The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: Wish I could spent the day with you- Mychael Danna

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Hearing the voice, Lucy turned in its direction to find a young-looking vampiress sitting on the top of one of the graves in the cemetery. The woman had a cigar in her hand that was relaxed as she sat with one leg over the other.

"Oh, you can see me?" asked the young woman, and Lucy's eyes widened on looking at the red lips and red eyes.

"Madame Fraunces?" asked Lucy carefully, and the woman smiled. She looked much younger than she had met in the other world. As if time had turned back and the woman was in her early thirties.

"I wonder how you are able to see me now," hummed the woman.

Lucy felt a rush of memories that came to pass through her mind that she had forgotten when she had returned to the living world. She quickly bowed her head, "Forgive me for forgetting the conversation that we had."

"Don't fret about it," responded the woman. "People who enter and leave the in between world, don't remember anything. Not that it happens often. The world is not supposed to exist or to be known by people, because people then will never not want to enter Heaven, the good souls I mean."

Lucy was yet to place the flowers that she had brought for Madame Fraunces grave, and she held it tight in her hands. She remembered how the woman had earlier told her that she often came here, spending her time while watching people who visited her. She wondered why she was able to see a dead person unless she was purely imagining it. But then she remembered the words they had exchanged when she had died.

"When did you come here?" asked Lucy. Slowly taking steps towards the woman, who sat on someone's grave while not caring as she smoked.

"A couple of minutes ago. I cannot tell how strange I find it that you fell in love with someone who is purely different compared to you, but at the same time, I am glad that he has someone," said Madame Fraunces. "I heard you both are getting married. Have you decided the day?"

Lucy nodded her head, "It is around three weeks from now."

"Wonderful," commented Madame Fraunces. "You should pick up a beautiful gown and not settle for anything less. And the village does have some excellent tailors. They are good with their hands," she smiled at the end, one corner of her lips raising more than the other.

Remembering Theodore, Lucy turned excited and said, "Theodore will be very happy to see you! He adores you."

"Of course he does, I did save him from trouble a couple of times. I hope when you two have children, they inherit your nature. They are going to be handful if they turn out to be like him," Madame Fraunces's words had Lucy clear her throat. To have children, they hadn't done that, and at the same time, she didn't know if she could bear children.

As fast as her cheeks had turned red, it also dulled down.

"I-I, I don't think I can give him a child," confessed Lucy to the woman. She knew Theodore supported her in every possible way he could, but the thought that she wouldn't be able to give him a child saddened her the most. "My mother wasn't able to bear a child after she gave birth to me. I think the problem was with me."

Madame Fraunces frowned, hearing this, "You seem to be perfectly well, Lucy. And you were blessed by an angel to recover from your injuries. Even if you weren't able to have children before, you should be fine now. It is not every day an angel comes to help."

Lucy placed her hand on her stomach. Was it possible? Samuel had injured her stomach, near her abdomen. Was there still hope?

"Silly girl," said Madame Fraunces.

"Wait here!" said Lucy. "I will be back soon, don't go anywhere!" and Lucy placed the flowers on the nearby graves.

The woman who sat on the grave watched Lucy run towards the cemetery's gates, bringing her hand up to drag the smoke.

Lucy knew Theodore would be more than happy to see Madame Fraunces here, in the living world. If she wasn't wrong, she had heard how her grandmother and father had been brought to Devon before they were taken back. She was quick to get on the carriage and reaching the castle. She pulled Theodore away from the castle. When they arrived at the front of the cemetery, Lucy pulled Theodore by his hand.

"What happened, Lucy? You haven't told me what it is about," said Theodore, who had been left in suspense, not knowing what Lucy was up to.

Lucy dragged Theodore towards Madame Fraunces gravestone before looking around back and forth, searching for Madame Fraunces, but it looked like she had disappeared.

"Lucy?"

Theodore had been talking to the minister when Lucy had come to drag him from the corridor. He heard her whisper, "She was right here. She must have left."

"Whom are you speaking about?" asked Theodore, his eyes sweeping across the empty cemetery as it was just them in there.

Lucy bit her lip before turning to look at him, "Madame Fraunces."

Hearing the name, Theodore's eyebrows furrowed. If a human heard this, one would tell that she was imagining things.

And Theodore was no regular person, "Did you speak to her?"

Lucy nodded her head, "I met her before. Before returning back to life. I forgot we had met earlier and today was the second time we met. I asked her to stay, but I don't know where she went," she pursed her lips.

Theodore wondered what that was about. He knew Madame Fraunces was dead for quite some time now. After spending some more minutes in the cemetery, he said, "Maybe she went somewhere. We can return here tomorrow at this time and see if we can meet her."

Before they left the place, Theodore gave one last look to see if he could see the woman, his eyes on Madame Fraunces grave before leaving the place with Lucy, to head back to the castle.