Music Recommendation: Who do you see in me? - Nathan Barr
It was past twelve in the night, with both Vincent and Eve's beds empty and cold.
Right now, they sat in a tall tree, where its strong branches spread wide, and it was rooted near a cliff. Next to the cliff flowed a river that made soft gurgling sounds along with the sound the forest had to offer.
Eve wore the coat that belonged to Vincent as the weather was too cold. The night sky was covered in clouds without a single sight of a star.
"Do you think the maid will check our rooms?" Eve asked Vincent, who sat next to her, smoking a cigar.
Vincent blew the smoke into the air and responded, "She won't if she holds her life dear to her. I told Alfie to place pillows on your bed and cover it with a blanket."
Eve smiled at his words, "I see." She took a deep breath before exhaling the air through her lips, watching the fog escape from her mouth. "Don't vampires or pureblooded vampires not feel cold?" Vincent had handed his coat to her before they had flown out of the Moriarty mansion, and it had prevented her from catching a cold as the wind was icy cold.
"It isn't that we don't feel cold. But we have a better resistance when it comes to the cold temperature," Vincent replied to Eve's question, and he took another puff from the cigar. After blowing the smoke to the other side, he turned to look at her.
Eve, who was looking at the scenery in front of her and the tranquil sound of the water that gave her peace, felt Vincent's gaze on her. Turning her blue eyes to look at him, she raised her eyebrows in question and saw him shake his head, while he continued staring at her.
"Do you come here often?" Eve asked him and felt her toes curl with the way Vincent watched her. "To have some peace?"
"No. I was looking for a good place to bury a body and found this place," Vincent remarked calmly, and Eve nervously smiled.
"Is there a body buried here?" She asked him.
Vincent's lips twisted into a smile he didn't hold back and replied, "Not here." And Eve sighed. If ghosts existed, with the number of people Vincent had killed and buried, they would have been haunting the pureblooded vampire. When he leaned towards her, he said, "Tell me if the smoke bothers you."
Eve gave him a nod. It wasn't as if the smoke was hitting her face as they sat in a way where the smoke blew away from her and occasionally drifted towards her. Vincent enjoyed his cigars, which kept him somewhat warm like the flames of a fireplace and it also helped him in curbing his urge to drink blood.
"You have been staring at me. Did something happen?" Eve asked him.
"Does something need to happen for me to stare at you?" Vincent answered her question with his question, and Eve shook her head.
"Unblinkingly," Eve pointed out. On her words, he blinked before asking,
"Better?"
Eve couldn't stop the sweet smile on her lips and warmth filled her chest. Flying with Vincent hadn't been easy, but at the same time, it was something she had never experienced and had never imagined. After all, she was a water being. A creature who was supposed to live in the water. Walking on the land without being caught until now was already a lot.
She slightly swung her feet in the air and continued to admire the scenery in front and around her. She wondered if Eugene would have a change of heart towards Rosetta. Would her friend be able to move him? She asked,
"What are we going to do if Rosetta and Eugene don't get together? I don't think pushing her to marry someone where her heart doesn't belong would be wise." Eve didn't want to sacrifice her friend's happiness for her happiness, and at the same time, she didn't want to force Eugene into something just because it was convenient. A little nudge was the most she could offer.
"I bluffed when I said about having potential grooms for her," Vincent remarked, and he tapped the top of the cigar for its ash to fall and disperse in the air. "Rosetta is naiver than a human would be, but also determined and loves Eugene for who he is. Surely, there is something that she saw she believed to be worthy and chased after. A man like Eugene will appreciate her earnest feelings. He might not have seen her as a woman until now, but he might once he sees her efforts. Though we cannot be sure what the outcome will be."
Vincent then continued, "The vampiress is starved of love. The need for approval comes off as arrogance, but you can detect a regular arrogance to worse. Showing that she needs to be seen as an important person and that she matters. There are a lot of people like that in high society."
"You know, I always felt Rosetta and Timotei are similar," Eve let out her thoughts, and she remembered the cat being thrown out of the mansion.
"It is good that one of them is a cat, else they would be competing against each other," Vincent brought the cigar to his lips and took a puff before blowing the smoke out. Noticing Eve pull his coat closer to her, he asked, "Cold? Let us get you back to the mansion."
Eve shook her head, "I can handle it. Nothing I haven't experienced."
She remembered the time when she was young, when her mother was still alive and it was the time of Winter. Her mother would make sure to wrap her in warm clothes before putting her to bed. When her mother wasn't around, Eve had the habit of walking out of the house and in the snow.
Her eyes shifted to look at Vincent, to think they had met each other when they were young. Sadly until now, she couldn't recollect the memory.
Vincent stared at her with his red eyes that had darkened. Suddenly his black, bat-like wings spread out from his back, and they covered her body with them. He murmured, "Don't want you catching a cold when our wedding is near." Eve stared back at him, feeling her heart race. Her eyes trace his lashes and his high cheekbones. As weird as the pureblooded vampire, he was considerate when it came to her, making her feel special. His hand reached for the ribbon in her hair, letting it down. "You don't have to look like that in front of me, little girl. I know how you look and you look beautiful like this."
"Thank you," Eve whispered, feeling the distance between them had magically reduced. But that was because they leaned towards each other. The cigar slipped between Vincent's fingers and fell on the ground.
"It is going to get tangled because of the wind."
Vincent's silver hair wavered in the wind like her hair, "I will help you untangle it."
His hand reached out to her, brushing the side of her neck. His other hand found her hand, and he used his thumb across her wrist, feeling her pulse rise.
Vincent closes the distance between them and presses his lips against hers. Eve kissed him back, her toes curling half because of the kiss and half because of the weather that had turned colder than when they had arrived here.
The kiss deepened with the seconds that passed by, and they tried to freeze time.
Snowflakes started falling from the sky, one after another, until they found a surface to settle on. One or two snowflakes drifted in the air, coming to fall on the cigar's burning end to melt and take away the heat from it, turning it cold. While the two people who sat on the branch shared a heat that had only been kindled and burned brightly in their hearts.
When they pulled away from the kiss, Vincent stared at Eve, whose eyes were still closed as she lingered longer in the sweet kiss. The side fringes of her hair gently moved in one direction, and when he was able to look into her blue eyes, he confessed,
"I love you."
Eve felt her heart skip a beat. She responded, "I love you back." She noticed Vincent's grin, which was less wicked and appeared boyish.
