Sparks flew off the blades as they met each other.
"Give it everything you've got!" Lucia hurried to her feet the moment she lost her balance. Lifting her sword to counter Bat's gruesome attack.
The knights watching the duel couldn't help but whisper to each other.
"What kind of monster is he? Isn't he worried that he might hit her?"
"Pfft. That man has no emotions and besides, Lady Lucia is the one that insisted he teaches her."
"They could've begun with wooden swords and not actual ones. This is outrageous."
"Vampires are indeed something."
"Aargh!" A sharp scream brought their attention.
Lucia has taken a hit.
Alfred grabbed his sword and made way to them but before he could scream for Bat to stop, someone sle took the words out of his mouth.
"Hey! That's enough!" It was the Duke himself.
"Your Grace!" The knights bowed in reverence but he ignored them.
"Leave us!" he said, marching towards Bat and Lucia, who had been helped to her feet.
She gave him a puzzled look. "Archer? What are you doing here?"
Archer's eyes darkened. "Leave us."
Bat looked between Lucia and Archer whose eyes never left hers.
"It's alright, Bat. We'll continue our training later." She gave him a light pat on the arm.
"Alright then. Later, Lucy." He sheathed his sword and bowed to only her before leaving.
When he was gone, Archer grabbed the sword from her hand and tossed it away.
"Hey! What on earth did you do that for?" Lucia screamed at him.
"Me? That's the same thing I wanted to ask you. Why are you training with that vampire?" Archer shot her a cold glare.
"It's none of your business," Lucia walked past him to pick up the sword but he held back her arm.
She pushed back his arm. "Don't touch me."
"Lucia, you have to stop!" he yelled at her.
She yelled back. "Stop? I'm only learning how to defend myself!"
"That's what the knights are here for. They exist for that!"
"No!"
"You want to learn how to fight by getting hurt? Look at what that vile creature did to you!" He made a grimace as he pointed at her bleeding arm.
Lucia looked down at the wound. Her face paled at the sight of blood but she maintained her composure. "I'll be fine. It's just a scratch."
"Just a scratch? You're bleeding all over my field!"
"What the hell is your problem? You don't want to help Damian and now I want to, you're stopping me? If you're going to be like this, then I'd rather leave."
"You're not going anywhere, Lucia!"
"Why? Why are you stopping me if you won't help? What's the point of keeping me here!"
"Because I love you!"
Lucia froze. "W - what?"
"I love you, Lucia von Burren and I don't want you hurt. Do you know how many years it's been since I last held your hand or touched your face? I miss that and it's driving me crazy."
"No." She shook her head, reeling back a step.
Archer went on. "I couldn't attend the Secret Garden Soiree because I didn't want to face you. I couldn't. I was afraid if I - -" he approached her slowly and took her hands.
Lucia pushed his hands away. "We were both 13 years old, Archer, get over it! And besides, you're married to my sister. You should be loyal to her."
Archer dragged his hand through his hair. "Oh come on. I don't love Colette. Even she knows that."
A yelp gave out followed by the sound of shattering plates and cups.
"Who's there?" Archer asked the shadow that just fled past but Lucia went after it.
The red hair that bounced in the wind, the clicking of heels and tired whimpers… it was a woman and not just any woman but Colette.
"Colly, wait!" Lucia called after her and got no response.
Colette breezed past the hall and arrived at her bedroom. She entered and slamming the door shut behind her, leaning against it.
"Colly, Colly, please, open the door." Lucia knocked quietly but Colly refuses to open it.
Instead she screamed from within the room. "Go away!"
Lucia's heart sank as she heard her sister's sobs. "I'm really sorry."
"Colette, please." Archer came up behind her and Lucia shot him a glare.
"I don't even want to speak to you again, Archer. Leave!" Colette retorted in a icy tone.
"Just go." Lucia told him and he turned away with a heavy sigh.
"Colly, please open the door. It's not what it looks like." Lucia pleaded.
"It's not what it looks like?" Colette spoke between sobs. "Then what did it look like because I sure as hell just heard my own husband say he loves you."
"Archer is a fool. He doesn't mean that." Lucia shook her head.
"Oh but he does! For 5 years since our marriage, he has loved only one person - you!" Colette yelled.
Lucia yelled back. "I don't reciprocate those feelings and you know that! It's true. I am in love with Damian de Caspian."
Colette felt a wave of sadness wash all over her and she palmed her face in her hand. "I know you don't and I know he means what he says, Lucy. … I know he doesn't love me… Hearing him say it loud was a harsh reminder of the truth."
"Then leave him. Don't become a prison to unrequited love. You'll only suffer if all you do is give and give and it's all taken away." Tears pooled at the end of Lucia's eyes.
"No," Colette called from her room. "I can't leave him. What will people think?"
"Who gives an f what people think? Don't let the ear if the unknown keep you trapped in a life that's not yours to live."
"No. I can't leave him. I love him, Lucia. I love him so much it hurts." Colly's sobs increased as she spoke and Lucia could tell she was broken.
She pressed her hand against the mahogany door. "You can't pour from an empty cup, Colly. If Archer isn't filling your heat with love and support, then it's time to find someone who will. You deserve to be happy, and staying in this marriage won't get you there."
Collete sniffled softly. "You think so?"
A thin smile tugged at Lucia's painted lips as she replied calmly. "I know so, Colly. Love shouldn't hurt. It shouldn't leave you like this : unfulfilled and alone. If that's what your marriage had become then it's not love, it's a habit and habits can be broken."
The next second, silence filled the air and Lucia stilled, fearing for Colette. After what felt like an eternity, Colette turned the handle and held the door open.
Lucia rushed in and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Colly. Archer is a jerk."
Colette buried her face in her sister's neck. "I know."
"It's going to be okay." Lucia palmed circles on her back now.
Colette sniffled again. "Do you know it's been five years since we got married and he's never once said he loves me?"
Lucia held her close. "F*** him then. He doesn't know what true value even if it hits him in the face."
"Thank you, Lucia." Colette pulled away with a smile.
"Anything for you, Colly." Lucia cupped her cheek and smiled back.
Collie suddenly had an aha moment and snapped her finger.
"Is something wrong?" Lucia asked, alarmed by the sudden gesture.
Collete took her sister's hand and led her to the bed where they sat. "Lucy, can I ask you something?"
Lucia took her sister's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Yes, of course. You can ask me anything."
"A while back, I was making rounds in the halls, making sure the windows were closed when I decided to go check on you. When I arrived at the room, I heard you calling out a name in your sleep. Not long after, a strange man appeared, holding you in his arms. Who was he?"
Lucia's smile fell, and she thought hard. "Hmm. I think I might know what you're talking about. I had a dream the other night, and I saw Damian in the room. But it was just a dream, right?"
Collie's eyes locked onto mine. "I don't think so. I think it's nothing more. He was real, Lucia. He - - oh my God!"
"What is it?" Lucia was startled by her sister's sudden behaviour.
"Dream walking," Colette took Lucia's hands. "Dream walking. Of course, it's dream walking."
Lucia furrowed her brows. "Dream walking? What's that?"
"It's a magical spell that allows people to transport themselves into other realities through dreams. It's an ability that is only unique to… van Helsing family."
"The family that had their last name changed from Van Yelmen family to Van Helsing?" Lucia asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"Yes." Colette gave her a nod.
Lucia shook her head, confused. "B - but how?"
"In their prime, before they became van Helsing, the Van Yelmen family, highest dealers in trade thrived at all alarming rate. This is because they sold out more goods in hours than othe merchants firm. Their secret was in their dream walking technique. Every Van Helsing has it."
"No," Lucia rose to her feet. "I've always thought I didn't belong in the family but this is can't be true. Please, tell me it isn't."
Colette shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Lucy but that's the truth. Mom was never a von Burren. She was a van Helsing."
Lucia's eyes widened in shock, as the gears in her mind tried to process what she had just heard.