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Everything felt different. The halls and the castle itself was different as Granger chased Guinevere across colossal halls, both shrunk to four and a half-feet tall.
Guinevere looked the same as Granger first met her. But albeit Granger didn't had the same brown eyes he once had, rather red demonic ones, he still have the same face of the adventurous servant boy and Gusion Paxley impostor she met.
Lo! The servants looked at them in utter shock, horrified of what had happened to their Miss Violet. But Guinevere could care less, neither could Granger.
Guinevere slowed down to a stop after stepping out to the eve. The sky was clear and stars scattered in the great darkness. Little Guinevere collapsed into the ground and Granger hastened. "Gwen! Are you okay?"
"I'm... Fine... Just... Tired. Phew!" She said between breaths. Granger smiled, gratefully. "This feels like the day we first met, doesn't it?" She asked, looking up at the sky.
"It does." He replied, staring at her. She could feel him staring, burning her alive with immense heat, but she doesn't move a muscle. She likes it, being so madly in love with him.
"Well, we better go back to normal. I forgot how tiring it was to run with feet these sizes!"
Granger looked down at his broken arm, wearing loose around the cast.
"Come here. I'll heal it now."
Granger does so, sitting beside her on the steps. She first removed the dressing, leaving his arm bare. It was bruised. "What caused this, anyways?"
"A demon unarmed me right before I was about to shoot him." He answered.
"Did you hesitate?"
"I did, sort of."
"Why?"
"The demon was a shape-shifter and a psychic. He was able to find my greatest weakness and use it to distract me."
"What's your greatest weakness?"
He rested his other small uninjured hand on top of hers as she begin to heal him. A blooming glow of violet began to seep through her fingers. Bursted into sparkling ashes as he whispered, "you."
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Alucard's heart warms up upon the sight of two children ran for the gardens outside the dining hall window. It reminded him of his very first love, but what happiness would it bring him knowing his first lover was no more?
"Have you seen Guinevere and Granger?" Asked Lady Jane. "I need to speak to them."
"No, milady. Perhaps... They're in the bedroom?" Alucard said and mischievously winked.
"Right after she had had given birth? I wouldn't think my daughter a beggar for coitus."
"You mustn't know how love works then."
"I've been married ever since I was a young woman. I've seen enough to learn love is but a hindrance to ambition..."
Boots drummed from the halls and a squad of guards marched through the door with two kids, a boy and a girl.
"Your Highness!" The Captain stepped forward. "There are intruders in the Palace and they are minors! What must we do with them?"
Jane groaned loudly as she glared at the redheaded little girl who smiled apologetically at her. "Break them free." Jane ordered.
"B-But why-?"
"No questions any much further, now leave."
The guard frowned flatly and saluted, commanding his comrades to follow him. They all make their leave once the so-called 'minor intruders' were broken free of their handcuffs.
After staring for a long time at the little boy, Alucard laughed in realization. "Granger, is that you, man? What happened? You've returned to a child!" Alucard continue laughing when Granger gave him what was supposedly a deathly scowl instead an adorable pout.
"I assume this is your doing?"
"It is, mother." Guinevere admitted bluntly with her chin up and arms crossed on her back.
"You must know how dangerous this potion's symptoms are. It will take a toll on your recovering womb after having prenatal labor much-too recently." Jane said. "Not only that, it has probability your organs will permanently be contracted."
For a second, Guinevere's shoulders tensed. "My professor from the Academy debunked that myth, actually. It's not true."
"Oh? Then how else did your grandfather died other than having a major heart failure?"
"He was born with a weak heart. I know this from his old grimoires-" Guinevere's explanation is cut short when her daughter's temporary babysitter, one of her personal handmaidens, enters the room. Her eyes are shot wide and her complexion is as pale as a corpse as she glances at everyone in the room.
"What's wrong, girl? What troubles you?" Jane asked, breaking the intimidating growing tension in the room as a crowd compresses around her.
"The baby is... is..." Trailing off, the handmaiden's eyes rolled back. She stumbles backwards, falling to a faint in Alucard's arms.
Jane frantically shook her shoulders. "Hey now, wake up! What happened to the baby?"
Thunders roared and lightning bolts clashed from outside. Little Guinevere looked out of the windows and gasped at the queer color of the sky. Its hue was of red, and it looked straight out of a nightmare.
"Alucard." Granger called, signaling him to follow out. He doesn't wait for the girl to wake up. He's eager to know what has happened to Gwyneth. Guinevere and her mother go as well.
In a deserted dimly lit hall of the fourth floor lied a handheld baby basket. Inside was Gwyneth, surprisingly calm as she gaped innocently over the merging silhouette standing at the end of the hall. The silhouette reaches its hand, tempted to get a hold of the little one.
At the other side of the castle, Granger barged in the nursery room with Alucard to see the crib empty and her favorite pink polka-dotted blankie thrown to the floor.
Alucard felt his chest tightened as he picked the blanket up. "You don't mean..."
"The demons have invaded." Granger finished. He must have saw this coming knowing the closest to be ambushed by an invasion would be the historical Baroque Palace. And now because of his great ignorance, he has sacriiced his first child to a war that will soon begin.
Guinevere arrived next, now returned into her adult size. After giving Granger a spare amount of the potion, she pressed her palm against her mouth in terror.
"W-Where is she? Where is she?!" She cried.
"Gwen, hey." Granger comes over to comfort her. "It's all right. We'll find her."
Alucard's ears twitched once they heard a baby's laughter coming from the hall. Guinevere sobbed to a pause, hearing it too. She doesn't hesitate to run towards it and the two demon hunters don't as well.
The baby's eyes opened into an irked squint, revealing eyes bearing dark blues as deep as the ocean. "Oh. Did I wake you up? I'm sorry." The silhouette murmured to baby Gwyneth in a tipsy tone of a woman. "You seem to be on your own. Would you mind some company, perhaps join my family?" It said as it slowly traced its claw-like fingers down the baby's cheek.
Baby Gwyneth growled in response, making the silhouette jump and pull her hands away. "Wow! Such feistiness in that little body of yours already. Good, good. It will surely help your 'true' powers grow faster. Hahaha! The Prince will love you!"
Right before the translucent silhouette could have another touch at the babe, Guinevere lands in between them like a predicted asteroid of destruction with blazed fists sending the silhouette through the window with two fatal holes across her chest.
"Don't ever try taking her away from me, do you hear me!?"
Granger smiled proudly at his lover. His heart could melt. "Gwen, take Gwyneth with you and leave as soon as you can. There'll be carriages rest to take off. Alucard should be done alerting everyone in the whole castle by now."
"There'll be more of that demon kidnapper, right? Then will you be staying?"
"I will. But don't worry for I won't be alone. Backup should in no less than a minute. So go!"
"I love you. Take care."
Granger kissed both of his girls goodbye. He then watched as Guinevere carried their child and running away to safety.
The silhouette rises from the ground, molding itself into its full size as a feathered serpent with skin as rough as burning coal. In lightning speed, it fled back into the hallway through the terrorized window, demanding for another rematch.
"I... Wasn't... Ready." The lazy tone now sounded demonic, devoid of any humanity.
Granger sighed tiredly and rolled his eyes as he began loading his gun. "Then let's make this quick."
I'm so proud of myself this book made it to #1 in the #gusion tag even though this ain't even focused on Gusley, rather Granevere lol. Sincerely, thank you to all whoever votes, reads, comments whenever they can. Without you I would've deleted this book months ago so thank you for appreciating and shipping the same otp I ship ಥ‿ಥ . I love y'all so much!