Love? The word hung on the air like the wind. Elanore's mind struggled to process what she'd heard. It was a foreign concept to her—something that only existed in fairy tales or from a distant memory on Earth. It caused her to pause and sit there, staring at Naela with uncertainty.
An awkward silence lingered between both of them. Elanore's face and the tips of her ears reddened, her heart becoming a race horse. The galloping rhythm inside of her was unrelenting. She couldn't pull back the reins of her pulse.
"I love you, mistress," Naela said again. She reiterated it as if it was a profound truth of reality.
Elanore wondered how such a thing was possible. Are people supposed to love someone they don't know very well. She knows so little about me.
Yet, the vampire saw the conviction behind the wyvern's pink eyes. Those slit pupils bore into Elanore with a personal truth behind them. What about Ella's own feelings? Was the reddening of her ears, the thumping of her heart, and the tingling in her stomach all an illusion?
"I..."
Naela pressed a soft finger against Ella's lips. The wyvern's adorable face loomed closer, and her eyes searched inside of the vampire's purple orbs. She spoke tenderly. "There is no need to answer my feelings right away, mistress. I didn't tell you how I felt to receive an answer. I told you how I felt because I couldn't suppress it any longer. This longing in my heart..."
The wyvern pulled Elanore's hand to her chest, and the vampire's eyes widened. Naela's heart pounded against Ella's delicate fingers. Both of their pulses had entered a horse race. The jockeys were determined to win the race of love, and Naela bet on being first place.
"Mistress," Naela said softly, running her fingers across Elanore's cheek, and touching the vampire's ear.
Elanore could do nothing but stare down at her wyvern. The vampire could not find her usual self. Their breaths were so close together and inching closer with every second. That was until Elanore felt a small tug on her robes and flinched.
"Lady, lady, lady!"
The vampire's eyes darted towards the intruder, spotting a little girl. Surprisingly, it was one that Elanore had seen before. She saw pointed, brown feline ears beneath a hood, and a thin tail of the same color waved behind her. The girl from the gate?
"Are you a witch?"
Trailing behind the little girl, the mother caught up and grabbed onto her hand. "Taliyana! I told you not to run off." Malania looked at Elanore and bowed apologetically. "I am sorry for my daughter."
Elanore shook her head and waved her off. She was almost thankful for the interruption, while also feeling like the two had ruined something special. The vampire sighed, standing up, and stretching her arms above her head.
The little girl looked between Elanore and her mother. "But mommy, you said..."
Malania cut her daughter off. "Do you remember the other thing I said?"
Taliyana's ears and tail drooped low, and she frowned. Though, she didn't try to argue with her mother. "Yes, I remember. I am sorry, mommy."
"I remember you two from the gate," Elanore said.
Malania lips curled slightly. "That's right. Once again, I apologize for her behavior. I hope we didn't offend you."
Elanore turned her head towards Naela, but the wyvern didn't seem like she would say anything. The vampire turned her attention back towards the mother and her daughter. Taliyana hid slightly behind her mother, clinging towards the cat woman's clothes.
"I honestly don't mind at all. We were just um..." Elanore's cheeks reddened, and she stopped herself from continuing that specific train of thought. "We weren't really doing anything anyway. What was it that your daughter wanted to know?"
The little girl's eyes sparkled, and she nearly jumped in front of her mother again. However, the elder cat girl stopped her with a hand.
"Taliyana, I already told you to stop." The mother focused back on the vampire in front of her. "I meant no offense to you, madame. I am sure you are a good person, but we really must be going now."
Malania pulled her daughter away from Elanore and Naela, leaving the two of them to watch them walk into the crowd of people. Despite the daughter's reluctance, she accepted it all. The little girl occasionally glanced back towards the vampire witch several times before they were out of sight altogether.
Elanore released a deep breath. "I wonder what that was all about?"
Naela chuckled and wrapped her arms around Elanore in a hug from behind. The wyvern spoke against Ella's ear. "It's not a surprise that the little girl has taken an interest in you, mistress. You are quite dazzling."
Elanore felt the feelings return again and remembered those words once more. She sunk into her wyvern's arms, her knees growing weak, and her ears going red again. "I-I am not."
The wyvern spun Elanore around so the two were facing each other. Naela traced her finger against the vampire's chin and cupped it gently, tilting Ella's head up in the process. The wyvern smiled demonically. "Don't worry, mistress. Your cute little reactions tell me everything I need to know."
Elanore's eyes glowed without her ever ordering them to. For the first time ever, she saw Naela with her [Vampire Sight]. The wyvern's face was ignited with a pink hue, and the vampire could see all of Naela's perfect contours. Every imperfection became visible. Even as beautiful as Naela was, her wonderful face held flaws that only showed themselves to this world.
Though, it didn't have the effect that Elanore expected. It only made her long for Naela even more. All of the impurities were perfect in Ella's eyes. They were something that belonged to the wyvern. Like little marks of mana that made her distinct from everyone else.
"Maybe we should..."
A deep groan from a passerby finished Elanore's sentence. "Get a room or something."
///
The two ended up in an inn room together, following the harsh words of a passing grumpy man. If it was up to Elanore, she would hide beneath a blanket right away. Perhaps hiding inside of a coffin would be fitting?
Instead, she was stuck here inside of a room with a temptress who stared back at her. The two of them sat at the edge of their bed, holding each other's hand, and looking into each other's eyes. Purple jewels stared into pink jewels, and both of them were unwilling to look away from each other.
Naela didn't wait for any more signals. She pushed Elanore down onto the bed by the vampire's shoulders, and she climbed on top. Naela searched around Elanore's body with a blazing hunger in her eyes. Something that Elanore had never seen before.
The vampire felt she would go mad. Nobody had ever looked at her in this way, and her heart would not stop beating. Before an utterance of protest could leave her mouth, her lips were sealed. A warm tongue pushed itself inside of her lips, and Elanore closed her eyes, resigning herself to this fate.
Naela took a deep breath of Elanore, and her tongue tasted the vampire's taste buds. Her hands pressed against the vampire's shoulders, preventing any escape.
However, Ella didn't want to escape. This was the first time since her reincarnation that she felt alive and wanted so desperately. It was the first time she felt so vulnerable. It was as maddening as it was freeing, but she recognized herself as a vampire witch full of contradictions.
Naela had her fill and pulled away after leaving Elanore a heaving mess. She grinned with her signature slyness. "Mistress, I might have said a slight white lie earlier. I won't continue unless you say it."
This vixen! She'd teased Elanore and made her long for more. Naela'd brought her to the edge of her lust, yet she wouldn't finish unless Elanore said what Naela wanted to hear. She wanted to tease those three words from Ella's mouth.
"I..."
Naela kissed Elanore's neck. The action was like a jolt of electricity through the vampire's body.
Elanore felt shivers running down her spine. A warmth spread through her abdomen and continued to spread, reaching out even lower down her body. Her core started to melt with each passing second. Each breath shared between the two of them heated up her furnace even hotter. It's so unfair!
"I lo-lo..."
Naela pressed her lips against Elanore's ear, a sensitive zone that the vampire wasn't even aware of herself. The wyvern enjoyed watching her mistress squirm beneath her. It was as if she'd found a prey of her own, and the hunt was getting the little bat to say those three words.
"I love you!" Elanore squeaked out.
"That wasn't so hard, was it? Mistress?" The wyvern didn't leave an opportunity for Elanore to answer. She descended upon her prey, taking advantage of her prey's weakened state.