Ambience ~ n.m.

Is It Hell Or The Wild Side?

I have been trying to get Eden to go down for her midmorning nap for over an hour now, but the insufferable assholes on the street won't shove a sock in their trumpet and let my daughter sleep in peace. I love having a place to myself with my daughter. I get time and space to myself and I have my own personal family. It's a wonderful start, but it's no compound.

Therefore, no soundproof walls.

I swung open the street facing window and popped my head out, a sneer ready on my face. "Hey! It's not bloody Jazz Fest yet, can you pack your crap and let my daughter sleep?" I bark angrily to the street performers. They widen their arms and give me a look like I'm the asshole. I huff in annoyance and slam the window hard enough for the glass to crack. My teeth grit as I look at the spiderwebbed window.

A groan leaves my mouth as they start up again and I slump my shoulders. I turn to the intensely sobbing child in her crib. I let out a sigh and grab the Chinese takeout boxes from the coffee table from the night before and start putting them in a grocery bag. I trash them in the kitchen and spin around to face Eden and smile motherly, hoping to calm her tired self.

I grabbed her from her crib and held her against my hip, trying to cradle her. My fangs elongated and my stomach flipped. I quickly placed Eden back in her crib, a wail soon following. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and scrolled to the contacts section, looking down at Elijah's number.

I hesitated with my finger above the call button. I wanted this, I wanted my own chance to have a family, to shove Klaus's face in the mud when he saw how well I'm doing. I'm not going to get to my goal if I ask Elijah to bail me out of a simple situation. Come on, Harper. You can do this. Eat and then get back to your daughter. I locked my phone and quickly sped to the fridge. I found a blood bag and drained it.

As soon as I swallowed the last drop, I felt all of my senses focus. Both my vampire and feeler senses. I walked to the crib again, giving a real wholehearted smile to my upset daughter. I picked her up and placed her on my hip.

"Let's go to sleep, honey." I hum softly.

I bring her to her nursery and settle in the rocking chair. I focused all of my power and chanted a feeler charm in a soft lullaby tone, raising a silence barrier around the room. The trumpet and drums softly watered down till they were almost a whisper. I slowly and carefully rocked her in my arms for a long while before her beautiful blue eyes fluttered shut and her breathing became a rhythm. 

I stood and lay her inside her crib and spreading a light yellow blanket over her. I exited the room swiftly and shut the door behind me.

I looked out upon the plethora of boxes I still had to go through and unpack. I called Freya, asking her to babysit while I ran some errands. She happily obliged and I started on my trek to the furniture store. As much as I loves some of Elijah's selections, I needed some more accent pieces to make it really feel like home. I'm aiming for my childhood home, the Gilbert home. 

I want Eden to have a childhood like I did, and to achieve that I had to bring in the big guns.

I bought a moving van and hired a team of burly movers to move the large items into the apartment. I was going on a color theme, brown, cream white, and midnight blue. Strange theme, but it was homey. Once I was done buying the furniture and decor, my next order of business was to unpack every box. Finally, after that was done, I plopped tiredly on the sofa.

I looked to the wall in front of me. Brick and very plain. 

"What is it?" Freya questioned, holding Eden.

"I have one other thing to get. I'll be back in a few." I smile towards her and leave. 

I walked across the street to the compound and sped upstairs into Klaus's bedroom. Klaus had a certain painting that would be perfect to fill that hole in my decor. It tied everything together, and it gave Eden something I couldn't, a piece of her father. I found it hanging on his wall. It was my favorite piece. It was his. I took it off the wall and found a canvas tarp to place over it.