"My lord?", I called out the moment I stepped foot into Gwi's palace.

"Finally."

Turning, I watched as Gwi emerged from the direction of the library. He looked bored. More than usual at least. My hands clutched the book I held to my chest as I bowed to him.

"What took you so long?"

"Forgive me my lord. I had some errands to run earlier. I didn't think it would take so long-"

"Nevermind that." He waved me off, strolling over to his seat. He sat, then reached out to me.

"I'm hungry. Come here."

I licked my lips nervously, but obeyed nonetheless. It had been a while since he fed from me. I hoped he was gentle.

When I got close enough, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into his lap, causing me to drop the book in my hands as I reached out to steady myself. I pulled my hand away from where it had landed on his chest, trying to ignore the feeling of his arm around my waist.

"Is this what happens when I give you a little vacation? Barely a week away from me and all your boldness is gone", he said, tilting his head. I could hear the slight amusement in his voice, but chose to say nothing, looking away and slightly baring my neck to him in the process.

He was quiet for a moment, then chuckled and reached for my nape. He was always gentle with the way he tilted my head, exposing my neck just the way he wanted it.

Then I felt the familiar piercing of skin.

Gasping, I fisted the fabric I felt beneath my fingertips. Pain. Pleasure. What was the difference? The lines were too blurred for me to tell. I just... felt.

The feeling lasted forever, but ended as suddenly as it had begun.

As he extracted his fangs from my skin, I immediately slumped down and gave into the familiar exhaustion. As usual, he lapped up the bloodstains on my neck then gently wiped it with a silk sleeve. It was silent after that, the only movement coming from my slow breaths.

"What did you mean, errand?"

I blinked my eyes open in confusion.

"Pardon?"

Gwi's brows were furrowed slightly, the way they did when he was trying to make sense of something so insignificant but annoyingly baffling- and usually human.

"You said you were late because you had some errands to run. I thought I made it clear that as long as you belonged to me you weren't allowed to do such menial tasks?", he pondered. I swallowed.

"It was a personal errand, my lord", I explained. He stared at me blankly, his piercing gaze urging me to elaborate.

"I need- wanted some new books to read. I'm finished with all the ones available at home", I added. He narrowed his eyes at me, clearly not satisfied with my explanation.

"New books", he said, then suddenly gathered me in his arms and stood up without warning. I grasped at the front of his robe, feeling dizzy with the sudden movement. He kept talking even as he walked, probably taking me to the bedchamber.

"You went out, by yourself, to get new books. Completely disregarding the fact that there is an entirely stocked library in this palace which is ultimately useless to me?"

"It belongs to my lord. I dared not assume..."

He huffed, annoyed.

"You're my pet. As long as you don't try to betray me, I don't care what you do. There's no secret of mine that you would find out unless I told you anyway, if that's what you think I may be worried about. Nothing in that library can help you in that sense unless I explained it to myself."

"Yes my lord-", I hesitated, biting my lip, then added, "-thank you."

He hummed in response. We were in the bedchamber by then, and he gently laid me on the large elevated bed.

I was ready to try and sleep off the weakness from the feeding, but apparently Gwi was still bored, because after taking off my shoes -no shoes in the bed. what are you, an animal?- he settled in the bed next to me and crossed his legs. I was drifting off, but then his low voice reached my ears once more.

"How old are you, Eunhee?"

I opened my eyes.

"17. I will be 18 in a couple of months", I replied quietly.

"Shouldn't you be betrothed by now?"

It took me a while to process the question and clearly I took too long because he impatiently tapped my forehead with his finger. My brows furrowed.

"The matter has never been addressed, as far as I'm aware. Father never mentioned anything like that to me. I assume it wasn't a priority."

"Does it not appeal to you?", he asked. I sighed, shrugging.

"I'm not sure. I don't really know what exactly should appeal to me. I haven't had a lot of experiences with marriage, whether among my elders or my peers. Only my parents." He hummed at that, laying his head back and closing his eyes. I knew he was still listening though.

"And theirs?", he inquired. I thought for a moment.

"Its... peaceful, I suppose. Father provides for Mother and she is submissive to him and supports him", I replied.

"And your mother? The one who who birthed you."

I froze.

I didn't even know he knew my birth mother had passed.

"She... She was the same. No, not the same. Kinder, to everyone. She was good to everyone, even when they weren't good to her", I took a shaky breath.

"That was probably what helped kill her.

"She was never good enough for them. Almost a decade of marriage and all she had to show for it was ill health... and me. It took me some time, but I finally realized that I would end up just like her", I chuckled wetly, feeling my eyes water.

It had been a while since I'd talked about her, much less for this long. I frowned and reached up to rub my eyes, annoyed at my own fragility.

"What happened to your hand?", he asked, his voice soft. I looked up to see his eyes open and hooded, staring at me. Looking down at my hand, I realized that it was the wounded one and moved to cover it with my sleeve.

"It was just a light cut, my lord."

"I asked what happened, not what it was", he retorted. I licked my lips.

"A child... tripped in front of me in the marketplace. I stopped her from falling on some stone tiles but I cut the back of my hand on them.

He reached for the hand and picked it up, inspecting the dressing.

"You're always hurting yourself. Stop wasting your blood."

I wanted to pout. I wasn't that clumsy, I just used to work a lot, I thought.

"Yes, my lord. I will be more careful."

He said nothing, just kept staring at my hand in his. I blinked.

Had I been this tired earlier ? I could barely keep my eyes open, no matter how hard I tried. I felt something cold on my wrist and sluggishly moved my fingers. Wait... why was I even trying to stay awake? A little nap wouldn't hurt...

=====================================
Okay that's all for today!! See you (hopefully) by 18th February 🤗🤗

Have a good day!💜💜💜