On their way back to Skellington, Eduard Moriarty and Marceline rode in one carriage, while Eve and Vincent rode in another. Eve sat with her arms crossed, and Vincent watched her from the corner of his eyes.
"Did my response shock you?" Vincent asked her, the corner of his eyes crinkling in amusement.
Eve turned away from the window and stared right into his red eyes. She stated, "I thought nothing could shock me more than you burning an entire town. But you exceed my imagination."
"I like to always try," Vincent smiled, showing off his fangs to her.
"What is a blood marker? The registry, what happens if you break it?" Eve asked him, as she had never heard about it before.
"It is a promise you cannot go back to once you have made it. You know how we creatures of high society sneak around to get away from things we say we will do or comply with. It is a more fixed way of saying we mean to hold our end of the deal," Vincent explained to her. Noticing her shoulder slump, he said, "Worried?"
Eve shook her head and replied, "Not much."
It was because she knew Vincent didn't want to marry Rosetta. But then he said,
"You know, in the olden days, it was acceptable for a vampire to have more than one wife. One of them even had five or seven wives. King Gauntlet was it?" Vincent said it jokingly, and the peaceful look on Eve's face turned into a scowl. "Rosetta might be the first wife, but you will be the second and my dearest wife. Close to my heart, air to my lungs."
"You know I don't find it to be funny," Eve pointed to him, where she wasn't in the mood but glad at the same time that, for now, Lady Camille's death was brushed back under the carpet.
"Why would it be funny when I was merely stating the possibility of our future?" Vincent asked in seriousness before his lips cracked a smile. "Everything is going according to the plan."
"You ending up in the dungeon?" Eve asked him, and Vincent leaned towards her and gently kissed the tip of her nose.
"That was actually a desire of mine. Sadly it was a short one," Vincent replied to it nonchalantly.
He picked up her hand resting on her lap, intertwining his fingers with hers and said, "I have everything under control. This is something that we needed to close for once and for all, and the Hookes chose to attack, and we will lure them so that they don't bring the subject up again. No more Lady Camille's murder to haunt and worry your mind."
"I know," Eve whispered, she trusted and believed him. She doubted there was anything that Vincent couldn't do. When he was next to her, all the worries evaporated from her mind, and she asked him, "Does nothing worry you at all? On what if something goes wrong?"
One corner of Vincent's lips pulled up, "Fear and worry is something that makes a person grow old quickly. It is when the person makes more mistakes. And it isn't like you killed the woman on a whim. We had to bury her because the situation demanded and I am not letting you drown. Even if you would have killed the woman on a whim."
"That's very supportive of you," Eve couldn't help but smile and shook her head.
"You have found a good, supportive husband. All you have to do is stay next to me, under my shelter and I will take care of the rest," Vincent said as they stared at each other. "Moreover, your dear friend doesn't want to get married to me either. What I don't get is why she hasn't taken a step yet, or if she has."
The vampiress was love-struck with Eve's butler, and with her parents' insistence to have her in the Moriarty mansion, Vincent only found it an opportune time to get things running.
Eve let her body lean against Vincent's before resting her head against his shoulder. They didn't seem to have a good break in their lives and could only steal these little moments for themselves.
Her eyes fell on their interlocked fingers, noticing how Vincent's fingers were lean and long, his nails longer than most people she had come across. When she felt him press his lips against the top of her head, a small smile bloomed on her lips.
"Is there anything I can do or need to do during this period of time?" Eve asked him, playing with his fingers.
"Just be the way you are and feed me your blood," Vincent said in a cheeky tone. Eve gently nodded before the smile on her lips widened. She had been worried when she had left the mansion, but now that they were together, everything seemed alright. "The next few days, the Hookes will push Rosetta next to me when we are in public. Will you be alright by yourself?"
"I will be fine. I am learning to be myself more," Eve softly replied.
Vincent squeezed her fingers between his, "That's good to hear."
When the Hookes returned to Camille Wright's mansion, Lady Aurora appeared to be in more than a good mood. She demanded, "Where is Rosetta?" It was time to start the chess game so her daughter could grab the title of Vincent Moriarty's wife.
The butler took hold of the woman's furry coat and answered, "Lady Rosetta is in her room, milady. Lady Rosetta hasn't come out for lunch or snacks since early noon."
Lady Aurora rolled her eyes, wondering what had upset her precious daughter. She reached the front of the room and knocked on the door. When she received no response, the woman tried to open the door, but the door was locked from the inside.
"Rosetta? Rosetta, why is the door locked?" The older vampiress asked loudly.
Rosetta hadn't finished crying, where she had wet one side of her pillow and was on the mission of wetting the other side.
"I know you are in there, Rosetta. Open the door," Lady Aurora turned slightly impatient as she stood in front of the closed door.
"I want to be left alone," Rosetta responded, where the rim of her eyes had turned slightly swollen.
"I have good news for you and the entire family. Open the door and I will tell you," Lady Aurora lost her patience and she shook the door knob. "Are you going to open the door or should I have it opened now?" She heard the little rustle from the other side of the room and muttered, "What are you doing locking the door."
Finally, the door opened, and Lady Aurora stepped inside the room without noticing her daughter's face, which had turned flush.
Lady Aurora held her hands, and when she noticed Rosetta's face, she asked, "What happened to your face?" Rosetta shook her head as she was unable to form a proper answer. The older vampiress continued, "Anyways, your father and I were able to talk Vincent Moriarty into marrying you."
Rosetta stared at her mother, trying to wrap her mother's words around her head, "W--what? What about Eve and him marrying?"
Lady Aurora smiled wide before replying, "That has been called off. Now that we have paved the path, make sure not to mess things up this time."
