28 Charm stone- Part 2

She hadn't expected to see Lord Alexander here, yet here he was while she was trying to avoid any thoughts of him. His dark maroon eyes shifted his gaze from the man to her.

"I didn't know we were having a show here," Elliot said sarcastically as he clapped his hand, "Go on, shoo away," people around bowed their heads and got back to what they were doing.

"They aren't birds," Sylvia said, shaking her head at Elliot.

"What is the matter here, that a vampire had to pull out his fangs? Speak," the Lord of Valeria ordered and the man went first.

"M'Lord, the girl accused me of being a thief when she was the one stealing the charm pendant," he defended himself.

"No, I didn't! You accused me of being a liar!" she said, "You can ask the owner of the shop."

"I didn't see or hear anything. Don't drag me into this. So meddlesome," he muttered in the end and disappeared inside his shop not wanting anything to do with them.

"I'm sure she's stolen the one she is wearing right now," the man said, pointing a finger at her and the man dug his grave.

"This is a carnival and not an arena for a vampire to attack a human," the Lord of Valeria said calmly, "And attacking a human for no reason when we are trying to co-habitat earns a punishment," and his fingers clicked.

"But M'lord you're mistaken!" the man panicked as two men pulled him with them.

Alexander walked ahead without another word and Katie felt her breath in relief. Reaching back to the mansion at midnight, Katie changed into a nightgown and went to wash her face. She heard a knock on her door.

"It's me, Corey," she heard from the other side of the door. He stood with a box in his hand and soon came Dorthy pushing him in, "Hey!"

"Sorry," she giggled, "We forgot to give you these which we bought for everyone at the carnival," she said while Corey handed the box to her.

"Thank you," Katie said, feeling a little guilty for not getting anything for them but then she hadn't bought anything for herself either.

"We'll be going then," and they left but there was a knock on the door again.

"Katie?" It was Corey who peeked inside the room, "You're okay, right?" he asked her and she nodded her head.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," and he disappeared behind the door.

The door was knocked for the second time and Katie raised her brows looking at Corey's head pop again.

"What?"

Corey smiled sheepishly, "We have to wake up an hour early tomorrow. Don't be late else Martin might scold you again. Goodnight," and she wondered what did he mean by 'scold you again'? When did she get scolded?

She stared at the door before going to brush her hair with the wooden comb and trying to tame her hair. She noticed that her left hand had begun to form an ugly bruise because of the man who had held her hand forcefully.

She hummed a song that got stuck in her mind that was being played in the carnival and then there was the third knock and her eyes narrowed at it.

Were her friends not planning to get some sleep? Sighing she walked towards the door, "Corey, stop knocking-" and opened it, "-the door."

"I didn't know you were expecting a male company at this hour of the night."

Katie felt her blood drain from her face. It was Alexander.

"N-no. I wasn't expecting a male company. Dorthy and Corey had come earlier and they kept knocking like silly kids," she said moving back and he entered her room like a ghost moving across the floor.

"I came here to retrieve something from you," he said walking towards the large mirror on the wall, "I would like to have my cross back if you don't mind."

"Of course," she said, her fingers going to the hook-like lock behind her neck.

She wondered why he wanted it back now and why not anytime before? Did she embarrass him with what happened at the carnival?

"Sometimes you overthink things."

"What?" she asked, taken aback as her eyes met his while she handed back the cross to him.

"Come here, Katie," he said with a gentle smile on his lips and very slowly Katie went to where he stood. He made her stand facing the mirror, "May I?" he asked her, raising his hands near her head and she nodded her head warily.

His fingers touched her hair gently as he brought it together and her skin tingled, and she felt sleepy.

"The carnival has a higher population of vampires when compared to humans. Being on the vampire land, vampires support their own kind or don't support anyone at all. I think you were brave to stand against a vampire today," he twisted her hair and continued, "But I would advise you to be careful next time. It was fortunate we were there else I don't know what the outcome would be."

"Okay," she responded and saw him push something in her hair. She moved her hand to feel a twig in there.

"As the old man of the store spoke about an equivalent exchange, I have something for you, for treasuring the cross safely until now," he said, putting his hand around her neck and letting a chain rest on her skin with a bluestone.

It was the rare charm stone pendant she had picked at the shop.

"I-I can't take it, Lord Alexander," she said, looking at it and turning around.

"It's not for free. I did say it was an equivalent exchange now, didn't I?" he convinced her with a charming smile and wishing goodnight he left her room.

After Alexander left Katie's room, he went down the stairs and to the dungeon that was underground. It was dark and also a restricted area.

He walked past the empty cells and few which held people who broke the law. Going to one of the cells he saw the man whom he had encountered previously.

The man was sitting on a chair with his hands and legs tied. Alexander noticed he looked clean and untouched, no harm done yet.

"Why am I here?! I didn't do anything!" The man cried seeing Alexander step inside the cell.

"Didn't you now, hmm. What about hurting a human and the fact that you were about to attack her? Vampires like you jeopardize things for us."

"I was only trying to scare her!"

"Scare her? Why?" asked the Valerian Lord, "Are you preparing for Halloween?"

"She had a charm stone and one which was red in color. It is obvious that a girl of her caliber stole it," the man trying to free himself but his limbs were bound.

"Without evidence, you decided it, on your own."

"I was only-" he took the hammer that was on the table and played with it, "-what are you doing?"

"Don't worry, I mean to do the same. You know just scare," Alexander said shrugging his shoulders, placing back the hammer and going to stand in front of the man.

The man let out a sigh of relief when he saw no hammer. Alexander caught hold of the man's hand and agonizingly slowly tightened his grip. He heard the man scream in pain until his hand snapped into two like a wooden branch due to the pressure.

A vampire's bone grew but the time it took varied from every individual depending on their bloodline.

"And for the record. She didn't steal it," Alexander said as he stepped outside the barred cell and pulled the cross with his fingers. The man's eyes widened looking at it.

Katie puffed the cushions with her hands and placed it back once she was done. Removing the withered flowers from the vase she changed the water and placed fresh ones that she had picked herself from the garden.

As she pushed the bunch of stems into the vase, her finger pricked with the thorn and she winced.

"How many times have I advised you to be careful with the roses," Dorthy said seeing Katie press her finger.

"They look beautiful together. See," Katie reasoned looking at the combination of flowers and then back to her finger which now had a small red dot where the skin had been pricked.

"They aren't your normal roses. The thorn is sharper than a shard of glass which cuts deeper into the skin if you aren't careful," Katie looked at the deep blue roses that stood out in the vases, "None of the maids go to pluck it. I heard that Lord Alexander was the one who planted and nurtured it."

"They are scared of Lord Alexander," Katie murmured.

"Of course that's another thing to consider," Dorthy said thoughtfully, "Do you know the maid who was found breaking its branches and tearing the roses one night."

"What happened after that?"

"I don't know. None of them know what happened to her or where she went after that night," Dorthy answered, shrugging her shoulders as they went to pick the dried flowers that were kept aside.

"What was she thinking? I would be angry too if I grew something with so much love and if they harmed it," Katie picked the wilted flowers and the residue it had left around the vases. On the other hand, she touched the rose with her fingertips, "I think these deserve to be loved. Just because they are wilder and different than the other ones, it doesn't do justice to them to be in the dark."

"Looks like your hand hasn't healed yet," Dorthy said looking at her hand which was a lighter shade of green, "Does it hurt?"

"It did the day the man held my hand but it doesn't hurt a bit now," Katie replied as they walked out of the room. There was a small meow and Katie saw it was the Lord's cat.

"The Lord has a soft spot for you, doesn't he? Look, even his cat is greeting you."

"There's no such thing," Katie waved her hand with a smile denying it, "You are imagining things. He is being kind as I am a half guest, half maid here in this mansion," hearing this Dorthy laughed.

"Whatever. Do you know Kit said he might have seen the vampire who had accused you in the dungeon but he isn't entirely sure? Trusting Kit's eyes is like walking on hot coal. His eyesight is bad so consider it as a rumor. There are...."

Was the man in the dungeon because of her? She wondered if it was because the man had broken the law by attacking her in public.

The dungeon was a place that executed punishments and people with no mercy. There were no details on it as the maids in the mansion knew nothing about it except for a few people who operated it. Going there was off-limits.

Before lunch, Katie was asked to see Sylvia who was in the drawing-room and she went to her.

"Come in, Katie. Please take a seat," Sylvia said seeing Katie at the door. From the far corner of the room, music played from the gramophone.

Taking a seat she linked her fingers looking at the lady in front of her. Sylvia looked no less than a high-class man's daughter as she twirled the spoon in the cup before handing it over to her. Her hair was tied up with a side partition and a gentle smile on her lips.

"Lady Letitia invited you to her summer house," she said, taking the card that was on the tea table, "Here."

Katie looked at the card and saw it dated for tomorrow, "Will you be there?"

"You don't want me to?" Sylvia asked her and Katie shook her head.

"Forgive me, that wasn't what I meant. I wouldn't be comfortable going there alone," Katie said looking at the card.

"We know," Sylvia replied with a smile, "We'll be leaving by seven in the morning and I already spoke to Martin regarding your absence for tomorrow, therefore, you needn't talk to him about it."

"Thank you," Katie was glad to hear it.

She didn't want to ask Martin in front of any servants because it was difficult to find him alone while he was always nitpicking on the servants. There were always little gossips going around the mansion with the maids and she did not want to be part of it.

After all, she wasn't going to stay in Valeria forever. She had to leave someday.

"May I ask a question?" and Sylvia nodded for her to go on, "Where did Lord Alexander find the rose stem that grows behind the mansion? I haven't seen one as such in my lifetime."

The unexpected question startled Sylvia, "He received it from his mother... So it has been you who has been arranging flowers. It's been years since I last saw those roses inside the mansion. If I remember the maids were asked not to touch them after an event."

"I wasn't aware of it," When Martin had given her the task of flower arrangement, she was extremely happy as it was the easiest job. Cynthia had shown her the flowers that were normally picked out and it had included the wild rose.

"Handle them with care. The Lord wouldn't be happy if it was mistreated," Katie nodded with a yes and left to get back to her work.

The next day in the summer house of the Boland's, Katie sat quietly, squaring her shoulders stiffly as others spoke. It had been an hour since the time they came but she just couldn't relax.

Alexander and Elliot who had come along with them were busy in one corner over the lawn while Sylvia had left her a while ago to look at their apple orchard.

The Boland's were of an old lineage elite family, it was expected that men and women who came today would be of the same class.

Women with their grand gowns and a fan in their hands as they spoke to each other. Most of them behaved coy with their prim and proper manner.

Few men had made an effort to exchange a smile or two but she was too rigid or too shy to talk. She wasn't used to such attention.

"Hello there," a voice belonging to a man interrupted her frizzy mind, "I don't think we have met. I'm Lancelot Milford," the man introduced himself with a bright smile on his face as he put his hand forward.

"Katherine Welcher," Katie said, giving her hand unsure and the man placed a kiss on top of her knuckle, making her take her hand back to her side.

Lancelot was a man of average height with his blonde hair swept aside and a dimple that appeared every now and then as he smiled.

"If I may," he said, placing his hand on the seat next to her and she nodded, "How is that I haven't seen you before? I surely wouldn't miss seeing you."

"It is my first time attending a tea party," she replied.

"I see your parents have been treasuring as you're young and pretty. Are they here?" he asked taking a biscuit from the plate and putting it in his mouth

"Ah no," Katie said looking towards Elliot who was chatting up with a little boy.

As she and Lancelot spoke, she felt the man was intrusive with his questions. She evaded his questions subtly and smiled at the jokes he tried making nonetheless he seemed like a decent man.

She once caught him looking at her neckline but had brushed it off thinking it might have been by mistake.