MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

After several minutes of navigating through the dense foliage, their footsteps crunching on fallen leaves and twigs, the woman abruptly halted, causing Blake to skid to a stop, breaths coming in ragged gasps. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, while the woman stood before him, seemingly unaffected by the exertion, her gaze fixed on him with a mixture of impatience and amusement.

"For a man, you aren't the sharpest, you know that?" she remarked, her tone laced with sarcasm as she observed Blake's labored breathing.

Managing a weak smile despite his fatigue, Blake retorted, "Yeah, didn't exactly follow Tarzan on his adventures," a quip that seemed to materialize out of thin air, surprising even himself with the reference.

Her response was a resigned sigh before she pivoted on her heel, striding purposefully towards the edge of a nearby ledge. Blake followed her, curiosity piqued by her sudden change in direction. As they reached the precipice, Blake's eyes widened in astonishment at the sight that greeted him.

"It's a whole village down there," he exclaimed, his voice tinged with awe as he spotted the cluster of thatched houses nestled amidst the trees below. Even from their elevated vantage point, he could discern the faint movements of individuals going about their daily routines.

The woman nodded grimly, confirming Blake's observation. "Yeah, small village. We used to be more than this. Spreading even as wide as the beach. But then things changed when she came," she said, her voice laced with bitterness as she spoke of the village's decline.

"Who came? Elena?" Blake inquired, his curiosity piqued by the woman's cryptic words.

A flash of anger crossed the woman's features at the mention of the name. "Yes, the witch whom you worship. When she came, she brought with her a curse and strange things started happening," she spat, her words laden with resentment and accusation.

Blake's brows furrowed in confusion as he struggled to comprehend the woman's accusations against Elena. "But how could one person bring about such drastic changes?" he asked, his voice tinged with skepticism.

The woman shot him a withering glare before turning her attention back to the village below. "You may not believe it, but the evidence is all around us," she replied, her tone heavy with bitterness and resentment. "People started falling ill, crops failed, and the land became barren. We lost everything we held dear because of her presence."

Blake's mind raced as he tried to reconcile the woman's claims with his own experiences. He couldn't deny the eerie feeling that had lingered around Elena since he woke up, but to attribute such devastation to her seemed unfathomable.

"But why would she do such a thing?" Blake pressed, his curiosity piqued despite his growing skepticism.

The woman's expression darkened as she turned to face him, her eyes blazing with righteous indignation. "Who knows what wicked intentions lie in the heart of a witch?" she spat, her words dripping with venom. "All I know is that she brought nothing but misery and despair to our once-thriving village."

Blake's heart sank as he took in the woman's words, grappling with the implications of what she was saying. Could it be possible that Elena was truly responsible for the hardships endured by the villagers?

As they reached the edge of the ledge overlooking the village, the woman came to a halt, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon. Blake followed suit, standing beside her as they surveyed the scene below.

The village sprawled out before them like a patchwork quilt, its thatched roofs blending into the verdant landscape. Smoke rose lazily from chimneys, a testament to the few remaining inhabitants eking out a living amidst the ruins of their once-prosperous community.

For a long moment, they stood in silence, the only sound the distant rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze. Blake's thoughts churned with uncertainty, his mind grappling with the woman's accusations against Elena.

"So because you feel she brought a curse is why you hate her so much?" Blake finally asked, breaking the silence. His voice was gentle, tinged with a hint of curiosity and concern.

The woman turned to him, her expression guarded yet tinged with sorrow. "You wouldn't understand," she replied cryptically, her eyes betraying a depth of emotion that belied her stoic facade.

"Try me," Blake insisted, his gaze steady as he met her eyes. Despite the gulf between them, he felt a flicker of empathy for the woman standing beside him, her pain palpable in the lines etched upon her face.

With a heavy sigh, the woman relented, her resolve faltering in the face of Blake's earnest gaze. "It's not just about me," she began, her voice tinged with bitterness. "It's about all of us—about what she's done to our home, our lives."

As she spoke, her words poured forth like a torrent, each syllable heavy with the weight of years of suffering and resentment. Blake listened intently, his heart aching at the woman's tale of loss and betrayal.

"We used to gather at the beach, under the shimmering moonlight, with joy and laughter echoing across the sands," she reminisced, her voice tinged with nostalgia. "But when she came, everything changed. The beach, once a place of joy and festivities became off-limits to us."

Her words hung heavy in the air, carrying with them the weight of countless memories tainted by the specter of Elena's arrival. Blake listened intently, his heart heavy with empathy for the woman beside him.

"It wasn't just the beach she took from us," the woman continued, her voice growing somber. "She took our freedom, our way of life. We became prisoners in our own homes, too afraid to venture beyond the safety of our village."

As she spoke, the gravity of her words settled upon Blake like a shroud, casting a pall over the idyllic scene before them. He could sense the woman's pain, her anguish palpable in every syllable.

"But we won't let her hold us captive any longer," Blake declared, his voice firm with resolve. "We'll find a way to reclaim what's rightfully ours, together."

As the woman spoke of her grievances against Elena, a troubling thought nagged at the back of Blake's mind. If the villagers harbored such animosity towards Elena, wouldn't they also resent him by association? After all, Elena had claimed that this island was their favorite destination, implying that Blake was complicit in her actions, whether he remembered them or not.

Unable to shake off his growing unease, Blake turned to the woman beside him and posed the question that had been weighing heavily on his mind.

"Do you hate me too, for being with Elena?" he asked, his voice tinged with apprehension.

The woman's response was immediate and unequivocal. "I don't hate you," she stated firmly, her eyes meeting his with unwavering intensity. "The only two people I hate in this world are Elena and her lackey, Drake."

Blake felt a surge of relief wash over him at her words, grateful that he hadn't become the target of her ire. But her next words quickly dispelled any sense of reassurance.

"Seeing as you're here now, I suppose you're her newly recruited soldier, brought in to do her bidding," she added with a bitter edge to her tone.

Well, that for sure wasn't true. But Blake was careful to not deny or claim anything. He still couldn't be sure that this woman was not trying to bamboozle him.

He mulled over the inconsistencies in Elena's narrative, a troubling realization dawned on him. If he and Elena truly shared a deep and longstanding romantic relationship, as she had claimed, then how could it be that this woman, who seemed intimately familiar with the island and its inhabitants, had no knowledge of him?

The pieces of the puzzle refused to fit together, leaving Blake feeling increasingly disoriented and perplexed. If Elena's account of their past together was accurate, then shouldn't he be a familiar figure to the villagers, someone whose presence evoked recognition?

'I don't understand,' he admitted, his inner voice tinged with frustration. 'If Elena and I were truly lovers, as she claims, then why doesn't anyone here seem to know me?'

As he pondered on, the evening shadows lengthened and the light began to fade, Nana's expression grew increasingly somber, her concern evident in the furrow of her brow.

"It's getting dark, and I need to start heading back before people begin to worry," she said, her voice tinged with urgency as she cast a wary glance towards the horizon.

Before she could take her leave, Blake seized the opportunity to ask her one final question, his curiosity burning bright despite the encroaching darkness.

"What's your name?" he inquired, his tone laced with genuine interest.

"Nana," she replied softly, her voice barely above a whisper as if she were sharing a closely guarded secret.

As Blake reached out to shake her hand, he noticed a flicker of confusion cross Nana's features, prompting him to withdraw his hand with a sense of unease. Perhaps handshakes weren't a common custom in her culture, or maybe she simply didn't understand the gesture.

Before he could dwell on the matter further, a sudden blast of sound shattered the tranquility of the evening . The mournful wail of a horn echoed across the landscape, followed by a chorus of anguished voices raised in distress.

"What's happening?" Blake demanded, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and apprehension as he scanned the horizon for any sign of danger.

But Nana had already turned to leave, her expression grim as she sprinted down the steep ledge with a fluid grace that left Blake in awe.

"Wait, what's going on?" he called after her, his voice tinged with desperation as he struggled to make sense of the chaos unfolding around him.

Without looking back, Nana's voice carried on the wind.

"Go, before anyone finds you!!" she shouted, her words a stark warning that sent a shiver down Blake's spine.

As he watched her disappear into the gathering darkness, Blake knew that he was now on his own. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he turned and fled as well.

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*Author's note*

Mass release done as promised.

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