Bambi and the Duke

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 would come to walk by this part of the Isle town. Vivian was yet to realize that she had stepped on to unterritorized place 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 slave 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 had come 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, milady,” 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 often come 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 who laid 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, milady 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 collared 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.

Playing along with the vampiress, Vivian decided to feign ignorance and shook her head. Though Vivian had turned to a lady, 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, milady,” 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 slapped 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 being common, 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 displayed outside. It was true. Vivian had never come 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 glared at the vampiress, ”Don’t touch my pet,” he was as tall as Lord Nicholas in height. The strands of his hair pitch black 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 slap me in public! I am your sister,” the vampiress gritted her teeth.

”Pull shit like this again and I will do more than a slap. Keep your hands off her. She is my pet and not yours,” the man glared down at her.

”She’ is a bi-”

A clap was heard, ”What a lovely day to be out in the sun!” Lord Nicholas exited the store along with Leonard. Leonard came to stand next to Vivian to ask them,

”Good morning, Lord Nicholas. 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 her land.

”Good morning, Damien,” Leonard greeted the man. Damien was part of the council who belonged to another section of work when compared 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 to come along with me,” answered Vivian feeling happy that the girl who had been collared 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 Nicholas had to say about this human whom she had planned to laugh at, her brows furrowed nonetheless 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 glare 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?” Nicholas 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 collared 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 Nicholas’ mansion, he has plenty of ways to straighten up a child.”

Grace huffed, ”There is nothing wrong in playing with her a little.” By the looks of it, one could tell that both Grace and Damien weren’t related to each other by blood.

”Tch, you should listen to your brother, little girl,” Nicholas smiled, ”Get your own toys than play 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 relaxed 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 with complete 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, who commented, ”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 accommodate its purpose.”

”Touch! You are a remarkable woman,” Nicholas commented.

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 Nicholas shared a look and then saw Vivian who was in her thoughts.

”I need your opinion on the shirt, it’s red but Nicholas 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 had come with two highly reputed vampires, the man could do nothing but oblige to the human’s presence.