Before Lizzy could have even notice it, two days had already pass (time surely flies when you are having fun!); and now it was time to say her father goodbye. He had already his baggage on hand and was waiting for a carriage to arrive, to leave his daughter behind.

“Guess this is it, then,” she said to him in the entryway of the mansion, waiting at his side.

“Yes,” he simply said.

“When will you be back?”

“If everything goes well, soon.”

“Let’s hope that things goes well, then.”

“Yes, let’s hope…”

Despite the anger that she felt at his decision, Lizzy couldn’t help but hug her dad, who hugged her back, patting her back softly. For as mad as she was at the prospect of not being able to go outside anymore, the sadness she felt was engulfing her heart. She didn’t want her only family to leave, and she cursed her blasted heart for being so sensitive. It was only a trip, he was coming back, he always did.

They stayed like that for a while until they heard the carriage coming at the distance. They didn’t say anything until it was in front of them.

“See you soon, I guess,” Lizzy dared to say.

“Goodbye, Lizzy, I love you.” She didn’t like how final it sounded, as if this was the last time they would ever see each other. Lizzy couldn’t imagine a life without him, she had always have her dad — whether to love her or nag her, he was there for her, even when he was too busy to entrain her. For a young girl without any other family, he was her world.

Marcus rode the carriage to an unknown location and left. And with him gone, so was Lizzy’s freedom.

Life inside the mansion wasn’t so bad — she wasn’t that much of a spoiled brat, after all — but it was frustrating not being able to go wherever she wanted. Life was also pretty boring. There were only so many places to explore, and Lizzy already knew them by heart. Walking around the place was somewhat distracting but ultimately boring. Her only other option was to read books or maybe try out a new skill. She was even considering doing chores to get deal with the boredom, but the servants had everything covered.

After one week of this, she decided to try to escape.

There were many doors that would let her go outside, surely it would be easy to sneak past the servants to get into the outside world, right?...

She failed, many times.

The servants were very loyal to Marcus Dabeltorn, some of them were saved by him long ago, when he was still a vampire hunter. Therefore, when they were given the order to not let Lizzy out until he came back, they made sure that it would be done. Lizzy tried many doors, but most of them were locked, the rest were the ones used regularly by the servants (and so they were heavily guarded). Still, she tried to sneak out when they were too busy to look.

During the latest attempt she kept herself low, looking at every corner and waiting for the side door to open and be left alone. She kept her breath still as she continued to wait; until the opportunity was there, until they forgot that there was a young woman who wasn’t supposed to pass through. It was finally her chance to go outside–

“Ahem!” A person that made Lizzy jump cleared her voice.

Lizzy turned around and found a middle-aged maid frowning at her. Her brown hair tied in a bun was greying and wrinkles were beginning to show in her face, and if she were any paler she would be easily confused with a vampire.

“Oh, hi, Irene,” she awkwardly greeted.

Irene, the Head Maid didn’t look so happy. “Miss Dabeltorn, what do you think you are doing?”

“Nothing! God, can’t I walk around in my own home?”

“You were intended to sneak out, weren’t you?” she deadpanned.

“What? No!” she lied. The Head Maid wasn’t buying it, so Lizzy gave in. “Ok, fine! I was trying to do it, so what?”

“Miss Dabeltorn, Mister Dabeltorn explicitly said that you weren’t allow to go outside until he was back! I won’t let you disobey his orders like that, if you keep acting like this I will have no choice but to confide you in your room!”

“You–! You can’t do that!”

“Try me.”

Irene was never one to bluff, she had always been serious and strict, ever since she was a simple maid taking care of her mom, not tolerating the slightest sign of misbehavior (which was unfortunate, because Lizzy was never one to follow the rules).

“Ugh! Fine! I guess I’ll just go back into my room…”

“Good. You must understand that your father has good reasons.”

“Not good enough reasons,” she muttered under her breath. “It’s just not fair! I can’t stay trapped in here forever!”

Irene sighed. “It’s only temporary, you don’t have to throw a tantrum.”

Lizzy huffed. “I’m not throwing a tantrum, I am just tired of being here doing nothing!”

“Sure…” She looked unimpressed, like she didn’t believe her. Did no one actually saw a problem with this whole situation? “If you are so boring, why not read? There are far too many books in the library.”

“I guess I’ll do that…”

Lizzy parted to the library, trying to deal with her boredom. She didn’t hear Irene say regretfully, “Why did you have to be like your father?”