(Northern Region- Outskirts Of New Atlantic City)
(Unnamed Forest)
A man and woman slowly walked through the forest with slow purposeful steps.
The man was a slender scholarly-looking gentleman with soft masculine features.
He wore a plain white shirt, a black dress pants and a pair of hiking boots that did not mesh well with the rest of his expensive attire.
He was good looking but not overwhelming so. A pair of thick glasses covered his soft brown eyes and bangs fell over his forehead.
His companion on the other hand was a beauty. She had pale skin, a lean but muscular physique, sharp angular features, and long wavy black hair.
But the feature that would stand out the most about her appearance were a pair of eyes that shone with a golden luster.
"Right... so explain to me again how it is a good idea to visit a castle in the middle of vampire territory," a man asked with a hint of bemusement in his tone.
Lily glanced at her husband and playfully pinched his ear before turning her attention back to the castle in the distance.
The sun was now beginning to set towards the horizon and warm orange rays of light illuminated the forest.
"James... didn't you want to meet my sister?" Lily asked with a teasing tone.
"Well yes! But when you said that you were going to surprise me on our honeymoon... I must say that trekking through a forest wasn't exactly what I had in mind," James replied with a grin.
"Oh?" Lily raised an eyebrow and shot her husband a sly look.
"Tell me then... what did you have in mind?"
"France? Paris? Maybe even a trip to the coasts of Spain?" James stared off into the distance with a dreamy smile on his face.
"Maybe even the temples in India or... the mud volcanoes in Trinidad..."
"Alright we'll go next year once I save up some vacation days," Lily whispered gently as she leaned over and gave her husband a peck on the cheek.
It had taken ten years for this idiot to finally ask the question.
Honestly Lily had been beginning to suspect that she might have to be the one to ask him to marry her.
A lot had changed in ten years since the day when she had learned that her sister was still alive.
Lily was still part of the Hunters Association but had taken a much more casual attitude than before.
She only took cases when the vampire in question had a confirmed history of murder and other crimes.
The higher ups in the Association always hounded her to take more requests but Lily was strong enough to ignore their threats and pleads.
Her power had only grown after training relentlessly although she suspected that she was still no match for her sister.
She could maybe fight evenly if her sister used a weapon other than her sword but once a sharp blade was in Mary's hand... it was game over.
As for her old companions Finley and Ian... they hadn't taken too kindly to her getting married to a simple Association employee.
Ian had expressed his displeasure and given up, but Finley had attacked James and almost managed to kill him.
Lily had been furious when she found out.
For the first time she allowed her emotions to run rampant and her power responded to her fury.
The Hunter's Association never officially found out what happened but let's just say that a corpse appeared in front of the office bearing the resemblance of the man who tried to kill her lover.
It was hard to tell who it belonged to because there were severe burn marks on the corpse as well as traces of mutilation.
Lily was a scary woman when she got mad.
"Oh! There it is!" James' excited voice broke Lily out of her thoughts.
Her husband pointed at the thick castle walls that were now only a few hundred metres away from their location.
The castle door swung open, and a figure dressed in white armour stepped outside with a small smile on her face.
"Huh... your sister looks... just like you..." James stuttered in shock as he glanced at his wife and then back at the figure.
"Lily!" Mary cried out happily as she rushed over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace.
The sisters hugged for several long seconds before Mary broke away from the hug and turned her attention to the man standing on the side.
"You must be James?" Mary asked politely as she made no secret of staring down the man who had married her sister.
"Yes... err... pleased to meet you!" James straightened out his back and almost shouted as he tried his best to make a good impression.
"Relax... I approve of anyone who makes my sister happy," Mary giggled softly as she broke the tense atmosphere.
She didn't really know James personally but every time that Lily visited, she would speak glowing words about the man who made her life brighter.
"Come in! Come in! My wife is waiting inside," Mary smiled sweetly as she held Lily by her hand and led her inside the castle.
James followed closely behind and stared at the magnificent stonework with admiration in his heart.
He knew that Lily's sister had married a vampire and although he felt a bit strange about it. He was someone who knew how to adapt.
Otherwise, how else could he have dared to marry the most popular and desirable bachelorette in the Hunters Association.
The trio made their way up several flights of stairs and a long winding corridor.
The castle had been repaired thanks to a mixture of Mary's hard work and Camilla's blood magic.
There were still a few cracks, and the remnants of battles could be seen on the walls but overall, everywhere was fairly neat and clean.
Mary opened up a set of wooden doors and revealed a darkened room that was lit by torches hanging from the walls.
A gorgeous female vampire stepped towards her and lightly pressed her red lips against Mary's own.
"Hi beautiful," Mary shyly whispered as she stretched out her hand and gently stroked the side of Camilla's cheeks.
Camilla's lips curved upwards, and one could see the glint of fangs hidden inside her mouth. She turned her attention to her two guests and gestured for them to enter the room.
"Welcome to my home..." Camilla calmly spoke.
"It is a lovely castle," James attempted to make some small talk as he hid his trembling fingers behind his back.
This vampire lady was quite intimidating!
"Don't worry dear... she doesn't bite," Lily poked her husband in his ribs and said in a teasing voice.
"Well..." Camilla's voice trailed off as she enjoyed a meaningful look with Mary who averted her eyes with a blush.
"I haven't sucked the blood of a human other than by wife for maybe a few hundred years. Time works a bit strange when you sleep for centuries," Camilla explained in an even tone.
"But where are my manners... come take a seat."
There was a table in the middle of the room with four chairs neatly placed in front of it.
On the table were several hot plates of food with steam still gently rising up from above their surfaces.
Lily led her husband to the table and sat down next to him. For the next few hours happy laughter and casual conversation echoed through the castle.
James and Lily would regularly visit Castle Eden for the rest of their lives.
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