Belladonna Mini mart

“The territory has expanded in a way that is entirely unfeasible. Within weeks, it will fall and we garner to lose more in that time than we have gained today. I have certainly explained this to all of you more than once. The romanticized notion of vampires is nothing more than a written farce that was perpetuated in order to sell dime store novels. Please remember that most of those authors are dead. Because I ate them.”

I shook my head from my position on the settee. When I had come to the cathedral to pick Charlotte up for the evening, I had run straight in the middle of one of the meetings. It would have been easy to pluck our daughter from the room, giving Bella a small nod as I walked away with a bundle of dhampir, but Charlotte was a part of the meeting today, following her mother around as a perfect shadow.

“Now, I believe I sent most of you out these last few days to gather information. With the doors opening once more, we have an influx of new denizens of the market. How many of them are a threat? What political power do they hold? What are their wants. Their fears. What is it that they desire most within the Night Market. Did any of you do that?”

“Did any of you?” Charlotte parodied.

I could see a few of the vampires holding court with Bella look at our daughter. In the beginning, they had done one of two things. Either looked at Charlotte like she was a means to power, or, looked at her with a sense of loyalty, given who her parents were.

Now, the ones who were intelligent enough, looked at her in fear. They all knew what Charlotte meant to Bella. They also knew that Belladonna would sooner believe the whims of a small child, over anything they had to say.

“Well?” Bella asked when no one answered Charlotte.

A woman stepped forward, her sleek black hair in a half twist at the back of her head. The tips were sticky with blood and two of her nails were broken. “The Catarian people are here with the sole purpose to find weapons and soldiers to finance a war across their seas. They have already begun talks with the Iron Baron, though I do not think they understand who they are dealing with.”

Bella’s face softened. “That is a lovely bit of information, Mylika. Thank you.”

The girl smiled in relief, stepping back in line. But not before Charlotte could skip forward, pinning a small gold star sticker to the woman's wrist.

“If it is an example that you desire, then look no further than Mylika. She has managed to do what I asked and gathered information that will most likely prove invaluable in the upcoming year. It would do the rest of you well to understand the nuances of fucking people over.”

“Yeah,” Charlotte said. Her hand was on her hip, her chin was tilted up, and she stared at the ones before her with bright pink eyes.

“Mistress,” one dared. “We are vampires. We shouldn’t just be gathering information. We could own this market.”

“How dare you!” Charlotte flashed forward, a blur of brown curls and pale skin, as she launched herself physically at the vampire. “None of you will ever own my–”

Standing, I walked over, hooking an arm under Charlotte and dragging her away. “I’d say that’s enough for the day,” I said, giving Belladonna a pointed look.

Belladonna looked at the council in front of her impassively. “Mylika, please enjoy some time in the bathhouse. I will send word that you are to be pampered this evening.” Mylika bowed, not saying a word. When Bella looked at the other vampire, her gaze hardened. “Don’t let me see you again for an indefinite amount of time.”

It was a clear dismissal for all of them as one by one, they filed out. When the door shut, Belladonna turned to the two of us, coming over to scoop Charlotte in her arms. “You did so well today,” she cooed.

“You should punish that one vampire,” she said, a pout still on her lips. Bella wiped it away as she planted kisses all across Charlotte’s face.

I frowned, looking at the two of them. “Maybe we cool it on Charlotte joining the meetings for a while.”

“Why? She does wonderfully.”

“I am wonderful,” Charlotte proclaimed.

“You are wonderful,” I told her. “But I would prefer for you not to become bloodthirsty until your brain is fully developed, and you can make that decision for yourself.”

Belladonna placed one hand over Charlotte’s ears, looking at me in a scolding manner. I simply shook my head, knowing this would be a much longer conversation and it would happen much later.

“Mommy, are you going to come out and eat with us?” Charlotte asked.

“Since you were so helpful in the meeting, I think I can take some time off.”

Charlotte clapped her hands eagerly, looking like the five year old she was as opposed to the little hellion that Bella nurtured. Coming to their side, I planted a kiss on both their cheeks. But I looked at Bella with a raised brow.

She sighed. “I keep her away from the worst of the meetings,” she said under her breath. “Let her give out her gold stars.”

“Stop threatening to kill others in front of her.”

“I didn’t even say the word kill.”

“She’s our daughter. She’s intelligent. She knew what you meant.”

Belladonna merely rolled her eyes, but I had a feeling I at least won that one. “Let’s go get dumplings,” she announced. Charlotte’s eyes sparkled at the suggestion. 

The switch in Bella’s demeanor never ceased to amaze me. One moment, she was controlling her people with a mere stare, the next, she was smiling freely as she teased our daughter, rubbing their noses together in makeshift kisses. The softness she exuded during moments of motherhood reminded me of when she was content with her books. Seeing it displayed more freely since Charlotte had been born had been one of the best outcomes of our union.

“Come on my two Baron’s,” I said, knowing I was defeated. “Let’s go get dumplings.”

“Yay!” Charlotte yelled.

When Belladonna looked at me, I saw nothing but love. And that, was more than enough.