Allure Of The Night

Timotei muttered, “Looks like she’s really scared of a siren.”

Vampires and sirens didn’t particularly get along with each other, considering how both liked to sink their teeth into human flesh. The two of these kinds were similar, where they were cold-blooded and liked to ink blood on their hands and mouth. The only difference was one was a creature of land and the other was a creature of water.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Eve replied.

When they had visited Hollow Valley, Eve had heard first hand from Rosetta on how much she loved to drink from mermaids. She remembered the vampiress being excited, when she thought she had found a quality mermaid for her and her aunt.

Rosetta shook her head and said in a shaky voice, “No, I won’t do it. I am sorry about what happened before…”

Eve stared at her friend for a while, who looked at the ground now. It didn’t seem like Rosetta was scared of her, but it seemed more like she was… ashamed of herself.

“Rose?” Eve called Rosetta, and the vampiress looked up before clearing her throat.

“I should have been smarter and closed my mouth before, than talk about mermaids being a… delicacy. I would never eat you, Eve!” Rosetta confessed in haste. She couldn’t eat her…

Rosetta’s eyebrows were furrowed, as she tried to digest the news about Eve not being a witch but a mermaid and a siren. But they were both sea creatures. How could she be both? Not to mention, Eve looked nothing like a siren. Not by appearance, nor by nature as her friend had a gentle and kind demeanour she had hoped to achieve one day.

“Please forgive me for my past words!” Rosetta offered a deep bow from where she was, leaving Eve speechless. She had only one real friend, and she didn’t want to lose their friendship. To add to it, Eve was also close to Eugene.

“You are forgiven, Rosetta. It isn’t like you could have guessed it,” Eve replied with a small smile.

“I know! I thought that too. It would have been utterly impossible for me to guess something like that,” Rosetta said in a thoughtful tone, and she murmured, “I think it is going to take a while for it to sink with everything.” Then a sudden frown appeared, and she asked, “Whose cat is this?”

Timotei released an exhausted sigh and repeated as it rolled its eyes, “I am no one’s cat, lady. I am pure–“

“A pure bred cat!” Rosetta exclaimed and wondered if cats of high quality could come to speak.

“A pureblooded vampire! How dare you reduce me to a cat breed!” Timotei questioned back.

“But you are a cat,” Rosetta pointed, and the black cat turned to face the wall as if he had given up on his last life.

Eve explained to Rosetta, “Timotei is originally a pureblooded ca–I mean a vampire. When he tried to drink blood from a siren, she cursed him to turn into a cat. He is now trying to get back into his true form before he loses this life.”

Rosetta’s mouth had turned into an ‘O’ as she nodded and said, “I see. That is interesting.”

Timotei only turned his head to look at Eve, while the rest of his body was still facing the wall. He asked, “Do you know where cat’s go after their nine lives? To hell!” He hissed before dramatically sobbing, “I don’t want to end up there. Did you know that all cats are subjected to hell, and all dogs go to heaven?”

“I don’t think there’s anything like that, Timotei. They are just stories that are untrue,” Eve consoled him, but Timotei shook his head.

“I am telling you because I have heard the other cats tell me,” Timotei hissed.

Eugene’s eyebrows rose, and he asked, “Since when did other cats start to talk to you?”

Timotei’s eyes moved to glare at the newly turned vampire, and he said, “Since forever. Do you think I would be lying about such important things about life?” But with the way the cat was persistent, Eve and Eugene couldn’t help but doubt the black cat. It was only Rosetta who looked worried that the cat was going to end up in hell.

“Maybe it’s because cats are so fussy and arrogant compared to dogs,” Eugene murmured.

“That’s garbage! Cats are the sweetest and humblest creatures you will ever find in this cruel world,” Timotei defended so that Eve would start looking into his miserable situation so that he could walk on the land like the rest of them in the room.

Eve stared at Timotei, who was busy talking to Eugene. She let Eugene know, “If there’s something, tell it to Alfie or Timotei, I will be in the mansion and won’t go anywhere.” She didn’t want to leave the mansion, knowing the person who had tried to kill him was under this same roof.

“I will be fine, Miss Eve,” Eugene confidently assured her because he was no longer just a human but also part vampire.

Rosetta said, “I will take care of him, Eve. Don’t worry.” She also realised how the three people here were of two types–mermaid-siren, human-vampire, cat-pureblooded vampire. “Mister Timotei and I will keep an eye and also stay away from Blythe.”

The vampiress’s words were music to Timotei, and he agreed, “Leave it to us!”

Excusing herself, Eve stepped out of Eugene’s room and made her way through the corridors. The corridor she walked, she heard whispers from the opposite direction belonging to the maids as they spoke about the things happening in the mansion.

“…really saw Lady Marceline’s foot?”

“It was Lydia who went to Lady Marceline’s room with Alfie and saw the detached foot of the lady on the ground. How awful is that!”

“Seems the same as the lady.”

“Shh, don’t let anyone hear you say it or you will be the next one to be dead… “

It seemed like even the maids didn’t show pity at Marceline’s condition, Eve thought. She didn’t wait to hear the rest of the conversation and continued to walk. When she met one of the servants in the centre area of the mansion where the stairs were, she inquired,

“Do you know where Vincent is?”

The servant bowed and replied, “Master Vincent must be in his study room, milady.”

“Thank you,” Eve offered a small smile before climbing the stairs and finally reached in front of Vincent’s study room.

Noticing the door ajar, Eve pushed the door further open before she stepped inside the room. She noticed Vincent standing in front of the large window, watching the snow fall and hearing her footsteps approach him, and he turned to look at her.

Eve couldn’t read his expression, making her wonder if he was keeping his anger from spilling out.

“How’s Eugene, doing?”

“He’s doing good. Rosetta and Timotei are with him now,” Eve said, and she came to stand before him. “How are you doing?” She asked him.

“Disappointed,” Vincent raised his hand to caress Eve’s cheek and there was a heaviness that she hadn’t noticed a few seconds ago. He took a step closer and kissed her forehead. He then remarked, “But not for long. A little adjustments is in need now.” As he said this, a faint smile appeared on his lips.