Bambi and the Duke

Next book in the series, book #4: Young master Damien's pet

And when the pocket watch made a ticking sound, Dutan went to the window, taking a quick peek before bending down for Vivian to step on him and get inside as the window wasn't of her height and would need her a platform before getting in. 

Vivian stepped on his back by placing one of her foot, placing her hand on the window sill she jumped in like a cat before hurrying herself to hide behind the wall. She went to the door, turning to see Dutan who jumped in following her. The time was quite less and he used a pin around the door lock. Vivian could hear the footsteps that had begun to approach them, her heart starting to beat quickly at the thought that the guards would come any moment. 

Finally, after he had turned and twirled it, he pulled the pin out to push the handle of the door down. Stepping inside the place with Vivian following him closely. The door closed shut with a soft click and the place where they stood was surrounded with darkness but on the other side of the wall, lanterns were lit softly in a low flame. Seeing the little stair that led downward, Vivian walked towards the lanterns to pick two of the lit lanterns that were hung on the wall. Giving one of it to Dutan she said,

"Leo said they moved Mr. Gibbs belongings in here. We need to search for his and Oliver's desk items," they took their feet down the stairs, ascending down where she raised her hand which held the lantern to look at the room but the light wasn't enough. She increased the flame to see the tall stack of the wall in front of her which looked similar the stack of books in the library but this was no library. 

To call the room enormous wouldn't be enough, it was as big as the rest of the building of the council and it being built below in the underground whoever the architecture was, the person had used more than the necessary space. Was this really underground? asked Vivian to herself. The ceiling felt way too tall where she couldn't see it, it looked as if the stack went to disappear just before the light could be touched. It wasn't just the length of the stack but the breadth and the number of stacks they weren't sure the room consisted of.

"Lady Vivian," she heard Dutan speak next to her who like her was taking in the vastness of the room, "It is going to take us more than two hours to find what we are looking for," and he was right. Vivian didn't know where they were going to start from. 

"I will take the left side," she noted him, with a nod Dutan was already looking at the right side of the stacks, deviating and walking away from her so that he could search for what she had asked him for. 

Carrying the lantern in her hand, Vivian first took a walk in the large room which was bigger than she had expected it to be but this was the storage room. It would have kept every single detailed file preserved of men who worked for the council and had either died or passed away, unfortunately. There were around ten tall racks on either side of the room totalling it to twenty racks in the room. The height, breadth made up for the less number and to her surprise, she noticed that every single one of them looked filled and occupied making her wonder how many deaths would have taken place since the establishment of the council or this room. 

Each rack had a sliding ladder built in it which was as tall as the racks itself so that people could place the belongings of the passed councilmen. 

At one point Vivian almost stumbled on a book which was on the ground. Someone had left it unattended. 

Beliving it was best to leave it as it is than change the settings around here, she walked past the book to read the racks that held some names below which was enclosed in boxes. 

She read the year one by one realizing she could find the information if she would follow the years. The councilmen had placed it in order, therefore, it shouldn't be difficult, thought Vivian to herself. With the initial years being adjusted in the first rows, she went ahead with her lantern to read the next racks to realize the years moved in an upward direction. Climbing on the ladder, she moved herself from right to left where the ladder creaked due it not being oiled and maintained. 

Reading one box after another did she come to realize this would take time because there were some boxes which weren't placed in order. Whoever was responsible for stacking the boxes in here hadn't done a good job. She had come across two names where one was supposed to be placed somewhere ahead of the rest while the other was meant to be in the first two racks she had already passed by. 

With a frown, she climbed four steps forward to reach the next level of the rack. She came to read the name 'Oliver Smith'. She had found the box! She turned her head, wanting to call Dutan but worried that her voice would echo and alert the guards who stood outside the guard, she searched for the light that moved like the firefly on the other side of the room where she couldn't see him but only the light that was illuminating due to the lantern.

Deciding to call him later as there was nothing he could and it was her work to find something in here. She pulled the box closer to her, opening the lid to see papers, clothes and other little objects in there. It wasn't much but she grabbed the first item she could get her hands-on which was a bunch of parchment papers. Hanging the lantern on the hook which was on the rack while maintaining her balance on the ladder, Vivian leaned closer to the lantern so that she could read what was it about. 

They were notes made on the cases, similar to what she and the others did. And as she read it one by one, reading the key words her eyes caught, she finally came upon one parchment which was dated thirty-two years ago. It was the massacre that had taken place in Bonelake. 

'Case 01323

Villages were attacked by rogue vampires who had been turned unsuccessfully. The number of survivors none. Villagers count eighty-one. None rescued...'

The report went to read on more but Vivian didn't bother to read it. Her jaw ticked thinking about it. It was clear that it was the witches work but the councilman had written it down to be the work of vampires as if he were protecting the black witches. Wait a minute, she said to look back at the year. This was before she was even born so would that mean that Oliver had only joined the council then? Surely he wasn't that old or was he? It was hard to speak about the age when it came to vampires. 

Soon she started to go through every case he had solved which had been haphazardly placed. Going through the years until her hand came to stop at the year where Lord Alexander's mother, Isabelle had been killed. 

This was it, she said to herself to read what was already iterated to the public on how the humans had burnt the white witch to show rage on what happened to their families. It was also written here that the humans were exectured immediately after finding what happened to Isabelle. 

She looked back to see again where Dutan was, seeing that he had gone on the far end of the room she turned back to glance at the parchment in her hand. Keeping the rest of them back in the box, she held only those sheets that belonged to the white witch's death. 

When she heard the sound of creak coming from above where they had come from, she quickly lowered the flame while keeping a closer ear to hear if someone had entered the room. Vivian not realizing that she had lowered the flame more than necessary to the point that it had extinguished itself at the last second she heard herself breath in the darkness.

What was she going to do now? She could get back the lantern later after she was done reading this. With that thought, she let her hands feel the parchment and the ink that was drawn on it. From darkness, the light began to fill her vision where she came to stand in a moderate room which had dull walls and the drapes hadn't been pulled away from the windows. 

She then heard a man on the other side of the room speak who was none other the senior councilman Creed whom she had been having doubt on. The man looked younger than how he looked right now, "Make sure you clean the mess he has left behind. Though dead he has left trails. The last thing we want is being caught and put under trial."

"Don't worry, councilman Creed," Oliver bowed his head standing in front of Creed, " It has been taken care of. When the court meeting takes place, the blame will eniterly be put on him for his lack of responsibility and carelessness."

"And what about the villagers?" asked Creed, his eye patch in place, his back leaned over the armchair with his legs crossed. 

"They were executed in the centre of the village to make sure they don't repeat it. But Sir Creed, won't the head council question the decision that has been taken?" 

Creed smiled, his lips pulling up with a look of contentedness, "Rueben is a dear friend of the Lord as well as the Lady of Valeria. I doubt he would keep quiet after knowing what the humans did to her. In the eye of public who are in favour of the lady, everyone will support the step we have taken. That is burning people which is a sign of justice to the low humans and others who are emotionally attached."

"Make sure you write down the report in favour of the lady so that no one suspects the decisions that have been taken today. You did well, Oliver. I wouldn't have guessed you would have the ability to sway the local men's minds. Thanks to you I can carry on with my plan to gain the lands by uniting them with each other until we will have only one person to rule and that would be under my name."

"Sounds like a good dream, councilman Creed. I will support you until my end. My loyalty stands with you," Oliver bowed his head. 

"It might take time but the right help, it isn't impossible," chuckled Creed, "I will put in a word to Rueben about it. With the witch gone, he won't have anyone advising him and holding my plans back." 

When Vivian pulled her hand away from the parchment, she was back to being surrounded by darkness. She had tried to get her hands on the other items but none of them came to be helpful as the file report she read. Putting it back in the box, she made sure to push it back. Almost blind until she heard Dutan's footsteps approach her where he came with the lantern. She came to turn and look down below her where he asked,

"What happened to your lantern, Lady Vivian?"

"The flame got extinguished. Did you find anything?" she asked him.

"Nothing at all," his voice came a little huskier than his normal voice making her wonder if he had breathed in dust from the boxes which hadn't been opened in a while. She started to climb down, concentrating on her feet to make sure she didn't fall down due to loss of balance. She was almost about to say what she had found out when he asked, "How about yourself? Any luck finding it?" but instead of answering him, she went to shake her head. 

"Nothing,"