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nShe stood in front of the mirror, her lips painted to a light pink like a rare rose that could be found in the land of Bonelake during the time of summer that appeared for a few days. Her brownish red hair was tied into a braid from below her ear that went to move from one side to another like a band on her head to be pinned to the other side. The rest of her wavy hair was left open that flowed to stop right above her waist.

nWith a beige dress that she wore now, Belle looked at herself in the mirror. She stared at herself.

nHearing the door knock which was already open, her red eyes moved to look at the butler who stood with a passive expression on his face,

"Mrs. Adams requests your presence right now, Miss Belle,

" Belle gave the butler a look.

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"Can't I just pretend to be sick and stay in bed?

" she asked out of nervousness.

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"You will have to speak to Mrs. Adams about it,

" the butler bowed his head,

"You have been asked not to be late,

" her very polite butler relayed the message to her and she sighed.

nBelle had reached the age where girls met eligible men to see if they could find a suitable partner. She had crossed the age of seventeen eight months ago and seeing other girls getting married, her parents had started to push her in the very same direction.

nThe butler didn't leave the front of the door he stood at,

"How do I look, Lucas?

" she asked for affirmation.

nHer eyes met his black eyes as she asked him where his expression never changed. There was always a subtle smile on his face which made Belle wonder if he ever got angry. She couldn't remember when her perfect butler had ever shown a change of emotions on his face.

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"You look good, Miss Belle,

" he assured her,

"It is very common to be nervous when you go to meet a person.

"

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"I am glad to hear that,

" she said exhaling loudly and then said,

"Where did you place the shoes?

" she started to look for it, her bare feet padding on the cold floor. She had worn it last week but she didn't remember where it was right now.

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"You will find it in the second right cupboard at the bottom shelf,

" the butler answered, and the girl quickly pulled out the shoes, stuffing her feet in it as she stood,

"Take a seat to wear it,

" her butler said which she waved.

nShe finally stepped out of the room to be followed by the butler. Walking down the stairs, he finally reached the drawing-room where her parents were seated along with the guests,

"Good luck,

" her butler whispered and instead of it giving her courage, her nervousness grew further but she put up a smile.

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"Belle, you look beautiful,

" said Mrs. Damers,

"Your mother was telling about your paintings,

" Belle's eyebrows rose to hear this.

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"Was she?

" she asked Mrs. Damers. Belle gave a quick look at her mother who looked at her with her big eyes as if indicating to go along.

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"Yes, we even took a look at it. Such art, I must say you are a very talented young lady,

" Mrs. Damers praised her, and Belle continued to smile. She was sure her mother had shown the paintings that belonged to the butler because, for the life of her, Belle was not good when it came to art.

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"I am pleased to hear you like it,

" Belle took in the compliment.

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"We should put up an auction for your paintings. It would be a hit in the town,

" Mr. Damers chipped in his thoughts, and Belle could only nod.

nHer father had gone out for work and her mother had set up a meeting with a possible eligible son of the vampire parents.

nThis was how it usually worked in society. Getting to know the family and subtly introducing their children to see if there could be a future prospect.

nWhilst her mother spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Damers, Belle sat there listening to them and once in a while nodding her head wanting to get over with this. And when it was over, she was ready to slip out of the mansion, walking towards the door when her butler caught her.

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"Where are you going?

"

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"To a friend's place,

" Belle answered, ready to step away as he stood right in front of her but he matched her footsteps.

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"Which friend? Mrs. Adams has asked you to take a maid along with you,

" he stopped her. The vampiress was a good few inches shorter for his tall height, blocking her from going out.

nThe reason Belle had dressed nicely wasn't because she was going to meet Mr. and Mrs. Damers but because she had given a word about meeting someone outside the mansion.

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"I am not a child anymore who needs to be chaperoned,

" Belle replied to him, her eyes staring into his and he stared back at her. She softly gulped when she noticed how he wasn't smiling anymore. There was just something very daunting about him that intimidated people. Was it his height? No, she had met other people who were tall.

nIt was his demeanor, the peaceful expression on his face was unnerving to a person,

"I will be alright, Lucas,

" she said when she saw him not respond. He didn't say anything as he knew she would be back soon.

nThe carriage ride was pleasant. Once it reached its destination Belle got down from the carriage at the theater. Her nervousness grew again as she stood outside the theater waiting for a person. The wind blew softly over her face, ruffling her hair that was down, and the dress she was wearing fluttered in the direction the wind blew.

nShe was waiting for Rob MacCarty, a man she had been seeing for five weeks now, slipping out of the house without her parents' knowledge. She had met the man in a tea party that was hosted by one of her acquaintances where she had the opportunity to talk to the young man. He was a handsome pureblooded vampire. Brown hair, red eyes, square jaw, and a sharp nose.

nIt wasn't the first time a male had approached her as she had often been greeted and spoken to by the opposite sex. But Rob appeared different and he was sweet to her. She knew there were many girls who had been trying to get his attention and to be given attention by the charming man, Belle found it to be special. She was yet to tell her parents about him but Belle thought it was better to bring the man home to meet her parents so that they could meet each other.

nAnd while she waited for the man, Belle saw the people walk by her but there was something she didn't notice. A shadow had been following her since the time she had left home that had been waiting for her.

nNoticing the long pole, Belle looked at the lamp post, and then her eyes trailed down to look at the shadow that started to move in her direction and she frowned. There was no sunlight and it was a cloudy day due to which the shadow was faint on the ground but she could feel it subtly moving in her direction.

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"Lady Belle,

" came the voice behind her, and Belle turned around to see Rob standing a short distance away from her but he wasn't alone. There was another girl who held his arm,

"What are you doing here standing alone?

" he asked her as if he knew nothing.

nBelle's jaw ticked and if it was possible she would have taken the metal stand that stood next to her to beat both Rob and the girl, not caring if he was a pureblooded vampire but somewhere deep down she was hurt. And she knew if she did something like that, her parents and Lucas would be disappointed in her. She was taught to be better than that.

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"I was enjoying the wind out here. How about yourself, Mr. MacCarty?

" Belle asked without letting the hurt surface up her face.

nThe pureblooded vampire gave her a smile,

"I came out with Lady Peyton to watch the show.

"

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"Again?

" Belle tilted her head,

"I guess watching with Miss Felicia yesterday wasn't enough to get the show,

" she gave him a smile seeing the girl who was on his arm give a confused look at both of them.

nThe pureblooded vampire laughed at her words,

"I don't know what you are saying,

" he said, a tinge of anger in his eyes for trying to sabotage his time with the girl who was on his arm,

"I think you mistook-

"

nBelle shook her head,

"Did you forget I greeted you yesterday?

" She could make up the lie because she had met him yesterday. She thought he liked her but apparently he had found another girl to keep him busy with his interest that had been shifted from her,

"I hope you have a good time with Lady Peyton, make sure you both watch the theater,

" she gave them a knowing look, walking away from there to hear Lady Peyton ask what Belle had meant.

nBy the time Belle had turned around, the smile she had previously slipped away from her face. The shadow that was coming from the lamppost had disappeared.

nBelle laid on her bed with the pillow that was settled below the side of her face as she looked at the headboard. It seemed that she had placed her feelings on the wrong person. She had been excited to meet him this noon and as if that wasn't enough she had gone to the forest hills to end up getting drenched from the top of her head to her shoe that was filled with water which she had to pour it out.

nShe laid there for a long time, not stepping out of her room and softly sighing to herself.

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"You have been sighing a lot,

" came the voice behind her and she got up from the bed.

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"Lucas,

" she said looking at her butler who had his back facing her as he had bent down to put more logs of fire in the fireplace of the room,

"When did you come? I didn't hear you,

" she said, one of her hands was placed on the bed while the other rested on her lap.

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"When you sighed four times before the last one,

" he was setting the woods, pushing it and making way for more,

"I am taking that your day with your friend didn't go well,

" the way he used the word 'friend' made her wonder if he knew what she had been up to. If he did know, she wouldn't be surprised as the butler appeared to know everything. Sometimes it made her wonder how he knew things.

nStanding up he turned around. His hair looked slightly out of place because of the wind when he had stepped out of the mansion.

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"It didn't,

" Belle said without giving away too much information to him. Her nose tickled and she sneezed.

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"You got drenched in the rain,

" he noted, walking into the bathroom, he took hold of the towel and came back to give it to her,

"Dry your hair before you catch a cold. It is why sometimes it is better to stay inside the mansion. People outside aren't as nice as the people in here,

" she took hold of the towel gingerly from him.

nBelle whipped her head with the towel that turned her slightly wet hair messy as she moved to rub her head and handed it to him.

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"Is everyone like this?

" Belle asked who had a lack of experience when it came to men.

nLucas who was about to leave looked at her. The candles that were burning brightly in the room gave the walls and other objects a golden hue that also came to fall on her skin. With the butler who stood at the bed, she had to crane her neck slightly up to meet his eyes.

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"Most of them are like that,

" he answered her,

"People will use another person without any thought. Knowing or unknowingly. After all, they are living creatures who enjoy the things around them and are greedy to have everything and anything. It is up to you to decipher what is right and wrong for you.

"

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"I thought he was a good man,

" Belle said, letting her head fall front along with her eye on her hands that she had placed on her lap.

nLucas looked at the young girl who sat on the bed. He knew she had been meeting up with that useless piece of garbage for a few days but he had not spoken a word about it knowingly well that if he were to intervene, Belle would not come to learn and acknowledge like what she did today. There was also a possibility she would have continued to meet him thinking people were trying to keep her apart from that man.

nHe had expected it to turn out like this and she had learned the little lesson just as he wanted her to learn.

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"Miss Belle,

" said Lucas to the girl who nodded her head wondering if Lucas was going to offer her comforting words.

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"Yes?

" Belle lifted her face and at the same time, her butler bent down to meet her eyes.

nShe held her breath seeing him this near that she could look at her own silhouette in his eyes. He didn't say anything but looked into her eyes without a word and Belle returned back with the same gaze. Was her cold faced butler going to console her? Was this the day? asked Belle to herself in her mind.

nShe then heard him say,

"There are far too many candles burning in the room. Are you planning to summon something?

" he asked, pulling away from her space, He turned around causing the flames of the candles to snuff it out.

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