Chapter 409: "I will spend the night with you!"
"I love you too," she muttered, shaking her head, amazed at how much her own mood could affect Rohan. She also hoped things would go well with his meeting with the vampire king, who was expecting the report of their visit to Aragonia.
During the days she had been in that miserable state, she had noticed how much he had seemed to suffer as well. But now, he was back to normal, even though she still fought every day to be as normal as she had been before they went to Aragonia.
Only, he had become so playful that she couldn’t always keep up with him. He always managed to lift her mood, not giving her a chance to be consumed by the nightmare of what had happened to Isabelle. Rohan’s playfulness had become his way of cheering her up.
She had no idea where he had learned it from, but whenever he got the chance to swat her behind, especially when she was wearing her nightdress since her day dress didn’t give him such easy access, he did it without hesitation. She had only ever managed to do it to him once, as he was far too quick to escape her reach whenever he landed his playful swat.
"Pervert!" Belle would yell whenever he smacked her and whistled, and he would roar with laughter at her reaction.
Now, she smiled tenderly, loving this side of him just as much as every other side. A husband being playful with his wife, it was something that made her heart feel full and light. His good mood was the reason she kept fighting for control over any emotions that weren’t her own.
"I hope everything goes well for us so we can go to the mountains," she whispered softly as she stared at the doorway he had left through.
Rohan had told her that he had left the humans with knowledge of the weapons, and that in no less than a year they might attack Nightbrook. During the war, he planned to find his way to the king and compel him to forget about him completely.
"You can do that?" she remembered asking him in surprise, that he could compel the vampire king himself.
"It will take my energy, as the vampire king is a pureblood," he explained. "But I can do it. I just have to get the Gaggers away and make them distracted by the war. He has the Gaggers as his personal guards now, and that is why it will be hard to reach and compel him. If a war breaks out, I can more easily get to the king because he will be moved to an underground safe house. By then, you and the rest will be safe up in the mountains."
Belle had asked him about his demon father, what if he tried to give away the information before the war like he had once done? And he had told her,
"He wouldn’t dare. He wants our son and me alive for his selfish reasons and wouldn’t risk giving the king any information that would put our lives on the line. I’ll handle him and get him off our backs once we reach the mountains."
He hadn’t told her in what way, but that was the plan, to be free, to build a permanent home for their family. Belle hoped and prayed with all her heart that it would work.
She looked out the window and saw that it would rain again tonight from the look of the dark, heavy clouds gathering above.
"Mama!" Angel called from where he was busy with his drawing.
Sighing softly, she wore a loving smile on her face when she heard her son call. She knew he was going to show her his drawing, the fifteenth one of the day so far, and she didn’t think she would ever get tired of looking at his awkward little drawings or of praising him for them.
"Let me see what you drew this time around, darling," she said with a delighted smile as she went down to sit next to him on the floor, looking down at the improved drawing with a proud sparkle in her eyes.
---
Meanwhile, in another chamber of the castle, Evenly stood in front of the window, looking out at the night horizon and how the many lamp lights from the vampire city and town brightened it. She let the damp wind blow through her hair and allowed her mind to wander to distant places.
Keeping a castle as big as this one clean without servants was much more work than she had ever done in her life, but strangely, she found more enjoyment in it than she ever had in doing anything else. She hadn’t realized how Nightbrook’s weather and atmosphere were so draining of life and lonely until she had been to Aragonia and then returned.
Though there had been danger in the human land, it was much more lively in its own way, for she was never alone for long the way she was here at night.
The work in the castle and being in Rav’s company every day made her happy, until she returned to her room alone again, and many depressing thoughts would creep in. For some reason, she missed sharing a room with him and Angel. But she knew those days were gone and would never come again.
Here, they were no longer husband and wife but more like strangers.
Since the time they had returned, she had begun to sleep alone and barely saw him during the day, as he shared their work, though he took the most part and always let her stay with Belle to do the lesser work together, the only moment she was in his company, she felt undescribable lightness.
As much as she wanted to spend her time away from thinking about Rav and doing other things like taking care of Angel like she did in Aragonia, the boy was growing way too fast that he seemed to no longer required carrying around as his little feet and wings carried him faster than anything.
Even when he came to her, it was only to show his drawing or his new clothes, and then he would run back to his mother, hanging around her skirt, tagging along with her, speaking in baby gibberish. Somehow, his mother understood every word, replying to him and laughing together. She, who had no understanding of their little language, could only watch and feel envious of the bond the mother and son shared.
Though she spent the day with Belle taking care of things in the castle and learning while helping to cook their meals, since the duke would only get servants by visiting the slave establishment and selecting new ones, whenever Angel was around, he was always looking for his mother and eating from her hands, leaving Evenly with nothing to do but think about her future plans.
As for Rav, he only treated her like an assistant or helper, speaking to her in a businesslike tone. The friendliness and warmth they had shared in Aragonia had been lost the moment they returned here.
They had been back for more than a week now, and she could feel she was starting to become lonely and depressed again at night, staying up for long hours thinking about what to do with her life as she couldn’t keep living off of the duke and his wife forever, she needed to also find something worthwhile that would make her never fall into this damping mood of loneliness.
She missed the times she had company around her all through the day and night. She missed sharing a room with Rav...
Evenly froze at the thought, barely aware of the flash of lightning in the sky, and before she could prepare for it, thunder rumbled overhead, startling her into moving away from the window. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and rushed to close it with shaky hands as another clap of thunder followed just a few seconds apart.
The first thing that came to her mind was to back away, cover herself with the blanket, and press her palms over her ears to shut out the noise. But then she remembered that day in Aragonia, how she had lain beside Rav, and how the sound of thunder had been non-existent then.
Evenly thought of calling Belle and Angel to spend the night in her chamber since she knew Rohan wasn’t around, but then she also remembered that he could return at any time during the night and call for his wife.
She didn’t think twice about her decision when another thunderclap sounded loudly. She ran out of her chamber and made her way to Rav’s room, the same room she had often found herself walking toward at night but never having the courage to knock before turning back.
Now, the moment she reached it, Evenly knocked frantically. It didn’t take long before Rav pulled the door open with a frown, but he didn’t even get the chance to speak before Evenly ran straight into his room and shut the door behind her.
"I will spend the night with you!" she said breathlessly, her chest rising and falling from the run.