Bambi and the Duke

~263 chapters updated until now~

When the next day arrived, a councilman came to knock at the door of Nelson's house. It was the case that Leo had left in the hands of the other teams. A case where the magistrate had killed himself in Bonelake. Unfortunately, people weren't as skilled as his own team or him, therefore, they were seeking his assistance.

"It's been only three days and you men cannot handle a simple case?" asked an annoyed Leonard who stood at the front of the door where the councilman stood.

"Apologies for coming here, Duke Leonard. Councilman Lionel wanted you back in the case after the pressure that is falling by the villagers. They have been rioting in there without letting and traders pass," the man answered him with his head bowed.

Vivian who stood behind, Leonard listening to their conversations exchanged a smile with the councilman when he raised his head up.

"Please, Duke Carmichael," the man pleaded.

Vivian placed a hand on Leo's shoulder to gain his attention when he turned, she said, "We can leave now it is okay," she knew Leonard wanted to stay here for her sake so that she could spend some more time with her family, "We can always come back here."

Leonard had the option of letting her stay here alone but he didn't want to. Being used to each other, his eyes always seeked to find her no matter where she was. But at the same time, he didn't want to steal her away from her only family. She had only reunited with her younger brother yesterday. To steal her away would not be right.

After a lot of thought, Leo asked her, "Will you be alright here when I am gone?"

Vivian blinked at him first and then nodded her head, "I will be fine. I have Gregory with me and even Mr and Mrs Nelson."

"I will take care of Sister Vivian," Gregory who was in the room promised Leonard with a sworn look.

"See," she said her head falling slightly to the side.

"Alright. I will get the carriage, send them the word," he informed the councillor who looked relieved.

"I will send it right away, Duke Carmichael. Please excuse me while I wait at the tower for you," the man bowed his head. Leo gave him a nod, turning away from the man to look at Vivian. He was still worried. It was only last night did she feel discomfortness in her chest.

"I will finish it quickly. I will go drop a word at Max's house so that the housekeeper knows that you are here," Vivian nodded her head over it, "Wait for me, Bambi," he said to her.

Vivian as if reading his mind, closed the distance between them, "Come back soon to me."

And Leonard left to Bonelake. Vivian spent her time with Mrs Nelson, helping her in the kitchen making meals. As hours went by, she came to realize how much her life had changed. What she did right now felt like the dream she once used to have before Leo had returned back to the council. Cooking, cleaning, getting the bed made, gardening, she had done these when she was still a maid but it was now did she come to realize how much things had changed.

From being abandoned by her parents and turning to a normal human, here she was today a pureblooded vampire, a vampiress who was a councilwoman.

She was happy to stay back but something felt empty as Leo was far from her right now. The distance of Valeria and Bonelake was of two days which was long. That would only mean that she wouldn't be able to see Leo for the next four to five days depending on how was he would be able to close the case. Knowing Leo and his capability, she was sure he would try to end it soon but who knew how many days that would take.

She was happy yet sad.

Vivian had finally found her brother but to build the relationship which they never got to build since the time they were children it created an empty, vacant space where it would take time. She had spent her entire time with Leonard, his family and people whom they knew, their connection stronger than the bond she shared with her only living family.

Two days passed like that and it had already become unbearable to not have Leo around her. She hadn't felt like this before as a scenario like this had never raised. After she finished helping Mrs Nelson, she decided to go to a place to collect memories.

The house of the Harlow where she was accompanied by her brother Gregory as he never knew about them either.

The siblings stopped the carriage which was left by Lord Alexander at Nelson's house. The Nelson's belonged to lower than the middle-class family and for a family that cut wood, the carriage was expensive for them to buy. Upon the word of Lord Alexander, where Leonard had dropped a word of his wife staying back, the Lord had sent a carriage for her use.

Vivian looked at the large house. It wasn't big nor was it small. The settings very familiar as if she had come here before. The iron gates creaked loudly as Gregory pushed them. Vivian stared at the house which had apparently not been used after the owner's death.

All this time, she was used to touching things before going to the past but this itself felt like a dream. She was nervous and she didn't know why.

"Let me open the door," said Gregory who had acquired the key of the lock to the main door. As he fumbled through the keys which they had borrowed from the magistrate upon the good word of Lord Alexander, Vivian looked around to see the few houses that were built far away from the house she now stood in.

Finally, unlocking the door, Gregory opened it and pushed the door open for both of them to get in.

Vivian as if in dream state walked inside the house, her eyes following a trail of objects which were down on the floor as if someone had broken into the house but she knew it wasn't true. She had seen the reason and heard it from Leo after a lot of courage on why the house was in this state now.

"Aren't houses supposed to be cleaned after the death of the owners?" asked Gregory, his face turning left and right, "This place looks like it hasn't been cleaned."

"Yes," Vivian answered but it was more of a response where she didn't know what else to say. She was scared to touch anything because each object would hold memory and she wasn't sure if she was ready to see the painful time of when her parents her abandoned not only her but also her younger brother.

Had they been behind money and the status so much that he had decided to erase the very existence of their children? How could they let them go? They were little children who knew nothing about the world. Were they not their children? Their own blood, how could one do it?

At first, she hadn't planned to go through the memory of what Leo had done but she knew she would have to face the truth. To see the end and when she did, she hadn't slept that night but she could now after digesting the fact for what they had done.

"You can ask someone to clean it and have Mr and Mrs Nelson moved here. The house is bigger, and it has more space which you can use in the future," Vivian didn't plan to live in here as Leo was her family now. She would go where he was and if she wasn't married, she wouldn't like to stay here. This house would contain memories she wouldn't want to and the things that transpired here would haunt her.

Even the good ones would come to haunt her.

If Vivian could she would wish for everything to be to a place where there weren't black witches hunting and hurting their parents or other families but the reality was far from the dream world she wished for.

Spending time looking through things and the rooms, she came to realize one thing. Her parents were the people who worshipped the elites and hoped to be part of it. Having a daughter who was a human would not only bring disgrace but also doubt on them. It was unheard for the pureblooded vampires to give birth to children to turn to humans.

Her heart began to thump quickly and she placed her hand wondering when it would stop behaving like this. It was uncomfortable for her.

Feeling the need to have water, she searched for it before her brother came to notice, "What is it, sister Vivian?" Gregory asked concerned.

"There's no water in here. The taps don't work. Do you think you could ask the coachman to get us some water to drink?" she asked him standing in the middle of the hall.

"Of course. I will be right back," he replied to go outside the house. Gregory going out saw that the carriage they had come in waiting outside the house. Going to it, he searched for the coachman but the man appeared to be not there. Not wanting to wait for the man as his sister had asked for water, the younger sibling deciding to go in search of the water which he should be able to get easily from a fellow house.

While Gregory left in search of water, Vivian turned to see her brother out of the house. Already knowing the layout of the house, she went to the place where she had been locked before the day she had been sent away from here to Bonelake with Martha.

It saddened her as she thought about it. Taking a deep breath, she touched the walls that were filled with her in it,

"Ms Vivian, don't stick too close to the wall. Your mother won't be happy if it got dirtied. Come let me show you the clouds today," the maid said gently pulled her away from the wall.

"Clouds?" came her small voice.

"That's right. I saw a rabbit up in the sky. It must be there," this got little Vivian's attention and she happily went to walk outside the house but the rabbit was not seen anywhere, "It must be there, I wonder where it went."

"I see it!" the little girl giggled point at this something that looked nowhere close to a rabbit.

"Oh yes," voice the maid even though she didn't nowhere exactly the rabbit the girl saw at.

Before Vivian could further see the scene that had happened in the past, her vision started to cloud to turn black suddenly as if someone had put her in a room and had blown out the candle. Her vision kept fluctuating to the point where she had to stumble across while her heart began to thump faster in her chest.

Walking around the house she finally turned to look at her expression where she felt her heart sink by her. The glass was dirty but not enough for her reflection not to be seen.

Right there stood a girl whose eyes were of not similar colour. One of her eyes was red in colour and the other was black in colour. It wasn't the black which she possessed when she was a human. It was the colour that she had seen in Mrs Carmichael's eyes.

Worried, her anxiety began to build not knowing what to do. As if heaving for air like she was under a panic attack, she looked around her vision still not clear enough. What was happening to her? Running out of the house, she saw the coachman who had only returned back,

"Take me to the Gibbs mansion," she said while hiding her black eye from, "Immediately!" she ordered him. The coachman opened the door for her and rode the carriage to the addressed mansion.

The Gibbs mansion wasn't far from the Harlows which was a quick trip, and once she reached she knocked on the door while keeping her voice calm and collected, her eye still covered with her eye,

"Lady Vivian," the housekeeper welcomed her warmly, "Please come in. Master Leonard said you might visit. Are you alright?" she asked concerned.

Vivian nodded her head, "Yes. Could you do me a favour?"

"Anything," the housekeeper answered before coming to wait what the lady wanted.

"Could you please send the coachman outside to Lord Alexander. Tell him that I have asked for Leo's return immediately. As soon as he can," the woman wanted to know if everything was alright but the lady had already mentioned she was alright. Not wanting to be intrusive, she bowed her head.

"Please rest in your room. I will ask the man to send your message to the Lord."

"Thank you," and Vivian went to the room which she had previously used with Leo.