Bambi and the Duke

In Valeria, in the town of Merida, the girl stared into her reflection, her red eyes looking back into her which was as red as the blood she had drunk for her breakfast. Her long lashes fluttered as she turned her head left and right to make sure she had applied the right amount of powder which she had bought not in the Isle valley but a local village with her mother. 

Taking the little box that laid on the surface of the dressing table, she turned the little top to look at the red gel that was in it. Using her pinky finger, she rubbed it on the gel and then to swipe it across her lips. 

"Vivian! Are you ready yet?" she could hear her mother call for her outside the room, "What is she doing?" her door flew open and in came Mrs. Harlow, her hair which was cut short to her shoulder was tied up fancily, her dress sweeping across the clean floor to come to stand behind her daughter, "Was that what you bought this week?" her mother eyed her and the box she held in her hand. 

Her mother had opposed in buying something so ridiculous which wasn't from Isle town or one of the expensive stores where the pureblooded family often shopped. Vivian being the carefree girl had asked to stop the carriage and get the little box from what she had overheard from one of the women speaking to another during the last soiree. 

"What do you think, mother?" Vivian asked, her eyes full of light and her skin glowing with the results out of happiness. 

"Hmph! It is okay. But don't go buying cheap things again, you never know what humans use to make them," her mother harrumphed, "We'll be in the carriage, hurry before you delay us from the venue. I heard Mrs Bruxely sent out invitations to all the pureblooded families across the four lands. Do you know what it means?" her mother asked while walking up to the mirror and pulling the skin near her eyes. Vivian didn't have to answer it as she already knew or was rather used to having her mother go on and on about it, "It means my daughter will have suitors lined up!" her mother was excited about it. 

She was used to it. Both her mother's excitement as well as the suitors who often came to visit her and whom she met. It wasn't that she didn't sail in the boat of her mother's excitement but she was hoping to fall in love with a man and then marry the person. The Harlow's weren't of high-status pureblooded vampires but were at the lower level when considered in terms of only the pureblooded vampires. 

Her mother hoped to send her off to the highest pureblooded family which would not only benefit her daughter but also the Harlow family in name and status. 

"They are always lined up," muttered Vivian under her breath to have her mother narrow down her eyes at her with a displeased look.

"You are of age now, Vivian. You can't keep thinking like a silly child of where the knight will come to sweep your feet off the ground. They happen only in plays and books. Don't forget that papa and mama are depending on you," she felt her shoulder being patted. Her mother looking at the time exclaimed, "Oh, we are already running late! Hurry child. Quick, I shall be out."

"Yes, mother," Vivian replied seeing her mother whirl out of her room. Puffing her cheek, she looked at the girl who was staring back through the mirror. 

Once the Harlow's reached the Bruxely's mansion which stood tall and wide, she saw some of the guests who had just arrived like them, "See, we aren't late. You fret for no reason, mother," her brother Gregorie said pulling up his collars which felt tight around his neck, "And is it necessary to drag me along? I understand about Vivi but I still have my years to come," his words were loud enough to be heard by the other men and women around them making Mrs Harlow send out a quiet glare at him. 

"Behave, Gregorie," she then gave out a smile for the guests who smiled back at them, "And don't stick so close to your sister. She needs to have some time with the men," Vivian could only roll her eyes internally as her mother gave both her and her brother a look. 

The siblings were tight knitted who shared every little thing with each other. Every time Vivian didn't know how to handle a man's attention on her or if she felt to be too overbearing, Gregorie would usually come and whisk her out of the situation which often made their mother angry. 

Vivian was a beautiful vampiress but apart from being a pureblooded vampire, she had the look of a human who looked pure and sweet, unlike another vampiress who were prude, therefore making it hard for the men to resist her presence. 

"Why haven't you tied your hair? Look at that all over the place now," her mother complained when the wind blew for Vivian's blonde hair to hinder her face. She gave her mother a smile like a child to say,

"I was going to tie them but you said to hurry up," she gave a little pout while her mother looked frustrated. 

Before her mother could say anything more carriage's arrived and they were already inside the mansion making the woman keep quiet. The mansion was wide and it's ceilings tall where they passed through the dome-like structure above them to show the amount of space that it held just at the passage entrance. Two servants stood to help the guests with their coats. Her father and brother fell behind and though Vivian wanted to wait for her brother to catch up so that her mother wouldn't send her to the first eligible man, her mother caught hold of her arm and dragged her to the other side of the wall.

"Mama!" she exclaimed at the pressure on her hands, "What are you doing like a thief?" she asked jokingly before closing her mouth. 

"Look there," her mother tipped her chin to her right. Following her sight, she saw the curly black-haired man who stood in the hallway with a small glass in his hand which was blood.

"Who is he?" 

Her mother pulled her to have their back turned towards the guest, she whispered, "That's Jerome Wells, one of the renowned architects who resides in Bonelake. He is a vampire but he is very capable that this mansion is one of his very own creations," Vivian turned to look at the man who appeared to be a kind man, "Isn't it wonderful?" she heard her mother asked as she stared at the man and then back at her mother, "Weren't you the one who said you wanted a self-built man? There he is! Now don't miss the opportunity and hang around your brother," her mother gave her a look and then went to gree another woman as they chattered their way walking through the corridors. 

Vivian gave her mother's back a hard look and then to see that her brother had disappeared somewhere with her father. Sighing, she walked inside alone. The mansion sure was different compared to the rest of the ones she had seen until now. Though her family hadn't been invited to the highest of the high class, she had come to see a fair share of how the elites of the pureblooded were. 

When she came to the end of the hallway, she turned around to see some of the guests coming inside, some speaking in the hallways while she stood alone. The place where she stood now led to an open garden which was built around the mansion than having an outdoor garden. How interesting, thought Vivian o herself. 

"Aren't you going to step outside for some air?" 

Her head snapped to look at the man who was responsible for building the way this mansion was designed. 

Vivian hadn't expected him to come to talk to her. Most of the pureblooded vampires or vampires in this case usually sought out for people of their kind or the people who were above them so that they could broaden their network and advance in their lifestyle. It was one of the reasons soirees like this took place. 

How long had she been standing blocking the way that he had to call her to gain her attention? asked Vivian to herself, I can see another woman but he didn't talk to her. She stared at him while the man who stood in front of her offered her a smile making her confused.

"Apologies for my rudeness. I am-"

"I know Jerome Wells," she blurted out his name and then looked at him embarrassed.

Jerome chuckled, "I see that you know me. I don't think we have met before," she shook her head not wanting to use a speech at the thought that she might blurt out something unnecessary, "That's what I thought. May I know your name, milady?" he asked in all politeness. 

"Vivian Harlow," she bowed her head and felt him pick her hand and kiss the back of her hand.

"It's a nice name," at his compliment she murmured thanks before an awkward silence fell between them. 

From the window where she could see, she caught sight of her mother who looked extremely pleased as their eyes met before she went on to continue talking with the other guests. To fill the awkward silence she asked him, "How did you travel here?"

"I used the carriage. Do you live in Valeria?" he asked her and she nodded her head.

"I have never travelled the other three lands."

Jerome looked taken aback by it, "Never? You must visit Wovile. It has some beautiful sights to see but I am not from Wovile. I come from Bonelake."

"Is there no nice place in Bonelake?" she wondered why he didn't praise the land he came from.

"It rains day and night. For a lady who comes from the land of sun, you might not like it," she could agree to that. Vivian liked the sun and the rain but too much rain would be depressing, she thought in her mind, "Would you like to grab a cup of tea outside?" he asked her.

When Vivian stared at him, he smiled, "It isn't compulsory."

"Okay," there was no harm in a cup of tea, said Vivian, most of the men she had met had been nothing but pompous. Compared to them, Jerome appeared to be somewhat normal in her eyes. Stepping out of the mansion and into the garden like the place which was spacious for all the guests to move around and occupy, they went to the table where the teapots were placed.

Jerome was the one to pick the teacup and give it to Vivian to hold. The kettle being close to her, she went to reach for it when a honey bee came in the way and out of fright, she moved her hand in the other direction which pushed the kettle forward that slid out of the table.

Her eyes widened and she went to catch it before someone else caught it for her. With her body bent along with the person who had caught the kettle, she stared at the pair of dark eyes which stared back at her. She noticed the blonde hair that fell on the man's forehead, his lips holding a tint of pink in them and his expression lax. 

"Pardon me," she bowed her head quickly. Before she could pull back, from the corner of her eyes she saw the honey bee come straight at her due to which her head hit his chin making the man grimace at the sudden collision, "I am so sorry!" she apologized.