Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

Belle sat at the edge of her small bed with a blank parchment and ink in hand, biting the inside of her cheeks in thought. Her father had brought the parchment and ink to her an hour ago to write her report. Her thoughts had been all jumbled and unable to settle in one place to write, or even to think about how to begin writing the report. Rohan had told her to write what she knew and that it didn't matter whatever it was, even the truth.

Though she had not spoken about it, Belle knew a lot of things now. She had been to Bimmerville, she had seen what weapons they used. The man in the basement…

A shudder went through her body as she remembered the man she had killed in the basement but had never spoken about, because it seemed unreal, and talking about it would make it real. She had somehow killed that man, and up until now, she couldn't actually tell how she had managed to do it or why she held no remorse in her heart for her actions.

The man had carried a sword that had a wooden edge, and he had said piercing it into her chest would kill her, which meant a piece of wood to the chest could kill a vampire. There was also the liquid the people of Bimmerville used and the firearms with different kinds of bullets that were silver in color. She was knowledgeable in what could kill a vampire more than she had been a year ago, but should she really give them all this information?

Rohan had not told her what to do, actually; he had left the decision in her hands and told her she could choose to give the real report or the fake one. He had looked nonchalant and did not seem to mind, probably because he had no one he cared about in Nightbrook if a war happened and Aragonia attacked.

The report wasn't the only thing that disturbed her mind this night, it was the feeling of being alone that consumed her heart even more. She had not been able to speak to Evenly or even to Rohan after supper; everyone had gone their way, and she had been told by her mother to stay back and help Anna and the others clear the table, where she hadn't even sat to eat.

Though Belle had not touched the custard and bread, she was starving now and doubted if she would be able to actually sleep with an empty stomach and with overflowing breast milk that had stained her chemise by the time she had stepped out of the tight, uncomfortable dress.

She missed her son so much that she knew seeking him out was totally out of the line. Wherever he was inside this house, it was best she did not go and find him. With how her family had not changed towards her, she knew the best thing to do was to carry on this sham and pray for time to pass fast so they could leave this land behind.

With how much they did not like her, she knew if the slightest opportunity to punish and get rid of her presented itself, Belle was pained and afraid that they would grab it and send her to the dungeon, locked away forever, and then words would reach the vampire king about their son. Rohan would also get in trouble and her son would be…

No, she would not seek him out, even if she would have to press out all the milk to feel light and better before sleep.

Knowing that she could not escape the writing of the report anymore, Belle sighed and looked at the blank paper with the ink dripping from the edge of the quill. It had dropped on it and dried up now. She bit down on her lip in contemplation as to what to write first, when she heard a sound at her window and jumped up from the bed with a start.

She turned around to see a shadow behind her curtains and the window being closed after the person had entered. She would have panicked that an intruder was entering her room, but then no human could get this far up, and only one person could do that.

A smile of relief graced her lips when the person moved the curtains aside and stepped into the light of the three burning candles in her room. Her smile bloomed into a grin when she noticed Rohan had not just come into her room but held their son in his arms, whose eyes brightened as they set on her, and he turned away from his father's arms and waved his little hands towards her.

"Na-ma," came Angel's baby voice, bubbling with the excitement of finally seeing his mother.

"My baby!" She exclaimed.

"Hello, love," Rohan greeted with a smile as Belle hurried towards them and stood on the tip of her toes to hug them together, burying her face into his warm arm.

"I miss you too," Rohan chuckled, holding her body to him with his other arm, hearing from her heart how much she missed them even without saying the words out.

"I thought you wouldn't find a way to come," Belle mused as she moved back and raised her hands to cup his jaw, but he turned his lips and kissed the inside of her palm as he replied.

"I promised to sneak Angel to you, I had to keep to that promise. Besides, the little rascal was already throwing a tantrum after waking up from his nap," Rohan told her as the baby started to bounce in his arms, eager for his mother's attention and for her to hold him.

"Calm down, Max," Rohan muttered as he passed the eager baby to his wife, and she took him into her arms and hugged him close, kissing his hair and cheeks and then his forehead. The baby giggled happily as if he wasn't the same boy crying his throat out in the room Rav and Evenly were staying.

Rohan had heard his voice even before reaching the room after returning from his visit to the Marquis, but thankfully the chamber was so far inside that his voice wouldn't have reached the humans. The moment he saw his father, his teary, sad eyes had brightened, and he'd leapt into his arms, resting his head against his father's shoulder, his small body still trembling from the aftermath of his cries.

Rohan had wiped his tears with his thumb and then caressed his chubby cheeks as the baby had begun to speak in baby gibberish, as if trying to tell him something or complain about being left alone to nap in the room.

"Yes, I know, son," Rohan had pretended to understand what he was saying, and Angel had continued, and then, as if tired, he sighed and let his head fall against Rohan's shoulder as he muttered, "Na-ma,"

Now, he watched as the baby laughed in his mother's arms as she tickled him with kisses and hugged him. The sight brought a strange warmth to his heart, the sight of a mother showing affection to her son without restraint, happy to finally have him back in her arms, something he had never witnessed nor experienced before: a mother's affection. Though he had outgrown that longing so long ago, watching his wife and son now, he felt a pang pinch at his heart and he became envious and proud at the same time.

Envious because he was certain his son would never grow up not knowing his parents' love and affection, and proud because the boy was his, a part of him, someone to whom he could finally give that love that had been deprived from him as a baby.

Rohan thought with a faint smile, letting his eyes wander around the small room while reining in his unexpected emotions at the sight of his wife and son.

The small bed was pushed against the far wall, with a faded wooden divider beside it for bathing space on one side. The walls were a dull yellow, the paint worn and chipped, with faint writing etched into the left side as though from a restless, lonely hand.

There was a candle holder on the wall, where three candles burned brightly, flickering.

There were no decorations, nothing warm, just a plain, bare space that made his eyes silently harden, for it said more than words ever could about how she had been treated in this place. Two of them had so much in common; they never received the love of their parents.

"Have you given him blood?" Belle's voice snapped him back to focus, and he found her looking up at him as she held Angel with one arm and tried to unfasten her chemise strings with the other to feed him.

He belatedly realized she wasn't wearing a proper nightdress at all but an old chemise, it thin fabric clinging to the ripe, round mold of her breasts. Her nipples pressed against the fabric, peaked and straining, their rosy tips visible through the worn cloth. The sight made his throat tighten all of a sudden, and he swallowed hard, heat stirring inside him despite himself.

Her oval-shaped face was flushed, her cheeks glowing a tender rose, and under the warm light of the candles, her skin shone smooth and soft, almost luminous. She waited patiently for his answer, unaware of how his gaze had lowered, drawn helplessly to the swell of her chest and the outline her chemise did nothing to hide.

"Rav told me he fed from Evenly," he said at last, noticing at once the way his wife's eyes widened in shock. "Was that why she looked sick at supper?"

Belle had noticed something wasn't right with the vampiress, but she had never thought her son had something to do with it. Rohan told her how it had happened, and she gasped and turned her gaze to the innocent red eyes of her son, who was eager for her to nurse him and pulling at the front of her dress impatiently, as if whatever they were talking about had nothing to do with him.