𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 to the beastly, red mouth annoyance. it was so much less grating when it left his lips instead of his new bride’s. the count harbored an inkling that it surfaced from his lack of allowance, for should he allow himself to delve so deeply into that dark water, he may never resurface again. of course he was aware of it. the candlemaker’s daughter was not so experienced in life, nor unlife with him, to know of his violent turns and the way his mood could so quickly sour or that the dark gloom of the deep, blue stormclouds was caused irrevocably by his desires.
in the yellow moon they stood, bathed in it as if shown in the brightest of lamplights and obstructed only by the shadows of disturbed dust that had accumulated on the floor. her touch was sweet to him, honey-sweet, and in that same breath piercing to his skin in that it called to his deeper thirst. his own bitterness was like a trap lying beneath that sweetness; one he knew now resided as well within her own red mouth, lined with sharp, jagged teeth and an addiction unending and unrelenting like his own.
❝ love is one of many things that can cause you to lose yourself. when one falls into pursuit of it over ones own happiness, there become even those who think that love is all that can save the world. i see it again in the peasantry throughout the shadow of the carpathians. the same cowards and fools who would play their wits against mine… and act as though their bitter choice to live life through prayer ascends them before our noble family. they are the ones who join us swiftest ❞, the count’s long, spindly fingers grasped her waifish wrist, plucking her fingertips from his face with effortless finesse, before the other was swept against her throat. dipped in the curve of soft skin, the dark vein rested beneath his caress, signaling a war cry that only he could hear.
❝ you misunderstand my silence for unrest. need i speak to be at ease? ❞
NAIVETY SERVES BEST to explain the brief flash of confusion upon features , still gentle despite the change he had inspired within her ( 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝙹𝙰𝙶𝙶𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙴𝙴𝚃𝙷 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝚁𝙸𝙿 𝙽𝙾𝚆 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷 𝚄𝙽𝚂𝚄𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙵𝙻𝙴𝚂𝙷 , 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷 𝙸𝚃 𝚆𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙵𝙰𝙸𝙻 𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙽𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙾𝙿𝙴𝙵𝚄𝙻 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙳 ) . 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄 , sarah hangs off his every word –––– though summoned is an inkling of a negativity she cannot yet define . to speak so bitterly of love , to condemn the nature of it , when it is love that had brought them together ( 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 , 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 ––– 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 ––– 𝘪𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 ) leaves uncertainty that the young vampire tries to ignore .
no . the count had touched her with a gentleness she’d yearned for , had spoken words that had , until recently , been only dreams , and had given her what she had desired more than anything in this world . 𝐒𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 , her infinite freedom ! as innocent as the girl may be , she imagines such gifts are not given so freely . how then , could it not be love ? love had trapped her as much as it had saved her –––– yet sarah cannot find a way to understand his view . she does not allow herself to consider to what extent he refers to her own family .
her wrist is lax within his hold , disappointment evident in the way fingers curl in place of where his cheek had just been . how rarely , it seems , she’s been able to touch him without recoil , to show him the tenderness her heart desires to express ! still , his touch brings about an excitement surely tangible beneath his fingertips . ❝ you cannot possibly believe that love is weakness , ❞ sarah murmurs , lips struggling to resist a frown . ❝ they do not pray to be superior to this family . they pray . . they pray for hope . for forgiveness . for love . ❞
