Indecent Folks

"He's asleep. Get in," Sawyer told me as he tossed my bow and quiver in the carriage. I hopped in and watched Rougan in his seat. His wounds have healed, but he had bloodstain all over his tunic and breeches. He slept peacefully beside me, and I can't help to think about what happened out there.

He surely couldn't care less if I get my spine broken, but the way he got worried felt unreal. His men were like family to him, but why would he hurt them for me? How is that possible? When we reached the village, the carriage went all the way in front of the mansion's lawn. I quickly jumped out and watched Sawyer carry Rougan on his back.

"Ruby, tell Paige to meet me in the solarium," Sawyer told the handmaid who stood by near us for orders.

We entered the mansion, and I could feel my back aching, but I couldn't complain. I pulled the door into Rougan's bedroom, so Sawyer walked in and laid Rougan onto his bed. "Will he be okay?" I asked, standing at the end of the bed. Sawyer nodded before he took a deep breath. His hands rested on his hip as he gazed on the bed. "He'll be fine. Stay here. It's best if he sees you as soon as he wakes up." "What's happening to him?" I asked.

He ignored my question and left the room, so I hastily untied my hair and ran my fingers through it. Someone knocked on the door, followed by a handmaid walking in as she carried a basin and some towels on her forearm. I stood and took the basin from her. "Let me do it. Thank you."

She smiled and handed me the towel as well. I put the basin on the floor and began undressing Rougan. I frowned at the sight of blood on his arms and legs. If I heard it right, did Sawyer say that Rougan instructed them to do this? Why would he ask his men to shoot him?

The orange sun from outside shone beautifully on his body, but he was too bloody to admire. I rolled his drawers up to his leg and began wiping his calves. While I was cleaning him, I didn't notice the tiny amount of tears from the side of my eyes. I sniffed and finished drying off his skin with a clean towel. My eyes darted on the clock while I placed the basin on the dining table.

I heard Rougan growl, so I turned to him from where I stood. He stared at the ceiling for a while before hastily looking around. When our gazes met, he scanned me with his eyes before running at full speed towards me. I was taken aback and lost my balance, but he caught me with his arm.

"Are you okay?" he asked, still scanning me like he was looking for injuries.

Maybe it was the adrenaline rush wearing off when I felt the stinging pain in my back. My knees trembled from the pain, so I rested my head on his chest. "How do you feel?" I asked instead.

He hugged me, but my back was sore, so I jolted. He pulled himself away as he held both of my arms. "You're hurt. Come rest," he said authoritatively.

"You're the one who was shot with four arrows," I said as he led me to the bed.

"I'm a vampire. You're human, yet Sawyer still threw you against a tree. That idiot," he murmured. I sat on the edge of the bed and craned my neck to meet his gaze.

He gently rubbed my cheek with his thumb while he sat beside me. "I'm sorry."

"You seem prepared," I whispered. He blinked like what a person caught red-handed would do. "Sawyer was furious earlier, and he was spitting words without realizing it. He said that you asked them to do this. Like shooting you with arrows was what they're supposed to do. What does it mean?"

"It's nothing. You seriously need to rest-"

"But my head feels like it's going to explode with all these questions," I cut him off. "Make my stay here a little more bearable, Rougan. What's happening here feels worse than in the Penal Camp," I whispered.

Guilt filled his eyes as he gently shook his head. "You will be fine. I will make sure of that. No one will harm you again, I promise."

"This isn't about my safety. I want to know what's happening to you because it feels like it has something to do with me. I'm just getting more and more questions about myself."

He watched me with so much patience while his hands held mine. "Even us don't know the right time to tell you everything, Dani. I would love to fill you in right now, but I have to think of my people."

I clenched my jaw and pulled my hands away. "You didn't think of them when you knocked them to the ground earlier. Do you see my point, Rougan? That wasn't you. You would never do that to them. So what happened? What's happening to you? To me?"

He took a deep breath and clenched his haw. "You're right. That wasn't me," he confirmed. My shoulders dropped as our eyes locked. "You should rest. I'll ask someone to bring your garments for tonight," he whispered.

I laid on the side of the bed with no bloodstain, but I turned my back on him so I wouldn't see his face. He kissed me on my temple and gently caressed my arm.

**

"Nina!"

I looked for my sister because it's time for supper, but she seemed to have played too far away from the backyard. The cornfield wasn't that tall, so I could see its entirety and still found no sign of Nina.

It's already six in the evening, so I don't know where else she could have gone. I went back to the house, which was quiet as my father was still outside, probably drinking himself to death. Since Mama died, he's always in the tavern, spending almost all of our savings. Gladly, my mother was able to keep separate savings and asked her friend to keep them for us. The sconce in my father's room flickered, so I turned to it and found the door slightly open.

The wind blew the oil lamp, so I walked up to the door to close it, but I caught a faint smell that I couldn't ignore. It was awful, like blood. I opened the door and looked through the darkness. The open window let the wind in, causing me to almost puke when the smell grew stinker. I grabbed the lamp from the dining table and headed back to my father's room.

As I walked to his bed, my eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when I saw the sheets covered in blood. Some of it dripped on the floor, so I took a step back and looked around. What happened here?

I stared at the bloodstain carefully and noticed that there was some blood creeping from under the bed. Shivers travelled down my spine as my knees trembled. I want to run away and scream, but I kneeled instead and placed my hands on the cold wooden floor. The lamp sat in front of me while I bent down and peeked under the bed, then my world felt like it exploded in front of me.

"Nina!!"

"No! Agh!" I sat straight and gripped onto the bedsheet. My heart pounded as I looked around and realized where I was. Someone opened the door, so I held my breath and stopped in my tracks.

"Are you okay, Lady Jones?" a handmaid asked.

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Tears trickled down my cheeks while the full moon shone brightly from the window. I nodded and sat on the edge of the bed while the handmaid closed the door. I took deep breaths as I wiped the tears off my cheeks. That's over ten years ago already, but it still felt like it just happened yesterday.

I noticed a set of garments and accessories sitting on the couch, so I put it on and faced the mirror beside Rougan's bed. It's a dark red gown with long pleated sleeves. I tied the bodice from behind, and its black lace collar wrapped my neck nicely. I wore a pair of black lace gloves that came along with an attached silver bracelet. I did my hair into a half braid and finished fixing myself.

When I stepped out of the room, I found a vamp standing by. He laid his arm, so I held onto him as we took a few turns in the hallways. Finally, we reached an enormous door guarded by two vamps.

"Lady Jones is entering the hall," someone announced, which made me a little uncomfortable. I walked into the hall and found four long tables filled with food and drinks. It looked like every Sunken was here as they watched me walk down the aisle where a table awaits at the end, occupied by Rougan, Paige and Sawyer. Rougan stood and pulled a chair for me, so I sat down beside him. I could feel Paige's cold stares while she nestled into a chair to my right.

A vamp stood a few steps to our left, so we turned to him as he clinked his spoon against his steel glass. "Tonight, on this special evening, we are celebrating the 30th birthday of Lady Adeline Jones," he looked at me and smiled. "Or Miss Dani as what she prefers we call her. Let's enjoy this feast and send our kindest wishes to our lady of the night!" he ended.

The Sunkens gave me a round of applause as they smiled and cheered. I smiled back and glanced at Rougan, whose arm was gently caressing my back. "Your eyes are swollen. What happened?" he asked in an undertone. "Nothing."

I enjoyed my dinner in peace, although some groups laughed louder than the rest once in a while. One part of the table was too quiet, so I noticed that they were the prisoners. It wasn't that long that I also saw the chains on their hands, so they ate slowly and carefully.

"Why would you invite them over here if you won't allow them to eat properly?" I asked Rougan.

"They are criminals," Paige interjected before Rougan could speak, so I turned to her.

"Does it feed your pride every time you watch someone inferior to you suffer?" I asked.

She smirked at me. "You have no idea what truly feeds my pride," she mumbled. "They're criminals, Dani. Do you see the bald guy over there? His name is Gibson." I glanced at the prisoners and to the one who stood out the most. He was the tallest and most heavily built in their group. "He killed his daughter," said Paige while she scanned me with her eyes. "Sounds familiar?"

My heart cramped at her words as I lost my strength to lift the cutleries, so Rougan stopped eating and caressed my back. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

I pursed my lips and grabbed my glass to drink some water. My hands trembled as I shot another glance at Gibson. Why do people like him exist? A vamp walking behind him tripped and accidentally poured his drink onto Gibson's back. In a swift move, he stood to punch the vamp, but he was too weak for that. The vamp quickly caught his fist and twisted his arm, prompting him to sit back.

The Sunkens around them stopped on their tracks and moved away. Gibson pulled both of his hands and used one of them to grab a fork, so another vamp came to help and grabbed Gibson's collar to toss him against the wall. I stood up immediately, causing noise in my seat, so everyone shot a look at me. "Enough!" I warned.

Everyone fell silent as I walked towards a vamp who stood in anticipation and whispered something to him. "Right away, Lady Jones," he responded.

I walked in Gibson's direction as everyone craned their necks to watch. A horrible memory flashed in my mind while I stared at him, and I tried my best to keep a straight face despite the cramps in my chest. "Since it's my birthday, would you like to play with me?" I asked Gibson.

The Sunken murmured to each other while they watched us. "I don't play games," he replied.

"But if this is your chance to get out of here, would you play?" I asked, my lips curving into a smile.

"What do you want?"

I turned to the vamps at the door instead of answering him. "You have two minutes to tell every guard in this village that no one shall stop a 6-footer bald human who will be running for his life."

The vamps disappeared in a second, and we waited until they came back. Gibson glared at me the whole time, but I smiled at him and laid my hands in the door's direction. "You're free to leave." "You just want me killed."

"Who told you that?" I asked and turned to the Sunkens. "Did I?"

They gently shook their head, so I gazed at Gibson. "One chance. It's my birthday, so don't disappoint me."

He stepped back before finally running away. The vamp that I talked to earlier handed me my bow and an arrow. "Thank you," I said before turning back to the Sunkens. "Enjoy the rest of the night!" I told them as I walked out of the hall. I hummed and walked down the hallway, looking for Gibson. I could still hear his footsteps, so he must be close. A sheer joy crept into me as I stared at the metallic tip of the arrow and headed to the stairs. When I stepped out of the mansion, the cold wind kissed my skin while I watched Gibson ran past the workshop.

Standing on the lawn, I aimed my bow in his direction and pulled the arrow up to my chin. The wind blew again when someone ran towards me. It was Rougan, who gently held my hips to turn me to my left and fix my stance. "Happy birthday, Dani."

I released the arrow from my grip and watched it pierce into Gibson's neck. He fell straight on the floor as I lowered my bow and sighed in relief. Silence filled the place while the fire on the sconces around us dance with the wind. I craned my neck and stared at the night sky. "My father killed my sister," I whispered.

Rougan gently took the bow from me and while his other hand reached for my shoulder. I crossed my arms and looked at the moon to our far front. "He abandoned me after that. He thought he could run away, but there's no running away from me." I continued.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It doesn't matter. My father, who should be sorry, didn't even regret it, so I sent him to hell."

I took a deep breath while we stared at the sky. "You were convicted for killing six huntsmen. Why did you kill them?" he asked.

I smiled at him and sniffed. "One of them killed my betrothed, and the others watched with a smile on their faces, so I killed all of them gently, one at a time, while I smiled. That way, they'd know how it feels."

He sighed and pulled me for a hug. I inhaled his scent as I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. "Cry or shoot more arrows, it's okay. I'll be with you until you heal from all the pain."