❦❦❦
YUURI was stricken by an intense thirst as they chatted.
To drink his blood though, she would need to complete a task for him first. And she didn’t know if she could last long enough for him to find something for her to do.
She had realized he sometimes brought her tasks he could have solved on his own, just to give her something to do. But she couldn’t ask him to try and come up with something just after he had finished such a massive investigation.
She desired to ask for his blood outright, not under the pretext of being a reward or compensation. Because she desired it. And because only Ernest’s blood would do. That was all.
“Lord Ernest, I have a favor to ask,” she turned to him, finally resolved.
“Hm? You know I would grant anything you asked. What is it?”
“I…uhm…well, I’m a bit thirsty.”
“Oh? And?”
He was going to make her spell out exactly what she wanted.
“Please let me drink some of your blood. …Not as a reward, but because it’s what I want.”
“All right. …But only if you agree to do something for me. Fair enough?”
Ernest ran his index finger along Yuuri’s lips. It was his way of showing her that he expected something in return. Embarrassed, Yuuri had to look away, but the heat that filled her cheeks was already pulsing its way up to her ears. The last thing she wanted was for Ernest to see how easily he could have this effect on her.
“You understand what I mean, don’t you?”
“Can we do it later? Please let me drink your blood first?”
She was happy that Ernest wanted her. But she was afraid, and she had pushed her timid heart just about as far as it would go for now. She needed his blood to give her the courage.
“I’m afraid not. I can see you’re trying to weasel out of it.”
He had seen through her, yet again. Yuuri had no other choice. Her heart began to race as he wrapped his arms around her. Tears formed at the edge of her eyes. She squeezed them shut in hopes of keeping her tears from spilling over.
“Are you afraid?”
“I’m not afraid. P-Please, just hurry!”
Yuuri was terrified that if she waited any longer, she might lose her nerve. She had grabbed onto Ernest’s shirt without even realizing it. Ernest took that as his cue and placed his lips against hers.
✦ ✦ ✦
The tears that Yuuri had fought so hard to hold back ran down her cheeks.
Her mind was heavy with anxiety. What did she want to do? What did the future look like for her and Ernest, days or months from now? She could scarcely imagine it in years.
Right now, all she wanted was his warmth.
She didn’t care that he was the king’s right-hand man, a dignified noble who knew far more about the ways of the world than a naïve shut-in like herself.
She funneled the intensity of all her worries and fears into that kiss and Ernest gave it right back to her, refusing to hold back just because it was her first. As long as that was the intensity of his love for her, that was all that mattered.
Finally, slowly, Ernest pulled away. It actually made Yuuri a little sad when he did. Some part of her was afraid to let him go.
“Are you all right?”
“…Yes. Just a little surprised.”
“Oh? Well, come here then, Yuuri.”
Her heart skipped a beat just hearing him call her name, with no formalities, no “Miss” or “Little Witch”. Just Yuuri.
They had been sitting side by side the whole time, and yet they felt even closer now. Yuuri slid into his lap without hesitation this time. She told herself it was so she could better drink his blood.
Ernest deftly removed his tie. Yuuri stroked his exposed collarbone over and over again.
“Come on. That tickles.”
Her lips trembling, Yuuri suddenly straightened up and kissed him in lieu of thanking him, then quickly pulled away. She then bit into his neck.
“You might look like a girl, but sometimes, you really are as enchanting as a witch. Do you know just how wicked you are?”
Euphoria had seized Yuuri’s mind and she couldn’t manage an answer. The last thing she thought as her consciousness fluttered away was, “no, I’m not.”
✦ ✦ ✦
❦❦❦
THE morning sun had begun to pierce the curtains by the time Yuuri opened her eyes. She had vague memories of Ernest carrying her to her bedroom on the second floor after trying to entice her to go for dinner.
“I’m full. I already ate my dinner.”
“That wasn’t dinner though. All right, I’ll take my leave then. I won’t ask you to invite me in for the night. I’ll behave myself for just a little longer.”
She thought the conversation went something like that, but couldn’t remember clearly.
Yuuri leapt out of bed, feeling better than she had in a long time. She always felt this way after drinking blood.
Her clothes had become wrinkled after sleeping in them, so she hung them up to smooth the wrinkles out.
She took a different dress out of the closet and fixed her unkempt hair.
She made her way downstairs and headed for the kitchen, but stopped when she noticed a letter and a paper bag on the dining table. She picked it up.
To My Sweet Yuuri,
You were as sweet as a daisy and as beautiful as a rose last night.
I want nothing more than to arouse you from your slumber and ask how is it you can unseat my heart so.
But I must suppress the urge for now.
You look like a kitten when you sleep.
“Eeek!”
Yuuri let out a shriek, unable to continue. She knew what his letters were like, so why was she so surprised now?
She slumped down in a chair and grappled with her embarrassment.
She focused on calming herself, breathing in and out. Only once she had did she finally try reading the letter once more.
She skimmed the rest of it, saving herself the torture of reading overwrought descriptions of her sleeping face, until she reached the last two lines:
I bought some pastries and apples for your breakfast, so make sure you eat up. I’ll be taking a few vacation days soon, so you be a good girl and wait for me until then.
—Ernest
“I just wanted the facts.”
His words were even more self-assured than usual. He had called her his before, as if he owned her, but until now, Yuuri had written it off as a joke. Now that it was here, preserved in print for her, there was no mistaking it.
And so, Yuuri found herself with another letter she could not bring herself to read.