“The nerve of him!” 

Amelie looked over to the companion, startled, as Aurélie slammed the book she was reading down onto the table. 

“I mention a daughter and he ignores me for a whole week!” 

After Aurélie had left Étienne in the library upon his request, the young master had been in a foul mood for a good week. Whenever Aurélie crossed him in the hallways his strides were heavier and longer, his shoulders tensed up. His face was moulded into a permanent irritated expression, and he resorted to answering questions or making statements in a hostile manner— not that that had changed much from previous encounters. 

After the seventh day of being ignored and left to entertain herself in her room, Aurélie had had enough. 

“Duke Saint-Clair told me to be strict with him so I will,” she exclaimed, standing up from behind her desk and ignoring the pile of papers that Étienne had wordlessly shoved into her arms earlier in the evening. 

What are you going to do?

“Show him that his manners have been appalling.”

Amelie shrugged her shoulders and jumped up as soon as Aurélie opened the doors to her room, briskly walking down the hallway and towards the library. She knocked once on the door, wincing as she bashed her knuckles a little harder against the wood than she wanted to. Without waiting for a response she opened the door.

“Étienne, I must speak with you. You cannot leave me—“ Aurélie stopped as she noticed that Étienne was not in the library. Instead, she came to face with Oliver, who looked up at her surprised. 

“Oh, I apologise for startling you, my lord. I was expecting Étienne to be here,” Aurélie said, bowing her head. 

Oliver smiled and placed down the book he was reading, Aurélie noticed that he held one of her favourite history books in his hands, beckoning for her to sit by him. “Not at all, my lady! I was getting rather bored. Please, allow me to indulge in your presence.” 

Aurélie nodded and sat down next to Oliver. “I do hope your stay at the chateau has been pleasant.”

“Oh very much so. Duke Saint-Clair and his staff have been nothing but welcoming. I am surprised to not have seen you around as much. I imagined that you would be following Étienne everywhere he went?”

Aurélie shook her head. “No, unfortunately not. The young master tends to enjoy his evenings without me.”

She watched as Oliver’s expression turned to confusion. “Surely not?”

“I am afraid so.”

“Shame on him. I am certain there is much he could learn and discuss with you.”

“I am certain of that too.”

Oliver sighed, before leaning back in his chair. “His loss then, I suppose. I have not seen him around much either. A few times in here but he usually retreats to one of the armchairs by the windows and sits there for hours, reading.”

Aurélie imagined Étienne sitting by the window, feeling sorry for the books that had to endure his tight grip and sour expression. She found her mind wandering to what books he would read when he felt angry or annoyed. She could not imagine that history or politics would make him feel any better. Perhaps he read a lot of books on how to crudely respond to people. He seemed to be very good at that. 

“May I ask, do you enjoy yourself here at the chateau?” Oliver ripped her from her thoughts, and the young companion stared at him for a while. She was torn between answering truthfully and putting on a facade. Amelie certainly made her stay at the chateau more bearable, yet she still felt lonely, especially when Étienne ignored her or snapped at her. She could not imagine what Eleanor would say if she knew just how poorly he had been treating her. In the letter that Eleanor had replied with she encouraged Aurélie to be stricter with him, not allowing his poor manners to bring her down. While it seemed easy at first to ignore the rude remarks, it was beginning to get tedious.  

“I am still trying to adjust,” Aurélie answered, smiling at Oliver. He watched her for several seconds, not convinced. 

“Is he really that bad?” 

“He can be tiresome.”

“How harsh is he really? I have heard he has quite the sharp tongue.”

“I do not wish to speak ill of him. We have not gotten to know each other very well just yet.”

Oliver sighed and shook his head, giving Aurélie a pitiful look. The companion folded her hands in her lap and watched the flames dancing in the fireplace, enjoying the warmth of the room. While she did enjoy the company of Oliver, finally having someone to talk to other than Amelie without feeling judged or on edge, she did wish that Étienne was present. She was certain he would enjoy the tranquility of the library and talking to Oliver. 

“Will you be visiting Duke Delacroix at his castle in Transylvania?” 

Aurélie turned to Oliver. “I assume so. His invitation was extended to me. I suppose it is a formality, seeing that I am to be supporting Étienne. Will you be there?”

Oliver nodded. “I believe it is to discuss who will take the throne. As you are well aware it has been empty for too long.”

“Who do you think will take it? If it is not improper to ask?”

“Not at all. If I am being completely honest, I believe it will come down to Duke Saint-Clair or Delacroix. My father is not too interested in taking the throne. He was the last one to be appointed Duke by our departed King,” Oliver revealed. “We tend to travel quite a bit and are enjoying America a lot. There have been talks of us moving there in the future. It seems that the country has a lot of potential.”

“Will you have to give up your title?” Aurélie asked, unsure how the politics between the Dukes worked in terms of moving away. She supposed that it would be quite difficult to manage correspondence that had to cross the ocean. 

“I do not know. It is at this point in time a mere thought.”

“I understand. Did you meet the former King?” Aurélie had only read books about the King of the vampire world. Literature described him as quiet and reserved, not one to rule harshly. If anything, he was seen as too soft. Countless theories of his death circulated around, no one truly knowing what had happened to him or his family. 

“I did get to meet him several times. He was quite nice,” Oliver said, thinking back. “He was still quite young for a king. Maybe two hundred or three hundred years old? Certainly a lot younger than Duke Delacroix.” 

“King Renauld came to power because the people wanted him to, correct? Delacroix was supposed to be King but he was vastly outvoted, if I am not mistaken?”

Oliver nodded. “I heard that he was not too pleased about the people’s decision. They liked Renauld for his gentle nature. Unfortunately, that was what got him killed in the end.”

“How exactly did the King die?” Aurélie asked, thinking back to what she had read. The books were vague, not explaining in a lot of detail what events lead up to his death. She always attributed to it having not been very long since his death— for vampire standards, at least. 

“From what my father said and the talks that I overheard among the Dukes, rebels seemed to have infiltrated the palace and killed him. Quite a few people, actually.”

“But why would they do something like that?”

“Perhaps they disagreed with him? No one knows who the rebels were or why they did not take over the throne. They just set the palace ablaze, murdered the King and left,” Oliver said, resting his chin against his hand. 

“And he did not have any children to take the throne?” 

Oliver shrugged. “Not that anyone was aware of. There was talk about him having some secret lover, but to my knowledge he did not have any children or a wife.”

“Odd,” Aurélie said, deep in thought. “He ruled for quite some time, did he not?”

“Almost exactly one hundred and fifty years. Certainly not the longest reign in our history.”

“Yet long enough to have had either a couple of children or appoint someone as heir,” Aurélie stated, staring back into the fire. 

Oliver followed her gaze. “Who knows. We will never exactly know his reasoning or what happened that night.”

“I suppose you are right,” Aurélie said, shifting her gaze to one of the windows. It had started raining, droplets softly tapping against the glass. A comfortable silence took over the room, both companion and Oliver listening to the rain growing louder. Aurélie admittedly loved the rain. It lured her to sleep during the day and calmed her during the night when she used to worry about her lessons back in Dubois. 

“May I ask a personal question?” Oliver broke the silence, his green eyes focused on Aurélie. 

“Of course you may.”

“Do you not feel lost in our world? To have all these important people around you, not even human, and not ever being fully part of them?” 

Aurélie thought for a while. “This is all that I have known. I may not be able to drink blood, live for centuries or possess the same skills, yet I consider myself a part of this world. I would not know what to do if I lived among regular humans.”

“I think you are fascinating, Aurélie,” Oliver said, smiling at the companion. “I really do hope that Étienne will think the same. To have someone so unique survive and adapt so well into our society and become the companion of a Saint-Clair’s son is admirable.” 

Aurélie felt herself blush, bowing her head. “Thank you, my lord. You are too kind.”

“Please, it is Oliver.”

Aurélie looked up at smiling. The pair spent quite some time in the library, continuing to learn more about the other. Soon Aurélie felt herself growing to enjoy the presence of Oliver, intrigued by his tales of his travels. She had not even realised that the sun had begun to rise. Only when Oliver stood up and stepped out of a beam of sunlight that had made its way into the room did she jump up from her seat, hurriedly closing the curtains. Noticing that her new friend began to look extremely tired, Aurélie suggested that they part ways and retire for the morning. They had exchanged goodbyes outside the library, going in separate directions to their quarters. 

Aurélie pushed open her door and was met with Amelie, who rushed to her. 

I was worried! Did he take it well?

Aurélie looked at her maid, puzzled. “Took what well?” 

Her heart dropped as she remembered why she set out in the first place. Placing a hand over her mouth she shook her head. “Oh no, Amelie. I completely forgot about Étienne! I spent all evening with Oliver in the library. I got carried away talking to him so much that I forgot to set Étienne straight.” 

Amelie looked at her in surprise. Did you enjoy yourself at least?

Aurélie sat down on her bed, nodding. “I did. It was nice.”

That is good then. You deserve a little fun. 

“Thank you, Amelie. I suppose Étienne will have to wait until tonight. It is not like he wants me around at the moment anyway.” 

Amelie watched in silence as Aurélie began undressing herself, a sad expression on her face. She did not like seeing the companion so defeated whenever it came to Étienne. He was kind and caring, for some unfathomable reason hiding it from Aurélie. Perhaps it was time for her to step in. Gathering herself Amelie walked up to Aurélie, helping the young woman undress. 

***

A harsh knock distracted Étienne away from his letters. He had been sitting in his room for hours, trying to complete all the work that his father had given him. Mountains of paper work and letters kept him occupied. Étienne had been ignoring the sun that had risen and the fatigue that had begun to set in, in favour of completing his work. 

“Come in,” Étienne said loudly after hearing the knock, looking up from his work. He stood up in surprise as Oliver walked in, looking rather displeased. 

“Oliver, how may I help you?”

“Listen here,” Oliver began, stepping up towards Étienne, his eyes narrowed. “I suggest you start treating your companion better. Otherwise I will.”

Étienne’s expression turned dark. “And what is that supposed to mean?” he asked, crossing his arms. 

“It means that you best be careful. Someone like her does not deserve to be accompanying someone like you. She is too gentle and forgiving. I do not understand how she has not tried to stab you yet,” Oliver scoffed, taking a step backward. “I hope I have made myself clear.”

“Oh very much, Linnington. But let me make this clear,” Étienne began, “Aurélie has been hired for me, not you. I suggest you not test your welcome in my estate.”

“Well, Saint-Clair. I do hope you start treating her better. Otherwise I will start testing,” Oliver said, turning back around and walking out of Étienne’s room, not bothering to close the door behind him. 

Étienne watched him leave, anger brewing within him. He walked over to his door and shut it, much louder than he intended. After a while a second knock was heard, this time softer. 

He groaned silently and turned around, opening the door once more, a look of surprised when he saw Amelie standing in front of him, her slate held out in front of her. 

What is going on?

“What do you mean?”

Why are you being so mean to Aurélie?

Étienne shrugged. “I really cannot help it.”

Then I suggest you start working on yourself. She is starting to doubt her abilities. I am tired of seeing her upset after each harsh word or outrages request you give. And do not get me started on your neglect towards her!

Étienne sighed, looking off to the side. It was rare for Amelie to show up at his door, rarer yet for her to scold him. He had seen her a few times with his companion, the pair usually engaged in conversations or walking around the chateau grounds late in the evening. 

“What do you want me to do?”

Amelie looked stern, chalk tapping harshly against her slate. She held it up to Étienne, widening her eyes and tapping against the slate. 

Start showing her the same kindness you did to me all these years ago. I know you are kind and gentle. You do not have to prove anything. She just wants to help you and become your friend. It is all she was taught to do! 

With that the young maid turned around, leaving Étienne to stand by himself in the doorway. He watched her briskly walk down the hallway and disappear from sight. After she was gone he gently closed his door. Leaning against the door with his back, Étienne closed his eyes and sighed before staring at the ceiling. 

Everyone sure did go out of their way to tell him to stop being a jerk.