An unknown guest

Bellatrix had fallen asleep, her head resting on Valeria's shoulder due to fatigue and weakness. The horse in front of the carriage galloped ahead, playing hide-and-seek with the sun-dappled trees on the road, disturbing Bellatrix's sleep. She stirred and shook a little. Valeria understood and placed her hand over Bellatrix's eyes. A faint smile played on the sleeping Bellatrix's lips.  Valeria understood; she sighed in secret. She hadn't wanted to take Bellatrix with her, but fate had dictated another plan. 

Valeria was afraid of fate. About it, Father Jalonov had warned her many times; he knows Valeria seems like an iron on the surface, but at the core she’s a softy, which makes her life extremely tough. She had hoped to overcome her fear of the dangerous situations she had faced with Father Jalonov in the last year, but the opposite had happened. Father had said to leave emotions behind, but Valeria couldn't let go of her attachment to Bellatrix.

God knows, if Damon's group found out about Bellatrix, they would dauntlessly take revenge on Valeria. She took her hand away from Bellatrix's eyes and placed it on her pale cheek.

 "I told you everything in the hope that you would be scared and not want to come with me. But the opposite happened. Why are you so stubborn, Krasiviya? I can't forgive myself if something happen to you." Valeria rolled her eyes.

After telling Bellatrix everything about Valeria's life, she had been silent that day, and Valeria had thought that she wouldn't want to go anymore. There was a sigh of relief in her mind. The next day, Valeria sat down happily to write a letter to Father Jalonov.

At that moment, Bellatrix approached Valeria.

"The fear of losing you has gripped me so much, Valeria. Why are you doing this? Bellatrix moaning, wiped her tears. "I won't intercept you, but, I'll go with you."

"Bellatrix!" Valeria shrieked.

"You'll take me with you, Valerie. If you don't, you'll find my dead body." Bellatrix commanded. She quietly take out the chair beside Valeria, sat on it, waiting for her answer.

"Bellatrix!" Valeria ranted.

"You're right; you're not afraid of losing. Go away tomorrow. Don't come back. Even if you do, you won't find me again." Valeria knows Bellatrix is a down-to-earth girl who left her no choice.

The previous letter was torn, and Valeria had written a new letter to Father, informing him of everything. The letter would arrive three days later. If Father knew that Valeria had been so irresponsible, then he wouldn't have allowed her to come here if Valeria knew that Father loved her more than anyone else. So, in anger, she allowed Bellatrix to come with her. However, Bellatrix would not be able to stay with them. She would be accommodated in a village ten miles away. Valeria would be able to see her occasionally. Valeria didn't tell Bellatrix that.

Bellatrix woke up to the wet, icy air. She was shaking. Valeria took her hand and walked towards the main gate of a wooden house in front of the door. Valeria knocked on the front wooden door three times, and an old woman peeked openly through the door. She folded over her hand on the door, asked in a rough voice,

"Who do you want?"

"Madam Dolly, I'm Sister Valeria. Father Jalonov sent me."

The old woman’s reaction did not change at all. She said contemptuously,

"Oh, where's the girl?"

Valeria brought Bellatrix closer and replied,

"This is Bellatrix Alexiev, my sister. Father told you about her."

The old woman opened the door completely.

"Come on. I'll show you your living room." There was no welcome in her voice. It seemed they were both unwanted.

"My living room? Will I be alone here? Valerie!" Bellatrix didn’t understand what was happening; inside her head, she was in a panicky mood, and dread rose in her heart.

The old woman frowned and looked through the gap in her glasses. Valeria looked at her and said,

"I want to talk to her alone." 

After the woman left, Valeria told Bellatrix everything. Hearing all this, Bellatrix started crying. 

"How can she be alone in this unknown place? The old woman's behavior is making her even more embarrassed," Bellatrix said.

 "I can’t keep you with me. But when I have time, I will come to see you often. I took you here as you wished; now you have to listen to me." Valeria announced. She left Bellatrix in front of the gate and got in the carriage. Bellatrix has no choice but to see Valerie disappear.

About a month passed,

 And Bellatrix is trying to adapt here. Valerie has come to see her a few times. Just now, Madam Dolly stood in the living room with her hands on her waist.

 "You missed breakfast. The medicine that I made with the hot water is also cold on the table. Will you ignore the elders like this?" she scolded.

"I don't want to hear excuses. Eat quietly. Hurry up," Madam Dolly continued.

Bellatrix put a spoonful of soup in her mouth. A faint smile flashed at the corner of Madam's lips but disappeared before Bellatrix noticed it. Madam stepped towards the kitchen and said, "Sister has sent news that she will not be able to come for the next three days."

"Three days!" exclaimed Bellatrix.

"I'm going to get water. If you want to go with me, take dry clothes with you. We will take a shower at once."

Bellatrix agreed, nodding her head.

After reaching the side of the lake, Madam pointed to the small bushes next to the shore and said,

 "Take a bath there. I will sit down by then."

On the other side of the lake, there is a small, clean drain where Bellatrix takes a dip. Suddenly, she hears the roar of a horse nearby and feels a strange change in her calm nature. She quickly gets out of the water, puts on dry clothes, and runs with her dirty clothes and buckets to find Madam Dolly. But Madame is not here; Bellatrix got scared.

"Madam!" Bellatrix calls out.

"Here I am," Madame replied.

Following the tone of her voice, Bellatrix hurries over to Madame, who is now sitting by the lake with a human body in her lap. The face is not visible as the head is in Madam's lap. Bellatrix went on. Bellatrix sees a handsome young man lying unconscious on Madam's lap. 

Madame has taken a vow to heal the unknown young man, but despite many attempts, it is not possible to regain his consciousness. Bellatrix is surprised to see this attitude. They brought the fainting young man home with the help of others. Madam is very worried, and Bellatrix sits by the window with her coat wrapped around her, watching over the young man.

"I'm going out for a bit. Sit next to the boy for a while, Bellatrix. I'll be back soon," Madame Dolly says before leaving. 

Bellatrix was afraid to live in an empty room with a young man alone, whether conscious or unconscious; he was still a man! She went and sat down on the little stool in front of him. The young man was breathing sluggishly; she listened cautiously to the sound. 

She laid eyes on the young man, with thick, smooth black hair on his head, a beardless, strong jaw, a high nose, a wide forehead, and lips that fit the whole face. Bellatrix was observing the young man's plump, half-waved eyebrows; she didn't realize when she leaned in to look at his face. Just then, her gaze settled on the young man's lips, where there was a smile on the corner. 

Suddenly, the young man opened his eyes. Bellatrix felt she had asphyxiated from those eyes. There was something in that vision, and she could hear the speed of his heart-beat. Bellatrix got up and left the living room, and Madam Dolly saw her gasping as if she had just run for miles when she hung her umbrella behind the closed door.

"What happened, Bellatrix?" asked Madam, a little worried about the situation. 

Bellatrix pointed her finger at the living room and tried to speak. Madame panicked and hurried towards it. The young man sat up with his back against the wall, his eyes closed, and Madam sat in front of him on the stool.

"How do you feel now?" she asked.

The young man slowly looked into her eyes and didn't say anything for a while. Madame asked again,

 "How do you feel now?"

"Good," he replied softly, and the tone of his voice indicated how weak he was. Madam examined the young man's pulse once more and looked at his face before saying,

 "Your pulse is not normal. You need complete rest", she announced.

The young man only listened in silence, and Madame got up and went to the kitchen. She returned with a bowl of soup and herbal medicines, and the young man ate quietly without asking any questions. Madam looked at him with searching eyes and, at one point, broke her silence by asking, 

"I found you unconscious on the banks of the Jhiri in the south. You probably had a horse with you. I heard the sound. After searching a lot, we couldn’t find it. What state are you from? How did you get to the side of that lake? The people of this village don't know you. "

The young man stopped eating, raised his eyes, and looked at Madame with a faint smile at the corner of his lips. Expressing gratitude, he smiled as Madam suddenly asked so many questions at once that he said, 

“Thank you, Madam. Yes, I'm not from this village. I was coming back from the east when my horse suddenly became restless and I fell ill. I went that way by mistake; I don't remember exactly what happened after that. Don't worry, I'll leave now."

"How will you go? Your horse is missing", Madame asked.

"I have to go and find it there. If not, I'll make other arrangements," the young man prompted.

Madame shook her head and stood up. She went to the window, looked out the curtain a little, and said, 

"It's snowing heavily outside. In the meantime, how can I leave you in this sick body? You'd better spend tonight in my room."

"No, no, how is that? You've already suffered a lot. Being a stranger, you have done a lot for me," the young man protested.

"Stop it. Don't belittle my responsibility by giving those thanks. God sent you to my door for help. If I don't help, he'll be angry with me. You will stay in this room tonight. Leave tomorrow morning. I won't mind then."

When the young man went to say "no," Madam ignored him and left the living room. Bellatrix was sitting in the living room with her neck folded, listening to Madam and the young man talking in the kitchen. She felt uncomfortable knowing that the young man would be in the house tonight, specifically because of the embarrassing situation earlier.

"Haven't you ever seen a boy in your life? How much have you seen, Peter? Why did you look at the young man like that?" she scolded herself. Seeing someone other than Peter in this way made her more angry. Madam looked at her face and asked,

 "What happened to you again? Why are you upset? "

Bellatrix immediately smiled unpreparedly and replied,

 "Nothing, Madam."

 Madame didn't say anything else. After a while, she went to the living room with a thick, hairy blanket. Bellatrix sat in a kitchen chair. Nothing could be seen except the fireplace and walls of the living room, but she could clearly hear their words. Madame wanted to know the young man's personal information. The young man revealed his name in a cold tone, "Nicolas Kurigin." His home was in St. Petersburg. He was going to a nearby town for business. He also said that he had a problem with nervousness. In the grip of the extreme cold, he fell unconscious during the long journey. Madam heard everything and said,

 "I have some herbal medicines. I hope your nervousness will be reduced, even if it is not completely healed. Stay at my house for two days. I won't let you leave until you're fully healed."

Nicholas didn't refuse her offer. The young man was confident in his treatment. Bellatrix's discomfort increased as she realized that she would have to stay under the same roof as an unknown young man named Nicholas. 

Bellatrix came out of the kitchen and ran into the room. She turned off the lights and sat on the bed, taking off her headscarf and covering herself with the blanket up to her throat. 

After some time, she could suddenly hear someone breathing heavily. The hair on her body stood up in fear. Bellatrix strained her eyes to see in the darkness. All the houses were dark except for two shining eyes very close to her. Were they human? No, human eyes weren't so sharp and violent. Bellatrix tried hard to scream, but nothing came out of her throat except for a faint sound. She saw the violent eyes coming down towards her throat. Two lips near her neck shivered as if to touch her. A full-throated voice came to her ear, breaking the silence, 

"Bella, my Bella."

Then some needles pierced the skin of her neck and entered her blood vessel. Bellatrix screamed loudly, expending all her energy.