Bambi and the Duke

After breaking the news to the housemaid, Vivian stared at the elderly woman who looked at her with shocked eyes moving back and forth between the couple before bowing her head, "Congratulations Master Leonard and Lady Vivian," she congratulated them.

"We haven't broken the news to anyone yet, therefore, it would be appreciated if you keep it hush for some time, Mrs. Clarks," the woman nodded her head a little confused as to why they one would keep their marriage a secret.

"Yes, master Leonard," she accepted his request.

Leonard who had come to know the woman knew that she wasn't the kind to go around telling people, not because she was a maid but for a certain incident that had taken place in the past. It was when he was sixteen and had come here with Maximillian during Spring. Being young boys, they had gone out in the town when a fight broke down, one which was of misunderstanding with a local boy. Though Maximillian had let it go, the local boy who was of hot blood he had a brawl with had followed him home and had tried to harm them in the name of revenge. One thing had led to another and in an accident that could not be avoided the boy hit his head against the wall, snapping his head and falling dead on the ground.

He could still remember the memory very clearly as if it had happened yesterday. The boy had not only snapped his head when Maximillian had pushed him away but the impact on the wall was too much that led to a lot of blood flow which had trickled down on the floor. The scent of blood arousing the hunger in both the pureblooded vampires.

Mrs. Clark who was sleeping had woken up due to the disturbance and by the time she came out to see what was going on the local boy laid dead on the floor. None of them wanted the brawl to end like this but the accident had taken place anyways leading to the boy's death. If one took the matter and reported to what happened, the blame would come upon the vampire and not the human. The laws could be bent for humans as they were fragile but the same didn't hold for the night creatures.

Young or not, Maximillian would have been put under trial where either his fangs would be broken so that he would carry the shame of being a weak pureblooded vampire or he would be punished in the cell which wasn't a place one would like to be in.

Servants who were part of the old pureblooded vampire families were extremely loyal to their owners. Especially the ones whose family had served the family generation after generations.

She was a human, yet she had asked the young master Gibb's not to worry. She had taken the body to the forest where she had buried the boy far off the town so that no one could find out about it. The walls and floors had been cleaned spotless. Not needed to be told, the guards fo the village had come around when the boy was told to be missing where the finger was pointed to the pureblooded vampires. Thanks to the housemaid, they couldn't gather the evidence against Maximillian.

That night Vivian and Leonard sat at the round table where the maid served the food which was prepared by Vivian.

When the next day arrived, noon passing to evening, Vivian who was yet to get ready and getting her clothes set on the bed saw Leonard step out of the shower that had her lower jaw fall down on the ground. He had cut the sides of his blonde hair which he had sported since he was young. He had shorted them at the sides and the middle to give it a much handsome feel that made her heart skip a beat.

Gulping, she pulled herself together and hurried into the bath. By the time she came out with a towel wrapped around her body which covered her body from below her shoulders, she saw Leo wearing the white shirt, buttoning up his cuff sleeves before he weaved his hand through his blond hair.

"Do you want me to ask Martha to help you with the dress?" Vivian's eyes snapped at the name and Leo realized what he had done, correcting himself, he said, "Mrs. Clarks I mean."

"Yes," she needed someone to help her with the hooks and string. Though Leonard could help her she didn't want him messing with her clothes after what he had done at the Isle Valley.

Taking the housemaid's help, Vivian got ready in the black gown like dress which Leonard had picked out for her. The most painful part of the dressing was when her back was pulled tightly as she held on to the bedpost which she was sure was going to leave marks on her back. Thanking the woman for her help, she did her hair and applied the powder around her face and neck, applying a hint of pink gel to make her lips look pinker.

Leonard knocked on the door, entering the room he saw her sitting in front of the dressing table who turned to look at him with eyes that looked like the night sky filled with stars. She looked beautiful. Every time they were out her hair was usually somehow tied so that it wouldn't move around but this time she had decided to let her hair cascade down her back where she had combed it neatly to place it on her left shoulder.

Vivian saw him carrying a blue velveteen box in his hand. He had worn his black coat over the white shirt discarding the bow which was previously around his neck. As if noticing her gaze, he said, "It felt too tight."

"I am ready," she informed him.

"You're missing one last thing," saying that he opened the box in his hand to pull out a chain with a dark blue stone pendant. Putting it around her neck and hooking it close, "Now it looks complete," he said looking at her through the mirror. When Leonard had gone out with Vivian to the Isle Valley, he had visited the jewelry store to get the chain which he had ordered after buying her dress a few weeks ago.

As the carriage pulled over in front of the entrance of the mansion, Vivian stepped out placing her right hand in Leo's hand to look at Lord Alexander Delcrov's mansion. The Delcrov's mansion was as big as the Rune's mansion. In terms of size of land and the height, it held which was surrounded by trees. Lanterns were lit in and around to brighten the mansion like Christmas. Like Leonard and Vivian, there were many other guests who had been invited which had filled up space near the stable and outside the mansion where the carriages had been parked.

It being her first time, she saw women around her who adorned rich clothes wit pearls and jewelry around their neck and ears. If that weren't enough, they had bracelets around their wrist along with rings on their fingers. Compared to them Vivian looked rightly dressed making her not under or overdressed for the Winter's ball. Having already met the Lord by chance when she had gone to the council she was wary to meet him. The man had spoken to her irritated which she had heard from another councilman on not to heed the Lord's words as they were same for everyone.

Entering the mansion, they were led to the main hall which was big enough to accommodate all the guests without the need to be shifted and adjusted to make room. She clutched on to Leo's hand which brought his attention to her.

Stopping at a certain place, he said, "Breath, Bambi," he rubbed her back gently, where some of the guests noticed the couple's interaction. There were too many eyes on her since they had entered the room which she had tried to ignore. Taking in a series of small breath, she smiled to let him know she was fine.

The crowd being curious wondered who the Duke had brought along with him as a lot of them hadn't seen this human before. Vivian looked to be one of the most beautiful women in this room which was enough to bring her attention from both males and females. The latter holding the feeling of envy on who was with the Duke. In her exquisite dress and the sparkling stone that hung around her neck, she was worth looking more than twice.

"I think the necklace is bringing a lot of attention," she murmured under her breath. Leonard had kept a straight face until a small smile cracked on his lips after hearing her murmur due to the eyes that followed them.

"I think it is the owner of the stone who is bringing a lot of attention than the stone itself," he replied back, "Come, let's go greet the Lord," he said leading them to the tall, dark-haired man who was flocked around by three men.

On their way, Vivian caught sight of someone. It was Lady Eleanor who had locked eyes with her giving her a smile but Vivian knew her better. Since she had come to know about the things she had done when they were young, Eleanor was someone she had decided to stay away from. Not showing it up in her face, she returned the smile back with the same vigor as if she were ignorant about her ill intentions.

As if one wasn't enough competition, to her surprise she saw Lady Shirley not far from Lord Alexander. For her to be here only showed the extensive connections she and her mother had built with the higher society when they were only humans.

Walking up to where they were, Leonard greeted the Lord, "Good evening, Lord Alexander," Vivian bowed her head in greeting.

The Lord returned the courtesy by greeting him, "Good evening, Duke Leonard. Thank you for making your presence here," when the Lord's eyes fell on the girl who stood next to the Duke. Not waiting for Leonard to introduce her Vivian spoke,

"I am Vivian, milord. It is a pleasure to meet you," they had met each other, more precisely bumped into each other but it seemed that he didn't remember about their encounter. As if something rang in his memory he said,

"You're the girl who cleared the first exam," looked like a female clearing the council exam was a big deal that even the lord remembered her with it. He didn't congratulate her but asked her, "What would you like to specialize in once you clear the second exam?" he asked, his intimidating features weighing on her like a rock that was about to drop on her head.

She had put her heart into clearing the exam and it was decided that she would be working with Leonard because of her abilities but she had forgotten in which department he worked for. Thinking through her words, she answered carefully, "I have a keen interest in wanting to solve the murders and death that takes place," her words caught quite some attention by the other men who had been standing around the lord previously, "I like picking up details and I believe I would do well there."

"The same line as the Duke. It would be good to have a female councilwoman," Lord Alexander's words were short but they weren't spiteful or degrading like the rest of the people she had come across when they had come to hear about her wanting to work for the council.

"Congratulations, milady," one of the men wished her.

"Yes, it isn't an easy fleet. But I have come to hear that the second exam isn't going to be that easy," another one spoke, his grey hair showing his age and his black eyes stating he was a human.

"The second exam is never easy," the first men spoke, "Lionel has always upped the bar with difficulty. And every time so many die, there is so many death with only one or two examinees pass out," Vivian was glad for the words of encouragement but now as they spoke she started to worry. Was it that bad? And death was too much when she heard about it for the first time she had thought people to be joking but it didn't seem like a joke anymore.

"Oh, well it is all part of the fun," fun? thought Vivian to herself, the first man continued to speak, "I heard that you have been able to crack the case which Igor was finding hard," he laughed.

"Yes, we have been able to get around things," Leonard's words were as crisp as Lord Alexander and if she didn't know better, Vivian would have guessed Lord of Valeria to be his mentor and not the Lord of Bonelake. As Leonard was speaking to the others about another case they had received, she noted a red-headed man who stood not far away who appeared to be the most cheerful person in the hall. For some reason, this man felt familiar and she continued to stare at him while trying to figure out she felt so.

Not realizing her gaze being too strong, his eyes snapped to look at her before a wide smile formed on his lips. Walking towards her, he bowed,

"Lady Vivian. I am Elliot Wells," he introduced himself. Ah, she thought to herself. He was Jerome's rumoured brother. She returned his bow with one of her own, "It is good to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you from Jerome," he said not being subtle about his older brother's interest in her.

Vivian's smile turned awkward, "Is that so. I hope they were good," she replied and at the same time, she wondered if Leonard's ears had perked up at the mention of Jerome.

"Oh, they are," the red-headed man laughed before coughing, "Duke Leonard. It is good to see you."

Vivian was waiting for Leonard to retort something to the man as there were rare times when he would get possessive but he surprised her when he bowed his head in gratitude, "Mr Wells, thank you for your previous assistance."

"No problem at all," Elliot replied before his eyes spotted someone behind them.