I barely remember what happened after I got hit with the spear. There was a feeling of weakness that was incredibly strong. There was barely any resistance from my body when the spear went in, like it had been fired out of a cannon, even if the speed wasn’t close to it. Beyond that, there was just a lot of pain and blurred visions of Senna. I saw a bright light before I completely fell asleep.

Despite my injuries, I had very restful sleep. Though I couldn’t remember dreaming of anything, I felt an odd sensation while I was unconscious. When I did wake up, it was mostly faded. My eyes adjusted to the late morning sunlight and I stretched my arms. I looked down and found an odd lump clinging to the side of my body and balled up under the blanket.

Ah, that must be Senna hiding from the sunlight. Did she really manage to get me out of there all by herself? I want to let her get some sleep, but I have a million questions for her when she gets up. I thought to myself. It’s weird though, most of my body is warm, but the part she’s clinging to is noticeably cooler.

I lifted the blanket up slightly, careful not to let any direct sunlight fall on her, so that I could see if she was okay. It was then that I found she had taken off all of her clothes. Though I tried to inch away from her, she was tightly clinging to my side. Unable to get out of bed without possibly exposing her to the sun, I sighed and laid back down.

My first thought to pass the time was checking any wrappings on my wound. When I felt where I had been stabbed, there wasn’t any bandage. It was only after a few moments of frantic patting that I realized there wasn’t an injury at all.

The whole night couldn’t have been a dream. Maybe I fell asleep at some point while we were inside, but I don’t remember any point where I felt sleepy or laid down. Could the injury itself be a vivid hallucination? My mind raced, my body growing just as restless.

Nothing more happened for what felt like ages. Senna started to stir more and more, her fingers gently flexing against me, not unlike a cat kneading. By the time she did actually wake up, the area she gripped was sore. I watched her face as she slowly opened her eyes the first time. With how light sensitive they are, I can’t imagine it’d be easy waking up. I started to pat her shoulder to help wake her up faster, but felt something strange.

As she buried her face against my chest and grumbled, I spotted what was off. Large patches of her skin were scarred as if they were burned. I panicked for a second and thought maybe the sunlight was passing through the blanket, but then I realized the scars weren’t in an even layer as if that were the case.

“Hnn... Leo...?” She muttered, and finally pulled her face off of my chest.

If it wasn’t clear before, it was obvious now. Her face had a massive burn scar where it had been resting on me, curling over her cheek and around her eye. While I was glad whatever this was hadn’t damaged her vision, I couldn’t help but place one of my hands on it. Just like her back, the skin noticeably felt different. From a glance it looked as if she was burned heavily a long time ago.

“Senna, what happened to your face? Your skin?” I asked, not able to form proper sentences in my shock.

“What do you mean?” She asked, blinking herself awake.

As she brushed one of her eyes, she touched against the scar on her cheek. Curious, she started to trace over the burned skin with on finger. Even as she patted more of her body down, she seemed unsurprised by the discovery. Instead, she rested her head back down against me and nuzzled into my chest.

“Guess that was the price...” she muttered into my shirt. “Just ignore it, okay? It’s just scars, not an actual injury.”

“Senna, what happened?” I asked, and lightly pushed her away. “I can’t remember anything after I got stabbed, and even that is foggy. Where are your clothes?”

After I pushed her away, she lifted herself up to a sitting position. The blanket was draped over her head, covering her body completely now. I expected her to start explaining things, but she stayed silent. Even through the cloth, I could tell she was staring at me. Unlike the few other times she’s done it, however, this time it felt more intense. It took a good amount of willpower to look away and head to the window. Once I closed the shutters and turned around, she let the blanket slide down to her shoulders again.

Dim light still flitted in from the open bedroom door, letting me see a few details. Even with the darkness, I felt embarrassed from seeing her like this. She finally moved away from the bed and got between me and the door. Each step seemed very exaggeratedly slow for her. By the time she was standing in front of me, I realized she was moving like that because she was being careful not to let the blanket open up accidentally.

Her face this close, I could see the scar curling over her cheek again. I hadn’t really paid close attention to her looks before, but the scar almost emphasized her natural cuteness by juxtaposition. Putting both hands on her shoulders, I looked into her eyes and spoke slowly, trying not to let my worry show.

“Senna... tell me what happened after I got stabbed.”

“Well, they didn’t mean to do it to you. I’m guessing that the old man wanted a backup in case Simon tried to run away from getting converted into a vampire. Once they realized their mistake, there was really only one option of saving you... or so I thought.” She said, and lifted up one hand from the blanket to show how burned it was. “Guess he must’ve used some dark magic to heal you. He must have done something similar to himself, judging by the way he looked. Instead of scarring you, though, I was the one who ended up like this.”

“Dark magic?” I asked, patting where I remember the wound being. “I don’t like the sound of that for either of us. We’ve got an alright deal for now, but I don’t want to think about what could happen if someone with magic like that is running rampant. If you’re only scarred from it, then we need to start thinking of how to go back, rescue Simon and—"

“No.” Senna cut me off, looking down at the floor.

“What? Senna, we need to go and rescue him.”

“But we don’t, do we?” She responded, taking a step closer and looking up at me. “You got hurt last time we went there! I had to feed on you, and there were so many dangerous things in there and... we’re never going back. I don’t want you in any kind of danger like that anymore. No more fighting these stupid clans, I don’t care about it anymore.”

I shook my head and moved for the door to the room. Senna grabbed onto the back of my shirt and held me in place. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t speak. Something was wrong and I didn’t know how to deal with it. Her fingers slowly tightened as she pulled me back towards her. Letting go, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug while the blanket fell to the floor.

“You can stay here, and I’ll go out at night to get you food. I’ll find some mushrooms to cook with the meat, or steal vegetables and fruit if you want. Just stay here in the cabin and don’t ever leave, okay? I’ll keep you safe...”

Her cheek rubbed against my back, and I could feel her press her breasts tight against me at the same time. She started to pant as she held me, and I felt rooted in place.

Having her protect me and do all that doesn’t sound bad, but I’d be a prisoner, wouldn’t I? The Ainz vampires showed that a vampire’s sense of normal was far off. If Senna says she’s going to do that forever, I don’t think she’s just saying that for effect. Would she make me a vampire as well, and keep me here forever? Either way, I’ve got to try and convince her to go back. Even if he’s a vampire now, he could help us get revenge on the Godwin clan.

“Senna... you realize that Simon might die if we don’t go back, right? Or that the Ainz family might take revenge on us for killing one of them?”

“I don’t care if they come back. I’ll slice their heads off and mount them on sharpened sticks outside our house. They’re just going to stay in their holes for another century while they gloat about their superiority.” Senna said, her voice seething with anger even while she nuzzled into my back. “There’s no reason to go after them ever again. Let Simon deal with them if he wants to so badly. I just want to stay here, with you...”

She lifted my shirt over my stomach and pressed her teeth against the softer part of my flesh. I winced from the sharp feeling, but she didn’t fully bite me. My heart was only pounding faster, which could only be enticing her on. We both stumbled forward as she got more aggressive, and I had to guide us both back to the bed before she had me up against the wall.

“Okay, listen, I know you got scared by the injury. We knew going in that something might happen, I’m only human. We should have the advantage now though, right?”

“I don’t care!” She cried out, spinning me around and grabbing my collar. “We don’t need to fight at all! We have each other and that’s enough. I just want you, I don’t want to keep fighting. Before we met, all I did was feed enough to survive. Anna was right, I was living like a rat... but I’m not a rat anymore. Because of you, I can feel like a real person again, not a wild animal.”

“Senna, you don’t need me to—"

“Shut up!” She shouted again, forcing me down onto the bed. “You’re the first person to not see me like a rat. To treat me as though I meant something! I want to keep you safe, so why are you trying to run into danger right after I got hurt protecting you?! All these scars are because I couldn’t stand to let you die, and now you’re going to rush back like nothing matters!?”

I wanted to speak up again, but she cut me off before my mouth could open. This time it wasn’t with shouting, she brought her teeth down on my shoulder. Her hands gripped onto my wrists and pinned me down. Even without being fully fed, she was strong enough to hold me down. If I struggled too much, her teeth might rip out a chunk of my shoulder. Closing my eyes, I waited for her to stop feeding

Having her on top made it much more intense, not to mention the fact she was naked. She pressed her chest into mine to get a better grip with her teeth and her hips ground against me. I could feel a light dizziness pass over me towards the end, and she lifted her face. A loud swallowing noise was followed by her licking her lips. Her eyes were unfocused, and her legs were twitching slightly on either side of me. She panted with a blissful smile before licking the wound clean. When she finished, she kissed one of my ears.

“Together forever...” She whispered in a breathy tone.