that were hung on the wall. Giving one of it to Dutan she said,


    "Leo said they moved Mr. Gibbs belongings in here. We need to search for his and Oliver''s desk items," they took their feet down the stairs, ascending down where?she raised her hand which held thentern to look at the room but the light wasn''t enough. She increased the me to see the tall stack of the wall in front of her which looked simr the stack of books in the library but this was no library.


    To call the room enormous wouldn''t be enough, it was as big as the rest of the building of the council and it being built below in the underground whoever the architecture was, the person had used more than the necessary space. Was this really underground? asked Vivian to herself. The ceiling felt way too tall where she couldn''t see it, it looked as if the stack went to disappear just before the light could be touched. It wasn''t just the length of the stack but the breadth and the number of stacks they weren''t sure the room consisted of.


    "Lady Vivian," she heard Dutan speak next to her who like her was taking in the vastness of the room, "It is going to take us more than two hours to find what we are looking for," and he was right. Vivian didn''t know where they were going to start from.


    "I will take the left side," she noted him, with a nod Dutan was already looking at the right side of the stacks, deviating and walking away from her so that he could search for what she had asked him for.


    Carrying thentern in her hand, Vivian first took a walk in therge room which was bigger than she had expected it to be but this was the storage room. It would have kept every single detailed file preserved of men who worked for the council and had either died or passed away, unfortunately. There were around ten tall racks on either side of the room totalling it to twenty racks in the room. The height, breadth made up for the less number and to her surprise, she noticed that every single one of them looked filled and upied making her wonder how many deaths would have taken ce since the establishment of the council or this room.


    Each rack had a slidingdder built in it which was as tall as the racks itself so that people could ce the belongings of the passed councilmen.


    At one point Vivian almost stumbled on a book which was on the ground. Someone had left it unattended.


    Beliving it was best to leave it as it is than change the settings around here, she walked past the book to read the racks that held some names below which was enclosed in boxes.


    She read the year one by one realizing she could find the information if she would follow the years. The councilmen had ced it in order, therefore, it shouldn''t be difficult, thought Vivian to herself. With the initial years being adjusted in the first rows, she went ahead with herntern to read the next racks to realize the years moved in an upward direction. Climbing on thedder, she moved herself from right to left where thedder creaked due it not being oiled and maintained.


    Reading one box after another did shee to realize this would take time because there were some boxes which weren''t ced in order. Whoever was responsible for stacking the boxes in here hadn''t done a good job. She hade across two names where one was supposed to be ced somewhere ahead of the rest while the other was meant to be in the first two racks she had already passed by.


    With a frown, she climbed four steps forward to reach the next level of the rack. She came to read the name ''Oliver Smith''. She had found the box! She turned her head, wanting to call Dutan but worried that her voice would echo and alert the guards who stood outside the guard, she searched for the light that moved like the firefly on the other side of the room where she couldn''t see him but only the light that was illuminating due to thentern.


    Deciding to call himter as there was nothing he could and it was her work to find something in here. She pulled the box closer to her, opening the lid to see papers, clothes and other little objects in there. It wasn''t much but she grabbed the first item she could get her hands-on which was a bunch of parchment papers.?Hanging thentern on the hook which was on the rack while maintaining her bnce on thedder, Vivian leaned closer to thentern so that she could read what was it about.


    They were notes made on the cases, simr to what she and the others did. And as she read it one by one, reading the key words her eyes caught, she finally came upon one parchment which was dated thirty-two years ago. It was the massacre that had taken ce in Bonke.


    ''<strong>Case 01323</strong>


    <i>Viges were attacked by rogue vampires who had been turned unsessfully. The number of survivors none. Vigers count eighty-one. None rescued</i>...''


    The report went to read on more but Vivian didn''t bother to read it. Her jaw ticked thinking about it. It was clear that it was the witches work but the councilman had written it down to be the work of vampires as if he were protecting the ck witches. Wait a minute, she said to look back at the year. This was before she was even born so would that mean that Oliver had only joined the council then? Surely he wasn''t that old or was he? It was hard to speak about the age when it came to vampires.


    Soon she started to go through every case he had solved which had been haphazardly ced. Going through the years until her hand came to stop at the year where Lord Alexander''s mother, Isabelle had been killed.


    This was it, she said to herself to read what was already iterated to the public on how the humans had burnt the white witch to show rage on what happened to their families. It was also written here that the humans were exectured immediately after finding what happened to Isabelle.


    She looked back to see again where Dutan was, seeing that he had gone on the far end of the room she turned back to nce at the parchment in her hand. Keeping the rest of them back in the box, she held only those sheets that belonged to the white witch''s death.


    When she heard the sound of creaking from above where they hade from, she quickly lowered the me while keeping a closer ear to hear if someone had entered the room. Vivian not realizing that she had lowered the me more than necessary to the point that it had extinguished itself at thest second she heard herself breath in the darkness.


    What was she going to do now? She could get back thenternter after she was done reading this. With that thought, she let her hands feel the parchment and the ink that was drawn on it.?From darkness, the light began to fill her vision where she came to stand in a moderate room which had dull walls and the drapes hadn''t been pulled away from the windows.


    <i>She then heard a man on the other side of the room speak who was none other the senior councilman Creed whom she had been having doubt on. The man looked younger than how he looked right now, "Make sure you clean the mess he has left behind. Though dead he has left trails. Thest thing we want is being caught and put under trial."</i>


    <i>"Don''t worry, councilman Creed," Oliver bowed his head standing in front of Creed, " It has been taken care of. When the court meeting takes ce, the me will eniterly be put on him for hisck of responsibility and carelessness."</i>


    <i>"And what about the vigers?" asked Creed, his eye patch in ce, his back leaned over the armchair with his legs crossed.?</i>


    <i>"They were executed in the centre of the vige to make sure they don''t repeat it. But Sir Creed, won''t the head council question the decision that has been taken?"?</i>


    <i>Creed smiled, his lips pulling up with a look of contentedness, "Rueben is a dear friend of the Lord as well as the Lady of Valeria. I doubt he would keep quiet after knowing what the humans did to her. In the eye of public who are in favour of thedy, everyone will support the step we have taken. That is burning people which is a sign of justice to the low humans and others who are emotionally attached."</i>


    <i>"Make sure you write down the report in favour of thedy so that no one suspects the decisions that have been taken today. You did well, Oliver. I wouldn''t have guessed you would have the ability to sway the local men''s minds. Thanks to you I can carry on with my n to gain thends by uniting them with each other until we will have only one person to rule and that would be under my name."</i>


    <i>"Sounds like a good dream, councilman Creed. I will support you until my end. My loyalty stands with you," Oliver bowed his head.?</i>


    <i>"It might take time but the right help, it isn''t impossible," chuckled Creed, "I will put in a word to Rueben about it. With the witch gone, he won''t have anyone advising him and holding my ns back."</i>


    When Vivian pulled her hand away from the parchment, she was back to being surrounded by darkness. She had tried to get her hands on the other items but none of them came to be helpful as the file report she read. Putting it back in the box, she made sure to push it back. Almost blind until she heard?Dutan''s footsteps approach her where he came with thentern. She came to turn and look down below her where he asked,


    "What happened to yourntern, Lady Vivian?"


    "The me got extinguished. Did you find anything?" she asked him.


    "Nothing at all," his voice came a little huskier than his normal voice making her wonder if he had breathed in dust from the boxes which hadn''t been opened in a while. She started to climb down, concentrating on her feet to make sure she didn''t fall down due to loss of bnce. She was almost about to say what she had found out when he asked, "How about yourself? Any luck finding it?" but instead of answering him, she went to shake her head.


    "Nothing,"

 Chapter 236 - The Findings- Part 3

    Vivian replied, keeping her voice as even as she could, "How long have we been here?"?she inquired. As Dutan was going clocking the time, she hadn''t bothered to time their entry in the storage room.


    "Around forty minutes. We have a good amount of time still to find their belongings. It is good that we don'' have anyoneing in here or it would be really difficult to hide and get out," Dutan looked around the room, seeing the length of thedder from which she had juste down, "Here, take this. Let me go get anotherntern," he gave hisntern for her to hold while taking the unlit one with him, walking straight and taking a right which led close to the doors of the storage room where the sparenterns were burning softly.


    Once he had disappeared horror came to form on her face.


    She had thought she had imagined but it wasn''t her imagination ying tricks. The storage room wasn''t warm and was rather cold due to it being built below the council building floors. She hadn''t noticed it when she had been standing up above on thedder. It was after she hade down did she notice the sheen of sweat that had covered the man''s face.


    Dutan was a switcher...? The question started to haunt her. Her hand turned colder with every second that came to pass by wondering what she was to do. She had started to freak out inside her head in rm. She would have told it to be the perspiration but no one could sweat in that amount, it didn''t drip but the me from thentern had glittered and shone on his skin. The more she thought about it, the more her mind spiraled.


    Leonard had told them that the guards were changed in the interval of two hours and with them, where they had stepped inside the room, an hour was yet to pass. Though she had turned to her former self, there was nothing she could clearly see when it came to the dark.


    She looked at the tall racks of the boxes that had beenbeled and stuffed with the person''s respective belongings. What and how did it happen? Where was Dutan? The more she thought about it, the more questions came to emerge in her mind without a single answer in return.


    It was evident that this person wasn''t Dutan but since how long was he not? Had it been the entire time? The main question was how she was going to survive the remaining one hour twenty minutes in here with him. And he couldn''t be the switcher because he would have told them. Right?


    She rubbed the sides of her temple in worry. Taking thentern and walking away from the rack while pushing thedder away. Once she walked away from thedder, she came to stand out in the middle of the passage which was parted into the left and right racks to see the man appear with the newntern.


    "The councilmen must have kept it in the next ones. Why don''t you take the next rack and I will look for it here," said the man who was an imposter. He hadn''t noticed it as it was light perspiration but Vivian had a sharper eye in the presence of the golden light illuminated from thentern, "Do you need help, mydy?" he asked her when he heard no responsee from her.


    "I found some of the boxes which had been haphazardly ced where they are not meant to be. If the boxes what we are looking for have been misced, it is going to be harder to find it," she said not wanting to appear suspicious. Thest thing she wanted was to alert the man.


    "I found some of them too," he responded back, looking at the bo nearest to him.


    "Let''s get back to work. We need to find it within the hour of time," receiving a nod from him, Vivian went on her way with thentern with her.


    If he hadn''t killed her yet, it meant that his intention wasn''t about killing when it came to her where she wasn''t his top priority right now. But she could be on his kill list. What was she going to do now?


    She didn''t have the pocket watch with her. She always carried it along with her, cursing her luck on it she bit her lip. Locked in the storage room which wasn''t always used where no one entered in and out that often, she was stuck with a switcher she didn''t know. She was positive that this wasn''t the same switcher but would that mean until now there wasn''t just one but two switchers in the council?


    Going to the rack, she pulled thedder which gave the same creaking sound like the one she had pulled before. There was no way of escape but spend the time with the unknown switcher. This was worse than the time she had spent during her second examination and the memories brought shivers to her mind. At that time there were people with her where one could step out but here, this was a limitation. Until thest minute of the two hours, the guards would not move an inch and it was only then she would be able to let the others know about this one.


    Her brows furrowed, sadness beginning to fill at the thought that the actual Dutan had been killed.


    The time where Vivian spent in the storage room with the imposter, Leonard was busy talking to Nichs in his cabin.


    "This is impressive,"mented the Lord looking down at the chart where Leonard and the others had drawn the connections and the people involved in it, "Where are you taking it?" he asked when Leo pulled the chart from the table, walking to the firece he folded the chart to throw it into the fire.


    "It is better if it doesn''t get into anyone''s hand," the parchment caught fire, slowly burning from the ends until it touched the veryst piece.


    Nichs who had been sitting on the armchair saw his ghoul appear in the room. Speaking in its usual garbled voice making?Leo turned his back to the firece to see the ghoul.


    "The storage room. It seems like they got in sessfully," Nichs reported to the Duke who didn''t react as if it didn''t concern him but it did. Leonard had sent Vivian in there in the hope to get some answers. Having him go with her would have been easy but there had to be someone who could handle outside the storage room, "Vivian is a capable woman. She will be fine," said Nichs, picking up the ss that was sitting idly next to him.


    "It is not that which concerns me."


    "She turned to a pureblooded vampire," Leo nodded at Nichs'' words.


    "She did."


    "What happened?" asked Nichs curious to hear what happened because something like this was unheard. Though oddity ran in the fournds of the empire, there were some special cases like hers which came up once in a blue moon and it wasn''t fortune what bought in there.


    After Leonard filled him with the event, Nichs hummed, sitting quietly and cing the ss back on the table, "You must take her to Murk," suggested the Lord.


    Leonard would have taken her if the vampire doctor wasn''t crazy. Now that Maximillian had passed away who knew what state of mind he was in. A slight bitterness came to settle on his tongue. Nichs meant good to them but he was the Lord of a wholend. If ever something were to happen through Vivian there was no telling what would be brought up in the court.


    "She is doing fine, Nick. She doesn''t need the doctor," his voice was filled with iciness which was simr to the weather that had surrounded them which was cold and dry.


    Nichs raised his hand, "You don''t have to be protective about her. I care for her too, Leo."


    "But not enough," their eyes stared at each other for a long time and knowing how stubborn Leo could get, Nichs was the one to break the ice.


    The Lord sighed, "You said Isabelle is no more, wouldn''t be safe to be careful than knowing things in the end. I am not saying there''s something wrong with her. We just don''t want anything unexpected. Do you understand that?"


    Leo had his arms crossed across his chest, his eyes looking away as it turned to see the firece which showed no hint of the parchment map which he had thrown into it, "She just turned. Even if I do take her to Murk, there is a high possibility that nothing wille up. And even if everything is alright, the man keeps a record of the visitation. If the elder council finds it there''s a chance that it would raise suspicion on why she is consulting for the tests."


    "You have a point there," agreed Nichs, nodding his head and getting up from the chair, "Are you alright, Leo?" the Lord was concerned as the younger man had lost one of his friends.


    "Abel is Vivian''s maternal uncle," Leo changed the topic. Both the eyebrows of Nichs raised in absolute astonishment.


    It made Nichs wonder how they were even rted. To think that Vivian who was a pure woman with no ill intention and a clear heart was connected to the family who had started and was to be med for this mess...he tched softly. It made him wonder if she was still living with them, they would have had to kill her too.


    "She spoke about having a sibling. A younger brother to be specific."


    "I cannot recall the Harlow''s to have a child. There wasn''t any evidence," the Lord gave it a thought before replying back, "I didn''t pick any family portraits or any evidence that led to me to believe that they would have kin."


    "I thought so too but she did see him."


    "Do you think they gave the boy away just like they did to her?" that couldn''t be possible, thought Leo.


    "I doubt that that is the case. She was the only one to be corrupted."


    The Lord''s eyes narrowed, "Her parents are dead, her brother, as you said, has been missing from the frame which leaves the only living person who is Abel. The man will have all the answers to her questions. I have to say that I am surprised that you haven''t gone to attack him yet. Did you finally learn to tame your temper?" Nichs poked fun at Leo.


    Leo didn''t bother to react and chose to ignore the Lord''s words, "I need you to send your ghoul to follow Creed. The man will be difficult to approach without any shreds of evidence in hand."


    "He is a very meticulous man, Leo. If you asked me I would say as meticulous as me. Vivian''s hunch might be true but getting anything against him is far than difficult."


    "Isn''t that why the three of them have gone to the storage room."


    "Let''s hope they find something. I will have my ghoul behind him," with one word about it, one of the ghouls who had been standing in room disappeared, "I would have sent Everest to help Vivian but the ghoul doesn''t know to read and it would be like a puppy following its master," Nichs gave a look towards the ghoul who was standing in the far corner which was the closest ce to darkness, "But even that wouldn''t be possible. There''s some witchcraft that was spilt out of the room to avoid any other being like the witches to enter and take the information which has been stored in there."


    "What kind is it?" questioned Leonard.


    "The kind that doesn''t allow my precious ghouls in there," Nichs wasn''t happy that he couldn''t find more about it except for the word of mouth. Like many in the past and present, he had been curious when he had only joined the council but the ghouls could just not pass through and step in, "I heard it from the old guardsman here long ago that the higher council, the elders feared for the information to be manipted or the ck witches trying to use their voodoo ck magic against them. To prevent it a white witch cast a spell which only she could takedown. The spell basically brings down the veil to show the true nature of a person. Interesting isn''t it?"


    "Hmm," Leo hummed in response. He pulled the pocket watch and checked the time before someone arrived at the door of the cabin. Knocking it twice where Nichs asked the person to step in. It was one of the councilmen who was human whose breath was rushed as if he had run toe here.


    "What brings you here, Johnathan?"


    "Sir, they have caught the creature. The one who killed Mr. Gibbs," the man named Johnathan replied, his voice a little hoarse as he gave out the news, "The head council has ced up a direct session in the courtroom at the zeroth hour."

 Chapter 237 - To Kill- Part 1

    "Wait, boy," Nichs halted the boy before he could run to the others to give away the information, "Do you know who it is?"


    "It is the man who has been working with councilman Creed. Lancelot Knight," he gave away the answer before excusing himself from the room.


    At first, anger coursed through Leo''s veins. The thought that the switcher had gone to kill his friend but then it couldn''t be. The man had sworn to be on the deceased witch''s side and that that was the only reason why he was still in the council.


    "The council has turned to be more twisted than before,"mented Nichs once the door was shut close.


    "We need to get to him before the court proceedings start," said Leo readying himself.


    "I wille with you," said Nichs. Picking up the ss, he downed the drink and followed Leo out of the room.


    Back in the storage room, Vivian had climbed thedder as if she were going through the boxes to see if she could get anything. Feigning ignorance to who the man was, she behaved as if she were busy. The imposter had alreadye to visit her once in the middle of her lying search where she actually wasn''t searching anything. Though there was still Maximillian''s belongings to be searched, she wondered if it was safe or had already been sabotaged by the person in the room.


    If she kept asking him the time, there was a chance that he would find something was and it wasn''t what she wanted to do right now.


    The man had stayed with them the entire time when they had drafted the facts they had acquired until now. Had they spoken about her ability? Yes, they did. She closed her eyes, her heading to lean on the rung of thedder in front of her while she stood in the air with the leaningdder against the rack.


    What was she going to do? Running out of this forbidden room right now wasn''t possible. She would not only be caught but the scandal of being with another man in a ce where no one entered while also going to a ce which was not meant for them to step, not to forget the important files that were hidden here. She shook her head. That would be her inviting problem, not just for her but for the rest of her team which would include the elder councilman.


    But what was important? If she didn''t flee from here while she could with the switcher as her onlypany, there was a probability of her ending dead. And who knew if he would take her form and would impose her to be the one person which would lead to a lot of revtion.


    Worried as the time passed, she stepped down walking to where the imposter was going through the boxes as he stood on thedder himself.


    "Dutan, could you pass me your pocket watch?" she asked going near him.


    The man fished his hand into his pocket, pulling out the watch through its chain. Vivian spread her hand into a catch position and caught hold of it, "What do you need it for?" he asked her, his eyes curiously looking down at her as he stood on thedder.


    What did she need it for? She needed to make sure that they were going to get out of this ce at sharp time of two hours. That was their only window before they would have to wait for another two hours and God only knew that Vivian had no such ns.


    "I want to make sure we have enough time to search. Each rack is taking a lot of time," she gave out her excuse to him. It could be an agreeable truth as this was no small library. This was like a cave which was big and dark with racks of boxes that reached higher than a normal ceiling.


    Leo could have asked for Hueren toe along with her but instead, he had asked Dutan as the man was reliable but this wasn''t Dutan! Thought Vivian to herself.


    "I think you should go check from thest racks. We have been looking here at the front for a long time no," the man suggested as if they would get something from there. She gave him a nod, carrying the watch in one hand while holding thentern in another as she made her way back to the racks.


    Walking with her feet with utmost care so that it wouldn''t make noise she went to thest rack which held cobwebs in some of the racks as they hadn''t been used it sometime now. ying safe was the easiest route where she would have to behave that she hadn''t found anything but the only question that appeared in her mind was what if...what if he would kill her?


    She had found Oliver''s belongings but what about Maximilian''s? Stepping up thedder as she pushed it from right to left, she started to read the boxes. And the more she moved the more cobwebs were found on her way. She came to believe that the box wouldn''t be here. Standing at the rung of thedder, she looked behind where she came to see the rack behind the current one. When she tried to peek out, she could see the light where thentern wasing from. He was still there where she had left him. The man wasn''t even looking through the names.


    Of course, why would he? He could be the person who had murdered Mr Gibbs. The same time she wondered if the man who had taken the form of Dutan felt like a vampire or if it was just a mask. She climbed further the rungs, making her way to almost top until she came to hang thentern on the hook of the rack. Bringing the watch close to the light she saw the minute hand ticking away and it seemed like they had close to thirty more minutes before they would be stepping out of this room without anyone''s notice.


    There was an option where she could quickly reach the doors and though it wouldn''t be good for her temporarily, in the long run, the man would be caught once she would tell it to the guards but would they understand than first put her in the prison? And what if the man would catch up to her and slice her neck before she would have the opportunity to go to the door.


    Even when the light in herntern had dispaaered he had offered to go bring thentern himself without letting her go get it. She would have considered it to be him being polite before but right now her mind was overthinking or was it giving out facts?


    Carefully, she moved thedder as it creaked slightly, moving it to the other side and then she stepped down from it.?Okay, that wasn''t hard, thought Vivian to herself. She tiptoed, instead of going through the middle when she had gone to borrow his pocket watch from her, she moved from the other side of the room. Walking in the shadows so that he wouldn''t notice.


    She had ced thentern so that he would think that she was still there. The point was to make him think and when she came to the parrel rack where he was, she peeked her head while keeping herself hidden.


    From where she stood she could see him look into a box, taking out the parchments and sniffing a cloth that was found inside. She didn''t know what he was up to but it was evident with the way he hadn''t moved from the spot she hadst left him in that he was only wasting his time. All she could right now was to rely on herself.


    She wondered if he had the vampire abilities now that he had stolen Dutan''s identity. Where was Dutan? None of the switchers until now had left their imposter being alive and if it was, it was just the one who had taken the form of Isabelle. Not breathing loudly or making a sound, she quickly moved to the next rack when he was reading the parchments.


    Assuming that he hadn''t noticed her moving from one rack to another, she went to peek again this time. Her heart hitting hard as she tried to calm down. And when it was, she saw the man still reading the parchment and she was d that he was upied with it.


    At one point as she moved around from the sides of the room she felt her nose itch. The dust had made its way towards her and it needed to get out as it tickled the insides of her nose. Halting her footsteps, she scrunched her nose and touched it. Please don''t sneeze right now, she said to herself. The timing was bad and if she sneezed it would echo in therge room to let the man know where exactly she was.


    Once her nose had calmed down, she proceeded to walk around the racks to stand in front of the first corner one. Until now where she had read every one of them she hade across none of them had Mr Gibbs belongings on that side. Her only guess was that it was ced somewhere on this side of the room.


    But...


    It had taken her more than an hour to go through half the racks on the left side where she stood now. How was she going to go through the right side?


    She bit her lip thinking about what to do. Less than half an hour and she had to do it before the man would catch her. She looked left and right. Going to walk to the left as quiet as she could, she read the years and then went to the first rack on the right to read the year that was written on the box there. It seemed that the end she had juste from was the oldest members belongings which were dated decades old. And the one where she stood seemed somewhat to be a continuation of halfway where she had left. Had the council shuffled them around? Though she didn''t understand why they would do it, she didn''t think about it and instead concentrated on where this year could be found. The one for today.


    Oliver died this year but he was found somewhere in the middle. If it was kept in order then she would have been able to find Mr Gibbs too after a few lines but she hadn''t.


    The death had taken ce this morning, and it had been chaotic. No one would have shown it but it had caused an internal misbnce. For everyone to find out that there was something called a switcher where the person could steal identities and morph into them. The idea was disturbing and worrisome.


    If a councilman entered in here to keep it, she doubted it would have been taken too far. No one had so much time. It should be somewhere in the front, thought Vivian and with that, she walked forward in the dark before she realized it was dark. Great. What now?


    Though transformed back into a vampire, a pureblooded vampire she could not see anything in dark. She wasn''t a wolf or a dog to be able to see it.


    Time was ticking and the darkness of the storage room didn''t help. Going to the sides again, she lurked to looked at thentern which had been now moved one step forward in the rack. Good, he was upied.


    Then it hit her. She didn''t need light when she had the ability of touch. Swallowing the saliva down her throat, she stepped closer to the racks and ran her hand on the boxes. As it was dark and quiet she didn''t feel the need to close her eyes

 Chapter 238 - To Kill- Part 2

    The memories came rushing through her fingers like the light had been lit in front of her eyes where she could sense emotions and memories, words and talks which weren''t much but faint, enough to be picked on. Vivian tried to single out what she wanted to hear and what she wanted to see. Some of the boxes didn''t allow her to read or rather it hadn''t been touched for years.


    Walking around the racks at the below ground, she continued to touch them until she felt the faint whisper of touch on her tips which felt like a little shock. What was that? She asked herself. And just as she was surveying the boxes?she felt her heart start to beat. This wasn''t good, thought Vivian to herself.


    She wanted to calm it down but instead of quieting it, it only thurmed that much in her chest making her clutch her chest with her hand.


    "Lady Vivian?" called Dutan or the switcher from the other side of the room.


    What now? When she peeked again, she saw that the light of thentern was stilling from this side but his voice sounded distant. Don''t tell me he did the same as what I did, she wanted to squeeze the bridge of her nose out of the bad luck that hade to follow her right now in the worse time. Where was Everest when she needed him? He was always there, someone she could count on to save her like the prince he wasn''t but he had saved her well.


    By now, Vivian was sure that he had already caught on to what she had done, to sense the suspicion she had tried hard to hide.


    "Oh, Lady Vivian," came his sing-song voice which echoed around the storage room. For him to be speaking loudly now meant the voices here couldn''t be heard outside the room. Previously she would have considered it to be an advantage but now it was pure disadvantage, "Where are you hiding?" she heard him ask her.


    Vivian didn''t answer him and instead stayed quiet, maintaining her distance by keeping a track on his voice as to where it wasing from.


    "I should have known that you aren''t like many women I have met. For someone to have passed through the exam with exceptional ranking, I underestimated you," the man said from somewhere on the other side of the room. They had switched positions, "Come out now. We''ll make it easier. You need to know that I can hear your heart so very clearly in this quiet room."


    It was her heart, Vivian closed her eyes at the timing. She hid behind the rack in the darkness of the room where the light didn''t reach.


    "What got your little heart excited? Did you miss your husband or is the darkness in here too stifling for you? Or is it that you finally figured out who I am," the man suddenly popped out from the other far end where the light reached to see no one in the little passage before he looked around to see where the girl was, "Is that so?" his question was loud that fell sharp on her ears.


    "You must be feeling very lucky. Or should I say blessed that you have been given the gift of being a vampire, a half-vampire actually as you are turned? Yes. Because I sure do feel lucky and the feeling of being a vampire, my I didn''t drink enough blood but I am hoping as you still have the human traits left your blood shouldn''t taste that bad when I drink it," said the man walking by the rack she had been standing behind.


    Like the man who had a sheen of sweat covered on his face, Vivian could feel her body begin to heat. The sweat forming on her back to trickle down her spine. Sensing him to have walked by where she had been, she moved front and took a few steps back to hide in the other rack.


    "How long do you n to hide here? For eternity?" heughed, his maliciousugh ringing in the air, "I have all the time you want. We can y here forever after all this ce isn''t meant for people like us. Hide and seek with you will be wonderful but you must be experienced. Tell me how you passed the exam? Did you know that you are a mystery which some are trying to solve? How did a woman escape and live through the tragedy of what urred in thest council exam?"


    And right before she could move to the next rack to maintain distance from him, the man suddenly appeared to shock her, making her gasp, "How did she live through it when the rest of the men had died. A human. Would you like to shed some light, mydy?" he asked her, the Dutan who was reserved mostly wasn''t in there anymore. The person who was talking to was a switcher and not her fellow senior.


    "What did you do to Dutan? Where is he?" she asked him directly to see the man smile, his lips tugging dangerously long for him to look creepy. The little light that came to fall didn''t help his appearance.


    "Wouldn''t you like to know?" he kept his eyes glued to her that never blinked, "How about this. I trade you with an answer and your trade one with yours? Fair enough?"


    "Okay," she responded back. It was either him or her right now who would be walking alive from this storage room, therefore, she didn''t see the point to y mouse when she could get the answers by asking him.


    The switcher looked delighted at her reply, "Only if men of the night and the day creatures were half cooperative as you. The amount of ego and pride they carry isughable."


    "What did you do to him?" she repeated her question.


    "You ask such easy questions, Lady Vivian. I killed him. Wouldn''t want to risk himing as a double with me around, would we? Don''t worry, I have put him to sleep in a good ce. The local graveyard closest from here," her jaw clenched when she heard this.


    "Why?"


    "Why?" he tilted his head. When he took one step forward towards her, Vivian took one back. Her stance in the flight mode so that she could run but it wouldn''t take her far. How long was she able to run away from him? "Because we found out that you and the men in your team of the council were behind cracking the mystery of the switcher who resides in here. I should say I was impressed with the amount of information was gathered by you and your husband. It will be sad when I finish you here. Do you think he would like it? His anger is something I would like to test on."


    "I wee you try it," she answered in the calmest voice which surprised the man.


    "Hmm. You don''t fear death?"


    "Why should I...You might but I don''t," she replied, her handing to hold and take support on the wooden rack.


    "Such confidence. Tell me, does ite from you being the Duke''s wife?" he asked her in a mocking tone, "So pray tell me, how did you pass the examination? Since I heard about you, I knew there was just something more than what met the eye. After all, how could a mere human female live through the three days."


    "Two days. The first day had nothing in there," she replied to him, noticing the way his eyes sparkled at the story he was about to listen where none had heard the truth, "There was a ghost who killed most of them."


    "So it is true. The poord kept saying how he saw a ghost and everyone thinks he a retard. You must be med for it," he taunted her for keeping the truth away from the council and ignoring the fellow examinee of hers, "And how is it that she didn''t kill you?"


    "I didn''tmit a grave crime like the rest of them. At least not like how you''re fellow partner Oliver did."


    "Touche."


    "Whom do you work for?" she asked him which was the million gold coins question.


    The switcher smiled, he walked towards her but the same time she walked away, keeping herself in the darkness, "Didn''t you already figure that out?"


    "Creed," saying the elder councilman''s name he smiled. So Vivian was right. Before she could ask another question, the man raised his hand.


    "It is my turn to ask, tch," he tsked following her footsteps where she came to stand at the rack where he had ced hisntern on the hook. She had done the same where her ownntern was hanging on a mere iron hook of the rack, "What is this touch that the Duke was speaking of? I am rather intrigued by what it is. I won''t deny that I can''t wait to fill in your form to know what is the great ability that you hold."


    Vivian''s lips tightened as he asked about it. She knew he was going to ask it but now that he had, she didn''t know if she was going to speak about it or not.


    "Not going to speak?" the man scoffed, exhaling loudly as if he was tired, "Such a little bitch who can''t hold a small deal like this," the facade he had put up to pull out the answers now slowly began to slide down from his face to bring a negative aura around him, "I wasn''t allowed toe and meet you because Creed knows you are up to something. You aren''t like any other woman any of us havee across."


    "I will take that as apliment," she said, her feet moving slowly to the right and he caught up to it.


    "I thought we were having a fair exchange of question and answers. Yet here you refuse to share. Selfish. Very selfish," hemented, taking a step just before she stepped aside to move to the next rack where the light didn''t make up to it but she could see the shadow, "Running away isn''t going to help. You might be a half-vampire but do you know the limitation one has when they turn?" he asked her, his tone holding a spoonful of arrogance in it, "They are weaklings. Extended years, yes, but weaker than humans. Not everyone says that."


    "You are mocking the council for appointing Rueben as the head council."


    "I am? It must be," he admitted in the dark and she moved back to the light where he followed her like a distant shadow, "When they are higher ranked men in here why pick someone who is weak and inferior?"


    "Now you are mocking yourself, Sir," Vivianmented to see the spark of anger pass through his face, "You must be feeling it be unfair that you were born to be a different creature where no one recognizes you. Where you are an uwful creature who has been banned to step into thesends."


    "You are overstepping your line, Lady Vivian," he warned her.


    "Am I? I think I am only stating the facts to refresh your mind where youe from."


    "Life can be unfair and you ungrateful little bitch wouldn''t know about it," his voice turned hoarse and with speed, he came at her but Vivian had stepped away and to escape into the darkness. As much as she had turned into the same kind as him, she couldn''t forget the disadvantage she was in. She had nothing to protect herself with from the switcher. No silver bullet guns nor any object here. What could she find in these boxes that surrounded them?


    Gulping, she moved from one rack to another, hiding from him as she walked stealthily away from the man and towards the exit. But just as she did, the man came right in front of her with thentern in his hand.


    "Going somewhere, are we?"

 Chapter 239 - To Kill- Part 3

    He didn''t give her time but swung thentern he held in his hand right across her face for the metal to ring on her head with a loud sound that blinded her vision for three seconds before it came back with the pain that she felt.


    Her head hurt and she cursed the man. The man spoke, "Did you not listen to what I was saying about you being a weakling? This is why women are stupid and are good for nothing. Why did you evene here in the first ce? A council is no ce for a woman but this gets back to you not being normal. I wonder what the council would say once they found out that is if you are still alive."


    She tried to escape again but just as she took her step forward towards the door, he pulled her back by her arm to swing right across the racks which shook slightly in termor.


    "I think I am enjoying this. The more you struggle the more I can keep it as yoursting memory," he chuckled, holding her by her throat, he lifted her up and then threw her across the wall. Vivian flew at the wall and with a crash slid down on the floor.


    She could feel her sides hurt her just like it had when she was at the snow mansion. Picking herself up she looked up at him. This part of the storage room had light as the walls reflected some of the lights from the top which had thenterns burning and spilling down the stairs.


    "Why are you here?" she asked him, "Killing me would do you no good," she said and before another word coulde out of her mouth. The man stepped right on her hand which had been resting on the ground making her scream. Vivian could feel the pain coursing from her hand through her entire body. It was as if he had broken the bones in there which were being crushed as he stamped on it further.


    "Scream to your heart''s content. No one can hear anything outside. It is a ce that has been built to hide secrets," he smiled, "If you''re talking about your husband, the Duke. I am not scared of him. I have people who will back me up. The man is already in the list of being ''to be killed'', it should only be a matter of time before he joins his dead family."


    Vivian''s eyes widened.


    "Did y-you kill Maximillian Gibbs?" she asked him, holding her breath not only because of the answer that she waited for but also due to the pain that she felt from her hand. The switcher moved his feet away for her to only realize the pain when she tried to pick her hand up.


    Thentern that he had used to hit her, had disturbed the me which he now ced on the ground with a nking sound.


    The switcher came near and she couldn''t go far knowing the man would catch up to her to only do more damage. She had to think of what to do while keeping him upied before she could escape from this storage room in time. Walking to her, he sat on his legs with his back hunched looking at her.


    "Wouldn''t you like to know," he said. They were close, too close in distance that she could see his eyes from where she sat. Dutan was a normal average vampire who had red eyes but this man here. It wasn''t exactly red. There was a hint of white colour in there that moved in his eyes when his eyes blinked closed to open again, "Yes, I killed him. He was one of the difficult vampires to kill. Cocky I must say."


    "Why?"


    "So many why''s yet you don''t answer any of my questions," he ced his hand on her thigh, his hands moving up and down on the clothes that she wore, "I must say, you are a beautiful woman. Humans and naturally very beautiful but you, my dear are exceptional."


    Vivian had to bite down the bile that came to rise at his repulsive touch on her but she didn''t move. She sat there like a statue.


    "How is it?" he asked her and just when he squeezed her thigh in a much aggressive way, Vivian unable to sit quietly any longer leaned forward to the man''s astonishment. But what he didn''t expect was to her to bite him right on his neck with her fangs out and tearing out the flesh.


    "Argh!!"


    He had to use his strength to push her away, like a parasite being removed, he pushed her across the smooth floor where she slid back. Vivian had to spew the blood out of her mouth along with the little flesh that she had torn out from his body.


    Her mouth was covered with blood, her clothes having drops of it being spread around while the man held his neck in pain, "You little ungrateful bitch. I was going to spare your life longer," in anger he came forward and just as he did, Vivian got up and ran to thentern. Picking it up, she used the full force and hit his head right to the skull of his head, resonating the sound for a second where he staggered back.


    Vivian wiped the blood on her mouth with the back of her hand. She stared at him as he stared at her with anger and curiosity, "You aren''t like the half vampires I havee by. Are you?"


    "I never said I was," he tilted his head in question. His eyes ring at her, "Why don''t you find it out yourself?"


    The man smirked, touching the side of his head he looked at his hand to see blood. Vivian could smell the smell of iron that came from the blood in the room. It wasn''ting from her but had surrounded the room, "You are costing my body. I will have to take yours once I am done with you."


    "Try it," she challenged him and the man came right at her.


    Most of the councilmen and the few women who hade to know her hadn''t known her thoroughly before the time she had joined here to work. For women of the higher society, they would have taken her to be a trophy pretty wife but there was more to what met at the surface of the eye when it came to Vivian.


    During her time when Leonard had gone to Valeria on council work to find out the deaths that had taken ce in thends by the switchers, Nichs had entertained her. Not by just books or chess or by mere talks, he had given her lessons when she had shown interest in the fights.


    Though it wasn''t much she had been and had read books on how to fight different creatures which many except for Leonard didn''t know of. After all, he was the beloved husband who had supported her intentions. He knew she would need it someday where it woulde handy. Secretly exining her in the study room and trying it in the bed until they were left breathless and made love to each other.


    The switcher didn''t like being taunted. Especially not by a woman. He had decided to y with her but now he didn''t care and if he did it was only that he wanted to tear ever arm and leg of hers for behaving high and mighty before he would kill her.


    He swung his handing right at her but unlike before where she had taken the hit, she dodged it. The more aggressive he got the easier it was to expect his attack. She pulled thenterns handle, twisting it easly with her hand before she ran it through the man''s shoulder.


    But it seemed that the man had willingly taken the hit so that he could catch hold of her. Holding her by her neck he rammed her against the wall. Vivian scratched the man''s hands which were of no avail until she ran her nails against his face. Running it as deep as she could before he could ce his fingers on her chest to pull out her heart.


    Her nails though short and kept hade in handy where she was able to dig into his face, where red lines of blood dripped down.


    That wasn''t enough though as the moment he moved his hands away from her, with the same speed he caught it back to squeeze and hold her pinned on the wall. But Vivian was having none of it. She kicked him with her boot hard enough to have him fall on the ground.


    "How is it possible?" he finally asked her as she heaved for breath along with him.


    They might have been vampires now but a day or two before Vivian was a human and this man was a switcher before taking Dutan''s body for his own.


    "You turned to a pureblooded vampire," heughed, his eyes livid with excitement, "This is wonderful. Wonderful news for me where I can take to be a pureblooded vampire that canst for months and years."


    Vivian noticed the way his movements had gone slow. It seemed like a doll that had been working fine with maniption now was getting broken internally where it was failing to function as before.


    "I am a pureblooded vampire," she said, taking thentern. She used the strength to beat the man over and over again as he cowered trying to prevent her from doing the damage but he seemed far gone. Not physically but mentally out of the mere thought of using her as his next body. For a moment it felt as if he had gone insane. His sanity slipping by his mind before it restored back as before.


    He caught hold of thentern and took her by her head to ram it against the floor. Vivian could almost see stars if it weren''t for the pain that she felt that throbbed where her head had contacted the floor.


    "Pureblooded vampire? How is that possible...the transformation of a human goes to a half-blooded vampire? Are you trying to mock me," he pushed her head and she had to roll over the floor before kicking his chest again to get him off her. They again went on to it until finally, Vivian found the advantage where she pinned the man by chocking his neck in a lock to have one of her hand on his chest where her fingers pressed deep for him to have his eyes widened.


    If there was one thing she had learnt from Leo, it was mercy was not be served easily to anyone. It wasn''t supposed to be served to anyone because criminals never deserved it.


    "Argh!" he screamed when she pushed her fingers deeper without a second thought. Her fingers digging in deeper within seconds to find his chest, "Don''t we can-" she didn''t wait for him and pulled his heart out.


    As she did this, her surroundings started to change as if ink being dissolved in clear water where she came to see the sight of the switcher killing Dutan. He pulled the councilman''s body in the early hours of the morning where the sun must have not even hit the sky behind the clouds.


    His body was beheaded, blood being left behind on the snow before he dug the man in the forest. As he cleaned the area, Mr Gibbs arrived to see him.


    "What are you doing?" asked Maximillian to the switchers surprise to see someone to have caught him as he hade far from the council building. This was the ce where no one came to.?Unfortunately for Vivian, her vision of the past memories broke when a box that hadn''t been pushed back in the rack fell with a thud to bring her back to the storage room.

 Chapter 240 - Evil Follows Evil- Part 1

    Vivian looked at the man who had the face of Dutan, his body thatid t on the ground as blood started to cover the floor. The hint of blood was strong in the air and there was no doubt that if an elder councilman stepped in here, he would definitely find what had happened. His hearty in her hand which she dropped on the ground before taking a couple of steps back and away from the man before realization came to hit her.


    She had killed a man with her bare hands.


    As the thought repeated in her mind over and over again. She sunk down on the floor in horror as to what she had done. She had really killed him. But if she hadn''t killed him he would have killed her. It was to be killed or kill and she had picked the first one to save herself.?Her eyes slowly moved to look at the body as it roamed before it came to settle on the watch which was lying idly after the fight they had.


    Crawling on the floor to pick it up, she saw there was hardly six minutes left before the time of twoplete hours. The guards would be switching their positions soon and she had to get out in time. While getting in she had Dutan or so she thought until realizing he was actually a switcher and not the man she knew to be. Not sparing a second more, she stood up to go back to the body.


    Bending down she took hold of the man''s leg and dragged him to a corner. Going to the ce where she had ced herntern she took it out after climbing thedder to ce it where it originally belonged with the others before she and the man had entered the storage room. Beliving as there was nothing more she could do, she went to the door to ce her ear first at the door. One more minute. There was one more minute before the guards would be reced with the previous ones who had guarded the door.


    Hearing no sound, she decided to peek out of the door through the keyhole. Strangely though this was the room that was not allowed to step in, the door wasn''t locked which made her question if the elder councilmen had believed that none woulde to enter or if it was over-exaggerated to not be stepped into.


    She saw one of the guards back as they stood quietly and when the time finally came, they moved started to walk. Once they had taken the turn, Vivian took it as her cue.


    cing her hand on the knob of the door, which moved down, she stepped into the light which hurt her light making her flinch but there was no time for it. She couldn''t lose time to only be caught. She walking straight and with one nce to her left where she saw the guardsmen walking she jumped right out of the window.


    The fall was painful but not as much as it would have impacted her if she were her human self. Pureblooded vampires were stronger than the usual vampires, and Vivian was never turned but was the pureblooded vampire who had returned back to her former self.


    Her chest hurt along with her body after it kept hitting the ground and the wall of the storage room. She didn''t know where to go from here with her blood-covered clothes. Just as she was weighing on her decision with her mind slow due to wha she had done, Hueren came running out of the council building to catch her in time.


    His eyes widened at the sight of her, "Lady Vivian, what happened?" he looked around to see the councilman who had apanied her, to ask, "Where is Dutan?" and she had no response to it. He frowned when he continued to look at her, her hand that was covered in blood and her hair messed which looked as if she had fallen asleep in a bed there but he doubted that was what she had done.


    "Lady Vivian?" he asked worried that she hadn''t spoken a word nor had she looked at him.


    And instead of answering him, she asked, "Where is Leo?"


    "Senior, Leo has gone to attend the court proceeding. The man double-crossed us I think and he has been caught," Hueren began to fill her in as to what happened during the time she was in the storage room. The wind of the snow and the cold started to sound like a blizzard that was urring toe near the forest which would soon hit the ce near the council.


    "That''s not possible!" she eximed. No, what had happened when she wasn''t here? "Tell me everything."


    "Lancelot, the switcher, he was the one to have killed Maximillian."


    "He is being framed! We need to help him, Hueren," Vivian felt her eyes go alive before she came to start to cough, her chest beginning to hurt like before but she didn''t heed to it.


    "The court council began right before I helped you and Dutan with the deviation from the guards. We can''t have you go in there like this. You need new clothes," he said looking at her dress, "There is some spare of Sir Leonard''s. You can change to them. If someone asks we can tell them that the water broke in the basin."


    "What about Lancelot?" she stopped the man when he took a step forward ready to leave with her.


    "Lady Vivian you need to understand that there is nothing we can do for him," Hueren''s brows furrowed as he tried to exin the current situation of the council, "The man is a switcher, a creature we aren''t aware and someone who killed a fellow councilman. Even if you do go and try to give him justice, the man will never gain one."


    "But he was helping Sister Isabelle. He didn''t kill anyone who was innocent," her voice came rushed. She had sworn during the time of her entrance that she would do her best to save innocent lives but that was slipping right through her fingers.


    Hueren gave out a small smile which was sad. He shook his head for her to continue to look at him so that he could help her help the man, "He didn''t even kill Mr. Gibbs. It was Dutan!"


    "Dutan?" Heuren tried to grasp the circumstances and then it dawned on him as bitterness formed, "Is it him whom you killed?"


    "The switcher killed him this morning before killing Mr Gibbs because he found the switcher burying Dutan. He didn''t want anyone to know but I found out," said Vivian as she turned to look at the forest, her eyes skimming the ce before she looked at a certain direction, "He''s buried somewhere there. That''s where you will find Dutan."


    "What about the switcher? Did you kill him?" Hueren didn''t know what to ask and how to feel suddenly. He took the coat that he wore and asked her to wear it, "Going inside might not be feasible due to the stench of blood. Though I am not able to smell it the vampires and the other pureblooded vampires will be able to pick up the scent. Please go to the carriage. I will go get some clothes for you," he instructed her, "Please," he whispered hoping she would listen to him and not go to the court council.


    "Okay," she answered and he quickly ran back inside the council building to fetch clothes of Leonard.


    Vivian walked around the building to find the carriages that had been lined under the shed. Going to their carriage she saw the coachman to be missing like the rest of them. Opening the door, she stepped inside.


    Her mind was still in a daze at the thought of what happened in a few hours of time. The difort in her chest started again and this time it felt as if someone had put their hand in there to squeeze it as she felt the suffocation starting to build. The more seconds passed the more difficult it turned out to be until the door of the carriage was knocked on.


    "Lady Vivian? I brought you the clothes," informed Hueren on the other side of the door.?She opened the door for him to hand over Leo''s clothes, "I will stand here until you are done changing," and he closed the door of the carriage.


    With the door closed and the little curtains pulled over the windows, Vivian changed her clothes inside the carriage and when was done changing, she stepped out of the carriage wearing the pant and shirt of Leo''s.?Women never wore what men wore and this was something very bizarre for Hueren who looked slightly taken aback by her different appearance where she wasn''t wearing her usual dress. The clothes were loose but she had somehow managed to tighten the pant while tucking in the shirt so that it wouldn''t look shabby.


    After she had washed her hands clean, "I want to go to the court proceeding," she dered and before he could protest she had already started to walk towards the building. Heuren ran to her and followed to walk next to her.


    When they entered the building, the councilwoman received everyone''s looks and attention. They weren''t shocked but rather gobsmacked. If it were a different time, Vivian would have been bothered with the looks they gave her. Some that mocked, some that were of disappointment and shame but she could care less as to what people thought of her appearance right now.


    Reaching the council court where the doors were already open wide. The court was in procession where Lionel sat at the high seat as usual and a councilman who apanied him to write down the notes next to him.


    "...under the edict of four hundred twenty-four, it is clear that this man or the creature we have here-" Hueren was about to stop her but Vivian had voiced out her words,


    "Stop!" her voice loud enough to stop Lionel from speaking. Her senior councilman didn''t look pleased with the way she had interrupted. The look he gave her was worse than the time when he had only narrowed his eyes as Leo had stopped one of the proceedings.


    Vivian''s eyes moved to see the switcher whom she had spoken about Sister Isabelle, the man who had entered the council to help and not to wreck it. He was tied with chains and shackles. His mouth taped around so that he wouldn''t be able to speak.


    "Councilwoman Vivian," Lionel''s voice was sharp as he spoke to her that would have made her flinch but she stood her ground strong, "Don''t you know there is an important court proceeding going on in here? If you have your opinion, you can take a seat and wait for your turn."


    She wanted to say more but the number of eyes that had multiplied for not only for her clothes that she wore but also to stop a higher councilman during the court, she received a lot more attention than she wished.


    "I am not done yet," added Lionel seeing the resistance that she showed. As Vivian''s eyes were ck from the beginning, a lot of them didn''t notice the change in her eyes or the fangs that had gone to retrace back into her jaws, "Would you want special invitation?" the question was directed to Hueren now as Vivian had walked inside to go to stand next to Leonard.


    Worry came to etch in his mind by seeing her like this. Not that he minded but he knew something had happened. When she came to stand next to him, joining him in the session that was going on, he held her hand, squeezing it as they stood.


    She then lifted her head to look at Lionel who continued with what he was saying before she had interrupted him...

 Chapter 241 - Evil Follows Evil- Part 2

    ~260 chapters updated until now, make sure to be up to date!~


    "Like I said, under the edict of four hundred and twenty-four, thew states clearly that a councilman shall not take his anger and kill another councilman in the heat. If one needs to, the higher councilmen will hold a meeting before the court session to discuss the matter and then hold the person deserves it or not," said Lionel reading the book that was in front of him. One would think that the man had forgotten what the edict stated and was using the book to make sure he got the reference right, "This creature here," the man lifted his head to look down at the switcher who had posed to be Lancelot Knight, "He has been put under test by Doctor Murkh and the test has positive statements that he killed?three of our councilmen under our very nose."


    Murmurs went around the room as they looked at the switcher who was bound like an animal where he couldn''t move, he couldn''t speak or not even hear as Vivian noticed something covering his ears.


    "As you know, we lost one of our very fine men this morning,"?the councilman went on to speak. Vivian''s eyes hovered over the crowd before it came to settle on the man who was responsible for all of this misfortune that had fallen upon people who had nothing to do with it. Creed, he was the one who had killed Isabelle, he was also the man who was involved with the switchers as well as the ck witch. Yet he now sat there calm andposed.


    Anger boiled in Vivian''s blood. He had to be punished but Lancelot had once said that the man had left nothing behind. His record was clean and he had maintained it that way. Even if she would try doing something with it, it wouldn''t damage him but her.


    She didn''t have time to exin Leo and neither could she exin the happenings and her findings...she didn''t know how but she would fix it.


    "To give justice to the dead it is clear that execution is the right decision for this deed. Does anyone have any objection?" asked Lionel to make sure the court was in sync and the decision could be taken forward.


    "Councilman Lionel," Vivian spoke up for everyone to look at her, "I have something to say."


    And before Lionel could turn annoyed, Lord Nichs was the one to speak, "Lady Vivian, please take the position there so that you can speak," she nodded her head, internally thanking the man.


    "What is it?" asked Lionel. The woman had interrupted him and hade here in such orthodox appearance which he didn''t approve of one bit.


    She could feel the sudden rush of blood in her body, trying to calm her nerves she looked up at the councilman, "The man in here has been used to have killed three councilmen but in truth, it was only one whom he killed because he felt the need to be," murmurs filled the room.


    "Silence," said Lionel, his eyes staring down at her, "He might have killed one or he might have killed hundreds of them. It doesn''t change the fact that he killed a councilman or did you fail to read or hear the edict I just said now?"


    "I heard it very clearly," she smiled where it didn''t reach up to her eyes, "The edict states that if a councilman kills another councilman, it would be discussed before seeing if the man deserves to be punished. The very next to it stated if other creatures kills it, the same would be applied. You haven''t given the man the opportunity to talk."


    "There is nothing to talk here, Lady Vivian. What you suggest is letting go of a criminal," came the voice of her uncle from behind. She turned back to see the man who was rted to her but she could feel nothing but angry on him. For the decisions, he had taken.


    "Edict thirty-nine states that every person would be given the opportunity to speak," she reminded them. Vivian had spent days studying every single book in the presence of Leo that she could iterate every word from the books, "There have been more than one switcher on thesends that we walk-"


    "How can youe to the conclusion? Have you met another?" came the question of another councilman who was sitting at the front.


    "If there can be more than one vampire, one human or one ck witch then why not more than one switcher?" she asked the man.


    "Tell me, councilwoman Vivian. Whom do you think killed the other two if you im that he only killed one? What proof do you hold that this man killed only one? Is it just Mr Knight?" Lionel took back to question her before their session would drift in another direction.


    Leonard who had been listening to her speak could already feel where this court proceeding was going. Dutan wasn''t here with her and it was only Hueren who had gone to take to stand on the back of the room. Something had happened that she had gone to change her clothes and they were his.


    He knew Vivian well enough. He was the only one who had taken the time to understand her. From the core of her fibre to thest word she had uttered to him were only registered safely in his mind. If there was anyone important and above him, it was his beloved wife who now stood there in the middle of the court with courage.


    She must have found something that was wronged and that was why she had taken the decision to speak her mind in front of the fools.


    "The proof..." trailed Vivian for some of the men to smile smugly of what fool she had made of herself, "The proof that you seek of, I cannot give it here out in the open. Head councilman Reuben," Vivian turned to look at the half-blooded vampire who had been listening to her intently. For the man, it was the second time he had met a capable woman. The first one he had met no longer lived now.


    "What rubbish," came the voice from the crowd where the lower graded councilmen stood and sat who felt offended that they were being asked to step out of the room.


    "The court council proceeding is for everyone to look and hear."


    "Why should we listen to a woman?"


    Murmurs began in the room which turned chaotic until the head council raised his hand. That one single action was enough to get the room quiet.


    "Lady Vivian," spoke the head councilman with a calm, serene voice showing that he wasn''t offended with the suggestion for the others, "As a fellow councilman passed away in the morning. It is only fair that the rest know what had happened and why it happened. Unfortunately, everything has turned very dire. I would request you to bring your facts up here and every single one of them will be heard. The court is yours to take."


    With a deep breath, Vivian inhaled and exhaled. Looking at Leo who gave her a nod and she felt a wave of relief wash over her. It didn''t matter what others thought when she had the support she needed. The courtroom was silent, wondering what the woman had when she was only a junior who had joined the council for less than five months period of time. They had heard many rumours on how capable she was and now that they had the opportunity to see, the waited with their eyes open and ears leaning close to her.


    Some were curious but many were jealous at the thought that a woman was trying to bringurels to the courtroom instead of a male which hurt their pride and ego.


    "Around this year, an ident had taken ce when it came to bringing the ck witches. They were called the Polimnents who were considered one of the dangerous covens of ck witches who controlled other witches. Like a parent or a leader. During the time of their sessful capture which was done by councilman Mathias team who is the one who operates in thend of Valeria they were asked to transport it back by another team. Back here to the council so that they could be dealt-" she was interrupted by Abel who came to question her,


    "Councilwoman Vivian, why are we listening to something about ck witches when the matter that lies in over hands is of the switchers?"


    "There is a rtion, councilman Abel. In fact, weren''t you also responsible for delivering the ck witches to the council. What happened that day? Didn''t go to work or did you fall sick?" she asked him, her red eyes staring straight into his.


    "That is a wild usation you have in there, mydy. You should be careful of what you speak," he warned her, a smile still up his face.


    "I only asked you the question, Sir. I don''t remember using of anything unless you have done something which you haven''te out clean about."


    Abel smiled until Lionel called the man, "Councilman why don''t you join, councilwoman Vivian here."


    "I would be delighted," and the pureblooded vampire came out of the throng to stand in front of her, "I had other work which was more important that day. And if you are going to check for it I believe the council has already gone through the court proceeding when the event to ce."


    Vivian smiled back, bitterness forming in her mouth, "True. If the court has already gone through it once, it shouldn''t take more than a few minutes to get the answers, would it?"


    "Ask me anything you want," the man kept his poker face on.


    She nodded her head, pleased to hear that he was ready to speak about it without trying to escape from the matter which she wanted to check with him, "What was more pressing that you had to leave the witches when it was the priority back in that time?"


    "I was called by councilman Creed. He wanted me to go solve the dispute that was being caused between the two viges due to the water draught," he answered.


    "You said youe from Valeria, yes?" seeing him nod she continued, "Draught isn''t that umon in some of the viges unless it is the time of rain."


    "That is right," he agreed.


    "Mr. Doghlous," Vivian turned to pick a man from the crowd. The councilman looked startled but nheless he stood up from his seat in attention, "Do you remember the case which you worked during the same period of time. It was a case of the drowning children where many had fallen into the water. Could you please tell me if it right?"


    Almost everyone in the room didn''t know where this was going and what was the necessity to have a case which was closed years ago to be reopened. The woman had not even asked direct permission for it and had started to speak on it. And no matter how irrelevant it seemed, everyone was intrigued with the case that was taking ce. It was very rare for the council to reopen a case which was closed in the past.


    The man cleared his throat, "Due to heavy rain in the locality, the water bodies had increased and some children and women who had gone there had been washed out.?Yes, it was a few days before this high profile case came to notice about the witches who fled," he answered her in a rush before sitting back.


    "Thank you," she turned to look back at Abel whose smile had begun to slip but he tried to keep up with the facade he had put, "Which part of Valeria are you talking about to have draught? Because if we all know about thend of Valeria, like Bonke the water bodies are connected which would make it highly unlikely for anynd around to have draught."

 Chapter 242 - Evil Follows Evil- Part 3

    The head council came to lean forward, his hands on his elbows with his face nk as he looked at them. The girl seemed knowledgable like he thought the first time he had met. He still remembered that day when things had turned chaotic in the council and thends. The escape of the ck witches they had caught finally had been devasting before getting the news of them being killed.


    It tingled his mind that how this girl knew about the case which had taken ce before the time of her arrival here in the council.


    Lord Nichs and Leonard, on the other hand, kept their stance ready if anything were to happen in the court. Leo didn''t know how and when Vivian had gathered all the information to expose the man in broad day light. He would have guessed that she would first want to talk to him. When did she change her mind?


    "What draught are you talking about?" Vivian asked louder so that every councilman could hear what they were speaking. Her eyes shone with unshed anger.


    "You seem to behave that you know a lot," Abel stated before twisting his words smartly, "Like I said I went to speak about the draught that led to the feud between the two viges. The draught was before the heavy rain where the case was still ongoing," he replied to her.


    The case might have been true thought Vivian to herself as she had felt something in the storage room. During her time in the storage room, there some boxes when she touched from the outside that readily gave out memories which was the reason why it had taken her more than an hour just to go through the left side of the racks. She had gone to learn most of the cases and it had onlye in handy.


    "The case must have ended in less than four or five hours. Because the council says toplete the minimal tasks there and if it isn''t possible to bring the case to the court if the time exceeds more than that. I hope what I am saying is right," she turned to her senior councilman Lionel who didn''t object to her words.


    "So what about it? I was tired and I went home," he answered her, "Some times people can consume more energy."


    "You went to your sister''s home. ine Harlow I believe," the name rang something between both Vivian as well as Abel as they were rted to her. The man didn''te to answer her, seeing this, Vivian continued with her facts and right before she could speak Abel said.


    "I went to stay in the local inn," he corrected her.


    "You just said you went back home. Unless you own the inn which you want it to be called home, councilman Abel."


    "I don''t even know what you''re trying to get to. We are here talking about the switchers while you are trying to throw dirt on me. What are you angry about, councilwoman Vivian? Weren''t you able to get the credits for the help you came to me for? Cases can be tough to crack."


    This time it was Vivian to bluff. She gave him a confused look, "What case?"


    "The case you wanted your help for which elder councilman Lionel asked you to work alone," Abel mocked.


    "What case are you speaking of, councilman Abel?" Lionel came to interrupt them. The more time the people in here spent the only more curious they got like women in the vige and town who waited for gossips, "She wasn''t assigned any case by me. All the cases she had worked for has been handled under the Duke''s guidance," the higher-ups had begun to feel their suspicions on him.


    "She came to my chamber to ask for my help," he used her but Vivian continued to feign innocence.


    "You shouldn''t make up things which aren''t true, councilman Abel," and as she said this two guards came forward to stand beside him.


    "This is ridiculous! I am being framed by thisdy!"


    "Why would I? I gain nothing from doing it," she stepped away from him when he came towards her with one step to be held by the guards.


    "I have worked for this council for so long. I would do nothing! Everyone knows how much I hate the ck witches!" shouted Abel. The man looked pitiful as he started to lose it, "It was my sister and her husband who did it!"


    Vivian continued to speak to the man who was now made to sit on his knees on the floor. He looked utterly furious, his anger bubbling up in waves at her, "But you went there that day after work. The witches were delivered to you at the time of the evening. Which means you were there when they released. You could have persuaded them but you rather watched them free the creatures who had brought in chaos in the fournds that we walk on. What about their children?"


    "I don''t KNOW," he shouted at her. The man right now cared about him and no one else. Even if Vivian would try to dig into the matter she doubted she would find anything at this moment. She wanted to know about her brother but there was nothing she could find here. Her heart told her that he was still alive, somewhere alone waiting for her. Only if she knew where he was, "The court has already decided who the culprit was. It was her and her husband who taken the deal with one of the Duke''s of Wovile for money. I had no part in it. Elder councilman, Creed," Abel suddenly pulled the man into the conversation.


    "I didn''t expect this from you, Abel," the eye-patched man gave him a look of disappointment. Turning his face away as if he were very shameful for what he found out,?"Please take him away and bind him," the man said cooly without a single hint of remorse in his voice.


    Abel looked at him in horror. The man was giving up on him while he was losing it slowly.


    "I didn''t do it-"


    SNAP!


    The whole council in the room who were present turned dead silent. The eye-patched man had snapped the man''s head to turn him unconscious, "Take him to the cell room and have his lips sealed too. Liars and betrayers in the council should not be encouraged in here. We all need to know who it means to give your blood and sweat to the work here. I apologize for my action," he gave a deep bow.


    "Councilwoman Vivian, we still haven''te to the point you started at," Lionel reminded her, he being strict as ever.


    "I apologize. I was getting there," Vivian bowed her head to the man, "As the elders and the higher council are aware, the witchers who fled were killed but one still continued to live. She was the one to have befriended thepany of the switchers."


    "How do youe to the conclusion?" asked Lionel.


    "Senior Lionel and Lord Nichs were part of the team on retrieving back the ck witches alive or dead. A ck witch might show the attachment with other creatures but their bond runs deeper to some of their fellow sisters. After the council killed them, the ck witch started to avenge the death who was responsible for it. Leonard''s parents and some of his family members were killed. Our first thought was that the servant had done it. After all, it is always easier to me the people who are below us as they are helpless," she paused her thoughts going to Paul, "The ck witch sent the switcher to the Carmichael''s house and got the Duke to feel the loss she felt when he had killed her fellow sisters. It was only recently that we came to find out about it while solving the cases."


    "But this switcher here is not the one to have killed them but another one," once she was done talking she didn''t know how to continue further with it.


    Before anyone could ask for the facts, she heard Leonard speak, "Councilman Lionel. I apologize for cutting in," he said walking towards Vivian and standing beside her, "She is right. We dide to walk past a few switchers in our recent cases. And this man in here didn''t kill anyone but Lancelot Knight."


    "Might you know who killed the other two?" asked Lionel in front of her everyone to Vivian and Leo. They shook their head in sync.


    Lionel took in a deep breath and so did the others. Vivian waited for the higher man to give out decision which couldn''t be revered but the punishment would be given only for what the person deserved.


    When the man cleared his throat, everyone came back to attention, "Councilman Abel will be put under immediate execution after the head council will have some words. And with respect to the switcher, with what Councilwoman Vivian had to speak. Right now we shall not put the allegations on the switcher for the previous death but it cannot be overlooked that the man killed one of the person without any sole reason," Vivian would have liked to cut in again but the reason why the switcher was here was something he didn''t want people to know. It was one of Sister Isabelle''s wishes to not let anyone know. She didn''t understand why she wanted to keep her death to be a secret and maybe that would be an unsolved mystery, "He will be executed tomorrow first thing in the morning."


    Murmur again began and people after some time started to step out of the room. Lionel didn''t wait for them to speak but left with the other men which included Reuben as they had to go speak to Abel.


    Before the guards could take the switcher away from her sight, she turned around to meet his eyes.


    "I am sorry," she apologized. The council would have thought her to be crazy to have her speak in the end to only have the number of deaths to be corrected. The switcher was taken away and Leo came to ask her once the room was empty except for Hueren, Nichs and the couple.


    Vivian was the first o break the silence, "There''s a body in the storage room. It needs to be cleaned before someone notices while they enter to keep Abel''s belongings."


    Hueren added to her words, "Senior, Dutan was killed this morning before Maximillian and the switcher took to replicate his body so that he could find out what we were up to. They knew we were on their tail."


    "How unfortunate," Lord Nichs shook his head listening to the death of another councilman, "Let me go have it cleaned up. I will see youter," excusing himself he left the room.


    "Thank you," she thanked him but he had already left. Her legs gave out after the heavy discussion and Leo had to catch her in his arms.


    "Fetch some water," Leo ordered his junior who ran out of the room. Holding her in his arms he pulled back to see her head that was thrown back with her eyes rolled behind, "Vivi?" he called her as she fell slightly unconscious. She was exhausted after spending her time in the storage room.


    "I feel tired. I-"


    "It''s okay, Vivi. Everything will finallye to an end. The case will close in two days," Leo assured her. She had killed the switcher by herself and it was more than what he would have expected from her and she had done well.


    Nichs had told he would take care of the body but what about the death of Dutan? The switcher had killed one of his men who had worked with him since the time in the council.


    For now, he was happy to have her safe in his arms.

 Chapter 243 - After Everything- Part 1

    ~263 chapters updated until now~


    The council didn''t let Abel speak during his interrogations as the man who was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes had not let him speak. Like the switcher, his hands and legs were bound by shackles. His mouth covered so that he wouldn''t speak or bite anyone as the man was a pureblooded vampire.


    The man tried to free himself from the chains that were bound to the walls but it was to no avail. In the end, it was just the sound of the metals rattling around that filled the little cell room which was filled with the stench of the previous death.


    Creed who had finished speaking and discussing what to be done to the man who once worked under him came to see Abel down at the cell room. Hearing the sound of boots, Abel looked up from the chains to his senior councilman. He produced some incoherent noise from his bound mouth where the senior councilman looked amused. His ck eye patch intact which covered one of his eyes while the other peered through the iron grills which were rusted.


    With no one to hear what they were going to speak, Creed said, "What did you do to cross that girl?" Abel shook his head over and over again as if it to say nothing, "It appeared that she knew a lot more than anyone in here who has worked apart from us. Unless you went to tattle on your own," he hummed making the man shake his head again.


    Not able to understand what he was trying to say, Creed cut him short, "You should have been meticulous in your tracks, Abel. I cannot let you free because the council members have picked out facts and have decided to go through your execution," he smiled. Abel''s eyes widened and before he could create more ruckus, Creed continued, "Don''t you know what happens to people in here who make noise?"


    Hearing this, Abel suddenly stopped and stood still. His eyes held fear for his dear life that was going to be taken away from him. The man couldn''t believe that his superior whom he had helped all this while was giving up on him so easily.


    "You should know this by now, Abel. If you see a drowning man, never go to save him because you will, in turn, drown along with him. You have been very useful to me. If things were different it would have been easier but right now my neck is important just like yours was when you saved yourself and threw your sister to be killed with her husband. People who make enemies should be wise enough to know to be careful of their footsteps," Creed taunted the man for his irresponsibility, "If she is caught on to you, there might be a chance in the future that she will try to track the rest of the imprints that follows the case of the witches. Rest in peace, Abel," Creed left the man in the cell all alone.


    When the next day arrived, Vivian didn''t go to the execution ground to see her uncle nor the switcher. She had never nned for things to do down this road. She had nned to speak to her uncle, to confront him but as the time came to pass by. She wondered what good would it do? Her parents were dead, the man had refused to talk about his sister having children. He wouldn''t tell her anything until she touched his skin which she could do even after his death.


    She had been angry over Dutan''s death, Mr. Gibbs. The news had followed one after another and when her own life had been put under test, she had snapped at the person who was responsible to the mess that was caused over the fournds.


    "Here''s your blood tea."


    Hueren took a seat on the opposite side of the table in the little room where the council provided food to the councilmen and councilwomen. For once she didn''t want toe to the council. To see people around her but as she was the one who had taken upon the case to expose the man and the events that took ce, she was asked toe meet Rueben.


    But that wasn''t all why she was asked to visit.


    What happened to Dutan couldn''t be hidden and as it was the death of another councilman, Nichs had taken the issue up to the head council. After exining the death and the events in the presence of Leo and the others, Rueben had nodded his head before dispersing them out of his room.?She was happy that the head council was understanding enough to not ask her twisted questions like the one where one would be asked in the court council.


    They now waited for Leonard who had been asked to wait and clear a few matters in regards to the case.


    Seeing Leonard appear in the room, Vivian''s eyes brightened up and her back straightened. A kiss was ced on her cheek and he sat down next to her, "Reuben said it will be a confidential case where no one will have to know," he kept his voice low in the bustling crowd around them. Vivian let out a sigh of relief and so did Heuren. Leo didn''t go to exin anything further and he took hold of her hand, squeezing it, "Is this yours?" he asked nodding his head towards the teacup.


    "Hmm," she nodded her head. He took the cup off the table, bringing his lips and drinking it. Heuren believed it was time to excuse them as he had done his part of watching over thedy in the absence of his senior.


    "I will go visit the town to meet the magistrate, Senior Leonard. He couldn''te up here as he ims he broke his leg. I will return back in two hours," Heuren informed, bowing his head he walked away from the table.


    "Your skin looks pale," he said running his thumb over the knuckles.


    "Hasn''t it always looked like this?" she tilted her head.


    "Not this pale. Let''s get you another cup and take a walk outside," he suggested and as he went to stand up, Vivian held his forearm, "Don''t worry. I won''t take you to the execution round. Come," he offered his hand where she ced it before getting up herself.


    After she was done drinking another cup of blood which had been warmed, they headed outside. Since the time of yesterday, the snow had increased in the level of thickness on the ground. It wasn''t snowing nor was there a blizzard but that didn''t reduce the chillness in the air. A week ago she would have frozen in this weather where she didn''t wear her coat right now as they walked not far away from the council and into the woods.


    After Lord Nichs had told the head council on what had happened to another councilman, the man had asked his guards to dig up the body and ce him in the local cemetery at the time of midnight. When asked why it was being kept as a secret, the head council had told that bringing up another case of deaths which was involved with her would lead toplicated questions and situations. She didn''t know what could happen but believing the men were knowledgeable, she agreed to go with it.


    "How are you feeling?" asked Leonard before he added, "Physically."


    "I am okay," she paused for some time and then asked, "Has it been done? The execution?" she was angry for everything turning wrong but that didn''t mean she was heartless. The man was still her blood-rted uncle, possibly thest rtive she knew of who was close to her parents. But could someone who had baited their own sibling and their family to save their neck be considered close?


    Vivian who had grown up around Leo, Martha, and Paul had picked up their habits and teachings, turning it nothing less to a bible of her own.


    "Yes. Both of them were executed before the time of dawn," Leo noticed the way she kept zoning out in her own thoughts and he gave her the time she needed.


    He wondered if she had any regrets to her decision of bringing up the man''s name but that was the best decision of hers. For a man who didn''t think twice when his own sibling was killed, would he spare that siblings child? Lies were bound to be followed in cases like these and who knew how much more tangled it would be? Leo had never liked the man since the time when the ck witches were freed. And after he hade to know that the reason his parents had died was connected to him, he was d to have the man dead.


    He heard her ask, "What are we going to do about Creed?"


    "Get some clues about him. Set him up," he gave out random ideas.


    "Until he lives there will always be a direct threat to not only the public people but also the council through the ck witch. I ran my hand''s over hundreds of boxes in there, Leo but there was nothing I could find rted to him. Not even a single trail which I could pick to read further. Not even in Oliver''s memory I couldn''t pick anything in there," she frowned staring at the ground, her footsteps halting to turn to look at Leonard, "Have you noticed something. The man wears gloves on his hands asionaly."


    "It would mean you need to have a person touch an object or other things through their skin contact to pick their memories," he stated. That was one and maybe the only theory they could think of right now, "He does have a clean record. Maybe cleaner than Nichs but the cleaner ones are always the ones that make one question. We''ll figure something about him," he took her hand and ced it along with his in the pocket of his jacket.


    "What about the ck witch?" she could feel his hands had turned cold just like hers.


    Though pureblooded vampires were higher creaturespared to the humans and the average vampires, warm blood ran through their body and veins unlike the lower vampires who were cold-blooded. They wouldn''t feel cold to be in pain but that didn''t mean their body didn''t feel it.


    "What are we going to do when people start questioning about me being a pureblooded vampire?" she asked him. Leo smiled at the number of questions that worried her kepting at him.


    "I have asked Murk to help me with it. He means to offer his thanks for what you did yesterday."


    "What did I do?" she was confused.


    "You did a lot of things which would have made Martha and Paul proud if they were alive today," he walked to stand in front of her, looking at her where she raised her head to look up at him, "Vivi, you made most of us proud yesterday. Nichs, Hueren, the women who are part of the council as they never had the opportunity to take up a case as you did. Until now it has bee only men to take part in it actively. Even Lionel," she gave him a surprised look as if she didn''t believe it one bit.


    "I think that is too far, Leo," she smiled at the effort he put in cheering her mood and lifting up her spirits.


    "It is the truth."


    "His expression told otherwise."


    Leonard hummed in response, "He can be like that. He wille of to be rude and hard when ites to work but deep down. Like really deep,"?Leo chuckled when Vivian began to nod her head, "What I am saying is he isn''t that bad. If he were, Nichs would have never pushed me to work under him."


    "It wasn''t what you wanted to work?" she wondered why they had nevere across this little information.


    "I wouldn''t say no but Nichs literally shoved me to the first case along with him. There wasn''t much I could do that time," and saying this, he stepped closer to her and leaned down to kiss her lips. It was a chaste kiss where he pulled back to see her eyes that were closed as she lingered in the feeling of his lips on hers, "Out of all of them. You made me very proud, Bambi. I saw you grow into this beautiful, strong, admirable woman. I feel fortunate to have you stand beside me. Here, like this," and nothing else could have swept the smile on her face after hearing those words from him.


    All these years before even entering the council, she had always worried about them together. Vivian who had a blurred background where she had only been a mere human had alwayspared her to him but he had alwayse to bridge that gap between them.


    One of the nights when she had woken up in the arms of Leonard, she had touched him not in the intention to read his memories but the memories had zapped into her mind and she understood how dear he was to her.


    She felt happy to know that she now stood equal to him where she didn''t have to worry about her chasing to maintain that gap which she felt at times but in reality, it was him who had chased after. And if she knew one thing it was that he would never let of her hand if she were ever to outstretch her hand.


    To Leo''s dismay, Vivian pulled out her hand from his pocket. She raised her self slowly up on her tiptoes and even after that, she was no match for his height. Maybe this was one thing she couldn''t do anything about.


    Trying to keep up, she had gone to stand at the tip until her bnce was lost to only be caught by Leo. He held waist with his arm.


    "My ever clumsy, Bambi," he whispered with their lips trying to seek each other and it finally met. Warm lips moving against one another, licking and sucking with entangled tongues. Snowkes started to fall from the sky one after another and they finally broke away.


    "I want to take a bath," she said looking somewhere at the council building.


    "No one ever stopped you from taking one."


    "With you." Her pale cheeks had turned pink and one wouldn''t know if it were because of the chilling weather or because of her suggestion to him.


    "My time is for you to take."

 Chapter 244 - After Everything- Part 2

    ~263 chapters updated until now~


    More than two weeks passed since the many deaths in the council. The murmur and chatters regarding what took ce in the council and the woman, Vivian Carmichael who turned out to be one of the well-known councilwomen in there. But like many other things that came to pass, the death of the fellow councilmen got buried with new cases that needed work.


    But there was one who had taken the young woman who had turned to a vampire as a threat. Councilman Creed might have not been pointed as the culprit but there was telling when the girl woulde to use him of what he had done these past years. And the deeds that he had done were buried deep along with the people whom he had put into the coffins.


    He had his doubts on the girl like before, the switcher who diligently had been following his orders had gone missing. He could point it out but councilman Lionel had said on how the man had stopped to work for them as he needed time after the case they had worked on. Right now he couldn''t do much but wait for the opportune time but time never came with opportunity unless one went in search of it.


    Vivian Carmichael, the girl reminded him of the white witch who had almost disrupted his ns on having the half-blooded vampires kill humans one by one from the corner borders of the Bonke. He had aimed to be the head council, to take control and charge of the matters but the woman had pushed Rueben who was her friend to the post through the help of her husband.


    Creed tapped on his cigar while he stood at the railings looking outside at the forest which had begun to look dark due to the time of evening that had passed to night. From where he stood, he caught the vampire doctor from the corner of his eyes walking down the stairs while heading to the cell building where hisboratory was.?Seeing that most of them had left to head back to their house, the man pushed himself. Following the trail of the doctor quietly.


    "Doctor Murk," Creed called the doctor when he reached the entrance of the building which stopped the vampire from walking further.


    "Councilman Creed, good evening. What brings you here?" asked the vampire, waiting for Creed to catch up.


    "It has been a while since west drank together. What do you think about having a drink before I head home?" suggested the elder man with a polite and deceiving smile. Before the man could refuse, Creed said, "You can apany me if you want. I know how difficult it has been for you since Mr Gibbs passed away."


    Hearing to the boy who he had almost raised, Murkh nodded his head, "Let me get the sses."


    "Excellent," Creed kept his voice to be even, following the vampire into his room which was attached to theb.?When the sses and the alcohol was pulled out with the liquid being poured into the ss, Creed made idle chatter to ease the vampire doctor. The elder councilman knew the men who worked around him well. He knew how fond the man who now sat in front of him was of Maximillian Gibbs. He was almost like an adoptive son where he often was found talking about him.


    "It is sad what happened to him," Creed consoled the man who emptied the ss of alcohol quickly before he poured another one for himself.


    "I wanted Abel to rot and die!" Murkh gritted his teeth in anger, "He killed the man whom I raised and taught," he shook his head in disbelief as if he still couldn''t believe that Maximilian had passed away in such gruesome manner.


    "The council did what best they could do."


    "NO! They didn''t. Men like him need to be tortured, not killed mercifully," Murkh gritted his teeth as he spoke, the rim of his eyes that had turned due to the controlled tears, "No matter how odd he was, Maxi was a good man. He didn''t deserve the death that was put upon him. This is why you need to fix the errors that happen in the beginning. If you don''t it leads to a series of events."


    "Series of events?" Creed feigned ignorance like he didn''t know about it.


    "Yes. It started from him letting off the ck witch, if he never did would this have ever happened. The ck witch is behind all this. She must be killed," Murkh expressed his anger against what happened. The man grieved for the loss of Maximillian and Creed behaved as if he felt sorry but in truth, he hadn''te to providefort but to take information from the man.


    "It is good that Lady Vivian solved the case. It would have been unfair if she hadn''t joined the council, isn''t it?"


    "Hmm. We are lucky to have her. God bless her."


    "Yes, bless her soul," Creed took a sip from the ss to keep it back down, "To crack a case that was delicate and in such short time-"


    "She''s a gifted child," Murkh took a swig from his ss. For Creed it was the moment of window where he decided to press on the matter.


    "Gifted?"


    "A woman has a great intuition much better than a man," answered Murkh who had started to sway in his seat due to the amount of alcohol that he had consumed in such short time, "The council should hire more women!" dered Murkh.


    "Of course!" Creed gave him a pressed smile. He doubted he would get any information from here and he was only wasting his time. The ck witch had already escaped somewhere far and hidden where none would be able to find her, not even him until she would decide toe out and contact him by herself. The two switchers he had were no more and there wasn''t much he could do but wait for now. He had waited for twelve years, he could wait some more time before he would catch the trail of the ck witch.


    But there was the Carmichaeldy whom he didn''t trust. He had noticed the way her eyes evaded his in the court. Something told him that she knew and she was on to him. He drank a couple more sses, the couple more being on Murkh''s side while he was still having the first one in his hand which wasn''t finished yet.


    When the vampire doctor fell unconscious, Creed made sure that the vampire was out before getting up and starting to go through the medical files. He went to the table, and then to the drawers. Rummaging through many files until he came to find the name ''Vivian Carmichael'' on it.


    Creed had seen the Duke take his wife to the doctor every noon which had raised his suspicion on her. Her eyes weren''t the normal colour of the turned vampire. It was as dark as the pureblooded vampire which she shouldn''t have acquired in the first ce. A pureblooded vampire couldn''t turn humans to their own kind but one step below to the inferior level of half-vampire.


    Which meant only one thing. Either something wrong with the husband or it was the wife which he would soon find out. Reading the reports that were filed by the doctor, Creed flipped through the pages to have nothing but blood levels which came out to be normal. It was stated in the report as to her being a vampire but it was clear by the mere sight that she was no regr vampire. Taking the reports along with him while leaving Murkh alone who slept in his chair crookedly.


    Going back inside the building, the councilman walked straight to the highest person whom he despised. Knocking on the door, he let himself in.


    "Creed," Rueben greeted him, his eyes falling on the papers that he carried, "Have youe to file in the case?" the half-vampire tilted his head in question.


    "I havee here to talk about something very important. There is a witch who resides in our council," said Creed cing the papers on the table and pushing it forward for the head council to take a look at.


    "That can''t be possible," murmured Rueben and when his eyes fell on the name, his brows furrowed.


    "But it is. We didn''t know there were switchers here but they were here. Not one but two of them. Don''t you remember the case of the second Lord of Bonke? He had used the witches help to gain recognization to be a Lord," and as Creed iterated it, the head councilman went through the file to see what Creed was pointing to.


    "Her reports seem fine, Creed. Murkh has tested her himself. What do you want me to look at?"


    "Have you not noticed her eyes. Duke Leonard told that he turned her but how many vampires have we seen who have turned to possess eyes like hers. They are blood red and dark which only a pureblooded vampire possess. We need to have her checked," the man with the eye-patch spoke firmly not ready to let go of the matter until it would be settled, "There are other men whom we can have look at. If she''s clear then it is well and good if not, we are only brewing another threat."


    "She has saved the council by finding out-"


    "You mean to say you want to overlook the matter?" Creed cut him off, his eyes staring into Rueben''s.


    "I was stating that she doesn''t appear to be a threat, councilman Creed but if it makes you feel better. I will have the youngdy tested to make sure that you feel settled down," assured Rueben.


    In the same room in the far end of the shadows, a shadowed creature lingered in the dark, listening to their conversations which disappeared once the man had left. The creature went back to its master, moving through the shadows without anyone''s notice.


    "What do you have with you, Narcissus?" Lord Nichs who was taking his shirt off his body didn''t bother to turn to hear the ghoul speak something to him. After listening to half of what it had to say to him, he stopped it, "Hmm? What did hee for?"


    The ghoul continued to garble which made the Lord stop what he was doing.


    "That''s not good news," he murmured under his breath, "If he digs into the matter too much, it would put her in danger.?Narcissus...make sure you don''t lose his sight. For a man who hasn''t been caught for all these years, he won''t leave single trail fo rus to be able to catch up with him. If he finds the link that''s going on, then I shall be in his list too," Nichs chuckled to hear a garbled voiceing from the ghoul, "Is Everest rubbing off on you?" he smiled before giving it another order, "Stay with the man. I will be fine. I am not the five-year-old boy,?Narcissus."

 Chapter 245 - Lost Sibling- Part 1

    ~263 chapters updated until now~


    At the Carmichael''s mansion, the dining room was cleared to make an ample amount of space in there. The tables were pushed towards the wall along with the chairs. The chandelier burning much brightly that was used in here. Every nook and corner had candles burning to light up the entire ce like Christmas.


    Vivian was in the room, getting ready where she wore the gown which was presented by Nichs as a gift for being helpful in the council. She had enough gowns and dresses were some of them were yet to be worn for the first time therefore at first she had been hesitant in epting the gift. Also knowing that the Lord wouldn''t have picked anything less of value but something extravagant.


    It was an off-shoulder ck colored gown which flowed at the back. Little shimmering stones decorated at the top of her neckline. She touched the hair that she had let out at the side of her head while having her hair tied up. Walking out and down the stairs, she saw Leo stand at the end. Waiting for her like he usually did which warmed her heart.


    "You look breathtaking, Vivi," Leonardplimented her not able to take his eyes off of her.


    Coming down, she raised her hand to straighten the bow that he wore, "Thank you. You look handsome yourself," and she heard him hum.


    "Shall we?" he asked, taking her by her hand they walked towards the dining room to step inside it, where a bright smile came to settle on Vivian''s lips.


    "This feels like early Christmas," she took in the number of candles that were decorated, "It is just us?" she asked when she noticed no one in the hall.


    Leo feigned as if he were upset, "Am I not enough, Bambi?" he asked her.


    This made Vivian nudge him and she continued to smile, "You know that''s not what I meant."


    "The others will be here shortly. We just turned out to be the early birds," he said taking her to the center of the room and turning her so that she could face him, "How about I have your first andst dance," he ced her hand on his shoulder.


    "I would love that," she looked into his red eyes that reflected back her reflection in them. She could see the goofy smile that hade to sit on her face as he swayed her in silence and after six seconds had passed, she heard music to be yed. She looked around but there was no one whom she could see ying it. But that wasn''t what caught her attention. The music...it was from the music box he had gifted her when they were children.


    Stepping closer, she ced her head on his chest. It had been really long since they had spent time just for themselves in a long while. With both working in the council, they had been getting works, some of which were different from each of them. With her speaking out about the case which had been closed, Lionel and the others had started to take note of her ability. In the past few days, Leo and Vivian were the couples who worked for the council to close cases sessfully.


    "I love you, Leo," she said her heart feeling full. Raising her head up she looked back into his eyes, "I couldn''t have expected anything more. You are everything I have wished for before I could even wish. If it weren''t for you.." she felt him ce his finger on her lips.


    "I know," a tender smile stayed on his lips as he gazed down at her, "My Bambi," he said with affection. Leaning down to kiss her.


    "What are you thankful for, Vivi?" he asked her.


    "If I said it, it would be wrong."


    "And when have either of us judged either?" he raised one of his eyebrows slightly.


    "I did once," she confessed looking away to see the butler, Jan walk inside the room, "It was the time when you killed that man. Here"


    "ss? Understandable. You didn''t know how I work and what I did. Might I say a little stubborn that you refused to speak or see me," he taunted yfully.


    "I was angry with you. I didn''t know."


    "It is the past. It doesn''t matter," people from the outside would think that this man was difficult and aloof but it was Vivian who knew how easy it was to be with Leo. He loved her with the whole of his heart and sometimes she wondered if she felt if her love for him reached to that extent. Her love looked small, "What happened?" She shook her head.


    "Are you being loved enough, Leo?" her direct question caught him off guard.


    "I think I am very loved by my wife who worries about little things for no reason, why do you ask?"


    "Just like that,"? she then switched to answering the question he had put for her earlier, "I am happy with the way how things turned out to be. To havee here with Martha a few years ago. I feel blessed."


    "I am happy to hear that," he closed their distance and kissed her lips. Holding her in his arms as if it were the first time, his arms tightening around her and she let him readily. Opening herself like a flower that had been waiting for him to take her away. Someone cleared their throat behind them, and both pulled apart to look at Nichs who had arrived with Hueren and another man who went by the name Timothy who was Malcolm Rufus'' son.


    Vivian felt a small pang of pain in her chest when she saw the missing people. Both Dutan and Maximillian had passed away, their coffins buried along with the rest of the pureblooded vampires who had passed away. Few things were out of their hands and no matter how much she and the others wished to protect each other, one''s hand could only reach up to a certain extent before letting it go.


    "You started the party without us,"?mented Nichs as Jan took his overcoat.


    "You werete," Leo retorted back which made him seem much younger, where he didn''t behave older and as his own age.


    "The Lord is neverte, Leo. It is the peasants who are early,"ughed Nichs.


    "Did he just call us peasants?" Hueren muttered under his breath.


    "Vivi, I have something for you," Lord Nichs fished something in his pocket before pulling out a scroll.


    "What is it?" she took hold of it, looking at Nichs who smiled.


    "It is from, Lord Alexander. He wanted me to pass it to you."


    Curious, Vivian pulled the little ribbon that was tied around it. Pulling the parchment open, she read,


    ''Lady Vivian Carmichael,


    I firstly congratte you for what you have achieved in such short duration which many would have failed to aplish. I believe we are very all very proud and the Duke must be the proudest right now.''


    She raised her head to look towards Leo who was talking Timothy. Going back to read the parchment, she continued,


    ''But this is not why I am writing to you. Thest time you visited Valeria, I gave you my word to find about your family. It hase to my notice that your brother Gregory continues to live in Valeria. It was told to by my fellow informer that the boy was sent to be adopted to another family who belongs to the lower ss vampires. The family told my informer that they were paid to keep the matter quiet as they wanted the public to think that he was dead. I don''t know why exactly they did it as I couldn''t get any further information from them. I don''t think your parents gave a reason for why. If you ever n to visit him, I?have written down the address of where he and his current family live. I hope the best for you and the Duke.''


    Below the parchment, Lord Alexander''s seal was etched in red ink and he had written down the address of where her brother lived. Gregorie Nelson. Her brother.


    Vivian''s hands trembled as she went to read the letter one more time. She could hardly beleive that she would be able to see him. Leonard who had been speaking nced at his wife before going to her as she stared into at the parchment.


    "Everything alright?" he asked, to have the parchment given to him. Leo took hold of it, going through the contents, "He''s alive."


    Vivian nodded her head.


    "When do you want to leave from here?" he asked to see the anticipation that was building up in her eyes.


    "But what about work? Lionel said he needed you to go to Mythweald," she asked worried.


    "Work can wait. They will find a recement for the time being. There is nothing as the council won''t work if I am not there."


    The next day the Carmichael''s traveled from Bonke to Valeria so that they could meet Vivian''s younger brother. Vivian could barely keep in her excitement over the fact that she was going to meet her brother and when they did reach Valeria at the given address, she was extremely nervous that she stood outside the house with Leonard.


    All this time she had been eager to meet him but now that he was only a few distances away from her, she didn''t know how it would be. A mix of emotions settled at the bottom of her stomach. Beyond this door, she would meet her only blood family.


    "You will be fine, Vivi," Leo whispered standing behind her as he looked at the house which was an average one, "I am sure after hearing the news about you, he would be wanting to meet you too. Come, let''s go in,"? he gently nudged her.


    Opening the gate which creaked slightly, Vivian took the lead by walking up to the door which was closed. She could feel her heartbeat loudly as she raised her hand, ready to knock. Her hand stayed in the air for a second and she finally knocked twice on the door. Waiting for it to be opened, she noticed the pots of flowers that decorated on either side of the door. A small patch of the garden was cultivated around the house.


    "Who is it?" came a woman''s voice who opened the door. The woman was short in stature, the color of her eyes light red in color to show their status but that didn''t matter to Vivian.


    She gave a bright smile to the woman and spoke, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Nelson. I think Lord Alexander spoke to you about me, I am Vivian Carmichael and this is my husband Leonard. I am Mr. and Mrs. Harlow''s daughter," and taking a deep breath she said, "I am Gregorie''s elder sister."


    "Oh, yes. Greg has been waiting for you since the time he found out. Greg!" The woman called, pushing the door wide open, "Pleasee in."


    Stepping inside with Leo close to her, her eyes went to take in the house which felt warm and cozy. The house waspact and wasn''t something she had got used to like in the mansion. It was a house of the lower ss which she liked.


    On her way, she couldn''t think of a reason as to why her parents would send even her brother away from them. Why kill him in front of the public eye? From her memories, she was the only one who had consumed the potion which had changed her before turning her back into her original form.


    But that didn''t matter, her parents were gone for who had sent their children away. She was happy that she would be able to see her younger brother soon. It felt odd to think that she was someone else'' elder sister.

 Chapter 246 - Lost Sibling- Part 2

    ~263 chapters updated until now~


    "Please sit down. I will go get you something to drink," the woman said politely to move to the adjacent room which was the kitchen, "We were surprised when we heard the news that Greg has a sister. I mean what were the odds because your parents never told us about you," Vivian heard the woman speak from the kitchen.


    "We received the letter from Lord Alexander two days ago and decided toe right away," said Leonard who?hadn''t taken a seat and was instead looking through the objects in the room while Vivian sat down on the wooden chair.


    "You know the Lord?" the woman''s voice came out surprised as if she hadn''t expected for them to know the man closely.


    "We have mutual acquaintances," Vivian got up from her seat and at the same time, a boy entered the room.


    He was taller than her, but his features simr to her. Their nose and the color of the hair along with the red eyes were simr. Vivian fell short of words as she stared at her brother whom she didn''t remember from their childhood except for the memories she had touched of hers which had been hard to find as her mind was still developing at that time.


    As much as they were siblings, they were still strangers who didn''t remember and had no recollection of each other. How much time had gone by that the little boy she had seen had grown to a tall boy with decent features who stared at her just as she did? Tears welled up her eyes, and she had to hold them back from falling down.


    Taking a step closer, she wanted to make sure she wasn''t dreaming that he was alive and here right in front of her.


    "Sister Vivian," he called her a small smile on his face and she noticed the way his voice quivered as he shared the same feeling she was having right now, "It''s been long."


    "Long," the word couldn''t even make up to the lost years they had shared. Awkwardly both of them sat on the chair. Leo who had been previously looking at the objects looked at the man who looked like his wife except for the masculine features he possessed. Seeing that the siblings would need some space to catch up, he went to the kitchen to see what the woman was up to.


    "Mrs Nelson, if you don''t mind. Pardon me but could you tell me how you came to be the parent of Vivian''s brother Gregory?"


    "Let''s take it outside, son. I have some nts to water. Will you help me?" thedy asked.


    Leo being the polite man he was, "Sure," he answered leaving both Vivian and Gregory inside the house.


    Leonard followed the woman through the backdoor making him carry the water cannel in his hand, "I don''t remember the year exactly but one night his I mean their parents came at our door asking us to take the boy for a certain amount of money. We didn''t know who they were until a man came to speak to us a few days ago. I heard that they lived three towns away from here," of course they would have given to a couple who would nevere across them.


    "Didn''t they tell you why they were giving him away?" inquired Leonard.


    "Nothing at all. They appeared to be in a hurry when they came to leave Gregory with us. cing a decent amount of gold in our hand, they left telling us to not find them. My husband and I don''t have children of our own. I couldn''t birth a child and at that time it was an opportune moment for us to have Greg."


    Leonard didn''t know why it felt something didn''t just sit right as to why they would give their son away. He understood when it came to Vivian as they were ashamed to have a human for their daughter. But Gregory seemedpletely normal and healthy ording to the pureblooded vampire standards.


    "I see," he murmured for a response.


    "I am just d that he has a sister. Sometimes no matter how many people take care of you, you need that person who is connected to you by blood, isn''t that right?" asked the woman, taking the equipment from his hands, she poured water to the nts.


    "I wouldn''t take on that," Leo''s words startled the old woman. She stopped watering the nts to look at him. The woman had missed the point that the Harlow''s had given their child for no reason. Where was the blood rtionship in there?


    The Carmichael''s were the opposite whenpared to the Harlow''s. While Mrs. Carmichael had always protected Leonard from any and everything. Though she belonged to the higher society, the woman shared sympathy andpassion enough to ept a girl lower than their status when the Harlow''s had failed to ept their own daughter.


    "It all depends on the situation we all are put in," he kept his words short. It didn''t seem like there was anything he could find from her and the reason why the Harlow''s had given away the boy had died with them.


    Going back inside the house, Leo saw his wife speaking to her brother, "Leonard Carmichael," he extended his hand towards the man who took it with a smile.


    "Gregory Nelson," Gregory shook his hand, "Thank you for taking care of her all this time. It is unfortunate that I didn''t know about her or I would havee to see her as quick as I could," the man frowned at what he came to hear from his elder sister. Like him, she was given away but Vivian hadn''t told him the entire truth as she didn''t know how he would take it. Her brother felt sorry for her that while he was sent to a proper house, she had been given away as a maid.


    "It''s alright. We finally got to see each other that is more than enough," Vivian could barely hold in her happy tears that she had united with her brother.


    "What do you do, Gregory?" asked Leonard interested in the man. As he was Vivian''s younger brother, he had automatically taken the boy to be under his wing. What mattered to Vivian, mattered to Leonard.


    The boy turned to look a little bashful at the question asked to him. "I well, help father in cutting the logs of wood at the forest," even though Vivian had gone as a maid, she had transformed into an intelligent woman while he had remained to ept the fate he had been given.


    Vivian said, "No work is ever small, Gregory. If you can, maybe you can prepare for the next council exam," she suggested for him tough.


    "Ah, no. I don''t think the council work will suite me. I am content with what I am doing now," he assured her. Vivian nodded her head. If he was happy with what he was doing, that was more than enough for her.


    "There''s time for that," added Leonard before the woman came back inside.


    "Where are you staying? We have a spare room. I would like it if you stayed longer," said her brother with a hopeful look. Vivian and Leonard had decided to stay in Gibb''s residence but seeing the boy look at his sister with a hopeful expression.


    "Let me ask Kit to go get the luggage from the house," said Leo before taking his leave from there.


    "Your husband is considerate towards you," Vivian heard her brotherpliment when she continued to see Leo''s back which walked out of the house.


    "He''s amazing," Vivian smiled for her brother to return the smile.


    "Let me show you the room and see if you both would need anything," Gregory lead her the way to the room which was as big as the hall, "Ah, it is not much. Just a spare room my parents built," he added when she took in the room.


    "It''s lovely."


    Due to the request put by the family to stay, Leo and Vivian spent their night at Nelson''s house. Vivian had her head resting on Leo''s chest while he ran his finger through her hair, weaving through it gently. Both had their eyes open as they basked in each other''s presence.


    "We should build a house like this. I think I quite like the cosiness here," Vivian heard Leo speak, his hands soothing her. She refused to close her eyes at the touch of his fingers as they felt close to her scalp.


    "We can build one andter go back?"


    "You want to go back?" asked Leo interested. Moving her head away from his chest, Vivian supported herself with her elbows.


    "Small house is nice, it will bring us a lot of memories but maybe once we have a family. Our children, it would be nice to have them grow up where ours and many other''s memories that live in the mansion," she thenughed, "I think it came out a little odd."


    "It didn''t," he patted her head, "It does make sense. To have our children in the future to be brought up there. We have a lot of memories. Good ones and bad ones. In time, we can build more good ones until the bad ones disappears,"? she nodded her head. Leaning close and holding back her hair that came to hover in front of her face, she touched her lips with his. Pressing them softly against his.


    "My Leo," she whispered looking into his eyes, "I feel very happy right now."


    "I am happy you are happy," he whispered back. They had to keep their voices low as the walls of the room were thin. Thest thing they wanted was to disturb the owners of the house.


    "You never told me how many children you want," she gazed down at him. Running her thumb on his cheek, feeling the light subtle on the tips of her fingers.


    "I will take as many as you can give me."


    "Really?"


    "Really really, Bambi," she gave him a wide grin before hugging him, "We can start making them right now. What happened?" he frowned when he felt her flinch in his arms.


    "It sometimes gets difficult to breathe," she replied as he let hery down on the bed. He lifted himself to look into her eyes and the colour of her face which appeared fine.


    "It hasn''t gone yet?" he got worried.


    "I think my body is still taking time to adjust the changes. Murkh said it wasmon when the transition took ce from human to vampire. He said as I turned to a pureblooded vampire, it will take a little longer time before the body epts it fully. I am fine," she assured him," raising her head up to leave a peck of a kiss on his cheek.


    "I cannot help but worry even if you cough," Leo''s gaze was serious on her, "My beautiful girl," he whispered to her.


    "You were speaking about babies. Let''s try making one tonight," she subtly diverted the topic for him to narrow his eyes which made her giggle.


    "You will tell me if something goes wrong right?"


    "Always."


    Far away from thends of Valeria, in thend of Bonke Creed waited for the ck witch to appear in the forest. The ce they usually met after the sun had set and the men and women went to sleep.


    After two hours passed, the man returned back without meeting the ck witch as she hadn''t turned up. It seemed that she had really disappeared out of sight as if she knew this was going to happen. Finding her would be impossible as it had taken him months to get in contact with her.


    The ck witch was the youngest out of all of the other ck witches they had caught and tried to free that day on the condition that they would help each other. The witches had fled away to be only caught but this one, the ck witch who went by the name Ester was smarter and stronger than the rest to flee.


    He knew that the ck witches were not be trusted. They were the kind who first broke their promises and words given. Due to this, he had gotten the ck witch make a binding contract to fulfil and uphold the words spoken between them.


    "Mater Creed, wee back," his housekeeper who was a half-blooded vampire took hold of his coat from him.


    "Send me a girlter after my bath," he ordered the housekeeper.


    "Yes, master," the servant smiled with an eerie smile, "The men only brought a very young girl from the ve establishment. I am sure she will please you well," the ve was a docile person who looked frightened when the men had brought her into the mansion, just the type his owner liked.


    Creed didn''t bother to respond or wait to hear him out, he went straight to his room. Shedding his clothes and getting into the bath. The councilman usually took more time when he was in the bath, but today he just didn''t feel like it. Going back to the room, he started wiping and drying himself, wearing the clothes that were already prepared for him on the bed.


    While he waited for his housekeeper to send the girl as his meal, he sat on the bed waiting.


    He heard the small whistling of the winding from the patio of the room. Walking towards it, he stepped outside of the room and saw the snow that was falling down from the sky rapidly. It wasn''t soft and the blizzard in the forest was approaching close to the mansion.


    What Creed didn''t notice was the shadow that had been hovering in his room, waiting for the right opportunity and when the man stepped out, the creature moved stealthily to close the door of the room from inside so that no one woulde to interrupt them.


    Creed after watching the snow, he came to step back inside when arge creature which he had never seen, heard or known had toe stand in front of him.


    He stumbled back, looking at the ghoul fearfully. The creature was none other than Narcissus who stood tall in its ragged robes that slightly flew because of the wind making its presence that much daunting.


    "Who are you?!" his fangs and ws came out, ready to fight the creature. But Creed didn''t know that it was useless. The creature could not be killed not unless one killed its master. Illiterate about that little knowledge, he moved his hand to hurt it but nothing ever came to happen to the ghoul, "Move away from me!"? he ordered, the ghoul heard none of his words.


    Noticing it approaching, he decided to flee from there but the ghoul caught him. It caught him with his neck. He struggled as it continued to hold him before lifting him up in the air.


    For a pureblooded Creed, the ghoul holding his neck felt nothing but every pureblooded vampire''s weakness was the core of the heart. The ghoul was a creature who was born from a pureblooded vampire child and it had enough knowledge to know what had to be done. Still holding the man in the hair who tried to reach for the creature, the ghoul slowly raised its hand. It''s boney fingersing in front of him. It garbled something under its breath before taking it close to the man''s chest.


    "What are you doing?" the man asked and someone from the other side of the room banged the door.


    "Master?" but the ghoul didn''t heed to it.


    "S-STOP IT!" the man struggled with his eyes widening when it ced its fingers right on his chest to dip it inside him like it was touching the surface of the water.


    The ghoul pushed its hand deep into the man''s chest, encircling his heart by its finger and that was when Creed knew what was going to happen next.


    But before he could react, the ghoul had squeezed the heart in his chest like a tender fruit until there was no heart or the core for the body to continue to live. Taking its bloody skeleton-like hand out of his body, it dropped the man on the patio floor before disappearing from there.?Creedid dead on the cold floor, his eyes were wide open which had turned ck as the core had been destroyed to indicate he wasn''t alive.


    The servants who had heard their master''s voice had gathered in front of the door, knocking it and calling him before breaking the door open after a lot of thought to see their master nowhere in the room until one of them spotted the man out in the patio.


    For people who didn''t know, his death was an unexpected one.


    "Call the guards and ask them to find the intruder!" the housekeeper ordered the servant who stood behind him in shock. But the intruder had long left without a trace who wouldn''t be caught unless asked to.


    The housekeeper checked for blood but there was none around the floor. The ghoul had killed the man from inside in such a way that there wouldn''t be anyone but himself to be med. Far away from councilman Creed''s mansion, at the Rune''s mansion Nichs was in taking ate bath with a woman in his arms who had fallen unconscious after drinking her blood but still alive.


    Catching sight of the ghoul, Nichs asked, "Is it done?" and he received a garbled response, his expression turning peaceful, "Good."


    Lord Nichs didn''t get an opportunity to ask what had transpired in the storage room that day when the switcher had died. She had been in shock. Not because of finding but because for the first time she had killed someone. After all, the first kill was never easy and knowing the girl, the guilt about it would stay for a long time.

 Chapter 247 - Lost Sibling- Part 3

    ~263 chapters updated until now~


    When the next day arrived, a councilman came to knock at the door of Nelson''s house. It was the case that Leo had left in the hands of the other teams. A case where the magistrate had killed himself in Bonke. Unfortunately, people weren''t as skilled as his own team or him, therefore, they were seeking his assistance.


    "It''s been only three days and you men cannot handle a simple case?" asked an annoyed Leonard who stood at the front of the door where the councilman stood.


    "Apologies foring here, Duke Leonard. Councilman Lionel wanted you back in the case after the pressure that is falling by the vigers. They have been rioting in there without letting and traders pass," the man answered him with his head bowed.


    Vivian who stood behind, Leonard listening to their conversations exchanged a smile with the councilman when he raised his head up.


    "Please, Duke Carmichael," the man pleaded.


    Vivian ced a hand on Leo''s shoulder to gain his attention when he turned, she said, "We can leave now it is okay,"? she knew Leonard wanted to stay here for her sake so that she could spend some more time with her family, "We can alwayse back here."


    Leonard had the option of letting her stay here alone but he didn''t want to. Being used to each other, his eyes always seeked to find her no matter where she was. But at the same time, he didn''t want to steal her away from her only family. She had only reunited with her younger brother yesterday. To steal her away would not be right.


    After a lot of thought, Leo asked her, "Will you be alright here when I am gone?"


    Vivian blinked at him first and then nodded her head, "I will be fine. I have Gregory with me and even Mr and Mrs Nelson."


    "I will take care of Sister Vivian," Gregory who was in the room promised Leonard with a sworn look.


    "See," she said her head falling slightly to the side.


    "Alright. I will get the carriage, send them the word," he informed the councillor who looked relieved.


    "I will send it right away, Duke Carmichael. Please excuse me while I wait at the tower for you," the man bowed his head. Leo gave him a nod, turning away from the man to look at Vivian. He was still worried. It was onlyst night did she feel difortness in her chest.


    "I will finish it quickly. I will go drop a word at Max''s house so that the housekeeper knows that you are here," Vivian nodded her head over it, "Wait for me, Bambi," he said to her.


    Vivian as if reading his mind, closed the distance between them, "Come back soon to me."


    And Leonard left to Bonke. Vivian spent her time with Mrs Nelson, helping her in the kitchen making meals. As hours went by, she came to realize how much her life had changed. What she did right now felt like the dream she once used to have before Leo had returned back to the council. Cooking, cleaning, getting the bed made, gardening, she had done these when she was still a maid but it was now did shee to realize how much things had changed.


    From being abandoned by her parents and turning to a normal human, here she was today a pureblooded vampire, a vampiress who was a councilwoman.


    She was happy to stay back but something felt empty as Leo was far from her right now. The distance of Valeria and Bonke was of two days which was long. That would only mean that she wouldn''t be able to see Leo for the next four to five days depending on how was he would be able to close the case. Knowing Leo and his capability, she was sure he would try to end it soon but who knew how many days that would take.


    She was happy yet sad.


    Vivian had finally found her brother but to build the rtionship which they never got to build since the time they were children it created an empty, vacant space where it would take time. She had spent her entire time with Leonard, his family and people whom they knew, their connection stronger than the bond she shared with her only living family.


    Two days passed like that and it had already be unbearable to not have Leo around her. She hadn''t felt like this before as a scenario like this had never raised. After she finished helping Mrs Nelson, she decided to go to a ce to collect memories.


    The house of the Harlow where she was apanied by her brother Gregory as he never knew about them either.


    The siblings stopped the carriage which was left by Lord Alexander at Nelson''s house. The Nelson''s belonged to lower than the middle-ss family and for a family that cut wood, the carriage was expensive for them to buy. Upon the word of Lord Alexander, where Leonard had dropped a word of his wife staying back, the Lord had sent a carriage for her use.


    Vivian looked at therge house. It wasn''t big nor was it small. The settings very familiar as if she hade here before. The iron gates creaked loudly as Gregory pushed them. Vivian stared at the house which had apparently not been used after the owner''s death.


    All this time, she was used to touching things before going to the past but this itself felt like a dream. She was nervous and she didn''t know why.


    "Let me open the door," said Gregory who had acquired the key of the lock to the main door. As he fumbled through the keys which they had borrowed from the magistrate upon the good word of Lord Alexander, Vivian looked around to see the few houses that were built far away from the house she now stood in.


    Finally, unlocking the door, Gregory opened it and pushed the door open for both of them to get in.


    Vivian as if in dream state walked inside the house, her eyes following a trail of objects which were down on the floor as if someone had broken into the house but she knew it wasn''t true. She had seen the reason and heard it from Leo after a lot of courage on why the house was in this state now.


    "Aren''t houses supposed to be cleaned after the death of the owners?" asked Gregory, his face turning left and right, "This ce looks like it hasn''t been cleaned."


    "Yes," Vivian answered but it was more of a response where she didn''t know what else to say. She was scared to touch anything because each object would hold memory and she wasn''t sure if she was ready to see the painful time of when her parents her abandoned not only her but also her younger brother.


    Had they been behind money and the status so much that he had decided to erase the very existence of their children? How could they let them go? They were little children who knew nothing about the world. Were they not their children? Their own blood, how could one do it?


    At first, she hadn''t nned to go through the memory of what Leo had done but she knew she would have to face the truth. To see the end and when she did, she hadn''t slept that night but she could now after digesting the fact for what they had done.


    "You can ask someone to clean it and have Mr and Mrs Nelson moved here. The house is bigger, and it has more space which you can use in the future," Vivian didn''t n to live in here as Leo was her family now. She would go where he was and if she wasn''t married, she wouldn''t like to stay here. This house would contain memories she wouldn''t want to and the things that transpired here would haunt her.


    Even the good ones woulde to haunt her.


    If Vivian could she would wish for everything to be to a ce where there weren''t ck witches hunting and hurting their parents or other families but the reality was far from the dream world she wished for.


    Spending time looking through things and the rooms, she came to realize one thing. Her parents were the people who worshipped the elites and hoped to be part of it. Having a daughter who was a human would not only bring disgrace but also doubt on them. It was unheard for the pureblooded vampires to give birth to children to turn to humans.


    Her heart began to thump quickly and she ced her hand wondering when it would stop behaving like this. It was ufortable for her.


    Feeling the need to have water, she searched for it before her brother came to notice, "What is it, sister Vivian?" Gregory asked concerned.


    "There''s no water in here. The taps don''t work. Do you think you could ask the coachman to get us some water to drink?" she asked him standing in the middle of the hall.


    "Of course. I will be right back," he replied to go outside the house. Gregory going out saw that the carriage they hade in waiting outside the house. Going to it, he searched for the coachman but the man appeared to be not there. Not wanting to wait for the man as his sister had asked for water, the younger sibling deciding to go in search of the water which he should be able to get easily from a fellow house.


    While Gregory left in search of water, Vivian turned to see her brother out of the house. Already knowing theyout of the house, she went to the ce where she had been locked before the day she had been sent away from here to Bonke with Martha.


    It saddened her as she thought about it. Taking a deep breath, she touched the walls that were filled with her in it,


    "Ms Vivian, don''t stick too close to the wall. Your mother won''t be happy if it got dirtied. Come let me show you the clouds today," the maid said gently pulled her away from the wall.


    "Clouds?" came her small voice.


    "That''s right. I saw a rabbit up in the sky. It must be there," this got little Vivian''s attention and she happily went to walk outside the house but the rabbit was not seen anywhere, "It must be there, I wonder where it went."


    "I see it!" the little girl giggled point at this something that looked nowhere close to a rabbit.


    "Oh yes," voice the maid even though she didn''t nowhere exactly the rabbit the girl saw at.


    Before Vivian could further see the scene that had happened in the past, her vision started to cloud to turn ck suddenly as if someone had put her in a room and had blown out the candle. Her vision kept fluctuating to the point where she had to stumble across while her heart began to thump faster in her chest.


    Walking around the house she finally turned to look at her expression where she felt her heart sink by her.?The ss was dirty but not enough for her reflection not to be seen.


    Right there stood a girl whose eyes were of not simr colour. One of her eyes was red in colour and the other was ck in colour. It wasn''t the ck which she possessed when she was a human. It was the colour that she had seen in Mrs Carmichael''s eyes.


    Worried, her anxiety began to build not knowing what to do. As if heaving for air like she was under a panic attack, she looked around her vision still not clear enough. What was happening to her? Running out of the house, she saw the coachman who had only returned back,


    "Take me to the Gibbs mansion," she said while hiding her ck eye from, "Immediately!" she ordered him. The coachman opened the door for her and rode the carriage to the addressed mansion.


    The Gibbs mansion wasn''t far from the Harlows which was a quick trip, and once she reached she knocked on the door while keeping her voice calm and collected, her eye still covered with her eye,


    "Lady Vivian," the housekeeper weed her warmly, "Pleasee in. Master Leonard said you might visit. Are you alright?" she asked concerned.


    Vivian nodded her head, "Yes. Could you do me a favour?"


    "Anything," the housekeeper answered beforeing to wait what thedy wanted.


    "Could you please send the coachman outside to Lord Alexander. Tell him that I have asked for Leo''s return immediately. As soon as he can," the woman wanted to know if everything was alright but thedy had already mentioned she was alright. Not wanting to be intrusive, she bowed her head.


    "Please rest in your room. I will ask the man to send your message to the Lord."


    "Thank you,"? and Vivian went to the room which she had previously used with Leo.

 Chapter 248 - Dying Heart

    ~263 chapters updated until now~


    Gregory who hade back to the house with water had been startled to not find his elder sister in there. He had searched the house over and over again after realizing she wasn''t there here. Worried he had first nned to look around the vige. On suspicion, he had gone to Gibb''s house which wasn''t far from here. Upon reaching he had met the housekeeper who had asked him a hundred questions before letting him in.


    Thought the housekeeper had let him in, Vivian had the door of the room locked from inside.


    "I am fine," said Vivian when Gregory knocked on the door, "I felt a little tired and needed to rest. Please don''t worry about me."


    "If you are unwell I can take you to the doctor, Sister Vivian," offered her brother but a doctor could not help her right now. She didn''t know what to do because Leo was far away from her and there was no one she could actuallye to trust.


    "That won''t be necessary. I am not used to the hot weather here. A little rest should make me feel better," she said for him to murmur a half-hearted okay as he was still worried about her well being.


    She had told them that she needed rest, but she could hardlye to rest as the pain only increased in time and her vision kept dulling more thaning back to normal as sheid on the bed.?As time ticked away, the burning in her chest only grew that much more where she avoided to sep out of the room.


    She was scared to go out.


    Going to stand in front of the mirror, she couldn''t stop staring at her reflection. At first, she had thought it was her imagination but it wasn''t. Her two different coloured eyes stared back at her. The surrounding of the eye which was pitch cking to dry the skin around it.


    Vivian felt a sharp pain in her chest and her legs gave out making her sit on her knees as she writhed in pain, "Argh!" she twisted herself on the cold floor. Tears started to stream down her eyes due to the pain and she cried herself to sleep.


    The next time she woke up, she felt a warm hand on her forehead. Her eyes opened slowly and she moved away quickly at the sight of Lord Alexander in the room.


    "What are you doing here?" she asked him standing defensively where the lord stared at her. She noticed the way he looked into her eyes as if gauging on what had just happened.


    "Your brother called me for help," Lord Alexander answered. Her brother, Vivian closed her eyes. She had a headache right now but there were other things hat continued to hurt in her body where she refused to acknowledge.


    "Did you send a word to Leo?" was her next question. She wanted Leo next to her.


    "I did but you need to know that delivery a message will take a lot of time before hees back here," she nodded her head. She knew that. And then he said something she didn''t want to ept, "Vivian your heart is corrupting."


    She had guessed right.


    "Is there no cure to it?" she asked softly looking away from him. Her hand turned to fist at how and why it had turned out like this.


    "If there was one, many men and women would have never died. There would have not been more deaths. Unfortunately, there is no cure for it. I am sorry," and as she said it she could feel the tears that burned her eyes, "I cannot let you walk out and will have to detain you here."


    Vivian knew the fate of the corrupted hearts. The only path they had was destruction and death in the end.


    "What now?" she asked in the quiet room where it was only her and the lord, "Why won''t you put me through death?" she asked him. It wasn''t umon to end the lives of the corrupted hearts due to the threat they held to society.


    "I cannot kill you, Vivian. If that is what you are asking. Your case is unique. You weren''t a pureblooded vampire before who had been turned to a human and now you are back to your pureblooded self. Things don''t change without any external factor. Your heart was corrupted before, wasn''t it?" he asked her, his blood-red eyes staring into hers, "The council learnt the properties of the potion which was made by the ck witch but no one ever studied a case like yours. The pureblooded core of your heart turned back to life but not to get back to your original state. The reason was that it wanted toplete the transformation."


    Something told Vivian that the Lord wasn''t talking about the transformation of her human to vampire.


    "With what I have observed, the core of your heart was corrupted ears ago but not to the full extent."


    "Why didn''t it happen then?"


    "I don''t know," he shook his head, "I can tell this much, that when you were turned to your human self the core stopped or paused itself from its existence. In such a way that it never got to corrupt it back then but it is turning you back your vampire self...Your body wants toplete the process of corruption and it won''t stop until you arepletely corrupted. It is only a theory," he added thest sentence after noticing tears falling down from her eyes. Going to her, he offered her his handkerchief.


    "I won''t kill you right now because we don''t know how exactly things are going to be and what is going to happen. I will give it time before wee to decide," his voice was serious as he said it, "Please rest in the meantime. I will leave to of my guardsmen in here. Goodnight,"? walking to the door, he opened and closed it behind him.


    Vivian knew that the guards weren''t here to protect her but to make sure she didn''t harm anyone. If the situation turned dire where she would start killing everyone, the guards would not be hesitant to restrain and kill her.


    Going to the door, she locked it from inside.


    The night wasn''t easy to pass as the pain continued to increase in her chest and her vision only turned that bad in hours that came to pass by. As she hugged herself from the pain that she felt now, she came to realize what her recurring dream meant.


    She had turned to a vampire whose heart had been corrupted and just as her dream, her body was going in that direction. The thing that scared her most was the oue of her dream with Leo dying by her hands. She was terrified right now and there was no one to console her. Tears continued to fall down from her eyes down on the mattress to wet the sheets where her headid.


    She cried, the pain getting worse which made her wonder if she would be able to survive this until tomorrow. Hearing the rustle behind her, she turned around to slowly get up and see the shadow that hovered in the corner of the room.


    "Everest," she called out its name as more tears came to fill her eyes. She sniffed softly, moving herself to let her legs hang. Seeing that it was just them, the ghoul came forward to see the girl who was visibly upset with water falling down her eyes.


    Vivian had cried to the point where her head felt heavy.


    The ghoul didn''t say or do anything but stood in front of her before raising its hand up to her face and moving its boney fingers across her cheek to pick the saltwater. It brought its hand towards it and looked at the water which it couldn''t feel. After all, the ghoul had no flesh or warmth yet the ghoul behaved oddly towards this young girl.


    It garbled something when it looked from its hand to her.


    She shook her head as if it had asked what happened, "I..." she took a deep breath but she couldn''t do it and broke down, "I am scared, E-Everest," she said cing her face in both her hands. It took her some time to hold back the tears and when she finally had calmed down, she lifted her face, "How long will it take for you to go to Bonke?" she asked the ghoul.


    It raised its boney hands to show a finger.


    "One day?" she asked to confirm. The ghoul was much faster than the man who was now riding the coach to Bonke to inform Leonard. She then heard the ghoul say something to her, "What is it?" she wished she could understand what it was trying to tell her.


    "One day," she repeated seeing its hand still up in the air. It garbled again. Her head which had been hurting due tock of sleep, crying only increased with the puzzle it was leaving until she wondered, "Do you mean...an hour?" the ghoul garbled to drop its hand down to its side.


    "I have a favour to ask of you...." and Vivian dropped her words very clearly. She said every little thing she wished to say and ry the message on time, "Don''t worry about me. I shall wait here," she promised the ghoul.


    By the time the ghoul had returned back Vivian had fallen asleep. The ghoul didn''t move away once from the room and kept its sight on the girl. It stuck standing in the room, waiting for her to wake up while also guarding the door so that no one would enter to harm her.


    Vivian woke up to the pain in her heart, her heart-tugging like several needles had been pushed and pulled with the strings. Sitting up, she found a parchment of paper rolled next to her and not far was the ghoul that stood in silence.


    Not waiting for another second, she took hold of the parchment in her hand and unfolded it to read,


    <i>''Dear Vivian,</i>


    <i>Leonard and I have left Bonke. We shall be there as soon as we can. I have dropped a word to Lord Alexander. Do not be worried.''?</i>


    The paper was signed by Lord Nichs.


    That was two days less, thought Vivian to herself. After talking to Lord Alexander yesterday she was afraid of what he had told to be true and it was likely to be true. She didn''t know how much longer the time she had. Even though if she would have a whole week or a month, it didn''t remove the point that she was going to be a threat to everyone around. If a corrupted vampire bit into another vampire, there were chances of the corruption being multiplied. It was one of the reasons why the ck witch was trying to target them with her potion.


    She had meals given by the housekeeper but the guards didn''t let the woman pass through. They were under strict orders by the Lord to not let anyone pass from inside or outside. Even her brother wasn''t allowed, but Vivian was in no position to meet anyone.


    It was during the time of noon when she heard a whispering which didn''te from the ghoul who chose to stand in the shadows.


    "Sister Vivian!"


    "Gregory?" she looked at her younger brother surprised who had climbed up to the window to talk to her, "What are you doing here?" she asked worried that he might fall until she came to realize he was a vampire and a fall like this wouldn''t hurt him.


    She noticed the way he observed her, his eyes looking at her face, "You look ill," he noted, "Is that why they have restricted you from going out?" seeing her nod he said, "I guess the Lord wasn''t helpful in bringing help to help you. Let us go to visit another doctor."


    "It won''t help, Gregory," unable to meet his eyes with the sadness that came to make a home in her eyes, she looked away.


    "Why not? A pureblooded vampire doesn''t fall sick that easily and if we do, it cures itself in a few days. Faster than humans," he held the sides of the window so that he wouldn''t fall down.


    "Have you heard corruption of heart?" she saw the look of shock that came to fall on his face, "No one can treat me. Lord Alexander said my body is trying toplete the corruption which had been iplete for thest few years."


    Silence fell between them before she started cough holding her chest with her hand. She coughed until she felt something wet on her hand. Looking down she came to see the red blood she had just coughed. Her body had started to fail her.


    Vampires heart usually got corrupted easily but as she was a special case, the process seemed to have been elongated.


    "How much time do you have?"


    "I don''t know..." she whispered the answer.

 Chapter 249 - Let Me See You

    "There hasn''t been a case like mine so I don''t know how much time I might have. Excuse me,"? she went to pick up the towel that was ced on top of the chair. Wiping the blood that she had coughed, she came back to the window, "You should go back Gregory."


    But her brother who was young shook his head unhappily, "We might have not known and been together for a long time but you are my only sister and family. Though mother and father you and I are connected by blood, Sister Vivian and I won''t allow this sickness to let you suffer."


    Vivian turned back to look at the door which she felt had been tried to be opened from the outside, "You don''t understand, I am dying," her words held pain in them as she voiced them out to him clearly, "The corruption of the heart...it is going to turn me into something I am not. I am going to be a threat to everyone around me."


    "That doesn''t mean we are sure about it."


    "That has been the fate for all the vampires who had corrupted their hearts. Don''t worry about me," she assured him even though she knew there was a lot to be worried. Especially with the way, her heart was hurting her, she flinched.


    "Sister Vivian, if you say your time is less, shouldn''t you be out and on your way to meet the Duke? What are you doing here then?" The question hit her hard, she wanted to go but how could she in the condition she was in? "Is he on his way?"


    She nodded her head, "Lord Nichs and Leo are on their way to Valeria,"? hope started to rise at the thought that she would be able to see Leo sooner. If she could travel half the distance it would save them time. But how? As if something was shing in her mind, she said to her younger brother, "Can you get a hold of a carriage?"


    "Consider it done. What about the guards?"


    "I will handle them. I will see you in less than fifteen minutes," she informed him and Gregory dropped down from the window to get a carriage. The boy couldn''t afford one, but he could steal one easily.


    Vivian closed the curtains of the room to hear the ghoul garble, "I need to go meet Leo, Everst,"? she said hoping it would understand her words, "I would need you to go visit them again but before that, we need to do something about the guards who are outside. Even the housekeeper," she hadn''t finished speaking but the ghoul had already started to head towards the door, "Wait!" she whispered to it.


    The sounds of twigs breakinging from it turning its neck to look at her, "Please don''t kill them. They just need to turn unconscious," the ghoul garbled again before heading out and in less than one minute she heard the thud sounds. The ghoul opened the door for her to step outside. Grabbing the coat, she wore it along with her boots.


    Vivian saw the two guardsmen lying on the floor and not from where she stepped away from them she saw the housekeeper lying on the floor of the kitchen.


    "I will see youter, Everest. Thank you," she bowed her head and ran out of the house.


    Covering her face, she stepped out and started to head down the road when she caught sight of Gregory riding a carriage, "Hurry!" her hands fumbled over the handle of the carriage and she stepped inside.


    Vivian knew that Lord Alexander had meant nothing ill towards her and for what she did right now, he would be furious. More than furious as letting out a pureblooded vampire whose heart was in the process of gettingpletely corrupted, there were risks of her attacking people which she hoped she wouldn''t. She stared at her reflection on the little oval window where she saw the color of her one eye which hadn''t gone back to normal nor did the skin around that eye.


    The ride wasn''t a pleasant one and every now and then, her vision started drifting more into the darkness than it being in the light. After a good continuous nine hours of journey, Vivian knocked on the window for her brother to stop and he pulled the reins of the horses, making them halt at the side of the road.


    Gregory jumped down from his seat and opened the door to see his sister breathing heavily, "Sister Vivian.." his words drifted as she started to move away from the carriage.


    "I need some air," her voice was faint which worried the boy. She continued to walk inside the forest that was covered in snow.


    Her head began to spin. Vivian wasn''t sure if it was because of the corruption causing it or if it was the journey where they hadn''t taken a stop since they had left the town. Her feet unstable as it shivered in the cold weather, she ced one step after another until she was far away from the carriage. They had traveled far away from the town, therefore, she doubted there would be anyone who woulde to catch them. But her condition wasn''t a simple one therefore taking a break in between wasn''t feasible.


    Suddenly, her knees gave out and she fell on the snow ground floor of the forest.


    "Sister Vivian!" Gregory came running to where she was.


    Vivian''s forehead touched the surface of the snow, the coldness not able to divert her mind from the crucifying pain that her body writhed in pain. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes as it turned unbearable. She could feel something changing within her, the air getting thicker and heavy as if the air was disappearing around her.


    The more she tried to gasp for air the harder it got.


    Before Gregory coulde close to her, she growled loudly for him to retreat his hand back that he was going to ce on her back.


    "Stay away from me!" her voice sounded slightly difficult which worried him, "Take the carriage with you. Lead Leo and the others here," but Gregory wasn''t willing to leave her here stranded in the forest. He noticed the little shivers of tremors that shook her body due to the cold. Though for a vampire it shouldn''t have been that bad, she was shivering as much as a human would.


    "I can''t leave you here. If you ride with me, it will be faster an-" a loud growl echoed throughout the forest that came from Vivian.


    She heaved for breath, her head slowly turning to look at him when his eyes widened at the sight of twopletely ck eyes looking at him, "Don''t you understand, Gregory," her eyebrows furrowed, the skin that was smooth looking dry, her lips had lost the pink color which once had, "My heart is corrupting faster than I thought. I cannot go with you anymore."


    "...." the boy had fallen short of words. He didn''t know what to do.


    "Go to Leo and direct him here. Now!" she said, her fangsing out as she growled thest word.


    "But Sister Vivian we can make sure nothing happens. We are very close to meeting them," and just as he went to help her stand, the heart which had been corrupted took hold of the boy and threw him across the forest for him to hit his back to a tree and fall down.


    The core of her heart had already begun losing its essence, the darkness was starting to envelop it around and clouding her mind where she watched the boy whoid on the forest ground groan in pain. Her vision clouded ck, her mind leaving out the reason and sense where she walked to where the boy tried to get up.


    "Sister Vi-" Vivian caught hold of the boy''s neck with one hand of her hands. Though she was shorter in staturepared to him, her strength had doubled with the corruption of her heart. When her hands squeezed his neck, her clouded eyes and mind came to herself. She suddenly let go of his neck, taking her hand to hold it back with the other terrified.


    Vivian didn''t understand how at one point she had been on the ground and now she was here standing in front of her brother Gregory. The boy coughed holding his neck. She took a couple of steps back.


    She had tried to kill him...and as the thought sunk into her mind, she felt herself shudder over the thought. She had not meant to harm him but her corrupted heart was poisoning her quickly. It brought back memories of the time she had killed the switcher in the council. Blood on her hands which she still couldn''t forget.


    "Please leave before I do something regretful which I don''t mean to,"? Vivian sounded broken, her voice filled with sadness as she walked away from him and further into the forest.


    The boy stood, tears thick in his voice as he said, "I wille soon with the Duke. Please be careful."


    Reluctantly he moved before starting to walk back to the carriage. Vivian heard the carriage leave, her steps moving forward aimlessly into the heart of the forest. The already cold wind which moved from the far end of the forest picked up more cold from the ground to pass and spread through the entire forest. Her eyes that once held full of light and brightness in them as she spoke were now dull and ck in color. Her fangs were out and so were her nails that had elongated as another sign of her heart being corrupted.


    From the corner of her eyes, she found the ghoul who had decided to appear in front of her.


    "Everest, how much longer until I see Leo?" her heart yearned for him and this time when her chest tightened and tears came to wet her eyes, it wasn''t because of the pain that was caused by the corruption, "How did I think life would be but not once did I think this would happen to me. I didn''t get to say and kiss him enough when he left for Bonke. Sometimes your heart craves for more even when you are offered everything. It is onlyter youe to realize, that even a little amount of words, touch and presence are enough to get you through life and it would be more than what you would have ever needed," yet that was enough. No matter how many times she would kiss him and be kissed, the touch would not be enough to mold into one''s soul.


    The ghoul didn''t respond but stayed quiet or the oing blizzard which had silenced its voice.


    Her vision again started toe in and out, this time more than before. She understood that there wasn''t much time but she wished she could see him for this onest time. When she tried to remember her past, she could hardly try to pick any which she had failed to notice earlier.


    It seemed that with the progress of her heart being corrupted, her memories were disappearing one by one. Soon she would not be able to remember anything and her heart wouldpletely cloud in the darkness where no light could be reached. Where she would no longer be herself and would have turned to the person whom her people killed.


    Her heart murmured, her lips moving on its own when she tried to recollect the scene between her and Leo before he departed to Bonke.


    "Wait for me, Bambi," he had told her


    And her response had been, "Come back soon to me."


    When the Blizzard reduced, she heard the ghoul say something to her. Turning her head to her right, she saw it give her a parchment which didn''t have a ribbon and it looked rather crumpled in appearance.


    She took it from the ghoul and went to read before as it was the time of evening and she wouldn''t be able to read because of theck of light and also unsure how long she would be able to see.


    Unfolding it she went to read,


    ''My Vivi,


    I am sorry for leaving you there and I shouldn''t have left you alone. The regret is killing me and I hope you fight it until Ie to get you. Don''t leave before I have the chance to even see and meet you. I will try to be there as soon as I can. Wherever you are, I shall follow you. Even in the depth and pits of darkness. I love you more than anything my heart has loved.


    Leo''


    Tears fell down on the parchment ink which started to spread the letters that were written in. She wiped her eyes and nose, her eyes starting to cloud again as more tears came to spill on her cheeks. Going to the closest tree, she rested her back on it. The ghoul continued to look at her in silence.


    She missed him and no matter how things had turned out to be, nor was she to be med nor was he. Who knew this was going to happen? The vampire doctor had clearly told them that it would take time for the transition toplete and it was only one of the side effects of her turning back but who knew...that internally she was corrupting.


    One thing that scared Vivian was letting Leo see her in a ce where she didn''t belong. Her body was giving away and she knew it.


    When his mother had died, he was the one to end her life by his own hands. Though he hadn''t shown emotions that night, she knew how much it hurt him. Taking away the life of the one whom you cared and loved, the pain would have been too much to carry on oneself. He had killed his mother before anyone else would have done it. Done it in a way which would have looked inhuman and brutal.


    Vivian loved him too much to let him do it to her. By now it was obvious and clear to her that she would be corrupted until she reached the path of insanity which wasn''t too far off. Tired she had fallen asleep for a few minutes before the cold woke her up again. The ghoul had brought some blood along when she had fallen asleep and she didn''t question where and how it had acquired. Her mind was too exhausted to ask any more questions or talk.


    As her lips touched the vessel that contained blood, what she consumed came back spurting out of her mouth as she coughed up the blood on the white ground turning it red.


    At first, her thought was that it was the sudden cough but when she brought the remaining amount of blood that was still in the vessel to her lips she coughed it back.


    "I don''t think the blood is working," she said to the ghoul which sat crouched down looking at her, "Will you miss me, Everest, when I am gone?" she asked the dark creature which knew nothing but pain. It understood this emotion well as it was born from it.


    The ghoul didn''t speak to her but continued to stare at her.


    Her hand let go of the vessel on the ground and she leaned her head back. Every few minutes she coughed the blood from her own body, her vision was dimming and her thoughts going disarray where she couldn''t think straight. Therefore she had chosen to sit down and wait for Leo toe.?She tried her best to keep herself awake but the body had failed her and no antidote could help her recover.


    Minutes felt like hours and she looked up at the sky, the snowkes falling from the sky. Every time she saw the snow fell, it reminded her of the time when Leo had taken her to the snow mansion. Just the two of them, enjoying each other''spany.


    "AHHH!" her voice echoed painfully throughout the forest as she felt her heart being pulled and her vision going ck. This time it didn''t return and she could feel her canines growrger and longer. She realized it was time. When her eyes caught the little light, she searched for the ghoul who had gone around toe back upon her scream.


    She stood up clutching her heart.


    Vivian stared at the ghoul, her head lifted up to see it as the ghoul stood tall and dark in front of her, "I need you to do me a favour, Everest. I need you to kill me," the ghoul garbled noisily as if refusing her request, "Please," she pleaded in a whisper, "You are the only one who? can do it," the ghoul was an expert in killing and she felt it was the right decision before she would go on a hunting spree. She didn''t want to burden Leo with the responsibility of killing her or seeing her killed in front of his eyes. It would kill him and she knew it.


    "If you don''t do this, I might regret even after the time of my death passes by. I don''t think I can hold my urge to kill anymore. Do it for me, Mr Everest. I won''t ask for anything more. Please,"? she said a tear slipping down from the corner of her eyes, "I cannot bear it any longer. It is driving me insane," she felt the ghoul raise its hand up to wipe the tear that had fallen on her cheek.


    This time when the ghoul spoke, its voice sounded quiet and low. Unhappy with her decision but it didn''t appear to refuse what she asked from it. Pulling away it''s hand first, it went to ce it on her beating heart. She didn''t close her eyes and instead continued to stare at the ghoul when it dipped its boney hand into her chest and she felt the unbearable pain course through her.


    Unlike with the other victims, the ghoul didn''t wait or elongate the pain it usually inflicted before killing them. In a snap of a second, the girl''s eyes went vacant and hollow. Her body falling ck where the ghoul swiftly held her with one of its arms.


    By the time Leonard and Lord Nichs arrived along with Gregory, more than four hours had passed with the ghoul holding the young girl in its arms.


    None of them could believe, especially Leo who hadn''t uttered a word. He took Vivian from the ghoul to his arms. Holding her carefully to see her as if she were sleeping. The ghoul had closed the girl''s eyes a few minutes before they had arrived.?Neither did Nichs say anything nor did Gregory who was finding it hard that his sister whom he had only reunited nowid dead in the Duke''s arms. But the harder fact was that there was a creature who he didn''t know of carrying his sister.


    Leo lowered himself and Vivian, without letting her go. There were tons of emotions that passed through him which had turned him numb. The woman he had treasured since they were children had died. And though Leo hadn''t been corrupted, the sight of his beloved wife dead triggered the corruption. Nichs had taken the ghoul away from them to speak and when they returned back


    "What happened here?"


    "Her condition got worse, Leo. She asked the ghoul to kill her," Nichs didn''t go too close but he could see the pale features of Vivian. The colour on her skin had evaporated.


    Leo ran his hand over her face, his touch gentle on her skin just like it always had been. Moving the blonde strands away from her face, he rubbed his finger over her cheek,?"I told you to wait for me. Why?" he pulled Vivian to hug her, his heartbreaking and cracking at the sight of how he found her.


    He had hurried once Nichs had received her letter to give it to him.


    ''Leo, my heart is corrupting. Quickly and I am scared. I don''t know what to do. Lord Alexander said my body is trying toplete the corruption until it isn''t done it won''t stop. If we are unable to meet, please remember that I love you. I have loved you with the whole of my heart just for you. I hope we can meet soon. Love, your Bambi''


    "I am so sorry for noting sooner," he whispered into her hair not letting her go. Tears pooled in his eyes and the thought of her not here anymore was enough for the tears to fall down. Guilt beginning to form for not being there next to her when she needed him the most. For the first time, he cried in front of someone apart from Vivian.


    An hour passed and Nichs who had his arms folded and crossed against his chest saw the couple on the ground. One alive while the other was dead. It was a sad sight. Who knew that things would turn disastrously? No one had predicted or foreseen it and even if they did, it would have been Vivian to know. But she would have never considered for her heart to start corrupting, it hadn''t before so no one could have guessed it.


    Time passed by and the snow only continued to fall one after another from the sky. Nichs took note of his ghoul who had stood behind the tree keeping a distance, looking at the dead girl. They couldn''t stay here long and would have to make a move. It was then he found Leo who spoke something very quietly to the ghoul.


    The lord walked over to them to hear Leo say, "...do it."


    "Leo..." Nichs murmured his name knowing exactly what Leo was nning. He had been around him for a long time to understand the younger man.


    "Do you know, Nick. Some of us search that one person our entire life. Most of us don''t find, some of us don''t value and the little number of us find that one person," Leo looked down at Vivian in his arms, "To live, breath and die. To share every waking hour with that person. We shared a soul bond, we cannot reverse it. In a week or two, I will die. Why wait in despair?" bending down he ced Vivian carefully on the ground making sure it didn''t hurt her body.


    Lord Nichs understood what he meant but there were rare cases where men and women with soulbond coped but right in front of him now. He knew it was a case there was no chance of recovery or hope.


    "I will miss you both," stated Nichs, his voice even and calm but the usual smile that was always on his face had disappeared. He didn''t go to persuade Leo knowing that he had already made up his mind.


    "I will too and I am sure she will too," replied Leonard to have Nichs step forward and hug him. Stepping back Nichs said,


    "I raised you well. Is there anything you wish for?"


    Leo thought for a second and then said, "Yes, bury us in the same coffin," Nichs didn''t like hearing it nheless he agreed.


    He gave Leonard a smile, "Consider it to be done," he gave his word to see Leonard murmur thanks before turning towards his ghoul.


    "I am ready," he said to the ghoul who raised its hand on cue, readying itself as it moved its hand to his chest and he closed his eyes...


    It rained continuously and Vivian ran in the rain, her feet that were covered in boots stepping on the water that had umted. Stopping in front of the tower bell, her eyes searched for something or rather someone before her shoulders slouched in disappointment.?Going to sit on the bench which was attached to the wall, she let her legs rest there for a while as the rain continued to pour down.


    Closing her eyes, she consumed the sound of rain and the silence that it brought along with it. Suddenly the water droplets stopped falling on her as if the rain had stopped. Opening her eyes, she saw a pair of shoes which were covered in dirt at the top of it. Following the shoe up to see who it was she saw it was Leonard who held an umbre with him.


    "You are here," said Vivian looking at Leonard...

 Chapter 250 - Portrait Painting (Year 1847)

    ~263 chapters updated until now, make sure to be up to date!~


    Close to seventy yearster...The Year 1847


    During the time of noon, a woman walked in the corridors of the Rune mansion bored as there was nothing else to do. Her feet were light on the ground where the carpet had beenid, she saw the maids bow at her and she returned it with a nod. Her hair was inky ck in colour, the little fringe had been parted from the middle to be pushed to her sides. She looked at the portraits of the Lord and some of his family which hanged on the walls.


    When the window started to pass her eyes, the colour of brown which looked outside the windows squinting when she caught sight of the mansion''s butler out in the apple orchard. As usual, the man spent a good amount of time in the orchard, his love for apples grew by every single day so much that it made her chuckle. People were strange here and as she made a turn around the corridor she caught sight of the strangest creature which belonged to the Lord himself.


    The creature was tall and dark, its ragged appearance and the peeking boney hands adding a haunted appearance to it. She gulped softly. Having always maintained distance from it, she didn''t go too close to it, not that it had tried to evere close to her.


    But that wasn''t what was peculiar about it. Most of the times she had caught sight of it, it was always at this side of the mansion. And she doubted that it was because not many maids entered here as it was quiet but it stood in front of a portrait of a young couple.


    "What are you doing here, Heidi?" she heard a voice right next to her ear which was of Lord Nichs.


    "I was taking a walk," she murmured to look at the handsome man.


    "Hmm," he gave her a charming smile.


    The woman named Heidi turned to look back at the ghoul who continued to stay still staring at the portrait, "Why does he keep looking at just that one?"


    Nichs'' eyes fell on his ghoul that had been quieter than Narcissus since a few years, "He misses them or rather her, I believe," the woman noticed the sadness that flickered and went away in a blink of his eyes. Heidi could tell that the people in the portrait meant a lot to him and in Nichs'' life, there were only a few who meant something to him. When he started to walk forward, Heidi followed him while the ghoul turned its head at the presence of its master who suddenly disappeared in thin air.


    If there was one thing she hade to know, the ghouls were part of Nichs, "You must miss them too."


    "I do," the Lord answered her with a small sigh escaping from his lips. Years had passed yet that night was something he couldn''t forget. He could only hope that wherever they were now, they were happy together.


    Heidi stood in front of the portrait of the young couple. The woman had an infectious smile that spilt the happiness from her eyes and around her, making the picture that much brighter. The man held her by her waist, his features sharp and almost polished. His smile barely reached his lips but one could say from his eyes that he looked happy as if he had everything in the world right in his arms. They looked happy and in love which even made Heidi smile.


    Below the portrait was the name etched ''Duke Leonard Carmichael and Vivian Carmichael''. Dated Year 1778.

 Chapter 251 - Another Place- Part 1

    ~263 chapters updated until now~


    It rained continuously and Vivian ran in the rain, her feet that were covered in boots stepping on the water that had umted. Stopping in front of the tower bell, her eyes searched for something or rather someone before her shoulders slouched in disappointment.?Going to sit on the bench which was attached to the wall, she let her legs rest there for a while as the rain continued to pour down.


    Closing her eyes, she consumed the sound of rain and the silence that it brought along with it. Suddenly the water droplets stopped falling on her as if the rain had stopped. Opening her eyes, she saw a pair of shoes which were covered in dirt at the top of it. Following the shoe up to see who it was she saw it was Leonard who held an umbre with him.


    "You are here," said Vivian looking at Leonard.


    "I never went away," though his words were serious with his aloof expression looking at her, there was some kind of warmth in them which was enough to warm her up in this chill rain that she had been drenched in, "What were you going to do if I didn''te? nning to spend the night out here?" he asked her as he held the umbre for both of them but more on her side.


    "I forgot and when I realized I came here immediately. I thought I missed you," that wasn''t what it meant but it came out differently as she said that.


    "Did you?" it was a simple question of yes or no but she took seconds to reply to it.


    "Yes."


    "Good," he seemed satisfied with her response, "I will forgive you with that. Come let''s get you warm before you catch a cold," he offered his hand for her to take and she ced her cold ones to feel the same coldness on his which spoke the truth of how long he had stood here waiting for her.


    Stepping under the umbre but not too close to him at the thought of getting him drenched, she stood a few inches away. Out of nowhere, her nose tingled and she sneezed. He took out the coat he wore and put it around her, "Better..."


    The simple gesture made her heart flutter further. She held the sleeve of his shirt to stop him, "Wait," she said looking up anxiously in his eyes.


    "What is it?" he asked in a questionable look.


    Due to the rain, her cheeks had turned pink and flushed in colour, "You...It was raining. You could have gone back home. And I waste," she said thest line in guilt for making him wait for so long.


    "I did not wait for you after you didn''t arrive. I got drenched in the rain and left," Vivian blinked in confusion.


    "But...you are here."


    "Something told me that you woulde here, to fulfil a promise from my dreams. And just like an idiot, you came here without an umbre."


    She felt the word ''idiot'' weigh heavily on her. Realizing something from his sentence, she asked, "What promise?"


    Leonard walked to stand right in front of her. He stared into her eyes without blinking even once which made her heart stutter sweetly, "You promised to wait for me until I returned... and you did." A piece of her blonde hair fell on her face and he raised his hand, first testingly and then to tuck the hair behind her ear. Leaning forward, he hovered his lips on hers very slowly and it was when she raised her neck like a sunflower following the sun did he close the gap by cing his lips on hers.


    He sucked on hers, biting and nibbling it before letting it go to say, "You taste just as I imagined you. Sweet," the word rolled out of his mouth before her eyes turned wide and her cheeks turned red with his unexpected remark.

 Chapter 252 - Another Place -Part 2

    ~269 chapters updated until now~


    Vivian felt a blush cover her cheeks after he pulled away from her lips. She could feel her lips tingle, the warmth that transferred from him to her which kindled and stirred her heart. His lips had been soft and gentle, his breath cool in contrast to the temperature. Before she could ponder more, she was brought back to reality when the droplets of rain fell on her and him as he had lowered the umbre when he had kissed her.


    To her surprise, Leonard caught hold of her wrist and pulled her to his carriage. The coachman wasn''t there which made her wonder if the man had driven the carriage by himself. She could hear the rain hitting the roof of the carriage which made a continuous series of sound while her heart yed music of its own. Her already wet clothes felt cold on her body. Pureblooded vampires weren''t like the average vampires as the pureblooded vampires shared simr characteristics like body temperature and beating heart which had a core which was the essence of the person. Though she wore a jacket, she felt cold and she rubbed her hands.


    Leonard who had changed his clothes had returned back at the thought that maybe, maybe she would havee and she had. He was going to leave Valeria in two days and had wanted to see her. He didn''t understand why but something told him she was special since the time she had knocked her head to his chin.


    Before the hot kettle had been knocked at the tea party he knew as if she was going to knock it down. As if it were in her nature to drop things around her like a clumsy young girl. He didn''t know why he felt that way but he couldn''t take his eyes off her and he didn''t want to. Before he had even met her at the tea party, it seemed that he had seen her in his dreams but there was none he could recollect.


    He saw her thin hands going to rub her hands together before cing it on her cheek and as if sensing his gaze on her, he heard her say, "I don''t think the rain is going to stop any time soon. It''s been like this for four hours," he saw her body shiver in cold. Her hands were covered with his coat but her neck which was bare, he noticed the goosebumps raised on the skin.


    Her eyes that had been looking at the window slowly tore away to look at him and he felt his heart tug.


    "Aren''t you cold, Duke Leonard?" she asked him.


    "Leonard," he corrected her.


    "Huh?" she didn''t understand the first time but the question was already out of her lips.


    "Leo," he stated, "Call me Leo."


    Vivian was attracted to this man but she felt like this was going too fast. Was it normal?


    "I think it is too soon. We only met recently and are strangers who don''t know much about each other..." she said not tearing her eyes away from him. She was a brave pureblooded vampire and even though she didn''t hail from a high family like his, she didn''t want toe off to be weak in front of him.


    "I wouldn''t call us to be strangers, Vivian. Shall I call you, Vivi? Vivi," he let her name roll on his tongue. Her nameing from his lips felt delicate and precious and somewhere at the back of her mind she could hear a faint voice and that voice was none other than his,?"Strangers don''t go kissing each other," he said, the corner of his lips lifting up slowly.


    Hearing this, Vivian looked flustered for bringing it up. Her eyes fell on his lips and then back to his eyes, "You were the one to kiss me! Y-you should apologize for it," she said with a hmph, in the end, crossing her hands to protect her from the cold weather.


    The blonde man titled his head, "Your soft lips pressing back on mine didn''t seem like you wanted an apology out there," he teased turning her head into a mess.


    "Duke Le-" she stopped when he leaned forward bringing his face close to hers.


    "Leo. It feels like we have done this before," Vivian didn''t know what he was talking about. Seeing her give him a clueless expression, he said, "Like you have refused to call me by name before."


    "I don''t think we have met before," she said hurriedly with her heart beating loudly where she could hear it in her own ears.


    "I know," when he spoke, she could feel the tension of his lips on hers due to the close proximity they shared. He then pulled back, leaning his back against the seat, "Did youe to the tea party to find a suitor that day? Who was that man next to you? The one with the curly hair," he questioned her like she owed him answers.


    "I havee to the age where my age girls start getting paired with a suitable person. It was my parent''s idea. Not mine," she added to see him give her a nod.


    "What about the man? Jerome Wells," seemed that Duke Leonard knew the man already but wanted her to speak about him. Was he jealous of someone she had spoken to? Warmth began to spread in her heart. Her eyes looking down before looking back up like the light in the sky after the heavy rain.


    "No no. It was the first time we spoke to each other," he gave another nod and didn''t ask her any more questions, letting his mind drift.


    When Leonard looked outside the window where the water trailed down one after another due to the rain, Vivian took the opportunity to stare at him. His red eyes stared at the window, some of his blonde hair sticking on his forehead due to the rain. His lips set in a thin line which had previously kissed her on her lips.


    Vivian cleared her throat which gained his attention, she asked him, "When will you be returning back to thend of bones?" after the little mishap she had caused in front of the guests in the tea party her mother had reprimanded her on how clumsy she was to knock the Duke of Bonke.


    "In two days," he replied to her and her heart sunk in her chest. She had only met him and she had already grown attached to him, "Why the sad face? Do you want toe visit Bonke?" he asked her.


    "I heard it rains too much there. I don''t know if I will survive the weather."


    "Don''t worry about it. I don''t n to keep you standing outside the mansion under the rain if I invite you," he chuckled making her grin. The sound of the rain reduced in time and he opened the door of the carriage, "I don''t mind giving you a ride back home."


    "That''s okay," Leonard helped her step down from the carriage carefully, "My parents might have a shock if they see meing home in the carriage," she left the part where she hadn''t told anyone except for her brother who had seen her jumping out of the window of her room.


    Not knowing what to say, she bowed her head, "I shall take my leave now," when she started to walk away from him, she heard him call her.


    "Vivian!"


    "Yes?" she turned around.


    "Meet me here tomorrow and don''t forget it this time," he said a small smile on his lips and she nodded her head. When she turned around, a huge smile came to draw on her lips out of giddiness. Humming softly, she walked towards her home. When the Duke left, a shadow moved behind the pir of the tower bell. The dark creature''s robes stood still as it watched the man and woman leave.


    When it returned back, it floated and drifted through the empty corridors without anyone''s notice to appear in front of its master.


    Nichs was opening the bottle of alcohol. He was upset and sad about the way things had turned out to be. Just as he was about to pour the liquid in the ss he noticed the ghoul''s presence.


    "Why are you drenched in water?" asked the Lord to the ghoul who didn''t respond. It looked as if it had been drenched in the rain as the smell it carried was of wet mud but the weather here was one of snow.

 Chapter 253 - Another Place -Part 3

    Vivian who was drenched and wet due to the rain that had poured down, she kicked the little stone that was in her path. She pulled the coat that she wore, feeling the cool air breezing through her to stop and look in realization that she had forgotten to give his overcoat back to him. Turning around she saw no carriage or person as the man lived in the opposite direction. They were going to meet tomorrow, she would give it then to him she nodded to herself. She was already wearing her coat but he had given his for her to wear.


    Reaching the house, she climbed up the window from where she had jumped previously to meet Leonard. Finally getting inside she saw her brother wake up startled where he had been waiting for her return after she had dashed out of the window without any prior notice.


    "Vivi!" her brother Gregory stood up concerned. Seeing her drenched from head to her muddy shoes, he inquired, "Where did you go? And whose coat is that? It smells like a male," frowned her young brother and she had to flick his forehead.


    "I went to meet the Duke," hummed Vivian, taking out the coat and walking into the bathroom where she would wash and dry it by morning.


    "Duke?" her brother questioned, "Duke Armington?"


    "Duke Leonard," her brother first heard her calmly and he then startedugh, "The man whom you butted your head with? What did he want?"


    "We just met," Vivian didn''t hide anything from her sibling and neither did he. Seeing the wide smile that wasn''t toning down from her face, Gregory folded his hands, "What?" she asked not knowing why he had gone suddenly quiet.


    "Oh, nothing. Doesn''t he seem a little too quiet? Or should I say aloof or rude, I don''t know. I heard he''s not good with words."


    "He seemed perfectly capable when speaking to me."


    "Mhmm, capable you say," her brother gave her a knowing look to which she rolled her eyes, "Are you going to meet him again?" he asked her, his back hunching against the table while Vivian walked all around the room picking things that she had not sorted out earlier that day.


    "Yes," she said with a daydream like a smile, "Now get out of my room you nosey little being," she shooed her brother away to lock the door.


    During the time of night, Vivianid on her bed looking at the ceiling of the room as she remembered what she spoke with Leonard over and over again. She made sure to remember everything that had transpired. From the time he had ced his umbre over her head, to the way he had helped her wear his overcoat to the way his lips moved when he spoke to her. The same lips that had touched hers. She brought her fingers up to her face, touching them very softly while she tried to remember how his lips felt.


    Her heart tingled in her chest at the thought of him. Unlike many other men, who would often take time court her, the Duke had swooped and taken her out to spend time. Though technically she had forgotten about their meeting.


    "Leo," she murmured the name on her lips, the unbridled smile nevering to stop.


    When the morning arrived, Vivian decided to sneak out of the house in the name of her brother and her going to the church in the next town. Her brother dropped her off close to the tower bell and went on his way.


    Yesterday, when she had gone to meet him. She hadn''t been in a presentable state and had left in a hurry to meet him. But today was different, thought Vivian to herself. She had dressed her self in one of her finest dress which she had saved for a special asion. Having tied up her hair in loose braids that crisscrossed behind, she walked to the tower bell to see Leonard who had dressed in a crisp inky hue shirt and a ck trouser. It looked that the hair which he hadbed had ruffled itself slightly for it to move a little disarray from the rest of his blond hair.


    The urge to smoothen it her hand itched but she kept it to her side without moving it. As if sensing her presence, he turned his head to look at her.


    Leonard drank in her presence as she got closer, a small nervous smile on her lips. Dressed in a white and pale beige dress with full sleeves, she walked to where she was. The pink tint on her lips didn''t go unnoticed by him, it made him internally smile that she had dressed which showed the eagerness to meet him.


    "Good morning," she greeted him, her heart beating loudly and both smiled at each other. Her''s out of nervousness and his in the assurance of something unknown from the past.


    Leonard instead of wishing as she did, he picked up her hand in his. He leaned and bent forward whilst keeping his eyes on her as he kissed the back of her hand, "Good morning, Vivian," he greeted her, she gulped. This man really was too straight forward in showcasing his emotions but for some reason, it didn''t rm her. Instead, she basked in it as she did with the sun rays now.


    "Shall we?" he asked her, sneakily intertwining two of his finger with two of hers, pulling her to the horse which was tied to the pole.


    Vivian and Leonard spent their time on the horse where she sat in the front. As the man didn''t live there, Vivian was the one to guide him. The horse walking slowly as it took them ces while they spent their time talking about random things. Neither of them had experience when it came to being around the other gender romantically.


    Sitting in front of him, she felt her back touching his firm chest asionally which bloomed her cheeks further. None knew how time passed and when the time of the evening came Leonard took her close to her home to see where she lived. Not willing to part this soon, they stood under the tree in silence. The silence wasn''t awkward but was ratherfortable in each otherspany.


    "I will be leaving tomorrow evening," he informed her. Vivian felt her heart skin at the information. The time she had spent with this man had been wonderful that she had forgotten he would have to go back to Bonke. After all, that was where he lived but she had thought he would be staying here a day more, "The council needs my assistance on a case and have asked me to leave a day early," noticing the sadness that came to settle in her eyes, Leonard said, "I wouldn''t have left if I didn''t have work."


    "I understand," she smiled with a heavy heart. For the first time, she came to realize the expression of cing a rock on one''s chest and doing things, "What is the case about?" she asked him when he saw his lips set in a thin line.


    Though they had spent time together, Vivian hadn''t asked if he was willing to spend more time with her but how could she? It had been barely two meets but then why did it hurt her so much? She blinked back the prickle in her eyes which she didn''t understand.


    "A half-vampire was found beheaded and hanged in the middle of the town. They haven''t been able to find who killed the person," he gave a crisp detail to her without going into too much information, "Have you thought about opening a medicine store? I am sure the people in the vige woulde to buy it from you. That is until and unless you had tested and tried it."


    "I will have to speak to my parents about it again," her parents weren''t happy with her odd work with the herbs. They had once called her hobby simr to witchery which she wasn''t happy to hear.


    "If you were wanted to work, there''s a vampire doctor in the council. He works something very simr to what you do. You might get a lot of exposure to learn from him. That is in Bonke," he said gauging her expression. Leonard for once instead of asking her directly had beaten around the bush.


    "I have my parents here. I don''t think I would be able to leave right now," while Leonard had taken a roundabout, Vivian didn''t understand the subtle hint of his question which he had tried to get an answer for. With neither of them getting to the point, they spent some more time before she bid him a bye with a heavy heart.


    Vivian wanted to spend more time with him but it waste and she had to head inside the home. Turning around when she reached the gates, she turned to see him standing below the tree with his hands in his trouser pockets. The expression on his face was hard to read and the words he had imparted on her were few which had made her wonder if she did something she wasn''t to.


    He was going to leave tomorrow Valeria tomorrow and there was no saying when he would return back here. Her feet didn''t want to get in until the door of the house opened, her head snapped and she hurriedly went inside the house.


    Getting to her room, she climbed the bed andid her head on the pillow with one side resting on its surface.


    There had been several times when her mother had set her up with men of good prospects but never had she felt like this for any of them. At first, the man hade off to be overbearing but spending time and his sweet, polite gestures towards her had made her heart flutter. It felt unrealistic to like someone so soon but it made her wonder if this was what they called love at first sight. But then it was maybe third sight for her.


    Turning around, she closed her eyes. What was she going to do? He had kissed her but he had expressed nothing to her about it today. They hadn''t even kissed which made her ponder if she had thought too much about yesterday. Was she a passing time for him while he was here? And now that he was leaving he didn''t find a point??The thought of him leaving tomorrow ached her heart. But then he didn''t appear to be that type of person. What was she going to do?


    An old ache that hade to resurface back in her chest and mind.

 Chapter 254 - It Was Perfect

    When the next morning arrived, the birds singing their own songs next to the window of Vivian''s room. She squinted her eyes to open them with great difficulty. She didn''t know what time it was, her head buzzing softly as she hadn''t slept wellst night.


    She had been sad at first which followed with the emotion of her being upset as the man she had spent time with thest two days, it was one of those beautiful moments in her life.


    He hadn''t told her anything about meeting her before leaving thend of Valeria to go to Bonke and she hadn''t asked, which she now regretted. She wanted to meet him but of all the time that had passed by, she had forgotten to ask what time he would be leaving in the evening today.


    There was something that nagged her, like a piece of her heart was missing and why was her heart hurting her so much? She didn''t understand that. She ced her hand on her chest as if wanting to pacify it. Plenty of men had tried to woo her but none had evere so close to stealing her heart away.


    A knock on her door broke her thoughts and she saw her young brother step inside with a wrapped parcel in his hand, "Is it someone''s birthday?" she asked. Her brothering inside let the parcel drop on the bed near her.


    "It is for you."


    "For me?" Vivian looked down at the parcel which was small and the size of her fist. Having many admirers in the towns and viges, it wasn''t anything new for her to receive another gift. Unwrapping the gift, she pulled out the little rectangr box. Opening it, a little music was produced which brought a smile on her saddened face, "It''s a music box," she murmured.


    She wondered who it was from as there was no note. Turning around the box, she saw below the wooden box the name ''Leo'' had been carved on it.


    "Is it from the Duke?" she nodded her head at Gregory''s question, "But why the sad face? You didn''t like the gift? I thought you liked human gifts like this than jewelry. Or has it changed?"


    "No," she whispered, "This is more than lovely and thoughtful of him. It is a wonderful gift, Gregory. Tell me, how do you know if a person really likes you?" she looked up to see her brother who had taken the music box from her hand.


    "Hmm, we men are simple creatures, Vivi. If a person likes you, he will be sure to tell and show it. Like this," he showed the music box where the Duke had written his name, "Now, unless, he is the kind of person who wants to take the gift back from you," he joked but Vivian didn''t smile, "Did you fall in love?"


    She stayed quiet at his question and he whistled, "Why don''t you go see him," she shook her head.


    "He''s leaving today."


    "Really? That is soon, and so the whirlwind romance came to a grave point where the woman didn''t know what to do," said Gregory as if he were narrating a story, "Stop sulking, sister Vivian. If you really like the man, go confess to him," he urged her. She looked at him with widened eyes, "You never know what is there at the end of the tunnel until you walk the path."


    Vivian nodded her head, "I had a very strange dream today before I woke up, Greg. There was me and him in there."


    "I heard from the governor it isn''t umon to dream of the person who thing all day long," hemented before saying, "Continue."


    "You know how strange my dreams are, right?" Gregory raised his eyebrows with a sullen look. His sister spoke about strange things. Like how she was a councilwoman writing notes for someone in the council. Or how she was a maid cooking in a mansion. Vivian was from any of it which made the dreams strange, "We were at this beautiful mansion. Snow all over the ce, which was quiet and deserted. There wasn''t anyone but just the two of us there, dancing with the music of the breeze. It was beautiful that I can feel and sense it even now. Like something nostalgic which I am unable to get rid of."


    Vivian felt her heart quicken when she thought about her dream. Why was her dream so vivid as if it had happened. Suddenly she got up, scrambling away from her bed.


    "Where are you going now?"


    "You''reing with me," Vivian said in a hurry, "We are going to the library. Come on," her brother followed her.


    In the local library of the vige, they lived in. Vivian started to go through the racks which she was already ustomed to as she came here to search and learn about the herbs that she could use as medicines. She went through thends and its section,ing to the section that read ''Bonke'' she stopped, running her fingers and flipping the books which covered the others.


    "What is the Lady looking for?" asked the man who was the caretaker of the library to Gregory.


    "Her dreams," the boy replied making the man confused.


    A shadow that stood behind the same rack as it ran its boney finger over the books that were ced,ing upon one of the titles, it pushed the book to her side before disappearing from there.


    Vivian looked at the book that fell right in front of her feet. Bending down she picked it up before her frown in her face disappeared. She looked front and back before opening the book that had a sketch of the mansion. The same mansion that she had been in her dreams ''The abandoned snow mansion''.


    Her hand shakily pushed the page to go to the next one as she read the history of it. But as she read it, a few shes came to run in front of her eyes where she had to close her eyes. Suddenly it felt as if she were hallucinating and she saw a woman in white with blood. Snapping her eyes back open, she closed the book.


    What did she just watch?


    Shaking her head to get rid of the thoughts, she found her brother reading a book who looked up from it, "Did you find it?"


    "The snow mansion," she lifted the book and gave it to him, "I didn''t even know this ce existed. Why did ite in my dream? Do you think this means something?" she asked him.


    "We could always go consult the white witch in the church. She might give insight but I believe you should go see the Duke than regret that you never went to see him. Or see him off," he furrowed his brows, "Wow, this is some scandal," he said reading but never able to start the book properly as Vivian pulled him out of the library.


    "Where are we going?"


    "To the Gibb''s residence! He said he was halting there. Let''s go!" and they rode the carriage while stopping in between to the address. Uponing at the residence. Vivian could feel the palms of her hands getting mmy with sweat. Her heart beating loudly, she bit her lip. Raising her hand to knock but the door opened at the same time.


    "Oh, my!"? the woman eximed, "That was a surprise."


    "I apologize but is Mr. Carmichael here?" Vivian asked, her eyes ncing inside the house for a mere moment before looking back at the woman.


    "The Duke only left fifteen minutes ago. He said, he had to leave early," the news sunk Vivian''s heart which if it was possible would have gone underground.


    "I see. Thank you for the information," Vivian bowed her head at the elderly woman and turned to walk outside where her brother stood.


    "You alright?" he asked as he had heard the little conversation between his sister and the woman in the house.


    "Yes. Do you think, I can take the carriage with me."


    "Okay. Don''t go too far. The ck witches have been flying a little too much in the vicinity."


    "I will keep that in my mind."


    Vivian spent her time riding around in the carriage, going to one town after another to reduce the heaviness in her heart. She had hoped to meet him. To see him. At least one more time before he left. But it was okay, she thought to herself. If needed she could always go to Bonke. It wasn''t that she wasn''t allowed to.


    Maybe if she told him she wanted to work in Bonke, he would have taken her along with him. With a sigh, her shoulders slumped.


    By the time Vivian reached home, it was the time of evening and the sun was readying itself to set. Parking the carriage in the shed, she went around, dragging her feet tortuously slow when she heard,


    "Can you be any slower?"


    Her footsteps halted when she saw Leonard standing in front of her house. He stared at her, and started to walk towards her and stop,


    "I thought you left," Vivian''s voice cracked at the end. His eyes that had been hard softened at her voice and words.


    "How could I," he said in response, "I asked you to wait for me."


    "What?"


    "I had a dream about you. Asking you to wait for me, promises are meant to be kept and so are words," he responded to her, "Vivian," he called her name, "We have known each other for a very short period of time here but I feel like I have known you for years. Like I would be the only one to understand you and you with me," said Leonard not breaking his eye contact with her, "I feel like I have loved you with all my being..."


    And as Leo went to continue, she came to remember something as if they were in a church,


    "From my heart to every fiber in my soul. I do not ask anything from you except for yourself, Vivian. Just you and nothing more or less from it. If you allow me, I will make you the happiest bride. That happiest person and in return I will bow down to all your wishes. I will protect you from every darkness that might ur. Allow me to carry your pain. I will love you more and promise to look after you until and after death,"? tears welled up in Vivian''s eyes as if it were a memory she had forgotten and it was only now she remembered it, "I hope you haven''t forgotten it," streak of tears fell down her cheeks and he wiped them with his finger.


    "Leo..." memories started to flood her. Memories of him and her.


    "Took us both some time to realize, didn''t it?" Leonard smiled, taking another step to close the distance before she started to sob, he wound his hands around her to hug her, whispering, "My Bambi."

 Chapter 255 - Young Memories- Vivian

    The little girl stared outside the window, the rainwater streaking down from the windowpane in thin blurry lines. She stood there before feeling a hand on her shoulder. A small gasp escaped her lips and she turned to look at the housekeeper who stood there with a gentle smile on his lips.


    "What are you doing here, Vivi? Enjoying the rain?" asked Paul who had only been passing through one of the corridor''s of the mansion when he found the little girl staring at the window.


    "I like the rain," the little girl whispered, bringing up her hand to the window, she started to draw.


    "I see you have been making good use of your drawing sses. What is it? It looks like a cloud," said Paul who stepped closer to have a look at the ss where she had run her finger that had started to fog up again.


    "It is Billy," she frowned, unhappy that he had failed to guess what she had drawn.


    "Oh, my! That''s Billy! Yes, yes, how could I forget that," Paul wanted tough at the lovely drawing but when he saw the little girl frown he had quickly cleared his throat, "You see I thought this was the cloud, I just happened to miss the two-ah horns."


    "Leo would have guessed it," Paul''s heart broke as she said it.


    The young master of the Carmichael mansion was being missed by everyone and he knew the little girl missed the boy too. He was her only friend or was it the other around? It was hard to say as Mr. Carmichael''s son never mingled with people, not that he didn''t but he usually observed and that was what Paul observed.


    After he was sent away, the house had turned even quieter than before. The two little young ones had spent their time together here, getting attached to each other.


    "Where is he?" little Vivian turnedpletely to face Paul who had crouched previously to look at her drawing which had almost been erased due to the continuous rain.


    "It will take time for him to return back, dear. He''s studying at the Lord''s mansion as well as Mr. Rufus'' mansion so that he can be a great man," answered Paul, trying to keep his words as simple as possible. There were times the housekeeper noticed on how fast the little girl was in a few things but there were also times when she was slow to understand. She was, after all, a little girl and someone he had started to take under his wing.


    "But Paul..."


    "Hmm?" Paul leaned closer to hear what she was saying. A lightning-struck outside far away from the mansion and soon thunder followed it.


    Little Vivian''s lips tightened and then opened to say, "Leo is already great," her words were innocent and Paul stared at the girl for two whole good seconds before chuckling.


    "He is dear."


    "Why youugh?" the girl looked worried as well as confused as to what happened.


    "Do you know just how adorable you are?" the housekeeper asked, "Come, Martha has cooked something special for your birthday," since the time when Vivian had only arrived at the mansion, the servants along with Leo had decided to pick a day randomly and celebrate her birthday. Little Vivian had been looking forward to celebrating the birthday she had never got to celebrate, especially with her dear friend Leo but he wasn''t here. It saddened her extremely that he hadn''te.


    Did he find new friends and didn''t want to talk to her? it made little Vivian wonder as Paul caught hold of her hand, walking with her to the kitchen were some of them were waiting for her.


    After celebrating her birthday with four other servants with an apple pie, Vivian was taken back to her room in the servants quarters to sleep but little Vivian never fell asleep. Sheid on the bed, ying with the bedsheet as she ran her finger round and round before getting up and stepping out of the room. Going straight to the ss room which she had often spent with Leo, she sat down looking at the rain that fell up on the roof. The sky looked beautiful as she stared at the light that brightened and dimmed every now and then.


    Taking the music box, she twirled it around more than necessary as if doing it would let the box y for eternity. cing it on the cold floor, she spent her time listening to the music as well as the sound of the rain and thunder.


    Little Vivian remembered Leo''s promise to her during the time she and he had gone into the forest. Though Leo hadn''t asked her toe along and had left the mansion at noon without any of the ve''s notice, little Vivian had caught his shadow and had slipped out of the mansion to follow him. It was the same routine every time, where Leo went the little girl followed diligently.


    But things hadn''t gone well and she had got lost. Wailing her eyes in the name of Leo until he found her in two minutes of time.


    "What were you thinking following me?" young Leonard had asked her.


    "Leo," little Vivian sniffed, looking down at her knee which was bleeding. Her eye had turned red due to the tears along with her nose.


    "You dummy. This is why you don''t follow people blindly, especially without knowledge," the young boy came closer to inspect the wound and then say, "It doesn''t look that bad. A little wash and a few days should make it all new," he then had turned around to sit and bring his hands back, "Hop on."


    "You give me ride?" the tears that had been falling out of her eyes suddenly stopped at the thought that the boy was going to let her ride on his back.


    "Hurry while I am still nice," he scolded her yet waited when she moved around slowly, scrambling on the ground before wounding her hands around his neck, "Ready?"


    "Ungh," she responded as if to tell yes. And she was lifted up in the air, with her hanging on his back like a little monkey. After the boy had carried the girl a few steps, the little girl asked, "How did you find me?"


    "You are never quiet. Anyone from the othernd can hear you wailing that loud," the boy muttered under his breath. The little girl adjusted in his back so that she could see the view in front of them. It made her happy that her friend had found her in the forest. She had been scared.


    "Leo, you always find me," she said happily, her tears evaporated in the wind and a smile stered on her small face with the joy of the ride she was getting.


    "Of course, I will. Even if you fall and hide somewhere deep I will find and pull you back."


    "Really?" she leaned to look at his face.


    "Yes, now stop moving around before I drop you."


    And this had happened three days before Leonard was sent away from the Carmichael''s mansion. The little girl''s memories were interrupted by a loud growl in the sky, the growl deep and darker making the shadows much scarier which she hadn''t taken into ount beforeing to the ss room.


    Getting up quickly, her little feet made way out of the ss room but instead of going to the servant''s quarters. She went to the other room and fell asleep on the bed.


    Mrs Carmichael, who hadn''t been able to fall asleep herself during the same night, took a stroll around the corridors beforeing upon her son''s room. She missed her son but she knew it was for his betterment that he was sent away. Noticing the door open, she went to close it when she caught sight of a little body on the bed sound asleep.


    Walking inside the room she saw it was the little girl whom her son was attached to. She stared at the girl for a minute, a smileing upon her lips at the thought of what the future held. Going around the bed, she pulled the nket and covered the girl with it before closing the door quietly shut behind her.

 Chapter 256 - Young Memories- Leonard

    The young boy carried the books in his hands as he walked down the corridor. His blonde hair hovering over his forehead which he hadbed neatly. He had pulled out five books from the study room so that he could read them in one go than keep walking back and forth by wasting time.


    The Rune mansion was quiet not because they didn''t have guests often but because at this hour of the night with the clock striking two in the morning as he had just passed through a standing clock that hade out with the bat before going back to its home. It waste at night but the young boy wasn''t sleepy. Weeks had passed since he was sent here to fix his anger which in truth he didn''t know needed any fixing.


    The time when he had only arrived, he had locked himself in the room. The Rufus had been nice but the same didn''t hold when it came to the Lord''s mansion. Since the time he hadid his eyes on the man, there was something odd about him like a mask he could see through. And as he continued to walk down the corridors, he caught sight of a shadow that hovered in the corners of the walls. His face turned hard at the sight of it.


    The ghoul, young Leonard noticed the way it hovered, moving from one wall to the next as it moved away from him. The first time the boy had noticed it, it had scared the soul out of him. No matter how brave, a creature this tall wasn''t something he was used to nor had the knowledge about it. It was a secret of the Lord the man had let him in with which made him wonder if he had allowed him to see it for the sole purpose to make him feel weed. Not bothering with it, he went up to his room and locked the door. cing the books neatly on the side table, he went around the bed to take notice of the chair than he was yet to fix as it was broken by him when he came here.


    The Lord had spoken to him after?witnessing the dent marks on the wall of this room.


    "Does it make you angry of how unfair life is when you have to take the me for someone else''s doing?" the young boy hadn''t said a word, his rage still hot and coursing through his veins.


    Young Leo didn''t speak on the taunting words of the Lord and instead only stared at him.


    "Why don''t you show me how angry you are?" the boy''s eyes narrowed at Lord Nichs'' words. Though Leonard was young it didn''t mean he was stupid, "What''s the matter?" the man smiled down from the entrance of the room, "Letting a little steam helps. How about this, I will let you go home if you can scratch on my skin."


    It didn''t take the little boy to break the chair near to him, with the sharp edge he went straight to the kill without hesitating to make Nichs chuckle just when the sharp edge of the wood came close to his before the boy stepped away to throw the broken wood across the room. The Lord thought that the boy had given up easily before young Leonard came right at him again this time in a surprise where he ced his ws right above the man''s neck. It was hard to say if the Lord had let the boy win or if the boy had pulled himself back from doing any damage.


    "Don''t taunt me just because I am little. I know what you are trying," young Leo''s eyes red up before finally stepping away from the tall man.


    "Do you now?" Lord Nichs beamed with a smile that annoyed the younger male in the room who turned away to pick the wooden chair which he had broken on impulse, "Do you know Leo-"


    "Leonard," corrected the young one which the Lord didn''t take into ount.


    "Leo," Lord Nichs tested yful for the boy to roll his eyes and ignore the man''s presence, "Anger is a very good trait. I am serious," the Lord said walking to the piece of wood which had been used previously to attack him, "Emotions need to be controlled and I believe your emotions are fine for a vampire."


    "What am I doing here then?" questioned young Leo for the man to continue to smile.


    "You broke a boy''s fang, do you know what it means in the vampire world?"


    "Breaking a fang means bringing shame to the vampire. Fangs are one of the valued assets for a vampire, especially a pureblooded vampire. If you are nning to educate me over it I am already aware of this," answered the young boy as if bored with the Lord.


    Lord Nichs had then smiled, "There is an edict in the council, edict thirteen which states the reversal punishments. You broke the boy''s fang which is of grave importance. If the word went up to the council, regardless of your age, your fangs would be broken too. What was the need to break it for a mere sheep? Was it your pet?" the Lord asked, his eyes curiously waiting for an answer. The man didn''t have an issue with pets but he found it quite strange that a pureblooded boy would attach himself to a sheep.


    "It wasn''t," replied the boy which intrigued the lord more.


    "You don''t seem to me to be the type to go hitting your own cousins for no reason."


    "It was Vivi''s pet," A girl? questioned Lord Nichs in his mind, how interesting.


    The young boy after remembering the little chat he had with the Lord who seemed overly friendly as well as suspicious, he had taken him out to hunt in the forest the next day. Getting on the bed and cing thentern close to his side, he leaned back to read the book that was at the top. He read the book for an hour before closing and cing it aside from the rest.


    With the weeks that had gone by, he was still getting used to the lifestyle here. The quiet mansion which only had the servants and the Lord living it, not to forget the two ghouls that came in and out without anyone''s notice. Thunder growled up in the sky, the firece that had been burning brightly now dimmed with most of the logs turning bright to only reduce to ashes. The rain continued in thend of Bonke where the Rune mansion stood tall and proud.


    The boy stepped down from the bed, cing his warm feet on the cold ice-like floor. Pushing himself up, he walked to the balcony doors, pushing it to see the rain that poured down without a stop. It was one of the nights with heavy rain and thunder. The smell of the rain heavy in the air as the wind blew. He closed the door.


    It was the little girl''s birthday today, thought young Leo without a hint of expression that came to pass across his features. It wasn''t that he had forgotten about it. He remembered it since he had got to bedst night but he had been stubborn t not go back to Carmichael''s mansion, his home.?He was a little boy yet the pride was too high that reached the length of the ceiling.


    Going back to sit on the bed, he turned his face to look at the window where the rainwater slid down the windowpane. Pushing the mattress of the bed, he picked the little box that he had hidden. The box made a clinking sound as if the music box coughing just as he opened it.


    He had given his music box to her while buying a new one for himself. Not that he wanted to give her a used one because but the music box had been tuned to his liking. He had meddled it around as it had been broken before getting it fixed by his own hands and that had more value. Things that were old were always precious.


    The blonde boy didn''t smile but that didn''t mean he didn''t smile internally at the thought of the girl.


    He wondered if she was crying due to his absence. The cry baby Bambi, thought the boy. Thest time she had cried it had startled him enough to go chasing through the forest to find her on the ground with her knee bleeding.


    Leo had then given her a ride back home on his back before being caught by the housekeeper.


    Paul had looked shocked, running towards them at the sight of the blood that continued to trickle down from her knee, "Master Leonard. Vivian!" the housekeeper''s voice a little harsher towards Vivian. Not because she was a maid like a housekeeper but because the man had taken her as his responsibility. And it was always easier to scold people who were close than the one with boundaries.


    "Paul!" Little Vivian hadn''t picked the scolding and instead, her voice came out ted with happiness with the ride she had had on Leo''s back, "We are back."


    "What happened to your leg? Master Leonard, you can drop her now. I will take her," offered the housekeeper while also making sure to see that no one had caught them. No matter how young they were, it didn''t look good for the young master to be carrying a maid who was beneath him.


    "No!" the girl wounded her hands more securely around the boy''s neck while pressing her lips tightly.


    Paul who went to reach for her felt the distance increase. He then looked at Leonard who had a simr expression as Vivian, "I will take her to the room. You can prepare warm water and bring a cloth with you." The housekeeper was already aware of the stubbornness of the young man and nodded instead of bickering here in the hallway. Paul was trying to be careful but the entire mansion knew the friendship the two little children shared together.


    Vivian was then made to sit in her bedroom, her wounded leg ced on Leo''s knee as he crouched on the floor so that he could clean it. The boy had taken the initiative to take care of the wound without letting Paul help. It worried the older man in the room, wondering to himself how long this friendship wouldst. Every time he subtly tried to take the girl away it seemed like the little boy already knew about it and would quickly close the distance with an unsightly re at him.


    "Vivi, why did you go to the forest? Didn''t Martha ask you to stay inside the mansion?" questioned Paul with a stern voice.


    "I saw Leo going there," the little girl answered as if it were an obvious thing to do, "Ah!" she yelped in pain when Leo dabbed the wet cloth on her wound so that he could clean it, his hand''s gentle. Little Vivian asionally flinched with pain when the little stick with the tip of cotton touched her red skin, removing the dirt and dried blood. The young boy had done an excellent job in giving the girl a first-aid, her knee wrapped around with a bandage to be tied securely.


    The housekeeper though wanting to scold, he had been worried when he had seen the girl hurt,?"Master Leonard," Paul took the matter to the boy so that he would aid in the little problem which wouldn''t ur again in the future. Seeing the boy nod, the housekeeper let out a rxed sigh.


    "The next time you want to go, call me instead of crying in the middle of the forest. I will take you along with me," the housekeeper snapped his head not expecting this turn of words.


    "Every time?" little Vivian asked.


    "Any time," he promised the girl.

 Chapter 257 - Paul’s Home (memories Of The Past)

    A few years passed where little Vivian had grown older to the time from when Leonard had gone to live at the Rune''s mansion. The girl had grown to be at the age of thirteen, grown up in height and mind where she hade to the age where one started to understand the world she lived in.


    She wore a dress which was a pale olive color that was gifted by Mrs. Carmichael. She was wearing her shoe when she heard Paul call for her,


    "Vivi, are you ready?" there was a knock on the closed door.


    "Yes, Paul! I will be there in two minutes!" she said getting up and starting to braid her blonde hair. Pulling out the little hairs near the side of her head, she pushed the mattress to take the penny''s she had collected and received for her work before leaving the servant''s quarters room.


    Having taken the day off both Paul and Vivian had nned to visit Paul''s sister''s family who lived two viges away from them. Vivian who had grown up under the care of Martha and Paul had no one but them to be called the closest family she could have.


    "I am ready, Paul," Vivian came hurriedly to be scolded by Paul.


    "Vivi!" she was loud and it wasn''t good for servants to be loud, "If you aim to be a housekeeper you need to learn the basic etiquette of how to behave like one."


    "Yes," chirped Vivian who didn''t mind his scoldings. Paul''s scoldings were as good as her listening to it in one ear and leaving it out in the other one. Paul was going to be there once she would want to move to another household where she could aim to be a housekeeper which was the highest level for a female servant. As Martha and Paul were the ones to look after the Carmichael mansion, she could easily learn to be the best housekeeper.


    "But don''t tell it to anyone," reminded Paul. Pureblooded vampires and the humans who belonged to the higher society didn''t take it well when they lost their maids to another family. Vivian was a different case as she was never bought from the ve establishment nor was she a former maids rtive where she was obliged to serve the family. And even though she was free to choose where to work at, he believed there was one certain person who wouldn''t agree to it.


    The young master, master Leonard was close to the girl who was now happily chirping about something she had found in the attic while she was cleaning yesterday. The young master and her had met when they were children and strangely, their rtionship had continued with the letters that they often exchanged in a month to keep in touch as Leonard didn''t stay at Carmichael''s mansion.


    Though they didn''t spend as much time as they used to before, something told and nagged him that the young master wouldn''t be happy to hear it. There was a time when he wanted to burn the letter which Vivian had written as burning the master''s letter could lead him to punishment. He wanted to do so knowing this was going to lead to something very big when they would grow up into adults.


    Paul had seen plenty of cases like this, where the servant and the master or the mistress fell in love to only be heartbroken. Humans didn''t have a ce in the elite society, at least not in the pureblooded families as many refused to acknowledge rtionships like those due to ss and kind differences. Thest thing he wanted was for his little Vivi to have her heartbroken. But in the end, he had sent the letter she had so earnestly written to the boy. He didn''t have the heart to burn it, they were children and he somewhere hoped things would change in the future.


    But how would have Paul known what the future held, that one day the little children would share more than a maid and master of the house rtionship?


    Once they reached the vige where his sister lived with her husband and son, Vivian jumped out of the local carriage they had used to board and she hurried Paul along with her, "Walk fast, Paul!"


    "I am getting old here, Vivi. You go ahead," he said to see her shake her head.


    "How can you say you''re getting old when you haven''t married. You don''t even have children yet," Vivian''s words were innocent but it made Paul realize the non-existent family which he couldn''t have to call as his own. Sure he had a sister but a man needed a woman. As if realizing what she said, Vivian apologized, "We''ll find you a person soon."


    "Women are difficult to woo, Vivi," the housekeeper said to feel Vivian link her arm around his hand, "They are like butterflies. You think you have caught them but you haven''t," he shook his head, "They want something more than what I can offer."


    "You don''t need women like those, Paul," Vivian quickly responded with a frown on her forehead.


    "True, but you will find many to be like that now as everyone wants a roof and food on their te. They want to have a man who could provide the things that other married or at least the decent earners can provide them."


    "One day I will earn myself, Paul and then make the man fall in love with me," dered Vivian making the manugh next to her.


    "I look forward to it, Vivi. Seems like my sister repotted the nts since west arrived here," Paul noted looking at the small house which belonged to his sister''s family.


    After being close to Leonard, the next person Vivian had grown close to was Charlotte but outside Carmichael''s residence, it was Thomas, Paul''s nephew who she had grown fond of as a friend. Thomas was the same age as Leonard, a human who was warm-hearted as the family Paul was rted to.


    "I made gloves for you," Vivian handed the gloves she had knitted by herself which was far from being called gloves but it was the attempt that made it special. Having learned to knit by Thomas himself who helped in the house earnings, the girl believed he deserved the first knit of hers.


    "They are lovely, Vivi," Paul''s sister encouraged her looking down at the glove Vivian had passed to Thomas, "In time, you will be able to knit much more better."


    "Yes," chimed Vivian with happiness.


    "Thank you, Vivi. I shall treasure this," the boy looked down and then up at her with a smile, "By the way, if you are looking for wool, Mr. Hans has been selling them fr cheaper rate. Maybe you can use them until you start to knit professionally. You can earn money from them," of course, that was one of the reasons why she had started to learn it. The money she received from the mansion wasn''t enough, it was never enough for anyone but just a little less than one could consider it to be sufficient to leave the household and be on their own.?It was so because the owners or the masters who belonged to the house didn''t want to leave the servants easily. It was one of the ways to keep a servant around by making them work for them until the end of the time.


    Some time passed with Vivian hovering around Paul''s sister who was cooking a new dish where she tried to learn what all was being used when they heard a knock on their door.


    "Thomas, can you go see who it is," his mother called for him to open the door.


    Hearing some shuffling noise and words, Vivian decided to go check on who had arrived at the front door. When she looked to see who it was, a wide smile came to form on her lips.


    "Leo!" she greeted with happiness.


    But he wasn''t alone. There was a man who stood right behind him, brown hair, red eyes who was tall in stature. Seeing him Vivian wondered who it was before Paul and the rest of the family in the house bowed their head in respect.


    "Good morning, Lord Nichs," they greeted, Vivian bowed her head but she couldn''t help herself from looking at the man. He sure was handsome to be called the Lord, thought Vivian to herself.


    Leonard who noticed Vivian''s eyes on Lord Nichs, turned slightly to look at him to say, "You can go back home now. No need to follow me," Lord Nichs had nned to only drop by Carmichael''s mansion but after seeing Leonard who wanted to go visit the vige where this certain girl whom he had been exchanging letters was, the man couldn''t help but follow him.


    "Don''t be so green, Leo. It doesn''t look good," Lord Nichs patted Leo but before either Vivian or Nichs had the chance to properly meet each other, Leonard stepped inside and pulled Vivian''s hand so that she could follow him out from the back door of the house.


    Everyone stood stunned. One because of the Lord''s presence. Two, because Leonard hadn''t greeted a word but had pulled the girl with him.


    Lord Nichs hadn''t got the opportunity to look at the girl clearly before the boy had pulled her away. Giving them a smile, he stepped inside the house to speak, "Apologies for not informing beforehand. We were passing by when Leonard mentioned about your humble home. May I?" asked the Lord when he had already invited himself in.


    The family were too shocked to have a Lord in their house, Paul quickly pulled out the best chair and cleaned it with the sleeve of his shirt before offering it to the Lord,


    "Thank you for looking after master Leonard, Lord Nichs," Paul offered his words to have the Lord smiling.


    "It is my duty to look after my subjects, he is only one of them," Lord Nichs replied even though it was a lie everyone in the room nodded their head. To think the great Lord of their Bonke had stepped into their home, they felt it be a fortunate day. When silence came to fall, Paul asked if they would like to have something to drink or eat.


    Paul''s sister''s eyes had widened, what could she offer to the men here who were used to having the finest food while their''s were something that was cooked to get through the day with minimum use and maximum quantity.


    As if to have noticed the reaction, Lord Nichs smiled, "That wouldn''t be necessary. Our visit is a short one and we would need to leave as I have work," he smiled before the atmosphere turned awkward with silence again. With both Vivian and Leonard not at home, the people there didn''t know what to speak.


    "Leo, where are we going?" asked Vivian to feel his hand that was around her wrist loosen and let go, "It is good to see you," she beamed when they halted to a stop, her smile stirring something in the young Leo''s heart and mind.


    "You too," answered Leo, turning back to see that they were a few steps away from the house, "I thought you would be home today," it made her smile more by his words which meant he hade to meet her specifically.


    "It was the time of Hallow and the market would be selling things cheaply."?Like him, even Vivian had grown up. She had cut her while her body had started to gain womanly features, he cleared his throat to look away.


    "What makes you think they do?"


    "Thomas said so," she answered for him to nod.


    "I doubt it would be cheap. With the time of festival around, merchants would like to see their goods for a higher price to gain more return value. What do you want to buy?"


    Vivian bit the inside of her cheek, "Just a few things," though the boy didn''t question on it, he did note that she had begun to hide things from him, "I am learning to knit from Thomas."


    "That''s good, you can be more useful with your time," he responded back looking at her.


    "Yes, I even made one and gifted it to him," this caught his attention.


    "I see. I must get going now."


    "So soon?" there was a look of disappointment on the girl''s face which somewhere reduced the brewing jealousy in his heart. That''s right, thought Leonard, miss me while you spend your time here. Leonard had too much pride to ask for a knitted piece from her while Vivian was clueless as to what happened.


    "Nichs has some urgent work," he said starting to walk back to the house.


    "When will youe next?"


    "I will let you know in the letter," he replied and ncing to his side he saw the girl that reminded him of a wet puppy in the rain, "Don''t be sad, dummy. I wille to see you soon," seeing her nod, he then said, "Now don''te to see the Lord. Return back in only when we are gone."


    She looked at him confused as to why he would say, "Why not?"


    "Because he eats cute girls like you," were his words before bidding her a bye.

 Chapter 258 - Memories Of The Visit

    Vivian who had grown older than the first time when she had given her knitted cloth to Thomas, Paul''s nephew. Her body had started to acquire the womanly curves, her hips widening down her narrow waist, her bosom growing full where she could now wear Paul''s sister''s clothes without having to adjust it.


    She stood at the window, waiting for the carriage she had been expecting for thest three days since she hade to know that Leonard was going to be visiting the mansion. It had been more than six months since hisst visit to the Carmichael mansion. She had hoped to see him sooner but Leonard had been preparing for the council exam. Every time she asked him in her letters on when he woulde to visit his answer had been the same- ''I am busy right now. Maybeter.'' But that didn''t stop her from sending out letters to him. In time the response had started to dy as he often travelled around the fournds which took time for him to receive his reply.


    The weather was brighter than the other days, no sign of the arrival of the rain with the clouds light grey in colour.


    Seeing the carriage appear through the tall ck gates, Vivian could barely keep her excitement. Knowing it was Leo who had finallye home. Bouncing on her heels while slowing down at the stare Paul gave her, she quickly walked to greet the young master of the house.


    A wide smile appeared on her face before the doors were even opened.


    "Good evening, master Leonard," Paul was the first one to greet Leonard but he wasn''t alone. Next to him was Lady Shirley who often visited the mansion when Leonard arrived here, "Lady Shirley," Paul greeted with a bow.


    Vivian offered the same respect her head bowing but instead of greeting both of them, she looked at Leonard to say, "Wee back home, Leo," she beamed for him to smile back at her. Happy with her greeting but there were two others who weren''t happy about it.


    Thedy next to Leonard, Lady Shirley though a human by status had been trying to gain his affections but Leonard hardly noticed it. His aloof nature often attracted women, aiming the man to be their partner which he never considered. Lady Shirley had a smile on her lips but the same didn''t reflect in her heart. She didn''t like that the maid who stood in front of her had the audacity to speak to her master while she was supposed to shut her mouth and do her job. She had noticed that every time she came to meet her dear Leonard, this little maid woulde to hover around them.


    The next person was Paul who looked shocked to fix his face,?"Vivi, it is master Leonard," he scolded her like he usually did. No matter how many times he had told her not to call their young master by his given name so easily. She still continued to do it without thinking what would happen if Mr and Mrs? Carmichale caught her calling their son by his name without giving the respect he ought to be receiving.


    Vivian looked at the man quizzically, to say, "It has always been Leo," and as if for confirmation, she turned to look at Leonard, "Isn''t it true?"


    Lady Shirley had a pleasing look. At least there was one servant who was sensible here, she thought to look down at Vivian who looked like an idiot in her eyes.


    "Vivian, he isn''t your ymate anymore. He''s the son of Mr and Mrs Carmcichael and you need to respect and treat him the way we all do," Paul continued to scold.


    The servant scolded her because he didn''t want anyoneining against Vivian. Knowing well the conditions on how a vampire household worked, it would be a problem for her with so many envious maids who wished to be in her position. But that wasn''t the only thing that worried him, it was Mr Carmichael''s younger brother Sullivan Carmichael whom he feared of. He wanted to keep the man''s eyes off from Vivian. The Carmichael''s might have been nicer to the servantspared to the other pureblooded vampire family where servants were treated like dirt. And one of them was Sullivan who disliked humans to his very bone.


    The servants feared him after he killed a maid right in front of everyone when he caught her stealing a silver coin. It wasn''t about money but the loyalty which the maid had failed to show to the family.


    "But Paul-"


    "Vivi-"


    "It''s alright, Paul. Vivian doesn''t have to call me like the rest. We have never shared a master and maid rtionship," cleared Leo to bring the smile back on Vivian''s face. Vivian gave a look to Paul that said ''I told you'' but he looked far from happy.


    Lady Shirley didn''t like it as she called him by ''Mr Carmichael''. Jealousy rising in her body, she spoke to Vivian, "How have you been, Vivian? I hope all well."


    Vivian nodded her head, not knowing the intention of the woman who spoke to her while she meant nothing ill, "I have been doing fine, Lady Shirley. I heard you travelled to Mythweald and that is why you weren''t avable at your mansion."


    "Ah, yes I did. My aunt had fallen sick and wanted me to be there with her. She is a spinster who didn''t marry. To think that it is always the servant girls who have theck of ability to ce themselves a man even the people in our status and society are not spared," Vivian didn''t take Lady Shirley''s words badly but instead nodded with a smile but Paul wasn''t happy about it. He was well aware of the jab of words that were intended for Vivi.


    "Let me go inform Mr and Mrs Carmichael of your arrival. Would you like to have something in the meantime?" asked Paul, "Vivian, go to the kitchen. They will need your help."


    This time it was Leo who looked unhappy. Giving a small nod, they headed to the drawing-room. By the time the snacks and tea was prepared, Vivian brought it herself to the room to offer it to everyone.


    Mrs Carmichael said, "Your mother is very generous with her gifts, Shirley. I must say sometimes I wonder why your family doesn''t open a shop at the local market. After all, the fruits are of decent quality," Lady Shirley smiled at this, blessing her mother for sending the fruits which they actually bought from the local market which wasn''t from their backyard.


    "My mother would be very pleased to hear it. I will make sure her words reach her," Lady Shirley looked nothing less to a doll while she had her ankles crossed without cing her leg one after another which wasn''tdy-like.


    When Vivian offered, Lady Shirley the tea, the woman took it without a murmur of thanks which Mrs Carmichael noticed, "Please do. Thank you, dear," Mrs Carmichael thanked Vivian when she brought the tray to her with teacups.?Mr Carmichael had chatted for a short duration before leaving the mansion as he had to go see the magistrate and his brother who was going to meet him there. Vivian had to go around the little table to serve Leonard.


    Leaning down she brought the tray forward for him to take two cups from the tray. Just as she was about to stand up and turn he asked, "Where are you going?" his question was posed in a manner as if he wondered what was more important than him right now for her.


    "I was going to keep the tray," Vivian answered.


    "Let me walk you there. Mother," Leo informed for his mother to smile back with a nod. Standing up, he walked her out of the room and in that time Lady Shirley wanted to get up to follow them. But instead, thedy stayed in the room as it would be rude to do so when Mrs Carmcihael who could be her future mother-inw was still in the room.


    Walking a few steps away from the drawing-room, Leonard ced the teacups at the nearest b before pulling Vivian by her arm up the stairs while cing his finger on his lips to make sure she was quiet. Vivian had intended to go to the kitchen, seeing that Leo had different ns, she followed him without any questions.


    Once they were far enough where no one could hear them, he stopped near the ss room. Turning the knob and getting.


    Leonard didn''t speak for several minutes. Vivian enjoyed the quiet silence along with him as he walked towards the table where the pots stood with new nts that were dug into it, "How is your preparation going on for the council exam?"


    "It''s going well. The exam is tomorrow," he murmured, turning around to shift his gaze from the nts to the girl who had grown up now.


    "Eh? Don''t you need to revise? I am sure you will do well," stated Vivian proudly.


    Leonard stared at Vivian who stared back at him with curious eyes. How could the girl who had been little grown to this beauty in his eyes that he was finding it hard to tear away his eyes from her? She tilted her head in question without saying anything. The reason he hade here was that he had missed her immensely after thest letter they had exchanged. Through the years, it had been hard to keep in touch with each other and even though there were times he couldn''t reply back to her, this one had made a point to send him letters. The letters consisted of serious matter to trivial details like her chatting in the local market.


    "Bambi, don''t leave without telling me," Leo''s sudden words made Vivian wonder why he said that, "I will be posted to another location if I pass the exam where I won''t be able to receive your letters," a small frown formed on her forehead.


    "How long will that be?"


    "Months," that was long thought Vivian to herself. Suddenly she felt her forehead being flicked, "Don''t look so sad, dummy. Once I am done with my work, I will finally be able to return back here as by the Lord''s words," he assured to see her give a small smile.


    "Okay," her response made Leo wonder if she felt anywhere close to how he felt about her, "I am okay," she added for him to frown.


    "Don''t be," this made the girl confused. Vivian didn''t hear it clearly when Leo muttered, "I need you sad and miss me when I am gone," he walked towards the ss wall to look at the clear weather.

 Chapter 259 - Bambi In The Dark

    The little girl stepped into the room which was darker than the night in the corridors of the mansion. It was arge room that hadn''t been used for a long time where the objects had been covered with white sheets to avoid dust settling on it.


    Little Vivian held one hand tightly on her dress, the other close to her chest out of fear. She was scared so scared that every step she took into the room, her legs shook which made her almost fall in the dark.


    It had been more than an hour since Leonard, his cousins and Vivian had started to y hide and seek in the mansion. Leonard who already knew of Vivian''s fright over dark had tried to keep her out from being seeker but he had failed because one his cousin, Christopher had caught on him trying to protect the girl from ying fairly in the game.


    Having been the one who always stuck to Leo it was the first time for her to be seeking others and it felt lonely and quiet. The part of the mansion they were ying at was the ce where not many maids came to walk by leaving it isted.


    "Do you think we have to go get caught?" asked Julliard who peeked where he stood behind the chair looking at the human girl looking around the room as if she were about to pass any moment.


    "Why would you do that? And why are you standing so close here to get me caught!" whispered Charlotte at her brother. The siblings had taken upon the covered chairs to hide from the girl who had turned to be a seeker this time, "But she''s never got the turn to seek. It is only fair that we let her y this one round before letting her pass again like we usually do," Julliard nodded his head before looking back at the girl.


    Funny enough, there was also Rhys who had hid in this room to his absolute annoyance to be stuck with the other two cousins of his. Every time they came to the Carmichael''s mansion, the first and only game they yed was Hide and Seek. With the human girl small where Charlotte wanted her to be included in the game, the girl was by default someone who only hid and even if someone did catch her tantly out, no one ever turned her to be the next seeker. It was a mutual understanding between Leonard, Rhys, Julliard, and Charlotte.


    But right now, his paternal cousins had decided to join in the game which included Eleanor, her brother and two more girls who had decided not to y.


    There had been many times where rooms had turned dark with the rain and thunder, the lightning striking up from the sky which enhanced one''s imagination of the objects that was covered which even scared Eleanor and Charlotte who hid in the same room. Apparently four of them had decided to use the same room to hide- Julliard, Charlotte, Rhys, and Eleanor with little Vivian who was walking with small footsteps looking left and right.


    A loud thunderstruck which was enough for everyone to look at the window. Rhys who stood right in front of the window caught sight of a little grasshopper that was trapped from the outside.


    The green grasshopper looked as if it were struggling with the raindrops that continuously fell on the window which pushed the grasshopper down every time it tried to climb up. The grasshopper was strong to be trying its luck in surviving the rain. After five seconds of watching it, the little dark-haired boy went to it. Reaching his hand to the lock of the window so that he could open it. The rainwater started to spray inside where he stood while he tried to catch hold of the grasshopper by putting his hand outside.


    Little Vivian had been walking around the room as it was the next room she had to search after the previous room which she had passed by. With Rhy''s body which was hidden behind therge tall statue, she caught sight of only a hand that was moving outside the room, outside the window. She slightly staggered back in fear of if it was the ghost''s hand that was trying to get inside.


    On the other side of the room where Eleanor was crouched down behind the covered couch, she was waiting for the girl to move quicker. How slow was she? The vampiress didn''t know why the servant girl was even ying with them when she wasn''t part of the high vampires nor was she intelligent enough. She leaned to her left to look at the girl''s back where she was still walking in the room.


    On-time, a cockroach that was had made it''s own in the corner of the room came out to, crawling on the floor and the objects before heading towards the vampiress. After looking at the human, the vampiress moved back in her original position toe face to face with the little winged brown creature.


    The window that had been opened by Rhys not only let the rainwater and the grasshopper in but the wind outside was strong enough to slip through the crack of the window which was yet to be closed. The air blew the white cloth which was ced to cover the stand which looked like a haunted ghost that suddenly started to move.


    Little Vivian looked absolutely terrified, her body trembled further at the sight of the tall hooded white ghost which started to move. The ghost had hands which were iling its arms around and when the wind blew further into the room, the cloth moved forward which was trying to protect the stand but in the little girl''s eyes, it was trying to catch her!


    She took a step back but it wasn''t enough. At the same time, to time everything the cockroach that had been sitting and staring at the vampiress suddenly started to p its wings to fly and settle itself on her nose. Eleanor screamed loudly out of fright, the window suddenly came to shut by Rhys locking it and Vivian who had turned around to flee from the room fell face t with tears in her eyes while also hitting both her knees on the floor.


    Hearing the scream both Leo and Christopher arrived at the storage room. Eleanor who was moving around while trying to get something off and Vivian who was on the ground.?Christopher being Eleanor''s brother went to look at her while Leo went to Vivian to see if she was alright. The others came around too.


    "What happened to you?" asked Charlotte looking at Rhys who was half drenched.


    "Nothing," answered Rhys.


    "Bambi, are you alright?" asked Leo crouching down in front of her.?Little Vivian nodded her head but there were clear tears that shone in her big eyes, "You dummy, you got hurt," he said sniffing the air and looking at her before his eyes settled on her knees.


    "Vivi got hurt?" asked Charlotte worried, she pushed her brother and sat next to Vivian to inspect the scrape on both the knees, "Let me carry you," said Charlotte ready to piggyback her.


    "You will put her down,"mented Rhys immediately, "Let Leo pick her up," the dark-haired boy suggested. Eleanor hearing this, even if she were a child for a vampire her mind was sharper than even Charlotte who was two years older to her. Leonard had always given her the attention and it seemed that suddenly the spotlight had been hogged my a mere servant which she didn''t like.


    Wanting the attention, she started to cry, "There was the scary cockroach that flew right at me," even her own brother stared at her, "It must still here!" she said to everyone.


    "It is just a cockroach, Ele. I am sure it would have gone away," Julliard being the nicest of the three maternal cousin''s said to her who only continued to cry.


    And then Charlotte joked, "Ele you should be happy that it didn''t fly to sit in your mouth. Imagine it crawling in your mouth while pping its wings," she gave out the vivid description making the other vampiress wail even more.


    Leo sighed and picked up the girl who hadn''t uttered a word even though her knees were bleeding...

 Chapter 260 - Light In The Darkness

    Leo bent down to pick Vivian who was on the ground. The smell of blood was fresh as he carried her to his room instead of her room. Having better medical items in his own room, he walked straight to his room to find his mother who was walking down the hall with one of her sister Prisci.


    "What happened, Leo?" asked his mother, Mrs. Carmichael looking down at Vivian who hung around her son''s neck with her big eyes that looked at her innocently.


    "She fell down," informed Leo where they were shortly joined by Charlotte who came bouncing on her heel.


    "I see. Make sure you wash the wound well," advised Mrs. Carmichael for Charlotte to say,


    "Won''t it heal by itself?"


    Mrs. Carmichael gave a sweet smile at her niece''s words, "No dear, it would cause an infection if the wound is not cleaned and aided. Humans are fragile creatures and their bodyposition is very different from what we vampires or pureblooded vampires are made of. If you don''t treat it well there are chances of the skin and the underlying tissues going bad," Renae and her other two sisters had been brought up differently than the other pureblooded vampires who were pompous to show off on how they were much better while the humans were nothing more than dirt below their shoes.


    Renae bent down to take a look at the wound. It wasn''t deep but the girl had scraped her skin quite harshly due to which the skin around the knee had turned red, "I have some supplies ced in the closet of the kitchen. Charlotte dear, would you go get it?"


    "Ungh," Charlotte nodded and in no time the little vampiress had run from there in a blink of an eye.


    "Let me take her, Leo, she seems to be in pain while you carry her like that. Your shirt has been touching it," Mrs. Carmichael said to her son noticing the red stain on his sleeve. It was then that Leonard realized the awkward position of the little human who was hanging around his neck, "Give her to me," Leonard didn''t let the girl go right away but after two seconds, he let his mother take hold of the little girl, carrying her like she was carrying books in her arms.


    Mrs. Carmichael took Vivian to her own room where she first took the little girl to the bathroom. Washing both the knees of the girl.


    Given that the Carmichael''s had only one child who was Leonard, there were times when Renae had wanted a girl child. Of course, there was Charlotte who was the only girl in the offsprings she and her sisters had but this one, who now sat quietly on the b wasn''t less than a child of their own. Thedy didn''t know if it was because of theck of a girl child in their house with the absence of Charlotte after they left for their own mansion.


    Vivian was brought in by her maid Martha and until now she didn''t have anyints about the girl''s presence. Partly the reason was that Leo often hid the things little Vivian broke to rece it with something else. Opposite to her husband''s upbringing, Renae was fond of humans and rather envied the liberty they shared to live their life to the fullest. She believed that vampires, unlike humans, didn''t value their lives living it due to their extended mortal immortality while humans had the freedom to breathe and live as they wanted.


    This little one was adorable, her speech broken and her voice that reminded her of the wind chimes that crinkled itself in the air sweetly. She sat in silence, as Renae washed the girl''s knees with warm water while taking the towel which was lying in the cab to dab the knee gently.


    Seeing the girl cringe Mrs. Carmichael asked little Vivian, "How did you fall, dear?" her son stood close behind her watching them with Charlotte who hade to apany the friend she had made since her eyes had fallen at the human girl.


    "There was ghost," little Vivian replied, her eyes burning with the tears that threatened to spill when the Lady continued to dab the cloth on the knee. Leonard who had been looking at his mother working on the girl''s knees shifted his gaze to look at Vivian, his eyes slightly rolling. He had told her there was no ghost but she had continued to im there to be one.


    "Ah!" the girl flinched and brought her hand to cover her knees.


    "Does it hurt? Let me have a look," the woman gently took hold of the girl''s wrist, "Charlotte and Leo, why don''t youe to hold her hand to support her hmm?" both the children came to stand on either side of the girl, Charlotte being more willing than Leo to hold her friends hand. After seeing her son who very reluctantly took the girl''s hand, Lady Carmichael smiled. Her son was really odd, she thought to herself. He was ready to carry the girl on his back but was hesitant when it came to a simple thing like holding the girl''s hand.


    When she took a closer look at the girl''s leg, she spotted a small piece of wood that had made way into her skin. Taking the tweezer from the box, she crouched down to have an easier reach as she concentrated on pulling the little piece out of the leg. She wondered why the room hadn''t been cleaned or if one of the children had brought the piece of wood to leave it on the floor unknowingly when they were ying.


    "Ghost?" asked Lady Renae trying to distract the girl as she started to pick up a ball of cotton which was dipped in the orange liquid bottle, "I am sure we don''t have any ghost in here," she assured the girl but the girl looked scared.


    "It must have been Rhys. He was half drenched in water," suggested Charlotte knowing herself that ghosts didn''t exist. At least not where they lived.


    Seeing little Vivian shake her head, Lady Renae continued to ask, "How did this ghost look?"


    "White color. Tall," thedy nodded her head, "But sometimes ck."


    "ck?" questioned the Lady without moving her eyes on the knee as she had started to dab as gently as she could on the girl''s skin. The girl gave a small nod.


    Once the wound waspletely cleaned with the ball of cotton, Lady Renae smiled at the girl who was as cute as a rabbit. She could see why the other children were fond of the girl. It wasn''t her appearance but also the way she talked and responded made one''s heart squeeze which made Renare wonder if ever both she and her husband Giles decide to have a child, she would love to have someone like this.


    "Don''t worry. I am sure this mansion has no ghost. If there was one, Charlotte and Leo would have been kidnapped by now," she joked which had her niece immediately nodding her head, "And if there are, they must be friendly ones."


    "Friendly?" asked little Vivian.


    "That''s right. Every kind has good and bad, which would mean that there some ghosts who are good too. The good ghosts watch over you and pray for your good health. You have nothing to fear. There we are all done," Lady Renae announced while putting away the cotton that was used in the bin, "Let it be left open now. And avoid water, I will have the kids look after you," she brushed the girl''s head gently before leaving them to their own y.


    What Vivian had told wasn''t?a lie that she had noticed the ghost only that the white ghost didn''t exist but the ck did which at times moved in the shadows at night.


    During the time of night, Vivian slept in her room while keeping the bedsheet away from her both her knees that stung every time something came in contact with it. Still getting used to the thunder and lightning that came to pass through the little window, scaring her with the bright and dark objects in the little room.


    Unable to sleep, she saw something that passed by her door. She saw the shadow of the person walk from right to left making her wonder who was outside.


    Curious she sat up from the bed and went to walk towards the door while limping with the sheet which she hadn''t let go. God only knew what the child was thinking by taking the sheet everywhere like protection as it swept the floor. She turned the knob of the door with her small hand and peeked to see no one there.


    Hearing some rustle that came from the corner, she stepped out of the room to follow the sound that came from the other side of the corridor. As if suddenly brave after what Mrs. Carmichael said, she walked down the corridor of the servant''s quarters.?The corridor was deserted as most of them had gone to sleep except for some guarding servants who roamed outside the mansion to make sure no one broke through the house. The lights that had been burning in some of thenterns had either dimmed out or were in the process of exhausting that let the very little amount of light where the little girl bravely walked.


    The little girl stepped out of the quarters and entered the room when she caught in time to see something exit the door of the kitchen. Curiosity picking her interest, she continued to walk, following the shadow while cleaning the already cleaned floor of the mansion.


    She walked up the stairs to the side of the mansion where she had previously gone to y with the rest of the children. Her feet stopped. Looking front and back, she wondered if she should go back as there was nothing else to do. Like a cat that followed a ball of wool, the little one had followed the shadow to be left standing alone right now.


    Growls from the sky could be heard which shuddered her heart. Ready to go back to her room with the sheet she had carried from her room which tangled at her as she had turned round and round. Untangling herself, she started to walk when she noticed something went below her feet. She looked at the closed window and then her feet.


    Taking a step back she caught sight of something ck on the floor. When she took another step back, she heard the sound of ploping from the shadow.


    Bringing the sheet close to her chest she stared for more than a minute until she took a step front for a dark creature toe out from the darkness. The dark creature was dark in appearance that stood as tall as the building in front of her small self. Its hooded body was covered in a rag like clothes, another plop sounding where the little girl with her beating her heartbeat looked to see a ck liquid.?Though it was made of bones, it didn''t mean that the bones couldn''t be hurt.


    Little Vivian was innocent to know the difference between what was what.


    "You hurt?" she asked the creature. The ghoul garbled something deep which was equal to the sound of thunder that came from the clouds. Not understanding, she asked, "Where you hurt?"


    "I am hurt too," she said looking down at her knees and then looking up at the ghoul. Hearing another plop sound with the creature garbling something, the little looked at it worried, "Show," she said for the ghoul to garble again, "No?"


    The ghoul after some time took covered its hand with its ragged cloth before giving her its hand. It hid its bony texture from touch and sight. When its hand got closer, Vivian took hold of it. Mrs. Carmichael had told there was no bad ghost, this must be a good ghost thought little Vivian to herself.


    She held it''s hand as if wanting to console, "Get better. I go sleep," the little girl left the corridor with the sheet being taken along with her while leaving the creature healed and forgetting its memory as it didn''te in front of her for several years.


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 Chapter 261 - Line Between Reality And Dream

    She stood outside the room on the patio, her hands holding the rails as she leaned forward to feel the cool breeze that had traveled from onend after another through the forest to touch her face and go on its way. A soft smile settled on her lips as she stared at the horizon, the sky meeting the forest lines which stretched wide and far.


    How long had it been? Thought Vivian to herself hearing the chirping birds that flew in the sky as it was the time of dusk. The music was sweet and soft which was tranquil to her mind which had been bubbling with plenty of questions over the past years.


    Hearing the room door open, she didn''t turn to look but a wider smile appeared on her face when the person put his hands around her waist, leaning in to kiss her on her cheeks.


    "I am home," he whispered sweetly into her ears. It was something Vivian enjoyed and knew even for the nexting years she would still feel a feeling of bliss every time he kissed her like this. His love was evesting, his promise being kept since the time he had vowed to love her.


    "Wee back home, Leo," she replied back, her own hands wounding around his.


    What more could a girl ever wish for? For the person whom she loved to love her back unconditionally without any hesitation. The man had proven her time after time how lucky she was to have him as her husband.


    She felt him ce his chin on her shoulder, looking at the sun that had begun to set down in the sky.


    Almost seventy years had passed by since the time both Leonard and Vivian hade to find out about the time before they hade here to this strange ce. And even with so many years, Vivian hadn''t given birth to a child of their own. It was because it didn''t feel right. It wasn''t a bad ce but that was what the problem was. Before they had recovered back their memories after their death which was inflicted by Lord Nichs'' ghoul, they had lived their life as if that was how it was meant to be. As if they belonged here and nothing was wrong. But the issue came when they realized for their actual memories to be reced.


    It was hard to exin, thought Vivian to herself. Did it mean that they had been transported to whatever world this was? Neither could Leo nor her exin it. But that wasn''t the worse part. It was when they figured out that this world didn''t have the people they knew or to be specific this world consisted of the people who were dead. At least most of them.


    Her brother was here and thest time she had seen he was still alive before she had asked him to fetch Leo for her. There was no Lord Nichs, no Hueren and many more they had lived their lives with but there were some who they had dearly missed.


    People like Paul and Grace, who was Carmichael''s housekeeper were alive in this world which made her wonder and question what was real and if things had been fabricated by her mind out of insanity. With her not growing up at the Carmichael''s the servants had rather been surprised when Vivian had broken down into tears in the presence of Paul and the others. Thest she had seen him, he had smiled at her, a smile urging her to be happy and not worry about him. She had missed him and the others terribly. Leonard made sure to spend time with his parents and his cousins where both Julliard and Charlotte often visited them.?She had also met Sister Isabelle but then again, her son Lord Alexander didn''t exist in this world either. This wolrd they lived in was much more peaceful and quiet with no raging conflicts. Sure there were some ck witches creating little problems but there was no massacre.


    The world they had lived in wasn''t this one which only made her feel alien.


    If it weren''t for Leonard, she didn''t know what she would have done. But would she had even realized her former self?


    "How was work?" asked Vivian, her body slowly turning in the arms of Leo, "Tired?" she asked, bringing up her hands to touch his face. Running it around his jawline, she leaned forward to leave a kiss on his lips, receiving a satisfying hum from him.


    "The work here can hardly be called work. Sitting in the office of the council with no groundwork is a terrible punishment," Vivian smiled hearing this. Though there were a lot of things that fell into the line with the way they had to live their life before, there were a few things which weren''t the same. For instance, Leonard didn''t work in the department he was used to working. It had nothing to do with solving death cases but was all about running reports, "Why don''t you join back in the council, Bambi? I miss you there," he stated closing his eyes when her hands started to massage both the sides of his temples.


    "You don''t miss councilman Lionel and Heuren?" teased Vivian to see him smile, his eyes still closed.


    "There are times I do but when I see Dutan and Max, it''s hard to say I do," he answered her truthfully, "There are people in here who we have missed terribly. People whom we both have loved and cared for. It makes me question sometimes if this is a reality with the rest being a bad dream," he was questioning the same way she was, "I am happy to have you here in my arms, Vivi. I will follow you if you leave this ce to," he promised her.


    Vivian frowned, not happy as she remembered that he had killed himself for her sake, "I can''t bear the thought of you going through something like that again. I don''t want anything repeating, the pain we both had to go through," her voice turned sad where she felt her voice shake.


    "Vivi. I am always here," Leonard pulled her into his armspletely, holding her as he said it, "I will make sure something like that never happens again. The ck witch isn''t here to corrupt any of our hearts. You don''t have to worry about it," Vivian nodded her head. That was true. This world that was free of worry didn''t have people who could disrupt the peace but then she thought out loud,


    "Do you think our lives that we have lived which we have no memory of caused a domino effect which in turn change others lives," she felt him pull back to look at her, "Given that most of them aren''t part of this world, but also maybe it is possible that if I had continued to live with my parents there, the witches would have not been traded away. I and my brother could have prevented my parents from doing something so terrible which cost so many lives including their own."


    "Maybe," Leonard ran his hand over Vivian''s head. His Bambi, he thought to himself. Compared to Vivian, Leonard had found out about the truth of their lives sooner but then he ha also dreamt about this ce before Vivian had dreamt.


    Though both Vivian and Leo had gone to meet Sister Isabelle after that as she was a great-grand white witch, they couldn''t get an actual answer. The only word the white witch had imparted on them was that there could be a possible medium that had pushed them here. Or rather their souls.


    Both Leonard and Vivian wanted to go back where they had no idea how to return but at the same time, they didn''t want to. How could they when they knew some of their people continued to live here. It was a fragmented world that was hard to believe. It had taken Vivian more than a week to believe before she came to the point that this could be a universe that ran parallel to their own world they hade from. An alternate world which was very much real like anything else but there was no way out to it.


    On Lady Isabelle''s words and guidance, they had visited many other white witches. Going through the books to find any possible clue as to where they were or what was going on but every turn they took was a dead end with no answers. It came to the point that after months and years started to pass by, they came to understand that there was no way out of this ce.


    Even if they did go back, would it be possible to live the life they did with their body that was already gone?


    Standing on the tips of her toe, Vivian ced her lips back on Leonard''s. Feeling it move against her where he slowly parted her lips with his tongue. Tasting her and she did the same. Over the years, Vivian had upped her own game when it came to expressing her feelings for her husband. She loved to tease him at times and Leo yed along.


    "I cried a lot that day," she admitted as they pulled back from each other. She hadn''t spoken about it until now, but she finally wanted to tell it out loud after the many years that had passed by. She wasn''t even sure if the year was the same or if they had gone back or forward, "I didn''t mind dying but what hurt most was that...in those final times my heart ached for you but with the time and distance, nothing could have changed back there."


    "Why did you kill yourself, Vivi? I hadn''t reached there but you had already given up," his own voice was filled with sorrow. He brushed her hair back which had moved to settle on her face, "Were you worried that I would have to see you die in front of me?" he asked.


    She shook her head, "No. It wasn''t that."


    "What was it?" he coaxed her for an answer.


    Vivian looked back into his red eyes that stared into hers, "I didn''t want you going through the same thing with what happened to your mother. It felt unfair," she hoped he would forgive her but knowing the love he had for her, he must have forgiven her long ago.


    She knew the pain he had gone through, how many had he killed? How many upon his word had been put under the sentence of death? Leonard was the Duke who many respected. He had earned it but at the same time, there were some who didn''t understand his way of handlings things which left to a hostile rtionship. But only the woman who had held the same burned or shared one would have understood how heavy his shoulders might have been with the number of responsibilities that was ced on him.


    Not in many years would have Vivian want him to go through it again. By her asking the ghoul kill her, she had only reduced the prolonged pain for both of them.


    "Forgive me for putting you through it," she apologized and his eyebrows furrowed.


    "I don''t question your judgment, Vivi. Never have I ever questioned it. If I have it would only be to know and hear the words from you directly. We are here now. That is what matters, isn''t it?"


    "Do you think we will ever be able to go to the other side?" at her wondering question Leonard smiled.


    "We have a lot of years to spend with each other and here. If we havee here, we should also be able to go back again," said Leonard with the wind blowing and ruffling his blonde hair.


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 Chapter 262 - Time Of Return

    A few more years with Vivian and Leonard not knowing which world they were in as it felt real yet fabricated as if it were created by someone or something which they weren''t able to find out. Time being something that never stopped to move, it shifted the winds and weathers, passing by like phantom.


    At the time of night where Leonard was still working in his study, Vivian had taken upon to walk through the corridors of the mansion. Antern in her hand with the thunder and rain growling in the sky. Beforeing to this world, she had been turned to a pureblooded vampire which only elongated her life. But before that, she was a human. A human who had dreams which were simple and notplex. Nothing much had changed when it came to those dreams except that instead of being a maid, she was Leonard Carmichael''s wife.


    And as much as life was peaceful in here, there was something that lingered in her chest like air moving through an empty heart. She wasn''t sad but it was the dissatisfaction in her heart that made this world grey and not beautiful. Because somewhere along those lines of understanding about this world, they hade to know that there were a few things that didn''t make sense at all. Paul and the rest never aged and neither did they. It was a loop when it came to aging which made the people timeless and not bound to it. They were humans yet they didn''t age and die.


    Sure people died in this world, but it was people who held least or no significance that died. People who Vivian didn''t know of. Wasn''t that strange? She had even spoken to Leonard about it which she learned that he had noticed it sometime ago.


    It only made more sense that they were supposed to leave this world. There were times where her mind drove to a point that had led her to locking herself in the room when Leonard wasn''t in the mansion.


    She was happy to have people care for her but how real were they? Everything looked like a lie until Leonard came home to talk her out of what she was feeling. Leo understood her in ways maybe no one would ever have and she couldn''t tell how happy she was to have him next to her side. She found sce in him and to make things better, she immersed herself in writing about things rted to their childhood. Remembering the memories which had been built to form the base for their current loving rtionship.


    Vivian didn''t know why but today felt different. There was something in the air which she couldn''t point out but her heart told her to take a walk to lighten her mind.


    Some of the candles on the wall had dimmed in time turning some ces dark and some still continuing to hold the light. Looking to her right, she caught sight of the grey clouds that looked beautiful with the way the lightning struck over and over again. cing her hand on the clean, transparent window she continued to watch them until a small distant sound made her tear away from her gaze from the sky to look at the empty corridor.


    Vivian''s red eyes took in the view in front of her. The red carpet which wasid on the ground made the corridor appear reddish on the white wall. A maid appeared carrying a white sheet in her hand. Upon seeing thedy, the maid bowed her head. The maid was none other than Hana, a maid she had known from the world she came from. It made her wonder what happened to the girl.


    Thest time she had seen Hana, she was being scolded by Jan for something but after that, she never came to see him. Jan wasn''t here either. She was happy to see many of them here but she missed the people who lived on the other side.


    She would have taken it to be heaven, this ce which was filled with tranquility. But to have both Leo and her to be the only ones to know about where they came from, it felt odd. Very strange, thought Vivian to herself.


    Often Vivian herself went to look for books in the library so that she could get anything rted to this ce that had a door. There was surely a door in here for a way out. She had been searching for it for many years. Day after day she had tried to find, now almost knowledgable with a lot of things. It was just that today was different but it was more than the air in the wind which felt light to breathe.


    Today when she was in one of the many libraries, Vivian had finished going through a book from the history section. It wasn''t that she had found something in the book, it was when she was returning the book did she catch sight of the newsletter that was lying on the stack.


    The newsletter was the one published by the local town that read ''Thedy of Bonke returns back. Where was she until now?''


    Curious she had picked it up, and as she read it her eyes had widened, a smileing to form on her lips. She hadn''t told it to Leo yet as she wanted to make sure about her suspicion. Maybe surprise him with good news? She had asked the librarian there,


    "When is the newsletter from?"


    "This is today''s news mdy," Vivian looked at the top left to see the date which was the same as today.


    "Yes, it is today," she replied back. Seeing that there was only one copy of it here, she asked, "Do you think I can borrow this one? Here," she opened her little purse to hand him a silver coin to his surprise. A newsletter didn''t cost more than one penny of nickel, he bowed his head for her generosity.


    Finishing her walk in the corridor''s she walked to Leonard''s study room, knocking the door to peek slowly,


    "You don''t have to knock on the door, Vivi. You are my wife not a servant girl who has to wait," Leonard who had been writing a parchment for the new edict that had to be implemented in the town this week looked up to look at his beautiful who made her way to where he was.


    Vivian ced thentern near the wall and walked to Leonard. He turned his chair so that he could have her in his arms but his wife had no ns for it as she never came to sit on hisp when he gave his hand. She chuckled. Her eyes filled with mischief, leaning forward she gave a small peck to his lips and pulled herself away from him to his dismay.


    "I found something," she stated gaining his attention to the fullest as always. Pulling the newsletter from her dress, she ced it on the desk.


    "Newsletter?" he raised his brow.


    "Read it," she urged him. Bringing the paper close, he read the lines to frown.


    "It speaks about the Lord of Bonke," he murmured as he continued to read it, "It speaks of Nichs'' wife stating- ''Lady Heidi died a few years ago ording to reports but her sudden arrival at the celebration night that was held in the Rune''s mansion has not only been surprising but shocking. Some of the council members are going through if maybe the Lord had locked thedy to keep her away from the word while announcing her death. The case of it is being looked upon by councilman Lionel and Reuben as it involves one of the lord''s of the fournds.'' Have we ever had any reports about Nichs until now?" he asked Vivian for her to shake her head right away.


    "Not a word that was mentioned about him. Do think there was a mistake?" she asked him, "There must be something wrong."


    Leo stared at the paper before asking her, "Where did you find this from?"


    "In the library. Why?"


    "Let''s go. Pick your coat," Leonard took the paper to put it in his jacket and left the study room.


    It took time to reach the library but the library as expected was closed as it was the time of night now. But that didn''t stop Leonard from going to the man''s house and knocking the door.


    When the man opened the door, Leonard spoke, "Excuse me for knocking at your doorte this night but I have some questions to ask. May I?" the man wasn''t happy that someone hade at this hour of the night but neither could Leo nor Vivian wait for more hours. It had been too long since they had been searching for answers.


    The man stepped away from the door, letting them in. Leonard then asked, "Where did you buy this newsletter?" The man with a slight frown, took hold of the paper as he couldn''t see clearly at that distance and read it.


    "I found it in the local shop in the market. Do you maybe know who this person they are speaking of?" Leonard urged the man to read the paper. After the man read a portion of it, he looked up to meet Leonard''s red eyes that were highlighted only after his wife who had appeared from the bedroom holding the brightntern.


    Suddenly daunted by the man and woman''s presence in his house, he shook his head, "I don''t know what has been written in here. Who is lord Nichs? Our Lord is Hammock."


    "You bought the paper but didn''t read it?" it was a simple question but as there were a pair of vampires the man started to stutter.


    "I-I didn''t notice it."


    Leonard gave the man a nod and took Vivian out of the house. Protecting her from the rain as he held the umbre for her. When they got into the carriage, Vivian asked Leo, "What do you think is going on?"


    "The world is replicating and running in the same year as the real one. It just happens that the real world got spilled in here," he wiped the drop of water that had settled on her face, "Were you able to read anything?" she shook her head. Since the time she came here, her ability to heal as well as the memory of touch had been lost. She was a pureblooded vampire but without any ability.


    Reaching the mansion, they got inside and started to head to their room when Vivian heard of this particr sound that sounded just like a twig being bent and broken.


    "What''s the matter?" asked Leo when Vivian turned to look back.


    "I think he''s here," answered Vivian, her feet carrying forward as she looked at the empty corridor. Leonard followed her closely behind, worried as to who she was speaking about. She looked left and to her right, the dark walls where the light of thentern didn''t reach.


    Her gaze fell on the floor to look at the wavering shadow. She could feel her hand turn cold and she breathed in before parting her lips,


    "Everest? Is that you?"


    For the first few seconds, nothing happened and Vivian could feel her heart drop before she heard a small garbled voice that brought a wide smile on her lips. The dark creature who had been hiding in the shadow finally came forward in front of both Vivian and Leonard to stand tall with its ragged cloak.


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 Chapter 263 - Everest: The Scientist

    Both Vivian and Leonardid next to each other on the forest-coverednds. Lifeless with both their eyes that were closed after their life was taken by the ghoul, the lord of Bonke had his coachman and Vivian''s brother to carry the dead bodies into the carriage. With the ghouls that never came in presence of the others without Nichs'' word, Everest, in particr, hovered around the closest trees that were near the carriage. Seeing both of them being taken inside it.


    The pureblooded vampires were usually buried in the cemetery of the Isle valley which was were many elites resided in memory of their loved ones. Nichs was skeptical as he didn''t want the council finding of it. Especially the way Vivian''s face had changed due to the sudden change in the texture of her skin, the council wouldn''t hold back in dissecting her body along with Leonard''s which he didn''t want.


    Both of them had suffered enough for him to take the decision to not let anyone know about it. If people were to know it would only lead to more misfortune and the stain in reputation.


    When they came to a town, Lord Nichs said to Vivian''s brother, "Go fetch Sullivan Carmichael. Tell him that I am calling for him," the boy was young who obeyed the lord.


    With a good amount of money to the guard who looked after the cemetery, a new casket was prepared with the ground being dug deep. Lord Nichs, though polite and kind to people around him, the man had lost people around him one by one which made him wonder about attachments. Leonard was like a brother to him and though knowing the girl for scarce time, he had grown fond over both of them which only made his heart heavier.


    Death was inevitable to humans but for pureblooded vampires, a single crack in the core of the heart was enough to topple upside down.


    When Sullivan arrived both the bodies had been put in the coffin The man looked utterly shocked. As rude as he was, the man like Nichs adored his nephew not to forget he was the only living proof of his older brother.


    "W-what happened?" the man stuttered, his heart dropping at the sight of Leonard whoid peaceful in the coffin, "What happened to him, Lord Nichs?" demanded the man, "Why are you burying him like this? Who did this to him? What happened to her?"


    Lord Nichs didn''t know how to answer his questions as there was nothing that could have reduced the painful burden for the people who were close to them. The snow continued to fall from the sky, thend white as heaven itself.


    "Their heart got corrupted," Nichs kept it short not wanting to delve into details right now because he wasn''t in the mood for it, "Before he passed away...Leo wanted you to keep the matter quiet and not take it to the council. It was one of hisst dying wished from you."


    "When did this happen?" asked Sullivan.


    "Two days ago," answered the Lord before Sullivanmented.


    "Is there a scarcity of space or casket in here that you are making use of one. Don''t tell me Leonard asked you to do this," a frown hovered over Leonard''s uncle''s face. Holding back his emotions with dullments.


    "Some love and rtionship run deeper than blood, Mr. Carmichael. Something that cannot be measured through status and likes of us. Love that blooms from a young age which has been nurtured with care to the point you would be willing to give up your life to ease the person''s pain," said Nichs when the casket was lowered down into the grave.


    "He died protecting her?" a simmer of anger raged through the pureblooded vampire''s veins at the simple thought of it, "That girl was never fit for him. She was-"


    "I understand your hate for humans but don''t speak ill towards her. I might not take it kindly," Lord Nichs turned to look at Sullivan with an intimidating smile. He was much younger to Sullivan but that didn''t stop him from daunting the older man, "Vivian was protecting Leo. She loved him as much as he loved her. For a person who thinks so highly of himself and his kind, I would suggest you get down from that high horse of yours and appreciate things that really matter."


    "Don''t you dare get that tone with me, Nichs just because you are the Lord. I meant nothing but best for my family," the man who was equal to his sight red at him.


    "Then you should ept that Leonard picked what was best for him. Or are you saying that your brother along with yourself didn''t raise him right? Sometimes you should know that best doesn''t always mean best. If you failed to notice Vivian was Leo''s happiness. She was the girl for what he turned to be," which was the truth. One of the days previously when the Duke had gone to meet Vivian, he hade back to Rune''s mansion angry and green with envy. It took nosey Nichs more than a month to know what had got the young man all flustered.


    He remembered the time Leonard had decided to be a better but also an outstanding man to the point where the girl he loved would look at no one but himself. The boy loved her so much that at one point he would have called it to be the subtle maniption which wasughable as it never went right under his hawk eyes. Vivian was as clueless with what he heard but in the end, everything had turned right.


    "One mustn''t talk if the person doesn''t have all the fact," Lord Nichs stayed quiet with Sullivan who didn''t have any more words to spare to the Lord. Vivian''s brother stood a few feet away from them but on Nichs'' side watching his sister buried in the same coffin as the Duke''s.


    The young man hadn''t got to spend time with his sister but he wished she could return back. Everything had turned around so fast as if the family both he and his sister came to know, almost holding it to only have it taken away from them. His eyes moist, he saw the coffin door close and the white witch who was a fellow priest who lord Nichs knew started to pray for their souls to rest in peace.


    The grave waspletely closed and the Lord stood there until the headstone was ced on it before he turned around, promising to visit them soon. With the blizzard snow in the atmosphere at night, no one dared to walk around the Isle town nor the ck market where a lot of things were shut down.


    But that particr night, there was one person who left the home it had known to go back to the cemetery where the girl and the boy had been buried. Everest, the ghoul had been far too attached to the girl. It was a creature that was born due to pain and angst in the young boy''s heart who was now the Lord of Bonke. While its brother got the worse emotions where it showed no mercy, Everest had turned out to be less vengeful.


    Young Vivian''s act of kindness had gone a long way which had caught the hideous creature''s attention. The ghoul hadn''t forgotten it as no one had ever shown it kindness but only fear which it fed on.


    The ghoul instead of letting things be without its brother or master''s knowledge had tiptoed out of the mansion. Like a phantom of a ghost who now stood in front of the grave. Everyone had spoken and given their words about the people in this grave but no one knew how sad the ghoul could have been.


    And though it hadn''t told anything, it somewhere had suspected the fate of her since the first time she had indirectly touched it. It had touched her fragile heart, the heart beating so sweetly which made it want to squeeze but in the end, it hadn''t.


    The ghoul had left the girl to never return until a few more years had passed. The grave the ghoul stood in front of was getting covered in snow. It stared for hours looking at it. Thankfully there was no one who was passing by due to the harsh snow but if it weren''t for it, a person was sure to get a heart attack at the mere sight of it.


    It then looked around before it bent down to start digging the snow first and then the mud. It wed on the mud until its hands met with the casket. Taking out the bodies that hadn''t been decayed yet due to the snowy weather and also because the bodies had been preserved in the snow which was take by the ghouls.


    That night, the ghoul stole two bodies from the grave to ce the mud back with the snow to hide its deeds without saying anything to anyone. It would have taken only the girl but seeing the girl held some sort of attachment to the person next to her, it had stolen Leo too.


    As a few days passed with the ghoul trying to mend their bodies, getting rid of the impurities from Vivian''s bodies, testing and trying everything the hardest was to work with its brother who always had a suspicion aura. At one point it had to run and hide from being followed.


    Such were the days of Everest the ghoul.


    Everest knew his master would not be happy if he found the bodies moved away from the grave for its own interest and experiment as it hid the bodies in the snow which was one of the ways to keep the body still in the same condition. The ghoul often lurked in the houses of white witches, trying to get its own potion before putting it into Vivian.


    During the first week of death, the ghoul walked through the corridors of the mansion when it decided to make a visit. Stepping out of the mansion, it traveled to the ce it was born for the very first time.


    Trailing its bony fingers on the faded walls, a house that no one used and was locked down, it walked with its ragged robes sweeping the dusty ground until it came to stand right under the pouring rain to look at the couple, the man holding the umbre while walking beside the girl.


    The ghoul continued to look at them where it had sent them to this world. A world where it came from before going back to its own world drenched wet in the rain.


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 Chapter 264 - Ghoul’s Help

    I encourage you readers toment on the paragraphs of the books so that readers can enjoy your views but do keep in mind to not reveal any spoilers.


    Vivian looked at the ghoul who stood in front of her. Everest looked just the way she hadst remembered it in the forest near Valeria. She was d to see it hereafter so many years, how many was it since the time she had told it goodbye?


    It was a surprise to see it and like her, Leo was surprised to see it lurking in the shadows. All these years they hadn''t seen or felt it''s presence.


    Instead of talking to the ghoul, Leo spoke to Vivian, "How good are your interactions when ites to the ghoul, Vivi?" Vivian tore her gaze away from Everest to look at Leo,


    "Decent I guess."


    "He hasn''t been here until now, what is he doing here? Everest," Leo looked at the ghoul, even though he hadn''t spoken to the ghoul many times, he hoped that his wife could decipher and get the answers. He found it strange that the ghoul had appeared the same time when the news in the newsletter was showcasing something that was not happening in their world. For it to be here was a sign that there was a way out of this ce to where they have been living in this world.


    The ghoul which was usually quick to garble words this time didn''t answer to them, "Mr. Everest, how did youe here?" Vivian herself was confused and wanted answers. Seeing the ghoul was nothing less to hope. If Nichs had made way to the newsletter it was obvious that the ghouls woulde to be part of this world.


    Though they had interacted with each other in the past, Vivian hadn''te to learn what the ghoul spoke of. Sure it understood what she said but the same didn''t apply the other way round. As they were Nichs'' personal ghouls, he was the only one who understood their words, every garble that came out of the two ghouls'' non-existent mouth.


    When Everest didn''t speak, Vivian wondered if it was the same ghoul she had met and they had known for long. What if this ghoul wasn''t the same one? What if like others, the ghoul was another image reflection of what resided in the real world and not this factual ce.


    As it was the time of night, the maids and servants along with the family members weren''t up to walking in this part of the mansion.


    Slightly worried, she took one step towards it and maybe in the history of the ghoul, it was the first time the ghoul had moved back.


    "Does he not recognize us?" asked Vivian to Leonard where he stared at the dark creature which was behaving rather oddly.


    "He sure is acting off. Do you think he''s part of this or the other..." the Duke trailed when he found a ke of snow that was lying on the ghoul''s shoulder, "I think he belongs to the other world and is still the same one."


    "I think there''s one way to find out," said Vivian her eyes still on the ghoul so that it wouldn''t run away if she were to look away from it.


    She tried recollecting one of the memories she had tried to dissect from her past memory while she was trying to find her parents before they had disowned her and sent her to the Carmichael''s mansion. Though she didn''t have the ability to heal people which she didn''t mind as there was nothing she had done with it even before her death but the ability to touch had not been lost. Initially, she thought it didn''t exist but in years that had gone to pass by slowly, she had finally found it. Learning to harness the energy with her faint touch where she was able to get the sweet as well as sad memories from her mind.


    From there to her surprise, she had found something which she wouldn''t have imagined.


    ''You hurt?'' had asked the little girl, ''I hurt my knee too''.


    "I came to realize some time back that we met before I came to visit Lord Nichs'' mansion. You were lurking by hurt. What happened to you, Everest? The first time we met," she asked remembering the time when was too young for her to remember the events. She wondered how did she even forget it''s existence to only meet Everest again, "It was you, right? Not your brother?"


    Leonard didn''t know what Vivian was speaking of in the beginning beforeing to realize she was speaking about her meeting the ghoul for the very first time. His wife had made an acquaintance of the ghoul before he had the chance which she had told him after discovering the memory. He had been curious himself as to what the ghoul was doing especially in his family mansion with the people full in the house.


    Vivian after asking the question, moved her hand closer to finally hover her hand over its own but she never made an effort to hold it. She wanted the ghoul to reach out for her to make sure so that it was the same ghoul she was looking at and not a copy.


    The news had spoken about Lady of Bonke which definitely meant Lord Nichs had married a woman. The very thought brought butterflies in her stomach in anticipation that the person who was single since she first had finally married. But who knew how much was the truth. What if the news was only a fabrication of imagination as any other event that had taken ce in their world?


    She waited until she felt the bones on her fingers. They were as cold as the time when he had pierced his hand through her chest. And when finally the ghoul allowed her to touch him by bringing its own hand close to her touch, the air around her started to turn into a foggy smoke which she saw it change. The foggy ink of darkness was dark at first, enveloping and cocooning her before taking her to the time of the recent events where she had learned to pick memories just like Sister Isabelle, the white witch of their time had told her when she had gone to learn to manipte it. It was simr to standing in front of a rack of books where she pulled out the one which she wanted to read. In years here she had mastered the art of looking into any and every memory.


    She saw the ghoul visit them in this world, the time when she had forgotten that she had a date with Leonard. And she didn''t know why but it seemed and felt like their life had started from there as receiving back their memory from where they came had erased most of what was part of this world.


    She saw the ghoul standing in the corner of the tower bell, staring at them before starting to walk. Wanting to see where Everest was going, she followed it


    Though it rained, not a drop of water-drenched Vivian. It was as if she had an invisible umbre following her as she herself followed the ghoul until she came to look at it standing near a tree in the forest. The ghoul raised it''s hand, moving it round and round which made her confused. What was it trying to do?


    Staring at it for a while she wondered if the ghoul was alright until she finally saw a ck smoke appear in thin air. The further she looked into it, she realized that this wasn''t any mere fog but a portal to the other side of the world where they hade from. She couldn''t help thinking if the ghoul was the one who had moved them to this world. But why and how? How was that possible? Until now all she knew was that the two ghouls were invincible and no one could ever kill them. Though only a few knew about their existence, the truth was that they were one of the most powerful creatures of their times. Creatures that could not be erased but could kill anyone without having anyone know about it.


    Still trying to grasp the situation, she followed the ghoul. Unfortunately, the ghoul was fast as it didn''t have to walk but floated in the air due to which she had to run to keep up with it. She was taken to an inn. Coming to stand in front of the inn with the weather that was snowing, she stepped inside the inn. Thankful that it didn''t go through the walls but was taking her through the corridors.


    Finallying upon the door, she stepped inside the room to see Nichs. And how d she was to see him. But the Lord of Bonke looked sad, his eyes having no light and the smile that was usually put upon his face had faded where he drank the liquor which was made for the pureblooded vampires.


    When Nichs spoke to the ghoul, Vivian understood that it was the same time when Leonard and she had passed away. They had died this night. She followed the ghoul, walking with it as the memory seem to elongate before she came to look with her eyes wide in horror at what the ghoul was doing.


    Everest dug the ground in the cemetery with their names that was put on the headstone.


    Somewhere her heart was touched at the thought that Nichs had actually buried both Leonard and her in one single coffin. To have Leo, next to her had always been a dream and though she didn''t have the dream about their death being like this she was happy that Leonard had requested something like this from the Lord. Vivian saw herself where she looked like she was asleep but her face had turned slightly different around her eyes. Like the nerves that had raised itself. She wondered if it was because of the corruption of the heart that was trying to change the body as she herself hadn''t let the processplete before turning to apletely corrupted pureblooded vampire.


    She went closer to look at herself, failing to notice the ghoul who had taken a second before lifting up Leonard''s body from the grave. There were traces of blood on her dress and on the side of her lips.


    She touched her heart as if her heart suddenly ached by remembering the pain that she had gone through that night. It had been painful and terrible. Having the constant headache along with the ckouts where she was losing herself. She had also coughed a good amount of blood as if the blood in her body was affecting her entire system.


    As if wanting to wipe the blood from the side of her lips which bothered her slightly, she raised her hand but failing to be able to touch her. When Leo was ced next on the ground, her attention was shifted to her husband who had given up his own life knowing he wouldn''t be able to live without her. She didn''t know what she had done to deserve a man like him as her lover. Her eyes moistened at his quick sacrifice where the ghoul appeared to pick both the bodies away from the grave and to somewhere like a cave which seemed like a secret hideout somewhere deep in the forest.


    The time-shifted, the memory switching next where the ghoul sat with a light burning in the cave at the time of night. There were a number of instruments that wereid on the ground along with potions which she didn''t understand what the ghoul was trying to do. Was he trying to resurrect them? But it wouldn''t work, thought Vivian to herself. Even if they dide back alive, Vivian''s condition would still be the same and like a broken clock she would again die due to her current condition.


    Curious on what Everest was trying to do, she went and sat next to the bodies as Everest yed doctor. She was not only surprised and shocked but also impressed that a ghoul-like itself who only garbled was trying something without anyone''s knowing. Which also made her wonder what would Nichs say if he were to know what his naughty ghoul had done.


    As if wanting to move the days, she swiped her hands from right to left to flip the pages of the days where she finally came to notice the changes that were taking ce, not in Leonard''s body but hers.


    At first, Vivian noticed the veins that had begun to increase like wanting toplete the process but the same started to reverse where her face started to get back to the way it was. Like the one, she had now, and maybe better. She didn''t have the time to look at what the ghoul had used but she understood that the ghoul had been trying to fix her corrupted heart with the bottle of potions as if in desperation which somewhere broke her heart for the ghoul. Days and nights came by faster than the blink of an eye and when the time stopped she wondered if it was the current day.


    Soon her surroundings started to dissolve to go back where she was with the ghoul and Leonard.


    "He fixed our bodies," she said to Leonard, her eyes still fixated on the ghoul in disbelief.


    Leonard upon hearing this, furrowed his eyebrows, "That''s not possible."


    "I think he found the right potions to resurrect people back especially with so many years," answered Vivian still trying to reel on what she saw and understood, "Am I right, Mr. Everest?" the ghoul garbled as if to agree with her.


    "And the body survived so many years without dposing? Nichs should give you a cookie," and when Leonard said this, the ghoul in panic garbled a series of voices, "Of course, stealing bodies from the graves will be one of the crime he will punish you for. Especially when he finds out the bodies belong to us both," when the ghoul continued to garble, Vivian soothed the ghoul,


    "I am sure Leo won''t tell on what you did, Mr. Everest," but the truth woulde out. She then turned to look at Leonard, "He is the reason why we are here, Leo. This is where he''se from and it is his world. This is the very day in the real world where he has got the bodies fixed. Maybe that is why he let part of the truth slip up here," it did make sense as they could have never been able to get back with the way they were years ago. Right now with the bodies that looked brand new which were not damaged, there was a possibility of hope of getting back home to where they belonged.


    "And how do we get back? If the ghoul has been able to get in here, he should also know the way out of here," stated Leonard to hear the ghoul garble.


    "He does," answered Vivian with a smile but there was something sad in there.


    She was happy yet sad at the same time at the thought of her wanting to leave this world they had lived in. Longer than the real world. Leaving here meant there were a lot of people she wouldn''t be able to see anymore. But then, they were only memories in this world and not real.


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 Chapter 265 - Scroll To The Next Chap [Questions Closed]

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    [Interview questions have been noted and taken to thest chapters of the book.]


    Thank you for dropping your questions and that''s all the questions I will be taking. I have received around 120 questions so let''s wait for the interview ^.^


    Adding the other 2 books synopsis as a chapter needs to have 1k words to post or it won''t let me post


    .


    .


    The 4th book in the ''Lord''s, Duke and the Ghost'': Young master Damien''s pet


    "Who touched you?" he asked, his eyes brooding down at her and when she didn''t answer, his voice thundered in the room, "WHO?"


    The butler who stood near the wall spoke shakily, "Sir it was Mr. Reverale," Damien''s face turned sour, his jaw ticking in anger he turned his face to the side where the butler stood behind.


    "Bring the man here."


    "N-now?" stuttered the butler. It was the time of night.


    Damien who hadn''t broken his eyes contact with the girl in front of him pushed his hand against the wall which previously rested beside his beautiful girl''s head. Turning his body, he first looked at his butler who had his head bowed. With great courage, the butler came to meet his master''s eyes, "Do you have any other better time? Or should it be after I wring your neck?" Damien asked calmly tilting his head. Not a secondter, the butler ran out of the room to return back with Mr. Reverale after twenty minutes.


    "Damien, are we having ate tea party?" Mr. Reverale came to greet but the master of the house had other ns. Spotting the knife that was stuck to the apple on the table, he reached for it to pull it out.


    Just as Mr. Reverale went to exchange a handshake with him, Damien took hold of his hand to ce it on the table. In one swift movement as if he were chopping onions, he chopped the four fingers of the man off his hand making him yelp and cry in pain.


    "No one touches what is mine. I am sure this will remind you the next time you even think about touching her," sighed Damien as if he were tired of telling people to keep their dirty hands off his belongings.


    .


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    Book: Girl in the Casket


    Year 1893


    When Louise Scruggs agrees to marry Mr. Reed, one of the most elite men in her town of Habsburg due to certain circumstances, she believes life couldn''t get any more different than what it was until shees to know with dismay that the man has had three wives before her and all of them are dead.


    But that isn''t what she has to worry about. With unknown people around her and someone trying to get rid of her from the huge estate, she has to save her life before history repeats itself again.


    Prologue:


    It was a dark night of a starless sky that reflected down thend of Habsburg. The townsfolks were in their deep slumber as few men walked towards a shed located on the outskirts of the town. Every footstep of theirs making noise as they stepped through the stalks of the grass which had dried beneath their feet. Except for the sound of crickets, there was nothing else to apany them.


    A small shed stood at the far corner which was built near the edge of the thick forest. Walking towards it, one of the men opened the door which had been locked to avoid people from getting inside. Inside the shed was a woman who sat on a wooden chair with her hands and legs that were bound to the chair.


    Upon their presence, the woman struggled to free herself from the binds that were keeping her tied in here. But the more she fought to free herself, the ropes only dug into her skin, the rough brown edges of the rope pricking her like a hundred of needles on her skin.


    In an attempt to run away she fell off the chair when one of them came to get her but all her attempts were futile. Her mouth had been gagged with a cloth due to which the voice came out muffled which fell on deaf ears. One of the men who was heavier in built picked her up, putting her on his shoulders as he followed the other three men out of the shed and into the deep forest.


    The woman thrashed and hit the man''s back with her bound hands but it didn''t stop the man from taking her to where they were ordered to take her. The farther they walked, the smaller the town grew until it disappeared behind the trees. The woman was scared, scared of what was going to happen to her. Tears started to stream down her eyes at the thought of it. When the men had walked a distance through the thicket of trees, she was put down on the ground with little to no gentleness making her flinch in pain due to the impact of her body hitting the ground.


    Wondering where and why they had got her to the forest she turned her head to the right to see heaps of mud and the ground that was dug in between it. Realizing what it was she crawled for her life, trying to get away from them but she couldn''t go too far as two men came to pick her up and put her on the hollow ground that was dug for her.


    Tears slipped through the edges of her eyes as she epted the fate of her life. She had never dreamt of going through something, never thought about it. She had wished to be happy, wished to live a full life and not die like this. Never. She had believed and that was her folly. The folly that was costing her young life. The men had already begun to fill the dug ground with mud where she sat. One after another where she closed her eyes, more tearsing to fall on her pale cheeks, some absorbing into the cloth that was tied around her mouth.


    Once the men were done putting back the mud in its ce with the woman buried underneath it, they nted few nts to avoid any suspicion and leveled the ground after burying her in the deep forest away from the town.

 Chapter 266 - Passing Through- Part 1

    Vivian didn''t have anything to pack as no matter what the would, she doubted she would be able to take it along with her if what Everest was trying would work that is. There was a high possibility where what the ghoul had thought and nned for years wouldn''t work but sometimes hope was all one relied on.


    The ghoul ha indicated it woulde tomorrow to fetch them, to see if they could cross over which gave her and Leonard only a few hours before they would have to say goodbye to everyone who belonged and had been acquainted in this world.


    "Do you think it will work?" she asked Leonard in the morning where she sat with him on the same couch while their family sat in there having good family time. She wouldn''t be able to see these faces except for the portraits which hung in Carmichael''s mansion.


    "I wonder it myself. We have been here for years, close to a century?" Leonard wasn''t sure about it, "If it works it works, if it doesn''t, it is fine. We will still have each other here," he squeezed her hand which was in his that was lying on hisp. He saw his mother look their way, her eyes holding the same warmth as it did before. A sweet smile on her lips, "We should have asked about the mansion. It was just us, back then."


    "Lord Nichs must have kept it safe. I doubt he would let anyone use it," Vivian smiled to see her husband nod his head, "How do you think the world is now there?"


    "Maybe better than what we had, I doubt it can be worse. Nick got a wife," he said in disbelief, "I wonder who the woman is. For someone like him to be married to someone."


    "So that''s what shocks you more than the ghoul taking our bodies from the grave, hmm," she hummed, leaning on his shoulder where she ced her head looking at their family, "I will miss them, Leo. If everything goes well tonight, this might be the only time," there was sadness in her voice as she said it.


    She felt him press his lips on the top of her head, "We''ll have the best of memories, Bambi. And if you ever feel sad, you can visit them with your found ability," he was right, thought Vivian in her mind. At first she hadn''t been able to read the memories and it seemed like a lost cause but eventually, it did return. Just like it had dyed in the real world.?And though she was in advantage, the same couldn''t be told about Leonard. Unlike her, he couldn''t touch or see things by getting into the past. It made her wonder if she would ever be able to harness such ability where she could allow someone else to see what she did.


    Since the time of their childhood, Leonard had always been a strong man.?For someone who took out his anger on things or people, he had turned to a matured, sensible man.


    She still remembered the time of how some humans along with herself had questioned his ways of doing things. She had been angry at him, killing people without mercy. She didn''t understand his ways but he had only meant to protect what was his and take responsibility in his work without being bias towards his feelings.


    Sometimes when she remembered the past, it hurt her. The way Paul had died had been far worse than anything but as if to prove her feelings wrong she had seen Charlotte''s death. Her dear friend, Leonard''s cousin who had been open wide to mock at the pureblooded vampires. With everyone present in this world, all those felt like they had been part of a nightmare.?But the truth was that that was a reality and this ce was a dream. A perfect ce.


    His untamed anger that she had only heard was something she had never got to see. He had loved her in ways where the doubts had disappeared while showing for the man he was.


    Unfortunately, even if there was sister Isabelle in this world where they were living in, the white witch didn''t know about it nor much about the ck witches. But then if one were to think it could be because thedy wasn''t presented in a situation where she would need to acquire in-depth knowledge on it. This trouble-free world made it so easy that the knowledge here was limited.


    She hoped that one day she would be able to expertise herself enough where she could sharpen the skill to the fullest.


    Pulling herself away from his shoulder, she leaned forward and pecked his lips, "Everything will be alright," and a smile came up his lips.


    "Yes, Bambi. He himself leaned forward, cing a kiss on her lips which lingered more than hers had before, "It is time to tell them goodbye and go where we belong," he whispered on her lips where he saw her eyes that were close.


    At the time of night when both Leonard and Vivian had spoken to everyone who they would miss dearly, they had left the mansion behind to walk to the nearest forest where the ghoul was waiting for them behind a tree. Like a phantom of darkness, it came towards them to stand tall and proud.


    The ghoul turned to its side, raising its ragged cloaked sleeve which looked tattered at the ends. Its bony fingers up in the air, Vivian saw it move from up to down and then from left to right before making a circr motion as if it had made a mark in the air.


    Soon a cloud of smoke started to appear which was ck and grey in color simr to clouds before a heavy rain. The smoke grew bigger and bigger with every passing second which enveloped the ghoul in it slightly to make it look part of it.


    "I will first go," spoke Leonard looking at the dark door which awaited them. It was the possible portal where they could return but not sure if it would work well, he wanted to first test it out himself before Vivian did it. After kissing her on her temple, he started to walk.


    Vivian was unsure yet, she stood there looking at Leonard who walked through the smoke before disappearing behind it. Her heart thudded loudly, once he was out of sight, the ghoul turned to look at her as if to indicate that it was her turn.


    She took a step forward, one after another when she felt the ghoul hold her wrist to stop her. Confused she looked up it wondering what happened, "What''s the matter, Everest?" she asked it. The ghoul for several seconds didn''t move or respond which got her anxious. She heard it garble and she wished she understood at this time what it wanted to tell her.


    The ghoul loosened its hold on her wrist but didn''t let go of her hand. Stopping her from crossing through the smoke to go to the other side.


    It turned around her hand, it''s bony fingers touching t on her open where she started to go back in the time of memory before she had first met the ghoul. The ghoul had fought with its brother, she saw them fight at the open portal which looked very simr to what was waiting for her right now in front of them. Everest''s brother Narcissus appeared angry as it attacked him over and over again until it finally pushed ad dug its fingers into the other ghoul who was Everest. It seemed like only the ghouls could hurt each other and no else as they belonged to a whole different world. Creatures that only lurked in the shadows.


    The scene moved forward where she saw her little self with the ghoul in the middle of the night but suddenly the scene moved back. Like a memory that was moving behind where she finally came to see the ghoul passing through to step out of it before being fought.


    Before she could pull herself away from it she saw and heard the terror in people''s eyes, their screams over the pain the ghoul gave before they were killed.?Looking up at Everest who stood still waiting for her to return back from the sea of its memories, her lips parted to speak,


    "Narcissus doesn''t like you goinging in here? Does he know about this ce?"?The ghoul when garbled she didn''t know to take it as a yes or no. It looked like even Lord Nichs wouldn''t know about this ce. She wished she understood what the ghoul was saying, "I need you to nod your head for yes or shake your head for no, Mr. Everest. We have a lot ofmunication gap," her eyebrows had furrowed in question to see it nod its head which somewhere looked like a nod.


    "He knows," she confirmed to see it nod again. She still didn''t understand why exactly they fought as the most she could do was specte and it seemed like the ghoul wanted to show her to the question she had asked it the previous night.


    Scroll to next chapter 267...

 Chapter 267 - Passing Through- Part 2

    "It''s alright, Mr. Everest," she took hold of its hand with both of hers, "I was only curious for who had hurt you. I hope you are healed now and haven''t fought with your brother. Lord Nichs treasures both of you very much," she received a series of growls and grumble at her words as if to oppose, "I see, so it''s Narcissus who likes to fight and not you," she said for it to nod and a small chuckle escaped her lips. She found it funny where the ghoul appeared to look like a child in her eyes.


    "You know Everest, while I missed the world and people on the other side where we are going back. I missed you too," she thought the ghoul would like to hear it and she put out her thoughts, a soft smile on her lips.


    Letting go of its hands, she took two steps forward towards it before hugging the dark creature. Her arms around it''s ragged ck and brown clothes that moved in the wind. She could feel the skeleton bones in her arms, a slight hint of blood and death that mingle around it which she didn''t mind,


    Her throat felt clogged and she murmured, "Thank you for this, Everest," her eyes moistened, "If there has been anyone after Leonard I could trust blindly it has always been you. I can''t think of any other person who deserves my trust more than you do. I am so thankful for having met you, to know you," she whispered still hugging. I hope things get better for you too," she pulled herself away, her hands sliding down to look at the ghoul who hadn''t garbled a word to her.


    Vivian had known the ghoul to be someone who took lives onmand but she never had thought on what it felt or how it felt. The number of screams she heard before getting out of the memories, but then it was a ghoul. A creature which was a weapon of a pureblooded vampire. Yet, she couldn''t help herself to empathize with it even if it didn''t feel that way.


    To her absolute surprise, the ghoul raised it''s hand this time to ce at the top of her head before letting it go. It garbled this time to look at the ck cloud it had created as if to tell it was time for her to walk into it, she turned to look back at the far town on one side and the Charmichael''s mansion which she had known for her entire life. The ghoul held her hand back, leading her through the smoke before cking out.


    When Vivian finally opened her eyes, she looked around to see herself in a bedroom. Her head felt heavy, her body tired as if it had been sleeping for far too long.?It being an unfamiliar room, she wondered if this was another dream she had stepped into. Leonard wasn''t in the room which made her worried. But there was something familiar with the way the books were arranged on the shelf. Old tattered books that were lined neatly.


    She knew she hade here, hearing the door of the knob turn, her eyes snapped to find a woman entering the room with a male butler with silver-white long hair that was tied with a ribbon. The woman had ck fringed hair, her red eyes warm, unlike many vampires she had met. With a lean figure, she stood with a tray in her hand.?She had met neither of them which made the situation more confusing.


    "She''s awake," the butler stated looking at Vivian.


    The woman turned to look at the butler to say, "Let them know, she''s awake, Stanley," when the butler stepped out of the room, she brte woman greeted her, "Good afternoon, Vivian."


    "Good afternoon...Can you tell me where I am?" asked Vivian unsure to see the woman smile.


    "This is the Rune''s mansion. I am Heidi Rune, Lord Nichs'' wife," introduced the woman.


    Lord Nichs'' wife? Vivian bowed her head, raising her head she looked back to look at the eyes that were red and staring back at her. The woman was beautiful in her own way, her straight hair left open and the fringe that covered part of her forehead.


    "I was hoping you would be up," said Heidi, her words firm which didn''t waver.


    "How long have I been sleeping?" asked Vivian. Thest she remembered was her walking through the portal with the ghoul before her mind had cked out along with her body.


    "It''s been almost five days," the woman turned towards the table, taking the teacup where she handed it to Vivian, "Lord Alexander asked to give you this after you woke up. Everyone has been worried about you since both you and Leonard arrived," Lady Heidi took her hand back to ce on herp.


    Vivian took that when Lady Heidi had informed the butler to call ''him'' it was Leonard. Taking a sip from it, she cringed with the bitter after taste it left on her tongue. After a couple of sips, Vivian said, "May I use the bathroom?"


    "Of course. It''s on your right here," thedy looked at another door which led to the bathroom.


    Moving the cover from her body, she slid out of the bed and went to the bathroom. Going to the sink, she turned the faucet while bringing her hands forward to wash her face as she leaned forward. Sshing her face with cold water before raising herself up to look at her face which dripped water down.


    Dark red eyes stared back at her back through the mirror. Getting closer she ran her hand on her face which had slightly changed the tone of her skin near her eyes after she had passed away. The ghoul had truly worked hard in not just fixing her but also in bringing them back. But somewhere deep in her heart, Vivian was slightly scared as to what if this wasn''t the world they were used to being in.


    The fear lingered and until she would not see Leonard herself she wouldn''t believe anything. He was thepass of direction to lead her in the right direction which she believed in.


    cing her hand down on her chest she felt her heartbeat at a steady pace. She was alive here. Taking the towel that wasid at the top, she wiped her face. And as she did this she heard voices outside the bathroom where she opened the bathroom door to find Lady Heidi and Leonard in the room along with the butler who stood away at the door without stepping in.


    "Vivi," said Leonard, walking to her to quickly engulf her in his arms like they had not seen each other for weeks now. Vivian encircled her arms around his waist to feel the warmth radiating off his body. He felt warm and very much alive. He pulled himself back, "How are you feeling? Any pain or ckout?" he asked her and she shook her head.


    "Nothing for now," she answered.


    Lady Heidi who was in the room said, "I will excuse myself and see how Nick is doing. The councilmen have been keeping him busy," she gave them a smile wanting to give them some alone time. Taking the butler along with her, she closed the door herself.


    "Are you okay?" asked Vivian where Leonard nodded his head, picking up her hand to leave a kiss on the back of her hand.


    "Now that you are awake, I am," his response made her smile, "Want to eat something? Lady Heidi prepared a few things herself since we arrived."


    "She''s very generous. Lord Nichs must be very happy," Vivian smiled to hear Leonard hum, "What happened?"


    Leonard took her to the bed so that she would take a seat and he sat next to her, "Some of the councilmen have raised issues on regards to Lady Heidi''s return."


    "Did Everest resurrect her too?"


    It was possible that if Everest brought her and Leo back then bringingdy Heidi wouldn''t be that hard either. Seeing Leonard shake his head, she gave him a confused look.


    "Everest didn''t bring her back. It''s been four weeks since she arrived here."


    "Arrived?"


    "Lady Heidi had a broken soul. Like how pureblooded vampires have corruption of heart, humans and other beings sometimes suffer from it which again has no cure. I heard from Nick that the Lord of Valeria was the one who helped in bringing her back. It must be something simr to what Sister Isabelle did when she had died for the first time before resurrecting back herself. As Alexander is the white witch''s son it doesn''te as a surprise that he is able to perform things and surpass his own mother in the art of witchery," said Leonard, running his thumb over the back of her hand gently. Feeling the pulse every time he brushed his finger on the nerves, "He already meddled with her soul so I don''t think the ghoul could do anything about it the way he did with ours."


    That answered her question, thought Vivian.


    "Where is Everest?" she was worried that Lord Nichs had possibly punished the poor ghoul.


    "It shouldn''t be that severe, Vivi," seeing his wife''s worried face he assured her, "Don''t worry Nichs has his hands full with the councilmen here. It is the old councilmen who once supported his father Wilhelhum. It shouldn''t be a problem either. Rueben, Lionel, and a few others are helping the case."


    "What have the others raised the concern about?" Vivian didn''t know why she felt the matter was grave.


    Scroll to next chapter 268

 Chapter 268 - Need To Tell You Something- Part 1

    "They believe it is a witch''s work to have resurrected someone back from the dead. The people Lady Heidi grew up with have given their testaments in the court council to tell that she is very much a human and not a witch. It is because Lady Heidi''s name and other details have been registered word to word as she was part of a treaty for peace."


    "A lot of things happened when we weren''t here. Life doesn''t seem like it was fun here," Vivian stated.


    "Should we thank Everest for giving us peace?" he teased her for her to shake her head.


    "I don''t know. I hope Nick isn''t going to be harsh on him. What about us, Leo?"


    "What about us?" Leonard asked her back, "Are you wondering if we are going to be charged simr to what Lady Heidi is going through??No one knows about us."


    "They don''t know we have been gone?"


    "Don''t look so disappointed," chuckled Leonard at her surprised face, "Nick didn''t tell anyone about our deaths. Only my uncle Sullivan knew that we were dead. Nick told the councilmen that we were going to take a long break after everything that had transpired."


    "I am surprised no one ever found out about it," but somewhere Lord Nichs had done the right thing by not letting anyone know. If their bodies were dissected to find out, the matter would be nothing less to opening a can of worms which would lead to more than interrogation on them, Lord Nichs and the witch.


    "What about the ck witch?"


    "Lord Alexander killed her a few years ago," upon hearing it, Vivian felt as if they had missed more than a few decades. With the life that had carried on the other side of this world, it seemed like everything had happened a long time ago which had turned it to nothing but a memory, "Our story is that we returned back from a very long vacation. Some might suspect but they will find nothing. Even the bodies that were buried in the ground had been stolen to what we have now."


    "Do you think it is okay to go visit Lord Nichs now?"


    "With the councilmen in there?" Leonard tilted his head but gave an okay.


    Vivian wore an overcoat of Lady Heidi, tying up her hair into a bun, she walked next to Leonard down the corridors of the Rune mansion. She missed this ce, though they were in the other world, they had no contact of the Rune as Lord Nichs didn''t exist. But it was understandable now, the world which Everest and Narcicuss hade from, it was a world of peace where everything that was bad to built into them leaving the world there clean with no worry or trouble. It was Vivian''s own theory which made her wonder if she was right but no one knew. She doubted the ghouls had told it to their own master until their return here.


    "I wanted to speak to Lord Alexander," Vivian said to Leo. There were a few things she had been wanting to do when they were in the fabricated world, hoping if the opportunity presented she would be able to do things which she wasn''t able to do before.


    "He will be back in the evening. He went to drop his wife and son home yesterday. Lord Alexander has been here for most of the time talking to the council so that everyone can close the case."


    He took a look at you and me, saying the ghoul did a pretty good job in fixing us. Also that some of the ingredients potions which he had saved in his mansion were gone which he had made himself."


    "Everest stole them," Vivian didn''t know what to say to it, "Both the Lords must be really mad at him."


    "You did defend him right?"


    "Yes, Bambi," he chuckled, "I won''t let anything happen to your Mr. Everest."


    Oning to the study room, Leonard knocked and then opened the door to step inside.


    Vivian caught sight of people who she had worked before. It felt nostalgic remembering it.


    "Duke Carmichael and Lady Vivian or should I say, councilwoman Vivian. It is good to see you after your long vacation. I hope you will join the council again, especially you, Lady Vivian," one of the men shook their hands and Vivian couldn''t help herself from smiling. She had earned the title of being a councilwoman which she prided secretly.


    Lady Heidi was sitting next to Lord Nichs and it was good to see him. He gave her a smile which she returned. When her eyes met the head council, Reuben''s eyes she saw him look at both Leo and her in a faint curiosity but a smile still on his lips.


    Hearing what the councilmen had to say with regards to Lady Heidi''s surprising return, she stayed quiet listening to everything. With the weeks that had passed, it seemed like the matter had already started to get resolved without any major issues. After their discussion they stood up and?shook hands, leaving the two couples in the room. The butler returned back, knocking on the door to say,


    "Sir Nichs, the men have gone."


    Nichs gave him a nod, "They won''t being here again. How was your trip, Vivi?" he asked Vivian.


    "Where is Everest?" Leo couldn''t stop the smile that came upon his lips. Only his Bambi would worry about a creature who was in better shape than she was.


    "I won''t hurt or can''t hurt him, Vivi," Nichs smiled, the smile that was as a gentle breeze.


    But Vivian knew it was a lie. Sure the ghouls belonged to a different which was part of him as well which he previously wouldn''t have been aware of. They were the supreme creatures and a pureblooded vampire couldn''t hurt it nor could a human or a witch. But that didn''t mean that the ghouls couldn''t hurt each other. Narcissus had hurt the ghoul which was still a little unclear as to why the ghoul would hurt the other one.


    "Narcissus can hurt, Everest," the smile on Nichs broadened, "He really has taken to look and share things with you hasn''t it. He''s a hideous creature who has only known to kill people but he is like a child as if trying to understand things like he''s learning. Creatures are not meant to be curious, Vivi. It will lead to the next conflict."


    "Like how the witches and vampires came into existence?" she asked him.


    "Yes. Just like us. Right now they are protected but there might be a day where they will be exposed and tested. You have nothing to worry about. His punishment is very simple. I haven''t asked my other ghoul to hurt him. This time it will give him enough time to reflect. It is so so that he will tell without hiding anything from now. The ghouls need to understand the severity of their actions on what could happen if things didn''t go well. Like I said he''s still a child, your kindness has brought another shade of his."


    Vivian nodded her head understandingly. It was enough for now knowing that Mr. Everest was safe, "The other world...have you been there, Nichs?" Vivian asked curiously.


    "I haven''t. It isn''t a world for the living but for the dead." Hearing his answer she wondered pursed her lips to hear him say, "It seems like you have something to ask."


    "Is it normal for the ghouls to fight? I saw him once hurt," Nichs'' lips twisted as if a secret had been let out of the bag.


    "It isn''t. It was on my order that Everest was picked on. As I stated, that world is not for the living and as it is part of me, the more it stays there, the more it affects me. I knew Everest was up to something but I never expected it to steal bodies and push your souls in there for so many years. I wonder if Narcissus was with him this time though, else it is odd that I am not aware of. What matters is that everything turned out well and you both are here."


    As if wanting to shift the subject, Lord Nichs asked, "Have you met my lovely wife who is back from the dead?" Lady Heidi who was standing next to him sent him a dry look.


    "The joke is getting old, Nick," she let out a sigh when he smiled at her.


    Scroll to read next chapter 269


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 Chapter 269 - Need To Tell You Something- Part 2

    At the time of night when everyone had finished their dinner where they were joined by Leonard''s uncle Sullivan who was happy, shocked and yet happy to have his nephew back alive though he was never given the details of what happened. Lord Alexander had also arrived to wrap another case with Nichs.


    Vivian after helping Lady Heidi around the mansion while getting to know the woman, she finally went in search of Lord Alexander who was standing outside the mansion in the garden.?The man was looking up at the sky, the weather of Bonke much harsher than what they hade from that growled and threatened thends with the oing raining which was nearby. Lord Alexander was handsome in a more haunting way as he was a man of few words when it came to strangers unless there was something to talk about.


    Unlike, Lord Nichs where she had been acquainted by him closely, she knew Lord alexander not personally but with just the little bits and memories she had found.


    "Do you like the rain, Lady Vivian?" she heard him ask when she was still far behind wondering how to approach him. He sure had sharp ears, thought Vivian.


    "I love them. The thundering clouds are my favorite," she answered him, walking closer to him to stand beside where she wrapped her hands while looking at the sky ahead of them, "How about you, Lord Alexander?"


    "I don''t mind them," the Lord gave a side nce towards the girl to say, "You should rest more."


    "Thank you for the medicines," she thanked him, looking at him then the sky. Vivian wasn''t sure if Lord Alexander was aware of the ghoul''s presence therefore not picking the matter of it further, she continued, "I visited Carmichael''s mansion in the evening today."


    "How is its condition?" he inquired.


    "Lord Nichs kept it well without letting anyone use it. We were on a vacation after all," she saw a rare smilee on Lord Alexander''s lips which weren''t there often.


    "The man is good secrets," that he was, thought Vivian in her mind, "After Lady Heidi''s public appearance and his deration of how his dead wife came back from the dead many turned suspicious," he frowned at the joke which wasn''t appreciated by the Lord of Valeria, "A lot of questions came up and then you and the Duke arrived after some time. If Nichs hadn''t told about it the councilmen would be having a field trip with all of you to only raise suspicion."


    Vivian was still unsure if Lord Alexander was aware of what happened, "You don''t have to look worried, Lady Vivian. There are only a few where secrets can be told and protected," she took by his words that he knew about what had happened.


    From Leonard''s words, their soul after passing through had picked up the empty shell of the body which had been waiting for them to take up. Though the soul had gone through, the ghoul was unsure and had finally gone to its master to ry the matter to what happened where even Lord Alexander was also present, sending both of them rushing to the scene.


    She was also d that it now appeared that both the Lords shared a good rtionship between them since thest time she had seen where things had been cold. Not only that, the man who stood next to her appeared calmer and a little more approachable than what he used to be.


    "I heard about your marriage and son," she said for him to hum, a smile forming back on his lips this time which was much more evident than before. Taking in a deep breath she then said, "I actually had something to give you," the man looked at her, his head cocking to the side in question.


    Pulling something from her coat which looked like a paper at first nce, she handed it out for him to take. Lord Alexander took it from her hand, looking down his eyes slightly widened in surprise, "Where did you find this?"


    "I-uh, took it from someone," she answered him. She had been contemting over the years if she should have told about his mother as Sister Isabelle had not wanted her son to know but in the end, she had decided to do what she felt was right, "I took it from your mother..."


    Leonard who had finished talking to Nichs hade in search of his wife to find her standing outside talking to Lord Alexander about Lady Isabelle.


    He could hear her say, "I took it when the councilmen had gone to search through the items in the church. I thought to return it to the rightful owner," it seemed that Vivian had given out thest belonging of what sister Isabelle had saved of her and her family. It was a picture of Lord Alexander when Lady Isabelle was still alive before being killed in the councilmen and witches'' politics.


    "Thank you," the man thanked her who was still staring at the picture in his hands, "I am sure she had her own reasons as to why she didn''t let me know and I respect it. Do you believe life to be a circle, Lady Vivian?"


    "I think I do," answered Vivian, her smile bright and warm like summer of Valeria, "I heard you found the parchments which belonged to your mother."


    "Hmm. One of the ghost friends delivered it before dying."


    "Ghost?" though Vivian had herself died and had returned back again, it didn''t reduce the fear she held against ghosts.


    Lord Alexander chuckled, "He is a friendly ghost or rather the Lord of Mythweald right now." Wow, time did change.


    "It feels like a whole different world now," she responded over the thought, "Have a good night, Lord Alexander and thank you once again," she bowed her head. Everest had stolen the potions from Lord Alexander''s mansion which previously belonged to his mother. If he didn''t find the parchments maybe they would nevere to where they were now. And she was grateful for his work, for continuing what his mother has paused.?Her head held down for more than a second before she stood straight and turned around walking to where Leonard was.


    When their hands touched, two of their fingers linked together where they started to walk inside.


    "Do you need rest, Vivi?" and she shook her head.


    "I want to explore all the ces here with you," she suggested instead for him to smile. A smile that was meant only for her.


    "Let me take you to a quieter ce. Follow me," he said without letting go of her hand. They walked through the spiral stairs which led up to open space. The wind blew making her tumble all around her face and she had to raise her hand to stop it.


    "So beautiful," shemented looking at the outstretched forest and the clouds that were grumbling with lightning and thunder. On the other far side of her left, she could see a vige which looked developed that the ones she saw. How strange, she thought to herself. The fabricated world had continued to remain the same as the year of 1777 before they had died yet the details never came to change much.


    Leonard who had been staring at the forest before turned his eyes to look at his wife where Vivian felt him staring, "What happened?" she asked him to shift her own eyes to look at her husband''s handsome face.


    "Admiring my wife," his reply made her cheeks warm, "I thought of visiting the graves of everyone here. Would you apany me tomorrow?" she asked.


    "Sure. I heard Heuren was buried in the Isle Valley on Lionel''s word," Leonard let her know on their councilman who they once used to work who was a human.


    "I wonder how Lord Nichs managed to tell the lie about our vacation without anyone doubting us," she murmured. It was hard to believe that no one suspected their absence in the council or in their house. But then, thought Vivian, when they had died, they weren''t in Bonke and were in Valeria on vacation. The Lord of Bonke must have spun a tale about their extended holidays.


    "I have been thinking about something, Bambi," Vivian waited for him to continue which he did, "We''ll be going back to the mansion tomorrow but things might not be the same. I know we have lived the rest of our lives in the fabricated world so things will feel different," Vivian nodded her head understanding what he meant. The house would not feel the same with the absence of many people. But there are some who are still there and our friends...I was wondering maybe you wanted to have a wedding with everyone present. An official one. You in a white dress walking down the aisle as I wait for you in ck-suited clothes."


    She wondered why Leo had decided to bring this up after many years. She moved her hands and ced it t on his chest, "I don''t mind it, Leo. Big or small wedding. Even the one we had which was privately held that is a sweet wedding. I am your wife and you are my husband, nothing else matters."


    Leonard being the gentleman he was, he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, "I know, Bambi. But it is the right thing and to jog everyone''s memories that we belong to each other."


    "Now that you say about it I think it is a fine idea," Leo grinned.


    "You look absolutely adorable when you are jealous. After all, it is very rare to find you jealous."


    "Pardon me for my behavior, Duke Leonard," she replied back yful to see him smile.


    "Marry me again, Vivian. Will you?" he asked her.


    "Yes. As many times as you want me to."


    .


    Scroll to read next chapter 270

 Chapter 270 - Future Holdings

    The little girl sat in the garden staring at the blue flower which had bloomed even after the treacherous rain that had poured down in the time of morning leaving the ground wet and slippery at some parts of thend. She looked at the blue rose which was beautiful as the night itself, it''s magnificent color standing out from the rest of the other nts that surrounded it even at this hour of the day. It was the time of night where the guests had upied the halls and some part of the ground mansion due to which she hade to see the beautiful rose. Slipping away from the crowd was none other but her friend, Levi who called her,


    "Josie!" a little boy called her from behind making her turn and look over her shoulder to see the blonde-haired boy walking to where she was as a piece of food hanged from his mouth which was undoubtedly a loaf of bread, "What are you doing here instead of in there?"


    "Looking at the rose," she pointed her hand as if her words would fall short and it needed more highlight.


    "The rose," the little boy with blonde hair was none other than Duke Leonard and Lady Vivian''s son, Levi who was at the age of seven, "Do you really believe that your grandmother is in there?"


    "I don''t know," Josephine was at the age of six, her wavy brown hair which was tied to two tes as it was onlyst evening did she have her hair stuck in the bushes while ying due to which they had to cut down some of the nts to free her hair, "Grandma, Isabelle?" she called looking at the roses, "She''s never in the mood to talk to me," she spoke softly with a hint of sadness where her shoulders drooped.


    "It''s alright, I am sure she''ll talk to you."


    "Papa speaks to her often. He said a part of grandma lives in here which is why the roses are blue."


    "Then it might be true," answered Levi looking a the rose to hear a couple of footsteps approach them, "They are here!" the boy eximed looking at the four children approach.


    A young girl with ck hair fringes walked towards them to say, "What are you both doing here instead of being inside?"


    "Trinity!" Josephine screamed the name with utter happiness to run and hug the older girl. The girl named Trinity hugged the little girl back with a smile, "Congrattions on turning six."


    "It''s a shame that the birthday girl isn''t inside with the guests," the boy next to her who was her older brother who wore sses said, "We bought you a present," hearing the word present, like a cat''s ears, she turned to look at the older boy. Without asking she looked at this hand which was empty. Wondering where it was she looked up to meet his eyes where the little girl had to crane her neck up.


    "Where?" she questioned him.


    "It will be given to you once you cut the cake. Happy birthday, Josie," he ced his hand on her head where she instantly closed, "Still a cat I see," he murmured for her to open her eyes in question.


    "Eh?" she responded making everyoneugh.


    When the time to cut the cake came, Josie stood with a knife with her father and mother standing on either side of her who were Lord Alexander and Lady Katherine. Once the cake was cut and fed, the little girl was swarmed by guests who one after another came to wish her. After a certain point when Lord Alexander and Lady Katherine were talking to one of the councilmen and his wife, they went to introduce their daughter formally who was missing.


    Katherine couldn''t stop the smile forming on her lips, "She''s a shy girl," unlike Evan who had turned out to be great in interacting with people, her youngest child Josie was skittish who often escaped from the sight of the guests.


    "That''s cute," said the wife of the councilman.


    Josie who had slipped away from the hall for the second time in the evening, this time instead of going to the garden to spend her time with the nts decided to go up to the clock tower where not many people visited. Just when she reached, the little girl caught sight of a person who was already up there.


    Walking around to see the silhouette, she heard the person ask,


    "Escaping the guests again I see, kitten," said the boy with the sses said looking at the girl. He was sitting on the top of the edge of the wall with his legs in the air. The wind blew across the Delcrov mansion, not able to pick anything due to the ground which was wet and holding back everything it could.


    "Vincent," Josie said his name, walking near him she saw him sitting up leisurely which made her want to sit too. The boy was twelve years old, his red eyes staring at the girl who was looking at the edge of the wall while trying to stand on her tiptoes.


    "You want to sit?"


    "I can?"


    "Why not?"


    "Mama, says not to sit. She says I might fall," answered the girl for the boy to nod his head in agreement.


    "True what she says. But I am here, so it is alright," turning himself around, he gave her both his hands where when she ced her hand in his, he pulled her up making her slightly screech, "Better?" he asked her where she happily sat next to him, "Now don''t lean to look down. I don''t want you dead," hearing this the girl grinned like a child.


    A shadowed creature lurked behind them, Vincent''s eyes catching hold of the ghoul that usually stayed around him wondered when it appeared here. He had heard about the other ghoul that had been attached to Lady Vivian years ago and maybe even now but he didn''t know he would have a ghoul as a pet who always appeared to be brooding.


    Josie, who hadn''t noticed the ghoul, suddenly remembered about her gift and asked, "Gift!"


    The boy hummed, putting his hand in his pocket and fishing for something before he pulled out a delicate looking silver chain which had a small cross on it, "Lean over," he said to have her lean closer, her eyes following the chain which he helped in making her wear around her neck.


    "I like it, Vincent!" she eximed looking down while lifting the locket up to have a better look.


    "It would have been troublesome if you didn''t," he murmured. Josie continued to look at the cross which was in and nothing special yet in her eyes it was special, "Your parents and your brother must be quite used to have you missing during asions like this. Don''t you want to go back?" he asked her, "You should learn to mingle and greet guests."


    "But you are here,"? she said with a small frown.


    "You didn''t know I would be here."


    "I search for you..."


    "Did you now," he turned around and hopped back on the ground making her fret, "I am going down. Wanna join," he raised his hand which she immediately took and they went down to join the guests.


    .


    Scroll to read next chapter 271

 Chapter 271 - Interview- Part 1

    Details that have been exined in the book direct or subtly, I wouldn''t be adding them here and would rather ask you to re-read the book to find your answers where it''s already in there. Read in between the line. For some of them wait, as the books eventually connect the dots ( ''Young master Damien''s pet'').


    There are a total of 5 parts of the interview. Read to find the answers.


    .


    The male interviewer who has short silver hairbed behind watches the male leads, female leads, the side characters and the author who is sitting on the seat talking to each other. He looks at them with starry eyes, his eyes roaming around to catch something lurking in the shadow and his eyes widen.


    Taking the mic, he cleared his throat. Coughing a couple of times so that his throat felt free and rxed before he turned on the mic on. When the camera began to roll, he heard the man from behind say,


    "We''ll be starting in five. FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ah!" the man shrieked when the ghoul walked past him, almost scaring him to death.


    "Rolling! And action!" a woman continued rolling her eyes looking at the cameraman who looked scared.


    Interviewer: Good evening, everyone and wee to Bloodyfangs show where we have a special appearance of the character of the ''Lords, Duke and the ghost series''.


    *Audience readers ps and hoots on the other side of the room*


    Interviewer: In the room, we have handsome men and women whom we have loved and hated. We are here to celebrate the fact that the third book to the installment of the series has beenpleted. Author-san, I heard that you started the fourth story already?


    Author-san: *nods head* Indeed I have.? I was worried my readers would think that that was all to the series and had to make sure they were informed about it.


    Interviewer: We are very extremely pleased to hear that you have another book. Tell us something about them, I am sure our readers who haven''t read it would like to know a little about them. Ah, now that I notice, both of them are missing.


    Author-san: As the title says it is about Damien Quinn who has a pet named Penelope. The book will show the darker side or hical things that go on like one the ve establishment, the treatment ves received and how things were. Damien has quite a character and Penny is passive-aggressive with her feistiness. I cannot give you much detail on it and would rather request you to go read it.


    Interviewer: Talking about details, a lot of readers have beenining about the amount of screen time Lord Nichs shares in all the books.


    Nichs Rune: *smiling calmly* Are you saying you''re unhappy with that?


    Interviewer: Of course not, milord. You are very loved *sweats* It wasn''t I but the readers.


    Heidi: I think they are right. You did have a lot of parts.


    Nichs Rune: This is why you keep the author in good terms *smirks* Don''t worry, darling. I will make sure the author makes our kids into stars like me. If she doesn''t there''s always the ghoul to motivate her.


    Author-san:? ...


    Author-san: *turning to interviewer* Nichs is close to Leonard. He is his mentor and the Lord of Bonke nothing much could be done.?But this time it will be shifting to our Lord of Valeria.


    Interviewer: Really?


    Alexander Delcrov: Damien is my rtive.


    *silence*


    Interviewer: *WHAT???!!?!?!!?*... Now that we have everyone in the room, could you tell us who is your favorite couple from the series?


    Author-san: That''s a very hard question. I have written each of the characters with a lot of love so I am not sure how to go about it. Each and every character in this room have their own special characteristics and the way they have dealt in terms of love.


    Alexander Delcrov: I am sure Author-san is being nice not wanting to hurt any feelings by keeping her favorites to herself without disclosing the names.


    Interviewer: I see. We were curious. Don''t worry if you''re worried that anyone will kill you for not picking their names I can ask youter off the stage *heughs before his eyes fall on the men who have a dry look to gulp and cough* So all of us who are here know that you changed the end of the book, could you tell us what exactly you had in mind before you drafted the story? If I am not wrong, I heard you decided at the beginning of the book.


    Author-san: Ah, yes. When I finished Nichs and Heidi''s story, I had decided to kill the next couple. In fact, the beginning of the book was supposed to have the chapter of the graves after their death. I didn''t feel it would add upright.


    Interviewer: How did the readers find out though? Of course, you didn''t mention it until the scene arrives at the end.


    Author-san: When I started writing the book, the cover was of a male and female who were in a coffin box. It was an absolutely beautiful picture.


    Nichs Rune: Alexander rescued Heidi, therefore, Author-san couldn''t do anything about it and she decided to kill the next one in line*chuckles*


    Interviewer: *narrowed eyes looks at the author* Does this mean the curse will pass to the next couple?


    Author-san: Do I look like some reincarnation author to you? -_-


    Interviewer: *Coughs* Not at all. It is just that you kill everyone in the book.


    Author-san: No the curse won''t pass. ''Young master Damien''s pet'' will live long.


    *Interviewer and readers both pping hands with happy tears*


    Interviewer: By the way, Author-san, will we have a fifth book for the series?


    Author-san: Right now I cannot answer it, though I would love to explore them and have a faint idea, I will keep the option open. I finished Malphus''s story in ''Valerian Empire'' which he didn''t mind. I might right extra set of chapters for Rhys and Lettice in ''Heidi and the lord'' book as time progress. There''s also Stanley.


    Interviewer: How about Elliot and Sylvia?


    .


    Scroll to read next chapter 272

 Chapter 272 - Interview- Part 2

    Author-san: I never saw them as a couple so...Though I did n or wanted to write on all the characters at least half a chapter, which includes the side characters so that everything woulde together. But then that also is on hold. I have a lot of things toplete before going with any further books.


    Interviewer: *looks unhappily* Author-san, I have a personalint. Why did you write another book when you already have one that is ongoing? Wouldn''t it be easier if you finished this one before hopping to the next?


    Author-san: Maybe, but sometimes an idea just flows and it was something about Halloween. The simr mystery and suspense like what you have read until now. ''Girl in the casket'' might turn out to be another ''Valerian Empire''. Not because of a simr nature but because I started writing Valerian Empire when I was still writing another book ''The Demon''s soul''.


    Interviewer: Alright. I will take a look.


    Leonard Carmichael: You should just add us there, Author-san.


    Author-san: *Thinks ''Why do I feel like this series is never going to end?''*


    Interviewer: Our readers have some quick questions for you. Are you ready?


    Author-san: Yes


    Interviewer: The first one is, if you do write the fifth book, will their timeline fall in the 1900''s generation for the children?


    Author-san: Yes, the early 1900''s.


    Interviewer:?Vivian is the first Pureblooded vampire but turned into a human instead, do you consider writing a female lead pureblood vampire?


    Author-san: If there''s a fifth book then yes, or else Vivian will be the only true pureblooded vampire while the rest are turned.


    Interviewer:?None of the male leads cry, why we, readers, don''t read they release the weakest emotions?


    Author-san: *rubs chin waiting*


    Alexander Delcrov: Who is that reader? Give me the name *speaks sharply to turn his head to look over his shoulder* Martin get the shackles, it is time to tie these readers and the interviewer and throw them in the sea.


    Interviewer: I didn''t do anything! It was the reader. Katie helpu please!


    Alexander Delcrov: How dare you call her by her first name. Kill him.


    Interviewer: >.<


    Katherine: Alex, please. Don''t scare him, we need toplete the show *gives a smile as if the man would not kill him but his expression told otherwise.*


    Interviewer: *turns himself in the seat to avoid the male leads and quickly continues* who is the strongest vampire among the four males?


    Author-san: *thinking ''this interviewer is going to put me in the sea along with him* *raises her hand near her leg to point ''one''


    Interviewer: *nods his head knowing their current situation* *One meant Alexander* Skipping to the next question. Why do we not have much smut? The readers are feeling left out that you don''t give them enough bedroom scenes.


    Author-san: Hmm. In my defense, I did give some chapters but then there were some whoined that they didn''t want to read those things and wanted to get to the mystery. But don''t worry, Damien and Penny are going to have a lot of time together.


    Interview: *looks eager in excitement* I will definitely read it! Author-san, I will get back to you on other questionster. Let''s all wee the star of the book ''Bambi and the Duke'' Mr Everest *starts pping*


    *Audience cheering the ghoul more as the ghoul floats on the stage and looks around where to sit Finding a seat which is next to Nichs, it goes and takes a seat*


    Interviewer: Big fan, Mr. Everest *interview goes to the ghoul and gets a pen and paper out*


    Everest: *garbles incoherently* Taking the pen in its boney hands and signs the paper.


    Interviewer: Lord Nichs, all of us know that you understand what he speaks, can you please help us in tranting a few of his answers today.


    Nichs Rune: Sure


    Interviewer: *taking the seat back* Oh we prepared something for you *waves his hand at the staff who brings a cup of blood tea and hands it over to the ghoul* I hope you like it. Where''s your other ghoul, Lord Nichs? *looks left and right*


    Nichs Rune: I needed a man dead today. If I am not wrong...he''s upied killing him right now.


    *silence*


    Interviewer:?How did the blood tea taste?


    *Everest garbles*


    *Interviewer look at Nichs*


    Nichs Rune: He says, he''s tasted better.


    Interviewer: *thinks to himself ''just like its master''* Why does Everest like Vivian so much? There''s Heidi but he seems to be more attached to Vivian. Also, why didn''t he bring back Lady Heidi seeing how lonely those years were before she returned back.


    Nichs Rune: Isn''t it obvious? *his voice as cool as ever and looks at the interviewer as if he is stupid.


    *Everest starts to garble words where the crowd waits*


    Nichs Rune: He says- ''I have never been treated in a way like humans and other creatures treat each other. Not even master spoke to me like that. Vivian was the first person to show me kindness. A good-hearteddy.''


    *Everest garbles again*


    Nichs Rune: He said that he tried to find her soul so that he could fix it but her soul wasn''t exactly there when he tried looking for it * Nichs sends a silent re to his ghoul* Don''t interfere until asked to Everest. You must be lucky that I am letting you even attend this show *scolds the ghoul where the ghoul garbles sadly*


    Interviewer: Mr. Everest, why didn''t you send others to this world of yours? I am sure everyone would love them back how you bought our Vivian and Leonard.


    *Everest garbles*


    Nichs Rune: He says that he can send people only if he has personally killed them. He''s not a God but ghoul.


    *Everest shrugs his shoulder*


    Interviewer: As Everest holds Vivian to be the only emotional connection and also as they are part of you, the ghouls I mean. Does it mean that-you-ah-like Vivian?


    Nichs Rune: Having a connection doesn''t mean it has to be romantic, Mr. There are other emotions that are attached to a person but to answer your question no. Everest strangely evolved himself to like the girl which even I find surprising. It is more on friendly terms *gives a nce to the ghoul*


    Interviewer: Duke Leonard, what do you have to say with Everest and your wife''s close friendship.


    Leonard Carmichael: I don''t mind the ghoul. If it is one way of keeping her safe it''s is much better than having people who are unreliable and distrustful.


    Interviewer: How about you, Heidi? Do you feel like you are missing out on the sweet moments with the ghoul?


    Heidi: About that *She smiled making the interviewer curious* I think one ghoul''s attention is enough than have both.


    Interviewer: Are you saying that Narcissus stays around you like how Everest stays with Vivian?


    .


    Scroll to read next chapter 273

 Chapter 273 - Interview- Part 3

    Heidi: I wouldn''t go that far. He makes sure toe to visit me once every day. Nichs says the ghoul likes me.


    Nichs Rune: He does. He is a tsundere. I don''t even ask him to look after her. I am here for her.


    Interviewer: *nods* so that''s how it is. Do both the ghouls get along with each other? I heard there was a fight.


    Nichs Rune: Yes, they do. It is just sometimes, someone decides to go off track where I need to step in. The fabricated world isplex where one should not wander for far too long. As ites indirectly from me through the ghouls, it isn''t good for a living creature to step in.


    Interviewer: So it was alright for our Vivi and Leo because only their soul resided there?


    Nichs Rune: Yes


    Interviewer: It does sound different. The next question is for you, Lord Nichs*reads the cue cards* which is not rted to you *trails* What do you think of Damien and Penelope?


    Nichs: My... aren''t you and the others nosy *smiles sweetly* I shall pass this question


    Interviewer: Heidi,?does your painful memories from the ve establishment returns back to you and gives you nightmares even now?


    Heidi: I don''t think I have remembered it in a while now. I had them recurring before but it got better. With time everything heals, even the deepest wounds.


    Interviewer: Heidi tell me something good and bad about your husband. I would like even Vivian and Katherine''s views on the same question.


    Heidi: Shall I start with good or bad?


    Nichs: *raises his eyebrows* There''s something bad about me? This should be interesting *he smiles looking at hi wife*


    Heidi: Sometimes I worry that the council is going toe the day where he kills someone.


    Interviewer: Have you caught him killing people? *remembers the time her cousin''s head was smashed like a melon on the ground*


    Heidi: It is quite normal for me.


    Interviewer: Does it bother you? Him killing


    Heidi: No. Even though hees to be cunning, I believe he does things because people deserve them. He is very curious about things and people around him. It must be something that Everest acquired from him.


    Interviewer: Lord Nichs have you painted Heidi''s portrait? Especially knowing you did one for Leonard and Vivian.


    Heidi: I think we can skip that question.


    Interviewer: *looks confused*


    Nichs Rune: I did. There are so many portraits but my wife doesn''t appreciate it *who looked away as if he were pouting yfully* They are just some which is embarrassed about...


    Interviewer: *clears throats* How about you Katherine?


    Katherine: Alexander was really difficult in the beginning. With the amount of him teasing me with the push and pull that almost broke my heart. It is like having a bully.


    *Audience sympathizes with Katie*


    Katherine: But he is protective of me. Also looking after my cousin''s brother, Ralph when it was needed. When I was pregnant, you should have seen *chuckles to herself* I wasn''t allowed to lift ot walk on the stairs.


    Interviewer: Weren''t you bored sitting in one ce.


    Katherine: Not at all. Alex was there to carry me around in his arms *grins*


    Alexander: Anything for you


    Interviewer: Lord Alexander did you have any feelings towards Katie when she was a little girl *lowers his hand to the little Katie''s height.


    Lord Alexander: As Nichs said, you really do have some narrow mind to think the only?rtionship a male and female shares is romantic *gives a sharp look at the man and then at the camera facing him*


    Interviewer: I don''t know why I am being scolded when it is the readers *mutters to himself*


    Lord Alexander: I was merely looking out for her. Nichs wasn''t the only one who was under the radar of the eyes of the few councilmen.


    Interviewer: Why didn''t you ever look for your mother?


    Lord Alexander: My mother was dead not lost. Would you go looking for someone who was burnt in front of your eyes where you have touched the ashes with your hand?


    Interviewer: ...


    Author-san: Lord Alexander didn''t know about his mother until Vivian told it herself.


    Alexander Delcrov: *looks at his watch*


    Interviewer: Apologies Lord Alexander *seeing the man nod the interviewer let a relieved sigh* You said that Damien is your cousin. Could you shed some light on him as the readers are not sure of what is going in his mind. We never heard of him until now *he hoped Lord Alexander would answer it unlike Lord Nichs who sleekly let the question pass*


    Alexander Delcrov: Damien is one of my paternal cousins. From my father''s side. He lives in Bonke. The entire book of Katherine and I was worked on in Valeria. So we heard very little from him. He did attend our wedding though.


    Interviewer: Oh


    Alexander Delcrov: Damien has his own mood *the lord smiled, a lopsided smile on his lips which confused the rest* He''s a good cousin of mine.


    Interviewer: *wondering if he got anything there at all* Um, I don''t know if I should tell this but the readers have been having their own discussions. And they weren''t good, they said he needs vampire therapy. They were also wondering how he works in the council.


    Alexander Delcrov: He is an excellent councilman. Very niche at what he does ughs* if you''re talking about therapy, I am sure the readers have suggested that to us too.


    Nichs Rune: I should perhaps send my ghouls to make sure if they still think we need therapy *his words being thoughtful with a small smile*


    Interviewer: A few quick questions to you too, Lord Alexander. The first one, regarding to Vivian. You once said she was a key. Unfortunately, we never came to see what that key you were speaking of.


    Alexander Delcrov: What are you saying? Everyone had read and spoke about it *receives confused look* Not all but some of the pureblooded vampires are blessed with abilities. Vivian is such a gifted person to have a gift so unique that she could surpass anyone here in this room. I said she was a key because I knew there was something going on in the council. But even if you are part of the council, understanding and getting answers to the unidentified questions is hard. The council was filled with corruption before but now it is better.


    She had the ability of touch which allows her to read and see about an object and any person which makes her the key to our universe. I am sure Leonard would agree if I said that the cases he worked on which he solved moved even quicker after her joining the council. Author-san here likes to leave clues all around the ce, she likes it when readers identify those subtle things instead of serving them the dish straight.


    Author-san: *grins*


    Interviewer: Readers want to know if the fire is still the same as before with Katherine. Now that you have two children.


    .


    Scroll to read next chapter 274

 Chapter 274 - Interview- Part 4

    Alexander Delcrov: The fire never dies. She''s been by silly girl and she has continued to be the same. Our sex lives is-


    Katherine: Alex! *looks utterly embarrassed at her husband.


    Interviewer: *who had leaned forward to get the juicy details frowned sadly* Tell us something about your mother and father. We never got to hear the story of how they met and fell in love. After all, it was love decades ago between the pureblooded vampire and a white witch.


    Alexander Delcrov: If you''re lucky you''ll hear about them in the fourth book as I author-san and I have a deal that I will share a good screen time or page time in the book with my cousin. To make the story short, my father was a hunt and thinking my mother was a human, he went to take a bite from her when she mmed him on the ground to his surprise.


    Interviewer: Your mother was a beautiful and courageous woman. I am sure thedies here look up to her.


    Alexander Delcrov: Thank you. Yes, I believe from the stories Vivian hase to tell me, she was a woman I am proud to call her my mother.


    Interviewer: Thank you for answering my questions. Wait, there''s a few more. Unfortunately, we don''t have Jerome and Elliot Wells here as they have gone to a skiing trip in the north. Did Jerome attend your wedding?


    Alexander Delcrov: Jerome is Elliot''s brother but no he didn''t attend the wedding. He has been traveling for quite some time now while looking after various projects for architectural designs. I am sure he has his reasons also one of them might be that he never took interest in the council work, unlike his younger brother.


    Interviewer: Let''s move on to our most loved couple of the evening, though I think it is because author-san killed you guys that you are loved more now *sweats bullets looking at author-san* Just joking ha ha ha *clears throats* But personally I also feel it so because we have seen both of you grow up and withrge amount of cuteness where one cannot stop awing at you guys. Vivianing to you, what do you think sets Leonard out from the crowd that had your heart captured?


    Vivian: *smiling widely* Leo is an amazing man.


    Nichs Rune: Ideal man


    Vivian: Yes, someone who has loved me since the first time to the end. He is a perfect gentleman that I couldn''t look away from him when he captured my heart. He sometimes has the habit to keep things that are weighing in his mind until I dissect it with my touch. Leonard is a man of high pride but he has no ego. I know it because he would give up his life for me in a heart beat.


    Interviewer: All the couples here have shown great support and trust when ites to each other but undoubtedly your faith and adoration to him has been so wonderful and sweet. I must say even I envy your rtionship the way the understanding has been built. You must have been really happy when he was saying his vows to you in the church in the middle of the night.


    Vivian: *looks at author-san as if sharing a secret*


    Interviewer:? Are we missing something?


    Vivian: Just a secret between us.


    Interviewer: You are one of the very fewdies who has passed the exam. Do you regret working there even though Leo is giving out some pointers that the Council is a difficult andplicated job?


    Vivian: Difficulty depends on what you think is difficult. Initially, I found it difficult but I had good colleagues who helped me. Especially when I often got lost in the building. The whole of it is like a maze which can make one feel confused.


    Interviewer: You must be missing your colleagues who used to work with you. Dutan passed away and so did Hueren with age.


    *Vivian nods her head*


    Leonard: We visited their gravesst Sunday.


    Interviewer: One of the readers has a question for you-?Vivian, is there anything you wanted to experience once in your life but wasn''t able to? If so what is it? If not what made you so content with what you had?


    Vivian: *thinks deeply* I don''t think I have anything at the top of my mind. We spent so much of time living like a normal couple in the world of the ghouls that I even pulled Leonard to the giant wheel. It was a beautiful night. I don''t think I ever grew up to ask for more because what was given felt enough. Though my parents had pushed me away, people like Paul, Martha had epted me without question. There was also Leo''s mother. Lady Renae took care of me when Leo wasn''t there. I was too small to remember everything but with the skill of touch, I can touch my very soul to see back at the events of my life.


    Interviewer: That is surely a cool skill you have in there, Vivian


    Vivian: Thank you


    Interviewer: *turns to look at Leonard* Everyone feels very strongly for your character, Leonard.


    Leonard: ....


    Interviewer: *continues* What about Vivian caught your eye?


    Leonard: I haven''t met anyone who has broken the vases one after another as she has. She has been adorably clumsy.


    Interviewer: *looks at them with starry eyes*


    Leonard: Vivian mighte to appear clumsy and delicate but in truth, she is the strongest woman I have met. She''s elegant and smart, for someone to have survived ande out triumphantly, she makes me only prouder.


    Interviewer: We all can vouch for that. One of your fans wanted to ask you-If Vivian wasn''t in your heart would you have maybe fallen in love with Eleanor?


    Leonard: Eleanor is only a cousin sister of mine. So it was out of the question that I would look at her differently.


    Interviewer: What happened to her? We were curious to know how she was doing *Especially after the little stand between her and Vivi-thinks the interviewer*


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    Scroll to read next chapter 275

 Chapter 275 - Interview- Part 5

    Leonard: Eleanor is married to a Duke in Woville. She moved out of the house on a trip and met the man there.


    Interviewer: How do you feel about Jerome Wells??Most of us cannot forget the first time you sent Vivian to get your non-existent pen from your room when he had arrived home.


    Leonard: He''s okay. I had to keep Vivian away from him but he knows we love each other and hase to an understanding. We see each other at times when we cross the same cities we are in. Both of us during our jobs that is.


    Interviewer: That is good to hear. We respect that he respected Vivian''s decision.


    Leonard: Hmm


    Interviewer: Duke Leonard, there are some personal questions if you don''t mind *seeing Leo nod proceeds* Is it true that your mother was the one who killed your father that night during the night of corruption.


    Leonard: Yes. Unfortunately, it is true. As you know, when the heart gets corrupted, a person loses the ability to think or perceive what is right or wrong. She was long gone before I could even reach her.


    Interviewer: We sorry to hear that. Another question is, you loved Vivian from a very young age, yet when this happened you treated her as if she betrayed you.


    Vivian: *takes the opportunity to speak* Those were tough times, Interviewer-san.


    Leonard: *ces his hand on hers which was lying on herp* Having to lose so many people in one night especially the ones you grew with was worse than shock. For a brief amount of time, I needed some time to gather my thoughts on what happened. I might havee cold but that didn''t mean my love for her fell down.


    Interviewer: But the butler Jan-


    Leonard: The butler is strict and does his job well.


    Interview: Thank you, Vivian and Leonard.


    Now that we have spoken to our favorite characters of the three books in the series, let''s moved to author-san. Author-san, there are some readers who want to know more about you. But before that, we have some more questions regarding your children *looks at the male and female leads*. Who do you think is stronger in the males?


    Author-san: Hmm, I would say Alexander and Nichs surpass their abilities. One is a dark witch with a pureblooded vampire while others use ghouls.


    Interviewer: Would you be able to give us a short Christmasy special for the characters maybe? In the future, of course, knowing you have books lined up at the moment.


    Author-san: Sure, why not. We can have all the characters there. The best I would advise to not remove any books from the library because I don''t know when I will add another short story at the end of the books.


    Interviewer: The question has been raised if Sister Isabelle knew or had an inkling about what was going to happen to Leo and Vivi.


    Author-san: I think most of you miss the subtle hints. Maybe giving the book another read, that is all the three books would be much easier for anyone to understand what I left behind as the chapter progressed. Some of themined it was filler but in truth it a mystery box.


    Interviewer: You love to watch Masterchef!


    Author-san: Oh, I love it.


    Interviewer: Do you think there''s a chance for a vampire female to take up as the Lord to look after thend.


    Author-san: Maybe if these two and the other two died. Why not? *shrugs shoulders*


    Interviewer: *Notices the subtle reing from the two men on the stage* I don''t know why but it feels really hot in here.


    Author-san: Must be the heat of death


    Interviewer: Who started the Council and giving the lords to eachnd?


    Author-san: The council was started by the pureblooded vampires in the beginning with the help of the few white witches. Though the white witches weren''t weed, their powers and abilities were used to set up the council in and around. Something that took ce centuries ago.


    Interviewer: One of the readers asks, how does it feel to put yourself in the shoes of so many characters? Don''t you ever get confused?


    Author-san: I do mix up names at times, that happens at the beginning of the books especially the female leads names but it is been getting better now. I sometimes need time to get into that zone which is a nk, clean te.


    Interviewers: Where do you get your inspirations to write books on this theme?


    Author-san: I have always loved the Victorian theme era, the clothes, the settings, their etiquettes have fascinated me always. I wanted to read a book which would contain the things that I would like to read in a book. A good amount of romance, suspense, and mystery with supernatural creatures who don''te off to be cliche.


    Interviewers: Any hobbies?besides story writing, favorite color, favorite food, etc.


    Author-san: Ah,ing to my hobbies I draw and pain at times. Or used to. It consumes a lot of time therefore writing has been the only constant hobby apart from daydreaming that is. I love the color white, red and blue. Food anything spicy salty.


    Interviewer: We have so many handsome, loyal, possessive maybe a little obsessive too whom we still love. Whom do you think you would like to go out on a date?


    Author-san: *Didn''t a simr questione up in the beginning? -thinks* It would be Alexander.


    Interviewer: Wow, is that so?


    Author-san: Haha yes. Don''t get me wrong all the others are extremely charming but Alexander appears to be more mature and calmer.


    Interviewers: One of the readers said that they feel you have the heart of a child, not because you are childish. Let me quote ''because of these stories who have kept me alive just like the way Disney and parable stories did to me when I was a child.'' Also that she asked to lend her your brain.?A few words about yourself.


    Author-san: *smiles* I just like to dream a lot I guess and write things I enjoy. Frankly, I never knew one day I would be writing stories and enjoy it to this extent. Let''s keep the rest hush.


    Interviewers: *pouts* I am d that we got to interview our characters. I hope you have enjoyed the show ''bloodyfangs''. Tune in to the next interview with the new characters *sends a wink*


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!