Chapter Text
We stopped in Valentine since it was close so I could restock on supplies and get myself an actual meal, but as I wandered about, Arthur never really left my side. I did hire him to accompany me, but he didn’t need to be this close all the time. Still, I let it pass. By the time I restocked, I had noticed it was mid-afternoon, and knowing him, he would want to get back on the road as soon as possible, but there was a hotel here, with a bath and a bed. I tug on Arthur’s sleeve to catch his attention. “Hey, how about we stay here for the night?” I suggest, but he seems hesitant. “C’mon, Arthur, wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in an actual bed for once?” I try to persuade him, and he budges and gives me a sigh. “I guess sleeping in a bed wouldn’t be a terrible idea.” I’m pleased to hear him say that. I grab my things from Whiskey’s back, take Arthur’s hand, and lead him inside.
I give the man at the front desk some money, and in return, he gives me a key, but as we walk past him, I could have sworn he looked at Arthur as if he knew him, but I pay little mind to that. I continued leading him up the stairs to our room; granted, there was little peace and quiet as our next-door neighbors were quite rambunctious, and I could see Arthur was thinking the same thing. Still, he told me, “Ya wanted to be here.” He was right; I did. No matter. I could tune it out; I have stayed in places like this before. Instead, I focus on settling in and letting myself finally relax. I fell onto the bed, relieved to feel a mattress beneath me for the first time in days, but soon I felt Arthur’s weight on the bed too.
At that moment, a thought crossed my mind: we had privacy, actual privacy this time, and after last night I admitted I had this sort of ache for him. However, before I even entertain the idea, I should see that we get some baths in place for us. “I’ll be right back.” I tell him, he nods, and I walk downstairs to make the arrangements. When I return, he seems to have made himself very comfortable. I knock on the doorframe to catch his attention and tell him, “I got us baths. They should be ready soon.” he gives me another before laying back and shutting his eyes. I suppose he’s taking a nap. I grab my journal out of my bag and start detailing the details about the previous night. Though as I journal, our neighbor goes quiet. Guess he fell asleep.
I was halfway through my entry when I heard a knock on the door, which woke him and startled me, but then I heard him behind the door. The hotel clerk told me my bath was ready, I looked at Arthur, and he looked back at me before gesturing for me to go. I take the towels off the wall and follow the clerk to the bathroom, thanking him as I close the door behind me. I undressed and slipped into the bath, and started scrubbing myself clean. It wasn’t long after that I heard a knock, “Do you need any help in there?” I listened to a girl say, and I decided to accept. “Sure.” The girl who enters looks about my age, if not a little older, but something about her felt… strange. She was friendly and gentle with me as she washed away the dirt on my skin. That’s when I felt her soft hand brush against my neck and touch my bites, causing me to jump. “Sorry, sweetheart.” she apologizes and returns to scrubbing me. I let out an anxious sigh, “You’re really tense.” She remarks, and I give her a slight hum in reply. She puts down the sponge, stands, and moves behind me. I felt her hands place themselves on my shoulder to rub them, which admittedly felt very lovely, and as she worked on me, I started to relax. “That’s it….” I heard her coo in my ear, and now that she had me there, I was utterly eased. I feel her tilt my neck up, exposing it to her.
“Ms. Ronan?” I snap back into lucidity at the sound of Arthur’s voice, and as I look, I see the girl on my neck, her fangs in me. Oh shit! I let out a scream of terror and scrambled out of the bath as fast as possible to get as far away from her. “Adne!” I hear more panic in his voice as he starts to slam himself against the door. A terrible shriek came from the bath girl as she quickly moved to catch me. I quickly grab the fire poker to defend myself, but then I see the door open, and Arthur standing there with his gun pointed at her. She whips her head around and lets out a screech, giving me ample time to shove poker through her back. She grips and claws at it, letting out a guttural sound before I hear the sound of a gunshot ring through the air and see her fall flat on the ground. He shot her. He shot her in the head. I let go and let her drop, then stood in the corner trying to process what just happened. Arthur grabs a towel off the wall and wraps me in it before picking me up and carrying me back to our room. Not long after, I hear the clerk furiously knock on our door. Arthur places me on the bed, but I grab his arm, but he gently takes my hand off him, “I won’t take long.” he assures me, but for extra measure, he takes out his gun and gives it to me.
Arthur followed the clerk, and the both of them disappeared into the hallway, assuming the bathroom. Still, when they returned, I saw the clerk had calmed down, and Arthur shut the door behind him. I expected expulsion from the hotel, maybe even a night in the local jail. Still, when I asked what happened, he informed me her body had disappeared. “She’s gone. Must’ve run off.” that sent a shiver down my spine, though it made sense. It couldn’t be that easy to put down a vampire-like them. “Do you think she’ll come back?” I ask him, but he shakes his head in reply, “I doubt it.” He sits on the bed next to me, then I feel his hands grasp my chin, turning my head to examine my neck. He touches the bite mark on my neck from the bath girl. He’s angry, and I can feel it radiating off of him. He pulls me into him. His hand started rubbing my back, but I heard him say, “Next time I see her, I’ll make sure she stays in the ground.”
I wasn’t ready to go to sleep yet and didn’t want to leave his side. “You should still take a bath when it’s ready.” he exhales through his nose in disapproval. “I can join you there. That way, you can keep an eye on me.” I offer, which seems to sway him. Arthur removes his hat, puts it on the dresser, then takes my hand in his and leads me back to the bathroom.
He gives me his weapons before he starts to undress. I turn around to give him some privacy and focus my attention on the wall instead. I only turn around when I hear the water settle and see him fully submerged in the tub. In silence, I sat by him in a chair next to the tub, biting my nails. I still can’t believe we ran into another vampire, and she almost killed me. I wondered how many she killed before we got here. If I had not had that feeling, I would have never suspected her of being one, probably because she was well-fed. I noticed when Arthur was sated he looked more like a man, so I wondered if it was the same for others of their kind. I also asked myself if there was any way I could defend myself against them, God forbid if Arthur wasn’t there to save me. Maybe I should have him teach me to use a weapon and tell me some vampire weaknesses if he can. It’s only when I hear Arthur clear his throat is when I snap out of my thoughts. “Alright, comin’ out.” I nod and turn back around when I see him start to stand and leave the tub. I hear rustling before he tells me it’s okay to turn back around.
After he’s dressed, we return to our room, where I get dressed in my nightgown. When he gets into bed, I feel him wrap his arm around me, so I’m in his grasp. I hold onto him too and bury my face into his chest. I’m pretty tired now; after all that, I think I should sleep. So I close my eyes and let myself drift off into sleep.