CLARITY OR CONFUSION?

CHAPTER SEVEN

“She is clarity and confusion, never enough… always too much. A simple, complicated and perfectly flawed mess”

PERRY POETRY

THE DUKE

She was watching me, staring at me eat even when she knew I was aware. She was supposed to be afraid of me, what was she doing staring at me with those soulful and innocent eyes.

"Aren't you supposed to drink only blood?" She had asked me.

I had wanted to respond immediately and tell her the food wasn't enough and that blood was my main source of nutrients but I decided to tease her a bit and asked if she was offering herself to me.

Her expression showed she took me seriously and I winced as she sat up straight in her chair and focused solely on her food not glancing at me even once again

I heard her exclaim and turned, she had cut herself and I had immediately taken her finger in my mouth forgetting that her scent was something I could not resist. I had been anticipating tasting her for quite a while but it did not compare to the rush of blood through my veins as I tasted her. She was sweet, everything I had ever imagined and more, I heard her gasp and opened my eyes, she watching me suck on her hand and was that desire in her eyes?

I let go of her hand immediately and picked up my spoon, I could already feel my claws threatening to erupt from my fingers, I wanted to dig my fangs into her neck and suck till the last drop of blood in her was in my body. How could someone so small and innocent taste so good, it was inconceivable how my body was reacting to just a drop of her blood.

"Excuse me" I said to her and fled from her presence.

It would do me no good to kill my bride to be before the wedding actually commences.

I walked into the room I saw her trying to enter earlier, she was not supposed to have discovered the room. It was a mystery that she could see the door seeing that it was supposed to be hidden from mere human eyes. This only permeated my claim that she was something not entirely human.

Who was she? I wondered to myself.

The room was where I kept personal belongings, things I did not want humans to tangle with whenever one or two of them came visiting. It was the resting place of Katherine, I had taken her body away when I ran and have been with it ever since.

Centuries ago and she had not aged a bit even in death

"Who is she?" I asked to no one in particular … “Did you come back to me, Katherine? Is that it?"

I sat down beside her body, caressing her already stiff face.

"I miss you every day, Katherine. I want you to smile at me again, is there a way I can get you back?"

This and more I mumbled as I sat beside the body of my wife.

Guinevere was a different and intriguing puzzle, how was she human and looked exactly like my dead wife?

I had plans to invite a very old friend over for the wedding which will be holding during the week, I wanted him to access her and tell me if she was indeed Katherine. Nobody was going to know this of course, my old friend was a witch of the first order during his time and now an accountant

He had managed to hide himself among the people of the ton with none of them being the wiser, his wife had been killed during the uprising many centuries ago. He and I had managed to navigate ourselves, having each other's backs throughout the century.

He was the one that had helped me hide Katherine's body as we ran, it had not easy as this drained his energy so much every day but he did it anyway and he was one person I would always have to thank for my life

He also made available potions that let me go without blood for weeks and when I was caught on the day when the death of the witches were to be celebrated all over, he had done everything to save me. That day he had gone into one of the neighboring villages and was told that they were going to be celebrating by hanging caricatures of dead powerful witches that had been burnt at the stake amongst those caricatures were his wife and his two daughters. He had totally lost it there and then and had killed almost half of the population of the village. I was the one who stopped and saved him but was captured and tortured in his stead before he found a way to rescue me.

We had been together since, when I told him I was going back into the society he had vehemently disagreed but then when I had given him the reason I was going back to be integrated into the society, he had wished me luck and had told me to call upon him for any favor. That particular favor that he had promised me years ago was due for harvesting

"I will find out what she is." I said aloud looking to where Katherine lay

"You will be the only woman I have ever loved." I said again caressing her cheek.

Small footsteps reached my ears and a scent so familiar pricked my nose

"Where are you going little mouse." I muttered as I teleported in front of Guinevere who was exiting the hallway

She gasped and looked at me with eyes filled with hurt; there and then I knew she had heard what I said to my wife.

"Nowhere, I was just leaving." She said looking at the floor in front of her.

"What did you hear?" I asked

"Nothing" she murmured.

"You can leave" I said to her and turned back to walk into the room.

"Why?" She blurted.

"Why what, Guinevere" I asked although I knew of what she inquired

"Why do you wish to marry me, it is quite obvious you are still intoxicated with your wife from centuries ago. Is it because I have her face? Do you see her in me?"

"Do not kid yourself little girl, you will never be anywhere close to Katherine." I told her and disappeared.

I listened to her footsteps recede, she was crying