16 Begonias and a Grand Piano

Rayne's cheeks burn red with embarrassment at Drake's praising words.

"Thank you." She replies with a sweet smile. Drake's mouth curves to mirror hers.

"Please." He says, his hand extended forward to show Rayne to her chair. He pulls it out for her so she can sit. Its beautifully carved wooden frame is accented with cream colored patterned cushions.

"Thank you." Rayne says again shyly, taking her seat. She isn't used to being catered to and it's left her feeling a bit awkward. Drake sits across from her and Walter, who was standing silently in the corner, steps forward and snaps his fingers. Several maids enter from the kitchen carrying platters of food. They place them on the table in between Rayne and Drake, the food still steaming. Rayne's eyes widen and her mouth waters upon seeing the mass amount of delicacies before her.

"All this just for dinner?" she asks, amazed. She stares eagerly at the plates of various meats, vegetables, fresh baked breads, and fruits. Drake chuckles at the girl's excitement.

"Yes, whatever you'd like." He answers. The maids dispense the food onto the couple's expensive porcelain plates and Rayne begins eating hungrily, getting lost in the deliciousness of the best meal she's ever had. She pauses with a full mouth when she sees Drake hasn't touched his food and is watching her with black eyes and a smile on his face. She swallows and dabs her lips with the linen.

"What?" she asks, concerned "Aren't you gonna eat?"

"Yes, of course." He answers, dipping his fork slowly into the mashed potatoes and shoveling them into his mouth. He still gazes at Rayne with that same smirk. Her face twitches as she ponders something deeply.

"Wait," she says, suddenly grasping her thought, "do vampires need to eat?" She tilts her head, curiosity dancing in her big blue eyes.

"No, we don't need to." He answers, "But we still enjoy the taste. Do you?" Rayne nods her head, smiling.

"Thank you." She says as she continues eating her fulfilling meal. Drake grins welcomingly.

"So, tomorrow we can go look for a suitable village for you if you'd like?" He proposes. Rayne's brow furrows.

'I didn't think about having a whole new village.' She thinks to herself. The idea of it feels slightly overwhelming but what else is she to do? 'There's no way I can go back home.' She admits. Rayne nods to Drake, but he senses her under enthusiasm. He decides not to press it further tonight. Afterall, he wasn't in much of a hurry to get rid of the young woman anyways. The two finish their dinner and the maids promptly usher back into the dining room to clear the table.

"Are you full?" Drake asks. Rayne nods her head.

"Yes, it was delicious, thank you again." She replies with a satisfied smile.

"Would you like to see the rest of the house?" asks Drake, "It will take a few days to find you a cabin so you should learn your way around in case you need anything. Also, I would hate for you to get lost in here." He smirks.

"Yeah, sure." Rayne replies with a smile, standing from her chair. Drake leads them over to the archway where the maids keep appearing and disappearing. They peak their heads in to see a few maids in a toasty stone kitchen cleaning and cooking diligently.

"There will always be someone in here if you're ever hungry or want anything, as well as the main kitchen downstairs." He explains. Rayne sees Zadie scrubbing the stove top at the far end of the room. The two girls match gazes and Rayne flashes a pleasant smile. Zadie grins back but quickly returns to work. "You like that maid?" asks Drake, seeing the friendly exchange.

"Oh, Zadie?" Rayne stammers, taken aback by the question, "She helped me last night. She's really the only one I've met besides Walter, but she was kind." She replies. Drake nods and turns on his heel.

"C'mon." he says coolly, and Rayne follows. The two walk down a wide staircase. Rayne eyes the tall paintings of different men, women, and children that line the walls. "Different people I've known throughout my life; the ones that made an impression on me." Drake explains, as if reading her mind.

"That's amazing that you know so many people." Rayne replies innocently. Drake laughs, showing his charming smile.

"Well I've been alive for quite some time." He says. They continue down the steps into a large, open living room.

"Exactly how old are you?" Rayne asks curiously.

"Well," Drake smirks, "how old are you?" he asks, ignoring her question. He walks over to a large blazing fireplace and leans his shoulder against the wall next to it. Rayne follows and puts her hands out over the fire to warm them.

"Eighteen." Rayne answers, "And you?" she asks again teasingly.

"If I were on the same life scale as a human, I would be about twenty-six." He explains, "But really, I've existed for…I would say a little over two hundred years." Rayne's jaw drops open upon hearing this.

"Two hundred years?!" she exclaims, "And what does natural form mean?" She asks, gobbling up the information he's feeding her. He stares at her, scanning her beautiful features which are illuminated by the flickering fire. He can't help but smile at the unnatural feeling he gets in his chest when he looks at her. Admittedly, he's beginning to enjoy it.

"Natural form is how I am now, what you see." Drake explains, "But when we have to drink…we change."

"Change how?" asks Rayne.

"We become more…evil." Drake answers shamefully. He looks away from her to the fire, getting lost in his own head.

'I can't imagine him being evil.' Rayne thinks to herself as she watches him. He turns to meet her gaze. The warmth in his deep black eyes makes her stomach flutter. She swallows hard, unable to speak under his stare. Drake steps closer to her and Rayne becomes frozen under the scent of his cologne, unable to break eye contact. She can feel the heat from his breath as he moves his face just inches from hers. He reaches up to her hair and grabs a strand between his finger and thumb causing Rayne's heart to skip. 'Oh my gods what is happening?!' her mind screams but she doesn't want to stop. Drake pulls his hand away, displaying a small black fuzz from her bedspread that was caught in her hair. He smiles mischievously at Rayne's nervousness and motions his head for her to follow him. Rayne struggles to walk with weak knees but obliges. 'How does he make my entire body tingle?' she thinks to herself, trying to get her heartbeat to return to normal. They walk through a large wooden door into an expansive, well-lit room. In the center sits a beautiful grand piano. A maid trimming potted begonias in the corner catches Rayne's eye and she flashes her a sweet smile.

"Have you ever played?" Drake asks, directing her attention to the piano.

"No, I've actually never seen one." Rayne says, feeling especially sheltered and poor at this moment. "I'm beginning to feel like there's a lot I haven't done."

"Well we can change that if you'd like." Drake offers. Rayne smiles and nods. Drake sits on the small bench in front of the piano. He pats the spot next to him with his hand, insisting Rayne join him. She sits down at the edge, trying not to touch him as she feels shy about being so close. Drake smirks, amused by her innocence. He places his lean fingers gently on the shiny keys and begins to play a slow, soothing melody from memory. He closes his eyes, getting lost in his thoughts as he fills the room with the magnificent tune. Rayne watches him as he plays. His pale, lean face holds a calm expression now, though normally she thinks he looks sad. He looks back at Rayne as the beautiful song slows in her ears and comes to an end.

"That was lovely. You're very good at that." She compliments. Drake flashes a toothy smile and turns to face her.

"I'm very good at a lot of things." He replies flirtatiously. Rayne's cheeks flare red and her stomach does flips. She tries to think of something to distract her from the tension between them.

"Hey where are…" she begins but Walter walks in, interrupting them.

"Pardon me, Master Drake," he says, "but there's been an incident in the barn."

*Due to personally reasons and COVID-19 I will be taking a couple days off. All is well and there is more to come soon! Thank you for reading. Stay clean, stay safe <3*