Yurika closed the book and moved her head to the side, attracted by the flight of a butterfly. She raised her hand to bring it closer. The creature rested briefly on her finger, then resumed its flight. She sighed. She was glad the vampire had given her free access to the garden and to the rooms of the villa, it made her feel less caged and freer. She had to admit that Ferid was working hard to keep his promises, but after all, it hadn't even been a week since his attack and the girl wasn't willing to delude herself, not when the vampire's presence was still causing so much turmoil inside her body. She turned towards the mansion and looked out the windows, spotting a figure. She shook her head, clutched her book to her chest and stood up, deciding that she would take a long walk before returning.

Ferid was in his study, he had to review some documents, but then he had been distracted by the figure of Yurika and hadn't been able to take his eyes off her. He had to admit that the idea of giving the girl more freedom had paid off. Sure, Yurika hadn't jumped on him when the vampire had told her the news, but Ferid knew how important it was for her. He had started to disturb her much less, in fact he had promised himself that they would be in the same room no more than once a day and, when that happened, Ferid did not dare to touch her; of course this situation and these self-imposed constraints were against his nature and rather difficult to follow, but every time he reminded himself that, for Yurika, he was more than willing to sacrifice himself and make exceptions. He hoped that one day he would be able to make her more cooperative. He watched her for as long as he could, then resigned himself to returning to his much more boring papers, concentrating on them again with little interest. Shortly afterwards he received a call from the tenth progenitor. He wished to meet Ferid during the day to clear up some bureaucratic matters. The vampire accepted with little enthusiasm, but he couldn't shirk his duty if he did not want to risk blowing his whole plan. Then he remembered Yurika, it would be a good idea to warn her of an impending visit from another vampire, he didn't want any unpleasant incidents to occur, he didn't need any more problems to solve. He ran into the girl near the library. "Yurika!" The girl stopped and turned in the direction of the voice. "Don't worry, I'm not going to bother you now, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be getting a visit from another vampire soon, it's a tenth progenitor so it won't cause any problems. I thought it was only fair to warn you." "Oh... Is it a problem if I stay in the library or...?" The girl asked. "No, it's fine. There's no problem at all. Did you finish the other book already?" Yurika nodded. "Do you need a hand getting another one?" "No, thanks. I'll get going." "Yeah... See you later Yurika!" And he watched her as she walked away. After his encounter with the vampire he would go to the girl, at least with her he would be able to relax a bit.

"Welcome! You've come a rather long way to reach me!" "For us vampires distances count for very little, like time. After all, we have plenty of it." "Good point, if you'd like to come in we'll move to my study to discuss." Ferid noticed how the tenth progenitor sniffed the air as he entered the mansion and it didn't take him long to figure out what he was sniffing, he just hoped he wouldn't comment on it. "Hey, Ferid. Am I mistaken or is there a human here too?" Ferid smiled. "Yes. It's about my new prey." And that was all he added. "I'll bet it's a beautiful girl this time too, I know your taste, so where are you hiding her?" A low growl escaped from Ferid. He didn't like the turn the conversation was taking at all and even less liked Foula Honte's comments, they were making him nervous. "Foula, as I think you can understand, we are certainly not here to talk about such trivial matters. It seems to me that we have far more concerns than that, don't you think?" "Of course, Ferid." But the tenth progenitor made the mistake of not noticing how much that conversation had annoyed the seventh progenitor.

Yurika passed all the corners of the library, wondering how much and whether she should continue with her search, after all, she didn't even know where Kurena was, so what would be the point of continuing? Even if she had found something by now, she wouldn't be able to use that information. Or maybe Ferid would have agreed. She shuddered as she thought back to the vampire. She remembered those terrible moments when she had feared the worst, and the vampire's subsequent sudden change of heart. She acknowledged the commitment he had shown her in those days and, in a way, appreciated the vampire's sacrifices, but she was still not sure she could trust him completely, perhaps she needed more time. She went back on her books, but eventually decided to leave without taking anything, for now she felt the need to go back to her room and rest.

Ferid looked at Foula Honte smiling, once again he had managed to fool him, or rather, not completely fool him. He had simply managed to get him to do what he wanted by giving him the impression that he was the one directing the deal. Poor deluded man. He thought with amusement. At least now he had what he wanted and, as always, he had managed to get it without antagonizing anyone. "Well Ferid, if we have nothing else to discuss, I'll leave." The seventh progenitor stood up. "No, we are done for the day, my dear Foula. Do you mind if I don't show you out?" The tenth progenitor also stood up. "Don't worry Ferid. I know the way. See you soon!" And he walked out. Ferid sighed and sat back in his chair. He smiled. Now he could go and see his little sheep. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. Perhaps it had not been wise to let Foula Honte go out alone, knowing that Yurika was around. He stood up and, just in case, headed for Yurika's room, even though he knew that nothing was going to happen. The tenth progenitor after all knew how much Ferid disliked those who touched something that belonged to him.

Yurika walked out of the library, but as her room was not far from there, she decided to go further and change her route, just to waste more time. But as she walked down a corridor, she caught sight of a figure on the other side. She slowed down, realising that it was most likely a vampire, and stopped for a short moment, not knowing what to do. She took a deep breath and resumed walking faster. Foula Honte immediately saw the girl, but more importantly he noticed her agitation. She was probably Ferid's new acquisition and he was intrigued, he wanted to see if she really met Ferid's standards. "Hey, who are you?" Yurika felt the blood freeze in her veins but decided not to stop until something tightened around her arm, blocking her escape. "Haven't you been taught to show respect to your superiors?" The vampire abruptly pulled her close to him and wrapped an arm around her waist, preventing her from moving. Yurika found herself staring into the vampire's red eyes. Foula let go of the girl's arm and lifted his hand to the girl's neck, caressing her skin where the marks of Ferid's bite were still visible. The girl began to tremble, and the vampire laughed. "You're already used to this sort of thing; you don't need to get so worked up..." And he stroked her cheek. "... You don't mind if I steal a drop, do you?" "I don't..." Yurika whispered. "Don't you think it's unfair? Ferid can safely drink your blood.... And I can't?" The girl pushed her hands against the vampire's chest and was surprised to feel the vampire leave her. Then she, following her survival instincts, tried to run away, but, once again, the vampire blocked her by pushing her against the wall. "You're too delicious, I can't let you go like this..." "Please don't..." Sobbed Yurika, now in tears. "Shsh. Don't cry. I'll be quick... And Ferid will never know..." Saying that, the vampire sank his canines into Yurika's neck, and the girl screamed in indescribable pain, much more intense than what she had felt with Ferid. Shortly afterwards she realized that the vampire was exaggerating; she kept losing her strength and feeling weaker and weaker, yet the vampire didn't seem to want to leave her. She closed her eyes as another tear rolled down her cheek. She wondered if Ferid would be angry with the vampire, if he would avenge her, if...

Suddenly the pain in her neck ceased. Yurika opened her eyes and looked at the scene before her. "What were you doing to her?" Ferid growled. Foula Honte had been thrown to the opposite wall and was staring at the newcomer with growing horror, having never seen him like this before. "Ferid..." Yurika whispered as she snapped out of her trance. The seventh progenitor turned in the girl's direction. "Yurika, I'm sorry, what is..." The girl's body shifted, and without almost realizing what she was doing, she reached for Ferid, clinging to his chest, still trembling. Ferid was surprised by that gesture for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Yurika's body, holding her gently. "It's okay, I'm here with you." The girl sank her head into the vampire's chest and managed to calm herself. Ferid returned to look at the tenth progenitor with a poisoned look. "You better get lost if you don't want anything bad to happen to you." He growled at him. He would have liked to fix him right away, but his attentions were on someone else. Yurika was his priority. He picked up the girl and headed for her room. Yurika leaned against the vampire's chest. Ferid watched her for a moment. Once again he saw her crying because of him. He carried her back to her room and settled her under the covers. "I'm sorry Yurika, it was my fault. I shouldn't have let him walk around by himself." He stroked her cheek and started to leave, but the girl lifted herself up in bed. "Ferid..." She whispered. The vampire turned and walked back to the girl, bending down to her height. He lifted a hand and went to caress her skin where the vampire's fangs had sunk. Yurika, taking advantage of the vampire's proximity, leaned over and left a light kiss on Ferid's cheek, then lowered her head. "Thank you Ferid." She felt the vampire's hand stop and she swallowed. Ferid lifted the girl's chin, looking into her eyes. "I will never let anyone hurt you again." Yurika blushed as she felt the vampire's lips rest on her forehead. "Now you better go to sleep Yurika, you need to get some rest. Goodnight." And after looking at her one last time, he left the room. Yurika wrapped herself in the blankets, feeling safe for the first time, at home. Ferid closed the door behind him and stroked the cheek where the girl's lips had been. Could it be that this was all it took to make him happy?

03/02/2021