𝙰 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝙴𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 (wlw)

Chapter Twelve

Awkwardly looking around as if to distinguish where she wanted the woman at her door to go, in reality, Emese did it to avoid the potency of the woman's glare. Those resplendent eyes, crystal-like yet subtly tender with their glances bore into her. Although she loved how arresting they were, she couldn't bear to be watched like that for it felt as if the vampire peeked into the depths of her soul, singling out all the secrets she hid.

With her heart still bashing like war drums inside her fragile chest, Emese inevitably invites her guest inside. "Come in, please," she said moving out of the entryway and from the woman's direct line of view.

The lofty vampire who stood at the door of the cottage, now welcomed to step beyond its boundary sniffed the air. Instantly her nostrils breathed in the refreshing aromas— the home smelled of dewy herbs and the musky redolence tethered to the siblings drifted over to her, caressing her lungs.

Immediately Anastasía was disarmed by it, this scent she couldn't forget. She stood there dazed and contemplating how much she'd dreamt about this sweet savour upon returning to Endeavour. She thought about how she'd craved to be near it, and how it left her feeling a sort of weakness she'd never felt even while in captivity.

This therapeutic scent did the opposite of what it would've done to most vampires. It did not invoke hunger nor provoke her into becoming a perfervid bloodsucker. Each time she inhaled, it gave her an experience as if she'd consumed some sort of medicinal agent, bestowing upon her clarity and mental repose.

Stumped out of her reverie by the brunette clearing her throat and then asking, "May I offer some assistance?"
The vampire who was lost in her maze of thoughts gazed down at her feet. There were many bags and boxes around her, some standing high as her knee, others laying flat.

She may have overdone it this time Anastasía thought to herself upon observing all that she came with. Even Emese noticed and pointed it out. "I see you've outdone yourself from our last encounter," she shared.

"I've been absent for some time, how could I not?" the vampire replied with pride. "I figured the things I brought would've dwindled in quantity by now,"

"They have, but Tamas and I know how to moderate ourselves,"

"Still, I thought I should bring some more. This time, I brought with me additional things,"

"You know you don't have to do any of this, right? We've been living comfortably enough here, my brother and me,"

"Comfortably, no doubt but there's nothing wrong with having a little more than usual. It's quite good in my opinion to have options and various ones to choose from and I understand that you are more than capable of earning these things for your family but what I want you to know is that you don't have to, not now that you've run into me,"

"Mmh sounds like something a wealthy woman would say,"

Offering a gentle smile, the vampire still found her hostess' determination in discerning her social status to be entertaining. She even looked forward to it for it added excitement to her life, this suspense of revealing who she was and how she was related to one of the if not the most powerful family in all of Ashea and possibly even the continent. 

Anastasía admired her host in the few seconds their conversation trailed off. Emese dressed just as she'd done previously which wasn't to say it wasn't striking, it was but modestly.

Ana adored her headscarf and gown with the long sleeves and the bottom that swept the floor every time she moved. There was something different about her then, feature-wise. Mayhaps it was because her visage was not plastered with solemnity but with a genial tinge that brought out the fullness of her face and the healthy complexion of her skin. The woman enjoyed this version of her hostess for it solidified that she was no longer acting with suspicion.