Bambi and the Duke

Returning back to where Vivian laid asleep in the bed, Leonard removed the wet cloth and turned it around which was colder compared the other surface that had been lying on her warm forehead. He internally sighed when the temperature had considerably reduced than the previous time he had noticed.

Taking the cloth and keeping on the side table, he sat on the bed holding one hand of Vivian. Running his finger across the back of her fingers gently he pondered over what Sister Isabelle had told him.

Her body had rejected the venom he had tried diffusing into her body, fighting it out and nullifying the effect. If he hadn't asked for Sister Isabelle's thought, he would have considered that it was her ability to heal that was not accepting the change. He had been worried after the process of biting her to only see her unconscious and with a fever.

Vivian a vampire? The news had come more than a shock to him. His brows were slightly furrowed in concentration as he thought about it. His Bambi had never shown any sign of being a vampire, not since she had arrived at the mansion with Martha. But then no one knew about her life before coming here. The person who had brought her here was no more. The next person, Paul who might have known had been executed in the public for committing the murders in his home.

The last time he had visited Valeria he had searched for her roots of where she had come from if her parents still were alive but Martha had no relatives and the search had hit the dead end.

If Sister Isabelle's intuition was right and Vivian was previously a vampire, he wondered what had gone wrong that could have turned his beloved to a human?

The gears in his head began to turn and move for the questions while seeking for answers.

If Vivian was a vampire, her parents would be one too as children were rarely put to transition for newborn vampires. An average family of vampires would either have let it be or raised the child as livestock to be taken blood from. Unlike the pureblooded vampires, the ones that belonged to the lower society of vampires lacked morals.

She would have been put under slavery but he scratched the possibility as she bared no brand on her skin. The slave establishment had its own brand of ink marked on slaves to denote from where they came so that if one escaped, they could be brought back in.

The last window was that she belonged to a daughter of a pureblooded family.

He didn't know what was responsible for Vivian's change from a vampire to a human yet but for Martha to bring a young girl here telling she was her relative there was a high chance that Vivian belonged to a pureblooded family.

The pureblooded vampires were the aristocrats of the society, most of them still believing in their pure lineage and traditions. It was one of the many reasons why some relatives were married to each other to keep the blood clean without having the need to sully with other beings. He had read somewhere on how thick blood brought in advantages when it came to the vampire body. The closest person he could relate to was Lord Nicholas. His father had raped his mother who was his niece, which was the deed that brought in the Lord to this world.

For the pureblooded vampires, their status and reputation meant a lot in society. A family who would have been ashamed to keep a human as their daughter and would have given away thought Leonard to himself.

A memory came to pass through his mind, the night when he had found Vivian at the door in the middle of the night when they were young.

Like many other nights, Leo liked to walk in the mansion when everyone fell asleep. He had stepped out of his room for a midnight walk when he caught sight of the little human walking the corridor. He had followed her wondering what she was up to until her small hands tried to reach for the main doors. Like a distracted child, her eyes had then fallen to the vase that stood next to the doors.

"What are you doing?" his voice and presence had startled her to the point she had broken the vase which he had to hide as they were a gift from the previous Lord. When he questioned her on where she was going her answer had been simple.

"Home," her hands had clutched her nightdress tightly in fright.

Home? thought Leonard, "Where is it?" he continued to ask her to which the girl had no answer. He saw her lips tremble as she repeated, "Home," repeating the word like it was something precious which she wasn't aware that it no longer was her home.

"I don't know where home is if you don't tell me. Martha or Paul might know about it. Why don't you go sleep and go home tomorrow?" he had asked her to see her shake her head. His little Bambi had cried looking at the doors and wanting to go back home before the housekeeper had come to pick her up in the arms.

He hadn't realized it back then as to what circumstances Vivian must have been torn away from her family. His jaw ticked at the thought of it. For the parents to abandon an innocent child who knew nothing of the world, his hands clenched together in anger. One thing he was sure was that Vivian came from Valeria and if he needed an answer he would have to backtrack the events with the pureblooded families and who had lost their daughter.

Bending down to her, he pressed his lips gently on her forehead.

It was past the time of night when Vivian's eyes slowly opened after the long hours of sleep she had. Her eyelids felt heavy, her body sticky and hot. Turning her head to the side, she found a blonde head resting on the bed who was undoubtedly Leonard.

Moving her hand towards him, she softly touched his head which woke him up, "Why are you sleeping uncomfortably here?" she asked him. She saw him stare at her for a few passing seconds.

"Careful," he said when she tried to sit up on the bed. Her muscles felt sore, her movements languid. The next thing she did was to poke her fingertips on her canines which didn't feel any different than what it was before. Was there a technique in bringing out the fangs? "What are you doing, Vivi?" he chuckled at her actions.

"Finding my fangs of course," and she saw the chuckle slip down her face. A grave expression came to replace. As if in realization she took in a deep breath, "I-I....the transition wasn't successful?"

He shook his head, "The transition didn't take place. Your body rejected the venom for transformation."

"Oh," she frowned, her heart sunk down at the thought of it. Did it mean she wouldn't be able to live next to Leonard's side? That she would grow old and die while Leonard will continue to live for more years that was to come.

He then smiled, placing his hand on her cheek, "Don't look so down, Vivi. It will want me to eat you with such innocent expression," she blushed, "You caught a fever but it seems to have gone down now. Must be a reaction to the venom."

"Why though?"

She had been looking forward to it. Forward to living just like he was, to be in the same line of life and status. She had worked hard for the council exam not only because she wanted to find the man who had killed Charlotte but also because she wanted to feel fit to be with the man she had given her heart to. Knowing well how society would look at them, she wanted to be a suitable match for him.

"We have a lot to talk," he got up from the bed and helped her out of it. Receiving a questionable look from her, he said, "Let's get you out of these clothes and fed before that. You gave me a fright when you didn't wake up than the intended time."

"How long was I out?"

"Close to two days," Two days? thought Vivian to herself, that was the longest she had ever slept.

"Umm, Leo," Vivian stood that the bathroom door before getting in.

Leonard cocked his head to the side, "What is it?"

"I ah-can I wash. Alone," he wanted to help her but keeping her wishes, he reluctantly nodded his head.

"I will ask Jan to get the food up here. Call me if you need anything."

When Leonard finally exited the room, Vivian went inside the bathroom to stand in front of the large mirror that was nailed on the wall. She stared at herself with a grimace on how she looked. She must have rolled over the pillow over and over to form what had been created on her head now. Her eyes looked darker than before, almost hollow which scared her. One could say it was close to how the corrupted vampires looked.

Thinking it was the after effects or no effects of the venom that had entered her body, he walked away from the mirror. Discarding her dress one after another, not noticing that she had been wearing a much comfortable nightdress than the last time she was in before being bitten.

As she stepped out of the bath with a fresh dress and her skin feeling cooler, she saw Jan placing the food on the table while Leonard was waiting on the chair for her. Deep down she wondered if Jan would have muttered a curse for making him work at this hour of the day when one was supposed o be sleeping. When Jan bowed his head at her presence, she returned back the courtesy.

The housekeeper then asked, "Would you like me to heat the blood, master?"

"That won't be necessary, Jan," the housekeeper glanced at Vivian. Hearing the conversation the couple had in the drawing room, he had been waiting to see red eyes and fangs but she looked the same.

Had the Duke not bit her right which was the reason why the priestess of the church had come to visit them?

"There's one more item I need you to fetch. Get the bottle that has been stacked in the cellar with the label 'Willow 1459' on it," on Leonard's order, the housekeeper complied and went out to the antique bottle which was requested by his master.