Chapter 2

Arra awoke around midday, her head resting on Larten's chest while he snoozed peacefully. She blushed red and forced his arm of her, which was wrapped around her waist.

"What the hell did I do last night?" She asked horrified. "Hey, Larten, wake up." She poked him once or twice until he finally stirred awake.

"Hmm?" He asked groggily. "Oh, what time is it?"

"It's midday," she told him.

"Why are you waking me up? I do not get up until night."

"I know, but why I was sleeping next to you?"

"Oh, uh…" He reddened around his throat and sat up, rubbing his orange hair with his right hand. "Well, you were crying last night, and you came in here. I was comforting you, and you fell asleep. Nothing happened, I swear!"

"You were… comforting me?" She asked, her voice soft.

"Y-yes."

"Thank you." She smiled, leaning to kiss him gently on the cheek. "No one has ever done anything like this for me."

"Mood swings much?" He chuckled, though his heart was pounding at softness and warmness of her lips.

"Haha, very funny."

"I try."

"Well, you're going to sleep right?" He nodded. "Do you need food?"

"Not right now. I am sure Joseph has already gone home; our chefs are on vacation."

"I can make you something!" She said.

"You cook?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, why? Is that so shocking?"

"N-no. I just… never mind…"

"You have a habit of putting your foot in your mouth, don't you? Well, I can cook, so I can make you something!"

Before he had a chance to reply, she was already running out of the room, planning on what she was going to make him for dinner.

Since it was about two or three, Arra was thankful that she didn't have to wait too long for Larten to wake up. During that time, she sat in the large armchair and read some Shakespeare that was on the shelf.

Once or twice she would put the book down, yawn, and doze off for a couple of minutes.

When she finally got to Hamlet's famous soliloquy, it was dark enough outside for Larten to move around freely.

"To be or not to be," he said out loud as she was murmuring the speech to herself. "That is the question."

"You know Hamlet?" Arra asked.

"But, of course," Larten replied with a smile. "It is one of the best pieces of work ever written after all."

"Do you want to read it with me?" She asked, holding the book out to him, growing confused at the sight of his flushed face and nervous expression. "What's the matter?"

"I… I cannot read," he admitted shamefully. Before she could question this, he said, "I was born in a really poor town. I was put to work at the age of eight and never received a proper education. But, I am more interested in you, Arra. You can read?"

"Yes. No one else in my family can, but I wanted to prove myself that I could do it, and I learned. I was only in a school for a short time, but I did it."

"That is very honorable," he said with admiration.

She smiled proudly at his words. No one has ever showed any type of admiration toward her before. Her parents accused her of thinking she was too good for them, and her friends thought the same way.

"Well, I better get started on your dinner," Arra said, trying hard not to show her pride. She went into the kitchen and searched for ingredients. She was pleased when she found almost everything she needed.

Her family was poor, so they didn't have much meat, but Elizabeth and Larten were obviously very wealthy and she was able to find many different things that she would never have in her house.

She grimaced; why did she refer to it as "her" house? She doesn't live there anymore, and there was no hell she was going back. At her thought of her parents' house, another thought arose in her head. Where was she going to go? She couldn't stay here with them forever; it wouldn't be right.

"I'll have to talk to him about that," she mumbled, cutting the meat into tiny pieces with a small knife.

While Arra was preparing dinner, Larten had in his hands in his lap, musing.

Why did he run into Arra? Why did he take her home? Why did Elizabeth just happen to leave the night Arra came? Perhaps, it was fate or destiny. But, he shook that thought of his head; he took her home because of his kind nature. And Elizabeth leaving was just a coincidence.

Something about her made him wonder if he was doing right being engaged to Elizabeth. Something in him said that if he had met Arra first, she would be the main woman in his life, but he disregarded the thoughts going through his brain and heart, and tried to focus on the future. It wasn't impossible for a vampire and a human to get married. So, why was he worrying so much?

Arra came out moments later, holding a bowl of stew which was steaming. She set it on the round table between the two chairs, realized that their tea from the night before was still there, took them and set them on the counter.

"Thank you," Larten said, taking the bowl in his hands and eating the contents. "It is rather good."

"You were expecting anything less?" She asked, her hand on her hip.

"No, of course not."

"Good!" Arra sat down in the chair with her own bowl of stew in her hands. "I'm glad you like it. Can I ask you a question, Larten?"

"Technically, you already asked me a question," Larten said after he had just swallowed another spoonful; he smiled at her.

"Fine, then can I ask two questions?" She asked with an exasperated sigh holding two fingers up.

"Well, you have already asked one, but what is your other one?"

"How long have you been with Elizabeth?"

He sighed, setting down his bowl and musing on the question.

"I met her about six months ago," he explained. "I saw her walking through the streets of Paris, and I was compelled by her beauty. I was able to woo her into falling for me as well. We have been engaged for three months."

"You knew her for three months before you got engaged?" She cried out, thinking that most people got engaged by the time they knew the person for a year.

"I knew she was the one," he simply said. But, you are sort of making me doubt that. "Have…" He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Have you ever had a significant other?"

"Huh… Um…" Arra glanced over to the floor, blushing with embarrassment. "I used to be with this one guy who lived in my neighborhood. I thought he was the greatest person ever, but he turned out to be a jerk."

"How so?"

"He pretended to love me as much as I loved him. He only wanted one thing, and he got angry when I wouldn't give it to him." She smiled sadly. "I just some guys aren't faithful."

"It is a shame when that happens," Larten agreed.

"You're different," Arra said.

"D-different?"

"Yeah. You seem like a faithful type of guy." She shook her head, chuckling. "I don't know what I'm talking about." She got out of the chair and sat cross-legged on the floor. Larten did the same.

"We are connected," he told her as he raised her hands; their fingertips balanced off each other. "After your stay is over, I know we will meet each other again."

Arra said nothing; she only stared at their hands and him.

They seemed to be indulged in the moment, and they leaned forward until their lips were a centimeter away from each other. For a second, he thought he would catch his act and stop it before anything happened, but his heart was commanding him to go for it. He gently caressed her lips with his own and she deepened the kiss.

The kiss lasted for a few moments until the door opened.

"Vur!" Elizabeth called. "I'm home!"

They broke the kiss quickly before Elizabeth came into the room. Larten quickly got into his chair to avoid suspicions.

"It turns out that Hannah's illness wasn't too serious. She was up on her feet this morning! How did everything go here?"

"Fine," Larten answered quickly. "Just fine." His face was red, but Elizabeth made notice of it. She merely smiled at him while setting down her bags on the sofa.

"Excuse me?" A drawling voice came from the hallway leading to the front door. Elizabeth left the door open while she was taking in her things. Before anyone could ask who it was, he already walked into the drawing room. He was wearing a black cloak, his black hair was hanging over his shoulders, and he had a somber expression on his face. He looked like a raven.

"What are you…?" Larten asked, stepping toward him.

"Lar…" Mika began to say before Larten pulled him away into the other room. "What's the big idea?"

"Do not call me by that name," he told him quietly. "My fiancé does not know what I am and does not know my real name."

"Oh, getting tangled with the humans, are we?" Mika asked with a slight smirk. "How would Seba react?"

"It is none of Seba's business," Larten growled. "I am no longer under his influence; it is time I lived my own life."

"That is true," he agreed. "I am here for Arra. The trial ended and so I figured I would get my assistant back. I considered going to her house, but decided to use our telepathy in order to locate her in case she left. And I found her."

"Come in the other room. Just do not call me 'Larten.'"

Larten and Mika returned to the drawing room.

"Vur, who is this?" Elizabeth asked, staring intently at the raven-like stranger.

"My name is Mika Ver Leth," Mika replied. When Larten shot a glare at him, he whispered, "I feel no need to hide my name. I am the guardian of Miss Arra Sails," he said aloud, pointing to Arra, who was balancing from foot to foot nervously.

"If you are her guardian, then you must have been abusing her!" Elizabeth shrieked.

"No, there is a difference between guardian and parent, miss. I am her mentor. In other words, I am a teacher. She is under my control, but I was away on business, and she was required to stay with her parents. I thank you for taking care of her until I returned. Arra," he turned to her, "we must be off."

"Where are we going?" She asked a hint of desperation in her voice.

"You will find out," he replied.

"Goodbye, Elizabeth, Vur," Arra said, bowing. She cringed inside when she called Larten 'Vur.' "Thank you for everything. And I wish you all the happiness in the world."

"You are quite welcome," Elizabeth said, hugging her. "I wish I could've been here for your stay. It would've been nice to talk with you."

"Oh, I'm still wearing your gown," she said when they broke away, looking down at her attire.

"Nonsense," Elizabeth said, holding up a hand. "You may keep it."

"Your other dress is dry," Larten said. "I will be right back." He left upstairs and came back with a bundle of clothes; he handed them to Arra. She thanked him and took them from her hands. There was a short meeting of the eyes, but no one seemed to notice or care.

"Come, Arra," Mika said, taking her hand and leading her away.

Larten watched them the doorway, his lips tingling from their kiss, until they were out of sight.

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked, placing a shoulder on his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly. "Sorry!"

"I am fine," he replied, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.

"Did you get to speak with Arra?"

"We did speak. We spoke about our lives. And I told her how I met you, and how I was intoxicated by your beauty." Elizabeth smiled as Larten wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Your lips taste different," she said. His heart jumped in his throat at her words; did she know? "Haha, they taste like stew." His heart relaxed and he let out a sigh of relief. "Is there any more?"

"Stew? Yes." He took her hand, smiling at her and leading her into the kitchen, where the pot of stew was sitting.

Author's Note: I'm sorry that I only put two chapters before they started falling for each other. I'm not very good at writing love stories.