Ballad of the Bruised [ j.v ]

05

>A NEW KIND OF LOVE<

THIS CONTINUED FOR THREE DAYS.

Agnes would have a nightmare, Jane would come in and calm her down and stay with her until she fell back asleep. Except on the fourth night, just as Agnes was about to doze off, she uttered one strange request.

"Stay with me."

Jane looked down at her small mate with a confused expression on her face. "Whatever do you mean?" Agnes yawned, and nuzzled her head into Jane's neck, "Stay with me. When I wake up, you're always gone. Stay with me tonight."

But before Jane could respond, Agnes was asleep, soft snores sneaking through her pink lips. Jane smiled at the sight, and obeyed her mate's wishes. So, as the sun rose the next morning, Agnes awoke in Jane's comfortably cold arms. Releasing a sigh of content, Agnes looked up at the blonde vampire she had grown to care for.

"Good morning."

Jane smiled, and tucked a piece of frizzy red hair behind her mate's ear. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Agnes nodded, sitting up as the sun streamed through the window, igniting her hair in a fiery frenzy of light. "I haven't slept that well in a long time." She replied with a yawn, stretching her limbs and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Would you like to take a walk with me?"

The question had certainly caught Agnes off guard. Not only by how straight forward it was, but because Jane had basically sworn off of letting her out of her room. Agnes turned to look at Jane, "But I thought-"

"Yes or no?" Jane snapped impatiently. Agnes flinched slightly, not knowing what she'd done wrong, before nodding her head. "Good. I'll come for you after dinner." And with that, Jane exited Agnes's bed chamber, closing the door behind her, leaving a rather confused redhead in her wake.

"Seriously, Jane? That's how you ask her?" Jane looked up to find Demetri staring at her with a disapproving look on his face, while Felix held him by the waist with an expression as bored as a brick wall. Jane groaned in agitation, sliding down a nearby stone wall until she was sitting, and placing her face in her hands.

"Part of me knows that she'll be fine leaving her room. But the other is telling me to keep her locked away for her own safety." Jane sighed with a shake of the head. Demetri and Felix shared a look before plopping down on either side of Jane.

"When I first met Demetri, I was crazy overprotective. You remember that?" Felix asks, playfully nudging Jane's shoulder. Jane looked up before nodding. "And do you remember how paranoid I was about him getting hurt?" Again, Jane nodded her head, not really understanding where Felix was going with this.

"What I'm trying to say is, it's perfectly natural for you to worry about your mate, Jane. Especially if your mate is human. But don't let the worry keep you from building a happy life with her."