Lord Nicholas sauntered into a room that smelled like old books. It was a library, fairly lit by four candles, a very small library to be exact, with a few literary equipment. There was a single fixed shelf stocked with old paper-covered novels that were broken-backed, torn, and thumbed. The rest of the way space was occupied with portraits of ancient people. Nicholas walked further into the library until he stopped at a small kitchen table fitted as a working table with an old canister full of pens, and a cup filled with ink was at the middle of the shelves. A figure in a black cloak sat there with his back facing Nicholas.
"You should respond to the summons," Nicholas's voice echoed in the library. The dark figure chuckled and gave a shoulder shrug before turning to face Nicholas, his face not visible due to the little illumination, but his red eyes shone in the dark, as if they sparkled with diamonds. His red eyes, a very rare feature of a human, or in fact, no human possesses red eyes, no humans but the night creatures. This dark figure was a creature of the night, and the aura he exuded wasn't something to ignore.
"They can handle the situation without my interference," the dark figure assured, his voice deep and commanding. He then tilted his head and asked, "Did Spencer deliver?"
"Yes, he did," Nicholas gave a nod and grabbed a chair close to him, "As always."
"Lovely," the dark figure clasped his hands together. "My uncle's family are visiting?" Nicholas said. The dark figure then faced Nicholas fully, his red eyes shining brightly, and he raised an eyebrow.
"The Caswells?" Nicholas gave a nod. "And why is that?"
"Their daughter, my cousin Annabelle, is to host her coming of age celebration here."
"Ah, I see." the dark figure's eyes gleamed with interest. Within a few minutes, they both heard the neighs of horses and the wheels of carriages come to a halt.
"I'd love to meet them," the dark figure smiled knowingly. "No," Nicholas deadpanned, and the smile on the dark figure's face fell.
"What, they don't like night creatures? I'm sure with someone like me, they'd fall in love," he said and began to head for the door, but Nicholas stood up and stopped him with a look of disapproval.
"I'll introduce them to you...later. For now, answer the summons." The dark figure could only give a reluctant nod and he retreated back to the table while staring intently at Lord Nicholas as he left the library. He could only let out a sardonic laughter.
"Crazy humans," he tsked. He knew humans were finding it difficult to accept vampires into the society, especially with the fact that they were stronger and the Royal family ruling the kingdom were all Vampires. The humans were creating and modifying weapons just to bring down the vampires, and he was sure that in the years to come, a war would escalate. As of now, the vampires and humans were coexisting peacefully, but deep within both races knew it was all a facade.
Lord Nicholas scurried through the halls as he was on his way to welcome his uncle's family, happiness bloomed within his chest as he was overjoyed to finally reconnect with them after 3 years, especially Annabelle, his little devil's sprout. He chuckled as he reminisced about their memories together, never a dull moment. Nicholas was a fine young man with chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes, spanning around the age of 24, very young to be a lord, but he was qualified. The people in his land loved and worshipped him, but of course, there were still some factions that wanted him gone.
Nicholas went down the stairs, and a few maids and guards were passing by stopped and bowed at him before leaving. He went out of his mansion, and there he saw his butler and a few maids helping them out of their carriage, and their luggage was being brought in while the horses were led to the shed.
"Nicholas!" A sweet, alluring voice called out to him, excitement and happiness were evident in it. Before he could process the voice or where it came from, warm hands had already been wrapped around his waist. He stared down and found his little cousin clinging tightly onto him like he was going to disappear at any moment.
"Anna!" he called out and carried her, swinging her around in happiness, and they both giggled like little kids before they embraced each other in a warm and comforting hug.
"I missed you," Belle said with a croaking voice like she was at the brink of tears.
"Oh, Anna, I missed you more than you could ever imagine," he disengaged from the hug and spun her around. "And look at you... You've grown into a fine young lady, better than I expected "
The last Nicholas had seen her was three years ago and she was still little but now, she had grown into a beautiful lady of high society with her platinum silver hair shining as ever, and her blue eyes still so mesmerizing, even more mesmerizing to be exact.
"Ahem" a light cough interrupted their moment and it came from no other than Petiron, "Cousin, brother must have forgotten us" he said to his brothers, just loud enough for Nicholas to hear.
They all laughed, and Nicholas rushed over to them, giving the brothers a big, warm hug each before heading to his uncle and auntie. "Auntie, you are stunning," he said, bowing, and they exchanged hugs.
"And you are so manly," she teased, giving him a light pinch on his cheek.
"Uncle," he smiled widely, and Edward Caswell took him in for a hug. "I cannot believe you are now taller than I," Edward hmphed, and everyone burst into a fit of laughter.
"Where is brother and sister-in-law, dearest?" he asked, looking behind Nicholas.
"They were invited for dinner at Duke Lamadoki's, I believe they'd be back before nightfall tomorrow," Nicholas responded, and Edward gave a curt nod.
Lord Nicholas ushered them into his mansion and made sure they were comfortable while still having a long, lively chat about what they'd missed out on for three years. The maids followed each of them to their respective rooms, but Lady Kena followed Annabelle to hers to ensure she got settled in perfectly.
Immediately the door was shut close, her mother sat her down on the bed. "Lady Annabelle Caswell," her mother called, a little annoyed. "You do not refer to your cousin as Nicholas, he is now a Lord, and you must add the title, especially in public," she scolded. "Never run to hug someone in that manner, you are a lady, and you wait for them to approach you. Behave like a lady, Belle. Your debut is almost close, yet you lack manners. Do not defame the Caswells."
Lady Kena warned sternly, her anger evident as she stared hard at Belle. "I'm sorry, Mama," Belle looked down, feeling helpless. "It won't repeat itself again... I promise."
"Good," her mother caressed her cheeks softly and left the room. Annabelle collapsed on the bed and cursed under her breath. She was just so tired. Sometimes she wondered why she was born into high society. It was just so suffocating and depressing.
Belle stood up and surveyed the room, everything was beautiful and screaming rich, nothing she hadn't seen before. She walked into the bath to wash up and change into something more comfortable, but she tripped and fell into the bath tub, luckily, it was filled with water if not... "That was close," she gasped.
As she was about to get up, she tripped again, but this time, she used the wall to support herself. However, it felt like a part of the wall was covered with dirt, and she quickly used some water to wash that part off. The more she wiped the wall, the more something golden began to appear. It was a writing written in italics: 'SAVIOUR OF THE DAMNED-1417'. It had the year on it, and it seemed like it was written a century ago, since it was now 1517.
Belle furrowed her brows as she stared at the wall, unsure what it meant, yet she was curious. "Weird," she muttered and closed her eyes, shaking off the writing. Perhaps it was just something written by Nicholas's ancestors, and it didn't matter anymore.
After Belle was done with her bath, she changed into a comfy night dress since it was already dark. An idea popped into Belle's head, and that was to visit the garden, her favorite spot. Belle was familiar with the mansion, so she followed the backyard into the large and vast garden. It had many flowers blooming, and it was even more beautiful at night. She loved the smell of the blue roses, a rare kind treated delicately throughout the kingdom.
Belle went deeper into the garden and saw the favorite spot where they loved to picnic. It was a bit dark, but the fireflies around made everywhere brighter and more peaceful. She smiled warmly and continued scouting the garden when the atmosphere suddenly changed. She felt a chill run down her spine, causing her to shudder. There was no wind, and she wondered why she felt uneasy, like someone was watching her.
She shrugged, but all too soon, the area became more suffocating, and she felt something ominous. "Who's there?" she called out, but there was no response. Annabelle immediately headed back to the mansion out of fear. As she hurried back, she heard the sound of a window open and looked up at the mansion. There, she saw something red - a pair of eyes staring down at her.
Her mouth hung open, and she couldn't bring herself to move as she stared at those eyes. They were compelling. Then, all of a sudden, the window was shut close, and the red eyes were gone. Annabelle snapped back to reality and nearly lost her footing. She rushed back into her room in shock but bumped into a maid.