There Is No In-between

"Arthur, you are still as good as always…"

Miss Elizabeth laid down on the old-styled sofa with her eyes closed, enjoying the gentle music with a glass of blood in her hand. She sipped every now and then until the music stopped.

"What happened?" Miss Elizabeth asked, opening her eyes to see Arthur close the piano. "Not playing anymore?"

"How much longer do you want me to play?" Arthur questioned, rubbing his fingers. "You were supposed to tell me about my granddaughter. Either you talk or you can leave."

He already asked her many times yet each time she tricked him into playing more but it seemed it wouldn't be an option anymore.

"Are you thirsty?"

Miss Elizabeth ignored his question, sitting normally with her legs crossed and patted the vial with crimson liquid.

Too bad, Arthur only casually looked at the vial, not interested. "I don't trust you. Who knows what did you add to the blood?"

Miss Elizabeth frowned for a second only to laugh, "Haha, do you really think I would poison you after everything we have been through?"

She paused, gazing him up and down. "You know very well I don't need to use any underhanded methods if I wanted to kill you."

Arthur rolled his eyes at that, pointing at the explosive collar on his neck. "Then what is it?"

"Hehe, that's just a safety measure to keep you here," Miss Elizabeth giggled and opened the vial, filling her glass before taking a sip. "See? It's not poisoned."

"I'm still not hungry, thank you." Arthur still rejected. "Let's talk—"

"Oh! I know what it is," Miss Elizabeth cut him off. "You prefer to drink it directly, right?

She grabbed her sleeve and pulled it down, exposing her collarbone together. "How about drinking from my neck then?"

Her alluring voice and seductive gaze could smite any man and Arthur wasn't different.

Gulp.

Arthur swallowed hard as he scanned the clean area on Miss Elizabeth's neck, hesitating.

"You used to love it back then…" She added softly.

A complicated expression surfaced on his face only to disappear as he turned his gaze away.

"Stop your games… It is a closed chapter already. We can never go back to it," Arthur muttered quietly. "It's best we forget about it."

"Sure, I will forget after you drink," Miss Elizabeth proposed.

"You won't give up?"

"Nope," Miss Elizabeth replied while taking a sip.

Sigh…

Arthur took a deep breath and finally gave in, walking up to the coffee table to pour himself a glass. He first smelled it, tasted with his tongue, and only then did he take a proper sip.

Miss Elizabeth found that amusing. "Huh, do you really don't trust me that much?"

"Ellie… There is no one in this world that would trust you willingly," Arthur stated, sitting across her.

Miss Elizabeth's eyes widened and she smiled brightly. "I like it when you call me by that nickname…"

She conveniently ignored the latter part of the sentence, focusing on the positives.

"That's just a habit… I will stop," Arthur replied with a shrug.

"No! If you stop, I will kill you," Miss Elizabeth threatened with a glare and cleared her throat, returning to her ladylike form. "Ehem, anyway, how about you sit beside me?"

"No, thank you. I'm not suicidal," Arthur rejected firmly, sitting comfortably on his armchair. "Speak. What do you want to do with my Granddaughter."

"Ah, you are so impatient…" Miss Elizabeth lamented and asked, pretending to be sad, "What happened between us? We were so good together…"

Arthur rolled his eyes hard at that one. "Well, I don't know, maybe because you almost killed me multiple times?"

Miss Elizabeth paused as if she recalled those exact moments and shrugged, "Let's say our ideologies and goals didn't match but I'm sure body-wise, we were quite compatible."

Arthur didn't comment this time and repeated, "My granddaughter. Tell me now."

"Okay, okay," she finally gave in. "I have a certain plan in my mind. I can't tell you most of the details but one thing is certain. She will become my successor."

Arthur's eyes widened, acting like he couldn't believe what he just heard. Miss Elizabeth kept a playful smile on her face the whole time, proving she wasn't joking.

Bang!

"Impossible! I will never let that happen!" Arthur shouted angrily as he slapped the glass on the coffee table, standing up. "You will not turn her into another puppet of yours! I'm waiting for her to become of age before she marries one of my candidates. Period."

The glass didn't break but instead tipped over, spilling the blood on the wooden surface.

Despite that, Miss Elizabeth stayed calm.

"This is exactly what I'm trying to protect her from. An adult woman should make her own choice when it comes to love. Who are you to pick a husband for her?"

"I'm her grandfather!" Arthur called back, his face getting redder from anger. "There are not many young Pure Vampires from top families but I know them all! I'm more than capable of helping her find the right partner!"

"I really doubt it. You don't know how to raise her properly but don't worry, I'm here to help you. I decided to take her away from you and teach her instead. I hope you don't mind," Miss Elizabeth said calmly, acting as if she was doing him a favor which pissed him even more.

Arthur clenched his teeth, letting out a grinding sound.

"Elizabeth Morgan! You are doing it again!" He called out her full name, showing how serious he was. "Are you trying to start a war?! If you think I let this happen, you are crazier than I thought!"

"Oh really? So you think you can stop me? Interesting," Miss Elizabeth giggled and suddenly pointed her finger at him. "Sit down."

Arthur's body instantly stiffened and bent back, dropping on the armchair. It was clearly done against his will, his face displaying a scene from a fruitless struggle.

"I thought you already learned considering our past?" Miss Elizabeth asked coldly. "You can't stop me. Either you join me or you are against me. There is no in-between."

She stood up afterward and walked up to him, sitting on his lap. Arthur was frozen, unable to move his body. Gazing into his eyes, she rubbed her finger on his cheek.

"If only you stood on my side that day… Together we would rule the world yet you betrayed me and made me lose such a great opportunity..." Miss Elizabeth muttered.

"You call that an opportunity? It was bound to fail. I'm not going to risk my family's well-being for your selfish desire to become stronger," Arthur replied through his teeth. "

"Shh…" Miss Elizabeth closed his lips with her finger, sealing them as well. "It doesn't matter anymore… You made your decision and I respect it. I already forgave you for that. You know why? Because I'm always having a back-up plan."

Arthur's eyes widened at that, wanting to comment but he couldn't.

Miss Elizabeth only smiled and leaned over to his ear, whispering, "There is always a second chance in everything… Did you think I would only bet my cards on you? Right now, I don't need you anymore to achieve my goal. There are always next generations that can help me…"

She bit on his ear, pulling on it playfully before lowering down to his neck, licking it as if preparing to bite in.

Mhmm!

Arthur called out when her two fangs pierced his skin but there was nothing he could do. She held onto his hair, sucking to her heart content before pulling abruptly, showing a mix of ecstasy and euphoria on her face.

Her red lips and teeth dripped with red liquid which she licked clean right after.

"Warm blood is still the best…"

She looked at his face and smiled seeing his glare. Such a bite wouldn't hurt him at all so she didn't even worry about him. The two holes made by her fangs were already healed, leaving no mark on his neck.

"This was a punishment for calling me crazy," Miss Elizabeth explained with a shrug and finally stood up, walking back to her sofa.

Snap.

She clicked with her fingers and Arthur's body relaxed in an instant, regaining the power to move.

"If you involve my granddaughter in your crazy plan… I swear, I will end you," Arthur warned, his expression grim.

Only the two of them knew about her plan but even if he decided to expose her, it was so unbelievable that no one would believe him. Miss Elizabeth knew it very well which was why she wasn't even mad at him anymore.

"Too bad, you are late. Everything has already begun and you cannot stop it," Miss Elizabeth informed. "Even before I shared my plan with you, I made sure both of us will have human descendants, just in case."

"You…" Arthur looked like he lost his breath. "You were the one who planted that woman in my bed…?"

"Oh! You are so quick to throw accusations aren't you?" Miss Elizabeth acted offended. "Did I force you to sleep with her? You did it on your own."

"Anyway," she added, "Fate brought my grandson and your granddaughter together. They love each other so much that I doubt you can force them apart anymore. They are like us back then, unable to separate from each other. If you force her to leave him, I'm sure she will hate you forever."

Arthur was speechless, looking at her as if he lost his soul.

"I underestimated you…" he concluded in the end, calming down. "I hope you have a plan for the time my family learns about this? Are you prepared for that too?"

"By the time your family learns the truth, it will be too late," Miss Elizabeth replied confidently. "Unless you tell them earlier but I'm sure you will make the right decision. After all, you care about your family a lot. You don't really want the war to happen, right?"

Miss Elizabeth didn't wait for an answer from him, knowing it would take a while and stood up, walking towards the door.

"You have three days to make up your decision. Either you are with me or against me. There is no in-between."