The Lady Of The Manor

Chapter 3~ Scared

Chase's POV

I opened my eyes and groaned. I blinked a few times before I noticed that one side of me was warmer than the other. I looked down and saw a tiny, sleeping Melody clinging to my side. I swear my heart swelled up so much that it could have burst. I turned on my side facing her and pulled her closer to me. She wrinkled her nose and her beautiful eyes flew open.

"Good morning Pumpkin," I said softly.

"Mornin' Chase."

"You sleep ok, sweetie?"

"Yeah. You're comfy." I chuckled, rubbing her back.

"And you're funny. Hey, Melody?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you ask that question last night?"

"What question?"

"You asked why Dark hated you. Why?"

"Because last night, after I left my room I noticed his office door was partially opened and I was confused, so I investigated. I looked into the room and Dark spotted me and growled at me. That's when I ran to your room. So why does he hate me so much? Did I do something?"

"No, Lass, you didn't do anything. Dark's office door is never open, I would have been confused and curious too. And I don't know why he's so mean to you sweetheart. You've done nothing wrong." I was pissed. Melody had done nothing wrong, and that asshat had the audacity to growl at her. He may have been top ego, but he had no right to treat her like that. She had been nothing but kind to him; trying to understand him better than any of the rest of us had.

"I must have done something. There is a reason for everything, no matter how small."

"I'm sure you did nothing wrong, Pumpkin. Now come on, let's go get breakfast." I picked her up and brought her back to her room, leaving her to get ready. I left hiding my feelings from her. Dark and I were going to have some words.

Wilford's POV

I woke up, yawning and stretching, feeling my body loosen up. I rubbed my eyes and got out of bed, heading to my closet. I had just finished getting dressed when I heard a knock at my door. Shrugging, I answered it.

"Chase! What a surprise. How can I help you?" I asked the fuming man.

"We need to speak with Dark regarding Melody."

"What happened?" I asked, losing my happy demeanor.

"She told me that after you put her to bed, she couldn't sleep so she left her room in search of one of us. She found Dark's office door open part of the way and got confused and so she check it out. Dark had the gall to growl at her. Wilford, I would have checked it out if I had seen Dark's office door open even a smidge. Anyway, after he growled she ran to my room and right before she fell asleep she asked why Dark hated her so much. I asked her about it this morning and she's convinced she did something wrong. We need to speak to Dark." As Chase told his tale, my eyes narrowed and glowed a bright pink, something that only ever happened when I was truly upset. I felt my hands and jaw clench, and the rest of my body tense up.

"Why don't we go have a chat with Dark, hmm?" I asked slowly.

"I thought you'd see it my way," Chase agreed and the two of us made our way to Dark's bedroom, where he presumably was. We didn't find him there. I listened closely, trying to figure out where he went. All I heard was Melody's shallow breathing as if she were having an anxiety attack.

"Chase, we can scold Dark later, I think Melody's having an anxiety attack." We scurried to Melody's room and found her on her bed, breathing heavily. What we didn't expect was to see Dark pacing in her room.

"Dark! What did you do?" I yelled.

"Nothing, I swear! I entered her room and I guess I was to quite because when she saw me she started breathing like that! How do you fix her!"

"You dumbass," Chase growled as he walked over to Melody, and putting her onto his lap. I followed him, and the two of us managed to talk her out of her anxiety attack.

"How are you feeling, Gumdrop?" I asked her.

"Better. He scared the crap out of me," She answered, still breathing heavier than I would have liked.

"Dark, may I speak with you, please?" I asked, trying to keep my composure. He nodded, clearly freaked out about what had just happened. The two of us left Melody's room and entered his office, leaving Melody with Chase.

"You have some explaining to do," I glowered.

"I just went in there to apologize for some unsightly behavior of mine from last night. I didn't think she'd have a panic attack!"

"Yeah, she told Chase about that, and he told me. What were you thinking, growling at her for being curious? Your door wasn't closed all the way, Dark. Anyone of us would have been curious and confused!"

"I realized that this morning, so I was going to apologize. It would appear that I have more to apologize for now though."

"You're damn right you do. Not only did you scare her shitless, you give her an anxiety attack? Jesus, Dark, I know you don't like her but you don't have to terrorize her either!"

"I understand my mistake, Wilford."

"I know you don't like other people, Dark, and that's fine but you've never been so hostile to anyone before, excluding your torture victims. You're typically hospital. What's going on? Why do you hate her so much?"

"I don't hate her! I'm scared of her! I'm scared of her and what she could become. Of what she could mean to me. I'm scared of growing attached to her, so I push her away; try to make her hate me. But, Wilford, even the thought of that rips my soul into even bigger pieces. And it didn't work anyway, it just made her even more curious." I was stunned.

"You're... scared of a 5-year-old? She poses no threat to you!"

"Wilford, all eleven of you have fallen in love with her, from day one. That kind of power doesn't just come from someone being cute. And she admitted to being a Transmoninan witch and werewolf. Do you know what werewolves do to demons? They destroy us, once and for all. I'm just trying to survive! And on top of that, I've begun developing a soft spot for her. She will be mine and Anti's downfall."

"Maybe you wouldn't be so scared of her if you trying developing a relationship with her. Give her a reason not to want to kill you when she gets older. Because the others and I will fight to keep her here with our lives. And eleven against one isn't very good odds," I said before stomping out of there, slamming the door.