The Vampire & Her Witch Chapter 2002: A Helpful Knight (Part One)

Early morning sunlight streamed through the bedroom window in Ashlynn’s bedchamber high in the tower that belonged to her coven.

For a moment, Jocelynn felt like she was eight years old again, with Ashlynn’s arms wrapped around her after they’d both fallen asleep while reading The Voyages of Captain Ewan and the Lighthouse Lady. It was a warm, cozy feeling, surrounded by a faintly evergreen scent that belonged exclusively to her sister, and Jocelynn rolled over in bed, half expecting to find Ashlynn there.

The moment she did, the illusion shattered as her eyes found nothing but an empty bed with an extra set of fluffy, goose down pillows.

Still, Jocelynn had slept surprisingly well. Her lip had stiffened overnight. When she touched her tongue to the split Ashlynn’s hand had left there, it stung sharply enough to make her eyes water, and her cheek was tender enough that she’d slept on the opposite side all night long, but as long as she didn’t prod either of them, she felt fine.

The night before, after Ashlynn left, she’d spent the remainder of the night piecing herself back together, bit by bit. The pieces were sharp, and it was painful to handle some of them, but Ashlynn had been right to yell at her.

Maybe she did deserve to die.

Certainly she deserved to suffer.

But if she couldn’t face the struggles ahead, then she had no business trying to stay at Ashlynn’s side. It would be better to go home to Blackwell and live out the rest of her days far away from Ashlynn’s world... And even that would be better than the exile Ashlynn was sent into when Owain cast her out with nothing but a bedsheet to hide her from the world’s prying eyes.

Shaking her head, Jocelynn pushed away any thoughts of going back home to Blackwell and her father. Perhaps Eleanor would have forgiven her for giving up on a life at Ashlynn’s side. All Eleanor had truly hoped for was to give Jocelynn a chance to escape from Percivus and Owain... Now that she had, she could honor Eleanor’s sacrifice by living however she chose.

But Jocelynn didn’t think that was truly enough.

"I love you, cousin," Eleanor had said before she faded away forever. "No matter what happens in the days to come, remember that I loved you enough to do this, and that you are worthy of being loved. I know that will be hard... But please try. Don’t let men like Percivus and Owain take away the love your heart is capable of..."

If she let her eyes drift closed, she could all but see her cousin’s translucent figure hovering nearby and feel the warm, golden glow of her presence.

"You were right, Eleanor," Jocelynn whispered. "It’s so hard to think that I could be worthy of her love after what I did. But even if I’m not worthy today," she said with the faintest trace of hope in her voice. "Maybe I can get there eventually."

Saying it was one thing. Doing it was harder.

Jocelynn had done her best to put herself in order last night. She’d borrowed one of Ashlynn’s pens and a sheet of parchment to begin writing out a list of things she knew she needed to do.

She hadn’t gotten far.

Eat well was at the top of the list because Ashlynn had told her it would be important. Warm clothing too, because she would be outside for several days. But after that?

She needed to face her mother, and to a lesser extent, Micheline. She wished her father could be here too, but that was impossible. Her mother had accepted her decision to face this trial to become a witch, or at least, she said that she accepted it. Still, Jocelynn knew full well that there was a difference between accepting that a thing would happen eventually and facing the certainty of it happening in a few days.

Beyond those things, the page had remained infuriatingly blank.

When she’d attempted to plan her escape from Lothian, she’d known all the steps she needed to take. Supplies for a journey, a route they could take. Wagons and horses that needed to be secured... She could write out the whole list, and once she’d finished, she was able to take it to Albyn and Elgon for help filling in the gaps.

But this... She barely knew where to start.

And now that morning had arrived, despite a surprisingly good night’s sleep, she struggled to manifest the will to get started.

She hadn’t planned to sleep here. She didn’t have a fresh change of clothing to go out and...

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and Jocelynn froze in bed. Who could it be? Ashlynn wouldn’t knock, and it sounded far too loud for Heila... Had Georg returned with breakfast for her?

"Lady Jocelynn," a warm, masculine voice called from the corridor outside Ashlynn’s sitting room. "It’s Ollie. I brought breakfast, if you’re interested," he said.

"Oh," Jocelynn said, panicking for a moment as her heart gave her an unexpected flutter. "Um, wait just a minute," she said, throwing back the heavy blankets and furs as she hurried to let him in.

She stopped dead when her feet reached the door between the bedchamber and the sitting room. She’d borrowed one of Ashlynn’s sleeping gowns, and there was a warm, fur-trimmed robe hanging next to the door, but her hair was still a mess; she wasn’t wearing perfume, much less anything appropriate to welcome a gentleman into her chambers and...

"Um, Sir Ollie," Jocelynn said as her face warmed. "Could you, um, could you return in a quarter of an hour, or... or half an hour?" Jocelynn asked. "I’ve only just woken, and I’m not ready for company..."

"It’s fine," Ollie said casually, as if he didn’t understand the problem at all. "I’m just up myself. And if you need a hand, I’m happy to set the fire before I cook."

"Cook?" Jocelynn said, before shaking her head and reaching for the cozy-looking robe. Having a conversation between two doors made no sense at all, so if she wanted to talk to him and ask questions, she should at least let him in.

Moments later, she was opening the door to reveal a bright-eyed Sir Ollie Heartwood. He was carrying a wicker basket with a cloth draped over it in one hand and a rolled-up leather knife roll and small wooden cutting board in the other.

Moreover, when he’d said that he was ’only just up’, he’d clearly meant it! While Jocelynn had been worried about doing her hair up and finding the right dress to receive the knight who had protected her from Owain while Ashlynn confronted her husband, Ollie had arrived in loose wool trousers and a sleep shirt that had come unlaced across his broad, well-defined chest.

His flame-red hair was still tousled from sleep, and there was the faintest hint of stubble along his jaw and chin.

"See?" Ollie said with a smile that was pure and open in a way Jocelynn had rarely seen from noblemen. "Give me a few minutes to set a fire in the hearth, and we can get started," he promised, walking into the room past a Jocelynn whose mind still hadn’t caught up with what she was seeing...