Chapter 8

As always, thank you for the reviews.

I want to give a shout-out to SeleneDarkbloom, our exchange lead to a cooking related moment in this chapter.

I own neither Castlevania nor it's characters.

It was nearly noon when you awoke the next day, you seemed to be making a habit of sleeping in. then again, the last three days had been rather hectic, no wonder you were exhausted. You stretch, feeling your bones pop and slowly rise, sliding out of the bed.

The late morning light softly filters through the curtains draped across the balcony's French doors and it beckons you. Still in your undergarments you approach the balcony doors, drawing the curtains and then stepping outside. The air was crisp and cool, forming goosebumps on your arms but you enjoyed it.

You wrapped your arms around yourself and stepped out to the balcony's railing. The sight was one to behold, the forest seemed to stretch on forever, you could even make out a nearby stream. You stood there a moment, marveling at the natural beauty laid out before you, leaving your mind to wander to another natural beauty: Adrian. Last night's steamy affair made its way to the front of your mind and you couldn't help but sigh, hugging yourself a little tighter. How scandalously you had acted, you giggled to yourself. You and your ex-fiancé had indeed gotten into some hanky-panky while you were together, but you had stayed a virgin, an old vestige of your Christian upbringing. But that, last night, there was more passion in that exchange than you had ever felt in the entirety of your previous relationship. And while you didn't want to be presumptuous, you had a feeling Adrian felt that powerful passion as well. It was something about the way he looked at you, touched you, his kiss had felt like it was devouring you, and if you were being honest with yourself, you wanted to be devoured. You couldn't help but hope you'd share another passionate encounter tonight.

Shaking your head with a smile on your face you re-enter the bedroom and begin to dress. Once you're ready you decide to try and find your way to the kitchen, your stomach is grumbling and it'll be impossible to focus on an empty stomach. To your surprise you remember your way to the dining room, and sure enough through a door in the back of the hall is the large kitchen. In the ice box you find a dozen eggs, sausage, and butter. In the bread box is an entire loaf of bread. Excellent, you think to yourself, this is the perfect opportunity to both repay and impress your host, so you set to cooking.

45 minutes later a beautiful breakfast spread has been plated, and when you exit the kitchen balancing the platters there stands Adrian, smiling broadly.

"Perfect timing!" you exclaim, "I hope you're hungry, because I made us breakfast!" you finish by flourishing the platters and putting on a big cheesy grin.

Adrian chuckles, "My, weren't you busy? You are truly wonderful dearest, thank you, I cannot express how grateful I am. It's been a long time since someone cooked for me."

Briefly you mull over that statement, don't his servants cook for him? But perhaps he just means since a woman has.

You set down the platters and he pulls out your chair for you. It doesn't take long for everything to be eaten. You giggle, "I guess you were pretty hungry, eh?"

He smirks, "Ravenous."

You can't help but feel like his response was loaded, and it goads a blush from your cheeks, you look away sheepishly.

When he speaks you bring your eyes back up to meet his, "Are you ready to begin our lessons?"

You respond with a nod, "I am, let me just clean up first."

He waves dismissively, "Do not fret over the plates, they'll be taken care of. Come, let's begin," and with that he offers his arm.

You spend the afternoon together in the library. He decides that each day will be spent on a different major subject, starting with Science. You have since been studying and discussing the natural sciences: plants, animals, minerals, life cycles. He's gentle when he explains things, he gladly answers every question you conceive of, and you conceive of many. Before long the sun has set, and yet it feels like no time has passed at all.

You've just finished discussing sources of natural spring water when he stands, closing his book and extending his hand to you, "Let us take a break. How about a walk through the garden to ease our minds a bit?"

You take his hand with a smile and he leads you out of the room, through a back door, and into a large garden. You gasp at the sight. It seems the garden is broken into sections. As if reading your thoughts, Adrian answers, "The garden is separated into four sections: fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. I can't exactly waltz in and out of town on a whim, so this garden is extremely important."

You manage to speak, "It's absolutely lovely. Did you plant all of this?"

He looks out at the garden, "Most of it yes, such as the fruits and vegetables, but not the flowers. You see, this garden was a gift from my father to my mother, in an effort to make her stay here at the castle more convenient and enjoyable. The flowers are a hold-over from then, they come back every year, bigger and more beautiful, just like the love they shared."

His eyes come back to meet yours and he looks at you dreamily, smiling.

You are awestruck at the look on his face, it's becoming clear to you just how much he admires the love his parents shared.

"May I see the flowers?" you ask.

Without hesitation he begins leading you towards them, "It would be my pleasure."

The sections are separated by small wooden fences, and each section has a pebble-covered path leading to its gate. He leads you down the path, opening the gate for you and you step inside, immediately taken aback by the delicate smell and wondrous beauty. He retakes your arm and leads you through, pointing out the names of different flowers and where they are native to. At the very back of the garden is a large crop of lilies, planted in the shape of a heart. You notice that a few have been clipped and removed. You gasp at the precious sight before you, and your hand comes to rest on your chest.

Adrian, both seeing and feeling your reaction, releases your arm and instead wraps his arm around your waist, "Lilies were my mother's favorite. Father was quite the romantic, and from what he proudly told me, her reaction to this display was similar to yours, except she went on to jump into his arms and cover him in… well, you get the idea." You blush. "Father was quite proud of himself," Adrian chuckled, "he truly relished in her joy." A sentiment I have grown to share, it seems.

You tear your eyes away from the lilies to look at him, "He sounds like a wonderful man, I wish I could've met him."

At this Adrian seems to still, his face going dark before he looks away, "Let's head back inside, the night is young and there is still much to do."

You can't help but worry that you've said something you shouldn't have, although you don't know what, so you decide to stay quiet for now and allow Adrian to lead you back inside.

He returns you to the library and pulls two books from one of the shelves, placing them on the table you had been sitting at earlier. His eyes are sad, but his voice is toneless, "Read these, and jot down any things you don't understand. I will return to you in an hour, at which time we will discuss what you've read and then sit down to supper."

You nod, taking one of the books and sitting at the table with it.

"Until then," he says with a bow, and then exits.

The hour crawls by, you find it incredibly difficult to focus, all you can do is worry. You know you've somehow said something to upset him, you just don't know what, but what you do know is that you must apologize. You do your best to get through half of the tome before the hour is up, and sure enough Adrian returns.

You stand and approach him, taking both of his hands in your own, and stare directly into his eyes with a determined expression. He doesn't hide his surprise at your actions.

You take a deep breath, "I am sorry for any distressing remark I may have made to you. My intention has never been to upset you. I am truly sorry, Adrian."

His expression stays cemented in shock, until finally he shakes his head, his expression changing into one of sadness. He brings your joined hands up to his lips and slowly kisses each of your knuckles. Now it's your turn to wear an expression of shock. Each kiss is reverent, savory, his pained eyes never leaving yours. You feel a shiver run up your spine but you dare not move, not even a breath. When he reaches the last knuckle his final kiss lingers, he takes a deep breath and finally speaks, lowering your hands but not yet releasing them, "Your apology is unnecessary, for I am the one who must apologize. My reaction has troubled you, and someday I will explain my actions, but not today. Until then, please know that you've done nothing wrong. In fact, you've done quite the opposite, you've done more right than I even deserve. So please dearest, do not fret. Now come, an excellent dinner awaits you, we can discuss what you've read over our meal."

Finally he smiles and you return it, warm and bright, just like his eyes. He takes your arm and leads you to the dining hall, and sure enough an incredible spread adorns the table. Adrian escorts you to your chair and the two of you sit, beginning to eat.

As usual it's delicious, and you can't help but praise it, "Once again the food utterly impresses! Please, give my compliments to the chef!"

He chuckles, "The chef graciously accepts your compliments. It's both a pleasure and an honor to cook for someone else."

It takes a moment before his words sink in, "Wait a minute, you made this?"

He looks back at you puzzled, "Of course, who else is going to cook?"

You stammer, "I don't know, I thought maybe one of your servants did."

"Servants?" Now it's his turn to be confused, "I don't have any servants. I am the sole resident of this castle, aside from you now, of course."

Your mind races, "But, all of these dinners, the dirty dishes, my clothes the night I first arrived, all of that… was you?!"

His eyebrows are raised so high they are practically one with his hairline, "Of course it was me, who else is there?"

You absolutely implode, "But… but how?!"

He shrugs, "I'm quite quick you know, I'm able to do things faster than a regular human."

It seems like the sort of revelation that should have been obvious, and yet you feel like the rug was pulled out from under you. You do your best imitation of a fish, your mouth opening and closing repeatedly, at a loss for words. You let what he's said sink in, it seems you overlooked something very obvious. In your quest to ignore his Dhampir nature in an attempt to not treat him differently, it was that exact nature that answered what should have been an easy question. Your face goes completely red, you slap your hand to your forehead, and begin to laugh.

Adrian, sensing your understanding and embarrassment, begins to laugh as well, "Servants? What is this, the 1800's?"

You put your hands up defensively, but you're still laughing, "I don't know, I couldn't think of a better solution! And it's not like I've spent a lot of time in castles to know whether or not they have servants!"

He's laughing so hard it brings a tear to his eye, he wipes it away before placing his hand on top of yours. With a squeeze he takes a deep breath, trying to get himself under control, "I needed that, thank you."

After you finish your meal you raise from your chair, gathering some of the plates.

He understands your intent, "Leave them, I'll clean up later."

You reply with a small smile, "Please, allow me to help you, I want to earn my keep."

He senses your determination and relents, "Very well."

Together you bring all of the dishware into the kitchen and he hands you a small towel, "I'll wash, you dry. We can put everything away together."

You nod, pushing up your sleeves. He takes his place in front of the sink, pushes up his sleeves, and then all you see is a blur as wet dishes begin to pile up in front of you. You blink and he's done, turning to face you with a smirk, "Would you like some help with those?"

Once the shock subsides you grouse, "Show-off…"

He laughs and grabs a towel, drying the plates off at a human speed.

"Not to pump your ego any further, but I must say, you are an excellent cook," you confess shyly, peering up at him.

Sincerely he replies, "Thank you, I've had a lot of time to learn."

Curiosity gets the best of you once again and you ask, "How long have you lived alone?"

He pauses for a moment, "Since I was a teenager. But that no longer matters to me, really," he smiles warmly at you, "because I'm not alone anymore."

You blush, overcome with emotion, "I don't know how I ended up here, but… I'm glad I did. I'm glad I found you, Adrian."

Quietly he replies, "I'm glad you found me, too."

You finish drying the dishware and then set to the task of putting everything away with the help of Adrian's guidance.

Hands on his hips he appraises the kitchen once you've both finished, "Excellent work, dearest. You were right, cleaning up together is much more enjoyable than cleaning up alone."

"I'm happy I could help," you respond with a smile, "although," you smirk, "it didn't look like I was much help, really."

"Your company was all the help I needed," he replies with a wink.

You blush and swat him with your towel, laughing, "Cocksure show-off, I swear…"

He raises his eyebrows, smirking, "What's that about my cock?"

You gasp and squeal, laughing and swatting him again, "I called you cocksure, arrogant, you dirty boy! The only person talking about your cock is you!"

As the word "cock" leaves your lips, Adrian cannot deny the twitch he feels between his legs. He buries the urge to grab you, push you up against the wall, and accost your lips. The urge becomes harder to fight when he senses your mutual longing, "Cocksure, perhaps, but not ruthless. That being said, it's late, I've kept you up long enough, let me walk you to bed."

He escorts you to your room, but you pause when you reach the door, "Not to try and take your bed from you again, but perhaps you've forgotten, my room is in tatters."

He just smirks and opens the door, revealing a perfectly reorganized room.

You gasp and your eyes fly to him, "But, just last night it was in shambles!"

He smirks, stepping away from the door with a bow, "Perhaps it was the servants."

He leaves you to stew in your surprise. When you enter, a new crystal vase full of fresh lilies sits on your dressing table, and with your hand on your heart you swear somewhere, wherever he is, that cocksure romantic is smirking, and you can't help but laugh because your first reaction was to cover him in… well, you know.