Little Belle was scared. First, it was the phantom-like ghost that had been standing at the end of the corridor before it had vanished. She wasn't scared about the lightning but her already scared little heart had jumped out of her chest making her jump on Lucas who had been sitting next to her.
Right now, the butler was her safety line which she didn't want to let go. Having an adult who was much older than her was like protection to her. She was sure the butler would chase the ghost away and she continued to cling to him.
Lucas on the other hand sat there on his heels. He sighed for the second time in less than two minutes. This little thing was troublesome. First, she climbed the tree, and now she had her arms around him which he wasn't comfortable with. It was usually the other way round where he made people uncomfortable with his presence. And kids were not something he was looking forward to when it came to making friends.
He was a private man who didn't like the touchy and emotional things that the creature of this land was used to. He didn't belong here yet he was here, taking shelter under this roof.
"Are you going to keep holding me?" he asked her and the girl heeded none of his words, "Alright," he said, wanting to get this little thing off of him and he picked her up in his arms. Walking through the corridors and making his way to the young vampiress' room as he carried her.
When they finally did reach the room, Belle had still not let go of him. Turning the k.n.o.b of the door, he stepped into her room. Taking her towards the bed and leaning forward hoping she would get a hint to step down and leave him so that he could get his own breathing s.p.a.ce back again.
"You can open your eyes now," Lucas said to her to finally have the girl open her eyes. Noticing that she was in her room. She finally decided to let go of his neck by pulling away her hands as her feet found the soft mattress.
"Let me close the windows," he said, going walking towards the windows that were in the room and he locked it before pulling the curtain close so that she wouldn't be scared of the light coming through to magnify the objects in the room. It would be worrisome if the girl would again be scared, though he did want to check the corridors where she had seen this so-called ghost that had got her scared in the first place, "There. You have nothing to worry about."
This one wasn't supposed to be a vampire. A much higher being than the normal humans, a creature who sucked blood yet she was scared. He wondered if it was her mother who had instilled fear about ghosts. It made him think what Mrs. Adams would think if she knew who he truly was.
"You can now go to sleep, Miss Belle," he said ready to leave.
Belle was still standing on the bed, looking at him, "You won't tuck me in?" she asked with a sweet small voice of hers, "Mama tucks me in."
Yes, but I am not your mama, thought Lucas to himself in his mind. He pursed his lips then nodded his head, "Alright. Let's put you in bed," he knew most of the things a butler did when it came to the job.
Maybe tucking in children was one of them?
Going to her, he helped the little girl in the bed and pulled the covers until it reached right above her stomach, "All tucked in, Miss Belle," he stood up again, turning around to leave to hear the little girl say,
"Bedtime stories?"
Lucas didn't know if he should call the little girl to be a spoiled one or if she was just a cute child who was living life just as it came. Taken that this one was a sheltered child, he wondered how she would grow up to be but then...he wouldn't be staying here for that long. He was merely using the opportunity to stay here so that when the time came he would come to leave without much problem.
"I am sure if you close your eyes and count the sheep jumping above the fence you will be able to sleep quickly without the need for a bedtime story," Lucas stated, his voice crisp and strict with her. He then caught sight of her sad face.
Walking back around, to her side, he pulled the chair that was there which was quite small for him. Taking a seat in front of her, he said, "You're going to sleep after this. If you don't I will personally put you next to the ghosts."
Her face brightened quickly and she turned her face waiting for him to start.
Lucas had decided to put this one to sleep and go back to his work but now that he sat down, he didn't know what story to pick. Something told him that speaking about soul picking in the graveyard would not be something she would sleep to.
"Here we go," he said looking at her, "Once there was a cat that went by the name Romeow. Romeow used to drink a lot of milk. He liked to prowl in the house he lived in. And then there was his neighbor…"
"What was the name?" asked little Belle.
"She went by the name Julisqueak. So what happened was, one-day Julisqueak went to fetch a piece of cheese but Romeow came and ate her as dinner. The end," said Lucas, getting up he pulled the girl's blanket where she looked at him in horror, "Now get to sleep," he didn't bother to blow the candles, "Goodnight, Miss Belle," and he closed the door.
Getting out of the room, a small smirk made its way up to his lips. This would make sure so that she wouldn't ask for bedtime stories.
He looked to his right and then to his left before taking the left side of the corridor so that he could see what had happened earlier with the young vampiress. Lucas didn't need the candles and he didn't care about light or darkness. With every step he took forward to walk past the candles that were burning, that only extinguished themselves for the corridor to turn dark.
Reaching the specific spot, he looked at the windows at first and then walked near the empty and lonely corridor that had no light.
When he sniffed the air, he could tell something was there in here but he couldn't point his finger on what it was. After making a couple of more rounds and not finding anyone, he decided to keep a closer watch.
He doubted that his creatures would have found out about him. He had covered his scent well. There was no way they could. Once a creature of his kind disguised themselves into the creature of living, a lot of them couldn't get the difference between them. But there were higher creatures, creatures like him who had the ability to look past the facade that the creatures wore.
But why would anything come here without a good reason?
When the morning arrived at the dining table, Belle asked her mother, "Mama, have you heard about the story of Romeow and Julisqueak?"
Her mother who was b.u.t.tering her bread, looking up from the loaf of bread to look at her daughter, "Do you mean to say, Romero and Julliann, Belle?"
Belle quickly shook her head, "No no."
A worried line came to form on Mrs. Adams forehead. She wondered what her daughter was up to, "No, dear, I haven't heard about it. Talking while eating is rude, you finish eating and then tell me about it," she said to her daughter who went back to finis.h.i.+ng her food.
The butler was serving her blood juice which was made by thinning the red liquid drawn from the humans when Belle turned to look at the man, "Lucas tells good stories!" she declared in joy.
Lucas continued to fill up the gla.s.s while his mind went- what just happened? The point of the story was to not make her ask for stories again. His eyes narrowed down looking at her.
"I didn't like the end part though…" Belle confessed. So it did work, thought Lucas, and then heard her say, "But I like Romeow and Julisqueak."
Okay. Next time this girl was going to get graveyard stories, he thought to himself and smiled politely at the girl, "I am glad to hear that."
"I am going to draw Romeow and Julisqueak," declared Belle, eating her breakfast quickly she slid down her chair and left the dining room after kissing her mother and father's cheek.
"Thank you for looking after Belle, Lucas," Mr. Adams thanked the butler, "Mr. Rufus got us the right butler this time. You have been doing excellent," he praised the butler, and Lucas continued to give his polite smile.
Once Mr. and Mrs. Adams were done with their meal and they started to leave, Lucas wondered what happened to the previous butler. He looked at the maid who had started to clear the table, "Do you know what happened to the last butler here?" he asked her.
The maid's eyes darted towards the exit and then to the butler. She looked slightly nervous and then said, "I am sorry but the Adams have forbidden us from talking about it in the mansion," she bowed her head in apology before continuing to pick up the plates and left the room.
