(Addis)

The vampire couldn’t help his rampaging thoughts as he walked down the dark streets, the words of the human still echoing in his mind. Why in the world was Rasvan forcing him to deal with Faye? Was it to punish Adrian for some slight, and Addis was merely a convenient tool to use for that end?

“Now, this is a treat. Addis stalking the streets at this hour,” the vampire looked up at the sound of the voice, and he forced a chuckle, releasing his coat as he turned around. Behind him stood Rosie, her black eyes boring into him as she smiled, twirling her umbrella as she watched him. Addis smiled as she pushed herself off the wall, offering the vampiress his arm as she approached him. Rosie took it, chuckling to herself. “You’ve been quite good at surprising me today.”

“I have no idea what you mean, Rosie dear,” Addis sighed, happy to have the vampiress as company. He needed a moment of normalcy, something to calm him back down so he could think clearly about his situation. Rosie glanced down at him and Addis continued smiling, waiting for his companion to explain herself. She gave him an accusatory glance before shrugging, twirling her umbrella again.

“Ruben didn’t tell you? I was at your station, trying to find out where you’ve been hiding,” Addis’s heart skipped a beat at the vampiress’s words but he outwardly chuckled, pretending her words didn’t bother him. “Imagine my surprise when the man told me you were out!”

“I was busy with a matter that concerned the shelter,” Addis offered, the edges of his smile starting to twitch. He knew Ruben wouldn’t have had much of an option to lie to Rosie, but he didn’t like that his servant had failed to tell him about her visit to the station. “My people know how to work on their own, I don’t always need to hover.”

“You, giving up control? First charity work and now this? My my, it’s like I hardly know you!” Rosie smiled, throwing her head back in laughter. Addis joined her, her laugh easing his tension. “Concerning the shelter, hmm? It wouldn’t happen to be related to one of the humans there would it?”

“It was, and I have dealt with it for now,” Addis released the vampiress as he opened the door to his home, allowing Rosie to enter. The lights quickly sprung to life and the radio began playing a soft melody as Addis stepped inside, closing the door as he loosened his tie. “Can I get you anything, my dear?”

“Only the usual, Addis,” the vampiress lounged on his couch and Addis nodded, making his way to the kitchen as he removed the tie and his jacket. Addis hummed to himself as he filled his kettle with water, putting it on to boil as he fished out two mugs from his cabinets. The familiarity of being in his own home and hearing Rosie's soothing voice was helping to calm the vampire down, and he was beginning to forget about his predicament altogether. “So what did you have to do?”

“I merely had to remind one of our gracious donors that the princess’s rules are not to be overstepped,” Addis chuckled, carefully measuring out the sugar to each of their preferences and placing their respective tea bags in their cups. “After all, it is not wise to try and take advantage of our royalty.”

“Oh you are the worst, Addis, to delight in another’s displeasure,” Rosie chuckled, looking toward the vampire’s radio. Addis watched her curiously for a moment, waiting to see if Rosie would reveal why she had wanted to spend time with him today. The vampiress usually kept to herself and she usually only sought out his company out of boredom or if she wanted to talk about something. It seemed to be the latter today, as the vampiress leaned against the couch, turning her empty eyes back to the vampire. “Did I tell you I was SoulBound again?”

“Oh?” Addis did his best to hide his discomfort with her causal statement, not wanting her to infer the same was true of him. Rosie had a different view of the bond than him, although the outcome for her unfortunate partners was usually the same.

“Yes, to a sweet little thing. I believe she is friends with one of the humans at your shelter,” Rosie seemed pensive, looking toward the radio as the song skipped. Addis turned away, wishing that the water would hurry up and finish boiling. He sighed as the creature consumed his worry, thinking of Rasvan’s gathering and his forced company with the human. “I was tempted to let the bond fade, but I believe I may actually pursue this one. She will be on my arm tomorrow night.”

“Oh? A human then?” Addis repeated as he attempted to keep his voice neutral, tapping his hand on the counter as he willed the water to hurry.

“No, a turned. She is quite interesting, far more than those in the past. I wonder how she will react to being Soulbound to a High Vampire. If she will disavow me, or accept her fate,” Rosie chuckled again as the song skipped, changing to a darker tune as Addis’s anxiety increased. He was tempted to turn off the device, but he knew doing so would only make Rosie more suspicious. His chest ached with worry, but he breathed a sigh of relief as the feeling left him again. “I know your feelings on such things, so I won’t ask for advice. But haven’t you ever been curious? Haven’t you ever wondered what it is like to have a mature bond?”

“Ha, to have another privy to my thoughts and emotions? To share my pain?” Addis scoffed, glad his emotions were gone as he spoke. He did his best to chuckle as the kettle went off, carefully lifting it to finish preparing their tea. “There is no one who could and I have no desire to share theirs. Such a bond is useless. A mere distraction and an inconvenience.”

“Perhaps, but it does add excitement to an otherwise boring existence,” Rosie countered, and Addis heard as she rose from the couch, making her way over to him. Addis forced his smile as he turned, handing the vampire her tea. She accepted it, closing her eyes as she breathed in the aroma of her beverage. Addis took a sip of his own tea, his rampaging thoughts melting away with the warm drink. “But I suppose I should expect no less from you. After all, you have that thing you allow to hide in your shadow. I’m sure it provides all the entertainment you desire.”

“Entertained or not, I have no time for such bonds,” Addis replied curtly, wishing he could steer the conversation away from the topic of being Soulbound. He had hoped to forget about such things for a while, not be reminded that his situation was getting worse. “Being Soulbound is a distraction and only gets worse as time goes on.”

“How would you know? You’ve never let a bond mature before,” Rosie shrugged, “Who knows, you might actually enjoy not being alone again.”

“I don’t have to let a bond mature to know that I don’t want or need it,” Addis hissed, his anxiety causing him to grow angry. Why did she insist on talking about this and why did she have to remind him of her? Rosie seemed slightly taken aback by the vampire’s reaction, taking a sip as he closed his eyes. “The emotions of another are only useful when I can manipulate them and I have no desire to let someone that close to me anymore.”

“Hmhm, then do you derive joy from killing the poor, unknowing fools?” Rosie offered, sipping her tea again as she chuckled. Addis smiled slightly at her statement, his anger fading somewhat. “Ending their life and feasting on their blood while they die ignorant, not knowing that their only crime was being bonded with you?”

“I haven’t killed them all, Ruben is alive after all,” Addis hummed, sipping his own beverage. Rosie laughed at his retort, placing her mug down on the counter. She tapped her slender fingers, her shoulders shaking with mirth.

“Only because the man was smart enough to ignore the bond as well. He freed you from its effect before it could go anywhere and I hear he’s happily Bound to someone else,” Rosie sighed, crossing her arms across her chest as she closed her eyes. She opened her eyes slightly, keeping her gaze to the floor. “I envy him at times. He had a chance to glimpse into that mind of yours and chose not to.”

“A smart choice.”

“Perhaps. I’m not sure I could have resisted the temptation. Lucky for both of us, I suppose, that it has never happened,” Rosie conceded, turning as she walked away from her fellow vampire, retrieving her umbrella from beside the couch. Addis watched curiously as she made her way back to the door, glancing over her shoulder to smile at the vampire. “I do believe I have taken up enough of your time with frivolous talk, Addis. Enjoy your tea.”

Addis remained silent as Rosie left, finally alone in his home as the door closed behind her. The vampire sighed, placing his tea down on the counter as his thoughts returned to Faye. Addis began to laugh again, the radio crackling with static as he threw his head back, letting his laughter fill the empty space.

“Oh, Rosie, you are a sly one,” Addis sighed, looking back down to the vampiress’s neglected tea. He had no doubt that Rosie knew he was Soulbound: she probably threatened Ruben into telling her and she was likely guessing that one of the shelter’s humans was his unfortunate partner. She would search for any sort of confirmation and Addis couldn't help the ugly sound that escaped him at the thought. Despite her demeanor, Rosie was worse than Addis in more ways than one, and she delighted in anything that could make him squirm. She had wanted to make him squirm, to make him denounce being Soulbound, all while knowing the truth about his situation.

“Enjoy not being alone...” Addis repeated, looking back to his own tea. The vampire had been alone since he had been turned, and he had only considered letting someone in once. That had been a mistake and it was one he never wanted to repeat. He was only protecting and humoring Faye to protect himself, and he refused to allow it to be more than that.

“This… has to end,” Addis sighed, picking up his mug as he began to climb the stairs to his bedroom.