Chapter 43, Trouble Is My Middle Name, But In The End I'm Not So Bad

"SO!" Greok said cheerfully. "Should we play cards or something or should we split up for our couples alone time now?"" The self-satisfied look on the goblin's face as he regarded him with amusement dancing in his black eyes made Ballan scowl. Greok was simply loving this too much.

"It's so nice that we can double date now and do fun things like cards," Greok's little elf girlfriend gushed. "Miss Dora has many board games she has shown Leaf. Leaf is sure we could borrow some. Leaf particularly enjoys one called Clue! It is all about solving a murder."

Ballan smirked. "That one is easy. I can already tell you it was me or Greok. And cards are boring." While Leaf had turned out to be far braver than Ballan had initially given her credit for, she was far too well-meaning, which tended to make his brain itch.

"Board games can be fun, but he's right about the cards," Hydra agreed apologetically. Ballan shot her a grateful look as Leaf and Greok exchanged a silent glance of mock horror.

"Well as we currently have no board games, Leaf thinks perhaps we should separate for our private time."

"Sounds hot... I mean wise," Greok said, tossing her a smirk as her cheeks heated crimson.

"Please!" Ballan groaned. "Not in front of the children." Hydra chuckled as Greok and Leaf left with their arms around one another's waists.

"Good night," Leaf sang out. "And Hydra, it's so nice to have you around. Now Leaf won't be the only nonvampire who is on the wrong schedule." She giggled.

It hit Hydra then that though she would have to be on the 'right' schedule for two more weeks, after that, all bets were off, and she likely would end up quite nocturnal. Playing in a band plus dating a vampire nearly made that a certainty. Ah well, she reasoned. She'd always liked the night, so it should be an easy adjustment. Ballan could easily read these thoughts without trying as well as most of her other thoughts if she focused on them for longer than a second or two.

Though it may make for an embarrassing and uncomfortable conversation, he should probably mention that to her. He wasn't trying to invade her privacy or head space, but when she focused so intently on him, and she did so often, it was nearly as if she shouted into his head. Not that he particularly minded, because though it was strange it was equally intriguing. If he didn't find her so captivating, her admiration of him could actually be infuriating, but as he was drawn to her, it was disconcertingly baffling instead.

"Thank you," she called back to Leaf. "Goodnight."

Ballan did not speak until they heard Greok's bedroom door close with a quiet click. "Well," he said a bit awkwardly."Is there anything you need? Food or something?" Looking after guests as a slave was something he knew well, but looking after his own was something entirely new. He'd never had guests before.

Hydra knew she should be hungry, as she hadn't eaten since lunch, but she wasn't. She shrugged. "I ate earlier. I'm good for now. If I get hungry, I'll just pop home and grab something from the kitchen."

"If you're sure," Ballan said. "I did take a bit of blood earlier," he reminded her pointedly. "And that is supposed to weaken people, so I thought perhaps you should eat something to regain your strength." She found the gruff hesitancy in his voice and demeanor endearing. Hydra knew that he was not accustomed to trying to consider someone else in such a way. Ballan chuckled. "I have never left anyone alive before from whom I have taken blood unless we are counting Dora." When a vampire was turned, they had to drink from their maker after said maker drained them nearly to death.

Ballan was a strong vampire because he and Greok were turned by Regulus's maker rather than he or Kreacher. Dora was over two-thousand years old and as such her blood was strong. Any of her fledglings were stronger than those turned by younger vampires as a result.

"Not only that," Hydra teased. "But I have a feeling that you don't shag those from whom you drink blood either." She chuckled and Ballan snorted."Now that's a horrifying picture. You should see some of the people I've killed. Not at all pretty." Placing his hands on her waist, Ballan turned her around on his lap to better peer into her face. Somehow the sight got him distracted enough to lose track of his thoughts and kiss her. The kiss was deep and a little hard, though not quite rough. Hydra sighed, leaning into him. She appreciated the natural way he moved even if it was not gentle, and this served to make him more at ease with touching her. "Never killed pretty people?" She wondered when he at last drew back.

"You are pretty, Little Hydra. I have never thought of anyone else in such a way."

Hydra blinked in surprise. "Really? You've never thought of another girl as pretty?""

Ballan shrugged, giving a dry chuckle. "I don't think about others much. I do not relate to them."

"But you relate to me," Hydra murmured thoughtfully. As she spoke, she placed her hands on his forearms. Odd was the knowledge of how she relished the feel of him under her hands. "I tried not to notice you, actually," he found himself admitting honestly. "You were so pretty. It was dangerous. I was more comfortable pretending that you didn't exist." Honestly he had never thought of it like that until speaking of it aloud, but it did not make the words any less true. "You were not in my league, and that was just fine with me."

She leaned closer, brushing her lips across his. He could hear her heart racing at his nearness and his own heart responded along with other body parts. "You are the only man in my league, actually," she said before kissing him. That was when the conversation stopped. At least the bit that involved words. Their hands roamed freely over one another's bodies, getting to know unexplored territory, as their mouths devoured each other with a rising hunger.

Eventually the fact that they were still wearing clothing became a pressing inconvenience and Ballan stood with Hydra in his arms. He certainly didn't want Greok's little girlfriend to come out of his room for a drink of water or something and catch them going at it in the armchair. "I apologize in advance for the unremarkable state of my bedroom," he said as he carried Hydra in that direction. "And what I mean by this is I sleep in a coffin rather than a bed. The good news is that it is a human sized coffin, so we shall have plenty of room to do other things in it."

Hydra giggled against his shoulder. "I never thought of a coffin as erotic before, but I'm completely open to changing my mind," she said.

"As am I," he agreed. He entered his darkened room, pausing to kick the door shut before approaching his coffin. Dora had provided him and Greok with matching ones on their first night as newly turned vampires. It was the only item in the sparse chamber aside from the wardrobe that held his few tunics. He was an elf of few needs and saw no need to change that. He opened the coffin's lid with a spell and gently lowered Hydra to the plush red velvet inner lining. The way her long black hair looked as it fanned out across the red caused him to catch his breath in appreciation. Gods, but she was beautiful!

The mix of human and elf that made her what she was, was at the same time foreign and familiar in a way he found more than tantalizing. Hair was prettier than no hair, he decided. He'd never found Leaf particularly attractive, or any other elves for that matter. He had never fancied humans either, but Hydra was something else entirely. She was elf but with hair and that odd mix of human elf features that made her nearly other worldly in his eyes. So unapproachable until now. Now her hair fanned across the red velvet of his coffin called to him to approach at once.

The fact that the velvet lining was red was useful to hide blood stains. Dora was ever practical, a thing Ballan could always appreciate considering he'd fallen asleep more than once in a blood spattered tunic. He'd never expected to have anyone else in his personal sleeping space, so it would have been surreal had he not had other things so strongly on his mind. His new and insatiable hunger for this girl had nothing to do with blood. He had allowed himself to go wild when becoming a vampire. To live every violent fantasy against humans that he'd ever had and then some. Now he wanted to go wild on Little Hydra in an entirely non-violent way and he was fully prepared to indulge himself because of how much she clearly wanted him to do so. Suddenly he found himself recalling the words of the song she'd sung to him at the Hog's Head about giving her all his true hate that she would translate into never seen passion in their bed.

Several hours later, they lay tangled together, pleasantly exhausted. "I like the coffin," Hydra murmured sleepily and Ballan chuckled. Sitting up, he reached for the blanket that was crumpled at the far end of the coffin at their feet. Dragging it over them, he allowed his body to snuggle into hers as it strangely wanted to do. Hydra gave a contented sigh as she trailed a hand across his chest. "You are just as I thought you would be," she said dreamily as her eyes drifted closed.

The sun was rising, so Ballan's own eyes followed suit. "I had no idea what to expect from you, but you are quite unlike anyone I have ever known," he said. He knew things were changing for him when he was disappointed to find himself alone upon waking in the evening. He knew she had to return to her Hogwarts,but the odd feeling of loneliness that struck him upon waking without her warmth at his side was not logical. He sighed, reaching around on the floor for the tunic he'd discarded the previous night. Not until he was dressed did he notice the folded note Hydra had left in the coffin.

Ballan,

I hate leaving, but I will see you as soon as I am able. Write me if you feel like it. I am trying not to be weird and clingy, but I find myself missing you already. You look cute when you sleep by the way.

Ballan snorted, then continued reading.

I got a note from the Daddies. They saw the stars, but others that they have asked to share relations in the elf woods did not. Thus far it was Wulfric and Graven and Mag and Severus. That last one is disturbing for me,but I am moving on.

Could you ask Greok and Leaf to have their private time there tonight? Have them write The Daddies with the results, or Leaf can write me. Either way is fine. It will be interesting to see if the forest responds to all elves or just my family. I am sorry for all this weirdness, and that you and I are in the middle of it. It is rather embarrassing, but I suppose we have to figure out what it means. If there is to be weirdness, I am glad that it is with you.

Yours,

Hydra

Those last words made Ballan smile. He found himself folding the note and tucking it into the bottom of his wardrobe for whatever reason. As he left the room to deliver the message to Leaf and Greok, he realized that he was ravenous. He would certainly be depleting the number of Muggles on the streets tonight. The flat was empty aside from himself, so he left a note on the kitchen counter near the tea pot where Leaf was sure to find it, suggesting that the two shag in the elf woods asap and report to Kreacher and Regulus if the stars came out for them. As Ballan wrote, he couldn't help grinning at the unbidden mental image of Leaf's flushed face when she read it.

As he left the flat to embark on his evening hunt, he replayed Hydra's letter over in his mind. It was more than passing strange to find himself in the midst of this Elf Woods thing, but it did not feel as unnatural as he may have expected it to. In fact, it almost felt natural, nice even.