The next morning, Belle and the others woke up early to get ready to go to the market. With the news of the war, they needed to get their buying done now rather than later, and Rohan had already decided he wouldn’t be getting any servants since it would be useless when they wouldn’t be staying in the castle forever. Belle was grateful for that decision, as she didn’t want him buying any slaves with his money.
Rohan told Belle that he would be going to the witch to help her find everything she needed in ti for her visit tomorrow. Since Belle, Rav, and Angel would be going to the market, it was best he got everything done today. Just like before, Rohan had put a potion on Angel to change his eye color, and also redo his hair coloring into black. With how much the boy had grown, no one would suspect he was their child, for vampires didn’t grow that fast, and no one knew Rohan was a demon.
But just to be safe, Evenly would be the one holding him often. Belle would have stayed back with her son if not for the nagging fear that sothing might happen to Rav in the market, sothing that could make her vision co true. She needed to be close, to see everything with her own eyes, because she would recognize the place from her vision if she encountered it in reality.
Even though she knew she wouldn’t be there when they eventually set out for the mountains, Rohan had promised that, when the ti ca, he would guide their ship to safety and keep watch over their journey from above. With his wings, he was a hundred tis faster than the ship and could fly back and forth with ease, checking on them whenever needed.
"If you need anything, tell Rav to let know. And if anything cos up while you’re out, reach imdiately. I’ll see you in the evening," Rohan said, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. Then he leaned down to pat his son, who was clinging to her skirt with his small hand tangled in the fabric, looking up at him with mischievous red eyes.
"Rember, no using your wings or losing your temper in public, Angel," he cautioned strictly. The little boy grinned up at him, showing a full row of tiny front teeth. The expression made him look even more like his father, disarmingly so. The resemblance wasn’t as obvious now, with his changed eyes and hair, but unless soone got close enough to really look, no one would ever notice. And for now, that was a very good thing.
He gave his wife another kiss and then left the castle ahead of them to go and see the witch.
Belle ca out of the castle to find Rav and Evenly standing side by side. They weren’t speaking, only staring at each other, but as if sensing her presence, they both moved and looked toward her at the sa ti.
"Unca Wav!" Angel called out happily as he toddled toward Rav with his arms wide, ready to be lifted. Rav, who had grown used to the boy’s eager greetings, scooped him up easily and ruffled his hair, making the already ssy strands even wilder.
"You coming with us, young one?" Rav asked with a grin.
Angel bobbed his head eagerly and pointed toward the front seat of the carriage where Rav would ride beside the coachman. "Si’ wif Unca Wav... dere!" he declared in his tiny, wobbly voice.
Rav turned to look at the boy’s mother, who was smiling proudly at how fast her son was learning to speak. "Is it all right if he sits with at the front?" Rav asked.
"If he won’t be a bother, I don’t mind," Belle said with a soft smile. "Just make sure he wears the cap in his pocket to cover his ears."
She’d noticed how Angel often grew uncomfortable when the wind brushed against his ears. Sotis he would try to bury his head against her chest, or press his small hands over them to block out the noise. Rohan had explained that his hearing was growing more sensitive as he got older, and even the sound of the wind could be painfully loud for him. To help with that, Belle had knitted thick, warm caps to protect his ears.
Rav nodded and reached into the boy’s pocket, pulling out the cap. Without needing to be asked, Evenly stepped forward, taking it from his hand and placing it carefully on Angel’s head.
Rav’s gaze lingered on her for a mont. He watched the way her eyes softened as she adjusted the cap and asked the boy if the lace tie was too tight. The sight of her talking to the boy in a small voice almost drew a smile to his lips, but he quickly hid it by clearing his throat and looking away until she stepped back.
"All done," Evenly said.
anwhile, Belle felt a warm flutter in her chest at the quiet tenderness between them. The way Rav and Evenly cared for her son, as though he were their own, filled her with a kind of peace she hadn’t known she craved. More than anything, she wanted them all to stay like this, to be a family, to protect and care for one another. She had co to realize that family wasn’t only bound by blood. To her, these people she had co to trust were now part of that small, precious circle she wanted to keep close, the people she could entrust her son’s safety to without a single trace of fear.
Not long after, Rav climbed up to sit beside the coachman, the sa man who had ridden them to Aragonia and had since been under the duke’s compulsion to work without question. Rav sat beside him and placed the excited Angel on his leg, the boy kicking his little feet in delight as the morning air brushed past them.
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