Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

Belle slipped on her plain yellow dress over her chemise, which was still disheveled from last night's activities with her husband that brought a flush to her cheeks.

Done dressing, she left the room and walked down the polished, marble-clean floor until she found her sister's chamber. When she got there, she knocked on the door a few times before Eve's maidservant, Beth came to open it. The maid peeked her head out, but upon seeing Belle standing outside, she frowned and eyed her up and down.

"Is Eve awake? I need to do something in her chamber," Belle said to the girl, who was still eyeing her suspiciously and blocking the doorway.

"Lady Eve is still sleeping. She wouldn't want to be disturbed this early in the morning. Whatever you need to do in her room can wait until the lady is awake," the girl replied curtly. She looked no older than Eve herself, and with a dismissive frown, she was already moving to shut the door in Belle's face.

Belle knew the maid well. She had been assigned to her sister since childhood and, just like Eve, had always been disrespectful towards her. She would dump Eve's dirty laundry in Belle's lap in the kitchen for her to wash. Belle had never said anything then, as she always liked to do things for her sibling, thinking it was her responsibility.

Now, however, before the maid could shut the door on her, Belle blocked it with her hand and pushed it back, forcing it open and shoving the maidservant out of her way.

"How dare you—" the maid began, but one sharp glare from Belle silenced her instantly and made her step back.

"From now on, you will address me with the respect deserving of a lady. Do you hear me, Beth? The next time I speak and you dare to speak back, I won't hesitate to feed you to the vampires and be rid of you." Belle warned, her voice calm but her eyes stern as she pinned the maidservant down with her look.

The maidservant turned pale at the threat and swallowed hard before hastily bowing. "I... I am sorry, my lady. I won't do it again." The last thing she wanted was to become a meal for the vampires in the house. No matter what, she was a servant, and the woman before her was a daughter.

"Good. I am not here to disturb Eve. I am here to—" Belle did not finish her words when Eve's soft voice floated from within the fluffy coziness of her blanket.

"What are you here to do, sister Belle?" Eve asked, feigning sleep, though in truth she had been sitting before her mirror, trying to find ways to cover the injury on her wrist, the injury that crazy vampire had inflicted on her last night. Anger had burned in her heart at the insult, and when she heard the knock and her sister's voice, Eve had quickly jumped into bed and pretended to be asleep.

"Are you here to help me fold my clothes in the wardrobe like you used to do in the past?" Eve said with a smile as she sat up on her queen-size bed and watched as her elder sister walked into her chamber and headed straight to the closet room.

"I always miss the way you used to fold and arrange my things. Beth has never gotten it right," she added, moving to sit at the edge of her bed, smiling in satisfaction that at least her elder sister was still as dumb as ever and still did her bidding.

Before she was sent to Nightbrook, Eve had often gone on about how her maid Beth never knew how to handle her hair or clothes and would always demand that Belle do it for her. It became such a habit that, even before Eve asked, Belle would come to her chamber early in the morning to do her bidding. Now that she was back, Eve naturally assumed her stupid, ready-to-please sister had come again to do the same.

"Beth, get my bathwater ready in the tub. Sister Belle will wash my body and dress me. Hurry up," she ordered her maidservant, then sat waiting for Belle to return from the closet room attached to her chamber and come and help her undress and prepare for the day.

Eve, who was smiling, froze in shock when Belle walked out of the closet dragging three trunks stacked on top of each other across the floor. Eve shot out of her bed.

"What are you doing with my things? They don't need washing, and they are brand new!" she cried, rushing forward to stop Belle from dragging the trunks toward the door. "They are the things you gave to me, Sister Belle!" She placed a restraining hand on Belle's arm, trying to stop her. "You don't need to take them for a wash."

Belle, who had intended to say nothing and simply take her things and leave, finally stopped when Eve's hand grabbed at her, trying to pry her grip from the lower trunk handle she was using to drag them.

"Point of correction, Genevieve. I didn't give them to you, you took them," Belle said with an innocent smile playing on her face, watching as her sister's green eyes widened and then filled with tears.

"You gave—"

"I didn't, Eve. I need all these things. They are gifts, and I cherish every one of them. I will let you keep the one you wore last night, but I am taking the rest," Belle said firmly and resumed dragging them away.

But Eve, who had gone through every single item inside the trunks and had already imagined herself wearing them to events, showing off the new designs to her friends, stepped in front of Belle, refusing to move.

"I won't let you take the things you already gave away. They are mine now. You don't deserve expensive things or luxury, Sister Belle. You have always liked simple things. These are things best suited for me," Eve said, trying to maintain her innocent look while gritting her teeth in resentment toward her elder sister.

If she hadn't sacrificed her place for Belle to marry into the vampire land, she wouldn't have had these things at all. It was because of Eve's sacrifices that she had them and it was only right that she let her have them!

"Yes, I have always liked simple things, Eve. But these things in here are something I like. You can say I started to like luxury as well, and I am not willing to give them away. Now move out of my way before I see the need to push you out of it," Belle remarked calmly, wanting to handle things without rising too much conflict. But it seemed impossible, for Eve looked hell-bent on not letting her pass through the door.

"Step aside, Eve," Belle warned quietly. After what Rohan had told her last night, Belle had come to realize that standing up for herself wouldn't hurt anyone, and her family had nothing left they could use to manipulate her into letting them walk all over her again. She no longer lived with them, and in truth, they needed her more, since she held their so-called information and was seen as their spy.

But even then, she still did not want to cause any unnecessary conflict or fight.

Eve, on the other hand, wasn't willing to let her sister take away her things. She moved forward, crossing her arms against her chest as she spoke.

"I can see the vampires have not only fattened you up, like Mama said, but also turned you so stupid that you have forgotten your place," Eve said, her sweet innocent face vanishing as her true colors showed. Stepping forward into Belle's breathing space, she spat, "You are forgetting that whatever I want, I get. And these things you have now, you wouldn't have them if it weren't for me. You are nothing but trash, and no matter the luxury you wear, you will forever be trash. Now, if you know what's best for you, leave those things alone and get out of my room."

Belle had always known Eve wasn't who she appeared to be. On the day of her wedding, she had overheard her calling her stupid and naive. She had overlooked it then, many things she had overlooked, but this time she would not, at least not without taking back her belongings.

"As you wish, princess," Belle said with a curt bow and bent down to resume dragging her trunks out. But Eve, in a fit of rage, moved forward and grabbed her by the hair from behind.

"Are you deaf, bitch? I told you to get out and leave those things!" she screeched furiously, twisting her elder sister's hair back.

Belle reeled back and seized Eve's wrist, twisting it hard until the younger girl cried out in pain and released her hair. But Belle didn't let go; instead, she forced Eve's arm further behind her back and yanked her forward, making it clear she was no longer the sister to be trifled with.

"You have always been a spoiled brat, Eve, and I wanted to overlook that. But you are crossing the line, young lady. I won't hesitate to put the sense Mama and Papa failed to put into your head for you if you cross me again," she said coldly, before finally releasing her and shoving her out of the way.

Eve lost her footing from the push and went falling, hurting not just her hand but almost twisting her neck. Immediately, she cried out and began to sob in pain, clutching her wrist, the same one Rohan had cut last night, which was now gripped and twisted without mercy by her sister.

By the time Eve recovered from the push and the pain, Belle had already dragged the trunks out of her room. Eve stood up and screamed after her, "I will tell Mother about this, you witch!"

Belle heard her and rolled her eyes. "Go ahead and see if I care."