Music Recommendation: Come Home- The Newton Brothers
In Moriarty's mansion, where most people had retired to their rooms because of the cold weather and time, a few were still awake. The snow continued falling slowly from the sky.
Eugene sat in the chair placed right next to Rosetta's bed, where the young vampiress had finally fallen asleep after her words had trailed into incoherent words. He stood up and placed the chair back where it belonged.
"Eugene," Rosetta called his name, and he wondered if she had woken up from her sleep.
"Lady Rosetta?" Eugene returned near the bedside, only to notice the vampiress was talking in her sleep.
"...gene, stay with me. I will... protect you..." Rosetta mumbled in her sleep.
Taking a step closer, Eugene gently picked up the blanket and pulled it up to cover her. He would have never thought that a woman of high social standing family would ever spare a look at him. Not that he was ugly to look at, but women, at the most, gave him a polite nod. Not fawn and chase him to marry them.
"Goodnight, Lady Rosetta," Eugene softly murmured. He opened the door and stepped out to let the lady rest. And just as he stepped into the corridor, he saw the black cat sitting in front of Rosetta's room.
"Good night?" Timotei asked, his bushy tail swishing in the air.
"What are you doing here?" Eugene asked Timotei, closing Rosetta's room door behind him. He started to walk and was soon followed by the black cat.
"Making sure you don't get into trouble if that maid or the Marchioness comes looking for Rosetta. Do you know how useful I am?" Timotei asked as if the world was running thanks to his existence.
Eugene, who was a straightforward man thanked the cat, "Thank you for your assistance, Timotei."
But the cat wasn't there to guard him. He had come looking for Eugene because the dish he wanted to eat had been finished. He knew he should have stopped one of the servants when they were carrying it. Timotei quietly hissed as he continued to follow the human next to him.
"Things are progressing well, isn't it? You must be moved by her affection and attention. First you send a balm to her and then you are in her room to wish her goodnight," Timotei hummed, and when he received a serious look from Eugene, he said, "What? I completely support you, and if you need my help, you can always count on me." He buttered the human so he could get the dish he wanted to eat.
Eugene didn't comment on Timotei's words and continued walking in the corridor. On their way, they caught sight of something dark moving from one side to another. The black cat asked,
"Is this place haunted?"
"I don't think so," Eugene replied, and they quickly moved to the other end of the corridor. In time, they caught sight of the Viscount's elder daughter making her way through the corridor.
"It's Marceline," Timotei spoke so loud that his voice lightly echoed and reached the young vampiress.
Marceline, who wore a thick black cloak, stopped walking and turned to look behind her to see if someone was calling her. When she saw no one, she turned and started to walk again. The usual colour of her face had dulled, and her beautiful smile was replaced by a sourness caused by her current predicament.
Eugene had covered the cat's mouth, and the cat waved its paws before the human let him go. Timotei whispered,
"She's always sneaking around, isn't she? Up to no good."
They peeked from behind the pillar, watching Marceline climb the stairs with difficulty before disappearing from there. Eugene said in a low voice, "Something seems to be wrong with her."
"Hmmmm," Timotei purred, staring at the stairs and said, "That's because something is wrong with her. Earlier, I smelled something very bad. Frankly I wanted to throw up, but I am a person from an upstanding society and need to keep a clean name."
"I wonder what she did," Eugene murmured before his eyes widened, and he said to Timotei, "You should follow her and see where she's going."
"A favour from Timotei doesn't come for free. My time is precious, and I will agree to your request if I am promised a bowl of that lamb meat served for supper."
"Sure, now hurry," Eugene urged the black cat, who used its paw to smoothen the back of its ear before it pranced away to catch up to Marceline.
On the other hand, far from the town of Skellington, Noah's carriage entered Sullivan's mansion in Woodlock. The coachman opened the carriage door, and Noah was the first to step outside and followed Anaya, who still wore his coat.
"Thank you, Kieran," Noah said to the coachman, who closed the carriage door. The snow didn't stop falling from the sky.
"Goodnight Duke Noah. Goodnight Lady Anaya," the coachman offered them his bows and took the carriage to park in the backside of the mansion.
When Noah was about to start walking, Anaya stopped him, "Noah."
He turned around, looking at her with a question in his eyes, "Yes, Lady Anaya?"
She stopped him because she knew the rules and control that began once they would step inside the mansion. Before Anaya could say something, her mother, Lady Madge Chambers, appeared and interrupted them,
"Oh, good you two are here! I was getting worried as it was getting late. Come on in now. The weather is going to get chilly." Her mother asked her, "How was the vampire's soiree, Anaya? Tell me all about it..."
Anaya's mother continued talking to her as they walked inside the mansion, while Noah excused himself from there and walked away.
Back in Skellington, as the time of the night progressed in the Moriarty mansion, Eve slept in bliss with Vincent in his room. One hand of Eve rested on Vincent's hand, which had protectively curled around her waist as he spooned her.
The fire in the fireplace continued to crackle, but with the flames almost ready to exhaust because of the hours that had passed since the logs of wood had been burning.
The other hand of Eve that held Vincent's mark on her wrist, with the two wings connected by a 'V' inked in black, rested on the bed. As the hours passed in the night, one of the wings on the mark disappeared as if it was never there.
