Bambi and the Duke

Jan knocked on the door of the study room where Lady Vivian had taken herself to immerse herself in books the last time he had seen her. A few moments ago, she had called him, asking him to get her a glass full of fresh blood and two cups of teas.

The housekeeper had been confused as to why the lady 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 until later 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.

The lady opened the door but not completely, ”I will take it from here,” her words were polite just like it used to be a few weeks ago. After the lady 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.

The lady 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 any complaints 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 place, ”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 placed 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 had come 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 the lady 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,” he commented 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 planted a kiss on her cheek where Vivian said, ”I wasn’t expecting you to come home early,” he wasn’t expecting her to be having tea with the ghoul but he decided to keep the comment 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 become so buddy buddy with him, you should talk to Narcissus. I wonder if he would even look at someone apart from killing,” commented 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’s company 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 glance 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 the company 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 place where one could make friends easily. People spoke well in the front but it wasn’t the same behind their back. They would manipulate 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 black 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 black witch which wasn’t completely successful? It had been a few years since Vivian had come 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 black witch.

Out of all the bottles he had received, he had kept one of them to himself while handing over the rest to Nicholas 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 the last potion that was to be left in the entire four lands.

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 been completely 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.