Bambi and the Duke

After the guests took their leave from the mansion, the Carmichael's along with their relatives sat in the drawing room. The room was spacious enough to hold Mrs. Carmichael's two sisters family and her cousins along with Sullivan, Mr. Carmichael's brother.

Most of them sat on the couch talking about the evening that had passed by, some playing the board of chess in the corner of the room.

Maids entered the room holding a tray with glasses that were filled with fine blood from children which was brought by Sullivan. Though they didn't encourage the deed of buying such goods, it was hard to pass such delicacy because the blood was the sweetest out of all living beings. It was a subtle secret which was maintained by the pureblooded vampires of Bonelake which included the previous and the current Lord.

As time passed, droplets of water trickled down the large, transparent windows turning the outside world into a blur. The rain had once again begun to pour down the heavenly dark clouds. It was the usual amount of rain the people of Bonelake were used to but the current of winds had changed along with the increase in sounds of thunder and lightning that came from above.

"Lady Renae. Lady Priscilla," the maid in the kitchen greeted them when they entered the room.

"We would like some appetizers brought into the drawing room. Bland one of course," Mrs. Carmichael asked the maid who bowed her head and on her way to the backyard to fetch the goose that was tied in the shed, "Where's Paul?" at the same time Paul arrived.

"Milady, is there anything you need?" the housekeeper asked to see her look around the kitchen, "Milady?"

"We wanted to make sure all of you had your dinner from what was cooked in the kitchen," Mrs. Carmichael's sister replied back with a smile.

"Thank you for showing your concern, Lady Priscilla," Paul bowed his head and a smile on his face, "All the maids and the servants have finished with their dinner. I sent most of them to their room as they have been up before the sun rose today."

Seeing the maid bring the live goose into the kitchen, Paul looked at her quizzically before being explained that they wanted something to eat as they had their drink for the night. Taking lead, Paul took the goose in his hand back outside to kill it. Mrs. Carmichael's eyes fell on the pot which was a few meters away from where she stood. Walking to it, she asked,

"What's there in that one? Seems like not even a bowl was taken from it."

"T-that milady, actually there was too much salt put into it," the maid looked at the backdoor hoping that the housekeeper would come to answer questions.

Unfortunately, when the broth was being prepared someone had placed the jar of salt next to the pot which the other maid had added without realizing that it wasn't sugar. And it wasn't just a little amount that was added but more than the required amount turning the dish salty and inedible to eat due to which it wasn't served to anyone.

"That's alright," Mrs. Carmichael replied back, a small chuckle leaving through her lips, "There was too much going on today. A little mishap is bound to happen," she placed her pale hand on the maid's shoulder, her eyes gentle surprising the maid as she has expected to be scolded.

"Yes, milady," the maid bowed her head down deeper than ever with gratefulness.

"Now, let me see how bad it tastes," Mrs. Carmichael picked a clean spoon that laid on the slab, dipping the spoon in the wide vessel she brought the spoon to her lips, "You should try this, Priscilla," she turned around to look at her sister.

"I think I am fine," Mrs. Easton shook her head not knowing what the dish actually tasted like.

As hours passed, all the servants retired back to bed in the servants quarters and so did the owners of the mansion along with the relatives who had decided to stay back. The night was quiet. Leonard had only stepped into his room when he found a present lying on his desk. He had informed one of his maids to clear out the presents, saying he would open it in his leisure time. What was this doing here? he thought to himself.

His feet carried him towards his desk and lifted the dull brown paper in which something inside was wrapped. There was no name from the presenter. It was just one single present, curious he began removing and pulling the wrapper out to see a maroon sweater inside it.

He looked at it for a few seconds, feeling the texture on his fingertips when he heard someone outside his room. Turning around, he turned the knob to his door to see no one at the door. He was about to close the door when he caught sight of trails of blood which were in drops. The blood ran from one corner of the hall to another. Worried, he closed his room door behind him and walked on the white marble floor, picking up the trail.

But before he could go further to inspect, out of the blue, Leonard was attacked by one of his second uncles who tried to get to his neck. He pushed him away, as the man fell on the floor.

"Uncle Benton?" he called unsure as his uncle got up in slow movements before he revealed his face to show red eyes that had turned entirely black.

Black eyes, Leonard frowned. He didn't get much time to dwell on the fact as the man went for his neck again not waiting for the young Duke to recover from what was happening. Pushing him to an empty and unused room, he locked the door knowing there were no windows there. The only way out was the door which was right now locked. Leonard ran through the rooms as the sounds of screams began filling up his ears.

At one side, he saw his aunt Priscilla on the ground crying as she held someone in her arms. Getting closer he found it was his cousin Julliard who laid in her arms, unmovingly as he was dead with a vacant expression on his face. By now the pulse in Leonard's veins only increased at the tragedy of what had or was taking place in his mansion. The pureblooded vampire whose blood was warm had turned cold with every step he took. Something had happened, something very bad which he was trying to figure out as he tried saving his family. There were other two relatives of his whose eyes had turned pitch black. Unfortunately, they couldn't be pushed into rooms or away as they tried killing the other family members. Leonard took the extreme step of running the wooden stake through their chests which he usually kept with him.

He then understood.

Their hearts had been corrupted. Soiled to the point where they had turned on one another; on their own kind where they didn't understand what was right and wrong.

Not wasting much time he made his way to his parent's room to find the door opened. He pushed the door wide open to see his father dead on the floor with a pool of blood that had formed around him.

Running to his side, Leonard called out his father, "Father! Father!!" he shook Mr. Carmichael but the man was long dead with a hole in his chest which Leonard had missed out of shock.

Another scream was heard and it was unmistakably his cousin, Charlotte who had screamed for help. Unwillingly, he left his father side to aid his cousin.

A few others were hurt, some confused, some angry. As he searched for his mother and Charlotte, he found his mother with her side facing him. He felt a sigh of relief pass through his lips until she turned her face towards him to show her beautiful face covered in blood.

Her dark red eyes had turned black which drained every hope he had built before to shatter into a thousand million pieces.