A/N: So there you have it, the 8th chapter.
Hope you enjoy!
I don't own Elsword nor its characters blabla whatever.
Ara opened her eyes slowly, finding herself in a dark room and some sort of dark wooden ceiling above her, curtains hanging from its sides. She sat up carefully, still not completely aware of her surroundings, and noticed she had been lying down on a big bed. Right, she could remember now how she passed out after he drank from her for who knows how long, and she was still on the castle. Examining the room she spotted him sitting on the sofa by the balcony, reading a book. He was leaning partially over his side, supporting the elbow on the sofa arm, his legs crossed and a calm, focused expression on his face, softening his features. Once again a special aura enveloping him, as if his existence were completely independent from what surrounded him. She couldn't help but stare.
He probably noticed, because in that instant he looked up at her, meeting her gaze.
"Ah, you woke up" he spoke softly, his voice slightly raspy. He turned his focus to the book in his hands once again. 'History of Medicine' could be read on its cover. "Did you have a good sleep?".
"Hardly, I woke up feeling like blood was drained from my body. Maybe I've been bitten by a mosquito" she replied, noticing a small smile forming on his lips. "How long did I pass out?" she asked him as she got up from the bed, fixing her slightly rumpled clothes.
"An hour or so. It's still early, so don't worry" he said, closing the book and leaving it aside before getting up and walking towards her. "Tell me, Ara, now that you woke up…will you let me have a little bit more?" he asked in a whisper, staring at the marks on her neck. A strange smile curving his lips.
"I passed out after you did it just now. Could it be that you want me to fall unconscious again?" she retorted with a half smile twisting her mouth, placing both of her hands on the hips. "Just what are you thinking?" she questioned.
"With what kind of person are you mistaking me for?" he answered, bringing a hand to his chest and arching his brows. "How rude" this time he was grinning again. A brief silence was held as they stared at each other, before he spoke once again. "I assume you must be feeling fairly weak now, aren't you? I'll ask the cook to prepare something for you" he said.
"Why do you keep food here, even a cook, if you don't eat?" she asked him with a surprised tone, furrowing her brows slightly.
"Because of the social events I need to host from time to time, mostly. You didn't think I serve blood to my guests or did you?" he explained, shrugging his shoulders. "Now come with me".
Ara followed after him through the long corridor, examining all the doors they passed by in their way back to the stairs. It was such a big place for so few people using it, even if he had personal working there, they weren't nearly enough in number to give a use to all of the rooms in the castle.
"This place looks like it could be good to open a hotel" she commented, more like thinking out loud. One of the rooms she saw had its door partially open. Even from where she was, she could see an old, thick book laying open over a reading desk in the middle of the room. For some reason, its sight sent a chill through her body.
"I wouldn't like that. Receiving a big group of people once a month is more than enough" he replied, taking her out of the trance she had fallen into for a brief moment. "Besides, who would want to lodge in a hotel hosted by a vampire?" he added with a snicker.
"It could be the first step towards a vampire-friendly community. Think about it. 'Local vampire opens up a luxurious hotel for a cheap price, in return for all the damage caused to the town'" she said, using a daydreamer like tone and gesturing with her hands for the last part, giggling softly.
She heard him laugh under his breath. "Not too long ago people still burned women in public places for suspecting them of being witches. So I don't think it's such a good idea".
Ara lifted the bottom of her dress and supported her hand gently on the handrail to go down through the stairs. A maid was passing in front of them in the first floor when Add called out to her.
"Eleonor, could you do me a favor? Go ask the cook to prepare a meal for our guest, please" he told her with a soft voice. The old woman nodded silently before leaving in the opposite direction.
He led her to a small salon next to the dining room, where they could wait until the food was served. They sat down next to each other in a sofa. Even if he kept that strange aura with him, a distant demeanor and a certain coldness hidden in his eyes, she was starting to feel like it was okay being with him, more comfortable. It was not just that undeniable magnetism that attracted her attention helplessly, unexplainably. To her, there was even a trace of honesty in his gaze.
Ara entertained her eyes looking at the countless books stored in the room's tall shelves, all of them old enough to have their pages of a yellowish color and smell like dust, she figured. Some of them had the title erased from their spine, but overall, they were perfectly conserved.
"So, how many times a day do you need to drink?" she asked him after a few minutes of complete silence had passed, still looking at the books.
"Well, it obviously depends on the quantity. But I'd say twice a day should be enough given the amount of blood I took out from you earlier" he explained, holding his inclined head with his hand as he glared at his lap. "I'm satisfied for now, but that wasn't enough to keep me full the entire day, you see".
"If you're satisfied now, then why did you ask me to feed you again?" she questioned him with a slight tone of indignation in her voice, this time turning her head to focus on him.
"I told you already, didn't I?" he started, the strange smile forming once again on his lips as he glanced back at her, meeting her eyes with a certain spark illuminating his. "Your blood is sweet".
The maid walked into the salon to announce that the meal was served, gesturing for them to go into the contiguous room. She gave him a sideway look before following him into the dining room. It was evident as soon as she walked in that the cook must have been a very talented person, because both the look and the smell of the food served over the long table were simply exquisite. It was a full meal, soup, salad, main course and dessert. It was obvious that several people had helped for them to be able of pulling out such complete display.
"Oh my, this looks delicious. It wasn't necessary so much work just for me, I appreciate it. Thank you" she said, talking to the maid who left the room immediately after performing a short bow.
They sat down at the table, Ara in front of the food and Add right next to her. She ate up silently and slowly, concentrating on enjoying the magnificent dishes prepared for her. Certainly, that kind of luxuries weren't something that she was used to. Once again, the comparison between the functioning of this castle and Chung's mansion fell short, even if the owner of her home was an important dignitary of the town. And that made her curious. How did Add manage to have so many resources if he couldn't have a real job?
"Tell me, Add, what do you do for a living?" she asked him, not being able to hold those questions inside her mind anymore.
"I stay inside all day and read. You couldn't possibly think I go out in the middle of the day to work, yes?" he answered, arching his brows slightly. "And I don't do any sort of work performed during the night, if that's what you're implying" he added with a soft snicker.
"Of course not, I'm no fool" she retorted, frowning. "But this is a big castle, you have a good amount of people under your service, you buy food, you hold balls once a month and overall, manage to live here without working. How come?" she explained her question further, gazing at him attentively.
"The fortune that allows all of that to happen is inherited, of course. Besides, I receive noblemen here from time to time, when they need a trusted doctor. And they pay, obviously" he said nonchalantly, shrugging it off as if it was nothing.
"You? You are a doctor?" she asked surprised.
"I've read a lot about medicine, ever since I was little, that's why" he said curtly, directing his attention to the flower vase in front of him, playing with the crimson petals of the roses between his fingers.
"Funny how you learnt so much about the human body, yet you don't even have a functioning one of your own" she commented with a soft and short laugh, getting back into eating her food.
He snickered.
Once the meal was over and the empty plates were retired of the table, they made their goodbye. She left the castle with a warm sensation spreading all over her body, feeling herself light. Even if she managed to speak to him freely, everything was still surreal to her. She couldn't completely believe that all of that was actually happening, happening to her, and if it was possible for her to behave normally it was probably because she still felt herself being in some kind of strange dream.
Before entering the mansion, she made sure her hair was covering her neck, knowing that those two small marks were going to give her away immediately if someone were to notice. Luckily, she didn't run into anyone when going to her bedroom. Surely all of her friends were busy in their own affairs, probably locked inside each of their rooms.
But just when she was about to open the door to her room, she sensed someone approaching and turned her head to find Elesis next to her.
"Good morning, Ara" she spoke dryly.
"Good morning to you too, Elesis" she answered the same way. A slight tension formed between them.
"I see you finished your business in town already".
"Yes". Her friend sent her one last glance, looking at her from head to toe, before walking past her and leaving. She didn't know why, but ever since the ball they attended together, Elesis had been acting strange, especially towards her. Cold looks, curt answers, long silences. It made her somewhat anxious.
Ara spent the rest of the day in her room, sleeping. She was feeling extremely tired and maybe a long nap would help her regain her energies for the nocturnal duty. Dozing off almost immediately after touching her bed, the rest of the day passed without her noticing, slipping from her hands. The mansion was oddly quiet all that time, as if the entire building had decided to take a break and sleep too. And like that, night time came along, covering the place with its shadows.
When the time came, she got ready along with everyone else in the group to go out and make their usual patrol over town. She was especially eager about it that day, since it had been almost a week ago when she and her teammates agreed about her taking a break from duty. Adrenaline was building up inside of her already, her heart beating rapidly with excitement. That night, she held her spear with more firmness.
The setting for their routine was the usual, separate ways and assigned locations. Everything was the same as it used to be, and yet a dark aura enveloped the whole group. None of them said a word or even exchanged a mere glance between each other before leaving the mansion. There was a certain tension lingering in the air that made Ara feel unsettled, uneasy. It was as if something really big was being held within them, something about to explode.
The same way everything was just like it had to be, Ara followed the same path she had traced over the years, recognizing the same houses, the same shops, the same streetlights illuminating the streets dimly. Except for one thing.
Approximately two blocks away from the mansion was a figure, leaning its back against a wall in a corner house. She recognized it too, that long white hair tied up in a high ponytail, those brilliant magenta eyes, that unmistakable white suit. Those eyes staring deeply at her, scrutinizing her as she got closer slowly.
"What are you doing here?" she found herself asking with a low tone, almost a murmur. He was supposed to not hunt for people anymore, so why was he there?
"Waiting" he responded merely, piercing through her eyes with his intent gaze. This time, there was something unsettling in the way he looked at her, something out of place. She felt her heart beating wildly. "I want more" he added, speaking in a whisper, getting closer to her slowly, closing the distance between them until their foreheads were nearly touching.
She stared at him right back, noticing the color of his eyes turning a bright red.
"Please" he insisted, almost begging. A sorrowful tone darkening his voice. He grabbed her shoulders gently, weakly, buried his face in her neck.
Ara felt something hot touching her skin, something wet dripping onto her. Tears.
A/N: I couldn't help but feel like they were talking about breastfeeding in the parts referring to the blood sucking. Sorry for putting that in your minds.
So anyway, let's go with the reviews:
nanashimai : Honestly, you're such a cutie . Thanks to you for making my day better with your comments!
Artemicon : I will, I will (:
GirlyTurtle : Hey, it HAD a reason, like when people faint when donating blood and that kinda stuff. Anyway, I'm really glad you enjoyed it
By all means, don't hesitate to leave your review, feedback, comments, impressions, feelings, hit me up with a pm or whatever. Everything is fine and welcomed and appreciated!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
See you soon!