The following day in the capital, Giselle was executed in front of the Valerian crowd while Lady Magdalene lost her hands. Nobody knew what happened to the other two vampires as they weren't seen after what happened in the chamber. A vampire couldn't regain or regenerate limbs, and it was an absolute punishment, a reminder not to go against the Lord of Valeria. There were murmurs in the crowd as the punishment took place. Word had passed from one person to another about what had occurred in the castle, and they were now curious. Curious if their Lord had chosen the human instead of a highly classed pure-blooded vampire woman.
When Alexander had bitten the girl, a mark had appeared on her neck, but by the time of dawn, the mark was gone. The servants in the castle who were eager to look at the mark found nothing on the girl's neck. They wondered if the Lord had pulled a trick in front of everyone. It had been more than three months since Alexander came back from the counselling. In those three months, Lord Norman planned to show the Valerian Lord that he was smarter and stronger, even if it meant a little.
"Lord, this is the information we have found. It's said that the human lives in the castle," one of Norman's men said, giving a parchment to him.
Looking at it Norman smiled, "How nice... mistreating a human right in the castle of Valeria is what we need. Send this to the council and make sure it reaches," he said handing back the parchment, "He thinks he's better. I can't wait for the council to take action on him," he said laughing.
In the Valerian Empire, Katherine walked with Sylvia in the meadow as Elliot and Alexander walked behind them. The meadow was situated next to the forest behind the castle, covering a part of the estate with grass and flowers.
Sylvia looked at Katie as the little girl spoke about her mom. She noticed the smile and happiness that seemed to be returning on the little girl's face.
Though Katie was weary of a few vampires in the castle, the Lord was someone whom she trusted the most. He was a hero in her eyes, a saviour.
"Are you planning on letting her attend the school like the other children?" Sylvia asked Alexander when they sat down to eat something from the basket they had got prepared from the castle.
"I have prepared a tutor for her to come to the castle. It'll avoid any unwanted situations in the future," Alexander replied, drinking the wine from the bottle directly.
Elliot, who was talking to Katie, glanced at her neck to see the mark gone, it made him doubt if Alexander had bound her to him. The Valeria Lord had himself said that he had tied her for life but then what did it mean now with no mark?
"That's right Sylvia. The school we have now has a lot of children," Elliot spoke, throwing a piece of fruit in his mouth, "Regardless if it's vampires or humans, there are some who are like the little minions of the devil."
"Protecting her like a shadow is not going to go well. She needs to experience things. I think you should let her go to school after all she needs to socialize with people of her age. She is young," Sylvia voiced her opinion.
"Let's see about it later. I'm going for a walk," Alexander said, yawning as he stood up walking towards the forest, making both Sylvia and Elliot exchange looks with each other.
When he came back, he had a little wolf in his arms. Seeing it, Katie ran towards him to take a turn in holding the wolf.
"Easy there," he said as Katie managed to hold the grey and white patched wolf, "He is yours now," which made the little girl look up at him.
"Mine?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Yes, yours," Alexander said, looking at her.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Awe! I knew you had a heart in that hollow chest of yours," Elliot said, bending down to pet the animal in Katie's arms.
The following morning, a tutor appeared to educate Katie with five other children of her age in the castle. Considering what Sylvia had said, Alexander didn't want to isolate the girl, therefore, had made arrangements to let other children study with her for company.
It was late one night when Alexander found Katie sitting at her desk and writing something on her book. Going up to where she was, he peeked into her book to see words scribbled on it.
"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" he asked her, startling her from his sudden presence.
"My handwriting, Alex," she said, looking at her book sadly. She had seen her other mates with neat writing while hers was always a mess no matter how much she tried.
"Here, give me your hand," he said, taking her hand while she held the pencil. He guided her by moving his hand with hers to show how it went, "You don't have to feel bad about it, you have plenty of time to catch up. So no rush. Sleep now," he said before shutting the door of her room.
He stood outside her room for a few fleeting seconds, and when he heard the click sound of the door, he went to his room. In two days, things would change, he sighed thinking about it.
Two days later, as predicted, two members of the council showed up at the Valeria castle to meet Lord Alexander.
"Sir, the council is here to meet you," one of his servants informed him.
"Let them in," Alexander ordered the man who obliged bowing his head slightly to bring the men inside.
The door opened to reveal Mathias, Kellen and the head council's right-hand man Lionel. Lionel was a tall and extremely lean vampire. He had a grey beard and wrinkles surrounding his eyes. He was a man well known for his strict conduct when it came to the law, not overlooking the tiniest details.
"We are sorry to intrude your day without informing you, Lord Alexander," Lionel spoke, taking a seat in front of Alexander's desk.
"That was no trouble at all. I was expecting you sooner or later," Alexander said due to which Lionel looked a little taken back before he composed himself.
"Then you might know why we have come here to see you?" Lionel confirmed making Alexander smile.
Alexander knew a spy was sent to the Valerian Empire to collect information by that idiot of human Lord. When it came to the Valeria, he kept himself aware of what went behind the scenes. If he didn't know, he would be the idiot. He knew the council was on its way to take action on what happened. It was also because he had a man of his own inside the Council. Even though it was a minor issue, Lord Norman might have added enough details to show a small gentle breeze to a full-blown storm.