Two men exited from the store, one who had brown hair and smiled looking at them while the other who was blond had an aloof aura around him. 

"What a lovely day to be out in the sun!" the two men came to stand on either side of the woman. By their eyes, both of them were pureblooded vampires. The aloof vampire looked at the lady named Vivian who smiled back at him as if a.s.suring him she was alright when he gave her a questioning look. 

"Good morning, Lord Nicholas. Duke Leonard," Damien exchanged a small bow which went for courtsey's sake. Grace who was still recovering from the shame being slapped and unable to conjure the right words bowed her head. 

"Good morning, Damien," the blond-haired man, Leonard greeted him. The man then turned to the girl to ask her in a gentle voice, "Was it difficult to get here?"

"No, Lady Grace showed me the way. She was kind enough to come along with me," answered Vivian. Penny didn't know why but somewhere deep down in her mind, she could feel a connection to this girl. Like they were similar yet different. How strange, she thought to herself making her wonder why it was. 

"How lovely, Lady Grace, thank you for gracing your presence to our lovely Vivian to show her where we were," Penny wished she could laugh at the priceless expression now that Damien was next to her but her face felt as if it were swollen. She felt Damien's hand curl around her waist to bring her close to him. 

Grace who had been looking down at this lady had her eyebrows furrowed in confusion now. Lord Nicholas was one of the highest standing men of their society. He was speaking highly of a human which he had never heard before. The girl had asked for the address but who knew that she was acquainted with the Lord. And did he address her as 'lovely'? The vampiress could only glare internally at Vivian,

"Ah, and who is this amongst us? It's too early for you to be walking on the streets, isn't it?" Nicholas smiled in question.

"My brain-damaged sister took this one away when I wasn't home. Had to take her back," Grace glared at her brother where he continued to say, "Do you have any suggestion on how to fix her so that she knows how to not touch one's possession?" Grace wanted to speak something but Leonard beat her to it with an uninterested voice, he suggested,

"You can send her to Lord Nicholas' mansion, he has plenty of ways to straighten up a child."

Grace huffed, "There is nothing wrong in playing with her a little." 

"Tch, you should listen to your brother, little girl," the lord smiled, his eyes looking at her calculatingly, "Get your own toys than play with other toys. Now then, let's carry on with our lovely day, shall we? Damien, I have something to ask you, maybe we can setup up sometime in the evening."

The lady named Vivian took a step forward towards her when Damien came to stand between them like a wall. His eyes intensely looking at her as if to ask what business she had with his mouse,

"She needs water," spoke Vivian with complete straightforwardness. 

"I will give it to her," he tipped his head slightly, a subtle gesture of thank you before saying, "I will meet you in the evening or tomorrow," said Damien, not spending more time there, he helped Penny walk ignoring the stares that they were receiving. 

Grace had walked away and disappeared to leave both Damien and Penny alone to walk. The young vampiress walked towards the carriage while Damien took Penny to one of the alleys which were not used by people. Seeing no one there, in an instant they were back in the mansion and in his room. 

Fetching the jug filled with water he poured it into a gla.s.s to give it to her, "Drink," he said bringing it up to her lips. 

She brought her hands to hold it, her eyes staring at him as he walked into the bathroom and stepped out. Bringing the cloth to wipe her face once she was done drinking water.

"Do you want more?" he asked for her to shake her head. 

Penny had tried to be strong during the time Grace had kicked and slapped her, degraded her to nothingness where she pulled her with a leash while making her crawl on the ground but with him here right now, her walls fell down.

Her eyes watered, the water in them hindering her sight which made it difficult for her to see him. She felt him touch her face and she inhaled the air around her, closing her eyes for the tears to fall down. Damien pulled her suddenly in her arms, holding her tightly while being mindful of her back.

"Tell me you are alright," he said with one hand that cradled her head, hearing his voice etched in worry caught her attention. It wasn't like something bad had happened to her, she had been lucky enough to have her stars s.h.i.+ne at the right time to stay away from the black market. Having Damien next to her made all the difference, the worry that had been weighing on her was now gone. 

"I am okay," she whispered, nodding her head in his chest. For the very first time, Penny caught on to Damien, taking his support as more tears spilled from her eyes. 

"Why are you crying then?" he asked her not wanting to let go of her, hugging her close to him. 

"I am happy to see you," she replied back, pulling away to look at him with tears smeared around her cheeks.

Returning back with his ability finally that worked, Damien had heard from his sister Maggie that Penny wasn't in her room. On further inquiry, they found out from the servant girl that Lady Grace had taken her out to the Isle Valley. Grace had crossed the lines he had warned her not to. He would deal with her appropriately, but right now he had priorities. Unwavering eyes took in the fresh bruises that were inflicted on her,

"It won't ever happen again. I promise," the red eyes that flickered between red and black swore to keep her safe.