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Lenore still couldn’t get used to it. This… this human lifestyle Hector and her had found themselves living the past few months. Leaving the castle was much easier than expected with Hector at the helm to explain how he wanted to take her far away from Styria to a place where they could simply live in peace and complete and utter tranquility. Isaac was more than accepting of their request, surprisingly enough. What Isaac chose to do with the quartet’s former residence was of no concern to her, so long as she could leave all the haunting memories behind.
Lenore let out a sigh, twisting the amber colored ring around her ring finger in a nervous fidget. Hector had forged a sunlight ring for Lenore to wear, so that she could not only walk out and enjoy the sunshine on her skin as humans did, but also so that she wouldn’t have the fear of turning to ash the second she stepped foot into the glare of it.
Hector had found it in an old forgemaster’s book that included the study of manipulating the sun, so that vampires could easily move about without the need to wait until nightfall. Hector had explained to her that it could be through any means of clothing, just as long as it was on her person at all times. Lenore had no complaints, and wearing rings was easier than most other pieces of clothing or jewelry she found.
Lenore straightened her shoulders, bracing herself to walk outside. She grabbed her wide brimmed sun hat, a pale pink ribbon tied into a neat bow around the base of it. She smiled at the hat before she placed it atop her hair and welcomed in the sun to brush against her skin, and the warmed grass to wiggle between her toes as she made her way over to the small garden Hector and herself had started. It was already beginning to produce small sprouts that would soon become red peppers, potatoes, carrots and cabbages. It excited her to no end.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.” Lenore jested, leaning over to block out the sun as she pulled the brim of her hat forward. Hector looked up at her, his cheeks speckled in dirt and his ash colored hair pulled back into a bun. A strand or two fell from it, framing his handsome face.
Hector blinked a couple of times before a cheerful smile split across his face. She couldn’t recall the amount of times his smile made her dead heart feel like it was beating like a rampant beast inside her chest. How such a human was capable of this, she had no recollection, but she was delighted by his company each and every day.
“Gardening is a whole other craft in itself. It requires thoughtful planning, being meticulous and careful.” Hector responded with a light laugh, patting the earth down around the newly planted vegetable. “But you didn’t come over here to observe the garden, did you?”
Hector’s brows waggled playfully, bringing the back of his hand up to wipe away the sweat from his brow, but it had the opposite effect where it just smeared dirt across his forehead instead. Lenore couldn’t help but to laugh, holding out her hand for him to take, which he gratefully took as he rose back up onto his feet. His thumb brushed over the back of her hand before it went to glide over the amber ring in thought.
Lenore felt herself choke up, watching him caress her hand so lovingly before his hand reached up to cup her cheek. His smile was radiant, and she couldn’t help but to smile in kind. “No, I’m afraid not, but I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done to help acclimate me to your human way of life, Hector.”
Hector’s cheeks bloomed with heat, his smile turning shy. “It was all I could think about, especially when you were contemplating…” He paused, and it broke her a bit. “So, I decided that sun walking jewelry was the next best bet. I wanted you to walk alongside me in the sun, just as I had strolled all those nights in the moonlight back in Styria with you.”
“It’s a found sentiment. One that I can happily commit myself to.” Lenore beamed, rising up onto the tips of her toes to press a chaste kiss to his lips. “Besides, the coin I’ve amassed over the centuries would have done me no good otherwise, so why not use it to invest in a quaint little life for the both of us?”
Hector laughed as he brushed a strand of auburn hair out of her face, tucking behind her ear. “I never thought you would agree to farm life?”
“It may be hard, and somewhat dirty and foul with the stench of chicken shit, but it’s our life.” Lenore took a long look around at the farm they’d settled into. The cottage was small, but it suited their needs, since it was just the two of them. The farmhouse to the left of the cottage that had seen better days with the busted windows and chipping red paint on the wood, but with a little tender love and care, it would look brand new. As for the garden, it was their way of making some sort of sustainable income. Or, it would be, now that their coin had been sufficiently spent on the farm itself and the animals.
Lenore turned back to Hector, smiling. “And for the first time in the two hundred years that I’ve walked this earth, I’ve found peace. I’ve found true happiness with you.”
Hector grinned, leaning his forehead against hers. The sudden kiss to her nose made her giggle. “Good. Finding your happiness is what coming to the countryside was all about.”
Lenore let out a wistful sigh, looking towards the sproutlings before she tangled her fingers up with Hector’s. She brought his hand up towards her lips, pressing a kiss to the healed over knuckle where a finger used to be. She still felt guilty for what she’d done to him, but at that point in time, if she hadn’t, who knows what Carmilla could or would have submitted Hector to.
She shook away the thoughts, a sudden thought rising up to the forefront of her mind. “You know, the old ladies in the village are going to begin wondering why my darling husband bears no ring, yet I do.”
Hector nearly choked on an inhale, his cheeks flushing. “I-It’s embarrassing that they believe us to be a married couple already. But I suppose… I suppose it keeps away any other available suitors.”
Lenore let out a bellowing laugh, placing a kiss this time to the rapidly beating pulse at his wrist. “Do I detect a sense of jealousy, Hector?”
“N-no.” Hector pouted, pulling their intertwined hands close to his mouth. The warmth of his breath brushed over her knuckles, the softness of his lips tickling her with its closeness. “I just don’t want anyone to steal away your happiness. I… I want to be your soul provider, as your darling husband.”
Lenore snorted, pulling him in close to the point where she could easily snuggle up to his chest and listen to the beating of his heart. “First of all, that’s exactly what jealousy is, my love, but secondly, it really does sound like you wish for me to be your darling wife.”
“Is that wrong of me to want that, Lenore?”
“No, of course not. In fact, if we’re married…” Lenore pulled away from his chest, dragging him along by their clasped hands over towards the barn where the animals were either taking a relaxing snooze out under the shade of a tree, or were eating their respective foods.
Hector and herself only had chickens at first, which were a lot messier than intended, but they were the first animals on their list. Next were cows, pigs, and finally, per Lenore’s request, she got a baby angora goat.
“Clara darling! Come here my sweet little thing.” Lenore cooed, surprising Hector with a heartfelt laugh.
“You named the goat, Clara?”
It was Lenore’s turn to appear abashed, but she held herself firm and remained poised. “Well, considering she is now our adoptive child, children must have a name, yes?”
“I-I don’t think that’s how parenting works---”
Clara bumped her nose into Hector’s leg, bleating excitedly.
“You see? She craves the affection of her father.” Lenore beamed, clapping her hands together as she bent down onto her knees to be at Clara’s height. “She is still quite young, and we must give her all the affection she desires.”
“A f-father?” Hector responded, baffled. Lenore watched as Hector stood still as stone for a couple moments before his face split into a warmhearted smile. He knelt down, reaching out a hand to scratch underneath Clara’s chin, which had the baby goat batting her tiny noggin into his hand. “I suppose I could get used to being one.”
Lenore nodded her head in agreement, reaching out her own hand to brush through the soft fluffy fur along her tiny back. “You’ll make an amazing father, Hector.”
Lenore could feel Hector’s eyes on her, and the moment she turned to return his gaze, she felt the words in her mouth dry up at the look of her human lover, blurry eyed. “I didn’t think it was possible to become this happy. I didn’t think I deserved it.”
Lenore reached over to hold his head in her hands, wiping away the tears that trailed down his cheeks. Her own throat closing up with emotion. “You deserve to have your own happiness fulfilled. After everything you’ve struggled and survived through up until now, no one deserves to be happiest more than you, my Hector.”
Hector burst into further tears, his hands coming up to hold her hands. The cold touch to her skin never seemed to bother him, even as he brought her closer for him to meld her lips to his. It was slow and tender, and not like the furious roar of passion that would stifle their bedroom in a damp heat, but a more sweetened and cheerful comforting warmth. His breath mingled with hers, his hurried hands finding her waist to pull her against his chest, which resulted in the two of them tumbling to the grass, startling poor Clara out of her wits with a loud bleat.
Lenore pulled away first, a breathless giggle fleeing her lips. “It is quite inappropriate for us to be doing this in front of our child. She must be so embarrassed by her parents.”
Hector snorted, rolling over to lay beside her in the grass. His tears still stained his cheeks, but his face appeared more serene in the warming glow of the sun against his bronze skin. “I’m sure she’s tuning us out right about now. Isn’t that right, Clara?”
Clara gave another bleat, walking in-between their bodies to curl up beside Lenore with a little snort from her nose. Lenore simply laughed. “Or she simply wanted her mothers affection and was jealous that you were hogging me all to yourself.”
Hector rolled his eyes, turning onto his side to where he propped his chin on his hand and leaned on his elbow. “What can I say? What’s not to love about you, Lenore.”
Lenore couldn’t hold back the warmth in her smile as she looked upon her human lover, and their fluffy child. It was all she could ever want in her long life. A family of her own, one that would not be viciously ripped away from her as her parents had.
She pulled her bottom lip back with a fang as she absentmindedly petted Clara. “Actually, Hector, why don’t we get married for real?”
Hector’s eyes widened, shooting up in his position to sit upright. The color burning into his cheeks was all too adorable. “How could we? I mean, I’m a human and you are a---”
“A vampire?” She concluded, raising a brow. She gave Clara a gentle kiss on her head before she sent her off to go and play with the chickens, or whatever it was that goats found for entertainment. She turned her attention back to Hector, scooting closer to where she held onto both his hands. “We don’t have to be married the conventional way, you know? We can perform a handfasting ceremony with some of our closest companions?”
Hector seemed to be giving it some thought with the way his brows knit together, but the very next second, he squeezed her hands back tightly. The determination in his blue eyes was evident. “If that’s a custom you wish to go through with, then I have no problems with it either.”
“Hector!” Lenore flung herself towards him, wrapping her arms securely around his neck. Hector’s arms slung around her slim waist, his nose brushing against the crook of her neck, kissing it tenderly.
“Whatever it may be, whatever may come to pass, I want to always be here for you, Lenore.” Hector’s soothing voice pulled her away to look into his face, her vision obscured by the sudden tears that had begun to slide down her cheeks. She didn’t know when she had started crying, but she couldn’t care one bit when the man of her waking dreams was here with her.
“I want the same, Hector.” Lenore leaned her forehead against his brow, a flurry of tear-filled laughter making her forget her worries. “I love you, Hector. Truly. I wouldn’t be able to be here like this if not for you to stand beside me.”
Hector gently caressed her cheeks, kissing the tears away that stained her porcelain skin. “It was a joint effort. And the best part,” Hector turned her gaze towards the glowing sun that burned brightly in the sky. Lenore couldn’t get over how the feeling of the warmth of the sun filled her with such solace, when all it had brought was fear and riddling anxiety. “We’re free, Lenore. We belong to no one. We serve no one. We follow our own paths from now on. Our lives are our own.”
Our lives are our own. Lenore smiled up towards the sun. It was no longer a daydream. It was her reality.
“Our lives are our own.” Lenore whispered to the wind, like a prayer. “We can live for ourselves.”
Hector hummed the same sentiment, his lips peppering kisses to her hair as she settled her weight into him. Together, they lay there, staring up into the clear blue sky.
Her life had always been years upon years of retaining stability for the quartet, but now, she didn’t have any rules. She didn’t have any responsibilities or duties to attend to. It was just Hector and her, living out their lives the way they had wanted to.
The sun was no longer her enemy, but an old friend welcoming her home.