Rozelyn slept on their golden couch without actually closing her eyes.
A maelstrom of rage and enigma has been whirling inside her.
‘Is this some sort of insult from a long-time family rival or an unexpected coincidence?’
She mused at that notion. Ludwig has long been ‘not on good terms’ with the Zadzisai family even before her father has departed in the afterlife.
She’s gradually piecing the slivers of reason on why that god-damn sheriff would accuse her Cyrill for a murder and homicide.
“They took my Cyrill!”
She squealed while sobbing. Her tears repeatedly sliding down from her face.
Francisco seems to pity her; the orange feline’s eyes are full of worry and comfort. The cat hoisted his right paw and caressed Rozelyn’s raven hair.
She smiled at their family pet.
“Don’t worry, Francisco. It’ll be all right soon.”
Rozelyn forced a cheerful smile in her teary brown face. She patted the altruistic cat on the head and gestured to join her fellow cats in their lair under the stairs.
‘It is indeed true that animals tend to comfort you more than the two-legged humans wandering here on earth.’
She didn’t sleep the entire night. Romaine hasn’t come home yet either. The door by the foyer remained shut even when the sun’s golden hues began to shroud the entire house.
She no longer knows what to do. She even forgot that she’s a god-damn blood-sucking vampire, if not for her higher self’s whispering—reiterating for her to cease cowering in the couch and to do something.
A minute later, she heard the sound of a car parking in their neighbourhood.
Rozelyn got up and peered through the transparent curtains of the living room’s window.
Without any hesitation, she seized her jacket and walked briskly towards Thalia Turner’s abode.
***
“Since when did you arrive from L. A.?”
She asked Thalia Turner, the renowned lawyer in Shamrock.
“After I decided to retire as a private and public lawyer, Rosie,” Thalia responded while taking out her luggage and travel bags.
“Will you help me, dearie?”
The 55-year-old woman asked with a gentle tone, her hazel eyes begging her to do so.
Rozelyn’s mood uplifted from being hopeless to utterly buoyant.
“Sure, nanny Thally.”
Thally is what Rozelyn used to call the talented lawyer as she used to be her nanny back when Romaine was not yet a Zadzisai.
She used to play cat’s cradle and marbles with the kind woman even when her father had already arrived from his work.
Sometimes, Eku will be gone for days, sometimes weeks. And the only person taking care of Rozelyn was none other than the damsel in front of her.
Yes, she’s a damsel. Thalia never married, not even a boyfriend or any sort of romantic attachment.
She’s content enough of having a pretty huge garden and three Siberian husky as an equivalent of having children.
Rozelyn assisted Thalia for a couple of minutes. The aged woman thanked the lass by preparing her favorite strawberry cheesecake and eggnog as a beverage.
***
They are situated at Thalia’s luxurious veranda, facing the latter’s huge collection of flora and other plants. She also has a little greenhouse that Rozelyn just toured minutes ago in where the old lady’s vegetables and other edible plants are kept.
Lucille, Thalia’s housekeeper, just left for a vacation in her native home in Hampshire, England.
“Well, Lucille’s such a sweet woman, hmm,” Thalia declared as she sipped her hot peppermint tea.
“She's a hearth daughter to me, you know? Much as how I see you as a hearth daughter as well…”
Thalia then gave her a sweet jovial grin.
Hearth daughter. It is a term that is said to derive from the Greeks. Hearth mostly referred to the warmth or heat that kept a home vivacious and harmonious. The Greeks even have the goddess Hestia as their patron regarding hearths and home and family.
Hearth daughter simply means someone you consider a daughter, even if she’s not blood related to you. Someone you considered family regardless of them being just a friend or a neighbour. Thalia explained that to Rozelyn back when she was six years old when they were making eggnog near the fireplace during yuletide season.
Well, at least Rozelyn has more than one mother so that she’ll have someone to lean on in times of catastrophe—just like today.
“Uhmm, Thalia…”
Thalia’s attention abruptly switched to Rozelyn’s. Her eyes seem to detect something is absolutely wrong.
“You’re in trouble, dearest?”
She shook her head as a tear slid down from her eyes down to the bridge of her nose.
“One of my family members has been accused of homicide. His name is Cyrill Clarke. I think you can still remember him, the one who has electric blue eyes and chestnut brown hair that is often feasted on by women's eyes every time he passes by.”
Thalia scowled, as if she was trying to remember something.
“Ohh…Cyrill Clarke!”
She exclaimed while tying her now silvery hair that was once the color of copper.
“Is he the one that Lucille’s been referring to as Romaine’s protégée?”
Rozelyn nodded as she took a bite of the cake.
She suddenly remembers Cyrill’s preference while eating the cake.
Cyrill’s allergic to strawberries. The sight of the mere vibrant red fruit reminded her of him—longing for him even if it was just a whole night that he was gone. Not gone, taken is the exact word.
‘I should have at least asked him to bed me yesterday…’
She thought as regrets filled her empty heart. It is indeed true that one will feel the greatest regret to the person that you’ve been yearning to touch.
She was quivering on the inside—craving for Cyrill’s manhood to reach her core even for once.
Rozelyn can no longer hold back her tears. Tears full of ire and vengeance.
She is lucky to have a retired lawyer in front of her, who’s currently sipping her tea in a calm manner.
And Rozelyn will now fully make use of her abilities—of her identity being a vampire.
***
Romaine was in apparent exhaustion.
She is apt to screw Dorrien more if not for a call from the police station, telling her that Cyrill was accused of killing a young American named Demetria Cruise.
Her crevice was indeed swelling. She can now hardly walk, courtesy of their intense bare-skinned tango that lasted for hours.
As soon as she saw their lavish golden couch, she sighed and spread her arms wide.
‘Banging a man is indeed tiring and…delightful.’
Romaine thought as she fondled the abyss between her legs.
‘I could sleep for a thousand years due to this extensive fatigue!’
Romaine mused as she wandered her eyes and attention around.
Rozelyn’s vibration was nowhere in the walls of their home.
‘Where did she go again?’
Back when she answered that call, the news of Cyrill panicked her at the same time made her a bit unworried.
‘That lad used to spend the night in jail anyway. A little throwback of being behind the bars would teach him on how to deal ferociously with mortals.’
Cyrill used to be involved in brawls and street fights back when he just entered the teenage years.
This has also been the primary reason why she sent him to England for study. Not only Cyrill will be disciplined by Eku’s acquaintance, he can also learn that a man does not need to portray arrogance and physical strength when dealing with quarrels. No need for those if they’re dealing with a Pasiphae werewolf.
Romaine scans the whole house again with her Astral powers. Still, her stepdaughter’s essence seems to remain missing.
As she was about to peer outside through the living room’s window, she saw a purple sticky note tacked on the lamp side table.
She then read the note loudly, so loud that even the triplet cats hissed at Romaine.
Thalia has arrived. Gonna make that bastard who goes by the name of Ludwig Vergara beg for his life just like what he did to dad.
Don’t worry about me. I’m a fucking Thaumaturge, remember?
Your ever beautiful stepdaughter,
Rozelyn
Romaine tilted her head and clicked her tongue before muttering, “For fuck’s sake, that girl really knows how to play the game!”