Little Belle leaned forward, peeking behind the wall she had stood to see the ghost talking to one of the servants of the house. She had been following him for quite some time now, tailing the man to occasionally hide behind the little pillars that covered her small self. Last night the man looked like a Hollow corpse but right now, he looked fine. She scrunched her brows. Wondering if what her father said was true.

She continued to follow him with Mr. Fluffs in her hand which was the stuffed rabbit. A gift which was given by a servant who had bought it from the village fair.

While Belle continued to follow by tiptoeing around she finally moved to the next corridor to see that the person disappeared from her sight. Her small footsteps quickly made its way to the next connected corridor to not find him there.

She looked at the empty corridor when she heard someone speak behind her, “What do you think you are doing?” she jumped out of fright, squeaking softly before turning around and looking at the tall man who stood there with a passive expression on his face.

The ghost had caught her!

She stared at him and he stared right back at her and she gulped softly.

“I was chasing a butterfly and…” blurted out the girl. Seeing him continue to look at her, she then ended her words with, “And it vanished.”

The butler was aware of how developed vampire children were compared to the offspring of the other creatures. They were smarter and sharper.

“Are you a ghost?” Belle asked, trying to act brave with her lips pursed. She was a vampire! But she wasn’t sure if vampires were supposed to be scared of ghosts because she was scared. The butler on the other hand tilted his head when the little girl asked this question. This one was a child and wanting to test her, he put a polite smile on his face that confused the little girl.

“Did you see a ghost, miss?”

“I thought I saw one,” looking away Belle mumbled her under breath. Little children were easy to distract and trick, but this one appeared to be having doubts. It was possible that she had noticed his face but at the same time, he was intrigued by what he had heard last night. Was this the girl who the servants were talking about? He pulled out his pocket watch and seeing she had time, he put it back in his pocket. How strange, thought Lucas to himself. Was it her or someone else’s soul being eaten in this mansion?

He sat down to level his eyes with hers and saw the way her bright red eyes popped wide open, “What is your name?”

“Belle,” she answered and he bowed his head.

“It is good to meet you, Miss Belle. I am Lucas, the newly assigned butler and I am pleased to be serving you from now.”

“Butler?” little Belle asked.

“Yes,” he responded back, and to humor her, he asked, “Is there anything you would like me to do, Miss Belle?”

She quickly shook her head.

The butler stood up straight and his eyes fell on the stuffed toy she was carrying to see the missing eye of the rabbit. Bored in the mansion, he decided to chat with the girl for his own personal amusement, “Who do you have there?” children were nothing short of devil’s minions.

“This is Mr. Fluffs. Mama said to give him away but he looks good.”

He wasn’t surprised by that. With one eye lost and with the arm of the rabbit barely hanging to its body, he would have thrown it out of the house, “He looks quite old there,” the butler eyed the doll, “You should get his eyes fixed.”

Belle looked down at the rabbit doll and then looked up at him, “But Mr. Fluffs looks handsome.”

“I am sure he will appreciate it if you get his lost eye fixed,” the butler stated, “Don’t you want him to see better?”

She wanted Mr. Fluffs to have both his eyes but the last time she had asked one of the maids, the maid had told it couldn’t be fixed. Even her mother had told her that it was better to get a new doll and throw this one away, making Belle look at her mother in shock and hide Mr. Fluff’s in her room so that no one would come to take him away from her.

“You will help?” she asked him, a hopeful look in her eyes.

“I don’t know how to sew. Ask a maid to do it,” came the quick reply from the butler.

“But you are a butler.”

And they continued to stare at each other again.

“Fine,” he said and had one of the maids fetch the sewing kit box to where they were.

Lucas opened the box and took a couple of tries before the thread finally made its way in the needle. He had seen the creatures who lived here sew for many years so he knew what to do. The little girl on the other hand leaned forward to see what the butler was doing. Her eyes eagerly looked forward to seeing how Mr. Fluffs would get his sight back.

He picked up a button that was black in color that had a white outline around it. In no time, he started to work on the rabbit and he said, “There, you go,” he had finished sewing the button on the rabbit. The button was positioned away from the spot of the eyes that made it look like the rabbit was looking at another corner.

“It looks squint,” Belle stated to hear the butler say,

“What matters, is that he can see now.”

The eyes didn’t look the same but Belle came to believe that Mr. Fluffs would finally be able to see from his new eye, “Thank you,” she beamed and the butler started to pack the sewing kit and stood up to leave her there. Belle was happy with the way her rabbit looked. She must have only imagined it last night, she nodded her head, there was no way their nice butler could be a ghost. She forgot the memory and went back to her room to play.

A week passed by and the butler had started to get accustomed to the work as well as being in the vampire household. One of the evenings when it was the time of supper, Mr. and Mrs. Adams’ along with their six-year-old daughter took their seats at the dining table. The butler walked around the table, helping the maids in placing the dishes that were prepared and getting their water-filled in the glass.

Walking up to the little girl, the butler leaned forward as he reached the napkin and placed it on her lap. Mrs. Adams was pleased with their new butler who was taking note of little things in the room. The vampiress was content to see that they had finally found a butler who looked like he fit the bill but in the back of her mind, she was worried.

Belle who was seated in front of her looked excited as she moved her body, swaying it left and right, “Don’t do that when you are eating, Belle,” Mrs. Adams said to her daughter.

“Why?” Belle asked, “It feels nice,” the little girl added.

“Because it isn’t good to do it while you are at the table or anywhere outside. It brings a bad impression in the eyes of the others,” Mrs. Adams was strict and she wanted to bring her daughter up like the rest of the women in their society but Belle always found a way in trying to slip up with the etiquettes.

One of the examples was their family portrait. If she knew that her daughter had been standing cross-legged, she would have got it fixed right away but the portrait had been completed by the time she found out about it and her husband didn’t mind it one bit.

“What does swaying have to do with the bad impression, mama?” Belle asked, leaning forward to place her elbows on the table and smiling widely when her father gave her a smile.

While Mrs. Adams was strict, Mr. Adams didn’t mind the slip-up and he let his daughter grow freely without any restriction.

“People are going to think you’re possessed, dear. Do you want to be part of the ghost community?” her mother asked.

“There’s a ghost community?” Belle asked, her eyes wide looking at her mother and her father.

Her father chuckled at her curiosity and he said, “It wouldn’t look good if you keep moving in your chair, Belle. Maybe once you’re older you can take up dance classes by the governess.”

The butler continued to assist in the dining room whilst the Adams’ family spoke to their daughter, educating her on what to do and what to not. Though the girl nodded her head, Lucas doubted that she heard a single word. She had carried her rabbit toy along with her even to the dining room making it sit next to her.

“Did you take a look at the invitation which the Harlow’s family sent in?” Mrs. Adams asked, moving the spoon in the bowl of soup before she blew and drank it.

“I did. They have a soiree this Wednesday night,” Mr. Adams replied back, “I forgot where their mansion is located.”

“It comes in Valeria but somewhere near the border near Bonelake which shouldn’t be that far if we leave early. Will you be able to make it?” Mrs. Adams asked knowing her husband had been busy the past few days with his work. The vampiress wanted to go because the society they lived in needed connections and the Harlows was a pureblooded family who worked in the council of the four lands. The council was a place where the law was made so that everyone could abide by it to keep peace and harmony between the different creatures like humans, witches, and vampires. Though the Harlow’s were pureblooded vampires, they weren’t in high status but making connections and networks were important in the society they lived in.

“Hmm, I will need to see if I can make some free time as I don’t know if we need to complete our work early but you can take Lucas with you. Lucas,” Mr. Adams called their new butler who came forward with a small bow, “Take Mrs. Adams and Belle to Harlow’s mansion if I am not there that day.”

“Yes, Mr. Adams,” Lucas obliged to the vampire’s words.

When Wednesday evening did arrive, Mr. Adams was indeed busy and wasn’t able to make it leaving Mrs. Adams and Belle travelled in the carriage with their butler who wore the same attire without a change as he wasn’t attending it but was merely accompanying them. Mrs. Adams was dressed poshly and Belle wore the dress her father had bought for her, her legs swinging back and forth until her eyes met her mother’s who had been staring at her.

“Why are we going to another person’s house?” Belle questioned her mother.

“Because they invited us to join the soiree they have held,” her mother leaned forward to smoothen her daughter’s errant hair that was sticking up.

“Just like that?” Belle continued to question and smiled when her mother was done smoothening her hair.

“So that different people and known people can meet each other.”

“But they do that every time,” Belle stated that made the butler turn his head to look outside the little window where trees passed them in a series under the inky hue sky that was turning dark, “I could have stayed home,” she softly muttered under breath to receive a narrowed look from her mother.

“It is important for you to attend soirees like these even after you grow,” Mrs. Adams tried to reason with her daughter. Girls often liked to go to different tea parties, dressing up and getting ready but the woman was finding it hard when it came to her daughter.

“But, mama,” Belle used her own reasoning, “I am so small,” she dragged the word small making her look cute so that she wouldn’t get scolded by her mother.

Her mother sighed a small smile on her own lips like the butler who had turned his head away but was listening in to the mother-daughter’s conversation. Reaching the Harlow’s mansion, the butler was the first one to step down and he waited for the lady and the girl to step down while giving his hand for them.

The little girl stepped down from the carriage, her hand still holding the butler’s hand which he had given her before she had stepped down on the ground. Her mother often took her to various mansions and Belle wasn’t sure if she had come here.

She heard her mother speak to the coachman, “Park the carriage in the shelter. We should be done in two to three hours,” the man bowed his head and took the carriage from the entrance of the mansion they stood in front of.

“Come, Belle,” her mother called her and the vampiress started to walk and the little girl walked pulling the butler’s hand to be stopped as he didn’t move from his place.

She turned around to look at the butler, “Come?” she asked with a perplexed look on her face.

“I will be right outside, Miss Belle,” Lucas let go of his fingers around her hand long back but the little girl continued to hold it tightly.

Her mother, noticing her daughter not next to her turned back to find her daughter holding the butler’s hand, “What are you doing, Belle?” her mother waited for her.

Little Belle’s red eyes like bright liquid stared up at him, “I hope you enjoy your time,” he gave her a smile and the girl let go of his hand. In the past week since the butler had joined and helped her fix Mr. Fluffs eye, she often went in search of him in the mansion to either ask questions or ask for his help which he readily did, “Okay?”

She gave him a nod and her little feet quickly made towards where her mother was. Lucas was glad that he wasn’t invited in because he had his own things to do out here. He looked at the people who walked inside the mansion.