Adel quickly righted herself before scrambling to grab the fallen contents of the picnic basket and placed it by your bed.
She smoothed her maid dress over and bowed once Silver managed to free his master from the door frame and entered the room.
Silver followed suit, bowing with his back towards you as Malleus cleared his throat.
"You are both dismissed," he said with his eyes trained on you.
Adel and Silver cleared the room in record speed and closed the door behind them.
Once the two of you were alone, his regal Princely demeanor crumbled, his face showing deep concern.
He gently grabbed your arm, looking at the blue veins coloring your skin.
"Look at you...poor thing..."
Part of you didn't want to get sucked in by his act, this was sure to be a trick to lull you into a sense of comfort.
However you couldn't help it; this very important figure stopped what he was doing to see about you while you were hurt.
Between that and the first moment you two met, you couldn't help but be touched by his acts of kindness.
Still...
"Lord Malleus..." Your voice was low and shaky.
He sat up in attention, his eyes locked on you.
"What is it?"
"You...you don't have to do this..."
He blinked, his face and voice gentle.
"What do you mean?"
You hesitated to answer.
"Doting on me. Aren't you busy?"
"All that can wait," he said with firm conviction, completely opposite of what you were displaying right now.
"Your health takes precedence."
You looked away from him, not sure what to make of the feeling in your stomach.
"I've passed my judgement on Sebek," he said after a pause, catching you off guard.
You turned back towards him in surprise.
"He will not trouble you any longer."
You didn't feel relief at that despite everything; Grim was still hurt.
You lowered your eyes.
"Can you check on Grim? I need to know if he's okay."
Malleus nodded.
"Of course."
He studied you for a moment, his hand cupped around yours.
"Do you need a moment?" His tenderness cut through you like a hot knife.
You nodded, and thankfully he removed himself from the room and left you to yourself.
Despite everything that happened to you prior, those gentle words and actions left you with this strange feeling in your gut.
It wasn't fear; that was something you knew very well.
Fear was a nauseating feeling and left your nerves on edge; this set your nerves but you felt hot and you felt like you couldn't think straight.
Oh God...were you sicker than you thought?
You thought back to what Malleus said to you when he saw you.
His pained look, the tone in his voice, it felt and looked genuine.
You were glad he was gone, because your mind was a complete mess right now and you didn't know what to make of any of it.
********
Third Person's POV:
Ace and Deuce found themselves in the Throne Room again, the room packed to the brim with people.
Ace and Deuce sat farther back while Leona sat in his throne, with Ruggie to sit beside him.
Jack, as the leader of the vanguard, stood beside the throne along with another beastman in their fancy armor.
The room was in a fuss until Leona cleared his throat.
"Everyone be seated. Today commences our discussion of our plans to infiltrate Draconia Manor."
"Infiltrate Draconia Manor?" Someone mimicked with fear.
The room was in an uproar once again, chattering nervously until Leona raised his hand.
"Yes. Before we continue, let us go over the information we already know. Draconia is preparing for a wedding with a member of the Queendom to regain their magic, and we must put a stop to it before they wage war on us all.
"The wedding is in three months time, but with new information, a plan to reach success in this endeavor has been put into motion."
Ruggie stepped forward and took out a disk shaped thing.
He pressed a button and it projected a holographic layout of the manor.
"Thanks to our friends at Glasgow and Rosethorn we've gotten a bit of insight of what their hideout is like," he began, "former slaves and workers who had died gave us tips to help construct this virtual map, so we'll be able to see where to go in and out for the rescue.
"We've also learned that an eclipse is on its way in three weeks time, which is an added bonus!"
"The bloodsuckers strength and vigor is effected during the eclipse, so we'll use that as our chance to engage. I've spoken with the Reaper at Glasgow to mitigate casualties, so we'll be well protected during the mission.
"Of course, this doesn't mean we should sit on our laurels. Train as hard as you can, my brethren! Study as hard as you can! Do all you can until the day comes and crush those monsters into the relics that they are!"
A thunderous applause erupted from the room; Ace and Deuce thought they were going to lose their hearing from the velocity of the beastmen.
****
"That was incredible!" Ace said while he, Deuce and Jack were at the snack stand, "Kingscholar looked like a completely different person from how he usually is."
Jack agreed, enjoying some juice.
"Say what you will about his drive, the man's an impressive tactician and spokesman."
YOU ARE READING
Twisted Tales: Vampire Bites By Midnight (Malleus x Reader)
VampireYou're the graduate of Night Raven Academy, a unisex college that is known for taking in both magicless and gifted students. On the the day of the graduation party, after it's over, you prepare to leave after finding Grim sleeping in the hall by him...
