Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

"Popo..." he said when she stopped nuzzling him, and then he pointed out as if to tell her his papa was not around and was out.

After they'd returned to the castle and Rohan had told her to go and get warm, Belle was surprised when Gwen didn't lead her to the attic room where she had stayed when they had first gotten married.

Instead, Gwen brought her to a much better-looking chamber, larger, with a bigger bed, more space, and a closet arranged with both her belongings and Rohan's, like one of those closets meant for couples. Belle was pleased to know they would now be sharing a chamber in the castle, unlike before they had left Nightbrook when they had lived in separate rooms.

She had marveled at how big and luxurious the chamber was compared to the small one in the cottage, and then she had finally taken a hot bath, refusing to let herself sink into homesickness for the cottage.

Belle recalled feeling so exhausted that, by the time she had finished bathing, she had dozed off in the tub until she was awakened by Gwen bringing in a tray of her dinner. She had asked about Rohan and had been told he was finishing some work in his study, and that he had said she could go ahead and eat without waiting for him.

Belle had felt her heart constrict at those words. She was so used to having him around all the time that being without him felt foreign, until she reminded herself that this was how it was supposed to be, and that this was how they had been living here before they had left. Naturally, things would fall back into the way they used to be.

It had always been like that, even between her own parents, and she understood that after being away for months from his responsibilities, he now had too much work to catch up on. Only, she had just wished that he would have spent their first night back here holding her, and that tomorrow could be the day when everything returned to normal.

Belle had eaten her dinner, and then she had been thankful when she was pulled into an irresistible sleep, so deep that she hadn't even thought to get up and check Angel's sleeping arrangements now that they were back in the castle.

Now, waking up from that terrible nightmare and seeing Angel beside her meant Rohan had come around at some point to put their son here.

And then she belatedly remembered she hadn't even fallen asleep on the bed but on the chair. He must have brought her back to the bed and tucked her in with their son, and then left.

The thought brought some warmth back into her heart, and she smiled, only the smile was short-lived when she suddenly got a flash of that nightmare, and a shudder went through her body.

How could a dream feel so real? She had felt every single emotion in that dream like it was something actually happening to her. She had also felt the pain of the fire and heat, the anger and all. The emotions had been so strong. What could it mean? Did it have something to do with that dream about the grave? Was the girl in her dream the one who had died in that other nightmare?

The man—he had called the girl Isabelle, and the man... Belle froze as she recalled vividly now the face of the person who had come into that chamber in her nightmare. That face was so familiar she couldn't mistake it. She would be blind not to know those blue eyes and dirty blonde hair.

Jamie! Jamie had been in her nightmare, and the girl in it felt mixed feelings towards him, hate being the strongest. What could this actually mean? And why was she experiencing it when it wasn't something that had actually happened in her life? Was there some connection between her and that Isabelle? Who was that other Jamie?

Questions swarmed her head until it began to hurt as there were no answers to them. How could she find answers when she didn't even know why she was experiencing it?

Angel's little hand against her cheek brought Belle's head down, snapping her out of her thoughts and bringing her attention back to her son.

"Mama..." Angel whispered, and then he cupped her jaw and turned her head in a certain direction in the room.

Frowning, Belle turned in the direction willingly and almost screamed as she was startled at the sight of the figure standing in the shadows with his long cloak and glowing red eyes. But she quickly held back her scream as the figure walked out into the light of the candle and out of the shadows.

Belle let out a sigh of relief as she exclaimed, "Why do you always have to appear like that, Kuhn?" she said, glaring at the creature who was staring at her. "You leave and then come back whenever you please, is that how things are done where you come from? You run away and then come back anytime you feel the need to?"

She had almost forgotten the existence of this creature completely. After Kuhn had left her in Bimmerville, Belle had not seen any signs of him again until now.

"Sorry..." came his raspy voice from beneath its hood. "Wanted to come back but can't risk it with reapers. When I came again, Rohan sent me away to come here because he wants you to heal in mountains. Not my fault. Try my best..."

Belle stared at the creature. So Rohan had sent him away and not allowed him to follow them to the cottage, she realized with understanding. She was parting her lips to speak again when something dawned on her, and she snapped her gaze down toward Angel, only to realize the boy was watching the creature with keen interest in his dark eyes.

"Angel, you can see him?" Belle asked her son. He turned his eyes away from Kuhn to look at her, and then back at the creature, before smiling his toothless smile.

His smile and his look told her he could see the creature—a creature that was said only those whose last moment had arrived could see. Holding her son to her chest, she looked at Kuhn suspiciously as she asked,

"How come he could see you?"

Kuhn pointed his twig-like finger towards Angel and then he told her, "Boy has from parents. You can see me, Rohan can see me, boy can see me. Blood's thicker. Naturally."

"Oh, I didn't think of it like that. He could see you because Rohan and I can."

Understanding why her son could see the creature of the dead, she relaxed her hold on him, and immediately Angel crawled to the edge of the bed, staring at Kuhn in a manner like he was studying the creature and trying to decide what it was. His head crooked to the side as he eyed the creature of the dead up and down without so much as moving his head.

"Kuhn, do you know where Rohan is?" Belle asked.

"Not in the castle," Kuhn replied curtly, his eyes not tearing away from the baby who was staring at him from the bed. They stared at each other.

Belle frowned. "Rohan's not in the castle at this time of the night?" she inquired, her eyes shifting toward the window, where it was raining, more thunder than actual rain, but still, it was late at night. She couldn't imagine where he could have gone at such an hour. She had believed he was still in his study and had only asked to confirm before she went to look for him, so she could share the details of her nightmare before they slipped from her memory.

Kuhn nodded his head at her question and then said, "Went out with a new friend for eating. Told me not to tell you if you happen to wake before he returns." His voice was emotionless, without the slightest care that Rohan had once again threatened to use him as firewood if he told his wife. The creature was already certain the man would never follow through with that threat, a threat he had made far too many times for Kuhn to fear it anymore.

Belle was taken aback. "What friend?" She had no recollection of Rohan mentioning any friend he had in Nightbrook. They went out to eat? At this time of the night? But then, on second thought, Nightbrook was a land of night creatures, where night was lived much like the day.

Kuhn was silent for a moment before he said, "A new friend, Rafael from the forest, they go out. You don't worry, he is doing fine and will return soon. You should go to sleep." He told her, then began to retreat back into the shadows, but Belle stopped him.

"Wait." She quickly moved to lift Angel before he could fall off the edge of the bed in his attempt to reach for Kuhn. "I've been experiencing strange things lately," she began.

When Kuhn turned back to look at her, though she couldn't see his face or eyes beneath the large hood, she sensed his curiosity at her words, and that small detail encouraged her to continue. Perhaps this time, she might get some answers from him.

"I can see the memories of death just by touching the surface of walls or floors. Whenever a memory holds the moment of someone dying, I can see it," Belle explained. "Not just that... I've been having this strange nightmare." She went on to tell the creature about it, then asked, "Do you have any idea why I'm experiencing this? Does it have something to do with why I can go into the land of the dead?"