Elizabeth and the Vampire's Cabin(22)

The sky was darkening fast and soon it would be night. Arthur morphed back into human form and insisted it was time to go back. She agreed. Neither of them liked being out too late. That was for two reasons. Elizabeth couldn't see as well (Arthur had natural night vision now that he was half vampire) and there were vampires coming out at night. Vampires that Elizabeth couldn't see very well and Arthur was afraid to fight on her behalf. Though Aaron had assured them both that the other vampires would not come onto his side of the island, neither of them felt secure enough to be out at night. Elizabeth said she was done jogging and would walk back to the cabin. Arthur walked with her and stayed by her side. Arthur could easily outrun her now, because he was a half vampire, but he always stayed by her when they headed back home for the day. Elizabeth was winded when she got back to the cabin and her face was red, but Arthur looked like he had just gone for a brisk stroll.

About a half hour later, Aaron showed up. Because dinner was always light, it was ready by the time he showed up. Arthur had made two baked potatoes and a salad. After he served them dinner, he left the cabin with a troubled look on his face. It was now routine for him to serve dinner and then promptly leave. But no matter how routine things became he still looked mournful. Without a doubt, Elizabeth was certain that Arthur had always known what was happening to her in the cabin once he left. She had wanted to believe that it was still a secret that no one needed to confront (especially her). But tonight, with her own feelings clawing at her insides, and Arthur's darkening his face, she knew it was no secret.

She had stopped fighting Aaron. Somewhere around week two on the island her fighting had been more reflexive. She cried a little and weakly tried to push him away. There was no earnest attempt to stop him from grabbing her. By week three, instead of making him force her into the bedroom and roughly remove her clothing, she had begun to walk silently to the bed and take her clothes off when asked. This made the whole experience less physically painful. But she was always cold as ice, and she hoped this would make him tire of her. Eventually, she reasoned with herself, he would want to share a bed with a willing woman. Happily for her, he didn't always ask to spend the night with her. Sometimes, to her relief, he simply spoke to her over dinner and then said goodnight.

"Did Marnie and Lyle stop by today?" Aaron asked.

Marnie and Lyle were a married couple who worked for another vampire on the island. Elizabeth had no clue who the vampire was. All she knew was that there was another cabin on the island and it had a vampire, Marnie, and Lyle all under the same roof. Marnie and Lyle were servants to their vampire master, like Arthur, but they had different skill sets. Lyle was a handyman, and any time something needed fixing in the cabin Aaron had him sent over. Marnie could sew and clean house. She always came with Lyle and found something to do. She would take Elizabeth's torn clothing, repair it, and bring it back to her within a few days. Often she tidied up and cleaned for as long as her husband worked. Neither Marnie nor Lyle spoke English whenever they came over. Elizabeth wasn't sure what language they spoke, but she thought it sounded like French. However, somehow, they always seemed to understand what needed to be done and non-French speaking Elizabeth could understand them as well.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied. "Lyle unclogged the kitchen sink. Marnie took a ripped pair of jeans with her to sew. Then they stopped by Arthur's guest house to unclog the bath tub."

"That's good. They are the perfect landlords."

"Landlords?" Elizabeth was taken aback.

"Marnie and Lyle actually own this island. The vampires on here are all renting space. So whenever something goes wrong with the property, Marnie and Lyle take care of it."

"And how do they feel about working with vampires," she asked.

"No clue." Aaron shrugged. "I can't speak French. The vampire they live with is the one who talks to them. I imagine they must be frustrated by now. I swear Arthur's guest house needs more maintenance than that broken motorboat out there. I don't know why he keeps getting clogs. And he's probably ripped half his wardrobe. They honestly go to Arthur's at least twice a week."

They turned to their food and stayed silent for a time. Elizabeth hoped it would continue for the duration of the meal. She hated talking to Aaron. Though she wanted to press him more on the landlord situation, and exactly how long he was renting the island for, she knew he would shut her down. Frankly, she was surprised he even revealed that he had landlords and who they were.

"I see you still won't wear any of those beautiful dresses you packed," Aaron remarked, breaking the silence.