Bambi and the Duke

Seeing that there was no around, Vivian wondered what was the snap sound of twigs she had just heard of. The weather around the council was one of a clear sky. The Sun now hovered above her, rays of light a little harsh as she had gotten used to the rain and clouds of the land of Bonelake.

If it weren't for the trees around her, her skin would have felt the harsh heat of this part of the land. Just as was staring up at the trees she heard another snap sound which made her heart shudder and thump. It was a quiet place so there was no possibility of her imagining things with her mind at ease which felt a little uneasy now.

Chewing her lip, she moved back carefully, one foot at a time until her back hit a tree. Maybe it was the birds, thought Vivian to herself but she hadn't heard even one bird sing since she had arrived here. The trees around almost felt deserted.

Just as she turned, she felt her heart lip in her chest.

"Oh, God!" she placed her hand on her beating heart which had suddenly started beating erratically by the sight of the person, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

The lean, tall creature stood behind the large tree in a way which one from the council couldn't see it. All this while, she had come to see and meet the ghoul during the dark hours of the night and that is why it came as a surprise that the ghoul had come in this bright time of the day.

She couldn't see the creature's face due to the hood that was pulled over its face. Ragged black clothes which didn't make sense was what it wore, it's legs hidden beneath its dirty robe.

What did it come here for? Wondered Vivian. It didn't move but stared at her continuously. Seeing Timothy's figure who was talking to another man he had come across at the entrance, she moved her gaze back to the ghoul.

"I will be going," she said as if it was necessary to tell or it would feel bad.

The ghoul had other intentions as it brought its hand to her side to stop her from going.

She blinked at it. Once. Twice. The third time her lips set itself into a thin line.

It wasn't that she wasn't scared of the ghoul. The creature had scared her to her wit's end and it still did. It was only that after seeing Leo scold it, she realized it was like a child.

The last time she had touched it one of them in the Rune's mansion, she was scared to touch it again in the fear of what insight she might have. She didn't know what it was. She didn't ask for it though she did try to research in the book of the creatures of history when she was studying. If her guess was right, then it wasn't one which had been recorded. Leo did tell her that very few had seen them to only come in contact with death.

"Do you speak?" she asked it to receive nothing in response. Ready to step forward it stopped her again making her sigh. With her not knowing what it wanted, she stared at it. The ghoul then very slowly went to drop its hand but instead picked up its robe and tore it effortlessly with its finger as if it were made of hot iron. It then offered it to her.

The ghoul must have noticed the wound on her hand. It wasn't a deep cut but it had brought out enough blood to pout into the vessel. Who knew that the councilors used blood as admission for exams.

Raising her hand towards the boney creature's extended hand with it's cut robe, her hand hovered close to it and she then took it in her hand to feel things begin to move in front of her eyes. As if being teleported to another world of space and time. Suddenly surrounded by darkness, her head moved left and right trying to find a way out of where ever she was as suffocation began to fill up her lungs.

Until now it had only been a flash of images running in front of her but now she felt confused. It felt real as if she had been living here all this time. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she saw a window that was darkened purposely but the person who had tired doing it hadn't done a good job at it as a very scarce amount of light could be seen passing through it. With the sudden change in environment, Vivian had missed the sobs of a young boy in the room which took her a second more to notice it.

With furrowed brows, she looked around to find a boy sitting in the corner of the room. She wondered what had happened and why was he sitting here. Going to the window she used her hand to wipe the glass which brought in light into the room. Just when she turned, her hand covered her mouth in shock. Blood was splattered all across the room if possible every inc had been touched and there was shredded flesh around the red floor. She looked in horror, blood running cold in her body along with her hands.

It was as if every time she touched something and was pulled into memories, the amount of gore only increased so much that it made her head dizzy. She had seen the boy before.

The boy was none other Nicholas Rune. She wished she could help the boy out of this place but there was nothing she could do. She was a passing entity in an event which had already taken place in history.

Vivian then came to witness something more bizarre as she felt the shadows that were cast in the room started to move slowly away from the boy as if even his shadow was being pulled away from him as the monstrous creatures began to form. Building and fusing into one another as the tall creatures got created for the very first time. The creatures stepped into the pool of blood as they began eating the flesh and licking the blood from the ground with their head close to the surface.

She had seen this place before, the blood and the way the eeriness made her shudder. Suddenly one of the ghouls turned to look in her direction and the memory broke to one of reality.

When she returned back, the ghoul had left her to stand alone.

"Ms. Vivian," she heard Timothy call for her.

"Yes," she answered, picking up the front of her dress with her hand clutching the ragged piece of cloth in her hand, she walked back to the carriage. When she returned back to the mansion, Leonard wasn't home. During the time of dinner, Vivian swirled the spoon in the bowl of soup. Leonard hadn't come home yet and it seemed that he was working late tonight. Placing the spoon without touching her food, she leaned back against the chair. She lacked appetite after what she saw and it didn't help that Leonard wasn't here yet.

Going back to her room, she stood outside the balcony, gazing at the hue-grey clouds. The palm of her hand was bandaged with the ragged cloth. Jan had offered to change it but she had refused it immediately. Who knew that a creature that was born under horrid conditions knew want comfort was.

Cool air gently swayed through the trees, moving from West to East. Placing her hands on the rails she leaned forward and back, looking down at the garden before her back touched Leo's front who placed both his hands on either side of her hands. He kissed her cheek.

"Welcome back home," Vivian greeted him with a sweet smile forming on her lips.

"How did your admission go? All good?" he asked to which she nodded.

"It went well."

"That's good to hear," she felt him slowly close up space in his arms as he wound it around her so that he could hold her in his arms, "I heard you didn't eat," the housekeeper must have informed him.

She turned around in his arms so that she could see him. Suddenly she felt him lift her and place her on the railings which made her shriek out of surprise.

"Leo!"

"Hmm?" he questioned calmly. If she lost her balance, she would be down on the ground with broken bones. His hands were firm on her waist and she was scared to move, "Trust me, Vivi," he whispered leaning towards her lips and kissing her to let go of her waist. Vivian grabbed the jacket he had not taken out, depending on it for her dear balance while also depending on him.

He licked her supple lips, a mischevious smile marking on his own lips as he gazed down at her.

"Can't I get down now?" she asked to hear him chuckle.

"I like you here though," came his response to her plea. He seemed to be in a different mood today, much better than what she had noticed since they had come back from Mythweald.

"Okay," she answered. With Leo here, there was nothing she had to worry about. Especially falling down. After a few moments passed, she asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"It's about Lord Nicholas," he nodded her head for her to go on, "How was his relationship with his father?"

"Lord Wilhelhum? He doesn't speak about him. Not his mother too. I don't think any of us have heard him share about his parents until it is asked which doesn't happen often. He didn't like his father though," said Leonard thinking about it, "Though he has spoken a very few words about the deceased man I know that he didn't like him because of what he did to his mother."

"What did he do?"

"Wilhelhum had raped Nicholas' mother."