Chapter 9

"Freedom!" Vincent cheered, jumping out of bed the next morning. "No more bed, no more bandage-" he said unravelling it from his face. "-back to nor-" he suddenly stopped in his small dance of freedom.

There in the doorway stood Camille, trying to muffle her laughter with a very shocked Margaret and Edward.

"Camille", Margaret took a step back cautiously. "Did someone replace Vincent?"

"No, my lady", Camille chuckled. Unable to hold back, she broke into a fit of giggles.

Vincent, still frozen in the same position, felt his face rapidly turn scarlet. Slowly lowering his arms, he said in a soft, trembling voice, "C-can you leave while I d-dress?"

Margaret slowly backed away and Camille followed, still laughing. But Edward just stared.

"E-Ed?", Vincent tilted his head. "A-are you oka-"

"Vin! I didn't know you could be so adorable!" Ed exclaimed as he pounced on the poor boy again, knocking them to the ground.

"W-what?!" Vincent turned an even darker shade of red.

"You always act so sullen and serious, but you're actually so cute!" Ed continued.

"I'm not cute!" Vincent protested. "Ed, get off me!"

"Okay, okay," Edward said, laughing. He helped Vincent off the floor.

"Please leave," Vincent's face had reached about shade of a rose.

"Okay," Ed said as he walked out the door. "But, just saying, your scar doesn't make you any less cuter," he added with a small smile.

There was no darker shade for Vincent's face to take on.

As soon as he was alone, Vincent groaned. "Is this really how my day starts? Camille is never going to let me live it down."

He silently dressed in a blue suit and went to the dining room.

"Good morning, mas-", Robert halted at the expression on the earl's face. "Is there something wrong? Your face is… red… do you have a fever?"

Vincent realised that he was being spoken to and immediately denied there being any problem. He was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Ed half ran in followed by a hesitant Meg and a grinning Camille.

"Are you okay?", meg asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Vincent was looking at the floor. "What you saw was the… effect of the medicine…" he added, erratically.

"Master, you didn-", Camille began, to be cut off by Vincent's glare. She once again broke into a peal of laughter.

"S-so, are you ready for the ball?" Vincent said, trying to break through the awkward atmosphere.

"Yes, I brought a lovely dress. Can you wear a matching suit?" meg asked, eagerly.

"No, Vin, wear a suit matching mine," Ed countered.

"No, he's going to match mine!" Meg lamented.

"No, mine!" Ed argued.

"Um, my suit is already ready. I don't know if it matches either of your clothes," Vincent murmured.

But it did not appear that they heard him.

Another day, another fight… , Vincent thought, defeated.

The evening came followed by groans of disappointment from both Margaret and Edward seeing the earl's suit not matching either of their dresses.

"It's not possible for you to change into another suit, is it?" Edward asked, hopefully.

"Ed, even I'm not that bothersome! Just leave him alone," Meg grumbled.

"Uh, no Ed, I can't. We're going to be late for the ball," Vincent said apologetically.

"Okay," he replied sadly, completely ignoring his sister.

The carriage ride continued in silence, Margaret, trying to adjust small details on her dress, hat and hair, while Ed stared out the window. Vincent managed to doze off and Meg shook him awake as they reached the manor of Count Kenward.

"Vin, we're here," her gentle voice reached his ears.

Lights flashed into his eyes as he opened them. "Come on Vin, it looks fun!" Ed said as he dragged his friend to his feet.

Vincent groggily followed, until they reached the Count Kenward. Vincent stepped forward to greet him.

"Thank you, your excellency, for the invitation. These are my friends Edward Griffin and Margaret Pasteur."

"Wonderful to meet you," the count bowed. "Please enjoy the ball. It is pleasant to see you earl."

"As is to see you," Vincent replied, bowing.

"Vin, let's dance!" Margaret suggested as they walked towards the center of the room.

"Okay," Vincent responded with a smile. "Would you like to join me, my lady?" he held out his hand.

Margaret smiled and took his hand, "Yes, I would."

Edward gave the two a look of dismay. "What about me?"

"Find a girl to dance with, or you can wait until the dance is over," Margaret proposed.

"I'll just go eat something," Ed muttered to himself and left.

Two dances later, the two were tired and decided to go find Ed.

As they searched, a woman with bone white hair tied back in a bun, walked up to them.

"Would you be Vincent Moore?", she asked.

"Yes, that would be me," Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Have we met before, madam?"

"I believe we have, earl. A long time ago. There is actually someone I'd like you to meet," she responded, humour sparking in her scarlet eyes.

Vincent motioned for Meg to go to Ed and followed the woman.

The woman led him to a back room, far from the ball.

"Where are we?" Vincent asked.

"You'll find out soon enough, child."

The door banged shut, locking itself.

Vincent turned to the woman.

"Who are you?"

The woman gave an amused smile. "An old friend." And with that, a red light surrounded her, lifting her off the ground. As she came back down, Vincent saw her for who she was. He could never mistake those bloody eyes.

"My, Abaddon. Wonderful to meet you again. I didn't expect you to take on this form," Vincent sneered at the woman.

"Ah, it truly is delightful to see your lovely face again, but I only wish that the scar I left wouldn't cloud the beauty you possess, Victoria."