The Vampire's Bride

"M-Master Orpheus—"

"It's Leo."

Mallory innerly sighed at the awkward request of the man who was slicing an apple.

"Master Orpheus, please eat. Pay no attention to me."

It had been less than ten minutes after Brian had left the two alone. It had been less than ten minutes that Leo kept his focus on Mallory.

Leo was slicing an apple for Mallory despite her pleads.

Mallory felt the lack of tears as she innerly panicked.

'What is this man doing?'

She did not understand the man and his thinking. If her family saw this, they would be horrified and would be sure that she, Mallory, would never be able to eat with another person ever again.

"You're too thin. You should eat more... Here." Mallory saw a slice of apple near her face, as she heard Leo's voice.

She gently pushed the man's arm as she said, "No, I'm fine, Master Orpheus..."

"Eat." Without any warning, Leo had shoved the apple in her mouth. Mallory could not do anything but chew.

Though he was dissatisfied to see the girl's ears had turned back to normal, seeing the girl eating what he had given her, Leo felt satisfied as he continued with his food. "And it's Leo. No need for formalities since we are alone."

Mallory had no intentions of obeying Leo's request so she stayed silent and started eating her food at a faster rate... She did not want to spend another second alone with him.... who knows what might happen if she did?

All this time, they were being watch by a certain butler, making sure that his Young Master was safe as he did not trust the girl completely yet. After all, she could just be buying her time and was looking for the perfect chance to strike. Maybe during their breakfast, he would see a few signs that could lead to something... unexpected.

And he did see some signs that led to... the unexpected.

Brian shook his head to erase the thought that entered his mind. He decided that he needed a few more days before he could come up to a conclusion.

His trail of thoughts were broken when he heard Leo's voice. "Brian, we are done."

Brian took a deep breath before entering the dining room. "You called, Young Master?"

"Yes. Start preparing clothes for... my guest. Be sure that she's comfortable in it. Prepare the car within fifteen minutes. We will leave as soon as possible," Leo paused as he glanced at the girl who had her head down before continuing, "Be sure to pack enough food."

"Yes, Young Master. Anything else?"

Leo did not reply. He looked at Mallory, quietly inquiring her if she needed anything else.

Mallory quickly understood the situation and shook her head. Leo retreated his gaze as he dismissed Brian. "No. That's all."

He stood up and grabbed Mallory by her arm, dragging her back to his room.

"Go and take a shower. We will go out early today. The clothes will be sent to you by a maid. We need to be at school early today."

Mallory was confused as she watched Leo opening his phone. "Early?"

Leo did not removed his gaze at his phone as he vaguely explained, "We need to meet the principal. Now go."

Mallory felt a chill going down her spine and she turned around and headed to the bathroom.

It wasn't until she was under the hot shower that she realized one thing...

Why was she taking a bath at the owner's bathroom and not at a guest room?

…

When Leo heard the shower from the bathroom, he quickly moved towards the balcony that was separated by a sliding door. Leaning at the side at the wall as he stared at the dark sky, he was waiting for his call to connect.

It only took three rings before the person on the other end answered.

"Hello, this is Jillion. Who is it?"

"Morning Jill, it's me."

"L-L-Leo?! Why are you calling early this morning? Oh God! Don't tell me you made another p—"

Leo's harsh voice cut Jillion form continuing. "Save it Jill. I'm not here to play around."

It was then that Jillion realized that the matter at the moment was something important and lowered his voice, "What is it? Is there a problem?"

"I need your help."

"Y-yeah?"

There was a moment of silence as Leo tried to shorten what he wanted to say. This silence was enough for Jillion to panic. Despite having a dry throat, Jillion made an effort to gulp... he was anticipating for the worse. Leo had rarely used this kind of tone...

Leo: "I need you to search for a certain person's information, a girl, and inform the principal of my sudden request to have a personal meeting."

Jillion: "T-That's it?"

Leo: "That's it."

Jillion: "..."

Jillion, who had his heart at his throat, suddenly almost had a heart attack. He was anticipating for the worse not for a man in love! Heck, this was something easier than he usually do!

Jillion clenched his fist as he asked for assurance, "Are you sure that THAT is all, my dear friend?"

"Yes, I am sure."

Jillion's countenance darkened at Leo's reply. He wanted to scold the person when he was suddenly cut by another person's voice... an unfamiliar one.

"M-Master Orpheus, has the maid arrive?"

Leo quickly ended their call. "Be sure to remind the principal and I'll send you the information later."

Before Jillion could realize what was happening, he heard a loud beeping sound. Leo had ended the call.

"F***! That guy actually ended the call?" Jillion was now wide awake.

He was a 1000% sure that the unknown person was a woman. A woman he did not know. Did his friend got a woman before him?

A smirk crept at Jillion's face. He will probably have a fun time messing around his friend.

[…]

Meanwhile, while Jillion was still cursing Leo, Mallory had finished preparing and was waiting for Leo to finish his shower. It hadn't even been three minutes when Mallory felt bored and looked around. She saw a bunch of paper and a pencil and decided to have fun.

She sat at a chair in front of a small table, trying to get her mind into thinking. Whenever she was bored, she would always write or draw. It could be doodle or other types of drawing. It could be a poem, a song or maybe a few stories.

And it was all based on her or the people around her.

She was thinking of writing a poem as she focused on finding her main theme. Suddenly, a name entered her mind, making her shiver.

It was her... ex-friend, Lula.

She felt her hand moving as she recalled all that happened.

She could still remember the day when she was happily walking down the hallway, looking for her friend. The rain was getting heavier at every second that had passed yet she decided to patiently wait for her friend as Lula had asked for her to walk home together.

It was a rare day as Lula rarely request for them to go home together since they had two different schedules.

Mallory was looking for her friend since she wanted to go home as soon as possible with her. She searched until she heard the familiar voice. She looked at the nurse room where the sound came from and opened the doors without any warning. Her smile was frozen stiff for a moment before being broken. Her eyes widened at the scene as she slowly read Lula's lips, hearing the exact words with a second delay.

Mallory felt her vision had gone blurred. Then she realized that her eyes were wet.

"D*mn!" Mallory whispered to no one but herself.

She didn't want to cry for her anymore... she didn't want to be hurt... she wanted to stop to care but couldn't... after all, it could only hurt you because you care for them.

Mallory let her head rest at the table as she tried to push the memories back in the darkest corners of her mind and heart. She had promised herself that she'd move on. She can't just go back on her decisions.

…

Around twenty minutes later, Leo had exited the bathroom, fresh from the shower. His hair was still dripping as he had a small towel lying at his shoulders. He looked at his bed but found no signs of Mallory. Then he heard faint snores as he looked behind him. There she was, lying at the table he treasured with her brows furrowed. He walked over cautiously, trying to not make a sound as he could hear her mumbling.

"Lula..."

... Lula?

Was that a food? A place?

Just as Leo was wondering 'what' Lula was, he heard Mallory continued mumbling, "Am sorry... Lula..."

Ah, so it was a person...

Leo stared at the girl whose facial features finally relaxed. He gently touch her visible wounds.

It had only been one night yet he felt closer to her than any of the time he had actually met her.

His fingers traced her eyebrows, nose, cheeks... until it stopped to hover just slightly above her lips.

He restrained whatever was trying to fight for the control of his body as he recalled a person's face.

She had beautiful, slightly wavy, black hair that reached a little higher than her stomach. Her gray eyes seemed to have seen through him, making him stand frozen. He could not forget her smile... her scent... she was and had always been, the perfect definition of idol for him... her skin was just... flawless.

And she would be always emitting her body fragrant just like pheromones. He loved it. He was addicted to it. It smelled like what he was smelling right now... sweet and gentle yet strong and unwavering...

Wait...

He was smelling it... right now?

Leo quickly woke up from his little trip when realized that it was indeed the same scent but just as he tried looking for it, it was gone. He did not even notice anything! It did not give him a chance to.

"Nnn--"

Leo looked at the girl who stirred up from her sleep. She sat properly and looked at the table, not minding Leo at all. She looked like she was still in a dream as her body trembled... mumbling incoherent thoughts...

It was only when Leo grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him in the eyes, did she broke from her trance.

Her teary eyes was filled with hope for a moment... before turning into a pool of confusion and fear...

Leo, at that moment, realized that the reason why her eyes had caught him was because he wanted to save her... to save her from falling deeper into the ocean...