Isabel and the Beast - Alucard

Chapter 2: Sweet Home

-Some months later-

The small, inland town of Sweetbriar was just beginning to feel familiar. Not like home, but not the strange, new place my brother and I had happened upon some months earlier. The people of the town had been generous - taking us in like we belonged there. My brother and I were given our own space - A small, warm room down the upstairs hall of the inn. I helped out in tavern downstairs as much as possible, as well as the inn, and Tomas went to play with other children and their families kept an eye on him while I worked or stayed in our room. Takashi and Lea, an older couple owned the inn and their son, Reo, just a couple years older than me, worked alongside me.

It was no secret the couple hoped to pair me off with their son. And to their credit, there did not appear to be any other competitors in the small village, unless I fell for the old widower who drank too much every night in the tavern. Lea had me help in the kitchen often, all too eager to teach me all her cooking skills. I learned quickly, eager to please them. I shared the few recipes I knew from home, though most required fish. They helped my brother and I more than I could ever repay. But I was shaken still over recent escape to even think about love or companionship on that level.

When I needed room for my own thoughts, I wandered out into the nearby woods to pick flowers and berries, filling my basket and having something to contribute for my time once I came back. This area of Wallachia seemed to be safe, and as the months went on I ventured further and further into the deep, dense woods. The further I moved away from the small village, the more birds I could hear. It was on one of these walks that the past visited me.

I'd spun my long, blonde hair, braided just this morning, into a low knot at the back of my head to keep it out of my eyes while I cooked breakfast at the inn. I'd kept my apron on over my neat, green dress as sometimes the brambles on my walks threatened to rip at my skirts. One of the village women, Kimmy, had graciously given me some of her old dresses with a laugh, claiming she'd never fit into them again after her children had rounded her out, and I treated them as best I could, appreciative of her generosity. They only fit a little tight in my chest, as my breasts apparently were bigger than her pre-baby chest, giving me noticeable cleavage along the square neckline.

Deep in the woods, I had just found a new thicket of berry bushes and knelt in the brush to use both hands, grabbing berries delicately from their holds and plopping them into my basket, when I heard something. Something large. The bushes nearby rustled. Body jerked to face the direction the sound came from. When all was quiet again, I thought maybe I'd imagined it, surrounded by trees and green and sun streaming through the branches. I had just turned back, still stiff with uncertainty, when I heard a loud snarl. I didn't think. I didn't look. I left the basket there and just ran.

I sprinted with everything I had, crashing through brush with no idea which direction I headed - I just moved away from the source of the noise as quickly as I possibly could. While I could not recall with certainty, I was sure I had seen red eyes peering out of the bushes. I ran hard and fast until my lungs and my legs gave out on me and I fell to the dirt, my palms ripped up from the brambles and now covered in dirt. I breathed hard, shaking, catching my breath. I moved to sit on my bottom, looking behind me. Nothing. I slowly rose to my feet, brushing the dust and dirt and leaves off my skirt as much as I could. My apron was covered in brown flecks and had tiny rips from the brambles and sticks.

My loud breathing seemed to be the only noise in the world, surrounded by the strange calm. I took one final deep breath and turned to start for home when I nearly ran into someone standing right behind me.

"AGH!" I screamed and fell away - I would have fallen on my butt but a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, steading me. A tall, beautiful man with long blonde hair stared at me curiously, his hand gently around my forearm. His expression lead me to believe he was in no way surprised by my being there. In fact, as excited as I was, I might have bored him.