A/N: Thanks to everyone that has been reviewing my fic!! I appreciate it so much, I'm glad you like the story. Well, this is my latest chapter, and hopefully it will be as good as the last ones I've written. Please let me know what you think! This has to be one of the best fics I've ever written!
Chapter 5
The apartments they stayed in were so lavish, my mind could not even conceive of how they had come to afford such rooms. I looked around myself, my eyes as wide as opals. Expensive rugs decorated the dark mahogany floors. Richly decorated curtains kept the windows safely concealed. The furniture was beautiful, all collected from different ends of the earth. So stunned I was with the absolute splendor all around me that it took a moment before I realized Anna and Velkan had entered the room. I followed behind, somewhat hesitantly.
"Come, Christine." Anna said, gesturing me to enter. "Follow Velkan to his rooms, he will tend your wounds." My eyes widened in surprise. Anna smiled. "You will be perfectly safe. I must change." She said, leaving us alone. Velkan headed in the opposite direction, opening the door to his chambers.
I entered, Velkan following behind me and closing the door softly. He immediately headed to a large chest, rummaging about the contents until he found what he had been looking for.
I watched him with new eyes, feeling slightly guilty at the cold way in which I had treated them both. His hair shone in the candlelight as he knelt carefully, looking so diligently for the things he would need to heal my cut. He looked up and smiled at me charmingly, melting me completely. I had taken a seat near the window, and looked out in embarrassment.
"Christine." He called. I turned, finally beginning to feel the stinging pain of the wound. He approached me carefully, laying a small box of things on the table. I looked down at it curiously.
He smiled at me, opening the box, and pulling out some creams. The creams seemed obscurely labeled, each one with what seemed to be a color assigned. He perused the labels, until he finally found three that he knew would help. I watched as he opened the small packages, taking a small amount on his finger. Mixing it a bit, he reached over to touch my neck. I pulled back habitually.
"It's alright." He said. I glared at him, allowing him to reach over and rub the cream onto my neck. "This is a cream that my sister and I have created." He said, rubbing the cream into my skin gently until it disappeared. "It will prevent infection." He stood and headed across the room, heading towards a shelf, finding a small, clean cloth. He approached me slowly and gently rubbed the excess cream away. He pulled from the small box a simple bandage, and carefully applied it to the wound. He never once met my gaze.
"You are a prince." I said simply, suddenly. He looked up quickly, surprised at hearing me speak. "That is what I've heard." I continued. He looked down, picking through the contents of the box, perusing through them to see what he would need and what he wouldn't.
"In a way, yes." He replied. I looked away, not knowing how to answer.
"If what they say is true, then you fight demons." I continued on. He nodded, never once meeting my gaze. "Why? Why do you feel you have to?" I asked.
"Because there is no one else." He replied. I smiled.
"Such selflessness." I answered, smirking. "A handsome prince, doomed by his heritage to forever fight the armies of darkness. Such a story to tell your children." I continued. He looked up, blushing slightly.
"If I live long enough to ever have children." He said. Standing he walked across the room, pulling from his bags some blankets. He laid them out carefully on the bed.
"Tomorrow morning Anna and I will speak to you." He continued. "It seems to me that the Count has taken a particular interest in you. We must find out why." I nodded. Almost instinctually, I reached up and touched my neck, feeling the bandage safely protecting my wounds.
"I am confident that you will find that I know little if nothing about what has happened tonight. He must have mistaken me for someone else." I smiled and stood. He did not reply. The room had become silent, awkward.
"Thank you." I said, attempting to speak. "I apologize for not showing my gratitude earlier, I'm sorry." I said. The air in the room had grown heavy and warm. Velkan smiled pulling out a large shirt to wear.
"There is no need." He said. He approached me and held out the shirt. "It is comfortable. Please, rest. I will be in tomorrow to speak to you." Handing me the shirt, he headed directly towards the door, leaving me in complete silence. The click of the door almost seemed like an explosion in this deathlike silence.
I looked around the room, almost fearful that I should undress in here. It seemed to me to be almost a shrine. A large sword hung decoratively on the wall, it's gleam apparent even in the darkness. Shadows hung in every corner, making me feel as if someone constantly watched me. I sat on the bed for what seemed like hours, contemplating whether I should just get up and leave without leaving them a word. But, vivid images of what had happened only less than an hour ago still burned in my mind. I found myself much to frazzled to leave.
In the dim candlelight, I slowly began to undress, careful not to undo the bandaging to my neck. The bustle gown was easy enough, slipping off almost effortlessly. I struggled most with the corset, taking a full ten minutes before I could loosen the lacing enough to slide it off. I took a deep breath of relief as I felt the pressure on my waist suddenly dissipate.
I looked at the shirt he had given me, wondering whether I should even wear it. In the end, I decided against it, leaving it folded on the end of the bed. I let my hair down, brushing it with my fingers. The pins I left on the bedside table, and I fell back onto the bed, exhausted, yet somewhat fearful. It took moments before I finally fell completely asleep.
The night I spent tossing and turning, images of the Count haunting my dreams. It seemed he himself had entered my mind, refusing me even an inkling of sleep. Images of him touching the nape of my neck frightened me more than ever. His cold breath I could still feel on my shoulder. I turned towards the window partly through the night, only to startle myself. I thought I had seen him there, smiling, beckoning to me. Every moment was spent in anticipation of that man…demon…whatever you might call him, visiting me while I slept. The night was also the coldest night I had ever spent sleeping. I awoke halfway through it only to unfold some of the blankets given to me by Velkan to keep warm. I could not even remember falling asleep.
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I awoke the next morning to a sudden start from my bed. Confusion rattled my brain, as it had all of the night before. I looked around the room, pulling the covers up to cover my shaking body. It took some moments before I realized that I had spent the night as the guest of the Valerious siblings. My eyes once again wandered to the sword hanging on the wall, it gleamed as always. It was a few moments before I slowly climbed out of bed.
I wandered to my corset, finding it lying carelessly on the ground, far from where I had placed it originally. I picked it up and laid it gently back on it's spot by the gown. How it had ended up there? I have no idea. It took a few moments before I realized why. I found lying neatly folded beside Velkan's shirt, a robe, which I immediately put on. I took one final look at the room before heading immediately towards the door.
I found Anna and Velkan waiting for me patiently on the other side. Anna sat, perusing a huge book, which appeared to me, to be a sort of heirloom. She read aloud from it, and Velkan stood at the opposite end of the room, listening carefully. She spoke in another language. It took a few moments before Anna realized I had awoken. Her gaze slowly lifted from her book and she smiled.
"Good morning, Christine." She said. I nodded a silent hello and sat quietly by the couch. Velkan had noticed my entrance, but had not bothered to greet me. I had barely even detected a smile on his face. Anna slowly returned to the book she had been reading from. I remained silent.
I had become so intent on her words that I had not even realized that Velkan had approached and taken a seat beside me. I noticed Anna's eyes shift upwards towards me, a small smile on her full lips, until she slowly shifted her gaze away towards the book once again. She stopped reading after some moments and smiled at her brother. She said something quickly to him in there native tongue, and he answered to her angrily in response. Velkan then turned his attention to me.
"Let me check your neck, Miss Aveire." He said. I reached up and pulled the bandage away, and allowed him to lean in close, inspecting the wound. After a moment, he pulled away.
"It's seems alright." He said after a moment. He glanced quickly at the robe I wore, noticing I had not dressed yet. "Would you like me to call a servant woman to help you dress?" I nodded yes. As he turned to leave, Anna took the liberty to speak.
"We have much to talk about, Christine." She said. I looked at her confused. "It seems we've found the answer that you've been looking for. After you dress, I'll be happy to explain this sudden new interest the Count has developed." She looked to Velkan, and then smiled at me.
"My brother would be happy to escort you home this afternoon." She said. Her gaze on me slowly shifted to the book once again. I remained where I was, confused as always.