Bambi and the Duke

At his cry for help which he should have learnt by now was futile especially after being captured by the witches not once by twice that shouting for help without knowing where he was was utterly useless. The room he was put in was a closed one with no windows except for one door which had been opened by the man who had got him tied in such state.

It was the housekeeper who had opened the lock and entered the room at his plea for help which he came to realize was one of the worst decision he had taken.

He had come here in search of his friend Rory to see if he was still alive. Before the night of the death of the vampiress, Rory had knocked on his door stating to look after his family to which he had agreed but he knew he was going to make him look after them for a lifetime. Vlass who had been away from his village of Mythweald had not known and received the news of the death of the humans that took place on the word of Duke Carmichael which also included his family that consisted of his father and mother.

When the black witch named Ester had involved some of the men to do her work, Vlass had been kept in dark as he was a man of good notion. And though his friend and his father had been working on eradicating the pureblooded vampires so that they could have only humans walk on these lands, Vlass had been left ignorant on the matter.

The poor human man had been unfortunate since he saw the vampiress body hang in the tree like an ill omen which had latched on to him where he couldn't get it off his back no matter how hard he tried to dust it off. He wanted to pull his eyes out over his bad luck but even to do that his hands were tied. Apart from scars that he had received before entering the Carmichael's mansion, he now sported a brand new wound at the side of his head which made him feel slightly dizzy.

"I don't know why I'm tied but I have done nothing to deserve it! Please let me go so that I can go back home!" at his loud voice, the housekeeper closed the door with a loud thud.

"Stop screaming. I can hear you well," the housekeeper answered his voice dull enough to make the room even more gloomy as if he would slowly come to suck his soul along with the blood. He could see the bright red eyes that looked bloodier in the candlelight. It seemed that today was the day of his death.

Unlike his friend Rory who had befriended the vampiress before creating a relationship with the pureblooded vampire, he had always steered clear of the night creatures. He was a better-looking man compared to Rory but he had never tried courting the beautiful vampire ladies and it could have been due to the childhood trauma he had faced when a rogue vampire had attacked him during the broad daylight.

Trying to calm down his nerves, he took a deep breath before speaking, "Dear kind, Sir-" he started to be interrupted by the housekeeper in the middle of his sentence.

"I'm the housekeeper of this mansion. The Duke is on his way here."

The Duke? Ah, yes, he realized his head still thumping in pain, it was Lady Charlotte's cousin, Duke Leonard Carmichael. Maybe he could try negotiating with him than with this fool who had greeted and forced him inside by banging his head to the pillar. Maybe it was a bad idea to pick the Lady's name but how would anyone know who Rory was? Men of lower class had no name or identity and they were as good as dead as they didn't exist in the world of the high society of either vampires or humans. No would have known of who Rory was and the easiest option was to use the lady's name but it seemed like that plan had gone down the swap as he was now tied to the chair like a criminal waiting to be questioned.

Gritting his teeth, he turned his head not wanting to talk to the housekeeper anymore.

"Can I get some water?" asked Vlass trying to be polite.

Jan, who had elegantly got the human tied up stared at him. From what he could see the man had scars around his face and arms. It wasn't his intention to hit him but the man had left him with no choice. With the nearby carriage which he had seen entering the gates of the mansion, he had noticed that it wasn't Master Leonard's carriage. Making a quick decision of taking him as a prisoner, he had rammed the human's head against the white pillar which was being cleaned at the moment as it had been stained with spots of blood. It was one of the men who worked under Duke Leonard who had come to give him a sealed box which had to be kept under his watch until it was sent to Lord Nicholas' mansion.

Who looked like a country bumpkin who had lost his way but the name of Lady Charlotte from his mouth had tingled his sense wondering if his master would like to have a chat with him but the action of the man told him he wouldn't have been compliant with nice talk.

As if feeling the presence of Master Leonard, he opened the door which had been previously closed.

Vlass who had asked for a glass of water due to thirst was going to ask again when he saw the housekeeper open the door. Letting out a sigh he felt he was finally going to fetch him the water but he never stepped out and instead, he stepped aside for a blonde man with dark red eyes to enter the room. Behind the man, he noticed a woman who was a human by her pitch black eyes. It was the only way one could differentiate between a human, a vampire and a pureblooded vampire. Switching his gaze back to the pureblooded vampire who stared down at him with possible contained anger, he wondered what he had done apart from picking up Lady Charlotte's name.

Vivian and Leonard had only entered the mansion when she had heard the housekeeper mention about a man being kept hostage in the basement of the mansion. If it was before, Leonard would have dealt it alone but this time it was different as Vivian had already involved herself in the matter. Like him, she wanted to find answers.

"Who are you?" the man questioned in poise, he voices calm like the sea before the tornado was going to hit in waves.

In a heartbeat, Vlass started, "Duke Carmichael, I am Vlass Denis. I come from a small village of Mythweald. I was asked to look after my friends family who is also a neighbour of mine but-"

"Your friend?" asked Leonard.

"Rory, Sir," at the mention of Lady Charlotte's love interest who had betrayed her, Leonard's hands tightened into fists, his jaw ticked. Taking a couple of steps towards the man, he caught hold of the man's face where the man began to yelp in pain as Leonard's finger had begun to crush his jaw until Vivian placed her hand on Leonard.

"Leo, stop. Stop!" she said to let the man named Vlass go.

"The fucking bastard, what is wrong with this land?" whined the man in pain while he leaned forward.

"Master would you like me to finish the man?" asked Jan promptly to get shocked looks from Vivian and the man who was tied to the chair.

And before Vivian could protest, Leonard spoke, "His family was involved in the potion being spread out. Tell me why I should spare his life when he's trying to kill people whom I have cared for?"

"But you don't know for sure," Vivian argued, the man looked at Vivian like she was an angel sent from heaven to rescue his misery but this only made the Duke mad when he saw the look of adoration form in the human man's eyes.

"Let me slit his throat myself," Leo stated to which Vivian came to stand in between the pureblooded vampire and the human as she faced Leo.

Vivian who knew the hot blood which lurked beneath Leonard's skin. The anger which was quick to burn everything and anything in his way. As sad and in loss, she was for what happened to Charlotte she didn't believe the man to be a convict to what happened. Maybe it was due to the way he looked so battered that she pitied the man wanting to give him a chance before Leonard took his anger out in haste. From Leo's standpoint, she understood his anger which was justified and valid.

Charlotte was their darling sister, his cousin whom he adored and cared for. To see her in a sight where no one deserved, with her body cut out open and the hollowness that her eyes had held before they had buried her, it was painful to think about. At the same time killing a man without hearing his part would be unfair. She wanted the man to be given a chance before he decided to kill him off.

"On your word, master Leonard," came the voice behind them where Jan stood in a ready form.

"Please, Leo," she waited for him as he stared at her before giving a nod.

Though not happy about it, he reluctantly replied, "Fine. Five minutes," he added, making her feel as if he had stepped into his councilman's shoes.

Turning around, Vivian started to interview the man with her first question, "Mr Vlass, what do you know about Rory?"