Van and Duvessa were going out on a… well… date… he supposed. Though it was a bit hard to tell if it really was one…

Now that Rosalyn knew about his soul realm, and by extension Duvesaa who also swore herself to secrecy about it. They were able to bring people in and out, particularly his wives and concubines who he made sure to go out on dates with that he thought were long overdue. Such as with Leiah, Anna, and all the other girls.

But as time passed and he finally got one girl down after the other, Rosalyn asked if it was okay if he also took out Duvessa and Katalinya. After all, they were also going to become a part of the harem, and she wanted them all to get along as best they could.

He didn’t really have a reason to turn down such an innocent suggestion. Especially because it came from a good place, Rosalyn genuinely wished everyone would get along happily. So despite his already quickly depleting time, as the days went by, he made sure to work in a day for Duvessa and Kat.

Which brought them to now…

Duvessa was a pretty girl, no doubt about it. But she was also so… uptight… every question Van asked was met with a quick and short sentence, if not outright single syllable at times.

“So… when did you and Rosalyn meet?”

“As kids.” Duvessa responded, walking straight ahead down the street alongside Van, not even looking his way to answer his question.

“Okay… how did you two meet?”

Duvessa paused, her eyes flashing as if peering back into the far past. Old memories rushing to the surface.

“...on the streets…” she said, then continued on.

Van tried to keep up with her and sighed. “What is it that you do for Rosalyn?”

“Everything.”

“Anything specific?”

“No.”

Van tried to school his expression. “You know, you can at least try to act like we’re on a date. This is for Rosalyn afterall.”

Duvessa stopped, turned to look at Van, causally linked arms with him, and continued her march forward to their next destination. Dragging Van along with her pace, which was hitting all the sights and places that Rosalyn suggested they see for their date as timely and quickly as possible.

“Not what I mean…” Van half muttered half growled under his breath, but he kept his opinion to himself, it didn’t seem she took kindly to him using Rosalyn’s name like that. His mind went back to the date with Anna he had yesterday. That was amazing. And the day before that with Leiah. She was super sweet. While he wasn’t expecting something as great as those two dates, he was at least expecting something normal or average… not whatever this was…

“You shouldn’t be thinking of other girls when you are on a date.” Duvessa admonished as if reading his mind.

“Are we on a date?” Van retorted.

Duvessa didn’t really have a comeback for that. So instead continued to the flying cat. What seemed to be their go to destination for lunch or dinner these past few days. At least whenever Van was on a date with one of his girls.

Walking right in, they sat down at the usual table given to them by the restaurant staff. The staff themselves were now very used to Van’s presence, which actually made him feel a bit self conscious… especially when you consider how many women he had brought to this place over the past week.

With a sigh, he ordered his usual while Duvessa gave her decision some more time before ordering herself. Once that was done silence engulfed the table, and Van could literally feel the distance between them like a gulf between mountains, or perhaps like a deep ravine.

This silence seemed to stretch ever longer, partial thanks to the fact that they were both so clearly uncomfortable with each other. Or maybe that was just him… Duvessa didn’t seem to care at all…

“So…” Van thought of what he could say to start a conversation. “Off with your head?” he tentatively asked. Already feeling like that was the wrong thing to say, as the air between them immediately went chilly, and Duvessa's eyes went hard and glacial…

“Is what Rosalyn said to say to you in case something happened between us…” Taking a nervous sip of his water that was placed there for him while he waited for his food. “Any meaning behind it?” though he wouldn’t mind if she didn’t answer so long as she stopped looking at him like that.

A minute passed by… then two… until finally something like a slight grimace graced Duvessa’s lips before disappearing, as she worked her mouth to say what she wanted to say next. “It is something that is private between her and me… I ask you not use that phrase in the future… for any reason…”

“Right…” was all Van could respond with.

The food was then brought and the two ate in silence. Van lost much of his appetite and barely touched his food, while Duvessa ate hers but without any joy in it.

After half an hour passed, and they ate whatever they were going to eat. The waitresses took what was left of their plates away, leaving nothing between them on the table. Instead, another awkward silence was served, through no fault of the staff…

Finally, Van cleared his throat, trying to go for one last ditch attempt at a conversation. “So… that’s a nice choker you have… uh…” he blanked. “It… seems a little tight though… do you want to… go around the shops and look for a new one?”

Apparently. That was the worst thing he could ask… the atmosphere didn’t just get chilly. It became subzero! Duvessa gently placed her hand on her choker, while giving him an intense glare.

It looked like they were actually going to fight.

But after a moment… she calmed down… and gave Van a sterile and measured gaze. Her voice was emotionless, as if reading from a script. “No Van. Thank you very much. The meal was wonderful. Let’s have sex and call it a day. Let’s do this again some day. Thank you for the wonderful date.”

Van paled at the hidden passive aggressiveness in each of her words. “Uh…” He didn’t know what to say.

Duvessa got up, walked around the table and straddled him. She then began to move herself around, getting ready for how these dates usually ended.

Van wasn’t so happy though, to have an emotionless face up in his own, especially because he could feel the hidden hostility within them the eyes of said face.

“W-wait! Wait!” he quickly said, stopping her from going any further, making her pause. “Look, I'm sorry. I don’t know what I said wrong. I was just trying to break the ice. But if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. You can be my concubine in name only, or not even that! I’m sure if you talk to Rosalyn, she would understand that you're not interested. So there is no reason for you to force yourself to do this. I certainly don’t want to if you don’t, especially if you don’t even like me!” He said defensively, almost in a pleading way. Hoping that some of what he said would get through to her.

Duvessa looked into Van’s eyes for a solid few seconds, as if trying to gauge his true intentions. After a while… She relaxed and gave him a small nod. “Fine… I understand were you are coming from… and it seems you are not as much as a sex crazed slut as I heard… I suspected otherwise… but with how all your dates have ended I presumed the worse… for that, I am sorry.” She apologized, making Van’s eyes widen in surprise a bit.

“But.” now looking more intensely into Van. “I cannot turn back.” She cupped Van’s face with her hands gently. “My mistress… is looking forward to us getting along… and I will do anything. To make her happy.” Her sheer will and determination bored into Van’s eyes.

She gave him a heated kiss, her tongue digging deeply into his mouth as her hands worked his pants. Within the minute she was riding him…

And oddly enough… Van enjoyed it…

There was something self-sacrificial in her act of sex… yet… underneath that was also a hidden need… a desire… she hugged him fiercely, and rode him harder and harder as time went by. he tried to quench the hidden fire… satisfy it… but he only made it grow…

After half an hour they were done, and Duvessa got off him looking oddly dazed and satisfied. She shook her head, trying to regain her composure and returned herself to how she was before. Giving him a little bow of her head courteously.

“Thank you for the wonderful date Van. I will tell my mistress it was a success. I’m sure she would be happy to hear it.” then made ready to leave.

Van blinked, still in a slight daze himself before his eyes widened. “W-wait!” he called out to her, making her stop and look back.

“I… don’t want to be your enemy Duvessa… I also want to make Rosalyn happy… Can we at least agree on that?”

Her eyes searched him for any semblance of untruth to his words and face. Scanning him from head to toe. She then gave him the closest thing to a small genuine smile on her face, after being satisfied with what she saw. Her demeanor becomes a touch softer.

“If that is true Van… then we will naturally get along… one day…”

And with that, she was gone…

Van sighed with relief. Just glad that things ended off as it did and the date didn’t crash and burn like he feared it would.

“Damn… she’s so uptight! …and tight!” he shook his head at his own bad joke. “Seriously though… What's her deal? What happened between her and Rosalyn to make her so… devoted…?” He thought about it, but couldn’t come up with anything. “Well… at least she might not hate me…” Giving a small sigh of relief that the date was officially over. “Now I just have to pick up Katalinya for my second date today…” looking upwardly annoyed. “Hopefully it won’t be as stressful as this one was…”

With that vague hope in mind, he got up and left.

Not long after he made his way towards Cole’s blacksmith place.

Entering, he greeted Cole.

“Hello Cole, I’m here for the date with Katalinya. Is she available?” Van asked Cole courteously, in his best voice, hoping to give a good impression. He felt a little nervous and apprehensive about this. Having no clue how a father would react to such a thing in this world.

Cole gave Van a mixed look. As if he wasn’t sure whether to be happy that his daughter has a date or not. In the end, he relied on his stoicism, arms still crossed since Van entered and gave a simple. “In back.” with a motion of his head towards the rear of the shop.

“Umm… thank you,” Van said, and walked past Cole and entered the back of the shop and walked until he heard the clanging of metal and followed it into the forge.

There he saw a completely naked Kat, banging away at a sword on an anvil. Her body was covered in sweat as her accessories glowed with magic, protecting her from the worst of the forges heat and the sparks that flew from each strike of her hammer onto the red-hot blade before her.

Van could only stop and stare in fascination as he watched Kat’s small and subtle body, lift a large hammer and smash it against the molten metal of her pet project. Watching as her little body and her muscles contorted and stretched, using less strength and more skill and dexterity with every strike then what would be presumed, putting her whole body into it like an olympic swimmer or gymnast. Her tiny and cute frame achieved things that Van deemed only someone who was big, burly and filled with muscles was capable of doing.

He didn’t notice it before, but Kat really had a well-toned body. Though it didn’t show because of how soft she looked, which hid her muscles and made her look delicate instead. After an hour of watching, she finally seemed to have finished, drenching the blade in a barrel, going over it, and sharpening the edges with a tool. Nodding satisfied with her work, she only now noticed Van’s presence. Her tail and ears shooting up in surprise.

“Uh… hi… that was amazing, I wouldn’t mind seeing you work again if you don’t mind,” Van said being kind and genuinely interested in watching once more.

Kat blushed and put the sword away. “How… How long were you there…” She asked.

“Just an hour or so. But don’t worry, I don’t mind waiting. I want to make our date perfect after all.”

“Date?” she asked, her ears going down as she had to think as if hearing about this for the first time. Then her eyes widened and she almost jumped, her ears and tail standing on end. “OUR DATE!!!” she exclaimed, indicating she completely forgot.

“Uh, uh, uh!” looking left and right for a quick way out, but realizing that the only way out was through Van who was near the entrance. “Please excuse me!” she rushed towards him, stopped a few feet away from him, blushed, and scooted past him and rushed upstairs, no doubt to her room. As she fled, she muttered to herself on how she could have forgot, groaning and whispering obscenities to herself for being to stupid and forgetting something so important.

As she passed Van, he couldn’t help but notice that she had a nice pair on her chest. But what really took his attention was the small burn marks and nicks on her body that looked like they were there for years. Indicating that she perhaps has been forging naked for a long time…

Van waited by the stairs for her to come down, and about five minutes later she did, wearing something that definitely would draw the eye of anyone that saw her.

“It… it looks silly doesn’t…” Kat said, noticing Van’s look.

“N-no… it looks really cute. I love it.” Van said kindly.

Which in a roundabout way was true… it was a beautiful piece of work but… so… Frilly! It was like one of those dresses you would put on a doll! The thing was nothing but Frills! It was also completely white, with a few black and gold pieces to add to the accents. Kat was also wearing a cute little bow on her head, and almost everywhere else on her dress. It was cute… but also kind of… comical… when it was someone like Kat wearing it…

“I think you look wonderful… Besides, it’s not like you’ll be wearing it for the whole day or anything.” Van said.

Kat let that sink in, and then her face went completely red as she gave a shy smile and looked away. “Th-that’s true…”

Van blinked as he just realized what he inadvertently implied. He cleared his throat and extended his hand. “Shall we get going then?”

Kat looked at the extended hand and gently took it into her own, giving him a shy nod of her head.

The two then walked out of the store, Kat’s face very red, but also looking very excited. Until her eyes widened as she realized something.

“Ah!” looked towards Van. “just to make it clear. This dress was Rosalyn’s idea, not mine! Okay!”

Van nodded, suspecting something along those lines.

After that, their date went surprisingly well. Van asked her how she liked Alcray, and while a bit dodgy with her answer, she said she liked it just fine. Though he felt like she probably liked her old home more, which made sense. Istra was bright and sunny, while Alcray was always a little cloudy and gloomy…

While it was true they did get a few odd looks as they walked down the street. For the most part, the two very much enjoyed each other's time. Talking about similar interests and going into detail about enchanting and some alchemy.

Kat was a bit nervous at first and high-strung, but after about an hour of talking and just enjoying their time together, she finally seemed to have relaxed a bit and began to open up some more to him. Admitting that she missed her old home, and wished she could go back.

“So why did you follow Rosalyn to Alcray if you didn’t want to leave?” Van asked.

“Well… I wasn’t… in a good place at that time… mentally speaking… and Rosalyn promised me she would help me achieve my potential. So…” Kat shrugged. “I figured I could do this for a few years and maybe one day make enough money to return. Never thought I might end up getting married to a vampire noble…” She went silent as if only now she was thinking of the implications that entailed.

Van gently placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug. “Don’t worry too much about it. Even if we get married, I won’t stop you from going back home to Istra. In fact… I’m planning to go to Istra myself after I finish my schooling. When I do, I’ll definitely bring you with me.” Giving her a winning smile.

“Really!” Kat's eyes shined upwards to Van’s, filled with hope and expectations.

Van nodded, full of confidence. “Really,” he said with finality.

The two then continued down the street, hit a few stalls, and talked about their shared interests. They enjoyed each other’s company so much, they forgot about the time and were surprised to find out how late it was.

They went into a love hotel reserved for them and took it slow while they made love to each other… Kat was so cute, that he would definitely remember this night for the rest of his life.

To Van… it was a nice date… to Kat… it was amazing… and she was very happy, that she was so lucky to find someone she could love and spend time with…