Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

On the day of their journey to Aragonia, everyone woke up even before the break of dawn, as they had barely slept through the night because of the thought of the long road ahead.

Aragonia was a land far from Nightbrook, and yet it had been at odds with Nightbrook for many years without ever truly resolving their differences. After the war that had claimed the lives of many Aragonians years ago, peace had never truly reigned, especially not with the recent rumors of many humans disappearing, a matter that was raising concern in both lands.

Though Belle did not yet know it, this visit was persistently being requested for that very reason, and she herself was, in a way, a key part of their plans. They believed she was important enough to require protection and to ensure she returned safe and sound to her homeland because of the secret she would bring back to them.

That morning, Angel had insisted that he wanted Belle to bathe and clothe him, and she obliged, knowing she would not get to do so once in Aragonia, where she would have to act as though he wasn't her child. She didn't know if she could manage such a charade, especially given how close she was to him, but she was willing to try anything to keep him safe from harm.

Her mission had never included having a baby for her husband, and she knew that if the King of Aragonia caught even the slightest hint of it, she could be accused of treachery. If she wasn't executed outright as a traitor, she would still be locked away in some "fancy" dungeon for the rest of her life, simply because she was a royal relative. She would never again see the light of day. Belle had heard the stories before of how royal relatives were sentenced, and she dreaded such a fate. Especially because she knew her husband would never allow it to happen; his intervention would almost certainly bring bloodshed.

After seeing, through the memories in the walls, how he had once killed and caused a massacre in the castle, Belle feared he would not hesitate to do so again, without a second thought, if it meant protecting her.

Bloodshed was the last thing she wanted. She could not bear the thought of anyone dying because of her, and so she decided she would cherish the time she had with her son now. Once in Aragonia, she would train herself to act indifferent toward him. She only hoped that the bond he had formed with Evenly would help keep him content and away from her while they were there.

She had dreaded this morning ever since last night, lying awake and unable to sleep even though Rohan had assured her nothing would happen to them. He had promised that no one would suspect anything if they played their roles exactly according to plan.

"What if Angel doesn't play it well? He's too young to understand that he shouldn't react to his parents. That's what I'm worried about…" Belle had said in a small voice as she turned in bed to face him, where he lay holding her in his arms.

"That's why I said you and he will try not to be in the same place at the same time when your family is around. We'll know how to set things up once we get there," he had whispered softly. But even so, she had not been reassured enough to sleep.

"Then you and I… I mean… we will have to act like we don't love each other, too. You'll have to pretend you don't care about me, as if I'm just a wife you were forced to marry and now forced to escort to her homeland."

"That's the plan. You don't like that part, do you?" he asked, bringing his lips closer to hers as she shook her head.

"I hate it too, love. So let me tell you this, just in case we don't get the chance to say it to each other once we're there." He brought his hand up to cup her cheek, his thumb tracing the side of her mouth as he spoke in a deep, husky tone. "I want you to always know that I love you. I love you so much." Then he had kissed her slowly, deeply.

Now, remembering that kiss, Belle felt her toes curl, and warmth bloomed in her heart, easing the heavy worries she had carried since last night. She smiled to herself, believing that everything would be fine as long as they were together. She could endure two weeks without her husband showing his affection, as long as she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he still loved her.

Belle finished bathing Angel and dressed him after moisturizing his smooth skin, a tone that, surprisingly, had not yet turned as tanned as Rohan's, yet was not as ivory as hers. His coloring fell somewhere in between.

What she disliked most about this entire plan, however, was that they had changed his eye color to red and his hair to black.

He now looked less like Rohan and more like an ordinary vampire baby. Rohan had warned her that the eyedrop potion would itch and burn for a while, but it would eventually stop. The previous night, Angel had cried his little throat raw when the potion were placed in his eyes while he was feeding, the distraction doing little to ease his discomfort. He had scratched at his eyes for quite some time until Rohan had rocked him gently and offered him a blood candy. Only then had the baby finally stopped crying and rubbing his eyes.

"We have to hurt him a little to save his life, Isa. I don't want to do this either, but I have no choice," Rohan had told her when she had hesitated and voiced her protest.

Now, Angel showed no sign of discomfort, but his eyes were unmistakably red. He stared at her with those altered eyes, smiling sweetly, and willingly raised his chubby little hands so she could slip them into the sleeves of his shirt and coat.

"That's my boy. Now your stockings." she gave him a rewarding kiss on the forehead.

She quickly finished dressing him and handed him to Gwen, who would take him to Evenly so Belle could have time to dress herself.

When Gwen returned, she helped Belle into her gown, for it was impossible to manage all the layers on her own. Today, Belle wore an extravagant emerald-green dress of rich silk, the kind that shimmered faintly with each movement. The bodice hugged her snugly in all the right places, its low neckline edged with delicate gold embroidery that caught the light. The full skirts fell in graceful folds, the weight of the fabric giving them a regal sway, and the long sleeves tapered neatly at her wrists, ending in lace cuffs that brushed against her hands with every gesture.

Her hair had been styled so that the upper half was woven into a braided crown, secured with tiny golden pins shaped like leaves, while the rest tumbled freely down her back in soft, glossy waves. When she caught her reflection, she was struck by how rosy her cheeks had grown, and how her freckles, far from diminishing her looks, gave her face a brightness and charm she had never before acknowledged.

Remembering herself in the days after her marriage, Belle could tell she had changed, not only inwardly, but physically. She was no longer overly thin, but slenderly curvaceous, her skin glowing with health and making her hazel eyes seem deeper, richer in color. She couldn't help but wonder what her family would think when they saw her now.

She was still admiring herself in the mirror, wondering whether her mother would finally appreciate her now that she looked like this, when she suddenly felt herself being wrapped in something warm from behind. Raising her eyes to the mirror, she saw her husband standing there, draping a green coat over her shoulders and gently guiding her arms into the sleeves, never once taking his gaze from her reflection.

"I could stare at you all year and never tire of it, love," he whispered in her ear, bringing a deep blush to her cheeks. "Are you ready to leave?" he added, pressing a tender kiss to her earlobe. "The carriages are here."

Belle nodded. "Yes."

He swiftly fastened the buttons of the coat for her, then adjusted the very feminine collar, which did little to conceal the neckline of her dress. When his eyes fell on the swell of her breasts, partly exposed by the gown, he narrowed them slightly. "I didn't know the buttons didn't reach higher. Those are for my eyes alone, and no one else's," he murmured, his gaze lingering possessively on her beautiful, freckled skin.

"I like the coat and the dress. And stop being a pervert, let's go. The carriages are waiting for us. The journey is almost a week's ride; I'll change when we stop to rest anyway. Let's go." She tugged at his hand, dragging him along before he could insist she change into something less revealing and delay their departure.

She couldn't wait to set out for Aragonia and get past the dread gnawing at her from within. She still couldn't believe she had once dreaded marrying Rohan and coming with him to Nightbrook, but now she dreaded returning to her homeland almost as much as she had dreaded leaving it.