I Can't Get the Vampire Rogue to Romance Me

Chapter 19 - Long Rest Rituals

"Oh yeah, sure," Evangeline invited.

The larger woman entered already looking like she had gotten a shower and her robe laundered. "Here," she said, thrusting out a carved stone talisman to her. "You can borrow this if you want."

Evangeline took the talisman, looking over the carving on it. It looked like a happy little fish tossing its tail and water spray in a joyful arc. "What is it?" she asked.

"Just say the word, Refreshor. With the 'or' sound, not 'er,'" Sigismund said.

Evangeline did and then a feeling like bubbly water seemed to rush all over her skin and through her hair like a wave had burst underneath her clothing. A sweet smell of roses and lavender tickled her nose, and she swore she heard a splashing giggle. Running a hand through her hair, she realized that it felt clean and soft instead of sweat-stiff and tangled.

"Oh wow, that is a marvelous bit of magic," Evangeline said, handing it back.

"Soapstone," Sigismund said. "I always have one with me when I travel. Makes getting cleaned up easier."

"I feel very fresh, thank you," Evangeline agreed.

Sigismund nodded, moving to leave, then hesitated. "Look, I know it's not my place to say, but ... watch out for Valerian. There's something not right about him, and I don't trust it."

"Do you trust anyone?" Evangeline quipped, cracking a half grin.

Sigismund returned it. "That's fair. No, I don't."

"Not even Artmond?"

Her shoulders stiffened. "He is my lord's son. Absolutely I cannot trust him. At least, not to keep himself out of trouble. More like... I know I cannot rely on him." She blew out a breath. "Look, take the advice or not. It's really not skin off my nose." And with that, she flounced away.

Evangeline couldn't help cracking her own grin as she stretched, feeling "refreshored." Getting up, she took a glance through the branches of the willow tree. On the edge of her consciousness was the rattle of dice rolling as she peered.

Hagor and Artmond were at the fire, cooking food as Sigismund approached Artmond, holding out the soapstone to him. There was no sign of Valerian anywhere.

Which was because he stood right behind her.

"Holy Hell!" Evangeline exclaimed when she turned around and found him standing too close behind her.

"Need to work on your perception," Valerian smirked, one of his pale eyebrows lifting as he crossed his arms.

"And you need to work on boundaries."

"I said I wanted a word," he reminded her.

That's right. He did. "What do you want?" she asked, crossing her arms to mirror his.

"We need to talk. You keep implying that you know something about me, but you don't follow through on what that is."

Evangeline sighed, feeling very tired. "If I did know what you are talking about, Val, I don't know it right now because I barely know my own name until I get some rest."

"Yes, that is a mighty convenient excuse," he pointed out.

"Okay, how about this." Evangeline laid a hand on his crossed forearm. Valerian jumped a little but didn't shake her off, his narrow eyes now wider and completely focused on him. "If there was anything about your secret, whatever it is, that I could use to harm you, I would have done it already."

He stepped back, out of her touch. "You could just be waiting for the most opportune moment."

"Yeah, but I'm not. I'm just waiting for you to leave so I can go to bed," she said, a pounding behind her eyes growing more insistent as he grew more insistent.

"You..." he cocked his head at her. "You really don't know, do you? I can usually tell when people lie to me. They've been doing it most of my life, but you... you genuinely mean it."

"If you want to tell me your secret, I'll be willing to listen. I'm pretty sure it won't change a thing about how I feel about you."

"Oh you have 'feelings' about me eh?" he asked with a suggestive tone, his voice growing huskier.

She knew what he was getting at, but she didn't take his bait. "Well, of course, I have feelings about you. I like you a great deal. We're all in this together."

"Hmm, you know... you're more gullible than I originally took you for," he replied, lightening his tone, then backed off.

"Thanks," she replied much more coolly.

"Oh don't get me wrong. I like naïve. It gives me a chance to show people the error of their ways." His grin sharpened. "Trust me, you would have fun with it too."

Evangeline took a step back from the innuendo. "I thought you made it abundantly clear that you don't like me."

"I never said I didn't like you," he purred. "I mean, after all, you are right. We are in this together. And if you have no intention of being an enemy, we could try friends?"

"Only if you mean it," she said, surprising herself with that answer. Where did that come from?

"Why wouldn't I mean it? Now I'm hurt." He pouted his lower lip and then he took a step out through the willow branch curtain. "Alright then. I'll wait to finish this conversation in the morning when you've fully refreshed yourself."

And with that, he exited fully and moved away further into the camp.

Evangeline let out a breath. "It's been a full day," she muttered to herself. "Let's just get something to eat and go to sleep. Deal with any other problems in the morning."

And she did just that. It was nice to share the comradery of food around a fire, and once she settled into her bedroll, and for the first time in a while—though she couldn't remember why—she let out a contented sigh as she dropped off to sleep.

She wasn't sure what it was that woke her up. Maybe it had been a successful perception roll, maybe it had been the dreams she had been having, or maybe she had just gotten lucky.

To be continued...

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