Valerian Empire

Not a second later she found him sitting on her window sill rubbing his nose.

“What are you doing throwing things from the window?” he asked her.

The Lord had gone out and he wondered if the woman had picked up a new hobby.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect my throw to be so accurate. I only wanted to call you,” she apologized and he waved her hand.

“How was your day lady? I heard you went to the council’s meeting,” Malphus said hopping on the ground and walking to the table to get a fruit from the basket, “Enjoyed the evening?”

Malphus and Katie had turned out to be friends as time had passed. Like many others she trusted him. Their relationship was different compared to the one’s she had with the other workers. It was as if he knew about her which was mostly because she was the one to speak the most.

“I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it but it was eventful,” she replied making him cock his head to the side.

“How so?”

“There was really good food but I couldn’t eat it because some of them kept staring at me,” she sulked making him laugh.

“Why, what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything. Lord Alexander kissed me in front of the whole lot before dinner,” she said while Malphus took another bite from the apple. It wasn’t a normal kiss, a kiss on the neck was an intimate one.

“Isn’t that a good thing,” he asked licking his finger as the apple’s juice seeped out, “Don’t fret over it little lady. This way everyone knows to back off from both of you,” but it did put her in danger.

What was his Lord thinking?

Possibly someone might have tried to grab the girl’s attention and men being men had a tendency to mark their territory. True that the man had his eyes only on her but he doubted that Lord Alexander did it just to claim her.

With the small amount of time he had known Lord Alexander, he knew the man must be up to something.

“I met Lord Nicholas and Lord Norman’s younger son named Silas,” she said making Malphus look up at her now, “The head council happened to give a long thanks to all the Lord’s and then winded up the evening.”

“It seems like a routine of the council. They never change,” he said finishing the apple in his hand.

“Have you been to the council, Malphy?” Katie asked him taking the book he had placed on the table.

“A common man like me wouldn’t know about it, lady,” he said trying to pick something in his teeth. Taking the jug and drinking water from it.

Looking at the cover of the book she felt her interest pique. The cover read ‘Moon signs’.

“How did you acquire this one? I thought these books were banned,” she asked him confused.

“They are banned. Being a human and a ghost has its own perks. I stole it from someone,” he said it with a grin, “The man lied when he said he didn’t have it. I’m letting him keep up his word. Now he actually doesn’t have it.”

“So what are you?” Katie asked him like a child making him smile at her excitement.

“I’m a bear,” he answered and she flipped the pages until she found the bold heading that read ‘Bear’ on it.

He saw her read it in silence. Her eyes moving across the lines with interest. It was a long time since someone cared to know about him.

He had heard from one of the men in the shed how Katherine had ended up in the mansion when she was a little girl. Her parents were killed the same time he had died.

“There are really nice things about the bear,” he heard her speak as she flipped the next page.

“Of course it is. I am a nice person,” he huffed and she gave him a pointed look.

“Says the person who stole a book. You do sleep a lot!” She said it as though she found the location of a treasure in the page and before she could read anymore he pulled the book out of her hand, “Hey! I wasn’t done reading.”

“I will let you borrow it once I’m done reading,” he said closing the book.

Katie got on the bed and looked at the ghost staring outside the window. She often wondered what he was thinking when he had that distant look in his eyes.

“Malphy?”

“Yes, little lady.”

“Isn’t it funny that we lived in the same village long ago,” she said and he hummed in response, “You have sharp canines. Were you turned?”

“I was bitten by a bunch of wolf breeds,” he said to which she nodded her head.

“Caviar was bitten too. Were people accepting then? I mean it was a human village,” she asked him.

“I don’t know. I was an antisocial person at that time and it was a place I had moved to,” he replied to her question.

“So you weren’t originally from the village?” She asked confused to which he chuckled.

“I don’t remember telling you that. I did live there for an year but no to answer your question I wasn’t born there.”

“Why did you move?”

“You should be nicknamed as a question book,” he said getting up from the chair he had been sitting all this time, “I didn’t fit into my perfect human family. I had turned to a monster and therefore I left. The end,” it seemed like he didn’t want to speak about it and Katie dropped the questions for the day.

She hadn’t meant to upset him and she had been merely curious as Malphus was not the type to talk about himself.

“Did you know that the humans also come under the moon signs,” he changed the topic.

“I thought it was only for the creatures of the night,” she said and he shook her head.

“The moon signs are based on more than just the date of birth. The moons that revolve around and appear are to be considered into the account. I being the nice bear found out which one you belong to,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Which one am I?” She asked it in a whisper like it was a secret.

“You are a butterfly, little lady. A rare one,” and he wished her goodnight, leaving her to sleep.