Bambi and the Duke

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.

’To dear Leo,

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.

Yours,

Vivian.’

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 had landed 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 to come back anytime soon. His absence had left her in tears which was very much similar 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 Nicholas 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 Bonelake 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 would come to tame her son’s temper which was volatile 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,

’To young master Leo,

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.

Your’s faithful,

Vivian.’

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 had come to meet his parents but in truth, he had met them already a week before it and had only come 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 glad 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 the coming years.

They had solved Charlotte’s case but they couldn’t find the solace 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 these lands. 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 black 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 black 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 occupied.

Picking up all the envelops, she tied them back to place 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 place.

It was a music box. Very much similar 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 played 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 play in the background again as she had turned the knob.

”I bought it a few months after I left this place,” 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 accompanied the man due to a village dispute that had arisen in regards to the landowners 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 popular 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 the later 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 the last 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 replacing my place 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.