Bambi and the Duke

The memories came rushing through her fingers like the light had been lit in front of her eyes where she could sense emotions and memories, words and talks which weren't much but faint, enough to be picked on. Vivian tried to single out what she wanted to hear and what she wanted to see. Some of the boxes didn't allow her to read or rather it hadn't been touched for years.

Walking around the racks at the below ground, she continued to touch them until she felt the faint whisper of touch on her tips which felt like a little shock. What was that? She asked herself. And just as she was surveying the boxes she felt her heart start to beat. This wasn't good, thought Vivian to herself.

She wanted to calm it down but instead of quieting it, it only thurmed that much in her chest making her clutch her chest with her hand.

"Lady Vivian?" called Dutan or the switcher from the other side of the room.

What now? When she peeked again, she saw that the light of the lantern was still coming from this side but his voice sounded distant. Don't tell me he did the same as what I did, she wanted to squeeze the bridge of her nose out of the bad luck that had come to follow her right now in the worse time. Where was Everest when she needed him? He was always there, someone she could count on to save her like the prince he wasn't but he had saved her well.

By now, Vivian was sure that he had already caught on to what she had done, to sense the suspicion she had tried hard to hide.

"Oh, Lady Vivian," came his sing-song voice which echoed around the storage room. For him to be speaking loudly now meant the voices here couldn't be heard outside the room. Previously she would have considered it to be an advantage but now it was pure disadvantage, "Where are you hiding?" she heard him ask her.

Vivian didn't answer him and instead stayed quiet, maintaining her distance by keeping a track on his voice as to where it was coming from.

"I should have known that you aren't like many women I have met. For someone to have passed through the exam with exceptional ranking, I underestimated you," the man said from somewhere on the other side of the room. They had switched positions, "Come out now. We'll make it easier. You need to know that I can hear your heart so very clearly in this quiet room."

It was her heart, Vivian closed her eyes at the timing. She hid behind the rack in the darkness of the room where the light didn't reach.

"What got your little heart excited? Did you miss your husband or is the darkness in here too stifling for you? Or is it that you finally figured out who I am," the man suddenly popped out from the other far end where the light reached to see no one in the little passage before he looked around to see where the girl was, "Is that so?" his question was loud that fell sharp on her ears.

"You must be feeling very lucky. Or should I say blessed that you have been given the gift of being a vampire, a half-vampire actually as you are turned? Yes. Because I sure do feel lucky and the feeling of being a vampire, my I didn't drink enough blood but I am hoping as you still have the human traits left your blood shouldn't taste that bad when I drink it," said the man walking by the rack she had been standing behind.

Like the man who had a sheen of sweat covered on his face, Vivian could feel her body begin to heat. The sweat forming on her back to trickle down her spine. Sensing him to have walked by where she had been, she moved front and took a few steps back to hide in the other rack.

"How long do you plan to hide here? For eternity?" he laughed, his malicious laugh ringing in the air, "I have all the time you want. We can play here forever after all this place isn't meant for people like us. Hide and seek with you will be wonderful but you must be experienced. Tell me how you passed the exam? Did you know that you are a mystery which some are trying to solve? How did a woman escape and live through the tragedy of what occurred in the last council exam?"

And right before she could move to the next rack to maintain distance from him, the man suddenly appeared to shock her, making her gasp, "How did she live through it when the rest of the men had died. A human. Would you like to shed some light, my lady?" he asked her, the Dutan who was reserved mostly wasn't in there anymore. The person who was talking to was a switcher and not her fellow senior.

"What did you do to Dutan? Where is he?" she asked him directly to see the man smile, his lips tugging dangerously long for him to look creepy. The little light that came to fall didn't help his appearance.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he kept his eyes glued to her that never blinked, "How about this. I trade you with an answer and your trade one with yours? Fair enough?"

"Okay," she responded back. It was either him or her right now who would be walking alive from this storage room, therefore, she didn't see the point to play mouse when she could get the answers by asking him.

The switcher looked delighted at her reply, "Only if men of the night and the day creatures were half cooperative as you. The amount of ego and pride they carry is laughable."

"What did you do to him?" she repeated her question.

"You ask such easy questions, Lady Vivian. I killed him. Wouldn't want to risk him coming as a double with me around, would we? Don't worry, I have put him to sleep in a good place. The local graveyard closest from here," her jaw clenched when she heard this.

"Why?"

"Why?" he tilted his head. When he took one step forward towards her, Vivian took one back. Her stance in the flight mode so that she could run but it wouldn't take her far. How long was she able to run away from him? "Because we found out that you and the men in your team of the council were behind cracking the mystery of the switcher who resides in here. I should say I was impressed with the amount of information was gathered by you and your husband. It will be sad when I finish you here. Do you think he would like it? His anger is something I would like to test on."

"I welcome you try it," she answered in the calmest voice which surprised the man.

"Hmm. You don't fear death?"

"Why should I...You might but I don't," she replied, her hand coming to hold and take support on the wooden rack.

"Such confidence. Tell me, does it come from you being the Duke's wife?" he asked her in a mocking tone, "So pray tell me, how did you pass the examination? Since I heard about you, I knew there was just something more than what met the eye. After all, how could a mere human female live through the three days."

"Two days. The first day had nothing in there," she replied to him, noticing the way his eyes sparkled at the story he was about to listen where none had heard the truth, "There was a ghost who killed most of them."

"So it is true. The poor lad kept saying how he saw a ghost and everyone thinks he a retard. You must be blamed for it," he taunted her for keeping the truth away from the council and ignoring the fellow examinee of hers, "And how is it that she didn't kill you?"

"I didn't commit a grave crime like the rest of them. At least not like how you're fellow partner Oliver did."

"Touche."

"Whom do you work for?" she asked him which was the million gold coins question.

The switcher smiled, he walked towards her but the same time she walked away, keeping herself in the darkness, "Didn't you already figure that out?"

"Creed," saying the elder councilman's name he smiled. So Vivian was right. Before she could ask another question, the man raised his hand.

"It is my turn to ask, tch," he tsked following her footsteps where she came to stand at the rack where he had placed his lantern on the hook. She had done the same where her own lantern was hanging on a mere iron hook of the rack, "What is this touch that the Duke was speaking of? I am rather intrigued by what it is. I won't deny that I can't wait to fill in your form to know what is the great ability that you hold."

Vivian's lips tightened as he asked about it. She knew he was going to ask it but now that he had, she didn't know if she was going to speak about it or not.

"Not going to speak?" the man scoffed, exhaling loudly as if he was tired, "Such a little bitch who can't hold a small deal like this," the facade he had put up to pull out the answers now slowly began to slide down from his face to bring a negative aura around him, "I wasn't allowed to come and meet you because Creed knows you are up to something. You aren't like any other woman any of us have come across."

"I will take that as a compliment," she said, her feet moving slowly to the right and he caught up to it.

"I thought we were having a fair exchange of question and answers. Yet here you refuse to share. Selfish. Very selfish," he commented, taking a step just before she stepped aside to move to the next rack where the light didn't make up to it but she could see the shadow, "Running away isn't going to help. You might be a half-vampire but do you know the limitation one has when they turn?" he asked her, his tone holding a spoonful of arrogance in it, "They are weaklings. Extended years, yes, but weaker than humans. Not everyone says that."

"You are mocking the council for appointing Rueben as the head council."

"I am? It must be," he admitted in the dark and she moved back to the light where he followed her like a distant shadow, "When they are higher ranked men in here why pick someone who is weak and inferior?"

"Now you are mocking yourself, Sir," Vivian commented to see the spark of anger pass through his face, "You must be feeling it be unfair that you were born to be a different creature where no one recognizes you. Where you are an unlawful creature who has been banned to step into these lands."

"You are overstepping your line, Lady Vivian," he warned her.

"Am I? I think I am only stating the facts to refresh your mind where you come from."

"Life can be unfair and you ungrateful little bitch wouldn't know about it," his voice turned hoarse and with speed, he came at her but Vivian had stepped away and to escape into the darkness. As much as she had turned into the same kind as him, she couldn't forget the disadvantage she was in. She had nothing to protect herself with from the switcher. No silver bullet guns nor any object here. What could she find in these boxes that surrounded them?

Gulping, she moved from one rack to another, hiding from him as she walked stealthily away from the man and towards the exit. But just as she did, the man came right in front of her with the lantern in his hand.

"Going somewhere, are we?"