+ 1.7: Un-Expecting

Azaria: “You mean you... You took advantage of a drugged, hypnotised girl?”

Davrin: “You can hardly call it that if you consented and were head over heels for me!”

Azaria: “I was out of my senses!” She yelled at him; her blood boiling.

Davrin: “That’s irrelevant.”
Azaria: “You disgust me!” And with that she stormed off to her room. This creature was beyond infuriating. She couldn’t stand to live here anymore but what could she do? Any glimmer of an escape plan eluded her every time she sat down to think of her predicament.

She threw herself onto her bed and closed her eyes for a moment. Images flashed into her mind as she thought of her and Davrin being intimate. She could feel his cold skin up against her warm skin; the collision of their lips as they frolicked between the sheets; both of them wrapped in the heat of the moment; falling asleep in each other’s arms...

The next morning Azaria woke up; the visions of her and Davrin were still fresh and vivid in her memory. Standing in front of the mirror she really wondered what it would have felt like. He was the sort she would have normally gotten involved with: dark, somewhat self-conflicted, artistic, charistmatic...

“Stop it!” She scolded herself. “He’s evil to the bone. And now he’s knocked you up. What's wrong with you!”

She couldn’t deny the pregnancy as much as she wanted to. Already a slight bump had formed and the bouts of nausea now made sense. She originally thought it was from the stress of being held captive but now she knew. She sighed warily.

“What a mess you’ve gotten yourself into.” She said to herself. “Unemployed, homeless, presumably dead, and knocked up by a demented vampire.” She thought of what her family might say about this. She imagined they would all break into a chorus of I-told-you-so. She hadn’t spoken to them since arriving in Bridgeport; despite the conflict between them she couldn’t not speak to her family: as unsupportive and haughty as they were. Then it occurred to her that they would have filed the missing person’s report. Ha! So they weren’t so glad to be rid of the black stain on their sparkly little conservative lifestyle. She half-heartedly admitted that she missed them.

She found count-wannabe-Dracula (her nickname for him) in the library. She hadn’t been down there since her release from his spell. She looked around, mesmerised by the collection of books that lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Reading was her favourite pastime and her escape from the pressures of the real world. 

“Most of them are first or second editions.” He announced barely looking at her. She was unfazed by his sensing of her presence before she had even set foot into a room.

“If I could read all of them...” She mumbled more to herself.

“You can.” Davrin displayed an unusual air of goodwill.

“I didn’t come down here to ask if I can read all your books.” She retorted.

“I know what it is you want.” He said

“Well?”

“What will you tell them?” He answered with his own question.

“I’ll make up something.” She shrugged.

She listened to the ringing on the other end of the phone. It rang for a while before someone picked up. She was grateful that Davrin had uncharacteristically granted this small request of hers.

Other End: “Hawthorne Residence. Gregory speaking.” She recognised that British accent anywhere. It was her family’s butler.
Azaria: “Hello Gregory it’s me. It’s Azaria.”

She heard the phone drop, the shriek in the background, the scuffling of hurried feet and then finally her mother’s anxious voice.

Mom: “A... Azaria is that you?” Her mother stuttered.

Azaria: “Yes...” she didn’t know what else to say.

Mom: “Where have you been? You had us worried sick. Do you know how this has tarnished our reputation?” Was that all her mother could think about? For a moment Azaria was glad she hadn’t been able to phone. She was expecting a very different reaction.

Azaria: “Mom...” Disappointment was evident in her voice.

Mom: “Are you okay?” She changed her tone for a fleeting moment.

Azaria: “Yes I’m fine. Great in fact! Look, I wasn’t entirely honest that week before I left.”

Mom: “Azaria. What are you talking about? You better explain to me this instant!”

Azaria: “I ...” She hesitated for a moment, doubting if her mother will believe the lie she was about to tell. She glanced over her shoulder. Davrin was listening in. “I wasn’t in Bridgeport until a few days ago.”

Mom: “Then where have you been?!” Her mother shouted down the phone.

Azaria: “I was in... China.” She lied. “I went there with someone I’ve known since high school. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I knew you wouldn’t agree so I kind of lied. When I got here I heard everything. About Cameron and that other girl from school. . . Yeah. . . A lot of murders have been taking place recently. . . I know. . . I’m always aware of my surroundings. . . Stop freaking out. I’m fine, aren’t I? Anyway I lost my phone along the way and only got one recently. I’ve been meaning to phone...”

Mom: “How could you be so damn irresponsible?! Do you know what you’ve put us through?”
Azaria: “I suppose I was just being... selfish.” She spat out bitterly, irritation building up inside. It was a word she’d heard numerous times before from her mother whenever she deviated from the perfect life her parents planned out for her. “I was angry that you and dad had this idea that I can’t make it on my own...What?! NO! I’m not coming back home.” She couldn’t pitch up in Sunset Valley as a knocked up failure.
Mom: “Well look at what you’ve gotten us into.”

Azaria: “Well you’ve got enough money to fix it. You may want to go and close the missing person’s case you opened up.”

Mom: “Yes. You always expect me to clean up the little messes you create, don’t you?”

Azaria sighed. “I have to go. I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.” She cut the call and handed the phone back.

Davrin smiled at her. “Not the best lie but given your history with your family... I suppose they bought it.”
“I suppose.” Azaria whispered.
“So they had filed the report?” He hadn’t thought of them as having done so until now.

“Yes. Don’t know why though.” She turned away and headed back to her room. Things hadn’t changed with her parents. They still cared about their reputation and still wanted to control her life. She wasn’t going to allow it. She was, to an extent, glad they had suffered such misery.

The months drew closer toward Azaria’s due date. She and Davrin had learnt to live civilly, bordering on indifferently, together. Sometimes she would listen to his renditions of classical symphonies and melodies but most nights she sat in her room reading a classic that she took out from the library. The police pulled the plug on her missing case and it seemed the murder cases regarding her friends had grown so cold it was pushed to the bottom of the list of priorities. She had been called in for questioning on a few occasions but her information wasn’t of much help to them. Somehow Davrin had managed to provide enough proof of them having travelled abroad. He was a cunning one, indeed.  Also, she hadn't called home after the little tiff with her mother. She occasionally sent an email to them just to remind them that she was still alive.

One night out of boredom she decided to venture downstairs into the studio. The melody filled her ears immediately and she felt calm, relaxed; the kind of soothing sensations that had eluded her for months. She listened for a while contemplating the many ways to make one more request.

“I know what it is you want to ask.” He said without so much as batting an eyelid in her direction.

“That’s getting old!”

“I’ve told you before that I have an amazing mental ability.” He reminded her.

And an amazing mental disability too she thought to herself.

“If you can call my insanity a disability then yes that too.” He smirked at her knowingly. “You want a job, right?”
“Well I don’t see why I can’t have one. I’m willing and able.”

“I’ll think about it.” He tried to dismiss the conversation. He wasn’t so lucky.

“No! I want an answer now.” Azaria demanded.

“I don’t have an answer for you. Besides, if you get a job then my plan falls out the window.”
“What plan is this exactly? You go on and on about it and you never let on.” She probed.

“To start a reign of terror in Bridgeport.” He laughed

“And the baby?” She asked

“Babies... There will be more. They’re going to continue my legacy of course.” He said matter-of-factly. “He’ll be a little evil genius like me.”
“Genius, you are not.” She muttered and left.

It seemed to take an unusually long time for the baby to come. Eventually Azaria went into labour. It was in the evening and Davrin had gone out to work. Yes, he had gotten a job in the mean time in the criminal track.

Jeeves had called his master home. Davrin didn’t seem too panicked by it. “The hospital! She must go to the hospital.” The butler panicked enough for all three of them.
Don’t be silly you old man. What if it’s... like me?” Davrin was rather excited at the prospect of having a look-a-like. 

So Azaria gave birth at last: after much pain and screaming and shouting at each other.  

“We shall name him Troye.” She heard Davrin say. It wasn’t exactly her first choice of name but she accepted anyway.  

 "Well I've done my part." She announced finally glad to be done with her pregnancy. She looked down at the baby boy who starkingly resembled his father and felt next to nothing. For months she had tried to find that connection with her unborn child that expecting mothers harp on about but she failed. She thought that maybe when it was finally something tangible she'd be able to feel maternal. But even now as Troye lay on the floor on show to the household she didn't feel anything close to maternal. It felt impossible to love something she didn't want; something that was the product of someone else's devious deeds. She sighed and let Jeeves take over the responsibilities.



Baby Troye

Toddlerfied

Traits: Disciplined

Loner