𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓:
Given without qualms
(1867)

TW: Topic of slavery during the Regency Era and Civil War.

ELOISE AND JASPER had just successfully won a fight against the North West Mexican coven.

As a result of their night strolling in the forest after they'd fulfilled their appetite.

Jasper wanted to know more about Eloise. Mostly, her human life.

When they had the opportunity to talk, Jasper knew it was still a sensitive subject for her and didn't want to intrude on her privacy.

But he couldn't help himself from wanting to know more about her.

Her likes and dislikes, her hobbies before she became a vampire, everything she has to offer, he wants, no, he needs it.

It's shocking how quickly he falls for her. Her aura, her smile, her care-

Jasper's pinning thoughts stopped when Eloise continued, "As you already know. I'm from Mayfair, London. We were one of the upper-class families-" Eloise says with a snort, "Do forgive me; I sounded as if I was bragging."

Eloise never talked to Maria about her human life; it was new to her to share something detailed about herself.

"Not at all," Jasper tells her with a small smile.

"As I was saying, my father is a Duke. It is a prestigious title to hold. Many people respected and envied him. I never really knew what my father did for a living. I only knew him to be a successful man." Eloise mutters, her eyebrows furrowed, which Jasper always notices when she's focused.

"Apparently, I'm not allowed to know such things. The aunts said I should busy myself with learning how to sew properly. I'm not even allowed to be in the kitchen because the handmaids of the household should take care of it. "

"Handmaids?" Jasper raises an eyebrow. He might not be from the same wealthy family as Eloise, but he knows such things.

Growing up as a farm boy and the sole provider of his family, he worked for well-heeled families alongside his peers, who did not receive the same respectful treatment he received, even though they served the same.

Eloise looked at him, a bit confused but then realized what his question meant and said, "Ghastly! We don't own slaves! We might be wealthy, but my father and mother do not follow those horrendous morals. They are still people, living and breathing, that can feel the same as us, have the ability to dream of a good future and have a mind that has the opportunity to achieve brilliance and success like any other. We treated our helpers with respect and gave them what they deserved. They were happy in our household,"

Eloise remembered that her father welcomed guests into their home, and morals have been questioned about why they didn't own slaves.

Samuel dismissed them and said they should respect his decisions and morals.

The thought of owning a person is disturbing her.

A person cannot be owned; they are their own person.

The color of one's skin has nothing to do with one's intelligence or value as a human being.

"I quite miss them; they were the only friends I had. I didn't like the company of the girls of the ton," Eloise tells him with a blissful smile as she recalls her memories.

Her handmaidens always sneaked into her room.

She remembers talking to them until sunrise, how they quieted their laughter before it reached the halls.

Her parents might have had a tight grip on how she was looked upon by the ton.

However, Eloise is now wise and has gained an open mind.

Over the years, she has collected puzzle pieces that can fit her unanswered questions.

Because her family didn't follow society's rules, her father was slowly losing the people's respect.

They were afraid for Eloise's reputation to be tainted because of them.

They thought that no one would take her hand in marriage and that no one would ever take care of her once they were gone.

Society has its own ways of pressuring and messing with a person's sanity.

That's why they were so eager for her to get married.

For all the reasons mentioned, they did not share the same corrupted morals of society.

Although Barbara and Samuel tried to protect her from the world's cruelty, no one could really escape it.

They tried to keep her naivety, but Eloise is not ignorant.

She listens to her handmaidens and knows what happens behind the closed walls of every household.

Men might be great at duels, but women talk. It is their greatest weapon.

Eloise thought that her mother used it for Eloise to know something.

It might not have been directly from her, but her handmaidens sure did a wonderful job of explaining things to her.

Samuel and Barbara loved her, although her mother questionably had an unusual way of expressing it.

Samuel taught her how to read and write, even if his peers were displeased and treated her with so much love a father could offer.

Samuel and Eloise always bonded over their love for musical instruments.

"I adore playing the harp. Its soft and delightfully dreamy tunes can easily put one into a sleepy state." Eloise tells him with a bright smile that Jasper adored and that she could always put a smile on his face.

He saw that the simplest of things was what she enjoyed, never taking advantage of or ignoring the smallest details.

The simplest of things are the most memorable.

"Did you ever visit your family home?" Jasper carefully asks. Their stroll halted, and Eloise looked at him with a frown.

And Jasper was about to tell her that she needed not to answer his question, but Eloise suddenly spoke, her head tilting to the side.

"I never thought about going back. I guess part of me when I was young and new to this life, wanted to leave my human life behind. I was so eager for something new." freedom.

At first, Eloise thought she was being selfish, being so wrapped up in her own problems that she didn't even notice what was happening to others.

She felt guilty that she lived with a roof above her head when others could not.

To eat four-course meals when people outside the ton were starving to death.

Eloise wakes up in the morning, greeted by the soft silk linen sheets, without fear of going to the ton because of the shade of her skin.

Eloise understands that she will never truly understand. Yet she sees them, hears them, mourns with them, and will fight with them.

Finally, learning these things and being aware of what is truly happening is what matters.

"Why was Maria in Mayfair?" Jasper asks. With London being part of Europe and Texas in North America, it was on two separate continents, thousands of miles apart.

"Maria's old coven in Monterrey has ties with a coven in Mayfair. They refused to help with her endeavor," Eloise answers.

She has had years to accept this life, yet she knows she, too, was at the wrong place at the wrong time when Maria turned her to seek her revenge.

"I never did understand why our kind desired war," Jasper admits.

He joined the army to support his family and to be the man of the family when his father could not.

He saw how the men he saw as brothers were treated, and he joined them to fight for their rights.

At 17, he rose through the ranks with his persuasion and charisma. Along the way, he taught himself how to write and read coordinates.

He worked hard for what he believed in. Not only that, he helped his family away from poverty.

He saved enough money to meet their basic needs, including food, clothing, and decent shelter.

Commended by the higher ranks, he was offered to spy for the Union and join the Confederacy, and he accepted it with honor.

For the remaining years since he joined the Confederacy, he rose through their ranks, and the Union won the cities the Confederacy tried to invade.

It was only a matter of time for them to find out that he was the reason for their defeat.

It's only been five years since he turned, and at 23 years old, he saw how vastly different wars between humans and vampires were, and his own training proved useless against the newborns he and Eloise fought.

"For the sake of greed and power, war is a two-sided thing, Jasper. We're not the only ones who suffer," Eloise tells him.

Even though Maria is the one who always turns the newborns, she unleashes towards their enemies.

The newborns that the enemy coven has were once humans like them.

They have their own lives and a family to come home to. Unfortunately, their creators' valued greed, and their lives were stolen from them.

War affects communities and families, and it most often hinders the overall economic growth of nations.

The desire for self-enrichment.

"I know, but one can hope that equal treatment is not something to demand; it should be given without qualms,"

"Don't we all?"

Author's Note:
➵ In honor for black history month. Please do message me if I offended anyone with what I wrote.