Chapter 117: The Girl in the Snow

Ruelle’s gaze moved between Lucian and the bed before she quietly voiced out the thought in her mind, “It isn’t that time of the month for me yet.”

Lucian turned a page as he responded, “I know,” lifting his eyes to meet hers.

A small crease formed between her brows. “Then… if I take the bed, where will you sleep?” She could not imagine the couch to be comfortable enough for him.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he replied. His gaze lingered just long enough for warmth to rise to her cheeks and she averted her eyes quickly, suddenly aware of the way her hands clutched the edge of her sleeve.

“I don’t think it would be proper,” she murmured.

Lucian tilted his head slightly. He asked with an even voice, “Which part is improper? Me sleeping on the couch… or me sleeping in the same bed as you?”

Her breath caught at his words. A woman sharing a bed with a man before marriage was considered scandalous. Yet she was in Sexton, where they would soon be taught about such intimacies being labelled as preparation.

“You are not sleeping on the couch. Go to bed, Ruelle, or I will carry you there,” his tone did not rise, yet it left no room for argument.

She picked up the blanket and then walked across the room to reach the bed. She sat carefully on the edge of the mattress and the bed springs gave a quiet sigh beneath her weight.

At the same time, she saw Lucian place his book to the side and make his way towards her. She saw him bend and pull the drawer next to the bedside before he picked up a familiar-looking brownish-red wooden box.

“You found it!” Ruelle said with a smile. It was the box that belonged to her biological mother. “When did you go and fetch it? Did they… my family say something?”

“They weren’t at the house,” Lucian answered, already turning toward the couch. “I’m surprised your parents or your sister didn’t take it from you.”

Ruelle’s fingers moved over the dull, chipped surface of the wooden box. A small smile lingered on her lips though it never reached her eyes as she replied softly,

“It was never valuable enough for them. Or something that could be sold for my father to use. There are just random things, but nonetheless very dear to me.” She pushed the lid and stared at the contents inside it. “It is one of the few things I have of hers, apart from the chain.”

Ruelle’s father had remarried within a week of her mother’s passing, where Caroline’s mother had stepped into the house while the air still smelled of mourning.

Sometimes she wondered if she had ever truly been held by the woman who gave her life… or if their time together had been so brief that even that simple warmth had slipped past her.

“Thank you for bringing it to me. I don’t know if I would have the courage to go there,” Ruelle murmured the last words more to herself.

“Is it the people or the walls that remind you?” Lucian questioned, his gaze steady on her.

At his question, Ruelle’s fingers tightened slightly around the box. She admitted, “I think it’s both,” her voice barely above a whisper. “Sometimes I wonder now… if I wasn’t admitted to Sexton, with the debts my father piled up, he would have pawned me next.” A bitter smile appeared on her lips faintly before it disappeared. Shifting the subject, she stated,

“I’m relieved to hear the courthouse helps find humans too when they are missing… considering how often we simply disappear.”

Lucian took a moment to respond, his darkened eyes settling, “The death of humans was not considered worthy enough until a while ago. Some of the elder vampires who serve in the king’s court have been trying to bring a balance.”

When silence settled between them, neither looked away. The next moment, Ruelle cleared her throat and said, “I should sleep.”

She quickly slipped beneath the blanket, pulling it up to her nose. She stared at the ceiling for several minutes before peeking carefully to find him back with his book. Having not slept much last night, sleep was quick to find her almost at once.

After some time, the soft sound of a book closing broke the silence in the room which was followed by faint footsteps crossing the room. A moment later, the mattress dipped on the other side.

Lucian lay on the bed, watching Ruelle fast asleep on her side with one hand loosely curled near her face. Strands of hair had fallen across her cheek, rising and falling softly with her breathing.

“Careless,” he murmured under his breath, “Saying things without knowing the consequences.” His eyes drifted to her softened expression where she slept unguarded.

“Should I lock you away with me?” he asked softly, the thought lingering longer than it should have after she spoke about the possibility of her being pawned. His gaze moved over her sleeping face, at how defenceless she looked.

Slowly, he reached over and brushed the strands away. Careful enough not to wake her.

“…But you would hate that,” he said quietly. “So I’ll deal with everything else.”

To Lucian, Ruelle hadn’t changed much from the girl he had first met twelve years ago.

Twelve years ago…

Inside the Slaters’ Mansion, it had been a few minutes since Lord Azriel had returned from the courthouse. His wife, Lady Irina, wore a slight frown now at what he just said to her.

“They wish the treaty concluded swiftly. The respected family has been asked to present themselves here,” Lord Azriel said solemnly. “You seem hesitant. I can refuse the treaty if you prefer.”

“No, that isn’t my concern. I am just surprised they chose our family. It is no small decision,” she murmured though she knew well the weight their name carried. She glanced toward him before softly adding, “Would someone closer to her age not be more suitable? After all, she is hardly more than a child.”

Lord Azriel gave it some thought and he then responded, “I don’t believe the ministers are concerned with which of our sons fulfils the arrangement.”

“Then…we agree?” Lady Irina asked with a small smile.

Lord Azriel took her hand, brushing his lips over her knuckles. “If that is what you want,” he said gently, “then yes.”

When night fell, the icy wind howled through the trees and the Slater couple stood near the mansion’s entrance with their sons. They caught the human couple trudging on the hardened snow with a little girl, who was being guided by her mother.

“Did their carriage break down?” Lady Irina asked, her brows drawing together slightly.

“Or maybe they decided to deliver themselves as frozen blood creams,” Dane hummed lazily, who was sixteen years old, wearing a careless smile. He tilted his head and asked, “What do you think, brother?”

Lucian, who was only ten, stood beside them with an unnatural stillness. His dark hair was slightly tousled and his deep red eyes settled on the small figure beside the woman, her face hidden beneath an oversized hood. As the little girl walked, her boot slid on the hardened snow and she would have fallen if not for the hand that caught her in time.

“She’s clumsy,” remarked young Lucian without looking away.

Lady Irina laughed softly under her breath. “My, my… I seem to have raised two very honest sons.” She placed a gentle hand on Lucian’s shoulder while looking at Dane, “Be nice, both of you.”

When the human family finally reached the mansion’s entrance, Lucian watched the human man step forward and offer a deep bow, though his shoulders remained rigid under his father’s watch. His presence alone was enough to make the humans uneasy.

“Lord Azriel, greetings to you and your family. I am Harold Belmont,” the human introduced himself, his voice steady despite the cold weather. “This is my wife, Megan and my only daughter. Ruelle.”

“Harold Belmont,” Lord Azriel acknowledged with a brief nod. He introduced his family, “My beloved wife, Lady Irina Slater. And my two sons, Dane and Lucian.”

“Welcome to the Slaters’ Mansion,” Lady Irina said her voice warm with grace.

“Thank you for receiving us,” Mrs. Belmont replied with a careful smile.

“I hope the letter from the elder minister has reached you, Lord Azriel,” Mr. Belmont said, his breath visible in the cold air.

“It did,” Lord Azriel replied curtly. “A proposal for improved relations between vampires and humans. As though such things have not been attempted before.”

“I hope you will accept the proposal,” Mr. Belmont said with a continued smile.

“She seems young,” Lord Azriel remarked clicking his tongue softly as he studied the small figure clinging to her mother’s side. “The elders did not specify which of my sons would be bound to your daughter. My youngest is closer to her age. I trust that is suitable.”

“More than pleased, Lord Azriel,” Mr. Belmont replied with a nod and a smile that was almost unnatural.

“To honour the elders’ decision we shall proceed with the arrangement. Remember this though,” Lord Azriel’s voice drawled, capturing the human couple’s attention. “The marriage will take place when they come of age. Until then, the girl will spend time in this household from time to time. Long enough to understand the family and the kind she is to join. Enough for her to adapt.”

“Ruelle is bright,” Mr. Belmont assured the lord while Lord Azriel’s gaze lingered on the little girl, who tried to hide behind her mother.

“In the meantime I hope none of us break the truce the elders want to succeed in,” Lord Azriel stated with an undertone of warning that did not go unnoticed by the Belmonts. “If it is agreed then from this moment on, Ruelle Belmont is betrothed to Lucian Slater,” the lord announced.

When Mrs. Belmont urged the little girl forward, the girl’s hood fell back. Soft blonde hair spilled into the winter night and her small face, flushed from the cold, looked almost too fragile for the harsh wind.

“Isn’t she just lovely?” Lady Irina said with a gentle smile as she looked at the little girl. Then her eyes shifted to her youngest son, whose small face wore the faintest frown.

Noticing the snow that began to fall from the sky, Lord Azriel suggested, “Let us continue this inside.”

As the doors to the vampire mansion creaked open, it revealed a musty air filled with the scent of ancient wood. Little Ruelle trailed behind her parents, her doe-like eyes wide with wonder while unbeknownst to her that her fate had begun to change.

Suddenly, her tiny foot caught on the plush carpet and with a startled gasp, she tumbled forward.

Just in time, a hand caught the hood of her coat.

Lucian had stopped her fall. He was walking next to his brother in the back, while the adults walked in the front, conversing. He had noticed the girl wobble.

For a brief second, little Ruelle’s boots lifted off the carpet as she hung by the back of her coat.

“Well now,” Dane drawled beside him, a grin tugging at his lips as he leaned closer. “Already saving your future bride? How responsible of you.”

Lucian’s ears burned red at once and he released the hood too quickly, causing the little girl to bump right into her father’s back.

“Oh…” Dane murmured, receiving a glare from his younger brother.

“Ruelle,” Mr. Belmont’s lips pressed tightly.

Little Ruelle lowered her gaze at once as she shrunk beneath the weight of her father’s look. She felt nothing less to a small mouse that was caught. At the faint disturbance, Lord Azriel glanced back while Lady Irina turned fully toward them. Mrs. Belmont quickly extended her hand with a gentle smile and said,

“Hold my hand, Ruelle.” Ruelle nodded quickly and slipped her fingers into the woman’s hand, feeling the tight grip on her hand which felt painful but also warm.

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