Hidden identity

Belle's eyes shifted away from the window to look at the man. Her eyes met her aunt's for a moment before she returned her gaze back to him.

She returned his smile with a polite one and apologized, "Excuse my rude behavior. It's Annabelle." She paused before adding, "Annabelle Thornhill."

Thornhill was her mother's name, and since she couldn't risk anyone finding out her identity, she had to use it instead of her father's, Turner.

Lancelot stretched his hand to pick up Belle's, which lay on her lap, and he placed his lips on it. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He complimented her before turning to Philippa to ask, "How come I never knew you had a relative?'

"You never asked." Philippa stated simply, and Lancelot hummed, agreeing with what she said.

From then on, the ride continued in silence, with Belle's eyes trained outside the window the whole time.

"Thank you for the ride, Mr. Lancelot." Belle curtsied when she got down from the carriage.

"Anytime, Ms. Thornhill." He said to Philippa, "See you at the council, Lady Philippa."

Once they reached the front of Philippa's house, Belle heard the carriage leaving, but she didn't turn to say another goodbye.

Belle picked up the front of her dress and stepped into the clean house through the door, which was opened by a girl. It was a beautiful yet simple house, a tad bit bigger than her uncle's.

"Welcome back, Lady Philippa." The servant girl greeted before turning to Belle to bow politely.

The lady made her way further into the room and eased herself onto the fine pouch chair with a sigh leaving her lips.

"Jade, make two cups of tea." Philippa ordered in an exhausted tone, and the girl named Jade hurried into the kitchen to get the tea.

When she returned, a tray holding two teacups and a little kettle sat on her hands.

"This is Jade; you can ask her for help with anything." Annabelle nodded to her aunt's words as she stared at her maid, who lowered her limbs to give a little curtsy.

The maid looked older than her, but Belle was happy that there was someone else in the house other than her aunt and Luther.

Belle beamed at the maid. "It is nice to meet you."

"You can return to whatever you were doing." Philippa dismissed her. "You did great, Belle." She complimented. Belle didn't need to be told what her aunt was talking about, as she already knew it had to do with the man who was kind enough to give them a ride.

"Who was he?"

"Ha! Mr. Lancelot is a councilman and the younger brother of the head of the council, Hurley."

"He is nice."

"Indeed he is." Philippa agreed with a smile as she watched the girl in front of her. "One of the nicest I have seen from the lot so far."

Belle hummed, "Does that mean he is safe to be around?"

"I never said that; did I now?" She raised a brow at Belle. "You must know by now that he is a vampire, and no creature is safe to be around. Tread with caution, dear." She whispered out the warning.

Now listening to Philippa, Belle couldn't help but remember her mother, Piper.

"Come on. Let me show you to your room," Philippa offered.

Standing up from the chair, they both walked towards the stairs, heading for the room.

"So how did you get into the council and the position of a councilwoman? I believe it has been most difficult to retain such a position." Annabelle looked up at her aunt with a mix of intrigue and curiosity in her eyes.

"It certainly was. There are only a few women in the council." She met Belle's gaze and smiled softly. "Three, to be exact. And the two are vampires."

This response got a reaction from the girl, and it only made her more curious about how her aunt Philippa made it true. It was undeniably something to look through.

Firstly, Philippa was only seen as a human in society, when she was in fact a fallen angel.

The council was a place where most persons believed women should not be involved and that their priority was to take care of the home, leaving the decision-making to the men.

So only a few among the lot were usually chosen.

"We should leave the story of how I became a councilwoman for another day." She answered Belle. The girl gave her an calm look before nodding and focusing on climbing the stairs.

Reaching her room, she sat on the bed with a sigh escaping her lips.

Away from Philippa's resident, in the council building, Kione had just stepped into the humble abode of Mr. Fraser, the council's doctor, one who took a liking to finding out the cause of different deaths in the towns.

Most of the cases brought forward to the council were ones that were directly or indirectly associated with it. Like matters concerning the uprising of the witch or the other creatures, were taken seriously, as most of them usually led to something bigger.

Kione inspected the dead bodies that lay on different tables in the morgue. The case Craig was telling him about—the case with the witch who killed her husband and the two dead children with a still beating heart.

"Young Master Kione, it is a pleasure to have you here." The man's eyes trailed behind Kione's with a psychotic grin. "Mr. Craig here, did say you would accept the case."

Excusing himself, Craig took quiet steps away from his master, which he knew were futile because his master was certainly aware of his actions.

"Did he now?" Kione spoke decisively, his eyes still fixed on the two lifeless children. He pulled off the black gloves that cladded his fingers and walked around the table while inspecting them.

"He did, and I'm glad it's you."

Mr. Fraser is a turned vampire who has been working for the council for more than a decade. Due to his immense help and insistence on still working, the council allowed him to retain his work. And it was not the first time he had worked with Kione.

"Hm, what did you find on them, Fraser?"