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Chatter Before the Explosion

Note: Rewritten but not triple checked for spelling and grammatical errors. If you see any feel free to comment.

After what happened last night, after the intruder in Dominik's bedroom, I felt like someone was following me. I could hear they're footsteps echo down the hall but when I'd turn around to catch my stalker, I was alone. It was the strangest thing, a bizarre, maddening thing. It drove me crazy. Even my body reacted to it in the form of jitters. I couldn't stop playing with my fingers.

I'd slide them around each other, grab and squeeze at them. They were sore by dinner time, by the time I was finally able to see Dominik again. And as I stood at the table, I was afraid to voice my fears. What if I were just being paranoid? I felt like I was. As real as my follower seemed, I had the suspicion he was all in head.

So pressed my lips together and sat down with all my pent up energy. I had to shove my fingers between my knees to keep them still. The folk would clatter against my plate as I eat, so I attempted to be gentle on my meal.

The thing was, I wasn't good at hiding things and Dominik was too good at reading me. He placed his hand over mine and looked me deeply in the eyes. The moment he touched me, it all flew away. The stress simply fluttered off my skin like I had shed it like a snake.

I sighed in relief and dropped my folk so that I could insnare his hand to mine. It was comforting and all healing.

"The funeral is tomorrow." Kana's voice cut through us, reminding us we weren't alone. She sat there, cutting her steak with the sorrow of someone in mourning. But it was brief, a flash of negativity before she smiled sadly. "I bet it's going to be beautiful."

"You're not going?" My mind went blank, reeling for some kind of explanation on why she wouldn't be there.

She shook her head slowly, her hair tumbling over itself to fall into her face. She gently brushed it back and looked up at me with tear brimmed eyes. She looked tore, battered by some unknown hinderance, just as I had been all day.

But there wasn't anyone to take her worries away. From my understanding, Giovanni was her Dominik, in terms of an unstoppable connection. I couldn't imagine him consoling her, I could imagine him spending a single moment on anyone besides himself. There was also the matter of him being the death of Eliza. I wondered for a moment if she felt guilty.

And it made me sad on her behalf. I knew, as hard as I would try, I couldn't bring her relief.

"I don't think I should be there." She sighed. "I'm going to hold a small celebration for her here. I know Vera wants to say her goodbyes."

"Then why doesn't she come with us to the funeral?" Kana looked at me funny for moment. It was quick, a subtle cock of her head and the squinting of her gorgeous eyes. But she covered it up with wide-eyed understanding.

"Vera doesn't leave the castle." She smiled. "She hasn't for over a hundred years."

I swallowed hard, taking down a chunk of unchewed steak. I felt it lodge in my chest, thick and bulgy, it protruded from my piping like it would break free and roam around my ribcage.

"One hundred years?" I croaked, clutching my chest with my free hand.

"Yes." She looked between us. "She stopped leaving the house the night our parents died. She vowed to always be here, to protect the house."

I glanced over at Dominik. He looked cold, stone faced as he watched his sister speak.

"And how old is she?" I watched the smile creep onto her face as she realized my excited shock. I couldn't help but grin wildly back.

"She is four hundred years old." She cheered, raising her glass up as toast.

I quickly rose mine and clinked it against hers.

Four hundred years was a long time. So many lifetimes could be lived in that span of years. It was sad to think that her life altering love had happened in a single summer. And yet she cherished that time the most. I loved that. I loved how deeply it had effected her to the point it still trumped every other year of her life.

I could understand it. Because even if this didn't last forever, the time that I had spent in this castle, with Kana and Dominik, would be cherished until my last day. I didn't think anything could compare to my time here.

"And how old are you?" My voice sounded like a child's, filled with wonder and this unhinged excitement. It surprised all of us. And she laughed at me, all of her worries sliding to the back of her mind. I knew they weren't gone, but she hid them well.

"I'll be 112 next month." She slid her fingers over her face, lining over the wrinkles that didn't exist. She smiled in triumph. "At least I'm not 150 like Nikki here."

I nearly choked on my breath, the piece of steak stuck in my chest nearly flying back up and into my throat. I looked at him and watched the subtle curl of his lips as he attempted not to smile. He looked at me and I saw him cave into my excitement.

"Yes, I'm old. But not nearly old enough. Give me another five hundred years and I'll start growing grays." He stabbed at his food, chomping it off his folk like a normal person. He chewed it and took a sip of wine, like a normal person. And it blew my mind that he wasn't actually normal.

"And how do I live hundreds of year?" I took a sip of my wine along with him, our eyes locked and loaded with thousands of sensual touches flashing between them.

He cleared his throat, coughing on his smile.

"Basically-" Kana spoke on his behalf, slow and cruder than I had ever heard from her mouth. "Extremely rough sex. Given that the criteria is all there. And we know it is."

I squeezed Dominik's hand and blazed a brilliant red.