(ENG) The Case Study of Vanijeanne

2. A Maiden in Love (Complete Chapter)

With the tumultuous flurry of events in the catacombs behind her, Jeanne walked alone to Hôtel Chou Chou. She had brought a cloak with her, so she wasn't at all cold, and even though her face still had a weary look to it, she no longer cried. The streets were still asleep as the vampire breathed the morning air to cool her head down, barely registering dawn's early lights or any passing of time.

Upon returning to her stay, the vampire looked around for any clues to Vanitas' whereabouts. She'd been sharing a room with Lady Dominique, right below where Noé and Vanitas had cohabitated since their first encounter in Paris. Luckily for her, only absolute silence reigned in the halls of the establishment, the human nowhere in sight as she made her way to her lodging.

When the door of their room propped open and Jeanne walked in, Dominique promptly leapt from the bed and rushed towards her. She wore a light, knee-length red chemise with delicate features, and in the early morning, her long raven hair seemed shinier than ever. "Jeanne, my darling!" exclaimed the de Sade.

As she waltzed closer, however, Dominique grew acutely aware of Jeanne's pent-up distress and swallowed the cheerful greetings. After hugging her tight she clutched at the girl's shoulders, a swell of pessimistic thoughts compelling her to inquire, "What happened? Is everything okay?" Looking down at the pink-haired woman's avoidant gaze, she couldn't help but persist in asking questions, her features wrought with concern. "Did he do something bad to you? I swear I'm going to—"

"No Lady Dominique, don't worry. He did nothing to me at all." The raven-haired vampire sighed in relief, but Jeanne hadn't proclaimed those words with any excitement. Rather, she seemed disappointed.

Noé got up from Dominique's bed and also came towards them, concerned about the eerie silence coming from Jeanne. In spite of not knowing the woman well, he trusted Dominique's high regard for the Chevalier enough to equally care for her well-being. "Jeanne, can we do anything for you?"

Raising her head to face that towering figure's quizzical look, Jeanne noticed his unkempt hair and clothes, capped off by the usual bowtie nowhere near his open shirt. As her eyes trailed south from his face, she also swore there was a big hickey shining brightly on the left side of his neck. "Errr... No. I'm fine, really." She lowered her head back towards her feet and spoke quietly, blushing a little from embarrassment since she had clearly interrupted them. Noé, noticing a tad too late, covered the freshly-sucked mark with his hand.

In her meekness, Jeanne attempted to ignore the elephant in the room. "Thank you so much for your concern, the two of you. I'm really fortunate to have you care about me."

"Well, but of course ma chérie!" Dominique sighed. "We put you in this situation in the first place."

"Do you know where Vanitas fled to, Jeanne?" Noé asked, his chivalric determination standing in stark contrast to his roommate's lack thereof. "I can chase after him. I have an idea of places he could've gone."

"No, really. I don't need to see him. I'm just tired, I think..." She reached for her suitcase by her bed and grabbed a change of clothes and toiletries, retreating to the bathroom inside the suite without looking back—and the two other vampires wouldn't dare push the matter any further. After filling the bathtub with warm and bubbly water, she washed her hair with lavender shampoo in an effort to cool down before drifting off to sleep, but flashbacks from that night wouldn't stop tickling her brain.

"Why..." she whispered hopelessly, the words directed towards a certain vampire doctor only present in the recesses of her mind.

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He was in a terrible mood.

Vanitas brought a hand to his forehead and rubbed his temples, reminiscing about the internal conflict giving him an explosive migraine. After that dungeon fiasco, he had no choice but to avoid running into her from then on.