Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

"Oh, my dear son… how I missed you, so much." A tear rolled down her face as she moved closer and hugged him. "So long… you left me so long, and I… I couldn't tell you… how sorry I was… for causing you and your pa's pain..."

In all of his life, he had never once been called a son before, and though Rohan knew this wasn't real and that the woman was sick, he couldn't help the sharp prick in his chest that spread up into his throat when she cuddled his head, weeping and apologizing for hurting her son. In what way she had hurt the deceased, Rohan had no idea.

For how long in the past had he imagined being held like that by a mother and addressed as a son?

He couldn't remember, and thus he played his part as a son as naturally as if it were real. Slowly, he lifted his hand and hesitantly hugged the frail, small body of the woman, as though afraid she might break apart.

"Yes, I am back… Mama," he felt awkward saying the word, but it slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it, and the woman's weeping increased until she began to cough uncontrollably, her body trembling from the volatile cough that seized her and made her breath drag in painfully.

Rohan, who didn't want her dying yet before he could talk to her, began to gently pat her back soothingly until she relaxed and the cough died down. She moved back, cupped his face, and smiled a toothless smile at him as she touched his cheeks.

"I… didn't mean to hurt you and your pa, Theodore…" she rasped with her naturally shaky voice that must have come from age. It seemed many things were disoriented with time; even the teeth were not spared. No wonder many humans fought and would give anything to never age, to remain young forever.

"Why are you apologizing? What have you done to… my pa and I?" Rohan questioned, choosing his words carefully, but the elder woman's eyes turned haunted and teary, troubled beyond measure. Yet before she could part her lips to speak, the girl behind him stepped forward and whispered to him.

"Don't, Mr. Towson. She is sensitive about the topic of her husband and son. She has blamed herself for their death for ages. Don't bring up the topic or she will become upset." Saying this, she stepped back and smiled at the elder woman, who had withdrawn her hands from Rohan's face to hug it to her chest, looking at him with sorrowful eyes that seemed to have carried many emotions.

"Theodore, how about you take her inside? She has been sitting here since morning and has refused to go in until you came to see her. The doctor says she shouldn't be exposed too much to the harsh breeze," the girl suggested. Though she knew her grand-aunt barely had any time left with her failing body, where she could no longer walk without being carried, it was best they preserve the life in her for as long as they could.

She was the nicest person on earth, and many loved her and wished she could live longer. The girl had volunteered to come and live with and take care of the elder woman until her last days. Even though she herself had only just gotten married and should have been with her husband, she couldn't imagine Mrs. Bigger being left to the care of people who didn't know how much the woman meant to many.

As impatient as Rohan was to get his answers, he couldn't push the fragile woman, and so he got up to carry her. But then she quickly pushed away his hand and shrank back, terrified.

"Who… who are you?" she demanded, sniffing a cough back in her throat. "Wh-what do you want from me?"

Rohan was surprised at the woman's behavior and then turned to look at the girl, who gave him a look of apology.

"I told you she has mixed-up memories and forgets things," she said to him and then stepped forward to talk to the elderly woman. "Grand-aunt—"

Mrs. Bigger turned startled eyes to her relative and then began to shake her head, whimpering.

"Don't… no, please, don't take away my Theodore! He hasn't done anything to you, milady… no, not my Sam either, they don't know anything about what I did… please don't take them away… don't!" She cried, trying to move out of her chair, but her body failed her and she fell to the ground, coughing and crying.

"Mr. Towson, do something. Carry her inside for me! She will kill herself faster," the girl said panickingly, looking at Rohan.

He quickly stepped forward, bent, and hurled the elderly woman into his arms like she weighed nothing, while she tried to fight him through her cough. But her body failed her frantic movements, and she gave up, leaning weakly against him as she whispered under her breath. His sharp ears caught every word she spoke.

"…I didn't mean to lie to them… he made me do it… don't take my Theo or Sam, please don't… I didn't mean to lie, he made me say the words to save my parents… milady."

The more Rohan heard, the more he realized the words she spoke must be connected to the very woman who was now haunting his wife, and probably this woman too. He carried her into the house, and the girl, following behind him, hurried forward to lead him behind the wooden screen that housed Mrs. Bigger's bed.

"Put her down here, Mr. Towson." The girl yanked away the blankets and stepped back to watch him lay her down and tuck her in, as she kept muttering the same words, looking troubled.

Rohan had not thought he would spend so much time in Mrs. Bigger's house, but the woman's condition was something one had to be careful with, for her moods changed faster than Nightbrook's unpredictable weather. One moment she was being haunted by some past memories, the next she was calling him son, and then asking who he was and if he was a thief who wanted to steal her husband's money.

There was even a moment she mistook him for her father and begged for his forgiveness for ruining all their lives. Rohan tried as much as he could to get the woman calm enough so he could get on with why he had come.

It was later in the afternoon, after he had coaxed her into drinking a concoction the girl had mixed that was recommended by the doctor, that he noticed the elderly woman looked calm. A little strength had returned to her, and she was smiling at him, calling him her son again.

The girl, who watched them, smiled as she sighed softly. "If only she would take the medicine, she wouldn't have been this weakened, but feeding her the medicine in her state is almost close to impossible. What would you like to have for lunch, Mr. Towson? I can prepare something for you quickly."

Rohan, who was parting his lips to reject her offer for a meal, became thoughtful for a second before he told her what he would like to have, in order to get a chance with Mrs. Bigger alone without the girl hovering around and cautioning his every word to avoid triggering the woman.

The girl left the room to prepare the food, telling him to call if he needed her. "My name is Lianne, by the way."

Rohan only acknowledged her with a nod and then returned his attention to the elder woman gripping his hand in hers.

---

A/N

This month's redeeming code.

<ABDHYEGAEFDNAF2GB>