Bambi and the Duke

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 the last 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 accusation 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 who laid 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 glass.

”Thank you,” Vivian mustered a small smile even in the time of the loss she felt, taking the glass and sipping the water she returned back the empty glass 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 cellar.

According 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 populated land of Bonelake, 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 black 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, lady. 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 house come after her.

”Milady,” 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, ”Milady, if you could come back to the cellar.”

”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 cellar, 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 decomposed which added to her discomfort. Trying not to focus on that, she removed both the black gloves that she had worn on her hand.

Taking a soft breath of air, she carefully placed 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 before coming down the cellar 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 the last person she met? Or was that another fragment of her memory?

Opening her eyes slowly, her eyes didn’t meet Leo’s but instead laid 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 placed his hand on her shoulder wanting her to follow him outside.

She followed him out of the cellar 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.