"Primrose came to your house last night?"
Marlin lowers the newspaper in his hand, his ears perk up at the young lord's question.
"You're not meant to tell me that you didn't know about it?" the blond mage looks at Caleb "She didn't tell you anything?"
"She told me that she had a family gathering, and that was it." he raises an eyebrow "Was there something else?"
Marlin sighs, why does he always have to be the one who deals with Primrose and Caleb's problem? Where is Lumera when he needs her?
"What happened?"
Rubbing the sides of his head, the blond mage sighs exasperated. Lumera is better at storytelling, she can tell Caleb everything he wants to know about his lovely raven head. But she is not here and Marlin is too lazy to recall the ruckus his pupil caused last night. The only reason he is willing to talk to Caleb about this is how they share a similar style of practicality when it comes to dealing with problems, specifically if they relate to Primrose Emberlynn.
"Well, she was here crying her heart out about the dinner with her family."
"Cry-?! What happened?"
The calm expression on Caleb soon turns into worried the moment he hears that the water mage is crying.
Marlin tells him how Primrose's family, particularly Nathaniel, has found out about their little secret and the young Emberlynn is very upset that she decides to be with Caleb, despite being hurt by him in the past. They also know about his vampire heritage and are worried about the complexity of their current relationship. He also speaks about how the peaceful family gathering turned into a full-blown argument with Primrose trying to defend Caleb and his past actions and Nathaniel was not having any of his sister's reasons.
Caleb sighs, he knows that sooner or later, they will have to disclose this part of their relationship to her family, but the thought that it comes so soon unnerves him. He understands that they mean no harm, especially Nathaniel who adores his sister a lot and only wishes to protect her from any danger that comes her way. The thought of it makes him feel more guilty for putting his beloved in a tough situation as she had to face all the criticisms from her family by herself.
"What are you going to do about that now?"
"We have to wait for the heat to die down first. I don't want to put her in another tough situation, especially if it's between me or her family." Caleb gratefully accepts the tea from Marlin "Thank you."
"From what I know, Nathaniel is very vocal when it comes to his likes and dislikes, you might have to pay attention to that. It will be hard to change his opinion, but it's still manageable. However, there is someone who might be a tough obstacle for you to get through…" the blond mage swirls his teacup "Edward Emberlynn, even to this day, I can't see through what that man is thinking in his head."
The surprising fact now catches Caleb's attention. For a cunning man like Marlin to have a difficult time reading someone, that's the first time he ever heard about it.
Edward Emberlynn…
"Anyway, what brings you here in the first place anyway?"
Caleb snaps out of his pondering thoughts and realizes why he is here, at Glimmerbrook School of Magic. With the upcoming party at House Cent's manor, he is skeptical about taking Primrose with him. While he takes in Lilith's kind advice on how he should prepare the water mage for what obstacles that come their way, the thought of exposing her to the harsh prejudice makes him reluctant to do so.
"You're worried about what the noblemen will say about her?"
"Worried is one thing, I am more concerned of what danger they might put her in just to make Primrose prove her worthiness of being House Vatore's lady."
Even when Caleb is a prominent leader in Forgotten Hollow and is admired by the masses, there are still some individuals who wish to have control over him. House Cents, in particular, shares the same views as them. Despite the long history of their alliance, Inna Cents is still under the influence of the elder council within her family.
While those vampires share the same vision as him in terms of living in harmony with mortal beings, they are still traditionalists who believe that vampires are superior to humans and the preservation of the pure bloodline is the most important thing. House Cents has tried to hook him up with Inna but failed many times, and even when they don't share any romantic interest, Inna is still under their influence to find him a pureblood mate to protect his family bloodline. They are afraid that if he chooses a human bride, Forgotten Hollow might fall under the mortal's influence and wipes off the existence of vampire in the possible future.
"They are worried too much, but I can see why…"
Despite living peacefully with humans, many people sign themselves up to be supernatural hunters and vow to wipe off the existence of all supernatural beings in the world. It is an ambitious dream, one that might never happen, but almost everyone is fearful of the possibility. In the world of supernaturals, families like the Vatores thrive the most with a pureblood leader as they inherit the family's unique ability like blood manipulation. If Caleb chooses to take Primrose as his bride, it will be detrimental to the future of House Vatore.
In the history of House Vatore, some heirs married a human and were only able to produce a half-breed child, this caused the heir to lose their privilege and they had to step down from leadership. Although there are some rare cases in which a human and vampire can bear a full-blood child, the probability is so small that they dismiss it entirely. Within the long history of the Vatore family, only two leaders were able to give birth to a vampire with a human mate.
In the case of Caleb Vatore, it is even more complicated. His sister, Lilith, is married to Kian Vatore, formerly known as Kian Straud, the disowned son of the Straud family. Many are afraid that if Caleb's offspring are not pureblood, the responsibility will fall onto Lilith and Kian since they are both vampires. However, they don't want the heir of house Vatore to share the same blood as their enemy.
Since the fall of House Straud during the Vampire Civil War, there are still those who stay loyal to Vladislaus Straud, even after his demise under the hands of Caleb Vatore. If a child who shares his blood becomes the heir of the family, the vampire world fears that these loyalists might get their hands on the child and inject them with rebellious thoughts which can later cause another war to happen.
"So what are you going to do?" Marlin asks him again, this time with an even more serious tone "You either going to show Primrose this gruesome side of the vampire society, or you can just let her go, like how you did last time."
Marlin might be nonchalant about his pupil's relationship with the vampire lord, but he is truly concerned about Primrose. Unlike Lumera who becomes her emotional pillar, the blond mage's approaches her with more practical advice, unwavering even if it can hurt her feelings. In the world of supernaturals, he must prepare Primrose to see the good and bad side of this life, especially when she is more in tune with her human nature.
"What are you talking about? I'm not leaving her, not anymore." Caleb's brows knit together as he voices his objection "I'm not making the same mistake as last time. Never again."
"Then you have to show her your world, lord Vatore. She needs to know, you can't shelter her forever." setting down his teacup with a loud clank, he looks at the vampire lord "She is not a mere child that needs protection. If you truly love her and want to protect her, Primrose needs to know the truth. She needs to know what she is getting herself into. Your love might be strong but is it strong enough for both of you to face the challenges ahead?"
Marlin sighs, thinking about his pupil again. Primrose, his proud student… Never in his life, he would think that he was pushing her into this mess. But she needs to know and understand ways to navigate through these challenges.
"It's up to you to decide, Caleb."
Caleb looks at his reflection in the teacup, sighing. He wishes that it would be like this, that they can just live a normal life like two people who are in love with each other, that no challenges are coming their way to test their love. But he doesn't have that kind of privilege…
To continue his visions, his parent's goal, the success of house Vatore. To continue this harmonious life between vampires and humans. To preserve and protect his and Primrose's relationship, he must show her the gruesome and dark side of the vampire society. If he truly loves and wants a future with her, Primrose must know about all of this.
"I have a request, Marlin. Will you hear me out?"
"I'm listening…"
"House Cents's party will occur at the end of this month. Can you and Lumera attend it? I want Primrose to have as much support as she can."
Marlin thinks about it for a couple of minutes and nods, giving his approval. Lumera might not like it, but if it means helping her dear pupil, his wife will agree to the task. Caleb sighs in contentment, now that he has Marlin and Lumera on his side, the next thing he must do is to ask Primrose to be his date for this upcoming party.
Primrose steps out of her apartment the moment she hears her neighbor's door unlock. She has been sitting on the sofa, pondering her thoughts of what and how she can show her family that Caleb has changed and how history will not repeat itself. But the more she thinks about it, her head becomes spinning at how complicated the ordeal is. So when she hears that Caleb is back from work, Primrose wastes no time seeking his guidance and words of advice.
"Caleb!"
"Primrose, hello there…" his tiredness fades away the moment he sees her "What's wrong?"
Her troubled expression is the only thing he needs to bring Primrose inside his place and sits her on the sofa. Hanging his doctor's coat neatly on the rack, Caleb loosens his tie before making himself comfortable next to her.
"I went to my parents' house for dinner last night."
"How was it?"
She chews on her bottom lips nervously, unsure how to say. In her mind, she thinks of Caleb as someone who can give her advice on her problems but now, this case also includes him. Will it be weird for her to tell him that her family has a bad impression of him?
"What's wrong Primrose?"
"N-nothing…"
She jumps when a finger touches her knitted eyebrows, moving it gently so she finally relaxes. He knows that she has a habit of chewing her lips and knitting her brows whenever she is nervous, and the light in her eyes becomes dim when she lies about something. A lot of people say how bad of a liar she is, but Caleb finds her open expression endearing as if the raven head doesn't care what people might think about her.
Primrose has always been the one who wears her heart to her sleeves…
"You are a very bad liar, you know that?" pinching her nose lightly, he smiles "You know you can tell me, right?"
She pouts a bit, unsure at first. It is only in times like this that she is not a bundle of nerve around him. Primrose trusts him, and she knows that he will understand her problems. Having lived for hundreds of years, Caleb must know the complexity of issues like this, when a family disapproves of someone's relationship.
Hugging her knees against her chest, she takes a deep breath and reveals what happened at the dinner, how Nathaniel was questioning her relationship with him, and how her parents seemed to leaning towards her young brother's side. She mentions his apology but is having a hard time forgiving him for how hurtful his words were.
"He just wants to protect you, Primrose."
"I know that, but…"
The thought of them disapproving of her relationship with Caleb still hurts, even though they are only starting to get to know each other. Primrose agrees that she should have told them the truth from the start, maybe the revelation of their past could have been more tolerable. Now, Nathaniel outright tells her that he doesn't like Caleb or the idea of her being with him.
"It's okay, we will find a way, somehow." kissing her knuckle gently, he murmurs against her skin.
"How can you be so calm about this?"
She wishes she could be just like him, always wearing a nonchalant expression, even when facing difficulties. It is annoying yet soothing as well, his composure helps her stay grounded without overthinking this situation.
"It takes time, but you will learn it eventually."
"Old man…"
Caleb chuckles, pulling her closer as he wraps his arms around her, securing the hold tightly. The close connection makes her flustered but she doesn't deny his embrace and instead, leans more onto him. His tall figure easily shields her from all the harm that comes her way and the young lord wishes that they can stay like this forever, he wants nothing more than to give Primrose the love and happiness she truly deserves. But if he wants to be with her, then he must be honest and tell her about what she should be expected to experience staying by his side.
"Primrose, there is something I want to tell you."
"Yes…?"
Raising her head, onyx orbs lock onto his silver ones, her hands are on his chest with his wrapping around her protectively. She doesn't know what happened, but Caleb seems to be sad…
"Caleb…?"
Reaching her hand and caressing his face, worries fill her eyes as she sits still, waiting for what he has to say, Smiling fondly, he leans onto her touch more, rubbing his cheeks against her palm. He must tell her the truth if he wants to protect her.
"There is a party at the end of this month that I want you to join me…"
And Caleb talks about House Cents's invitation, how they will host a party for the most elite vampires in Forgotten Hollow, how the party is meant to introduce him to a potential mate, and how he wants to take her there with him.
When he mentions a potential mate, her heart sinks, but she maintains calm and continues to listen to him.
"If you don't want to come, then I won't force you." his grip on her tightens "There will be many vampires there who still haven't let go of their prejudiced ideas and I don't want you to get hurt because of them."
"T-then why did you ask me to come with you?" she asks with concern in her voice "Surely, there has to be another reason, right?"
He sighs, holding her closer, hoping that the warmth of her mortal body can ease the tension in his heart.
"I want to show them that there is already someone I hold dear to my heart."
Primrose blushes at his words, her heart flutters with joy. Caleb always surprised her with such heartfelt confessions like this and she could feel butterflies in her stomach, her grip tightened on his shirt.
"But I need to tell you the truth about my world, my people, and the values we hold, especially when it comes to relationships between a human and a vampire."
Caleb speaks about the prejudice, the traditional thinking, and how pureblood is valued, especially when it comes to prominent families like his. Many vampires try to push a marriage onto him, telling him that he must bear a pureblood heir to House Vatore. While the idea of half-breed is tolerable within the confine of the family, the vampire society as a whole can not handle such progressive thoughts.
"But I choose you, I choose to be with you, and only you."
Because of that, Caleb must show his people that his choice is right, that Primrose is more than just a potential mate, she is the person who he holds dear to his heart. On the subject of future offspring and pureblood inheritance, he must find a way to change the minds of these traditionalists. He must show them that his beloved is worthy to be the Lady of the House.
"Caleb…"
Primrose has never thought about this. She knows the prejudice is there, but the thought of how much trouble she will face ahead if she chooses to be with Caleb is almost too much to bear. And here she is, talking about her family's objection like it is the most important thing to them right now, she never knew that he has to endure all of these expectations from his kind.
The water mage bites her bottom lips, she is too insensitive and self-centered to even realize that there is more than meets the eye.
But Primrose chooses him, just like how he chooses her. If it means that their relationship can thrive, she is willing to put herself in danger to prove that love is more than just a marriage contract on a piece of paper…
"I'll go with you." she whispers, just enough for both of them to hear "I'll be your date."
"Are you sure? I don't want to force you or anything Prim-"
She stops him, a finger gently placed on his lips.
"I want to, for you and for us."
Her words, filled to the brim with fondness and adorations, pull his heartstrings as Caleb embraces her, hand brushing on her soft raven locks as if to seek his own solace within her existence. Taking in a deep breath, he can't help but want to protect her even more. He is asking too much of her, but she says yes to everything.
"I promise that I will always be by your side, Primrose. No one can harm you, not in my watch."
"I know…" resting her head on his chest, she smiles "I know you will…"