Lethal Love

Waxing Gibbious- Chapter 20

The thin lady wrapped her arms around Asshai like he had come back from the dead. She ran her hands through his hair and cupped his face, parents never get over their children even if they're 800.

Clio loitered next to Ash, not wanting to impose but felt incredibly awkward.

"Oh, erm yeah. Mum this is Clio."

Clio offered a slightly limp smile as she shot her hand out to be shook, but Ash's mum bypassed the offering and went in for the hug. Clio felt like she was too delicate to be hugged properly.

After she let go, Ash slipped his hand into Clio's giving her a wave of comfort.

"Come, come," Mrs Hamilton said as she lead the two down one of the varying corridors.

As soon as she left the main hall servents all scurried in to prepare for the ball the Hamilton's were hosting.

They ended up in a room with a long dark oak table, and red high velvet chairs. Ash pulled one out for Clio, signalling her to sit down.

"Blood?" Ash offered, for two reasons, to warn his mum that his girlfriend wasn't a meal and to make sure Clio wasn't hungry.

"Yes please," she knew he was trying to make it less awkward but the room felt like it was lined with awkwardness, she'd been to a million balls and abbeys and she'd met her boyfriends parents before but something about this felt much more monumental.

"So Clio, where are you from?" Mrs Hamilton asked trying to be polite as possible.

"Whitby," whitby was an old town in the north of England but on the opposite east coast from their little town, and its were Dracula first arrived. It had long cliffs with endless blue underneath.

"How lovely, so erm what's your full name I didn't quite catch it."

See looked at Asshai helplessly, this was the make or break. She could see it in his eyes he was as helpless as her, she just took a deep breath and said it.

"Clio Cromwell," She said it with a smile acting obliviously and looking into Ash's endless pools of sea-green for some comfort.

His mother looked shocked but not angry or upset like he expected, maybe she was ready to bury the ancient grudge too.

"Well I best be off, Asshai will show you to your room."

He sat down in front of Clio, visibly worried. He reached out for hand, he felt so much comfort just by holding her.

He scooched his chair closer to hers and ran his icy pale fingers through her black hair, cupping her face.

"We will be fine," he sounded like he was convincing himself more than her, "and if not we will leave."

Asshai pulled her up out of her seat and began to drag her around the familiar maze that he once called home.

The abbey was stone built but didn't feel slimy and damp inside, it felt like her little house that she'd called home the past few years with the crimson walls and candle light. The little sunlight suggested they were much like her parents and didn't have anything to help them day walk.

He lead her up the great stair case going up, her hands traced along the bannister. As much as she was scared she loved seeing his part of Asshai's life. His old life.

Finally for what felt like walking for miles Ash finally pushed a large oak door open. Behind it lay a large room, with dark walls and a fireplace burning framing it all. A four poster bed with black drapes was adjacent to the fire, with some shelves full of books that may crumble if you opened them and old pictures and paintings.

He shoved her onto the bed, and she went down giggling. They're eyes couldn't disconnect they both saw love in them, it was irresistible.

He began twirling her hair again and just staring, he couldn't stop.

The room smelt musky, and it hadn't been touched since he last left. It felt like a time capsule, lost in history never changing with the times. Each other's breath felt electric on their skin, they were so close you could hardly see the air between them. Just kept staring, never stopping.