To never suffer again

When Valentina entered the room Dahlia was staying in, the strong scent hit her nose once again. Between her mission, what she had just done to the Baron, and the room she found herself in now, the archduchess was beginning to get very tired of all the grimy situations she was finding herself in. Heading home to get cleaned up and relax in a more comfortable environment would certainly be a priority.

Looking around the room, she quickly found that Dahlia remained lying down and unconscious, having not moved a muscle. Meanwhile, there was a conspicuous absence of someone else. The pile of cushions that had been set up by the Baroness were now empty and there was no sign of the woman in sight.

'Hmm, she must have taken to heart what I said about not caring if she was here when I got back. Still, she looked so tired I thought she'd sleep for a full day once I left her alone. Regardless, she isn't a priority. I need to put my focus on someone else…'

Looking down at Dahlia, a couple things stood out. First of all, despite her horrendous condition, Velentina still couldn't help but feel her heart melt when she looked at the girl. Something about her was comforting and just felt right. Her condition was getting better and some of the sickliness had left her complexion, though there was still a long way to go before she had properly recovered.

The next thing to note was a little basket in the corner of the room near her. There was a bundle of notebooks, a couple potted plants, and a very short written note.

"She likes the plants. These are her favourites that can travel easily. We'll talk later. I'll choose when."

It was clear who the note belonged to but she gave a quizzical look at the other contents of the basket. A small round shrub in a tiny red clay pot and a beautiful lily in a blue glazed ceramic were placed snugly beside each other.

In addition to those, the notebooks and folders in the basket seemed to have a combination of origins. A quick glance over showed that some were notes and journals belonging to Dahlia, but some of the others… they seemed to have background research performed on bloodlines, aspects, and contracts.

'Hmm, I can't say I know what this is all about. Probably has to do with Dahlia's traits though. For now I'll just take it and we can look into it more later.'

There were some more important concerns at the moment though. While technically they were within the Lukresh Grand Duchy already, her actual castle was a ways away. With hexes, she could relay very simple signals to get the castle to prepare for certain events, but she wasn't able to give complex directions. So after a moment of concentration, she had alerted the castellan that a valued guest would be arriving with her in a few hours, but that was it. They'd simply have to take one of the Baron's carriages back home.

Deciding to leave Dahlia's side for one more moment, Valentina went to hunt down some servants. She didn't care about witnesses for what she'd done. What had occurred that night was well within her rights. So instead she simply located some servants who had just woken up and, after a lot of shock and flustered reactions, she finally got what she needed.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the Archduchess finally returned to Dahlia's side and with some magical assistance to prevent the girl's body from getting damaged, she princess carried her out to an awaiting carriage.

The servants and guards they passed had a palpable air of confusion to them. She could tell that many felt uncomfortable near the girl. Some would look away and pretend not to see while others hid derision. Valentina had the urge to beat the shit out of anyone who looked at Dahlia that way, but for the time being she held back.

What was particularly interesting was that even those that seemed to hate the girl appeared surprised by her current condition. Apparently the severity of her injuries was a closely guarded secret, even within the mansion itself. Instead of pulling aside and interrogating everyone she saw, Valentina fought her impulses and settled on putting all her focus and efforts on the girl in her arms.

As they entered the carriage, Dahlia was laid out gently and the Archduchess began looking over her body. It was only a cursory check over the most important areas as a full examination wouldn't be realistic in the current situation. Once she found that nothing was wrong she went and sat down as well, setting her thigh below Dahlia's head and making sure the angle was fine as she gave her a lap pillow.

Would Dahlia appreciate it? Likely not, but at the moment Valentina wasn't even trying to comfort the girl, but rather herself. Things had happened and progressed quickly, and there was still a ton of information to process, but more than anything Valentina needed to calm down.

She was fortunate that she was able to take out some of her anger on the Baron because, had she not, who knows where that fury and angst would be vented. Despite many people's beliefs that vampires were stoic by nature and were inherently noble, that wasn't actually the case. They were incredibly driven by their emotions and could easily lose themselves to more primal temperaments if they didn't learn to restrain themselves.

It's part of the reason why a Lukresh heir's training often took so long. Vampires appeared stoic and noble because they trained their asses off to hide their more bestial sides. However, besides simply being young, Valentina had long since embraced that more primal nature of hers. It was both a weakness and strength through the years and she was feeling both sides of that particularly hard right now.

There was something deep within her wanting to take out her anger on everyone around her. 'Anyone even remotely related to Dahlia's abuse should suffer and then die!' Or so the urge said. But there was a second urge and it's what she was using to keep herself grounded and not go on a rampage. 'Treasure her. Protect her. Make her never have to suffer again.'

That silent pleading urge drove her back to reality and instead of strangling random servants she instead found herself stroking the girl's hair and gently cooing sounds of affection in her ear as she slept. She was already well acquainted with the infamous lust of vampires in which her libido would be unquenchable, but this was the first time she experienced vampiric affection and the effects were somewhat terrifying.

Every emotion and sense she had was so hyper focused on Dahlia that everything else in the world felt dull in comparison. Every sound she'd make, every breath she'd take. It was music to her. Her faintest scent, or the small mannerisms she made even while asleep… it was addicting and the more Valentina got, the more her world revolved around this girl.

She had assumed that the reason this affection started was for a mixture of reasons. Back before she was injured, Dahlia was one of the most beautiful people she had laid eyes on, and her scent was truly sublime to the vampiress. Add that to her mannerisms which seemed to key into all the right things, and there was an immediate attraction.

What made it go beyond a passing fancy though was the weight Valentina put on their potential relationship. The moment she had seen this girl as a means to escape meaningless flings and to get a true partner, something in her body had clicked into place and almost instantly she had found herself bound to Dahlia. It wasn't that her instincts falsified her attraction, but they certainly amplified everything she felt.

It was this amplified and near bestial level of attraction that the Archduchess fawned over the girl. She'd use her magic to touch her up as best she could, all while stroking and coddling Dahlia in her lap. Her hands trembled as she fought back the desire to touch her more. To kiss her and hold her close. Perhaps there were ethical concerns considering Dahlia was fully unaware, but more than anything what made the vampiress hold back was the fear she might hurt her beloved.

It was under this gentle but tense atmosphere that the carriage slowly began to move and make its way to the castle. The journey was slow and uneventful. For five hours the carriage tumbled along the well maintained road all while Valentina made every effort to protect the girl in her lap from any bump or jostle the carriage experienced.

By the time they arrived, Valentina was shaking. Not only was she absolutely exhausted and all her adrenaline had left long ago, but holding back on her impulses for so long while being in such close proximity felt like torture. The moment the carriage came to a stop, the Archduchess shifted out of her seat without bothering Dahlia and immediately went out to meet guards as well as the castellan.

"Good, I'm glad to see nothing happened while I was away. Rorik, I'll listen to your report later but right now I need to wash and rest a bit and more importantly, someone else needs far more attention than I do right now."

Rorik, the well groomed man that had greeted her in a well tailored suit and tailcoat, raised an eyebrow at her.

"I received your message that an important guest was coming and I expected a royal but… Based on the carriage can I assume a Lionysus? In what way are we associating with the Baron and do I need to make any preparations?"

He clearly wasn't questioning Valentina's orders, but the man certainly sounded confused by the whole situation. The assumption he had made that it was the Baron inside the carriage was also quite reasonable considering the family was patriarchal.

Despite how reasonable he may be though, Valentina was barely restraining herself from snapping at the castellan. She was a hair's breadth away from losing her temper but she reeled it back in, only to speak in an unusually cold tone.

"No, Rorik. I don't think you have a firm grasp of the picture. You see, I just murdered the Baron and would rather not think about him at the moment. His daughter happens to be in the carriage though and I want her treated. Both with as much hospitality as you can muster as well as with the best medical treatment we can get our hands on. If you had initially prepared expecting a royal, that's for the best. Treat her better than one."

With no further explanation, the Archduchess strode away and into the castle. She truly needed to just get a moment to breathe and recover, or else she may treat people far worse than she wished to. She may be known to be brutal but she believed in proper treatment of good staff. Rorik didn't deserve any of her attitude.

Seeing Valentina walk away, Rorik then walked to the carriage to welcome the guest but then immediately came to understand his instructions. Valentina had no need to elaborate earlier because what he saw now was self explanatory.

Without another moment's delay, he began to give instructions to different personnel and soon he had the entire castle moving like clockwork, dancing at his every whim. Rooms were adjusted to Dahlia's needs, medical staff both mundane and magical were contacted, and chefs were notified of the girl's fragile condition so they might better suit her needs. He smirked to himself a little as he revelled in completing a good job.

The castle bustled with activity due to the return of their mistress and the introduction of Dahlia. Neither of the two were particularly aware of how much work was being done to meet their arrival, though certainly once they both were in a better state they'd be grateful. For the time being though, Valentina was bathing and sleeping so that she might be a little less on edge by the time Dahlia awoke.

Many maids tried to serve her but she needed to relax and be alone. The same went for food. Although a meal was quickly delivered, she found herself far too anxious and tired to even consider eating. After finally cleaning herself and sleeping for two hours before getting up again, she felt refreshed enough to go and meet the girl she brought home.

It wasn't that she needed little sleep because she was a vampire. It was more a matter that she never felt comfortable sleeping. Like there was always someone going to stab her in the back. A fear that was driven home when she was a child and repeated assassination attempts occurred. Now, she was a terrible insomniac and she just barely managed to get by.

With a new source of stress and concern however, her sleep was even more fragmented and poor. She hadn't rested for longer than an hour at a time while on the mission with Esmé and yet, now when she finally could rest she still found herself drawn back to Dahlia.

After waking, despite the lingering fatigue, the Archduchess didn't delay a moment. She jumped out of bed and tossed some clothes on without thinking. All she wanted was to see her. Being separated felt wrong, especially with Dahlia's current state and Valentina felt her anxiety climbing to an unhealthy degree as she began to rush to where the servants directed her.

'What the fuck is wrong with me? Who cares if I was tired or snappy. I shouldn't have left her alone. What if something happened?!'

Thoughts like these built up more and more revealing levels of distrust for the castle staff that she would never show otherwise. Finally when she arrived at the spa-like room she was directed to, she could feel her heart clench. There was a knot in her stomach that had formed from countless what-ifs and she took a shaky breath as she opened the door.

Inside, Dahlia was there. Totally fine. Nothing was wrong. And just like that relief washed over her like a bucket of ice water and she nearly felt herself collapse frome relief. She stumbled up close to the girl and looked down and was stunned.

Rorik had done a magnificent job. The care of multiple medical professionals had been taken to already start healing Dahlia. Typically, magical healing wasn't instantaneous, and that which was would usually have hefty side effects. For that reason, despite it being obvious that a healer had already come by, many injuries still showed on Dahlia's body.

The redness and inflammation had reduced and some small injuries were gone while larger ones had shrunk in size. One of her eyes was looking better but one still looked damaged which only reminded Valentina that she never learned what had happened there. All in all though, vitality could be seen in her. Her complexion was far better than before and her breathing and heartbeats were calm and steady.

Looking her over, the vampiress was completely overwhelmed by her emotions, to the extent she could feel her eyes moisten in the corners. She reached out and stroked Dahlia gently, running her hands softly on the contours of her body and taking in every single detail. Now that the new injuries were regressing, old unhealable scars were beginning to be more clear, and once again Valentina felt her heart clench.

Despite that though, she took in the girl's body with passion and attention to detail as if she wanted to memorise every square inch. She was laying in a sheer and light chemise so the fabric wouldn't weigh heavily on her wounds but that only left her image all the more tempting for the Archduchess.

Sighing heavily, she forced her hands not to rome any further and instead she placed a few light kisses on the girl. On her cheek, her neck, her collar… one part of her had a sudden fascination with that entire region, wishing for her to bite down, but she quickly fought away the urge. Instead, she lay herself down beside Dahlia on the downy soft bed and pressed her ear to her chest where she could hear her heartbeat.

'She's alive. She's going to be okay. It's all going to be ok.'

Without even realising it, Valentina had drifted off to sleep, far faster than she had in years and with far more comfort as well. There was no tossing and turning. No nightmares. It was wonderful and like that she had the best sleep of her life.