Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

The moment the door opened, soft music and laughing voices flowed to them even before they stepped in. The hall was just as Belle remembered, only this time there were double the amount of guests she remembered, some standing at the balconies of the hall and some moving below, where the high chandeliers were all lit, bathing the space in a light gold hue.

Nobody had noticed their arrival at first, as people were too distracted mingling and talking, men in suits, women in gowns, until the herald sitting at the side moved to announce their entrance.

"Our honorable guests from Nightbrook have arrived!"

It was like a spell of silence had been cast inside the hall, for a loud stillness suddenly befell the place. The music stopped along with the chatter and the movement as they entered, the sound of the door closing echoing too loudly in the silence, while countless eyes turned to them.

Belle tried to calm her racing heart as she took in the familiar atmosphere, only unlike in the past, where people barely spared her a second glance, this time, people stared without looking away. Men gawked, women stared in awestruck wonder, their envious eyes scanning her from her head down to the hem of her gown.

Belle walked with her head held high, her back straight despite the nerves inside her at the eyes that followed them.

As if the spell had been lifted, murmuring began to rise from the guests as they moved aside to give way for the vampires and for her to pass.

"Oh my God, isn't she Isabelle, or does the duke have another daughter we didn't know about?" murmured the men who stared at the beautiful woman they had never seen before, or perhaps they had but never spared a look at, always swarming instead around her younger sister.

"I don't recall another daughter. Lady Genevieve is right there with the other ladies, I asked her to reserve a dance for me a while ago. This here could only be Isabelle. But Lord in heavens! She's beautiful," remarked another from the group of young men, who were staring at the beautiful women.

"Who is the redheaded lady?" asked one curiously, squinting, as they were still too far away to notice the faint glow of her red eyes.

"She's the vampire guest who came with her husband and son, along with the vampire duke," another answered with a smirk.

"I never imagined vampire women could be this breathtaking… and so human-like," muttered one of the men, unable to look past anything beautiful so long as it was female. His gaze lingered shamelessly on her figure.

"But unfortunately, she has a husband. But Isabelle doesn't. Her husband can hardly be called a husband when the marriage is nothing but a name and is bound to end soon. Who knows, we might still have our chances with her. I, for one, plan to speak with her parents and claim her for myself once the vampire matter is settled," whispered the son of a viscount, who only a short while ago had secured a dance with the younger Dawson daughter but was now already changing his mind, his desire shifting greedily upon seeing the other woman.

"Not if I speak to her parents first," another of the young men cut in, his tone sharp with rivalry, his eyes gleaming with the same shamelessness as his peers. These were the very same young men who, not too long ago in the past, had mocked Belle for her plainness, declaring none of them would ever take her as a wife. They had even gone so far as to jest that any man foolish enough to marry her would have to turn down the lights in order to touch her in bed, for her freckled face could startle even the dead.

The words that went around among the women in the hall were different from those of the men, especially from the set of women Eve was standing with. They were dumbfounded and in disbelief as they watched her sister and the vampire walk to show their respect to the king.

"She's wearing red diamonds!" exclaimed a lady.

"You are talking about diamonds, look at the dress and the way she carries herself. I swear to God I never thought she had such beauty to give justice to any dress," murmured another.

These were also women who had insulted the duke's daughter in the past for her boring, and plain sense of style. She was so easy to step on that they did it, and a fool who would apologize to someone who stepped on her toes in order to not raise any trouble.

Nobody could deny the fact that she and the vampire beside her glowed amidst everyone, their attires making the others look like puddle stones among two diamond gems. Not even Eve, who had so naturally stood out among the women since she first began attending the balls, could have outshone her sister now as she always did in the past. There was something subtle yet undeniable about Belle's beauty tonight, a quiet grace that drew the eyes and made it difficult for anyone to look away.

"I thought you said your sister was not treated right by the vampires and would wear what she liked to wear to the ball before her marriage this time. Why is she dressed in a gown that only a princess could afford?" came the accusing words of Lady Althea as she turned displeased brown eyes to Eve, who was fuming in silent rage at the fact that Belle had defied their mother again.

To many in Aragonia, the Dawsons had made them believe that their eldest daughter was the one who chose to be simple and liked ordinary things, and many put her down for it because it was her boring choice. Eve had told Lady Althea and her friends that nothing had changed, and her sister was still the same dull, boring lady they knew. Today, she would wear her simple attire here and fall below the rank.

Only for them to be slapped in the face.

"I...I don't know how she got that," Eve said defensively as the music resumed in the hall after Belle and the vampire greeted the king and queen and began to make their way to sit in the chairs arranged for them in the hall.

"Oh, you don't know? Do you know what your lack of knowledge will cause to my plans?" Lady Althea gritted furiously, not wanting the man she would marry to see that woman looking like that, being more beautiful than she herself. He had excused himself to leave the hall for some moments, as he was feeling uncomfortable with it being Jamie's first time attending the ball as a noble guest.

It was good he wasn't here when she came in with men gawking like fools, like they had never seen beautiful women before in their lives. Even married men were still staring.

Eve's fists clenched as she turned narrowed eyes toward the lady Althea, anger flaring at how she was being blamed as though it were her fault that her sister had chosen to dress the way she did now. "It's not my fault, so don't blame me for it, Lady Althea. If you want to humiliate my sister, you can still do it when she comes to apologize to you and your husband-to-be."

With a huff, Eve stomped away to look for her mother and complain, but at the same time she was determined to make herself noticed once more by the guests. She wanted their attention to turn back to her, for them to forget about her sister and admire her instead. So rather than heading directly to her mother, she deliberately took a longer route through the hall, ensuring that more eyes would fall upon her, but unfortunately no one paid her any mind.

"She's not even that good looking. With that ugly attitude of hers, it will be hard for one to see the beauty," Lady Althea's friend said.

"Who says she is good looking, with her freckles and—"

"I wasn't talking about Lady Isabelle, I was talking about Lady Genevieve," sneered the other lady, causing the rest to agree.

"I would like to know where Lady Isabelle got her dress and jewelry from. I might speak to her when I get the chance," said another.

"Me too." Many of the ladies began to nod, looking at Belle where she sat with the vampires, without fear, conversing with the couple with a smile playing on her face.

"Lady Althea, are you really certain that calm-looking lady had been the one to attack your husband-to-be, like the rumors are saying? She doesn't look crazy to me at all," came the words of an elder lady to the Marquis's daughter, who was getting agitated with every word being said around her.

"Are you all now calling me a liar?" Lady Althea said, not liking that people who had only moments ago believed her words about the incident, how Belle had attacked them, were now questioning it.

Though at first she hadn't wanted this marriage with Mr. Marchant, the man had proved himself worthy by worshiping her, giving her things, and taking her anywhere she requested to please her. She had begun to like him and look forward to their marriage. But since the time he had broken his arm and saw this woman, he had become distant and lost in thought lately.

He had even called her Isabelle by mistake this morning when he came to pick her up with his carriage to bring her here. He hadn't helped her down from the steps because he had been spacing out to see her. And Lady Althea was certain it was because of the Dawson's daughter that her fiancé had turned like that all of a sudden, and now people were questioning her words like she had lied about the incident!

"We wouldn't dare call you a liar, Lady Althea. It's just that she doesn't look like it, capable of hurting a grown man," said another elder woman.

"I will show you all that she is crazy before this ball ends. You will see for yourselves. And a piece of advice, don't go close to the vampires, especially the baby. They are savages," Lady Althea said as she stalked away angrily.