The Vampire & Her Witch Chapter 1822: Making Friends (Part Two)

"Soon, we’ll be vampires like she is..."

Cossot’s declaration shocked the gathering of noblemen and women at the table into silence, and when her friend rushed into the gap to explain, her words did nothing to dispel the stunned looks on the faces of the people already in their seats.

"Dame Sybyll is taking you as her progeny," Roseen quickly corrected. "So you can be a stronger knight. She’s still looking for someone to take me on as their progeny," she said, glancing toward the central table where several of Nyrielle’s progeny had begun to gather. "She said she has an idea, but she doesn’t know if they’ll be willing or not."

"It doesn’t matter," Cossot said as she took a seat on the pile of cushions before excitedly thumping the spot next to her for Roseen to sit down. "If no one else does, Dame Sybyll will take you in, so we’ll still be vampires together, won’t we? That’s the important part."

"You, you want to become vampires?" Adala said, blinking in surprise at the enthusiasm the young woman displayed. Was that why she’d been allowed to become a squire riding at Dame Sybyll’s side? Because she was willing to become a creature of the night?

"I want to do whatever it takes to keep my best friend safe," Cossot said, placing a hand on Roseen’s arm and giving her a gentle squeeze even as her eyes hardened. "If Dame Sybyll hadn’t rescued us, Ian Hanrahan might have tried to hurt her, and there’s nothing I would have been able to do to stop it," Cossot said.

"That’s why it’s better this way," the squire concluded. "This way I can always protect her from anyone who would," she started before shaking her head and changing what she was going to say. "Before anything bad happens to her."

"As a knight should," a cheerful, masculine voice said as a new group approached the table. This one, however, was very different from anyone else sitting at the table.

Adala had seen Sir Carwyn Belvin serving as part of Lady Ashlynn’s rotating guard the past several days, but this was the first time she’d seen the heavily pregnant woman he was helping to find a comfortable place on the pile of cushions directly across from Adala’s own seat. More surprising than being joined by an expectant mother, however, was the well-dressed serpentine warrior who seemed to be fussing over Sir Carwyn’s lady just as much as the soon-to-be father was.

"Whatever you do, don’t let my husband teach you how to be a knight," Olwyna said as she eased into her spot on the cushions. "He’s brave and bold, and he’ll do anything to keep me safe, even if it means throwing his life away in a fight he can’t win."

"I wouldn’t kill him, Lady Olwyna," the serpentine man protested. "Even before friends, Carwyn is Champion. Deserves respect, not death," he said firmly.

"We know that now, Barsali," Olwyna said warmly. "But he didn’t know that when he fought a duel with you. He could have died. He would have died if you didn’t bring him to Lady Heila."

"Well, that, that’s in the past," Carwyn insisted, trying to plaster over things quickly. "I wouldn’t ever do something so foolish again."

"Of course you would," a disbelieving voice chimed in as a short, horned soldier joined the group along with a slightly taller man with a broad tail and prominent buck teeth. "You human knights are all too willing to throw away your lives for your virtues and your causes and the people you want to save and protect," Harrod groused as he took a seat across from Cossot.

"Harrod," Milo chided, thumping the pillows with his flat tail before taking a seat of his own. "Don’t say that you wouldn’t do the same for Ollie because you know you would, just like my brother did for mum and me when Owain burned our village down. When it’s the people you love, even if it costs everything, it’s worth fighting to the end..."

"That’s not what I meant, and you know it," Harrod said with a dismissive snort. "I’m talking about people giving young knights like Ollie the idea that he should go that far for any random stranger or... bah, you know what I mean," he said, glancing briefly at Morwen and Eira.

"I think Sir Ollie was very brave for doing what he did," Eira said, shaking her head at the horned soldier. "I do think he takes too many risks, and he was hurt so badly in the battle for the manor," she said, wincing slightly as she recalled the sight of Sir Ollie’s wounds when he’d met with his family after the battle.

"But I think his heart is too large to see people suffering when there’s something he can do to help them," Eira concluded. "It’s what makes him such a remarkable man besides being a strong knight or a powerful witch. He’s kind," she said, giving Morwen an encouraging look as she caught her friend gazing in Sir Ollie’s direction. "And I think a lot of women would want a man like that in their lives, knight or not."

"I’m sure a lot of people are interested in Sir Ollie," Morwen said delicately as she returned her attention to the table. "Lady Charlotte, I hope you don’t mind what Lady Ashlynn said after your father proposed you as a match for him..."

"What? No, never," Charlotte said, shaking her head fiercely. "I, um, Sir Ollie is certainly a gentleman, and I think any lady who catches his eye will be very happy to have won his heart, but... I have my heart set elsewhere," she said, lacing her fingers through Adala’s. "And I don’t think that will change any time soon, or ever," she said as her cheeks heated slightly.

"Love is good, wherever love is," Barsali declared as he slid around the table to claim a space on the cushions across the table from Carwyn. "Fighting for love is good too," he said, looking from Adala to Charlotte on the seats next to him.

"Like you two," Barsali said, thumping his tail against the cushions in approval as he saw Adala positioning herself between him and Charlotte. "Good to protect the one you love," he said, placing the tips of his claws over his heart. "Have no fear; all are friends here, just ask friend Carwyn. Unless you want to fight to show your love, your strength," he amended. "If you do, Barsali will be your opponent on the sands so you can show your love how hard you fight for her," he said, nodding enthusiastically.

"What, what just happened here..." Adala said, her eyes going wider in surprise with each thing the serpentine man said. Had he just offered to fight a duel with her? So that she could prove herself to Charlotte? But... but how did he even know...

Mentally, Adala had thought she was ready to meet the Eldritch and to learn to live among them. But now that she found herself at a table with several of them, she was starting to think she’d underestimated just how different they could be!