Chapter 5 Snare and Snarl

Adrienne Mallory entered a dream. 

She was ten years old. It was nighttime. She was already asleep when she was forced to wake up by her mom and dad coming to her room with hurried movements.

“Mom, Dad. What’s wrong?” she asked still groggy from sleep rubbing her eyes from the sudden intrusion of her parents. She was hugging her favorite white pink teddy.

“Get up, Adrienne! We have to leave immediately! We’re going to your Aunt Isobel. You will stay with her.” Her mom said in a rush pulling her up.

“Mom, why? What’s happening?”

“Hush, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay. I promise.” Her mom said putting a jacket on her pajamas. 

“Mom, I need my blanket.” She said yawning and forcing herself to wake up.

“You’ll get back to sleep once we’re at your aunt’s home.”

“Okay,” Adrienne said. She felt herself getting carried by her dad behind his back.

They went to her mom’s sister's house. Just as they had arrived at the door of her mom’s sister Isobel and Adrienne touched her aunt, the pursuers found them and dragged her mom and dad. 

And that night became the most unforgettable night that made Adrienne suffer almost her entire teenage waking years. She was still half-asleep when it happened but the memory ingrained to her mind as far as her waking mind could.

Her mom and dad were dragged by the pursuers at her Aunt Isobel’s patio. They were almost concealed by the glass screen door.

Then she saw someone grabbed her dad by the collar and he was lifted on the floor. And when he was dropped back to the ground, he was no longer moving. Then she heard her mom screaming her dad’s name.

“Ferdie! Ferdie! Noooooooooooooooooooo……!!!!!!!!” She cried maniacally while the pursuers dragged her away from her dad.

Adrienne tried to open the door but she was stopped by her aunt hugging her tight from her back.

Then, the most shocking thing that she’d witnessed in her life that night shook her core. It rendered her almost impossible to forget because it was unbelievable and unforgettable.

She saw it before her eyes happening. It must be the one who killed her dad for it was the same dress that she could trace from the glass door.

He returned to her dad’s unmoving form and knelt before him. He raised his right arm and pointed his right index finger at him. Then she saw black marks coming out from the pointed forehead spreading down at her father’s face until it crept down to his neck throughout his hands. Then she saw her dad turned black like charcoal and he smoldered before he burst into black ashes of nothing.

“Dad? Daaadddd!” She screamed into the night.

Adrienne suddenly opened her eyes. But she couldn’t see anything. Suddenly she felt claustrophobic just like that night her dad disappeared from her eyes. She remembered the cold sweat she always felt when she had that recurring nightmare. Over time she was able to no longer have that dream. She even had a witch therapist in her early years of teenage just to get over that horrible night to unremember.

She felt a soft silky blanket on her and felt her back lying comfortably on a soft bed. She slowly moved up and looked at her surroundings. She was inside a big room. Despite the darkness that permeated the room she could trace the outline of the room. She has good eyesight. It was further enhanced by her fire magic to enhance her vision.

The room was twice as big as her bedroom back at Ardelean Village. She looked around the room and saw to her side tall curtains drawn together. She got out of bed and opened it aside. The glare of the moon bathed her in bright light. She put a hand before her eyes to shield herself from the sudden light that hit her eyes waiting for her sight to adjust and focus.

“So, you’re finally awake. At last, sleeping witch.” Drawled a cold voice behind her.

Adrienne turned around to find Alaric Emrick already dressed in his pajamas leaning on her doorway.

“What are you doing here?” she asked scorn traced in her voice

“Always remain uninvited inside your premises, I gather, huh?” He said with dry humor. “Sooner or later Adrienne Mallory you have to change that cold attitude to your husband.”

He walked towards the room and stopped to seat comfortably leaning on one of the couches, crossing his legs in front of him. 

“I brought your dinner.”

She looked at him empty-handed.

“I don’t see it.”

“Of course not.” He said with a hidden smile. He swished his hand lightly flicking his fingery. Then, a tray full of food appeared on the table. “Have a seat, wife.”

“Don’t call me wife,” she said irritated.

“But sooner than later we’ll be united as husband and wife so get used to my endearment, Adrienne.”

She clicked her tongue while she threw him a glance. She heard a slight rumble in her stomach.

“Aren’t you hungry? Your stomach already gave you the answer. Why don’t you sit down?”  He gestured with a gallant move of his hand.

“Are you always like this, Emrick?” She said as she crossed the room and sat on the couch across from him. “Friendly when the night falls?” she asked dubiously.

“Ah, so no more, Lord Emrick. I see.” He said with a rare smile on his face. “Is this a positive effect of getting a good sleep after a long journey?” He chuckled. “Then you should always have a nice long sleep.”

He looked at her under his gaze and observed her. 

“By the way, since we’re on a friendly term basis, Adrienne. Just call me, Alaric. It would be bizarre if the servants and maids hear you calling me Lord Emrick. You’re not exactly my maid,” he paused perusing her dress, “but I wish for you to dress more properly than your…ah…more than permissible wine-dressed gown. You don’t work in the kitchen, wife.”

Rather than retort a reply, Adrienne ignored him and picked the spoon, and scooped the soup. She placed it in her mouth.

“It’s cold.” She said disappointed looking darkly at him. “You didn’t even warm it, Alaric.”

“But you’re a fire-witch, Adrienne. So, why don’t you do it?”

She glared at him sharply and touched both end handles of the tray activating her fire magic on her hands heating the tray.

“You should have said earlier than keep tattering on nonsense,” she said tautly.

“Perhaps you would like me to warm your pajamas too, Alaric,” she added without humor eyeing his pajamas.

Alaric chuckled at her suggestion

“Wouldn’t I love that, wife?” He asked looking at her suggestively scrutinizing her under his gaze from her head lingering at her concealed chest and returning to look at her face.

Adrienne felt warm, almost hot under his smoldering scrutiny. The vampire was a cold devil in the day but he must have a switch at night. It was night, after all. The favorite time of a vampire to hunt and prey. She was disgusted at the thought but when she looked at him she had to admit he looked good in his pajamas, he looked gentle like he won’t hurt a soul. 

“You know what I mean, right, Alaric?” She said in an inviting tone. Two could play this game, she thought. “Why don’t you share my meal?”

Alaric leaned forward to the table and looked at her with a half-smile on his face.

She smiled salaciously at him.

“Here you can have this bread, sweetheart.” She said picking the bread from the plate raising it to give it to him. “Give me your hand, Alaric.”

Alaric not seeing her intention stretched his right hand and opened his palm.

“Very good, sweetheart. Take this bread,” she said putting the bread on his palm with her right hand while her left hand held his hand below activating her fire magic.

“You bitch! How dare you!” He said angrily snatching his hand back. The bread dropping on the table.

“Better be warned when you make scrupulous jokes, Emrick. For fires burn very badly, sweetheart.” She said picking a piece of bread and taking a bite of it.

“You snippy witch! What did you do with my right hand?” he asked massaging his right hand with his left hand. It felt so weak he couldn’t feel a thing with it.

“Just paralyze some of your palm and wrist nerves so you can’t use it for two days, Alaric.”

Alaric Emrick rose from his seat angrily and for the first time in his life admitted that he was defeated. By a witch, of all creatures. 

“I leave you to enjoy your meal. Good night, Lady Mallory.” He said in haste and strode out of the room in a jiffy.

Adrienne laughed unmercifully while she enjoyed her delicious meal alone in her room.

“Lady Mallory, villain. So you need to be hurt first before you learn to respect another.” She murmured in distaste and scooped the soup with her spoon. This time it was better than warm. It was perfectly hot just like how she liked her soup.

And after that incident inside Adrienne Mallory’s room, it couldn’t be said that the relationship between the witch and her vampire turned amicably so. Bumps, halts, and stops screeched at their toes and footsteps while they manage to live their daily life making sure that they don’t kill each other every day.

For who would love to live with a witch who was always on her guard against the advances of a vampire who had learned to thaw his icy demeanor in front of the fiery redhead who knew how to release her fire.

Life inside Acheron Castle couldn’t be called peaceful even if it was wished to be relaxing.

“Don’t you like your steak, Alaric?” asked Adrienne over lunch while slicing her steak with a knife and fork. They were eating outside the castle by the shaded ground enjoying a bright sunny lunch date.

The two decided to use Adrienne’s fire magic that Saturday while the rest of the staff went out of the castle to enjoy their day off having a picnic by the city’s beach.

“Too cooked, Adrienne. I told you, I only eat rare steak.” Alaric complained while slicing his steak and not seeing any blood made him lose his appetite for lunch. He put the fork and knife away and kept drinking wine instead.

“Oh-okay. Give me your share and let me make you another steak.” Adrienne said enjoying the privilege she has to cook beef steak. “You can have tomatoes and strawberries while you wait for the steak to be cooked rare as you requested.” 

She said handing him the plates of tomatoes and a bowl of strawberries.

“Would you like garlic?” She asked innocently. “I love them on my steak. Makes it more biting and inviting.”

Alaric frowned at her while she added more powdered garlic to her steak.

She saw him looking at her so she asked, “Would you like me to add this on your steak?”

“Adrienne? Don’t test my patience, witch.”

He said thinly while taking a bite of the sliced tomatoes. He took another gulp of wine. He picked a strawberry and bit it.

“Okay. But their good for the heart, Alaric.” She said looking at him straightforwardly.

“My heart is better without garlic,” he said meaningfully and watched her cooked the steak with her hands on fire. “If you don’t cook my steak properly rare this time, I am not chilling this red wine of yours. You can enjoy it hot and warm on your glass.” 

He was holding his glass of wine, the liquid cold under his touch. 

Over time he spent with Adrienne Mallory one thing Alaric Emrick learnt about the witch, he and she both shared a passion for drinking wine. So he shared with her every wine collection he has underground their wine cellar.

Adrienne was cooking the steak Alaric requested to be rare when she got thirsty and reached for her wine glass but it turned warm at the touch. Annoyed that she unwittingly changed the temperature of the wine, she poured the wine on his steak when he averted his gaze to the side to see something. When she was done cooking his steak rare, she gave it to him while he handed her a cold glass of wine. She took it and drank from it.

“So how was it this time, Alaric?” she asked, her elbows propped on the table supporting her chin.

Alaric sliced the steak and saw bright blood oozing from the steak. He smiled delighted and forked a slice. 

“Very good, witch.” Then he stopped while chewing. “Did you add wine to it?”

She nodded.

“Well, it’s good. So I don’t mind very much.”