The blood-red sun drifted just over the horizon, a third of it tucked under a hill of prairie grass and a deep orange marigolds. The melodious sound of meadowlarks echoed throughout the hillsides, distracting the young woman from her work of hauling grain to the manure-ridden pasture of red heifers and the occasional steer. She set the rather large forty-pound bag of cow feed onto the browning grass, brushing her raven locks behind her as she gazed onto the countryside. Cobalt eyes sparkling with the image of the setting sun reflecting in their pools of liquid ice, she watched toward the horizon as a flock of the same meadowlarks that sang melodies of joy flew in a formation similar to that of a flock of geese, only a bit more scattered. Suddenly changing the direction of her train of thought, the sound of hooves making their way toward her farm were heard in the east, picking up their pace ever-so slightly. She shifted her position to look towards the sound of the horse. In the distance, she managed to make out an ebony form sitting atop an equine of equal color. From the beast's hooves, clouds of dust kicked up along the sides of the animal and rider, adding to her suspicions that the two were moving quite fast. At first, she thought it may have been a team of horses, but now realizing different, her expression showed relief. A team of horses could have been a vampire, seeing as they couldn't sit upon a single horse in the daylight as it was right then and there.
The horse gave a shrill whinny, and by the sound of it, the woman could tell it was mechanical. A single rider, a mechanical equine, it only grew to her thoughts that she knew this being, quite well, one could add. As the horse and rider approached her, her heart froze, eyes staying fixed in a wide position. Before she knew it, a large black horse stood before her, the rider planted on his mount, feet dangling near the beast's sturdy front legs. The woman was stuck speechless, her gaze focused on the shining tip of the rider's left boot. From atop the equine spoke the man, his voice a low tone, deep and rich with maturity.
"Doris Lang." Two words, and yet the woman was taken by the man's enchanting voice, not having heard it in so long. She slowly looked up at the calling of her name. He hadn't changed a bit- he still wore the same old outfit with the long, obsidian cloak, and although it was fraying a bit on the edges and slightly faded, it still remained in tact, and after so long? She had noticed him wearing that ever since she met him.
His face also still was emotionless as usual, not quite sad, but rather solemn, desolate. His wide-brimmed hat still covered his pale complexion and raven eyes as he looked down at the woman, who with age had also gained strength and a more mature and voluptuous appearance, unlike the raven-clad rider, whom had stayed just as youthful and beautiful as he had before.
"D-D," the young woman muttered, her soft lips barely moving as she spoke. The rider did not bother to move from his position on the large beast, keeping his eyes focused on Doris' deep blue orbs. She quickly looked away, just as the Hunter was beginning to speak, although he held his tongue; not something he normally did, but around Doris, D usually did not act as he normally would.
A moment of silence, and the Hunter spoke. "I came just to see you, in case you were wondering." He dismounted his mechanical beast and began to tie it to a post next to the large estate. Doris was quiet for a moment, only shifting to fix the cloak she wore around her bodice, covering herself a bit more carefully. She continued to look at her muddy leather boots, not bothering to make the slightest motion of looking D in the eye. He stood before her, stroking his horse on the rump only once before relaxing his hands at his sides.
"Great time to show up..." the young woman muttered, almost spat out at the man. She was ever-so happy to see him, but the rage that built up inside of her for him leaving was beginning to overwhelm her.
D kept his face emotionless, as usual, releasing not a single hint of change. "I know you're angry," he began, his tone low, but not as relaxed as before. "...but-"
"-I'm not angry," Doris interrupted, slowly looking back up at the Hunter that stood in front of her. "I just... I missed you, that's all." It wasn't his fault that he had to leave. He had a duty- she knew that. She also knew that he could not possibly still have feelings for her, if he ever did.
His departure, despite their actions, had been a rather abrupt one. The day before she had watched him defeat Count Lee from taking her in as his wife, but then he simply left, and she had to return to normal life with her brother Dan. She had made it her goal to become stronger, almost to his level, so she could defend herself if another vampire tried to take a bite out of her, for she knew that the next time, D wouldn't be there to save her.
D's expression remained the same, his only action being him reaching out to place a slender hand upon Doris' shoulder. She flinched, her eyes not moving from their meet with D's.
"Remove your cloak." Doris was taken aback slightly, not fully understanding the concept until he repeated it, not gaining any affirmation, for he had spoken with affirmation the first time, and needed not any change. "Remove your cloak."
"Wh-Why?" she asked nervously, only tightening her grip on the brown material of her cloak. In an instant, D's hand had flung to the edge, ripping it off of her with ease. Underneath she wore but tan trousers and a long-sleeved white blouse. But D had noticed something. He brought his hand to Doris' stomach, feeling the bump that lie within her blouse.
All was silent. Doris could feel her heart pounding in her chest, as a tinge of pink rising to her cheeks out of embarrassment and fear, but mostly out of shame. She looked down at the ground, unable to bear looking at him. It was so quiet that she could hear his nearly silent breathing, she could almost taste the tension in the air. Finally, D broke the utter silence.
"Were you planning on telling me this?" he asked rather bitterly compared to his normal tone, but still in an almost monotone way. His head lowered so that his hat covered the majority of his face, his only facial feature showing being his attractively thin lips. Doris bit her own lip so hard that it drew blood.
"N...Ngh..." She sucked on her sore lip as tears began to flow simultaneously down her rosy cheeks, dripping down unto her bosom. She clenched her fists, unable to hold back the tears that continued to fall. She was speechless, standing there dumbfounded as D looked at her through a stare, not quite a glare, but a rather cold stare, at least for the D she had come to know and love.
He questioned her no more, averting his gaze to the big French doors of the Langs' countryside home. The minute Doris turned her tear-soaked face, she was nearly knocked over by the mirage of flesh she called 'Dan'. In an instant, the boy had his tiny 9-year-old arms wrapped around the waist of the Hunter.
"D! I knew you'd come back!" Dan's eyes were teary out of utter happiness as he hugged his 'older brother' as tight as he could. A small smile curved upon D's lips, his slender hand rubbing the boy's shoulder. Doris sniffled and looked at the two, wiping off her tears. She bent down and picked up her long cloak before patting her younger brother on the head.
"That's enough," she said, slightly choking on her tears. She had not yet told Dan about her pregnancy, although he was beginning to question her about why she was weight on her abdomen so fast despite all the work she did. She blamed it on a poor diet and they usually went out on their way. Although he believed his sister due to his 9-year-old gullibility, he would eventually find out, but Doris still pondered a way to tell him. Maybe D's visit would set a good moment, but only time would tell.
To be continued...