.
Belle had never heard about it. She grew up without hearing a whisper about it yet it felt like what she was able to experience now had been walking next to her, side by side without her knowledge until now.
Somewhere deep down she was worried to close her eyes and let herself slip into sleep. There was no telling if she would be sleeping or walking in the land of the dead. The memory of what had happened to Marie worried her. Marie had no family of her own and she was an orphan. From what she had known of the maid who had worked for her family, she was a good person, and to think what had become of her was slightly more than disturbing.
She had never thought about anything like that before and now it seemed she had to keep a watchful eye of what was around her. Belle knew there was an old library that collected information but she doubted it would give the answers she was seeking. The only person who knew was Lucas that made her question from where he had acquired the knowledge on it.
So far with what she had noticed, the black vapor that she saw wasn't a good sign. A person who was surrounded by it died. Like a shadow of death that was following the person.
When morning arrived, Belle could hear her parents speaking to each other. Belle stepped down the stairs and made her way down to the kitchen to grab something to eat from there before she was scolded by the butler to go to the dining room where the food would be served and not eat in the kitchen which was where the servants ate.
"I don't think food has any place, Lucas," she said to him with a piece of bread hanging in her mouth while the butler ushered her out.
"If you want to eat, I will have the table ready right away."
Belle stepped out of the kitchen with Lucas following behind her and she asked him, "Did they get any news on Olivia?" Belle didn't address the vampiress with the t.i.tle of Lady knowing that Lucas knew how she felt about the pureblooded vampiress, "Do you think it's the witches who got her?"
"No news so far. Once the council finds out we should know,," he answered her solemnly.
"I see. Even Mr. Fluffs has gone missing. Have you by any chance seen him?" Belle asked him. It wasn't that Belle needed her rabbit with her while sleeping but she was used to having the toy in her room.
"I had taken him with me," Belle raised her eyebrows not knowing why, "I noticed his arm had come loose, had to st.i.tch it right."
Belle smiled at his kind gesture. If it weren't for the constant sewing, the stuffed toy would have come loose with pieces of cotton shreds. Going to his room, Lucas unlocked the door and stepped inside the room. Belle didn't lose the opportunity and stepped right behind him as it wasn't often she got to be in his s.p.a.ce.
His room looked neat and clean. Though he had only moved from the older room to this one, all his clothes were stacked in one corner which was the uniform that he wore every day. There was a table that had books arranged in a line. Curious to know about his interests, she made her way towards it and picked up the closest book to read 'How to garden a lily'. The next book she picked read 'Remove dust from the house'.
Belle gingerly placed the books back from where she had picked up.
When she turned around, Lucas stood right behind her to sandwich her between him and the table. More on his side because she was the one who had turned around to take a step forward.
Lucas looked into her bright red eyes that refused to break away. Instead, he bowed his head and took a step back. Raising his hand, he said, "Yours."
"Huh?" Belle said a little entranced by the close proximity they had shared that came and went.
"Your Rabbit," he stated and Belle quickly took Mr. Fluffs in her hand. She looked at the rabbit's ears, hands and eyes and in that time Barron who had been pa.s.sed from the reaper to the vampiress asked Lucas,
"Are you not worried that she is going to hear me? Hahaha, you just wait. Once I know how to break free from this cotton bag I will attac-"
Belle patted the head of the rabbit, "Good rabbit," she smiled looking down at the stuffed animal.
Lucas noticed how Barron had turned speechless on the pat on the head.
"The rabbit needs to be cleaned. Do you want me to do it?" Lucas said as they stepped out of his room and he closed it.
"No, that will be fine. I was thinking of putting it in the tub of water."
Belle took Mr. Fluffs up to her room and instead of being gentle, as the rabbit was all sewn, Belle threw it on the bed to go to the bathroom to fill up the water in the little tub. Humming softly as she was happy that Lucas was staying, she poured some powdered soap in it and then brought Mr. Fluffs to it.
"What are you thinking to do?!" Barron asked alarmed when he caught sight of the hot water with steam coming up and bubbles in it, "Don't even think about i-" and Belle dropped the rabbit in the hot water.
She cleaned and rinsed the doll letting it float in the water before the toy sunk into the tub to only be pulled out of the tub and be twisted to remove the water that had been soaked.
"How do you feel, Mr. Fluffs?" asked Belle as she took the studded toy outside.
"I feel like I was a.s.saulted..." Barron said tiredly without her hearing a word with the number of times Belle had lifted him in and out of the water.
