Music Recommendation: The Accident at Fox Hill- Hong Dae Sung
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When Vincent made his way through one of the corridors, some council members were quick to offer him a bow until he walked past them. But it was when they noticed a black cat tailing behind the pureblooded vampire that their eyebrows rose.
One of the councilmen murmured, "What is a black cat doing in here? Less following him."
"Haven't you heard that black cats are uncommon because of the mass death that had been ordered many years ago after the witches caused problems? They are signs of bad luck," the other councilman to the one who first spoke said barely above a whisper, while standing at the end of the corridor and behind the pillar.
Vincent didn't pay attention to the remarks, but Timotei didn't like how he was reduced to bad luck because of the glorious colour of his fur!
"Men are no less to women when it comes to gossip," Timotei muttered under his breath, while he wanted to show those pesky men what bad luck actually went with the power of his claws. But he was more curious about where Vincent was walking off because the carriage was parked on the opposite side. "Where are you going? We are supposed to go back to Skellington so that I can eat," he said before increasing the speed of his paws to come to walk next to the pureblooded vampire.
"There's something I need to take a look at," Vincent remarked in a low voice where his lips barely moved. "Consider it to be bonding time. Not everyone gets to work with me."
"Does this mean I will be appointed as a councilman?" Timotei asked in excitement, as they stepped away from the main building and walked towards another building.
"Sure," Vincent replied in a nonchalant tone and Timotei raised his head to look at him in suspicion.
"Why does it feel like you are lying to me? You said sure, that means you should keep your word! I first thought I would be a good priest, but now that I think about it, I will be a better councilman. Imagine the fame I will achieve!" Timotei stated with an air of superiority. "Timotei to the rescue!"
Timotei still had a hard time understanding how Vincent had ended up being his owner because of his foul attitude. Not to mention, there was something very unnerving about the pureblooded vampire that turned the black cat wary and docile in front of him.
Once they reached the other building that belonged to the Council, they walked down the stairs to the underground floor. Vincent picked up a lantern in his hand before making his way through the collection of books and other records that were stored for the use of the Council.
Timotei sneezed loudly when he felt himself inhale the dust around the place. He sneezed one more time, while his eyes turned watery.
"What do you plan to find here?" Timotei asked Vincent, when the pureblooded vampire walked forward, moving between the racks.
"When the reign of King Gauntlet and his successors came to an end, a lot of the things were captured by the Council. Though most of the belongings to the royal family were thrown out, one of the men of that period recorded details of what he saw and heard. The records are somewhere in here," Vincent said, as his eyes moved to look at the names written on each section of the racks.
Vincent then pulled a few books, reading a few pages before putting it back where it was.
Timotei, deciding to help, jumped on one of the rack spaces for the box to fall on the ground with a crash and awkwardly laughed, 'Oops'. He then said,
"Why do people even keep books that speak about the relationship between the night creatures and what kind of pet they need to adopt? The people from the Council aren't too bright, are they? If I was a vampire, you would see me closing cases like this," he snapped using his paws.
Vincent's eyebrows furrowed. He walked to where Timotei was, and said, "A lot of things in here won't make sense unless you turn the pages."
"What do you mean?" The black cat asked in curiosity.
"To hide things from the people, the ones who preserved the book wanted to make sure they didn't fall into the wrong hands. Information is not used the same by everyone. A camouflage," Vincent said, and after turning ten more pages, he finally pointed, "The information should be somewhere in this rack. Look," he turned the book for Timotei to step forward, taking a closer look at it.
"That's the royal castle..." Timotei murmured, feeling a headache starting to form on his head as if something that had been suppressed was trying to push through.
Vincent started looking through the books before his hand fell on the book, which contained the information he sought. He read the writings in the book with the lantern burning bright in that section where they stood,
"When the Sea Goddess didn't return for long, her daughters came to the land to bring her back. One a mermaid, and the other was a siren. Considering the nature of the two, the one who was favoured was the mermaid, while the siren was of no use to the royal family. The mermaid was promised to be married to the King's favourable son, but it was the siren who fell in love with that son. Like two souls that were meant to be together."
Timotei shook his head as if he suddenly turned confused, and he said, "I thought the siren was trying to kill you because you killed her sister and mother?"
"There's only half information in here, not the depth that we are looking for. Seems like another half information," Vincent replied with a frown. After going through many other books, he came upon something with his lips set in a thin line and a foul mood coming to surround him.
Timotei, on sensing it, asked, "Anything regarding the dagger?"
"Yeah," Vincent replied, and he placed the book in the inner pocket of his coat. They left the Council in the carriage and soon the carriage rode away, heading in the Moriarty mansion's direction.
Once the carriage stopped in front of the Moriarty mansion, Timotei was more than glad to be home and quickly went to the kitchen to see what delicious food was being prepared for him. While on the other hand, Vincent made his way to his room. On opening it, he stepped inside and noticed Eve not in there. But he turned his eyes to the other side of the divider when he noticed his wife in the bathtub.
Eve wasn't just sitting in the bathtub; her body was submerged, and her fish tail had turned to her dainty legs, with the knee sticking out of the water surface.
Vincent walked around the wooden divider and caught Eve immersed in the water. Her eyes were closed, and he sat on the side before his own hand dipped into the water and touched her face. As if alerted, her blue eyes opened in shock and she quickly sat up by getting her head out of the water.
Eve took a deep breath, and Vincent apologised, "I didn't mean to startle you."
"No..." Eve inhaled, shaking her head, and said, "I didn't realise when I fell asleep..." How long was she in the bathtub?
When Eve stood up, Vincent picked up the bath towel and he wrapped it around her body. He tightened the end, watching drops of water trailing down from Eve's head downwards to the white fabric of the towel.
"That is fine," he said, "We had a long journey and water is your home. You must have felt comfortable and more at peace staying in the tub."
Vincent pushed the wet strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Did you just return? What time is it?" Eve asked him as she stepped out of the bathtub.
"Mm. "The hour is closing to six in the evening," Vincent stepped away and noticed the scales on Eve's arm that hadn't disappeared. "Did you not use enough bath salts?" His eyes fell on the bathtub, and he could smell the slight waft of salt in the air.
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