That same morning.
In a gloomily decorated shop, a vampire woman was carrying out her daily routine. Always, first thing in the morning, without fail, the very first thing she would do was tidy her shop and then study the vampiric tomes in search of ways to improve her abilities.
However, today, once again, her plans would be interrupted. She already felt a little anxious, as if something was off with the way the day was progressing.
The origin of her unease lay in the fact that she had not been able to make her bed, as was her custom. But she didn't find it so bad compared to the company she was enjoying.
On the bed still lay a small elf: it was Eithne. Victoria stared at her for a moment. Compared to her, Eithne was far more beautiful.
"Honestly, I don't understand what you ever saw in me."
Not wanting to wake her lover, Victoria went to the vanity, trying to fix the disaster that was her morning face. She looked into the mirror and saw her reflection.
"Mmmmh, maybe if I ate more often?"
Victoria began combing her hair. Her long hair was always tangled in the mornings, so she tried to fix it quickly before Eithne woke up.
"If only I were prettier…"
At that moment, she felt small hands wrapping around her and the soft touch of her companion's delicate skin.
"You know, you tend to speak out loud without realizing it."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"In truth, I've been awake far longer than you."
Victoria turned her head, surprised.
"Wait, then why didn't you say anything and pretended to be asleep all this ti—?"
Eithne brought her lips close, giving her a surprise kiss.
"STOP, STOP, WAIT! I haven't even brushed my teeth yet."
Eithne quickly smiled and added:
"Neither have I, so don't worry, we're even."
Her long ears twitched up and down, and her face was blushing in an adorably cute way.
Victoria could no longer resist the sight of her lover and hugged her, letting her head rest on her chest.
"Heh, yes, this is what you should've done the moment you woke up. But instead, you went around tidying up like a maniac."
Eithne, though happy, exclaimed with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Victoria, now fully understanding why Eithne was a little displeased, spoke softly.
"Then, every morning, the first thing I'll do is wake you up this way."
"Much better. Now, turn around, I want to comb your hair."
Obediently, Victoria turned, letting Eithne's hands begin to fix the mess that was her hair.
"You know, Victoria? Today is a very important day for us, do you know why?"
"Of course I do," Victoria said proudly. "Today marks one year together."
"Good, you remembered. And today, I also prepared a very special gift, just for you. So stay here and wait, I'll go fetch it from my bag."
"Don't forget to close your eyes, alright?"
Victoria obediently covered her eyes with her hands and listened to the sound of Eithne's bare feet running through the shop, until finally stopping. She had found what she was looking for.
Then she returned, walking slowly, and when she was close enough, stretched out her hand and placed the gift on the vanity Victoria was using.
"Alright, who's a good girl?"
"Hey, don't tease me."
Victoria felt a little annoyed at being treated like a small puppy, but only a little.
"Come on, come on, open your eyes."
Victoria opened her eyes and what she found was a small, exquisitely carved wooden figurine, which was none other than Eithne herself.
"How cuuute… it's exactly like her."
"Well, tell me, what do you think?"
"It's very beautiful and crafted in such an expert way."
"Of course it's beautiful, after all, it's me, isn't it? The woman you love."
Victoria blushed at Eithne's words.
"You look so pretty when you blush. You're like one of those vegetables humans eat sometimes… mmmm, what were they called again? Tomatoes. You blush and look just like a little tomato."
"However, it's not a vegetable, it's a fruit."
For a moment, Eithne seemed very surprised.
"A FRUIT? Well, that explains some things."
Seeing Eithne's surprised reaction, Victoria couldn't help but start laughing.
"Okay, okay, enough laughing at me, Victoria. Pay close attention: this time I made you a figurine of me, so I expect that soon you'll make one of yourself for me."
Victoria worried about the sudden request.
"I don't know… I'd rather give you something else. I've never carved anything with my hands and surely my gift would just turn out as an ugly piece of wood."
Eithne gave Victoria a compassionate look and placed her hand on her head, stroking it slowly.
"It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. I just want a small figurine of you, so I can always remember you whenever we're apart. I don't care if it takes you a year, a decade, I'll wait however long it takes. If you need years to give it to me, then that's fine. But I really would like you to do this for me."
Victoria, feeling the warmth of her hand, felt the affection of the person she loved in it.
"Alright, alright. I don't think it'll take me that long to learn, so don't worry. If this is what you want, I'll make sure to learn and craft a gift for you."
Eithne's radiant smile shone as she listened to Victoria's words.
"Good, much better. I like it a lot more this way."
Victoria, intrigued, began to wonder why Eithne cared so much about receiving such a specific gift.
"Eithne, but why do you want me to make you the same gift? Why does it seem like this is so important to you?"
Eithne felt a little nervous at the question.
"Well, since you'll do it, maybe I could tell you… BUT I NEED TIME TO PREPARE MYSELF. So I'll tell you tonight, how about that?"
"Oh, so today's date is already planned out?"
Victoria smiled, knowing that today she could have a date with the woman she loved.
"Yup, I can't wait for night to come."
"Me neither. Come on, keep combing my hair, we still have lots to do today."
The two of them kept talking and laughing happily. Jokes and laughter echoed outside the shop.
The world seemed so much brighter when two people in love were together.